US3685272A

US3685272A - Textile spinning machines

Info

Publication number: US3685272A
Application number: US53246A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert Greenwood; John Michael Shepherd
Original assignee: TMM Research Ltd
Current assignee: Hollingsworth UK Ltd
Priority date: 1969-07-08
Filing date: 1970-07-08
Publication date: 1972-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 1989-08-22
Also published as: ES381542A1; JPS5035134B1; DE2033226B2; FR2051603B1; GB1291104A; DE2033226A1; FR2051603A1; CH527288A

Abstract

An open-end textile spinning machine comprising a spinning rotor formed with an interior fiber collecting surface to which discrete textile fibers are fed by a fiber feed means. The fibers in the fiber collecting surface are twisted into an end of a yarn which is withdrawn and taken up on a wind-up device. The forwardly facing open-end of the rotor is closed by a closure member which cooperates with a fiber inlet duct for feeding discrete fibers from the fiber feed means to the fiber collecting surface. The fiber feed means includes an opening roller which is mounted at the side of the rotor for opening fibers taken from a supply and feeding them to the fiber inlet duct which forms part of a straight passage connected between the periphery of the opening roller and the vicinity of the fiber collecting surface, the length of the passage lying in a plane which intersects the axis of the opening roller at right angles.

Description

United States Patent Greenwood et a1. [4 Aug. 22, 1972 [54] TEXTILE SPINNING MACHINES 3,381,463 5/ 1968 Fajt et a1 ..57/58.95 [72] Inventors: Robert Greenwood Whalley, near FORE] N PA L Blackburn; John Michagl shepherd G TENTS OR APP ICATIONS Ilkley, both of England 443,326

4/1968 Switzerland ..57/58.95

An open-end textile spinning machine comprising a spinning rotor formed with aninterior fiber collecting surface to'which discrete textile fibers are fed by a fiber feed means. The fibers in the fiber collecting sur- 1 face are twisted into an end of a yarn which is withdrawn and taken up on a wind-up device. The forwardly facing open-end of the rotor is closed by a closure member which cooperates with a fiber inlet duct for feeding discrete fibers from the fiber feed means to the fiber collecting surface. The fiber feed means includes an opening roller which is mounted at the side of the rotor for opening fibers taken from a supply and feeding them to the fiber inlet duct which forms part of a straight passage connected between the periphery of the opening roller and the vicinity of the fiber collecting surface, the length of the passage lying in a plane which intersects the axis of the opening roller at right angles.

12 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures [73] Assignee: T.M.M. (Research) Limited, Oldham, Lancashire, England [22] Filed: July 8, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 53,246

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 8, 1969 Great Britain ..34,329/69 52 US. Cl ..57/58.95, 57/5891 [51] Int. Cl. ..D0lh l/l2, DOlh 13/26, DOlh 7/00 [58] Field of Search ..-..57/58.89, 58.95

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,324,642 6/ 1967 Meimberg et al ..57/58.95 3,511,044 5/1970 Stary ..57/58.95 X 3,455,097 7/ 1969 Rajnoha et a1 ..57/58.95 3,210,923 10/ 1965 Schlosser ..57/5 8.95 3,335,558 8/1967 Doublebsky et a1. ,....57/58.95 3,355,869 12/1967 Vorisek ..57/58.95 3,370,413 2/1968 Rajnoha et a1 ..57/58.95

PAIENTEU AUG 22 I972 SHEET 1 [1F 6 mimmwazzwn 3 685 212 I SHEET 3 BF 6 TEXTILE SPINNING MACHINES The present invention relates to open-end textile spinning machines of the kind in which fibers are taken from a supply by fiber feed means and delivered as discrete fibers for feeding to an interior fiber collecting surface of a spinning rotor arranged for rotation, the fibers being removed from the fiber collecting surface by twisting them into an end of yarn which is continuously withdrawn from the rotor and taken up on a wind-up device.

An object of the present invention is to provide an open-end spinning machine of the kind specified which is compact whilst providing a good path for fibers to the spinning rotor.

According to the present invention, there is provided an open-end spinning machine of the kind specified, wherein said spinning rotor has a forwardly facing open end closed by a closure member through which the discrete fibers from said fiber feed means are fed to the fiber collecting surface of the rotor through a fiber inlet duct, wherein said fiber feed means includes an opening roller mounted at the side of said rotor for opening fibers taken from the supply and feeding them as discrete fibers to said fiber inlet duct, and wherein the arrangement is such that fibers withdrawn from the periphery of the opening roller pass through a straight passage of which said fiber inlet duct forms part, said passage extending from the periphery of the opening roller to the vicinity of the fiber collecting surface of the rotor and lying in the same plane as that containing the fiber-transporting periphery of the opening roller. Preferably, said passage has an angle of inclination less than 30 to a plane at right angles to the rotary axis of the rotor.

Two embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation partly in section of an open-end textile spinning machine according to a first embodiment of the invention, with some parts removed for clarity,

. FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the left-hand side of the machine shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3. is a side elevation of the right-hand side of the machine shown in FIG. 1, partly in section,

FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line IVIV in FIG. 1 of part of the machine shown in. FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a scrap view of a part of the machine shown in FIG. 4, in an alternative position thereof,

FIG. 6 is a part sectional front elevation of a spinning station of a multi-station open-end spinning machine according to a second embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 7 is a section taken on the line VII-VII in FIG. 6, and

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a pneumatic circuit for use in the machine shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

In FIGS. 1 to 5 there is illustrated an open-end spinning machine which is particularly suitable for processing long staple fibers. The machine comprises, as best seen in FIG. 3, a spinning rotor 11 which is fixedly mounted on one end of a horizontal output shaft 12 of an electric motor 13 and which is fed with fibers through a fiber inlet duct 14 formed as an extension of a cover plate 15 which fits over the open end of a rotor housing 16 and which is formed with a cylindrical enlargement 17 which enters into the forwardly facing open end of the rotor 11. The cover plate 15 is provided with a central yarn-delivery duct 18 and the arrangement is such'that fibers delivered through the fiber inlet duct 14 pass to an interior fiber collecting surface 19 of the rotor 11 from which they are twisted into the tail end of a yarn 20 which is withdrawn continuously by delivery rollers 21 and 22, from which the yarn passes to a package forming device (not shown). Fibers are drawn through the fiber inlet duct 14 and into the rotor 11 in well known manner by the action of suction applied to the interior of the rotor housing 16 through suction duct 23.-

Fibers are supplied to the fiberinlet duct 14 by fiber feed means to which a sliver or roving of suitable fibers is continuously fed through a feed trumpet 24. A feed roller 25 which rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow A and which is provided with teeth or spikes 26, picks up fibers from the sliver and carries them round to an opening roller 27 rotating in the direction in dicated by the arrow B. The opening roller 27 is provided with pinned bars 28 which pick up the fibers carried round by the feed roller 25 and forward them to a fiber delivery duct 29 formed in an opening roller housing 30 and registering with the fiber inlet duct 14.

' Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the opening roller same plane as that of the fiber path around the rollers.

The straight passage formed by the

ducts

14 and 29 is inclined at an angle 16 to the plane at right angles to the rotary axis to the rotor 11, thereby providing a good path for fibers to the fiber collecting surface and generally providing a compact unit. Withdrawal of yarn from the front of the spinning device is not obstructed by the fiber inlet duct and threading of yarn is made a relatively easy task.

The cover plate 15 closing the open end of the rotor 11 is held in the closed position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 by a spring clip 31 and a rotary catch 32 operated by a handle 33, the arrangement being such that, when the handle 33 is turned from the position shown in FIG. 4 through an angleof to that shown in FIG. 5, the catch 32 turns to a position in which a flat 34 thereon releases it from engagement by a projection 35 fixed on the rotor housing 16. In this position of the catch 32, the cover plate 15 can be withdrawn, together with the catch 32 and handle 33, forwardly of the machine if at the same time the spring 31 is pulled back to release the other side of the cover plate. Rod 49 carries a cross bar 50 which engages in a slot formed in the catch 32. The other end of the rod 49 has fixedly secured thereto a cam 36 which in the position shown in FIG. 1 holds apart spring loaded

arms

37 and 38 of a brake device for braking the motor shaft 12 carrying the rotor 11, and the arrangement is such that the handle 33 when. turned to release the cover plate 15 turns the cam 36 through an angle of 90 to allow the spring loaded arms that by the simple operation of turning the handle 33 the spinning rotor 11 is brought to rest and by additionally holding back the spring clip 31 the cover plate 15 may be moved forwardly without obstacle and the interior of the spinning rotor inspected.

Access to the periphery of the opening roller 27 for inspection and cleaning can be gained by swinging open a front cover plate 41 by means of a handle 42. The front cover plate 41 is fixedly mounted on a rotary shaft 51 and when displaced to the open position causes the angular turning of a cam 43 on the other end of shaft 51 from the position shown in FIG. 2 in which it holds apart a pair of spring loaded

brake arms

44 and 45 to a position in which the brake arms come together and cause brake pads 46 and 47 thereon to bear against a brake drum 48 carried on the other end of the motor output shaft 39 and bring the opening roller 27 to rest.

The fiber collecting surface may be provided with needles to assist in retaining the fibers until they are picked up by a rotating end of yarn to be twistedtherein in the manner well known in open end spinning machines.

On end breakage the feed roller is stopped and any fibers remaining in the rotor are sucked away through the suction duct 23. Any fibers trapped between the rotor 11 and the cover plate 15 can be dislodged and sucked away simply by removing or partially removing the cover plate 15.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, the main frame of the machine is designated by the reference numeral 101 and the fiber opening and spinning means for each station is fixedly located within the main frame by a sub-frame 102. Attached to each sub-frame 102 are two

pillars

103 and 104 on which are slidably mounted a housing 105 containing the fiber-opening means and a housing 122 containing the spinning means.

Within the housing 105 is a fluted feed roller 106 fixed to a shaft 107 which is rotatably mounted in a pair of

plain bearings

108 and 109. The drive for the roller 106 is obtained from a chain 1 through a chain wheel 111 and an electromagnetic clutch 112. Co-operating with the fluted feed roller 106 is a pedal 113, pivotally mounted on a support member 136 at a point 114 and resiliently biased against the feed roller 106 by a spring 1 Also mounted within housing 105 is an opening roller 116 suitably clothed with saw-tooth wire or needles on its peripheral surface. The opening roller 116 is fixed on one end of a shaft 117 which is rotatably mounted in a pair of anti-friction bearing 118 and 119 and the drive for the roller 1 16 is obtained from a driving belt 120 in frictional engagement with a pulley 121 mounted on the other end of the shaft 117. A cover 138 is fixed to the housing 105 in front of the opening roller 116.

A second housing 122 slideably mounted in

pillars

103 and 104 is positioned below the housing 105 and serves to contain the spinning means. The spinning means consists of a rotor 123 fixedly mounted onone end of a shaft 124 rotatably supported within a bearing housing 125. The drive for the spinning rotor 123 is obtained from a driving belt 126 in frictional Contact with a pulley 127 mounted at the other end of the shaft 124.

A closure member 128 is hingedly attached to the housing 122 by brackets 129 and hinge pin 155 and contains a fiber feed duct 130 and, on the axis of the spinning rotor, a yarn delivery tube 131, through which spun yarn 156 is withdrawn from the rotor by a pair of delivery rollers 132 and 133.

Suction is applied to the interior 134 of the housing 122 through an opening 135 from an extemal source (not shown).

The

housings

105 and 122 are shown in their normal working positions, that is to say, at their uppermost positions, and they are held in these positions by supplying air to a pneumatic cylinder 139 positioned beneath the housing 122. A simple pneumatic circuit for the operation of this cylinder is shown in FIG. 8. A main pressurized air line 140, which serves all the spinning stations of the machine, is tapped by an air line 141 and a valve 142 is employed for controlling the supply of air to the cylinder 139. In the position A of the piston of the valve 142, pressurized air enters through inlet port 143 and passes out through an outlet port 144 into air line 145 to move cylinder 139 to its uppermost position. To lower the cylinder 139, the piston of the valve 142 is moved to the position B, whereby inlet port 143 is closed, thus shutting off the supply of air, and exhaust port 146 is opened allowing air from cylinder 139 to be exhausted by the downward force applied to it by the housings and 122.

In operation, a sliver or roving 157 from a supply, not shown, is fed between the nip provided by the fluted feed roller 106 and the co-operating feed pedal 113 to be delivered to the opening roller ll6vfor opening and combing thereby. The fibers are taken round on the periphery of the opening roller 116 until discharged into an outlet opening 147 formed in the housing 105. The fibers are transported in an airstream derived from suction developed in opening 135 and pass in discrete form down fiber feed duct to be deposited as a ring of fibers on fiber collecting surface 148 of the spinning rotor 123, from which they are withdrawn as the spun yarn 156 through yarn delivery tube 131 by the delivery rollers 132 and 133, and the yarn is then wound on a package in a conventional manner.

The dispositions of the various parts of the machine shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are such that the fibers fed in sliver or roving form pass around the feed roller 106 and the opening roller 116 in curved paths in a single plane and are taken from the periphery of the opening roller 116 into a straight passage comprising the outlet duct 147 and the fiber feed duct 130, still lying in approximately the same plane as that of the fiber path round the rollers. The exit of the duct 130 is pointed directly toward the fiber collecting surface 148 so that fibers are laid readily thereon, and the straight passage formed by the

ducts

130 and 147 is inclined at an angle of 25 to a plane at right angles to the rotor, thereby providing a good path for fibers to the fiber collecting surface and generally providing a compact unit. Withdrawal of yarn from the front of the spinning device is not obstructed by the fiber inlet duct and threading of yarn is made a relatively easy task.

If it is desired to inspect the spinning rotor or if, for example, the spinning rotor requires cleaning, without interrupting the spinning of yarn at any of the other spinning stations, the valve 142 is moved to the position B as shown in broken line, thus allowing air to be exhausted from the cylinder 139 through air line 145 and out through exhaust port 146 in the valve body. The

housings

105 and 122 are thus lowered together on

pillars

103 and 104 until the upper housing 105 comes up against stops 149 fixedly mounted on the

pillars

103 and 104 and there comes to rest. At the same time, the chain wheel 111 is taken out of engagement with driving chain 110, thereby disenaging the drive to the feed roller 106. Similarly, the drive to the opening roller 116 is disengaged by the driving pulley 121 moving out of contact with belt 120. Braking of the opening roller 116 is effected by pulley 121 coming into contact with brake shoes 150.

After the upper housing 105 has come to rest, the lower housing 122 continues to move downwardly and the drive to the rotor 123 is disengaged by its driving pulley 127 being taken out of contact with the driving belt 126. Braking of the rotor 123 is effected by brake shoes 151 which are fixedly mounted on the machine frame and with which the pulley 127 engages upon the lowering of the housing 122. At the bottom of the stroke of the cylinder 139, the upper face ofthe closure member 128 is sufficiently clear of the lower face of the upper housing 105 that the closure member 128 can be swung forwardly on pivot brackets 129 to give clear access to the spinning rotor 123. A flexible connection 152 between the two

rigid sections

153 and 154 of the suction duct is provided to allow for the downward movement of the lower housing 122.

On switching off the whole machine, the air supply to the cylinders 139 is cutoff and all the

housings

105 and 122 along the machine are simultaneously lowered.

it will be seen that maintenance of the spinning means can be simple and quickly carried out, while, from a safety view point, access to the spinning rotor 123 cannot be gained when the housings are in their normal working positions.

We claim:

1. An open-end textile spinning machine comprising a spinning rotor arranged for rotation, an interior fiber collecting surface formed within the rotor, fiber feed means for taking fibers from the supply and delivering them as discrete fibers to the interior fiber collecting surface, a wind-up device for withdrawing and taking up an end of yarn twisted from the fibers in the fiber collecting surface, a closure member for closing the forwardly facing open-end of the rotor, a fiber inlet duct feeding discrete fibers from said fiber feed means to said fiber collecting surface of the rotor through said closure member, an opening roller forming part of the fiber feed means and mounted at the side of the said roller for opening fibers taken from the supply and feeding them as discrete fibers to said fiber inlet duct, and a straight passage including said fiber inlet duct and connected between the periphery of the opening roller and the vicinity of the fiber collecting surface, the length of the passage lying in a plane which intersects the axis of the opening roller at right angles.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said passage has an angle of inclination not greater than 30 to a plane at right angles to the rotary axis of the spinning rotor.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the roe riia riia lifi firi e ri Sioi"1% %%%ii "mll% and said passage. I 4. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the passage extends from the periphery of the opening roller at a forwardly region of the periphery.

5'. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the axis ,of the opening roller is at right angles to the rotary axis of the spinning rotor.

6. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said passage hasan angle of inclination less than 20 to a plane at right angles to the rotary axis of the spinning rotor.

7. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotary axis of the rotor lies in a plane at right angles to the plane containing the fiber transporting periphery of the opening roller and said passage.

8. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said passage has an angle of inclination of 25 or substantially 25to a plane at right angles to the rotary axis of the spinning rotor.

9. A machine according to 1 wherein said rotor is contained in a rotor housing having an open front end, wherein the closure member takes the form of a cover plate adapted to fit over the open front end of the rotor housing, and wherein said fiber inlet duct is formed in an extension of the cover plate.

10. A machine according to claim 9, wherein said passage includes a fiber delivery duct which is formed in a housing containing said opening roller and which registers with said fiber inlet duct.

11. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the opening roller is arranged to be fed with fibers by a feed roller cooperating therewith and wherein the arrangement is such that the fiber transporting periphery of the feed roller lies in the said plane containing the fiber transporting periphery of the opening roller and said passage.

12. A machine according to claim 11, wherein said feed roller is provided with teeth or spikes to pick fibers from a sliver fed thereto through a sliver feed duct.

Claims

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said passage has an angle of inclination not greater than 30* to a plane at right angles to the rotary axis of the spinning rotor.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotary axis of the rotor is parallel to the plane containing the fiber transporting periphery of the opening roller and said passage.

4. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the passage extends from the periphery of the opening roller at a forwardly region of the periphery.

5. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the axis of the opening roller is at right angles to the rotary axis of the spinning rotor.

6. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said passage has an angle of inclination less than 20* to a plane at right angles to the rotary axis of the spinning rotor.

8. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said passage has an angle of inclination of 25* or substantially 25*to a plane at right angles to the rotary axis of the spinning rotor.