GB1592531A

GB1592531A - Method and apparatus for making fast the end of a thread in the winding of a thread on a bobbin

Info

Publication number: GB1592531A
Application number: GB134778A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Hacoba Textilmaschinen GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Hacoba Textilmaschinen GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1977-02-16
Filing date: 1978-01-13
Publication date: 1981-07-08
Also published as: JPS53103038A; ES466209A1; DE2706453A1; DE2706453C2; NL7800358A

Description

(54) METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FAST THE END OF A THREAD IN THE WINDING OF A THREAD ON A BOBBIN (71) We, HACOBA TEXTILMASCHINEN GmbH & Co. KG, a German Kommanditgesellschaft, of Hatzfelder Strasse 161-163, 5600 Wuppertal 2, West Germany, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for making fast a thread end in the winding of a thread on a bobbin, for example by an automatic winding machine, in which a fully wound bobbin is taken from a bobbin carrier and is replaced by an empty bobbin which has resilient thread-cutting means which is arranged to be brought into engagement with a thread end under the control of the winding machine at the beginning of and/or after the termination of the winding of the thread on to the bobbin.

In one known method of this general type a flanged sleeve is used as a bobbin, which has a thread holder with radially outwardly projecting resilient spring tongues. The thread end which is to be made fast is taken between the spring tongues and the circumferential flange of the flanged sleeve by overcoming the resistance of the spring tongues to deformation. Then, the flanged sleeve is rotated so that the resilient spring tongues catch up the thread end. Since the resilient spring tongues are arranged spaced from one another, the situation can arise that the thread end is not securely held and thus that winding-on of the thread is not possible.

On the contrary it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus of the type first mentioned above in which and by which the thread end is held fast in a simple yet secure way.

In accordance with the invention there is provided bobbin winding apparatus comprising a drivable bobbin carrier, a bobbin mounted on the bobbin carrier and comprising a body portion serving as a carrier for a wound package and resilient annular threadretaining means provided at at least one axial end of the body portion and displaceable between first and second positions with an over-centre snap action, and movable actuating means arranged to displace said threadretaining means axially of the bobbin into one of said positions in which the starting or finishing end of the thread is held fast.

Also in accordance with the present invention there is provided a method of making fast the end of a thread on a bobbin which comprises a body portion serving as a carrier for a wound package and resilient annular thread-retaining means provided at at least one axial end of the body portion and displaceable between first and second positions with an over-centre snap action movement, in which a fully wound bobbin is taken from a bobbin carrier and is replaced by an empty bobbin whose thread-retaining means are arranged to be brought into engagement with a thread end at the beginning of and/or after the termination of the winding process, which comprises causing an actuating member to engage the thread-retaining means at the beginning of and/or after the termination of winding to cause the thread-retaining means to be displaced axially of the bobbin with the over-centre snap action from a first position in which the thread end is free to a second position in which the end of the thread is held fast.

It is a main feature of the invention that the actuating means engages against resilient annular thread-retaining means provided on the bobbin and consequently achieves a secure retention of the thread end. It is already known to clamp the thread end with the aid of an automatic winding machine, for example by the use of a thread clamp provided on a pick-up head of the machine.

However, with this arrangement, after the winding of the thread end or of the beginning of a thread on to the bobbin one must wind on the thread end piece held by the thread clamp and in consequence it does not project freely from the bobbin. It is also relevant to this that a thread stripping brush is known which however constitutes an additional means and requires appropriate control of the automatic winder. Complications of this nature are avoided by the use of the method and apparatus of the present invention.

The thread end can be made fast at thc beginning of and/or after the termination of the winding-on process with the present invention. In this way it does not matter whether the bobbin sleeve or the bobbin is stationary or rotating and/or whether the thread supply has been broken or is still connected.

In order to make fast a thread end before the beginning of the winding-on operation the method preferably comprises drawing out the thread trailing from a fully wound bobbin during the removal of the bobbin from a bobbin carrier, mounting an empty bobbin on the bobbin carrier, moving the trailing thread by a thread-positioning device and/or a thread guide to a gripping zone of the thread-retaining means of said empty bobbin and then holding the thread fast, cutting the thread trailing from the fully wound bobbin, and displacing the threadretaining means of the empty bobbin to its second position.

In order to secure a thread end of a thread which is already running on at the beginning of the winding process the running thread to be wound may be brought into a gripping zone of the thread-retaining means of an empty bobbin, the thread-retaining means moved into its second position, and the bobbin caused to begin winding rotations at the latest upon the achievement of the thread-retaining position or shortly thereafter. By this method the thread produced by open-end spinning machines can be satisfactorily wound. In connection with this it is already known to provide specially shaped catching slots provided with additional retaining means on the bobbin, which slots are brought into engagement with the running thread. With the method of the present invention however this pick-up is simplified and achieved more reliably and rapidly by the use of the thread-retaining means on the bobbin.

The thread end can be made fast after the termination of the winding-on process by bringing the thread leading to a fully wound bobbin mounted on the bobbin carrier to a gripping zone of the thread-retaining means by a thread guide and/or a thread-positioning device, then winding a number of thread turns on the bobbin and finally moving the thread-retaining means into its second position, removing the fully wound bobbin from the bobbin carrier and cutting the thread.

If an auxiliary station is provided on the automatic winder, then the method can comprise transferring a fully wound bobbin from the bobbin carrier with the thread still uncut to a further bobbin carrier at an auxiliary station, bringing the thread to a gripping zone of the thread-retaining means and causing the thread then to be gripped, displaced and cut by a thread-holding device which is displaceable parallel to the bobbin, rotating the bobbin to wind a number of thread turns in the gripping zone, moving the thread-retaining means into its second position, releasing the thread-holding device and removing the fully wound bobbin from the bobbin carrier at the auxiliary station.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, a number of embodiments in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figs. la to ld illustrate the individual method steps involved in making fast the end of a thread after the termination of the winding-on process; Figs 2a to 2c show the individual method steps for making fast the end of a thread after the termination of the winding-on process and here utilizing an additional winding station; Fig. 3 is an illustration similar to Figs. 2a to 2c of a winding-on device with an auxiliary winding station for carrying out a further method step in the making fast of a thread end after the termination of the winding-on process; and, Fig. 4 shows a device for making fast the end of a thread at the beginning of the winding-on process.

In the embodiments described hereinafter each bobbin includes thread-retaining, i.e.

thread-gripping, means which is selectively displaceable between a first position and a second position with an over-centre snap action. This over-centre snap action movement of the thread-gripping means between the two positions is hereinafter referred to as a reflexing movement. Bobbins of this type are described and claimed in out UK patent specfication No. 1559059.

Fig. Ia shows the right-hand half of a bobbin 10 which is held in the winding position by a pick-up head 11 of a bobbin carrier which is not fully shown. The bobbin 10 is a sleeve which at its right-hand end has resilient thread-gripping means 12 which can be pushed axially along the longitudinal axis of the bobbin by an actuating member 13 of the automatic winding machine from the illustrated first position in which it is remote from the wound package to a second, threadretaining position as is shown in Fig. Ic. The resilient thread-gripping means 12 comprises a resilient tapering ring 15, the inner circumference of which is preferably integral with the sleeve 16 of the bobbin 10. A sleeve-like handgrip 17 is provided at the outer circumference of the resilient tapering ring 15. To the right of the handgrip 17 is arranged the likewise annular gripper-actuating member 13 which encircles the pick-up head 11.

A thread 19 is fed to the winding station and is moved back and forth parallel to the axis of the bobbin by a thread guide 20, so that as the bobbin 10 rotates a wound package 14 is created. When the package outside diameter represented in Fig. 1 b is achieved, the winding-on process is terminated. The thread guide 20 is then moved into the position 20' illustrated in Fig. 1 b, so that the thread 19 is transferred to the gripping zone 21 of the thread-gripping means 12. Then, the thread-gripping means 12 is pushed to the left as shown in Fig. lc by the gripper-actuating member 13, with the result that the thread 19 is clamped against the wound package 14. The fully wound bobbin can then, as shown in Fig. Id, be removed from the bobbin carrier and the thread 19 can be cut, since the end of the thread has been made fast.

The bobbin shown in Fig. 2a has at each end a thread gripper 12 in the form of a resilient tapering ring 15 which has a sleevelike handgrip 17 at its outer circumference.

The thread gripper 12 has to be certain to remain in the thread-retaining position after it has been reflexed from its first position in which the thread is free to its second position in which it holds the thread clamped. In connection with this, amongst other things, the left-hand half of Fig. 4 shows an alternative type of thread holder or thread gripper 12' formed as an element which is a push fit within a flanged sleeve 10, the tapering ring 15' of the thread gripper here being connected to a hand-grip 17 and to a central stub 38 by flexible hinges 39 at which the reflexing movement substantially occurs.

The bobbin shown in Fig. 2a is a flanged sleeve and the package 14 is wound on to it between the end flanges 22.

The type of wound package 14 is determined by the thread guide 20. After the completion of the winding operation the fully wound bobbin is taken from the bobbin carrier 23 which includes the pick-up head 11 and a counter-pressure member 11' and is taken to a corresponding bobbin carrier 23' at an auxiliary winding station below the normal winding station. By this movement the thread 19 is drawn out. Two clamping bars 24, 24' are moved towards one another as indicated by the arrows 25 in Fig. 2a and clamp the thread 19. A spring 26 which is carried by the one clamping bar 24' ensures that there is a satisfactory effective clamping of the thread 19 adjacent to the bobbin.

As shown in Fig. 2b, the thread 19 is then cut and the two actuating members 13 push the thread grippers 12 axially into their thread-retaining positions, with the result that the right-hand thread gripper clamps the thread end 19' against the end flange 22 of the bobbin. Thereafter, the clamping bars 24, 24' and the actuating members 13 are moved apart as shown in Fig. 2c. The wound bobbin can then be removed from the auxiliary winding station. During this time the winding station 23 can be replenished with an empty bobbin on to which the thread 19 can then be wound.

Fig. 3 shows an arrangement which corresponds to the lower half of Fig. 2a, but in which additional gude means for the thread are provided. The thread 19 runs from a thread feeder 27, through shears 28, over a thread draw-back hoop 29 and a helical spring 30 which serves as a guide for the loose, already cut thread, between the clamping bars 24, 24' and thereby to the fully wound bobbin 31. The thread position shown in chain-dotted lines represents an undesirable final thread position, from which the thread has to be brought into the gripping zone 21 in order that the thread gripper 12 can make the thread end fast. This is achieved with the help of the co-operating clamping bars 24 and 24' which draw the thread into the position shown by the partial thread path 32. Thereafter, the bobbin is rotated in order to produce a fastening turn until the thread is in the position shown at 33.

From this position it is possible without further difficulty to bring the thread into the gripping zone 21 of the thread gripper 12, in which position the right-hand clamping bar 24 occupies the position 34 indicated by broken lines. Following this, the shears 28 cut the thread 19 and, by rotating the bobbin, the thread end thereby produced is wound into the thread channel between thread gripper 12 and flange 22 until it just held by the clamping bars 24, 24'. Then, the thread gripper is pushed into its thread-retaining position and clamps the thread end. The fully wound bobbin can then be taken from the auxiliary winding station.

The making fast of a starting thread end before the beginning of a winding-on process will now be described with reference to Fig.

4. A fully wound bobbin 31 is taken from the bobbin carrier 23 at the winding station and thus draws the thread 19 after it. A thread positioning device 41 then draws the thread 19 from the position shown in broken lines to the position shown by a full line in which it is held fast below the winding station by a thread clamping device 35. Then, a thread cutter 36 can cut through the thread and the wound bobbin 31 is removed. In the meantime, an empty bobbin is inserted into the bobbin carrier 23 and the thread positioning device 41 moves the thread end 19", possibly in co-operation with the thread guide 20, into the gripping zone 21 of the thread gripper 12. Then, the gripper-actuating member 13 displaces the thread gripper 12 axially so that the thread end 19" is clamped against the circumferential flange 22 of the bobbin 10. Following this, the clamping of the thread end 19" by the clamping device 35 is removed. The thread guide 20 is then moved into the winding zone of the bobbin 10. The bobbin 10 is rotated, and the thread 19 is wound on to it.

The closing movement of the gripperactuating member 13 is controlled in dependence upon the automatic winding machine, and in particular its clamping device 35. A piston-cylinder unit 37 may be provided for example in order to move the actuating member 13. The pressure of the actuating member 13 against the thread gripper 12 can be effected by way of a ball bearing 34 in order to reduce frictional losses. This is necessary for example if the empty bobbin is rotating and if during this a thread gripper has to be moved to its thread-retaining position. A rotation of the bobbin is effected for example if the thread 19 is not stationary but continues to run on, which is the case for example in the winding-on of thread in connection with the open-end spinning of yarn. Even here the actuation of the thread gripper by the automatic winding machine ensures that a reliable, rapid and trouble-free pick-up of the thread end by the thread gripper is guaranteed.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. Bobbin winding apparatus comprising a drivable bobbin carrier, a bobbin mounted on the bobbin carrier and comprising a body portion serving as a carrier for a wound package and resilient annular thread-retaining means provided at at least one axial end of the body portion and displaceable between first and second positions with an over-centre snap action, and movable actuating means arranged to displace said threadretaining means axially of the bobbin into one of said positions in which the starting or finishing end of the thread is held fast.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the actuating means comprises a pusher member displaceable along the longitudinal axis of the bobbin.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the actuating means is arranged to engage the resilient thread-retaining means by way of ball bearing means.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims I to 3, which includes a thread-positioning device and/or clamping devices and/or cutting devices provided above and/or below the bobbin winding position on the path of movement of the thread.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims I to 4, in which said actuating means and/or a further actuating means is/are movable by one or more piston-cylinder units.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, which comprises a bobbin winding station at which said bobbin carrier is positioned, and an auxiliary station to which each fully wound bobbin is transferred prior to the cutting of the thread to free the wound bobbin.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, which includes a thread positioning device between said two stations and movable parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bobbin to draw the thread trailing from a bobbin located at said auxiliary station into a position aligned with the thread-retaining means of an empty bobbin at the winding station.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, which includes clamping means adjacent to the bobbin to hold the thread while the thread is being cut, said clamping means being reciprocable parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bobbin.

9. A method of making fast the end of a thread on a bobbin which comprises a body portion serving as a carrier for a wound package and resilient annular thread-retaining means provided at at least one axial end of the body portion and displaceable between first and second positions with an over-centre snap action movement, in which a fully wound bobbin is taken from a bobbin carrier and is replaced by an empty bobbin whose thread-retaining means are arranged to be brought into engagement with a thread end at the beginning of and/or after the termination of the winding process, which comprises causing an actuating member to engage the thread-retaining means at the beginning of and/or after the termination of winding to cause the thread-retaining means to be displaced axially of the bobbin with the over-centre snap action from a first position in which the thread end is free to a second position in which the end of the thread is held fast.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, which comprises drawing out the thread trailing from a fully wound bobbin during the removal of the bobbin from a bobbin carrier, mounting an empty bobbin on the bobbin carrier, moving the trailing thread by a thread-positioning device and/or a thread guide to a gripping zone of the threadretaining means of said empty bobbin and then holding the thread fast, cutting the thread trailing from the fully wound bobbin, and displacing the thread-retaining means of the empty bobbin to its second position.

I I. A method as claimed in claim 9 or 10, which comprises bringing a running thread to be wound to a gripping zone of the threadretaining means of an empty bobbin, moving said thread-retaining means into its second position, and causing the bobbin to begin winding rotations at the latest upon the attainment of said second position or shortly thereafter.

12. A method as claimed in claim 9, which comprises bringing the thread leading to a fully wound bobbin mounted on the bobbin carrier to a gripping zone of the thread-retaining means by a thread guide

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. moved into the winding zone of the bobbin 10. The bobbin 10 is rotated, and the thread 19 is wound on to it. The closing movement of the gripperactuating member 13 is controlled in dependence upon the automatic winding machine, and in particular its clamping device 35. A piston-cylinder unit 37 may be provided for example in order to move the actuating member 13. The pressure of the actuating member 13 against the thread gripper 12 can be effected by way of a ball bearing 34 in order to reduce frictional losses. This is necessary for example if the empty bobbin is rotating and if during this a thread gripper has to be moved to its thread-retaining position. A rotation of the bobbin is effected for example if the thread 19 is not stationary but continues to run on, which is the case for example in the winding-on of thread in connection with the open-end spinning of yarn. Even here the actuation of the thread gripper by the automatic winding machine ensures that a reliable, rapid and trouble-free pick-up of the thread end by the thread gripper is guaranteed. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. Bobbin winding apparatus comprising a drivable bobbin carrier, a bobbin mounted on the bobbin carrier and comprising a body portion serving as a carrier for a wound package and resilient annular thread-retaining means provided at at least one axial end of the body portion and displaceable between first and second positions with an over-centre snap action, and movable actuating means arranged to displace said threadretaining means axially of the bobbin into one of said positions in which the starting or finishing end of the thread is held fast.

and/or a thread-positioning device, then winding a number of thread turns on the bobbin, and subsequently moving the thread-retaining means into its second position, removing the fully wound bobbin from the bobbin carrier and cutting the thread.

13. A method as claimed in any of claims 9 to 11, which comprises transferring a fully wound bobbin from the bobbin carrier with the thread still uncut to a further bobbin carrier at an auxiliary station, bringing the thread to a gripping zone of the threadretaining means and causing the thread then to be gripped, displaced and cut by a threadholding device which is displaceable parallel to the bobbin, rotating the bobbin to wind a number of thread turns in the gripping zone, moving the thread-retaining means into its second position, releasing the thread-holding device and removing the fully wound bobbin from the bobbin carrier at the auxiliary station.

14. Bobbin winding apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 or Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of making fast the end of a thread on a bobbin substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3 or Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings.