US2406901A - Lubricated traveler ring - Google Patents

Description

Sept; 1946- F. s POLLOCK, JR

LUBRICATED TRAVELER RING Filed July 13, 1945 flank smz pw kmz mm. 1

Patented Sept, 3 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,406,901 LUBRICATED TRAVELER-RING Frank S. Pollock, Jr., Martinsville, Va., assignor to, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware Application July 13, 1945, Serial No. 604,872

4 Claims, 1

This invention relates to textile spinning apparatus, and more particularly to an arrangement for lubricating the rings and travelers of ring spinning and twisting frames.

It is now common practice to lubricate the traveler ring of the conventional ring spinning and twisting} machine by wicking lubricant from suitable reservoirs in the ring rail to the bearing surface of the ring at one or more points. The traveler revolving around the ring causes the lubricant to be spread over the entire bearing surface of the ring. In operation, the lubricant fed to the traveler ring eventually drains to the bottom of the ring from which point it. is thrown by the traveler outwardly off the ring into the atmosphere and onto the floor and adjacent equipment. In the high speed winding and twisting of present day artificial yarns it is necessary to maintain an abundant supply of clean, i. e. filtered, lubricant on the rings with the result that substantial amounts of lubricant are thrown from the ring necessitating frequent cleaning of adjacent equipment, and the accumulation of oil on the floor creates a serious fire and accident hazard. Moreover the .large quantity of lubricant consumed is costly and operator time is required to frequently replenish the supply of lubricant in the reservoirs.

A principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a lubricated ring assembly free of the disadvantages noted above.

- A more specific object is to provide a ring assembly wherein lubricant drained from the bearing surfaces of the ring is recovered, filtered, and recycled to again lubricate the ring.

Another object is to devise means for preventing permanent loss of lubricant from the traveler ring.

Still another object is to provide a lubricated ring assembly wherein the traveler and ring are caused to be constantly and efficiently lubricated with a minimum of attention and without contaminatin the surrounding equipment and floor with lubricant.

The foregoing and additional objects will more clearly appear from the following description and the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a traveler ring assembly embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the traveler ring assembly on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing in which like reference numerals designate like parts, I designates a ring rai1 on which is removably mounted a traveler ring 2 upon which a traveler 3 revolves in the well known manner. Ring 2 is provided with recesses 4 and 5, preferably located near the top edge of the face of the ring at diametrically opposed points. These recesses are adapted to contain wicks 6 and 1 which extend through the wall of the ring and communicate with lubricant pockets 8 and 9 respectively formed in ring rail l and preferably fitted with oil-absorbent felt pads IE! and II. Disposed below the ring and ring rail is an annularly shaped, relatively thick felt (or equivalent lubricant-absorbent and filtering material) l2 having an inside diameter slightly greater than the inside diameter of the traveler ring. Extensions of wicks 6 and 1 pass through suitably sized holes I3 and I4 inthe bottom of pockets 8 and 9 and contact the annular felt l2. In the preferred'modification illustrated, felt I2 is retained in place by a metal retainer ring comprised of a vertical side wall section l5 and an outwardly and slight downwardly projecting flange or bottom section l6. The retainer ring is conveniently attached to the ring rail by spring clips I1, I8, I9 and 20 which afford ready means for detaching the retainer ring and annular felt for cleaning and/ or replacement.

In operation, the pockets 8 and 9 are filled. with lubricant which is wicked to the recesses in the ring and is carried from these points to cover the face of the ring by revolving traveler 2 which guides yarn Y from a supply package (not shown) onto the rotating wind-up spool S. Lubricant which accumulates at the bottom edge of the traveler ring is thrown off by the traveler onto the side wall of the retainer ring and flows down the side wall, across the bottom of the retainer from where it is wicked-up by the annular felt and circulates by Wick action to the pockets in the ring rail and the cycle is repeated.

The retainer ring is of course not essential to the successful operation of the device since it is evident that lubricant thrown from the bottom edge of the traveler ring would be thrown directly against the annular felt and would circulate to the traveler ring for reuse in the manner just described. However, it is of advantage to employ the. retainer ring for the reasons that: it provides a satisfactory means for holding the annular felt in place; it keeps the felt from picking up and retaining particles of foreign matter; and it permits cleaning of the traveler ring without touching the felt and thereby removing lubricant therefrom.

My improved ring assembly provide many obvious as well as less apparent advantages over lubricated ring structures heretofore employed. For example, because the lubricant is, in the main, recirculated and not lost, less lubricant need be used; and again, because lubricant is not lost, there is a consequent reduction of slipping hazard on the floor, the fire hazard is reduced, less floor sweeping compound (to remove oil) is used, and less labor expenditure in refilling lubricant pockets or reservoirs, sweeping floors, cleaning and replacing oil-damaged equipment, etc., is required. Moreover, more uniform yarn tensions result, due probably to the uniform a'pplication of lubricant secured. An important advantage too, i the fact that the recirculated oil is, in the course of its travel through the felt wick, effectively filtered and there is reduced tendency to gumming which heretofore has necessitated frequent cleaning of the ring and traveler.

As many widely different embodiments of my invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A twister ring assembly comprising in combination a ring rail, a traveler ring mounted on the ring rail, means for conducting lubricant to the face of said traveler ring, lubricant collecting means disposed immediately below said traveler ring and in the path of lubricant thrown from said traveler ring, said lubricant collecting means comprising an annular felt pad and means for conducting lubricant from said collecting means to said means for conducting lubricant to the face of said traveler.

2. In a twister ring comprising a ring rail provided with at least one pocket adapted to contain lubricant, a traveler ring and means for conducting lubricant from said pocket to the face of said ring, the improvement which comprises an annular lubricant absorbent material located immediately below and in vertical alignment with said traveler ring, the inside diameter of said annulus being slightly greater than that of said traveler ring, and lubricant conducting means connecting said annulus with said pocket.

3. In a twister ring comprising a ring rail provided with at least one pocket adapted to contain lubricant, a traveler ring and means for conducting lubricant from said pocket to the face of said ring, the improvement which comprises an annulus of felt located immediately below and in vertical alignment with said traveler ring, the inside diameter of said annulus being slightly greater than that of said traveler means, and wicking connecting said annulus with said pocket.

4. In a twister ring comprising a ring rail provided with at least one pocket adapted to contain lubricant, a traveler ring and mean for conducting lubricant from said pocket to the surface of said ring, the improvement which comprises an annulus of felt located immediately below and in vertical alignment with said traveler ring, the inside diameter of said annulus being slightly greater than that of said traveler means and a retaining means for said annulus removably attached to said ring rail and comprising a vertical side wall in contact with and substantially coextensive with the inner wall of said annulus and an outwardly extending bottom flange upon which said annulus is seated, and wicking means connecting said annulus with said pocket.

FRANK S. POLLOCK. JR.

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