US3508377A - Bobbin loader - Google Patents

Description

April 28, 1970 w. H BANKS BOBBIN LOADER 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 5. 1967 0C 2 mt PE QC -INVENTOR.. WALDO H.5ANIA5 am am ATTORNEY April 28, 1970 w,lH. BANKS 3,508,377

BOBBIN LOADER Filed May 5; 1967 V 9 Sheets-Sheet 2' ATTORNEY April 28, 1970 y w. HJBANKS BOBBI N LOADER 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 5. 196'? A m ,7 v V I ring ET w 1) INVENTOR. WALDO H. BANKS ATTORNEY April 28, 1970 w. H. BANKS- BOBBIN LOADER Filed May 5. 1967 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 WALDO H. BANKS April 28, 1970 w. H. BANKS BOBBIN LOADER Filed May 5. 196'? 9 Sheets-Sheet 5.

ATTORNEY w. H. BANKS BOBBIN' LOADER A ril 28, 1970 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 5, 1967 WAL O H. BANKS MGM 0W W. H. BANKS BOBBIN LOADER A ril 28, 1970 9 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed May 5, 1967 INVENTOR. \A/ALDO H. BANKS am QM ATTORNEY April 28, 1970 w. H. BANKS 3,508,377

BOBBIN LOADER Filed May 5. 1967 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR. \A/ALDO H. BANKS ATTORNEY A ril 28, 1970 w. BANKS BOBBIN LOADER v 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed May 5. 1967 23 I91 Hi 255 I92 INVENTOR. WALDO H. BANKS 0M Q W ATTORNEY US. Cl. 53160 United States Patent M 3,508,377 BOBBIN LOADER Waldo H. Banks, Hopedale, Mass., assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Carolina Patent Development Trust Filed May 5, 1967, Set. N0. 636,439 Int. Cl. B65b 19/34, 39/12; B31c 1/08 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bobbin loading apparatus having means for receiving stripped or empty bobbins and a further means for guiding said bobbins individually into a container of the type adapted for use with a bobbin donning machine.

Background of the invention The invention relates to a bobbin container loading apparatus for placing such bobbins as warp tubes into a container which is adapted to be mounted on and to supply empty bobbins to a bobbin donning mechanism such as shown and described in US. patent application 616,006, filed Feb. 4, 1967, now Patent No. 3,398,520.

A known form of bobbin donning mechanism for impaling empty filling bobbins on a row of spindles supported by a spinning frame is shown and described in US. Patent No. 3,164,946.

To decrease the time element of hand loading stripped warp tubes into containers and to increase the efficiency of donning Warp bobbins on a spinning frame, the present invention provides an automatic means for loading the containers which simply have to be transferred and placed on the donning mechanism as required. Additionally, the present loader is not restricted to a particular size of warp tube, but is adapted to accommodate tubes of different lengths and diameters.

Summary of the invention The bobbin loader comprising the invention includes an inclined track that is adapted to support a plurality of bobbin containers which are movable through the force of gravity along the length of the track.

The container loading position is more or less centrally located with regards to the length of the track' with the loading apparatus disposed beneath and adjacent one side of said loading position.

An indexing means functioning in timed relation with the loading apparatus releases a container when full permitting it to move away from loading position and allows a following empty container to move into that position. The loading apparatus includes a hopper element for receiving the bobbins and an enclosed chute communica'ting with said hopper element for receiving and guiding the bobbins individually. The bobbins are guided to a position beneath the container and by means of a plunger are pushed upwardly through a pair of opposed spring biased gate members and into the container through an opening in the bottom thereof. The opening in the bottom of the container is provided with a slidable door which is caused to open as it is received into bobbin loading position and caused to close as it leaves that position. The opposed spring biased gate members permit a bobbin to be pushed upwardly therethrough and prevent any possible downward movement in the direction 7 of the plunger member.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bobbin loader according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of a number of the mechanical components of the loading apparatus showing by means of full and phantom lines the extent of their movement;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the bobbin loader showing the container loading position with the container omitted;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the source of drive for the loading apparatus and the indexing means;

FIG. 5 is a view in end elevation of the source of drive shown in FIG. 4 showing the mechanism for urging a bobbin through the enclosed chute and restricting movement of the following bobbins;

' FIG. 6 is a view in side elevation of the electrically controlled means for controlling the number of bobbins loaded into a single container;

FIG. 7 is a view in side elevation of a portion of the bobbin loader showing the means for controlling the number and position of the bobbins within a container and the electrically controlled mechanical elements for indexing the containers;

FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of a portion of the indexing apparatus shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a view partially in section taken through the center of the loading position showing a container in said position and the rotatable spoked members for indexing the containers; and

FIG. 9 is a wiring diagram of the electrical circuit for controlling the various mechanical elements of the loader.

Description of the preferred embodiment Now referring to FIG. 1, the bobbin loader according to the invention is shown in perspective and identified generally by numeral 10. The loader includes among other parts an inclined track extending the length thereof which includes a pair of spaced rail members 11 and 12. These rail members are supported in parallel relation by a plurality of pairs of vertically extending frame elements 13 which are fixedly attached at their lower ends toa supporting base 14. The upper ends of these frame elements are fixed to the. outer sides of the rail members 11 and 12 and to obtain the necessary incline of the track, each pair of said frame elements is shorter than the preceding pair as seen looking from one end of the loader.

The rail members 11 and 12 are provided on their inner and opposed sides with a plurality of roller members 15 and 16, respectively, which are disposed at spaced points along the length of each rail member (FIGS. 1, 3, 7 and 8). These roller members are adapted to support bobbin containers 17 for movement through the force of gravity along the length of the inclined track.

At a position intermediate the ends of the inclined track and fixedly attached thereto there is provided a laterally extending supporting frame generally indicated by numeral 18 (FIG. 1). This supporting frame extends along the inclined track for a portion of its length with the lower portion thereof being attached to the supporting base 14 by means of brackets 19 and 20. The upperv portion of the supporting frame 18 is disposed above the upper surface of the inclined track and at one end adjacent to the track the corner element of said supporting frame, which is identified by numeral 21 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 8), extends upwardly beyond said upper portion to support mechanical-and electrical components of the loader to be more fully described hereinafter. Assembled in opposed relation to corner element 21 and disposed on the outer side of rail member 12 there is provided a vertically extending arch support 22 of equal height to corner element 21 and is interconnected with the latter by means of an arch connection 23 suitably 3 attached to the upper ends of said arch support and corner element (FIGS. 1, 3 and 8).

The supporting frame 18 provides a means for supporting many of the electrical and mechanical components of the loading apparatus, which receive their source of power from a control box 24 (FIG. 1) which is fed through lead 25 from any suitable supply.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and a driving motor 26 is shown mounted on a frame 27 which is fixedly attached to and intermediate the lower portion of frame elements 13 and is disposed within said frame elements at a position approximately midway between the supporting frame 18 and the control box 24.

The motor 26 includes a driving sprocket 2-8 which by means of a link chain 29 is in driving relation with a sprocket 30. Sprocket 30 is fixed on a horizontally disposed shaft 31 which is supported for rotary movement in a bearing member 32. This bearing member 32 is fixedly attached to the frame element 13 shown in FIG. 4 and the hub portion thereof is in alignment with an aperture 33 provided in said frame element. Shaft 31 extends through and beyond each side of the bearing member 32 and the outermost end supports the sprocket 30. A second sprocket 34 is fixed on shaft 31 intermediate sprocket 30 and the side of frame element 13- and by means of a link chain 35 is in driving relation with a driven sprocket 36 (FIG. 4). This driven sprocket 36 is fixed on a shaft 37 which is supported in a similar manner to shaft 31 in a bearing member 38 that is fixed to a vertically extending frame element identified in FIG. 4 by numeral 39. Being horizontally disposed, shaft 37 supports the driven sprocket 36 at its outer end and the opposite or inner end has a lifting cam 40 fixed thereon which is caused to rotate with sprocket 36 in the direction of the indicating arrow 41 shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 7. The lifting cam rotates continuously while the bobbin loader is in operation and functions in cooperation with the means for indexing the containers along the inclined track and will be more fully described hereinafter.

The inner end of shaft 31 has a crank member 42 assembled thereon which is adapted to rotate with said shaft 31. One end of a pitman 43 is pivotably attached to the crank member 42 by means of a bolt 44 and the opposite end ispivotably attached to the upper portion of a crank arm generally indicated by numeral 45 (FIGS. 2, 4 and 5) The lower end of the crank arm 45 is in the form of a hub 46 which supports said crank arm for oscillating movement by the pitman 43 on a horizontally disposed plunger arm shaft 47. The plunger arm shaft extends below and transversely of the inclined track and is supported by and journaled in aligned bearing members 48 and 49 (FIG. 8) that are assembled in the upper portion of upwardly directed support arms 50 and 51 which are fixedly attached in opposed relation at their lower ends to the supporting base 14.

The upper end of the crank arm 45 is provided with an integrally formed arcuated finger 52 and is so disposed as to extend in a direction away from the crank arms point of assembly with thepitman 43 (FIG. 2). A transverse slot 53 is provided at the top of the crank arm and communicates with the upper surface of the arcuated finger 52.

As shown in FIG. 5 a collar 54 serves as a means for maintaining the crank arm 45 in position on the plunger arm shaft 47 and in operating alignment with the crank member 42 and pitman 43.

Intermediate the crank arm 45 and the support arm 51 a crank feed arm generally indicated by numeral 55 is provided which is fixedly assembled on the plunger arm shaft 47 and, extending generally upwardly, it protrudes slightly above the crank arm 45 when in alignment therewith. The uppermost end of the crank feed arm 55 is 4 bifurcated as at 56 (FIGS. 2 and 5) and supports therein a pivotable key 57.

By linkage elements to be more fully described hereinafter the pivotable key is at times suspended and at others released to contact the supper surface of the arcuated finger 52 of the crank arm 45. When the pivotable key is in contact with the arcuated finger said key will drop into the transverse slot 53 of the crank arm as the latter is caused to move forwardly or in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2 by action of the crank member 42 and pitman 43. When the pivotable key 57 drops into the transverse slot 53 is locks the crank feed arm 55 in alignment with the crank arm 45 and as the latter arm moves rearwardly through action of the pitman and crank, said crank feed arm is caused to move with the crank arm, thereby causing the plunger arm shaft 47 to rotate a predetermined number of degrees in the direction of the indicating arrow 58 shown in FIG. 2.

One end of a plunger feed arm 59 is fixedly attached to the plunger arm shaft 47 intermediate its ends and at a position approximately midway between the support arms 50 and 51 (FIGS. 2 and -8). The opposite end of plunger feed arm supports a plunger member generally indicated by numeral 60 for movement in a vertical plane as said plunger feed arm is caused to move from the phantom line to solid line position, shown in FIG. 2, by the rotational movement of the plunger arm shaft 47.

The plunger member 60 includes a lower horizontally disposed rod 61 with a pair of guide rods 62 and 63 suitably attached to and extending upwardly from the ends of said rod -61. Guide rods 62 and 63 are guided for vertical movement in aligned apertures 64 and 65, respectively, provided in a guide bracket 66 disposed beneath the container loading position of the inclined track. The guide bracket 66 extends between a pair of the frame elements 13 and is attached to the latter by means of bolts 67 and nuts 68. The upper ends of the guide rods '62 and 63 are interconnected by a bar 69 (FIGS. 2 and 8) which serves as a means for pushing the bobbins upwardly into the container 17 and will be more fully described hereinafter.

That portion of the plunger feed arm, which supports rod 61, of the plunger member 60 defines an elongated opening 70 that is formed from a piece of fiat stock and attached to said arm by cap screws 71 (FIG. 2). This elongated opening 70 prevents any possible binding of the plunger member as it is caused to reciprocate by permitting the rod 61 to move within the limits of said openmg.

To control and adjust the distance which the. plunger feed arm 59 can be lowered, the lower tip portion is caused to contact an eccentric disc 72. This disc may be rotated to any desired position and is supported by a shaft 73 the ends of which are suitably attached to a pair of the frame elements 13.

A hopper element 74 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 assembles on the upper portion of the supporting frame 18 shown in FIG. 1 and is adapted to receive warp tubes or so-called bobbins which have been stripped and in condition to have new yarn packages built thereon. The hopper element communicates with an enclosed bobbin chute 75 centrally disposed in the upper portion of the supporting frame 18 and extending downwardly the lower portion of said chute communicates with an angularly directed chute 76 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 5). This chute guides the bobbins to an inclined chute 77 (FIG. 2) which is positioned directly below the container loading position on the inclined track.

The bobbins 78 (FIG. 2) are caused to roll to a position directly above the bar 69 of the plunger member 60 when received into the inclined chute 77. At this point the latter communicates with an upwardly directed guide chute 79 the upper portion of which is provided with a pair of opposed spring biased gate members 80 and 81.

These gate members extend between the rail members 11 and 12 of the inclined track and when a container 17 moves into lOading position a door 82 (FIG. 2) in the bottom thereof is automatically opened by cam means 83 and 84 (FIG. 3) which are fixedly attached to the rail members 11 and 12, respectively.

FIG; 2 illustrates the manner and mechanism for individual guidance and advancement of the bobbins 78 from the hopper element 74 through the communicating" chutes to the container 17. Assuming there are bobbins arranged within the communicating chutes as shown in FIG. 2., the upper bobbin as it moves downwardly in the enclosed bobbin chute 75 contacts a bobbin sensing element or indicator door 85 and pivots it downwardly to the solid line position shown in this figure of drawing. Further movement of the bobbin is restricted by a pivotable escape.- ment latch 86 which as shown in FIG. 5 is supported for pivotable movement on a rod 87. Rod 87 is journaled in spaced bearing elements 88 and 89 which are attached to one side of the enclosed bobbin chute 75 by means of screws 90 and 91, respectively.

A portion of the escapement latch 86 protrudes through an opening 92 (FIG. 5) into the enclosed chute 75 with said portion being recessed as at 93 (FIG. 2). Recess 93 is adapted to receive the bobbin and retain it until the escapement latch is caused to pivot in a manner to be described.

A lever 94 is fixed to one end of rod 87, and by means of a coil spring 95 interconnecting the free end thereof with an ear 96 (FIG. 2) disposed below and which forms a part of the enclosed chute 75, the escapement latch 86 is continuously urged to that position for retainment of a bobbin within said chute.

Indicator door 85 is fixed to a lever 97 which is pivotably mounted on a support 98 and movement of said indicator door to vertical position shown in FIG. 2 causes said lever 97 to pivot upwardly to the solid line position shown in this figure of drawing. A vertically disposed linkage rod 99 is pivotably attached at its upper end to the outer end of lever 97 and the lower end is pivotably attached to one end of a double armed lever 100 as at'101. This lever is pivotably mounted intermediate its ends as at 102 and that end opposite the connection to linkage rod 99 is adapted to support the pivotable key 57 carried by the crank feed arm 55 in an elevated position out of contact with the arcuated finger 52 of the crank arm 45.

Movement of lever 97 to the solid line position shown in FIG. 2 causes the linkage rod 99 to be pulled upwardly which in turn pivots the double arm lever 100 to a position that allows the pivotable key ,57 to contact the armated finger 52 of the crank arm 45.

As the crank arm moves forwardly or in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2, the pivotable key 57 drops into the transverse slot 53 of the crank arm 45 to lock the crank feed arm 55 in alignment with said crank arm. As the crank arm is caused to move rearwardly, the crank feed arm moves with it and rotates the plunger arm shaft 47 in the direction of the indicating arrow 58 in FIG, 2. Rotation of the plunger arm shaft 47 in this direction causes the plunger feed arm 59 to pivot to the solid line position shown in FIG. 2 and the plunger member 60 supported thereby moves upwardly through the guide chute 79 pushing a bobbin 78 through the gate members 80 and 81 and into the container 17. The gate members being spring biased one toward the other prevents the bobbins from dropping back into the guide chute 79 when the plunger returns to its initial position.

As the crank arm 45 and crank feed arm 55 approach back center or their rearmost position, the upper end of said crank feed arm contacts a depending arm 103 of a bell crank lever generally indicated by numeral 104 and pivots it from the dotted to solid line position shown in FIG. 2.

This bell crank lever 104 is pivotably mounted to a support bracket 105 and the second arm 106 thereof is connected by means of a link element 107 to the end of one arm 108 of a second bell crank lever generally indicated by numeral 109 (FIG. 2). This lever is pivotably supported to a bracket 110 and the second arm 111 thereof is interconnected to the escapement latch 86 by means of a link rod 112. Link rod 112 is pivotably attached to a rod 113 (FIG. 5) which extends from the escapement latch 86 and movement of the bell crank lever 104 as described causes the linkage connected thereto to move the link rod 112 in the direction of the indicating arrow 114 shown in FIG. 2. This movement pivots the escapement latch 86 and releases the bobbin 78 retained thereby permitting continued advancement of the latter through the chute elements to the position where it will be raised by the plunger member 60 for insertion into the container 17.

If no other bobbins enter the enclosed chute 75 the indicator door will swing to the angular dotted line position shown in FIG. 2 and is accomplished by means of a counterweight 115 on linkage rod 99. This counterweight causes the linkage rod 99 to move downwardly and pivots the double armed lever 100 to a position which lifts the pivotable key 57 from the transverse slot 53 of the crank arm 45. At this point there is a cessation of movement of the crank feed arm 55 and the plunger feed arm 59 and plunger member 60 remain in their lowermost position shown in FIG. 2.

A continued flow of bobbins into the enclosed chute 75 maintains the indicator door in a generally vertical position and the bobbins are individually and continually advanced through the chutes and loaded into the container 17 by the plunger member 60.

An electrically controlled counting mechanism governs the number of bobbins that are loaded into a given container 17 which will now be described.

When the escapement latch 86 is actuated in the manner heretofore described, the second arm 111 of the bell crank lever 109 is caused to move to the solid line position shown in FIG. 2. During this movement the second arm 111 contacts and actuates a switch 116 to complete a circuit and to energize a counter solenoid 117 shown in FIG. 6.

The counting mechanism is mounted within the supporting frame 18 and includes a pair of spaced sprocket members 118 and 119 rotatably supported on an upper girt member 120 by stud elements 121 and 122, respectively. In alignment with sprocket members 118 and 119, a lower girt 123 supports a similar pair of sprockets 124 and 125 that are rotatably mounted on stud elements 126 and 127, respectively. The upper and lower girts 120 and 123 are disposed in spaced relation and are attached to the vertical end members of the supporting frame 18 by means of bolts 128 and nuts 129 (FIG. 6).

The sprocket members of the counting mechanism are interconnected by an endless link chain 130 and the number of links which said chain contains is equivalent to the number of bobbins loaded into a given container.

Stud 121 which supports a sprocket 118 is somewhat longer than the other sprocket supporting studs of the counter mechanism and is supported on its outer end by a generally U-shaped support bracket 131 which is situably attached to the upper girt member 120 (FIG. 6).

. Stud 121 supports a ratchet disc 132 for rotation with sprocket 118, a second ratchet disc 133 and an oscillatable actuating member having an upper arm 134 and a diametrically opposed lower arm 135. The upper arm 134 includes a pivotable spring biased pawl 136 which is engageable with the teeth of the ratchet disc 132. The lower arm is pivotably connected to a lever 136 by means of a link 137 and the lower end of said lever 36 is pivotably attached to a bracket element 138. Bracket element 138 extends laterally from and is fixedly at- 7 tached to the solenoid support 139 that is attached to and extends between the upper and lower girts 120 and 123.

The solenoid plunger is identified in FIG. 6 by numeral 140 and is pivotably attached to lever 136' at a point intermediate its ends as at 141.

When solenoid 117 is energized by the closing of switch 116, the plunger 140 is pulled inwardly to pivot lever 136 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 6. This movement through link 137 causes the oscillatable actuating member to rotate a short distance in an anticlockwise direction and the pivotable spring biased pawl 136 on the upper arm 134 which is engaged with one of the teeth of the ratchet disc 132, rotates said disc and the sprocket 118 a distance equivalent to one link of the chain 130. To limit the movement of the ratchet disc 132 and the sprocket 118 a second spring biased pawl 142 (FIG. 6), that is pivotably mounted on a depending portion 143 of the support bracket 131, is adapted to engage a tooth of the second ratchet disc 133.

The lower portion of the oscillatable actuating member is provided with an integrally for-med cam element 144 which is adapted to hold the pawl 142 out of engagement with the second ratchet disc 133 and as sprocket 118 is rotated said cam element is moved to a position which allows said pawl to make contact with a tooth of said second ratchet disc 133.

When switch 116 is again opened by the reverse movement of arm 111 (FIG. 2), solenoid 117 is de-energized and the oscillatable actuating member is pivoted in a clockwise direction to its initial position by means of a coil spring 145. One end of this spring is attached to the top of the upper arm 134 and the opposite end to a spring bracket 146 which is fixed to the side of the support bracket 131 by means of a cap screw 147. This movement causes cam element 144 to push pawl 142 out of engagement with the second ratchet disc 133 and the counting mechanism is then ready for its next increment advance of the chain 130. v

The chain is caused to move in the direction of the indicating arrow 148 shown in FIG. 6 and must make one complete movement about the four sprockets of the counter mechanism to load the proper number of bobbins into a container 17.

Adjacent to sprocket 124 one of the vertical end members of the supporting frame 18 supports a switch 149 which is closed to complete another circuit to be described by a protruding roller 150 that is attached to one of the links of the chain 130.

When the first bobbin is loaded into a container the protruding roller is one link beyond contact position with the switch 149. After loading the last bobbin, the chain will have made one complete movement about the four sprockets, and the next increment of movement brings the protruding roller into that position shown in FIG.

6 to depress the contact element 151 of the switch 149.

' The closing of switch 149 energizes and completes a circuit to two different solenoids. The'first is identified in FIG. 2 by numeral 152 which has a plunger 153 that is pushed outwardly when this solenoid is energized. A first arm 154 of a pivotably mounted' bell crank lever is in contact with the plunger 153 and as the latter is pushed outwardly it pivots said bell crank lever causing a second arm 155 thereof to pivot downwardly. I

This second arm 155 is in contact with a check nut 156 on the linkage rod 99-and the downward movement of said second arm moves said rod-in a like'direction. This movement of the linkage rod 99 pivots the double armed lever 100 to a'position to lift the pivotable key 57 out of the transverse slot 53 of the crank' arm '45 thereby causing a cessation of bobbin advancement through the chutes and 'actuation o'f-the plunger member 60.

At this point the full container is released by an indexing arrangement to be described for movement away from loading position and to allow an empty container to move into that position.

The second solenoid which is energized by the closing of switch 149 is identified in FIGS. 4 and 7 by numeral 157 which is attached by means of cap screws 158 to a generally L-shaped support bracket 159. This support bracket 159 extends from and is assembled to the vertically extending frame element 39 by means of bolts 160 and nuts 161.

This solenoids plunger member is depicted by numeral 162 (FIG. 4) and by means of a coil spring 163 it is connected to the upper end of a double armed lever generallyindicated by numeral 164. Lever 164 is pivotably mounted intermediate its ends on a stud 165 one end of which is fixedly held in an integrally formed boss 166' that depends from the support bracket 159.

The lower end of lever 164 is in contact with the side of a lifting lever 166 (FIGS. 4 and 7) which has one end thereof universally supported on a stud 167 that extends from and which is fixedly attached to the frame element 13 in FIG. 4.

When solenoid 157 is energized the lifting cam 40 is at low center and as plunger 162 is drawn in'wardly it pivots the double armed lever 164 in a direction which causes the lower end thereof to pivot the lifting lever 166 to a position to be contacted by the lifting cam 40.

Adjacent that end of the lifting lever 166 opposite the end that is universally attached to stud 165, a coil spring 168 is provided having one end attached to said lifting lever as at 169 and the opposite end (not shown) at any suitable position within the structure of the loader. This spring is arranged to continually urge the lifting lever 166 to a position out of contact with the lifting cam 40 and when solenoid 157 is de-energized said spring is effective in moving said lever to that position.

The end of the lifting lever adjacent to coil spring 168 has an upwardly directed lifting rod 170 (FIGS. 1 and 7) pivotably attached thereto as at 171. The upper end of the rod 170 is pivotably connected to the end of a first arm 172 of a bell crank lever generally indicated by numeral 173. This bell crank lever is pivotably supported at one end of a mounting bracket 174 (FIGS. 1 and 7) which is fixedly attached to the upper end of the vertically extending frame element 39. Frame element 39 extends above the supporting frame 18 as shown in FIG. 1 and in addition to the mounting bracket 174, it supports a junction box 175 that houses the starting, stopping and jogging switches for manual control of the loader and are shown 'in said loaders circuitry diagram of FIG. 9.

The second arm of the bell crank lever 173 is depicted in FIGS. 1 and 7 by numeral 176 and'is provided on the end thereof with a laterally extending stud 177. One end of a push rod 178 is pivotably mounted on stud 177 and extending therefrom the opposite end is provided with a slotted rod end member 179 which is suitably attached to the upper end of a single armed lever 180. The lower end of lever 180 is in hub form and is fixed on one end of a shaft 181 (FIG. 1). Shaft 181 traverses the distance between corner element 21 and the arch support 22. Shaft 181 is journaled for oscillating movement in aligned bearing members 1 82 and 183 (FIGS. 7 and 8) which are assembled to and adjacent the upper ends of the corner element 21 and arch support 22, respectively. A bobbin stacking'arm 184 is fixedly attached at one end to-the shaft181 and at a position approximately midway between bearing members 182 and 183. The stacking arm 184 is pivotable with shaft 181 and as shown in FIG. 7i's adapted to be pivoted into and out of a container 17 that is in bobbin loading position.

' 'When an empty container 17 is in bobbin loading position as shown in FIG. 7, the stacking arm 184 is in its lowermost position within said'container.

-As the bobbins are caused to be loaded into the container they have a tendency to collect at the lower end due to the angular position of said container on the inclined track and to first fill that area beneath the stacking arm 184. As more bobbins are loaded they pivot the stacking arm upwardly and when it has received its full compliment, said stacking arm is in the intermediate position shown in FIG. 7. This arm is effective in controlling the positioning of the bobbins as they are loaded.

When the container has received its full compliment of bobbins, the endless link chain 130 will havetraveled completely around the sprockets of the counting mechanism and as heretofore described two different solenoids are simultaneously energized by theclosing of switch 149 by the protruding roller 150.

The first of these solenoids 152 is effective upon the bobbin advancing and loading elements so as to cause a cessation thereof. The second solenoid 157 is effective through lever 164 in moving the lifting arm 166 to a position to be contacted by the lifting cam 40. The rotary motion of the lifting cam causes the lifting arm to pivot upwardly causing the bell crank lever 173 to pivot in a clockwise direction, as seen in FIG. 7, by means of the lifting rod 17 0.

This motion moves the push rod 178 in the direction of the indicating arrow 185 in FIG. 7 and pivots the single armed lever 180 in a clockwise direction or from the intermediate position shown to that position shown mak ing contact with a switch 186. 1

When the single armed lever 180 is in that position in contact with switch 186, it will have rotated shaft 181 to a position which places the stacking arm 184 in the uppermost position shown in FIG. 7.

The .closing of switch 186 completes a circuit to and energizes an indexing solenoid that is depicted in FIGS. 7 and 8 by numeral 187.

With the stackingarrn 184 raised to an elevated position, the indexing solenoid is effective upon indexing linkage, which will be .more fully described hereinafter, in releasing a full container from loading position and to permit the next empty container to move into said loading position.

Due to the diameter of the lifting cam 40, the indexing of a full container is accomplished'during two revolutions of said cam. After the first revolution the container is released and moves a short distance to a position where it is temporarily held by a part of the indexing linkage and after the second revolution it is released to move along the inclined track while the empty container following is moving into loading position.

v To prevent the stacking arm 184 from dropping too rapidly and interfering 'with the containers as an empty one moves into position to replace the one moving away from loading position, a dash pot 188 (FIGS. 1 and 7) is provided. This dash pot is in the form of an air cylinder which is attached at one end to the mounting bracket the end of the push rod 178.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 that portion of the supporting frame immediately adjacent to the inclined track includes a vertically extending wall 190. This wall extends upwardly from rail member 11 immediately adjacent to the container loading position on the inclined track.

Apair of electrically controlled switches 191 and 192 that are disposed in spaced relation are supported by the wall 190 with the contact elements 193 and 194 thereof arranged so as to be in contact with the containers on the inclined track. These switches are connected in parallel and either one or both must be closed to keep the loaders driving motor 26 from being shut off.

With a container in loading position, both switches 191 and 192 are closed. As a container leaves the loading position contact with switch 192 is lost; however the empty container following closes the latter switch before the loaded container moves on to lose contact with switch 191. When the last container is loaded and caused to be indexed for movement away from the loading position, contact is lost with both switches resulting in power to the loader being shutoff. In this event an indicating light 195 is lit to indicatea cessation of bobbin loading and this light is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 9 of the drawing.

The door 82 in the bottom of the container is provided with pins 196 on each side thereof which protrude outwardly through appropriate slots in the sides of said container. As the container moves into-loading position pins 196 are caused to move along the upper surface of cams 83 and 84 to open said door a suflicient distance to permit the loading of bobbins 78 therein. As the container leaves the loading position the pins 196 come into contact with closing cams 197 and 198 which are fixedly attached to the corner element 21 and the arch support 22, respectively, (FIGS. 1 and 3). When a loaded container moves away from loading position pins 196 are forced downwardly to close the door 82 and to prevent the loss of any bobbins on its initial movement from said position a skid plate 199 is provided. This skid plate extends between the rail members 11 and 12 adjacent to gate members and 81 and at a height which places it in close proximity with the bottom of a container. The door 82 as it closes is pushed beneath the last loaded bobbin and the container is then allowed to move along the track to a pick up position.

The indexing means for releasing a full container from bobbin loading position and for permitting the receiving of the following container int-o loading position will now be described.

There are two sets of indexing elements generally indicated in FIGS. 1 and 8 by numerals 200 and 201 which are positioned in alignment one with the other on each side of the inclined track. Each of the indexing elements includes a support bracket having integrally formed hubs at the upper and lower extremities thereof. One of these support brackets is fixedly attached to the arch support 22 and is identified by numeral 202 (FIG. 8). The other of these support brackets is depicted by numeral 203 and is fixedly attached to the corner element 21 of the supporting frame 18.

Each of the support bracket 202 and 203 supports for rot-ay movement in their upper hubs, horizontally disposed shafts 204 and 205, respectively. These shafts 204 and 205 extend beyond the ends of their respective hubs and each supports in spaced relation a pair of indexing fingers or rotatable spoked members. The members fixed on shaft 204 are identified by numerals 206 and 207 and the pair fixed on shaft 205 are depicted by numerals 208 and 209. Each spoked member has four equally spaced and radially extending spoke elements and each pair is arranged on its respective shaft so that the radially extending spokes of one are disposed intermediate the spokes of the other. The fingers or spokes of the spoked members 206 and 208 extend in like directions and the spokes or fingers of the spoked members 207 and 209 extend in the same direction.

When a container 17 is in bobbin loading position on the inclined track a pair of horizontally disposed spokes of spoked members 206 and 208 are adapted to engage a pair of outwardly extending ears 210 and 211 (FIG. 8) provided on the sides of said container.

0n the first index indication, spoked members 206 and 208 are caused to rotate 45 degrees by a mechanism to be more fully described, and the spokes of spoked members 207 and 209 are moved simultaneously to a position where a pair of spokes thereof will engage the ears 210 and 211 of the container as it moves away from loading position. On the next indication the spokes of spoked members 207 and 209 are rotated 45 degrees and out of 1 1 engagement with the ears 210 and 211; thereof, allowing the loaded container to move down the track. On the second index indication a pair of the spokes of spoked members 206 and 208 again assume a horizontal position and are in position to retain the next following container in bobbin loading position.

The lower hubs of the support brackets 202 and 203 each support for rotation a horizontally disposed shaft 212 and 213, respectively. These shafts extend outwardly beyond the ends of their respective hubs and are in vertical alignment with shafts 204 and 205. Shafts 204 and 205 are each provided with sprocket members which are depicted in FIG. 8 by numerals 214 and 215, respectively. These sprocket members are fixed on shafts 204 and 205 immediately adjacent to the spoked members 207 and 209 and are in vertical alignment with similar sprockets (one only shown in FIG. 1) that are fixed on the ends of the shafts 212 and 213. Shafts 204 and 212 and 205 and 213 are interconnected by endless link chains 216 and 217, respectively, which are in meshing relation with the sprockets carried thereon.

A second pair of sprockets are carried on shafts 212 and 213 one of which is identified in FIG. 8 by numeral 218 and the other in FIGS. 7 and 7A by numeral 219. A horizontally disposed endless link chain 220 is in meshing relation with sprockets 218 and 219 and provides the means for rotating the shafts 204 and 205 with their respective spoked members simultaneously.

That end of shaft 213 extending from the lower hub of support bracket 203 opopsite the end to which the sprocket members are attached, is provided with a pair of fixed ratchet discs 221 and 222 which are disposed in spaced relation with the teeth thereof being directed in opposite directions. As shown in FIG. 7A, a pivotable lever 223 is assembled on shaft 213 and in a position intermediate the ratchet discs 221 and 222.

A spring biased pawl 224 is mounted on the side of lever 223 as at 225 (FIG. 8) and is engageable with the teeth of the ratchet disc 221.

A second pawl 226 is pivotally mounted in an integrally formed boss 227 provided on the side of the support bracket 203 and is engageable with the teeth of the ratchet disc 222.

The lower end of a linkage bar 228 is pivotally attached to the lever 223 as at 229 (FIG. 8) and the upper end thereof is pivotably attachedto a lever element 230 which is mounted for pivotable movement to the side of the support bracket 203.

A leaf spring 231 is fixedly attached to the linkage bar 228 as at 232 and extending from its attachment point the free end thereof is engageble with the second pawl 226.

A linkage connection generally indicated in FIG. 8 by numeral 233 is pivotably attached at its upper end to the lever 223 as at 234 and the lower end thereof is attached in a similar manner to the end of a lever 235 as at 236. The opposite end of lever 235 is pivotably supported as at 237 to the lower portion of a mounting bracket 238 which is adaptedto support the indexing solenoid 187.

Intermediate the ends of lever 235 the plunger 239 of the indexing solenoid 187 is pivotable connected to said lever by means of a link 240 (FIG. 8).

The linkage connection 233 includes an upper cylindrical portion 241 and a lower plunger portion 242 which is slidable into said cylindrical portion. A coil spring 243 is seated within the cylindrical portion 241 and the lower end thereof is in contact with the upper end of the plunger portion 242. A collar 244 is fixedly assembled on the lower plunger portion 242 in spaced relation to the lower end of the cylindrical portion 241.

When switch 186 is closed by the single armed lever 180 a circuit is completed through to and energizes the indexing solenoid 187. Plunger 239 is immediately drawn inwardly and the rapid upward swing of lever 235 causes the plunger portion 242 to compress the coil spring 243 within the cylindrical portion 241. During this movement the collar 244 on the plunger portion 242 strikes the lower end of the cylindrical portion 241 pushing the same upwardly and pivoting the lever 223 in an anti-clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 8. The spring biased pawl 224 mounted on lever 223 being in contact with the teeth of the ratchet disc 221 rotates the latter a sufficient distance in an anti-clockwise direction so as to rotate the spoked members 206 and 208, by means of the sprocket and chain connections, out of contact with the ears 210 and 211 of the container 17.

The expansion of coil spring 243 continues to move lever 223 in an anti-clockwise direction which in turn pushes linkage bar 228 in an upwardly and inwardly direction simultaneously due to its connection with the lever element 230. This motion forces the leaf spring against the seocnd pawl 226 and when ratchet disc 221 has rotated the distance of one tooth, said second pawl comes into contact with a tooth on ratchet disc 222 to stop furtheir movement of ratchet disc 221 and shaft 213.

This movement has rotated the spoked ' members 206 and 208 45 degrees bringing a pair of spoked members 207 and 209 into a horizontal position to stop the loaded container 17 as it moves a short distance away from loading position.

The second rotation of the lifting cam 40- again pivots the one armed lever 180 through its interconnecting linkage and closes switch 186 which again energizes and activates the indexing solenoid 187. The indexing motion described above is again repeated and the spoked members 207 and 209 are rotated to permit the loaded container to move down the inclined track. During the latter indexing motion a pair of the spoked members 206 and 208 have again resumed a horizontal position which stops and positions the following container 17 in bobbin loading position.

After release of the loaded container from the spoked members 207 and 209, the container as it moves away from this position strikes a contact element 245 of a switch 246 (FIG. 3) which is then closed and completes a circuit to and activates the counter solenoid 117. The counter solenoid then advances the chain a single link which moves the protruding roller out of contact with the contact element 151 of the switch 149. Switch 149 now being open, the first and'second solenoid 152 and 157 are de-energized. The de-energizing of these solenoids permits coil spring 168 to pull the lifting lever 166 out of contact with the lifting cam 40. Additionally, the linkage rod 99 is permitted to move upwardly to pivot the double armed lever 100 to a position to allow the pivotable key 57 to enter the transverse slot 53 in the crank arm 45 and the loader is in normal operating condition to commence the loading of bobbins into the next container 17.

Referring to FIG. 9, the motor 26 is powered through a main disconnect 247 which is housed in the control box 24 shown in FIG. 1, through motor controller contacts 248 and is protected by main fuses 249 and motor overload relays 250.

Controlled voltage is obtained through a transformer 251 and said votlage is fused by fuses 252 and 253.

The circuitry is more or less of the conventional type and includes control elements for starting jogging and stopping the loader and are identified by numerals 254, 255 and 256, respectively.

The indicator light is operated through control relay contacts 257 and indicates power on but loader not operating.

The jog switch overrides or bypasses the switches identified by numerals 191, 192 and 258.

A control relay 259 is operated by the start, stop and jog circuit and in addition said control relay can be deenergized by switches 191, 192, 258 and the motor overloads 250.

The control relay 259 when energized; de-energizes the indicator light and energizes a motor controller 260. This motor controller then starts the motor 26 through the motor contacts 248 and energizes the solenoid circuit.

The switch 258 shown in FIG. 9 is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4 as being attached adjacent one end of the pitman 43. The pitman is of two piece construction with one portion being slidable inside of the other in the event it is subjected to abnormal pressure such as a jam or the like. In this event the switch is closed by a lug 261 fixedly positioned on the pitman and power to the loader is automatically discontinued.

In operation, a plurality of empty containers 17 can be supported by the inclined track and so disposed as to move toward bobbin loading position through the force of gravity. After a given container has received its full compliment of bobbins, it is released by the indexing arrangement and will move away from loading position to the lower end of the track where it is ready for pickup and placement upon a donning machine.

As one container leaves the loading position, the next following container moves into position for loading and this sequence repeats itself until the last container is loaded.

As the last container is released from loading position, switch 191 is opened to discontinue further advancement and loading of the bobbins and completes the circuit to the indicating light 195 and signifies to an operator that the power is still on but the loader is not operating.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a bobbin container loading apparatus having a container supporting inclined track for advancing a plu rality of containers through the force of gravity along the length thereof which comprises:

(a) a hopper element for receiving bobbins,

(-b) guide means communicating with said hopper element comprising an enclosed chute adapted for receiving said bobbins individually from said hopper and for guiding said bobbins in a generally downwardly direction to a position beneath the container adapted to receive bobbins,

(c) an oscillatable arcuated escapement latch element functioning within said guide means for individual advancement of said bobbins, said latch element being movable from a first position for receiving and supporting a bobbin to a second position for urging said bobbin through the remainder of said chute and restricting advancement of the following bobbin,

(d) further means for loading said bobbins individually into said container upwardly through the bottom thereof, and

(e) an indexing means for releasing a full container from bobbin loading position and for permitting the receiving of the following container into loading position.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said further means comprises a plunger member movable in substantially a vertical plane for pushing the bobbins advanced in said chute upwardly through an exit end thereof, and into said container.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said enclosed chute includes a pivotable bobbin sensing element adpacent the entrance thereof mechanically linked to a driving means for actuating said arcuated latch element.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said driving means includes a lifting arm interconnected with said plunger member for reciprocation of the latter in timed relation with the actuation of said arcuated latch element.

5. The structure of claim 2 wherein said enclosed chute includes a pair of opposed spring biasedgate members communicating with said exit end for preventing the return of said bobbins into said chute after placement in said container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,786,315 3/1957 Schweiter 53242 X 2,873,063 2/ 1959 Schweiter 53242 X 3,435,586 4/1969 Scherr 53242 3,005,299 10/1961 Dietiker 53148 X 3,370,395 2/ 1968 Siegenthaller.

3,250,186 5/1966 White.

3,269,083 8/1966 Marano 53236 X 3,368,766 '2/1968 Livingston 53160 X 3,398,520 8/1968 Chabot 57-53 WAYNE A. MORSE, JR., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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