US3520022A - Apparatus for the drive of pumps - Google Patents

Description

July 14, 1970 K. LEHNER 3,520,022

APPARATUS FOR THE DRIVE OF PUMPS Filed Nov. 1, 1967 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1

IN VEN TOR. /ykn Lam/1 2 July 1 1970 r K. LEHNER 3,520,022

APPARATUS FOR THE DRIVE 0F PUMPS Filed Nov. 1, 1967 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

IN VEN TOR. @m A [EH/V52? July 14, 1970 K. LEHNER APPARATUS FOR THE DRIVE 0F PUMPS 6 Sheets- Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 1, 1967 FIGA July 14, 1970 K. LEHNER APPARATUS FOR THE DRIVE OF PUMPS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed Nov. 1, 1967 FIG. 5

l\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\w s INVENTOR. /fl4/?z LE/f/VER July 14, 1970 K. LEHNER APPARATUS FOR THE DRIVE OF PUMPS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 6

INVENTOR. rflmz. A EH/VER July 14, 1970 K. LEHNER APPARATUS FOR THE DRIVE 0F PUMPS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Nov. 1, 1967 IZZ/fi/OT'. 3 Marl lehner JE'MIQ W VL United States Patent "ice 3,520,022 AEPARATUS FOR THE DRIVE OF PUMPS Karl Leliner, Frankfurt, Germany, assignor t0 Vickers- Zimmer Aktiengesellschaft, Planung und Bau von Industrieanlagen, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Filed Nov. 1, 1967, Ser. No. 679,848

Int. Cl. Dtlld 5/00; F16h 37/06, 3/26 US. Cl. i88 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In the spinning apparatuses used today for the spin ning of synthetic fibers, threads, bands or the like from a polymer melt or polymer solution, frequency there are arranged on a so-called spinning beam several spinning units. The polymer melt for these spinning units is supplied from a single melter or solution tank. A pump conveys the material to be spun over conduits to the individual spinning units. At the spinning units themselves there are provided spinning pumps which have the function of supplying the spinning solution or melt to the nozzle plates in a definite and precise amount. The maintenance of this precise amount is a condition for the uniformity of the spun thread, which should be as homogeneous as possible over its entire length. Furthermore, in the production of high-quality threads, the threads spun from the various nozzle plates of a spinning beam or a group of spinning beams should have equal properties. The precondition for obtaining this result is that the amounts of polymer melt supplied to the individual spinning pumps be equal. Since differences can arise between the individual spinning pumps, especially through deviations in tolerance and different degrees of wear, in the amount of melt supplied or conveyed, devices are necessary which will balance out or compensate for these differences.

The spinning pumps most frequently used are gear wheel pumps, whose primary defect is the relatively rapid wear on the gear wheels themselves. Since the wear on the individual spinning pumps is not uniform, a compensating correction is required after a period of time. This correction is likewise necessary if one of the spinning pumps is changed and replaced by a new spinning pump. In order to be able to carry out this compensation in the conveyance amount, hitherto adjustable and infinitely variable lamella chain gears were used on the individual spinning pumps. There was, therefore, besides the infinitely adjustable main gear connected with the drive motor, for the drive and the adjustment of the spinning pump turning rate, a fine-regulating gear mounted directly on each spinning pump. Such fine-regulating gears made of lamella chain gears, however, are relatively expensive and, since as a rule it is a matter of only a very slight compensation, not fully utilized in their functioning. Moreover, they have a great space requirement, which leads to the consequence that on a spinning unit in the known form it is not possible to arrange more than two spinning pumps with the associated spinning nozzle plates next to one another. If the individual spinning unit is to be equipped with further spinning pumps, then there is only the possibility of arranging two pairs 3,520,022 Patented July 14, 1970 of spinning pumps opposite one another. Thus, a spinning unit could be provided only with a total of four spinning pumps and their drives.

Underlying the invention is the object of avoiding the above drawbacks of the drive devices hitherto known for several spinning pumps on a spinning apparatus for the Spinning of synthetic threads, bands or the like. Another object of the invention is the creation of a drive device which is simple in construction and cheap to produce and to maintain. Further objects can be gathered from a reading of the following specification and claims.

The above objects are realized, according to the invention, by providing spinning apparatus with fine-regulating gear which consists of a speed or turning rate reduction gear and at least one speed-change gear of low speed gradation engaged at the outlet side of the fineregulating gear. On each spinning pump, therefore, the hitherto usual lamella chain gearwhich, as already stated, is only slightly utilized since only slight modifications are required for the compensation of the variance in the conveyance amounts or supply rates of the individual spinning pumps in a given setting rangeis replaced by a gear combination that is very simple in its construction and can be produced at extremely low costs. In this gear combination, the gear with the speed reduction may consist of a worm drive. At outlet side of this worm drive or gear, in the simplest form of the gear in which only one spinning pump is to be driven by the gear, there is engaged any desired speed change gear with a low speed gradation. The secondary drive of this speed change gear is connected with the primary drive shaft of the spinning pump. The preferred form of the gear provides, on outlet side of the gear with great speed reduction, four adjacently situated speed change gears which have secondary-drive places for the drive of four pump shafts. Thus, after the speed reduction gear there is a branching of the force-flow to several speed chain gears, each of which is allocated to a spinning pump. In this manner, several spinning pumps may be simultaneously driven by one gear unit, each spinning pump being individually controllable within very close limits.

In accordance with the present invention, the speed change gears may be formed of change gear pairs. These change gear pairs are constructed in such a way that a changing of individual gear wheels with only slight modification in the number of teeth is sufiicient to make it possible to balance the differences in the conveyance amount of the individual spinning pumps. Since, as a rule, it is very seldom that a speed change of a spinning pump is required or carried out, the time necessary for changing the gear wheels is of negligible consequence as compared to the total course of production. The gear itself is extremely simple and cheap. Tests carried out with such a gear showed that by the changing of only one of the gear wheels of a change gear pair, a change in the conveyance or delivery rate of the spinning pumps can be achieved which is sufficient for the operation in practice. The adjustment obtained by simple wheel change can be much finer than is necessary to stay within the requisite tolerance range for the uniformity of the spinning fibers or threads. Furthermore, the change wheel gears, without difliculties, can be arranged adjacently and thereby make possible an adjacent arrangement of the spinning pumps. This has the consequence that on one spinning unit there can be mounted adjacently a plurality of spinning pumps. Thus, there is achieved a special advantage of the invention: the reciprocal spacing of the individual change gear pairs, and the spinning pumps, can be reduced to a minimum. The change gear pairs and the spinning pumps can be arranged directly adjacent to one another. A spinning beam provided with such gears can he produced in an extremely compact manner and yields, per spinning unit, a considerably higher output than the spinning beams known hereto. Moreover, all the spinning pumps can be mounted on one side of the spinning unit: thus presenting an extremely low space requirement for the spinning beams and its drive, and the possibility of placing two spinning beams with their pump-free sides facing each other with a spooling machine on the product outlet side of the spinning beams.

As another preferred feature of the invention and for the purpose of not stopping the whole spinning apparatus during the changing of the change gears, the spacing of the change gear wheel shafts which belong together is made variable in such a way that the individual wheel pairs are shiftable out of engagement during operation. According to this feature of the invention, the shafts of the driving change gears are borne on arms swingable about the shaft of the spur wheel driving the change gears. By a swinging of the arms, the change gears are brought out of engagement. For the swinging, the gears are preferably provided on their free ends with guide parts slidable in their longitudinal direction, in which there are carried turnable pins arranged eccentrically on fixed shifting shafts. On these shifting or switching shafts there may be mounted arrestable operating levers. For this purpose, the shifting shafts may be provided with switching connection pieces which have receiving devices for the operating levers and in their end positions lie preferably on stops formed of detachable screws. These stops are adjusted according to the particular change gears used. Furthermore, the switching connection pieces can be fixed in their stop (or stroke) positions by automatic bolts.

According to another form of the invention, the speed change gear may be a shifting gear with preferably three speeds. Such a shifting gear is fundamentally completely sufiicient for the desired speed gradation for the compensation of the variations in the pump delivery rate. More speed gradations are necessary only in very special cases.

In another preferred form of the invention, the threespeed shifting gear is provided with at least one slide wheel for the shifting of the gear speeds. With the desired low speed gradation, in such a construction of the shifting gear, only two parallel-running shafts are necessary: on the one shaft there is arranged a gear wheel and on the other shaft there are arranged three adjacently situated gear wheels of the same diameter but different number of teeth. With this very simple form of the shifting gear no couplings of any kind are necessary. In principle, it is a matter of no importance whether, for the shifting operation, the gear wheel or the three adjacent gear wheels are shifted or slid. In practice, however, when several spinning pumps are driven over one gear unit, it is preferred to arrange the sliding wheel or the sliding wheels on the secondary drive shaft of the shifting gear. In this manner, there is achieved the greatest independence of the individual pump drives. The delivery rate of each individual pump can be varied by itself independently of the delivery rates of the other pumps. In the case of a shifting gear with several secondary drive shafts, which represents the preferred form of the invention, the secondary drive shafts are preferably afranged in one plane.

With the aid of several examples schematically represented in the following drawings, the invention is further described and explained in detail.

FIG. 1 shows: in the left half, a front elevation of the gear; and on the right half, a rear elevation with the casing front removed;

FIG. 2 shows a section through the gear according to FIG. 1 along the gear shafts or axles;

FIG. 3 shows a section through the shifting piece of the shifting or switching shaft with operating lever;

FIG. 4 shows a cross section through a three-speed 4 shifting gear with three slide wheels on the secondary drive shaft;

FIG. 5 shows a cross section through a shifting gear with one slide wheel on the secondary drive shaft;

FIG. 6 shows a plan View of the right half of a symmetrically designed gear with casing front removed; and

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view, a combination for the manufacture of synthetic fibers or the like wherein the device of the present invention forms an integral part.

The drive of the gear represented in FIGS. 1 and 2 is accomplished over a worm shaft 1, which is carried in the upper part of the gear casing 2 over ball bearing 3. The worm 4 is located on worm shaft 1 and drives a worm wheel 5, which is secured on a shaft 6 over a spring 7. The shaft 6 of the worm wheel 5 is likewise carried over ball bearing 8. The worm wheel 5 is accessible after removal of a cover 9 of the gear casing 2. In the cover 9 there is arranged a viewing glass 10. On the shaft 6 of the worm wheel 5 there is fastened, over a spring 11, a spur wheel 12 which stands in engagement with two spur wheels 13 arranged laterally offset. On the shaft 15 of these spur wheels 13, which shaft is carried in the ball bearings 14, there are arranged further spur wheels 16, over which the change gear pairs 17, 18 and 19, 20 are driven. The change gear pairs 17, 18 and 19, 20 are arranged and designed in the present example in such a way that only the secondary drive wheels 18 and 20 are easily accessible from outside and can be easily replaced by secondary drive wheels of other tooth count. In order, therefore, to change the secondary drive speed of a speed change gear and thereby the delivery rate of the associated spinning pump slightly, it is merely necessary to change the corresponding gear wheel 18 or 20. The secondary drive shaft 21 leading to a spinning pump is connected to the gear wheel 20 and the gear wheel is designed so as to be easily changeable. If, for example, for the normal operation of the gear the gear wheels 18 and 20 of the change gear pairs are each equipped with 50 teeth, then each of these gear wheels, depending on whether an increase or a reduction of the speed of the corresponding connected spinning pumps is desired, can be replaced by a gear wheel with 49 or 51 teeth. For this purpose the interchangeable gear wheels 18 and 20 are arranged on fixedly carried axles 22, 22. For the changing, for example, of the gear wheel 20, the pump shaft 21 is uncoupled and the casing cover 23 covering the gear wheel 20 is removed. After this, the gear wheel 20 can be drawn off from its axle 22 and replaced by another. Behind the changeable gear wheel 20 there is mounted a protective ring 24, which is held by two pins 25 arranged to the side of the gear wheel 20 and follows the gear wheel 20 in the removal. This movement is made possible by the springs 26 arranged on the pins 25. After removal of the gear wheel 20, the opening that has resulted through the removal of the casing cover 23 is closed by the protective ring 24. In this position, the protective ring 24 is held by the pins 25 Whose movement is limited by clamping rings 26' arranged at their ends. The protective ring 24 prevents any unintended engagement into the opening presented upon removal of the gear wheel 20.

The gear wheels 17, 18 and 19, 20 of the change gear pairs are borne on their axles 22', 29' and 22, 29 over needle bearings. The needle bearings for axles 29 and 22 are 7 and 8, respectively. The secondary drive wheels 18 and 20 of the change gear pairs are connected with the pump shafts 21 over jaw or claw couplings with the pump shafts 21. This coupling is designed in such a way that slight structural imprecisions, for example in the alignment of the axles of the secondary drive wheels and of the spinning pumps as well as the length changes arising through the heating of the spinning pump shafts 21, can be compensated. For this purpose, each secondary drive wheel 18 or 20 is provided with a projecting ring 30 into which there is introduced a ring 31, which is secured to the pump shaft 21 and provided with roundings on its outer surfaces. Moreover, there is arranged on the pump shaft 21 an axially slidable cylindrical part 32 which is assured against twisting by a spring 33-. This part 32 is provided with jaws or claws which engage in corresponding recesses on the gear wheel ring 30. The jaws are pressed into these recesses by the coil spring 34 acting on the cylindrical part 32. As counter-bearing for the spring 34 there is a pronged annular part 35 pinned in place on the pump shaft 21. In special forms of the apparatus of the invention, it may be necessary to provide the secondary drive wheels 18 and 20 with an axially burdenable hearing.

In order to allow the changing of the gear wheels 18, 20 during operation of the spinning apparatus, the spacing of the axles 22, 22' and 29, 29' of the change gear pairs 17, 18 and 19, 20 is designed to be variable. For this purpose, the axles 29 and 29' of the driving change gear wheels 17 and 19 are carried in swingable arms 36 and 37. These arms 36 and 37 are swingable about the shaft of the driving spur wheel 16. For the swinging, the arms 36 and 37 are provided with guide parts 38 and 38, into which there are engaged turnably carried pins 39 and 39' of fixed shifting shafts 40 and 40'. By an eccentricity of the pins 39 and 39' with respect to the shifting shafts 40 and 40', in a twisting or turning of the shifting shafts 40 and 40 the guide parts 38 and 38 are moved back and forth in their slide paths 41 and 41' and the corresponding arms 36 and 37 are simultaneously swung about their pivot points. In this manner, the driving change gears 17 and 19 are moved toward the other change gears 18 and or away from them.

On the right-hand half of FIG. 1, the driving change gear wheel 19 is drawn in its operating position in which the change gears 19 and 20 mesh into one another. The slide piece 38 is then situated at the lower end of its track 41 and the pin 39 of the shifting shaft is situated with its center slightly below a horizontal plane drawn through the shifting shaft 40. The driving change gear wheel 17 is, on the other hand, drawn in a position in which the change gears 17 and 18 are out of engagement. The guide piece 38' is then in its upper position, and the pin 39 lies with its center, say, closely next to a vertical plane which is drawn through the center of the shifting shaft 40. The axles 29 and 29' of the driving change gears 17 and 19 are secured by the pins 42 to the swingable arms 36 and 37.

The shifting shaft 40 is provided with a switching connection piece 43 and has a receiving device 44 for an operating lever 45. In its operating position, i.e., with the driving change gears 17 and 19 standing in engagement with the driven change gears 18 and 20, the switching connection piece 43 points downward and lies against an adjustable stop 46. This adjustable stop 46 is made, in the example, in a simple manner by a screw which is screwed in corresponding receiving thread 47, depending on the change gear that is used, i.e., the number of teeth on the change gear wheel. Since in the present case a sufficient adaptation of the gear is given by three change gear wheels with differing number of teeth, only three stop places are present.

For the operation of the shifting shaft 40 the operating lever is introduced into the receiving device 44. The receiving device 44 for the operating lever 45 is designed in such a way that it serves simultaneously as locking device for the switching connection piece 43 and thereby of the shifting shaft 40. The shifting shaft 40, therefore, can be bolted at any of its stop positions. For this purpose, the receiving device 44, as FIG. 3 shows, is provided with an angle lever 49 swingable about the pin 48, which lever has in its arm 50 and bore 51 for the reception of the operating lever 45. Moreover, this arm 50 is equipped at its end with stop surfaces 52. On the other arm 53 of the lever 49 there is engaged a bolt 55 operated by a spring 54 which presses the lever 49 into its locking position. In a position of the switching connection piece 43, in which the change gear pair is in engagement, the receiving device 44 engages with the stop surfaces 52 of the one arm 50 behind the screw giving the stop. If the switching connection piece 43', on the other hand, is swung and the change gear pair is out of engagement, the stop surfaces 52 of the receiving device 44 are pressed into a depression 56 present on the gear casing 2, so that in this position the switching connection piece 43 is also locked.

Modifications are, of course, possible in the practical embodiment of the invention. Thus, for example, if only two spinning pumps are to be driven, a gear can be designed in which the two spur wheels, which make a connection of the Worm wheel with the driving spur wheel of the change gear pairs, are omitted and the drive of the spur wheel driving the change gear pairs can take place directly over the shaft of the worm wheel. On the other hand, it is also possible to produce an arrangement wherein further change gear pairs are connected through intermediate gears to the worm wheel or the worm wheel shaft and, for example, six adjacently situated spinning pumps can be driven over only one fine-regulating gear.

If desired, the speed change gear can also be constructed as a shifting gear. Such a gear, in which the speed change gear is a shifting gear, is represented in FIG. 4. For the sake of clarity, the gear shown is designed for the drive of only one spinning pump. The gear is connected over the worm shaft 1 to a main drive shaft, not represented in detail, which is connected with the infinitely adjustable main gear. The individual gear elements are housed in the casing 2. The worm shaft 1 is provided with the worm 4' which engages the wheel rim of the worm wheel 5'. The worm wheel 5 is secured on the shaft 6 by means of a fitting spring 7'. For the bearing of the shaft 6' there are provided ball bearings 8. Besides the worm wheel 5, there is secured on the shaft 6' a spur wheel 60 with the aid of a fitting spring 61. This spur wheel 60 is a component of the three-speed shifting gear, which also comprises the gear wheels 63, 64 and 65 slidably arranged on the shaft 62. The gear wheels 63, 64 and 65 have an equal diameter but different numbers of teeth. In the example, the gear wheel 63 is provided with 108 teeth, the gear wheel 64 with 107 teeth and the gear wheel 65 with 109 teeth. The gear wheel 60 has 75 teeth. Through the varying numbers of teeth on the gear wheels 63 to 65, there is obtained a sufiiciently fine gradation of the turning rate of the gear which is necessary for the correction of variations in the pump delivery rate. The gear wheels 63 to 65 are secured on a common hub 66 with the aid of inset fitting spring 67. The spacing of the gear wheels 63 to 65 among one another is fixed b the intermediate rings 68. The hub 66 is longitudinally slidable, but assured against twisting by the fitting spring 69, on the shaft 62. The shaft 62 is simultaneously the secondary drive shaft of the gear. It is equipped at one end with coupling elements which make possible the connection to the spinning pump shaft. The coupling is preferably constructed as a slip coupling, so that the spinning pump can be switched off when the remaining portions of the spinning apparatus are running. The secondary drive shaft 62 is supported by ball bearings 70.

The shifting of the three-speed gear is carried out in the example shown in FIG. 4 by way of a shifting rod system, which consists essentially of a thrust rod 71 and fork 72 fastened thereto. The fork 72 embraces the lower end (as shown in FIG. 4) of the middle gear wheel 64. After the desired speed gear of the shifting gear has been established by coupling one of the wheels 63 to 65 with the wheel 60, the shifting rod system is locked to the casing 2' with the aid of known devices.

In FIG. 5, there is represented another form of the three-speed shifting gear. As a modification to the shifting gear according to FIG. 4, the shifting gear according to FIG. 5 is arranged on the seondary drive shaft 62' of the gear with only one slide wheel 73. The three counterwheels 74, 75 and 76 are nonslidable and secured on the shaft 77. For this purpose there serves an inset fitting spring 78. The spacing between the gear wheels 74 to 76 is fixed by the intermediate rings 79. The shaft 77 is supported by ball bearings 80. The shifting of the gear is accomplished by a sliding of the gear wheel 73 on the secondary drive shaft 62', which is supported by the ball bearings 70'. The connection of the gear wheel 73 with the shaft 62' is accomplished over the slide spring 69. The shifting rod system again is made of a thrust rod 71 and a fork 72' fastened thereto. The fork 72' embraces the lower end of the gear wheel 73.

The drive of this gear is carried out, in the same manner as in the previously explained examples, over the worm shaft 1", the worm 4", the worm wheel 5" and the shaft 6", which is carried by the ball bearings 8". The connection of the worm wheel 5" with the shaft 6 is accomplished by means of the inset fitting spring 7". Between this worm gear and the three-speed shifting gear of the present example, there is inserted a further transmission stage. This transmission stage consists of the gear wheel 12", which is secured on the shaft 6" over the inset spring 11". This gear wheel 12 meshes with the gear wheel 74 of the shifting gear. In the present example, in which only one spinning pump is driven by the gear, this gear wheel exercises merely the function of a reduction stage. If, on the other hand, several spinning pumps are to be driven simultaneously by a gear according to the invention, then this gear wheel serves primarily for the distribution of the force flow to the subsequent speed change gears. A further subdivision of the force flow can then be made in a similar manner as in the speed change gear itself.

Another embodiment of the invention in which a subdivision of the force flow takes place and the gear is used for the drive of four spinning pumps is represented in FIG. 6. Only one half of the gear is shown in the drawing, since both halves are designed symmetrically to each other. This gear is drawn in elevation as seen from the secondary drive side, the casing front having been removed. Over the worm shaft 1", the worm 4" and the worm wheel 5" (not visible) the torque is transferred to the shaft 6". The gear wheel 12', arranged in the same manner as in FIG. 5, imparts the torque to two gear wheels 13" laterally offset and arranged symmetrically to the central plane of the gear. Each of the gear wheels 13" correspond in its function to the gear wheel 74 of the example shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, gear wheels 13" correspond to the three unslidable gear wheels, with varying numbers of teeth, of the three-speed shifting gear. From the unslidable gear wheels of the shifting gear there takes place a further distribution of the force flow to two secondary drive shafts 6 on which there are mounted the slidably arranged individual wheels 81 of the shifting gear. The slide springs are designated 82. Underneath the thrust wheels 81 there are arranged the thrust rods 71' of the shifting rod system, whose forks 72" embrace the respective gear wheels at their lower ends.

The gear according to FIG. 6 operates with the smallest possible number of gear wheels for the given number of spinning pumps to be driven. There is required only one distributor gear wheel 12", two gear wheels 13", and a slidable gear wheel 81 on each secondary drive shaft 62". Altogether for the drive of four adjacently situated spinning pumps, there are only eleven gear wheels without counting the worm drive in this example.

The drive device for spinning pumps connected to a spinning apparatus is shown schematically in FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, fine-regulation gears are used in accordance to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, and therefore four spinning pumps (not shown in FIG. 7) are driven respectively by one fine-regulation gear. In FIG. 7, a drive motor 101 is connected to an infinitely adjustable main gear 102 by clutch means 103. The infinitely adjustable main gear 102 is connected to a worm shaft by a chain drive 104. This worm shaft consists of a plurality of worm shafts 1 of fine-regulation gears shown in FIG. 1. These worm shafts 1 are connected by connecting means 105. Each fine-regulation gear is housed in a gear casing 2 and has four drive shafts 21 for driving four spinning pumps.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof. It should be understood that modifications and variations within the spirit and scope of the invention would be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The pump driving apparatus of the present invention may be advantageously used in a spinning apparatus as disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 679,699, filed Nov. 1, 1967 and entitled Apparatus For the Manufacture of Synthetic Fibers, Ser. No. 679,699.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combination for the manufacture of synthetic fibers or the like from a melt of a synthetic polymer which includes a spinning block, a plurality of spinning nozzle casings, a plurality of spinning pumps, and a device for the uniform drive of said pumps, the improvement which comprises making said uniform drive device from a drive motor, an infinitely variable main drive connected with said motor, and fine-regulation gears connected with said main drive, said fine-regulation gears each comprising a speed-reduction gear and at least one speed change gear of low speed gradation.

2. Combination of claim 1 wherein said speed-reduction gear is a worm gear.

3. Combination of claim 1 wherein said speed-reduction gear is a worm gear, and there are four speed change gears engaged with said worm gear for the drive of 4 pump shafts.

4. Combination of claim 1 wherein said speed change gear is a wheel gear.

5. Combination of claim 1 wherein said speed reduction gear comprises a worm gear and a spur wheel, and there are an even number of speed change gears divided into sets of two, said speed change gears in each of said sets are parallelly engaged with said spur wheel, and spur wheel engaged to said worm gear for driving said speed change gears.

6. Combination of claim 1 wherein said speed change gear comprises a pair of wheel gears each mounted on a shaft, said pair of wheel gears being normally in engaging position and the spacing of said shafts being variable to allow shifting of said pair of wheel gears out of engagement during the running of said spinning apparatus.

7. Combination of claim 6 wherein said speed reduction gear comprises a worm gear and a spur wheel mounted on a shaft, one of said pair of wheel gears is the driving change wheel, and the shaft for said driving change wheel being carried on swingable arms for swinging about said shaft for said spur wheel to engage and disengage said driving change wheel with said spur wheel.

. 8. Combination of claim 7 wherein said swingable arms have guides thereon, said guides being slidable and carrying turnable pins, said turnable pins being eccentrically attached to a shifting shaft whereby a turning of said shifting shaft causes said slidable guides to actuate said swingable arms.

9. Combination of claim 8 further comprising a switching connection element on said shifting shaft, a receiving means on said switching connecting element, an operating lever receivable in said receiving means for turning said shifting shaft, and adjustable stopping means for arresting said shifting shaft at predetermined positions.

10. Combination of claim 1 wherein said speed change gear is a shiftable gear having 3 speeds, said shiftable gear being provided with at least one slidable wheel for shifting the speed of said gear.

11. Combination of claim 10 wherein said shiftable gear comprises a first shaft and a second shaft, a plurality of gear Whee s carried on said. first shaft, said gear wheels having equal diameter but varying number of teeth, a slidable gear wheel carried on said second shaft for sliding into enagagement with one of said gear wheels on said first shaft.

12. A device for the uniform drive of a plurality of spinning pumps in a spinning apparatus for the manufacture of synthetic fibers or the like, which comprises:

a drive motor;

an infinitely variable main drive connected with said motor;

and fine-regulation gears connected with said main drive, each of said gears comprising a speed-reduction gear and at least one speed change gear of low speed gradation;

said speed change gear comprises a pair of Wheel gears each mounted on a shaft, said pair of wheel gears being normally in engaging position and the spacing of said shafts being variable to allow shifting of said pair of wheel gears out of engagement during the running of said spinning apparatus; said speed-reduction gear comprises a worm gear and a spur wheel mounted on a shaft, one of said pair of wheel gears is the driving change wheel and the shaft for said driving change wheel being carried on swingable arms for swinging about said shaft for said spur wheel to engage and disengage said driving change wheel with the other of said pair of Wheel gears.

13. A device according to claim 12 wherein said swingable arms have guides thereon, said guides being slidable and carrying turnable pins, said turnable pins being eccentrically attached to a shifting shaft whereby a turning of said shifting shaft causes said slidable guides to actuate said swingable arms.

14. A device according to claim 13 further comprising a. switching connection element on said shifting shaft, :1 receiving means on said switching connecting element, an operating lever receivable in said receiving means for turning said shifting shaft, and adjustable stopping means for arresting said shifting shaft at predetermined positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 986,241 3/1911 Stuhlmacher 74-354 989,733 4/1911 Townsend 74-354 X 2,237,466 4/ 1941 Zimmerman 74-325 2,291,928 8/1942 Streich et al. 74-689 2,538,625 1/1951 Moore 74-354 2,570,720 10/1951 Rumpf 74-342 2,986,951 6/1961 Carriol 74-344 X 3,133,450 5/1964 Riley et al. 74-342 3,325,863 6/1967 Nicita et al. 18-8 3,376,603 4/1968 Colombo 18-8 FOREIGN PATENTS 63,889 8/ 1949 Netherlands.

ARTHUR T. MCKEON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 74-342, 665

Images