US3665558A

US3665558A - Mounting assembly for mounting needle carriers on a comb of a combing machine

Info

Publication number: US3665558A
Application number: US8817A
Authority: US
Inventors: Josef Egerer
Original assignee: Staedtler and Uhl KG
Current assignee: Staedtler and Uhl KG
Priority date: 1969-02-08
Filing date: 1970-02-05
Publication date: 1972-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 1989-05-30
Also published as: DE1906396A1; YU33733B; DE1906396B2; YU21970A

Abstract

Needle carriers are mounted on a holder and particularly on a holder segment of a round comb of a combing machine by providing on the holder abutment surfaces, one for each carrier. Wedges or cleats clamp the bases of the carriers against these abutment surfaces so that the carriers are releasably locked in position on the holder.

Description

United States Patent E erer 1451 Ma 30 1972 MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR [56] References Cited MOUNTING NEEDLE CARRIERS ON A UNITED STATES PATENTS COMB OF A COMBING MACHINE 311,097 i/l885 Atherton ..19/97 X [72] lnventor: Josef Egerer, Schwabach, Germany [731 Assignee: Staedtler & 11111, Schwabach (Bayem), FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Germany 1,139,521 2/1957 France ..19/l15 R 22 Filed: Feb. 5 970 311,163 5/1929 Great Britain ..19/97 [21] Appl' 8,817 Primary Examiner--Dorsey Newton Attorney-Hane & Baxley [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 8, 1969 Germany ..P 19 06 396.8 [57] ABSTRACT Needle carriers are mounted on a holder and particularly on a [52] U S cl 19/234 19/97 holder segment of a round comb of a combing machine by l 5 l 1 19/10 providing on the holder abutment surfaces, one for each carriss Field of Search ..19 97,112,115, 129, 233, wedges chats clamp the bases the carriers 19/234 these abutment surfaces so that the carriers are releasably locked in position on the holder.

14 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAY 30 I972 SHEET 2 OF 2 w R i m M N R 2 z mma k r N5 7 y U. 5 0 W f 8 MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR MOUNTING NEEDLE CARRIERS ON A COMB OF A COMBING MACHINE The invention relates to a mounting assembly for releasably mounting needle carriers such as barrettes on a holder, and particularly on a holder segment of a round comb of a comb ing machine.

BACKGROUND There are known mounting assemblies of the general kind above ,referred to in which needle carriers are secured to holder segments by providing in the holders mutually parallel lengthwise extending grooves of keyways into which the carriers and more particularly the base thereof, are inserted. The carriers are secured in the grooves by screws which are screwed into a side wall of the respective groove, normal thereto. The width of the grooves corresponds approximately to the thickness of the needle carrier.

Mounting assemblies of this kind are unsatisfactory in several respects. When a defective needle carrier has to be exchanged it is necessary to remove the adjacent needle carriers also as these carriers cover the heads of the screws with which the defective carrier is secured to the holder. In other words, the defective needle carrier can be detached only after additional needle carriers are removed even though the same are in serviceable condition. Similarly, reassembly requires not only mounting of the replaced carrier but also of the additional detached carriers. As is evident, replacement of a single defective carrier in the manner as heretofore known, requires considerable time and labor and is hence correspondingly costly.

Another disadvantage of mounting assemblies as heretofore known is that when the holder is a holder segment of a round comb such holder must be detached from the combing machine before the afore-indicated repair or exchange of a defective needle carrier can be effected. A needle carrier usually carries rows of closely placed needles and the points of these needles must define a predetermined circumference when the holder is rotated in the machine. ln actual practice, it is very difficult if not impossible to mount needle carriers so that the needles thereof are exactly at the required and uniform height so that it is necessary to adjust the carriers by means of suitable jigs to positions in which the needle points conform to the required radius or circumference. Only after such adjustment the holder segment can be reinstalled in the machine. Adjustments as hereinbefore described entail additional time and labor. 7

Still another disadvantage of mounting assemblies as heretofore known, is that the space between adjacent needle carriers cannot be fully covered within the range of the protruding portions of the needles. In practice, it is not possible to secure the needle carriers accurately in mutually predetermined positions. The diameters of the needles are different in the individual carriers and the needles are generally secured in the carrier by soldering. The thickness of the solder mass holding the needles together cannot be held perfectly uniform. The result is that gaps are often present between adjacent needle carriers. These gaps constitute traps in which fibers tend to collect during combing operations. Such fiber collections interfere with the smooth operation of the machine and must be cleaned out from time to time to maintain satisfactory functioning of the machine.

THE INVENTION It is a broad object of the invention to provide a novel and improved mounting assembly for detachably mounting needle carriers on a holder such as a holder segment of a round comb of a combing machine which assembly permits accurate as sembly and disassembly of needle carriers on the holder within a minimum of time and labor.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON The aforepointed out objects, features and advantages and other objects, features and advantages which will be pointed out hereinafter and are set forth in the appended claims, are obtained by clamping each needle carrier between an abutment surface on the holder and a clamping member such as a wedge. The wedges are shaped and positioned to hold the needle carriers in pressure engagement with the abutment surfaces.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the abutment surfaces are formed on the holder by wall portions defined by contiguous steps in a wall of the holder.

Mounting of the needle carriers on the holder such as a holder segment of a round comb assures a pressure action upon the entire length of the base of the needle carriers. Such an arrangement has the important advantage that each wedge and thus the respective needle carrier can be detached and exchanged if necessary, without necessitating removal of adjacent needle carriers.

The invention further provides that the blunt ends of the needles in the carriers, when the same are mounted on the holder as described, rest upon the base of the steps. As a result, the points of the needles automatically and accurately define the required circumference with respect to the circumference of the holder segments. Hence, it is no longer necessary to detach the holder segment when a defective needle carrier must be exchanged. Another aspect of the invention is that the abutment surfaces on the holder such as the holder segment of a round comb are formed by side wall portions of equally spaced lengthwise grooves or keyways in the peripheral wall of the holder. A wedge fitted between each two needle carriers inserted into one of these grooves presses the two carriers against the side walls of the respective groove of keyway. This has the advantage that upon tightening of the wedges in position the lateral pressure now exerted by the same is transmitted via the needle carriers to the side walls of the respective groove.

The invention also provides that the wall of each groove or keyway constituting the forward wall of the holder when the same is rotated is stepped. One needle carrier inserted into a groove is then so positioned that it rests upon the shoulder formed by the step while a second needle carrier inserted into the same groove rests upon the base thereof. This has the great advantage that when the wedge or clamping member is tightened and the needle carriers are pushed into the groove or keyway so that one needle carrier rests upon the shoulder and the other on the base of the groove, the needle points are automatically located accurately on a common circumference as is the case with the first described embodiment.

The invention also provides that the wedges or other clamping members are inserted parallel to the axis of the holder such as a holder segment and are tapered in the direction of insertion.

According to still another aspect of the invention, the wedges or clamping members have elastic side walls, that is, the surfaces which exert the pressure upon the bases of the needle carriers are elastic. For this purpose elastic cushions can be provided upon the side walls or inserted into the same. The same purpose can be obtained by providing as wedges or clamping members hollow bodies with springy shanks. These shanks can be additionally provided with elastic cushions secured thereupon or inserted into the material of the shanks.

According to still another aspect of the 'invention the wedges or clamping members may be secured in position by screws which are oriented approximately parallel to the pressure surfaces of the wedges or clamping members. This has the advantage that the screws are always readily accessible. Moreover, the screws cause the base of the needle carriers to be uniformly pressed against the abutment surfaces on the holder.

The needle carriers may be additionally held in position by providing on the carriers lateral flanges upon which the wedges or clamping members rest when the carriers are mounted.

Finally, the invention provides that the aforementioned gaps between the bases of adjacent needle carriers are so covered that fibers, debris, etc. can no longer accumulate and hence, cannot cause functional difficulties. For this purpose, the top wall of each wedge or clamping member is so formed that it fully bridges the space between the bases of each two adjacent needle carriers. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying drawing several embodiments of the invention are shown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a mounting assembly according to the invention, in conjunction with a holder;

FIG. 2 is an exploded sectional view of a wedge and the mounting screw therefor;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view similar to FIG. 2 of a modification of the wedge and the mounting screw therefor;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a needle carrier;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modification of the needle carrier;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of another modification of the needle carrier;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 1, but showing a modification of the mounting assembly in conjunction with a holder;

FIG. 8 is an exploded sectional view of a further modification of the wedge and the mounting screw therefor; and

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a hollow wedge.

Referring now to the figures in detail, the structure exemplified in FIG. 1 comprises a curved holder a which may be visualized as a holder segment of a round comb of a combing machine. The outer peripheral wall of the holder on which the needle carriers are to be mounted, as will be more fully described hereinafter, is formed with a plurality of contiguous steps b defining abutment walls g and step or base walls h. The grooves formed by the steps serve to accept therein needle carriers 0. As is shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, each needle carrier comprises a base formed by cover plates e and e from which protrude a row of closely spaced pointed needles d. These cover plates are formed in situ by a suitable hardening binder such as a soldering mass.

It should be pointed out in this connection that the invention is not limited to needle carriers of the kind shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

The needle carriers c are mounted in position by the pressure action of a clamping memberfsuch as a wedge or cleat. This wedge is pressed or pushed home in the direction of the arrow x, depending upon whether the screw mounting according to FIG. 2 or 8 or according to FIG. 3 is used. Each wedge f presses with its pressure surface 1, the needle carrier 0 against the wall g of the respective step b and presses simultaneously with its opposite pressure surface 1 against the adjacent needle carrier c. This adjacent needle carrier, in turn, is pressed by the respective wedge f against the wall g of the adjacent sep As the wedge f is pulled home the needle carrier c is pushed in so that the needle end d, protruding from the bottom of the base rests upon the step or base h of the respective step b. As a result, the points of all the needles define accurately the required common circumference z radially spaced from the peripheral wall of segment a as is shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 further shows that the top wall i of each wedge f is so shaped that it fully bridges the gap between two adjacent needle carriers at the level at which the needles protrude from their bases.

As is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the needle carriers may be further held by providing on one or both cover plates e e a lateral flange k and 1 respectively, which may be a lateral flange integral with the respective cover plate. The wedges f will rest upon these flanges when mounted.

Flanges k and I include holes k and I respectively, through which mounting screws m and n as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 8 are threaded into threaded bores 0 or a, formed in the wedges. Threaded liners formed of a hard material may be provided in the screw holes of the wedges.

The holder segment a according to FIG. 7 has in its outer circumferential wall a plurality of uniform and circumferential grooves or keyways b, into which are inserted needle carriers c with cover plates 2, and e as shown, for instance, in FIG. 4.

Assuming that the segment of FIG. 7 is rotated in counterclockwise direction, the then forward wall g is formed with a shoulder p upon which one needle carrier c rests when mounted. A second carrier 0 is inserted into the same groove so that it rests upon the bottom h, of the respective groove.

The two needle carriers are locked in the respective groove by the preferably downwardly tapered wedges f which are fitted into the grooves between each two needle carriers. The wedges are pressed or pushed home in the direction indicated by arrow 2:, depending upon whether screws according to FIG. 2 or 8 or according to FIG. 3 are used.

The needle carriers are again inserted into the grooves b so that the protruding needle end d of one carrier rests on shoulder p and the protruding needle end of the second carrier rests on base h of the groove. Such location of the needle carriers automatically assures that the points of all needles are located on the common circumference z indicated in FIG. 7 by a dashed-dotted line.

The clamping pressure exerted by the wedges f when the same are pressed home is transmitted in the direction of arrow y upon the wall g and in the direction of arrow w upon wall g of the respective groove b,.

As is shown in FIG. 8 the pressure exerting walls of wedges f can be made elastically deformable. For this purpose, springy cushions r and r may be inserted into the pressure walls or adhered into the surfaces thereof. The provision of such elastic cushions has the advantage that the frictional grip between the wedges and the needle carriers is increased. Moreover, manufacturing tolerances can be easily compensated for by the cushions.

Elastic deformation of the wedges can also be obtained by the structure according to FIG. 9. This figure shows a generally U-shaped wedge having springy shanks 14 and 14,, the outside surfaces of which constitute the pressure exerting surfaces t and t While the invention has been described in detail with respect to certain now preferred examples and embodiments of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A mounting assembly for mounting needle carriers on a holder, said mounting assembly comprising:

a plurality of needle carriers each including a base having secured therein an end portion of at least one needle;

a holder for said carriers, said holder including in one of its walls a plurality of spaced apart, mutually parallel grooves, the base of each of said carriers being inserted into said grooves with the other end of the needles protruding from said holder wall and with one side wall of the base of each carrier abutting against a side wall of the respective groove; and

wedge means inserted into said grooves, each of said wedge means having side wall portions abutting with pressure against an opposite side wall of the respective carrier base so as to press said base against said side wall of the respective groove thereby locking the needle carriers in position in said grooves.

2. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said holder is an elongate curved comb segment, said grooves being formed in the outer peripheral wall of said segment crosswise of the length thereof.

3. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said grooves are in the form of contiguous steps in said holder wall, the base of each needle carrier being pressed with its said one side wall against a wall portion joining two adjacent steps.

4. The mounting assembly according to claim 4 wherein said one end portion of the needles on each needle carrier rests upon one of said steps.

5. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein each of said grooves defines two side walls facing each other and has inserted thereinto the bases of two needle carriers, said one side wall of each of said bases abutting against one of the facing side walls of the respective groove, and wherein a wedge means is pressure fitted between said two carrier bases thereby locking the carriers within the grooves.

6. The mounting assembly according to claim 6 wherein said grooves are equally spaced and extend crosswise of the length of the holder.

7. The mounting assembly according to claim 6 wherein one of said facing side walls of each groove includes a shoulder, the base of one of said two carriers resting upon said shoulder and the base of the other of said two carriers resting upon the base of the respective groove.

8. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said wedge means are downwardly tapered.

9. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said wedge means has two opposite side walls, each of said side walls being elastically deformable 10. The mounting assembly according to claim 10 wherein said wedge means is a generally U-shaped member having springy shanks, said shanks defining said side walls.

1]. The mounting assembly according to claim 10 wherein each of said two side walls has attached thereto an elastic cushion.

12. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 and comprising mounting screws thrcadable into threaded bores in said wedge means extending therein substantially parallel of side wall portions of the wedge means.

13. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein the base of each needle carrier is extended by a lateral flange, said wedge means in the inserted position thereof resting upon said flanges.

14. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein the top wall of each wedge means covers the gap between each two adjacent needle carrier bases.

Claims

1. A mounting assembly for mounting needlE carriers on a holder, said mounting assembly comprising: a plurality of needle carriers each including a base having secured therein an end portion of at least one needle; a holder for said carriers, said holder including in one of its walls a plurality of spaced apart, mutually parallel grooves, the base of each of said carriers being inserted into said grooves with the other end of the needles protruding from said holder wall and with one side wall of the base of each carrier abutting against a side wall of the respective groove; and wedge means inserted into said grooves, each of said wedge means having side wall portions abutting with pressure against an opposite side wall of the respective carrier base so as to press said base against said side wall of the respective groove thereby locking the needle carriers in position in said grooves.

9. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said wedge means has two opposite side walls, each of said side walls being elastically deformable.

10. The mounting assembly according to claim 10 wherein said wedge means is a generally U-shaped member having springy shanks, said shanks defining said side walls.

11. The mounting assembly according to claim 10 wherein each of said two side walls has attached thereto an elastic cushion.

12. The mounting assembly according to claim 2 and comprising mounting screws threadable into threaded bores in said wedge means extending therein substantially parallel of side wall portions of the wedge means.