US3694860A

US3694860A - Device with flexible elements for processing textile fibers

Info

Publication number: US3694860A
Application number: US51912A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jean-Frederic Herubel
Original assignee: N Schlumberger SAS
Current assignee: N Schlumberger SAS
Priority date: 1969-07-11
Filing date: 1970-07-02
Publication date: 1972-10-03
Anticipated expiration: 1989-10-03
Also published as: DE2034873C3; ES382133A1; DE2034873B2; DE2034873A1; NL158859B; FR2052077A5; GB1273317A; BE752235A; NL7010055A; CH525974A

Abstract

The flexible element for processing fibers is constituted by a tubular flexible member which is flattened in such a manner that its cross-section has a shape which is close to that of a figure eight and consequently determines two hollow lobes, one of which is the fiber-processing lobe while the other is a fastening lobe which is inserted through a longitudinal mounting slot in a supporting tube and maintained applied against the internal wall of the said tube by a locking rod placed in the bottom of the said fastening lobe, the width of the longitudinal slot of the supporting tube being smaller than the external diameter of the fastening lobe fitted with its locking rod.

Description

United States Patent Herubel Oct. 3, 1972 DEVICE WITH FLEXIBLE ELEMENTS FOR PROCESSING TEXTILE FIBERS [72] Inventor: Jean-Frederic Herubel, Guebwiller,

France [73] Assignee: N. Schlumberger & Cie, Guebwiller, Haut-Rhin, France [22] Filed: July 2, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 51,912

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July ll, 1969 France ..6923752 [52] US. Cl ..l9/236 [51] Int. Cl. ..D0lh 5/70 [58] Field of Search ..l9/236, 258, 263, 264, 265; l5/256.5l, 256.52, 256.53, 256.5, 256.56

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,407,428 10/1968 Galassi ..l5/256.5l

Primary Examiner-Dorsey Newton Att0rney-McGlew and Toren 5 7] ABSTRACT The flexible element for processing fibers is constituted by a tubular flexible member which is flattened in such a manner that its cross-section has a shape which is close to that of a figure eight and consequently determines two hollow lobes, one of which is the fiber-processing lobe while the other is a fastening lobe which is inserted through a longitudinal mounting slot in a supporting tube and maintained applied against the internal wall of the said tube by a locking rod placed in the bottom of the said fastening lobe, the width of the longitudinal slot of the supporting tube being smaller than the external diameter of the fastening lobe fitted with its locking rod.

13 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEUOBT3 m2 3.694.860

SHEET 1 [IF 2 DEVICE WITH FLEXIBLE ELEMENTS FOR PROCESSING TEXTILE FIBERS The invention relates to devices for processing textile fibers in the form of laps, rovings, slivers or yarns which are intended for use in operations preparatory to spinning and in spinning, for example in drawing operations by means of rollers, aprons or pins, rubbers, finishers, drafting for preparation and spinning.

By processing is meant any operation which is intended to modify the configuration of fibers such as straightening or laying parallel as well as a simple cleaning operation such as scraping, for example.

The invention is directed solely to devices comprising a flexible element for processing fibers which are similar to the devices described, for example, in the French patent application filed by the present Applicant on Nov. 28, l968 under No. 175,735 and entitled High Draft Drafting Device for Textile Machines and co-pending US. Pat. application No. 874,136 filed on Nov. 5, 1969 in respect of Drafting Device for Textile Machines.

The flexible elements for processing fibers as described in this patent application are each constituted by a flexible strip placed transversely with respect to the direction of displacement of the fibers, said strip being folded back on itself to form a loop, the back portion of which is intended to exert pressure on the fibers while the two side portions are secured flatwise against a rigid bar or batten by means of screws, for example.

ln point of fact, this form of structure is open to a certain number of criticisms, viz:

a. In order to attach the flexible element along the bar at a number of points, it is necessary to make use of a number of screws which call for a drilling andtapping operation at each fixing point; furthermore, a strip of sheet metal has to be added to the bar in order that the clamping pressure of the screws should be distributed over the flexible element as uniformly as possible;

b. The presence of large number of fixing screws along the bar increases the external dimensions of this latter, with the result that the bars cannot be brought as closely together as may be desirable;

c. Mounting of each flexible element by means of a large number of screws is obviously a time-consuming and costly operation;

. d. Despite the presence of a sheet metal member for distributing the pressure of the screws over the flexible element, there remain pressure differences which are liable to cause distortion or buckling of the flexible element to a greater or lesser extent, with the result that the said element works under unfavorable conditions;

e. The flexible element must also be pierced at a number of points which is a time-consuming operation and permits the use of the said element only in one position, thereby entailing the need for replacement of said element when its working points are worn.

The preparation, that is to say the cutting-out of the flexible element, is a long and laborious operation requiring high precision which further increases the cost price of the device.

The object of the invention is to provide a flexible device for processing textile fibers which is not subject to the above-mentioned disadvantages of known devices.

To this end and in accordance with the invention, the flexible element for processing fibers is constituted by a tubular flexible member which is flattened in such a manner that its crosssection has a shape which is close to that of a figure eight and consequently determines two hollow lobes, one of which is the fiber-processing lobe while the other is a fastening lobe which is inserted through a longitudinal mounting slot in a supporting tube and maintained applied against the internal wall of the said tube by a locking rod placed in the bottom of the said fastening lobe, the width of the longitudinal slot of the supporting tube being smaller than the external diameter of the fastening lobe fitted with its locking rod.

By virtue of this particular structure, the abovementioned disadvantages of known systems are eliminated and the advantages of the novel device can be summarized as follows:

a. Fastening of the flexible element to its support does not entail the need for any screw and consequently for any drilling or tapping operation. This results in considerable economy of labor by reason of the high number of flexible elements which can be incorporated in an apparatus for subjecting fibers to a processing operation such as drafting, for example. A further economy is achieved in the sheet metal dispensed with for distributing the screw-clamping pressure on the flexible element and this latter is maintained perfectly straight;

b. The fact that the flexible element support is tubular endows the said element with a high degree of rigidity in all directions;

c. Since provision is no longer made for projecting sheet metal or screws, the overall size of the device is reduced accordingly, thereby making it possible to bring the working elements much closer together and to obtain better retention as well as better control of the textile fibers which are being processed;

d. The preparation of the flexible element becomes very simple since there is no longer any need for cutting-out the element in an accurate manner and since it is merely necessary to cut tubular elements to the desired length without requiring a high standard of accuracy;

e. The tubular flexible element no longer needs to be pierced and this also constitutes an economy. Moreover the flattened section of the tubular element can be formed in different directions so that after wear of this latter in one position, the element can be rotated by successive quarter-revolutions, for example, in order to wear practically its entire periphery in a complete manner.

In accordance with a further property of the invention, each extremity of the supporting tube has two diametrically opposite longitudinal fastening slots engaged over a tongue which serves to retain the said supporting tube and is equal in width to the external diameter of the said tube while a sliding sleeve fitted over the extremity of the tube is adapted to embrace the said tongue.

This mode of assembly is both simple and rapid and consequently inexpensive. Moreover, the assembly consisting of the flexible element and of its means for attachment to the driving members can be constituted by parts of small size which can readily be formed by diestamping, for example; moreover, said parts can be easily assembled and therefore entail low capital expenditure.

A better understanding of the invention will be gained from the following description and from the accompanying drawings which show by way of nonlimitative example one form of construction of a device for processing textile fibers in accordance with the invention.

In the drawings:

1 FIG. 1 shows in perspective a flexible element for processing fibers which is mounted on its supporting tube;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view in perspective showing the means for mounting the processing unit of FIG. 1 on a driving member;

FIG. 2A is a side view, partly in section, of the end portion of the supporting tube;

FIG. 3 is a view which is similar to FIG. 2 and shows two fiber-processing units in position on their driving members;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show two alternative forms of driving members.

The flexible element 1 shown in FIG. 1 is intended to be employed for processing moving textile fibers 2 in the form of laps, rovings, slivers or yarns; said element can be employed either in operations preparatory to spinning or in spinning, for example in drawing operations by means of rollers, aprons or pins, rubbers, finishers, drafting for preparation and spinning. Said element can also serve to modify the configuration of textile fibers by straightening or laying these latter parallel, for example, as well as to clean drawing members by means ofa scraping action, for example.

The flexible processing element 1 is constituted by a tubular member formed of natural or synthetic rubber or any suitable elastomer which is flattened in such a manner that its cross-section has a shape which is similar to that of a figure eight and consequently determines two hollow lobes, namely a fiber-processing lobe 1A and a fastening lobe 1B.

The fastening lobe 1B of the flexible element 1 is inserted through a longitudinal slot 3 formed in a supporting tube 4 in which the said lobe is positionally maintained by means of a locking rod 5; this assembly forms a unit which will be designated hereinafter as a fiber-processing unit.

The width of the slot 3 of the supporting tube is smaller than the external diameter of the fastening lobe 1B of the flexible element 1 which is fitted with its internal locking rod 5 so that said flexible element can no longer pass out of its supporting tube 4 of its own accord.

In practice, the two lips of the longitudinal slot 3 of the supporting tube which are located on the narrowed portion of the flexible element I maintain the two walls of this latter substantially in contact with each other.

In order to assemble the complete fiber-processing unit, it is possible either to begin by inserting the fastening lobe 1B of the flexible element into the supporting tube 4 at one extremity of this latter and then to insert the locking rod into the said lobe or alternatively first to place the locking rod 5 within the fastening lobe 1B of the flexible element and then to insert the complete assembly into the supporting tube 4 at one extremity of this latter.

The processing unit can be conveniently supported at each end by means of the system which is shown by way of example in FIGS. 2 and 3. For this purpose, each of the two extremities of the supporting tube 4 is provided with two diametrically opposite longitudinal fastening slots. In the example illustrated, one of the said fastening slots is constituted by the corresponding extremity of the longitudinal slot 3 for the assembly of the flexible element while the other fastening slot is indicated at 7, for example, along a generator-line which is diametrically opposite to the longitudinal slot 3.

The two fastening slots 3 and 7 are capable of engaging over a retaining tongue 1 1 which, in this example, is rigidly fixed to a link 12 of a driving chain 10 which is intended to move in the direction of the arrow f2. The width of the retaining tongue is equal to the external diameter of the supporting tube 4. The said tube is secured radially to the retaining tongue 11 by means of a sliding sleeve 13 which is fitted on the tube and is capable of being slid over the tube 4 and encircling the slots 3,7 for embracing the edges of the retaining tongue l l, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3.

In this example, the sliding sleeve 13 is constituted by a simple tube segment which is split lengthwise and clamps the supporting tube radially under the action of its own elasticity, with the result that the said sleeve remains in the position in which it is set, especially in the locking position shown in FIG. 3.

In the form of construction which is illustrated, each retaining tongue 11 is provided with a centering extension 16 having a width substantially equal to the internal diameter of the supporting tube, thereby facilitating assembly inasmuch as the tube is maintained centered with respect to the retaining tongue while the sleeve 13 is displaced in sliding motion so as to be set in the locking position shown in FIG. 3.

In the form of execution which is shown in the drawings, an axial abutment member 17 which is rigidly fixed to the retaining tongue 11 serves to position the corresponding end face of the supporting tube 4 and further facilitates mounting of the assembly.

In the example illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, each driving-chain link 12 is adapted to carry two retaining

tongues

11, 11A which are each intended to support one extremity of a processing unit such as the unit illustrated in FIG. 1. It is readily understood that each chain link could be designed to support only one processing unit or on the contrary a number of processing units which is greater than two, depending on the population of flexible elements which is required by the drafting operation.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show by way of example two alterna tive forms of driving chain links which are each adapted to receive a single processing unit.

The other extremity of the supporting tube 4 is formed in a similar manner and also supported by another driving chain which is identical with the chain 10.

In order to place a processing unit 1 in position on its supporting chains, the unit is presented in such a manner as to ensure that its two extremities are located respectively opposite to two corresponding retaining tongues 11, whereupon the unit is displaced parallel to itself in the direction of the arrow f (as shown in FIG. 2) so that each retaining tongue 1 1 should pass into the extremity of the longitudinal slot 3, then into the fastening slot 7, the extension 16 of the retaining tongue being then intended to come into contact with the internal face of the tube along the generator-line on which the fastening slot 7 is located. The processing element is then in position and, in order to lock the said element on its support, it is merely necessary to slide the two sleeves 13 into the direction of the arrows fl in order to cause them to cover the edges of the retaining tongues and consequently lock the supporting tube radially on the tongues.

Disassembly of the processing elements is carried out with equal ease as a result of the reverse operations: the two sleeves 13 are first caused to slide in the direction opposite to the arrows fl and the complete-processing unit is withdrawn by displacement parallel to itself in the direction opposite to that of the arrow f.

The advantages of this arrangement have already been explained earlier and will therefore not be restated.

The fastening slots such as the slot 7 could be located in a diametrical plane other than that which contains the longitudinal slot 3 for mounting the flexible element, with the result that the said element. could advantageously be inclined with respect to the material to be processed.

As will be clearly understood, the invention is not limited to the embodiment which has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings and which has been given by way of example. Numerous modifications could be made thereto depending on the applications which are contemplated without departing from the scope of the invention.

' It thus follows, for example:

that the the assembly of the retaining tongues such as 11 could be reversed so that these latter are placed upside down and so that the axes of the processing units coincide, for example, with the axes of the chain rollers 14.

that the processing units could be mounted on stationary supports instead of being movable.

I claim: y

l. A device for operating upon fibers, comprising:

a tubular flexible member which is flattened so as to have a cross-sectional shape similar to a figure eight and form two hollow lobes one of which is a fiber-operating lobe while the other is a fastening lobe, I

a supporting tube having a longitudinal mounting slot, said fastening lobe being inserted through said longitudinal mounting slot into said supporting tube,

a locking rod placed in said fastening lobe for holding the fastening lobe inside said tube, the width of said longitudinal slot in said supporting tube being smaller than the external diameter of said fastening lobe fitted with the locking rod,

said tube having two extremities, each extremity of said supporting tube having two diametrically opposite longitudinal fastening slots,

a pair of retaining tongues substantially equal in width to the external diameter of said tube and extending into the slots for retaining said tube,

and a pair of sliding sleeves fitted over said extremities of said supporting tube and embracing said tongues.

2. A device as in claim 1, wherein said longitudinal mounting slot extends over the entire length of said supporting tube and wherein one of said longitudinal fastening slots is constituted by the corresponding end portion of said longitudinal mounting slot.

3. A device as in claim 1, wherein said sliding sleeve is constituted by a tube segment which is split lengthwise and adapted to grip said supporting tube radially and elastically.

4. A device as in claim 1, wherein each said retaining tongue has a centering extension substantially equal in width to the internal diameter of said supporting tube.

5. A device as in claim 1, wherein each said retaining tongue is provided with an axial abutment for positioning the corresponding end face of said supporting tube.

6. A device as in claim 1, further comprising a pair of driving members, said retaining tongues being respectively rigidly fixed to said driving members for displacing said supporting tube in a direction at right angles to the general direction of said tube.

7. A device as in claim 6, wherein each of said driving members forms a link of an endless chain.

8. An apparatus for operating on fibers comprising a textile fiber-modifying assembly, said assembly comprising a flexible fiber-modifying element constituted by a tubular flexible member which is flattened so as to have a cross-sectional shape similar to a figure eight and forming two hollow lobes one of which is a fibermodifying lobe and the other of which is a fastening lobe, a supporting tube having a longitudinal mounting slot, said fastening lobe of said tubular flexible member inserted through said longitudinal mounting slot into said supporting tube, and a locking rod placed in the bottom of said fastening lobe for maintaining said fastening lobe applied against the internal wall of said tube, a fastening assembly for supporting each end portion of said supporting tube, said fastening assembly comprising a support member, a rigid retaining tongue secured to said support member, said tongue having a width equal to the outer diameter of said supporting tube, each end portion of said supporting tube having two diametrically opposed fastening slots, said tongue engaged within the opposed fastening slots of one end portion of said fastening tube, a sleeve slidably fitted over said end portion of said supporting tube and embracing the edge portions of said tongue positioned within said fastening slots, and an axial abutment member on said support member for positioning one said end portion of said supporting tube.

9. A device as in claim 8, wherein said sleeve is formed by a tube segment which is split lengthwise and is arranged to grip said supporting tube radially and elastically.

10. A device, as set forth in claim 8, wherein said longitudinal mounting slot extends for the entire length of said supporting tube and said fastening slots extend in the longitudinal direction of said mounting slot and one of said fastening slots at each end forms a corresponding end portion of said longitudinal mounting slot.

11. A device as in claim 8, wherein said retaining tongue has a centering extension substantially equal in width to the internal diameter of said supporting tube and said centering extension extends inwardly into the internal diameter of said supporting tube from the portion of said retaining tongue positioned within said fastening slots.

direction at right angles to the longitudinal direction of said supporting tube.

13. A device as in claim 12, wherein each of said driving members forms a link of an endless chain.

Claims

1. A device for operating upon fibers, comprising: a tubular flexible member which is flattened so as to have a cross-sectional shape similar to a figure eight and form two hollow lobes one of which is a fiber-operating lobe while the other is a fastening lobe, a supporting tube having a longitudinal mounting slot, said fastening lobe being inserted through said longitudinal mounting slot into said supporting tube, a locking rod placed in said fastening lobe for holding the fastening lobe inside said tube, the width of said longitudinal slot in said supporting tube being smaller than the external diameter of said fastening lobe fitted with the locking rod, said tube having two extremities, each extremity of said supporting tube having two diametrically opposite longitudinal fastening slots, a pair of retaining tongues substantially equal in width to the external diameter of said tube and extending into the slots for retaining said tube, and a pair of sliding sleeves fitted over said extremities of said supporting tube and embracing said tongues.

8. An apparatus for operating on fibers comprising a textile fiber-modifying assembly, said assembly comprising a flexible fiber-modifying element constituted by a tubular flexible member which is flattened so as to have a cross-sectional shape similar to a figure eight and forming two hollow lobes one of which is a fiber-modifying lobe and the other of which is a fastening lobe, a supporting tube having a longitudinal mounting slot, said fastening lobe of said tubular flexible member inserted through said longitudinal mounting slot into said supporting tube, and a locking rod placed in the bottom of said fastening lobe for maintaining said fastening lobe applied against the internal wall of said tube, a fastening assembly for supporting each end portion of said supporting tube, said fastening assembly comprising a support member, a rigid retaining tongue secured to said support member, said tongue having a width equal to the outer diameter of said supporting tube, each end portion of said supporting tube having two diametrically opposed fastening slots, said tongue engaged within the opposed fastening slots of one end portion of said fastening tube, a sleeve slidably fitted over said end portion of said supporting tube and embracing the edge portions of said tongue positioned within said fastening slots, and an axial abutment member on said support member for positioning one said end portion of said supporting tube.

12. A device as in claim 8, wherein said support member comprises a driving member, said retaining tongue rigidly fixed to said driving member and one said driving member secured to each end of said supporting tube for displacing said supporting tube in a direction at right angles to the longitudinal direction of said supporting tube.