US3760577A

US3760577A - Method and apparatus for cleaning spinning chamber in ringless spinning machine

Info

Publication number: US3760577A
Application number: US00186728A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Kihara; T Urifu; O Yuasa; S Ejiri
Original assignee: Daiwa Boseki KK
Current assignee: Daiwa Boseki KK
Priority date: 1970-10-08
Filing date: 1971-10-05
Publication date: 1973-09-25
Anticipated expiration: 1990-09-25
Also published as: DE2150331A1; CH545863A; DE2150331B2; FR2110300B1; GB1327328A; DE2150331C3; FR2110300A1

Abstract

A system for cleaning a spinning chamber of a ringless spinning machine having spinning units each provided with a body, a feed roller, a combing roller and a rotary spinning chamber and adapted to control the feed roller by the actuation of a yarn breakage sensing feeler. The body which holds the spinning chamber of the spinning unit is tilted to stop the rotation of the spinning chamber when a yarn breakage occurs. A suction is first applied to the spinning chamber to discharge the fibers remaining therein. Then compressed air is charged into the spinning chamber to loosen the residual material adhering to the inner wall surface of the spinning chamber, this loosened material being then discharged by the suction.

Description

United States Patent [191 Kihara et al.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING SPINNING CHAMBER IN RINGLESS SPINNING MACHINE Inventors: Hidetoshi Kihara; Tohoru Urifu;

Osamu Yuasa; Satoki Ejiri, all of Fukui, Japan Assignees: Daiwa Boseki Kabushiki Kaisha,

Higashi-ku, Osaka; Kabushiki Igaisha Toyoda lidoshokki Seisakusho, Kariya, both of J apan Filed: Oct. 5 1971 Appl. No.: 186,728

Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 8, 1970 Japan 45/88429 Mar. 22, 1971 Japan 46/16411 US. Cl 57/56, 57/345, 57/58.89 Int. Cl DOlh 11/00 Field of Search.... 57/345, 56, 57,

References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 8/1970 Landwchrkamp et al. 57/56 3,597,911 8/1971 Schiltknecht 57/5889 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,084,664 9/1967 Great Britain 57/5891 Primary ExaminerJohn Petrakes Assistant Examiner-Charles Gorenstein Att0meyE. F. Wenderoth [5 7] ABSTRACT A system for cleaning a spinning chamber of a ringless spinning machine having spinning units each provided with a body, a feed roller, a combing roller anda rotary spinning chamber and adapted to control the feed roller by the actuation of a yarn breakage sensing feeler. The body which holds the spinning chamber of the spinning unit is tilted to stop the rotation of the spinning chamber when a yarn breakage occurs. A suction is first applied to the spinning chamber to discharge the fibers remaining therein. Then compressed air is charged into the spinning chamber to loosen the residual material adhering to the inner wall surface of the spinning chamber, this loosened material being then discharged by the suction.

2 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENTEU SEP25 I973 SHEET 1 0F 8 HIDETOSHI KIHARA, TOHORU URIFU, Inventor s OSAMU YUASA and SATOKI EJIRI sywwwm, @flk/W Attorne PATENIEU 3.760.577

SHEET 2 0F 8 HIDETOSHI KIHARA, TOHORU URIFU, OSAMU YUASA and SATOKI EJIRI,

Inventqrs M we,

Allorneys PATENTEDSEPZSIBB SHEET 3 BF 8 HIDE'IOSHI KIHARA, TOHORU URIFU,

OSAMU YUASA and SATOKI EJIRI,

Inventor A tlorney 5 PATENTEDSEP25|su SHEET t 0F 8 HIDETOSHI KIHARA, TOHORU URIFU, OSAMU YUASA and SATOKI EJIRI,

Inventor ym, $1M A y PATENTED 3,760,577

SHEET 5 OF 8 38 s 40 Y. I 54 Li i 2 24 is I 44 HIDETOSHI KIHARA, l w TOHORU URIFU 5 OSAMU YUASA, and

SATOKI EJIRI Inventors PATENTEB SEP25 I973 SHEET 6 0F 8 HIDETO'SHI KIHARA,

' TOHORU URIFU,

OSAMU YUASA and SATOKI li-JIRI,

nventor PATENTED 2 5 3,760,577

SHEET 7 [IF 8 HIDETOSH IHARA, TOHORU U u, OSAMU YUASA, and SATOKI EJIRI,

Inventor By whim/W1 (Z41! Attorney 5 PATENTED 3.760.577

SHEET 8 [IF 8 HIDETOSHI KIHARA, TOHORU URIFU OSAMU YUASA and SATOKI EJIRI,

Inventors ydmlmtk, $541+ Attorneys BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cleaning spinning chambers whereby, in a ringless spinning machine comprising a number of spinning units arranged side by side and each provided with a rotary spinning chamber, upon yarn breakage occurring in a spinning unit during spinning, the material such as fibers and impurities remaining in the spinning chamber can be quickly and reliably removed therefrom.

In this type of known ringless spinning machine, a fibrous material is combed as it is passed over a feed roller and a combing roller. The combed fibers along with air are then conveyed through a feed channel into a rotary spinning chamber wherein'they are gathered together and then progressively drawn out to form a spun yarn.

In such ringless spinning machine, with the lapse of the running time during spinning operation, short fibers, dust and other impurities adhere to and accumulate on a part of the inner wall surface of each spinning chamber. Such adhered and accumulated impurities deteriorate the function of the spinning chamber and eventually cause a yarn breakage. Further, when fibers directed toward the spinning chamber are discharged to the rear surface of a circular plate-like separator positioned between the feed channel and the spinning chamber, there is a phenomenon in which some of the fibers stay at a part of the rear surface of said separator. This phenomenon also is a cause of yarn breakage. In this type of ringless spinning machine, when a yarn break occurs due to such cause, the feed roll is stopped to interrupt the feeding of the fibrous material, but the fibers that have already been fed into the spinningchamber remain in the spinning chamber along with the broken yarn end without being drawn-out therefrom. Therefore, it is indispensably necessary to remove the material remaining in the spinning chamber (i.e., the fibers and the impurities adhering to the inner wall) whenever there is a yarn breakage. In the current practice, this operation is carried out by a worker using a hand brush. However, this removal operation takes much time and, moreover, it is difficult to completely remove the remaining material. As a result, it often occurs that without completely removing the material remaining in the spinning chamber, the yarn break is mended and spinning is re-started. Consequently, there is the drawback of a second yarn break occurring within a short period of time or a yarn of inferior quality being spun.

Recently, as a method of cleaning spinning chambers after yarn breakage. there have been attempts to impart a sucking action to the interior ofa spinning chamber to impart both sucking and blowing actions to a spinning chamber at the same time for cleaning. In the former method the remaining fibers can be removed but the impurities adhering to the inner wall surface of the spinning chamber cannot be removed, while in the latter method a whirling current is created in the spinning chamber and the force of scattering the impurities developed by compressed air blown off becomes weak, and there is the phenomenon of the fibers to be discharged clogging the suction tube under the influence of the whirling current.

OBJECT AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to remove and overcome said drawbacks inherent in the known ringless spinning machine described above and provide a method and apparatus for cleaning spinning chambers whereby when a yarn break occurs, the material remaining in the spinning chamber can be reliably and quickly removed therefrom without requiring any high technique. The present invention, in connection with a ringless spinning machine comprising spinning units each provided with a feed roller, a combing roller and a rotary spinning chamber and adapted to have the feed roller controlled by means of a yarn breakage sensing feeler, is characterized by tilting a body holding the spinning chamber of a spinning unit to stop the rotation of the spinning chamber upon yarn breakage, initially applying a sucking action to said spinning chamber to dischargethe fibers remaining in the spinning chamber, and then blowing compressed air into said spinning chamber to separate the residual material adhering to theinner wall surface of the spinning chamber whereby said remaining material are discharged by said sucking action.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a spinning unit in spinning operation; 1

FIGS. 2 4 show valve means in spinning operation, wherein FIG. 2 is a plan view, FIG. 3 is a sectional view along the line A A of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 is a sectional view along the line B B of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is-a partial sectional side view of the spinning unit showing the principal portion thereof;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the valve means in the FIG. 5 state;

FIG. 7 is a side view in partial sectional showing the body of the spinning unit in a tilted state;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the valve means in the FIG. 7 state;

FIG. 9 is a side view in partial section showing the body of the spinning unit further tilted from the FIG. 8 state;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the valve means in FIG. 9 state;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are side views in section showing a manner in which valve means different from the one used the above-mentioned embodiment is used;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view ofa part of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a plan view along the line A A of FIG. 13; and

FIG. 15 is an enlarged perspective view of a separator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION To begin with, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 10 will be described.

The body 1 of a spinning unit has built therein a feed roller 2, a combing roller 3, a yarn breakage sensing feeler 4, and a solenoid clutch 5 for controlling the feed roller by an actuation of said feeler 4, and there is disposed a rotor cap 7 opposed to the opening side of a rotary spinning chamber 6. The spinning chamber 6 is held for rotation within a casing 8 that is pivotally mounted to the spinning unit body 1 by a pin 9 and connected to said body 1 by a hook 10. A sliver S fed to the spinning unit, as already known, is delivered to the combing roller 3 by the rotation of the feed roller 2, combed by the combing roller, separated from the peripheral surface of the combing roller 3 by means of air currents, conveyed via a feed channel 11 to the rotary spinning chamber 6 where the separated fibers are gathered together and then continuously withdrawn through a yarn drawing tube 12 by a pair of drawing rollers 13 to form a spun yarn Y. Disposed between the outlet from the yarn drawing tube 12 and the drawing rollers 13 is the yarn breakage sensing feeler 4, which, when a yarn break occurs in a spinning chamber 6, actuates a lead switch (not shown) to actuate the solenoid clutch 5 to disengage the clutch portion 5', thereby stopping the rotation of the feed roller 2 to interrupt the feeding of the sliver S.

In the present invention, such spinning unit 1 houses a suction tube 15 and a blow tube 16, said tubes having one of the respective ends extending through the rotor cap 7 and opening to the spinning chamber 6 and the other ends connected to valve means 14, and the spinning unit body 1 is arranged to be tiltable around the axis of a pivot 17 in the lower region thereof through a predetermined angle of inclination. The valve means 14, as shown in FIGS. 2 4, is formed of a box 18 having a hollow cylindrical portion and a cylindrical body 19 located therein, the upper surface of the box 18 being provided with

openings

20 and 21 for connection to said suction and blow

tubes

15 and 16, respectively, and the lower surface of the box being provided with an opening 23 for connection to a tube 22 connected to a suction source (not shown) and an opening 25 for connection to a tube 24 connected to a compressed air source (not shown). The cylindrical body 19 is provided with suction and blow

passageways

26 and 27 out of phase with each other for establishing communication between said

openings

20 and 23 and between said

openings

21 and 25, respectively. Further, said cylindrical body 19 is provided with a shaft 28 to which an arm 29 having a pin 30 at the front end thereof is secured and said pin 30 is fitted in a slot 32 in a stationary guide plate 31 so that when the spinning unit body 1 is tilted along with the valve means 14, the pin 30 of said arm 29 is controlled by the guide plate 31, whereby the cylindrical body 19 is rotated within the box 18 to displace the

passageways

26 and 27. Disposed above the rotor casing 8 is a resilient brake 34 secured to the frame 33 of the spinning machine. Said brake 34 is rotatable around the axis of a pivot 35 and resiliently loaded by a coiled spring 36 which gives a reaction substantially balancing with a moment resulting from the weight of the spinning unit body 1 upon tilting thereof. Thus, when the spinning unit body 1 is tilted, the pulley 37 of the rotary spinning chamber 6 is moved out of contact with a driving belt 38 into abutment against the shoe 34 of said brake 34 so that the rotation of the spinning chamber 6 and the tilting of the spinning unit body 1 are stopped. In this state, however, since reaction of the coiled spring 36 balances with or overcomes the rotational moment resulting from the weight of the spinning unit body 1, the spinning unit body 1 is maintained in a supported state by the reaction of said spring 36. This means that the spinning unit body 1 is ready for being further tilted through a predetermined angle of inclination if it is manually urged against the action of the spring 36.

While the spinning unit 1 is tilted due to its own weight as described above, the arm 29 is actuated to rotate the cylindrical body 19 so that, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper and

lower openings

20 and 23 are caused to communicate with each other through the suction passageway 26. As a result, a sucking action developed by the tube 22 connected to the suction source acts on the suction tube 15 opening to the rotor cap 7. In this state, the blow passageway 27 has not yet reached the corresponding

openings

21 and 25 and remains closed. However, in a maximum inclined position of the spinning unit body 1 (FIG. 9) assumed as the latter is further tilted against the action of the spring 36 of the brake 34, the valve means 14 has been displaced as a result of said tilting movement into a position where the blow passageway 27 establishes communication between the

openings

21 and 25, as shown in FIG. 10, whereby compressed air from the tube 24 connected to the compressed air source is fed to the blow tube 16. Simultaneously therewith, the suction passageway 26 also is displaced, but it is so arranged that it continues to maintain communication between the openings 20 and 23 (see FIG. 3). That is, the relative position of the two

passageways

26 and 27 or their diameters are designed with due considration given to the range of rotation of the cylindrical body 19 attendant on the tilting of the spinning unit body 1.

The function of the embodiment of the invention described so far will now be described.

When a yarn breakage occurs in the spinning state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the yarn breakage sensing feeler 4 is first tilted whereby a lead switch (not shown) is closed to energize the electric circuit to actuate the solenoid clutch 5 of the feed roller 2 through a relay for stopping the feed roller 2 and to energize a yarn breakage indicating lamp 39. At the lighting on the indicator lamp 39, the worker walks to the front of the spinning unit in question where the yarn break has occurred, and he carries out the mending of the broken yarn. Prior to effecting the mending of the broken yarn, he pushes a push-button for disengaging a locking member (not shown) which locks the spinning unit body 1 in its spinning position. As a result, the engagement between the spinning unit body 1 and the machine frame 33 is released so that said body 1 is tilted under its own weight around the axis of the pivot 17 until the pulley 37 of the spinning chamber 6 abuts against the brake 34 to assume the FIG. 7 state where the spinning unit body 1 is stopped. It is to be noted that said tilting is attended with the pulley 37 of the spinning chamber 6 moving out of contact with the driving belt 38 into pressure contact with the brake shoe 34' whereby the rotation of the spinning chamber 6 is stopped. Further, said tilting of the spinning unit body 1 actuates the arm 29 to rotate and displace the cylindrical body 19 of the valve means 14 so as to align the suction passageway 26 with the upper and

lower openings

20 and 23 in the box 18 to establish communication between the two

openings

20 and 23, as shown in FIG. 8, so that the suction force from the suction source (not shown) is admitted into the suction tube 15 to apply suction to the spinning chamber 6 through the open end of said suction tube 15. By the sucking action of the suction tube 15, the residual 'fibers released from centrifugal force by the stoppage of the spinning chamber 6' and also the fibers adhering to the rear surface of the separator are first sucked and discharged toward the suction source.

Subsequently, as the worker further tilts the spinning unit body I manually against the rotation of the spring 36 until it assumes the state shown in FIG. 9, the blow passageway 27 becomes aligned with the upper and

lower openings

21 and 25 to establish communication therebetw'e'en, as shown in FIG. 10, so that the compressed air from the compressed air source is fed into the blow tube 16, through which compressed air is blown against the inner wall surface of the spinning chamber 6. As is apparent from FIG. 10, the suctionpassageway 26 to which suction was previously applied still maintains communication between the two openings and 23 even during said feeding of compressed air. Therefore, when the compressed air is blown into the spinning chamber 6, the residual material on the inner wall surface of the spinning chamber which the previous sucking action failed to remove is removed by the blowingof the compressed air and sucked bythe sucking force of the suction tube 15 and discharged toward the suction source. Thereafter, the spinning unit body 1 is returned to its original position and locked to the frame 33. Thus the cleaning of the spinning chamber 6 is completed. Further, if necessary, in order that inspection of the interior of the spinning chamber 6 and removal of a separator 40 may be easilycarried out, due consideration is given so as to make it possible to open the spinning chamber simply by releasing the hook 10. This results in the clockwise rotation of the rotor casing 8 under its own weight around the axis of the pin 9 through a predetermined angle of inclination.

In the embodiment described so far, a manner has been shown in which the two-step tilting of the spinning unit body 1 applies first a sucking action and then a blowing action to the spinning chamber 6, but the present invention is not limited thereto, it being only necessary for the invention to have a construction such that after the tilting of the spinning unit body 1 to stop the rotation of the'spinning'chamber 6 subsequent to yarn breakage, it is possible to impart first sucking action to the spinning chamber 6 and then a blowing action thereto during continuation of said sucking action. For example, the valve means 14 may be divided into two parts, a suction valve and blow valve, so that the suction valve is first opened automatically in connection with the first stage tilting of the spinning unit body under its own weight, as described above, to impart a sucking action to the spinning chamber 6 and the blow valve is then manually opened to blow compressed air into the spinning chamber 6 without imparting a second stage tilting movement to the spinning unit body 1. In this case, the brake may be of the fixed type and it is not necessary to support it by the spring 36 to make it movable.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that in a ringless spinning machine comprising spinning units each having a feed roller 2, a combing roller 3 and a spinning chamber 6 and adapted to control the feed roller 2 by the actuation of a yarn breakage sensing feeler 4, the present invention provides a method of cleaning the spinning chambers comprising, upon yarn breakage, tilting a spinning unit body 1, which supports its associated spinning chamber 6, to stop the rotation of the latter, applying first a sucking action to the interior of the spinning chamber 6 to discharge the residual fibers and then blowing compressed air into said spinning chamber 6 to remove the residual material adhering to the inner wall surface of the spinning chamber 6. As a result of this arrangement, the material remaining in the spinning chamber upon yarn breakage can be reliably and quickly removed.

It will also be seen that the present invention provides an apparatus for carrying out said method, comprising means for tilting a spinning unit body 1 supporting its associated spinning chamber 6, a brake 34 disposed above a spinning machine frame 33 and resiliently supported by a spring 36, said spinning unit body 1 housing a suction tube 15 and a blow tube 16, one of the respective ends of said tubes opening to the spinning chamber 6, and valve means at the other ends of said tubes whereby when the spinning unit body 1 is tilted to bring the pulley 37 of the spinning chamber 6 into abutment against said brake 34, communication is established between a suction source and said suction tube 15 and when the spinning unit body 1 is further tilted against the action of said spring 36 of the brake 34, communication is established between a blow source and a blow tube 16. Thus, in the case where a yarn breakage occurs and is to be mended, releasing of engagement between the machine frame 33 and the spinning unit body 1 results in the tilting of the spinning unit body I under its own weight, which, in turn, results in bringing the pulley 37 of the spinning chamber 6 into abutment against the brake 34 whereby the rotation of the spinning chamber 6 is stopped, and at the same time the tilting of the spinning unit body 1 under its own weight is controlled by said brake, said tilting causing the valve means 14 to apply a sucking action to the interior of the spinning chamber. When the spinning unit body 1 is further tilted against the action of the spring 36, compressed air is blown from the blow tube 16 into the spinning chamber wherein the residual material in the spinning chamber 6 which the previous suction force failed to remove is scattered and then discharged through the suction tube 15 which is still in operation. It should be understood that such cleaning of the spinning chamber 6 is accomplished by the operation of the spinning unit body 1. Thus anyone can easily carry out the cleaning of the spinning chamber 6 without requiring skill.

Next, another embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 15 will now be described.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 15, the blow groove 41 of the blow tube 16in the preceding embodiment is arranged substantially in the direction of and along with the feed channel 11 and a small amount of air is constantly blown from said blow groove 41 during the spinning operation to control the direction of flow of fibers fed in from the feed channel 11. When a yarn breakage occurs and the spinning unit body 1 is tilted, a sucking action is first applied to a suction tube 15 and then the amount of air fed by the blow tube 16 is increased to carry out thevcleaning of the spinning chamber 6 in the manner described in connection withthe preceding embodiment.

More particularly, there "is provided a suction tube 15 in the spinning unit body 1, the front end of which opens to the spinning chamber and the terminal end of which communicates with a suction source 44 through a switching valve 43, and there is also provided a blow tube 16 in the spinning unit body 1 having an outlet end groove 41 arranged substantially in the direction of and along with the feed channel 1 l and opening to the rear of the outlet from the feed channel and an inlet end which communicates with a compressed air source 46 through a two-stage flow control changeover valve 45. The reference numeral 47 designates a brake member associated with the pulley 37 of the spinning chamber 6, the arrangement being such that when the spinning unit body 1 is tilted, the pulley 37 of the spinning chamber 6 which is displaced therewith abuts against said brake member 47 to stop the rotation of the spinning chamber 6. The numeral 48 designates a locking member for locking the spinning unit body 1 and the frame 33 together. Said locking member has a hook portion 49 urged toward the frame 33 by a spring 50, and a stem 48 opposed to an electromagnet 52 adapted to be energized by an actuation of a yarn breakage sensing feeler 4. The numeral 53 designates a solenoid for restoring the tilted spinning unit body 1 to its normal position, said solenoid being adapted to be energized by an action of a timer (not shown) only at the time of returning of said body 1 upon lapse of a predetermined period of time after said body 1 is tilted.

if a yarn breakge occurs in the spinning chamber 6 of a spinning unit, the yarn breakage sensing feeler 4 first senses it whereby a lead switch (not shown) is closed to energize an electrical control circuit (not shown) to actuate the solenoid clutch 5 through a relay to stop the feed roller 2. At the same time, the electromagnet 52 is energized to attract the stem 51 of the locking member 48 against the action of the spring 50, thereby releasing the hook 49. Thereby, the spinning unit body 1 is outwardly tilted under its own weight around the axis of a pivot 17 through predetermined angle of inclination until it is stopped by the action of a latch 54. This tilting displaces the spinning chamber 6 so that the pulley 37 of said spinning chamber 6 is moved out of contact with a driving belt 38 into abutment against the brake member 47 whereby it is stopped. Thereafter, in accordance with a signal from the electrical control circuit (not shown) the switching valve 43 is opened to impart a sucking action to the suction tube to suck and remove the fibers remaining in the spinning chamber 6 through the front end opening 42. Subsequently, the flow control changeover valve 45 is changed over to an intense flow so that a larger amount of compressed air is blown into the spinning chamber 6 to scatter the remaining material adhering to the inner wall surface of the spinning chamber 6, said material being then removed through the suction tube 15.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the switching valve 43 for the suction tube 15 remains closed during the spinning operation shown in FIG. 11. And a small amount of compressed air is blown from behind the outlet 11' from the feed channel 11 in the direction of feed of the fibers (see FIG. 13). This flow of air is effective to quickly move all of the fibers, delivered from the outlet 1 1 of the feed channel, toward the wall surface of the spinning chamber 6, and to make up for a decrease in the rate of flow of fibers in a space behind the separator 40 and thus prevent the stagnation phenomenon of fibers, thereby ensuring favorable conditions for spinning.

When a yarn breakage occurs, as described above and shown in FIG. 12, the tilting of the spinning unit body 1 causes the switching valve 43 to open to pass a sucking action to the spinning chamber 6 at rest to remove the fibers remaining therein. Subsequently, the flow control changeover valve 45 is changed over from weak to intense flow so that the amount of air being fed from the compressed air source is increased to pass an intense flow of compressed air to the spinning chamber 6 to scatter the impurities adhered to the inner wall surface of the spinning chamber, which are then discharged through the suction tube 15. Thereafter, in accordance with a signal from the electrical control circuit, the solenoid 53 is actuated to' bring the spinning unit body 1 back to the original position and at the same time the electromagnet 52 is deenergized to permit the hook 49 to lock said body 1 to the frame 33 and the switching valve 43 is closed while the changeover valve 45 is turned to weak flow. In this way the cleaning of the spinning chamber 6 is automatically completed.

As has been described so far, according to the present invention, when a yarn break occurs in a spinning unit, the body 1 is tilted to stop the spinning chamber, whereupon sucking action is first applied to the spinning chamber at rest to remove the residual fibers and then compressed air is blown thereinto to scatter the impurities adhering to the inner wall surface of the spinning chamber 6, which are then sucked and discharged. As a result of this arrangement, the cleaning efiect is high as compared with the case of cleaning solely by a sucking action or by applying a sucking and a blowing action at the same time.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for cleaning a rotary spinning chamber ofa spinning unit of a ringless spinning machine, said spinning unit comprising a body, a feed roller and a combing roller operatively arranged in said body, a rotary spinning chamber, and a pulley operatively connected to said rotary spinning chamber for rotatively driving the same, said apparatus comprising:

a casing mounted on said body and rotatably supporting said spinning chamber therein; a stationary frame;

a spring-biased brake member mounted on said stationary machine frame for selective engagement with said driving pulley to brake said spinning chamber, said body being pivotably connected to said stationary machine frame at the bottom portion of said body, so that said body is tiltable between a first non-tilted position wherein the yarn is spun, a second tilted position wherein said driving pulley is brought into abutment with said brake member, and a third tilted position wherein said body has been further tilted from said second tilted position;

a locking member for normally locking said body in said first position;

a suction tube extending through said body and having one end thereof opening into the interior of said spinning chamber for sucking air therefrom, the opposite end of said suction tube extending outside said body;

a blow tube extending through said body and having one end thereof opening into the interior of said spinning chamber for blowing air thereinto, the opposite end of said blow tube extending outside said y;

a suction source connected to said opposite end of said suction tube;

a pressure source connected to said opposite end of said blow tube;

and valve means arranged in said suction tube and said blow tube for establishing communication between said suction source and the interior of said spinning chamber through said suction tube responsive to the tilting movement of said body from said first position into said second position, and for establishing communication between said pressure source and the interior of said spinning chamber through said blow tube responsive to the tilting movement of said body from said second position into said third position.

2. An apparatus for cleaning a rotary spinning chamber of a spinning unit of a ringless spinning machine, said spinning unit comprising a body, a feed roller and a combing roller operatively arranged in said body, a rotary spinning chamber, and a pulley operatively connected to said rotary spinning chamber for rotatively driving the same, said apparatus comprising:

a brake member mounted on said stationary machine frame for selective engagement with said driving pulley to brake said spinning chamber, said body being pivotably connected to said stationary machine frame at the bottom portion of said body, so that said body is tiltable between a first non-tilted position wherein the yarn is spun, and a second tilted position wherein said driving pulley is brought into engagement with said brake member;

a locking member for normally locking said body in said first position;

a blow tube extending through said body and having one end thereof opening into the interior of said spinning chamber for blowing air thereinto, the opposite end of said suction tube extending outside said body;

a suction source connected to said opposite end of said suction tube;

a pressure source connected to said opposite end of said blow tube;

a switching valve means arranged in said suction tube for selectively establishing communication between said suction source and said interior of said spinning chamber through said suction tube responsive to the tilting movement of said body from said first position into said second position;

and a two-stage flow control changeover valve means arranged in said blow tube for permitting a relatively small amount of air from said pressure source into the interior of said spinning chamber through said blow tube when said body is in said first position and for permitting a relatively large amount of air from said pressure source into the interior of said spinning chamber through said blow tube responsive to the tilting movement of said body from said first position into said second position.

Claims

1. An apparatus for cleaning a rotary spinning chamber of a spinning unit of a ringless spinning machine, said spinning unit comprising a body, a feed roller and a combing roller operatively arranged in said body, a rotary spinning chamber, and a pulley operatively connected to said rotary spinning chamber for rotatively driving the same, said apparatus comprising: a casing mounted on said body and rotatably supporting said spinning chamber therein; a stationary frame; a spring-biased brake member mounted on said stationary machine frame for selective engagement with said driving pulley to brake said spinning chamber, said body being pivotably connected to said stationary machine frame at the bottom portion of said body, so that said body is tiltable between a first non-tilted position wherein the yarn is spun, a second tilted position wherein said driving pulley is brought into abutment with said brake member, and a third tilted positiOn wherein said body has been further tilted from said second tilted position; a locking member for normally locking said body in said first position; a suction tube extending through said body and having one end thereof opening into the interior of said spinning chamber for sucking air therefrom, the opposite end of said suction tube extending outside said body; a blow tube extending through said body and having one end thereof opening into the interior of said spinning chamber for blowing air thereinto, the opposite end of said blow tube extending outside said body; a suction source connected to said opposite end of said suction tube; a pressure source connected to said opposite end of said blow tube; and valve means arranged in said suction tube and said blow tube for establishing communication between said suction source and the interior of said spinning chamber through said suction tube responsive to the tilting movement of said body from said first position into said second position, and for establishing communication between said pressure source and the interior of said spinning chamber through said blow tube responsive to the tilting movement of said body from said second position into said third position.

2. An apparatus for cleaning a rotary spinning chamber of a spinning unit of a ringless spinning machine, said spinning unit comprising a body, a feed roller and a combing roller operatively arranged in said body, a rotary spinning chamber, and a pulley operatively connected to said rotary spinning chamber for rotatively driving the same, said apparatus comprising: a casing mounted on said body and rotatably supporting said spinning chamber therein; a stationary frame; a brake member mounted on said stationary machine frame for selective engagement with said driving pulley to brake said spinning chamber, said body being pivotably connected to said stationary machine frame at the bottom portion of said body, so that said body is tiltable between a first non-tilted position wherein the yarn is spun, and a second tilted position wherein said driving pulley is brought into engagement with said brake member; a locking member for normally locking said body in said first position; a suction tube extending through said body and having one end thereof opening into the interior of said spinning chamber for sucking air therefrom, the opposite end of said suction tube extending outside said body; a blow tube extending through said body and having one end thereof opening into the interior of said spinning chamber for blowing air thereinto, the opposite end of said suction tube extending outside said body; a suction source connected to said opposite end of said suction tube; a pressure source connected to said opposite end of said blow tube; a switching valve means arranged in said suction tube for selectively establishing communication between said suction source and said interior of said spinning chamber through said suction tube responsive to the tilting movement of said body from said first position into said second position; and a two-stage flow control changeover valve means arranged in said blow tube for permitting a relatively small amount of air from said pressure source into the interior of said spinning chamber through said blow tube when said body is in said first position and for permitting a relatively large amount of air from said pressure source into the interior of said spinning chamber through said blow tube responsive to the tilting movement of said body from said first position into said second position.