US3927516A

US3927516A - Machine for continuous spinning by means of spinning rotors

Info

Publication number: US3927516A
Application number: US453500A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fritz Stahlecker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-03-22
Filing date: 1974-03-21
Publication date: 1975-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 1992-12-23
Also published as: GB1452801A; JPS49125638A; DE2314229B2; FR2222463B3; FR2222463A1; DE2314229A1

Abstract

The spinning units of an open-end spinning machine have housings which can be swivelled away from the spinning rotors and which contain means for supplying and disintegrating fibrous material which are swivelled along with the housing. The supply means are driven by a drive shaft extending through the spinning machine longitudinally, whereby the drive shaft has a gear for each spinning unit with which a driven gear of the supply means meshes. The swivel axles of the housings are arranged adjacent to the drive shaft and parallel thereto, so that when the housing is swivelled away, the driven gears are lifted off the driving gears of the drive shaft.

Description

United States Patent 1 91 1111 3,927,516 Stahlecker Dec. 23, 1975 1 MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUS SPINNING 3,760,577 9/1973 Kihara et a1. 57/58.89 x

BY MEANS OF SPINNING ROTORS 3,774,382 11/1973 Battling 57/58.89 X 3,802,176 4/1974 Stahlccker 57/5895 X [75] Inventor Fmz stahlecker, Bad Uberkmgefl, 3,807,157 4/1974 Stahlecker 57/58.89 Germany 3,810,352 5/1974 Miyazaki et a1. 57/5895 X [731 Assignees: Fritz Stahlecker; Hans Stahlecker,

both of G r Primary Examiner-John Petrakes Filed: Mar. 1974 Attorney, Agent, or FzrmCra1g & Antonelh [21] Appl. N0.: 453,500 57 ABSTRACT The spinning units of an open-end spinning machine [30] Foreign Apphcat'on Priority Data have housings which can be swivelled away from the Mar. 22, 1973 Germany 2314229 pinning rotors and which contain means f pp y g and disintegrating fibrous material which are swivelled [52] US. Cl.2 57/5839; 57/102 along with the housing, The supply means are driv n [51] Int. Cl. D01H 1/12 b a d i h ft extending through the spinning ma- [58] Field of Search ..,...e...57/58.89-58.95, 102, 103 chine longitudinally, whereby the drive h ft has a gear for each spinning unit with which a driven gear of [56] References Cited I I the supply means meshes. The swivel axles of the UNITED STATES PATENTS housings are arranged adjacent to the drive shaft and 3,511,045 5/1970 Bures et a1 57/5891 Parallel thereto, 50 that when the housing is swivelled 3,667,205 6/1972 Brazda et a1 away, the driven gears are lifted off the driving gears 3,685,270 8/1972 Bartling 57/5895 of the drive shaft. 3,760,576 9/1973 Le Chatelier et a1 57/58.89 X

T4 Claims, Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet10f3 3,927,516

Fig.1

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 2 of3 3,927,516

Fig.2

US. Patent Dec. 23, 1975 Sheet 3 of 3 3,927,516

Fig.3 Fig.4 Fig.5

MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUS SPINNING BY i 'MEANS OF SPINNING ROTORS The present invention relates to a machine for continuous spinning of textile fibres by means of spinning rotors and supply and disintegrating rollers associated thereto, having a stationary longitudinal shaft with gears for driving said supply organs as well as swivel mounted housings containing said supply and disinteg'rating'organs, having driven gears which are in engagement with the gears of said longitudinal shaft.

' It has been shown to be useful to design open-end spinningunit's in such a manner that both the disintegrating and supply means arearranged in' a separate housing which can be swivelled away from the spinning chamber containing the rotor. This provides the advantage of "good accessibility of all individual components, simplifying cleaning of the internal drive means of the spinning unit. 'In particular, it is possible to inspect and, if necessary, replace the rotor in a very easy manner with the unit open. The same also applies for the disintegrating means'In addition, there is the advantage that the swivel section, in which the supply and disintegratingmeans are arranged, forms a unit which can be easily exchanged and replaced.

Ina known design (German Laid Open Patent Application No. 1,535,005), the drive system of the supply means is relatively complicated. Since the supply roller is arranged in the swivel section, while the drive is taken from a'longitudinal shaft mounted in a stationary manner along the machine, it was deemed absolutely necessary for the longitudinal shaft to be arranged with the same axis as the swivel axle, as only then would the gears and gears with helical teeth of the longitudinal shaft remain in engagement with the driven gears of the swivel section when the housing is swivelled. For this reason, an angular drive system is employed and the swivel housing is swivelled away about the axis of the stationary longitudinal shaft. In order to permit the housing to swivel away, the longitudinal shaft is surrounded by a stationary tube which serves as the swivel axle, on which the swivel members are mounted. In orderto transmit the drive to the swivel housing, it is necessary to provide this tube with an opening at every spinning point so that the gears of the longitudinal shaft can come into engagement with the driven gears of the swivel member. These openings represent a weakening of the tube.

With the known design, a relatively large distance must be selected between bearings of the longitudinal shaft, as there is, for all practical purposes, no possibility for mounting the longitudinal shaft in bearings withinthe tube, unless aver'y large tube diameter were to be selected. Thus, in practical embodiments the distance between bearings of the longitudinal shaft is greater than the length of the tube. The sag of the longitudinal shaft is then relatively great, which necessitates, in turn, large diameters for the longitudinal shaft and the tube.

In addition, the neighbouring bearings of two sections of shaft between which a coupling is located are very close. to one another. This short distance between bearings at the connecting points necessitates a highly accurate ,bearing arrangement and a very precise shaft coupling, which is quite hard. Very minor alignment defects can result in damage to coupling and bearing in this case.

Since the gears are not readily accessible within the swivel tube, the known design is difficult to maintain. Extensive fitting work is required to remove a gear. The necessary openings in the tube, arranged at the locations of the pairs of gears, make little difference.

It is the object of the present invention to design a machine of the type mentioned at the outset in such a manner that simple installation, removal and maintenance are possible, without losing the advantage of being able to swivel the housing or increasing the constructional expenses and effort.

According to the present invention, the longitudinal shaft, the swivel axle arranged parallel thereto, as well as the driven gear are arranged one to the other in such a manner that the driven gear is brought into engagement tangential or almost tangential to and with the gear of said longitudinal shaft in a circular path.

As a result of this measure, the longitudinal shaft is freely accessible, as it is arranged without being covered in any way by a tube, which especially simplifies maintenance and fitting work. The distance between bearings of the longitudinal shaft can now be selected as small as desired, so that its sag remains minor. The distance between bearings between two sections of shaft to be coupled longitudinally can, on the other hand, be kept larger than previously, so that a softer coupling is possible, permitting any alignment defects to be compensated more easily.

When swivelling away, especially when the housing containing the feed means is fully swivelled away, the driven gear of the supply means comes out of engagement with the gear of the longitudinal shaft. When the swivel housing is closed, the teeth of both gears come into full engagement again, whereby the teeth cannot be overstrained as a result of the arrangement of the position of swivel axle and longitudinal shaft relative one to the other according to the invention, even when closed very slowly. When swivelled into engagement, the upper section of the gear rim of the driven gear comes into a contacting relationship with the teeth of the driving gear first. With the spinning unit completely closed, on the other hand, the teeth of the driven gear, viewed axially, are subject to greater strain in the center. In other words, this means that that section of the perimeter of the driven gear which must seek the mating teeth when swivelled into engagement is no longer in engagement with the driving gear of the longitudinal shaft when the spinning unit is closed, while the center section thereof handles the transmission of power. During continuous operation, i.e. with the spinning unit closed, the driving gear acts on a zone of the driven gear which is not subjected to strain during the swivelling operation, thus resulting in gentle engagement.

The operation of swivelling into engagement can be designed especially advantageously if the longitudinal shaft between swivel axle and driven gear is located in the immediate vicinity of the swivel axle. The closer swivel axle and longitudinal shaft are arranged, the softer the gear swivels into engagement, as in this case a greater distance must be travelled between commencement of the swivel motion and complete engagement than when swivel axle and longitudinal shaft are located far apart. However a greater distance means a longer swivel time, and thus more gentle swivelling into engagement. With any desired location of the individual axles one to another, the swivel operation would have to be limited by a stop in order to prevent further motion beyond the position of the teeth for the operating condition, which couldotherwise result in tooth breakage. If, however, the longitudinal shaft is located between swivel axle and driven gear, there is no need for a stop, as the driven gear would come out of engagement again if swivelled too far, making tooth breakage impossible.

It can be practical to match the pitch circle of the driven gear to the swivel radius across the tooth width for reasons of safety. This obviates the need for a stop to secure against tooth breakage.

According to the present invention, reengagement of the teeth can be simplified by means of a special development of the driven gear, in which the outer area of its tooth width has a shape which deviates from the profile which is in engagement during the operating condition. It is preferable for the driven gear to have a larger tip circle diameter on one side, so that in this section the teeth taper to a point. This aids the gentle engagement of the teeth.

In a further development of the invention, the driven gear which is to be swivelled into engagement has an elastic perimeter zone. This perimeter zone can be of an elastic plastic. Damage to the driven gear when swivelling into engagement is reliably avoided because of the existing elasticity. The elastic portion of this driven gear is preferably designed as an interchangeable ring, either with or without teeth. In an advantageous manner, it is possible for example to design the upper circumference, facing away from the driven gear, of this ring without teeth and tapering outwardly, so that as it swivels into engagement, there is first the effect of a friction drive. When it first contacts the gear of the longitudinal shaft, the exchangeable ring first causes the driven gear to rotate through friction, whereby it is easy to see that the driven gear which has been caused to rotate can now easily engage in the teeth of the gear.

The above discussed and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description thereof, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows a section through the machine according to the invention, with closed swivel housing;

FIG. 2 shows a section through the same machine with open swivel housing;

FIG. 3 shows the driven gear swivelling into engagement with the gear of the main drive shaft;

FIG. 4 shows a tooth of the driven gear with larger tip circle diameter at the point of engagement;

FIG. 5 shows a tooth of a driven gear designed in two sections axially, whereby the engaging section has a larger tip circle diameter;

FIG. 6 shows a driven gear with a tapered ring without teeth attached axially thereto;

FIG. 7 shows the engagement phase of the embodiment according to FIG. 6 in smaller scale;

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the driven gear is arranged between swivel axle and drive shaft;

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment similar to FIG. 8.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows the machine, generally comprising a stationary section which includes, as the supporting elements, the spinning chamber housing 1, the drive housing 2 and a bearing housing 3, and a swivel section which includes the swivel housing 4 and its cover 5.

Arranged in the supporting elements of the stationary section are, generally, the spinning rotor 6, the rotor drive 7, a longitudinal shaft 8 for driving the supply members, as well as the swivel axle 9, arranged parallel thereto, for the swivel housing. All other operating elements have been left away for reasons of clarity. For the same reason, no description will be made of the spinning method, as those skilled in the art are familiar with this operation.

The major operating elements of the swivel housing 4 are a supply roller 10, a disintegrating roller 11, extraction means 12 and a driven shaft 15. The supply and disintegrating functions will also not be described, as, on the one hand, those skilled in the art are also familiar with them and, on the other, they do not belong to the subject matter of the invention. The supply roller 10 is driven from the longitudinal shaft 8 by means of a gear 13 arranged thereon, a driven gear 14, which are preferably gears with helical teeth of less than 45, and a driven shaft 15 by means of a second pair of gears with helical teeth l6, 17. The indicated example describes only one supply roller 10 with its drive means. In actual practice, however, the plurality of spinning points, and thus a plurality of supply rollers, are provided one next to the other in the longitudinal extension of the machine.

In order to prevent the drive means of supplying roller 10 from coming out of engagement when driven gear 14 swivels with housing 4 when housing 4 is swivelled away about the swivel axle 9, it previously appeared necessary to design swivel axle 9 as a tube and to arrange longitudinal shaft 8 therewithin. As a result of the spatial separation of swivel axle 9 and longitudinal shaft 8 according to the invention, the gear and the driven

gear

13, 14 come out of engagement when housing 4 is swivelled away (FIG. 2), as gear 13 is arranged on shaft 8, mounted in bearing housing 3, while driven gear 14 is arranged on driven shaft 15, mounted in swivel housing 4, causing it to be taken along during the swivel motion.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, driven shaft 15, and thus the axis of driven gear 14, is arranged in such a manner that it describes a right angle with the radial plane of swivel axle 9. The operating position calls for longitudinal shaft 8 to also be located on the radial plane, so that in operating position the teeth of driven gear 14 extend tangential to gear 13 of longitudinal shaft 8. This provides the advantage that minor deviations from the operating position are possible without the risk of damage. It is not necessary to provide a stop limiting the maximum engagement of the teeth.

FIG. 3 shows schematically how driven gear 14 swivels into engagement with gear 13 when driven shaft 15 is swivelled about swivel axle 9. Longitudinal shaft 8 and swivel axle 9, arranged parallel thereto, are mounted in a stationary manner. During the swivel motion, the center of driven gear 14 describes an arc Kl, whose center M is located in swivel axle 9.

FIG. 3 further shows the circular path K2 of the distance travelled by the pitch circle of the teeth of driven gear 14. It can be seen that driven gear 14 comes into engagement in a circular motion K2, whereby the imaginary extension of the arc does not extend through the center of longitudinal shaft 8, but almost tangential only through a perimeter zone. Thus, at the commencement of the swivel motion a different area of the teeth of driven gear 14 comes into contact with the teeth of driving gear 13 of longitudinal shaft 8 than subsequently in the operating condition. Possible wear or damage in this area of driven gear 14 does not therefore result in disturbance of the operating condition.

FIG. 4 shows an advantageous development of driven gear 14, of which only one tooth is illustrated. On commencement of the renewed swivel motion, area 14a of the tooth comes into engagement with gear 13 first; in the operating condition, on the other hand, area 14b of the tooth. In order to simplify swivelling into engagement, area 14a of the tooth is designed so as to taper outwardly to a point, which results in an increase of the tip circle diameter by a minor amount of approximately 1 mm (0.039 in). As shown in FIG. 5, these two areas of the teeth can also be designed as separate components (14a1, 14111). Instead of designing a larger tip circle diameter, a preferably tapered ring 14a2 (FIG. 6) without teeth can also be employed which, according to FIG. 7, first contacts the gear rim of gear 13 with its surface line m during the swivel motion about swivel axle 9, being caused to rotate together with driven gear 14b2 as a result of friction. Driven gear 14b2 thus assumes the speed of driving gear 13, permitting subsequent swivelling into engagement to be performed more easily. The preferably elastic tapered ring l4a2 is designed in such a manner that it is in a contacting relationship with gear 13 only during the swivelling phase but not in the operating condition.

In all these cases, it is practical for swivel axle 9 and longitudinal shaft 8 to be arranged as closely as possible one to the other and for longitudinal shaft 8 to be located between swivel axle 9 and driven gear 14 in the operating condition in order to permit swivel path K2 to extend in the desired manner according to FIG. 3.

The embodiments according to FIGS. 1 to 7 are especially well suited for cylindrical pairs of gears with helical or worm teeth.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show practical examples in which swivel axle 9 and longitudinal shaft 8 are either not arranged in the immediate vicinity one to the other or in which longitudinal shaft 8 is not arranged between swivel axle 9 and driven gear 14b3, 14b4. In this case, the arc of driven gear 14b3, 14124 is not uniform throughout the width of the teeth and its tip circle diameter is matched to the swivel radius for swivelling into engagement.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It should therefore be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practised otherwise than as specifically described.

Having thus fully disclosed our invention, what I claim is:

l. A spinning machine comprising:

at least one spinning unit, each of said spinning units including spinning means, a drivable supply roller for assisting in supplying fibrous material to said spinning means, and a swivel housing which is pivotable about a swivel axle and which carries said supply roller,

a longitudinal drive shaft extending adjacent said at least one spinning unit and including a driving gear for each of said at least one spinning units, said drive shaft being spaced from the respective swivel axles of said swivel housings,

and supply roller drive transmission means for transmitting rotational movement of said drive shaft to respective ones of said supply rollers, said transmission means including a driven gear carried by each of said swivel housings which is selectively drivingly engageable with said driving gear in dependence on the position of the respective swivel housmg.

2. The spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein said drive shaft extends parallel to each of the respective swivel axles.

3. The spinning machine according to claim 2, wherein each of the respective driven gears is positioned in a respective one of said swivel housings such that it moves substantially tangentially to the circumference of an associated driving gear upon movement of the respective swivel housing to a position which effects engagement of said respective driven and driving gears.

4. The spinning machine according to claim 1, in which the respective driven gears are disposed in between the drive shaft and the respective swivel axles when in an engaged position.

5. The spinning machine according to claim 2, wherein said transmission means includes a shaft carried by said swivel housing, said shaft supporting said driven gear at one end thereof and supporting a further gear at the other end thereof, said further gear being in driving engagement with said supply roller.

6. The spinning machine according to claim 1, wherein said spinning means includes a spinning rotor, and wherein said drive shaft extends parallel to each of the respective swivel axles.

7. The spinning machine according to claim 1, in which said drive shaft is arranged immediately adjacent to the respective swivel axle of the respective swivel housing between said respective swivel axle and the respective driven gear carried by the respective swivel housing.

8. The spinning machine according to claim 1, in which the area of said driven gear which is in engagement with the driving gear of the drive shaft has, in the axial direction, a crown which is concentric to the swivel axle.

9. The spinning machine according to claim 7, in which the perimeter zone of the driven gear, which comes into engagement with the driving gear of the drive shaft first as the swivel housing is closed, has a profile which extends beyond that area engaging said driving gear of the drive shaft during normal operation.

10. The spinning machine according to claim 9, in which the teeth of said driven gear has a larger tip circle diameter in their perimeter zone and taper to a point.

11. The spinning machine according to claim 9, in which said driven gear has an elastic perimeter zone which engages the driving gear of the drive shaft first as the swivel housing is closed.

12. The spinning machine according to claim 11, in which said perimeter zone is attached as an interchangeable ring on said driven gear.

13. The spinning machine according to claim 12, in which said perimeter zone has a toothed profile.

14. The spinning machine according to claim 12, in which said ring enlarges conically away from its corresponding driven gear.

Claims

1. A spinning machine comprising: at least one spinning unit, each of said spinning units including spinning means, a drivable supply roller for assisting in supplying fibrous material to said spinning means, and a swivel housing which is pivotable about a swivel axle and which carries said supply roller, a longitudinal drive shaft extending adjacent said at least one spinning unit and including a driving gear for each of said at least one spinning units, said drive shaft being spaced from the respective swivel axles of said swivel housings, and supply roller drive transmission means for transmitting rotational movement of said drive shaft to respective ones of said supply rollers, said transmission means including a driven gear carried by each of said swivel housings which is selectively drivingly engageable with said driving gear in dependence on the position of the respective swivel housing.