A device for collecting a sliver of textile fibres

Abstract

 A device for collecting a sliver (2) of textile fibres is adapted to achieve maximum filling by means of a constant opposing pressure and to control the expansion of the material below the level of the container, preventing it from escaping. The device includes a cylindrical container (8) with a vertical axis and a base wall (26) which moves progressively downwardly against the action of an opposing force as the container is gradually filled with the sliver. The container (8) has a pair of longitudinal slots (28), through which respective pins (30) carried by the base wall extend and cooperate with a pair of arms (34) which are movable vertically along a guide upright (36) and are connected to an actuator (56) which generates the opposing force and the final rapid descent.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for collecting a sliver of textile fibres, particularly for drawing equipment.

[0002] More precisely, the invention relates to a collecting device of the type including an open-topped, cylindrical container with a vertical axis and a deposition device which faces the hole in the top of the container and is adapted to feed the sliver of textile fibres into the container, the container having a base wall which moves progressively downwardly against the action of an opposing force as the container is gradually filled with the sliver.

[0003] In a cycle for the working of either natural or artificial fibres, various operations require a discontinuous sliver of fibres to be collected in a container or receptacle. For example, during the drawing of slivers of textile fibres, the sliver is usually collected in containers between two successive drawing operations. The main requirement to be satisfied by the devices for collecting the sliver is that they must enable the sliver to be compressed considerably in order to make the best use of the space in the container.

[0004] Collecting devices of the type defined above have been proposed in which the container has springs which urge the base wall upwardly. The sliver introduced into the container thus has to overcome the opposing action of the springs and the sliver collected in the container is compacted. These devices have the disadvantage that, when the container is full, the sliver tends to expand and to escape from the container. This means that the known devices cannot be used in equipment with automatic devices for handling the sliver since, for these devices to operate correctly, the sliver must be sure to be in a precise position. The opposing force of the springs also tends to facilitate the escape of the sliver from the container.

[0005] In order to resolve this problem, the subject of the present invention is a device for collecting a sliver of textile fibres of the type specified at the beginning, characterised in that the container has a pair of longitudinal slots through which respective pins carried by the base wall of the container extend and cooperate with a pair of arms which are movable along a guide upright and are connected to actuator means which generate the opposing force, the actuator means being arranged to move the base wall rapidly in the direction in which the sliver is introduced when the sliver reaches a predetermined level in the container.

[0006] This rapid downward movement of the base wall controls the expansion of the material inwardly of the container and this prevents it from escaping.

[0007] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become clear in the course of the detailed description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the present invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the portion indicated by the arrow II of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the portion indicated by the arrow II in Figure 1 without its covering panels, and

Figure 4 is a view taken on the arrow IV of Figure 3 on an enlarged scale.

[0008] With reference to the drawings, a device for collecting a sliver 2 of textile fibres is indicated 1. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the device 1 is inserted in equipment for drawing slivers of textile fibres which is the subject of a copending patent application filed by the Applicant. The device 1 includes a deposition device 4 associated with the hole 6 in the top of an elongate cylindrical container 8. The deposition device 4 includes a disc 9 which rotates about the axis of the container 8 and in turn carries an eccentric rotary disc 11 with an inlet 13 for the supply of the sliver 2. The container 8 is supported by a pillar 10 which is rotatable about its own vertical axis A. The pillar 10 has an upper end portion 12 in each side of which is a pair of holes 14 engaged by vertical pins 16 carried by an annular flange 18 of the container 8. The container 8 is kept raised from the ground by the end portion 12 and its side wall bears against a pair of flanges 20 with cylindrical profiles carried by the pillar 10.

[0009] As can be seen in Figure 1, the pillar 10 has two diametrally opposed positions for supporting containers 8. The position which is on the left in Figure 1 is empty and is intended to support a second container whilst the first container is being filled. Above the upper end portion 12 of the pillar 10 is a fixed plate 22 which forms part of a device 24 for breaking the sliver 2 and transferring it to a drawing head (not shown). The device 24 is not described in detail since it lies outside the scope of the present invention; this device is described in detail in the Applicant's patent application mentioned above.

[0010] The container 8 contains a base wall 26 which is movable vertically. The side wall of the container 8 has a pair of diametrally opposed longitudinal slots 28 (only one of which is visible in Figure 1) through which respective radial pins 30 carried by the base wall 26 extend. The ends of the pins 30 have respective T-shaped heads (32) for bearing on a pair of arms 34 which are movable vertically along an upright 36.

[0011] As can be seen in greater detail in Figures 2 and 3, the arms 34 are carried by a slide 38 which is slidable along vertical guides 40. The upright 36 carries a pair of end gears 42 between which extends a chain 44 which is fixed to the slide 38 by means of a pin 46. The lower gear 42 is fixed to a further gear 48 which, as shown in Figure 4, is connected by a second chain 50 to a gear 52 which meshes with a rack 54. The rack 54 is movable along the line indicated by the double arrow B and is driven by a fluid actuator 56.

[0012] As can be seen in Figure 1, the base of the upright 36 is in a seat 58 the base wall of which is recessed relative to the base 60 of the device 1. The depth of the seat 58 is substantially equal to the thickness of each arm 34. When the arms 34 are fully lowered, they do not therefore obstruct the rotation of the container 8 about the axis A.

[0013] In operation, the sliver 2 coming, for example, from a drawing head 62 is fed into the container (8) by the deposition device 4. The base wall 26 of the container 8 is in a raised position and the actuator 56 imparts to the base wall 26, by means of the transmission 50, 44 and the arms 34, a force which opposes the downward movement of the base wall 26. When the pressure exerted by the sliver 2 collected in the container 8 exceeds the opposing force acting on the base wall 26, the wall moves progressively downwardly maintaining a constant pressure on the material collected. The sliver 2 collected in the container 8 is thus compacted considerably and the best use is made of the space in the container 8. When the base wall 26 reaches a predetermined distance from the base of the container 8, the arms 34 are moved rapidly towards the base. The sliver compressed in the container 8 thus expands towards the base of the container and the force which would tend to make the sliver 2 escape through hole 6 at its top is eliminated.

Claims

1. A device for collecting a sliver (2) of textile fibres, particularly for drawing equipment including an open-topped, cylindrical container (8) with a vertical axis and a winder device (4) which faces the hole (6) in the top of the container (8) and is adapted to feed the sliver (2) of textile fibres into the container (8), the container having a base wall (26) which moves progressively downwardly against the action of an opposing force as the container (8) is gradually filled with the sliver (2), characterised in that the container (8) has a pair of longitudinal slots (28) through which respective pins (30) carried by the base wall (26) of the container extend (8) and cooperate with a pair of arms (34) which are movable along a guide upright (26) and are connected to actuator means (56) which generate the opposing force, the actuator means (56) being arranged to move the base wall (26) rapidly in the direction in which the sliver (2) is introduced when the sliver reaches a predetermined level in the container so as to achieve maximum filling of the container (8) by means of a constant opposing pressure and to control the expansion of the material below the upper edge of the container, preventing it from escaping.

2. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the arms (34) are carried by a slide (38) which is slidable along vertical guides (40) and is moved by a driven chain (44).

3. A device according to Claim 2, characterised in that the actuator means comprise a fluid actuator (56) which drives a rack (54) which meshes with a gear (52) connected to a gear (42) for driving the chain (44).

4. A device according to Claim 3, characterised in that the gear (52) is connected to the gear (42) which drives the chain (44), with the interposition of a chain transmission (50).

5. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the base of the upright (36) is recessed relative to the lower end of the container (8) by a distance at least equal to the thickness of each arm (34).

Drawing