Process and plant for the feeding of spinning machines

Abstract

 A process for feeding vessels 2 of pre-drawn roving to a spinning machine comprising the steps of: feeding a preset amount of roving from a drawing frame into a vessel 2 for roving having elongated shape; transferring by means of first transfer means a plurality of full vessels 2 from the relevant drawing frame 3 or frames onto one or more pallets 5; storing the pallets 5 thus loaded in a dynamic store 8; carrying, when required, said pallets 5 with the full vessels 2 from said store 8 to second transfer means; loading the full vessels 2 from the pallets 5 on guided transport elements; transferring said vessels 2 from said second transfer means to the spinning machine; and bringing back the empty vessels from said spinning machine to said drawing frame.

Description

[0001] The invention concerns a process and a device for feeding vessels of pre-drawn roving to spinning machines.

[0002] The methods to feed vessels of pre-drawn roving to spinning machines substantially envisage to load circular vessels coming from the drawing frame (where the roving pre-drawing takes place) onto appropriate transport means and to carry said full vessels as far as the relevant spinning machines where they are positioned in couples, aligned and arranged perpendicularly to the spinning machine. The empty vessels are then brought back from the spinners to the drawing frame.

[0003] Said methods present a series of drawbacks.

[0004] First of all, the fact of moving and arranging the roving vessels in couples, perpendicularly to the spinning machine, means that the inner vessel, when empty, cannot be replaced before that the outer vessel has been emptied as well. Furthermore spinners and drawing frame have different modes of operation that involve a different volume of production. In particular, it is practically impossible to feed vessels of roving directly from the drawing frame to the spinning machine, in that the latter would remain at intervals deprived of the necessary predrawn roving to be handled.

[0005] An object of the present invention is therefore that of solving the aforementioned problems by means of a process allowing to optimize the feeding of roving to spinning machines in order to obtain the maximum yield of said machines.

[0006] A further object of the invention is to realise a plant to perform said process.

[0007] Said objects are achieved by means of the present invention that concerns a process for feeding vessels of pre-drawn roving to a spinning machine, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: feeding a preset amount of roving from a drawing frame into a vessel for roving having elongated shape; transferring by means of first transfer means a plurality of full vessels from the relevant drawing frame or frames onto one or more pallets; storing the pallets thus loaded in a store until the subsequent use of the vessels present theron; carrying said pallets supporting the full vessels from said store to second transfer means; loading the full vessels from the pallets onto guided transport means; transferring said vessels from said second transfer means to said spinning machines; and bringing back the empty vessels from said spinning machine to said drawing frame.

[0008] The invention also concerns a plant for feeding pre-drawn roving to spinning machines, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of elongated vessels for the transport of said roving; a plurality of pallets provided with means to support and carry a preset number of vessels; at least a store or similar structure to temporarily store said pallets; and means to move said pallets along a preset distance from one or more drawing frames to said spinning machines and to said store or stores.

[0009] The invention will be now furtherly described with reference to the accompanying drawing that shows with not limiting purposes a diagram of the plant according to the invention.

[0010] As shown in the figure, the plant 1 according to the invention comprises first of all a plurality of vessels with elongated shape 2 to which the roving coming from the drawing frame 3 is fed to be transferred to the spinning machines 4.

[0011] For this purpose, the plant also comprises a plurality of pallets 5, provided with means to support and accomodate a preset number of vessels 2. known transfer means perform the loading/unloading of the full vessels from the drawing frame to the pallet and of the empty vessels from the pallet to the drawing frame. In order to make this operation easier, the pallet or the relevant pallet holder 5a can present an additional support 6 where a vessel can be temporarily accomodated before it is loaded on its final support of the pallet or on the drawing frame.

[0012] Alternatively, the additional support 6 can be provided in correspondence to said transfer means.

[0013] The pallets 5 are movable by known transport means along a preset distance 7 leading from the drawing frame 3 to a store 8, or similar structure to temporarily store said pallets, and from the latter to one or more arrival stations 9, in correspondence to the spinning machine or machines 4.

[0014] In correspondence to the arrival stations 9, there are provided second known transport means (not shown) to load/unload the vessels 2 from the pallet on a vessel-replacing trolley 10, that is movable between the arrival stations 9 and the different positions of the spinning machine, where the vessels are accomodated aligned, individually and not in couples as in the known technique, and perpendicularly to the spinning machine itself.

[0015] The store 8 is preferably a store of the so-called dynamic type, namely an automated store, where the pallets are handled in a known way, for example by means of transelevator or similar trailer-mounted means.

[0016] The plant according to the invention also comprises means to code the pallet 5 using codes of temporary or permanent identification, as well as means (such as for instance a data processor) to temporarily associate the pallet code with the type of roving present in the vessels 2 supported by the pallet.

[0017] In this way it is possible to store different types of roving in the store 8, from which they are taken later on, after identification, according to the manufacturing requirement of the spinning machines.

[0018] The store practically serves as buffer stock where, while the drawing frame is in operation, all the vessels not handled by the spinning machine are stored, thus representing a stock to be used when the drawing frame is not working, for example for maintenance reasons or at the end of work hours, while the spinning machine that is generally automated is still working.

[0019] The process to feed vessels 2 from the drawing frame to spinning machines first of all foresees to feed a preset amount of roving from a drawing frame into a roving vessel of elongated shape; a preset number of full vessels is then transferred by means of first transfer means from the drawing frame onto a pallet. The pallets thus loaded are stored in a dynamic store where they remain until the subsequent use of the vessels present thereon, when said pallets carrying the full vessels are brought from said store to second transfer means. Then the full vessels are unloaded from the pallets and loaded onto guided transport elements, then transferred by means of the trolley 10 from said second transfer means to the spinning machine 4, the empty vessels being carried again from the spinning machine to the drawing frame.

[0020] The vessels of elongated shape 2 are positioned individually, aligned and in direction substantially perpendicular to the spinning machine. In this way it is possible to avoid the aforereported problems for the circular vessels arranged in couples.

[0021] As previously mentioned, at the moment of loading the vessels on the pallet, or immediately after, but before their storage, the pallets 5 are provided with an identification code allowing to identify the type of roving present in the vessels carried by pallets.

[0022] According a first embodiment the pallets are temporarily coded with an identification code of the type of roving present in the vessels. In this case at the moment of coding, any other previous code present on the pallet is cancelled.

[0023] Alternatively, the pallets are provided with a permanent identification code that is associated by means of a processor or similar means (not shown) to an identification code of the type of roving loaded into the vessels present on the pallet. This association is stored in said processor, simultaneously cancelling any previously stored association relating to the code of the pallet concerned.

[0024] In both cases there is a correspondence between pallet and roving that allows an easy storage and handling.

Claims

1. Process for feeding vessels of pre-drawn roving to a spinning machine, characterized in that it comprises the steps of:
feeding a preset amount of roving from a drawing frame to a vessel for roving having elongated shape; transferring by means of first transfer means a plurality of full vessels from the relevant drawing frame or frames onto one or more pallets;
storing the pallets thus loaded in a store keeping them there until the subsequent use of the vessels present thereon;
carrying said pallets with the full vessels from said store to second transfer means;
loading the full vessels from the pallets onto guided transport elements;
transferring said vessels from said second transfer means to the spinning machine; and
bringing back the empty vessels from said spinning machine to said drawing frame.

2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that each pallet is coded, at the moment of being loaded with said vessels, with a temporary identification code of the type of roving present in said vessels, cancelling any possible previous code present on said pallet.

3. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that each pallet is provided with a fixed identification code associating said code to a second identification code of the type of roving present on said pallet and storing said association of codes, simultaneously cancelling any previously stored association relevant to the code of said pallet.

4. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said pallets are kept in a store of the so-called dynamic type.

5. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said vessels of roving are individually arranged with respect to the spinning machine.

6. Plant for feeding pre-drawn roving to spinning machines, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of vessels having elongated shape for the carriage of said roving;
a plurality of pallets provided with means to support and carry a preset number of vessels;
means to transfer said vessels from a drawing frame to said pallets and vice versa;
at least a store or similar structure to temporarily store said pallets; and
means to move said pallets along a preset distance from one or more drawing frames to said plurality of spinning machines and to said store or stores.

7. Plant according to claim 6, characterized in that it also comprises trolleys or similar movable means between an arrival position of the pallets along said preset distance and the corresponding spinning machine to carry said vessels from the pallets to the spinning machine and vice versa; as well as further transfer means to transfer said vessels from the pallets to said trolleys and vice versa.

8. Plant according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that it comprises means to code said pallets and means to associate and/or temporarily store said code number with the type of roving carried by the pallets.

Drawing