Device for supporting bobbins in spinning machines

Abstract

 The device comprises a spindle carrying the bobbin and provided with a conical abutment (7) support for receiving bobbins of different diameters (8), and an upper end (10) for easy engagement on an upper suspension support, coupled with the spinning machine in an angularly adjustable manner, permitting unwinding of the thread from the outside of the bobbin without thread guides of any type, and the fitting of an outer cover on the bobbin to protect it in operation.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for supporting bobbins of thread in spinning machines, particularly for supporting bobbins or "cops" with uncoilers with free or adjustable tension, especially for use for combining or overlaying threads with one another internally or externally or with other textile materials, in the course of the spinning of the threads or subsequent to this operation. These yarns are known in the art by the name "two-component" yarns.

[0002] The said bobbins or "cops" are supplied by the manufacturers of the threads or the thread finishing plants and have various diameters, the inside diameters and also the length varying according to the manufacturer of the fibres, since these characteristics have not been standardized.

[0003] The unwinding tension has to be different according to the type of material, for example, polyester, or polyamide threads, etc., as well as according to the shape and quantity of monofilaments of which it is composed and its stiff, semi-textured or textured finish. Moreover, different tensions have to be applied, according to the final use of the two-component yarn.

[0004] The present invention has been developed with the object of achieving a large degree of universality in the use of the "cops" or bobbins of different sizes that are available on the market, without the need to have cores of different diameters suitable for each bobbin type, also achieving very easy handling of the bobbin, enabling the bobbin or "cop" to be removed from and placed in the spinning machine very easily and enabling the operation of the machine to be re-established easily in the event of breakages, avoiding the complex manipulations which are necessary at the moment.

[0005] A further object of the present invention is to eliminate pierced guides, tubes, or so-called "pig's tail" guides, etc. of any type, in order to prevent the threads picking up fibres floating in the atmosphere, which accumulate in these regions.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to enable the unwinding operation, which may be of fairly long duration given the large capacity of the said bobbins, to take place with the fitting of an outer cover to prevent accumulation of flying fibres, atmospheric dust, etc. which reduce the quality of the yarn.

[0007] The above-mentioned objects and others which will become clear from the following detailed description are achieved by the provision of a device for supporting bobbins of thread which is characterized substantially in that it comprises a suspension spindle or rod which has a lower gripping region for the manual suspension operation, an upper end region with a double cone for suspension in a special plate-like support, and a large, lower, conical region for supporting the bobbin or "cop", which enables bobbins of different diameters to be centred and which has a lower plate with a rim for guiding the thread as it is unwound, the rim having different finishes according to requirements. The plate-like support of the bobbin-carrying spindle adopts the structure of a support plate having slots for the suspension of two spindles with their bobbins, and having means for adjustment of the separation between the bobbins so as to adapt it to the separation or "spacing" of the textile machines, which is variable within wide limits.

[0008] For a better understanding, some drawings of an embodiment of a bobbin-support device according to the present invention are appended, by way of nonlimiting example.

[0009] Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing, schematically, the arrangement of the bobbins in a spinning machine.

[0010] Figure 2 is a plan view showing the upper suspension support.

[0011] Figure 3 is a detail view of the support of Figure 2.

[0012] Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the support of Figures 2 and 3.

[0013] Figure 5 is a detail of the movements for adjusting the position of the support of Figures 2 to 4.

[0014] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the support itself, for a better understanding thereof.

[0015] Figure 7 is a section through a support spindle for a bobbin according to the present invention.

[0016] Figure 8 is a detail of the guide for guiding the thread as it unwinds.

[0017] Figure 9 shows the arrangement of a cover for protecting the bobbin.

[0018] As can be seen in the drawings, the present invention relates to a device for supporting bobbins or "cops" such as those indicated 1 and 2 in Figure 1, the function of which is to supply respective threads such as those indicated 3 and 4 to the conventional devices 5 of the spinning machine.

[0019] The present invention comprises the construction of a spindle, shown in Figure 7, which comprises a central rod or tubular element 6 provided, in the vicinity of its lower end, with a wide cone 7 fixed on the spindle and enabling it to receive bobbins with different diameters of the tubular element 8 or reel carrying the mass of thread 9. Any type of bobbin available on the market can therefore be fitted directly on the spindle described, abutting a variable point on the cone 7, according to the diameter of the bobbin reel 8. At the top, the spindle has a conical tip or end 10 with a lower base 26, the cone of the tip being extended by a lower narrower portion 11 the base 12 of which is also conical, for facilitating the suspension of the support device as a whole on a special plate-like support which will be described. At the bottom, the spindle has a gripping handle 13 for permitting manual fitting and removal of the bobbin 9 relative to the support which will be described. The spindle described also has, fitted on the lower base of the cone 7, a plate 14 having a peripheral rim 15 with a variable finish. The plate 14 is arranged on a stop washer 16 for preventing its detachment.

[0020] The device of the present invention also comprises a special support 17, Figures 2 to 6, which preferably adopts a plate-like structure and is coupled to the fixed part of the machine by means of an arm, indicated schematically by the numeral 18 in Figure 2, by means of screws 19 and 20 or other similar elements which are disposed in respective swivelling orifices 21 and 22 of arcuate shape, with a single centre 23. By virtue of this arrangement, the plate-like support 17 can rotate about the centre of rotation 23, adopting different positions, as shown in Figure 5. The purpose of this is to enable slots 24 and 25 which the said plate-like support has in its ends to be separated, with respect to the front of the machine, in accordance with variable separations or "spacings" such as those indicated A and B in Figures 3 and 5, respectively, enabling the bobbin support to adapt to different spacings of the textile machines, in which the said spacing generally varies between about 70 mm and 90 mm in the most usual cases. The above-mentioned slots enable the spindles to be inserted by their narrower portions 11, the spindles being suspended by the base of the cone 10, which is indicated 26 in Figure 7. The plate-like support 17 is preferably "J"-shaped, as shown in the drawings, that is, with two arms which are parallel but of different lengths, to permit the simultaneous coupling of two bobbins 27 and 28. To facilitate the insertion of the upper ends of the spindles carrying the bobbins, respective chamfered inlets 29 and 30 are formed in the slots 24 and 25. At the same time, to prevent accidental detachment of the bobbins once the spindles carrying them are suspended, the ends of the plate-like support 17, that is, the regions adjacent the slots 24 and 25, have a slight upward inclination as can be seen in Figures 4 and 6, in which the end tabs of the arms of the support 17 are indicated 31 and 32.

[0021] As indicated by the numeral 33 in Figure 8, the thread unwinds freely from the bobbin 34 without guides of any kind. When the diameter of the bobbin 34 has been reduced considerably, the thread will rub against the rim 15 of the lower plate 14. This rim 15 has a shape, diameter, and finish, for example, an orange-peel or mirror finish, suitable for achieving different tensions in the thread and for preventing it from making contact with the reel 8 of the bobbin, the surface of which may have irregularities which would cause breakage of the threads or the removal of fibres therefrom.

[0022] Given that the thread thus unwinds from the outside and not from the inside of the bobbin, from the bottom upwards, as is usual at the moment, it is possible to arrange a protective cover, indicated schematically by the numeral 35 in Figure 9, thus protecting the bobbin during the period of time, which may be quite long, during which it remains in the machine since, owing to the very fine nature of the overlaying threads and to the considerable weight of the bobbins used in practice, the bobbins contain many thousands of metres, representing a fairly long period spent in the machine. In a very simple embodiment, the cover 35 may be the same packaging wrapper of the bobbin which is used for its storage and delivery from the bobbin manufacturer to the spinning plant.

Claims

1. A device for supporting bobbins in spinning machines, characterized in that it comprises a spindle carrying the bobbin and provided with a conical abutment support for receiving bobbins of different diameters and an upper end for easy engagement on an upper suspension support, coupled with the spinning machine in an angularly adjustable manner, permitting unwinding of the thread from the outside of the bobbin without thread guides of any type, or an outer cover for the bobbin to protect it in operation.

2. A device for supporting bobbins in spinning machines according to Claim 1, characterized in that a thread-guide plate is mounted so as to be movable freely on the lower end of the conical abutment for receiving the bobbins and is provided with a peripheral rim for guiding the thread as it is unwound, preventing contact of the thread with the end of the bobbin.

3. A device for supporting bobbins in spinning machines according to Claim 2, characterized in that the peripheral rim of the thread-guide plate has different surface finishes for adjusting the friction of the thread.

4. A device for supporting bobbins in spinning machines according to Claim 1, characterized in that the upper end of the spindle carrying the bobbin has a conical tip which has a flat base and is extended by a lower narrower portion of the spindle enabling it to be suspended on the upper support.

5. A device for supporting bobbins in spinning machines according to Claim 1, characterized in that the upper support for the suspension of the spindle carrying the bobbin adopts a plate-like structure and is substantially "J"-shaped in plan, with two arms which are parallel but of different lengths, and in each of which there is a slot for the insertion and suspension of respective bobbin-carrying spindles.

6. A device for supporting bobbins in spinning machines according to Claim 5, characterized in that the free ends of the plate-like support are inclined slightly upwards to prevent the bobbin-carrying spindle falling off accidentally, and have inlet chamfers for facilitating its insertion.

7. A device for supporting bobbins in spinning machines according to Claims 1 and 4, characterized in that the upper plate-like support has two arcuate slots which correspond to a single centre and which are intended to receive the screws for fixing the support to the fixed portion of the machine, permitting adjustment rotation of the support in order to vary the effective width between the suspension slots, with respect to the front of the machine, in order to adapt the positions of the bobbins to different spacings of the spinning machine.

Drawing