GB2139656A - Package holder in a yarn winder - Google Patents

Abstract

In the package holder the two package arms (3 and 4) are interconnected by means (6, 7, 8) ensuring that, despite only one (3) of the package arms having a handle (5), the two package arms move apart by equal distances to achieve doffing of the package (1) by release of the core (2) on which that package is wound. A stop screw (13) limits the closing movement of the package arms, and adjustment of a screw (7) of the interlinking means achieves limiting of the closing movement of the package arms. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements on or relating to a yarn winder The present invention provides an improvement relating to a yarn winder, in particular to the package support of the winder having package arms which carry the package being wound.

Traditionally, a support core for a yarn package, which may either a cheese or a cone, is carried between two swinging package arms which allow the support core to be moved into contact with the drive roll at the start of winding, and allow subsequent displacement of the core away from the drive roll as the yarn build up forming the package increases in diameter.

One of the arms of such a winder is movable towards and away from the other, both for the purposes of releasing the finished package and support core from the package arms, and for allowing replacement of the fuil package by a tubular support core for the next package.

It has traditionally been the case that only one of the two package arms should move, because this simplifies the operation of doffing the finished package; doffing may be either by a manual operation of pushing aside that package arm with one hand or with an elbow, while supporting the finished package with the other hand or both hands, or it may be effected by means of an auto-doffing device.

We have now found that, despite the above sound technical reasons why movement of one package arm is advantageous, this widely used conventional arrangement does involve certain disadvantages, for example the fact that as the moving package arm withdraws leaving the other arm stationary, one end of the core "hangs up" so that the other arm releases first. In the event of inadvertent failure by the operative to grasp the package, or in the event of using an auto doffer which does not support the finished package but allows it to fall into a hopper, this tumbling of the package can be highly disadvantageous.

Traditionally, despite this disadvantage, the single arm release system has been widely used.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the problem of asymmetric release of a package upon doffing.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a yarn winder which can be more closely spaced with respect to its neighbouring winders than has hitherto been possible.

According to the present invention we provide a package for a yarn winder, comprising first and second package arms each adapted to support a respective end of a core on which a package is to be formed during winding, and means interconnecting the package arms for symmetrical separating and approaching movement of the package-supporting portions of those arms in a direction longitudinally of the support core upon opening and closing respectively of the package holder.

In order that the present invention may more readily be understood the following description is given, merely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a package holder with the outline of a full package shown in chain-dotted lines; and Figure 2 is a side view of the package support of Fig. 1 as viewed from the right hand side thereof.

Referring now to the drawings, there can be seen a cheese 1 supported on a tubular core 2 and held between suitable freely rotatable supports 3a and 4a of left hand and right hand package arms 3 and 4 respectively.

As shown in Fig. 1, the left hand package support arm 3 has a handle or bracket 5 which can be pushed aside (leftwardly as viewed in Fig. 1), to open the package support drawing the left hand arm 3 leftwardly.

This opening movement is necessary until such time as both of the rotatable supports 3a and 4a have cleared the open ends of the support core 2, to allow that core to be doffed and replaced by a fresh core.

As is also shown clearly in Fig. 1, the left hand package arm 3 includes a tap 6 which extends generally at right angles to the arm 3 and engages the hexagon head of a bolt 7 which is secured to a similar tab 8 of the right hand arm 4.

The pivot pins 9 and 10, respectively, of the package arms 3 and 4, have been shown in Fig. 1 as studs having hexagon nuts thereon.

The pivot pin 11 for the entire package support is also shown in Fig. 1, and in Fig. 2.

Coaxially around the shank 7a of the bolt 7 is a compression spring 1 2 which biases the bolt 7 upwardly as viewed in Fig. 1, and thereby exerts an anti-clockwise moment on the tab 6 and its package arm 3, and a clockwise moment on the tab 8 and its package arm 4, thereby resulting in spring biasing of the two core support members 3a and 4a towards one another.

A further bolt 1 3 limits the anti-clockwise movement of the tab 6, and thereby also the clockwise movement of the tab 8. As a result this limits the extent to which the two package arms 3 and 4 move towards one another in the closed position of the package support.

In order to adjust this position, there is a lock nut on the bolt 1 3.

As shown in Fig. 1, the bolt 1 3 is threadedly received in one of two parallel symmetrically arranged diametrically extending holes of a carrier pin 14. The purpose of these two symmetrically arranged holes is to allow the package holder to be reversible so that the package arm which has the handle 5 can, if desired, be at the righthand side of the package holder.

Fig. 2 shows the same elements of Fig. 1 and further illustrates the way in which the package holder is free to pivot about the pin 11.

From the above, it will be readily understood that the two package arms 3 and 4 are biased towards one another by the action of the compression spring 1 2 and that the adjustable bolt 1 3 serves as a stop to limit movement of the arms towards their closed position.

In the same way, the bolt 7 can serve as an adjuster to limit the movement of the arms towards their fully open position, since the tip of the shank 7a of the bolt 7 will eventually abut the web 1 spa of a channel section carrier 1 5 for the package arms and hence adjustment of the screw 7 upwardly and downwardly relative to the tab 8 will vary the extent to which the two tabs can pivot in their movement towards the open position.

We have indicated above the importance of having both package arms moving away from one another in order to release the package 1 cleanly for doffing without tumbling of the falling package.

Another important advantage of the doubleopening package arm construction in accordance with the present invention stems from the use of a whple bank of such package holders along a textile machine, for example 72 such holders in side-by-side relationship along a 144 position double-sided spinning frame. The packages should be mounted as close to one another as possible in the axial direction of the support cores 2 (i.e. in the longitudinal direction of the machine frame) but if only a single one of each pair of package arms moves to release the package then the minimum spacing between any two successive winders will be at least equal to the total separation displacement required in order to doff the package. However, where both of the package arms 3 and 4, as in accordance with the present invention, move away from one another symmetrically, the minimum spacing can be halved because doffing any one package in isolation will only require outward movement of the ends of the two package arms 3 and 4 by one half of the total separation required for doffing. Hence a more compact arrangement of a multi-position winding machine can be derived.

Claims (11)

1. A package holder for a yarn winder, comprising first and second package arms each adapted to support a respective end of a core on which a package is to be formed during winding, and means interconnecting the package arms for symmetrical separating and approaching movement of the packagesupporting portions of those arms in a direction longitudinally of the support core upon opening and closing respectively of the package holder.

2. A package holder according to claim 1, including a bracket carried by one of the package arms to facilitate driven movement of that package arm to cause simultaneous opening of the two package arms of the package holder.

3. A package holder according to either of the preceding claims, and including adjustable means for limiting the separating movement of the package-supporting portions of the package arms towards their open position.

4. A package holder according to any one of the preceding claims, and including adjustable means for limiting the approaching movement of the package-supporting portions of the package arms towards their closed position.

5. A package holder according to claim 4, wherein the adjuster for the movement towards the closed position incorporates a biasing spring to bias the package arms towards their closed position.

6. A package holder according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means interconnecting the two package arms comprise perpendicular extensions of those package arms in juxtaposed overlapped relationship, such that each of those perpendicular extensions has a free end which co-operates with the free end of the other perpendicular extension to provide simultaneous pivoting of the two package arms about parallel respective pivot axes in opposite senses of rotation.

7. A package holder according to claim 6 when appendant to claim 5, wherein one of said perpendicular extensions carries an adjustable screw having a head which engages the other of the perpendicular extensions for simultaneous opening and closing pivoting of the two package arms, and has a shank which supports a biasing spring serving as said spring biasing means.

8. A yarn winder according to claims 3 and 7, wherein the tip of the shank of the screw is arranged to abut a stop member, whereby adjustment of the position of the screw along its longitudinal axis achieves adjustment of the position of stopping the pivoting separating movement of the package arms towards their open position.

9. A multi-position yarn winder including a succession of the yarn winders each having a package holder according to any one of the preceding claims mounted next to one another in side-by-side relationship, with their package arms arranged to support the various package cores in a parallel arrangement, wherein the spacing between any two adjacent said yarn winders is equal to one half of the minimum separation of the package-supporting portions of those package arms for reliable doffing of the package.

10. A package holder substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

11. A yarn winder incorporating a package holder according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and 10.