CA2180915A1 - Thread clamping apparatus - Google Patents
Thread clamping apparatusInfo
- Publication number
- CA2180915A1 CA2180915A1 CA002180915A CA2180915A CA2180915A1 CA 2180915 A1 CA2180915 A1 CA 2180915A1 CA 002180915 A CA002180915 A CA 002180915A CA 2180915 A CA2180915 A CA 2180915A CA 2180915 A1 CA2180915 A1 CA 2180915A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- thread
- clamping
- transport
- holding
- operative connection
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D05—SEWING; EMBROIDERING; TUFTING
- D05C—EMBROIDERING; TUFTING
- D05C11/00—Devices for guiding, feeding, handling, or treating the threads in embroidering machines; Machine needles; Operating or control mechanisms therefor
- D05C11/16—Arrangements for repeating thread patterns or for changing threads
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H69/00—Methods of, or devices for, interconnecting successive lengths of material; Knot-tying devices ;Control of the correct working of the interconnecting device
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
- B65H2701/30—Handled filamentary material
- B65H2701/31—Textiles threads or artificial strands of filaments
Abstract
Apparatus for clamping or defined transportation of an individual thread out of a plurality of threads which are guided in side-by-side relationship, comprises a transport unit with a drivable transport shaft and a rotatable contact pressure shaft, between which a thread is guided, and a clamping unit with an abutment and a clamping pin acting thereagainst for clamping a respective thread. Between the clamping pin and one of the functional parts of the transport unit there is such an operative connection that increasing clamping of a thread in the clamping unit causes increasing release of said thread in the transport unit (clamping position) and vice-versa (transport position). The operative connection can adopt a central position in which the thread is loose both in the transport unit and in the clamping unit.
Description
The invention concerns clamping, defined further transportation or complete release of individual ones out of a plurality of threads which are guided in side-by-side relationship, such as more particularly yarns, in a thread-processing machine.
Particularly in the case of sewing or knitting machines, there is the problem that, when changing the thread, the new thread required must be pulled in by hand through the entire thread guide arrangement, and that can involve a relatively large amount of preparation and resetting time, depending on the frequency with 10 which the thread is changed.
Therefore, automatically operating thread change apparatuses are known. In such apparatuses, the threads which are av~ilahle for selection, disposed in side-by-side relationship, generally terminate with their free ends at the front end of a so-called eye 15 rack which has a separate through opening for each thread. Disposed downstream of that eye rack in the direction of movement of the thread there are then separate apparatuses for frictional transportation by means of ~L~n~ort rollers for the threads as well as clamping devices for each individual ones of the threads. Then, 20 disposed immediately upstream of the thread rack, in the direction of movement of the thread, and displaceably transversely relative to the thread rack, there is a unit which is c~ble of automatically joining the previously used thread to the desired new thread, and then cutting off the old thread, thereby producing an automatic 25 thread change operation. In most cases, this involves a swirl chamber which operates by means of compressed air and in which the threads, by being acted upon by compressed air, are firstly divided up into their filaments and then the filaments of the two threads are firmly woven together.
In thread change apparatuses of that kind, as for ~x~rle in accordance with German patent application No P 43 44 348, separation of the thread clamping action and the thread transport in part gives rise to operational problems as transportation of the threads, which must take place synchronously in a defined manner during the swirl 35 phase for the old and the new threads is not effected for each individual thread, but by means of friction rollers which generally extend transversely over the entire selection of threads and between -which the threads are gripped and transported forwardly by driving one of the rollers.
In order to provide that this situation only involves further tlal~orting the old and new threads as desired, all other threads are clamped in the clamping device, in the direction of travel upstream of the tlans~rtation location of the thread. That however means that the clamped threads are subjected to constant friction in the tlal~ort device in which they are nonetheless engaged between the transport roller and a contact pressure r~ller but cannot be 10 moved in the forward direction, with the consequence that, when those threads are subse~uently used, a yarn breakage can occur at precisely that location. In addition the previous separate design configuration of thread transport and thread cl~p;ng is highly expensive from the mechanical point of view.
- 15 The present invention seeks to provide a thread clamping arrangement for use in particular in a yarn change apparatus, which is simple in terms of design, assembly and maintenance and which is easy and straightforward in operation, affording a thread clamping transport procedure of~enhanced rel;~b;l;ty while dealing with the 20 threads carefully and gently.
In the apparatus according to the invention, there is an operative connection between the clamping unit and the transport unit, for example and preferably a mechanical operative connection in the form of a two-armed lever. That lever is pivotable between 25 the two units about an axis and there is preferably a separate clamp~ng unit and a separate transport unit for each individual thread. The lever or in general terms the operative connection is displ~ceable together with the threads in the transverse direction in order to move the desired new thread or the thread to be 30 processed, to the single processing position ava;lahle, which is generally aligned with the old and new thread-joining units, for example a swirl-type joining chamber.
~ 218091~
Preferably in that respect, each of the narrow two-armed levers which are each assoc;~ted with a respective thread is provided with a clamping projection or pin which is generally formed integrally with the one end of the lever and presses against a fixed bar-like abutment which is' generally continuous over the entire width of the threads avail~Able for selection. Rotatably mounted at the other end of the lever is a contact pressure disk which by pivotal movement of the lever about its axis can press against a drivable transport shaft and in so doing can take up the thread between the contact pressure disk and the transport shaft. When the transport shaft is driven in that condition, the thread is thrust forwardly with a defined movement. In order to cause that to occur synchronously for the old thread and for the desired new thread, the transport shaft is generally designed to extend continuously over a plurality of threads or even over all the threads which are avAllable for selection and which are guided in side-by-side relationship, while the contact pressure disk for each thread is provided separately on a separate lever.
In order to provide for reliable clamping of the thread therebetween, provided in the transport shaft are annular grooves into which the contact pressure disks engage relatively tightly, that is to say with a very small spacing relative to the flanks or sides of the grooves, so that it is no longer possible for the thread to escape latera UY.
The clamping unit at the other end of the operative connection or the two-ar,med lever also comprises a clamping projection or pin associated with each individual thread, for example the end of the two-armed lever, which is formed integrally with that lever, and which can press the thread against an abutment and thereby clamp it, wherein said abutment can be of a bar-like configuration extending continuously transve~sely over the entire number of avA;lAble threads and can be adapted to be displaceable in the transverse direction.
Because the operative connection is of such a configuration that upon Pivotal movement into the one extreme position, it clamps the corresp~nding thread in the clamping unit, while upon pivotal movement into the other extreme position it presses the thread by means of the contact pressure disk against the transport shaft and in the central position it leaves the thread loose in both units, the desired one of the three necessary positions, that is to say transport position, clamping position or sewing position, can be set by means of the one operative unit for each thread.
When the operative connection is in the form of a two-armed lever, it is for example pivotable in the center about an axis on which all juxtaposed two-armed levers for each thread are mounted. If the thread extends above the two-armed lever, the clamping pin is in the form of a projection which projects upwardly from one end of the lever and which presses the thread against an abutment extending thereover. Mbunted r~tatably at the other end of the lever is the contact pressure disk which can press the thread extending thereover, against a transport shaft which is disposed thereabove.
In that respect, each of those operative connections, that is to say the two-anmed lever, is biased towards the clamping position for example by means of a spring, but in the sewing position in which the associated thread extends loosely, the lever is additionally held by a suitable holding element which can be brought into and out of engagement with the operative connection. It is only when that holding element is moved out of the region of the operative connection that the latter attains its clamping position. For that purpose the two-armed lever, as the operative connection, additionally has a third lever arm as an actuating arm which for example projects downwardly transversely to the horizontally extending two-armed lever so that the free end of the actuating arm can be acted upon on the one hand by a spring while on the other hand it is pressed against the holding element.
The two-armed levers which are associated with each thread and which for reasons of structural simplification are disposed in side-by-side relationship are displaceable in the transverse direction together with the threads and - when the transport shaft is provided with the grooves for each thread - also together with the transport shaft, in order to be able to move the respectively desired thread into the 2180~15 processing position which is present only once in the transverse direction. In contrast the continuous abutment which is in the form of a bar can be stationary and can be non-displaceable in the transverse direction, and likewise the holding elements which hold the lever in the sewing position.
That holding element has to be designed separately only at the one processing position while the holding element for all other positions can be designed integrally or can be adapted to extend over a plurality of threads.
In addition, disposed in the processing position and thus being non-displaceable in the transverse direction is a functional element, for example a selection lever, which can pivot the two-armed lever against the force of the spring biasing same, for example from the clamping position beyond the holding element into the central position or still further into the transport position. For that purpose the holding element disposed in the processing position is so movable that it is both in and also outside the operative region of the operative connection, th`at is to say for example the actuating arm of the two-armed lever. The holding elements outside the processing position are also movable in that sense, for example by longitudinal movement in the direction of transport of the thread or in the opposite direction thereto. In that respect that movement is preferably produced directly by the functional element which is arranged only in the processing position.
In that way it is possible to achieve the three conditions which are necessary for a thread change apparatus, wherein hereinafter for reasons of improved ccmprehensibility, instead of the general tenms operative co M ection, functional element etc, the specific designations of two-armed lever, selection lever etc will be used, without however the invention being restricted to that specific mechanical construction.
Both other mechanical constructions can be used in equivalent fashion, and also non-mechanical, for example partly electrical or pneumatic constructions.
2180~15 me processing condition provides that only the thread which is in the processing position is free both in the transport unit and also in the clamping unit, and thus can be pulled through as it is processed in the sewing, knitting etc operation, while all other threads are clamped fast in the clamping unit.
The selection condition now involves changing over to a new thread, after the operation of processing an old thread, by a procedure whereby the entire thread selection together with the levers, contact pressure disks and grooved transport shaft is already displaced in the transverse direction to such an extent that the new thread is already in the processing position so that consequently the old thread is already outside of and beside the processing position. In that situation, the old thread is free both in the clamping unit and also in the LLdn~ort unit as the associated levers are held in the loose central position. All other threads are clamped in the clamping unit.
The L~nsport condition provides that both the selected new thread and also the old thread are pressed in the transport unit against the rotatingly driven transport shaft, by means of the contact pressure disks, and are thereby advanced synchronously and with a defined movement by means of the L~nsQort shaft so that, at the unit which is further forwar~ly in the transport direction, for joining the old thread to the new thread, for example a swirl chamber, the tw~
threads can be joined over a defined distance. In this case also all other threads are clamped in the clamping unit.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the acccmpanying drawing in which:
Figure 1 shows a thread change apparatus with yarn clamping in accor~ance with the state of the art, Figure 2 is a view showing the principle of the yarn clamping alL~ng~,~rlt accor~ing to the invention with only one single illustrated lever 8, and Figure 3 is a view showing the pr;nc;pl~ of operation of the levers 8.
Reference will first be made to Figure 1 of the drawing.
2180~15 For reasons of simplification, Figure lshows only a single thread 10, namely the thread lOa which at that time is disposed in the processing position 20 and which therefore also passes through the swirl chamber 198 which i8 always stationarily disposed in alignment with the processing position upstream of the actual thread change apparatus. In that respect, it is possible to see in the swirl chamber 198 the passage which is provided between the bottam and the top thereof and through which the thread lOa extends, and which can be acted upon with cu,,~lessed air frcm below by way of a cu"~-essed air connection 199 80 that therein, if the free front end (not shown) of the new thread is also disposed in the chamber beside the old thread lOa illustrated, the thread filaments can be caused to swirl around and thus the two threads can be fixedly joined together so that in that way the desired new thread can be drawn by means of the old thread that is no longer required, through the further thread line of movement, for example sewing needle eyes etc, thereby to effect autcmatic thread changing, The actual thread change apparatus is disposed on a carriage 191 which is displaceable in the transverse direction. Disposed in side-by-side relationship in the eye rack 135 which is first in the directionof through movement of the threads and the second eye rack 136 are a plurality of mutually aligned eyes 40 and 40'; a respective one of the other threads available for selection which extend parallel to the illustxated thread 10 and which are not shown for reasons of clarity of the drawing extends through each of the eyes 40, 40'. The threads which are not being used at the present time terminate at the left-hand front end of the eye rack 136 where they can be cut by means of the blade 124 which acts from below.
The ccmpressed air connection 218 in the front eye rack 136 serves, upon transverse displacement of the carriage 191, to be able to shoot the new thread which is then in the processing position, forwardly into the swirl chamber 198, by means of ccmpressed air, in addition to the old thread, for which purpose however it is necessary to en~ure by means of the yarn clamping action which occurs therebehind ~1809`I5 ., .
in the clamping unit 14 that that forward movement occurs at a defined speed and over an only defined length as otherwise the compressed air would cause the new thread to be shot much too far forwardly and that would give rise to col~es~onding operational difficulties.
- In the configuration shown in Figure 1, the actual yarn clamping action is achieved by virtue of the fact that, in each individual eye 40 of the first eye rack 135, a spring-loaded push rod 204 can clamp each individual thread in the a-ssoc-ated eye 40. Independently thereof, the defined thread transport is guaranteed by virtue of the fact that the threads are possibly clamped between a transport shaft 209 and a contact pressure shaft 210 and are further transported with a defined movement by rotation of the transport shaft 209. The clamping action is produced by the contact pressure shaft 210 in turn being pressed or not pressed against the transport shaft 209 by a shaft 211 which is of a segment-like configuration.
A disadvantage in that arrangement is that, in the case of transport movement, not only the desired old and new threads but all threads are to be pressed between the transport shaft 209 and the contact pressure shaft 210 and subjected to further transportation movement by means of frictional engagement; in the case of the other threads which are not required however, that is prevented by the clamping arrangement which involves a stronger force-locking engagement, in the rear eyes 40. As a result, in the case of being tlcn3~orted between the shafts 209 and 210, those other threads are subjected to constant wear, because of the friction which occurs at that location, and that can result in subsequent yarn breakages.
In comparison with the clamping action and the thread ~Lcn~ortation action which also occur separately in Figure 1, the clamping unit 14 and the transport unit 13 in the present invention are operatively connected, as will firstly be described with reference to the view illustrating the principle of the arrangement in Figure 3. In that respect the thread transport direction 11 is shown as being from left to right in Figures 2 and 3 while in Figure 1 the transport 2180~15 direction is frcm right to left.
Figure 3 shows a lever 8 which is pivotable about an axis 23. The lever 8 is an 2t least two-armed lever which is disposed substantially horizontally beneath the thread 10 and which additionally has an actuating arm 9 which projects downwardly transversely relative to those two functional arms.
Frcm the axis 23 of the lever 8, the clamping unit 14 is disposed to the left, that is to say upstream of the axis of the lever, and the transport unit 13 is disposed to the right, that is to say downstream of the axis of the lever. The clamping unit 14 comprises an abutment 3 which is disposed above the thread 10 and against which the thread 10 can be pressed frcm below by means of a clamping projection or pin 4 and can thereby be clamped.
The clamping pin 4 is formed integrally with the one end of the two-anmed lever 8 and projects upwardly in transverse relationship frcm that end, towards the abutment 3. A contact pressure disk 7 is rotatably mounted at the other front end of the two-armed lever 8.
The lever 8 can assume three functional positions:
In the central position, the sewing position, the lever 8 does not press the yarn 10 upwardly against the abutment 3 or the transport shaft 6 respectively, either with the clamping pin 4 in the clamping unit 14 or with the contact pressure disk 7 in the transport unit 13, so that the thread 10 is ccmpletely loose. In that situation, as illustrated, the transport disk 7 can certainly already be disposed within the respective groove 24 of the transport shaft 6.
The lever 8 is held in that central position by a spring 2 urginy the lever towards the clamping position, that is to say towards the left, and in so doing pressing it against a holding edge 17 which holds the lever in the central position, From the left, the actuating arm 9 can also be engaged by a selec~ion lever 15 which is curved in a prong-like configuration, by way of its outside curvature; the selection lever 15 can be urged into that Fosition for example by means of a pneumatic cylinder (arrow 30) and in that case it overccmes the force of the spring 2 which presses the aqtuating arm 9 against the holding edge 17.
. - ~
`~ 218091~
Now, the lever can be pivoted frcm that loose central position, the sewing position, either by means of displacement of the holding plate which has the holding edge 17, towards the right, or by pivotal movement of the selection lever 15, in the counter-clockwise direction, overcoming the force of the spring 2, to such an extent that the contact pressure disk 7 of the lever 8 urges the thread 10 upwwardly towards the transport shaft 6. When then the transport shaft 6 is rotated with a defined rotary movement in the counter-clockwise direction, the thread 10 is further moved in the transport direction, with a defined movement, As the clamping pin 4 moves still further away frcm the position which is in any case loose, opposite its abutment 3, the thread is also not clamped in the clamping unit 14, in this position which constitutes the transport position.
From the central position the lever 8 can also be moved towards the left into the clamping position by pivotal movement of the actuating arm 9, by the holding plate 18 being pivoted sufficiently far downwar~ly. As a result of this, the free end of the actuating arm 9 snaps beyond the holdin~ edge 17 so that the clamping pin 4, by virtue of the force of the spring 2, presses upwardly against the abutment 3 and accordingly clamps the thread 10 at that location.
~ he yarn clamping arrangement as is shown in the perspective view showing the principle of the arrangement in Figure 2 has a plurality of such levers 8 with contact pressure disks 7, in side-by-side relationship, for each thread 10, wherein for reasons of clarity of the drawing in Figure 2, Figure 2 shows only one lever 8 and no thread. In that situation, each of the individual contact pressure disks 7 engages into an associated groove 24 in the transport shaft 6. All levers 8 are preferably mounted on a co~mon axis 23 and are displAceable in the transverse direction 12 together with the threads, that is to say with the eye rakeg 135, 136 shown in Figure 1 and for example by means of the transverse carriage 191 in Figure 1, in such a way that the desired new thread is always in the processing position 20. When using a transport shaft 6 which has an individual groove 24 for each thread, 21~915 -.
disp~ac~TPnt of the transport shaft 6 is also necessary if the contact pressure disks 7 are still disposed within the grooves 24 in the central position. Displacement of the abutment 3 is also desirable in order not to cause friction at the threads in the transverse ~icplacqTent.
All transversely displaceable parts are preferably jointly fixed on a transversely displaceable carriage 191 as shown in Figure 1.
In contrast, the selection lever 15 shown in Figure 3 is provided only at a single position, namely the processing position 20. Likewise the holding plate 18' with the holding edge 17' is provided separately at the processing position 20 and separately in functional respects frcm the holding plate 18 or holding edge 17 at all other positions, for which reason those parts can also be of a unitary construction for all other positions, as shown in Figure 2 where a respective one-piece holding plate 18a and 18b respectively is disposed to the left and to the right of the processing position 20. At least the holding plate 18' which is disposed in the processing position is biased frcm below in an upward direction and can be pressed down against that biasing force.
Preferably that is also the case for the other holding plates 18a, 18b so that, by pivotal movement of the holding edges 17a, 17b thereof in a downward direction, the actuating arms 9 can ccme out of engagement and can be pressed towards the left by the spring 2.
The holding plates 18a, 18b which are outside the processing position 20 are displaceable in the transport direction 11 and in the opposite direction thereto, by means of pivot arms 22 which enyage into corresponding openings 21 in the holding plates 18a, 18b. The pivot arms 22 project radially from a selection bridge 5 which extends above the h~lding plates 18a, 18b in the transverse direction and are fixedly connected to the selection bridge 5. The selection bridge 5 is also at the same time fixedly connected to the selection lever 15 and represents its pivot axis. For pivotal movement of the selection bridge 5, at least one actuating arm 16 is arranged in radially projecting relatlonship thereon. The actuating arm can be urged in the direction of pressing the selection lever 15 against the actuating arm 9 of the 2180~15 -lever 8 and is biased in the opposite direction by the spring 1.
The top side of the holding plates 18 and in particular at least the holding plate 18' in the processing position 20 is in the form of an inclined plane or surface, which rises towards the holding edge 17' at the end of the respective holding plate.
The mode of operation of the yarn clamping arrangement is described hereinafter.
It is assumed that, at the beginning of operation of a thread-processing machine, the first thread to be processed, after that thread for example as indicated at lOa has been moved into the processing position 20 by transverse displacement, is manually inserted into the thread-processing machine. Thereafter the levers 8 associated with all threads, for example also the thread to be processed in the processing position 20, are to be in the clamping position.
In order to be able to begin processing the new thread, that thread and therewith the lever 8 associated with the thread must be moved into the processing position 20, into the central position, the sewing position, so that the thread 10 can be caused to pass freely through the assembly, as it is processed. All other threads are to be clampe~ in the clamping unit 4 and therefore the associated other levers 8 remain in the clamping position.
F~r that purpose, by actuation of the actuating arm 16 and thus pivotal movement of the selection bridge 5 and the selection lever 15, the free end of the actuating arm 9 of the lever 8 in the position 20 is displaced beyond the inclined surface of the holding plate 18' so that that lever 8 is held in the sewing position behind the holding edge 17'. That continues as long as that thread lOa is being processed.
I~ now the arrangement is to make the transition from processing that old thread lOa to processing a new thread lOn, then firstly the transverse carriage 191 which is only shown in Figure 1 and to which the levers 8 and possibly also the transport shaft 6 but not the selection lever 15 which is stationary in the transverse direction and the holding plates 18', 18a, 18b are connected, is displaced in such a way th~t the new thread lOn is in the processing position 20.
-21~0~1~
In that case, the old thread lOa still passes through the swirl chamber 198, but downstream of the swirl chamber it goes transversely to its nozzle 40' which is outside the processing position 20. In that transverse displacement, the lever 8 which is associated with the old thread and which was in the central sewing position is transversely displaced.
As the holding edge 17 extends substantially over the entire transverse extent, in the transverse displacement that lever 8 still remains in the central sewing position and still bears against the stationary holding edge 17, except that after the movement out of the processing position 20, the holding edge involved is not the holding edge 17' of the holding plate 18' but for example the holding edge 17b of the holding plate 18b.
After tenmlnation of the transverse displacement which also involves the continuous abutment 3 which should also be connected to the carriage 191, the lever 8 which is associated with the new thread lOn and which is now in the processing position 20 must still be displaced out of its ~clamping position. At the same time, for the purposes of introducing the front end of the new thread lOn into the swirl chamber 198 and for joining the two threads together by a swirl action over a defined length, the old and the new threads must be transported forwardly over a defined length and at a defined speed while all other threads are to remain clamped. For that purpose therefore as shown in Figure 2 the selection bridge 5 is pivoted in the counter-clockwise direction by means of its actuating arm 16.
As a result, the selection lever 15 firstly urges the lever 8 which is in the processing position 20 and therefore its actuating arm 9 towards the right beyond the holding edge 17' and, upon further pivot~l movement, it displaces the lever until the lever 8 is in the transport position. So that at thé same time the lever of the old thread which is not in the processing position 20 can also be moved into the transport position, the holding plates 18a, 18b are displaced towards the right by virtue of the pivotal movement of the selection ' "' bridge 5 and the pivot arms 22 thereof, until the single further lever 8, namely that of the old thread, whose actuating arm 9 i8 still in a condition of abutting against the holding edge 17a, 17b, is pivoted towards the right so that that lever 8 also adopts the transport S position.
In that position, the desired transportation movement of the old and the new threads can be produced by driving the transport shaft 6, while all other threads are clamped as their actuating arms 9 of the levers 8 are in the clamping position, that is to say to the left of the holding edges 17 as shown in Figure 3.
In or~er then to release only the thread which is now in the processing position 20 and in order again to clamp all other threads, incl~ding the previous old thread (after the old thread has been cut off by means of the blade in Figure l ), the holding plates 18a, 18b must be brought out of engagement in respect of the lever 8 still associated with the previous old thread, so that it can also move into the clamping position.
Preferably, for t~hat purpose, the holding plate 18a, 18b is pivoted in such a way that its holding edge 17a, 17b moves downwar~ly below the free lower end of the holding arm 9 so that the free end of the corresponding actuating arm 9 slides towards the left beyond the holding edge 17 and is pressed against the abutment 3 by the force of the spring 2, like all other levers 8 besides the lever which is in the processing position 20, Instead of that, it would also be possible to envisage a sufficiently large displacement of the holding plate 18a, 18b towards the left.
Accordingly, the arrangement has again reached the sewing position in which it is exclusively the thread 10 that is in the processing position 20, which passes both through the transport unit and also through the clamping unit loosely and without friction, while all other threads are clamped, as the holding plate 18' which is in the processing position 20 does not also perorm that pivotal movement of the o~her holding plates 18a, 18b. That pivotal movement of the holding plate~ 18a, 18b can be produced by pivotal motion of the selection bridge 5 and actuating elements (not shown) which project therefrom, by removing the force as indicated at 30 for actuating the actuating anm 16 of the selection bridge 5.
It will be appreciated that the above-described apparatus has been set forth solely by way of example and illustration of the principles of the present invention and that various modifications and alterations may be made therein without thereby departing fram the spirit and scope of the invention.
.
r :1 .;
.
Particularly in the case of sewing or knitting machines, there is the problem that, when changing the thread, the new thread required must be pulled in by hand through the entire thread guide arrangement, and that can involve a relatively large amount of preparation and resetting time, depending on the frequency with 10 which the thread is changed.
Therefore, automatically operating thread change apparatuses are known. In such apparatuses, the threads which are av~ilahle for selection, disposed in side-by-side relationship, generally terminate with their free ends at the front end of a so-called eye 15 rack which has a separate through opening for each thread. Disposed downstream of that eye rack in the direction of movement of the thread there are then separate apparatuses for frictional transportation by means of ~L~n~ort rollers for the threads as well as clamping devices for each individual ones of the threads. Then, 20 disposed immediately upstream of the thread rack, in the direction of movement of the thread, and displaceably transversely relative to the thread rack, there is a unit which is c~ble of automatically joining the previously used thread to the desired new thread, and then cutting off the old thread, thereby producing an automatic 25 thread change operation. In most cases, this involves a swirl chamber which operates by means of compressed air and in which the threads, by being acted upon by compressed air, are firstly divided up into their filaments and then the filaments of the two threads are firmly woven together.
In thread change apparatuses of that kind, as for ~x~rle in accordance with German patent application No P 43 44 348, separation of the thread clamping action and the thread transport in part gives rise to operational problems as transportation of the threads, which must take place synchronously in a defined manner during the swirl 35 phase for the old and the new threads is not effected for each individual thread, but by means of friction rollers which generally extend transversely over the entire selection of threads and between -which the threads are gripped and transported forwardly by driving one of the rollers.
In order to provide that this situation only involves further tlal~orting the old and new threads as desired, all other threads are clamped in the clamping device, in the direction of travel upstream of the tlans~rtation location of the thread. That however means that the clamped threads are subjected to constant friction in the tlal~ort device in which they are nonetheless engaged between the transport roller and a contact pressure r~ller but cannot be 10 moved in the forward direction, with the consequence that, when those threads are subse~uently used, a yarn breakage can occur at precisely that location. In addition the previous separate design configuration of thread transport and thread cl~p;ng is highly expensive from the mechanical point of view.
- 15 The present invention seeks to provide a thread clamping arrangement for use in particular in a yarn change apparatus, which is simple in terms of design, assembly and maintenance and which is easy and straightforward in operation, affording a thread clamping transport procedure of~enhanced rel;~b;l;ty while dealing with the 20 threads carefully and gently.
In the apparatus according to the invention, there is an operative connection between the clamping unit and the transport unit, for example and preferably a mechanical operative connection in the form of a two-armed lever. That lever is pivotable between 25 the two units about an axis and there is preferably a separate clamp~ng unit and a separate transport unit for each individual thread. The lever or in general terms the operative connection is displ~ceable together with the threads in the transverse direction in order to move the desired new thread or the thread to be 30 processed, to the single processing position ava;lahle, which is generally aligned with the old and new thread-joining units, for example a swirl-type joining chamber.
~ 218091~
Preferably in that respect, each of the narrow two-armed levers which are each assoc;~ted with a respective thread is provided with a clamping projection or pin which is generally formed integrally with the one end of the lever and presses against a fixed bar-like abutment which is' generally continuous over the entire width of the threads avail~Able for selection. Rotatably mounted at the other end of the lever is a contact pressure disk which by pivotal movement of the lever about its axis can press against a drivable transport shaft and in so doing can take up the thread between the contact pressure disk and the transport shaft. When the transport shaft is driven in that condition, the thread is thrust forwardly with a defined movement. In order to cause that to occur synchronously for the old thread and for the desired new thread, the transport shaft is generally designed to extend continuously over a plurality of threads or even over all the threads which are avAllable for selection and which are guided in side-by-side relationship, while the contact pressure disk for each thread is provided separately on a separate lever.
In order to provide for reliable clamping of the thread therebetween, provided in the transport shaft are annular grooves into which the contact pressure disks engage relatively tightly, that is to say with a very small spacing relative to the flanks or sides of the grooves, so that it is no longer possible for the thread to escape latera UY.
The clamping unit at the other end of the operative connection or the two-ar,med lever also comprises a clamping projection or pin associated with each individual thread, for example the end of the two-armed lever, which is formed integrally with that lever, and which can press the thread against an abutment and thereby clamp it, wherein said abutment can be of a bar-like configuration extending continuously transve~sely over the entire number of avA;lAble threads and can be adapted to be displaceable in the transverse direction.
Because the operative connection is of such a configuration that upon Pivotal movement into the one extreme position, it clamps the corresp~nding thread in the clamping unit, while upon pivotal movement into the other extreme position it presses the thread by means of the contact pressure disk against the transport shaft and in the central position it leaves the thread loose in both units, the desired one of the three necessary positions, that is to say transport position, clamping position or sewing position, can be set by means of the one operative unit for each thread.
When the operative connection is in the form of a two-armed lever, it is for example pivotable in the center about an axis on which all juxtaposed two-armed levers for each thread are mounted. If the thread extends above the two-armed lever, the clamping pin is in the form of a projection which projects upwardly from one end of the lever and which presses the thread against an abutment extending thereover. Mbunted r~tatably at the other end of the lever is the contact pressure disk which can press the thread extending thereover, against a transport shaft which is disposed thereabove.
In that respect, each of those operative connections, that is to say the two-anmed lever, is biased towards the clamping position for example by means of a spring, but in the sewing position in which the associated thread extends loosely, the lever is additionally held by a suitable holding element which can be brought into and out of engagement with the operative connection. It is only when that holding element is moved out of the region of the operative connection that the latter attains its clamping position. For that purpose the two-armed lever, as the operative connection, additionally has a third lever arm as an actuating arm which for example projects downwardly transversely to the horizontally extending two-armed lever so that the free end of the actuating arm can be acted upon on the one hand by a spring while on the other hand it is pressed against the holding element.
The two-armed levers which are associated with each thread and which for reasons of structural simplification are disposed in side-by-side relationship are displaceable in the transverse direction together with the threads and - when the transport shaft is provided with the grooves for each thread - also together with the transport shaft, in order to be able to move the respectively desired thread into the 2180~15 processing position which is present only once in the transverse direction. In contrast the continuous abutment which is in the form of a bar can be stationary and can be non-displaceable in the transverse direction, and likewise the holding elements which hold the lever in the sewing position.
That holding element has to be designed separately only at the one processing position while the holding element for all other positions can be designed integrally or can be adapted to extend over a plurality of threads.
In addition, disposed in the processing position and thus being non-displaceable in the transverse direction is a functional element, for example a selection lever, which can pivot the two-armed lever against the force of the spring biasing same, for example from the clamping position beyond the holding element into the central position or still further into the transport position. For that purpose the holding element disposed in the processing position is so movable that it is both in and also outside the operative region of the operative connection, th`at is to say for example the actuating arm of the two-armed lever. The holding elements outside the processing position are also movable in that sense, for example by longitudinal movement in the direction of transport of the thread or in the opposite direction thereto. In that respect that movement is preferably produced directly by the functional element which is arranged only in the processing position.
In that way it is possible to achieve the three conditions which are necessary for a thread change apparatus, wherein hereinafter for reasons of improved ccmprehensibility, instead of the general tenms operative co M ection, functional element etc, the specific designations of two-armed lever, selection lever etc will be used, without however the invention being restricted to that specific mechanical construction.
Both other mechanical constructions can be used in equivalent fashion, and also non-mechanical, for example partly electrical or pneumatic constructions.
2180~15 me processing condition provides that only the thread which is in the processing position is free both in the transport unit and also in the clamping unit, and thus can be pulled through as it is processed in the sewing, knitting etc operation, while all other threads are clamped fast in the clamping unit.
The selection condition now involves changing over to a new thread, after the operation of processing an old thread, by a procedure whereby the entire thread selection together with the levers, contact pressure disks and grooved transport shaft is already displaced in the transverse direction to such an extent that the new thread is already in the processing position so that consequently the old thread is already outside of and beside the processing position. In that situation, the old thread is free both in the clamping unit and also in the LLdn~ort unit as the associated levers are held in the loose central position. All other threads are clamped in the clamping unit.
The L~nsport condition provides that both the selected new thread and also the old thread are pressed in the transport unit against the rotatingly driven transport shaft, by means of the contact pressure disks, and are thereby advanced synchronously and with a defined movement by means of the L~nsQort shaft so that, at the unit which is further forwar~ly in the transport direction, for joining the old thread to the new thread, for example a swirl chamber, the tw~
threads can be joined over a defined distance. In this case also all other threads are clamped in the clamping unit.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the acccmpanying drawing in which:
Figure 1 shows a thread change apparatus with yarn clamping in accor~ance with the state of the art, Figure 2 is a view showing the principle of the yarn clamping alL~ng~,~rlt accor~ing to the invention with only one single illustrated lever 8, and Figure 3 is a view showing the pr;nc;pl~ of operation of the levers 8.
Reference will first be made to Figure 1 of the drawing.
2180~15 For reasons of simplification, Figure lshows only a single thread 10, namely the thread lOa which at that time is disposed in the processing position 20 and which therefore also passes through the swirl chamber 198 which i8 always stationarily disposed in alignment with the processing position upstream of the actual thread change apparatus. In that respect, it is possible to see in the swirl chamber 198 the passage which is provided between the bottam and the top thereof and through which the thread lOa extends, and which can be acted upon with cu,,~lessed air frcm below by way of a cu"~-essed air connection 199 80 that therein, if the free front end (not shown) of the new thread is also disposed in the chamber beside the old thread lOa illustrated, the thread filaments can be caused to swirl around and thus the two threads can be fixedly joined together so that in that way the desired new thread can be drawn by means of the old thread that is no longer required, through the further thread line of movement, for example sewing needle eyes etc, thereby to effect autcmatic thread changing, The actual thread change apparatus is disposed on a carriage 191 which is displaceable in the transverse direction. Disposed in side-by-side relationship in the eye rack 135 which is first in the directionof through movement of the threads and the second eye rack 136 are a plurality of mutually aligned eyes 40 and 40'; a respective one of the other threads available for selection which extend parallel to the illustxated thread 10 and which are not shown for reasons of clarity of the drawing extends through each of the eyes 40, 40'. The threads which are not being used at the present time terminate at the left-hand front end of the eye rack 136 where they can be cut by means of the blade 124 which acts from below.
The ccmpressed air connection 218 in the front eye rack 136 serves, upon transverse displacement of the carriage 191, to be able to shoot the new thread which is then in the processing position, forwardly into the swirl chamber 198, by means of ccmpressed air, in addition to the old thread, for which purpose however it is necessary to en~ure by means of the yarn clamping action which occurs therebehind ~1809`I5 ., .
in the clamping unit 14 that that forward movement occurs at a defined speed and over an only defined length as otherwise the compressed air would cause the new thread to be shot much too far forwardly and that would give rise to col~es~onding operational difficulties.
- In the configuration shown in Figure 1, the actual yarn clamping action is achieved by virtue of the fact that, in each individual eye 40 of the first eye rack 135, a spring-loaded push rod 204 can clamp each individual thread in the a-ssoc-ated eye 40. Independently thereof, the defined thread transport is guaranteed by virtue of the fact that the threads are possibly clamped between a transport shaft 209 and a contact pressure shaft 210 and are further transported with a defined movement by rotation of the transport shaft 209. The clamping action is produced by the contact pressure shaft 210 in turn being pressed or not pressed against the transport shaft 209 by a shaft 211 which is of a segment-like configuration.
A disadvantage in that arrangement is that, in the case of transport movement, not only the desired old and new threads but all threads are to be pressed between the transport shaft 209 and the contact pressure shaft 210 and subjected to further transportation movement by means of frictional engagement; in the case of the other threads which are not required however, that is prevented by the clamping arrangement which involves a stronger force-locking engagement, in the rear eyes 40. As a result, in the case of being tlcn3~orted between the shafts 209 and 210, those other threads are subjected to constant wear, because of the friction which occurs at that location, and that can result in subsequent yarn breakages.
In comparison with the clamping action and the thread ~Lcn~ortation action which also occur separately in Figure 1, the clamping unit 14 and the transport unit 13 in the present invention are operatively connected, as will firstly be described with reference to the view illustrating the principle of the arrangement in Figure 3. In that respect the thread transport direction 11 is shown as being from left to right in Figures 2 and 3 while in Figure 1 the transport 2180~15 direction is frcm right to left.
Figure 3 shows a lever 8 which is pivotable about an axis 23. The lever 8 is an 2t least two-armed lever which is disposed substantially horizontally beneath the thread 10 and which additionally has an actuating arm 9 which projects downwardly transversely relative to those two functional arms.
Frcm the axis 23 of the lever 8, the clamping unit 14 is disposed to the left, that is to say upstream of the axis of the lever, and the transport unit 13 is disposed to the right, that is to say downstream of the axis of the lever. The clamping unit 14 comprises an abutment 3 which is disposed above the thread 10 and against which the thread 10 can be pressed frcm below by means of a clamping projection or pin 4 and can thereby be clamped.
The clamping pin 4 is formed integrally with the one end of the two-anmed lever 8 and projects upwardly in transverse relationship frcm that end, towards the abutment 3. A contact pressure disk 7 is rotatably mounted at the other front end of the two-armed lever 8.
The lever 8 can assume three functional positions:
In the central position, the sewing position, the lever 8 does not press the yarn 10 upwardly against the abutment 3 or the transport shaft 6 respectively, either with the clamping pin 4 in the clamping unit 14 or with the contact pressure disk 7 in the transport unit 13, so that the thread 10 is ccmpletely loose. In that situation, as illustrated, the transport disk 7 can certainly already be disposed within the respective groove 24 of the transport shaft 6.
The lever 8 is held in that central position by a spring 2 urginy the lever towards the clamping position, that is to say towards the left, and in so doing pressing it against a holding edge 17 which holds the lever in the central position, From the left, the actuating arm 9 can also be engaged by a selec~ion lever 15 which is curved in a prong-like configuration, by way of its outside curvature; the selection lever 15 can be urged into that Fosition for example by means of a pneumatic cylinder (arrow 30) and in that case it overccmes the force of the spring 2 which presses the aqtuating arm 9 against the holding edge 17.
. - ~
`~ 218091~
Now, the lever can be pivoted frcm that loose central position, the sewing position, either by means of displacement of the holding plate which has the holding edge 17, towards the right, or by pivotal movement of the selection lever 15, in the counter-clockwise direction, overcoming the force of the spring 2, to such an extent that the contact pressure disk 7 of the lever 8 urges the thread 10 upwwardly towards the transport shaft 6. When then the transport shaft 6 is rotated with a defined rotary movement in the counter-clockwise direction, the thread 10 is further moved in the transport direction, with a defined movement, As the clamping pin 4 moves still further away frcm the position which is in any case loose, opposite its abutment 3, the thread is also not clamped in the clamping unit 14, in this position which constitutes the transport position.
From the central position the lever 8 can also be moved towards the left into the clamping position by pivotal movement of the actuating arm 9, by the holding plate 18 being pivoted sufficiently far downwar~ly. As a result of this, the free end of the actuating arm 9 snaps beyond the holdin~ edge 17 so that the clamping pin 4, by virtue of the force of the spring 2, presses upwardly against the abutment 3 and accordingly clamps the thread 10 at that location.
~ he yarn clamping arrangement as is shown in the perspective view showing the principle of the arrangement in Figure 2 has a plurality of such levers 8 with contact pressure disks 7, in side-by-side relationship, for each thread 10, wherein for reasons of clarity of the drawing in Figure 2, Figure 2 shows only one lever 8 and no thread. In that situation, each of the individual contact pressure disks 7 engages into an associated groove 24 in the transport shaft 6. All levers 8 are preferably mounted on a co~mon axis 23 and are displAceable in the transverse direction 12 together with the threads, that is to say with the eye rakeg 135, 136 shown in Figure 1 and for example by means of the transverse carriage 191 in Figure 1, in such a way that the desired new thread is always in the processing position 20. When using a transport shaft 6 which has an individual groove 24 for each thread, 21~915 -.
disp~ac~TPnt of the transport shaft 6 is also necessary if the contact pressure disks 7 are still disposed within the grooves 24 in the central position. Displacement of the abutment 3 is also desirable in order not to cause friction at the threads in the transverse ~icplacqTent.
All transversely displaceable parts are preferably jointly fixed on a transversely displaceable carriage 191 as shown in Figure 1.
In contrast, the selection lever 15 shown in Figure 3 is provided only at a single position, namely the processing position 20. Likewise the holding plate 18' with the holding edge 17' is provided separately at the processing position 20 and separately in functional respects frcm the holding plate 18 or holding edge 17 at all other positions, for which reason those parts can also be of a unitary construction for all other positions, as shown in Figure 2 where a respective one-piece holding plate 18a and 18b respectively is disposed to the left and to the right of the processing position 20. At least the holding plate 18' which is disposed in the processing position is biased frcm below in an upward direction and can be pressed down against that biasing force.
Preferably that is also the case for the other holding plates 18a, 18b so that, by pivotal movement of the holding edges 17a, 17b thereof in a downward direction, the actuating arms 9 can ccme out of engagement and can be pressed towards the left by the spring 2.
The holding plates 18a, 18b which are outside the processing position 20 are displaceable in the transport direction 11 and in the opposite direction thereto, by means of pivot arms 22 which enyage into corresponding openings 21 in the holding plates 18a, 18b. The pivot arms 22 project radially from a selection bridge 5 which extends above the h~lding plates 18a, 18b in the transverse direction and are fixedly connected to the selection bridge 5. The selection bridge 5 is also at the same time fixedly connected to the selection lever 15 and represents its pivot axis. For pivotal movement of the selection bridge 5, at least one actuating arm 16 is arranged in radially projecting relatlonship thereon. The actuating arm can be urged in the direction of pressing the selection lever 15 against the actuating arm 9 of the 2180~15 -lever 8 and is biased in the opposite direction by the spring 1.
The top side of the holding plates 18 and in particular at least the holding plate 18' in the processing position 20 is in the form of an inclined plane or surface, which rises towards the holding edge 17' at the end of the respective holding plate.
The mode of operation of the yarn clamping arrangement is described hereinafter.
It is assumed that, at the beginning of operation of a thread-processing machine, the first thread to be processed, after that thread for example as indicated at lOa has been moved into the processing position 20 by transverse displacement, is manually inserted into the thread-processing machine. Thereafter the levers 8 associated with all threads, for example also the thread to be processed in the processing position 20, are to be in the clamping position.
In order to be able to begin processing the new thread, that thread and therewith the lever 8 associated with the thread must be moved into the processing position 20, into the central position, the sewing position, so that the thread 10 can be caused to pass freely through the assembly, as it is processed. All other threads are to be clampe~ in the clamping unit 4 and therefore the associated other levers 8 remain in the clamping position.
F~r that purpose, by actuation of the actuating arm 16 and thus pivotal movement of the selection bridge 5 and the selection lever 15, the free end of the actuating arm 9 of the lever 8 in the position 20 is displaced beyond the inclined surface of the holding plate 18' so that that lever 8 is held in the sewing position behind the holding edge 17'. That continues as long as that thread lOa is being processed.
I~ now the arrangement is to make the transition from processing that old thread lOa to processing a new thread lOn, then firstly the transverse carriage 191 which is only shown in Figure 1 and to which the levers 8 and possibly also the transport shaft 6 but not the selection lever 15 which is stationary in the transverse direction and the holding plates 18', 18a, 18b are connected, is displaced in such a way th~t the new thread lOn is in the processing position 20.
-21~0~1~
In that case, the old thread lOa still passes through the swirl chamber 198, but downstream of the swirl chamber it goes transversely to its nozzle 40' which is outside the processing position 20. In that transverse displacement, the lever 8 which is associated with the old thread and which was in the central sewing position is transversely displaced.
As the holding edge 17 extends substantially over the entire transverse extent, in the transverse displacement that lever 8 still remains in the central sewing position and still bears against the stationary holding edge 17, except that after the movement out of the processing position 20, the holding edge involved is not the holding edge 17' of the holding plate 18' but for example the holding edge 17b of the holding plate 18b.
After tenmlnation of the transverse displacement which also involves the continuous abutment 3 which should also be connected to the carriage 191, the lever 8 which is associated with the new thread lOn and which is now in the processing position 20 must still be displaced out of its ~clamping position. At the same time, for the purposes of introducing the front end of the new thread lOn into the swirl chamber 198 and for joining the two threads together by a swirl action over a defined length, the old and the new threads must be transported forwardly over a defined length and at a defined speed while all other threads are to remain clamped. For that purpose therefore as shown in Figure 2 the selection bridge 5 is pivoted in the counter-clockwise direction by means of its actuating arm 16.
As a result, the selection lever 15 firstly urges the lever 8 which is in the processing position 20 and therefore its actuating arm 9 towards the right beyond the holding edge 17' and, upon further pivot~l movement, it displaces the lever until the lever 8 is in the transport position. So that at thé same time the lever of the old thread which is not in the processing position 20 can also be moved into the transport position, the holding plates 18a, 18b are displaced towards the right by virtue of the pivotal movement of the selection ' "' bridge 5 and the pivot arms 22 thereof, until the single further lever 8, namely that of the old thread, whose actuating arm 9 i8 still in a condition of abutting against the holding edge 17a, 17b, is pivoted towards the right so that that lever 8 also adopts the transport S position.
In that position, the desired transportation movement of the old and the new threads can be produced by driving the transport shaft 6, while all other threads are clamped as their actuating arms 9 of the levers 8 are in the clamping position, that is to say to the left of the holding edges 17 as shown in Figure 3.
In or~er then to release only the thread which is now in the processing position 20 and in order again to clamp all other threads, incl~ding the previous old thread (after the old thread has been cut off by means of the blade in Figure l ), the holding plates 18a, 18b must be brought out of engagement in respect of the lever 8 still associated with the previous old thread, so that it can also move into the clamping position.
Preferably, for t~hat purpose, the holding plate 18a, 18b is pivoted in such a way that its holding edge 17a, 17b moves downwar~ly below the free lower end of the holding arm 9 so that the free end of the corresponding actuating arm 9 slides towards the left beyond the holding edge 17 and is pressed against the abutment 3 by the force of the spring 2, like all other levers 8 besides the lever which is in the processing position 20, Instead of that, it would also be possible to envisage a sufficiently large displacement of the holding plate 18a, 18b towards the left.
Accordingly, the arrangement has again reached the sewing position in which it is exclusively the thread 10 that is in the processing position 20, which passes both through the transport unit and also through the clamping unit loosely and without friction, while all other threads are clamped, as the holding plate 18' which is in the processing position 20 does not also perorm that pivotal movement of the o~her holding plates 18a, 18b. That pivotal movement of the holding plate~ 18a, 18b can be produced by pivotal motion of the selection bridge 5 and actuating elements (not shown) which project therefrom, by removing the force as indicated at 30 for actuating the actuating anm 16 of the selection bridge 5.
It will be appreciated that the above-described apparatus has been set forth solely by way of example and illustration of the principles of the present invention and that various modifications and alterations may be made therein without thereby departing fram the spirit and scope of the invention.
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Claims (24)
1. Apparatus for selective clamping and defined transportation of at least one individual thread out of a plurality of threads which are guided in side-by-side relationship, comprising:
a transport unit which includes - at least one drivable transport shaft and - a rotatable contact pressure disk, at least one thread being guided between the transport shaft and the contact pressure disk;
a clamping unit which includes - at least one abutment and - a clamping portion adapted to act thereagainst for clamping a respective thread therebetween; and an operative connection between the clamping portion and one of the functional parts of the transport unit such that increasing clamping of a thread in the clamping unit causes increasing release of said thread in the transport unit (clamping position) and vice-versa (transport position), the operative connection being adapted to adopt a central position in which said thread is loose both in the transport unit and in the clamping unit.
a transport unit which includes - at least one drivable transport shaft and - a rotatable contact pressure disk, at least one thread being guided between the transport shaft and the contact pressure disk;
a clamping unit which includes - at least one abutment and - a clamping portion adapted to act thereagainst for clamping a respective thread therebetween; and an operative connection between the clamping portion and one of the functional parts of the transport unit such that increasing clamping of a thread in the clamping unit causes increasing release of said thread in the transport unit (clamping position) and vice-versa (transport position), the operative connection being adapted to adopt a central position in which said thread is loose both in the transport unit and in the clamping unit.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a said operative connection provided separately for each individual thread.
3. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for displacing the operative connection in a transverse direction with all threads so that the desired thread can be moved into a processing position and at least in the processing position the operative connection is movable by means of a functional element at least into first and second limit positions and its central position.
4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the operative connection is a mechanical operative connection including at least one two-armed lever having a first end at which the functional part of the transport unit is arranged and a second end at which the clamping portion is arranged.
5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the clamping portion is a clamping pin provided by the first end of the two-armed lever.
6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the functional part of the transport unit, which is connected to the operative connection, is the contact pressure disk.
7. Apparatus according to claim 1 including for each individual thread a separate contact pressure disk adapted to press said thread against the transport shaft.
8. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for biasing the operative connection in the clamping direction within the clamping unit.
9. Apparatus according to claim 4 including a holding edge, wherein the two-armed lever has an actuating arm having a free end adapted to be held by detent engagement behind the holding edge in the central position wherein the transport unit and the clamping unit are loose, and wherein the holding edge is movable into a position of releasing the actuating arm of the lever.
10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the holding edge in the thread-processing position of the apparatus is in the form of a separate holding edge and is adapted to be separately moved into the position of releasing the actuating arm of a lever, which arm is at the processing position.
11. Apparatus according to claim 9 including a functional element for influencing the operative connection in the processing position in the form of a selection lever adapted to move the actuating arm of the lever which is in the processing position from the clamping position into one of the other two positions.
12. Apparatus according to claim 11 including a selection bridge which extends in the transverse direction, the selection arm being carried by the selection bridge, means for pivotal movement of the selection bridge about the transverse direction, and means for biasing the selection bridge into a position of bringing the selection lever out of contact with the actuating arm.
13. Apparatus according to claim 9 including at least one transversely extending holding plate which is arranged on both sides of the processing position, and having an end face providing the holding edge, and spring means biasing the holding edge into the operative region of the actuating arms of the levers.
14. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the holding plate has a top side which is towards the levers and which is of a configuration such as to rise towards the holding edge.
15. Apparatus according to claim 9 including a separate narrow holding plate which provides a said holding edge and which is only adapted to engage the actuating arm of the lever which is in the processing position.
16. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the free ends of the actuating arms project only slightly beyond the holding edges and the holding plates are so displaceable that the actuating arms are slidable beyond the holding edges and thus the levers are movable into the clamping position.
17. Apparatus according to claim 16 wherein the holding plates are pivotable,
18. Apparatus according to claim 16 wherein the movement of the holding plates is produced by means of the selection bridge.
19. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the holding plates have openings which face in a direction towards the selection bridge, and including pivot arms on the selection bridge projecting radially therefrom, the pivot arms being engageable into said openings.
20. Apparatus according to claim 19 wherein the openings are so positioned and dimensioned that the pivot arms which project from the selection bridge bear against the ends of the openings, which are opposite to the transport direction, when the holding edge of the holding plate holds the lever in the central positon.
21. Apparatus according to claim 19 wherein the pivot arms are resilient.
22. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the transport shaft has annular grooves spaced along its longitudinal extent, for each individual thread, into which grooves the respective contact pressure disks can engage with an accurate fit and with a small lateral spacing relative to the respective flanks of the grooves thereby to press the thread against the bottom of the groove, and including means for displacing the transport shaft in the transverse direction with the levers and the threads.
23. A process for clamping, defined further transportation or total release of individual defined threads from a plurality of threads which are guided in side-by-side relationship and which are available for selection, by means of:
- a transport unit, - a clamping unit, which units respectively act separately on each thread, - an operative connection between the transport unit and the clamping unit, which is biased towards the clamping position, - a functional element acting on the operative connection in a thread-processing position, and - a holding element adapted to hold the operative connection in the release position and separately actuable in the processing position, wherein the following conditions can be achieved:
Processing condition:
only the thread which is in the processing position is free both in the transport unit and also in the clamping unit and can be processed, and all other threads are clamped in the clamping unit;
Selection condition:
a new thread is already disposed in the processing position but is still clamped in the clamping unit while the previous old thread is displaced outside the processing position but is still free in the transport unit and in the clamping unit;
Transport condition:
from the selection condition, only the old thread and the new thread are further transported synchronously and with a defined movement in the transport direction by means of the transport unit, and all other threads are clamped in the clamping unit, wherein:
a) the processing condition is achieved by a procedure whereby:
- the holding elements are brought out of engagement with the operative connections so that all operative connections adopt the clamping position, and - then by means of the functional element only the operative connection which is in the processing position is moved by advance thrust movement by way of the holding element by way of the free central position and is held there, b) the selection condition is achieved by a procedure whereby, starting from the processing condition, all operative connections are displaced in the transverse direction with all threads until the desired new thread is at the processing position, and - in that situation the operative connection of the previous old thread remains held by the holding elements in the free central position, and c) starting from the selection condition the transport condition is achieved by a procedure whereby, by actuation of the functional element, only the operative connection of the new thread in the processing position on the one hand and by displacement of the holding elements only the operative connection of the previous old thread on the other hand are displaced to such a degree that only the old thread and the new thread are clamped in the transport unit and are transported forwardly with a defined synchronous movement by drive of the transport unit while all other threads are clamped in the clamping unit and are loose in the transport unit.
- a transport unit, - a clamping unit, which units respectively act separately on each thread, - an operative connection between the transport unit and the clamping unit, which is biased towards the clamping position, - a functional element acting on the operative connection in a thread-processing position, and - a holding element adapted to hold the operative connection in the release position and separately actuable in the processing position, wherein the following conditions can be achieved:
Processing condition:
only the thread which is in the processing position is free both in the transport unit and also in the clamping unit and can be processed, and all other threads are clamped in the clamping unit;
Selection condition:
a new thread is already disposed in the processing position but is still clamped in the clamping unit while the previous old thread is displaced outside the processing position but is still free in the transport unit and in the clamping unit;
Transport condition:
from the selection condition, only the old thread and the new thread are further transported synchronously and with a defined movement in the transport direction by means of the transport unit, and all other threads are clamped in the clamping unit, wherein:
a) the processing condition is achieved by a procedure whereby:
- the holding elements are brought out of engagement with the operative connections so that all operative connections adopt the clamping position, and - then by means of the functional element only the operative connection which is in the processing position is moved by advance thrust movement by way of the holding element by way of the free central position and is held there, b) the selection condition is achieved by a procedure whereby, starting from the processing condition, all operative connections are displaced in the transverse direction with all threads until the desired new thread is at the processing position, and - in that situation the operative connection of the previous old thread remains held by the holding elements in the free central position, and c) starting from the selection condition the transport condition is achieved by a procedure whereby, by actuation of the functional element, only the operative connection of the new thread in the processing position on the one hand and by displacement of the holding elements only the operative connection of the previous old thread on the other hand are displaced to such a degree that only the old thread and the new thread are clamped in the transport unit and are transported forwardly with a defined synchronous movement by drive of the transport unit while all other threads are clamped in the clamping unit and are loose in the transport unit.
24. A process according to claim 23 wherein the transport condition is achieved by actuation of a selection bridge which in positively coupled relationship actuates on the one hand both the holding elements and also on the other hand the functional element, to the desired extent.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE19525434A DE19525434C2 (en) | 1995-07-12 | 1995-07-12 | Thread or Yarn clamping |
| DE19525434.1 | 1995-07-12 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2180915A1 true CA2180915A1 (en) | 1997-01-13 |
Family
ID=7766668
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002180915A Abandoned CA2180915A1 (en) | 1995-07-12 | 1996-07-10 | Thread clamping apparatus |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5752642A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0753618A3 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH09188476A (en) |
| KR (1) | KR970006580A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2180915A1 (en) |
| DE (1) | DE19525434C2 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN106757883A (en) * | 2016-12-21 | 2017-05-31 | 浙江博盟精工轴承有限公司 | A kind of computerized emboridering machine mechanical arm |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CH691682A5 (en) * | 1997-03-10 | 2001-09-14 | Komax Holding Ag | Cable transport unit. |
| DE50102842D1 (en) * | 2000-12-08 | 2004-08-19 | Komax Holding Ag Dierikon | Cable processing device with cable changer |
| EP1524341A1 (en) * | 2003-10-13 | 2005-04-20 | Benninger AG | Process and device for changing threads, particularly for the creel or a warping machine |
Family Cites Families (16)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3067704A (en) * | 1960-09-06 | 1962-12-11 | American Mach & Foundry | Thread selector mechanism for stitching machine |
| US3334477A (en) * | 1965-10-22 | 1967-08-08 | Cormier Hosiery Mills Inc | Apparatus and method for connecting a yarn to an existing yarn |
| CA934946A (en) * | 1971-02-01 | 1973-10-09 | E. Crowell Donald | Yarn knotter |
| US3888401A (en) * | 1973-03-20 | 1975-06-10 | Evans & Son Portsmouth Limited | Filament feeding apparatus |
| US3937157A (en) * | 1974-05-29 | 1976-02-10 | Abram N. Spanel | Method and means of tufting |
| US4043494A (en) * | 1976-02-23 | 1977-08-23 | Amp Incorporated | Apparatus for feeding a plurality of wires |
| EP0063371B1 (en) * | 1981-04-16 | 1985-07-24 | Aktiebolaget Iro | Knitting machine for the production of a striped fabric |
| DE3336202A1 (en) * | 1983-10-05 | 1985-04-25 | Textechno Herbert Stein GmbH & Co KG, 4050 Mönchengladbach | Process and apparatus for the connection of yarn-like materials |
| DE3538268A1 (en) * | 1985-10-28 | 1987-04-30 | Juergenhake Bernhard | METHOD FOR TRANSPORTING CABLES AND TRANSPORT DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT THE METHOD |
| IT1223431B (en) * | 1987-12-14 | 1990-09-19 | Mesdan Spa | PRESSING EQUIPMENT WITH COMPRESSED AIR ADDED WITH A LIQUID FOR JOINING THREADS OR TEXTILE YARNS |
| KR920702843A (en) * | 1989-09-19 | 1992-10-28 | 데블류. 세틀레, 피. 헤르만 | Thread automatic connecting device and method |
| DE3935536C2 (en) * | 1989-10-25 | 2000-02-10 | Schlafhorst & Co W | Thread splicer |
| DE4116297A1 (en) * | 1991-05-17 | 1992-11-19 | Union Special Gmbh | TAPE FEEDER ON A SEWING MACHINE |
| DE4118130A1 (en) * | 1991-06-03 | 1992-12-10 | Alkotex Srl | THREAD PROCESSING MACHINE, ESPECIALLY EMBROIDERY MACHINE WITH A THREAD CHANGING DEVICE |
| US5603462A (en) * | 1993-09-09 | 1997-02-18 | Melco Industries, Inc. | Changing threads in a sewing machine |
| DE4344348C2 (en) * | 1993-12-23 | 1995-10-05 | Saxonia Umformtechnik Gmbh | Thread change with compressed air transport |
-
1995
- 1995-07-12 DE DE19525434A patent/DE19525434C2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1996
- 1996-06-26 EP EP96110329A patent/EP0753618A3/en not_active Ceased
- 1996-07-10 CA CA002180915A patent/CA2180915A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1996-07-11 JP JP8201091A patent/JPH09188476A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1996-07-11 US US08/678,264 patent/US5752642A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1996-07-11 KR KR1019960027869A patent/KR970006580A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN106757883A (en) * | 2016-12-21 | 2017-05-31 | 浙江博盟精工轴承有限公司 | A kind of computerized emboridering machine mechanical arm |
| CN106757883B (en) * | 2016-12-21 | 2022-11-29 | 浙江博盟精工轴承有限公司 | Mechanical arm of computerized embroidery machine |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JPH09188476A (en) | 1997-07-22 |
| US5752642A (en) | 1998-05-19 |
| EP0753618A2 (en) | 1997-01-15 |
| DE19525434A1 (en) | 1997-01-16 |
| KR970006580A (en) | 1997-02-21 |
| DE19525434C2 (en) | 1999-04-01 |
| EP0753618A3 (en) | 1997-08-13 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |
Effective date: 20030710 |