US2600037A - Baller - Google Patents

Description

June 10, 1952 WEST 2,600,037

' BALLER Filed July 29, 1949 '7' 2 SHEETS--SHEET l June 10, 1952 P. B. WEST 2,600,037

* BALLER Filed July 29, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented June 10, 1952 BALLER Paul B. West, Saco, Maine, assignor to Sam- Lowell Shops, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Maine Application July 29, 1949, Serial No. 107,451

9 Claims.

This invention relates to those machines used in the textile industry to wind textile sliver or roving into a compact package, ordinarily re ferred to as a ball. Such a package is not a sphere but is fundamentally an approximately cylindrical body built up by winding the sliver or roving in courses superposed, one on the other, with the strands of one course crossed over those in the preceding course.

While ballers have been used to a substantial extent in connection with the preparation of wool fibers for spinning, the use of ballers in connection with the preparation of cotton for spinning has never been practiced commercially, so far as I have been able to learn, at least up to the development in connection with which the present invention was made. An important reason for this situation is the fact that the cotton sliver, or other strand of which the ball is composed, usually consists of substantially parallel fibers assembled side by side but not twisted together. While such a strand can be handled satisfactorily if composed of wool, or other long rough fibers, a similar strand composed of smooth fibers, such as cotton, and particularly fibers as short as cotton, is extremely weak in tensile strength. Naturally such a strand must be subjected to some degree of tensile strain in connection with Winding it into a ball, and the danger of breakdowns due to rupture of a cotton strand of this nature is so great that it has not been considered feasible to ball this material. Instead of using it in the form of a ball between successive preparatory operations in connection with the process of working cotton into a suitable form for spinning, it has been customary to feed it into cans, or some equivalent type of container, capable of holding a suitable quantity while it is transferred from one operation to another.

The present invention is especially concerned with the conditions above set forth, and it aims to improve the fiber-handling and feeding apparatus of a baller with a view to enabling such a machine to operate on cotton sliver with entire satisfaction. It is also an object of the invention to improve apparatus of the character just mentioned with a view to increasing the efiiciency of ballers, regardless of the particular 'fiber to be handled, whether wool, cotton, synthetics, or mixtures of such fibers.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, illustrating those parts of a baller with which this invention is most closely related;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the outer end portion of the presser foot;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the supporting bracket for the presser foot and parts adjacent to the bracket;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modified presser foot construction; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the presser foot shown in Fig. 4.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the baller mechanism there shown comprises a driven friction roll 2 against which the ball B is held while it is being wound, the ball being supported on a fiber-board or similar core 3 releasably mounted on a sleeve 4, as is known in mechanisms of this type. The sleeve is supported on ball bearings (not shown) which, in turn, are mounted on a shaft 5, and the latter is secured on the end of an arm 6 pivoted at I, Fig. 1. Associated with this pivotal support for the arm is a brake mechanism which frictionally resists the upward movement of the arm as the diameter of the ball B increases, thus holding this ball firmly, but yieldingly, against its driving roll 2 and producing a firm ball.

As the winding operation progresses, the sliver S is led to the ball through a guiding mechanism supported on a bracket 8 which is clamped on a tube [0 that is loosely telescoped on a stationary guide roll II. The tube is reciprocated in a direction parallel to the shaft 5 by a mechanism of any common or suitable type serving to traverse the sliver-guiding mechanism forward and backward in properly timed relationship to the speed of rotation of the ball so as to build up the ball in the desired manner.

So far as the construction just described is concerned, it forms no part of the present invention, and it may be replaced by any other suitable mechanism.

As above indicated, a very troublesome problem in producing balls of cotton sliver is to handle the sliver in such a manner that it will .not be broken. Usually the sliver is produced by a card or draw frame, preferably without going through a coiler or having any material degree of twist put into it. Consequently, the tensile strength of the sliver is very low. In the prior art ballers it is customary to use a presser foot consisting of a plate-like member under which the sliver is guided into contact with the ball, and the sliver is fed to the ball simply by the pull exerted on it by the ball itself. ISO long as the ball is of small diameter, such an arrangement works well because the wrap of the sliver around a substantial part of the circumference of the ball gives the latter ample grip on the strand, and the length of the sliver in which the tensile strain is greatest is relatively short. However, as the ball builds up this length of sliver subjected to sufficient tensile strain to pull it through under the presser foot increases with a resultant liability of breaking the sliver. The present invention deals particularly with this problem and provides a thoroughly satisfactory solution for that problem.

As indicated in Fig. l, the sliver S is led from overhead through a guiding horn I? which forms the supporting element of a presser foot mechanism embodying this invention. It comprises an arm 13, rigidly supported in the horn, and a roll l4 mounted for free rotation at the outer end of the arm.

As best shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the horn is provided with a deep groove, the surfaces of which are smooth and highly polished. This groove guides the sliver around a part of the horn and on to the adjacent outer polished surface of the arm 13 which also serves to guide the sliver. After leaving the horn the sliver makes a few wraps or turns around the arm, and then is led through a guide eye mounted on the end of the arm and directly into the bite of the roll M with the ball B. The roll M is revolved by its contact with the ball and, consequently, these two elements provide a firm bite which feeds the sliver on to the ball in much the same way that a sliver is fed between the top and bottom rolls of a drawing mechanism. Thus the tension to which the sliver is subjected is confined to only the very short section immediately behind the bite of the presser foot roll with the ball, that is, between the bite of the presser foot roll with the ball B and the guide eye l5. This distance is not only very short but it is constant regardless of variations in the diameter of the ball. 50 long as the length of this tensioned section of the sliver is less than the average fiber length, there is no danger of breaking the sliver, even though it is entirely devoid of twist. The wraps around the arm l3 are to impart a tension to and guide the sliver previous to being placed on the ball. This tension is obtained by the snubbing action and is regulated by the number of wraps employed on the arm.

Thus the invention completely avoids the dimculties heretofore experienced with the use of a presser foot construction of a plate or paddle type, and the danger of interrupting the operation of the machine by rupture of the sliver is practically eliminated.

A further advantage of this arrangement is that it facilitates threading up or piecing up. If the sliver end is led down into the bite in front of the eye IS, the rotation of the ball in cooperation with the pressure of the roll 14 will feed the sliver without any further aid. This is not true with a presser foot of the paddle type where, if a rupture in the sliver occurs in front of the paddle, all feeding movement of the sliver stops and it is necessary to re-thread it under the presser foot and give it a partial wrap around the ball in order to re-establish the feeding action.

In order to hold the roll firmly in contact with 4 the ball, the horn I2 is pivoted on the bracket 8 at I6, Fig. 1, and a coiled spring I! connects the horn with an extension 8 of the bracket and serves to press the roll l4 firmly against the ball.

Preferably the roll [4 is mounted on the end of the arm l3 in an oifset relationship thereto. In the arrangement shown this is done by providing a reversely curved or U-shaped roll holder either made integral with the arm or secured rigidly thereto, the holder having a U-shape with one arm forming a shaft 2| on which the roll is supported and the other arm 25 being secured to the part 13.

A slightly difierent arrangement is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 in which parts like those shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are designated by the same numerals. Here, however, the arm (3' is provided with a forked head including two side plates 58-48 between which the roll I4 is mounted, the roll having a shaft which is supported in these two side members. Also, the guide eye I5 is formed in the bridge piece which connects the parts I8l8. The operation, however, is the same as that disclosed in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be evident that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

1. In a baller, the combination of means for revolving a ball while it is built up by winding sliver on it, a presser foot roll mounted for free rotation and adapted to be rotated by running in contact with said ball, means for pressing the presser foot roll against the ball, and a device for guiding a sliver into contact with said hall where it will be pressed against the ball by said presser foot roll at a point closely adjacent to the initial point of contact of the sliver with the ball.

2. In a baller, the combination of means for revolving a ball while it is built up by winding sliver on it, a presser foot roll mounted for free rotation and adapted to be rotated by running in contact with said ball, means for pressing the presser foot roll against the ball, and a device for guiding a sliver into substantially the bite of said presser foot roll with said ball.

3. In a baller according to preceding claim 1. a construction in which said device includes a guiding eye for th silver positioned directly in front of and close to the bite of said roll with the ball.

4. In a baller according to preceding claim 2, a construction including a guiding eye for said sliver spaced from said bite by a distance less than the average fiber length of the sliver.

5. In a baller, the combination of means for revolving a ball while it is built up by winding sliver on it, a presser foot roll mounted for the rotation and adapted to be rotated by running in contact with said ball, means supporting said roll for swinging movement toward and from said ball, a device for guiding a sliver into contact with said roll at a point where it will be pressed against the ball by said roll, and means cooperating with said supporting means for pressing said roll yieldingly against said ball as the latter revolves and its diameter is increased.

6. In a baller, the combination of means for revolving a ball while it is built up by winding sliver on it, a presser foot roll running in contact with said ball, an arm on which saidroll is mounted for free rotation, means supporting said arm for pivotal movement about an axis parallel with the axis of said ball but remote from the ball, whereby the roll can adjust itself to variations in the diameter of said ball, devices for guiding a sliver into contact with said roll at a point where it will be pressed against the ball by said roll, and spring means acting on said arm to hold said roll pressed against said ball.

7. In a baller according to preceding claim 6, a construction in which said arm has a sliver guid on its end adjacent to its pivotal support for leading the sliver on to a guiding surface of said arm.

8. In a baller, the combination of means for revolving a ball while it is built up by winding sliver on it, a freely-rotatable presser foot roll running in contact with said ball, a pivoted arm on which said roll is supported for swinging movement toward and from said ball, devices cooperating with said arm to guide a sliver into contact with said roll at a point such that it will be pressed against the ball by said roll, means cooperating with said arm for pressing said roll yieldingly against said ball, said arm being provided at its outer end with a support, and a shaft mounted in said support and supporting said roll.

9. In a baller, the combination of means for revolving a ball while it is built up by winding sliver on it, a presser foot roll running in contact with said ball, a pivoted arm on which said roll is supported for swinging movement toward and from said ball, devices cooperating with said arm to guide a sliver into contact with said roll at a point such that it will be pressed against the ball by said roll, and means cooperating with said arm for pressing said roll yieldingly against said ball, said arm having a U-shaped part at its end with one leg connected with said arm and the opposite leg free, said roll being mounted on said free leg.

PAUL B. WEST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,181,678 Macintyre May 2, 1916 1,797,393 Abbott Mar. 24, 1931 2,294,771 Campbell Sept. 1, 1942 2,359,257 Stalker Sept. 26, 1944 2,475,895 Hill July 12, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 4,478 Great Britain of 1-886

Images