US2608362A - Device for tensioning elongated flexible material - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 26, 1952 c. A. BAUMGARTNER ETAL 2,608,362

DEVICE FOR TENSIONING ELONGATED FLEXIBLE MATERIAL Filed May 10, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l 3 h. "h. "I. n

IN l/E/VTOFS Wm WM ATTORN EY 26, 1952 c. A. BAUMGARTNER ETAL 2,608,352

DEVICE FOR TENSIONING ELONGATED FLEXIBLE MATERIAL Filed May 10, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 csc/A 4.51400764PT/VE1? flux/0 5w w P6796050 WILL/4M I KOCH ROBE-E7- morn-1e ATTORNEY C. A. BAUMGARTNER ET AL DEVICE FOR TENSIONING ELONGATED FLEXIBLE MATERIAL filed May 10 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lA/VEMUES (ac/L 4.549007614E77VEI? nuoreew #2 P5 64450 KOCH Patented Aug. 26, 1952 OFFICE DEVICE FOR TENSIONING-ELONGATED, FLEXIBLE MATERIAL Qecil A. Baumgartncr, Maywocd, N. 5., Andrew 7 W. Fergusonu'Great Neck, N. Y., and William J. Koch, Midland Park, and Robert A. Mutter, ,Hawthorne, N. .L, assignors to Sipp-Eastwood Corporation, Paterson, N. 5., a corporation of New York- Application ar 10. 1351. Serial Nc- 22 .536

This invention relates. to, a, device fortensioning elongated flexible material as such material travels in the direction of it l n t A yp cal use fil the tensioning device of the invention, although such device is obviously not limited thereto. is the tensioning of yarn in a high speed spo fing p rati n.

The spooling of yarn), as by withdrawing it from its cakeor package and laying it upon a spool Q bobbin, in order tobe economically feasible is necessarily a very fast operation, carried out in multiple. Thus, ina typical modern spooling machine a plurality of bobbins are supported in aligned relationship, each bobbin being fed from its separate supply package, the yarn proseeding from the package thro h a rd guidin means on a reciprocating traverse bar and thence to the. bobbin. In a typical fairlyhigh speed operation bobbins seven inches lon betwee flanges are employed, and the traverse bar makes sixty complete cycles-per minute, a. cam with substantially no dwell at the ends of the stroke of the traverse bar being employed.

It can be seen that such spoolers involve many problems, including economy of space, the prevention of the entanglement ofyarns from adjacent packages, and the problem of laying the yarn upon the spool under substantially constant tension in spite of the reversal of the cord laying device at each end of thespool.

The present invention provides a tensioning device for elongated flexible material which is advantageously employed in the above spooling operation. The tensioning device of the invention contains many novel features. The manner of mounting such tensioning device upon the aforesaid spooling machine presents also a novel combination. The tensioning device is characterized by its lightness, which allows it to be mounted directly on the traverse rail of the spooling machine, and thus to function as the yarn guiding and laying means. i The tensioning device is also self-threading, whereby the yarn proceeding from thepackage to the spool may be dropped anywhere inthe vicinity of the tensionillg device, the yarn finding its way automatically into the correct location in the tensioning means. The tension device of the invention is further characterized by'the uniformity of tension which it imposes on the elongated flexible material in spite of the rapid reciprocation of such device, and also bythe ease with which minute adjustments of such tension are effected. A further advantage of" the device is its simplicity and consequent economy of construction.

The above and other objects of the invention 1 Claim. (Cl. 2,42 l5il) will be more readily apparent upon consideration of the accompanying drawings formin a part of the specification.

In such drawings;

Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic view in front elevation of a portion of a multiple spool ing machine incorporating the material tensioning device of the invention; i

Fig. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic view in cross-section through such spooler, the section being taken along theline Z-e-Z in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in front elevation of the tensioning device of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a view in axial cross section through the tensioning device, the section being taken al n the line 4-4. in. F

, F 5 i a iew n nd elev on of the, tensie ng d v c Fi 6 is a Vi w n d e eva on. t e housin half which con ain t e disc sep ration limit n member, the View being taken in the direction m inn r e d to the oute end of suc ho sin halt. there be n hown he c ip m m er attached to such housing halt in unfastened condition;

Fig. 7 is a view in side elevation of one, housing half of the tensionin device; and

Fig. 8 is a view in plan of the, assembled housing mounting clip of the tensioning device, the tension member separation limiting device being installed therein but the housing halves being omitted.

In Fig. l, as above explained, there is shown somewhat diagrammatically one end portion of a multiple spooling machine. In such figure there is shown a first spool 2 and a second spool 4 adjacent thereto, the two spools being axially aligned and lying close togethergas shown. Such spools are supported and rotated by conventional means, not shown. The machine is provided. with an elon ated hollow traverse rod 6, which lies parallel to the axes of the spools 2 and d and which is reciprocated at a high ratoof speed to lay the yarnupon the bobbins. The machine is also provided with a longitudinally extending bar mounted on the machine. frame (not shown) somewhat below and to'the rear of the traverse rod.

For each of the spools there is provided a letoil supply 19 of yarn in the form of a cake or package, the yarn proceeding from such supply through suitable guides, to be described, to the tensioning device of the invention, the first such tensioning device employed with spool 2 being designated i2, and the second tcnsioning device, shown associated with spool d, being designated It. The tensioning devices are mounted on the traverse bar 6 so as to travel therewith, the tensioning devices functioning both to tension the yarn and also to guide it in the operation of wrapping it helically upon the spool.

In order to make the tensioning devices selfthreading, there is provided at the left of tensioning device l2 the end guide means it, and intermediate each adjacent pair of tensioning devices a center guide means I8. The end guide means is supported at one end on the traverse rod 6 and at the other end upon the housing half 28 of the tensioning device I2. The center guide means it is supported by being snapped at both ends into slots in such housing halves, to be described more fully hereinafter, of tension devices I 2 and M. The horizontal and vertical guide wires of each guide means are convex, the horizontal guide wire having a configuration similar to that of the vertical guide wire, so that if the yarn is dropped anywhere between the midpoints of adjacent guide wires, in the zone including the tensioning devices, the yarn will automatically find its way into the correct location in the tensioning device. The tensioning devices are located upon the traverse rod in spaced relationship to each other, so that the longitudinally central point of each will just cover, in its travel, the distance between the end flanges of its respective spool.

As shown in Fig. 2, the yarn travels directly from its respective tensioning device onto the spool. This is made possible by the fact that the tensioning devices are mounted directly upon the traverse rod. As a result, the yarn is fed onto the spool under substantially constant tension at all times, even at the points of reversal of travel of the traverse rod at the end flanges on the spool. Such direct mounting of the tensioning device on the traverse rod is made possible by the-lightness of construction of such tensioning device and also its substantial immunity to variation in tension caused by the shock of rapid reversal of direction of its travel at the spool ends. The travel of the yarn from the let-01f supply to the spool is shown in Fig. 2, where it is first shown entering the balloon 22 from whence it proceeds upwardly through the eye or guide 24, which is of the pigtail selfthreading type andv is supported on the bar 8. From eye 24 the yarn proceeds, as shown at 20, upwardly through the yarn cleaning device generally designated I59, such device being affixed to the tensioning device, into the tensioning device, and thence, as explained, directly onto the spool. The yarn cleaning device will be described more fully hereinafter.

The construction of the tensioning device will be more readily understood by a consideration of Figs. 38, inclusive. The main housing of the tensioning device is formed by two identical housing halves 28. Each housing half 28 is provided at the bottom with a hollow car 30, such ears having the fiat mating surfaces 32 (Fig. 6) at the interface, there being a nib I42 and a correspondingly shaped recess [44 on such face, one on each side of the ear. The nibs and recesses of the two halves lock them against rotation relative to each other. The ears extend upwardly to the point 33 (Fig. 4) where they join with the main portion thereof, such main portion in an axial direction being generally of frusto-conical shape except for the fact that the half is fiatted oil at the bottom at a point directly behind the ear.

The main housing of the tensioning device,

formed of the two halves 23 in mating relationship, is held together, and also held on the traverse rod, by a clip generally designated 34. Such clip, which is composed of two pieces, provides a portion which clampingly embraces the traverse rod and a second portion, at the top, including the two cars 36 and 36' which lie on opposite sides of the ears 3!], as shown in Fig. 4. The two housing halves are held together and attached to the clip 34 by means of the bolt 44 which extends, in that order, through car 36 of the clip, the first ear 3% of one half 28, the second ear 3i], and the ear 36 of the clip, the bolt being retained by the nut 46, as shown.

The construction of the clip 34 will be more readily appreciated by a consideration of Figs. 5, 6, and 8. The clip is made up of a rear leg 38 and by a front leg 40, the two clip pieces being retained together by the bolt 42 and by the aforesaid bolt 44. The part 40 of to clip includes the car 36 and a bent portion having surfaces in engagement with three of the four sides of the traverse rod. The rear leg 38 of the clip includes at its top the ear portion 36' and below such ear, bent surfaces which engage two surfaces of the traverse rod. The surfaces of the clip pieces which engage the forward top surface of the traverse rod have their confronting surfaces on a bias as shown in Fig. 8, the angular surface on part 38 being designated 39 and that on part 40 being designated 4|. As a result of such construction, the clip very positively engages the traverse rod, but at the same time may be readily removed therefrom by removal of nut 46 and of bolt 42, following which the clip portion 38 may be swung downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 6. The lower end of leg 38 of the clip may be employed as a support for a yarn guiding eye 26, as shown in Fig. 5. Eye 26, not shown in Figs. 1 and 2, may be used in such combination to supplement the guiding action of eye 24, or may be used instead of fixed eye 24.

The configuration of the housing half 23 will be appreciated by consideration of Figs. 5, 5, and 7. As there shown, each part 28 has at the top inner edge a vertical portion 48, below which the inner edge inclines inwardly as shown at 5B. The edges 48 and 59 of the confronting housing halves in the composite housing define a transverse slot through the housing, open at the top thereof, and located at the mid-point of the length of the housing. The entire peripheral surface of each part 23 at the top and sides thereof, designated 52, is, as stated, frustoconical. Housing halves 28 are most conveniently and economically molded from a suitable plastic, such as polystyrene, such material being strong and light. Furthermore, when the housing is thus molded, it has a highly polished outer surface, so that the yarn easily slides down the top of surface 52 and into the tensioning device per proper, more fully to be described, without injuring any of the filaments making up such yarn.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, each housing half 28 is provided inwardly thereof at its larger diametered end with three equally angularly spaced axially located ribs 54. Such ribs extend throughout a substantial length of the body 28 as shown in Fig. 3, the ribs terminating at an inner circumferential rib 56 of substantially the same radial height as the inner ends of ribs 54. The outer end of each part 28 is provided, at a location diametrically opposed to the car 30, with a re-entrant guide wire receiving slot 58 as most clearly shown in Fig; 4, a correspondingly shaped projection on theend of the guide wire being snapped into such recess.

The tension device sub-assembly, which is held by the above described housing, is designated 60. Such sub-assembly 60 consists of the plastic supporting member 62, such member having a barrel portion 64 which fits snugly within one of the housing halves 28, the radial ribs 54 on such member 62 is fully engaged in the housing.

The partition 66 is provided centrally thereof with the hollow stemM, parts 62, 64, 66, and 68 together with part 14 preferably being formed integrally, as by being molded from'light-weight plastic material. Supported in the hollowstem l4 isthe central metal rod or stem 16, such rod being retained in part 14 bythe nut I8 at the rear end thereof. Rod 'ifi is shouldered at 84, the outer threaded portion 86 of the rod being of greater diameter than the inner portion'thereof.

Held between the shoulder 84 and the inner end of part M are the metal washer member 80 and the sleeve member 82, the latter member being formed of hard, wear-resisting, material such as porcelain. The sleeve 82 serves as a supporting guide for the yarn as the latter passes between the tensioning discmembers 95 and 88, to be described.

The tensioning discs of the tensioning device of the invention are supported upon the sleeve 32 in the following manner: Positioned upon such sleeve, in that order, reading from left to right, are the first frusto-conical washer 88, a small inwardly hollow cup-shaped washer 94, the first, outwardly hollow cup-shaped tensioning disc 96, the second outwardly hollow cup-shaped tensioning disc 95, the second inwardly hollow small cup-shaped washer I22, and the second frusto-conical washer 12. As shown, the smaller face 90 of washer 88 is in contact with the metal washer dii. Washer 94 has its annular'radially directed face in contact with the larger face 92 of Washer 66. The two tensioning discs 95 and 93 are positioned so that their annular, radially directed, tensioning faces are in contact. The sec-- ond small dished washer I91) is positioned so that its radially directed annular face is in contact "with the smaller face I04 of Washer Hi2.

In a preferred construction,washers 8B and I02 are made of hard, wear resisting, material such as porcelain, and parts 94, 5E, 98, and I00 are made of metal such as steel, although it is obvious that such parts may be made of other materials, if desired.

Tensioning discs 96 and 98 are yieldably urged together under a selectively variable force by means of the coil spring I08 which surrounds the outer end of sleeve 82 and the inner end of threaded portion 86 of metal rod 16. An inwardly hollow cup-shaped washer I Iii is disposed in telescoping relationship over the outer end of spring I08, a felt shock-absorbing or damping washer II2 being disposed on stem 86 outwardly of washer Hi). The whole assembly is retained in place by means of the wing nut I I4 threadedly engaged with the stem 86.

the inner edge of circumferential rib 56 when i 6 i The pressure with which the tensioning discs 96 and 98 are urged together, with a given spring I08, may readily be varied by rotation of wing nut IHI, which is preferably of therrsemi-locking type. Means for readily indicating the'amount of tension given by the device at a given adjustment by providing afiatted portion H6 along the outer end of. threaded stem 86, such flatted portion being provided with spaced indicia H8 which may be read in conjunction with the rear edge I20 of .the wing nut H4. .Afiner reading as to the position of nut II41is given by the indicating wing I22 of the not acting in cooperation with the indicating ring I24; Such ring, as shown inFig. 4, is provided with an axially directed sleeve portion I26 which snaps within the outer endof the opening through one housing half 28, the radially "directed flange l 28ribeing angularly calibrated and. having such inner .diameter as to allow the passage there'throu'gh; of

the wings, including the indicating wings I22, on

nutIM.

As shown in Figh i, theinterfacebetween.the

tensioning discs '95 and 98' lies approximately equidistant between the faces 43 of the two. housing halves 28.} Such edges IB overhangthe tensioning discsgso that there is no possibility of the feeding of the yarn, asit drops oif one edge 68, into any location in the tensioning .devioe other than between the tensioning discs; Because of the greater frictional retardation of the disc 96 by washer 88 from such retardationof disc 93 by washer I62, such discs rotate at different speeds as the yarn is pulled therebetween. Such result is caused by the fact that the largerfriction face of porcelain washer-88 is in contact with the washer 94,'which rotates with disc 56, whereas the smaller face of friction washer I02 is in contact with Washer H10, which rotates with disc 98. It has been found that with such difference in the speed of'rotation of discs 95 and 98 the yarn staysstably between the discs and on sleeve 82. If both discs were allowed to rotate at the same speed, on the other hand, the yarn would tend to creep outof contactwith sleeve 82 toward the peripheries of discs 96 and '98.

Further control over the tensioning discs under conditions arising from-their rapid reciprocation when the tensioning device is mounted on the traverse bar, as shown, is effected by the adjustable tensioning disc separation controlling member I39, shown more'clearly in Figs. 4 and 6. Within the cavityformed by the confronting cavities I iil in the ears 39' on housing halves 28 there is positioned the slidable stem member I34 which has a threaded bore I38 therethrough threadedly engaged upon the bolt M. Ahorizontal flange I36, on the bottom of stem I34, aids in the holding of member I38 in upright position by bracingit on'the bolt Located at the top of the stem is the generally horizontal, symmetrically located, partial annulus I32, the innor end of which confronts and overlaps .the outer cup edge of ten'sionin g-disc 98." It will be apparent that member I30; upon the desired adjustment thereof by loosening nut 46 and by the turning of bolt 44 thereby causing'member I34 to travel in the cavity. in 'theiears, acts as a means of limiting the separationof the tensioning discs 96 and 98 at the, bottom thereof as the tensioning device reciprocates. In practice, member I39 is adjusted so that it just clears the bottom right. hand edge of disc 33. whenthe tensiong device is at rest. Themember I30 thus limits the throw, ofthe bottom portionsof discs '7 96 and 98 to the right when the traverse bar reverses its direction of travel at the right-hand ends of the spools.

It will be apparent that the tensioning device of the invention is simple to adjust, to clean, and to maintain. The device sub-assembly including member 60, the stem 16, and the tensioning disc members mounted thereon may be readily removed by thrusting the device to the left as it is shown in Fig. 4 to release the spring catches :12 from the rib 56. Such ease of demounting of the tensioning sub-assembly is also of value, shouldsuch tensioning members require replacement for adjustment, since another such sub-assembly may very rapidly be substituted in the housing of the tensioning device for the one removed, thus not requiring much, if any, lay-downof the spooler.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 there is shown the yarn cleaner I50, referred to generally above. The yarn cleaner, which is mounted upon the housing of the tensioning device, engages the yarn or other elongated flexible material on its travel into the tensioning device and frees it from vagrant filaments and other extraneous material before it is tensioned and wound upon the spool. As shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 5, the yarn cleaning device I50 includes a cleaner retention clip, designated I52, which is retained in place upon the housing of the tensioning device by having a rear portion of such clip engaged between the recessed broad front surfaces I58 of ears 3!) of the housing halves and the tensioning device retaining clip 34. The rear portion of the cleaner retention clip which is thus engaged is shown in Fig. 5, where it is designated I64. The forward portion of the cleaner retention clip, which projects outwardly into the path of the yarn 20, includes two spaced parallel side lugs I54, the portion of the clip between such lugs and rearwardly thereof being bent downwardly to form the tang I56 which overlies the front top surface of the clip 34, as shown in Fig. 5.

The space between the lugs I54, which receives therewithin the yarn cleaning device proper, is designated I56. The roots of the lugs I54, which are generally parallel to the outer lower surface of the body halves 28 of the tensioning device, are designated I58. Each of such roots is offset upwardly at I60, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the upper portion thereof approaches the body half. The outer ends or arms of the lugs I 54, which lie generally horizontal as shown, are designated I52. The offsets I60 are so positioned that they lie opposite the slightly undercut recesses I10 which are positioned in the bottom confronting edges of the body halves 28 of the tensioning device. The space thus presented between opposing recesses I10 and the offsets I50 of the lugs I54 removably receives the yarn cleaner I12.

Such yarn cleaner is made up of two connected superimposed plates I14 and I15, the upper plate I16 having a width laterally of the tension device which slightly exceeds the comparable width of the bottom plate I14. Consequently, the yarn cleaner I12 may be slid into the receiving space provided for it by the retention clip and the recesses in the housing halves, such insertion of the cleaner being in a direction into the paper in Fig. 3. The cleaner is thus stably held within the space provided for it on the tensioning device. The bottom plate I14 is provided with a wide slot extending laterally of such plate and also in a direction toward the tensioning device. The upper plate I16 is provided with a narrow slot centrally thereof and extending in the same direction, such slot being designated I18. The width of slot I18 in its inner, operative, portion slightly exceeds the diameter of the yarn or other elongated flexible material being traversed through the tensioning device, whereby vagrant filaments and other foreign material on the yarn are scraped therefrom prior to entry of the yarn into the tensioning device. Entry of the yarn into slot I18 is assured by flaring the outer end of such slot, that is, making such slot of V-shape in plan.

The outer ends of each of the lugs I54 of the cleaner retention clip is also of V-shape in plan, such ends lying inwardly of the path of the yarn riding upon the outer surface of housing halves 28 prior to entry of such yarn into the correct tensioning position in the tensioning device. The outer ends of the upper and lower plates I14 and I15 forming the yarn cleaner I12 lie inwardly of the outer ends of the cleaner retention clips in a direction toward the axis of the tensioning device. Consequently neither the cleaner retention clip nor the cleaner itself interferes with the self-threading function of the yarn tensioning device, the yarn automatically finding its way into the correct position into the slots I18 of the yarn cleaner and also into the tensioning position between the tensioning discs 96 and 98, as above explained.

Whereas for purposes of illustration we have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the elongated flexible member tensioning device of our invention, and also of the combination of such device with a multiple spooler, it will be apparent that both the tensioning device and its manner of use are capable of considerable variation. The invention is therefore to be defined by the scope of the claim appended hereto.

We claim as new the following:

A device for imposing retarding tension upon an elongated flexible material travelling in the direction of its length comprising an elongated thin-walled housing, said housing being made up of two aligned confronting identical housing halves mating at the bottom of the housing along a surface transverse to the length of the housing, said housing having a transverse slot through a major portion of the main body thereof and extending from its upper edge, one half of the slot being formed in each housing half, the housing having a large opening therethrough longitudinally thereof formed by aligned openings in each housing half, said slot intersecting the opening through the housing, each housing half having at the opening therethrough at the outer end thereof a plurality of angularly spaced radially directed ribs the inner ends of which lie on circles on planes transverse to the longitudinal axis of the housing, the ribs terminating short of the inner slot forming edge of each housing half in a circular transverse rib on the interior of the opening in the housing half, a tensioning assembly mounted in the opening in the housing, the assembly being insertable into the housing through an end thereof, the assembly having a main body at one end thereof, the main body having a surface of such shape and size that it accurately fits within a housing half in snug contact with the inner ends of the radial ribs therein, at least one spring detent on the main body of the assembly which removably snaps over the circular transverse rib in the housing half when the assembly is fully inserted in the housing, said assembly main body carrying axially 9 thereof a longitudinally extending stem located coaxially of the housing, a pair of material engaging tensioning discs rotatably mounted on the stem coaxial thereof, the discs being so located that the interface between them lies within the slot in the housing, the discs being of such width longitudinally of the housing that a portion of each housing half overhangs its respective disc at the top of the slot, means frictionally to retard rotation of discs as the elongated material passes between them, such last named means including friction washers engaging the outer faces of the friction discs, one of said friction washers having a face of different area engaging its friction disc from the area of the face of the other friction washer engaging the other disc, means on the tensioning assembly yieldingly to urge one of the discs toward the other, means on the assembly to adjust the force with which the last named means urges the discs together, the upper surface of each housing half being slanted smoothly downwardly toward the slot, the housing halves each having a hollow ear at the bottom thereof, the hollows therein confronting each other when the halves are assembled, means to hold the ears and thus the housing halves together, means connected to the last named means to attach the housing to a support, an upright member mounted in the hollow within the ears, means to adjust 10 the upright member longitudinally of the housing, and means on the upper end of the upright member confronting the rear bottom edge of the disc which is directly acted upon by the yielding means to limit the separation of the discs at their bottom edges.

CECIL A. BAUMGARTNER. ANDREW W; FERGUSON. WILLIAM J. KOCH.

' ROBERT A. MUTTER.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,093,900 Wardwell Apr. 21, 1914 1,392,515 McKean Oct. 4, 1921 1,399,649 Penland Dec. 6, 1921 2,135,485 Abbott Nov. 8, 1938 2,475,895 Hill July 12, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 17,108 Austria Aug. 10, 1904 384,089 Germany Oct; 2 5, 1923 577,576 France June 6, 1924

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