US2850770A - Noguera - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 9, 1958 J. NOGUERA 2,850,770

DRAFTING MECHANISMS FOR TEXTILE FIBRES Filed Jan. 6, 1955 United States Patent DRAFTING MECHANISMS FOR TEXTILE FIBRES Joseph Noguera, Salford, Manchester, England, assignor to Casablancas High Draft Company Limited, Salford, Manchester, England, a British company Application January 6, 1953, Serial No. 329,847

Claims priority, application Great Britain January 30, 1952 5 Claims. (Cl. 19-135) This invention relates to drafting mechanisms for textile fibres of the kind employing a number of roller drafting systems arranged side by side and each composed of consecutive pairs of rollers, the top rollers of adjoining systems being carried and weighted from the centre by a weighting arm pivotally mounted on a member fixed at the rear of the mechanism.

In such known mechanisms the weighted arm can be raised or lowered about its pivot, but it cannot be removed bodily from the mechanism without considerable dismantling. This limitation has certain obvious disadvantages, from the point of view of both initial fitting and maintenance of the arm, and a main object of the invention is to overcome such disadvantages by a'simple and efficient construction which permits ready removal and replacement of the arm with a minimum of manipulation and without the use of tools.

According to the present invention, there is provided a drafting. mechanism of thekind specified wherein atop roller weighting and carrying arm is adapted for removable engagement on a pivotal mounting at the rear of the mechanism, catch means being provided for releasably retaining the said arm on its mounting.

According to a more limited aspect of the invention, the top roller weighting and carrying arm is adapted for removable retention on a pivotal mounting at the rear of the mechanism by the engagement, over said mounting, of downwardly directed open-mouthed slots in said arm, and by a pivotable catch member on the arm which engages partially around said mounting when the arm is positioned thereon, said catch member being manually displaceable from the engaging position to permit bodily withdrawal of the arm from its mounting.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect one embodiment thereof will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a side elevational view, partially in section and partially broken away, showing a weighting and carrying arm mounted, in accordance with the invention, in an operative position on a drafting mechanism, bottom drafting rollers of the mechanism being indicated diagrammatically in chain-dotted lines and parts of the mechanism having no bearing on the invention being omitted.

In the illustrated embodiment, the invention is applied to a weighting and carrying arm 1 adapted for use with adjoining drafting systems in a drafting mechanism, each system having three consecutive pairs of co-operating drafting rollers 2, 3 and 4. The arm 1 has side Walls In between which a saddle assembly is secured. This assembly includes a front saddle 5, which carries and weights the top rollers of the front roller pairs 2 and a rear saddle 6 which carries and weights the top rollers of the rear roller pairs 3 and 4. The saddle assembly is not illustrated in detail since it forms no part of the present invention. It should also be appreciated that an arm Patented Sept. 9, 1958 2 incorporating the invention is not limited to use with systems having three consecutive roller pairs.

At or near the rear end of the arm 1, the side walls 1a are formed with downwardly directed aligned slots 7, the mouths of which open into the free under edges of the respective side walls In. These slots 7 are for use in locating the arm on the drafting mechanism as will become clear from the following description- Clamped onto a bar 8 fixed at the rear of the drafting mechanism and having its axis extending substantially parallel to the axes of the drafting roller pairs 2, 3 and 4 is a bracket composed of a pair of spaced parallel side plates 9 which project upwardly from the bar 8 and carry a pivot pin 10 therebetween. This pin 10 is arranged with its axis approximately parallel to the axis of the bar 8 and is appropriately proportioned to engage the arm slots 7 and provide a pivotal mounting for the weighting arm. I

Arranged between the weighting arm sidewalls 1a, immediately above the aforesaid slots 7,.is a transverse pin 11 pivotally carrying a hook-like catch member 12 which is shaped to engage around the pivot pin 10. when the slots 7 in the arm side walls 1a are positioned thereon. The catch member 12 is influenced by a spring 13 which is mounted on the pin 11 and has one end 13a engaging a neck portion 12a of the catch member andanother end 13b bearing on a transverse pin 14 mounted between the arm side walls In in front of the pin 11. This arrangement of the spring 13 tends normally tohold the catch member 12 in a position for engagement with the. pivot pin 10, rotation of the catch member under its spring influence being limited by abutment of the neck portion 12a of the I catch member against a rearwall part of the arm 1. i The catch member 12 is provided with a t ail portion 12b behind the hook part, which provides a cam surface to facilitate initial engagement of the arm on its mounting as will be later explained. This tail part 121; of the catch member lies partially within a slot 1b formed at the rear end of the cover portion of the arm i. e. that portion of the arm walling which closes the top and ends of the arm between the side walls In. The extremity of the tail part 12b projects beyond the confines of the arm, as shown, to facilitate manual manipulation of the catch member.

The arm is engaged between its supporting bracket under the influence of its spring 13 to engage partially around the pivot pin 10.

Once the arm is in position as aforesaid on its pivotal mounting it can be freely turned about the latter but is positively held against removal or withdrawal by means of the catch member, and cannot be freed so long as the catch remains in the engaging position. If, however, it is desired to remove the arm bodily from between the supporting bracket plates 9, all that is necessary is to turn the arm upwardly about its pivotal mounting, and then, by grasping the tail portion 12b of the catch member, to unhook the latter manually from the pivot pin 10. Once this has been done, the weighting and carrying arm can be removed from the mechanism since the slots 7 can be freely withdrawn from engagement with the pivot pin 10. At the same time, on release of the catch member, the latter will return under its spring influence to the engaging position where it is ready to re-engage the pivot pin 16 when the arm is replaced.

A great advantage of the arrangement for mounting the arm according to the invention lies in the fact that, should anything go wrong with the weighting mechanism, which is normally incorporated in the arm and forms no part of the present invention, the arm can be removed as a complete unit and readily replaced by another arm. The initial fitting of the equipment on the mechanism is also simplified since the rear bracket fixtures can all be set in a pre-deterrnined position by means of a gauge on the bottom roller of the front roller pair 2, and the arms then subsequently positioned thereon.

I claim:

1. For a drafting mechanism, a channel-section roller weighting and carrying arm having registering slots opening through the respective free side wall edges adjacent the rear ends thereof for inverted engagement over a fixed pivotal mounting on the mechanism, and a manually releasable spring influenced catch member mounted be- .tween the arm sidewalls to depend between said slots and adapted to hook around said mounting under said spring influence, when the mounting is entered into the slots, so as to prevent withdrawal of the arm from said mounting without hindering pivotal movement of the arm about the mounting.

2. A channel-section roller weighting arm as claimed in claim 1 in which said catch member has a hook part for said hooking around said mounting and a cam surface which is adapted to ride over the pivotal mounting during positioning of the arm, thereby swinging said catch member aside against its spring influence until said hook part of said catch member can move into engagement with the mounting.

3. A channel-section roller weighting arm as claimed in claim 2 wherein said catch member has a tail portion projecting beyond the confines of the arm to facilitate manual release of the catch member from said pivotal mounting and thereby permit free withdrawal of the arm.

4. In a drafting mechanism of the kind described having a top roller weighting and carrying arm provided with a stop and downwardly extending free side walls having registering slots opening through the free edges of said side walls, a pivotal mounting for said arm comprising a fixed pivot member for the rear arm end adapted to enter the slots, and dependent catch means for retaining the arm on the fixed pivot member in all positions of pivotal adjustment of the arm, comprising a pivoted member pivoted on said arm between said side walls and having a neck portion and a dependent hook part adapted to releasably engage partially around said fixed pivot member, a spring adapted to urge said neck portion towards said stop and said hook part into engagement with said fixed pivot member when the latter is engaged in said slots.

5. A pivoted mounting as claimed in claim 4 wherein said pivoted member has a tail portion accessibly positioned for manual manipulation to release the pivotal member from said fixed pivot member to permit free withdrawal of the arm from the fixed pivot member, said tail portion has a cam surface thereon adapted to ride over said fixed pivot member, when the latter is entered into said slots to position the arm, and thereby to swing the hook part clear of said fixed pivot member, against said spring influence, until said fixed pivot member is fully home in the slots, whereupon said hook part is automatically urged by said spring into engagement with the fixed pivot member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,120,103 Linde June 7, 1938 2,143,996 Orrell Ian. 17, 1939 2,306,849 Toenniessen Dec. 29, 1942 2,353,338 Hess July 11, 1944 2,508,964 Naegli May 23, 1950 2,601,705 Stahlecker July 1, 1952

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