US3172248A - Anti-ballooning device - Google Patents

Description

March 9, 1965 Filed Sept. 21, 1962 K. H. PIPER ANTI-BALLOONING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet l lLd/a INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS March 9, 1965 Filed Sept. 21, 1962 K. H. PIPER ANTI-BALLOONING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG 4 if I I ifl 27 INVENTOR.

KENNETH H PIPER his ATTORNEYS March 9, 1965 K. H. PIPER 3,172,248

ANTIBALLOONING DEVICE Filed Sept. 21, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 1 g!!! r M!!! 5% INVENTOR. KEN NETH H. PIPER h is ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,172,248 ANTI-BALLGONING DEVICE Kenneth H. Piper, Whitinsviiie, Mass, assignor to Whitin Machine Works, Whitinsviile, Mesa, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 21, 1962, Ser. No. 225,248 2 Ciaims. (Cl. 5773) The invention relates in general to apparatus for controlling the flow of yarn in textile machines and more particularly to devices for preventing the ballooning of yarn as it is wound upon a rotating tube or bobbin.

Generally in the textile industry long strands of yarn are wound upon rapidly rotating tubes forming bobbin packages which are readily transportable and easily unwound at Weaving locations. One of the many problems faced in this rapid winding operation has been the tendency of the yarn to respond to a centrifugal force as it is being pulled upon a rotating tube; The ballooning yarn w ich results produces a loosely wound bobbin package which is a highly undesirable feature.

Although one solution, of course, would be to increase the tension acting on the strand of yarn, it is obvious that its tensile strength is quite limited. Thus, the textile industry has for some time sought a solution which provides for a limited tension at the proper point and in the proper direction, and has produced an array of yarn guiding systems and devices for this very purpose.

It has been formerly proposed to mount anti-ballooning devices on the spinning frame. Presently, however, due to advancements in the art the spindle-mounted anti ballooning devices cannot be used because the bobbin or the conventional winding tube upon which the yarn is wound, is much longer than it has been in the past, with the tube extending well beyond the tip of the spindle blade.

There have also recently been attempts to control the ballooning yarn by a device mounted on the tube, but since these devices must be removed from one tube and inserted into another each time the frame is dofied, they have not been favorably accepted by the frame operators.

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages of the prior art by providing a device, mountable on the top of each bobbin or conventional winding tube, which does not have to be removed every time the frame is dolled and which may be easily and quickly applied to tubes which are now in use.

Briefly, this invention consists of a piece made of plastic or some other material rigidly attached to the upper rim of a rotating bobbin or winding tube. Projections or appendages near the upper rim of this piece engage a strand of yarn being fed to a rotating spindle from drafting rolls, the point of engagement being preferably very near and just below an overhead thread guide.

The strand of yarn is guided in accordance with this invention downwardly for several turns about the winding tube and is then delivered to a roving ring traveler which forms the bobbin package. The fact that the yarn is engaged by the rotating projection causes tension to develop in the transient yarn. This allows the several turns wound on the winding tube before the yarn passes through the ring traveler, to remain in place, thus preventing ballooning along this section of yarn below the projection. The fact that the rotating projection is positioned close to the horizontal plane of the centrally located and non-rotating thread guide prevents ballooning of the short central portion of the rotating yarn. Furthermore, the side surface of the anti-ballooning device is preferably in the shape of a truncated cone. This permits the thread guide and the guilding projection to be in closer proximity and thereby assists in stabilizing the path of yarn.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FEGURE 1 shows an elevational view of the antiballooning device of this invention mounted on a conventional winding tube and guiding the yarn being formed into a bobbin package;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional elevational view of the anti-ballooning device firmly attached to the upper portion of a conventional winding tube;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the device as shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional elevation of a second embodiment of the anti-ballooning device mounted firmly on a non-conventional winding tube; and

FTGURE 5 is a cross-sectional elevation of a third embodirnent of the anti-ballooning device mounted with an adaptor on a conventional winding tube.

, With reference to the drawing, the anti-ballooning device is indicated generally by the reference character Iii. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the truncated cone-shaped body portion 11 with its tapering side surface is attached firmly on winding tube 12 which, in turn, is mounted upon spindle 13 as it rotates above lower frame or rail 14.

The strand of yarn 15, which is to be wound upon the winding tube 12, is led from overhead drafting rolls (not shown) to a thread guide 16 which is located directly above the body portion 11 as it sets on the winding tube 12. Yarn 14 is turned at this point by the thread guide 16 through a first relatively steep angle toward the upper perimeter of the body portion 11, engaging one of the plurality of projections 17 which are positioned equidistantly adjacent this upper rim on the tapering side surface.

Each of these smooth longitudinally symmetric projections or appendages 17 form two notches 18 with the tapering side surface of the body portion 11. The projections are symmetric about their vertical axes in order to permit winding the yarn in either direction, having a semicircular upper portion 19 and having an elongated lower portion 2% tapering to a point. The projections 17 are of sufiicient magnitude to force the yarn 15 to remain in the notch 18 which it initially engages.

The yarn 15 is turned through a second relatively large or steep angle by the upper rounded surface 19 and then is guided downwardly by the elongated lower portion 20 and the tapering side surface of the body portion 11, in a spiraling manner about winding tube 12. The positioning of the guiding projections 17 close to the thread guide 16 and horizontally displaced therefrom, forces the yarn 15 to move through the relatively steep angles assuring stability below that point, and at the same time introducing a twist into that upper portion of yarn between the drafting rolls and the thread guide.

As shown in FIG. 1, the yarn 15 is thereafter received by conventional ring traveler 21 which roves continually back and forth in a direction parallel to the tube 12, forming the conventional bobbin package.

The body portion 11 of the anti-ballooning device 10 is virtually hollow containing a cylindrical recess 22 formed in its upper surface. The base area 23, forming the bottom of recess 22, provides rigid support for a fastening element 24 which extends perpendicularly downward from the center of its lower surface. This lower surface of thebase 23 also has a circumferential groove 25 for receiving the upper rounded rim 26 of winding tube 12. This groove '25 is formed in the lower cylindrical section of body portion 11 and provides for a smooth, even engagement of the supporting winding tube.

Patented Mar. 9, 1965 A locking plate 27 which can be inserted through the lower opening of tube 12 has a tapped hole for receiving the threaded fastening element 24. When wound into a tight locking position the upper circumferential rim of locking plate 27 is forced firmly against the lower inside surface of tube rim 26. In this manner the anti-ballooning device is firmly attached to the winding tube 12 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

A second embodiment of an anti-ballooning device is shown in FIG. 4. The device, generally indicated by the reference character 28, is composed of the standard body portion and projections as described above. In this em bodiment, however, the lower portion of the anti-ballooning device is provided with a generally cylindrically shaped, tubular portion 3% which is narrower in cross section than the main body portion of the anti-ballooning device. This cylindrical portion 3% is designed to fit tightly within the inner recess of a non-conventional winding tube 29. The frictional contact between the inner surface 31 of .the windzing tube 29 and the external surface of the cylindrical projection 30 maintains a tight locking engagement throughout the life of the anti-ballooning device 28.

When the device 28 has become worn it may be replaced by placing a suitable tool within aperture 32. As in the other embodiments the winding tube may be reused during many winding operations since the anti-ballooning devices, which are provided by this invention are readily replaceable after they are no longer suitable for efiicient use. 7 p

A third embodiment of the anti-ballooning device. is disclosed in PEG. 5 wherein the body portion 33 is much smaller in size and is designed to be used with anadapter 36 for attachment to the conventional winding tube 12. Projections 34 are designed to slightly overlap 'the upper rim 35 of adapter 36. Furthermore, a lower cylindrical protruding portion 38 of the ahti-ballooning device 33 is designed to enter into a tight frictional engagement with the inner cylindrical surface 37 of the adapter 36. The lower portion of the adapter is provided with grooves 40 which are designed to enter the grooves 41 located on the outer surface of the conventional winding tube 12. The inner lower surface of the adapter 36 may be tapered slightly in a conical configuration so that it may easily fit over the slightly conical surface of the conventional winding tube. This third embodiment may also be used with a new type of winding tube such as tube 29 as shown inFIG. 4. i

In conventional winding machines the yarn between the thread guides and the ring traveler balloons out about the spindle so that twist is inserted in this lower portion of the yarn. The result is that the portion of the yam from the thread guide to the drafting rolls has little or no twist to increase its strength so that any undue tension imposed upon the yarn will cause that untwisted portion to break.

With improvement provided by' this invention not only is the ballooning of the yarn eliminated, but, because of the close horizontal positioning of the rotating projection and the non-rotating thread guide, the twist developed in the lower portion of the yarn is allowed to reach the draft ing rolls, thus adding strength to this formerly weak portion of the strand.

There is thus provided a device for eliminating the ballooning of yarn in a ring spinning machine, and a device which reduces the possibility of yarn breakage thereby allowing the rotational speed of the spindles to be increased. Also by keeping the yarn wrapped closely around the winding tube asthe ring traveler forms the bobbin package, the transient yarn is held much tighter, thus allowing the formation of'a much heavier and more tightly wound bobbin package.

It is an important feature of this invention that the projections designed for guiding the yarn onto the rotating winding tube are placed on the side surface of the device adjacent its upper perimeter. So situated, these projections provide for engagement of the yarn irregardless of the point at which the thread guide is located. In fact, as has been pointed out above, it is desirable that the thread guide be positioned above the anti-ballooning device so that the yarn will pass from that point through more of a horizontal path to the projections than has been possible when using anti-ballooning devices known heretofore.

It has also been found that the tapering groove formed by the projections and the side surface of the body portion of the anti-ballooning device represents another important feature of this invention, being in part responsible for the high increase in rotational speed of the spindle which is now possible when using this device.

The projections disclosed on the tapering side surface 'of this device, have also been designed so that the entire projection lies within the circumierence defined by the upper external rim of the winding tube. This feature greatly assists the removal of the yarn from the winding tube on subsequent. occasions. With the projections so recessed, it is not now necessary to remove the antiballooning device when removing the bobbin package.

Other specific embodiments of this invention are en- 7 visioned wherein an anti-ballooning device is adapted for a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and the numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereafter claimed.

I claim: 2 4 5:

1. An anti-ballooning device adaptable'for use in tex- V tile spinning machines comprising,

a body portion having a side surface which is tapered generally in the form of a truncated cone having a wider end and a narrower end,

means for attaching said wider end of said body portion to the upper rim of a winding tube onto which yarn is wound,

said body portion being substantially hollow and having a cylindrical recess formed in said narrower end and bottoming in a base formed across said wider end, said base being mountable over said winding tube, and

a plurality of projections attached to said side surface adjacent said upper perimeter of said body portion and forming at least one notch with said side surface for engaging said yarn, said projections facilitating delivery of said yarn to said winding tube.

2. An anti-ballooning device adaptable for use in textile spinning machines comprising,

a body portion having a side surface which is tapered generally in the form of a truncated cone having a wider end and a narrower end,

means for attaching said wider end of said body portion to the upper rim of a winding tube onto which yarn is wound, including a circumferential recess on the lower external side of said base which extends across the wider end of said body portion, said circumferential recess being formed to receive the rounded upper rim of said winding tube,

a locking plate positioned within said winding tube with the outer circumference of the upper surface of said locking plate adjacent the inner surface of the rim of said Winding tube, and fastening means firmly attached to said base of said body portion receivable in said locking plate for releasably joining said anti-ballooning device with said winding tube, and a plurality of projections attached to said side surface forming at least one notch With said side surface for engaging said yarn, said projections facilitating delivery of said yarn to said Winding tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kooistra Jan. 9, 1962 Kartrnann May 8, 1962 Delesalle May 8, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Feb. 17, 1954 France Oct. 28, 1935

Claims (1)

1. AN ANTI-BALLOONING DEVICE ADAPTABLE FOR USE IN TEXTILE SPINDLE MACHINES COMPRISING, A BODY PORTION HAVING A SIDE SURFACE WHICH IS TAPERED GENERALLY IN THE FORM OF A TRUNCATED CONE HAVING A WIDER END AND A NWRROWER END, MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID WIDER END OF SAID BODY PORTION TO THE UPPER RIM OF A WINDING TUBE ONTO WHICH YARN IS WOUND, SAID BODY PORTION BEING SUBSTANTIALLY HOLLOW AND HAVING A CYLINDRICAL RECESS FORMED IN SAID NARROWER END AND BOTTOMING IN A BASE FORMED ACROSS SAID WIDER END, SAID BASE BEING MOUNTABLE OVER SAID WINDING TUBE, AND A PLURALITY OF PROJECTIONS ATTACHED TO SAID SIDE SURFACE ADJACENT SAID UPPER PERIMETER OF SAID BODY PORTION AND FORMING AT LEAST ONE NOTCH WITH SAID SIDE SURFACE FOR ENGAGING SAID YARN, SAID PROJECTIONS FACILITATING DELIVERY OF SAID YARN TO SAID WINDING TUBE.

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