Apparatus for cleaning a textile machine comprising a plurality of operating positions

• US 4,864,679 A
• Filed: 03/14/1988
• Issued: 09/12/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rieter Machine Works, Ltd. (Rieter Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Rieter Machine Works, Ltd. (Rieter Holding AG)
• Inventors: Briner, Emil
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Chris K.
• Application Number:
  US07/168,132
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 15/312 R, 15/312 A, 15/319, 15/339, 57/301
• US Class Current: 15/312.2
• CPC Class Codes: D01H 11/00 Arrangements for confining or removing dust, fly or the like cleaning of running surfaces in open-end spinning machines D01H4/22

Abstract

A textile machine, such as a spinning machine, is suction cleaned from spinning position to spinning position by a movable programmable robot provided with a suction device. This enables individual elements of the spinning machine prone to impurity or contaminant fouling to be maintained effectively free of such impurity depositions including fiber accumulations and the like without requiring use of the heretofore employed blowing-suction fucntion. The movable programmable robot is controlled by virtue of its being programmaged such that a suction trunk or nozzle thereof is guided in such close proximity to the individual elements to be suction cleaned that the suction cleaning operation can be effectively carried out and in a short period of time, following which the movable programmable robot is moved to the next spinning position for performance of the same or desired suction cleaning operation.

Claims

1. An apparatus for cleaning a textile machine containing a plurality of operating positions each of which contains individual elements to be suction cleaned, comprising:

a cleaning device;

drive means for controllably moving said cleaning device along the plurality of operating positions and to preselected ones of the plurality of operating positions;

said cleaning device comprising a suction cleaning device;

said suction cleaning device comprising a programmable robot equipped with a suction trunk;

said programmable robot containing programmable control means programmed for controlling the drive means for controllably moving said cleaning device and the suction cleaning operation of the programmable robot at the preselected operating positions;

said programmable control means controlling the suction cleaning operation by controlling individual selective movements of said suction trunk, at each one of said preselected operating positions, to predetermine ones of the individual elements for carrying out the suction cleaning operation; and

said suction trunk being selectively and pivotably moveable under the control of said programmable control means about at least two mutually substantially parallel axes and at least one axis extending substantially perpendicular to said at least two mutually substantially parallel axes.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said at least two mutually substantially parallel axes about which said suction trunk is selectively and pivotably moveable, extend substantially parallel to said plurality of operating positions.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said at least two mutually substantially parallel axes about which said suction trunk is selectively and pivotably moveable, extend in substantially horizontal direction; and

said at least one axes extending substantially perpendicular to said at least two mutually substantially parallel axes, constituting a substantially vertical axis.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further including:

a suction nozzle connected to said suction trunk;

said suction nozzle being pivotably moveable, under the control of said programmable control means, about a pivot axis extending substantially parallel to said at least two substantially mutually parallel axes; and

said suction nozzle being further pivotably moveable, under the control of said programmable control means, about said at least one axis extending substantially perpendicular to said at least two mutually substantially parallel axes.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said programmable control means control the drive means for controllably moving said cleaning device such that said cleaning device is successively moved, after completion of the programmed suction cleaning operation at one of said preselected operating positions, from said preselected operating position to a further preselected, next following operating position for carrying out the programmed suction cleaning operation at said further preselected next following operating position.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said programmable control means contains at least one program for controlling individual selective movements of said suction trunk for carrying out said suction cleaning operation at each one of said preselected operating positions.

7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said programmable control means controls, as said individual selective movements of said suction trunk, individual selective movements of said suction trunk to the entirety of said individual elements to be suction cleaned at each one of said preselected operative positions.

8. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said programmable control means controls the drive means for driving said cleaning device through an operating cycle; and

said operating cycle defining a predetermined starting position and a sequence of operating positions containing a first operating position following said predetermined starting position and a last operating position preceding return to said predetermined starting position.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein:

said operating cycle comprises a first operating cycle routine and a second operating cycle routine;

said programmable control means controlling the suction cleaning operation at preselected ones of said individual elements at each one of said sequence of operating positions during said first operating routine; and

said programmable control means controlling the suction cleaning operation at all of the individual elements at each one of said sequence of operating positions during said second operating cycle routine.

10. An apparatus for cleaning a spinning machine containing a plurality of essentially identical operating positions each of which contains individual elements to be suction cleaned, comprising:

a travelling cleaning device;

drive means for controllably driving said travelling cleaning device along the plurality of essentially identical operating positions and to preselected ones of said plurality of essentially operating positions;

said travelling cleaning device comprising a suction cleaning device;

said suction cleaning device comprising a programmable robot equipped with a suction trunk;

said programmable robot containing programmable control means programmed for controlling the suction cleaning operation of the programmable robot at the preselected essentially identical operating positions;

said programmable control means for controlling the suction cleaning operation, controlling individual selective movements of said suction trunk, at each one of said preselected essentially identical operating positions, to predeterminate ones of the individual elements for carrying out the suction cleaning operation; and

said suction trunk being selectively and pivotably moveable under the control of said programmable control means at least three degrees of freedom of pivoting movement about respective pivot axes at least one of which extends substantially perpendicular to the remaining axes which are mutually substantially parallel to each other.

11. A spinning machine, comprising:

a plurality of essentially identical operating positions;

each one of said essentially identical operating positions containing a predetermined number of individual elements which are to be suction cleaned;

a travelling cleaning device;

drive means for controllably driving said travelling cleaning device along the plurality of essentially identical operating positions and to preselected ones of said plurality of essentially identical operating positions;

said programmable robot containing programmable control means programmed for controlling the suction cleaning operation of the programmable robot at the preselected essentially identical operating positions;

said programmable control means for controlling the suction cleaning operation, controlling individual selective movements of said suction trunk, at each one of said preselected essentially identical operating positions, to predeterminate ones of the individual elements for carrying out the suction cleaning operation; and

said suction trunk being selectively and pivotably moveable under the control of said programmable control means in at least three degrees of freedom of pivoting movement about respective pivot axes at least one of which extends substantially perpendicular to the remaining axes which are mutually substantially parallel to each other.

12. The spinning machine as defined in claim 11, wherein:

said predetermined number of individual elements at each one of said preselected essentially identical operating positions, encompass certain individual elements which are differently structured and perform a different operating function as compared to other individual elements; and

said programmable control means controlling the individual selective movements of said suction trunk for suction cleaning said predeterminate individual elements, controlling individual selective movements of said suction trunk to said certain individual elements which are differently structured and perform a different operating function as compared to other individual elements at each one of said preselected essentially identical operating positions.

13. The spinning machine as defined in claim 12, wherein:

said certain individual elements are located at mutually different elevational positions relative to each other.