Machine for ordering textile tubes for a continuous spinning machine

• US 5,632,594 A
• Filed: 03/16/1994
• Issued: 05/27/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Technological Resources Pty. Ltd. (Rio Tinto Limited)
• Original Assignee: Technological Resources Pty. Ltd. (Rio Tinto Limited)
• Inventors: Missing, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Merritt, Karen
• Assistant Examiner(s): KRIZEK, JANICE LEE
• Application Number:
  US08/214,815
• Time in Patent Office: 1,168 Days
• Field of Search: 198/440, 198/482.1, 198/801, 414/746.7, 57/127.5, 57/127.7, 57/270
• US Class Current: 414/746.7
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/1471 Movement in one direction, substantially outwards
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/31 Textiles threads or artificial strands of filaments
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 67/061 Orientating devices
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 67/068 Supplying or transporting empty cores

Abstract

The machine for ordering textile tubes for entry into the distributor of a continuous spinning machine includes mechanisms that perform that ordering so that, independently, the textile tubes can be delivered to one side or the other of the spinning machine and devices for ordering tubes of different dimensions automatically. The ordering machine has a hopper, containing textile tubes, two parallel vertical conveyor belts provided with textile tube holders for the tubes which move the tubes from one end at the hopper to another end remote from it, a bottom discharge device for feeding the ordered tubes to the spinning machine and lateral guides for guiding the tubes to the bottom discharge devices. The textile tube holders are advantageously rubber sections vulcanized onto the conveyor belt of various transverse cross-sections or metallic angular sections fastened to the conveyor belts. Devices for ejection of excess tubes are provided associated with each textile tube holder and include springs which act through belt apertures between the holders to eject all textile tubes but one from each of the tube holders. Control covers with a device for detecting a jam-up in the guides can automatically halt the operation.

Claims

1. Machine for providing a continuous spinning machine with an ordered sequence of textile tubes, comprising automatic ordering means for automatically ordering textile tubes without manual labor to form said ordered sequence of said textile tubes and means for automatically conducting said ordered sequence of said textile tubes to said continuous spinning machine to a predetermined one of two sides of said continuous spinning machine and means for adjustment of said ordering means for ordering different sized ones of said textile tubes;

wherein said automatic ordering means has a hopper including means for holding said textile tubes, said hopper having a rear wall;

two identical parallel and vertical conveyor belts located at said rear wall of said hopper and each provided with a plurality of textile tube holders spaced from each other along said belt;

a separate electric drive means for operating each of said conveyor belts, said electric drive means being operable independently of each other to drive said conveyor belts independently of each other so that, when said conveyor belts are operated by said electric drive means, said textile tubes held in said hopper are received on said textile tube holders and are raised to an end of said conveyor belts remote from said hopper; and

wherein said means for automatically conducting includes bottom discharge means for guided discharge of said textile tubes to a distributor of said continuous spinning machine and lateral guides for guiding said textile tubes from said conveyor belts to said bottom discharge means.

2. Machine as defined in claim 1, further comprising control means for controlling said electric drive means;

detector means for detecting an interruption in continuous feed of said textile tubes, said detector means being connected to said control means and positioned in the vicinity of said bottom discharge means beside each of said conveyor belts, said detector means sending a halt signal to said control means when said interruption in said continuous feed of said textile tubes is detected so that an automatic halt of said drive means occurs and additional detector means for detecting said textile tubes in said bottom discharge means, said additional detector means being connected to said control means and including means for generating a start signal for actuating said electric drive means to start a feed of said textile tubes when said bottom discharge means associated with said conveyor belt driven by said electric drive means is empty.

3. Machine as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said textile tube holders is an angular metallic section fastened to said conveyor belt.

4. Machine as defined in claim 3, wherein said metallic section is riveted to said conveyor belt.

5. Machine as defined in claim 3, wherein said metallic section is screwed to said conveyor belt.

6. Machine for providing a continuous spinning machine with an ordered sequence of textile tubes, said machine comprising automatic ordering means for automatically ordering textile tubes without manual labor to form said ordered sequence of said textile tubes and means for automatically conducting said ordered sequence of said textile tubes to said continuous spinning machine to a predetermined one of two sides of said continuous spinning machine and means for adjustment of said ordering means for ordering different sized ones of said textile tubes;

wherein said automatic ordering means has a hopper including means for holding said textile tubes, said hopper having a rear wall;

two identical parallel and vertical conveyor belts located at said rear wall of said hopper and each provided with a plurality of textile tube holders spaced from each other along said belts;

a separate electric drive means for operating each of said conveyor belts, said electric drive means being operable independently of each other to drive said conveyor belts independently of each other so that, when said conveyor belts are operated by said electric drive means, said textile tubes held in said hopper are received by said textile tube holders and raised to an end of said conveyor belts remote from said hopper; and

wherein said means for automatically conducting includes bottom discharge means for guided discharge of said textile tubes to a distributor of said continuous spinning machine and lateral guides for guiding said textile tubes from said conveyor belts to said bottom discharge means;

wherein each of said textile tube holders is a rubber section vulcanized directly on said conveyor belt.

7. Machine as defined in claim 6, wherein said rubber section has a transverse cross section selected from the group consisting of angular, triangular and trapezoidal cross-sections.

8. Machine for providing a continuous spinning machine with an ordered sequence of textile tubes, said machine comprising automatic ordering means for automatically ordering textile tubes without manual labor to form said ordered sequence of said textile tubes and means for automatically conducting said ordered sequence of said textile tubes to said continuous spinning machine to predetermined one of two sides of said continuous spinning machine and means for adjustment of said ordering means for ordering different sized ones of said textile tubes;

wherein said automatic ordering means has a hopper including means for holding said textile tubes, said hopper having a rear wall;

two identical parallel and vertical conveyor belts located at said rear wall of said hopper and each provided with a plurality of textile tube holders spaced from each other along said belt, said conveyor belts being provided with at least one aperture between adjacent ones of said textile tube holders;

a separate electric drive means for operating each of said conveyor belts, said electric drive means being operable independently of each other to drive said conveyor belts independently of each other, so that, when said conveyor belts are operated by said electric drive means, said textile tubes held in said hopper are received by said textile tube holders and raised to an end of said conveyor belts remote from said hopper; and

wherein said means for automatically conducting includes bottom discharge means for guided discharge of said textile tubes to a distributor of said continuous spinning machine and lateral guides for guiding said textile tubes from said conveyor belts to said bottom discharge means;

and ejection means for ejecting excess ones of said textile tubes carried on each of said textile tube holders during elevation of said textile tubes so that a single one of said textile tubes remains on each of said textile tube holders when said textile tube holder reaches said end of said conveyor belts, said ejection means comprising at least one spring mounted behind said conveyor belts and positioned to emerge from each of said at least one apertures in said conveyor belts and to eject said excess textile tubes on said textile tube holders.

9. Machine for providing a continuous spinning machine with an ordered sequence of textile tubes, said machine comprising automatic ordering means for automatically ordering textile tubes without manual labor to form said ordered sequence of said textile tubes and means for automatically conducting said ordered sequence of said textile tubes to said continuous spinning machine to a predetermined one of two sides of said continuous spinning machine and means for adjustment of said ordering means for ordering different sized ones of said textile tubes;

wherein said automatic ordering means has a hopper including means for holding said textile tubes, said hopper having a rear wall;

two identical parallel and vertical conveyor belts located at said rear wall of said hopper and provided with a plurality of textile tube holders spaced from each other along said belt;

a separate electric drive means for operating each of said conveyor belts, said electric drive means being operable independently of each other to drive said conveyor belts independently of each other so that, when said conveyor belts are operated by said electric drive means, said textile tubes held in said hopper are received by said conveyor belts and are raised to an end of said conveyor belts remote from said hopper; and

wherein said means for automatically conducting includes bottom discharge means for guided discharge of said textile tubes to a distributor of said continuous spinning machine and lateral guides for guiding said textile tubes from said conveyor belts to said bottom discharge means, wherein said bottom discharge means and said lateral guides are adjustable in width so that said automatic ordering means can form ordered sequences of differently dimensioned ones of said textile tubes after adjustment by said means for adjustment.

10. Machine for providing a continuous spinning machine with an ordered sequence of textile tubes, said machine comprising automatic ordering means for automatically ordering textile tubes without manual labor to form said ordered sequence of said textile tubes and means for automatically conducting said ordered sequence of said textile tubes to said continuous spinning machine to a predetermined one of two sides of said continuous spinning machine and means for adjustment of said ordering means for ordering different sized ones of said textile tubes;

wherein said automatic ordering means has a hopper including means for holding said textile tubes having a rear wall;

two identical parallel and vertical conveyor belts located at said rear wall of said hopper and each provided with a plurality of textile tube holders spaced from each other along said belt;

a separate electric drive means for operating each of said conveyor belts, said electric drive means being operable independently of each other to drive said conveyor belts independently of each other so that, when said conveyor belts are operated by said electric drive means, said textile tubes are received on said conveyor belts and raised to an end of said conveyor belts remote from said hopper; and

wherein said means for automatically conducting includes bottom discharge means for guided discharge of said textile tubes to a distributor of said continuous spinning machine and lateral guides for guiding said textile tubes from said conveyor belts to said bottom discharge means, and

control-and-guidance means for guiding said textile tubes fed by said conveyor belts to said bottom discharge means, said control-and-guidance means comprising a pivotable cover having fasteners for mounting said cover and an end-of-travel detector in a lower portion of said pivotable cover including means for producing a signal for an instantaneous halt when an obstruction or pile-up of said textile tubes occurs.