US3848405A

US3848405A - Apparatus and method for producing no-twist center pull roving packages

Info

Publication number: US3848405A
Application number: US00059261A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Karlson
Original assignee: GOLDSWORTHY ENG Inc
Current assignee: GOLDSWORTHY ENG Inc
Priority date: 1970-07-29
Filing date: 1970-07-29
Publication date: 1974-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 1991-11-19

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for producing a roving package by pretwisting a roving band during winding of the package to produce a one-twist per revolution band layer configuration. A roving band feeding eye is reciprocated with respect to and is simultaneously orbited about a mandrel for winding filament containing roving strands thereupon. The winding is accomplished over the end of the mandrel so that a twist is incorporated in each turn of the roving strand for every revolution of the feeding eye. A device is also provided for shifting the winding eye radially outwardly as the diameter of the roving package increases during winding.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Karlson 4 51 Nov. 19, 1974 [75] Inventor: Harald E. Karlson, Santa Monica,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Goldsworthy Engineering Inc.,

Torrance, Calif.

22 Filed: July 29,1970

21 Appl. No.: 59,261

[52] US. Cl..... 57/71, 57/156, 242/18 R,

242/159 [51] Int. Cl D01h 1/04, B65h 54/02 [58] Field of Search 57/67-71, 156,

57/157 R, 75,93, 94; 242/159, 171, 18 R, 18CS [5 6] References Cited Mackie 242/18 R 3,272,455 9/1966 Sternberg et al. 242/171 3,311,518 3/1967' Steitz et a1. 57/156 X 3,383,851 5/1968 Hickman.... 242/159 X 3,449,901 6/1969 Mackie 57/71 3,486,714 12/1969 Gordon 242/171 X. 3,498,550 3/1970 Klink et a1. 242/18 R 3,543,503 12/1970 Watabe et al 57/75 Primary Examiner-John Petrakes Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert J, Schaap [5 7 ABSTRACT An apparatus and a method for producing a roving package by pretwisting a roving band during winding of the package to produce a one-twist per revolution band layer configuration. A roving band feeding eye is reciprocated with respect to and is simultaneously orbited about a mandrel for winding filament containing roving strands thereupon. The winding is accomplished over the end of the mandrel so that a twist is incorporated in each turn of the roving strand for every revolution of the feeding eye. A device is also provided for shifting the winding eye radially outwardly as the diameter of the roving package increases during winding.

13 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTE xnv 1 9 I974 SHEEI 1 BF 6 INVENTOR HARALD E. KARLSON ATTORNEY PATENTELNUVIQIBT I 3,84F4O5 SHEET 30F 6 INVENTOR HARALD E. KARLSON ATTORNEY PATENIEL ram 1 91974 SHEU R (If 6 INVENTOR HARALD E. KARLSON BY M w/ d M ATTORNEY PATENTEL WV 1 v 848 A0 5 sum 50F s INVENTOR HARALD E. KARLSON ATTORNEY APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING NO-TWIST CENTER PULL ROVING PACKAGES This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in the method and apparatus for proving similar roving packages and more-particularly to a method and apparatus for producing no-twist packages by winding the roving material over the end of a fixed nonrotatable, nonshiftable mandrel.

In recent years, fiberglass reinforced articles have become more prevalent and as a result thereof, there is a wide-spread need for spools or so-called roving packages of fiberglass filament. In the making of these spools, glass is generally melted and dripped through holes in a viscous condition. To form filaments of fiberglass each of the individual filaments is pulled and then wound upon a drum at a controlled peripheral speed. The speed generally controls the filament diameter and forms a so-called forming package. Ends from a large number of forming packages are then gathered and combined to form a roving or so-called end.

These rovings are thereafter wound on a second spool to form a roving package. For example, if twenty ends are gathered to form a roving; a conventional well known 20-end roving package is produced. These roving packages are then marketed and find employment in a wide variety of applications for the production of filament reinforced articles.

There are basically two ways in which the roving can then be removed from the roving package. The package or spool may be mounted on a spindle where the roving is tangentially pulled from the periphery of the tion in strength in some discreteareas of the laminate. In an effort to overcome this problem, some of the users of the standard filament packages have rotated the spindles in order to unwind the rovings in such fashion that a flat ribbon of filament is maintained. However, breaking units, substantially friction free spindles tension compensating devices and similar equipment is needed to accomplish the unwinding of such packages. In addition, multi-spindle creels are necessary for this type of operation. Therefore, it can be seen that this procedure not only increases the capital equipment necessary to produce the product, but also substantially increases the production time to produce the product with a concomitant increase in product cost.

Furthermore, in order to obviate this problem, many roving producers provide a package with a built-in twist per revolution of roving. This may be accomplished by re-winding the entire spool in order to build the twist into the roving. However, production of such a package necessitates another operation and the product must be sold as a premium product. One such system is described in US. Pat. No. 3,31 1,518 to Stietz et al. In this patent, asystem is described where two roving packages are formed. In the first package, the filament is wound on a rotating mandrel to incorporate a first order twist. This roving package is then wound on a second mandrel to incorporate a second order twist.

spool. Furthermore, the roving may be pulled from the center of the spool without rotating the package. However, if the roving is pulled tangentially, it is necessarily limited to removal at a slow rate of speed'since pulling tangentially from a roving package creates high inertial forces and problems of backlash." There are devices which will enable the roving to be pulled from the package tangentially without this problem of drag, but these devices are rather complicated, difficult to operate and rather expensive. When the, roving is pulled from the center of the package, speed' limitations problems are obviated. However, when pulling from the center of the package, a twist is formed in the roving The first order twist is a complement of the second order twist so that the roving can be pulled from the center'of the package in a no-twist form. In view of these problems, the users of the roving packages have been reluctantly forced to use the tangential pulloff method in order to achieve a flat ribbon.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for winding filament roving on a mandrel to produce a no-twist center pull roving package in one winding operation.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus'of the type stated which has production rates and production reliability at least equivalent to that of machines forproducing standard roving as each revolution of roving is removed from the package.

The creation of a twist is highly undesirable in many applications. If the twist in the filament strand is not eliminated, these twists will appear in the final product as a white scar distributed thinly and somewhat sporadically. These scars are not only decoratively undesir:

able, but usually interfere with the physical properties of the final product. In the field of filament winding or applying continuous roving to a forming mandrel for later impregnation with a the'rmosetting resin,,or in the application of a preimpregnated roving to a forming mandrel for ultimate thermosetting of the resin to achieve a vessel or similar tubular structure, optimum strength cannot be achieved if the roving as applied to the forming mandrel, is not laid on in the form of a flat,

untwisted band. Accordingly, if a twist is incorporated in the roving as it is applied to the forming mandrel, the twist tends to create air voids or resin-rich areas in the l ultimatelaminate. In addition, the twist also creates a variation in the concentration of fiber per unit of cross sectional area of the laminate, thereby causing a reducpackages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing no-twist, center pull roving packages which is accomplished by winding the fila- 'ment over the end of the mandrel to incorporate a twist for every revolution of a filament feeding member.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of the type stated which is rugged in its construction, simple in its operation and rather economical to manufacture.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a filament wound article which is the product of being formed of a substantially continuous multifilament length of said filaments, any given length of which is characterized by a substantially parallel, non-twisted relationship.

It is another salient object of the present invention to provide a method of type stated which requires only a small amount of manual attention in the production of IN TI-IE'ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view partially broken away of an apparatus for producing roving packages which is constructed in accordance with and embodies the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical fragmentary sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal fragmentary sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an end elevational view of a modified form of apparatus constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 99 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along line 10l0 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 11--ll of FIG. 6.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION Generally speaking, the apparatus of the present invention is designed to produce no-twist, center-pull roving packages of filamental materials. A centerpull" package is referred to in the art as a package of roving having a central bore and a roving end so that it is capable of being unwound from the center of the package. In this art, a no-twist package is referred to as a package of roving where the roving can be pulled from the package and used without incorporating a twist in the roving as it is pulled from the package.

Typically, filament type roving spools or so-called roving balls" presently available are generally formed of a series of overlapped, helical windings. Accordingly, it is quite difficult under present practice to remove the roving from a stationary nonrotating ball without imparting a twist thereto. By analogy, if a ribbon of paper is wrappedaround one stump, the outside end of the ribbon being held firmly after winding has been completed and the winding is pulled in either direction from the center of the cylinder thus formed, a twist is imparted to the ribbon. Essentially, the same phenomenon occurs to the roving in a roving ball.

The apparatus of the present invention generally comprises a fixed non-rotatable, non-shiftable mandrel and a winding frame which rotates about the mandrel. The winding frame carries a feeding head which is reciprocatable with respect to the mandrel and feeds roving thereon at a continuous rate. The feeding head contains a feeding eye which receives the roving from a point which is located outwardly from the end of the mandrel so that during the winding process, the roving is wound over the end of the mandrel. The feeding eye is in effect orbited about the mandrel during its reciprocable movement, and during the winding thereof, the roving is wound over the end of the mandrel so that a twist is incorporated in the roving for each revolution of the feeding eye about the mandrel. A balancing arm operatively connected to the feeding head includes a contact roller which rides on the surface of the roving package being formed on the mandrel. The balancing arm extends in a direction opposite to the feeding eye in order to locate the feeding eye a slight distance from the surface of the wound filament. Therefore, as the f ilament diameter of the formed package increases. the feeding eye will be shifted radially outward from the mandrel.

A position sensing mechanism is also associated with the feeding head and employs a weight which biases a sensing bar into contact with the surface of the filament wound upon the mandrel. As the sensing bar is forced outwardly, against the action of the weight, a belt and pulley mechanism will also shift the feeding eye radially with respect to the mandrel. In this manner, the feeding eye is always located at the same distance from the outer surface of the wound filament on the mandrel. As the diameter of the roving package being formed is increased, the speed of rotation of the feeding head must be reduced. A link mechanism connected to the power source for rotating the feeding head provides the proper timing relationships.

A shiftable roving supply eye is also provided and operates in timed relationship to the feeding eye. Thus when the feeding eye is shiftable along mandrel shiftable longitudinally with respect to the mandrel, the roving supply eye will also be shiftable'in timed relationship to the feeding eye in order to prevent any surges or unlinear demands upon the roving as it is being applied to the mandrel.

The present invention also provides a modified form of apparatus which eliminates the need of the balancing arm and the sensing mechanism. In the modified form of apparatus, the feeding eye is mounted on a swingable arm which also serves as its own sensing mechanism and accordingly, regulates the respective distance of the feeding eye with respect to the outer surface of the spool being formed on the mandrel. The speed of movement of the feeding eye is thus adjusted according to its position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings, A designates an apparatus for producing a notwist, center-pull roving package or socalled spool and generally comprises a base plate 1. Rigidly mounted on the base plate 1 are a pair of upstanding support walls 2,3. Mounted on the upper end of the walls 2,3 is a sleeve-fonning trunion 4 which supports a main spool shaft or so-ealled spindle 5 in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 2. The shaft 5 is retained in a cantilever position and held in the trunion 4 by means of a pair of pins 6. An expandable mandrel or expandable sleeve 7 may be disposed about the spool shaft 5 and can be concentrically extended therealong in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 2. The mandrel 7 may be of the type which is described in copending application Ser. No. 846,789, filed Aug. 1, 1969 (now US. Pat. No. 3,645,466, dated Feb. 29, 1972. In like manner, a pneumatically expandable mandrel may also be employed. The mandrel 7 is concentrically disposed upon the spool shaft 5 and is retained thereon by means of a removable locking nut 8. Thus, it can be seen that a roving spool may be wound upon the mandrel 7 in the expanded condition. Contraction of the mandrel 7 will enable convenient and easy removal of the finally wound roving spool therefrom.

By reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be seen that the spool shaft 5 extends inwardly into a spool housing 9 which is also mounted on the base plate 1. The housing 9 may be formed in the desired shape from sheet metal and is preferably constructed in such manner that easy and convenient access to the spool shaft 5 and mandrel 7 is provided.

Coneentrically disposed about the spool shaft 5 is an elongated sleeve 10 which is integrally provided with a pair of radially extending arms 11,12. By reference to FIG. 2, it can be seen that bearings 13 are interposed between the interior surface of the sleeve 10 and the annular exterior wall of the spool shaft 5 to enable rotation of the arms 11,12. A quill sleeve 14 is also concentrically disposed about the sleeve 10 and is shiftable therealong in a manner to be hereinafter described in more detail.

Journaled in the outer end of the arm 12 by means of bearings 15 is an idler shaft 16 which carries a sensing cradle 17. The other end of the idler shaft 16 is carried by and secured to a support ring 21 in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 2. The cradle 17 generally comprises a sleeve 17' concentrically disposed about the shaft 16 and rotatable with respect thereto. In addition, the cradle 17 includes a pair of longitudinally spaced substantially similar wing-shaped plates 18 in the manner as illustrated in FIGS. 1' and 3. Mounted on one outer end of each of the plates 18 and extending therebetween is a sensing roller 19 which is designed to bear against the outer surface of the roving spool being formed on the mandrel 7. The other ends of the wingshaped plates 18 carry a counterweight 20 or so-called counter balancing roller. Thus, as the entire assembly is rotated about a roving spool on the mandrel 7, the counter-weight 20 will be forced outwardly causing the roller 19 to bear against the outer surface of the roving spool.

The outer end of the arm 11 is suitably apertured to accommodate a tubular bracket 22 which, in turn, re-

tains as internal bearing sleeve 23 in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 2. Journaled in the bearing sleeve 23 by means of bearings 24 is a feed drive shaft 25, the other end of which is journaled in the support ring 21 by means of bearings 26 disposed within a bearing sleeve 27.

Secured to the outer end of the sleeve 23 and the outer end of the shaft 16 are a pair of cooperating

pulleys

28, 29 which, in turn, cooperate with a drive pulley 30, the latter being disposed upon the sleeve 14. A drive belt 31 is trained around the

pulleys

28,29 as well as the driving pulley in the manner as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The sleeve 10, which is concentrically disposed about the spool shaft 5, is provided with a driving pulley 32, which is driven through a drive belt 33 connected to a conventional electric motor 34, the latter being mounted on the base 1. Thus, it can be seen that energization of the motor 34 will enable rotation of the sleeve 10 through means of the drive belt 33. This will, in turn, enable rotation of the arms 11,12 since they are integrally formed with the sleeve 10. As the arms 11,12 rotate, the support ring 21 and the assemblies carried thereby will also rotate with the arms 11,12 and support-ring 21.

Concentrically disposed about the feed drive shaft 25 and being secured to an annular flange on the sleeve 23 is a tubular head retaining sleeve 35 which is secured at its left-hand end to flanges on the sleeve 23, in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The feed drive shaft 25 is provided with a pair of reverse helical cam grooves 36 and is also provided with a pair of circumferential grooves 37 (FIG. 4) at the ends thereof to cause direction reversal. The tubular head retaining sleeve 35 is provided with an elongated slot 38 for accommodating a reciprocatably movable feeding head 39 having a cam follower 40 movable in the

grooves

36,37. Thus. as a rotatable movement is created between the tubular sleeve 35 and the feed drive shaft 25, the cam follower 40 will move in the reverse

helical grooves

36,37 causing reciprocativc movement of the feeding head 39. As the cam follower 40 contacts the circumferential groove 37 at each end. the direction of the feeding head 39 will be reversed.

At its outer end, the feeding head 39 is provided with a feeding eye 41 through which a conventional filament strand is threaded.

Rigidly mounted on the feed drive shaft 25 is a pulley 42 which cooperates with a second pulley 43 mounted on the spool shaft 5. The tubular sleeve 35 is provided with an elongated arcuate slot 35' in the region of the pulley 42 and trained around the

pulleys

42,43 is a drive belt 44. Accordingly, when the housing 9 rotates about the stationary spool shaft 5, the pulley 43 through the action of the drive belt 44 will cause rotation of the pulley 42 and hence of the feed drive shaft 25. This motion will cause the reciprocative movement of the feeding head 39.

A pair of L-shaped brackets 51 having outwardly extending

legs

52,53 are mounted on each transverse end of the tubular sleeve 35 in the manner as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. Extending longitudinally between the pair of legs 52, and being journaled therein is a guide bar 54 which holds the outer end of the feeding head 39 and is slotted to accomodate the movement of the feeding head 39. A counter-weight 55 extends between and is secured to the legs 53 in order to balance the weight of the assembly carrying the feeding head 39.

' The quill sleeve 14 is axially shiftable for a short distance along the sleeve 10'. Thus when the motor 34 is energized, it will cause rotation of the sleeve 10 which will, in turn, cause rotation of the arms 11,12, ring 21 and the assemblies carried thereby. Furthermore, this structure will be rotated with respect to the nonrotatable spool shaft 5. In essence, the entire filament feeding mechanism including the head 39 is orbited with respect to the spool shaft 5. Inasmuch as the pulley 43 is stationary on the spool shaft 5, rotational movement will be created between the pulley 43 and the pulley 42 on the feed shaft 25. Accordingly, the feed shaft 25 will be caused to rotate with respect to the sleeve 35. This action will, in turn, cause reciprocative movement of the feeding head 39 with respect to the spool shaft 5. By means of this construction, it canbe seen that the feeding eye 41 is, in fact, orbited about the spool shaft 5 and reciprocated longitudinally with respect thereto.

Angular acceleration of the arms 1 1,12 will cause the counter-weight 20 to swing outwardly and thereby cause the sensing roller 19 to contact the surface of the filament spool as filament is being wound thereupon. Accordingly, it can be seen that as the diameter of the spool increases with the additional strands of roving wound thereon, the sensing roller 19 will be forced radially outward against the action of the counter-weight 20.

A link 62 is pivotally connected to the quill sleeve 14 and operates a potentiometer 63 which is, in turn, electrically connected to the motor 34. Thus, as the pulley 30 is shifted rearwardly through rotation thereof with respect to the spool shaft 5, it will cause the link 62 to adjust the potentiometer 63 which will in turn adjust the speed of the motor 34. Furthermore, it can be seen that the pulley 30 will be shifted rearwardly in direct proportion to the size of the filament spool. Therefore, as the diameter of the filament spool is increased through the continued winding action, the speed of the motor 34 will be reduced. Thus, it can be seen that both the speed of rotation of the feeding eye 41 and its position with respect to the peripheral surface of the spool is continuously monitored and regulated.

Extending outwardly from the upstanding support wall 2, is a laterally struck support bracket 65 which retains an elongated hollow bar 66 in the form of an outrigger. The bar 66 is pivoted centrally of its end by means of a hinge 67 and is provided with a laterally struck extension 68. The bar 66 carries a rotating drive rod 66' which is also pivotal centrally of its ends by means of a conventional universal joint 67. The outer end of the extension 68 retains a forwardly struck filament supply tube 70.

The filament supply tube 70 is more fully illustrated in FIG. and generally comprises a worm shaft 7 0' similar to the drive shaft 25 and containing the reverse helical cam grooves 36' and the circumferential grooves 37' for direction reversal. A filament supply head 71 is longitudinally shaftable within a slot 72 formed in the tube 70 and is reciprocated with respect to the tube 70. The supply head 71 is shifted by means of a drive belt 73 which rotates the drive rod 66 through a pulley 74 on the outer end thereof. The drive rod 66' rotates the worm shaft 70' through pulleys 75 and a belt 76.

Inasmuch as the idler shaft 16 is connected to the tubular sleeve 35 through the action of the belt 31, the tubular sleeve 35 will rotate or pivot with respect to the arms 11,12 through the same are as the idler shaft 16. Accordingly, the feeding eye 41 will be moved away from the outer surface of the filament spool against the action of the counter-balancing weight 20, as the sensing roller 19 shifts radially. It can be seen that the same relationship between the outer surface of the filament spool and the sensing roller 19 and the feeding eye 41 is always mantained. However, the feeding eye 41 is maintained a slight distance from the surface of the spool as the roving strands are being wound thereupon. Thus, it can be seen that the feeding eye 41 is always maintained at the same distance from the outer surface of the spool.

The interior surface of the quill sleeve 14 is provided with a spiral groove 77 and the sleeve is provided with a follower pin 78 which rides in the gro0ve'77. Mounted on the rearward end of the quill sleeve 14 is a circular block 79 and disposed between the block 79 and the pulley 30 is a compression spring 80. Thus, the pulley 30 is always biased forwardly through the action of the spring 80, but will shift rearwardly toward the action of the spring 80, but will shift rearwardly toward the block 79 against the action of the spring 80 through sufficient speed of rotation. Thus, as the pulley 30 is rotated, the pin 78 will cause the pulley 30 to shift rearwardly as the pin 78 moves through the spiral groove 77. As this occurs, an actuating sleeve 81 which is concentrically disposed about the carried by the quill sleeve 14 will also be shifted rearwardly. This sleeve 81 is operatively connected to the pulley 30 for reciprocative movement axially along the spool shaft 5.

Since the drive rod 66' is, in turn, connected to the worm shaft 70' by means of the pulley and

belt arrangement

75,76, it can be seen that the feeding head 39 and the supply head 71 will be shifted rcciprocatively in timed relationship and in the same direction, at the same time. In this manner, it is always possible to sup ply filament to the feeding head 39 without creating any conditions of slack in the filament strands. The strands are brought through an aperture 82 formed in the leg 52 and threaded to the feeding eye 41. In this manner, it can be seen that the strand is always wound upon the mandrel 7 over the end of the spool shaft 5. In essence, as the feeding eye 41 orbits about the spool shaft 5, the strand will be wound upon the mandrel 7 over the end of the shaft 5. As this occurs, a complete twist will be formed in the roving strand for each revolution about the shaft 5.

While the apparatus of the present invention has been designed for the forming of fiberglass roving packages,'it should be recognized that the device could be used to form packages of other filamental and nonfilamental materials. For example, packages of graphite strands could be formed in the same manner. Fiberglass tapes and other reinforcing material tapes could be formed into no-twist center pull-packages in the same manner. In addition, the apparatus and method of the present invention can be used in the forming of balls of wire and the like.

In use, a strand of material is trained through the eyelet on the supply head 71, through the aperture 82 and through the feeding eye 41. The strand is then ultimately secured to the mandrel 7 in any conventional manner. When the motor 34 is energized, the arms 11 and 12 will rotate about the mandrel and will carry therewith the assembly retaining the feeding head 39. As this occurs, the feeding head 39 will rotate about the mandrel 7. Furthermore, the feeding head 39 will reciprocate longitudinally in the slot 38 with respect to the mandrel 7 through the structure previously described.

lnitially, the sensing roller 19 will bear against the mandrel and then strands of roving as they are applied to the'mandrel 7. As the roving package which is being formed on the mandrel increases in diametral size, the sensing roller 19 will be biased outwardly against the force of the counter-weight 20. An outwardly directed movement of the sensing roller 19 will cause a slight rotation for a limited degree of the pulley 29 through the action of the idler shaft 16. In like manner, the tubular sleeve 35 will be rotated through a similar are by means of the pulley 28 and the belt 31. Accordingly, as the the speed of the motor 34 and the action which causes the shifting of the link 62.

After the roving package has been formed, the motor 34 is de-energized and the mandrel 7 is extended outwardly on the shaft by releasing the nut 8. The mandrel 7 is preferably of the expandable type so that it canbe contracted for ready removal of the roving package.

When it is desired to remove a strand from the roving package, the strand may be pulled from either the peripheral surface of the package or the center of the package. Inasmuch as the strands have been wound over the end of the mandrel 7 through an orbiting eyeducing notwist center-pull roving packages. The apparatus B comprises a base plate 100 and rigidly mounted on the base plate 100 are a pair of upstanding support walls 101,102. Mounted on the upper end of the walls 101,102 is a sleeve-forming trunion 103 which supports a main spool shaft 104 in a cantilever position, in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 7. The spool shaft 104 is formed of a rigid hollow tubular member and internally includes a penumatically actuated ram 105 shiftable in a cylinder forming wall 106. The ram 105 is operable by means of a source of fluid under pressure introduced into the area formed by the cylinder forming wall 106 through a fluid supply line 107. Extension of the ram 105 urges an extendable head 108 to the left, reference being made to FIG. 7.

An injecting plate 108 is secured to the forward end of the ram through elongated slots 109 formed in the spool shaft 104. Accordingly, when the ram is energized, it will cause the ejecting plate 108' to shift to the left, reference being made to FIG. 7, for removing the spool of roving which has been wound upon the spool shaft 104. An expandable mandrel or sleeve (not shown), may be disposed on the spool shaft 104 for concentric removal therefrom in the same manner as in the apparatus A. Furthermore, this mandrel would be capable of receiving roving windings and expanding and contracting in order to remove the spool wound thereon. I

By further reference to FIG. 7, it can be seen that the spool shaft 104 extends inwardly into a spool housing 109. The housing 109 is similar to the housing 9 and may be formed in the desired shape from sheet metal. concentrically disposed about the spool shaft 104 is an elongated sleeve 110 which is integrally provided with a pair of radially extending arms 111,112. By reference to FIG. 7, it can be seen that bearings 113 are interposed between the interior surface of the sleeve 110 and the exterior surface of the spool shaft 104 to enable rotation of the arms 111,112. By reference to FIG. 7, it can be seen that bearings 113 are interposed between the interior surface of the sleeve 110 and the exterior surface of the spool shaft 104 to enable rotation of the arms 111, 112.

a quill sleeve 114 is concentrically disposed about the elongated sleeve 110 and is shiftable with respect to the sleeve 110 by means of a pin 115 secured to the quill sleeve 114 and extending through an elongated slot 116 formed in the elongated sleeve 110. Thus, the quill sleeve 114 is shiftable along the elongated sleeve in a manner to be hereinafter described in more detail.

Secured to one end of the arm 112 and to a retaining ring 117, the latter being spaced from the arms 111,112, is a weighted element or so-called counter balance 118. It can be seen that the counter balance 118 is secured to the retaining ring 117 and the arm 112 by means of pins 119.

The outer end of the arm 111 is suitably apcrturcd to accommodate a tubular retaining bracket 120, which is internally provided with bearings 12] for supporting a central support shaft 122. The other end of the shaft 122 is journaled in bearings 123 held by a retaining ring 117 in the manner as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 11. A quill sleeve 124 is spaced from and concentrically disposed about the shaft 122 and is suitably secured to the arm 111. The sleeve 124 which is rigid with the arm 1 11 is provided on its interior surface with bearings 125 which engage the central support shaft 122. In like manner, the quill sleeve 124 is concentrically disposed within a camming tube 126 and designed to support the camming tube 126 with respect thereto, by means of bearings 127, the latter being located on the underside of the camming tube 126. By further reference to FIGS. 7 and 11, it can be seen that the quill sleeve 124 is rotatable with respect to said shaft 122 and with respect to the camming tube 126. In like manner, the camming tube 126 would also be rotatable with respect to the feed shaft 122.

The camming tube 126 is provided with a reverse helical cam groove 128 and a pair of circumferential grooves 129 at transverse ends thereof to cause direction reversal of a cam follower 130 movable along the camming tube 126 and having a pin 131 which rides in the various grooves 128,129. Thus, as the camming tube 126 rotates in a manner to be described hereinafter in more detail, the cam follower 130, through the action of the pin 131 in the grooves 128,129, will shift reciprocatively along the tube 126. As the pin 131 contacts each of the circumferential grooves 129 at each transverse end, the direction of the cam follower 130 will be reversed.

An outer tubular housing 132 is concentrically disposed about the camming tube 126 and is secured to the feed shaft 122 in the manner as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 11. Furthermore, the housing 132 is held in spaced relation to the exterior surface of the camming tube 126 by means of bearings 133.

Secured to and extending outwardly from the cam follower 130 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 6 is an arcuate feeding arm 134. The arm 134 is pivotal with respect to the tubular housing 132 through an elongated slot 135 formed in the housing 132. By further reference to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the arm 134 is shiftable to a limited degree in order to compensate for the increasing diametral size of the roving spool formed on the spool shaft 104. Accordingly, the slot 135 is only required to have a limited width. The outer end of the arm 134 is provided with a swivel type feeding eye 136 in the form of a grommet for receiving roving strands R through an eyelet 137 formed in a wall of the housing 132.

It can be seen that the quill sleeve 114 is concentrically disposed about the sleeve 110 and is rotatable with the sleeve 110 as well as being axially shiftable along the sleeve 110 to a limited degree. The quill sleeve 114 is integrally provided with a radially extending flange 139 for reasons which will presently more fully appear. concentrically disposed about the quill sleeve 114 is a cylindrical hub 140 having a pulley 141 integrally fonned therewith. The hub 140 is axially positioned with respect to the arms 111,112 by means of a pin and retaining block assembly 142, the latter being held in place by a retaining ring 143.

The pulley 141 cooperates with a pulley 144 located in alignment therewith and which is mounted on the outer end of the central support shaft 122 in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 7. A belt 145 is trained about the pulleys 141,144 so the shaft 122 will not rotate but will orbit about the spool shaft 104. A conventional A.C. electric motor 146 is secured to the wall 102 and through the action of a drive pulley 147 and drive belt 148, the motor 146 will drive a pulley 149, which is integrally formed with the sleeve 110. By further reference to FIGS. 7 and 11, a pulley 150 is also fixedly mounted on the spool shaft 104 and cooperates with a second pulley mounted on the camming tube 126 through the action of a drive belt 152.

It can thus be seen that rotation of the arms 111,112 through the rotation of the sleeve 110 will cause the entire housing 109 to rotate. Since the pulley 150 is stationarily mounted on the shaft 104, rotation of the arms 111,112 will cause the pulley 151 to rotate about the shaft 104. Furthermore, since the pulley 151 is connected to the pulley 150 through the belt 152, the pulley 151 will be urged to rotate about its central axis. As this occurs, the camming tube 126 will rotate in the housing 132. Inasmuch as the pin 131 is movable in the various grooves 128,129 formed in the camming tube 126, the cam follower 130 will reciprocatively shift axially along the camming tube 126. Furthermore, it can be seen that the cam follower 130 will shift a distance equivalent to the greater portion of the length of the spool shaft 104, which is located within the housing 109. In addition, it can be seen that the cam follower 130 will be rotated with the housing 109 about the spool shaft 104 simultaneously with its reciprocatively shiftable movement. As this occurs, the feeding eye 136 will be carried therewith and in effect, orbited about the spool shaft 104.

ltshould be observed that the strands R are introduced to the feeding eye 136 from a position which extends to the left of the housing 109, reference being made to FIG. 7.When the strand R is initially secured to the spool shaft 104 (or a mandrel disposed thereabout) and the housing 109 is rotated, the strand will in effect, be wound on the spool shaft 104 over the end thereof. In addition, since the cam follower 130 and the feeding arm 134 orbit about the spool shaft 104, a first order twist will be incorporated into the strand for each revolution of the feeding eye 136 about the spool shaft 104.

By additional reference to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the feeding arm 134 will shift radially with respect to the roving package or spool being formed on the spool shaft 104 so that the feeding eye 136 always remains a fixed distance with respect to the surface of the spool being formed on the spool shaft 104. The feeding arm the housing 132 with respect to the arms 111,112. This action will be described in more detail hereinafter.

By further reference to FIGS. 7-9, it can be seen that the pin 115 is movable in the elongated slot 116 and is also movable in an elongated slot 153 which is formed in the quill sleeve 114. Furthermore, a torsion spring 154 is interposed between the hub 140 and the upstanding flange 139 on the quill sleeve 114 to bias the latter to the left, reference being made to FIG. 7. As the sleeve continues to rotate, and a roving package is being formed on the spool shaft 104, the feeding cyc 136 will be shifted radially with respect to the spool shaft 104. It can be seen that the pulleys 141,144 will rotate only within limited arcs in order to enable this arcuately shifting movement of the housing 132 and the feeding arm 134. As this occurs, the hub 140 will be shifted to the right and will carry therewith the pin 115. As indicated previously, the pin will shift to the right in the slot 116. This will, in turn, cause the quill sleeve 114- to shift axially to the right on the sleeve 110.

A potentiometer (not shown) is electrically connected to the motor 146 and is actuable by a link mechanism (not shown) connected to the flange 139. In like manner, as the flange 139 is shifted to the right the potentiometer causes a retarding effect on the speed of the motor 146. Hence, it can be seen that as the feeding arm 134 shifts radially with respect to the spool shaft 104, the rotational speed of the feeding eye 136 about the spool shaft 104 will be decreased proportionally. In like manner, the speed of reciprocative movement of the feeding eye 136 along the spool shaft 104 will also be decreased proportionally as the diameter of the roving spool is increased through thecontinued winding action. Thus, it can be seen that the speed of rotation of the feeding eye 136 and its position with respect to the peripheral surface of the spool is continuously monitored and regulated.

The filament strand R is supplied to the feeding eye 136 through an outrigger mechanism and a filament supply head similar to the supply head 71 described in connection with the apparatus A. The supply head (not shown) is also shiftable in the outrigger (also not shown) for a distance equivalent to the movement of the feeding eye 136 and at the same rate of speed thereof. Accordingly, the supply head will always provide the strands to the feeding eye 136 at a constant rate of speed thereby eliminating any possibility of surges in the supplied strand. Essentially, the same materials can be wound in the form of a package on the apparatus B as described in connection with the apparatus A. 1

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out may be made and substituted for those herein shown without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of producing a package of a textile fiber strand which incorporates a twist in each turn of the strand in the package; said method comprising locating a strand feeding element in spaced parallel relationship with respect to a nonrotating, nonshiftable mandrel receiving said strand, orbiting said feeding element about said mandrel, simultaneously shifting said feeding element back and forth in parallel relationship with respect to a portion of the length of said mandrel, feeding said strand to said feeding element, winding said strand issued from said feeding element about said mandrel over one end thereof to form a package on said mandrel and thereby incorporate a twist in each turn of said strand during the orbiting and shifting movement of the feeding element about said mandrel, continuously shifting said feeding element outwardly with respect to the mandrel as the diametral size of the package on the mandrel increases, shifting a member axially with respect to said mandrel simultaneously with the shifting movement of the feeding element outwardly and in direct proportion thereto, generating an electrical signal in response to the shifting movement of said last named member and in proportion to the diametral size of the package formed on said mandrel, and reducing the speed of movement of said feeding element in response to and in proportion to said electrical signal 2. The method of claim 1 further characterized in that said feeding element is held at a constant distance from the surface of the strand package being formed on the mandrel during the orbiting movement of said feeding element thereabout.

3. The method of claim 1 further characterized in that the speed of orbiting movement and the speed of shifting movement of the feeding element and the speed at which the strand is applied to the mandrel and the package formed thereon is reduced as the diametral size of the package being formed on said mandrel increases.

4. An apparatus for producing a package formed of a textile fiber strand with a twist incorporated in each turn of the strand in the package, said apparatus comprising base means, a nonrotatable, nonshiftable mandrel operatively mounted on said base means, a carriage operatively mounted on said base means and being rotatable about said mandrel, a strand feeding element operatively mounted on said carriage and being rotatable therewith, means for feeding a continuous strand to said feeding element, motive means for reciprocatively shifting said feeding element along said carriage in the direction of the central axis of said mandrel simultaneously with the rotation of said carriage, means for rotating said feeding element with respect to said carriage to provide an orbiting movement of said feeding element with respect to said mandrel, so that strand issued from said feeding element is wound over the end of said mandrel to form a package on said mandrel and to thereby incorporate a twist in said strand for each turn of said strand during each orbiting revolution of said feeding element about said mandrel, means operatively associated with said carriage to be shifted outwardly with respect to said mandrel as the diametral size of the package on said mandrel increases, a shiftable member operatively associated with said mandrel and being operatively connected to said last named means for shifting in a direction parallel to and concentric with the axis of said mandrel, and electromechanical means operatively connected to said shiftable member and said motive means to be actuated by the shifting movement of said shiftable member for causing the motive means to reduce rotatable speed of movement of said carriage as the diametral size of the package on the mandrel increases.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that means is provided for automatically adjusting the position of said feeding element to hold the feeding element at a constant distance from the surface of the strand package being formed on the mandrel during the orbiting movement of said feeding element thereabout.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that the motive means is adapted to reduce the speed of shifting movement of the feeding element in response to an increase in the diametral size of the strand package being formed on said mandrel.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that an arm is axially spaced from said mandrel and said arm is rotatable about said mandrel, said arm carrying said strand feeding element, and sensing means operatively associated with said arm to monitor the thickness of the package being formed on said mandrel and adjusting the motive means accordingly 8. The apparatus of claim 7 further characterized in that the sensing means is located proximate to said arm.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 further characterized in that the sensing means is located on the opposite side of said mandrel with respect to said arm.

10. The method of producing a package of at least one textile fiber strand which incorporates a twist in each turn of the strand in the package; said method comprising locating a support arm in spaced parallel relationship to a nonrotating, nonshiftable mandrel and providing a strand feeding element on said support arm so that said strand feeding element is also located in spaced parallel relationship with respect to said nonrotating, nonshiftable mandrel, introducing strand to said feeding element, orbiting said feeding element about said mandrel, simultaneously shifting said feeding element back and forth in parallel relationship with respect to a portion of the length of said mandrel, balancing said feeding element by a member located on substantially the diametrally opposite side of said mandrel with respect to said support arm and said feeding element, feeding said roving to said feeding element and winding said strand about said mandrel over one end thereof to form a roving package on said mandrel, to thereby incorporate a twist in each turn of said strand during each orbiting revolution of said feeding element about said mandrel, monitoring the diametral size of the roving package being formed on the mandrel, and regulating the velocity of said feeding element to slower speeds to compensate for the increased diametral size of the package being formed.

11. The method of claim 10 further characterized in I that the strand is introduced to the feeding element in timed relation to the reciprocative movement of the feeding element with respect to the mandrel.

12. An apparatus for producing a package formed of a textile fiber strand with a twist incorporated in each turn of the strand in the package, said apparatus comprising base means, a nonrotatable, nonshiftable mandrel operatively mounted on said base means, a carriage operatively mounted on said base means and being rotatable about said mandrel, a support arm operatively mounted on said carriage to be rotatable therewith about said mandrel, a strand feeding element operatively carried by said support arm and being rotatable therewith so as to orbit about said mandrel, a balancing arm also mounted on said carriage on the opposite side of said mandrel with respect to said support arm for effectively balancing the weight of said support arm, means for feeding a continuous strand to said feeding element, motive means for reciprocatively shifting said feeding element along said support arm in the direction of the central axis of said mandrel simultaneously with the rotation of said carriage and support arm, means for rotating said carriage and support arm with respect to said mandrel to provide an orbiting movement of said feding element with respect to said mandrel, so that strand issued from said feeding element is wound over the end of said mandrel to form a strand package on said mandrel with a twist incorporated in each turn of the strand, and means for reducing the velocity of the feeding element and the speed at which strand is applied with respect to the mandrel as the diametral size of the package being formed thereon increases.

13. An apparatus for producing a package of a textile fiber strand with a twist incorporated in each turn of the strand in the package, said apparatus comprising base means, a nonrotatable, nonshiftable mandrel operatively mounted on said base means, a carriage operatively mounted on said base means and being rotatable about said mandrel, a support arm operatively mounted on said carriage to be rotatable therewith about said mandrel, a strand feeding element operatively carried by said support arm and being rotatable therewith so as to orbit about said mandrel, a balancing arm also mounted on said carriage on the opposite side of said mandrel with respect to said support arm for effectively balancing the weight of the support arm, a

strand supply element being operatively associated with said feeding element and reciprocativcly shifting in time related movement to said feeding element to provide strand on a continuous basis to said feeding element, motive means for reciprocatively shifting said feeding element along said support arm in the direction of the central axis of said mandrel simultaneously with the rotation of said carriage and support arm, means for rotating said carriage and support arm with respect to said mandrel to provide an orbiting movement of said feeding element with respect to said mandrel, so that strand issued from said feeding element is wound over the end of said mandrel to form a strand package on said mandrel and to thereby incorporate a twist in said strand for each turn of said strand during each orbiting revolution of said feeding element about said mandrel, means operatively associated with said carriage to be shifted outwardly with respect to said mandrel as the diametral size of the package on said mandrel increases, a shiftable member operatively associated with said mandrel and being operatively connected to said last named means for shifting in a direction parallel to and concentric with the axis of said mandrel, and electro-mechanical means operatively connected to said shiftable member and said motive means to be actuated by the shifting movement of said shiftable member for causing the motive means to reduce rotatable speed of movement of said carriage as the diametral size of the package on the mandrel increases.

Claims

1. The method of producing a package of a textile fiber strand which incorporates a twist in each turn of the strand in the package; said method comprising locating a strand feeding element in spaced parallel relationship with respect to a nonrotating, nonshiftable mandrel receiving said strand, orbiting said feeding element about said mandrel, simultaneously shifting said feeding element back and forth in parallel relationship with respect to a portion of the length of said mandrel, feeding said strand to said feeding element, winding said strand issued from said feeding element about said mandrel over one end thereof to form a package on said mandrel and thereby incorporate a twist in each turn of said strand during the orbiting and shifting movement of the feeding element about said mandrel, continuously shifting said feeding element outwardly with respect to the mandrel as the diametral size of the package on the mandrel increases, shifting a member axially with respect to said mandrel simultaneously with the shifting movement of the feeding element outwardly and in direct proportion thereto, generating an electrical signal in response to the shifting movement of said last named member and in proportion to the diametral size of the package formed on said mandrel, and reducing the speed of movement of said feeding element in response to and in proportion to said electrical signal.

2. The method of claim 1 further characterized in that said feeding element is held at a constant distance from the surface of the strand package being formed on the mandrel during the orbiting movement of said feeding element thereabout.

4. An apparatus for producing a package formed of a textile fiber strand with a twist incorporated in each turn of the strand in the package, said apparatus comprising base means, a nonrotatable, nonshiftable mandrel operatively mounted on said base means, a carriage operatively mounted on said base means and being rotatable about said mandrel, a strand feeding element operatively mounted on said carriage and being rotatable therewith, means for feeding a continuous strand to said feeding element, motive means for reciprocatively shifting said feeding element along said carriage in the direction of the central axis of said mandrel simultaneously with the rotation of said carriage, means for rotating said feeding element with respect to said carriage to provide an orbiting movement of said feeding element with respect to said mandrel, so that strand issued from said feeding element is wound over the end of said mandrel to form a package on said mandrel and to thereby incorporate a twist in said strand for each turn of said strand during each orbiting revolution of said feeding element about said mandrel, means operatively associated with said carriage to be shifted outwardly with respect to said mandrel as the diametral size of the package on said mandrel increases, a shiftable member operatively associated with said mandrel and being operatively connected to said last named means for shifting in a direction parallel to and concentric with the axis of said mandrel, and electro-mechanical means operatively connected to said shiftable member and said motive means to be actuated by the shifting movement of said shiftable member for causing the motive means to reduce rotatable speed of movement of said carriage as the diametral size of the package on the mandrel increases.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that an arm is axially spaced from said mandrel and said arm is rotatable about said mandrel, said arm carrying said strand feeding element, and sensing means operatively associated with said arm to monitor the thickness of the package being formed on said mandrel and adjusting the motive means accordingly.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 further characterized in that the sensing means is located proximate to said arm.

11. The method of claim 10 further characterized in that the strand is introduced to the feeding element in timed relation to the reciprocative movement of the feeding element with respect to the mandrel.

12. An apparatus for producing a package formed of a textile fiber strand with a twist incorporated in each turn of the strand in the package, said apparatus comprising base means, a nonrotatable, nonshiftable mandrel operatively mounted on said base means, a carriage operatively mounted on said base means and being rotatable about said mandrel, a support arm operatively mounted on said carriage to be rotatable therewith about said mandrel, a strand feeding element operatively carried by said support arm and being rotatable therewith so as to orbit about said mandrel, a balancing arm also mounted on said carriage on the opposite side of said mandrel with respect to said support arm for effectively balancing the weight of said support arm, means for feeding a continuous strand to said feeding element, motive means for reciprocatively shifting said feeding element along said support arm in the direction of the central axis of said mandrel simultaneously with the rotation of said carriage and support arm, means for rotating said carriage and support arm with respect to said mandrel to provide an orbiting movement of said feeding element with respect to said mandrel, so that strand issued from said feeding element is wound over the end of said mandrel to form a strand package on said mandrel with a twist incorporated in each turn of the strand, and means for reducing the velocity of the feeding element and the speed at which strand is applied with respect to the mandrel as the diametral size of the package being formed thereon increases.

13. An apparatus for producing a package of a textile fiber strand with a twist incorporated in each turn of the strand in the package, said apparatus comprising base means, a nonrotatable, nonshiftable mandrel operatively mounted on said base means, a carriage operatively mounted on said base means and being rotatable about said mandrel, a support arm operatively mounted on said carriage to be rotatable therewith about said mandrel, a strand feeding element operatively carried by said support arm and being rotatable therewith so as to orbit about said mandrel, a balancing arm also mounted on said carriage on the opposite side of said mandrel with respect to said support arm for effectively balancing the weight of the support arm, a strand supply element being operatively associated with said feeding element and reciprocatively shifting in time related movement to said feeding element to provide strand on a continuous basis to said feeding element, motive means for reciprocatively shifting said feeding element along said support arm in the direction of the central axis of said mandrel simultaneously with the rotation of said carriage and support arm, means for rotating said carriage and support arm with respect to said mandrel to provide an orbiting movement of said feeding element with respect to said mandrel, so that strand issued froM said feeding element is wound over the end of said mandrel to form a strand package on said mandrel and to thereby incorporate a twist in said strand for each turn of said strand during each orbiting revolution of said feeding element about said mandrel, means operatively associated with said carriage to be shifted outwardly with respect to said mandrel as the diametral size of the package on said mandrel increases, a shiftable member operatively associated with said mandrel and being operatively connected to said last named means for shifting in a direction parallel to and concentric with the axis of said mandrel, and electro-mechanical means operatively connected to said shiftable member and said motive means to be actuated by the shifting movement of said shiftable member for causing the motive means to reduce rotatable speed of movement of said carriage as the diametral size of the package on the mandrel increases.