FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a bobbin loading arrangement in a lap forming machine used in textile industry. More particularly, the invention is concerned about loading the bobbin into the lap winding arrangement from the reserve bobbin magazine by achieving higher motion of bobbin loading arm from the limited/minimum motion of actuator.

BACK GROUND OF THE INVENTION
The existence of fibre lap package production machine for the preparation of higher volume and high density lap for feeding the high speed combers is known. A lap former / lap forming machine comprises feed creel, drafting zones, doubling table, compacting calender rollers and finally lap rollers for winding the material onto the bobbin/spool.

The slivers arranged in the creel are doubled and drafted as per requirement by the drafting system of the lap forming machine. The drafted slivers delivered in the form of lap sheet are subsequently combined together and delivered to the calendering rollers where the lap sheet is compacted and delivered to the lap head where the bobbin has been wound with a full lap roll.

Then the full lap roll is being exchanged simultaneously with a new empty bobbin at a position above the surface of said lap rollers and firmly held between said of lap winding rollers by using pair of lap discs. Subsequently the full lap roll is being doffed and ejected out to the trough of the lap forming machine. Therefrom the said lap roll is transferred to combing machine for further processing.

In the meantime, the empty bobbin already carried from the comber by the trolley is loaded to the bobbin magazine of lap forming machine by automatic means. As shown in Figure-1, a bobbin changer arm (1) provided in the lap forming machine holds the said empty bobbin (4) received from the magazine. While next doffing operation initiated, the bobbin changer arm (1) carries the empty bobbin and arcuately moves upto the lap rollers (5) to place the empty bobbin. Meanwhile the full lap guide bridge (6) is lifted (shown in dotted lines) from original position by a pneumatic actuator (7) for allowing the bobbin changer arm (1) to reach the upper side of lap rollers (5) for loading the empty bobbin (4). Said arcuate movement of bobbin changer arm (1) is carried out through a loading lever (2) by actuating a pneumatic loading cylinder (3). During this motion, the angle of rotation (a) for empty bobbin changer arm (1) is high ie more than 90 degree. Since the angle of rotation (a) is high, the transmission angle is also ranging from 20 to 150 degrees between pneumatic cylinder (3) and loading lever (2). Due to this the required force of the pneumatic cylinder (3) is more which is very disadvantageous. So cylinder and lever joints experiences a higher forces which creates more wear on these joints. In order to get this higher transmission angle, a heavy pneumatic actuator means has to be used which is costlier.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an empty bobbin loading arrangement which provides motion amplification during doffing cycle in a lap forming machine.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a bobbin loading arrangement which requires relatively lesser load to the loading cylinder thereby increasing the life of mechanical parts

One more object of the invention is to provide a single actuator for bobbing loading mechanism and lap rolling bridge plate swinging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the present invention. It is not intended to identify the key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concept of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description of the invention presented later.

According to the present invention in one aspect the invention relates to a bobbin changing apparatus is provided with a bobbin changer arm mounted on an arm pulley; a drive lever which is drivingly coupled to the said arm pulley; a pneumatic actuator for actuating the said drive lever; and a transmission means altogether forms a motion amplification unit for loading the empty bobbin on to the lap rollers. In this arrangement, the bobbin changer arm is rotated by a transmission means such as belts/gears/ linkages which is placed between pneumatic actuator and bobbin changer arm such that the rotational motion given by the actuator is multiplied to the said bobbin changer arm. A smaller diameter pulley is fixed with bobbin changer arm and larger diameter pulley is coupled with pneumatic cylinder by the said drive lever. Hence a small rotation of larger diameter pulley makes the smaller diameter pulley to rotate more based on required ratio. By this arrangement the required force on the actuator is reduced and thereby joints forces also reduced.

The foregoing and additional features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which precedes with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure-1 of the drawings illustrates the bobbin changing apparatus of the known lap forming machine of the prior art.

Figure-2,2a of the drawings shows the bobbin changing arrangement according to the one embodiment of the present invention and the associated cam lever.

Figure-3& 4 of the drawing illustrates further working embodiment of the present invention.

Figure-5 of the drawing shows one of the preferred embodiment bobbin changing arrangement according to the present invention.
Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is to be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular various embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of various embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, members, components, and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, members, components, and/or groups thereof. Also, Expressions such as "at least one of," when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.
The present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the various embodiments set forth herein, rather, these various embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the present disclosure. Furthermore, a detailed description of other parts will not be provided not to make the present disclosure unclear. Like reference numerals in the drawings refer to like elements throughout.

Figures-2,2a of the drawings illustrate the empty bobbin loading arrangement (8) in a lap forming machine according to the present invention. The arrangement comprises a bobbin changer arm (1) mounted on an arm pulley (11); a motion amplification unit (13) wherein a drive lever (9) which is drivingly coupled to the said arm pulley (11); a pneumatic actuator (10) for actuating the said drive lever (9). The drive lever (9) comprises a coaxial pulley (14) and a crank arm (C) where the pneumatic actuator (10) is coupled to it through a crank pin (15). The arm pulley (11) is having smaller diameter when compared to the said coaxial pulley of the drive lever (9). An endless transmission device (12) drivingly couples the both coaxial pulley (14) and the arm pulley (11) together. Said transmission device (12) may be selected as flat belt, toothed belt, ribbed belt (V belt or poly V belts) or chain drives depending upon the required operating conditions. The diameter of the arm pulley (11), coaxial pulley (14) and the actuator stroke length are determined based upon the requirement for effective bobbin loading. During empty bobbin loading action takes place, the pneumatic actuator (10) extended to move the crank pin (15) from the original position to a required extent for example 65 degrees. Thus generated cranking motion rotates the associated coaxial pulley (14) along and inturn rotates the arm pulley (11) through the transmission device (12) and thereby rotates the bobbin changer arm (1) approximately upto 120 to 150 degrees. Hence the empty bobbin (4) held by the bobbin changer arm (1) is transferred on to the lap rollers for winding the successive fibre lap sheet that comes in. Thus the motion amplification unit (13) converts the linear motion of the pneumatic actuator (10) into an angular movement of the bobbin changer arm (1) for loading the empty bobbin on to the lap rollers.

According to Figure-3 of the invention, the embodiment of the motion amplification unit (13) comprises a gear wheel (16) which meshes with the coaxial gear of the drive lever (9). While loading the empty bobbin, the pneumatic actuator (10) rotates the said drive lever (9) to an extent for example 65 degrees, which inturn rotates the gear wheel (16) and thereby rotates the bobbin changer arm (1) approximately upto 120 to 150 degrees and thus motion amplification is achieved.

Figure-4 of the drawings represents another embodiment of the present invention wherein the amplification unit (13) comprises plurality of linkages / link rods (18, 19, 20). For exemplary embodiment, the pneumatic actuator (10) is coupled to the first link rod (18) which is pivoted at the first fulcrum point (21). Said pneumatic actuator (10) is operatively connected at the fixture point (17) which lies in between the first fulcrum point (21) and a primary joint (22) of the first link rod (18). Since the fixture point (17) determines the linkage movement ratio, this fixture point (17) can be alternatively positioned anywhere between the first fulcrum point (21) and primary joint (22) depending upon the requirement. The primary joint (22) further accommodates the one end of second link rod (19) of which the other end is connected to a secondary joint (23). Said secondary joint (23) is also connected to the one end of third link rod (20) whereas the other end of this third link rod (20) is connected to a second fulcrum point (24). Since the bobbin changer arm (1) is swingably mounted with the second fulcrum point (24), the movement of first link rod (18) for an extent for example 65 degrees by the pneumatic actuator (10) makes the said bobbin changer arm (1) to move approximately 120 to 150 degrees for loading the empty bobbin.

A preferred embodiment of the invention according to the Figure-5 comprises a motion amplification unit (13) wherein the pneumatic actuator (10) is connected to the drive lever (9) as described in Figure-2 of the invention. The endless transmission device (12) is drivingly looped around a main pulley (25) and auxiliary pulleys (27). As described in invention, the endless transmission device (12) may be selected from flat belt, toothed belt, ribbed belt (V belt or poly V belts) or chain drives depending upon the required operation parameters. The auxiliary pulleys (27) are operatively connected to a swing plate (26) which acts as a guiding bridge for the previously wound lap package to roll over while doffing takes place. Said swing plate (26) should be swiveled away from the swing path of the bobbin changer arm (1) while loading the empty bobbin. According to the known prior art, this action was carried out by employing a separate pneumatic actuating member whereas in present invention, the swing action of swing plate (26) is achieved by driving the said main pulley (25) and auxiliary pulleys (27) arrangement.

Both action of swiveling the swing plate (26) and swivel action of bobbin changer arm (1) is carried out by single pneumatic actuator (10) which is cost effective advantage of the present invention. The pneumatic actuator (10) rotates the drive lever (9) to an extent for example of 65 degrees, inturn drives the endless transmission device (12) to drive the auxiliary pulleys (27) to swivel the swing plate (26) which clears off the swiveling path for bobbin changer arm (1). Simultaneous rotation of the main pulley (25) subsequently swivels the bobbin changer arm (1) approximately upto 120 to 150 degrees to load the empty bobbin.

In the above detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part thereof, and illustrate the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention. However, such description should not be considered as any limitation of scope of the present unit. The structure thus conceived in the present description is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all the details may furthermore be replaced with elements having technical equivalence. In practice the materials and dimensions may be any according to the requirements, which will still be comprised within its true spirit. The embodiments shown herein are only exemplary. And further embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention.
,CLAIMS:1. A bobbin changing apparatus of a Lap forming machine comprising :
a rotatable bobbin changer arm (1);
and
an actuator means (10);
wherein a motion amplification unit (13) is provided for loading the empty bobbin (4) on to the lap rollers (5).

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion amplification unit (13) comprises an arm pulley (11); a rotatable bobbin changer arm (1) mounted on the arm pulley (11); a drive lever (9) which is drivingly coupled to the said arm pulley (11); a pneumatic actuator (10) for actuating the said drive lever (9); and a transmission means (12).

3. Apparatus claimed in claim 2, wherein the transmission means (12) is provided between pneumatic actuator (10) and bobbin changer arm (1) such that the rotational motion given by the actuator (10) is multiplied to the said bobbin changer arm (1).

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion amplification unit (13) further comprising a smaller diameter pulley (11) fixed with the bobbin changer arm (1) and a larger diameter pulley (14) coupled with the actuator (10) by the said drive lever (9) such that a small rotation of larger diameter pulley (14) makes the smaller diameter pulley (11) to rotate more based on required ratio.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the smaller diameter pulley (11) is an arm pulley and the larger diameter pulley (14) is coaxial to said drive lever (9).

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a crank pin (15) adapted to be moved by the actuator (10) such that the cranking motion generated thereof, rotates the associated coaxial pulley (14) along and in turn rotates the arm pulley (11) through the transmission device (12) thereby rotating the bobbin changer arm (1) approximately upto 120 to 150 degrees.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion amplification unit (13) comprises a gear wheel (16) meshed with the coaxial gear of the drive lever (9).

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion amplification unit (13) comprises plurality of linkages defining a first link rod (18), a second link rod (19) and a third link rod (20),

wherein the first link rod (18) is adapted to be pivoted with the actuator (10) at a first fulcrum point (21);

said actuator (10) is operatively connected at a fixture point (17) located in between the first fulcrum point (21) and a primary joint (22) of the first link rod (18);

the primary joint (22) is adapted to accommodate one end of second link rod (19) of which the other end is operatively connected to a secondary joint (23);

said secondary joint (23) is operatively connected to the one end of third link rod (20) whereas the other end of the third link rod (20) is connected to a second fulcrum point (24).

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the bobbin changer arm (1) is swingably mounted at the second fulcrum point (24) such that the movement of first link rod (18) for an extent for about 65 degrees by the actuator (10) makes the said bobbin changer arm (1) to move approximately 120 to 150 degrees for loading the empty bobbin (4).

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the transmission means (12) is an endless transmission device drivingly looped around a main pulley (25) and auxiliary pulleys (27).

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the auxiliary pulleys (27) are operatively connected to a swing plate (26) such that said swing plate (26) is simultaneously swiveled away from the swing path of the bobbin changer arm (1) while loading the empty bobbin (4).

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the swiveling motion of the swing plate (26) and swiveling action of bobbin changer arm (1) is carried out by single pneumatic actuator (10)

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the endless transmission device (12) is selectively a flat belt or toothed belt or a ribbed belt (V belt or poly V belts) or chain drives and the like.