DESC:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to textile automatic winding machines. Particularly, the invention relates to an improved bobbin/ cop transport system for automatic yarn winding machines like cone winding, cheese winding machines.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cops on which yarns that have been spun on a ring spinning frame are normally rewound in an automatic winder in order to remove defects of yarns and to obtain packages of a larger size. An automatic winder used for this rewinding process includes a plurality of winding units. In each winding unit, yarn is drawn out at a high speed from a cop supplied thereto and wound on a package which is rotated by a driving drum. If the yarn on the cop has been completely removed there from, then a new cop is supplied so as to effect the winding operation onto the package. In this way, a plurality of cops are supplied in order to obtain a fully wound package. The cop transporting system is used to feed the cops from ring spinning frames to automatic winder.

Cop transporting system is provided with link preparation unit, which is connected through intermediate cop transfer unit and gear motor drive to the automatic winder in between ring spinning frame or cop loader and automatic winder. Link preparation is an automated process to prepare the bobbins and transport the bobbins to the winding machine, after the cop or bobbin doffing is completed in a ring spinning frame. Link preparation unit helps to reduce human interruption which means cops or bobbins are processed, yarn end is prepared and transported to the winding units while improving efficiency and quality.

In Link preparation unit, the spun yarn wound on the cop which is placed upon the peg, where the pegs are placed on the conveyor, are prepared and then supplied to the automatic winding machine. The cop transport system or link preparation unit consists of cop preparation device, said cop preparation device is used to find the yarn end of the supplied cop and winds a bunch of yarn on the cop at a predetermined position for easy unwinding during forming package in winding station. This preparation process will help to easily unravel the yarn in winding units during cop change cycle and also to segregate unprepared cops and empty peg in the preparation stage itself through an optical sensing means. In order to increase the production, more than one cop preparation device are used in link preparation units, which helps in increased feed rate for high production and for longer winding machines.

A single automatic winder connected to a single ring spinning frame resulted in lower efficiency of winder, since the automatic winder has to wait for cops or the speed of the automatic winder is made lower with respect to the speed of ring spinning frame. To solve the above issue, two or more ring spinning frames are connected to single automatic winder by the cop transport system and used for winding different kinds of yarns.

The existing cop transport system for transporting the cops from plurality of ring spinning frames to single automatic winder occupies large floor space in the spinning mills. The existing common transporting path interconnected between the plurality of ring spinning frames and common link preparation unit placed before the automatic winding machine leads to more accumulation and traffic in the link preparation system and also results in lower efficiency and production.

There is a need to develop a new cop transport system for processing cops from plurality of ring spinning frames and supply to a common winding machine for higher production that would overcome the disadvantages, present in the existing machines.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide an improved layout of bobbin transport system with link preparation device for the automatic winding machines.

Another object of the present invention is to transport fully wound cop from ring spinning machine into winding unit of automatic winding machine in simplified way of cop transport system arranged between plurality of ring spinning frames and automatic winder.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved layout of bobbin transport system with less floor space and compliance for automation for the link preparation units and winding machine feed passage unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following disclosure presents a simplified summary of the present invention 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 an aspect of present invention, there is provided an automatic yarn winding machine, comprising an automatic bobbin/ cop transport system comprising:
a. a first link preparation unit arranged between at least one of a plurality of ring spinning machines and said yarn winding machine, connected with a first ring spinning machine of said plurality of ring spinning machines and said yarn winding machine through a plurality of first cop supply conveyors;
b. a second link preparation unit placed behind a winding unit structure of said yarn winding machine connected with a second ring spinning machine of said plurality of ring spinning machines and said yarn winding machine through a plurality of second cop supply conveyors;
c. said plurality of first cop supply conveyors adapted to collect a plurality of full cops from said first ring spinning machine and deliver to said first link preparation unit (8) for finding and bunching the yarn ends of said cops;
d. said plurality of second cop supply conveyors adapted to collect a plurality of full cops from said second ring spinning machine and deliver to said second link preparation unit for finding and bunching the yarn ends of said cops by end preparation process;
e. said winding unit structure comprising a plurality of winding units for unwinding the yarn from supply cop and to wind on the packages in cone/cheese form;
f. a plurality of third cop supply conveyors adapted to collect the end prepared cops from said first link preparation unit and deliver to said plurality of winding units; and
g. a plurality of fourth cop supply conveyors adapted to collect the end prepared cops from said second link preparation unit and deliver to said plurality of winding units.

In one of the embodiments of present invention, said plurality of first cop supply conveyors and said plurality of second cop supply conveyors comprise bobbin feeler sensors to detect whether the pegs delivered by said first and second ring spinning machine contain no cops or empty cops (tube without yarn) or cops with yarn content.

In another embodiment of present invention, each of said plurality of cop supply conveyors comprises bypass conveyors.

In a preferred embodiment, said bypass conveyor for said plurality of first cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect empty cop detected by said bobbin feeler sensors and feed back to said first ring spinning machine.

In another preferred embodiment, said bypass conveyor for said plurality of second cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect empty cop detected by said bobbin feeler sensors and feed back to said second ring spinning machine.

In another preferred embodiment, said bypass conveyor for said plurality of third cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect rejected cops from said first link preparation unit and deliver to rejected cops bypass storage.

In yet another preferred embodiment, said bypass conveyor for said plurality of fourth cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect rejected from said second link preparation unit cops and deliver to rejected cops bypass storage.

According to another embodiment, the automatic yarn winding machine further comprises a plurality of Radio Frequency reader/writer placed in each of said plurality of first cop supply conveyors and said plurality of second cop supply conveyors to read and write the information or parameters about the processed position, status and process parameters of yarn wound on the cops such as Ring spinning machine information, Spindle position, Yarn count etc.

According to further embodiment, the automatic yarn winding machine further comprises a plurality of interconnected conveyors to return the pegs with empty cops from said plurality of winding units after unwinding operation to said first ring spinning machine and said second ring spinning machine.

Yet another embodiment of present invention discloses that said first and second link preparation unit comprise an end searcher and an end inserter for said end preparation process.

According to further embodiment, the automatic yarn winding machine further comprises a control system configured to control the number of iterations for an unprepared cop to pass again through said first or second link preparation unit for end preparation based on the yarn parameters received from the RF reader/writer device.

In another embodiment, said control system is configured to determine the operating characteristics like speed and time of said end searcher for each iteration.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, illustrating by way of example about the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent in the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows the improved layout of the cop transport system connecting plurality of ring spinning frames and automatic winding machine according to the present invention.

Figure 2 shows the schematic view of the two link preparation units and winding machine layout 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 not have 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/features of the present disclosure. 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 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.

All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which various embodiments belong. Further, the meaning of terms or words used in the specification should not be limited to the literal or commonly employed sense but should be construed in accordance with the spirit of the disclosure to most properly describe the present disclosure.

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.

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.

The subject invention lies in an automatic yarn winding machine, comprising an automatic bobbin/ cop transport system comprising:
a. a first link preparation unit (8) arranged between at least one of a plurality of ring spinning machines and said yarn winding machine (7), connected with a first ring spinning machine (1) of said plurality of ring spinning machines and said yarn winding machine (7) through a plurality of first cop supply conveyors;
b. a second link preparation unit (8a) placed behind a winding unit structure of said yarn winding machine (7) connected with a second ring spinning machine (2) of said plurality of ring spinning machines and said yarn winding machine through a plurality of second cop supply conveyors;
c. said plurality of first cop supply conveyors adapted to collect a plurality of full cops from said first ring spinning machine (1) and deliver to said first link preparation unit (8) for finding and bunching the yarn ends of said cops;
d. said plurality of second cop supply conveyors adapted to collect a plurality of full cops from said second ring spinning machine (2) and deliver to said second link preparation unit (8a) for finding and bunching the yarn ends of said cops by end preparation process;
e. said winding unit structure (7) comprising a plurality of winding units (9) for unwinding the yarn from supply cop and to wind on the packages in cone/cheese form;
f. a plurality of third cop supply conveyors adapted to collect the end prepared cops from said first link preparation unit (8) and deliver to said plurality of winding units (9); and
g. a plurality of fourth cop supply conveyors adapted to collect the end prepared cops from said second link preparation unit (8a) and deliver to said plurality of winding units.

In one of the embodiments of present invention, said plurality of first cop supply conveyors and said plurality of second cop supply conveyors comprise bobbin feeler sensors to detect whether the pegs delivered by said first and second ring spinning machine contain no cops or empty cops (tube without yarn) or cops with yarn content.

In another embodiment of present invention, each of said plurality of cop supply conveyors comprises bypass conveyors.

In a preferred embodiment, said bypass conveyor for said plurality of first cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect empty cop detected by said bobbin feeler sensors and feed back to said first ring spinning machine.

In another preferred embodiment, said bypass conveyor for said plurality of second cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect empty cop detected by said bobbin feeler sensors and feed back to said second ring spinning machine.

In another preferred embodiment, said bypass conveyor for said plurality of third cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect rejected cops from said first link preparation unit and deliver to rejected cops bypass storage.

In yet another preferred embodiment, said bypass conveyor for said plurality of fourth cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect rejected from said second link preparation unit cops and deliver to rejected cops bypass storage.

According to another embodiment, the automatic yarn winding machine further comprises a plurality of Radio Frequency reader/writer placed in each of said plurality of first cop supply conveyors and said plurality of second cop supply conveyors to read and write the information or parameters about the processed position, status and process parameters of yarn wound on the cops such as Ring spinning machine information, Spindle position, Yarn count etc.

According to further embodiment, the automatic yarn winding machine further comprises a plurality of interconnected conveyors to return the pegs with empty cops from said plurality of winding units after unwinding operation to said first ring spinning machine and said second ring spinning machine.

Yet another embodiment of present invention discloses that said first and second link preparation unit comprise an end searcher and an end inserter for said end preparation process.

According to further embodiment, the automatic yarn winding machine further comprises a control system configured to control the number of iterations for an unprepared cop to pass again through said first or second link preparation unit for end preparation based on the yarn parameters received from the RF reader/writer device.

In another embodiment, said control system is configured to determine the operating characteristics like speed and time of said end searcher for each iteration.

Referring to figures 1 and 2, the automatic winding machine (7) comprises multiple winding units (9), Link preparation units (8, 8a) and cop supply lines from first ring spinning frame (1) and second ring spinning frame (2). The first Link preparation unit (8) is present between ring spinning frames (1, 2) and automatic winder (7) in the cop transport platform itself. The second link preparation unit (8a) is placed at the backside / another end of the automatic winder (7) behind the winding unit structure. The winding unit structure comprises of multiple winding units (9) which plays the role of unwinding the yarn from supply cop and to wind on the packages in cone/cheese form.

Said Link preparation units (8, 8a) is adapted to process the cops to find the yarn ends such that unraveling is easy in winding units and also to segregate unprepared cops and rejected cops returned from winding machine.

After doffing is completed in first ring spinning frame (1), the full cops are supplied to a first link preparation unit (8) through first entry lane (3). The said first entry lane (3) is provided with first bobbin feeler sensor (4) to sense whether the pegs carrying cops coming from first ring spinning frame (1) are provided with cops with or without yarn. If the empty cops are detected, the particular peg is made to pass through the first empty cops bypass path (5) and sent back to first ring spinning frame (1). The RFID reader/writer (not shown) is provided in first entry lane (3) to read and write the information or parameters about the yarn wound on the cops such as yarn count, yarn type, yarn twist etc., and then sent to first preparation lane (6). Then the said cops with yarn pass through end searcher (10) and end inserter (11) provided on the first preparation lane (6). After completion of end preparation process, the cops are ready for unwinding process to form package (Cheese/Cone) in winding units (9). The prepared cops from first preparation lane (6) are sent to required number of winding units (9) for unwinding spun yarn through winder feed lane (12) via the path shown in continuous arrows. The unprepared cops are made to pass again through first preparation lane (6) for end preparation for a number of iterations determined by the controller (not shown) of preparation unit (8) / automatic winder (7). The controller decides the number of iterations based on the yarn parameters received from the RFID reader/writer device (not shown). The controller also decides the operation characteristics like speed and time of the end searcher (10) for each iteration as an embodiment. The number of iterations and operating characteristics about the end searcher (10) for each iteration can also be set manually by operating persons by entering required value on to the HMI display (not shown) provided on the winding machine (7) as an embodiment. The rejected cops are conveyed to rejected cops bypass storage (13). The pegs with empty cop, returning from unwinding unit through winder exit lane (14) are sent to ring spinning frame (1) through first return path (15).

After doffing is completed in second ring spinning frame (2), ring frame cops are supplied directly to second link preparation unit (8a) placed on the backside / another end of the winding machine (7) through second entry lane (16). The said second entry lane (16) is provided with second bobbin feeler sensor (17) to sense whether the ring frame pegs are provided with empty cops. After checking, the empty cops are made to pass through the second empty cops bypass path (18) and sent back to second ring spinning frame (2). The RFID reader/writer (not shown) is provided in second entry lane (16) to read and write the information or parameters about the yarn wound on the cops and then sent to second link preparation unit (8a). The second preparation unit (8a) is also provided with end searcher and end inserter (not shown). The prepared cops from second preparation unit (8a) are sent to remaining number of winding units (9) for unwinding spun yarn as per the availability and requirement. The unprepared cops are made to again pass through end preparation for number of iterations determined by the controller (not shown) of second preparation unit / automatic winder. The controller decides the number of iterations based on the yarn parameters received from the RFID reader/writer device (not shown). The controller also decides the operating characteristics like speed and time of the end searcher for each iteration as an embodiment. The number of iterations and operating characteristics about the end searcher for each iteration can also be set manually by operating persons by entering required value on to the HMI display (not shown) provided on the winding machine (7) as an embodiment. The rejected cops are conveyed to rejected cops bypass storage (not shown). The empty cops returning from winding unit (9) through winder exit lane (14) are sent to second ring spinning frame (2) through second return path (19).

The required number of winding units (9) for plurality of ring spinning frames (1, 2) can be set manually by operating persons by entering required value on to the HMI display (not shown) provided on the winding machines as an embodiment. In an additional embodiment a third link preparation unit is provided when a third ring spinning frame is connected to present embodiment of the winder. Advantageously, the present invention eliminates intermediate cop transfer unit.

According to an embodiment, when fresh cops enter searcher unit from respective Ring spinning frame for first attempt, the vertical scribing cylinder in searcher unit is operated for a predetermined time 1 (preferably less stroke length) specified in the machine control unit based on Yarn material, Yarn count and tube specifications. When the cops that are failed to prepare yarn end / rejected cops enters for the second attempt to searcher module, the vertical scribing cylinder operates for a predetermined time 2 (preferably full stroke length) specified in machine control unit which can be changed by the user.

According to another embodiment, each individual winding units (9) of the winding unit structure consists of RFID reader /writer unit to read and write the information or parameters about the processed position, status and process parameters of yarn wound on the cops such as Ring spinning machine information, Spindle position, Yarn count etc.

The construction of the present invention is very simple and more reliable compared to the prior art. The improved cop transport path present in the link preparation units also results in less floor spacing and requires simple drive configurations as compared to prior art which requires large floor spacing and has a complicated drive arrangement for transporting cops from plurality of ring spinning frames.

In view of the present disclosure which describes the present invention, all changes, modifications and variations within the meaning and range of equivalency are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiment of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiment may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.
,CLAIMS:1. An automatic yarn winding machine, comprising an automatic bobbin/ cop transport system comprising:
a. a first link preparation unit (8) arranged between at least one of a plurality of ring spinning machines and said yarn winding machine (7), connected with a first ring spinning machine (1) of said plurality of ring spinning machines and said yarn winding machine (7) through a plurality of first cop supply conveyors;
b. a second link preparation unit (8a) placed behind a winding unit structure of said yarn winding machine (7) connected with a second ring spinning machine (2) of said plurality of ring spinning machines and said yarn winding machine through a plurality of second cop supply conveyors;
c. said plurality of first cop supply conveyors adapted to collect a plurality of full cops from said first ring spinning machine (1) and deliver to said first link preparation unit (8) for finding and bunching the yarn ends of said cops;
d. said plurality of second cop supply conveyors adapted to collect a plurality of full cops from said second ring spinning machine (2) and deliver to said second link preparation unit (8a) for finding and bunching the yarn ends of said cops by end preparation process;
e. said winding unit structure (7) comprising a plurality of winding units (9) for unwinding the yarn from supply cop and to wind on the packages in cone/cheese form;
f. a plurality of third cop supply conveyors adapted to collect the end prepared cops from said first link preparation unit (8) and deliver to said plurality of winding units (9); and
g. a plurality of fourth cop supply conveyors adapted to collect the end prepared cops from said second link preparation unit (8a) and deliver to said plurality of winding units.

2. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of first cop supply conveyors and said plurality of second cop supply conveyors comprise bobbin feeler sensors (4, 17) to detect whether the pegs delivered by said first (1) and second ring spinning machine (2) contain no cops or empty cops (tube without yarn) or cops with yarn content.

3. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of cop supply conveyors comprises bypass conveyors.

4. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said bypass conveyor (5) for said plurality of first cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect empty cop detected by said bobbin feeler sensors (4) and feed back to said first ring spinning machine (1).

5. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said bypass conveyor (18) for said plurality of second cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect empty cop detected by said bobbin feeler sensors (17) and feed back to said second ring spinning machine (2).

6. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said bypass conveyor for said plurality of third cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect rejected cops from said first link preparation unit (8) and deliver to rejected cops bypass storage (13).

7. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said bypass conveyor for said plurality of fourth cop supply conveyors is adapted to collect rejected cops from said second link preparation unit (8a) and deliver to rejected cops bypass storage (13).

8. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprises a plurality of Radio Frequency reader/writer placed in each of said plurality of first cop supply conveyors and said plurality of second cop supply conveyors to read and write the information or parameters about the processed position, status and process parameters of yarn wound on the cops such as Ring spinning machine information, Spindle position, Yarn count etc.

9. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 1, comprises a plurality of interconnected conveyors (15, 19) to return the pegs with empty cops from said plurality of winding units (9) after unwinding operation to said first ring spinning machine (1) and said second ring spinning machine (2).

10. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first and second link preparation unit (8, 8a) comprise an end searcher (10) and an end inserter (11) for said end preparation process.

11. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 1, comprises a control system configured to control the number of iterations for an unprepared cop to pass again through said first (8) or second link preparation unit (8a) for end preparation based on the yarn parameters received from the RF reader/writer device.

12. The automatic yarn winding machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein said control system is configured to determine the operating characteristics like speed and time of said end searcher (10) for each iteration.