FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cop feeding system. This invention in particular relates a cop feeding system for feeding the full bobbins into the winding machine, unwinding the yarn from the bobbin and winding it onto a bigger package, thereby minimizing the time for a bobbin change cycle and increasing the productivity of the winding process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a typical winding machine, multiple bobbins are needed to wind them onto a bigger package. The time required for the exchange of empty bobbins with full bobbins is unproductive and interrupts the main winding function of the winding machine.
Currently to overcome the above problem, magazines and automatic feeding systems are used to store and feed bobbins to the winding machine.
Such magazine designs that are available today, are usually placed in front of the winding unit and can typically store between 5 and 8 bobbins. The main disadvantage of the above type of magazine systems is that it needs to be replenished periodically by manual means. Further, the operation of the feeding system is sequential and hence more time consuming, especially, if the magazine is unfilled / partially filled or if the unwinding cop is rejected midway through the winding operation.
Alternatively, there are fully automated systems available which feed the bobbins of a complete machine (approximately 60 spindles) to the respective winding units as and when required, from a central storage by means of complicated bobbin conveying systems. The main disadvantage of such an automated system is that they are complicated and the entire machine depends on a centralized feeding system. The other disadvantage is that it is less flexible when it comes to winding different yarns simultaneously in the same winding machine. In addition, the capital investment costs of such systems are quite high, especially for small textile mills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims to solve or reduce the problems faced as described above. The main objective of the invention is to provide a bobbin feeding system that is simple in construction, flexible and efficient, by using a magazine with a much bigger cop holding capacity than the present.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a Multiple Peg system, which also stores one cop while it is unwinding another cop in the other peg. The synchronization between various functional units of the above system is done with the help of a sensor and computer controlled system to minimize bobbin change time and therefore increases the overall productivity of the winding machine. The feeding system of the present invention can be fitted and operated on any winding system, albeit with minor modifications, because of its independent actuation & control.
Accordingly the present invention provides a cop feeding system for a winding machine, illustrated in Fig. 1. The said cop feeding system comprising a magazine (1) comprising one or more pockets placed in one or more concentric circles having an axis at the center and the said pockets having a center point coinciding with the said concentric circle thereby forming a repeating triangular shape for housing a bobbin or cop. The Pocket can be of any shape. A variation of the pocket shape in hexagonal form is illustrated in Fig 2 and 3. At least one peg system (3) in Fig.l, comprising one or more movable holders for holding or unwinding the said bobbin or cop and a static ejector (30) in Fig.6 to unload the said bobbin or cop; and a conveyor system (2) in Fig.l comprising a covered chute for moving between magazine and the peg system, doors (20) in Fig.6 for inlet and outlet for the cops and a detector (24) for detecting the movement of cop.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG-l is a 3-dimensional view showing the main components of the proposed cop feeding system in front of a typical winding unit;

FIG-2 is the top view of the double row magazine showing its honey-comb like structure of the pockets;
FIG-3 is a side view of the magazine showing the shape of the yarn shield and the
yarn grooves;
FIG-4A and 4B show the economizer nozzle in the closed position with its outer cam;
FIG-5A and SB are 3-dimensional views showing the shape and dimensions of the flap below the magazine and its actuating levers;
FIG-6 is a 3-dimensional view of the conveyor design, inclusive of yarn introducer
and its pin actuation;
FIG-7 is a 3-dimensional view of the 2-Peg-System with its static ejector, the peg-holder and its one-spring linkage and the cam-like holder backstop.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The presently available Magazine type feeders (called Bobbin Magazine or Magazine) have 6 or 9 pockets arranged in a single circle around a central suction nozzle, out of which only 5 or 8 respectively are used for actually storing the Bobbins, while one pocket is left free (without being used for Bobbin storage) to be used only to feed the bobbin.
Fig. 1 illustrates a 3-dimensional view showing the main components of the proposed cop feeding system of the present invention in front of a typical winding unit. The Magazine type feeder consisting of the Magazine 1 for storing a number of Bobbins, a Conveyor 2 for guiding the Bobbins from the Magazine into the Peg and a Peg-System 3 with one ore more pegs chiefly for holding the Bobbin while it is unwound. By this, up to 24 bobbins can be stored within the same spindle space and the same bobbin sizes ranging from 6" to 10".
A particular variation of the invention, shown in Fig. 2, has 18 bobbins, which can accommodate the complete range of bobbins used in the current winders. The

hexagonal pocket design, uses the maximum possible space available for a given magazine diameter and pocket diameters, within the rotary magazine geometry. This is achieved by arranging them in co-axial circles 4 around a central suction nozzle 5, leading to a honeycomb like structure. The geometrical configuration of the pockets in the magazine, is such that the ratio of the number of pockets on the outer circle to the inner circle is 2:1, with a repeating triangular configuration of 2-outer and 1-inner pocket. This structure also ensures minimum deflection of the yarn from the outer pocket to the central nozzle, around the inner pocket and with minimum increase in yarn tension.
Fig. 3 shows the outer and inner rows of the pockets separated by specially designed yarn shields 6, which guide the yarn from the outer pocket around the inner pockets, to the central suction nozzle. This places the yarn away from the path of the bobbin when loading the inner pockets. The yarn shield is so shaped that the yarn always follows the guided path and not cross over the shield. In addition, yarn grooves 7 are provided radially from the inner pockets to the central nozzle. This is necessary to properly guide the yarn into the central suction nozzle. The yarn ends from the Bobbins are held at the center of the 2 concentric circles to facilitate easy yarn holding with one holding and suction point like in the current systems.
Fig. 4 shows a specially designed nozzle 8 at the suction point that opens only when required, either by manual operation or is synchronized with the automated magazine rotation. This nozzle has a self-contained flap 9 integrated into the nozzle tube. The nozzle housing 10 is so designed that it opens the flap upon pressing the upper surface of the nozzle a few millimeters down, to open the flap. In the normal position, a single spring 11 closes the flap back, so that the yarn ends are held by a clamping force from the spring without the need for suction. To synchronize the opening of the nozzle with the magazine rotation, an outer cam 12 is placed around the housing. A complementary cam 13 is integrated/ fixed to the Magazine, and is constrained to move only in the axial direction. This presses the nozzle housing downwards / upwards as the magazine rotates. It only opens for a short duration during the magazine rotation. Once the magazine indexes to the required position and stops, the

cam allows the suction nozzle to be lifted up and close the hole by the spring-loaded flap.
To overcome a redundant pocket in the present magazine designs, a flap mechanism below the magazine pockets is proposed and shown in Fig. 5A & 5B. This flap is always closed in the normal condition and opens only during the bobbin discharge time. Therefore, one flap for each row of pockets is provided. But only one - either Outer Flap 14 or the Inner Flap 15 operates at a time, to ensure that only a single bobbin is discharged into the peg at any given time.
The invention proposes a unique mechanism, to open and close the flaps that are mechanically linked to the rotary motion of the magazine. The flaps open naturally by gravity but close by specially designed levers 16 & 17, which pushes the flap upwards to the close position. The opening and closing timings are controlled by specially designed discs 18 at the bottom, to which the levers above, are connected. They are driven by a common actuator that also drive the magazine. The discs/ levers and the magazine rotate around the same axis, but at different speeds, enabled by a specially designed gearbox. The entire mechanism above is driven by a common pneumatic or electrical actuator. This drive configuration is located below the magazine, which makes it very compact and independent of mechanical linkages to the rest of the winding unit. The exact positioning of the magazine pockets is achieved by an indexing sensor 19, which detects the pockets and therefore stops the magazine rotation. However a mechanical indexing of the discharging positions or a feed forward controlled positioning through motors with encoder or stepper-motor can be implemented instead.
However, instead of the above mechanical disc system, the flaps could be individually operated by other actuators like a solenoid, pneumatic cylinder, etc. as well.
The new invention as detailed above, makes the Magazine time independent. This facilitates a slower magazine rotation, avoiding over travel (positioning problems), without compromising on productivity. While the magazine rotates, the flap opens to discharge the bobbin. A sensor is used to detect the bobbin discharge. If the sensor

detects no bobbin discharge, the magazine will be commanded to rotate further, until a bobbin discharge has been detected.
Right at the discharge position, below the magazine is a covered conveyor system (Fig. 6) that guides the discharged bobbin into the bobbin holder of the peg-system. The conveyor consists of two interconnected doors 20 that can be opened and closed simultaneously. By default it is closed so that no fluff can accumulate on its sliding surface or on the waiting bobbin. In the closed position it serves both as a slide and a cover for the discharged bobbin. The closed conveyor is designed in such a way that the cross sectional area at the upper entry side is bigger than that on the lower end side, so that cops from different discharge locations are automatically guided onto a single peg-location. The operation is simple, wherein the door opens to allow the preloaded Peg to go out to the unwinding position and the empty Peg to come in to the loading position. The door can then close, well after the unwinding cycle has commenced, thereby reducing idle time.
This also facilitates the yarn to be guided out of the conveyor by an appropriate yarn introducer 21. The yarn introducer is linked to the door motion and pushes the yarn-tail from below the magazine to the appropriate location in the winding unit where a static hook holds the yarn until a yam picker can take the yarn to execute the splicing operation. The yarn introducer consists of one or more levers, which are mechanically linked and actuated by the movement of the doors of the conveyor.
The doors and therefore the yarn introducer are actuated by a special mechanism 22 (Fig.?) moving a pin 24 (Fig.6) forward and backward - driven by the rotating peg-system 3 (Fig.l), which guarantees a perfect synchronization with the bobbin change (peg-rotation). However, instead of the mechanical linkage, the doors can also be actuated independently by a separate pneumatic or electrical actuator.
A bobbin/cop detection sensor 23 is placed at the bottom end of the doors to detect if a bobbin / cop has been discharged successfully from the magazine, as mentioned above
(rig.6).

The present Bobbin change cycle is defined by 3 positions & 5 actions thereby defining the cycle time. The 3 Positions are - Unwind, Unload & Load; The 5 Actions are - Move to unload position, Unload bobbin, Move to load position, Load Bobbin and Move to unwind position. The above sequence means that the splicing cycle/ bobbin change cycle is inter-linked and dependent on each other. This might cause a redundant bobbin change cycle in case there is no bobbin discharged from the magazine. This reduces the productivity of the machine, thereby extending the splicing cycle cum bobbin change time.
The new invention has a Multiple Peg system where one ore more pegs can be used for unwinding, while the rest of the pegs can be pre-loaded and wait till the unwinding process on the other peg is completed. The minimal configuration is a 2-Peg-System, shown in Fig. 7. While one Peg 26 can be preloaded with a bobbin and kept waiting, the other peg is used for unwinding. This independent pre-load position makes the magazine rotation cycle independent of the bobbin change cycle. The 2 peg positions can be actuated either independently or by a single actuator rotating on the same axis as that of the Pegs. In this specific instance, the 2-peg system mounted on a link is rotated on a common axis 27. The new invention has a single spring 28 which enables a common actuator for performing the following functions - Holding the bobbin (in unwinding position); releasing it just before ejecting the bobbin and rotating the pegs to the indexing position. The spring force of a single spring is brought into play by a cam 29, which allows the holder to actuate for holding the bobbin in one peg while blocking the holder from actuating, in the other peg.
The new invention also has a static Ejector 30 that ejects the bobbin while in motion. This ejection action does not require a separate actuator, as is being done in the presently available designs. The bobbin is lifted from the peg by a specially shaped static ejector blade - whose surface is inclined with respect to peg rotational axis. This invention takes advantage of the peg motion and or the changing height of the peg with reference to the ejector plane. This ejector mechanism can also be adapted to lift the bobbin from the top with suitable modifications.
Attached to the rotating peg-system is a cam 22 (Fig. 7) which moves a pin 24 (Fig. 6)

forward and backward which in turn closes / open the doors 20 and the yarn introducer 21 as mentioned above.
To make the proposed feeding system independent of the winding unit two sensors are fixed to control the feeding system. An indexing sensor 19 is used to detect the correct pocket position of the magazine right above the conveyor entry point. The sensor can be an optical light barrier or a micro-switch or any other form of transducer. The controller of the magazine interprets the sensor signal and rotates the magazine until it indexes to the next discharge position. Therefore appropriate flaps or fingers are added to the magazine or fixed to a separate disc that rotates simultaneously with the magazine for indexing purpose. As mentioned earlier a mechanical indexing of the discharging positions or a feed forward controlled positioning through motors with encoder or stepper-motor can be implemented instead.
A second sensor 23 attached to the conveyor detects whether bobbin/cop has been successfully discharged from the magazine onto the loading peg of the multiple peg-system. The Controller keeps rotating the magazine to the next indexing position, as long as the bobbin detection sensor does not detect a bobbin / cop in the peg position. After a pre-fixed number of continuous magazine indexing without bobbin discharge, the indexing controller sends an error message to the spindle controller. The number of unsuccessful discharge indexing motions can be pre-programmed. The bobbin detection sensor and its control enable discharge of bobbins/cops independent of bobbin change.
The Peg-system itself or with an additional bobbin detection sensor, analyzes and initiates a bobbin change cycle when a bobbin/cop is available on the loading peg. Thereby avoiding any unnecessary rotation of magazine and peg-system and maximizes the productivity of the feeding system. The control of the feeding system is executed by a programmable computerized system that allows for maximum flexibility. However, a basic version of the control system could also be implemented through a hardwired electronic circuitry.

We claim:
1. A cop feeding system for a winding machine, said cop feeding system
comprising:
A magazine (1) comprising of pockets arranged in one or more concentric circles, around a central axis with a suction nozzle, thereby forming a honey-comb like structure, with a repeating triangular configuration of 2 outer and 1 inner pockets to store the Cops / Bobbins.
At least one Peg system (3) comprising one or more movable holders for holding or unwinding the said bobbin or cop and a static ejector (30) to unload the said bobbin or cop;and
A conveyor system (2) comprising of a covered chute for moving the Cop between the magazine and the Peg system, doors (20) for inlet and outlet for the cops and a detector (23) for detecting the discharge of cop.
2. The cop feeding system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the magazine comprises outer and inner rows of pockets (4 & 5) separated by means (6 & 7) for guiding the yarn from the outer pocket to the central suction nozzle without crossing over of the yarn to the inner pocket area.
3. The cop feeding system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the magazine comprises flaps (9) below the pockets closed in the normal condition and open during the bobbin discharge time and means (16 & 17) for opening and closing the flap and means (18) for linking the rotation with the magazine.
4. The cop feeding system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the magazine comprises means (19) for detecting the pockets and thereby stop the magazine rotation at the required position.
5. The cop feeding system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the magazine comprises nozzle housing (10) and means (8 & 9) for opening and closing when required either

by manual operation or synchronized with the automated magazine rotation; and means (12 & 13) for moving the said nozzle housing in the axial direction.
6. The cop feeding system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the magazine comprises pockets in the outer and inner circle with the ratio 2:1 between any two consecutive concentric circles.
7. The cop feeding system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the conveyor comprises means (20) for opening and closing during bobbin change cycle and said means having upper cross sectional area bigger than the lower cross sectional area.
8. The cop feeding system as claimed in claims 1 and 7 wherein the conveyor comprises means (24) for synchronizing conveyor doors with the peg rotation.
9. The cop feeding system as claimed in claims 1, 7 and 8 wherein the conveyor system comprises means (21) for pushing the cop end dangling below the magazine, into the yarn path of the winding unit wherein a static hook holds the cop until a yarn picker picks this yarn to execute the splicing operation.
10. The cop feeding system as claimed in claims 1, 3 and 7 wherein the conveyor system comprises means (23) for detecting if a cop has been successfully discharged from the magazine.
11. The cop feeding system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the peg system
comprises plurality of peg (3) for unwinding while the rest of the pegs can be pre
loaded during unwinding on the other pegs and comprises means for actuating the
pegs independently and in common.
12. The cop feeding system as claimed in claims 1 and 11 wherein the peg system comprises means (28) for actuating moveable holders inside the pegs.
13. The cop feeding system as claimed in claims 1, 11 and 12 wherein the peg system comprises means (29) for selectively blocking and allowing the spring to act only on one peg at a time for unwinding, while the other peg-holder is deactivated for ejection and loading purposes of a bobbin.

14. The cop feeding system as claimed in claims 1 and 11 wherein the peg system comprises means (30) for ejecting the bobbin while the peg is moving from the unwinding position to the loading position.
15. The cop feeding system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the cop feeding system comprises means for interpreting the signals from the indexing sensor and moving the magazine to the next available discharge position; and means for interpreting the signal from the bobbin sensor and controlling the rotation of the magazine and the rotation of the peg-system as required; and means for rotating the peg-system when a bobbin is been discharged.
16. A method of operating a cop feeding system, the method comprising the steps
of:
Storing cops and rotating a magazine in its axis;
Moving the cop from the magazine to a peg system by a conveyor system in synchronization with the conveyor door and peg system;
Opening and closing of flap during bobbin discharge time by linking the rotation with the magazine;
Detecting the pockets and thereby stopping the magazine rotation at the required position;
Pushing the cop end dangling below the magazine, into the cop path of the winding unit wherein a static hook holds the cop until a cop picker picks this cop to execute the splicing operation;
Detecting if a cop has been successfully discharged from the magazine;
Ejecting the bobbin while the peg is moving from the unwinding position to the loading position.