FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See section 10, rule 13)
1. Title of the invention: TENSION CONTROL APPARATUS FOR A CREEL SYSTEM
2. Applicant(s)
NAME NATIONALITY ADDRESS
CEAT LIMITED Indian RPG House, 463, Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400030, India
3. Preamble to the description
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it
is to be performed.

BACKGROUND
[0001] Tires are used for providing traction to vehicles, such as
bicycles, motorcycles, cars, busses, trucks, and so forth. A key component of the tire’s structure is known as a body ply or fabric ply and it provides structure, strength and the ability to absorb shocks to the tire. These fabric plies are produced by a process known as calendaring. During the calendaring process, fabric or steel cords are coated with a rubber stock on both side. Generally, these cords are pressed perpendicularly between two rubber stocks by rollers to form a fabric or body ply.
[0002] These fabric or steel cords are placed on the roller usually in
a creel system in a room with multiple creel systems where the temperature and humidity is controlled. A creel element is simply a frame on which the feeding cords or bobbin is fitted. As may be understood, proper placement and stabilization of the cords within the creel system is critical during the calendaring process. The fabric or steel cords mounting, and resultant tension of the said cords plays a key role in determining the quality of the fabric ply produced by the calendaring process.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0003] The detailed description is provided with reference to the
accompanying figures, wherein:
[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of the tension control apparatus
with the creel system, as per an implementation of the present subject matter.
[0005] FIG. 2 illustrates a magnified front view of the tension control
apparatus, as per an implementation of the present subject matter;
[0006] FIG. 3 illustrates a magnified side view of the tension control
apparatus, as per an implementation of the present subject matter;

[0007] Fig. 4 illustrating a magnified view of the creel system, as per
an implementation of the present subject matter; and
[0008] Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers
designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and the size of some parts may be exaggerated to more clearly illustrate the example shown. Moreover, the drawings provide examples and/or implementations consistent with the description; however, the description is not limited to the examples and/or implementations provided in the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] In order to ensure that the fabric or body ply (hereafter,
referred to as ‘fabric ply’) being produced during the calendaring process is of good quality, it becomes essential to ensure that the tension of the fabric or steel cord (hereafter, referred as “cord”) in the creel system is uniform. Multiple cords may be sourced from multiple creel systems within a creel room. As may be understood, if there are any variations in the tension of the cord within the creel system, it may degrade the quality of the fabric ply being produced. Problems such as but not limited to undulation or waviness in the finished fabric ply, butt-splicing issues, unacceptable elongation at break during splicing of fabric plies, etc., among other problems are common due to uneven tension or tension variations within the cords in the creel systems.
[0010] Conventionally, tension controllers are used within the creel
system to inhibit the tension variations within the cord and to maintain uniform tension. However, these tension controllers are unable to dampen the tension variations that occurs due to the creel element when the cord completes one round of unwrapping from the creel leading to a sudden jerk in the beginning of the next round of unwrapping. These jerks lead to uneven tension in the creel system thus, producing a fabric ply with undulations. As may be understood, undulated portions within the fabric plies are usually

sliced off and scrapped as waste such that a ply with a uniform and straight edge may be obtained. Multiple such fabrics plies may then be joined together to form fabric plies of desired lengths. Thus, undulations in the fabric plies lead to a wastage of resources and time during tire manufacturing.
[0011] To this end, approaches for damping the tension variations in
the cord within a creel system are provided by the present subject matter. In one example, a restraining member may be mounted around a first side of the creel element about a first axis. In an example, the first side of the creel element may be the side in whose direction the jerks take place during the unwrapping of the cord. In another example, the creel element may have a stationary member that may be able to receive a cartridge with the fiber or steel cord. In yet another example, the creel element may be mounted on a stationary supporting structure.
[0012] Returning to the present example, the restraining member
may then be attached to a resting member and the other end may attached to a guiding member. In an example, both the resting member and guiding member may be stationary in nature and mounted on the supporting structure. In an example, the restraining member may be attached to the guiding member through a combination of the spring and nut. Herein, it is pertinent to note that, the restraining member being mounted around the creel element with restraining member and the guiding member forms a pulley system.
[0013] Further, it may be noted that, although the present description
has been described with respect to producing fabric or body plies without undulations, such example is only illustrative and should not be construed to limit the scope of the present subject matter. Any number of fabrics may be produced using the present approach without deviating from the scope of the present subject matter.
[0014] As would be appreciated, the approaches provided by the
present subject matter provides a tension control apparatus that dampens

the uneven tension within the cord within the creel system that are caused due to jerks produced in the creel element by the cord unwrapping. As may be understood, the spring and nut act as a damper in combination with the restraining member to dampen the jerks within the creel element of the creel system. Thus, inhibiting tension variations within the creel system and consecutively leading to production of perfect fabric plies without any undulations. Since, there are no undulations within the finished plies, no slicing or scrapping is required. Also, butt-splicing issues and elongation issues due to the undulated fabric plies are also resolved.
[0015] These, and other aspects, are described herein with reference
to the accompanying FIGS. 1-4. It should be noted that the description and figures relate to certain examples and should not be construed as a limitation to the present subject matter. It is also to be understood that various arrangements may be devised that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present subject matter, as well as specific examples, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.
[0016] FIG. 1 depicts an example of a magnified front view of a
tension control apparatus 100 (hereafter, referred as ‘apparatus’) with a
creel system for inhibiting tension variations in the cord 118 within a creel
element 108. Various components of the tension control apparatus are
explained in the following disclosure with the help of FIGS. 2-3 that show
the various components separately and with different views for clarity.
[0017] FIG. 2 depicts an example of a front view of a tension control
apparatus 200 (hereafter, referred as ‘apparatus’) for inhibiting tension variations in the cord 118 within a creel element 108. Further, FIG. 3 describes a magnified side view of the tension control apparatus as depicted by FIG. 2. As depicted by FIG. 2 and 3, in an example, the creel element 108 may be mounted on a stationary support structure 102 through a supporting member 110. In one example, the supporting member 110 is

adapted to receive a fiber or steel cord 118 may be wrapped around a cartridge (not shown here for the sake of brevity) in a uniform manner. In another example, the supporting member 110 may be welded on the stationary support structure 102. As may be understood, although the supporting member 110 being depicted in FIG 2 (front view) and FIG. 3 (side view) is cylindrical in shape, this is not a limitation and other shapes such as but not limited to a cubical, a cuboidal, etc., among other possible shapes may also be used to implement the supporting member 110.
[0018] Returning to the present example, a resting member 106 and
a guiding member 116 may also be attached on the stationary support structure 102. In an example, the resting member 106 and the guiding member 116 may be welded on the stationary support structure 102. As may be understood, although the resting member 106 and the guiding member 116 are being depicted in FIG 2 (front view) and FIG. 3 (side view) as cylindrical in shape, this is not a limitation and other shapes such as but not limited to a cubical, a cuboidal, etc., among other possible shapes may also be used to implement the resting member 106 and the guiding member 116.
[0019] Further, a restraining member 104 may be mounted around a
creel element 108 about a first axis at a first side of the creel element 108. As may be understood, the restraining member 105 may be mounted as such that a portion of the restraining member 104 may be in contact with a portion of the circumference of the creel element 108 (this may be referred as the first side of the creel element 108). In one example, the first axis may lie in the same plane as the rotational axis of the creel element 108 when a jerk occurs. In another example, the restraining member 104 may be made using an elastic material. Returning to the present example, a first end of the restraining member 104 may be attached to the resting member 106 and the other end of the restraining member 104 may be attached to the guiding member 116 through a combination of a spring 112 and a nut 114. In an example, the restraining member 104 may be adapted to move in a

lateral direction that is perpendicular to that axis of the rotation of the creel element 108.
[0020] As may be understood, the apparatus 200, 300 as described
in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, forms a single (or fixed) pulley system wherein the creel element 108 acts as an axle, and both ends of the restraining member 104 act as a loading end and an effort end. As would be appreciated, since the first end of the restraining member 104 is attached to the resting member 106, the load in the system may be considered to be immovable, i.e., no amount of rotational movement of the fixed pully, i.e., the creel element 108 may move the first end of the restraining member 104 attached to the resting member 106. Therefore, any motion in the restraining member 104 is only possible at the other end that is connected to a guiding member 116 through a spring 112 and a nut 114. Now, since the guiding member 116 is also immovable akin to the resting member 106, motion may only take place across the spring 112.
[0021] However, when the rotational motion of the creel element 108
takes place in a clockwise direction (depicted as ‘A’ in FIG. 1), the spring
112 resists the outward motion across its length due to its compressive
nature. Thus, damping the rotational motion across the creel element 108
when a jerk occurs due to unwrapping of one round of the cord around the
creel element 108 and at the beginning the next round of unwrapping. As
may be understood, the spring 112 at the other end of the restraining
member 104 may absorb the jerks occurring from unwrapping of a cord 118
from the creel element 108 at the first side of the creel element 108.
[0022] In another example, the nut 114 may tightened or loosened
to change the compressive force across the spring 112. In one example, the nut 114 may be tightened to increase the compressive force across the spring 112, thus allowing for more outward motion when a jerk occurs in the creel element 108. In another example, the nut 114 may be loosened to decrease the compressive force across the spring 112, thus restricting the outward motion of the restraining member 104 when a jerk occurs in the

creel element 108. Therefore, the position of nut 114 may allow a user to manually calibrate the damping apparatus, thereby allowing to control the tension variations in the creel system during its operation.
[0023] FIG. 4 depicts an independent view of a creel system 400
without the tension control apparatus. In an example, the creel system 400 may provide cord 118 to a roller (not depicted here for the sake of brevity) that may coat the fabric or steel cord 118 with rubber material on both side during the calendaring process. In an example, the creel system 300 may comprise a creel element 108, a supporting member 110 and a tension controller 120. As described earlier, a creel element 108 may be defined as a frame on which the feeding cord 118 is fitted. As maybe understood, the cord 118 may generally be placed around the supporting member 110 using a cartridge (not shown here for the save brevity). In one example, the cartridge may be in the shape of a cylindrical shell (hollow cylinder) around which the cord 118 may be wound. In another example, the supporting member 110 may be adapted to receive the cartridge. Further, the cord 118 is supplied to the rollers through a tension controller 120 as depicted in FIG. 4. In an example, tension controller 120 may be used to maintain uniform tension in the creel system 400 as the cord 118 unwinds from the creel element 108.
[0024] Although examples for the present disclosure have been
described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it should be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed and explained as examples of the present disclosure.

I/We Claim:
1. A tension control apparatus (100) comprising:
a creel element (108);
a restraining member (104), wherein the restraining member (104) is:
mounted around the creel element (108) about a first axis, wherein a first end of the restraining member (104) is attached to a resting member (106) and the other end is attached to a guiding member (116) through a combination of a spring (112) and a nut (114); and
wherein the restraining member (104) is adapted to move in a lateral direction that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the creel element (108).
2. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the restraining member (104) is to traverse around the creel element (108) about a first axis at a first side of the creel element (108).
3. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the spring (112) at the other end of the restraining member (104) is to absorb any jerks caused from unwrapping of a cord (118) from the creel element (108) occurring at the first side of the creel element (108).
4. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the restraining member (104) is of an elastic material.
5. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the creel element (108), the resting member (106) and the guiding member (116) are mounted on a stationary support structure (102).
6. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compressive force of the spring (112) is adjusted by adjusting the position of the nut (114) along the lateral direction of the restraining member (104).
7. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein adjusting the position of nut (114) comprises:

tightening the nut (114) to increase the compressive force across the spring (112); and
loosening the nut (114) to increase the compressive force across the spring (112).
8. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the creel element (108) is a part of a creel system (400), the creel system (400) further comprises a tension controller (120) to maintain the tension across one of a fabric cord (118) and a steel cord (118).
9. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the creel system (400) further comprises a stationary member (110), wherein the stationary member (110) is adapted to receive a cartridge of one of a fabric cord (118) and a steel cord (118).
10. The apparatus (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the creel system (400) is adapted to provide the cord (118) to a roller that coats the cord (118) with a material.