DESC:TEXTILE SPINNING MACHINE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a drafting arrangement in textile spinning machines and more precisely the invention relates to saddle for top drafting rollers in textile spinning machines such as card, draw frame, comber, lap former, speed frame, ring frame, air jet spinning machine and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Textile Spinning machines such as card, draw frame, comber, lap former, speed frame, ring frame, airjet spinning machine and the like includes the plurality of pair of drafting rollers. The objective of the drafting unit in such machines is drafting / doubling the fiber strand by way of stretching and make them more parallel, straight and even. Meanwhile this process subsequently reduces the linear density of the said fiber federation to make it suitable for next spinning operation. The drafting unit or drafting zone comprises plurality of pair of top and bottom rollers which are arranged successive to one another. Several configurations of drafting units are known in said preparatory machines such as 4 over 4, 4 over 3, 3 over 3 and 2 over 2. For example, a 4 over 3 drafting unit is meant for 4 top drafting rollers loaded over 3 bottom drafting rollers.
[0003] The top rollers of the drafting unit provided with end bush (if drafting rollers loaded at ends) or axle shaft (if drafting rollers loaded at middle) are placed on the top roller’s saddle seat provided on the drafting unit. Thus the bearing seat of saddle unit provides parallel position with bottom fluted roller along with top roller. The lifting or locking of the top rollers to the saddle takes place frequently due to operations such as piecing of sliver fleece on the drafting unit, fibre bundle feeding, maintenance activity on top/bottom rollers etc. While carrying out said operations, the top roller saddle seat tends to wear due to continuous mechanical strain and friction occurring between the top roller end bush or axle and the top roller saddle seat. Said wear out of the top roller saddle seat creates uneven seating position for the top rollers of the drafting system which results in uneven drafting and affects the quality of fiber strands that are being processed. This is due to which the parallelism between bottom fluted roller and top roller is affected and results in inefficient drafting of the fiber strand. The said worn top roller saddle seat is normally machined or sometimes need to be replaced with new top roller saddle as a whole. Such machining or replacing the drafting saddle seat is expensive and consumes more labour time during replacing process. Thus the efficiency of the drafting system significantly reduces due to saddle wear and affects overall product and process quality which results in poor efficiency in the textile machines. Thus there exists a need for the arrangement for the improved top roller saddle seat for drafting unit in spinning machines.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The main objective of the present invention is to provide an improved drafting saddle arrangement which offers efficient drafting in a textile spinning machines.
[0005] Another objective of the present invention is to increase the durability of drafting saddle seat of the drafting arrangement in textile spinning machines.
[0006] Yet another objective of the present invention is to minimize the frequent maintenance of drafting roller saddle, and improve the quality of sliver /web processed in textile spinning machines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] According to the present invention, textile spinning machines such as card, draw frame, comber, lap former, speed frame, ring frame, airjet spinning machine and the like comprises a drafting zone in which plurality of top rollers (also referred to as “top drafting rollers” hereinafter) and corresponding bottom rollers (also referred to as “bottom drafting rollers” hereinafter) are provided. A top arm loading arrangement provides necessary load on each of the top rollers with respect to their corresponding bottom rollers. The top rollers are provided with end bearings and end bush or axle which are seated on the drafting roller saddle of the drafting unit. The said drafting roller seat according to the present invention is provided with at least one replaceable guide element for holding the top roller end bush or axle. Said replaceable guide element comprises substantially a “U” shaped surface which constitutes of a wear resistant material or a wear resistance coating on a light weight composite material. The said replaceable guide element according to the invention is made from light weight composite materials comprising of hardened steel laminated with wear resistance polymer film like Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Said U shaped element according to the present invention can also be made up of composite which can be atleast one of but not limited to fibre reinforced composite (glass, carbon, epoxy), laminar composites, particulate composites, polymer matrix composites, carbon matrix composites, metal matrix composites, ceramics matrix composites, glass matrix composites, flake composites, filler composites, hybrid composites, etc.,
[0008] The top drafting rollers of the textile spinning machine are arranged over the bottom drafting rollers. Each top drafting roller includes the end bush for supporting the top drafting roller over one of bottom drafting rollers. The saddle includes the drafting roller seat having the replaceable guide element for accommodating the end bush. The replaceable guide element is arranged/sandwiched between the end bush and the drafting roller seat, when the top drafting rollers are in seated condition.
[0009] The drafting rollers seat has a substantially “U” shaped profile to accommodate the end bush of the top drafting rollers when the top drafting rollers are loaded upon the bottom drafting rollers . The “U” shaped profile of the replaceable guide element corresponds to the “U” shaped profile of the drafting roller seat.
[0010] The textile spinning machine may also include an end bush shoulder coupled with the end bush. The end bush shoulder and the end bush may be made of a wear resistant material or light weight wear resistant material comprising any of fibre reinforced composites, laminar composites, particulate composites, polymer matrix composites, carbon matrix composites, metal matrix composites, and ceramics matrix composites.
[0011] The textile spinning machine may also include a drafting roller axle for supporting rotation of the top drafting rollers. The drafting roller axle may be made of a light weight wear resistant material comprising hardened steel laminated or coated with a wear resistance polymer film of PTFE.
[0012] Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Figure-1 shows the textile spinning preparatory machine for example a double delivery draw frame according to the present invention.
Figure-2 illustrates the drafting unit in opened condition in a textile spinning machine according to the present invention.
[0014] Figure-3 shows the isometric view of replaceable guide element and top roller saddle seat of textile spinning machine according to the present invention.
[0015] Figure-4 shows the replaceable guide element fixed to saddle seat when top rollers are in seated condition according to the present invention.
[0016] Figure-5 illustrates the replaceable guide element according to one aspect of the present invention.
[0017] Figure-6 illustrates the top roller end bush according to one more embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] Figure-7 illustrates the top roller axle according to one more embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] According to one of the preferred embodiment of the invention, a drafting zone (2) with 4 over 3 drafting rollers of textile spinning machine (1) such as double delivery draw frame is shown in Figure-1. The textile spinning machine according to the present invention is not only limited to draw frame but also can be a card, comber, lap former, speed frame, ring frame, airjet spinning machine and the like wherever the fibre drafting takes place. The drafting zone (2) as shown in Figure-2 comprises 4 top rollers (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) over 3 bottom drafting rollers (4a, 4b, 4c). These rollers are arranged successive to one another in drafting zone in such a way that the fibre web passes though each pair of rollers. The top drafting rollers are provided with an end bush (5) for supporting the top rollers over the bottom rollers. Said end bush (5) of each top rollers is being seated on its corresponding top roller seat (6) provided at both ends of drafting unit saddle (7) during the normal machine running conditions. Generally, the top rollers seat (6) is substantially a “U” shaped profile to accommodate end bush (5) of each top rollers (3a-3d) when they are loaded upon bottom rollers (4a-4c).
[0020] The drafting roller seat (6) according to the present invention as shown in Figure-3 and 4 which are provided with at least one replaceable guide element (8) for holding the top roller end bush. During seated condition, said replaceable guide element (8) becomes an additional component between end bush (5) and drafting roller seat (6) as a sandwich part. The replaceable guide element is substantially a U shaped plate which matches with the “U” shaped profile of said roller seat (6). The guide element (8) according to the invention constitutes a wear resistant material or wear resistance coating on a light weight composite material. The said replaceable guide element (8) according to the invention is made from light weight composite materials comprising of hardened steel laminated with Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film. Said composite material can also be atleast one of but not limited to fibre reinforced composite (glass, carbon, epoxy), laminar composites, particulate composites, polymer matrix composites, carbon matrix composites, metal matrix composites, ceramics matrix composites, etc.
[0021] The replaceable guide element (8) for the top roller saddle (7) according to the present invention is made of fibre reinforced composite, which is a combination of reinforcement structure and matrix medium. The said reinforcement structure is made of fibres, which is manufactured in fabrics, sheets, continuous mats, or as continuous filaments through the one of processing techniques such as weaving, knitting, braiding, stitching, spraying, laying, bonding. Fibres used can be atleast one of but not limited to, glass fibres, carbon fibres, acrylic, aramid, basalt, organic fibres, wood fibres, cotton fibres, jute fibres, flax fibres, cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate, cuprammonium rayon, kevlar, metallic fiber, microfiber, modacrylic, nylon, nylon 4, nylon 6, nylon 66, Pitch-based carbon fiber, polyacrylonitrile, polyester, rayon, polypropylene, etc.,
[0022] In a preferred embodiment as shown in Figure-5, the replaceable guide element (8) of the present invention is a composite material particularly made of hardened steel (9) as a base part which is coated or laminated with a film layer (10) of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and bonded together by suitable methods.
[0023] Since the replaceable guide element (8) is made of wear resistant material, it carries the mechanical strain and friction which causes wear between the top roller end bush (5) and top roller seat (6) during lifting / locking of the top rollers from the saddle (7). Thus the guide element (8) masks the top roller seat (6) from direct contact of top roller end bush (5) and prevents the possible wear out occurrence to the top roller seat (6).
[0024] In yet another alternate advantageous embodiment of the present invention according to Figure-6, the top roller end bush (5) / end bush shoulder (11) is made of wear resistant material such as composite. The end bush shoulder (11) is shown in exploded view for illustrative purpose. The composite material according the embodiment can be atleast one of but not limited to fibre reinforced composite (glass, carbon, epoxy), laminar composites, particulate composites, polymer matrix composites, carbon matrix composites, metal matrix composites, ceramics matrix composites, etc.,
[0025] In one more advantageous embodiment of the present invention according to Figure-7, the top roller axle (12) / guide shoulder is made of wear resistant material (11) as a whole. Alternatively, said roller axle (12) / guide shoulder is made of a light weight composite materials comprising of hardened steel which may laminated or coated with wear resistance polymer film like Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
[0026] Since a wear resistant material layer provided over the surface of replaceable guide element (8) or on top roller axle (12), the frequent wearing of the drafting saddle is reduced when compared to the conventional arrangement. Also the durability of replaceable guide element (8) is significantly improved by using wear resistance coating. Hence the life cycle of said clamping elements are also enhanced. Advantageously the guide element (8) can be easily replaced with new one upon wear out occurring after a long period of time. The cost and Man hours required for replacing process is very less as compared to the conventional replacement method. Thus the overall process and product quality of the drafting unit improves a lot which results in overall economical significance and better production efficiency in the textile spinning machines.
[0027] 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:We Claim:

1. A textile spinning machine, comprising:
a plurality of top drafting rollers (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) arranged over a plurality of bottom drafting rollers (4a, 4b, 4c), each top drafting roller (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) comprising an end bush (5) for supporting the top drafting roller (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) over at least one of the plurality of bottom drafting rollers (4a, 4b, 4c); and
a saddle (7) comprising a drafting roller seat (6),
wherein the drafting roller seat (6) is provided with at least one replaceable guide element (8) for accommodating the end bush (5), and
the replaceable guide element (8) comprises a wear resistant material or a wear resistance coating on a light weight composite material.

2. The textile spinning machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the replaceable guide element (8) is arranged between the end bush (5) and the drafting roller seat (6), when the top drafting rollers (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) are in seated condition.

3. The textile spinning machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end bush (5) of the top drafting roller (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) is seated on the drafting roller seat (6) provided at both ends of the saddle (7).

4. The textile spinning machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the drafting rollers seat (6) has a substantially “U” shaped profile to accommodate the end bush (5) of the plurality of top drafting rollers (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) when the plurality of top drafting rollers (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) are loaded upon the plurality of bottom drafting rollers (4a, 4b, 4c).

5. The textile spinning machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the replaceable guide element (8) is a substantially “U” shaped plate corresponding with the “U” shaped profile of the drafting roller seat (6).

6. The textile spinning machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the replaceable guide element (8) is made of hardened steel (9) laminated with a film layer (10) of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

7. The textile spinning machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the replaceable guide element (8) is made of any of fibre reinforced composites, laminar composites, particulate composites, polymer matrix composites, carbon matrix composites, metal matrix composites, and ceramics matrix composites.

8. The textile spinning machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the end bush (5) is made of a wear resistant material.

9. The textile spinning machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an end bush shoulder (11) coupled with the end bush (5), the end bush shoulder (11) and the end bush (5) being made of a light weight wear resistant material comprising any of fibre reinforced composites, laminar composites, particulate composites, polymer matrix composites, carbon matrix composites, metal matrix composites, and ceramics matrix composites.

10. The textile spinning machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a drafting roller axle (12) for supporting rotation of the top drafting rollers (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d), the drafting roller axle (12) being made of a light weight wear resistant material comprising hardened steel laminated or coated with a wear resistance polymer film of PTFE.