Abstract: During the cop-forming phase of operation of a ring spinning or twisting machine, yarn is wound onto spools carried by the spindles in order to form cops. At the end of this phase, the yarn associated with each spindle is fastened below the spool by means of several fastening turns; thereafter, the full cops are removed with breakage of the yarns. In order to facilitate the operation of cop-removal means for automatically and simultaneously removing all of the full cops, yarn-severing means are provided that sever the yarns prior to the cop-removal means picking up the full cops. In a preferred embodiment, the yarn-separation means is arranged to snap the yarns by downwardly displacing the members around which the fastening turns are wound.

Abstract: In a widely-used type of ring, spinning or twisting machine, each spindle of the machine is provided at its upper end with a spinning head. This head is engaged by yarn to be wound onto a cop spool carried on the spindle, the yarn passing from the spinning head to the ring traveller associated with that spindle. Due to the engagement of the yarn with the spinning head it is generally not possible to employ known types of automatic cop removal device with such machines. To overcome this problem, cop-raising means are provided which, at the end of each cop-forming process and prior to operation of the cop-removal device, serve to raise the cop spools above the level of the upper ends of the spinning heads whereby to disengage the yarns therefrom. The cop-raising means comprise, for example, a mechanism arranged to displace upwardly the so-called ring nuts associated with each spindle.

Abstract: A ring spinning or twisting machine is provided with a cop-removal device arranged to automatically remove all full cops simultaneously from the spindle row of the machine and to replace them with empty cop spools. The cop-removal device comprises a plurality of take-up members each associated with a respective spindle and movable only in the axial direction thereof, and a conveyor extending parallel to the spindle row and arranged to transport the empty spools and full cops respectively to and from the machine. The conveyor has a first row of pins arranged to receive full cops after they have been removed from the spindles by the take-up members, and a second row of pins for carrying empty spools to be picked up by the take-up members and placed on the spindles. The conveyor is movable horizontally transverse the spindle row to bring the two rows of pins into coaxial alignment with the axes of the spindles when required.