Abstract: A traveling cleaner system with means for effecting a temporary alteration in the rate of travel of the traveling cleaner unit which is characterized by its ability to provide additional amounts of cleaning to preselected portions of the textile mill. The invention is comprised of a traveling cleaner unit that is movable along an overhead track that extends above textile machinery or that is mounted to a crane bridge that travels reciprocally along rails extending parallel to rows of textile machinery. The traveling cleaner unit includes blowers for direction a reciprocating cleaning current of air onto the underlying machinery. In one enbodiment a variable speed drive motor propels the cleaner unit along the overhead track and in the second embodiment, a variable speed drive motor propels the crane bridge along the rails.

Abstract: The doff management system of the present invention employs a central computer unit communicating with each yarn processing machine in a textile mill and operating under program control for monitoring and governing the operation of various functions and aspects of the mill operation. The system monitors strand production at each machine and whether the production has reached a predetermined criteria required for doffing; producing schedules of the machines which will be ready for doffing within a forthcoming time period; with the capability of altering the doffing schedules necessary to distribute workload; handling assignment of available doffers to frames which are ready for doffing; tracking earnings of doffers; and monitoring and recording various changes in the production status of the machines and generating current, historical, and prospective reports concerning the textile mill operations.

Abstract: Apparatus for use in combination with a traveling unit including sensor and remote actuator means to interrupt supply strand feeding to drafting systems of a textile spinning machine. A collar means is rotatably mounted on an elongate strand guide and one side thereof serves as a strand engaging surface. An abutment member mounted on the strand guide serves as the other of the strand engaging surfaces. Means are provided for moving the strand engaging surfaces longitudinally along the elongate strand guide and into a proximate relation with one another upon the sensing of a broken yarn so as to pinch the supply strand and thereby interrupt feed of the supply strand to the drafting system.

Abstract: A traveling suction floor cleaner for cleaning textile mills and adapted for periodic removal of textile waste material collected by the cleaner, and comprising a suction blower fan; means for causing said suction blower fan to travel adjacent one or more textile machines; a housing for enclosing said suction blower fan; suction duct means communicating with the housing and arranged for carrying suction air and entrained textile waste material from the floor of a textile mill to the suction blower fan; the suction blower fan, the housing and the suction duct means defining a suction air path; filter means having filtration surfaces positioned within the suction air path for receiving entrained textile waste material while permitting air flow therethrough; and means for moving the filter means for successive presentation for filtration of clean filtration surfaces on the filter means to collect textile waste from the suction air path and means for concurrent successive presentation for waste removal of filtrat

Abstract: Apparatus for use in combination with a traveling unit including sensor and remote actuator means to interrupt supply strand feeding to drafting systems of a textile spinning machine. Interruption is accomplished through the cooperation of an elongate strand guide and a rotatably mounted collar including a longitudinal projection. Upon rotation of the collar, the supply strand is pinched between the collar projection and the elongate strand guide causing strand breakage.

Abstract: A plurality of traveling pneumatic cleaners is provided for respective groups of textile machines and cooperates with respective unloading stations for transferring fiber waste from collection chambers of the traveling cleaners and into the unloading stations during unloading cycles actuated at spaced time intervals during operation of the traveling pneumatic cleaners. Suction producing means is connected between all of the unloading stations and a common fiber waste collecting unit and controls are provided for operating the suction producing means only during the unloading cycles, thereby saving energy during the collecting cycles. Controls are also provided for ensuring that each of the active traveling pneumatic cleaners is unloaded during each unloading cycle.

Abstract: An identification detector and cooperating identification encoder generate an identification signal uniquely correlated to a specific individual one of a group of ring spinning machines which are traversed by at least one traveling unit.

Abstract: A traveling pneumatic cleaner and apparatus for cleaning textile mill rooms in which a control arrangement for reversing the direction of rotation of a tractor drive motor and thus the direction of movement of the traveling cleaner includes circuits for interrupting operation of the tractor drive motor for a predetermined short interval of time sufficient to permit the traveling cleaner to coast to a standstill before reversal of its direction of movement along the track way.

Abstract: A plurality of traveling pneumatic cleaners for respective groups of textile machines cooperate with respective unloading stations for transferring fiber waste from collection chambers of the traveling cleaners into the unloading stations. All the unloading stations are connected, via normally closed valves, to a common source of suction, and according to the method and apparatus of this invention, provision is made for controlling the opening of the valves for the respective unloading stations so that only a single one of the valves may be opened at any given interval of time, thus minimizing the amount of suction required at the source for effectively transferring the fiber waste into the unloading stations. Further, a normally closed door for the collection chamber or chambers of each traveling cleaner is controlled so that the opening of each such door may be effected only at times when the valve of the respective unloading station is open.

Abstract: A gear-type pump for thermoplastic materials including synthetic and natural polymers or resins, the pump including a housing, intermeshing gears disposed in the housing, the housing having an inlet conduit for directing bulk thermoplastic materials to the gears and an outlet conduit for movement of the material from the gears, and heater structure disposed in the housing and proximate the gears and the inlet and outlet conduits to impart heat to the material as the material flows through the pump.

Abstract: In the combination of a textile yarn spinning machine, a traveling unit movable along the spinning machine for monitoring production of attenuated strands, and supply strand interruption mechanism responsive to the traveling unit, an improvement which comprises a wedge member movable relative to a back roll pair of a drafting unit between a normal running position withdrawn from a nip formed between the rolls and an interruption position of insertion into the nip, together with actuation mechanism mounted above and overlying the corresponding drafting unit.

Abstract: A noise abating enclosure is positioned beneath and movable with the overhead-mounted blower fan housing of a traveling pneumatic cleaner, and is provided with an upwardly opening air flow inlet passage in a medial portion thereof which communicates with the inlet opening in the fan housing. The enclosure also is provided with one or more stacks projecting upwardly from outer portions thereof and adjacent the fan housing so that air flows downwardly from generally above the traveling cleaner and into the stacks at locations spaced from the machines and operators below the fan housing of the traveling pneumatic cleaner so that impingement of noise generated by the air streams onto operators is minimized.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for facilitating maintenance of a data system gathering information regarding the operating conditions of ring spinning machines in a textile mill wherein at least one traveling unit, supported for travel along a predetermined path for traversing one or more ring spinning machines, carries detectors for monitoring ends of strand material normally being formed by traversed machines, additional sensors are provided on each machine for signalling operating characteristics of the machines, and processors operatively communicating with the sensors and responsive to signals from the sensors determines from such signals the operating conditions of respective ones of the machines. In accordance with this invention, malfunctions of defined portions of the data system are identified and an output display of information characteristic of the nature and machine location of malfunctions is generated.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for facilitating efficient management of manufacture by ring spinning machines in a textile mill through the use of a data system wherein sensors are provided on each machine for signalling operating characteristics of the machines, and processors operatively communicating with the sensors and responsive to signals from the sensors determine from such signals the operating conditions of respective ones of the machines. In accordance with this invention, an input device permits entering a request for display of information characteristic of selected individual operating conditions of selected individual spinning machines, with an output device then producing such display.

Abstract: An improvement in a data link, such as is used for continuously transferring data concerning operations of textile yarn forming machines such as ring spinning frames, wherein a transmitter and receiver each use particular combinations of oscillators and phase locked loop circuits to function as frequency synthesizers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reducing waste of supply strands passing to a series of yarn processing units, in which a detector moves along the yarn processing units alternately in a first direction and a second direction opposite from the first direction while sensing breakage of any one of a series of strands being delivered from the processing units and also sensing the direction of movement of the detector, and in response to sensing breakage of any strand, and irrespective of the direction of movement of the detector, passage of the corresponding supply strand is interrupted in its course to the corresponding yarn processing unit by a flowing stream of air being directed from a nozzle moving with the detector into engagement with a corresponding, normally inactive, strand interrupting member for actuating the same.

Abstract: An improvement in a traveling pneumatic cleaner for vacuum collection of fiber waste from a textile mill room in the form of a filter disposed in a receptacle for separating fiber waste from an air current passing through the receptacle. The filter defines a surface of revolution, preferably taking the form of a substantially conical foraminous surface about a central axis of the receptacle, and so arranged relative to the receptacle that the air current will be directed around the filter and then through the same with the velocity of the air current being diminished and lowered as it passes through the filter. Optionally, the filtering may be augmented by a foam filter medium cooperating with the foraminous surface.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for displaying information regarding the operating conditions of ring spinning machines in a textile mill wherein at least one traveling unit, supported for travel along a predetermined path for traversing one or more ring spinning machines, carries detectors for monitoring ends of strand material normally being formed by traversed machines and a data system responds to the detectors for determining the condition of the traversed machines from the condition of the monitored ends. In accordance with this invention, additional sensors are provided on each machine for signalling operating characteristics of the machines.

Abstract: An improved sensor arrangement for use in an apparatus which travels a detector along ttextilestrand processing machines such as spinning frames for determining the absence of ends of yarn from locations therealong at which such ends normally are present and for thereby locating ends down on the textile strand processing machines. The arrangement disclosed herein includes an optical system defining a light path for focusing light reflected from yarns and a plurality of sensors for receiving light passed along a common light path by the optical system and for generating pulse electrical signals in response to variations in illumination in respective, vertically spaced and aligned, fields of view.

Abstract: Positive interruption of supply strand feeding to drafting systems of a textile yarn spinning machine is assured by the cooperation of rings for threadingly receiving corresponding supply strands and plugs for positively entrapping a threadingly received supply strand upon movement of a plug into a position penetrating a corresponding ring.