Abstract: Apparatus for monitoring the tension of a thread in a warp beaming operation, and for selectably clamping that thread to maintain tension in the thread. A drop wire is pivotably mounted alongside a thread guide region, and a thread clamping member is located adjacent the thread guide region. The drop wire includes a thread retaining member normally positioned to keep a thread in the thread guide region, and also includes a deflecting member which pivotably displaces the drop wire assembly to permit placing a thread into the thread guide region. A substantially straight-line path for loading the inbound thread into the thread guide region thus is provided.

Abstract: An improved creel assembly for use with strand winding devices such as warpers or the like. The creel has modules supporting yarn packages on both an active side and an inactive side, and also has yarn tensioning devices separately associated with both sides of the modules. The modules and yarn tensioning devices rotate as an entire assembly. Fresh yarn packages thus can be preloaded on the inactive side of the creel, and prethreaded through the tensioning devices associated with the inactive side, before the creel modules are rotated to the active side of the creel. Also disclosed is an improved balloon guard having a yarn opening sufficiently large to accommodate a person's hand for threading yarn through the opening, yet which accomplishes the anti-ballooning function of the balloon guard.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for high pressure sizing, including sizing squeeze apparatus which effectively utilizes high pressure squeeze loading to remove excess sizing from the warp yarns, and thus to reduce the water evaporation requirement of the yarn. The high pressure sizing squeeze apparatus includes positive drive of the rubber-surface roll as well as the steel roll to prevent slippage which could strain the warp, and maintains a substantially invariant squeeze loading irrespective of variable tension in the roll drive. The surface speed of the rubber-covered squeeze roll may be slightly less than the surface speed of the steel roll, to reduce the torque required to drive the rubber-covered roll at relatively high squeeze pressures where substantial slippage is encountered. A torque limiter controls maximum axial drive torque supplied to the rubber-surface roll, in response to the magnitude of squeeze loading.