TEXTILE MACHINES THAT PRODUCE TAKE-UP PACKAGES

Abstract

A textile machine that produces take-up packages with control valves 1, whereby the control valves 1 each have a valve body 2, a piston 3 and a plunger 4, whereby the plunger 4 comprises a front seal seat 5 and a rear seal seat 6 as well as seals 9, with which outlets, such as a main line 14, a pilot line 19, a connection 16 and at least one vent 15 are alternately sealable in the valve body 2, and the piston 3 has a piston seal 8 that separates two air circuits from each other. Contact surfaces 11 are designed in the valve body, at which the corresponding surfaces 12 of the front and rear seal seats 5, 6 of the plunger 4 can be brought into abutment.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of German patent application DE 102017118683.2, filed Aug. 16, 2017, herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a textile machine that produces take-up packages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With textile machines that produce take-up packages, for example yarn and cabling machines, it is standard for sensor devices to be used that monitor the most varied operational or process states. For example, pneumatic, electropneumatic or electromagnetic sensor devices are known in this regard. Based on the signals from the sensor devices, devices are controlled that, for example, initiate a package lifting device, the clamping of a yarn, a yarn cut or the stopping of a spindle.

The positioning of a so-called pilot valve between the sensor device and the device to be controlled, which in turn is designed, for example, mechanically as a push button valve or pneumatic actuating valve, is also known.

During the yarn process for example, the presence of the yarn is monitored by a mechanical element positioned by the yarn. If there is a yarn break, the mechanical element falls around an axis of rotation due to its own weight, and thus operates the switch pin of a pilot valve. The pilot valve is connected to a control valve, which controls a pneumatic actor, in this example the package lifting device.

The control valves that have been previously used in textile machines that produce take-up packages have a so-called membrane sealing ball design. This means that a sealing ball is connected with a membrane via a plunger. The membrane is located between a front and a rear chamber. Air streams into the rear chamber via a main line and, where applicable, a fixed throttle valve. This deforms the membrane towards the front and the plunger closes the front seal seat in the valve housing with the attached sealing ball. This means that no air can flow into one of the pneumatic cylinders connected to the front chamber, and the pneumatic cylinder can travel to its operating position via a vent.

If there is a yarn break, for example, a main line positioned at the rear chamber is opened and the pressure falls in the rear chamber, because more air flows out than can flow in over the fixed throttle. Then the membrane moves backward together with the plunger, the front seal seat of the sealing ball opens, clears the path for the main air to the pneumatic cylinder, and the sealing ball moves against the sealed mounting, whereby the entry to the ventilation hole is closed.

After the yarn break is corrected and the workstation is restarted, the pilot line positioned at the rear chamber is closed again and pressure builds up again behind the membrane. The control valve moves back to the operating position already described again.

The membrane with the attached plunger and the sealing ball is, however, a complex component in terms of production technology, for which it is difficult to adhere to the required tolerances. This creates the risk that an undefined state of uncertainty occurs during operation, resulting in the membrane fluttering. The sealing ball then is not positioned in a defined way at the relevant seal seat, and lasting leaks occur via the ventilation hole. In addition, the sealing ball is periodically put under stress.

Furthermore, in the operational state the full operational pressure is permanently exerted on the membrane from behind, which risks plastic deformations occurring to this flexible and sensitive component over a long period of time, which in turn can cause premature malfunctioning of the control valve and consequent downtime for the workstation or textile machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a textile machine that produces take-up packages with control valves.

One aspect of the present invention therefore comprises a textile machine that produces take-up packages with control valves, whereby the control valves each have a valve body, a piston and a plunger, whereby the plunger comprises a front seal seat and a rear seal seat as well as seals, with which outlets, such as a main line, a pilot line, a connection and at least one vent are alternately sealable in the valve body, and the piston has a piston seal that separates two air circuits from each other.

The textile machine that produces take-up packages is also characterized in that there are contact surfaces in the valve body at which the corresponding surfaces of the front and rear seal seats of the plunger can be brought abutment.

In this way, the path of the plunger with respect to the relevant seal is restricted in the sealed surface. The maximum deformation of the seals can be specified in advance through the defined deformation limitation of the seals and the seals cannot slide too far into the sealing gap. This guarantees a long lifespan for the seals.

Through designing the textile machine like this, the control valves can be practically and economically produced. Through the design of contact surfaces with corresponding surfaces, material influences above all are not so significant and disruptive to functionality, as is the case with the membrane sealing ball design.

Moreover, this type of seal seat is sufficiently durable for the expected number of switch cycles with a textile machine that produces take-up packages.

Because the maximum piston path is designed as a short-stroke piston with two conical seal seats, a compact structure of the control valve is maintained, whereby the piston path is advantageously designed between 0.8 mm and 5 mm.

Finally, the use of these kinds of control valves in a textile machine that produces take-up packages can result in an economical and compact textile machine being offered without having to accept impacts on quality during the manufacture of take-up packages due to errors in functioning of the control valve. For example, if a take-up package was not taken up by the drive roller following a yarn break, it remains on the drive roller and is driven at a diameter that can lead to yarn damage. This type of design does not lead to any increased maintenance costs or an increased need for repairs either.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the surfaces corresponding to the seals are designed in a conical shape.

With a conical seal seat the advantage is that the seal is fixed in a nut and is only compressed or released without frictional load occurring on the seal surface. For seals located directly at a cylindrical plunger, the seal would be put under frictional or shearing load when the plunger moved. With axial seals, on the other hand, the seal could adhere to the sealing surface because it cannot be gripped in a nut.

In a further preferred embodiment, the piston and the plunger are designed in two pieces.

Such a design ensures a simpler mounting of the control valve. The connection between the two parts is secure and can be done using a thread. Alternatively, the two parts can also be connected via press fit or with an adhesive bond. In principle, all joining techniques are possible in the context of the invention that allow for a stable connection of the piston with the plunger.

In particular, a supporting element is present that is positioned so that the piston is secured on the plunger and the piston seal is affixable to the piston.

If the piston is manufactured without a nut, because the supporting element affixes the piston seal, the mounting of the piston seal is simplified. The piston seal is positioned at the piston and affixed to it via the supporting element, while previously assembly had to be done in a very painstaking manner in order to ensure functionality. The attachment of the piston seal to the piston can moreover be done without tools and the risk that the seal surface of the piston will be damaged is eliminated. In addition, the supporting element ensures a constant secure fit of the piston seal on the piston including during use in the textile machine.

At the same time, the supporting element secures the piston on the plunger, so that during the entire lifetime a defined positioning of the piston on the plunger and consequently the error-free functioning of the control valve are ensured.

Production of the essential components with plastic injection moulding is possible, as previously. This also applies to the piston and plunger. Previously, in order to achieve a secure sealing effect, reworking would have had to be done using overtwisting for a piston with a nut for the piston seal, because the mould separation of the tool is positioned exactly in the sealed surface of the piston. The injection moulding tool for a piston without a nut can be designed so that, in the area of the sealed surface, there is no mould separation and a machining rework is therefore no longer necessary. The extra effort and associated extra costs are no longer necessary with such a design.

In one preferred embodiment, a connection designed as a bottleneck is integrated into the plunger between the main line and the pilot line.

With such an integrated bottleneck, which can be designed as an axis bore hole in the plunger, the air can flow from the main line to the rear chamber or pilot line.

Alternatively, the bottleneck can be integrated into the plunger through a separate fixed throttle.

It is possible in the context of the invention to affix a fixed throttle to the plunger. In addition, a bore hole can preferably be present in the plunger into which a separate fixed throttle is set.

In particular, the seals are designed as O-rings.

O-rings are economical and can be acquired as standard products.

Preferably the supporting element can be attached to the plunger without destruction and can be detached.

The supporting element can, for example, after the piston that has the piston seal has been put on, with a plunger and a nut that has been moulded into the plunger, be pushed into the nut from the side like a lock washer and snaps into place there. This not only makes the assembly of the piston seal simpler as already described, but also makes disassembly easier. Replacing the piston seal is thus possible without using tools, without the risk that the sealed surface of the piston becomes damaged when removing the piston seal.

More advantageously, the control valve is designed as a single or multiple unit.

The control valve can be constructed in either an individual design or a multiple design, for example a double design. Depending on the area of application, the control valve can be designed according to requirements in the context of the invention. In this case, two positions or workstations on the textile machine are controlled by one control valve that is designed in a double design. A multiple or double design is essentially more economical to produce.

Further features and advantages of the invention are evident from the following description of preferred embodiment examples of the invention, on the basis of the figures and drawings illustrating details essential to the invention, and from the claims. The individual features can be implemented individually or in any desired combination in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiment examples of the invention are explained in more detail below on the basis of the enclosed drawings. The drawings show:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a control valve with closed front valve seat;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a control valve with closed rear valve seat;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an embodiment example of a supporting element according to the invention;

FIG. 4 a schematic representation of a part of the plunger with the piston and supporting element positioned next to it.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1, as an example a schematic view of the structure of a control valve 1 with closed front seal seat 5 is shown.

The control valve 1 comprises a valve body 2 as well as a piston 3 and a plunger 4. Below the piston 3 a piston seal 8 separates the two air circuits or the front chamber 17 and the rear chamber 18.

A supporting element 10 is in turn positioned below the piston seal 8. Through the supporting element 10, not only is the piston 3 secured on the plunger 4, but also the piston seal 8 is affixed to the piston 3.

Moreover, valve body 2 (divided into three in this embodiment example) has contact surfaces 11, at the corresponding surfaces 12, that are designed at the front and rear seal seats 5, 6 of the plunger 4, that can be transported to the system.

Air flows through a continuous axis bore hole with a small diameter via the main line 14 through the plunger 4 into the rear chamber 18. The axis bore hole or the small diameter is designed in such a way as regards flow technology that a throttle function is enabled. The piston 3 pushes into the front position due to the large rear effective area and seals the conical front seal seat 5 by means of a seal 9, designed in this embodiment example as an O-ring.

In this example, the corresponding surfaces 12 of the front seal seat 5 are transported to the system at the contact surfaces 11 in the valve body, so that the O-ring of the front seal seat 5 is subject to a defined maximum deformation and cannot be squeezed into the seal seat.

This means that no air can flow into the connection 16, to which, for example, a simple pneumatic cylinder is connected and the pneumatic cylinder can travel into its operating position via a vent 15.

FIG. 2 shows the control valve 1 with closed rear seal seat 6. In contrast to FIG. 1, in this embodiment example a fixed throttle 13 is attached to the plunger 4, through which air streams into the rear chamber 18.

In the case of a yarn break, for example, the control valve 1 should be switched. The pre-control line 19 is released, i.e. opened, at the control valve 1 via a (not shown) pre-control valve. The pressure in the rear chamber 18 reduces, because more air flows out than can flow in via the fixed throttle 13 into the plunger 4, which means that the piston 3 moves to the rear, the conical front seal seat 5 opens, releases the path of the main air through the front chamber 17 to the connection 16 to the pneumatic cylinder and the piston 3 moves against the (also conical) rear seal seat 6, causing the entry to the vent 15 to close.

In this example, the corresponding surfaces 12 of the rear seal seat 6 are transported to the system at the contact surfaces 11 in the valve body 2, so that the O-ring of the rear seal seat 6 is subject to a defined maximum deformation and cannot be squeezed into the seal seat.

After the yarn break has been remedied and the yarn position restarted, the front control line 19 is closed again. As described above, pressure builds up again in the rear chamber 18 and the piston 3 moves to the front operating position once again as described above.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a supporting element 10 according to the invention. The supporting element 10 is designed as a clamp here, that can be pushed into a corresponding nut 7 of the plunger 4. In this way, the piston seal 8 can be attached easily and without a tool to the piston 3. In order to ensure that the supporting element 10 can be clicked out of the nut 7 of the plunger 4 again, replacement or renewal of the piston seal 8 is possible. In addition, the piston 3 is secured to the plunger 4 through the supporting element 10.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of a part of the plunger 4 with the piston 3 positioned next to it. The piston seal 8 is positioned below the piston 3. The supporting element 10 is latched onto a nut 7, that is present in the plunger 4, which ensures on the one hand the proper positioning of the piston 3 at the plunger 4, and on the other hand attaches the piston seal 8 to the piston 3.

LIST OF DRAWING REFERENCES

• 1 Control valve
• 2 Valve body
• 3 Piston
• 4 Plunger
• 5 Front seal seat
• 6 Rear seal seat
• 7 Nut
• 8 Piston seal
• 9 Seal
• 10 Supporting element
• 11 Contact surface
• 12 Corresponding surface
• 13 Fixed throttle
• 14 Main line
• 15 Vent
• 16 Pneumatic cylinder connection
• 17 Front chamber
• 18 Rear chamber
• 19 Pilot line

It will therefore be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended or to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A textile machine that produces take-up packages with control valves (1), whereby the control valves (1) each have a valve body (2), a piston (3) and a plunger (4), whereby the plunger (4) comprises a front seal seat (5) and a rear seal seat (6) as well as seals (9), with which outlets, such as a main line (14), a pilot line (19), a connection (16) and at least one vent (15) are alternately sealable in the valve body (2), and the piston (3) has a piston seal (8) that separates two air circuits from each other,

characterized in that

contact surfaces (11) are designed in the valve body (2), at which the corresponding surfaces (12) of the front and rear seal seats (5, 6) of the plunger (4) can be brought into abutment.

2. The textile machine that produces take-up packages according to claim 1, characterized in that the surfaces (12) corresponding to the seals (9) have a conical design.

3. The textile machine that produces take-up packages according to claim 1, characterized in that the piston (3) and the plunger (4) are designed in two pieces.

4. The textile machine that produces take-up packages according to claim 1, characterized in that a supporting element (10) is available that is positioned so that the piston (3) is secured to the plunger (4) and the piston seal (8) can be affixed to the piston (3).

5. The textile machine that produces take-up packages according to claim 1, characterized in that a connection designed as a bottleneck is integrated between the main line (14) and pilot line (19) in the plunger (4).

6. The textile machine that produces take-up packages according to claim 5, characterized in that the bottleneck in the plunger (4) is designed with a separate fixed throttle (13).

7. The textile machine that produces take-up packages according to claim 1, characterized in that the seals (9) are designed as O-rings.

8. The textile machine that produces take-up packages according to claim 1, characterized in that the supporting element (10) can be attached to the plunger (4) without destruction and unattached.

9. The textile machine that produces take-up packages according to claim 1, characterized in that the control valve (1) is designed as an individual or multiple unit.