TEXTILE MACHINE AND SERVICE CART FOR TEXTILE MACHINES

Abstract

The present invention relates to a textile machine having a plurality of workstations of the same type, which produce packages, more particularly cross-wound packages, and having one thread accumulator each and at least one service cart, which can be moved along the workstations. The present invention also relates to a service cart for a textile machine. In order to provide a textile machine having a plurality of workstations having thread accumulators, in the case of which textile machine fault states that occur in connection with the thread accumulator can be automatically eliminated, there is provision for the service cart to have malfunction-eliminating devices for automatically eliminating fault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or can be attributed to the thread accumulator.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from German National Patent Application No. DE 102020111342.0, filed Apr. 27, 2020, entitled “Textilmaschine sowie Servicewagen für Textilmaschinen”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a textile machine having a plurality of workstations of the same type, which produce packages, more particularly cross-wound packages, each of which has one thread accumulator and at least one service cart, which can be moved along the workstations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Textile machines of the aforementioned type are known from the prior art in a variety of embodiments. These textile machines usually have a plurality of workstations arranged adjacent to one another, at which a thread is wound onto a package, generally a cross-wound package. These can be winding machines or spinning machines. In a spinning machine, a thread is manufactured from a supplied sliver, for example; after exiting the spinning unit, the thread passes, in succession in the direction of the thread path, i.e. in the transport direction of the thread, through the pull-off device and the thread accumulator arranged one after the other, for example; finally, the thread is then wound onto a cross-wound package by means of a thread winding device. It is not absolutely necessary for the thread winding device and the thread accumulator to be arranged one immediately following the other, but rather additional components of the workstation can also be interposed. Spinning machines of prior art include, in particular, air-spinning machines and rotor spinning machines, which are likewise generally known from the prior art.

In the textile machines, the thread accumulators at the workstations are used for the intermediate storage of a thread section, the term “intermediate storage” being understood to mean the arrangement of a thread loop during the transport, e.g. from a spinning unit to the winding device within the thread accumulator, so that fluctuations in the winding speed of the winding device and/or of a pull-off device as well as fluctuations in the delivery speed of the spinning unit can be compensated for, in which case the filling level of the thread accumulator fluctuates.

In comparison to textile machines having workstations which do not have a thread accumulator, workstations having thread accumulators can experience new fault states that cannot be eliminated using conventional fault elimination devices which, for example, are arranged at the workstations or are provided by the service cart, which service cart can be moved along the workstations and can be positioned at the workstations that experience a fault. The new types of fault states include, for example, the tearing of the thread within the thread accumulator, which, for lack of a suitable fault elimination device on the service cart or at the workstation, makes it necessary to carry out the fault elimination by means of a manual intervention by the operating personnel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Proceeding therefrom, the problem addressed by the present invention is that of providing a textile machine having a plurality of workstations comprising thread accumulators, in which textile machine fault states that occur in connection with the thread accumulator can be eliminated in an automated manner.

The present invention solves the problem by means of a textile machine having a plurality of workstations of the same type, which produce packages, more particularly cross-wound packages, and each of which comprises one thread accumulator and at least one service cart, which can be moved along the workstations, characterised in that the service cart has malfunction-eliminating devices for automatically eliminating fault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or can be attributed to the thread accumulator; and by means of a service cart characterised by malfunction-eliminating devices for automatically eliminating fault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or can be attributed to the thread accumulator.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the malfunction-eliminating devices comprise a cleaning unit for removing thread remnants from the thread accumulator.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the malfunction-eliminating devices comprise an optical inspection device for checking the thread accumulator.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the service cart comprises a thread joining device.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the thread joining device has a thread-seeking nozzle and manipulating means for positioning the free thread end in the area of a thread joiner, more particularly a splicing and/or knotting unit.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the thread joining device is designed to arrange the free thread end at a piecing position of the workstation.

In the textile machine of the present invention, the service cart comprises thread inspection devices, more particularly optically acting thread inspection devices.

Advantageous further developments of the textile machine are described herein.

The textile machine according to the present invention is characterised in that the service cart has a malfunction-eliminating device for automatically eliminating fault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or can be attributed to the thread accumulator.

In the textile machine according to the present invention, the service cart, which can be moved along the individual workstations of the textile machine and can be positioned at the individual workstations, is designed to eliminate faults that occur in connection with the use of the thread accumulator at the workstations. The specific malfunctions in connection with the thread accumulator include, in particular, a thread tear within the thread accumulator, in the case of which the malfunction-eliminating devices on the service cart of the textile machine according to the present invention can be used to perform a fault elimination, in the course of which the connection of the thread is restored, for example from the spinning position to the take-up package, preferably the cross-wound package.

The textile machine according to the present invention particularly ensures that fault states in connection with the thread accumulator can be eliminated in an automated manner so that manual intervention by the operating personnel is not necessary. As a result of the decrease in manual interventions for correcting faults, the downtime of the workstations can be reduced considerably. Since the fault states in connection with the thread accumulator occur only to a limited extent, arranging the corresponding malfunction-eliminating devices on a service cart is a particularly economical solution in comparison to arranging corresponding malfunction-eliminating devices at the individual workstations. When required, the service cart can quickly move to the workstation in question and, while there, can reliably eliminate the fault occurring in connection with the thread accumulator.

According to the present invention, the service cart is designed for the elimination of malfunctions that result from the use of the thread accumulators at the workstations. Furthermore, the service cart can also be designed to perform other work, such as eliminating other malfunctions not related to the thread accumulator, or exchanging the cross-wound packages.

In principle, the embodiment of the malfunction-eliminating devices for the fault elimination of thread accumulator-specific malfunction states can be freely chosen. According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, however, the malfunction-eliminating devices comprise a cleaning unit for removing thread remnants from the thread accumulator. The use of a cleaning unit particularly ensures that thread remnants or residues resulting from the thread path through the thread accumulator can be removed from the thread accumulator, where such thread remnants or residues could lead to malfunctions. The cleaning unit is used in the context of the elimination of a thread accumulator-specific malfunction, and the cleaning unit can be, for example, a pneumatically acting cleaning unit, air flow being produced within the thread accumulator by means of positive pressure or negative pressure and contaminants being removed by means of this air flow.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the malfunction-eliminating devices comprise an optical inspection device for checking the thread accumulator. The optical inspection device can be designed to identify the fault occurring at the workstation so that suitable measures can be taken to eliminate the fault. Alternatively or additionally, the optical inspection device can also be used to monitor the fault elimination and/or to check the fault eliminations carried out, in which case the interior of the thread accumulator is checked for remaining residues and/or the thread path within the thread accumulator after the fault elimination is checked by means of the optical inspection device, for example.

As part of the fault elimination, it is generally necessary to rejoin a torn thread so that the winding process can be continued at the workstations of the textile machine. In order to produce the thread joint, suitable joining devices can be arranged at the individual workstations of, for example, winding machines. According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention, however, the service cart comprises a thread joining device. The arrangement of a thread joining device on the service cart is a particularly economical solution for thread joining. The thread joining device can also be provided in addition to the thread joining devices arranged at the workstations, in which case the thread joining device formed on the service cart is designed in particular to rejoin the thread after a thread accumulator-specific problem has occurred.

In principle, the embodiment of the thread joining device can be freely chosen. According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, however, the thread joining device has a thread-seeking nozzle and manipulating means for positioning the free thread end, which was pulled from the cross-wound package, in the area of a thread joiner, more particularly a splicing and/or knotting unit. The corresponding embodiment of the thread joining device makes the service cart independent of the corresponding units at the workstations. The thread joining device designed according to this further development of the present invention completely allows the thread end intended to be joined to be removed from the cross-wound package and, after preparation, to be fed to the thread joiner. A thread joining device designed accordingly ensures particularly reliable functioning because of the optimal orientation of the individual units with respect to one another, and downtime can thus be additionally reduced.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the thread joining device can also be designed to arrange the free thread end at a piecing position of the workstation. In the case of a corresponding embodiment of the service cart, a thread joint can therefore be reliably produced anew by means of the service cart without the use of units at the workstation, the thread joint being produced at the piecing position of the workstation, at which the free thread end coming from the cross-wound package is joined to the thread fed from the spinning device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is also provided that the service cart comprises thread inspection devices, more particularly optically acting thread inspection devices. The thread inspection devices allow the thread joint to be checked, in particular after the thread has been rejoined, and allow the operation at the workstation to be enabled following a positive check. Faulty joints can be detected by means of the thread inspection device and can be eliminated by means of suitable measures so that new malfunctions resulting from the faulty joint are avoided.

The present invention also solves the problem by the service cart which is characterised in that it has a malfunction-eliminating device for automatically eliminating fault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or can be attributed to the thread accumulator. The service cart can be designed according to one or more of the further developments of the service cart that are presented above with respect to the textile machine, in which case the functionality of the service cart for the textile machine can be additionally increased.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment example of the present invention is explained below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a simplified view of a textile machine in the form of a spinning machine, comprising a plurality of workstations.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a simplified representation of a textile machine 1, which is in the form of spinning machine and has a plurality of workstations 2 arranged adjacent to one another. Each workstation 2 of the textile machine 1 comprises: a sliver source 3, which can be, for example, a spinning can when the workstation 2 in question is a spinning position; a drafting system 4; a spinning device 5; a take-up roller pair 6; a yarn clearer 7; a thread repositioning apparatus 8; a thread accumulator 17; and a cross-wound package 9 of a winding device. A service cart 10 movably mounted on rails 11, 12 running along the textile machine 1. A drive unit 13 arranged at one end of the textile machine 1 is used to drive the textile machine 1.

In the case of a malfunction at a workstation 2 in the area of the thread accumulator 17, the service cart 10 is positioned along the textile machine 1 at the workstation 2 that has the malfunction. In the case of a thread break which, for example, has occurred within the thread accumulator 17, the service cart 10 is moved to the workstation 2 in question, is positioned there and begins the fault elimination using the malfunction-eliminating devices, which are not shown here. In the case of a thread break within the thread accumulator 17, the service cart 10 can find the torn thread end lying on the circumferential surface of the cross-wound package 9 by means of a thread-seeking nozzle, which is numbered among the malfunction-eliminating devices. As usual, after the spinning device 5 has been cleaned, handling devices of prior art numbered among the malfunction-eliminating devices convey this thread end, after appropriate preparation, back to the area of the spinning device 5, where this thread end is kept ready for the actual piecing process. At the same time, a defined thread length is unwound by means of the drive of the cross-wound packages 9 and is intermediately stored in the thread accumulator 17.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

• • 1 Textile machine
  • 2 Workstation
  • 3 Sliver source
  • 4 Drafting system
  • 5 Spinning device
  • 6 Take-up roller pair
  • 7 Yarn clearer
  • 8 Thread repositioning apparatus
  • 9 Cross-wound package
  • 10 Service cart
  • 11 Rail
  • 12 Rail
  • 13 Drive unit
  • 17 Thread accumulator

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 having a plurality of workstations of the same type, which produce packages, and each of which comprises one thread accumulator and at least one service cart, which is movable along the workstations,

characterised in that

the service cart has malfunction-eliminating devices for automatically eliminating fault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or is attributable to the thread accumulator.

2. The textile machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the malfunction-eliminating devices comprise a cleaning unit for removing thread remnants from the thread accumulator.

3. The textile machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the malfunction-eliminating devices comprise an optical inspection device for checking the thread accumulator.

4. The textile machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the service cart comprises a thread joining device.

5. The textile machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the thread joining device has a thread-seeking nozzle and manipulator for positioning the free thread end in the area of a thread joiner.

6. The textile machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the thread joining device is designed to arrange the free thread end at a piecing position of the workstation.

7. The textile machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the service cart comprises thread inspection devices.

8. A service cart for a textile machine according to claim 1, characterised by malfunction-eliminating devices for automatically eliminating fault states that occur in the thread accumulator and/or is attributable to the thread accumulator.

9. The textile machine according to claim 1, wherein the packages are cross-wound packages.

10. The textile machine according to claim 5, wherein the thread joiner is a splicing and/or knotting unit.

11. The textile machine according to claim 7, wherein the thread inspection devices are optically acting thread inspection devices.