John Brown Inc.

Other

Charles W Brouwer

Larry C Cowan

Thomas W Perrino

Kenneth A Benjamin

Roger D Lang

An automatic strand winding unit having a plurality of stations each comprising a strand supply such as glass roving, guide/traverse means, a horizontally positioned spindle for taking up strand material and automation for servicing the winding unit is described. The winding unit, including the automation, is programmed whereby, inter alia, the automation moves into a station having a full spindle, cuts the strand between the strand supply and the horizontally positioned full spindle and, while retaining the strand end from the strand supply, doffs the full spindle by pivoting the spindle to a substantially vertical or down position, and thereafter engages the strand end with a horizontally positioned empty spindle and restarts the winding operation. In a preferred embodiment the automatic winding unit is for winding glass roving using an improved coreless, expandable spindle having an automatic strand engaging and releasing mechanism.

Automatic winding unit

A take-up unit for winding strand material comprising a strand-tensioning device having a compensator arm and a compensator wheel at a free end thereof for carrying a strand material to be wound and an air cylinder having means for receiving air under pressure is described. The air cylinder is interconnected with the compensator arm, thereby compensating for a change in tension of the strand material being wound. A plurality of strand-tensioning devices are interconnected with a common air supply, permitting the adjustment of the tension in the plurality of strand-tensioning devices by regulating the air feed from the common supply.

Air tension for take-ups

A winding unit having intelligence built into the winder and automation of the winder are described. The winders automatically perform functions such as open the roller bail of the winder, release a package on a winding spindle, secure a new package tube on the spindle, and set the machine to a pre-set speed through activation of a single switch. The winders are utilized either manually or with automation which will interface with the winder, cut and aspirate a strand, remove a full package from a spindle on the winding unit, install a new package tube on the spindle, and then re-thread the spindle. Since the intelligence is divided between the winding unit and the robot, the robot can be relatively simple in construction.

A take-up mechanism for simultaneously winding a plurality of yarns, tapes, or other strands on a plurality of take-up spindles is described. The mechanism comprises a support unit, a plurality of yarn take-up spindles positioned in substantially vertical alignment on the support unit, and a motor or the like in cooperation with the take-up spindles for driving separately each of the plurality of spindles. A compensator arm assembly comprising a plurality of compensator arms with each having a guide roll is positioned in substantially vertical alignment relative to the take-up spindles, with each of the compensator arms of the assembly individually controlling the speed of the drive motor for a take-up spindle. The plurality of yarn strands are fed to the compensator arm guide rolls at an angle of at least 60 degrees and no greater than 90 degrees. The take-up mechanism can be arranged in a compact manner which is of critical concern in a factory.

Take-up mechanism

This relates to the provision of a stall shutdown circuit for a brushless direct current motor wherein energization of the windings of the stator of the motor is controlled by transistors. By providing a stall shutdown circuit for shutting down power to the transistors when a stall condition exists, the capacity of the power supply transistor may be reduced to one-third of that presently required, thereby greatly reducing the cost of the motor. The brushless direct current motor utilizing the stall shutdown circuit of the present invention is particularly useful in a textile machine such as a take-up device where it is necessary to stop a spindle to doff and don yarn packages.

Growing community of inventors

Greensboro, NC, United States of America

Charles W Brouwer