GB2194971A - A false twisting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a false twisting machine with a large number of working points arranged one behind the other in the line of direction of the machine. Each working point has, in sequence, a first delivery device (10), a first heating element (12), a cooling rail (17), a false twister (20), a second delivery device (21) and a winder (31). The first delivery device (10) and the false twister (20) of each working point lie in each case in a plane of cross-section perpendicular to the line of direction of the machine. At each working point, the inlet (39) into the heating element (12) and the outlet (60) from the cooling rail (17) lie in the same plane of cross-section. The heaters and/or cooling rails are arranged at an angle to a transverse plane of the machine. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION False twisting machine The invention relates to a false twisting machine with a large number of working points arranged one behind the other in the line of direction of the machine, where each working point comprises,in order,a first delivery device, a first heating element, a cooling rail, a false twister, a second delivery device and a winder.

False twisting machines serve for texturing synthetic threads and have a large number of working points lying one behind the other in the line of direction of the machine. In each working point, in general,one thread-in exceptional cases two threads-is drawn off a spool by a first delivery device and led by a second delivery device successively through a heating device, a cooling device and, if necessary,stretched in the process (stretch-texturing machine); normally, the thread is then drawn by a third delivery device through a second heating element (fixing heater) and then wound into a cross-wound bobbin in a winding device. There, the thread run-always from the cooling to the second heating element, but often also from the first heating element to the second heating elements directed from top to bottom.

In modern false twisting machines, thread speeds have since been reached which demand heating element lengths of more than 2.50 m in order to guarantee the dwell time necessary for heating the thread to the required temperature. For that reason, the necessity of raising the distance between floors of the machine column arises; the present customary distances between floors, but also the efforts directed towards maximal desirable distances between floors lead to an attempt at limiting the machine heights. This is also true of false twisting machines, in which the heating element andjor the cooling rail spans the operating path formed by the machine frame like a roof (CF. "Chemiefasern/Textilin- dustrie" October 1982, page 703).Yet this is especially true of false twisting machines in which heating element and cooling rail are essentially aligned and installed in a vertical plane of cross-section, either vertically or at an angle.

The object of the invention consists in increasing the heating and cooling potential of the false twisting machine required at increased thread speeds to such an extent that the dwell times required even at very high thread speeds for the heating and final cooling of the thread are guaranteed, essentially without a further increase of the machine height.

In the process, the surveyability of the thread guide is to remain a precondition for good serviceability. Precisely this last-named aspect, which is of considerable significance for rational machine use, was maintained in known machines with heating elements lying obliquely over the operating path in a vertical plane of cross-section, but not attended to in any of the other attempts to increase the heating element lengths by the oblique arrangement of heating elements (e.g. US PS 3,791,121) that have become known.

For the solution it is suggested that; 1. The functional elements of a working point lie in a vertical plane of the cross-section in the lower part of the machines. To these functional elements of the lower part belong, on the one side of the operating path, the creel with the first delivery device belonging to it, and, on the other side of the operating path, the false twister, the second delivery device and-if present-the second heating element and third delivery device and the winder.

2. The functional elements of a working point in the upper part of the machine, essentially the first heating element and the cooling rail, are so arranged in an inclined plane, that in each case the inlet into the heating element and the outlet out of the final cooling rail lie in the same plane of cross-section.

3. The inclined plane cuts either the vertical plane of cross-section, where the line of section essentially represents, with this, the connection between the first delivery device and the false twister, or the re-directing elements assigned to these, or the inclined plane goes through the planes of cross-section and runs essentially in the line of direction of machine, where the line of section essentially runs horizontal to the plane of the machine front, along the machine front.

On the one hand, these solutions make it possible for the heating element and cooling rail to obtain the lengths required, on the other hand, in relation to the machine type used until now, essentially nothing changes in operator technological terms which is very advantageous in this respect, as thread feeding can continue to occur in the vertical plane of cross-section. In so far as the thread is fed to the heating element and cooling rail by a feeding device with thread guides, there is provided in the embodiment according to the invention that also this feeding device will travel back into the vertical plane of cross-section with its thread guides for thread feeding; it is moveable in the inclined plane of cross-section of heating element and cooling rails.

During displacement of the first heating element and the cooling rail into a plane running essentially in the line of direction of the machine, the heat treatment elements each consisting of a first heating element and the cooling rail, whose heating element goes out of the plane of cross-section and whose cooling rail essentially ends here, are pushed into one another along the length of the machine in such a manner that a kind of herring bone pattern results.If an enclosed angle, as small as possible, between heating element and cooling rail is chosen and if in addition the plane, in which both lie, is swivelled out essentially about the line of section with the plane of the machine front and out of the latter, there results, without any increase in building height, a considerable increase in length, especially for the heating element, There, to the fact that in general the necessary length of the heating element is in part considerably greater than the required length of cooling rail, we may add the fact that the angle the the cooling rail forms with the line of'connection between the inlet of the first heating element and the outlet of the cooling rail running along the plane of cross-section assigned to it is chosen to be greater than the angle between the line of connection and the heating element; in this case it has a value between 60V and 90". There, given an angle between 75" and 90" between cooling rail and line of connection, it is useful to turn the individual planes running through the line of connection and the associated heating element and cooling rail slightly out of the plane of the machine front, so that the cooling rails in the herring bone pattern described are not in each other's way.

In the following, the invention will be explained by means of the diagram given. In the diagram; Fig. 1 shows a working point according to one embodiment of the invention in cross-section; Fig. 2 shows the same embodiment in frontal view; Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the lower part of a false twisting machine; Fig 4 shows a cross-section of a further embodiment of the false twisting machine according to the invention; Fig. 5 shows a frontal view of the embodiment according to Fig. 4.

The machine frame (1) of the false twisting machine is divided into fields. Each field is marked off by two pillars (2). Each pillar (2) rests on a base (3). The vertical supports (5) are connected to the machine frame by a cross-beam (4). Figs 1,3 and 4 only show the right-hand side of the machine (in the diagram) completely; the left-hand side of the machine is -- in relation to the central plane (6) running as a plane of symmetry in the line of direction of the machine-formed in mirror symmetry to the right-hand side. Creel towers (7) are placed on both sides of the machine frame (1). The details of this are given in EP-A 182209 = US-PS 4,572,458 (Bag 1437).

Feed spools with smooth thread material made of synthetic polymers are mounted on each creel tower. One half of the feed spools serve as a reserve. One thread (11) of each of the remaining feed spools is drawn off through a pipe (8) into the centre of one of each of the towers, and then through a guiding pipe (9) by means of a first delivery device (10). The first delivery device (10) are mounted on supports (5) and driven by a motor (not represented). Let it be expressly stated here that to each thread such a first delivery device (10) is assigned, where the first delivery devices (10) are arranged with a separation of the machine in the line of direction of the machine. The pipes (9) for the large number of threads are therefore fanned in such a way that each pipe leads to a delivery device. The thread (11) is pressed against the first delivery device (10) by billy roller (22a).The thread is then led through a heating device (12) which has a thread-guiding groove (13) on its front side. The heating device (12) is heated according to the condensation principle. (14) represents a resistance heater that heats up and vapourises a fluid (15). The vapour of the fluid then condenses on the walls and especially in the region of the thread-guiding groove (13), thereby releasing its latent heat. The thread is re-directed by re-directing elements (16) at the output of the heater, and lead into the cooling rail (17). The cooling rail (17) is solid, and has a thread-running groove (18) on its front side. The cooling rail (17) can however, also be cooled actively, e.g. by a cooling fluid circulating inside it. A thread redirecting guide (19) is secured in the machine frame at the output of the cooling rail (17).

From this, the thread is led into the false twister (20).

The false twister (20) consists of two counter-rotating discs between whose front sides the thread is jammed. A false twister of this kind is described e.g. in the European Patent 22 743 = US Patent 4,339,915. The thread is then drawn off out of the texturing zone by the second delivery device (21). In the process, the thread is pressed against the second delivery device (21) by the billy-roller (22b).

Delivery device (21) is the hardened zone of a shaft (27) which is driven by a driving motor (not represented). The speed at circumference of the second delivery device (21) can be adjusted in relation to the speed at circumference of the first deliveiy device (10) in such a way that the thread is also drawn out as it runs over the heating device. From the second delivery device (21 ),the thread enters the second heating element (23). The second heating element (23) is a closed cuboid box, in whose side walls there are deep, narrow slits (24).

These slits (24) serve as thread-guiding slits and are very narrow, in order to keep down heating losses. It will be recognised from Fig.

1 and 3 that the second heater also has thread guiding slits on its reverse side, which lie on the other side of the machine. For the rest, however, the working devices of the working points lying on the other side of the machine are left out of Fig. 3 for the sake of clarity. Further, it will be seen from Fig. 3 that the second heating element (23) consists of several sections 23.1 and 23.2, where in each case one section is assigned to one section of one group of working points. The individual sections 23.1, 23.2 are connected to one another by a lower pipe (51) and an upper pipe (50). A resistance heating element (52) extends through the lower pipe (51) and the individual section. By this means, constant pressure and temperature conditions are guaranteed in all sections.

As shown in Fig. 3,the third delivery device (26) is the hardened zone of a shaft which extends in the line of direction of the machine and is driven by a driving motor (not represented). The thread is pressed against the delivery device (26) by billy-roller (28). From the delivery device (26) the thread arrives, in each case across a head thread guide (30) at the winder (31). The winder consists of a rigidly mounted spindle (32), which is driven at a constant speed at circumference by a driving motor (37),(or optionally by a contact cylinder that lies against the circumference of the spindle (32) or sleeve (33)). On each of spindles (32), a sleeve (33) is mounted. A cradle (34), in which a shot effect imparting device with shot effect thread guides (35) is mounted, is located in front of the spindle.The shot effect thread guide (35) executes a to-and-fro movement parallel to the spindle, thereby displacing the thread onto a cross-wound spool with random or precision winding. These head thread guides each form the head of a shot effect triangle which is covered by the respective threads by way of the shot effect thread guide (35) as a base. The cradle (34) is moveable in a slide guide (36), so that the shot effect imparting device can move out of the way of the increasing spool diameter. All of the winding devices (31) are identical. In Fig.

3 it is shown that the spool travel is just begun on the upper winding device at a time when spools of considerable diameter are being formed on the winding devices lying beneath. The drive motor (37) of the upper spindle (32) will be recognised behind the front plates (38). (39) represents a regulating and driving device for the shot effect imparting device. Let it be mentioned that the spool can be produced as a precision spool in this layout of the winding device, so that the crossing ratio is adjustable in several steps in such a manner that the angle of crossing need only be altered within determined permissible limits, even if a spool (40) of large diameter is formed on a spool sleeve of small diameter.

The guiding rod (41) to whose upper end the re-directing thread guides (16) are fixed in swivelling levers (42) serves to apply the thread to the first heating element (12) and cooling rail (17). The guiding rod (41) is guided in a straight line in the slide guide (43) and can be fixed in the position represented.

Details are given in US PS 4,058,961. For the sake of clarity, only the re-directing thread guides (16) of the guiding rod is shown in Fig.

2.

The re-directing thread guides (25) for placing the thread against the second heating element project from one side of the base (48).

The base (48) is guided in a straight line in a guide (49). The base (48) can be drawn so far forward that the re-directing thread guide (25) lies in front of the second heating element, for placing the thread. In operation the base (48) is pushed back so far and grasped by a (not represented) catch in such a manner that the re-directing thread guide (25) takes up the position shown in Fig. 1.

Billy-rollers as already described-serve to press the threads against the first, second and third delivery devices (10, 21, 26). These are mounted, freely rotatable, in fixing devices.

Each fixing device (46) is attached free to swivel around a swivelling axis (47) fixed in the machine frame or to the support (5), and pressed by a spring-not represented-in the direction of the relevant delivery device.

As Fig. 3 shows, four false twisters 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, are brought together into a group in the embodiment. The four-fold point separation t yields the group separation T.

That is, within one group separation T there lies on the one hand a section 23. 1 of the second heating element and on the other a column of winding devices (31). It should be mentioned that the group division of the region of the false twister is displaced in relation to the group separation in the region of the second heating element, preferably in such a manner that the false twisters 20.1 to 20.4 of the group lie in symmetry with the thread guiding slits 24.1 to 24.4. The delivery devices 21.1 to 21.4 are arranged in a straight line in front of the thread guiding slits. The threads, which each come from one of the false twisters 20.1 to 20.4, are re-directed and squeezed together by the overflow rods 45.1 to 45.4 from a separation of division t to the smaller separation of the thread guiding slits 24. 1 to 24.4.Let it be mentioned that guide pins (44) are fixed to each of the fixing devices (46) of the billy-rollers (28). These guide pins lie in the central plane of their respective billy-rollers and stop the thread from being drawn down sideways from the respective third delivery device 26.1 to 26.4.

It must be emphasised here for the explanation of the invention that the cross-section according to Fig. 1 does not lie in a single vertical plane. Rather, the section below the line A-A lies in a vertical plane and the section above the line A-A lies in a plane inclined towards it. The line A-A represents the line of intersection of both planes and is simultaneously the line of connection of the re-directing thread guides (19) and (53). There, the redirecting thread guide (53) serves to re-direct the thread coming from delivery device (10) out of a vertical plane into the inclined plane and the re-directing thread guide (19) serves to re-direct the thread coming from the cooling rail (18) out of the direction of the cooling rail into the direction of the false twister, i.e.

among other things to re-direct out of an inclined plane into a vertical plane. That means-as may be seen from Fig. 2-that the heating elements (12) and the cooling rails (17) of all working points are each tilted around the thread guides (53), or (19), that the thread guiding grooves (13), or (18) and the re-directing thread guides (16) lie on one plane, where the extensions of the thread guiding grooves (13) and (18)ideally intersect at one point.

This has especially two advantages; on the one hand, the length of the heating elements and of the cooling rail can be extended by virtue of the tilting, without increasing height of the machines. It must be mentioned here that as a result of increasing thread speeds, heating element lengths of 3 metres are now aimed at. By the inclination of heating element and cooling rail the length limit for heating elements and cooling rail due to the customary distance between floors of the machine room is avoided. on the other hand, there is a significantly shorter separation between the individual heating elements, measured perpendicular to the thread directions. In so far as several threads are guided onto one heating element, a significantly shortened distance between the individual threads results.

The shortened distance between heating elements or threads brings the advantage that heat losses are thereby lessened and the efficiency of the heating element is increased.

Because the first delivery device and the false twister lie essentially on a vertical plane of cross-section of the machine, the operatorfriendliness and surveyability of the machine and of the thread run remains unaffected.

Let it be mentioned that the guide (43) for the guiding rod (41) may also lie essentially on the plane of inclination of heating element and cooling rail. Thereby, the thread guides (16) are essentially moveable from the line of connection A-A, where the thread is placed, right up to its operating position, at the appex of the triangle set up by the line of connection, heating element and cooling rail. This, too, aids the operator-friendly surveyability of the thread run.

The further embodiment represented in figs.

4 and 5 differs from the one previously described in connection with Figs. 1 to 3 essentially only by virtue of the different arrangement of the first heating element (12) and the associated cooling rail (17). The following description is therefore restricted essentially to the distinguishing features that do not follow Figs. 1 and 2-Fig. 3 is valid for both embodiments.

In the embodiments of Figs. 4 and 5 to, the inlet (59) into the first heating element (12) and the outlet (60) out of the cooling rail (17) lie in their associated common plane of crosssection (54). But they also lie here in a plane (56) essentially common to all first heating elements (12) and cooling rail (17) of the machine, which essentially runs perpendicular to the plane of cross-section (54) and roughly in the line of direction of the machine and cuts the plane of the machine front (55) in a line of section running essentially horizontially, where it preferably swivels out of the plane of the machine front (55) in the direction of the operating path and around the essentially horizontal line of section.

As is shown in Fig. 5, the first heating element (12) and the associated cooling rails (17) in their common plane (56) form two sides of a triangle; the third side (57) lies in the plane of cross-section (54) and represents the connection between the inlet (59) into the heating element (12) and the outlets (60) from the cooling rail (17). Here it must be advised that the representation of Fig. 5 does not represent the.actual angles and lengths, but rather their projection onto a plane parallel to the plane of the machine front (55); this will become apparent by comparison of Figs. 4 and 5.

In general, the first heating element (12) and the cooling rails (17) of all working points of one side of the machine lie in the common place (56) and are pushed into one another in such a manner that they yield a kind of herringbone pattern (Fig. 5). Between each outlet from the first heating element (12) and inlets into the cooling rail (17) a re-directing roller (19) or guiding the thread (11) is provided.

The apical angle included between heating element (12) and cooling rail (17) of the triangle mentioned can vary within a large region. In the arrangement described in the common plane (56), the practical limit is determined by the space needed (width) for heating element and/or cooling rail measured perpendicular to the length. Granted that the required amount of space is at hand and the machine operation is not excessively impeded, an additional increase of length can be gained by a running the individual planes through heating element (12) and cooling rail (17) in parallel and turned out of the plane of the machine front by a small angle; the angle should be calculated so that the sideways separation between neighbouring heating elements and cooling rails guarantees good operability. The resulting triangles are isosceles in the representation; yet this is not necessary, as will be further elucidated in the following.

The common plane (56) is (Fig.4) swivelled out of the plane of the machine front (55) towards the operating path and, in the diagram, forms an angle (61) of ca. 45O with the plane of the machine front (55). The angle (61) can be 0 , where the common plane (56) then collapses into the machine front plane (55) or runs in parallel with the latter, but it can also take on any value between 0 and 45" or more.The greatest possible heating length at a given maximal height depends essentially on the angle that heating element and cooling rail make between them and on the height of the angle of swivel (61); the greater the latter-it is limited for the most part by the horizontal room available and above all by the demand for good operability-the greater can be the heating element length at otherwise constant parameters.

As is well known, the heating element length demanded is usually greater than the necessary length of cooling rail (17). Hence there results the possibility of a further development, in which each triangle formed by heating element (12), cooling rail (17) and connection (57) is not, as represented in Fig.

5, isosceles; rather, the angle (58) enclosed between the cooling rail (17) and the connection (57) is increased and the opposite angle between heating element (12) and connection (57) correspondingly decreased, so that at constant cooling rail length an increase in heating element length results. The angle (58) can for example take on values between 60 and 75" without change in the general arrangement. Although values up to 90" are possible; it is then practically almost impossible to place all heating elements (12) and cooling rails (17) of one side of the machine in a common plane (56).Rather, as already described previously for small apical angles, the individual planes running through each of the associated heating elements and cooling rails are individually turned out of the plane of the machine front (55) by the same angle, so that they run in parallel, where each line of connection (57) or its projection is the swivelling axis in the planes parallel to the machine front (55) through the input (59) into the heater (12) and the output (60) out of the cooling rails (17). By this means it is achieved that the cooling rails do not impede each other. All the same, the possible gain in length of the heaters decreases considerably with decreasing apical angles.

Nothing is changed in relation to the embodiment described in connection with Figs. 1 to 3 to any of the parts of the false twisting machine underneath the heating element (12) and cooling rail (17), apart from the thread introduction into the heating inputs (59).

Diverging from the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 (Fig. 3 is valid for both embodiments represented), the threads introduced, here just as there, into the first delivery device (10) across the pipe (9) are re-directed behind the respective first delivery device (10) essentially vertically upwards and led in the corresponding vertical plane of cross-section up to the heating element input (59), where they run across a re-directing guide (19) in the respective first heater (12). At the end of heating element (12) a renewed re-directing occursby means of a roller (19) in or on the cooling rail (17).

Heating element (12) and cooling rail (17) are preferably provided with thread guiding grooves (18) as in the first embodiment (Figs, 1 and 2). From the outlet out of cooling rails (17) or the re-directing guide in the false twisters (20), the further course of thread treatment again runs in the manner described above in connection with Figs. 1 to 3.

Claims (14)

1. A false twisting machine with a large number of working points arranged one behind the other in the line of direction of the machine, where each working point has, in sequence, a first delivery device, a first heating element, a cooling rail, a false twister, a second delivery device and a winder, and the first delivery device and the false twister of each working point lie in each case in a plane of cross-section perpendicular to the line of direction of the machine, wherein for each working point, the inlet into the heating element and the outlet from the cooling rail lie in the same plane of cross-section and the common surface(s) through heating element and cooling rail(s) are inclined to the plane of cross-section and/or turned out of the plane of cross-section.

2. A false twisting machine according to claim 1, wherein the first heating element and the cooling rail of a working point lie in a plane inclined to the vertical plane of crosssection in the line of connection essentially between the false twister and the first delivery device.

3. A false twisting machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first heating element and the cooling rail are arranged in alignment one behind the other.

4. A false twisting machine according to claim 3, wherein the first heating element and the cooling rail are arranged in alignment, one behind the other, in the line of direction and essentially in the plane of the machine front.

5. A false twisting machine according to claim 3, wherein the first heating element and the cooling rail are aligned one behind the other in a line that tilts out from the machine front and completely or partially spans the path in front of the machine front.

6. A false twisting machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first heating element and the cooling rail each lie on the sides of a triangle, whose base is the line of connection, essentially, between the first delivery device and the false twister.

7. A false twisting machine according to one of the previous claims, wherein the thread guide of a feeding device can move essentially on the inclined plane of cross-section and essentially between their operating position and the section line.

8. A false twisting device according to claim 1, wherein the first heating element and the cooling rail lie in one plane, which is essentially perpendicular to the plane of crosssection through each first delivery device and to the false twister belonging to this, and cuts the plane of the machine front, where the section line runs essentially horizontally and the plane is preferably swivelled out of the plane of the machine front towards the service path.

9. A false twisting machine according to claim 8, wherein the first heating element and the cooling rail form two sides of a triangle, whose third side is the connection between the inlet to the first heating element and the outlet from the cooling rail running in the plane of cross-section of the associated working point.

10. A false twisting machine according to claim 9, wherein each of the sides of a triangle formed by the first heating elements and cooling rails of the working points that follow one after the other are pushed into one another in a herring bone pattern.

11. A false twisting machine according to claim 8, wherein the planes going through the first heating element and the cooling rail of the individual working points lying one behind the other run- in parallel to each other and are turned out around the line of connection in the plane of cross-section or its projection onto the plane of the machine front out of the plane of the machine front forming a sharp angle with the latter.

12. A false twisting machine according to one of claims 8 to 11, wherein in the angle formed by each of the first heating elements the cooling rail belonging to it, and the line of connection in the plane of cross-section, the angle between the cooling rail and the line of connection mentioned is fixed at a value substantially between 90" and 60".

13. A false twisting machine according to claim 12, wherein the angle between the cooling rail and the line of connection mentioned lying in the plane of cross-section, is fixed substantially between 90" and 75 , and the planes running through the first heating element and the cooling rail of each working point are swivelled out at an acute angle around the line of connection lying in the plane of cross-section, or its projection onto the plane of the machine front as a swivelling axis out of the plane of machine front.

14. A false twisting machine substantially as herein described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.