Title of Invention

TOP ROLLER FOR SPINNING MACHINE DRAFTING SYSTEMS

Abstract

The top roller for spinning machine drafting systems comprises at least one roller body (4) rotationally mounted on an arbor (2), and the arbor (2) of each roller body (4) has two slide ways (10, 11) of a high surface quality for a bearing arrangement formed from two rows of balls (5, 6). One opening of the roller body (4) is closed by a covering (15) provided in the form of a cap (15), and the opposite opening is closed by a sealing device (14) between the roller body (4) and the arbor (2). The covering (15) and the sealing device (14) are designed so that the bearing arrangement is hermetically sealed from the surrounding area, and an inner space is formed for holding the lubricant of the bearing arrangement whereby being able to accommodate a grease supply for the serviceable life.

Full Text

FORM 2 THE PATENT ACT 1970 (39 of 1970) The Patents Rules, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See Section 10, and rule 13) 1. TITLE OF INVENTION TOP ROLLER FOR SPINNING MACHINE DRAFTING SYSTEMS 2. APPLICANT(S) a) Name b) Nationality c) Address TEXPARTS GMBH GERMAN Company MARIA-MERIAN-STRASSE 8, 70736 FELLBACH GERMANY PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed PATENTS ACT 1977 VERIFICATION OF TRANSLATION Certificate of Priority Document on the filing of a Patent Application. File No. 10 2004 025 602.0 I, ASTRID TERRY, Translator of 11 Bounds Oaks Way, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 OUB, confirm that I am familiar with the English and German languages, and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the accompanying document which has been prepared by me, is a true translation of the authentic text of the Certificate of Priority Document on the filing of the Patent Application File No. 10 2004 025 602.0 dated 25th May 2004. Signed this 5th day of October 2006 Description The invention relates to a top roller for spinning machine drafting systems haying the features of the preamble of claim 1. Top rollers are used in spinning machine drafting systems for the fibre drafting, as feed, delivery and belt top rollers. DE-AS 1 164 288 describes a top roller for spinning machine drafting systems, in which two roller bodies are rotationally mounted on a common arbor. On the inside, the roller bodies are sealed against the environment by axially movable sealing members with two sealing flanges arranged with a spacing from one another. Sealing gaps remain between the two sealing flanges and the outer bearing ring. In the case of seals of this type, dirt particles, in particular fibre particles can penetrate via the sealing gaps. The top roller is therefore configured such that reliable cleaning of the interior to remove penetrated dirt is easily possible. The generic DE 195 09 055 CI shows twin top rollers for spinning machine drafting systems comprising roller bodies, which are mounted, in each case, by means of two rolling bearings on the ends of a common continuous arbor. The roller bodies, designated outer rings, of the upper rollers project laterally over the arbor ends. At the end face, they are provided with a covering, which forms at least a part of the cylinder jacket of the top rollers. The relubricating time periods for current ball-mounted top rollers have been substantially increased compared to earlier designs. It is conventional to relubricate top rollers after running times of about 50,000 hours, in particular, when they are used as feed or delivery rollers. Feed or delivery rollers are operated, in contrast to belt rollers, either with relatively high loads or at relatively high speeds. Regardless of their place of use, top rollers of a drafting system generally have the same design -2- structure. Top rollers with a known design, used as belt rollers, can therefore be provided with lubrication, which is adequate as lifetime lubrication. In the case of top rollers, which are used as feed or delivery rollers, the same lubrication is not sufficient, on the other hand, as lifetime lubrication. It is known, to configure the closing cover of top rollers in such a way that they have relubricating bores. Relubrication can be carried out in a simple manner with the aid of adapted relubricating mechanisms owing to the relubricating bores. In order to keep the relubricating intervals as large as possible, it is aimed to seal the bearing arrangements well. This may take place owing to friction-free gap seals, as known from DE-AS 1 164 288 or DE 195 09 055 CI, or, alternatively, by self-adjusting rubbing multiple washer seals. However, for a slightly better sealing effect of the multiple washer seals, a considerably higher expenditure has to be accepted. When relubricating, the risk of faulty implementation of maintenance exists both in the case of gap seals and also in the case of rubbing multiple washer seals. The fault may consist in an undersupply with lubricants and also an over-lubrication of the mounting. In the case of an over-lubrication, lubricant escapes through the sealing gaps because of overfilling. This may occur directly during the relubrication process itself or during running in of the bearing owing to the increased bearing friction through grease milling work. Lubricating grease which has escaped collects dirt and fibres to a great extent. If the top roller is not carefully cleaned prior to the relubrication, dirt can be brought into the bearing arrangement owing to the relubrication process. The operating conditions of the top rollers place high demands on the lubricant. In order to achieve satisfactory running times, the use of costly special greases is necessary. Faulty or inappropriate maintenance leads, apart from to the above-mentioned defects, to an increased consumption of lubricants and therefore to unnecessarily increased maintenance cost. The object of the invention is to improve the known top rollers. -3- This object is achieved according to the invention with a top roller having the features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the sub-claims. The high surface quality of the slide ways in conjunction with adequate lubrication minimises the soiling of the rolling bearing through abrasion between the balls and slide ways. The constantly closed covering of the opening of the roller body at the free end of the arbor and the sealing device according to the invention at the other end of the roller body seal the inner space of the roller body hermetically, on the one hand, against the penetration of dirt from the environment of the roller bodies. On the other hand, the escape of liquid lubricant constituents is counteracted. The drawback that escaped lubricant may be distributed on the arbor or the roller body and that dirt or dust adhering thereto accumulates, may be eliminated thereby. The sealing device itself needs little installation space. This provides space for lubricant, in particular lubricating grease. Adequate lubricant for a service life lubrication of the rolling bearing arrangement can be introduced in this manner on either side of the row of balls, which is arranged toward the other end of the roller body. The supply of lubricant can be distributed, appropriately dosed in the configuration according to the invention in an adequate quantity in the respective direct environment of the rows of balls, so the effect of the lubricant as a service life lubrication can be ensured. A seal according to the invention allows close contact against the counter-sealing face, which is formed by the inner bore of the rolling body. Sliding in, in particular when installing the seal, is facilitated. A configuration according to Fig. 3 allows the sealing Up located on the outside to touch the counter-sealing face in a bevel-free and gap-free manner, so no fibres or dirt particles can become caught at the contact point of the seal and counter-sealing -4- face enabling them to penetrate into the interior of the rolling bearing arrangement placed in the interior of the roller body. The assembly, stability and durability of the sealing device is improved by an L-shaped metallic carrier according to claim 4. With a low-friction sealing material vulcanised onto the carrier according to claim 5 or, alternatively, with a sealing material injected onto the carrier according to claim 6, a particularly durable and reliable embodiment is provided in each case. A surface quality of the slide ways, the surface roughness of which does not exceed the value of 0.2 μm, leads to low abrasion and a high service life of the rolling bearing arrangement. A covering according to claim 8 can be implemented with a small wall thickness and prevents any penetration of dirt or fibres. A top roller, the covering of which is positioned in the roller body in such a way that its end face is downstream relative to the end face of the roller body, can be placed perpendicularly in a stable position on the end face of the rolling body. An upper roller according to the invention ensures a service life lubrication even in the case of the higher loads and higher speeds, in comparison to belt rollers, to which feed or delivery rollers are subjected. The maintenance outlay for relubrication, which is otherwise conventional, is dispensed with. Costs are therefore saved for this maintenance work, which is no longer required, and also for lubricant. An adequate supply of lubricant for service life lubrication can be optimally distributed during assembly of the top roller with regard to the position of the rows of balls. Maintenance errors, which the service personnel may make when -5- relubricating, such as over-lubrication of the bearing arrangement or bringing soiling into the inner space of the top roller, are ruled out. The sealing device according to the invention is economical to produce and simple and easy to assemble. The advantages of the configuration of the top roller according to the invention do not have to be acquired with increased costs compared, for example, to conventional coverings with relubricating bores and known adjustable multi-washer seals. Further details of the invention can be found in the embodiments shown in the figures, in which: Fig. 1 shows a top roller in a perspective view, partially in section Fig. 2 shows a part of the top roller in section, Fig. 3 shows the seal in an enlarged view in section. The top roller 1 shown in the embodiment of Fig. 1 comprises an arbor 2, the middle piece 3 of which has a reduced diameter. At the middle piece 3, the top roller 1 is held during use by a carrier arm, not shown for reasons of simplification. A roller body 4 is rotationally arranged at the ends of the arbor 2, in each case. The roller body 4 is mounted for this purpose by means of two rows 5, 6 of balls. The balls 7 of the rows 5, 6 of balls are guided by the ball bearing cages 8, 9, which are configured as a snap cage and move on slide ways 10, 11 introduced into the arbor 2. For the row 6 of balls, a slide way 12 is additionally introduced into the inner bore of the roller body 4, as can be seen in Fig. 2. Axial forces occurring in th^ two directions can be absorbed, owing to the additional slide way 12, by the balls 7 of the row 6 of balls in cooperation with the slide way 10 on the roller body 4. -6- The inner space 13 of the roller body 4 is hermetically sealed on the side placed toward the centrepiece 3 by means of a sealing device 14 and, on the side located opposite at the end of the arbor 2, by means of a covering configured as a cover 15. The cover 15 is not penetrated by a relubricating opening. At its periphery, it partially has beads 16, with which it engages in a peripheral flute 17 in the inner bore of the roller body 4. In this manner, a reliable fit of the cover 15 and an excellent sealing effect are achieved, which are not impaired or temporarily eliminated by maintenance work. The sealing device 14 comprises an annular metallic carrier 18, which is L-shaped in design, and an elastic seal 19. The seal 19 consists of an elastic low-friction sealing material, which is non-detachably vulcanised onto the carrier 18. The outer diameter DL of the seal 19 is slightly smaller than the internal diameter DA of the roller body 4, as can be inferred from Fig. 3. The seal 19 has, at the outer diameter, sealing Up points 20, 21, which produce the sealing covering and sealing lip prestressing in the operating position of the sealing device 14. The end face of the seal 19 extends perpendicularly to the surface of the inner bore of the roller body 4 or stands perpendicularly with respect to the axis of rotation of the sealing device 14 and to the axis of rotation of the arbor 2. During the assembly of the upper roller 1, the sealing device 14 is initially slipped beyond the bearing of the roller body 4 onto the arbor 2. The roller body 4 can thus be tilted to assemble the rows 5, 6 of balls. After introduction of the lubricant, during which the lubricant, for example a special grease, can be well distributed or applied over the still open bearing arrangements, without a build-up of air in the region of the two rows 5, 6 of balls in the region of the contact faces of the seal 19, the seal 19 is pressed into the operating position. The operating position is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The seal 19 is U-shaped, so a peripheral groove 26 on the end face is formed. The U-shape of the seal 19 and its orientation facilitates the sliding in of the sealing Up 22 -7- into the roller body 4 during assembly of the sealing device 14. In addition, it brings about a tight contact against the surface 24 of the inner bore of the roller body 4 with a small but adequate radial pressure. The seal 19 rests tangentially with the sealing lip 22 formed by the outer leg of the U-shape against the inner bore of the roller body 4. The surface 24J of the inner bore of the roller body 4 works as a sealing face in conjunction with the seal 19. The position of the surface 24 of the inner bore of the roller body 4 and the position of the surface 23 of the arbor 2, after installation of the sealing device 14 into the top roller 1, are indicated in Fig. 3 by a dot-dash line in each case. A space 25 is formed between the sealing lip 22 of the seal 19 and the surface 24 of the inner bore I of the roller body 4 and between the sealing lip points 20, 21. The configuration of the sealing device 14 with the sealing lip points 20, 21 is an effective improvement of the protection against the penetration of soiling into the interior of the roller body 4 and against the escape of lubricant. The top rollers 1 of a drafting system, in the configuration according to the invention, may also be provided, during use as feed or delivery rollers, with a lubrication, which is adequate for a service life lubrication. -8- WE CLAIM : 1. Top roller for feed rollers and delivery rollers on spinning machine drafting systems comprising roller bodies rotationally mounted on a stationary arbor, wherein the arbor is only held centrally and, per roller body, has two slide ways with a high surface quality for a rolling bearing arrangement formed from two rows of balls, comprising a covering for the end face opening of the roller body on the free end of the arbor and comprising a sealing device only between the roller body and arbor at the other end of the roller body, characterised in that the covering (15) and the sealing device (14) are configured such that the rolling bearing arrangement is hermetically sealed relative to the environment and an adequately large inner space is formed for the lubricant of the rolling bearing arrangement such that the inner space is adequate to receive a grease supply for the service life, the seal (19) having an elastic sealing lip (22), which rests, with low pressure, tangentially on the inner bore of the roller body (4). 2. Top roller according to claim 1, characterised in that the sealing device (14) has a seal (19) with an end face peripheral groove (26). 3. Top roller according to claim 2, characterised in that peripheral sealing lip points (20, 21) in the manner of webs are formed at the outer periphery of the sealing lip (22) and the end face of the sealing lip (22) remote from the rolling bearing arrangement and the side flank of the sealing lip point (21) arranged on the edge of the sealing lip (22) extend perpendicularly to the surface of the inner bore of the rolling body (4). 4. Top roller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the sealing device (14) has an L-shaped metallic carrier (18), which can be slipped onto the arbor (2) and with which the seal (19) is rigidly connected. -9- 5. Top roller according to claim 4, characterised in that the seal (19) consists of low-friction sealing material, which is vulcanised onto the carrier (18). 6. Top roller according to claim 4, characterised in that the seal (19) consists of low-friction sealing material, which is injected onto the carrier (18). 7. Top roller according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the surface quality of the slide ways (10,11,12), is such that a value of 0.2 um is not exceeded in the surface roughness Ra. 8. Top roller according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the covering (15) is configured without a continuous opening. 9. Top roller according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the covering (15) is positioned in the roller body (4) such that its end side is downstream relative to the end face of the roller body (4) Dated this 13th day of November, 2006 HIRAL CHANDRAKANT JOSHI AGENT FOR TEXPARTS GMBH -10-

Documents:

1358-mumnp-2006-claim(granted)-(21-1-2008).doc

1358-mumnp-2006-claim(granted)-(21-1-2008).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-claims.doc

1358-mumnp-2006-claims.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-correspondance-received.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-correspondence(21-1-2008).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-correspondence(ipo)-(8-8-2007).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-description (complete).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-drawing(21-1-2008).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-drawings.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form 1(14-11-2006).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form 18(14-11-2006).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form 2(granted)-(21-1-2008).doc

1358-mumnp-2006-form 2(granted)-(21-1-2008).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form 3(14-11-2006).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form 3(21-1-2008).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form 5(14-11-2006).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form 5(21-1-2008).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-1.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-18.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-2.doc

1358-mumnp-2006-form-2.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-26.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-3.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-5.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-pct-ipea-409.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-pct-ipea-416.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-pct-isa-210(14-11-2006).pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-pct-isa-210.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-form-pct-ro-101.pdf

1358-mumnp-2006-power of attorney(14-11-2006).pdf

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