Title of Invention

TOP ARM ASSEMBLY DEVICE FOR TEXTILE ROVING AND SPINNING MACHINE

Abstract

Abstract The present invention provides atopann assembly device for textile roving and spinning machine with independenl locking and loading arrangement, said assembly comprising a setting piece rigidly connected to roller stand of the textile spirming machine through a guide tube, A locking lever and guide piece pivotably connected to said setting piece. A bridging element disposed to movably connect the guide piece to the locking lever resulting in a quartet of mechanical links formed among the locking lever, guide piece, bridging element and the top setting piece. The loading functions of the top arm assembly of the present invention is catered to by an independent loading lever operably connected to said guide piece and a pressure hose to exert a desired loading on drafting rollers of the textile machine. In the top arm assembly device of the present invention the locking and loading of the top arm assembly device of the present invention is independently actuated. 14

Full Text

Technical field The present invention relates to a top arm assembly device for textile spinning machine. The present invention particularly relates to a top arm assembly for textile roving frames and spinning frames provided with independent locking and loading arrangement. Background and prior art Textile spinning machines such as roving or ring spinning machines have a set of bottom rollers arranged in the spinning zone. A top arm having a similar set of rollers is provided at each location of the bottom rollers. The rollers of the top arm press against the corresponding bottom rollers when loaded thereby forming a drafting zone for the sliver or roving input. Drafting of the sliver or roving is influenced by the load of the top arm rollers on the bottom rollers. In a known top arm assembly construction, the locking and loading fianctions are performed by using the same mechanism. The top stationary unit and bottom stationary units of the known top assembly device are rigidly fixed to the guide tube. The guide tube houses a pressure hose and a pressure ledge. A pressure thumb is pivoted to top stationary umt by means of a pin. The one end of the pressure thumb is held against the pressure hose through the pressure ledge and the other end supports a roller, which is cam-shaped. A 'U'-shaped guide is pivoted to the top stationary unit by means of a pin. A locking lever is pivoted to the guide member by means of pin. A roller is pivoted to locking lever, which rolls over the cam in the pressure thumb and at the same time lifts the pressure thumb Unlocked condition: When the locking lever is rotated in clockwise direction about the pin, the top arm is unlocked when the roller disengages from the cam profile in pressure thumb and guide member can be freely rotated about pin. Locked condition: When the locking lever is rotated in counter direction, the roller starts to engage with the cam profile in pressure thumb and lifts the pressure thumb and this action continues till the locking lever rests on the guide member. Because of engagement of the roller with the pressure thumb the top arm gets locked. Loading: On locking, the lifting of pressure thumb cam profile makes the other end of pressure thumb to push the pressure ledge against the pressure hose which houses compressed air. The compressed air exerts a force on the pressure thumb through the pressure ledge. The pressure thumb exerts a pushing force on the guide member tltrough the roller and the locking lever. By the lever mechanism, the guide member exerts force on distributors through pins. From the pins the force is distributed to a plurality of pressure saddles. The force from the pressure saddles is in turn transmitted to the top rollers. The lop rollers in turn exert the forces on the bottom rollers. The quality of the roving or the yam produced is dependent on the ability of the top arm in applying pre-determined load on the drafting rollers consistently. Since both locking and loading functions are performed by the same means, even a minimum deviation in the manufacturing tolerances in one factor may result in functional variation. For instance, defective locking would result in the variation of top roller load on the corresponding bottom rollers. The disadvantage of this conventional top arm assembly is that even allowable tolerances in the components reflect considerably on the assembly and results in ineffective loading. This ineffective loading is attributed to the relatively short distance between the fulcrum point of pressure thumb and loading point of the lever. The limitation of the above-cited invention can be overcome by providing separate locking and loading mechanism to the top arm assembly. By separating the loading ftinction from the locking function the distance of pivoting point with respect to both the loading and distribution points is increased. The present Applicant's Indian Patent Application No. 788/MAS/1999 depicts a top arm assembly for a textile spinning machine with one type of independent locking and loading means comprising a support frame provided with a loading lever pivoted thereto. One end of the loading lever is connected to the loading means, and the other end to the load-distributing means and locking means consisting of locking lever movably connected to a locking cam fixedly mounted on the support frame. Objects of the invention The primary object of the present invention is to provide a top arm assembly device with independent locking arrangement for locking said top arm member and the loading arrangement for providing a pre-determined load on drafting rollers of the textile roving and spinning machine. An object of the present invention is to provide a top arm assembly device with a four-bar mechanism to achieve an independent locking of the locking lever. With these objects in view, and other objects as hereinafter appear, the top arm assembly of the present invention can provide a pre-determined drafting pressure despite variation in the dimensions of the components due to manufacturing tolerances. Other features and many attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof when considered in connection with accompanying drawings in which reference numerals and alphabets are used to designate the parts of assembly. Summary of the invention The present invention provides a top arm assembly for textile spinning machine with independent locking and loading arrangement, said assembly comprising a setting piece rigidly connected to a roller stand of the textile spinning machine through a guide tube. A locking lever and guide piece pivotably connected to said setting piece. A bridging element disposed to movably connect the guide piece to the locking lever resulting in a quartet of mechanical links formed among the locking lever, guide piece, bridging element and the top setting piece. The loading functions of the top arm assembly of the present invention is catered to by an independent loading lever operably connected to said guide piece and a pressure hose to exert a desired loading on drafting rollers of the textile machine. In the top arm assembly device of the present invention the locking and loading of the top arm assembly device is independently actuated. Brief description of the drawings Fig. 1 depicts the top arm assembly of a textile spinning machine according to the present invention with locking and loading elements. Fig 2 depicts the top arm assembly of a textile spinning machine according to the present invention, wherein the locking arrangement is shown without the loading arrangement elements. Fig 3 depicts the top arm assembly of a textile spinning machine according to the present invention, wherein the loading arrangement is shown without the locking arrangement elements. Fig 4 depicts the four bar mechanism of the top arm assembly wherein the angle (9) is less than 180 degrees. Fig 5 depicts the four bar mechanism of the top arm assembly wherein the angle (6) is 180 degrees. Fig 6 depicts the four bar mechanism of the top arm assembly wherein the angle (9) is greater than 180 degrees. Detailed description of the invention Accordingly, the present invention provides a top arm assembly device for textile spinning machine with independent locking and loading arrangement to enable independent locking and loading of the top arm assembly. The embodiments of the present invention are described by referring to the figures of the accompanying diagrams. By referring to Fig 1, there is seen the top arm assembly device of the present invention with independent locking and loading elements, said device comprising a setting piece 1 with top and bottom halves connected to each other, said setting piece rigidly connected to a roller stand of the textile spinning machine through a guide tube 5 of hexagonal shape. The upper half of the setting piece 1 is a stationary member and is connected to a bottom half 6 of the setting piece 1 of the top arm assembly by fastening arrangement. The upper half and bottom half of the setting piece 1 are fixed together to guide tube 5. The guide tube 5 is in turn fitted to roller stand of the textile-spinning machine (not shovra in this Figure). The guide tube 5 houses a pressure hose 7, which applies a compressed air pressure to a pressure thumb 8 through a pressure ledge 9. The inflatable pressure hose 7 is provided to actuate and de-actuate the pressure thumb 8 pneumatically. A pair or set of setting piece holes designated as right-upper IV and lower-central I pin holes, disposed on the top setting piece 1. The right-upper IV pin hole is located at the upper right hand comer of the setting piece 1 and whereas the lower-central pin hole I is located at bottom portion of the setting piece 1. A locking lever 3 with a handle on one side to act as grip to a user and with an expanded section on the other side is provided with a right-upper locking pin hole IV. The right-upper pin hole IV is positioned on the setting piece 1. The expanded section of the locking lever 3 is also provided with a lock-bridge pin hole III. The locking lever 3 is pivotably connected to said setting piece 1 through the right-upper setting piece pin hole IV by means of a fixing member 11. The fixing member 11 used in the present invention is a pin to provide an angular pivotal support to the locking lever vis-a-vis the setting piece 1. However, it is understood here that other similar fixing members that can be suitably used as pivotal elements can also be used in the present invention. A guide piece 2 provided with a guide-bridge pin hole II and a right-lower guide pin hole I, corresponding to the lower-central setting piece pin hole I. Guide piece 2 is pivotably connected to said setting piece 1 through the right-lower setting piece pin hole I. The guide piece 2 is pivoted to the top setting piece 1 at the right-lower setting piece pin hole I through a pin 21. The guide piece 2 implemented in the present invention is provided with a broader and narrower tail or end profile in the region of the setting piece 1. It is however understood that alternate suitable surface profiles for the guide piece 2 that are suitable to provide pivoting action to said guide piece 2 reciprocal to the locking lever 3 can also be suitably adopted. A bridging element 4 with end openings having intervening distance, said bridge element 4 disposed to movably connect the guide piece 2 to the locking lever 3 through the guide-bridge pin hole II and the lock-bridge pin hole III of the locking lever 3 along with pins acting as fixing members 12 and 13. The bridging element 4 used in the present invention, as an exemplary embodiment a metal link component is used as bridging element 4 to provide a movable connection between other cormected components. However, any other suitable links can also used in place of the metal link component. A suitable stopping arrangement in the form of stopper is disposed on the guide piece 2 to stop the movement of the locking lever 3, beyond the position of the guide piece 2 during the locking operation of the top arm assembly, since in the present invention the locking lever 3 and the guide piece 2 are disposed to move in clock and anticlockwise directions. In another aspect of the present invention, the pin holes I, II, III & IV are used as pivotal points about which the elements of locking mechanism of the top arm assembly of the present invention operate. The pivotal points of the locking and loading mechanism of the present invention are described hereinafter. The length between pin holes acting as pivotal points I & IV forms a mechanical link 'a', since the top setting piece 1 is rigidly fixed, the link a is considered as a rigid link. Therefore, the distance between the right-upper IV and the lower-central I setting piece pin holes with fixing members (pins) form a rigid mechanical link 'a' In the top arm assembly of the present invention, the length between pivotal points I & II forms a mechanical link 'b'. The mechanical link 'b' is a movable one that causes clockwise and anticlockwise movements to the guide piece 2 during operation. Accordingly, the distance between a guide-bridge pin hole II and a right-lower guide pin hole I with pins as fixing members are disposed to form a rotatable link pivoted at a right-lower guide pin hole I. Similarly, the length between the pivotal points III & IV forms a mechanical link 'c'. Therefore, the distance between the right-upper locking pinhole IV and the lock-bridge pinhole III with their corresponding pins disposed to form a rotatable mechanical link 'c' pivoted at the right-upper locking pinhole IV. The length between the pivotal points II & III of guide-bridge pin hole and the lock-bridge pin hole respectively, form a mechanical link 'd'. The intervening distance between the openings of the bridging element 4 disposed to form the mechanical link 'd' for transmitting motion from the locking lever 3 to the guide piece 2. The combination of the mechanical links a, b, c & d form a quartet of mechanical links connecting the locking lever 3, guide piece 2, bridging element 4 and the top setting piece 1 to perform the locking operations of the top arm assembly. Fig 2 shows the poshion of respective components of the locking arrangement of the top arm assembly of the present invention, when the locking lever 3 is in open position corresponding to the guide piece 2. It can be seen from the drawing that the whenever the locking lever 3 is in open position, the position of the bridging element 4 is slightly elevated towards the position of the locking lever 3 to facilitate the desired open mode action. The downward pointing arrows in the drawing show the movement of the locking lever for the locking the locking lever 3 with guide piece 2. The corresponding directional movements of the mechanical links a, b, c & d, during the operation of the locking lever 3 and the guide piece 2 are shown with the help of arrows. Now by referring to Fig 3 constructional features of the loading arrangement are described. The independent loading arrangement of the top arm assembly of the present invention comprises an independent loading lever 14 is operably connected to said guide piece 2 and the pressure hose 7 to exert a desired loading on drafting rollers of the textile machine. The loading lever 14 is pivotably connected to said guide piece 2 by rotatable joints. The pin hole I at the lower center side of the top setting piece 1 is disposed to accommodate the pin 21 (as shown in Fig 1) for functionally connecting the guide piece 2 and pressure thumb 8. The pressure thumb 8 is cormected to the roller 20 attached to one end of the loading lever 14. The other end of the pressure thumb 8, which is attached to the pressure ledge 9, establishes contact with the pressure hose 7 housed within the guide tube 5. The other end of the loading lever 14 connected to the rear distributor 10 through one of the plurality of the pin holes through pin 16, (as shown in Fig 1) the rear distributor carries the front distributor and the pressure saddle 17" and the front distributor lO'carrying the plurality pressure saddle 17 & 17' pivoted to the said rear distributor 10 through one of the plurality of holes through pin 16'. The loading lever 14 is housed within the guide piece 2 to facilitate loading. Pivot points V & VI are provided on the guide piece 2 for pivoting the loading lever 3 to vary the output load. The loading lever 14 is pivoted to the guide 2 at pivot point V or VI through a pin 15. A roller 20 is rotatably mounted on one end of the loading lever 14, The roller 20 is freely rotatable and is pivoted on the loading lever 14 to engage the pressure thumb 8 when loaded and to disengage smoothly when unloaded. A distributor 10 is pivoted to the loading lever 14 through pin 16. A front distributor 10' is pivoted to the rear distributor 10 through pin 16'. The distributors 10 & 10' carry a plurality of saddles 17, 17'& 17" for holding the plurality of top rollers 18, I8'& 18" mounted there on. The distance between the saddles 17,17' & 17" can be adjusted in accordance to the prevailing distance between the bottom drafting rollers 19,19 & 19". The working of the locking mechanism of the present invention is described hereinafter by specifically referring to Fig 4, 5 & 6 in addition to having reference to other figures. Since the top setting piece 1 is rigidly fixed and the pin hole I is stationary and pin hole position I is common to top setting piece 1 and guide piece 2, the guide piece 2 is rotatable about pin position I. The top setting piece 1 is rigidly fixed and the pin hole poshion IV is stationary & pin hole IV is common to top setting piece 1 and locking lever 3. The locking lever 3 is rotatable about pin poshion IV. The bridging element 4 with end openings having intervening distance, said bridge element 4 disposed to movably connect the guide piece 2 to the locking lever 3 through the guide-bridge pin hole II and the lock-bridge pin hole III of the locking lever 3 along with pins acting as fixing members 12 and 13. In continuation of description of the mechanical links as described above, the mechanical links a, b, c and d form a four bar mechanism by joining at pin positions I, II, III and IV. The link 'a' is a fixed link and the link b and c are rotatable and the link d joins b and c. The lengths of links are selected such that the required functions can be performed. When the link c is rotated in counterclockwise direction, the link A is pushed by the link c and the link d rotates the link b in the counterclockwise direction. That is, if the locking lever 3 is rotated in counterclockwise direction, the guide piece 2 also rotates in the counterclockwise direction. Further, if the link c is further rotated in counterclockwise direction, a state is reached such that the links c & d are in a straight line. Once, the c & d form a straight line, if the link c is continued to rotate in counterclockwise direction, the link d is pulled by the link c and the link d rotates the link b in the clockwise direction. That is, if the locking lever 3 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the guide piece 2 rotates in the clockwise direction. If the locking lever 3 does not touch the guide piece 2, both will continue to rotate in the opposite directions. Once locking lever 3 touches the guide piece 2, at the contact area on the guide piece 2 so the llirther rotation of locking lever 3 in the counterclockwise direction and the rotation of the guide piece 2 in the clockwise direction are stopped. This condhion of the mechanism is called as locking condition. For unlocking, the locking lever 3 is to be rotated in the clockwise direction and the moving of components will happen in the reverse order as to the order explained above. By referring to the line sketches depicted in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, a graphical representation of the functional working of the mechanical links a. b, c and d of the top arm assembly is described. The rigid link A represents the top setting piece 1, link B represents the guide piece 2, link C represents the bridge element 4, and the link D represents locking lever 3. Fig 4 depicts the line sketch the functional working of the top arm assembly device, wherein the angle 6 between link C and link D, is lesser than 180 degrees, and the link D & B rotate in same direction. If the locking lever 3 rotates in counter clockwise direction, then the guide 2 rotates in the counterclockwise direction. Fig 5 depicts the line sketch of the functional working of the top arm assembly device, wherein the angle 0 between link C and link D is 180 degrees, and the end points of link C and Link D are in a straight line. Fig 6 depicts the functional working of the top arm assembly device, wherein the angle 6 between link C and link D is greater than 180 degrees, and the link D & B rotates in the opposite direction. If the locking lever 3 rotates in counter clockwise direction, the guide piece 2 rotates in clockwise direction. Now again by referring to Figures 1-3, functional aspects of the loading mechanism are described further. When the loading lever 14 is housed within the guide piece 2 to facilitate loading. Pivot points V and VI are provided on the guide piece 2 for pivoting the loading lever 14 to vary the out put load. The loading lever 14 is pivoted to the guide piece 2 at pivot point V or VI through pin 15. Roller 20 is rotatably mounted on one end of the loading lever 14. The roller 20 is freely rotatable and is pivoted on the loading lever 14 to engage the pressure thumb 8 when loaded and to disengage smoothly when unloaded. A distributor 10 is pivoted to the loading lever 14 through pin 16. A front distributor 10' is pivoted to the rear distributor 10 through pin 16'. The distributors 10, 10' carry a plurality of saddles 17, 17', 17" for holding the plurality of top rollers 18, 18', 18" mounted there on. The distance between the saddles 17, 17', 17" can be adjusted in accordance with the prevailing distance between the bottom drafting rollers 19, 19, 19". When the pressure hose 7 is inflated with a predetermined pressure, it exerts force and pushes pressure thumb 8 through the pressure ledge 9 attached to it. The pressure thumb 8 exerts a force on the roller 20 pivoted on one end of the loading lever 14, which is pivoted to the guide 2 at the pivot point 15, and finally the load is transmitted to the distributors 10, 10' through pins 16,16'. The distributors 10, 10' apply the drafting force to the bottom drafting rollers 19,19', 19" through the top rollers 17, 17', 17". The drafting force can be varied according to the requirement by varying the pressure of the air applied to the pressure hose 7. The drafting force applied to the drafting zone for a given pressure of air applied to the pressure hose 7 can be enhanced by shifting the position of the pin 15 cormecting the guide piece 2 and the locking lever 3 to the pivot point VI. The top arm can also be held in fiilly open condition. 10 When air is passed inside the pressure hose 7 at a pressure the pressure hose 7 is inflated and the pressure thumb 8 will experience a force proportional to the area of contact of pressure ledge 9 with the pressure hose 7 and to the air pressure, if it is pushed against the pressure hose 7. A loading lever 14 is pivoted at pin position VI and its one end is joined with a roller through a pin at position VII, the other end is pin jointed with rear distributor 10 at poshion VIII. The configuration of the loading lever 14 is such that roller at pin position VII is pushed by the pressure thumb 8 and receives certain load depending on air pressure in the pressure hose 7 and the size of the pressure ledge 9. Due to lever action a proportional load is transmitted to the rear distributor 10. This load is distributed to front distributor 20 at pin position IX and the third row top roller 18" through the pressure saddle 17". The load to the front distributor is further distributed to first row top roller 18 through the pressure saddle 17 and to second row top roller 18' through the pressure saddle 17'. The loads at the first row top roller 18, the second row top roller 18' and the third row top roller 18" are experienced when they are pressed against their relative bottom rollers. In the top arm assembly of the present invention the locking and loading means are integrated by joining the loading lever 14 with the guide piece 2 by means of a pin at position V or VI,. From the unlocked position of the locking mechanism when the locking lever 3 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the guide piece 2 also rotates in the counterclockwise direction and locking of the top arm takes place by the four bar link arrangement. Simultaneously roller 20 attached to the loading lever 14 establishes contact with the pneumatically loaded pressure thumb 8. In this condition the load is transmitted from the pressure thumb 8 to the rear distributor 10, thereby to the drafting rollers l9 ,19', 19" through the loading lever 14. When the top arm is in locked position, the guide piece 2 gets a definite position and the loading lever transmits a predetermined load to the drafting rollers 19, 19', and 19". Advantages In the present invention, since the loading and locking funcfions are independent to each other, the load variation noted in known top arm assemblies due to dimensional variataions caused by the tolerance variation is eliminated. 11 We claim: 1. A top arm assembly device for textile roving and spinning machine with a top setting piece (1) and a bottom setting piece (6) fixed together on a guide tube (5), said guide tube (5) connected to a plurality of roller stands, a locking lever (3) pivoted to a guide piece (2), a pressure thumb (8) pivoted on said top setting piece (1) with one side connected to said locking lever (3) through said guide piece (2) and the other end connected to a pressure hose (7) through a pressure ledge (9), a plurality of front and rear and distributors (10,10') connected to said locking lever (3) and said guide piece (2), a plurality of saddles (17, 17,' 17") connected to said distributors, said saddles further disposed to hold top rollers (18, 18' 18"), characterized in that said locking lever (3) pivoted to said top setting piece (1) and operably connected to the said guide piece (2) with a bridging element (4) to form an independent locking arrangement for said top arm assembly, and a loading lever (14) pivoted to the said guide piece (2) and operably connected to engage with said pressure thumb (8) at its one end and to said distributors (10) at its other end, to form an independent loading arrangement for said top arm assembly. 2. The top arm assembly device as claimed in claim I, wherein the independent locking arrangement comprises: said locking lever (3) movably pivoted to said top setting piece (1), a fixing member (II) that pivots said locking lever (3) through a right upper setting piece pin hole (IV), said guide piece (2) movably pivoted to said top setting piece (1), a pin (21) that pivots said guide piece (2) through a lower setting piece pin hole (I), and said bridging element (4) movably disposed to connect said guide piece (2) and said locking lever (3), wherein a fixing member (12) pivots one end of said bridging element (4) to said guide piece (2) through a guide-bridge pin hole (II), and another fixing member (13) pivots the other end of said bridging element (4) to said locking lever (3) through a lock-bridge pin hole (III). 3. The top arm assembly device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the independent loading arrangement comprising, a loading lever (14) housed in said guide piece (2) and pivoted to said guide piece (2) at a pivot point (V) or (VI) by means of a fixing member (15), a roller (20) mounted on one end of said loading lever (14) 12 and operably connected to engage with said pressure thumb (8), said pressure thumb (8) pivoted to the top setting piece (1) and said guide piece (2) at the right lower setting piece pin hole (I) through pin (21), a pressure ledge (9) connected to the other end of the said pressure thumb (8), said pressure ledge (9) operably connected to a pressure hose (7), and said rear distributor (10) pivoted to said loading lever (14) through pin (16), said front distributor (10') pivoted to said rear distributor (10) through said pin (16'), said distributors (10) and (10') carry the saddles (17,17'&17") provided to hold the plurahty of top rollers (18,18'& 18")- 4. The top arm assembly device as claimed in claim I, wherein said locking lever (3) and said guide piece (2) pivotably disposed with clock and anticlockwise movements. 5. The top arm assembly device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance between the right-upper and the right lower setting piece pin holes (IV & 1) with fixing members (11 & 21), is a rigid mechanical link. 6. The top arm assembly device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance between the right-upper pinhole (IV) atid the lock-bridge pinhole (III) of said locking lever (3) along with their fixing members (11&13) is a rotatable mechanical link. 7. The top arm assembly device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distance between said guide-bridge pin hole (II) and said right-lower guide pin hole (I) of said guide piece (2) with said fixing members (12 &21), is a rotatable link. 8. The top arm assembly device a claimed in claim I, wherein intervening distance between the openings of said bridging element (4) disposed to form a mechanical link for transmitting force from said locking lever (3) to said guide piece (2). 9. The top arm assembly device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said loading lever (14) is pivotably connected to said guide piece (2) by rotatable joints. 13

Documents:

1087-che-2004 abstract duplicate.pdf

1087-che-2004 abstract.pdf

1087-che-2004 claims.pdf

1087-che-2004 correspondence others.pdf

1087-che-2004 correspondence po.pdf

1087-che-2004 description (complete) duplicate.pdf

1087-che-2004 description (complete).pdf

1087-che-2004 drawings duplicate.pdf

1087-che-2004 drawings.pdf

1087-che-2004 form-1.pdf

1087-che-2004 form-13.pdf

1087-che-2004 form-18.pdf

1087-che-2004 form-26.pdf

1087-che-2004 form-3.pdf

1087-che-2004 form-5.pdf