Title of Invention	RING SPINNING FRAME COMPRISING A TRAVELLING CLEANER AND A LINT REMOVING MECHANISM
Abstract	The aim of the invention is to simplify the control of the interdependent working processes of a ring spinning frame and a travelling cleaner (9) that is allocated to said frame, in terms of equipment and function. To achieve this, the control of the travelling cleaner is integrated into the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame, obviating the need for a separate control device in the travelling cleaner. This is particularly advantageous if both rows of spindles (6) in the ring spinning frame are equipped with lint removing mechanisms (22), designed to eliminate the lint that is detached from the underwinding regions (21). The travelling cleaner (9) is provided with a suction device comprising suction openings (28), which lie opposite the lint removing mechanisms and into which the lint is sucked. The synchronous motion of the travelling cleaner (9) and the lint removing mechanism (22) must thus be guaranteed. This is particularly easy to achieve, if the motion of both or all three units is controlled by the same control device, i.e. the ring spinning frame. Benefits can be obtained even if the control of only one travelling cleaner (8) is integrated into the control (7) of a ring spinning frame or a slubbing frame.

Title of Invention

RING SPINNING FRAME COMPRISING A TRAVELLING CLEANER AND A LINT REMOVING MECHANISM

Abstract

The aim of the invention is to simplify the control of the interdependent working processes of a ring spinning frame and a travelling cleaner (9) that is allocated to said frame, in terms of equipment and function. To achieve this, the control of the travelling cleaner is integrated into the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame, obviating the need for a separate control device in the travelling cleaner. This is particularly advantageous if both rows of spindles (6) in the ring spinning frame are equipped with lint removing mechanisms (22), designed to eliminate the lint that is detached from the underwinding regions (21). The travelling cleaner (9) is provided with a suction device comprising suction openings (28), which lie opposite the lint removing mechanisms and into which the lint is sucked. The synchronous motion of the travelling cleaner (9) and the lint removing mechanism (22) must thus be guaranteed. This is particularly easy to achieve, if the motion of both or all three units is controlled by the same control device, i.e. the ring spinning frame. Benefits can be obtained even if the control of only one travelling cleaner (8) is integrated into the control (7) of a ring spinning frame or a slubbing frame.

Full Text	FORM 2 THE PATENT ACT 197 0 (39 of 1970) The Patents Rules, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION See Section 10, and rule 13) 1. TITLE OF INVENTION RING SPINNING FRAME COMPRISING A TRAVELLING CLEANER AND A LINT REMOVING MECHANISM APPLICANT(S a) Name b) Nationality c) Address OERLIKON TEXTILE GMBH & CO. KG GERMAN Company LANDGRAFENSTRASSE-45, D-41069 MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed : - Technical Field The invention relates to a ring spinning frame or a roving frame comprising a multiplicity of workstations and comprising a traveling cleaner movable along the workstations by means of an electric motor. Moreover, in a further embodiment of the invention, the spinning frame is equipped on each machine side with a lint removing mechanism movable along the workstations synchronously with the traveling cleaner by means of an electric motor. Prior Art Traveling blowers on ring spinning frames or on roving frames have the task of freeing these frames of deposited fly and dust and therefore move along these frames, acting upon them, above all, with a blowing air stream. Traveling blowers are also known, however, which are combined with suction devices. Spinning frames and traveling cleaners are, as a rule, produced and offered by various companies. They can therefore advantageously be combined freely. Each of the working assemblies therefore has an independent control device which makes the operation of a traveling cleaner independent of the spinning frame or spinning frames on which it is active. The e is a connection only in so far as the two assemblies, in the event of a conflict, take one another into account or influence one another. A conflict situation is caused, for example, by the bobbin changing operation which, if blow-off activity is continued, may be disrupted, or the servicing of spinning stations of the frames which obstructs an attendant. However, such an interaction of the ring spinning frame or roving frame and traveling blower goes far beyond taking into account conflict situations. Thus, the activity of a traveling cleaner could be aimed to a substantially greater extent at requirements of the spinning frame: long waiting times of the frame when the traveling blower is to move into its depot before a cop changing operation, the 2 preplanning of its emptying and such like requirements of the frame and traveling blower could be coordinated optimally with on another if their activities were to be intermeshed to a greater extent. The invention seems to be particularly advantageous on ring spinning frames which also have in addition to a traveling cleaner one, or in the case of two-sided ring spinning fames, two lint removing mechanisms. Lint removing mechanisms cause fly which should be collected and removed by means of the suction draft of a traveling cleaner. For this purpose, lint removing mechanisms and traveling cleaners must move synchronously with one another along the ring spinning frame. A ring spinning frame is known from DE 41 40 049 C2, which has a both sucking and blowing cleaning device in the form of a traveling cleaner, movable over the creel of the ring spinning frame along the workstations of the ring spinning frame and, on each of its two frame sides, a lint removing mechanism moved along the ring spinning spindles in the underwinding region of the latter. By means of the lint removing mechanism, the under windings are released from the spindles and are sucked away by means of a suction nozzle arranged on the traveling cleaner. In order to achieve this, the lint removing mechanism and the suction nozzle oi the traveling cleaner must a ways be moved synchronously, opposite one another, in such a way that released under windings are drawn into the suction nozzle immediately, without being thrown into the surroundings. This synchronous run is achieved in that both the traveling cleaner and the lint removing mechanism are moved by means of a single pull cable guided via deflecting rollers along the creel and along he spindles. This requires extremely long pull cables and complicated pull cable routing in the case of the long frame lengths which occur. As a result of the elasticity of the long pull cables, the lint removing mechanism and the traveling cleaner also do not stand exactly opposite one another. 3 Consequently, in DE 42 31 737 Al, an electronic synchronous control was proposed, in which the running drives of the raveling cleaner and lint removing mechanism are activated via a common control device. It is therefore necessary to have a common third control device for the additional assemblies of a ring spinning frame, but this third control device is required in addition to the individual control devices of the traveling cleaner and ring spinning frame. General Description of the Invention The object of the invention, therefore, was to achieve a closer interaction of the various spinning frames and of the traveling cleaner, tt achieves this object, in that the hitherto independent activity control of the traveling cleaner is integrated into the activity control of the spinning frame. The control device of the spinning frame itself therefore also controls the activity of the traveling cleaner, and this can take place more optimally by means of the one single control device than by means of separate control devices. This also affords the advantage that a control device on the traveling cleaner is dispensed with. The invention seems to be particularly advantageous on ring spinning frames which, in addition to a traveling cleaner, also have one or, in the case of two-sided ring spinning frames, two lint removing mechanisms. Lin removing mechanisms, as a rule, cause fiber fly which should be collected and removed by means of the suction draft of a traveling cleaner. For this purpose, the lint removing mechanism and traveling cleaner must move synchronously with one another along the ring spinning frame. The control device of the frame therefore also assumes the control of the traveling cleaner according to the requirements of the ring spinning frame or roving frame. This leads to a simplification both in terms of apparatus and in terms of control. For this purpose, the traveling cleaner is equipped with a least on sensor which signals 4 the action upon it to the control device of the frame which draws from this the appropriate conclusions for the control of the traveling cleaner and/or of the frame. The sensor may, for example, be a contact sensor which detects a person standing in the path of movement of the traveling cleaner. The control device of the frame will then decide whether the traveling cleaner stops and waits until the person has moved away or whether it reverses its direction of movement. Or, to prepare for a cop changing operation, the imminent time point of which is known to the control device of the frame, it will start to move ihe traveling cleaner out of the spindle region in due time such that the traveling cleaner will not obstruct the commencement of the cop changing operation. Particularly when the ring spinning frame already contains the control of the lint removing mechanisms integrated into it, a further substantial simplification both in terms of apparatus and in terms of control can be achieved in view of the required paired, parallel synchronism of the two or of the three cleaning devices as a result of this integration. So that the traveling cleaner can be controlled optimally, the respective location of the traveling cleaner must be know to the control device of the frame. For this purpose, the traveling cleaner may be equipped with an absolute-value generator which signals the measurement value corresponding to its position along the frame to the control device of the frame. It will be appreciated that other sensors, for example incremental encoders, may also be used for this purpose. In many instances, however, it is even sufficient to provide at the ends of the paths of movement of the traveling cleaner and lint removing mechanism sensors which signal the run of the cleaning appliances into these end positions. The positions of the cleaning appliances can then be neutralized, so that they start again to run out from the basic positions at the same time. 5 Further advantageous refinements m y be gathered from the subclaims. Special Description of the Invention Exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated diagrarnmatically, by the example of a ring spinning frame, in the drawing in which: fjg. 1 shows the side view of essential working members of a ring spinning frame; fig. 2 shows, purely diagrammatically, a variant of the ring spinning frame ' illustrated in fig. 1; fig. 3 shows a further variant of the embodiment illustrated in fig. 1. When a ring spinning frame is referred to blow, it will be appreciated that this may also be a roving frame. The description of the control of a lint removing mechanism does not, of course, apply to a roving frame. The ring spinning frame has a start stand 1 and an end stand 2, between which extend essentially a creel 3 and, on both sides, drafting arrangements 4 and spindle rails 5. The spindle rail illustrated here contains a multiplicity of spindles which are indicated here merely by their center lines 6. The ring spinning frame has, furthermore, working members, not reproduced here, such as ring rails and the like, and additional assemblies, such as a cop changing device Moreover, the ring spinning frame is provided with a control device 7, via the outputs 8 of which its working and additional assemblies can be controlled in a functionally appropriate way. It will be appreciated that a familiar ring spinning frame is of two-sided design, that is to say it has drafting arrangements and spindle rails on both frame sides. The ring spinning frame is also equipped with a traveling cleaner 9 which keeps the frame free of fly and dust. It is moveable above the creel 3 by means of track rollers 10 on rails 11 which extend along the ring spinning frame. It contains a motor-driven blowing air fan and has two blowing hoses 12 which extend downward on both 6 sides of the ring spinning frame and which brush with he blowing air stream of the blowing air fan over the assemblies of the ring spinning frame. The movement of the traveling cleaner 9 along the ring spinning frame takes place by means of the drive of at least one of its track rollers 10 by a drive motor 13. The traveling cleaner contains further assemblies, such as a contact sensor 14 which senses the approach to an obstacle or the reaching of an end point of its path of movement. The raveling cleaner is often also equipped with a suction device, by means of which fly and dust are sucked up, for example from the floor, by means of a suction shoe 15. In this case, a blowing hose 12 may have embedded into it a suction hose which is acted upon with the suction air stream of the blowing air fan. This waste is collected in the traveling cleaner in a store. The store has a sensor which senses when the store becomes full and which causes the emptying of the latter into a fixed waste collector 16. The signals from the sensors, such as 14, of the traveling cleaner 9 are delivered via a multiwire or bus-reserved line 17 to the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame. There, they are also processed in a functionally appropriate way and other functionally appropriate control signals for the traveling cleaner are also generated. They are then delivered as control signals via a line 17 to the traveling cleaner gain. The control of the functions of the traveling cleaner 9 is therefore integrated into the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame, so that the traveling cleaner does not have to have its own control device. It is connected via an interface 19 to the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame, in which, where appropriate, the control signals of the control device are converted into control signals understandable to the traveling cleaner. This interface may be integrated into the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame or into the traveling cleaner 9. The control capacity and the control intelligence of the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame are designed such that they can readily also assume these additional control functions for the traveling cleaner. 7 In a further refinement, the ring spinning fame is equipped according to figures 2 and 3 with a device for the removal of under windings from the ring spinning spindles 6. These have, for this purpose, below each cop 20, only one of which is illustrated in figures 2 and 3, an under winding region 21, onto which, for the bobbin change, some thread turns are applied, from which the winding of the newly attached tube can start. These under windings have to be removed from time to time. This purpose is served, on each machine side, in each case by a lint removing mechanism 22 fastened to an endless pull belt 23, by means of which it is moved, level with the under winding regions 21, along the row of ring spinning spindles 6. The pull belts are guided at each of the two ends of he spindle rails 5 via a deflecting roller 24 and a guide roller 25, in each case one of the deflecting rollers being provided with a drive motor 26. The lint removing mechanisms 22 are provided with clothings which have sharp teeth and by means of which the under windings are torn open and are then thrown off from the rapidly running ring spinning spindles as a result of the centrifugal acceleration of the latter. These thrown-off lints have to be disposed of, for which purpose the traveling cleaner 9 is employed. For this purpose, the suction draft of its suction fan is conducted via two suction hoses 27 to the two lint removing mechanisms where they issue into two suction parts 28. It is in this necessary to ensure the these suction ports 28 always stand opposite the lint removing mechanisms 22. In order to achieve this, in a first embodiment of the invention according to figure 2, the position of the three traveling working members, namely the lint removing mechanisms 22 and the traveling cleaner 9, can in each case be neutralized at the end of their path of movement, that is to say an identical position can in this case be set and the return starts again from his identical position. For this purpose, the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame is programmed in such a way that it causes the three cleaning devices 9 and 22 to run into their end positions and initiates their return only after they have all reached these end positions. The reaching of the end 8 positions may be ensured in that the return of the traveling working members is delayed until it may be expected hat hey have all reached their end positions. Alternatively, here may be provision for arranging in the end positions of the traveling cleaner 9 and lint removing mechanisms 22 sensors 29 and 30 which sense the run-in of each of the traveling working members and signal this to the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame via a signal line 17. Said control device initiates the return when run-in signals are available from all three sensors at one end of the paths of movement. Preferably, however, there is provision in each case for one of the deflecting rollers 24 of each of the two pull belts 23 and for one of the track rollers 10 of the traveling cleaner 9 to be provided with an incremental encoder 31 or 32 which picks up the rotational movement of the guide roller or track roller. The incremental encoders 31, 32 may have an increment disk 33 and an incremental sensor 34 and supply their sign to the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame via a signal line 17. In the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame, the increment steps executed by the three incremental encoders 31 and 32 are compared, and action with drive energy upon the drive motor 13 or 26 of one of the traveling working members, namely the traveling cleaner 9 or the lint removing mechanism 22, is throttled in the case of a lead of one of the latter or is increased in the case of a lag of one of the latter, in order to restore parallel synchronism. If the drive motors a e designed as synchronous motors, their feed frequency is to be varied correspondingly. It is supplied to the drive motors via signal lines 18. The invention is described with reference to a two-sided ring spinning frame. It will be appreciated that the solution according to the invention may also be implemented on a one-sided ring spinning frame or on a roving frame. 9 List of Reference Numerals 1 Start sand 2 End stand 3 Creel 4 Drafting arrangement 5 Spindle rail 6 Center lines of the spindles 7 Control device of the spinning fame 8 Outputs of the control device 9 Traveling cleaner 10 Track rollers of the traveling cleaner 11 Rails of the traveling cleaner 12 Blowing hose 13 Drive motor of the traveling cleaner 14 Contac sensor on the traveling cleaner 15 Suction shoe of the traveling cleaner 16 Waste collector 17 Lines 18 Signal lines 19 Control device/traveling cleaner interface 20 Cop on a spindle 21 Under winding region on the spindles 22 Lint removing mechanism 23 Pull be t for the lint removing mechanism 24 Deflecting rollers of the pull belt 25 Guide rollers of the pull belt 26 Drive motor of the pull belt 27 Sue ion hose of the traveling cleaner 28 Suction port on the suction hose 29,30 Sensors on the paths of movement 31,32 Incremental encoders 33 Incremental disk 34 Incremental sensor 10 WE CLAIM: 1. A spinning frame, such as a ring spinning frame or roving frame, with a multiplicity of workstations and with a traveling cleaner movable along the workstations, characterized in that the traveling cleaner (9) does not have a specific control device for controlling its functions, but, instead, these functions are also assumed by the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame. 2. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, between the traveling cleaner (9) and the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame, an interface (19) is provided, via which the control signals from the control device can be transmitted to the traveling cleaner. 3. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 1, with at least one lint removing mechanism movable along the workstations synchronously with the traveling cleaner and generating fiber fly, characterized in that the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame controls the parallel synchronism both of the traveling cleaner (9) and of the at least one lint removing mechanism (22). 4. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that instruments (31, 32) connected synchronously to the cleaning appliances (9, 22, 22) and measuring the displacement of the latter are provided, which signal their measurement values to the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame which controls the parallel synchronism of the drive devices (13, 26) of the three cleaning appliances. 5. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the instrument measuring the displacement comprises an incremental encoder (31, 32) with incremental disk (33) and incremental sensor (34). 11 6. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the positions of the three cleaning devises (9, 22, 22) at the ends of their path of movement are neutralized, and the synchronous control star s again from this identical position of the cleaning devices. 7. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that neutralization takes place in that the control device (7) of he ring spinning frame or roving frame initiates a return of the cleaning devices (9, 22, 22) only after a predetermined time span has elapsed. 8. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that neutralization is deemed to have taken place when sensors (29, 30) a ranged in the end positions of the cleaning devices (9, 22, 22) have signaled the run-in of all the cleaning devices to the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame. Dated this 10th day of July, 2008 HIRAL CHANDRAKANT JOSHI AGENT FOR OERLIKON TEXTILE GMBH & CO. KG 12

Full Text

FORM 2
THE PATENT ACT 197 0 (39 of 1970)
The Patents Rules, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION See Section 10, and rule 13)
1. TITLE OF INVENTION
RING SPINNING FRAME COMPRISING A TRAVELLING CLEANER AND A LINT REMOVING MECHANISM
APPLICANT(S

a) Name
b) Nationality
c) Address

OERLIKON TEXTILE GMBH & CO. KG GERMAN Company LANDGRAFENSTRASSE-45, D-41069 MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY

PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed : -

Technical Field
The invention relates to a ring spinning frame or a roving frame comprising a multiplicity of workstations and comprising a traveling cleaner movable along the workstations by means of an electric motor. Moreover, in a further embodiment of the invention, the spinning frame is equipped on each machine side with a lint removing mechanism movable along the workstations synchronously with the traveling cleaner by means of an electric motor.
Prior Art
Traveling blowers on ring spinning frames or on roving frames have the task of freeing these frames of deposited fly and dust and therefore move along these frames, acting upon them, above all, with a blowing air stream. Traveling blowers are also known, however, which are combined with suction devices.
Spinning frames and traveling cleaners are, as a rule, produced and offered by various companies. They can therefore advantageously be combined freely. Each of the working assemblies therefore has an independent control device which makes the operation of a traveling cleaner independent of the spinning frame or spinning frames on which it is active. The e is a connection only in so far as the two assemblies, in the event of a conflict, take one another into account or influence one another. A conflict situation is caused, for example, by the bobbin changing operation which, if blow-off activity is continued, may be disrupted, or the servicing of spinning stations of the frames which obstructs an attendant.
However, such an interaction of the ring spinning frame or roving frame and traveling blower goes far beyond taking into account conflict situations. Thus, the activity of a traveling cleaner could be aimed to a substantially greater extent at requirements of the spinning frame: long waiting times of the frame when the traveling blower is to move into its depot before a cop changing operation, the
2

preplanning of its emptying and such like requirements of the frame and traveling blower could be coordinated optimally with on another if their activities were to be intermeshed to a greater extent.
The invention seems to be particularly advantageous on ring spinning frames which also have in addition to a traveling cleaner one, or in the case of two-sided ring spinning fames, two lint removing mechanisms. Lint removing mechanisms cause fly which should be collected and removed by means of the suction draft of a traveling cleaner. For this purpose, lint removing mechanisms and traveling cleaners must move synchronously with one another along the ring spinning frame.
A ring spinning frame is known from DE 41 40 049 C2, which has a both sucking and blowing cleaning device in the form of a traveling cleaner, movable over the creel of the ring spinning frame along the workstations of the ring spinning frame and, on each of its two frame sides, a lint removing mechanism moved along the ring spinning spindles in the underwinding region of the latter. By means of the lint removing mechanism, the under windings are released from the spindles and are sucked away by means of a suction nozzle arranged on the traveling cleaner. In order to achieve this, the lint removing mechanism and the suction nozzle oi the traveling cleaner must a ways be moved synchronously, opposite one another, in such a way that released under windings are drawn into the suction nozzle immediately, without being thrown into the surroundings.
This synchronous run is achieved in that both the traveling cleaner and the lint removing mechanism are moved by means of a single pull cable guided via deflecting rollers along the creel and along he spindles. This requires extremely long pull cables and complicated pull cable routing in the case of the long frame lengths which occur. As a result of the elasticity of the long pull cables, the lint removing mechanism and the traveling cleaner also do not stand exactly opposite one another.
3

Consequently, in DE 42 31 737 Al, an electronic synchronous control was proposed, in which the running drives of the raveling cleaner and lint removing mechanism are activated via a common control device. It is therefore necessary to have a common third control device for the additional assemblies of a ring spinning frame, but this third control device is required in addition to the individual control devices of the traveling cleaner and ring spinning frame.
General Description of the Invention
The object of the invention, therefore, was to achieve a closer interaction of the various spinning frames and of the traveling cleaner, tt achieves this object, in that the hitherto independent activity control of the traveling cleaner is integrated into the activity control of the spinning frame. The control device of the spinning frame itself therefore also controls the activity of the traveling cleaner, and this can take place more optimally by means of the one single control device than by means of separate control devices. This also affords the advantage that a control device on the traveling cleaner is dispensed with.
The invention seems to be particularly advantageous on ring spinning frames which, in addition to a traveling cleaner, also have one or, in the case of two-sided ring spinning frames, two lint removing mechanisms. Lin removing mechanisms, as a rule, cause fiber fly which should be collected and removed by means of the suction draft of a traveling cleaner. For this purpose, the lint removing mechanism and traveling cleaner must move synchronously with one another along the ring spinning frame.
The control device of the frame therefore also assumes the control of the traveling cleaner according to the requirements of the ring spinning frame or roving frame. This leads to a simplification both in terms of apparatus and in terms of control. For this purpose, the traveling cleaner is equipped with a least on sensor which signals
4

the action upon it to the control device of the frame which draws from this the appropriate conclusions for the control of the traveling cleaner and/or of the frame.
The sensor may, for example, be a contact sensor which detects a person standing in the path of movement of the traveling cleaner. The control device of the frame will then decide whether the traveling cleaner stops and waits until the person has moved away or whether it reverses its direction of movement. Or, to prepare for a cop changing operation, the imminent time point of which is known to the control device of the frame, it will start to move ihe traveling cleaner out of the spindle region in due time such that the traveling cleaner will not obstruct the commencement of the cop changing operation.
Particularly when the ring spinning frame already contains the control of the lint removing mechanisms integrated into it, a further substantial simplification both in terms of apparatus and in terms of control can be achieved in view of the required paired, parallel synchronism of the two or of the three cleaning devices as a result of this integration.
So that the traveling cleaner can be controlled optimally, the respective location of the traveling cleaner must be know to the control device of the frame. For this purpose, the traveling cleaner may be equipped with an absolute-value generator which signals the measurement value corresponding to its position along the frame to the control device of the frame. It will be appreciated that other sensors, for example incremental encoders, may also be used for this purpose.
In many instances, however, it is even sufficient to provide at the ends of the paths of movement of the traveling cleaner and lint removing mechanism sensors which signal the run of the cleaning appliances into these end positions. The positions of the cleaning appliances can then be neutralized, so that they start again to run out from the basic positions at the same time.
5

Further advantageous refinements m y be gathered from the subclaims.
Special Description of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated diagrarnmatically, by the example of a ring spinning frame, in the drawing in which:
fjg. 1 shows the side view of essential working members of a ring spinning frame; fig. 2 shows, purely diagrammatically, a variant of the ring spinning frame ' illustrated in fig. 1; fig. 3 shows a further variant of the embodiment illustrated in fig. 1.
When a ring spinning frame is referred to blow, it will be appreciated that this may also be a roving frame. The description of the control of a lint removing mechanism does not, of course, apply to a roving frame.
The ring spinning frame has a start stand 1 and an end stand 2, between which extend essentially a creel 3 and, on both sides, drafting arrangements 4 and spindle rails 5. The spindle rail illustrated here contains a multiplicity of spindles which are indicated here merely by their center lines 6. The ring spinning frame has, furthermore, working members, not reproduced here, such as ring rails and the like, and additional assemblies, such as a cop changing device Moreover, the ring spinning frame is provided with a control device 7, via the outputs 8 of which its working and additional assemblies can be controlled in a functionally appropriate way. It will be appreciated that a familiar ring spinning frame is of two-sided design, that is to say it has drafting arrangements and spindle rails on both frame sides.
The ring spinning frame is also equipped with a traveling cleaner 9 which keeps the frame free of fly and dust. It is moveable above the creel 3 by means of track rollers 10 on rails 11 which extend along the ring spinning frame. It contains a motor-driven blowing air fan and has two blowing hoses 12 which extend downward on both
6

sides of the ring spinning frame and which brush with he blowing air stream of the blowing air fan over the assemblies of the ring spinning frame. The movement of the traveling cleaner 9 along the ring spinning frame takes place by means of the drive of at least one of its track rollers 10 by a drive motor 13.
The traveling cleaner contains further assemblies, such as a contact sensor 14 which senses the approach to an obstacle or the reaching of an end point of its path of movement. The raveling cleaner is often also equipped with a suction device, by means of which fly and dust are sucked up, for example from the floor, by means of a suction shoe 15. In this case, a blowing hose 12 may have embedded into it a suction hose which is acted upon with the suction air stream of the blowing air fan. This waste is collected in the traveling cleaner in a store. The store has a sensor which senses when the store becomes full and which causes the emptying of the latter into a fixed waste collector 16.
The signals from the sensors, such as 14, of the traveling cleaner 9 are delivered via a multiwire or bus-reserved line 17 to the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame. There, they are also processed in a functionally appropriate way and other functionally appropriate control signals for the traveling cleaner are also generated. They are then delivered as control signals via a line 17 to the traveling cleaner gain. The control of the functions of the traveling cleaner 9 is therefore integrated into the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame, so that the traveling cleaner does not have to have its own control device. It is connected via an interface 19 to the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame, in which, where appropriate, the control signals of the control device are converted into control signals understandable to the traveling cleaner. This interface may be integrated into the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame or into the traveling cleaner 9. The control capacity and the control intelligence of the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame are designed such that they can readily also assume these additional control functions for the traveling cleaner.
7

In a further refinement, the ring spinning fame is equipped according to figures 2 and 3 with a device for the removal of under windings from the ring spinning spindles 6. These have, for this purpose, below each cop 20, only one of which is illustrated in figures 2 and 3, an under winding region 21, onto which, for the bobbin change, some thread turns are applied, from which the winding of the newly attached tube can start. These under windings have to be removed from time to time. This purpose is served, on each machine side, in each case by a lint removing mechanism 22 fastened to an endless pull belt 23, by means of which it is moved, level with the under winding regions 21, along the row of ring spinning spindles 6. The pull belts are guided at each of the two ends of he spindle rails 5 via a deflecting roller 24 and a guide roller 25, in each case one of the deflecting rollers being provided with a drive motor 26.
The lint removing mechanisms 22 are provided with clothings which have sharp teeth and by means of which the under windings are torn open and are then thrown off from the rapidly running ring spinning spindles as a result of the centrifugal acceleration of the latter. These thrown-off lints have to be disposed of, for which purpose the traveling cleaner 9 is employed. For this purpose, the suction draft of its suction fan is conducted via two suction hoses 27 to the two lint removing mechanisms where they issue into two suction parts 28. It is in this necessary to ensure the these suction ports 28 always stand opposite the lint removing mechanisms 22.
In order to achieve this, in a first embodiment of the invention according to figure 2, the position of the three traveling working members, namely the lint removing mechanisms 22 and the traveling cleaner 9, can in each case be neutralized at the end of their path of movement, that is to say an identical position can in this case be set and the return starts again from his identical position. For this purpose, the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame is programmed in such a way that it causes the three cleaning devices 9 and 22 to run into their end positions and initiates their return only after they have all reached these end positions. The reaching of the end
8

positions may be ensured in that the return of the traveling working members is delayed until it may be expected hat hey have all reached their end positions.
Alternatively, here may be provision for arranging in the end positions of the traveling cleaner 9 and lint removing mechanisms 22 sensors 29 and 30 which sense the run-in of each of the traveling working members and signal this to the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame via a signal line 17. Said control device initiates the return when run-in signals are available from all three sensors at one end of the paths of movement.
Preferably, however, there is provision in each case for one of the deflecting rollers 24 of each of the two pull belts 23 and for one of the track rollers 10 of the traveling cleaner 9 to be provided with an incremental encoder 31 or 32 which picks up the rotational movement of the guide roller or track roller. The incremental encoders 31, 32 may have an increment disk 33 and an incremental sensor 34 and supply their sign to the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame via a signal line 17.
In the control device 7 of the ring spinning frame, the increment steps executed by the three incremental encoders 31 and 32 are compared, and action with drive energy upon the drive motor 13 or 26 of one of the traveling working members, namely the traveling cleaner 9 or the lint removing mechanism 22, is throttled in the case of a lead of one of the latter or is increased in the case of a lag of one of the latter, in order to restore parallel synchronism. If the drive motors a e designed as synchronous motors, their feed frequency is to be varied correspondingly. It is supplied to the drive motors via signal lines 18.
The invention is described with reference to a two-sided ring spinning frame. It will be appreciated that the solution according to the invention may also be implemented on a one-sided ring spinning frame or on a roving frame.
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List of Reference Numerals

1 Start sand
2 End stand
3 Creel
4 Drafting arrangement
5 Spindle rail
6 Center lines of the spindles
7 Control device of the spinning fame
8 Outputs of the control device
9 Traveling cleaner
10 Track rollers of the traveling cleaner
11 Rails of the traveling cleaner
12 Blowing hose
13 Drive motor of the traveling cleaner
14 Contac sensor on the traveling cleaner
15 Suction shoe of the traveling cleaner
16 Waste collector
17 Lines
18 Signal lines
19 Control device/traveling cleaner interface
20 Cop on a spindle
21 Under winding region on the spindles
22 Lint removing mechanism
23 Pull be t for the lint removing mechanism
24 Deflecting rollers of the pull belt
25 Guide rollers of the pull belt
26 Drive motor of the pull belt
27 Sue ion hose of the traveling cleaner
28 Suction port on the suction hose
29,30 Sensors on the paths of movement
31,32 Incremental encoders
33 Incremental disk
34 Incremental sensor
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WE CLAIM:
1. A spinning frame, such as a ring spinning frame or roving frame, with a multiplicity of workstations and with a traveling cleaner movable along the workstations, characterized in that the traveling cleaner (9) does not have a specific control device for controlling its functions, but, instead, these functions are also assumed by the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame.
2. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, between the traveling cleaner (9) and the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame, an interface (19) is provided, via which the control signals from the control device can be transmitted to the traveling cleaner.
3. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 1, with at least one lint removing mechanism movable along the workstations synchronously with the traveling cleaner and generating fiber fly, characterized in that the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame controls the parallel synchronism both of the traveling cleaner (9) and of the at least one lint removing mechanism (22).
4. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that instruments (31, 32) connected synchronously to the cleaning appliances (9, 22, 22) and measuring the displacement of the latter are provided, which signal their measurement values to the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame which controls the parallel synchronism of the drive devices (13, 26) of the three cleaning appliances.
5. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the instrument measuring the displacement comprises an incremental encoder (31, 32) with incremental disk (33) and incremental sensor (34).
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6. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the positions of the three cleaning devises (9, 22, 22) at the ends of their path of movement are neutralized, and the synchronous control star s again from this identical position of the cleaning devices.
7. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that neutralization takes place in that the control device (7) of he ring spinning frame or roving frame initiates a return of the cleaning devices (9, 22, 22) only after a predetermined time span has elapsed.
8. The spinning frame as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that neutralization is deemed to have taken place when sensors (29, 30) a ranged in the end positions of the cleaning devices (9, 22, 22) have signaled the run-in of all the cleaning devices to the control device (7) of the ring spinning frame or roving frame.
Dated this 10th day of July, 2008
HIRAL CHANDRAKANT JOSHI AGENT FOR OERLIKON TEXTILE GMBH & CO. KG
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RING SPINNING FRAME COMPRISING A TRAVELLING CLEANER AND A LINT REMOVING MECHANISM

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