| Title of Invention | A KNOTTING APPARATUS |
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| Abstract | A knotting apparatus (1) is specified, with an undercarriage (2) which is connected to a handle (3) for movement control by means of an operator, a suction device (17), at least one thread-catching device (15) and at least one knotter (16) being arranged on the undercarriage (2). |
| Full Text | Knotting Apparatus The invention relates to a knotting apparatus. In the production of textile cloth webs, it is usually necessary first to produce a warp which is subsequently further processed in a further apparatus into a sheet¬like textile material. For example, a warp is required for weaving or knitting. In the production of a warp, a large number of threads are drawn off simultaneously from a creel and then wound on a warping drum or directly on a warp beam. Since, as a rule, a creel can receive only a limited number of bobbins, the number of threads which can be drawn off simultaneously from the creel is often insufficient to produce the warp with a full width. The warp is therefore produced with the aid of ribbons, as they are known, which are wound in succession, the individual ribbons corresponding to one another. In this case, as a rule, a situation arises where the bobbins in a creel have run empty before all the ribbons have been produced and therefore the warp has been finished. The bobbins which have run empty or almost empty must therefore be replaced by full bobbins. After the replacement of the bobbins, for each bobbin position the end of the thread drawn off from the old bobbin has to be connected to the start of the thread to be drawn off from the new bobbin. A knotting apparatus is usually used for this purpose. A simple knotting apparatus is a tool which is held in the hand by an operator. The operator grasps with the other hand the two thread ends, that is to say the end of the run-off thread and the start of the new thread, inserts them into the knotting apparatus and then makes the desired knot by pressing on a lever of the knotting apparatus. The operator can in this case at the same time monitor whether the knot has been made correctly. However, such a procedure is highly time-consuming and entails some effort for the operator. Creels have therefore already been provided with an automatic knotting apparatus. For this purpose, the knotting apparatus is suspended on guide tracks in the creel and can be moved as it were automatically to various operating positions. The desired knots are then made in each operating position. However, even here, this unavoidably has to be accompanied by an operator, because usually some percentage of the knots made are faulty. As soon as a fault has occurred, the operator has to do some reworking. Larger creels are usually designed as V-creels. Here, a specific knotting apparatus has to be provided for each leg of the V-creel. This makes the use of knotting apparatuses of this type extremely costly. The object on which the invention is based is to carry out a thread change in a bobbin creel in a simple way. This object is achieved by means of a knotting apparatus with an undercarriage which is connected to a handle for movement control by means of an operator, a suction device, at least one thread-catching device and at least one knotter being arranged on the undercarriage. By means of a knotting apparatus of this type, the advantages of a manual knotter are combined with the advantages of a fully automated knotting apparatus, but at the same time the costs are most appreciably reduced. One advantage is, for example, that one knotting apparatus can be used for a plurality of creels or even for two halves of a creel. Even in the case of one creel, the costs of the knotting apparatus are thereby more than halved, as compared with a fully automatic knotting apparatus. A further advantage is to be seen in that the operator, who has hitherto in any case had to run along with a fully automatic knotting apparatus, can now be used for movement control. The operator therefore pulls or pushes the undercarriage along the desired movement track on which the individual knotting positions are arranged. Since the creel is usually set up on a planar supporting surface, only relatively little effort is required for moving the knotting apparatus and can be made by most operators. The time required for knotting is kept short by virtue of the thread-catching device. Preferably, the undercarriage has arranged on it a carrier on which a plurality of thread-catching devices and a plurality of knotters are arranged one above the other. It is consequently possible to carry out a plurality of knottings in one position of the knotting apparatus, this being advantageous especially in the case of creels where a plurality of bobbins are arranged one above the other. In this case, the knotting apparatus merely has to be displaced into a ■position in which it is adjacent to a row of bobbins arranged one above the other. The thread-catching devices can then come into action and catch the two thread ends. One thread end is in this case usually located on a thread tensioner and the other on the bobbin. The knotter can subsequently come into action and knot the two thread ends. This action can take place simultaneously for a plurality of bobbins. Preferably, the thread-catching device and the knotter are designed to be vertically adjustable. Flexibility is thereby increased, that is to say the same knotting apparatus can be used for different creels in which, for example, the vertical spacings between the bobbin positions are formed differently. Preferably, an energy storage device is arranged on the undercarriage. The knotting apparatus therefore carries with it the energy necessary for its operation, and it therefore becomes independent of energy supply lines. This increases the flexibility of its use. If, for example, electrical batteries or accumulators are used as an energy storage device, these can be arranged in a position where they give rise to a favourable centre of gravity. The stability of the knotting apparatus is thereby improved. Preferably, the energy storage device is connected to a charging terminal. The energy storage device can therefore be refuelled with energy, without the need to demount the energy storage device from the knotting apparatus. If a battery or accumulator is used as an energy storage device, the charging terminal may be formed, for example, by a plug or a plug socket. Preferably, the charging terminal is arranged on that side of the undercarriage which faces away from the handle. In this case, it is relatively simple for an operator to connect the knotting apparatus to a charging station. The operator simply has to push the knotting apparatus up to the charging station and can then engage the charging terminal with the charging station. Preferably, the operating device is arranged adjacently to the handle. When the knotting apparatus has been brought into the desired position, the operator can then, by actuating the operating device, trigger the desired actions, in particular knotting in one or more bobbin positions. Preferably, the undercarriage has at least two wheels guidable in a rail and, offset laterally thereto transversely with respect to the direction of movement, at least two supporting wheels. In this case, it is expedient to arrange in the creel which is to be served by the knotting apparatus a rail which runs along the path of movement of the knotting apparatus. The knotting apparatus is then guided through the creel with the aid of this rail. Lateral stability is ensured by the supporting wheels which are located on the left and right next to the rail in the direction of movement. Sufficient stability is thereby ensured, so that the knotting apparatus can also be moved through the creel at a reasonable speed. Preferably, the supporting wheels have a larger diameter than the wheels. The advantage of this, for example, is that the undercarriage can be arranged at a sufficient spacing with respect to the rail, without stability problems arising. Preferably, at least one position sensor is arranged on the undercarriage. The position sensor cooperates with encoders which are arranged on the floor or on the rail or at another suitable location. The position sensor can, for example, trigger a signal at the operating device when the knotting apparatus has been brought into the correct location. For example, a green light can then light up, while a red light lights up when the knotting apparatus is not arranged at a suitable location. As soon as the green light lights up (or another signal is generated), the operator knows that the knotting apparatus is in the correct position. He can then trigger knotting. The invention is described below by means of a preferred exemplary embodiment, in conjunction with a drawing in which: the single figure shows a mobile knotting apparatus. A knotting apparatus' 1 has an undercarriage 2 which is connected to a handle 3. An operator can grasp the handle 3 in order to pull the undercarriage 2 in the direction of an arrow 4 or to push it in the opposite direction. The undercarriage has arranged on it two wheels 5, 6 which fit into a rail 7 and which can be guided by the rail 7. The undercarriage 2 is connected, furthermore, to two supporting wheels 8, 9 which have a larger diameter than the wheels 5, 6 and are arranged laterally with respect to the wheels 5, 6. The undercarriage 2 is therefore supported here on the floor or another base at four points. This, in any event, when the base is uneven, gives rise to a three-point support. The wheel 6 which is arranged adjacently to the handle 3 is mounted on the undercarriage 2 via a rotary joint 10, so that the knotting apparatus 1 can also be moved on bends outside the rail 7. A carrier 11 in the form of a column is arranged on the undercarriage 2. A plurality of suction pipes 12 are arranged one above the other on the carrier 11, each suction pipe 12 having a suction orifice 13. The suction pipe 12 can be rotated about an axis 14 by means of a drive, not illustrated in any more detail. The suction pipe 12 forms, with the suction orifice 13 and the rotary drive, a thread-catching device 15. Furthermore, a knottcr 16 is arranged on the carrier 11, specifically in the vicinity of the thread-catching device 15. The knotter 16 has an actuating device, not illustrated in any more detail, which is synchronized with the drive for the thread-catching device. A plurality of groups of thread-catching devices 15 and knotters 16 are arranged one above the other on the carrier 11 in the direction of gravity. In the present exemplary embodiment, there are six such groups. The number of groups depends on the intended use, that is to say on the type of creel in which the knotting apparatus is to be arranged. If the creel, has, for example, eight bobbin rows one above the other, eight groups of thread-catching devices 15 and knotters 16 should also be provided. The suction pipes 12 are supplied with vacuum by means of a suction device 17 which is arranged on that side of the carrier 11 which faces away from the thread-catching device 15. The suction device generates a suction draught which is sufficient to seize one end 18 of a thread from a thread tensioner 19 and the start 20 of a thread from a bobbin 21. The end 18 and the start 20 are sucked into the suction pipe 12. When the suction pipe 12 rotates about the axis 14, the end 18 and the start 20 are inserted into the knotter 16 which can then knot the end 18 and the start 20 to one another. The thread tensioner 19 is not, of course, suspended in the air, as illustrated, but is fastened to a carrier in the creel. The bobbin 21, too, does not hang in the air, but is suspended in a bobbin position in the creel. The carrier and the creel are not illustrated here for the sake of clarity. Two batteries 22 serving as an energy store are arranged on the undercarriage 2. The batteries 22 feed, for example, the suction blower of the suction device 17, the drive of the suction pipes 12 and the knotters 16 with drive energy or control energy. The batteries 22 are connected to a charging terminal 23. The charging terminal 2 3 is arranged on that side of the undercarriage 2 which lies opposite the handle 3. When the batteries 22 are to be recharged, the operator can simply push the knotting apparatus into a charging station, not illustrated in any more detail, with the aid of the handle 3, in order to connect the charging terminal 2 3 of the knotting apparatus 1 to the charging station. An operating device 2 4 which has a plurality of operating elements 25 and at least one indicator 26 is arranged adjacently to the handle 3. At least one position sensor 27 is arranged on the undercarriage and reacts to position segments 28 which are fastened to the rail 7. When the knotting apparatus 1 has, for example, been moved into a position in which the thread-catching devices 15 can catch the threads so the knotters 16 can knot them, the indicator 26 changes its colour from red to green, so that the operator can, for example, actuate the operating element 25 in order to carry out the knotting action for six groups of thread ends 18 and thread starts 20. Either the entire carrier 11 or the thread-catching devices 15 and the knotters 16 may be configured so as to be of a variable height. Consequently, for example, this can account for the fact that there are different creels in which the bobbin positions are arranged at different heights. The same knotting apparatus can therefore be used for different creels. If appropriate, the vertical adjustability may also be automated and position drives used for this purpose. The position drives may be connected to a memory device in which specific height positions for different creels are stored. The operator can then set the knotting apparatus 1 to the respective creel at the press of a button. As compared with the purely manual knotting of threads, the knotting apparatus illustrated has the advantage that the energies required for knotting are not applied by the operator himself, but are available as auxiliary energies. Since a plurality of thread-catching devices 15 and knotters 16 are provided, a plurality of knottings can also be carried out simultaneously. However, since the outlay in control terms is comparatively low here, the knotting apparatus 1 can be designed to be cost-effective. Above all, however, only a single knotting apparatus 1 is required for a plurality of creels or for two halves of a creel . 1. Knotting apparatus (1) with an undercarriage (2) which is connected to a handle (3) for movement control by means of an operator, a suction device (17), at least one thread-catching device (15) and at least one knotter (16) being arranged on the undercarriage (2). 2. Knotting apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that the undercarriage (2) has arranged on it a carrier (11) on which a plurality of thread-catching devices (15) and a plurality of knotters (16) are arranged one above the other. 3. Knotting apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the thread-catching device (15) and the knotter (16) are designed to be vertically adjustable. 4. Knotting apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that an energy storage device (22) is arranged on the undercarriage (2). 5. Knotting apparatus according to Claim 4, characterized in that the energy storage device (22) is connected to a charging terminal (23). 6. Knotting apparatus according to Claim 5, characterized in that the charging terminal (23) is arranged on that side of the undercarriage (2) which faces away from the handle. 7. Knotting apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that an operating device (24) is arranged adjacently to the handle (3). 8. Knotting apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the undercarriage (2) has at least two wheels (5, 6) guidable in a rail (7) and, offset laterally thereto transversely with respect to the direction of movement (4), at least two supporting wheels (8, 9). 9. Knotting apparatus according to Claim 8, characterized in that the supporting wheels (8, 9) have a larger diameter than the wheels (5, 6). 10. Knotting apparatus according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that at least one position sensor (27) is arranged on the undercarriage (2). |
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| Patent Number | 269689 | |||||||||
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| Indian Patent Application Number | 2564/CHE/2009 | |||||||||
| PG Journal Number | 45/2015 | |||||||||
| Publication Date | 06-Nov-2015 | |||||||||
| Grant Date | 30-Oct-2015 | |||||||||
| Date of Filing | 23-Oct-2009 | |||||||||
| Name of Patentee | KARL MAYER TEXTILMASCHINENFABRIK GMBH | |||||||||
| Applicant Address | BRUHLSTRASSE 25, 63179 OBERTSHAUSEN | |||||||||
Inventors:
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| PCT International Classification Number | B65H 69/04 | |||||||||
| PCT International Application Number | N/A | |||||||||
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PCT Conventions:
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