Fiber dust collecting device

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fiber dust collecting device that is applied to a winding apparatus to suck and collect fiber dust resulting from an operation of unwinding a yarn from a supplying bobbin. The winding apparatus in the present invention means an automatic winder apparatus.

Background of the Invention

Conventional fiber dust collecting devices of this kind include, for example, one disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication (Tokkai-Hei) No. 5-139621. In the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication (Tokkai-Hei) No. 5-139621, a balloon regulating member that is displaced downward as an unwinding operation progresses is provided with a fiber dust collecting function. Specifically, the balloon regulating member has a double tube structure composed of an inner tube and an outer tube having an inner channel and an outer channel, respectively. An opening through which the fiber dust is sucked is formed in a cylindrical wall of the inner tube which partitions the two channels from each other. The fiber dust sucked from the bottom of the inner tube reaches the outer channel via the opening and is then fed to a fiber dust collection box through a suction pipe communicating with the outer channel. A yarn unwound from a yarn bobbin forms a balloon and is then conveyed downstream side through the inner channel inside the inner tube.

A problem with the fiber dust collecting device in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication (Tokkai-Hei) No. 5-139621 is that the fiber dust is collected immediately above the supplying bobbin. Thus, the fiber dust collecting device cannot efficiently collect the fiber dust attached to the yarn unwound from the supplying bobbin in the form of a balloon spreading in a horizontal direction. Consequently, the fiber dust is prone to fly in all directions.

Summary of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a fiber dust collecting device that has an excellent fiber dust collecting capability of collecting even a fiber dust attached to a yarn unwound in balloon form, thus allowing the fiber dust to be efficiently collected.

The present invention is intended for a fiber dust collecting device that is applied to a winding apparatus to suck and collect a fiber dust resulting from an operation of winding a yarn from a supplying bobbin. The fiber dust collecting device is characterized by comprising a suction nozzle including a suction opening through which the fiber dust is sucked and collected, and an elevating and lowering means for displacing the suction nozzle upward and downward, and in that the device is configured such that the elevating and lowering means displaces the suction nozzle downward in conjunction with progress of the operation of unwinding the yarn from the supplying bobbin so that the suction opening of the suction nozzle faces an unwinding position on the supplying bobbin and a balloon formation area in which an unwound yarn forms a balloon.

In an aspect of the present invention, the winding apparatus may comprise an unwinding assisting device, and the suction may be located away from a balloon regulating member of the unwinding assisting device.

The suction nozzle may be coupled to a movable portion of the unwinding assisting device so as to be displaced downward as the movable portion performs an operation of lowering the balloon regulating member.

In an aspect of the present invention, the suction opening of the suction nozzle may be formed to be laterally long in a horizontal direction, and a width dimension of the suction opening in the horizontal direction may be set to be larger than a bobbin width of the supplying bobbin. The phrase "bobbin width of the supplying bobbin" means the maximum diameter of a supplying bobbin B around which the yarn is wound.

In an aspect of the present invention, a duct extending from the suction nozzle to a fiber dust collection box comprises an expandable, flexible tube.

According to the present invention, the fiber dust collecting device is configured such that the elevating and lowering means displaces the suction nozzle downward in conjunction with progress of the operation of unwinding the yarn from the supplying bobbin so that the suction opening of the suction nozzle faces the unwinding position on the supplying bobbin and the balloon formation area in which the unwound yarn forms the balloon. Thus, the present invention can collect a fiber dust more efficiently than an aspect in which the posture and position of the suction nozzle are fixed. Specifically, the fiber dust results from the contact between the yarn unwound from the supplying bobbin and a yarn layer on a winding core. Consequently, the fiber dust is prone to occur at the unwinding position.

Furthermore, the unwinding position lowers in conjunction with the progress of the operation of unwinding the yarn from the supplying bobbin. Thus, when the suction nozzle is displaced downward in conjunction with the progress of the unwinding operation so that the suction opening faces the unwinding position on the supplying bobbin, as in the case of the present invention, the suction nozzle can always be placed at an optimum position to efficiently collect the fiber dust.

Additionally, the suction nozzle is displaced downward so that the suction opening faces the balloon formation area. Consequently, the fiber dust attached to the yarn unwound in balloon form can be efficiently collected through the suction opening. Therefore, the fiber dust can be prevented from flying in all directions.

Where the suction nozzle is located away from the balloon regulating member, this arrangement prevents the yarn from being sucked into the suction nozzle for fiber dust collection compared to an aspect in which the suction nozzle is provided in the balloon regulating member as in the case of the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication (Tokkai-Hei) No. 5-139621. As a result, the operation of unwinding the yarn from the supplying bobbin can be performed appropriately and smoothly.

Where the suction nozzle is fixed to the movable portion of the unwinding assisting device so that the suction nozzle is displaced downward as the movable portion performs the operation of lowering the balloon regulating member, the suction nozzle can be displaced downward substantially using the movable portion of the unwinding assisting device as an elevating and lowering means. This arrangement can reduce the number of components required and simplify a control mechanism compared to an aspect in which the elevating and lowering means is provided separately from the movable portion of the unwinding assisting device. This enables inhibition of an increase in the manufacturing costs of the winding apparatus resulting from the provision of the fiber dust collecting device.

Where the suction nozzle is formed to be laterally long in the horizontal direction, the suction nozzle can be located opposite the unwinding position on the supplying bobbin. Consequently, the fiber dust occurring at the unwinding position can be efficiently sucked. Furthermore, where the width dimension of the suction nozzle is set to be larger than the bobbin width of the supplying bobbin, the fiber dust attached to the yarn unwound from the supplying bobbin in balloon form can be efficiently collected.

Where the duct extending from the suction nozzle to the fiber dust collection box comprises the expandable, flexible tube, the flexible tube can absorb a variation in the length of the duct associated with the upward and downward displacement of the suction nozzle. Consequently, the configuration of the duct can be simplified. This also enables inhibition of an increase in the manufacturing costs of the winding apparatus resulting from the provision of the fiber dust collecting device.

Other features, elements, processes, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

• Figure 1 is a vertically sectional side view of an essential part of a fiber dust collecting device according to the present invention.
• Figure 2 is a diagram showing a general configuration of an automatic winder to which the fiber dust collecting device according to the present invention is applied.
• Figure 3 is a front view of the fiber dust collecting device according to the present invention.
• Figure 4 is a vertically sectional front view of the fiber dust collecting device according to the present invention.
• Figure 5 is a perspective view of suction nozzle constituting the fiber dust collecting device.
• Figure 6 is a diagram showing a variation of the suction nozzle, wherein Figure 6A is a vertically sectional front view of the suction nozzle and Figure 6B is a sectional view of the suction nozzle taken along line A-A in Figure 6A.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Figures 1 to 5 show an embodiment in which a fiber dust collecting device according to the present invention is applied to an automatic winder (winding apparatus).

The automatic wider apparatus is composed of a group of winding units arranged in a column. In Figure 2, the winding unit is constructed using, as a base, a unit frame 1 fixed upright and shaped like a vertically long box. An unwinding assisting device 2, a tension device 3, a yarn splicing device 4, a slab catcher 5, and the like are arranged on one side of the unit frame 1 in this order from the bottom to top of the unit frame 1. A traverse drum 6, a guide plate 7, a cradle 9, and the like are arranged on the same side of the unit frame 1 as described above and at the top of the unit frame 1; the traverse drum 6 displaceably manipulates (traverses) the yarn Y within the range of a fixed width, the guide plate 7 is located so as to face a traverse area of the traverse drum 6, and the cradle 9 rotatably supports a package P by means of a shaft thereof. Besides the above-described devices, a relay pipe 10 and a suction mouth 11 are provided in a middle portion of the column of the above-described devices so as to be swingable in a vertical direction; the relay pipe 10 and the suction mouth 11 suck, catch, and pass a cut yarn to the yarn splicing device 4.

A supplying bobbin B is supported upright below the unwinding assisting device 2. The yarn Y run out from the supplying bobbin B in the form of a balloon 13 is checked for a yarn defect while passing through the devices 2 to 5. When a yarn defect is found, the yarn Y is cut with a cutter provided in the slab catcher 5 and a cutter provided in the tension device 3, with the yarn defect portion sucked and removed.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the unwinding assisting device 2 comprises a balloon guide 20 composed of a movable cylinder 21 serving as a balloon regulating member regulating the size of the balloon, a fixed cylinder 21 disposed in an upper part of the balloon guide 20, and a cylinder 22 (elevating and lowering means) serving as a movable portion displacing the balloon guide 20 upward and downward. The balloon guide 20 is a cylinder having openings at the top and bottom thereof, and is loosely fitted around the outer periphery of a fixed cylinder 21. A lateral pair of cover portions 23, 23 is fixed to the outer periphery of the balloon guide 20. The cover portions 23, 23 are assembled to a support arm 25 moved upward and downward by a piston rod 24 of the cylinder 22. Thus, the balloon guide 20 is displaced upward and downward in response to expansion and contraction of the piston rod 24 of the cylinder 22.

Each of the cover portions 23, 23 is composed of a wing portion 26 extending in the horizontal direction from the support arm 25, and an arm portion 27 extending downward from the tip of the wing portion 26. A sensor 31 is disposed on an inner surface of a free end of each of the arm portions 27 to detect a chase portion 30 corresponding to an unwinding position 29 on the supplying bobbin B. The sensor 31 is a transmissive sensor composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element. In an initial condition in which the supplying bobbin B is set in the winding unit, irradiation light from the light emitting element is blocked by the chase portion 30, with no received light detected. A controller 32 thus receives an off signal. An unwinding operation progresses from the initial condition, and the chase portion 30 lowers. Then, the light receiving element receives a larger quantity of light and emits an on signal. Upon receiving the on signal from the light receiving element, the controller 32 expands the piston rod 24 of the cylinder 22 to lower the cover portions 23, 23. When the irradiation light from the light emitting element is blocked by the chase portion 30 to cause the light emitting element to emit the off signal, the controller 32 stops the piston rod 24 of the cylinder 22 from expanding. Repeating the above-described operation of expanding the piston rod 24 enables the balloon guide 20 to be sequentially displaced downward together with the cover portions 23, 23.

In Figures 1 to 3, a reference numeral 35 is a suction nozzle in the fiber dust collecting device sucking and collecting the fiber dust resulting from the operation of unwinding the yarn from the supplying bobbin B. As shown in Figure 5, the suction nozzle 35 has a laterally long main surface wall 36 directed forward so as to lie opposite the supplying bobbin B, a top wall 37 connected to an upper end of the main surface wall 36, and side walls 38 connecting the main surface wall 36 and the top wall 37 together at a right end and a left end, respectively, of the main surface wall 36. The suction nozzle 35 is located behind and away from the balloon guide 20; a predetermined distance dimension is set between the suction nozzle 35 and the balloon guide 20. The main surface wall 36, the top wall 37, and the side walls 38, arranged at the right and left ends of the suction nozzle 35, form a suction opening 42 that is directed and is open toward the supplying bobbin B. A suction port 39 is formed in a laterally central portion of the top wall 37. A cylindrical duct 40 is connected to the suction port 39. The top wall 37 is composed of a central wall 37a having the suction port 39 and a pair of inclined walls 37b inclined downward in a lateral direction from the opposite ends of the central wall 37a.

As shown in Figure 1, the suction nozzle 35 is installed on the support arm 25 via a coupling piece 41 provided at a front end of the laterally central portion of the top wall 37. Thus, the cylinder 22, which is the movable portion of the unwinding assisting device 2, performs the operation of lowering the balloon guide 20 to displace the suction nozzle 35 downward. In other words, the cylinder 22, which is the elevating and lowering means for displacing the suction nozzle 35 upward and downward, is a shared component also used as the movable portion of the unwinding assisting device 2. Where the device is configured such that the suction nozzle 35 is displaced downward in conjunction with the operation of lowering the balloon guide 20 as described above, the suction nozzle 35 can be displaced downward as the unwinding operation progresses so that the suction opening 42 faces the unwinding portion 29 on the supplying bobbin B.

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the duct 40 comprises a lower duct 40a coupled to the suction nozzle 35, an upper duct 40b leading to the fiber dust collection box, and an expandable, a flexible tube 40c disposed between the lower duct 40a and the upper duct 40b. The flexible tube 40c expands and contracts to allow absorption of a variation in the length of the duct 40 associated with the downward displacement of the suction nozzle 35.

According to the fiber dust collecting device configured as described above, the suction nozzle 35 is located away from the balloon guide 20. Thus, compared to an aspect in which the operation of sucking the fiber dust is performed at a yarn contact position as in the case of the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication (Tokkai-Hei) No. 5-139621, the present invention can prevent the yarn Y from being inadvertently sucked into the suction nozzle 35. Consequently, according to the present invention, the operation of unwinding the yarn Y from the supplying bobbin B can be performed properly and smoothly.

In particular, the suction nozzle 35 is displaced downward in conjunction with the progress of the operation of unwinding the yarn from the supplying bobbin B so that the suction opening 42 faces the unwinding position 29 on the supplying bobbin B. The present invention can thus collect the fiber dust more efficiently than an aspect in which the posture and position of the suction nozzle 35 is fixed. That is, the present invention is excellent in that the suction operation can be performed near the unwinding position, which is a possible source of the fiber dust, thus enabling the fiber dust to be efficiently sucked. Furthermore, where the fiber dust is attached to the yarn Y unwound from the supplying bobbin B in balloon form, the fiber dust is prone to fly in all directions. However, where the operation of sucking air from around the balloon is performed through the suction opening 42 of the wide suction nozzle 35 as in the case of the present embodiment, the fiber dust can be reliably prevented from flying in all directions.

The device is configured such that the suction nozzle 35 is coupled to the support arm 25, supporting the balloon guide 20, so that as the cylinder 22 performs the operation of lowering the balloon guide 35, the suction nozzle 35 is also displaced downward. Thus, compared to an aspect in which separate driving mechanisms are provided for lowering the suction nozzle 35 and the balloon guide 20, the present invention can reduce the number of components required and simplify the control mechanism. This enables effective inhibition of an increase in the manufacturing costs of the automatic winder resulting from the provision of the fiber dust collecting device.

Where the suction opening 42 of the suction nozzle 35 is formed to be laterally long in the horizontal direction, the suction nozzle 35 can be located opposite the unwinding position 29 on the supplying bobbin B. Consequently, the fiber dust occurring at the unwinding position 29 can be efficiently absorbed. Furthermore, where the width dimension of the suction opening 42 in the horizontal direction is set to be larger than the bobbin width (the maximum diameter of the supplying bobbin B around which the yarn is wound) of the supplying bobbin B, the fiber dust attached to the yarn Y unwound from the supplying bobbin B in the form of the balloon 13 can be efficiently collected. Moreover, the width dimension of the suction opening 42 in the horizontal direction is larger than the balloon area (the balloon diameter in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the bobbin B) of the yarn Y unwound from the supplying bobbin B in balloon form. This enables collection of the generated fiber dust from the entire balloon area of the yarn Y unwound while being swung in balloon form.

The duct 40, extending from the suction nozzle 35 to the fiber dust collection box, comprises the expandable, flexible tube 40c. Thus, the flexible tube 40c can absorb a variation in the length of the duct 40 associated with the upward and downward displacement of the suction nozzle 35. This enables inhibition of an increase in the manufacturing costs of the automatic winder resulting from the provision of the fiber dust collecting device comprising the suction nozzle 35, which can be displaced upward and downward.

Figures 6A and 6B show another embodiment of the suction nozzle 35. The suction nozzle 35 shown in Figure 6 differs from that in the above-described embodiment in that a coupling portion 45 between the duct 40 (lower duct 40a) and the suction nozzle 35 is formed to widen toward the bottom thereof so that the diameter dimension of the suction nozzle 35 increases sequentially as the nozzle approaches the bottom thereof, so as to form a suction opening 42 that is wide in a width direction. In the other respects, the present embodiment is similar to the above-described embodiment shown in Figure 5.

The suction nozzle 35 shown in Figures 6A and 6B can provide a larger suction current over a wide range in the width direction of the suction opening 42 of the suction nozzle 35 than the suction nozzle 35 shaped as shown in Figure 5, described above. Thus, the suction efficiency of the suction nozzle 35 is improved.

In the above-described embodiment, the suction nozzle 35 is configured to be displaceable upward and downward by the cylinder 22, the movable portion of the unwinding assisting device 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this aspect. In an aspect of the present invention, a dedicated actuator may be provided for displacing the suction nozzle 35 upward and downward.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the suction nozzle 35 is located behind the balloon guide 20. However, the present invention is not limited to this aspect. For example, the suction nozzles 35, 35 may be disposed on the right and left sides, respectively, of the balloon guide 20. The suction nozzles 35 may be arranged in four directions, that is, in front of, behind, and on the right and left sides of the balloon guide 20. The aspect of the suction nozzle 35 is not limited to those illustrated in the above-described embodiments.

While the present invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed invention may be modified in numerous ways and may assume many embodiments other than those specifically set out and described above. Accordingly, it is intented by the appended claims to cover all modifications of the present invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.