Textile Machine Comprising a Cooling Arrangement

Abstract

A textile machine (1), in particular a rotor spinning machine, comprising a plurality of adjacently situated workstations, in particular spinning and/or winding stations, which are combined to form multiple sections (2a-2f). The textile machine (1) further comprises multiple electrical supply units (3a-3f), with the aid of which the workstations and/or the sections (2a-2f) can be supplied with electrical energy, and a cooling arrangement (4) including at least one coolant circuit (16a-16c), with the aid of which waste heat of the electrical supply units (3a-3f) can be absorbed and transported to a discharge area (5) of the textile machine (1). The cooling arrangement (4) is designed in such a way that the waste heat of several of the electrical supply units (3a-3f) can be transported to a common discharge area (5) of the textile machine (1) with the aid of the at least one coolant circuit (16a-16c).

Claims

1. A textile machine (1), in particular a rotor spinning machine, comprising a plurality of workstations adjacently situated in a longitudinal direction of the textile machine (1), in particular spinning and/or winding stations, which are combined to form multiple sections (2a-2f), wherein the textile machine (1) comprises a plurality of electrical supply units (3a-3f), with the aid of which the workstations and/or the sections (2a-2f) can be supplied with electrical energy, and wherein the textile machine (1) comprises a cooling arrangement (4) including at least one coolant circuit (16a-16c), with the aid of which waste heat of the electrical supply units (3a-3f) can be absorbed and transported to a discharge area (5) of the textile machine (1), characterized in that the cooling arrangement (4) is designed in such a way that the waste heat of several of the electrical supply units (3a-3f) can be transported to a common discharge area (5) of the textile machine (1) with the aid of the at least one coolant circuit (16a-16c).

2-16. (canceled)

Description

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a textile machine comprising a cooling arrangement for electrical supply units including one coolant circuit, and

[0032] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a textile machine comprising a cooling arrangement for electrical supply units including multiple coolant circuits.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a textile machine 1 comprising a cooling arrangement 4 for electrical supply units 3a-3f. The textile machine 1 encompasses a plurality of workstations, so that productivity of the textile machine 1 is increased in accordance with the number of workstations. The workstations can be spinning and/or winding stations which manufacture or handle a yarn. In the present exemplary embodiment, the workstations have been combined to form sections 2a-2f, wherein one section 2a-2f can encompass, for example, 20 workstations. The textile machine 1 of the present exemplary embodiment comprises, by way of example, six sections 2a-2f, each of which includes an electrical supply unit 3a-3f. Textile machines 1 comprising more sections 2a-2f and/or electrical supply units 3a-3f are also conceivable, of course.

[0034] According to the present exemplary embodiment, an electrical supply unit 3a-3f is associated with each section 2a-2f in order to be able to supply the section 2a-2f with electrical energy. Additionally or alternatively, it would also be conceivable that an electrical supply unit 3a-3f is also associated with a single workstation. The electrical supply unit 3a-3f can be, for example, a power supply unit, a frequency inverter, a load electronics unit, or the like, which are required for providing the electrical energy.

[0035] Since, according to the present exemplary embodiment, an electrical supply unit 3a-3f must supply electrical energy to a section 2a-2f encompassing, for example, 20 workstations, the electrical supply unit 3a-3f has an appropriately high electrical power output, which can be, for example, in the range of up to 10 kilowatts. Since each electrical supply unit 3a-3f has a power loss which can amount to 500 watts or more, a portion of the energy fed to the electrical supply unit 3a-3f is converted into waste heat which results in the heating up of the electrical supply units 3a-3f, the sections 2a-2f, and the textile machine 1.

[0036] In order to avoid an overheating, in particular, of the electrical supply units 3a-3f, the textile machine 1 comprises the cooling arrangement 4, with the aid of which the waste heat of the electrical supply units 3a-3f can be transported to a discharge area 5 of the textile machine 1. In particular, with the aid of the cooling arrangement 4, all the waste heat generated by the electrical supply units 3a-3f can be transported to the discharge area 5. For example, the waste heat of all electrical supply units 3a-3f can be transported to the discharge area 5. There, the collected waste heat can be discharged from the textile machine 1 and given off to the surroundings.

[0037] According to the present exemplary embodiment, the discharge area 5 is situated on a first end 8 of the textile machine 1. As a result, a heating up of the sections 2a-2f (section 2f in this case) adjacent to the discharge area 5 can be reduced to a minimum.

[0038] In the discharge area 5, the cooling arrangement 4 comprises a heat exchanger 6 which transfers the waste heat from the cooling arrangement 4 to the surroundings. According to the present exemplary embodiment, the heat exchanger 6 is adjoined by a discharge duct 7, with the aid of which the waste heat can be discharged, for example, from a building in which the textile machine 1 is located. Moreover, a fan 15 can be situated on the heat exchanger 6 in order to assist the heat exchange with the surroundings and, if necessary, to be able to transfer the waste heat into the discharge duct 7 in a targeted manner.

[0039] Moreover, the cooling arrangement 4 comprises an operating unit 10 which encompasses the elements required for the operation of the cooling arrangement 4. The operating unit 10 can encompass, for example, a pump 11 for pumping a coolant, a coolant reservoir 12, control valves 13, and/or an air separator 14. Advantageously, it is possible with the aid of the operating unit 10 to completely drain the cooling arrangement 4 in order, for example, to replace the coolant or even individual electrical supply units 3a-3f.

[0040] According to the present exemplary embodiment, the operating unit 10 is situated on a second end 9 of the textile machine 1, which is positioned opposite the first end 8.

[0041] In order to be able to transport the waste heat, the cooling arrangement 4 also comprises at least one coolant circuit 16. With the aid of the coolant circuit 16, a coolant can be transported to the electrical supply units 3a-3f, where the coolant absorbs the waste heat. The coolant can be transported from the electrical supply units 3a-3f to the discharge area 5, where the coolant gives off the waste heat to the surroundings. The coolant itself can heat up during the absorption of the waste heat at the electrical supply units 3a-3f.

[0042] Advantageously, the coolant can be water, since water is easy to handle and has a high heat capacity. Alternatively, a gas can also be utilized as a coolant. Additionally or alternatively, a coolant can also be utilized, which absorbs the waste heat as latent heat and carries it away.

[0043] According to the present exemplary embodiment, the coolant has a flow direction KR in the coolant circuit 16. The coolant therefore moves from the operating unit 10 to the electrical supply units 3a-3f, to the discharge area 5, and back to the operating unit 10, and so the circulation of the coolant is closed. The coolant is therefore transported from the second end 9 of the textile machine 1 to the first end 8 of the textile machine 1 and back to the second end 9 of the textile machine 1.

[0044] Due to the flow direction KR, a transport direction of the waste heat is likewise formed. The waste heat is conveyed from the multiple heat absorption points, which are adjacently situated along the longitudinal direction of the textile machine 1 and, in the present case, are formed by the electrical supply units 3a-3f in each case, up to the first end 8 of the textile machine 1.

[0045] According to the present exemplary embodiment, the coolant circuit 16 comprises a supply line 17 which extends from the operating unit 10 to the electrical supply units 3a-3f. The supply line 17 conveys the coolant to the electrical supply units 3a-3f one after the other and therefore absorbs the waste heat from each electrical supply unit 3a-3f in sequential order. The coolant can heat up from electrical supply unit 3a-3f to electrical supply unit 3a-3f, wherein the coolant absorbs a certain amount of heat at each electrical supply unit 3a-3f and, therefore, increases by a certain temperature difference in each case.

[0046] In the flow direction KR after the last electrical supply unit 3a-3f, the coolant is conveyed to the discharge area 5, where the coolant gives off the waste heat. This can take place, for example, with the aid of the heat exchanger 6 shown here, and, if necessary, with the aid of the fan 15. The waste heat can be discharged to the discharge duct 7 which conveys the waste heat, for example, out of the building of the textile machine.

[0047] After the coolant has given off the waste heat in the discharge area 5, wherein the coolant may have cooled down, the coolant can be conveyed in a return line 18 back to the operating unit 10. It is advantageous that the return line 18 can also be utilized for discharging heat to the surroundings, due to the length of the return line 18 which preferably extends along all workstations of the textile machine. This also applies, of course, for the following exemplary embodiment.

[0048] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a textile machine 1 comprising a cooling arrangement 4 for electrical supply units 3a-3f, including multiple coolant circuits 16a-16c. For the sake of simplicity, only the relevant features and/or features which are new as compared to FIG. 1 are provided with a reference sign in this case and are described in greater detail in the following.

[0049] The textile machine 1 of the present exemplary embodiment comprises three coolant circuits 16a-16c which can absorb the waste heat of the electrical supply units 3a-3f and carry or transport it away. The coolant circuits 16a-16c are situated in such a way, or remove the waste heat of those electrical supply unit 3a-3f in such a way that a first coolant circuit 16a removes the waste heat of the sections marked with the reference signs 2a and 2d in this exemplary embodiment, i.e., the waste heat of the energy supply units 3a and 3d. A second coolant circuit 16b removes the waste heat of the sections 2b and 2e or of the energy supply units 3b and 3e. A third coolant circuit 16c removes the waste heat of the sections 2c and 2f or of the energy supply units 3c and 3f.

[0050] The first coolant circuit 16a can therefore remove the waste heat of the first, the fourth, the seventh, the tenth, etc., (if there are more than the six electrical supply units 3a-3f shown here), as viewed from the operating unit 10.

[0051] The second coolant circuit 16b can therefore remove the waste heat of the second, the fifth, the eighth, the eleventh, etc., (if there are more than the six electrical supply units 3a-3f shown here), as viewed from the operating unit 10.

[0052] The third coolant circuit 16c can therefore remove the waste heat of the third, the sixth, the ninth, the twelfth, etc., (if there are more than the six electrical supply units 3a-3f shown here), as viewed from the operating unit 10.

[0053] Therefore, when there are N coolant circuits present, an nth coolant circuit 16 therefore removes the waste heat of the nth, the n+Nth, the n+2Nth, the n+3Nth, etc., electrical supply unit 3. As a result, the multiple coolant circuits 16 can uniformly remove the waste heat and the waste heat is uniformly distributed to the coolant circuits 16. The situation can therefore be prevented, for example, in which one coolant circuit 16 removes the most waste heat and the other coolant circuits 16 remove only a relatively small amount of waste heat.

[0054] According to the present exemplary embodiment, the three coolant circuits 16a-16c shown here comprise a supply line 17a-17c, respectively. The three coolant circuits 16a-16c comprise only one return line 18, however. The three supply lines 17a-17c are combined in the central heat exchanger 6 and, after the heat is discharged, are routed to the common return line 18.

[0055] The supply lines 17a-17c and the return line 18 can be advantageously situated below the workstations in the sections 2a-2f, in particular on or in a section distribution box, where they are easily accessible, for example, for maintenance work.

[0056] The present invention is not limited to the represented and described exemplary embodiments. Modifications within the scope of the claims are also possible, as is any combination of the features, even if they are represented and described in different exemplary embodiments.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0057] 1 textile machine [0058] 2 section [0059] 3 electrical supply unit [0060] 4 cooling arrangement [0061] 5 discharge area [0062] 6 heat exchanger [0063] 7 discharge duct [0064] 8 first end [0065] 9 second end [0066] 10 operating unit [0067] 11 pump [0068] 12 coolant reservoir [0069] 13 control valves [0070] 14 air separator [0071] 15 fan [0072] 16 coolant circuit [0073] 17 supply line [0074] 18 return line [0075] KR flow direction