WORKSTATION OF A TEXTILE MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MONITORING THE THREAD RUN OF A RUNNING THREAD AT A WORKSTATION OF A TEXTILE MACHINE

Abstract

A method for monitoring the thread run at a workstation of a textile machine having a thread feeding device for supplying a thread, a traversing device for traversing the supplied thread, a thread winding device for winding the traversed thread onto a run-on bobbin, a pneumatic thread storage, a thread storage unit with a thread guide arm pivotably mounted about a pivot axis, a controllable drive unit for reversible pivoting of the thread guide arm, and a sensor unit collecting sensor information about a thread tension acting on the thread guide arm and/or a position of the thread guide arm, and transmitting the sensor information to a control system associated with the workstation. The thread storage unit is arranged at the workstation such that the control system detects a thread breakage and/or an emptied pneumatic thread storage on the basis of the transmitted sensor information.

Claims

1. A workstation of a textile machine comprising: a thread feeding device for supplying a thread; a traversing device for traversing the supplied thread; a thread winding device for winding the traversed thread onto a run-on bobbin; a pneumatic thread storage; a thread storage unit having a thread guide arm pivotably mounted about a pivot axis; a controllable drive unit for reversible pivoting of the thread guide arm; and a sensor unit which is designed and arranged for collecting sensor information about a thread force acting on the thread guide arm, a rotational movement and/or position of the thread guide arm, and for transmitting the sensor information to a control system associated with the workstation; wherein the thread storage unit is arranged at the workstation such that the control system detects a thread breakage and/or the thread storage unit being empty based on the sensor information.

2. The workstation according to claim 1, wherein the control system is designed to deactivate a suction air flow operating the thread storage unit and/or to interrupt a working process taking place at the workstation.

3. The workstation according to claim 1, wherein the sensor unit has an incremental encoder for collecting the sensor information about the thread force acting on the thread guide arm and/or the position of the thread guide arm.

4. The workstation according to claim 1, wherein the control system is designed to control the controllable drive unit for regulating a thread tension of the thread and/or a storage quantity of the thread.

5. The workstation according to claim 1, wherein: the thread guide arm is mounted so as to be freely rotatable and has a first magnetic coupling element arranged at a distance from the pivot axis; the controllable drive unit has a second magnetic coupling element arranged so as to be adjustable relative to the first magnetic coupling element and acts in a magnetically repelling manner on the first magnetic coupling element and which is arranged on the drive unit so the second magnetic coupling element can be brought into operative connection with the first magnetic coupling element; and an adjustment of the second magnetic coupling element in a direction of the first magnetic coupling element causes a displacement of the first magnetic coupling element in the same direction.

6. The workstation according to claim 5, wherein the second magnetic coupling element is arranged on a support which can be adjusted coaxially about the pivot axis of the thread guide arm by the drive unit.

7. The workstation according to claim 6, wherein the drive unit has an electric motor with a drive shaft which is connected to the support in a rotationally fixed manner and on which the thread guide arm is mounted so as to be freely rotatable.

8. The workstation according to claim 76, wherein the support is arranged on a coupling disc arranged coaxially to the drive shaft and connected to the drive shaft in a rotationally fixed manner.

9. The workstation according to claim 6, characterized in that the first magnetic coupling element is removably fastened to the thread guide arm.

10. The workstation according to claim 6, wherein the first magnetic coupling element and the second magnetic coupling element are designed as permanent magnets.

11. A method for monitoring a thread run of a running thread at the workstation of the textile machine according to claim 1, wherein the sensor unit transmits the sensor information about the thread force acting on the thread guide arm, and the rotational movement and/or position of the thread guide arm to the control system associated with the workstation, and wherein the control system evaluates the sensor information, and in the event of: a detected thread breakage, interrupts a working process at the workstation; and/or the thread storage unit being detected as being empty, deactivates a suction air flow operating the thread storage unit.

Description

[0037] An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings:

[0038] FIG. 1 shows a perspective schematic view of a thread storage unit according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0039] FIG. 2 shows a perspective schematic view of an enlarged representation of a partial region of the thread storage unit of FIG. 1,

[0040] FIG. 3 shows a perspective schematic view of an enlarged representation of the thread storage unit of FIG. 1 without a thread guide arm,

[0041] FIG. 4 shows a perspective schematic representation of the thread guide arm of the thread storage unit of FIG. 1, and

[0042] FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of the thread storage unit shown in FIG. 1 at a workstation of a textile machine.

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a perspective schematic view of a thread storage unit 1 according to an embodiment which is connected to a connection plate 17 for arrangement at a workstation 20, in particular, a spinning or winding station of a textile machine (not shown here). FIGS. 2 to 4 show a perspective schematic view of an enlarged representation of a partial region of the thread storage unit 1 shown in FIG. 1, and a perspective schematic representation of a thread guide arm 2 of said thread storage unit 1. FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of the design of a workstation 20 of a textile machine with the thread storage unit 1 shown in FIG. 1.

[0044] The thread storage unit 1 has a thread guide arm 2 which is arranged at the workstation 20 with a thread guide eye 13 arranged at its free end in the thread path of a thread 23 to be wound onto a run-on bobbin of a thread winding device 22, wherein the thread 23 is guided through the thread guide eye 13. In order to form a thread storage, the thread guide arm 2 is mounted pivotably on a drive shaft 16 of an electric motor 5 of a drive unit 4 of the thread storage unit 1, wherein for this purpose, the thread guide arm 2 has a bushing 18 for arrangement on the free end of the drive shaft 16, so that the thread guide arm 2 is mounted on the drive shaft 16 in a torque-free manner. The bushing 18 is furthermore connected to a holder 9 connected to the thread guide arm 2, which holder has an opening for receiving a first coupling element 6 designed as a permanent magnet.

[0045] The drive shaft 16 of the electric motor 5 is non-rotatably connected to a coupling disk 14, which is arranged coaxially to the drive shaft 16 for the thread guide arm 2 to pivot to form a loop during operation. A support 8, which has a further bushing 12 for receiving a further permanent magnet as the second coupling element 7, is arranged on the coupling disc 14. The permanent magnets on the thread guide arm 2 and the support 8 are oriented relative to one another such that they exert a magnetic repelling effect on one another. A rotation of the coupling disc 14 over the reversing electric motor 5 thus causes a corresponding contact-free pivoting of the thread guide arm 2 about the drive shaft 16, which defines a pivot axis S, wherein the electric motor 5 is controlled via a control system (not shown here) via the connection 19.

[0046] A sensor unit 3 arranged abovein relation to the drawingthe drive shaft 16 on a housing cover 11 of the housing 10 serves to detect the position of the thread guide arm 2, and is arranged with its sensor detecting the pivot angle coaxially to a connecting element 15 connected to the thread guide arm 2, which in turn extends in the longitudinal axis direction of the drive shaft 16.

[0047] The sensor unit 3 can be used to particularly reliably determine at least the thread force acting on the thread guide arm 2, the rotational movement or the position of the thread guide arm 2, and to detect deviations of the thread guide arm 2 from the position set by the drive unit 4 by transmitting corresponding sensor information about the above to the control system. If, for example, the thread force or the thread tension increases, then this causes a displacement of the thread guide arm 2 in the direction of the second coupling element 7 against the spring force generated by the magnetic repelling effect. On the basis of this, a return displacement of the coupling disc 14 can then take place via the control system. If, for example, the thread force or the thread tension decreases while a thread sagging, then this causes a displacement of the second coupling element 7 through a rotation of the drive shaft 16 and the support 8 coupled thereto together with the coupling disc 14 and the permanent magnet in the direction of the thread guide arm 2. Due to the magnetic repelling effect, the thread guide arm 2 is moved in the same direction, whereby the guided thread 23 is pushed out of its thread path or further away therefrom, and a thread loop is formed or enlarged. A substantially constant thread tension can thus be achieved and ensured during the entire winding process or bobbin travel.

[0048] FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of a workstation 20 designed as a spinning station of the textile machine (not shown here) with a thread 23 which, during the spinning process, extends from a thread feeding device 21 designed as a spinning unit which is, for example, an air spinning or rotor spinning unit, to the thread winding device 22 in the thread running direction F. A fiber composite 25 fed to the thread feeding device 21 is provided with a twist within the thread feeding device 21 after passing through a drafting system (not shown here) in the case of an air-jet spinning machine or an opening unit in the case of a rotor spinning machine.

[0049] Downstream from the thread feeding device 21relative to the thread running direction Fa draw-off device 26 is arranged which, with the aid of two draw-off rollers 27a, 27b forming a draw-off roller pair, draws the thread 23 exiting from the thread feeding device 21 out of the thread feeding device 21 and transports it in the direction of the thread winding direction 22. A pneumatic thread storage 28 with a thread storage tube 29 is in turn downstream from the draw-off device 26. The thread storage unit 1 is arranged downstream from the pneumatic thread storage 28 along the thread path, wherein the thread storage unit 1 is positioned on the thread path such that the thread guide arm 2 can pivot into the thread path in order to push the running thread 23 out of its thread path. As a result of being pushed out of thread path by the thread storage unit 1, the thread 23 comes into contact with thread guide rollers (not shown here) arranged in the region of the thread storage unit 1, whereby a thread loop of a defined size is formed therebetween. The size of the thread loop is varied as required by means of the thread storage unit 1 depending on the position of the thread guide arm 2 via the control system, which controls the electric motor 5 and consequently the thread guide arm 2, for adjusting and regulating a thread tension that is advantageously kept constant for the bobbin travel.

[0050] The arrangement of the thread storage unit 1 in the region of the pneumatic thread storage 28 makes it possible to identify an emptying of the pneumatic thread storage 28 and/or a thread breakage via the control system connected to the sensor unit 3 on the thread storage unit 1 by collecting the sensor information through the sensor unit 3 on the position of the thread guide arm 2 and/or the thread force applied to the thread guide arm 2 by the thread 23, so that a cumbersome, theoretical determination of the thread length in the thread storage tube 29 and a separate thread monitor for identifying a thread breakage can be dispensed with. For this purpose, the control system compares the sensor information with known characteristic values, which are stored previously in the control system or in a readable memory unit coupled to the control system, from which values the operating states can be deduced. In the case of an emptied thread storage tube 29, the control system can be used to directly deactivate the drive unit generating the suction air flow in the thread storage tube 29.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0051] 1 Thread storage unit [0052] 2 Thread guide arm [0053] 3 Sensor unit [0054] 4 Drive unit [0055] 5 Electric motor [0056] 6 First coupling element [0057] 7 Second coupling element [0058] 8 Support [0059] 9 Holder [0060] 10 Housing [0061] 11 Housing cover [0062] 12 Further bushing [0063] 13 Thread guide eye [0064] 14 Coupling disk [0065] 15 Connection element [0066] 16 Drive shaft [0067] 17 Connection plate [0068] 18 Bushing [0069] 19 Connection [0070] 20 Workstation [0071] 21 Thread feeding device [0072] 22 Thread winding apparatus [0073] 23 Thread [0074] 25 Fiber composite [0075] 26 Draw-off device [0076] 27a, 27b Draw-off roller [0077] 28 Pneumatic thread storage [0078] 29 Thread storage tube [0079] 30 Drive unit [0080] F Thread running direction [0081] S Pivot axis