A weaving device suitable for microfiber

Abstract

This invention relates to a weaving device suitable for microfibers, comprising an active yarn feeder, an inductive proximity switch, and a PLC control system. The inductive proximity switch feeds back the capacitive signal of the fiber tension from the yarn feeder to the PLC control system. The yarn feeder includes a yarn guide, a yarn tube, a tension sensor, a motor, and a controller. The controller is connected to the motor to control its output speed and direction. The motor's output is connected to the yarn tube. Fibers unwound from the yarn tube pass sequentially through the tension sensor and the yarn guide. The tension sensor senses the tension of a single fiber when taut and feeds it back to the controller to adjust the motor's operation. Thus, this invention utilizes the yarn feeder to achieve active yarn feed and controls the unwinding of the yarn tube via a motor, avoiding yarn breakage during weaving of low-strength fibers, such as extremely fine regenerated protein fibers. This expands the possibilities for bundling, researching, and applying extremely fine regenerated protein fibers using weaving devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to weaving apparatus, and more particularly to a weaving apparatus suitable for microfibers. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, besides the traditional textile industry where products like ropes and cables are woven using braiding devices, the biomaterials field also extensively utilizes braided structures, such as surgical sutures and vascular stents. Existing braiding devices employ passive yarn feeding, meaning they sense changes in tension. As the tension increases, a movable pulley rises, reaching a set position and pushing a toothed yarn tube at the bottom to rotate, causing the yarn to be released. At this point, the braiding tension decreases, preventing fiber breakage. However, even with multiple movable pulleys and the finest springs, existing passive yarn feeding methods require the fibers in the yarn tube to withstand a minimum tension to prevent breakage and achieve passive yarn feeding. Therefore, when the fiber tension is low, automatic braiding using braiding devices is not feasible.

[0003] Research on new fibers has become a hot topic. Among them, eco-friendly bio-protein fibers are often used in research on high-end clothing and medical devices due to their advantages such as being pollution-free, skin-friendly and biodegradable. Bio-protein fibers of different thicknesses can be obtained through artificial control. Many finer bio-protein fibers have lost many application possibilities due to their poor physical and mechanical properties or extremely fine fibers. Further application and development of bio-fibers can only be achieved by increasing their diameter or weaving. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the problems of low strength in microfibers in the prior art, which make continuous weaving difficult, the present invention provides a weaving device suitable for microfibers.

[0005] According to the present invention, a braiding device suitable for microfibers includes an active yarn feeder, an inductive proximity switch, and a PLC control system. The inductive proximity switch feeds back the capacitive signal of the fiber tension from the yarn feeder to the PLC control system. The yarn feeder includes a yarn guide, a yarn tube, a tension sensor, a motor, and a controller. The controller is connected to the motor to control the motor's output speed and direction. The motor's output is connected to the yarn tube. Fibers unwound from the yarn tube pass sequentially through the tension sensor and the yarn guide. The tension sensor senses the tension of a single fiber when taut and feeds it back to the controller to adjust the motor's operation. Thus, the present invention utilizes the yarn feeder to achieve active yarn feed and controls the unwinding of the yarn tube via a motor, avoiding yarn breakage during braiding of low-strength fibers, such as extremely fine regenerated protein fibers. This expands the possibilities for the bundling, research, and application of extremely fine regenerated protein fibers using braiding devices.

[0006] Preferably, the inductive proximity switch has a probe, and the tension sensor has a sensing rod that fluctuates up and down under the action of fiber tension. The sensing rod has a metal plate to cooperate with the probe to output a signal.

[0007] Preferably, the weaving device further includes a take-up device connected to a PLC control system, wherein the fibers output from the yarn guides of multiple yarn carriers are bundled at the weaving section and then enter the take-up device. More preferably, the tension of the fibers output from the yarn guides of each yarn carrier is consistent when they are bundled at the weaving section.

[0008] Preferably, the weaving device further includes a main motor, a dial shaft, and dials, wherein the main motor provides the main power for the dial shaft drive, each dial is rotatably sleeved on the dial shaft, and the yarn carrier runs cyclically along the guide rail under the action of the dials to weave the product through the fibers.

[0009] Preferably, the tension sensors of each yarn carrier are linked to the main motor, and fiber tension fluctuations are fed back to the PLC control system via inductive proximity switches. When the fiber tension fluctuation amplitude is large, the speed of the main motor is automatically reduced. In this way, the present invention uses inductive proximity switches to link the tension sensors with the main motor speed and the dial speed, avoiding fiber breakage caused by large tension fluctuations on the fiber surface when the weaving speed is too fast.

[0010] Preferably, the take-up device includes a servo motor system for controlling the take-up speed, and the PLC control system controls the main motor and the servo motor system through PC-based configuration software.

[0011] Preferably, the PLC control system integrates or separately controls the host motor and servo motor system.

[0012] Preferably, the take-up device further includes a ceramic eyelet, a take-up wheel, and a take-up reel. After the fibers are twisted together at the braiding section, they pass through the ceramic eyelet and the take-up wheel in sequence, and are finally wound and collected on the take-up reel. The servo motor system is fixedly connected to the take-up reel.

[0013] Preferably, the weaving device further includes a frame and an upper plate, wherein the upper plate is fixed at the center of the frame, the main motor is connected to the upper plate through a reducer to provide the main power for the transmission of the dial shaft, and the dial shaft is fixed on the upper plate to fix the dial.

[0014] Preferably, the upper plate is provided with a figure-eight shaped guide rail.

[0015] The braiding device for microfibers according to the present invention provides feasibility for using braiding devices on fibers with lower strength. Specifically, it is suitable for applications involving extremely fine regenerated protein fibers. The yarn carrier actively releases yarn while simultaneously reducing the speed of the braiding machine to minimize fiber tension fluctuations. This is particularly beneficial when different fibers are braided in segments, such as during the transition from coarse to fine fibers. The tension sensor detects tension changes and adjusts the speed of the main braiding machine to prevent fiber breakage and sample defects. In summary, the braiding device for microfibers according to the present invention is compact, convenient, allows for free parameter adjustment and control, and is easy to replace and modify, facilitating the exploration of the influencing factors of braiding parameters. Specifically, the yarn carrier can regulate the active release and micro-tension of ultrafine, high-strength fibers. The micro-tension is controlled by a motor with a small tension fluctuation range, enabling precise tension adjustment. Furthermore, the two motor systems are controlled separately; the take-up system slowly takes up yarn while the braiding system weaves tightly, resulting in extremely high-density fabrics. This allows for high-density, slow-speed braiding of ultrafine fibers, providing technical support for the development of novel high-density fabric materials. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present invention and should not be regarded as a limitation of the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a braiding device suitable for microfibers according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the yarn carrier.

[0019] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A structural diagram.

[0020] The attached diagram includes the following reference numerals: 1-yarn guide, 2-yarn tube, 3-tension sensor, 4-motor, 5-controller, 6-battery box, 7-frame, 8-upper plate, 9-main motor, 10-dial shaft, 11-dial, 12-yarn carrier, 13-inductive proximity switch, 14-wind take-up device, 15-PLC control system, 16-outer edge of dial, 17-probe metal piece, 18-knitting section. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are given below with reference to the accompanying drawings and described in detail.

[0022] like Figure 1 As shown, a preferred embodiment of the microfiber weaving apparatus according to the present invention includes a yarn carrier 12, an inductive proximity switch 13, and a PLC control system 15, wherein the inductive proximity switch 13 can feed back the capacitive signal of the fiber tension of the yarn carrier 12 to the PLC control system 15. It should be understood that... Figure 1 The four yarn carriers 12 shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not limitations.

[0023] like Figure 2 As shown, the yarn carrier 12 is a micro-tension-controlled yarn carrier with active yarn feeding. It includes a yarn guide 1, a yarn tube 2, a tension sensor 3, a motor 4, and a controller 5. The controller 5 is connected to the motor 4 to control the output speed and direction of the motor 4. The output end of the motor 4 has the same inner diameter as the yarn tube 2, and the two are tightly connected. The fibers unwinding from the yarn tube 2 pass sequentially through the tension sensor 3 and the yarn guide 1. The tension sensor 3 senses the tension of a single fiber when it is taut. In each yarn carrier 12, the tension value of the tension sensor 3 is fed back to the controller 5, which adjusts the operation of the motor 4. In addition, each yarn carrier 12 also includes a battery box 6, which is directly connected to the controller 5 and the motor 4. The controller 5 is small and can be easily fixed next to the battery box 6. In this way, through active yarn feeding, the yarn carrier 12 controls the unwinding of the yarn tube 2 via the motor 4, avoiding yarn breakage when weaving low-strength fibers (such as very fine regenerated protein fibers), and expanding the possibilities for fiber bundling, research, and application using weaving devices. In this embodiment, the yarn carrier 12 is provided by 3D printing.

[0024] Back Figure 1The weaving apparatus according to this embodiment also includes a take-up device 14 located above the yarn carriers 12. Fibers output from the guide ports 1 of the multiple yarn carriers 12 are bundled at the weaving section 18 and then enter the take-up device 14. The tension value from the tension sensor 3 is fed back to the controller 5 of each yarn carrier 12. The controller 5 adjusts the operation of the motor 4, ensuring that the tension of the fibers output from the guide ports 1 of each yarn carrier 12 is consistent when bundled at the weaving section 18, which is more conducive to weaving formation. It should be understood that during the weaving process, some yarn carriers 12 are far from the weaving section 18, while others are close to it. The fiber traction length of each yarn carrier 12 is not consistent. The sensing rod of each yarn carrier 12 only senses the tension change of its own fibers. By setting the range of the tension sensor 3, the fibers output by each yarn carrier 12 during the weaving process can be adjusted within a very small set tension range, making the woven fabric more uniform and reducing defects. Additionally, the sensing rod of tension sensor 3 fluctuates up and down under the tension of the fiber. An iron plate is fixed to the outside of the sensing rod, which works in conjunction with the inductive proximity switch 13 to output a signal. It should be understood that the inductive proximity switch 13 can output a signal when sensing any metal material; the iron plate here is merely an example and not a limitation.

[0025] In this embodiment, the take-up device 14 includes a ceramic eyelet, a take-up reel, a take-up spool, and a servo motor system. After weaving, multiple fiber strands pass sequentially through the ceramic eyelet and the take-up reel, and are finally wound and collected on the take-up spool. The servo motor system is fixedly connected to the take-up spool. The size of the ceramic eyelet is close to the diameter of the woven fiber bundle to stabilize the weaving section 18 and prevent shaking and uneven weaving. The size of the take-up spool can be changed as needed. The servo motor system is fixed to the take-up spool via a coupling. This servo motor system has its own controller and driver, which are integrated into the PLC control system 15.

[0026] like Figure 1 and Figure 3As shown, the weaving device according to this embodiment also includes a frame 7, an upper plate 8, a main motor 9, a dial shaft 10, and a dial 11. The frame 7 is the main body of the weaving device. The upper plate 8 is fixed at the center of the frame 7. The take-up device 14 is mounted on the frame 7 above the upper plate 8. The PLC control system 15 and its operating interface are mounted on the frame 7 on the right side of the upper plate 8. The main motor 9 is connected to the upper plate 8 through a reducer to provide the main power for the transmission of the dial shaft 10. The dial shaft 10 is directly fixed to the upper plate 8, for example, by bolts, to fix the dial 11. The dial 11 is the main weaving component. The center of each dial 11 is rotatably fitted onto the dial shaft 10. The yarn carrier 12 is locked at the outer edge 16 of the dial 11. Under the action of the dial 11, the yarn carrier 12 runs cyclically along the figure-eight guide rail on both the upper and lower sides of the outer edge 16 to weave the product through the fibers. It should be understood that adjacent dials 11 rotate in opposite directions, and their outer edges 16 engage with the yarn carrier 12, connecting with the rotation of adjacent dials 11. The movement follows a figure-eight trajectory from the outer edge 16 of one dial 11 to the outer edge 16 of the next. In this embodiment, the frame 7 is made entirely of aluminum alloy or stainless steel, and its bottom is equipped with rollers and fixing teeth.

[0027] Specifically, the tension sensors 3 of each yarn carrier 12 are linked to the main motor 9. Through inductive proximity switches 13, fiber tension fluctuations are fed back to the PLC control system 15. When the fiber tension fluctuation is large, the speed of the main motor 9 is automatically reduced. This avoids fiber breakage while meeting the set weaving parameters, enabling efficient continuous weaving of low-strength / microfiber fibers. Specifically, the inductive proximity switch 13 is fixed to the outside of the dial shaft 10, and its bottom is wired to the PLC control system 15 on the right. The probe 17 at the top senses the iron plate outside the sensing rod of the tension sensor 3. When the fiber tension is high, the sensing rod rises. At this time, the probe 17 senses the capacitive signal of the fiber tension and feeds it back to the PLC control system 15, reducing the speed of the main motor 9 (i.e., the main motor speed) and the speed of the dial 11 (i.e., the dial speed). This prevents fiber breakage caused by large tension fluctuations on the fiber surface when the weaving speed is too fast. It should be understood that as the weaving speed decreases, the fiber tension decreases, and the sensing rod of the tension sensor 3 automatically descends, thus sensing the change in fiber tension. The sensing rod has the lowest position and is pulled upward by the fiber. When the fiber tension increases, it will drive the sensing rod to rise. When the tension decreases and is insufficient to pull the sensing rod, the sensing rod will fall accordingly. At this time, the sensing rod falling can prevent the outer iron plate from being sensed by the inductive proximity switch 13, thus preventing further reduction of the host speed and dial speed.

[0028] It should be understood that reducing the weaving speed can make the tension fluctuation of the fibers on the active yarn feeder 12 smoother. However, reducing the yarn feed speed of the existing passive yarn feed weaving device cannot prevent fiber breakage. This is because the passive yarn feed device raises the movable pulley to a certain height, indicating that the fiber tension has reached the set position. After that, it pushes the bottom toothed yarn tube to rotate, and the movable pulley lowers its height to the bottom again. The fiber fluctuation caused by lowering from the highest point to the lowest point is relatively large. Even if the weaving speed is reduced, this fluctuation process of the movable pulley from high to low cannot be avoided. It can only relatively delay the time when the movable pulley reaches the highest point.

[0029] Specifically, the PLC control system 15 controls the two main motor systems of the braiding device through PC-based configuration software: the main motor 9, which controls the drive of the dial 10, and the servo motor system on the take-up device 14, which controls the take-up speed. This PC-based configuration software allows direct modification of braiding parameters, mainly including main motor speed, dial speed, take-up reel speed, braid count, braiding angle, and pitch. These parameters are convertible to each other and can be categorized into three main types: braiding speed, take-up speed, and braiding density. Fixing any two of these parameters determines all the remaining parameters. For example, pitch = 12.7 * number of yarn carriers / braid count. The main motor speed and dial speed are related to the reduction ratio of the motor used; the dial speed is the braiding speed. The braiding speed has a tangent relationship with the take-up reel speed, meaning the braiding angle is related to the mandrel diameter. It should be understood that the specific parameter settings are related to the desired effect and can be changed according to the needs. For example, if the fiber has good mechanical properties and can withstand a high main machine speed, the dial speed is set to 100 r / min. At this time, the expected weaving density of the product is 50 mesh, and the take-up speed can be obtained based on the diameter of the mandrel.

[0030] The PLC control system 15 can control two motor systems in one unit, meaning the speed of one motor system can be fixed and the speed of the other motor system can be automatically adjusted by changing the weaving density, which is convenient and eliminates the need for calculation and debugging. Alternatively, it can control the two motor systems separately, enabling the feasibility of high-density, slow-speed weaving of extremely fine fibers and increasing the range of achievable weaving densities. For example, with extremely fine regenerated protein fibers, conventional weaving devices cannot achieve the maximum weaving density. During the exploration of conditions, certain parameters are lacking; for instance, the strength of extremely fine fibers is low, and the weaving speed is set low. To achieve a higher weaving density, the take-up speed needs to be adjusted to match the ideal effect. In this case, integrated control of the take-up speed often does not meet expectations, requiring separate control of the two motor systems and the addition of a speed reducer to achieve the set weaving density. It should be understood that the take-up speed can be calculated based on requirements. In the most extreme case, when the weaving speed is extremely slow, the take-up speed is close to 0 to meet the high-density weaving requirements. In the integrated control design, when the PLC controller is programmed, the signal output of one motor system is connected to the signal of the other motor system. The conversion formulas for the three main parameters—weaving speed, take-up speed, and weaving density—are written into the program. Changing any parameter can automatically calculate and adjust the remaining parameters. In the split control design, the two motor systems can operate independently without cooperating with each other. The control mode can be switched so that the two motor systems for weaving speed and take-up speed run separately. At this time, the required weaving density needs to be manually calculated and input according to the parameter conversion formula. This mode can obtain relatively rare high-density weaving samples.

[0031] The working method of the microfiber weaving device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described as follows: The main motor 9 is driven to the upper plate 8 through the reducer. The upper plate 8 is connected to the dial shaft 10. The dial 11 rotates at a speed with a certain reduction ratio. The yarn carrier 12 is fixed on the guide seat equipped with a guide block. The guide seat is embedded in the dial shaft 10. Under the action of the dial 11, the yarn carrier 12 moves along the figure-eight guide rail of the upper plate 8 at the outer edge 16 of the dial. The fibers on the yarn carrier 12 are wound onto the yarn tube 2. The unwound fibers pass sequentially through the tension sensor 3 and the yarn guide 1, and are then woven together with the fibers unwound from the other yarn carriers 12 at the weaving section 18. The tension sensor 3 can sense the tension of a single fiber when it is taut. The tension value of the tension sensor 3 is fed back to the controller 5 on each yarn carrier 12. The controller 5 adjusts the rotation speed of the motor 4 to make the tension of all unwound fibers the same. Since the tension changes due to the continuous rotation of the yarn carrier 12 during the weaving process, a certain range is set for the tension sensor 3 according to different fibers. If the tension exceeds the range, the controller 5 adjusts the rotation speed of the motor 4 to match the same tension of the fibers unwound from multiple yarn carriers 12. In addition, the probe 17 on the top of the inductive proximity switch 13 can sense the iron plate outside the sensing rod of the tension sensor 3. When the fiber tension is high during the weaving process, the sensing rod will rise. At this time, the probe senses the capacitance signal and feeds it back to the PLC control system 15, reducing the main machine speed and the dial speed to avoid fiber breakage caused by large tension fluctuations on the fiber surface when the weaving speed is too fast. After being woven and bundled, the fiber bundles pass sequentially through ceramic eyelets and guide wheels, and are then wound and collected on a take-up reel. The take-up reel is connected to a servo motor system via a coupling. The weaving speed, take-up speed, and weaving density can be adjusted through the PLC control system 15 to obtain woven fabrics with different weaving parameters.

[0032] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Various variations can be made to the above embodiments of the present invention. That is, all simple and equivalent changes and modifications made based on the claims and description of this invention fall within the protection scope of the claims of this patent. All aspects not described in detail in this invention are conventional technical content.

Claims

1. A weaving device suitable for microfiber, characterized in that, The weaving device includes a main motor, a dial shaft, dials, an active yarn feeder, an inductive proximity switch, a take-up device, and a PLC control system. The main motor provides the primary power for the dial shaft drive. Each dial is rotatably mounted on the dial shaft. The yarn feeder, under the action of the dials, circulates and crosses along a guide rail to weave the product using fibers. The yarn feeder includes a yarn guide, a yarn tube, a tension sensor, a motor, and a controller. The controller is connected to the motor to control its output speed and direction. The motor's output is connected to the yarn tube. Fibers unwound from the yarn tube pass sequentially through the tension sensor and the yarn guide. The device senses the tension of a single fiber when it is taut and feeds it back to the controller to adjust the motor operation; the tension sensors of each yarn carrier are linked to the main motor, and feed back the capacitive signal of the fiber tension of the yarn carrier to the PLC control system through an inductive proximity switch, automatically reducing the speed of the main motor when the fiber tension fluctuates greatly; the take-up device is connected to the PLC control system, and the fibers output from the guide ports of multiple yarn carriers are bundled at the weaving section and enter the take-up device; the take-up device includes a servo motor system that controls the take-up speed, and the PLC control system separately controls the main motor and the servo motor system through PC-based configuration software.

2. The weaving device according to claim 1, characterized in that, An inductive proximity switch has a probe, and a tension sensor has a sensing rod that moves up and down under the action of fiber tension. The sensing rod has a metal plate to cooperate with the probe to output a signal.

3. The weaving device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The take-up device also includes a ceramic eyelet, a take-up reel, and a take-up spool. After the fibers are twisted together in the braiding section, they pass through the ceramic eyelet and the take-up reel in sequence, and are finally wound and collected on the take-up spool. The servo motor system is fixedly connected to the take-up spool.

4. The weaving device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The weaving device also includes a frame and an upper plate. The upper plate is fixed at the center of the frame. The main motor is connected to the upper plate through a reducer to provide the main power for the drive of the dial shaft. The dial shaft is fixed on the upper plate to fix the dial.

5. The weaving device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The upper plate is equipped with a figure-eight shaped guide rail.

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