A weft detector with side-mounted LED key integrated on a mainboard

Abstract

The application discloses a weft detector integrated with LED keys on the side of a mainboard and belongs to the technical field of weft detection of textile machines. The existing weft detector has the problems of non-intuitive gear, high wiring failure rate of an external key display component, easy dirt accumulation of an installed light guide column, high debugging threshold, insufficient protection and anti-vibration performance and the like. The detector integrates LED indicator lamps and light touch keys on an independent subboard, is side-welded to a main control mainboard through side positioning pads to form an L-shaped assembly structure, and has no external lead wire. A segmented long groove is formed in an integrated metal end cover, the LED directly transmits light to display the gear, and the light guide column is cancelled. Binary weight bit combination is adopted to realize 64-gear sensitivity adjustment, the anti-mis-touch logic of long press unlocking, short press gear adjustment and idle automatic locking is provided, and the whole board is provided with shockproof point gluing and nano six-proof coating. The device is compact in structure, intuitive in debugging, strong in anti-mis-touch performance, suitable for harsh working conditions of a textile workshop, and good in universality and practicality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of weft yarn detection equipment for textile machinery, and specifically to a weft yarn detector integrated with a side-mounted LED button on the motherboard. Background Technology

[0002] Weft yarn detectors are essential components for looms, used to monitor the weft yarn feed status in real time and adjust the detection sensitivity. Currently, traditional weft yarn detectors on the market generally have several drawbacks: First, the adjustment method is outdated, often using rotary potentiometers to adjust sensitivity without clearly defined numerical settings, relying entirely on experience, resulting in poor accuracy and a tendency to drift. Second, the buttons and indicator lights are independently externally mounted, requiring external cables to connect to the main board, making assembly cumbersome. In workshop environments with vibration and oil contamination, the wiring is prone to aging and breakage, leading to a high failure rate. Third, traditional structures require the addition of light guides, and the gaps in these guides easily accumulate cotton lint and dust, causing the light to dim and the display unclear. Fourth, ordinary buttons lack anti-dampening features. The design suffers from several drawbacks: First, accidental touches can easily lead to button presses and parameter changes due to textile dust and equipment vibrations, causing false alarms and unexplained shutdowns. Second, the traditional locking method requires manual locking, which operators are prone to forgetting to lock, posing a significant production hazard. Third, debugging is difficult due to the lack of intuitive operation prompts, requiring professional maintenance personnel for debugging, resulting in high labor costs. Fourth, the circuit board only undergoes basic three-proof treatment, which cannot withstand the corrosion from oil stains, textile dust, and long-term vibration damage in textile workshops, leading to a short service life. Fifth, the conventional gear adjustment structure is simple, has a narrow range of compatible yarns, and poor versatility. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the many shortcomings of existing technologies. This invention provides a weft yarn detector with a side-mounted LED button integrated on the motherboard, which abandons the traditional external wiring structure and adopts a side-soldering integrated structure on the daughterboard to simplify assembly; it eliminates the light guide column to achieve direct reading of gear levels; it uses a binary weight combination method to complete multi-level graded sensitivity adjustment, broadening the adaptation range; it adds a shockproof and reinforced structure and a nano six-proof coating to improve the weather resistance of the equipment; it optimizes the button control logic to achieve default parameter locking under normal conditions, unlocking by pressing and holding for 3 seconds, step-by-step gear adjustment by short press, and automatic locking after 3 seconds of inactivity, completely solving the problems of accidental touch and forgetting to lock in the workshop; it sets simple operation prompts to enable ordinary operators to debug independently, and comprehensively optimizes the practicality, stability and versatility of the equipment. Detailed Implementation

[0004] A weft yarn detector with a side-mounted LED button on the motherboard includes a housing, a main control PCB motherboard, an LED button board, a thin metal plate integrated end cover, and a sensitivity direct-reading operation panel.

[0005] The main control PCB motherboard is vertically fixed to the side wall of the inner cavity of the housing. The LED button board is an independent integrated functional sub-board. All LED indicator groups and low-profile surface-mount tactile buttons are integrated and mounted on the surface of the LED button board, and are no longer arranged separately. The LED button board has standard cross-positioning pads reserved on its side, which are directly soldered to the side end face of the main control PCB motherboard. After soldering, a stable L-shaped combination structure is formed. No wire connection or bracket fixation is required, and the assembly process is simple and firm.

[0006] A thin metal plate end cap is fixedly installed at the opening end of the housing. The end cap is cut or stamped as a whole, and a continuous segmented long groove is opened on the surface. The groove naturally separates the light display area and the button operation area. The end cap can meet the usage requirements by relying on the strength of its own sheet material, without the need for additional stamping reinforcement, thus reducing material usage and production costs.

[0007] The LED indicator light integrated on the LED button board is positioned directly opposite the long slot on the end cover, eliminating the need for the traditional light guide column structure. The LED light source emits light directly through the long slot, allowing operators to visually read the current sensitivity level. There are no dust accumulation gaps, ensuring a clear and long-lasting display.

[0008] The entire machine's operation display structure is uniformly set on the same end face, and the installation angle is designed to fit the eye-level view of a front-line machine operator. The operation end face has an operation panel with printed gear numbers and simple debugging instructions, allowing even those with no experience to quickly learn how to operate it.

[0009] The core innovation of this invention lies in the adoption of a binary weight combination adjustment structure. Multiple indicator lights correspond to different binary basic weights, and by illuminating different combinations of indicator lights, different amplitude detection sampling voltages are output, achieving graded adjustment of detection sensitivity. A typical implementation of this invention uses six indicator lights corresponding to weights 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32, combining to achieve 64 precise adjustment levels from 0 to 63, fully adaptable to various weft yarns, including roving, medium, and fine yarns. Those skilled in the art will understand that, based on the binary weight combination principle of this invention, other numbers of indicator lights can also be used to achieve different adjustment levels. Such modifications are equivalent substitutions for the core method of this invention and still fall within the protection scope of this invention.

[0010] The soldering points of the main control PCB motherboard and the LED button board, as well as the large vertical components on the board, are reinforced with soft, elastic silicone adhesive to buffer the vibration of the equipment during operation and prevent problems such as cold solder joints, desoldering, and loose components. After the assembly and reinforcement are completed, the entire main control circuit board is coated with a nano six-proof protective coating, which has six major properties: moisture resistance, mildew resistance, salt spray resistance, oil penetration resistance, fiber corrosion resistance, and resistance to temperature and vibration aging. This greatly improves the service life of the circuit board in high humidity, oil, fly waste, and vibration environments.

[0011] A sealing gasket is added to the joint between the housing and the end cover to achieve overall sealing, dustproofing, and waterproofing. A shock-absorbing pad is added to the back of the motherboard to further reduce mechanical vibration.

[0012] The device employs a smart button control logic that locks default parameters under normal conditions, unlocks by pressing and holding for 3 seconds, adjusts settings step by step by short press, and automatically locks after 3 seconds of inactivity.

[0013] The device is normally in a parameter locked state by default. During daily use, short presses of the button have no effect. Only when the button is pressed continuously for 3 seconds or more is the device interpreted as an unlock command, releasing the parameter lock and entering an adjustable state. An indicator light flashes to indicate unlocking. After unlocking, the operator can increase or decrease the sensitivity level by short presses of the button, with the LED indicator light switching on and off to display the current level in real time. If no button is pressed for 3 consecutive seconds while in the unlocked state, the device automatically executes the locking procedure, automatically saving the currently adjusted sensitivity parameters and completing the locking process without manual intervention. An indicator light indicates that the locking is complete. Those skilled in the art can set the idle locking time to any duration from 1 to 5 seconds according to actual debugging needs. Such modifications are equivalent substitutions of this invention and still fall within the protection scope of this invention.

[0014] This control logic works in conjunction with the low-profile embedded button structure to form a triple anti-accidental touch protection structure: physical anti-accidental touch, default lock anti-accidental touch, and automatic timeout lock. This completely avoids parameter errors caused by cotton fly in the textile workshop, equipment vibration, or operators forgetting to lock after debugging. It reduces weft yarn misdetection, missed detection, and unexplained loom shutdowns from the source. A single button can complete all functions such as unlocking, gear adjustment, and automatic locking, eliminating the need for additional buttons. It is highly adaptable to the narrow installation space on the side of the motherboard, simplifying the circuit board layout and production assembly process.

[0015] Assemble and use according to the structure shown in the attached diagram. The main control PCB motherboard is vertically arranged, and the LED button board is side-soldered and integrated. The overall assembly is compact, and disassembly and maintenance are convenient. It is suitable for on-site installation and use on weaving machines.

[0016] Beneficial effects

[0017] 1. High structural integration, double-board side-welded assembly with no external wiring, simple assembly, reducing circuit failures at the source, and making production and maintenance more convenient.

[0018] 2. The direct-read display of the light guide column has been eliminated, eliminating dead corners where dirt accumulates, and ensuring clear and stable gear display over long-term use.

[0019] 3. The binary weight combination adjustment structure is highly versatile and can be adapted to all specifications of weft yarns. Changing fabrics does not require changing equipment, which greatly improves production efficiency.

[0020] 4. Intelligent triple anti-accidental touch button logic, with default lock + automatic relock, eliminates human error and ensures extremely high safety in the workshop.

[0021] 5. The operation prompts are intuitive and easy to understand, allowing ordinary machine operators to independently complete sensitivity adjustments, reducing the frequency of maintenance personnel's attendance and lowering labor costs.

[0022] 6. The integrated end cap structure without reinforcing ribs is simplified, has low processing costs, and offers high cost-effectiveness in mass production.

[0023] 7. Shockproof dispensing + nano six-proof double protection, perfectly adapted to the harsh production environment of textile workshops, greatly improving the durability of equipment.

[0024] 8. The operating perspective is designed to fit human usage habits, reducing the rate of operational errors and minimizing unexplained loom downtime and defective products.

[0025] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0026] 1 - Housing, 2 - Main control PCB motherboard, 3 - LED button board, 4 - Thin metal plate integrated end cover, 5 - Operation panel, 6 - Indicator light display area, 7 - Button operation area, 8 - Gear position indicator, 9 - Adjustment indicator, 10 - Sealing gasket, 11 - Shock-absorbing pad, 12 - Cross positioning pads Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 is a side view assembly structure diagram of the housing, main control PCB motherboard, LED button board, and cross positioning pads in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the thin metal plate integrated end cap in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the front operation assembly structure of the whole machine in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the internal sealing and shockproof assembly structure of the whole machine in an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

1. A weft yarn detector with a side-mounted LED button integrated on the motherboard, comprising a housing, a main control PCB motherboard, an LED button board, a thin metal plate integrated end cover, and a sensitivity direct-reading operation panel, characterized in that: The main control PCB motherboard is vertically fixedly installed on the inner wall of the housing cavity. The LED button board is an independent functional sub-board. The LED indicator group and the low-profile surface-mount tactile button are integrated on the surface of the LED button board. The LED button board has cross-positioning pads on its side. The LED button board is directly soldered and fixed to the side end face of the main control PCB motherboard through the cross-positioning pads, so that the indicator lights and button working surfaces face the opening end of the housing. There are no external connecting wires and no need to add external fixed support structure. The thin metal plate integral end cap is fixedly installed at the opening end of the shell. The end cap has a segmented integrated long groove corresponding to the indicator light and button positions. The end cap is integrally formed and meets the usage requirements by relying on the strength of its own plate material, without the need to add reinforcing ribs. The LED indicator light is positioned directly opposite the segmented, integrated long slot, eliminating the need for light guide columns. The light shines directly through, allowing for intuitive reading of the sensitivity level. The indicator lights and buttons are integrated on the same operating surface, which is designed to match the operator's head-up operating perspective. The surface is equipped with gear position markings and function adjustment prompts, which correspond one-to-one with the indicator lights and buttons. The device employs a binary weighting combination adjustment structure, relying on multiple sets of indicator lights corresponding to different weighting values. The combination of these indicator lights forms multi-level detection sampling voltages, thereby achieving graded adjustment of weft yarn detection sensitivity. The protection range of this binary weighting combination adjustment structure covers: using any number of indicator lights and any combination of weighting values, a similar structure is implemented using binary weighting to achieve multi-level graded adjustment of weft yarn detection sensitivity. Six indicator lights correspond to 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 binary weights respectively, forming 64 sensitivity adjustment levels from 0 to 63, which is a typical implementation of this structure. A sealing gasket is provided between the housing and the integrated end cover, and a shock-absorbing pad is provided between the main control PCB motherboard and the inner wall of the housing. The end cover is fixed by multi-point symmetrical locking. The main control PCB motherboard soldering points and high-center-of-gravity components are reinforced with elastic colloid for shock absorption, and the main control PCB motherboard is coated with a nano six-proof protective coating. The low-profile patch tactile button has a low-profile embedded structure, which is suitable for narrow installation spaces and is resistant to frequent pressing and not easy to jam.

2. The weft yarn detector integrated with the motherboard-side LED button according to claim 1, characterized in that: The low-profile surface-mount tactile button adopts a 4×4 specification low-profile short-stroke surface-mount button.

3. The weft yarn detector integrated with the motherboard side-mounted LED button according to claim 1, characterized in that: The segmented, integrated long slot is internally divided into an indicator light display area and a button operation area.

4. The weft yarn detector integrated with the motherboard-side LED button according to claim 1, characterized in that: The one-piece metal end cap is made of stainless steel or aluminum alloy.

5. The weft yarn detector integrated with the motherboard-side LED button according to claim 1, characterized in that: The nano-six-proof protective coating has six major protective functions: moisture-proof, mildew-proof, salt spray-proof, oil-proof, fiber corrosion-proof, and temperature- and vibration-resistant aging-proof.

6. The weft yarn detector integrated with the motherboard-side LED button according to claim 1, characterized in that: The device adopts an intelligent button control logic that locks the default parameters under normal conditions, unlocks by pressing and holding for 3 seconds, adjusts the settings step by step by short press, and automatically locks after 3 seconds of inactivity. This, combined with the embedded button structure, forms a triple anti-accidental touch protection structure.

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