Warping machine with reel with independent motorized leasing

Abstract

A warping machine (1), comprising a rotating reel structure (2) provided with a conical portion (2b), and a device (2a) for dispensing warp threads arranged so that it can translate longitudinally proximate to the reel, wherein: the reel (2) is arranged so that it can rotate on a fixed rotation axis and is provided with grooves (11) which accommodate leasing towing devices (1a, 1b, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4a) which are integral in rotation with it and which interact with the winding area of the bundle of threads.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a warping machine and, in particular, to the process of inserting the leasing and of adjusting the section.

[0002] A warping machine is a machine provided with a battery of spools, called creel, which collects a plurality of threads by way of a leasing reed and a reduction reed on a reel. The threads are well tensioned, side-by-side and subdivided into multiple sections which in turn contain different groups of threads (at least one leasing, but there may be several subdivisions). The reel is typically formed by a cylindrical body with an end portion which has a predefined taper, the function of which is to produce inclined warp sections, which lie against the conical surface and reduce the risk of an unwanted relative mutual slippage of the warp threads. Typically, the first warp section is wound directly onto the taper, by making the reel rotate on its longitudinal axis and imparting a lateral movement to a reduction reed to correctly distribute the threads according to an inclined progression that follows the taper of the reel. At the end of the winding of the first section, the entire reel is shifted longitudinally by a distance equal to the width of the section, so as to be able to wind the second section and so on. The leasing reed and the reduction reed are arranged parallel to the reel so as to arrange the threads in a yarn layer where each thread is easily placed adjacent to the next and is distinguishable.

[0003] In the known art, the threads are coupled manually to the reel using special hooks or holes present on it and at the end of each section, the section is cut and knotted manually before moving on to the winding of the subsequent section.

[0004] In each section, transverse leasing threads (at least one pair at the start of the winding) are inserted, which make it possible to discriminate the even threads from the odd threads in order to facilitate knotting on the loom.

[0005] At the end of the warping, the leasing thread or threads will be continuous throughout the full width of the warp.

[0006] In the conventional technique, the warps can be joined together, and are therefore made up of threads all of the same color, or with a recurring pattern; in this case it will never be necessary to re-thread the threads in the reed. However, there are several cases in which there is no recurring pattern (creative warps) and so the threads are manually re-threaded into the reed, adding new threads or removing, or simply stopping, existing groups of threads directly in the reed.

[0007] In the background art of automatic warping, a distinction needs to be made between automatic leasing warping machines, in which the threads are collected by means of a leasing reed and a parallel reduction reed parallel to the reel which has grooves in which tapes are accommodated which are moved by a gripper arranged on the shuttle of the section each time a leasing needs to be performed. An example of this warping machine is described in US4893386 or in EP487722. The drawback of this solution is that for each leasing, the winding reel has to stop in order to allow the external gripper to move the tape accommodated in the reel. This solution therefore becomes very disadvantageous for short warps since the leasing time is greater than the winding time, thus considerably lengthening the overall time of the process. Such warping machines furthermore favor the processing only of solid-color warps or warps with a recurring pattern, because otherwise they require manual re-insertion into the reeds which negatively influences productivity.

[0008] There are also warping machines with a mobile reel, where the warp is wound on a plurality of belts fixed to the reel, which are actuated from left to right, or vice versa, during all the steps of winding the threads or sections. An example of this warping machine is described in US5603146. This embodiment solves the problem of the leasing time, which is reduced to zero because it is executed non-stop, and the possibility is adopted of removing and inserting different threads automatically throughout the entire warping cycle, making it possible to produce creative warps. The normal configuration of the reel of these warping machines, and the need to translate the entire warp, does not allow many meters to be wound owing to the forces in play, making these warping machines suitable only for short warps.

[0009] The aim of the present invention is to create a warping machine that is capable of performing leasing operations non-stop on a traditional grooved reel where it is possible to wind a great number of meters, so solving the problems of both speed and productivity, in addition to enabling automatic filling for the production of solid-color and creative warps. This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are all achieved by a warping machine according to claim 1. The dependent claims describe preferential characteristics of the invention.

[0010] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description that follows of a preferred embodiment of a warping machine according to the present invention, given purely for the purposes of non-limiting example and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a warping machine according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the reel of the warping machine with leasing devices; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the reel; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the components of the leasing axis; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the leasing reed; Figure 6 is a plan view of the warping machine according to the present invention; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the leasing reeds.

[0011] With reference to the figures, the warping machine according to the present invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a reel with a rigid shell 2 (Figure 2), complete with a cylindrical portion and a conical part 2b. On the shell there are at least two pairs of grooves 11 (Figure 3), where leasing towing devices 1a, 1b, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4a are accommodated (conveniently, one pair for the high grooves and one pair for the low grooves, but each device could also actuate a pair of leasing threads), each one paired with a group coupling device 3c (Figure 4) arranged directly on the reel. Leasing reeds and reduction reeds (Figure 5), which are grouped in a single element, are a pair of leasing drops 5a, 5b and are arranged on a device or shuttle 2a that runs longitudinally from right to left, along the reel, placing the threads on the conical portion 2b, so that the threads are wound on the rotating reel 2. At the end of each section, the shuttle 2a moves from left to right in a space equal to the width of the section. The leasing reed 5a, 5b is arranged perpendicularly to the reel 2 and rotates on the vertical axis X (Figure 4) in order to determine the density and width of the wound section.

[0012] In operation, the bundle of threads 10 originating from spools (not shown) is guided, in this system, inside the pair of reeds 5a, 5b which rotate to the desired angle in order to produce the correct density and width of the section, toward the working end of the reel 2, i.e. the left-hand end at the cone. The width of the section is defined by means of the rotation with respect to its vertical axis of the leasing reed 5a, 5b (Figure 5). In fact, by arranging a reed perpendicularly to the reel 2 and varying its angle to a maximum of parallelism, the threads being wound will be more or less dense.

[0013] In the rotation of the reel 2, the bundle of threads 10 (Figure 1, Figure 6) is progressively wound while rising up along the surface of the cone 2b, by means of a synchronous movement of longitudinal translation of the shuttle 2a containing the reed 5a, 5b, so that the single section defines a shape that is parallelepiped in cross-section, supported by its own inclination adjacent to the cone 2b, with no possibility of sliding outward.

[0014] At each leasing point, the pair of reeds 5a, 5b will open the yarn layer of threads 10 by sliding vertically so as to create two distinct superimposed webs in which the rod 2c of the leasing device 1c (Figure 4) will be inserted, and which will be intercepted by the group coupling device 3c (Figure 4). During the open time of the reeds 5a, 5b, in synchrony with the rotation of the reel 2, the corresponding leasing rods 2c are extended and intercepted by the corresponding coupling and towing devices 3c, thus making interruption of the rotation of the reel 2 unnecessary. During the step of winding, the towing devices reposition the lances or rods 2c in order to make them available in the subsequent section. This operation can therefore be performed non-stop without the need to stop the reel 2 since the device is arranged integrally on it. The same operation will be repeated for each pair of leasing threads in each section.

[0015] The opening of the yarn layer of threads 10 occurs simply by raising the first leasing reed and lowering the second leasing reed 5a, 5b and vice versa along the vertical axes YA and YB. The threads can then slide through the teeth of the reed 5a, 5b, drawn by a pair of drops that make an eyelet of the threads. By substituting such reeds with a device with individually-motorized eyelets (for example a jacquard machine or other similar device), it would furthermore be very simple to vary the number and the sequence of the threads in play, simply by raising them or lowering them at the start of each section, likewise adjusting the angle of the device in order to maintain the same density of threads in every section while holding stationary the threads that are not necessary, according to the most widespread techniques of traditional warping.

[0016] At the start of each discrete new section, where a substitution of threads is required, a group coupling device 3c arranged directly on the reel 2 would take up only the required threads.

[0017] In practice it has been found that the warping machine according to the present invention fully achieves the set aim.

[0018] The present invention should not be considered limited to the particular arrangements illustrated above, which constitute only an example embodiment thereof, and several other variants are possible, all within the grasp of a person skilled in the art, without for this reason departing from the scope of protection of the invention, as defined in the claims below.

[0019] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102023000011535 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

[0020] Where the technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference numerals and / or signs, those reference numerals and / or signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference numerals and / or signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference numerals and / or signs.

Claims

1. A warping machine (1), comprising a rotating reel structure with a rigid body (2) with grooves (11), which is provided with a conical portion (2b), and a reed-like device (2a) for dispensing warp threads arranged so that it can translate longitudinally proximate to said reel, characterized in that said drum is arranged so that it can rotate on a fixed rotation axis and comprises at least a pair of leasing towing devices (1a, 1b, 1c, 3a, 3b, 4a) in said grooves (11), each one paired with a group coupling device (3c) connected to and / or containing the thread and / or the leasing belt, and these devices rotate integrally with it and interact with the winding area of the bundle of threads.

2. The warping machine according to claim 1, in which the leasing and reduction reeds are grouped in a pair of preferably leasing drops (5a, 5b) and are arranged perpendicularly to the reel and can rotate with respect to its vertical axis (X) in so as to adjust the density of the bundle of threads being wound.

3. The warping machine according to claim 1 or 2, in which the leasing drops (5a, 5b) can slide one in front of the other (YA, YB) and determine the opening of the yarn layer of threads being wound, creating two superimposed yarn layers for the insertion of a rod (2c) of the leasing towing device (1c).

4. The warping machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which the pair of leasing drops (5a, 5b) is replaced by a vertical leasing device where each thread is controlled individually or in groups.

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