Machine for ringless spinning of textile fibres
United States Patent Saveliev et al.  
 [4 1 Apr. 15, 1975 1 MACHINE FOR RINGLESS SPINNING OF TEXTILE FIBRES [76] Inventors: Alexandr Ivanovich Saveliev, ulitsa Dovatora, 12, kv. 36; Elizaveta Andreevna Brezulova, 2 Donskoi Proezd, 6, kv. 36; Alexei Gavrilovich Moskalev, Leninsky prospekt, 62/1, kv. 344; Gely Georgievich Pavlov, Petrovsko-Razumovsky proezd 7, kv. 131, all of Moscow; Alexandr Alexeevich Sharychenkov, ulitsa Experimentalnaya, 1, kv. 78, Penza; Vladimir Vladimirovich Avdeev, ulitsa Experimentalnava, 2, kv. 78, Penza; Valentin Tikhonovich Pastukhov, ulitsa Experimentalnaya, 1, kv. 96, Penza; Grigory Andreevich Ermilov, 2 Donskoi proezd, 6, kv. 41, Moscow; Nikolai Andreevich Drozdov, ulitsa Roschinskaya, 18, kv. 18, Klimovsk Moskovskoi Oblasti; Vladimir Petrovich Radovitsky, 2 Donskoi proezd, 6, kv. 45; Vasily Antonovich Parnev, Rusakovskya ulitsa, 22, kv. 77, both of Moscow, all of USSR.  
  22 Filed: Mar. 13, 1974 211 Appl. No.: 450,812  
 [51] Int. Cl D0lh l/12 [58] Field of Search 57/58.8958.95  
 3,624,994 12/1971 Rohlena et a1. 57/58.9l  
 Primary Examiner.lohn Petrakes Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Holman &amp; Stern [57] ABSTRACT The machine for spinning textile fibres has a rotor in the form of a multi-vane wheel including a disc having a central opening and a fibre-supporting surface adapted to receive a stream of fibres thereupon and which takes part in formation of a yarn from these fibres at rotation of the rotor, the yarn being withdrawn through the central opening. A plurality of slots is made through this disc surface, extending from the central opening toward the periphery of the disc, projections being located on this fibre-supporting surface intermediate of these slots, in order to assist in retaining the fibres at this surface of the disc.  
 The machine provides for reliable retention of the fibres at the supporting surface of the disc irrespective of the angular speed of rotation of the rotor; furthermore, it effects the removal of foreign matter directly during the course of spinning without affecting this process.  
 The proposed machine may be employed with the utmost effectiveness for spinning yarn having a high linear density.  
 11 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures PATENTEBAPR 1 51975 snmlufg snmznfg /AMA&#34; FIE Z MACHINE FOR RINGLESS SPINNING OF TEXTILE FIBRES The present invention relates to rotary spinning machines wherein the process of spinning is separated from the winding process of the spun yarn, and, more particularly, to machines for ringless spinning of textile fibres.  
  The invention may be employed with the utmost effectiveness in the production of reinforced or braided yarn, as well as for yarn featuring a greater linear density than those commonly attainable in yarn produced by known ring spinning machines.  
  In the present disclosure the expression reinforced or braided yarn&#34; denotes yarn having a central core with a braiding about this core, and with the core being made of a material having a greater strength than that of the braiding fibre.  
  The expression linear density is to be understood as a ratio of the weight of the yarn with respect to the length thereof, i.e. the weight of a linear unit of the yarn, which is a value directly related to the yarn thickness.  
  At present, machines for ringless spinning of textile fibres. are widely known, and which comprise a feeding device including a passage through which a stream of fibres may be fed and a rotor mounted on a spindle by means of a sleeve, with the rotor including a multi-vane wheel adapted to create a stream of air with the rotation so as to effect the conveying of the fibres. The multi-vane wheel includes a disc with a support surface adapted to receive thereupon the fibres being conveyed in order to form a yarn of these fibres with the rotation of the rotor, with the yarn being withdrawn by a pair of rollers through a central opening provided in this surface. In these known machines an electrostatic field is employed to bias the fibres toward the supporting surface created between a stationary electrode mounted on the end portion of the feed-in passage and the disc which acts as the second electrode. Therefore, the fibers are retained at the surface of the disc by the combined action of a corona discharge and the air stream. However, this fibre retaining technique is practicable only at relatively low rotor rotation speeds, and, consequently, exhibits a relatively low productivity for the spinning process as a whole.  
  When the angular speed of the rotor is stepped up, the centrifugal forces acting upon the fibres increase rapidly thus tending to throw the fibres off the disc, i.e. to create a situation which is sometimes called spraying&#34; of the fibres. In this situation the retaining forces provided by the corona discharge become insufficient to bias the fibres strongly enough to the supporting surface of the disc. Eventually, the amount of the fibres thrown off the supporting surface of the disc becomes greater than is permissible for the production of a yarn having a predetermined linear density. Thus the yarn gets broken, and the process of spinning is interrupted.  
  The above situation may be improved by providing mechanical forces to act on the fibres and thus helping to retain the fibres on the supporting surface. However, the known machines are devoid of means capable of providing such mechanical forces.  
  It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the disadvantages of the known machines.  
  The present invention is aimed at providing a machine for ringless spinning of textile fibres, which would be capable of reducing the degree of spraying of the fibres and which would provide for the production of a yarn having the desired linear density at increased rotor rotation speeds, due to the incorporation therein of auxiliary means adapted to create mechanical forces acting on the fibres and simultaneously retaining these fibres at the surface of the disc.  
  This aim is attained in a machine for ringless spinning of textile fibres, comprising a feeding device including a passage adapted to have fibres fed therethrough and a rotor mounted on a spindle by means of a sleeve, with the rotor being in the form of a multi-vane wheel adapted to create upon the rotation of this rotor, an air stream for conveying with the fibres, the rotor including a disc having a supporting surface adapted to receive thereupon the fibres being conveyed and which forms a yarn from these fibres upon the rotation of the rotor, with the surface having therein a central opening through which said yarn is withdrawn in operation, in which machine, in accordance with the invention, the disc has a plurality of slots made therethrough spaced from the central opening and extending in a direction away from this opening to the periphery of the disc, with there being provided between each pair of each adjacent slots at least one projection adapted so as to retain the fibres at the supporting surface of the disc upon rotation thereof, and with all these projections being spaced at an equal distance from the axis of rotation of the disc.  
  The projections serve as guarding means on the supporting surface of the disc, assisting in retaining and concentrating the main stream of the fibres at the central portion of the disc, which makes it possible to carry out the spinning process at elevated rotor rotation speeds. This has become possible due to the fact that, although at these elevated speeds the increased centrifugal forces tend to throw the fibres off the disc, the projections induce a mechanical action on the fibres so as to counteract this tendency. The provision of the slots through the disc draws air through these slots, which creates an additional biasing effect upon the fibres tending them toward the surface of the disc and also biasing any foreign matter traveling with the fibres to this disc, with this foreign matter being subsequently removed from the surface of the disc by the action of the centrifugal forces.  
  In order to eliminate any hanging of the fibres in the slots, which might effect the spinning process, it is expedient that the through slots should extend to the edge of the disc, thus dividing the disc into segments, with each such segment having at least one of said projections situated thereon.  
  Depending upon the type of the fibres being handled and their blends, each having different physical and mechanical properties, such as length, adhesion, waviness, etc. it may be expedient, in accordance with the invention, that said slots should extend radially and be evenly spaced over the surface of the disc. Alternatively, it may be expedient for the slots to be arranged in a fan-like fashion and shaped as arcs of the same radius.  
  According to another feature of the invention, each pair of through slots defining the segment therebetween is arranged so that one of these slots extends parallel to one of the axes of symmetry of the disc, whereas the other one is inclined at a specified angle relative to this axis.  
  For example, when a blend of cotton and viscose staple fibres is treated, it has been found expedient that the rotor has a disc wherein the radial slots are uniformly spaced about the surface of the disc.  
  In order to ensure optimum conditions for the separation of foreign matter, it is advisable that the segments of the disc be connected with the vanes of the wheel and the sleeve of the rotor so that a space for the removal of foreign matter be formed between the disc and the face end of the sleeve facing this disc.  
  In order to provide for additional air to be drawn in and for the concentration of the fibres at the central portion of the disc, it is advisable that portion of the supporting surface of the disc, defined by the projections, be perforated.  
  According to still another feature of the present invention, each of the projections is shaped as either a rectangle, or a triangle, or a trapezium in cross section; whichever the shape, it is expedient that the apex of the projection be rounded.  
  The present invention will be better understood from the following description of the embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
  FIG. 1 is a partially cut view illustrating schematically a machine for ringless spinning of textile fibres;  
  FIG. 2 is a longitudinally sectional view of the multivane wheel with the disc;  
 FIG. 3 is a plane view of the wheel shown in FIG. 2;  
  FIG. 4 illustrates another modification of the multivane wheel with the disc;  
  FIG. 5 is a longitudinally sectional view of the wheel shown in FIG. 4;&#39; 7  
 FIG. 6 is a plane view of the wheel shown in FIG. 5;  
  FIGS. 7, 8 andv 9 illustrate various shapes and arrangements of the through slots in the disc;  
  FIGS. a, b, c, d, e, f illustrate various crosssectional shapes of the projections on the disc;  
 . FIG.,11 illustrates still another embodiment of the muIti ,-va ne wheel with the disc, a longitudinally sectional view;  
 FIG. l2 is a plane view of the wheel shown in FIG.  
  .13 shows an alternative embodiment of a machine for ringless spinning of textile fibres.  
  Referring now to the appended drawings, the machine includes a feeding device (FIG. 1) including a passage 2 along which a stream of separated fibres 3 may be conveyed, and a rotor 5 mounted by means of a sleeve 5 on a spindle 6. The latter is journalled for rotation in bearings 7 and is associated with any suitable known driving means (not shown).  
  The rotor 4 is a multi-vane wheel 8 (FIGS. 2 and 3) adapted, when rotated, to draw in a stream of air capable of conveying the fibres. The rotor 4 includes a disc 9 witha fibre-supporting surface 10 onto which the fibres being fed in are directed. With the rotor 4 being rotated in operation, a yarn 11 (FIG. 1) is formed from the fibres, with the yarn being delivered by a pair of coacting rollers 12 through a central opening 13 in the surface 10 of the disc 9.  
  The disc 9 has a plurality of slots 14 (FIG. 3) made therethrough, the slots 14 being at a certain distance from the central opening 13 and extending away from this opening toward the periphery of the disc, the slots being intended to have the air drawn therethrough, together with any foreign matter being separated from the fibres, as the latter are formed into the yarn. Intermediately adjacent to each pair of slots 14 the fibresupporting surface 10 of the disc 9 has a projection 15 made thereon, with all these projections 15 being uniformly spaced from the axis of rotation of the disc 9 and assisting in retaining the fibres at the fibresupporting surface 10 of this disc 9.  
  In order to eliminate the fibres from binding in slots 14, the latter may extend to the edge 16 (FIG. 4) of the disc 9, i.e. the slots may be open at this edge, in which case the slots 14 divide the disc 9 into segment 17, with each such segment having thereon a projection 15.  
  In order to provide for the removal of foreign matter separated from the fibres, each such segment 17 is connected to the respective vane of the wheel 8 and the sleeve 5 so that a space 19 (FIG. 5) is defined between the disc 9 and the face end 18 of the sleeve 5, facing the disc 9. In this embodiment the through slots 14 extend radially and are uniformly and angularly spaced about the surface of the disc, as is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.  
  According to another embodiment, each segment 17 has two projections 15 (FIG. 7) defining therebetween a clearance through which the air is additionally drawn from the central portion of the disc 9.  
  In another modification of the proposed machine, illustrated in FIG. 8, the slots 14 extend from the central opening 10 in a fan-like fashion and are shaped as arcs of the same diameter. On each segment 17 defined by these arcuate slots 14 a projection 15 is situated.  
  In a modification shown in FIG. 9 the pairs of through slots defining segments 17 therebetween are arranged so that one of the two slots (the slot 20) is parallel to one of the axes 21 and 22 of symmetry of the disc 9, whereas the other slot 23 is inclined relative to said axis at an angle a.  
  In order to correspond to the kind of fibres being treated, the projections 15 may have various crosssectional shapes. Thus, when the fibres or blends of fibres being treated have a fibre length in excess of 30 mm, it has been found expedient that the projections 15 should be shaped in its cross-section as triangles, or as rectangles, or as trapazoids (FIGS. 10c, 10b and 10e, respectively). When the fibre length is within a range from 20 to 30 mm and the fibres displaylow tenacity, the projections 15 may be shaped in cross-section as right-angle triangles (FIG. 10a). With the fibre length below 20 mm and an even lower fiber tenacity, the projections 15 may be shaped in cross-section as acute triangles with the apex being inclined relative to the axis of rotation of the disc (FIG. 10]).  
  Irrespective of the cross-sectional shape of the projections 15, it is advisable that the apex of each projection should be rounded, as is illustrated in FIG. 10d.  
  In order to provide for additional air being drawn in and for concentration of the fibres at the central portion of the disc 9, the portion of the surface 10 thereof, defined by the projections 15, may have perforations 24 (FIGS. 11 and 12) made therethrough.  
  The rotor 4 is received within the chamber 25 (FIG. 1) from which the air is withdrawn into a suction system in a direction shown in FIG. 1 with an arrow The yarn 11 is drawn by the pair of.rollers l2 and is directed therefrom onto a bobbin 26 biased into contact with a winding drum 27.  
  The feeding device 1 includes, in addition to the abovementioned passage 2, a fibre lap compressing couple 28 made up by a roller 29 and a spring-biased arm 30. This fibre lap compressing couple 28 feeds the fibres 3 to a carding cylinder 31 provided with a corresponding filleting mechanism which adjoins the inlet of the passage 2.  
  FIG. 13 illustrates a machine for ringless spinning of fibres including a rotor 4 having a structure like that which has been described hereinabove. However, in this machine the mechanical forces acting on the fibres to retain them at the surface of the disc 9 are assisted by the retaining forces provided by an electrostatic field. The latter is created by a stationary electrode 32 mounted at the the junction of the outlet of the passage 2 and the disc 9 which acts as the second electrode, with the projections of the disc 9 being made of a dielectric material in this case.  
 The machine operates as follows;  
  When the feeding device is in operation, the fibre lap compressing couple 28 creates, owing to the rotation of the roller 29 and of the carding cylinder 31 with a corresponding filleting mechanism, a stream of separated fibres 3 which is conveyed in a stream of air via the passage 2 onto the fibre supporting surface 10 of the disc 9 of the rotor 4 received within the chamber 25.  
  At the same time the spindle 6 is rotated jointly with the rotor 4 supported thereby. Owing to its rotation, the rotor 4 creates an air stream conveying the stream of separated fibres 3 from the carding cylinder 31 toward the supporting surface 10 of the disc 9. Due to the provision of the projections 15, a major part of the stream of the fibres is retained and concentrated at the central portion of the disc 9. The inherent adhesion or tenacity of the fibres is responsible for the fibres being drawn one by another into the central opening 13 of the disc 9; thus, with the latter rotating, the fibresare spun into the yarn 11.  
  The fibre-conveying air is drawn through the slots 14, which assists in urging the fibres 3 toward the fibresupporting surface 10 of the disc 9, as well as in urging the foreign matter coming together with the fibres to the same surface. Due to the provision of the air space 19, an additional step of cleaning is accomplished when the fibres pass through the central opening 13 thus being separated from the foreign matter.  
  As a result, the yarn spun in the proposed machine is cleaner than that produced from similar fibres and their blends in commonly known ring spinning frames.  
  Neither the shape of the projections, nor the configuration of the slots affect in any way the spinning operation; they are selected so as to correspond to the physical and mechanical properties of the fibres being treated.  
  When the machine is employed for the production of a reinforced yarn, the fibres 3 are fed thereinto as it has been described hereinabove, and additionally the core of the reinforced yarn-to-be is forwarded through the passage 2 and through the central opening 13, with the core being in the form of a capron thread, a metal thread or any other suitable kind of thread.  
 What is claimed is:  
  l. A machine for ringless spinning of textile fibres, comprising: a feeding device including a passage through which the fibres can be conveyed; a spindle mounted for rotation; means for imparting rotation to said spindle in operation of the machine; a sleeve mounted on said spindle; a rotor in the form of a multivane wheel mounted on said sleeve and adapted. upon rotation of said spindle, to create a stream of air capable of conveying the fibres; a disc belonging to said multi-vane wheel and having a central opening and a fibre-supporting surface adapted to receive said fibres and to take part informing said fibres into a yarn in the course of rotation of said spindle jointly with said rotor; a plurality of slots made through said disc, said slots being spaced from said central opening and extending away from said central opening toward the periphery of said disc; projection means situated on said fibresupporting surface of said disc between the adjacent pairs of said plurality of slots, said projection means being adapted to assist in retaining said fibres at said fibre-supporting surface, said projection means being spaced equidistantly from the axis of rotation of said rotor; and means for withdrawing said yarn through said central opening of said disc.  
  2. The machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said slots are made through said disc so that they extend to the peripheral edge of said disc and which divides it into a plurality of segments, with each said segment having thereon at least one of said projection means.  
  3. The machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said slots made through said disc extend radially on said disc and are uniformly spaced about the entire said fibre-supporting surface thereof.  
  4. The machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said slots made through said disc extend in a fan-like fashion and are shaped as arcs of the same radius.  
  5. The machine claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the said adjacent pair of said slots, defining therebetween said segment, is arranged so that one of said slot is parallel to one of the axes of symmetry of said disc, whereas the other said slots extends at an angle relative to said one slot and relative to said axis of symmetry.  
  6. The machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said segments of said disc are directly connected with the vanes of said wheel and with said sleeve so that an air space is defined between said disc and the face end of said sleeve facing said disc, said air space being adapted to assist in the removal of foreign matter separated from said fibres being formed into said yarn.  
  7. The machine as claimed in claim 6, wherein the portion of the said fibre-supporting surface of said disc, defined by said projection means, is perforated to provide for an additional drawing-in of air in the operation of said machine and for a greater concentration of said fibres at said portion.  
  8. The machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein each said projection means is shaped as a triangle in crosssection.  
  9. The machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein each said projection means is shaped as a rectangle in crosssection.  
  10. The machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein each said projection means is shaped as a trapezoid in crosssection.  
  11 The machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein each said projection means has a rounded apex in the crosssection thereof.