Title of Invention	A DEVICE FOR MONITORING YARNS ON RING SPINNING MACHINES
Abstract	The invention relates to a device for monitoring yarns on spinning machines, with a sensor which is disposed such that it can travel along a track in front of the production stations. In order to provide a device with which each spinning station of a spinning machine can be monitored to an extent such that mavericks and other forms of unevenness in the yarn can be located, the sensor (2) is formed and disposed to detect the diameter of the yarn.

Title of Invention

A DEVICE FOR MONITORING YARNS ON RING SPINNING MACHINES

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for monitoring yarns on spinning machines, with a sensor which is disposed such that it can travel along a track in front of the production stations. In order to provide a device with which each spinning station of a spinning machine can be monitored to an extent such that mavericks and other forms of unevenness in the yarn can be located, the sensor (2) is formed and disposed to detect the diameter of the yarn.

Full Text	DEVICE FOR MONITORING YARNS ON RING SPINNING MACHINES The invention relates to a device for monitoring yarns on spinning machines, with a sensor which is disposed such that it can travel along a track in front of the production stations. The unevenness of the yarn is one of the most important parameters of yarn quality control in the spinning mill. This quality control has until now been carried out almost exclusively on the basis of random samples in the laboratory. However it is not possible to detect so-called mavericks, i.e. places in the yarn which deviate significantly from the desired diameter, by means of random samples. Yet such mavericks are a frequent occurrence and can only be detected if all the production stations are subject to a control. However a comprehensive quality control directly at each production station is absolutely unrealistic. It is now usual to use so-called travelling sensors to detect the number of thread breakages at each spinning station. The number of thread breakages at the individual spinning stations gives an indication of possible mavericks in the yarn. A device for monitoring- a consecutive series of work stations of a textile machine for thread breakage is known in particular from CH 601093, in the case of which a scanning head guided past the work stations is guided past these on a guide bar for contactless recording of electrical signals. This travelling sensor or scanning head reacts according to a magnetic principle to the rotation of the ferromagnetic traveller of the work station. However one disadvantage of the known device lies in the fact that it only enables a thread breakage to be i determined via the stationary traveller. In particular, this device delivers no information on the quality of the spun yarn, for it does not react to the yarn as such. For practical reasons quality control in the laboratory does not take place until several days after the random samples have been taken. The possibility of a prompt reaction to any changes of a general type is therefore limited. The object of the invention, as characterised in the claims, is therefore to provide a device with which each spinning station of a ring spinning machine can be monitored to an extent such that mavericks and other forms of unevenness in the yarn can be located. This is achieved by means of the invention in that a so-called travelling sensor is guided along a track past the production or spinning stations and comprises a special measuring member for determining the yarn cross section and/or yarn diameter. For this purpose the rotating yarn, in particular the so-called balloon, is illuminated and the yarn then gives rise to light changes which are converted at least approximately into an instantaneous value of the yarn diameter and/or yarn cross section as the travelling sensor travels past each spinning station. Features from which the quality of the yarn can be determined can now be calculated from the yarn diameter thus determined or the yarn mass. The device according to the invention therefore comprises a travelling sensor with at least one measuring member which is adapted to determine the diameter or the mass. For! example, at least one light source and at least one light receiver are provided in the region of the rotating yarn to detect the yarn cross section' and/or the yarn diameter. The advantages achieved by the invention lie in particular in the fact that spindles which produce yarn with mavericks can be detected after just a short period in a ring spinning machine. This means that it is no longer necessary to undertake a complex yarn examination for mavericks and results can be obtained far quicker. Moreover, all spinning stations are systematically covered to an equal degree, so that the possibility of a practically continuous detection of mavericks and other forms of unevenness in the yarn can be relied on. The proposed device is in addition very simple and therefore inexpensive. It can also be rendered automatic without any problems. The invention is illustrated in detail in the following on the basis of an example and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the device according to the invention, Figure 2 is a section through a part of the device, Figures 3, 4 and 5 are plan views of a respective construction, Figures 6 and 7 each show a detail of the device and Figures 8 and 9 show a respective signal pattern as may occur in the device. Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a travelling sensor 1 with a measuring member 2 which slides on a bar 4 or a track along a ring rail 5 with spinning or production stations 6, 7 and 8. The typical parts of a ring spinning machine, as well as the travelling sensors for detecting thread breakages, are assumed as known from CH 601093. The travelling sensor 1 is connected via a line 9 to an evaluation unit 10, which also comprises an output 11, for example for the output of mavericks or other values representing the quality of the yarn. The signals are transmitted from the travelling sensor 1 to the line 9 either via the drive of the travelling sensor, as described in the above-mentioned CH 601 093, or via the conductive bar 4 . Figure 2 again shows some of the elements known from Figure 1, i.e. in particular a spinning station 7 with a bobbin 12, the ring rail 5 with a ring 13 and a traveller 14, the bar 4 with the travelling sensor 1, as well as the measuring member 2. Also in evidence here is the yarn 15, which forms the known balloon 16. Figure 3 shows a construction of a travelling sensor 17 with an optically operating measuring member 18 and light sources 19 and 20 which are disposed on either side of this member and are directed such that the surface 21 of a bobbin is illuminated. Figure 4 shows a construction of a travelling sensor 22 with an optically operating measuring member 23 and light sources 24 and 25 which are disposed on either side of this member and are directed such that the path 26 or the balloon of a spinning station is illuminated. Figure 5 shows a spinning station with separators 27, 28 and stationary reflector elements 29, 30 attached to the latter. Also to be seen are the path 31 of the yarn 32 and the bar 33 with a travelling sensor 34 and its other positions 34' and 34" which it occupies temporarily as it passes by. A transmitter 35 and a receiver 36 for waves, preferably light waves, are provided on the travelling sensor 34. Each reflector element 29, 30 and the transmitter 35 and receiver 36 comprise a respective intersecting face 37, 38 and 39, 40, which are opposite one another in the illustrated position of the travelling sensor 34. Figure 6 is a diagrammatic representation of the operating mode of a receiver or measuring member 41, which cooperates with a gap 2 lying in front. Figure 7 is a diagrammatic representation of the operating mode of a receiver or measuring member 43, which cooperates with a lens or an objective 44 lying in front. Figure 8 shows pulses 45, 46 of differing amplitude A which are proportional to the diameter of a yarn. The pulses 45, 46 are accordingly signals as can be delivered by the measuring member. Figure 9 shows pulses 47, 48 of differing length which are also proportional to the diameter of a yarn. The pulses 47, 48 are accordingly signals as can be delivered by the measuring member. The invention operates in the following mode: As it travels past the spinning stations 6, 7, 8, the measuring member 2 in the travelling sensor 1 directly detects the yarn 49, 50, 51 rotating about the spindle rather than detecting the traveller. A measured value corresponding at least approximately to the yarn diameter or yarn cross section is in each case derived from this. A measuring member of this kind therefore basically always only detects one measuring point per revolution of the yarn about the spindle and only when travelling past in front of the spindle in question. However the mavericks can be detected through an appropriate statistical evaluation of the measurement results in the evaluation unit 10, which therefore consists of a processor which can be programmed accordingly. The principle of the rotation of the yarn giving rise to a change in the light received in a receiver in a travelling sensor is a feature common to all the possible solutions described in the following. In this respect the change in the received light must correlate well with the yarn diameter and therefore also with the yarn cross section. A first example of a special measuring member for detecting the yarn diameter is shown in Figures 2 to 4. Here the yarn is illuminated above the ring 13 by at least one, although preferably by two intersecting light sources 19, 20 or 24, 25. The range of the light beams is indicated by broken lines in Figures 3 and 4. A light-sensitive measuring member 23 (Figure 4) is formed such that it only receives the light reflected from the yarn at a very short range. However the measuring member 18 according to Figure 3 receives the light shaded by the yarn at a short range. The yarn to be measured may also appear as though it were viewed only through a narrow slot, as indicated by the arrangement according to Figure 6. In this case the yarn 52 radiates its reflected light through the gap 42 onto the measuring member 41, which here is formed as a photocell, for example. An optical system 44 with at least one lens, as basically represented in Figure 7, is better than a gap. The theory of the optical system is known and therefore needs no further explanation. A pulse is produced each time the yarn revolves. Two different evaluation methods are possible, according to the apparent width of the gap 42. If the yarn is always thinner than the gap width, this will result in a pulse as typically indicated in Figure 8, The amplitude A of the pulse increases with the yarn diameter. However if the yarn diameter is always greater than the gap width, this will result in a typical pulse pattern according to Figure 9. In this case the time Tl, T2 is a measure of the yarn diameter. The variant with the time measurement is more favourable for signal processing in processors. Figure 3 shows another possibility for detecting the yarn diameter. Here the spinning cop is illuminated at its surface 21 behind the rotating yarn instead of the yarn. The yarn is not illuminated by the light beams. It remans in the shadow thereof. The spinning cop reflects light onto the measuring member, the optical system of which may in principle be of the type of the preceding example. In contrast to the preceding example, however, here the reflected light is shaded by the yarn. In this case the shading pulse is evaluated instead of a light pulse, as in the preceding example. In order to prevent influences due to extraneous light, it is advantageous to use, e.g. infrared light, or to modulate the light of the light transmitters 19 to 25 and demodulate it again following reception. Figure 5 shows another embodiment, in which the light from the light transmitter 35 is deflected via reflector elements 30, 29 to the light receiver 36, Two reflectors 29 and 30 are used in the example in Figure 5. The light receiver 36 again just has a gap. In this example the light beam is attenuated or completely interrupted by the rotating yarn. The statements relating to the above examples also apply to the pulses and optical system here. The speed at which the travelling sensor 34 is moved is of course much lower than the speed at which the yarn rotates about the bobbin. The illustrated position, in which the yarn 32 enters the light beam 53, will therefore occur at least once per pass of the travelling sensor 34. When the travelling sensor approaches the spindle, the pulses produced will initially be just weak, these then becoming increasingly stronger until they reach a maximum when the travelling sensor lies directly in front of the spindle. Afterwards the pulses become weaker again. An entire sequence of light pulses is therefore produced. In order to obtain reproducible values in all cases, just the maximum value, for example, or the mean value of a pair of pulses before and after the maximum value should in each case be considered as the actual measured value. The above constructions show how it is possible to obtain .an individual measured value per spindle in each case. These measured values may now be stored in a known manner for each spindle. The variance can then be calculated from these measured values. Those spindles at which the variance is the greatest are the sought spindles which produce mavericks in the yarn. The measured values may be averaged per pass of the travelling sensor along the entire ring spinning machine. It is thus possible to follow the variation in time ot the unevenness for each ring spinning machine side. Changes as may occur, for example, due to climatic disturbances, fluctuations in the raw material, etc. can be directly-located in this way, in contrast to conventional random sampling with subsequent examination in the laboratory. 1. Device for monitoring yarns on spinning machines, with a sensor (1) which is disposed such that it can travel along a track (4) in front of the production stations, characterised in that the travelling sensor is formed and disposed to detect the diameter of the yarn. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor comprises an optically operating measuring member (2). 3. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor is disposed above a ring rail (5) in the region of a balloon (16). 4. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor is connected to an evaluation unit (10). 5. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor comprises light sources (19, 20, 24, 25, 35) . 6. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor comprises a receiver (36). 7. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that stationary reflector elements (29, 30) are associated with the travelling sensor (1) for each spindle. 8. Device according to claim 5, characterised in that the light sources are modulated. 9. Device according to claim 2, characterised in that the measuring member is formed to evaluate light changes caused by the rotating yarn. 10. Device for moni tor ing yarns on spinning machines, substantially as herein described, with reference to the accompany ing drawings.

Full Text

DEVICE FOR MONITORING YARNS ON RING SPINNING MACHINES
The invention relates to a device for monitoring yarns on spinning machines, with a sensor which is disposed such that it can travel along a track in front of the production stations.
The unevenness of the yarn is one of the most important parameters of yarn quality control in the spinning mill. This quality control has until now been carried out almost exclusively on the basis of random samples in the laboratory. However it is not possible to detect so-called mavericks, i.e. places in the yarn which deviate significantly from the desired diameter, by means of random samples. Yet such mavericks are a frequent occurrence and can only be detected if all the production stations are subject to a control. However a comprehensive quality control directly at each production station is absolutely unrealistic.
It is now usual to use so-called travelling sensors to detect the number of thread breakages at each spinning station. The number of thread breakages at the individual spinning stations gives an indication of possible mavericks in the yarn.
A device for monitoring- a consecutive series of work stations of a textile machine for thread breakage is known in particular from CH 601093, in the case of which a scanning head guided past the work stations is guided past these on a guide bar for contactless recording of electrical signals. This travelling sensor or scanning head reacts according to a magnetic principle to the rotation of the ferromagnetic traveller of the work station.
However one disadvantage of the known device lies in the fact that it only enables a thread breakage to be i determined via the stationary traveller. In particular,

this device delivers no information on the quality of the spun yarn, for it does not react to the yarn as such.
For practical reasons quality control in the laboratory does not take place until several days after the random samples have been taken. The possibility of a prompt reaction to any changes of a general type is therefore limited.
The object of the invention, as characterised in the claims, is therefore to provide a device with which each spinning station of a ring spinning machine can be monitored to an extent such that mavericks and other forms of unevenness in the yarn can be located. This is achieved by means of the invention in that a so-called travelling sensor is guided along a track past the production or spinning stations and comprises a special measuring member for determining the yarn cross section and/or yarn diameter. For this purpose the rotating yarn, in particular the so-called balloon, is illuminated and the yarn then gives rise to light changes which are converted at least approximately into an instantaneous value of the yarn diameter and/or yarn cross section as the travelling sensor travels past each spinning station. Features from which the quality of the yarn can be determined can now be calculated from the yarn diameter thus determined or the yarn mass.
The device according to the invention therefore comprises a travelling sensor with at least one measuring member which is adapted to determine the diameter or the mass. For! example, at least one light source and at least one light receiver are provided in the region of the rotating yarn to detect the yarn cross section' and/or the yarn diameter.
The advantages achieved by the invention lie in particular in the fact that spindles which produce yarn with mavericks can be detected after just a short period in a ring spinning machine. This means that it is no longer necessary to undertake a complex yarn examination for mavericks and results can be obtained far quicker. Moreover, all spinning

stations are systematically covered to an equal degree, so that the possibility of a practically continuous detection of mavericks and other forms of unevenness in the yarn can be relied on. The proposed device is in addition very simple and therefore inexpensive. It can also be rendered automatic without any problems.
The invention is illustrated in detail in the following on the basis of an example and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the device according to the invention,
Figure 2 is a section through a part of the device,
Figures 3, 4 and 5 are plan views of a respective construction,
Figures 6 and 7 each show a detail of the device and
Figures 8 and 9 show a respective signal pattern as may occur in the device.
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a travelling sensor 1 with a measuring member 2 which slides on a bar 4 or a track along a ring rail 5 with spinning or production stations 6, 7 and 8. The typical parts of a ring spinning machine, as well as the travelling sensors for detecting thread breakages, are assumed as known from CH 601093. The travelling sensor 1 is connected via a line 9 to an evaluation unit 10, which also comprises an output 11, for example for the output of mavericks or other values representing the quality of the yarn. The signals are transmitted from the travelling sensor 1 to the line 9 either via the drive of the travelling sensor, as described in the above-mentioned CH 601 093, or via the conductive bar 4 .

Figure 2 again shows some of the elements known from Figure 1, i.e. in particular a spinning station 7 with a bobbin 12, the ring rail 5 with a ring 13 and a traveller 14, the bar 4 with the travelling sensor 1, as well as the measuring member 2. Also in evidence here is the yarn 15, which forms the known balloon 16.
Figure 3 shows a construction of a travelling sensor 17 with an optically operating measuring member 18 and light sources 19 and 20 which are disposed on either side of this member and are directed such that the surface 21 of a bobbin is illuminated.
Figure 4 shows a construction of a travelling sensor 22 with an optically operating measuring member 23 and light sources 24 and 25 which are disposed on either side of this member and are directed such that the path 26 or the balloon of a spinning station is illuminated.
Figure 5 shows a spinning station with separators 27, 28 and stationary reflector elements 29, 30 attached to the latter. Also to be seen are the path 31 of the yarn 32 and the bar 33 with a travelling sensor 34 and its other positions 34' and 34" which it occupies temporarily as it passes by. A transmitter 35 and a receiver 36 for waves, preferably light waves, are provided on the travelling sensor 34. Each reflector element 29, 30 and the transmitter 35 and receiver 36 comprise a respective intersecting face 37, 38 and 39, 40, which are opposite one another in the illustrated position of the travelling sensor 34.
Figure 6 is a diagrammatic representation of the operating mode of a receiver or measuring member 41, which cooperates with a gap 2 lying in front.
Figure 7 is a diagrammatic representation of the operating mode of a receiver or measuring member 43, which cooperates with a lens or an objective 44 lying in front.

Figure 8 shows pulses 45, 46 of differing amplitude A which are proportional to the diameter of a yarn. The pulses 45, 46 are accordingly signals as can be delivered by the measuring member.
Figure 9 shows pulses 47, 48 of differing length which are also proportional to the diameter of a yarn. The pulses 47, 48 are accordingly signals as can be delivered by the measuring member.
The invention operates in the following mode: As it travels past the spinning stations 6, 7, 8, the measuring member 2 in the travelling sensor 1 directly detects the yarn 49, 50, 51 rotating about the spindle rather than detecting the traveller. A measured value corresponding at least approximately to the yarn diameter or yarn cross section is in each case derived from this. A measuring member of this kind therefore basically always only detects one measuring point per revolution of the yarn about the spindle and only when travelling past in front of the spindle in question. However the mavericks can be detected through an appropriate statistical evaluation of the measurement results in the evaluation unit 10, which therefore consists of a processor which can be programmed accordingly.
The principle of the rotation of the yarn giving rise to a change in the light received in a receiver in a travelling sensor is a feature common to all the possible solutions described in the following. In this respect the change in the received light must correlate well with the yarn diameter and therefore also with the yarn cross section.
A first example of a special measuring member for detecting the yarn diameter is shown in Figures 2 to 4. Here the yarn is illuminated above the ring 13 by at least one, although preferably by two intersecting light sources 19, 20 or 24, 25. The range of the light beams is indicated by broken lines in Figures 3 and 4. A light-sensitive measuring member 23 (Figure 4) is formed such that it only receives

the light reflected from the yarn at a very short range. However the measuring member 18 according to Figure 3 receives the light shaded by the yarn at a short range. The yarn to be measured may also appear as though it were viewed only through a narrow slot, as indicated by the arrangement according to Figure 6. In this case the yarn 52 radiates its reflected light through the gap 42 onto the measuring member 41, which here is formed as a photocell, for example.
An optical system 44 with at least one lens, as basically
represented in Figure 7, is better than a gap. The theory
of the optical system is known and therefore needs no
further explanation.
A pulse is produced each time the yarn revolves. Two different evaluation methods are possible, according to the apparent width of the gap 42. If the yarn is always thinner than the gap width, this will result in a pulse as typically indicated in Figure 8, The amplitude A of the pulse increases with the yarn diameter. However if the yarn diameter is always greater than the gap width, this will result in a typical pulse pattern according to Figure 9. In this case the time Tl, T2 is a measure of the yarn diameter. The variant with the time measurement is more favourable for signal processing in processors.
Figure 3 shows another possibility for detecting the yarn diameter. Here the spinning cop is illuminated at its surface 21 behind the rotating yarn instead of the yarn. The yarn is not illuminated by the light beams. It remans in the shadow thereof. The spinning cop reflects light onto the measuring member, the optical system of which may in principle be of the type of the preceding example. In contrast to the preceding example, however, here the reflected light is shaded by the yarn. In this case the shading pulse is evaluated instead of a light pulse, as in the preceding example.

In order to prevent influences due to extraneous light, it is advantageous to use, e.g. infrared light, or to modulate the light of the light transmitters 19 to 25 and demodulate it again following reception.
Figure 5 shows another embodiment, in which the light from the light transmitter 35 is deflected via reflector elements 30, 29 to the light receiver 36, Two reflectors 29 and 30 are used in the example in Figure 5. The light receiver 36 again just has a gap. In this example the light beam is attenuated or completely interrupted by the rotating yarn. The statements relating to the above examples also apply to the pulses and optical system here. The speed at which the travelling sensor 34 is moved is of course much lower than the speed at which the yarn rotates about the bobbin. The illustrated position, in which the yarn 32 enters the light beam 53, will therefore occur at least once per pass of the travelling sensor 34.
When the travelling sensor approaches the spindle, the pulses produced will initially be just weak, these then becoming increasingly stronger until they reach a maximum when the travelling sensor lies directly in front of the spindle. Afterwards the pulses become weaker again. An entire sequence of light pulses is therefore produced. In order to obtain reproducible values in all cases, just the maximum value, for example, or the mean value of a pair of pulses before and after the maximum value should in each case be considered as the actual measured value.
The above constructions show how it is possible to obtain .an individual measured value per spindle in each case. These measured values may now be stored in a known manner for each spindle. The variance can then be calculated from these measured values. Those spindles at which the variance is the greatest are the sought spindles which produce mavericks in the yarn.
The measured values may be averaged per pass of the travelling sensor along the entire ring spinning machine.

It is thus possible to follow the variation in time ot the unevenness for each ring spinning machine side. Changes as may occur, for example, due to climatic disturbances, fluctuations in the raw material, etc. can be directly-located in this way, in contrast to conventional random sampling with subsequent examination in the laboratory.

1. Device for monitoring yarns on spinning machines, with a sensor (1) which is disposed such that it can travel along a track (4) in front of the production stations, characterised in that the travelling sensor is formed and disposed to detect the diameter of the yarn.
2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor comprises an optically operating measuring member (2).
3. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor is disposed above a ring rail (5) in the region of a balloon (16).
4. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor is connected to an evaluation unit (10).
5. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor comprises light sources (19, 20, 24, 25, 35) .
6. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the travelling sensor comprises a receiver (36).
7. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that stationary reflector elements (29, 30) are associated with the travelling sensor (1) for each spindle.
8. Device according to claim 5, characterised in that the light sources are modulated.
9. Device according to claim 2, characterised in that the measuring member is formed to evaluate light changes caused by the rotating yarn.

10. Device for moni tor ing yarns on spinning machines, substantially as herein described, with reference to the accompany ing drawings.

Documents:

2619-mas-1998- abstract.pdf

2619-mas-1998- assignment.pdf

2619-mas-1998- claims duplicate.pdf

2619-mas-1998- claims original.pdf

2619-mas-1998- corresppondence others.pdf

2619-mas-1998- corresppondence po.pdf

2619-mas-1998- descripition complete duplicate.pdf

2619-mas-1998- descripition complete original.pdf

2619-mas-1998- drawings.pdf

2619-mas-1998- form 1.pdf

2619-mas-1998- form 26.pdf

2619-mas-1998- form 3.pdf

2619-mas-1998- form 6.pdf

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Patent Number

204492

Indian Patent Application Number

2619/MAS/1998

PG Journal Number

26/2007

Publication Date

29-Jun-2007

Grant Date

22-Feb-2007

Date of Filing

19-Nov-1998

Name of Patentee

USTER TECHNOLOGIES AG,

Applicant Address

11, CH-8610 USTER, SWITZERLAND,

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	ERNST FELIX	BAHNSTRASSE 35, CH-8610 USTER,

PCT International Classification Number

D01H13/14

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1	2890/97	1997-12-17	Switzerland