Title of Invention

A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR COLLECTING AND DISCHARGING FIBRE WASTES IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Abstract

A system for collecting and discharging fibre waste such as fluff, generated during fiber processing comprising a plurality of Overhead Traveling Cleaners (OHTC) mounted at the top of spinning frames to collect fiber waste and to transport them to a drop box, a Waste Collection System (WCS) provided to transfer the waste collected by the OHTC in the drop box to a waste collection bag comprising a common suction chute, a suction blower to facilitate evacuation of the waste from the drop box through the common suction chute to the waste collection bag wherein a means for sensing the position of the OHTC are provided on the spinning frame (SF), said means being electrically connected to a control unit, which is capable of engaging the suction blower when said sensing means senses said OHTC and disengages the same when the OHTC is outside the sensing zone thereby saving energy.

Full Text

This invention relates to a waste collection system for overhead travelling cleaning machines in the textile industry. Background of the invention: The primary purpose of the overhead travelling cleaning systems, which consists of overhead travelling cleaners and waste collection system hereinafter represented as OHTC and WCS is to collect fibre waste deposited on the floor as well as on the machine. Textile industry is one among the high-energy intensive quality demanding manufacturing plants that need to be effectively managed against waste (fluff) generated out of fibre processing, which adversely affects the quality. Fluff removal and machine cleaning can be accomplished with the support of OHTC which is an ancillary drive associated with spinning and weaving sections of the textile industry. Common waste collection system (WCS) is an independent sub-system designated to collect waste from group of OHTC(s) Several methods have been developed over the years to conserve and save energy from the existing energy consumption level. These include methods such as varying the rotating speed of the WCS blower, reducing the capacity, starting and stopping the blower automatically as and when required and the like. The variable speed operations bring adverse effect on suction quality leading to soaking. Implementation of capacity reduction of the blower will also lead to insufficient suction which in turn results in poor evacuation of the waste. Excluding the variable speed and reducing capacity, the major influencing alternative in the energy saving method is automatically starting and stopping the blower as and when required. This method will be the most useful feature in order to save energy without affecting the existing performance of the WCS in textile mills. In the existing WCS, the blower has to run continuously to evacuate the waste, the moment immediately after discharge into the drop box. The waste collected by the OHTC during the traverse movement is discharged only at the end of each cycle till which time the WCS blower will be running and consuming energy without producing any output. The frequency of discharge of waste is less in a system having a multiple OHTC(s). Presently, the performance of WCS is measured in terms of the quantum of waste sucked and transported to the destination ignoring energy consumption and the operational time required to produce the same output. The conventional system creates suction to evacuate the waste whenever the discharge occurs and also whenever the discharge does not occur. The emphasis is given only to produce output and not to control the input, which is normally electrical energy. The input electrical energy is being spent unnecessarily in the existing system which can be avoided. Therefore, the main drawback associated with the existing system is the continuous running of WCS blower for evacuation of fibre wastes without any counter check mechanism on the position of the OHTC(s). This continuous running of the blower without any feedback from the OHTC will result in unproductive utilization of energy. Creating suction pressure by a system when such suction is not required results in an energy inefficient system. In order to convert this existing uncontrolled model into an energy efficient and effective system, a control mechanism is required for the textile mills. Summary of the Invention: In order to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional WCS, this invention provides a novel automatic energy efficient control system for the Waste Collection System for OHTC systems. OHTC is a motorized unit designed to move on rails mounted on top of the frames such as simplex, spinning, doubling, winding and looms. Its vital function includes blowing out air through nozzles to displace adhering fluff lying on the machine and floor through suction ports and to drop the collected waste into a drop box. A drop box is provided at one end of the frame to receive waste after each traverse movement of the OHTC. The collected waste from the drop box is removed either by manual or automatic methods depending on the requirement. Generally, one OHTC is used for one/two ring frames (long) having 864/960/1008/1156 spindle capacity and one OHTC is used for four/five ring frames (short) having 432/440/480/504 spindle capacity. The Waste Collection System associated with the OHTC system is an automatic functionary that transports the waste to a common station. This powered system connected with a group of overhead traveling cleaning machines collects the waste discharged in the drop boxes and transports it via common suction chute to a specific destination for easy disposal. The present invention provides an energy efficient control system for the Waste Collection System of OHTC systems, which could be retrofitted in the existing Waste Collection system of OHTC systems. The first embodiment of the present invention provides a control device to change the operating cycle of the Waste Collection System of OHTC system using mechanical or electrical positional transducers. The transducers are fitted over the mounted brackets provided in each frame to trigger on and off for a particular duration depending on the requirement. The entire control system facilities to control automatically the operation of the Waste Collection System of OHTC systems. In a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a control device to change the operating cycle of the Waste Collection System of OHTC system using infrared-based photo sensors. The sensors are fitted on the mounted brackets provided at extreme ends of the department to trigger on and trigger off for a particular duration depending on the fibre characteristics. The entire control system facilitates to control automatically the operation of the Waste Control System of OHTC systems. Brief description of the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 shows the energy saving control system for overhead traveling cleaning systems according to the first embodiment. Figure 2 shows the energy saving control system for overhead traveling cleaning systems according to the second embodiment. Detailed description with reference to the drawings: Figure 1 shows in detail the first embodiment of the invention. Figure 1 illustrates a spinning department (100) consisting of a plurality of spinning frames (SF) over which an equal number of Overhead Traveling Cleaners (1) are mounted on rails (not shown). These Overhead Traveling Cleaners (OHTC) (1) are provided to move laterally along the axis of the spinning frames (SF). These OHTC (1) blow out air through nozzles to displace adhering fluff over the machine and to discharge the collected waste into a drop box. The control system according to the first embodiment comprises means (2) for sensing the Overhead Traveling Cleaners (1) and a control unit (4) for providing electrical signals to trigger on or trigger off the blower (5) of the Waste Collection System. A common waste collection chute (3) is provided to collect the waste from the plurality of OHTC (1) and transferred to a waste collection bag (7) by means of the Waste Collection System's suction blower (5). The said means (2) for sensing the OHTC is preferably transducers which are located based on the suction chute line by giving due consideration for the count process and environment condition prevailing inside the department as it accelerates higher quantum of waste generation. The transducers are slidably mounted on slots thereby enabling them to change their position during the course of fixation. The transducer (2) to chute line span is termed as sensing zone (8). The sensing zone (8) is distanced in such a way to prolong the running of the Waste Collection System blower (5) till the waste reaches the destination from the far end of the frame. The sensing zone (8) can be designed at optimum level. The optimum span could be short for closer frames and wide for far end frames. The control unit (4) containing electronic components such as Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), a relay mounted PCB, auto/manual switch, indicating devices, soft starter etc. can be located anywhere inside the department considering minimum cable distance. Further, a mechanical damper (6) is also provided to isolate the rushing fluff into the chute line from outside during the idle time of the WCS blower. The control system as described above supports the primary function of waste removal without compromising on quality aspects in addition to saving in energy by triggering on and off the blower as and when the OHTC are in the sensing zone (8). The system engages the WCS blower whenever required and is made idle during the remaining time in order to save energy. In the second embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in Figure 2, the means for sensing the physical position of the OHTC is an infrared-based photo sensor unit. The said unit comprises a transmitter element (10) and receiver element (20) which are positioned in line with each other and they span over the extreme ends of the department and are electrically connected to a control unit (4). The transmitter element (10) and the receiver element (20) come into contact with each other only when both are in the same phase and it can be termed as the sensing line (30). In this embodiment, the OHTC are equipped with sensor actuators (40) having length and height greater than the span of the sensing zone (8) and sensing line (30) respectively to carry out the specified function. Whenever the OHTC (1) with the sensor actuators (40) cross the emitting infrared light, the control signal is actuated which in turn starts operating the WCS blower (5). The mounting arrangement for mounting and fixing the sensing elements (10, 20) is fabricated with slots for sliding these elements if change in position during the course of alignment is desired. The sensing zone (8) is distanced in such a way to prolong the operation of the WCS blower till the waste reaches the destination from the far end of the frame. The control unit (4) consists of electronic components such as sensor control unit, isolation transformer, relay, auto/manual switch, indicating devices and soft starter etc. can be located nearer to the receiver element. A mechanical damper (6) may also be provided to isolate the rushing fluff into the chute line from outside during the idle time of the WCS blower. This system as described above supports the primary function of waste removal without compromising on quality aspects in addition to saving in energy by means of triggering on and off the blower as and when the OHTC are in the sensing zone (8). This system engages the WCS motor starter (50) when the OHTC is in the sensing zone thereby triggering on the blower and disengages during rest time in order to save energy. The control system as detailed in the two embodiments as above is attachable to any existing Waste Collection System for OHTC in textile mills. Some of the advantages of this system are : a) Error free operation due to high-grade sensors. b) Control damper provides isolation from outside when system is not in operation. c) Reduced inrush current. d) Reduction in blower operation hours thereby saving energy. e) Can be retrofitted in existing system. WE CLAIM: 1. A control system for collecting and discharging fibre waste such as fluff, generated during fiber processing comprising a plurality of Overhead Traveling Cleaners (OHTC) mounted at the top of spinning frames to collect fiber waste and to transport them to a drop box, a Waste Collection System (WCS) provided to transfer the waste collected by the OHTC in the drop box to a waste collection bag, comprising a common suction chute, a suction blower to facilitate evacuation of the waste from the drop box through the common suction chute to the waste collection bag wherein a means for sensing the position of the OHTC are provided on the spinning frame (SF), said means being electrically connected to a control unit, which is capable of engaging the suction blower when said sensing means senses said OHTC and disengages the same when the OHTC is outside the sensing zone thereby saving energy. 2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said sensing means is mechanical or electrical transducers. 3. The system as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein the said transducers are mounted on slots, are provided for changing the position during alignment of the transducers. 4. The system as claimed in claims 1 to 3, wherein the distance between said transducer and said suction chute is such that the said suction blower is continually engaged until the waste reaches the said waste collection bag from the far end of the said spinning frame. 5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said sensing means is an infrared-based photo sensor unit comprising a transmitting element and a receiving element. 6. The system as claimed in claims 1 and 5, wherein sensor actuators having length and height greater than the span of the sensing zone and sensing line respectively are provided on said OHTC. 7. The system as claimed in claims 5 and 6 wherein the distance between the sensor and the suction chute is such that the said suction blower is continually engaged until the waste reaches the said waste collection bag from the far end of the said spinning frame. 8. The system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a control damper is provided just after the suction blower to prevent rushing fluff from the outside from entering the chute line when the suction blower is idle. 9. The system as claimed in claim 8 wherein the said control damper is a mechanical damper. 10. A system for collecting and discharging fibre waste substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

0649-che-2005-abstract.pdf

0649-che-2005-claims.pdf

0649-che-2005-correspondnece-others.pdf

0649-che-2005-description(complete).pdf

0649-che-2005-drawings.pdf

0649-che-2005-form 1.pdf

0649-che-2005-form 26.pdf

0649-che-2005-form 3.pdf

649-CHE-2005 AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION 12-03-2013.pdf

649-CHE-2005 AMENDED CLAIMS 12-03-2013.pdf

649-CHE-2005 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 12-03-2013.pdf