Title of Invention

TEXTILE MACHINE PRODUCING CROSS-WOUND BOBBINS WITH ELECTRONICS UNIT

Abstract

The invention relates to a textile machine producing cross-wound bobbins with a large number of similar workstations, which each have an individual control device, which is integrated into an electronics unit (40, 60) with an operating element (42, 63) and a display element (43, 64) and which activates at least one actuator (2, 33, 31, 35, 53) of the workstation, wherein a yarn sensor is integrated into the electronics unit and the individual control device evaluates measurement signals of the yarn sensor and activates the at least one actuator of the workstation as a function of the measurement signals.

Full Text

FORM 2 THE PATENT ACT 1970 (39 of 1970) The Patents Rules, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION 'See Section 10, and rule 13) 1. TITLE OF INVENTION ELECTRONICS UNIT FOR A TEXTILE MACHINE PRODUCING CROSS-WOUND BOBBINS 2. APPLICANT(S) a) Name b) Nationality c) Address OERLIKON TEXTILE GMBH & CO, GERMAN Company LEVERKUSER STRASEE 55, 42897 REMSCHEID, GERMANY KG 3. PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION The following specification particularly describes the invention and the mariner in which it is to be performed : - -8 AUG 2008 PATENTS ACT 1977 I, ASTRID TERRY, translator of 11, Bounds Oak Way, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. TN4 OUB, England, confirm that I am conversant with the English and German languages and I am a competent translator from one to the other. I declare to the best of my knowledge and belief that the attached English translation is a true and correct translation of the No. DE Patent No. 10 2007 040 184.3. Dated this 10th day of July 2008. The invention relates to a textile machine producing cross-wound bobbins with a large number of similar workstations, which each have an individual control device, which is integrated into an electronics unit with an operating element and a display element and activates at least one actuator of the workstation. EP 1 065 303 discloses a generic textile machine. As described in the document, the arrangement of the operating and display element on the respective workstation is particularly advantageous as the displayed data can be directly and without risk of confusion associated with the respective workstation. This is particularly significant if an intervention by an operator is necessary or desirable on the basis of the data displayed. The operator can acknowledge interventions at the workstation by means of the operating element or trigger control functions. A particularly space-saving and simple device is obtained by the integration of the control device and the operating and display element into one electronics unit, in other words, for example, on a printed circuit board. The textile machine producing cross-wound bobbins also has yarn sensors. Yarn sensors of this type can fulfil various objects. Simple embodiments merely monitor whether a thread is present in the sensor or whether the thread is moving in the sensor. This allows a thread break to be detected, for example. However, yarn sensors are also known which monitor the quality of the yarn. These are in general known as yarn clearers. Clearers can recognise thick or thin locations as well as extraneous fibres in the thread. On recognising a defect in the yarn, the winding process is interrupted. The location of the defect may, for example, then be cut out and the threads joined to one another again. If the textile machine is a spinning machine, the spinning process may be interrupted and then a repiecing can take place. This produces the necessity for a close link between the workstation control and the measurement signal evaluation. Accordingly, it is proposed in DE 199 07 684 to integrate the function control of the workstation, the evaluation of the signals of the measurement head of the yarn clearer and the clearing out of the yarn on a common circuit board or in a common processor. 2 It should be possible to use a textile machine producing cross-wound bobbins for various types of yarns. For this purpose, it is possibly necessary to exchange the yarn sensor. This may be necessary, for example, when the eye of the yarn sensor, through which the thread is guided, is too small for a relatively coarse yarn with a correspondingly large diameter. Correspondingly, a fine yarn cannot be guided through an eye which is too large as the movement of the yarn inside the eye can lead to measurement errors. The adaptation of the measurement head to certain types of yarn also applies to the sensor system itself. With an optical sensor, a limited measurement window is determined, for example, by a transmitting diode and a receiving diode. The evaluation of the measurement signals of the measurement head takes place in an associated control unit, which, as described above, advantageously also controls the workstation. It is necessary for the control unit to be matched to the respective measurement head. This means that when the measurement head is exchanged, an adaptation of the control unit is also necessary. In other words, at least the software of the processor of the control unit has to be exchanged. Optionally, the entire control unit also has to be exchanged. It is therefore the object of the present invention to simplify the exchange of a yarn sensor of a generic textile machine. The object is achieved according to the invention by the characterising features of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the sub¬claims. To achieve the object, a yarn sensor is integrated into the electronics unit and the individual control evaluates the measurement signals of the yarn sensor and activates the at least one actuator of the workstation as a function of the measurement signals. 3 According to the invention, to adapt the workstation to a different type of yarn, only the electronics unit still has to be exchanged. Further adaptations are not necessary, as each electronics unit is already matched to the integrated measurement head. The electronics unit is detachably connected to the workstation. A particularly simple and rapid exchange is produced in this case by the use of detachable snap-on connections. However, the use of screw connections is also possible. To connect the actuators and the supply voltage, plug connections are provided in this case. Both a yarn sensor, which only detects the presence of a thread, and also a sensor, which measures the quality of the thread, can be integrated in the electronics unit. In an advantageous development of the invention, the power electronics of the at least one actuator are integrated into the electronics unit. The cabling outlay and therefore also the number of plug connections are thereby reduced as no additional control lines to the actuators have to be laid, but only the power connections. In a particularly simple embodiment, the electronics unit is formed by a printed circuit board. The electronics unit may also be surrounded by a housing. In this case, it would also be conceivable for the electronics unit to consist of a plurality of plug-in modules. It is particularly advantageous to use a housing made of conductive plastics material. Thus, the entire electronics unit can be screened by a single measure against electromagnetic disturbances. To remove the heat loss, a cooling body may be integrated in the housing. A housing furthermore facilitates the handling of the electronics unit during assembly and disassembly in comparison to a non-protected printed circuit board. The operating element can be configured as a push-button. The push-button may be designed, in this case, such that through the manner of actuation, in other words, for example, by pressing for a long time or briefly, and as a function of the operating state, various actions of the workstations or their actuators can be triggered. 4 The display elements can be configured to display various coloured signals. For this purpose, for example, a multi-coloured light-emitting diode can be used as the display element. In this case, various states can be displayed by means of the various colours with a single display element. The light-emitting diode may, for example, have three colours and use the colours red, green and blue. The number of displayable states can be further increased in that a switch is made between continuous light and flashing light with various flashing speeds. Furthermore, the basic colours red, green and blue may be mixed by regulated activation to form further colours. According to an advantageous development of the invention, a second individual control device and a second yarn sensor for a second adjacent workstation are integrated in the electronics unit. This means that when there is a batch change only half the number of units has to be exchanged. In addition, two workstations can share one operating element and one display element, so there is an additional cost saving. The entire electronics unit can be operated with a common voltage supply for all the components. This produces advantages in terms of circuitry and the power loss can be reduced, so ultimately costs can be saved. The invention can be used for a large number of textile machines, specifically for winding and spinning machines. Examples of possible types of spinning machines are air spinning machines, rotor spinning machines or ring spinning machines. The actuators which are activated by the individual control device are, for example, the draw-off motor, the feed motor, the waxing device, the valves for lifting and lowering the cross-wound bobbin from the winding shaft, the braking device for the cross-wound bobbin, the drive motor for the winding shaft and/or the suction air device. 5 The invention will be described in more detail below with the aid of an embodiment shown in the drawings. The embodiment in this case shows the invention using the example of a rotor spinning machine. In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a rotor spinning machine according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows an electronics unit surrounded by housing with an integrated yarn sensor; Fig. 3 shows an electronics unit surrounded by housing with two integrated yarn sensors. Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a rotor spinning machine according to the invention. The fibre band, not shown here, is supplied by means of the fibre band feed cylinder 1 to the fibre band opening roller 3. The fibre band feed cylinder 1 is driven in this case by the feed motor 2. The opened fibre band is fed to the spinning box 10 with the spinning rotor 11. In the embodiment shown, the spinning rotor is driven centrally by a belt drive, not shown, in other words, the rotors oi a plurality of workstations are driven simultaneously by means of the central drive. Alternatively, however, electric motor single drives are also possible for the spinning rotor. The thread 20 is drawn from the spinning box 10 by means of the thread draw-off nozzle 12 and transported onward by means of the thread draw-off device 32 driven by the draw-off motor 33 to the winding device 50. A suction air device 31, which is used in the piecing process, is also arranged above the thread draw-off device 32. Before the thread 20 is wound onto the cross-wound bobbin 51, the thread is waxed by means of the waxing roller 34 driven by the motor 35. 6 The winding device 50 has a creel 52 for rotatably holding the tube of the cross-wound bobbin 51, a winding shaft 56 for driving the cross-wound bobbin, a thread traversing device 57 and a device 55 for lifting the cross-wound bobbin 51 from the winding shaft 56 or for lowering it. The device 55 is configured, for example, as a thrust piston gearing, which is connected to an excess pressure source (not shown) by means of a pneumatic line 54, in which an electromagnetic valve 53 is connected. In the present embodiment, the drive of the winding shaft is implemented as a group drive. In other words, a drive shaft along the length of the machine is provided, to which the individual winding shafts 56 are fixed. In an alternative embodiment, however, a single motor drive of the winding shaft is also possible. An electronics unit 40 with an integrated yarn sensor is arranged above the thread draw-off device 32. As an alternative, an arrangement below the draw-off device is also possible. The electronics unit 40 surrounded by housing 45 is shown three-dimensionally in Fig. 2. The housing 45 is made of conductive plastics material and has, on the non-visible lower side, cooling ribs to remove the heat loss. The arrangement on the lower side ensures that no soiling or fibre residues can deposit between the cooling ribs. The housing and correspondingly also the printed circuit board, which is surrounded by the housing, of the electronics unit have an eye 41 with an integrated yarn sensor for guiding the thread 20 through. The electronics unit also has a push-button 42 and a multi-coloured light-emitting diode 43. Apart from the individual control device, the power electronics are integrated in the electronics unit. To supply the actuators with current, in other words the feed motor 2, the suction air device 31, the draw-off motor 33, the drive 35 of the waxing roller and the electromagnetic valve 53 to lift and lower the cross-wound bobbin, the electronics unit is connected to the actuators by cables 44, the cables being detachable from the electronics unit by means of plug connections. Furthermore, measurement signals can be transmitted from the actuators to the control in the electronics unit by means of the cables 44. The individual control device and the power electronics are fed by a common voltage supply integrated into the electronics unit. If the spinning rotor or the winding shaft are designed as individual drives, these are also activated by the individual control device and are correspondingly 7 connected to the electronics unit. The control integrated in the electronics unit is furthermore connected to a superordinate control and the controls of the other workstations by means oi a bus system, not shown. The yarn sensor is only used to detect the presence of the thread 20 in the embodiment shown, in that it measures the movement of the thread. If the thread moves, in normal operation, at a defined speed through the eye of the electronics unit, the light-emitting diode 43 is switched off. For example, in the event of a thread break, the sensor no longer detects a thread, whereupon the individual control device lifts the cross-wound bobbin from the winding shaft and stops the individual drives of the workstation. The light-emitting diode is then illuminated in red to signal that an operator intervention is necessary. For piecing, the operator now has to draw off a defined length of the thread from the cross-wound bobbin. By pressing the button 42, a brake device, not shown, for the cross-wound bobbin can then be. activated. The light-emitting diode then flashes in green. The thread can then be positioned in the thread draw-off device 32. The draw- off motor moves in the draw-off direction owing to the next press of the button. The excess thread above the draw-off device is drawn by a negative pressure into the suction air device 31. A thread reserve for the piecing process is thus obtained. The operator now guides the thread end into the thread draw-off nozzle 12. After a further press of the button, the draw-off motor moves the thread end onto the rotor groove. If the piecing process has taken place, the brake device of the cross-wound bobbin is released and the bobbin is lowered onto the winding shaft. Normal operation is resumed and the light-emitting diode goes out. Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the electronics unit 60 surrounded by a housing 65 with two control devices and two yarn sensors, which are arranged on the eyes 62 and 63 in order to be able to operate two workstations with one electronics unit. In this case, only one push-button 63 and one light-emitting diode 64 are present which are used for the two workstations. Apart from the push-button and the light-emitting diode, the voltage supply for the components of the two workstations is also used together. 8 WE CLAIM: 1. Textile machine producing cross-wound bobbins with a large number of similar workstations, which each have an individual control device, which is integrated into an electronics unit (40, 60) with an operating element (42, 63) and a display element (43, 64) and which activates at least one actuator (2, 33, 31, 35, 53) of the workstation, characterised in that a yarn sensor is integrated into the electronics unit and the individual control device evaluates measurement signals of the yarn sensor and activates the at least one actuator of the workstation as a function of the measurement signals. 2. Textile machine according to claim 1, characterised in that the electronics unit (40, 60) is detachably connected to the workstation. 3. Textile machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the yarn sensor is set up to detect the presence of a thread. 4. Textile machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the yarn sensor measures the quality of a thread. 5. Textile machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the power electronics of the at least one actuator are integrated into the electronics unit (40, 60). 6. Textile machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the electronics unit (40, 60) consists of a printed circuit board. 7. Textile machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the electronics unit is surrounded by a housing (45, 65). 9 8. Textile machine according to claim 7, characterised in that the housing (45, 65) consists of a conductive plastics material. 9. Textile machine according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that the housing (45, 65) has a cooling body. 10. Textile machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the operating element is a push-button (42, 63). 11. Textile machine according to any one of. the preceding claims, characterised in that the display element (43, 64) is configured to display various coloured signals. 12. Textile machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a second individual control device and a second yarn sensor for a second adjacent workstation are integrated into the electronics unit. 13. Textile machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the electronics unit has a common voltage supply for all the components. Dated this 6th day of August 2008. HIRAL CHANDRAKANT JOSHI AGENT FOR OERLIKON TEXTILE GMBH & CO. KG 10

Documents:

1688-MUM-2008-ABSTRACT(20-12-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-ABSTRACT(6-5-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-ABSTRACT(8-4-2013).pdf

1688-mum-2008-abstract.doc

1688-mum-2008-abstract.pdf

1688-MUM-2008-CANCELLED PAGES(16-11-2012).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-CANCELLED PAGES(8-4-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-CLAIMS(AMENDED)-(20-12-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-CLAIMS(AMENDED)-(6-5-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-CLAIMS(AMENDED)-(8-4-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-CLAIMS(MARKED COPY)-(20-12-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-CLAIMS(MARKED COPY)-(8-4-2013).pdf

1688-mum-2008-claims.doc

1688-mum-2008-claims.pdf

1688-MUM-2008-CORRESPONDENCE(01-09-2008).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-CORRESPONDENCE(16-11-2012).pdf

1688-mum-2008-correspondence.pdf

1688-mum-2008-description(complete).doc

1688-mum-2008-description(complete).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-DRAWING(8-4-2013).pdf

1688-mum-2008-drawing.pdf

1688-MUM-2008-FORM 1(01-09-2008).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-FORM 1(20-12-2013).pdf

1688-mum-2008-form 1.pdf

1688-mum-2008-form 18.pdf

1688-MUM-2008-FORM 2(TITLE PAGE)-(20-12-2013).pdf

1688-mum-2008-form 2(tittle page).pdf

1688-mum-2008-form 2.doc

1688-mum-2008-form 2.pdf

1688-MUM-2008-FORM 26(20-12-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-FORM 3(16-11-2012).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-FORM 3(20-12-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-FORM 3(8-4-2013).pdf

1688-mum-2008-form 3.pdf

1688-MUM-2008-FORM 5(8-4-2013).pdf

1688-mum-2008-form 5.pdf

1688-mum-2008-general power of attorney.pdf

1688-MUM-2008-OTHER DOCUMENT(20-12-2013).pdf

1688-mum-2008-other.pdf

1688-MUM-2008-PETITION UNDER RULE-137(16-11-2012).pdf

1688-mum-2008-priority certificate.pdf

1688-MUM-2008-REPLY TO EXAMINATION REPORT(6-5-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-REPLY TO EXAMINATION REPORT(8-4-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-REPLY TO HEARING(20-12-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-SPECIFICATION(AMENDED)-(6-5-2013).pdf

1688-MUM-2008-SPECIFICATION(AMENDED)-(8-4-2013).pdf

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