Rail Transport Switch Arrangement

1. Field of Invention

The invention relates to a switch arrangement; and more particularly to a switch arrangement for a rail transport system.

2. Related Art

Switch arrangements were previously used for a suspension conveyor system in a spinning mill for transporting bobbins from a flyer to a ring spinner. Since the ring spinner has a substantially greater bobbin capacity than the flyer it is necessary initially to intermediately store all the conveyor trains of bobbins coming from the flyer; and to then combine them in a train of the required length. For this purpose a plurality of switch tongues are built into the main section coming from the flyer. Each switch tongue is capable of establishing a connection from a first connection of the main rail section to a second connection at a storage section. The switch tongues are disposed pivotably at fixed points in the spaces between the first and the second connections. Each of the storage sections is connected to a second main section at its end via a further switch, which leads to the ring spinner. Such a constructional design is evidently extremely complex, because switches must be provided in the main section which are equal in number to the switches provided in the storage sections. Moreover, each of the switches require a minimum radius of curvature and a minimum spacing for their pivotability. Therefore, the distance between the storage sections cannot be kept as small as required for optimum space utilization of the storage space. The spacing between the first and the allocated second connections is blocked by the stationary switch tongues and their adjustment mechanisms so that it is extremely difficult to accommodate a further suspension conveyor system for the feeding of additionally required workpiece in this area.

Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a switch arrangement where connections between a larger number of paths can be established with simple construction and without additional space requirements.

According to the present invention, the movable carriage in combination with the connection element, the spacing between the first and the allocated second connections can be cleared in a simple fashion, if a second workpiece is required to must move through said spacing. Due to the allocation of each of a group of second connections to a single first connection, a minimum radius of curvature is not required when determining the spacing of the second conections relative to each other. The number of the movable elements and the cost of fabrication is correspondingly reduced.

For applications where each of the second connections is to be fed via several main sections, a plurality of first connections are allocated to a group of second connections.

Where the free ends of the connection elements open at opposite sides of the carriage on which they are installed, first and second connections may be connected which face each other at a distance.

Where the free ends of the connection elements open at the same side of the carriage, the first connections extend substantially parallel to the second connections.

A special advantages of the switch arrangement according to the present invention include compensation of level differences, i.e. the connection of transport planes are vertically on top of each other between the first and the second connection. This cannot readily be achieved with the conventional switch tongues, and this only with constructional difficulties.

According to the present invention, the distances between the first connections can be selected sufficiently large that the first connection can be connected via two rails to the main section. If a conveyor train arriving in one direction on the main section, is first of all to be guided in the direction of the second connection, and then from the second connection back to the main section, and then further conveyed in the same direction on the main section, the train need not be shunted once again, changing its direction of conveyance.

The drive of the carriage via a rack drive permits an automatic control of the carriage; particularly, if an incremental generator is used together with a suitable pitch of the rack so that the carriage comes to a standstill exactly at the intended point, at which the desired connection between a first and a second connection can be established. The carriage can be automatically controlled both upon changing of the connections with one group, and in the connecting of a further first connection to a second connection of the group allocated to it.

The switch arrangement of the invention is of special advantage when used in a ring spinner. If the transport system for the flyer bobbins is fed into the working area of the ring spinner, the flyer bobbins can be directly reeled off from the conveyor trains. This saves the transfer of the flyer bobbins from the transport system into the ring spinner, which requires a lot of time and a large number of staff. The difficulty resides in the fact that the conveyor rails in the ring spinner must be an extremely small distance from each other, which cannot be achieved with conventionally used switches. Moreover, a conductor rail or running rails for a thread binding device may run around the ring spinner. Thus, it cannot be avoided that the rail lines for the thread binding device, and the rail lines for the conveyor trains of the flyer bobbins cross each other. With the switch arrangement according to the present invention, the spacing between the connections can be cleared by the moving carriage if the thread binding device must pass therethrough.

The accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a rail transport system with the switch arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention with the carriage in a first position.

FIG. 2 shows the transport system of FIG. 1 in a second position of the carriage.

FIG. 3 shows the transport system according to FIG. 1 in a third position of the carriage.

FIG. 4 shows a top view on the carriage of the switch arrangement.

FIG. 5 shows the lateral view of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows the front view of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a rail transport system in schematic representation with the carriage in a first position.

FIG. 8 shows the transport system of FIG. 7 in a second position of the carriage.

FIG. 9 shows a third exemplary embodiment of the rail transport system in schematic representation.

FIG. 10 shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of the rail transport system in schematic representation for bridging the differences in level.

FIG. 11 shows a fifth exemplary of embodiment of the rail transport system in schematic representation for bridging the differences in level.

A rail system for a suspension conveyor can be understood from FIGS. 1 to 3 in schematic representation. The rail system has a main section 1, from which two first connections 2 and 3 extending substantially vertically to the main section 1 branch off. The connections 2 and 3 are connected in such fashion to the main section 1 via branches and junctions 4 and 5 equipped with conventional switches or designed as switches that a conveyor train (not shown) arriving from both directions on the main section can get to the first connections 2 and 3 without shunting. A group 6 ot 7 of second connections 6a to 6f or 7a to 7f each is facing each of the first connections 2 and 3 with a spacing. Each of the groups 6 or 7 contains the same number, i.e. six second connections. The second connections 6a to 6f or 7a to 7f are aligned within their group 6 or 7 and with respect to the adjacent group and extend parallel to each other and parallel to the first connections 2 and 3. The vertical distance between the first connections 2 or 3 and the respectively allocated group 6 or 7, i.e. the spacing between the first and second connections is the same. The parallel distances between the individual second connections of each group may be different and coordinated with the constructional facts of the rail system connected to the second connections. A carriage 8 outlined in dash-dotted fashion can be moved in the direction of the double arrow A in the space between the first connections 2 or 3 and the groups 6 or 7 of the second connections. The carriage 8 supports a plurality of connection elements 9a to 9f, whose number corresponds suitably to the number of the second connections of each group 6 or 7. Each connection element 9a to 9f has in each case a first free end 9a.sub.1 to 9f.sub.1 and a second free end 9a.sub.2 to 9f.sub.2. The free ends of the connection elements 9 are in each case aligned with respect to each other and disposed in such fashion that upon the movement of the carriage in the direction of the arrow A, each of the first free ends 9a.sub.1 to 9f.sub.1 can be brought into transport connection with the first connections 2 or 3. The second free ends 9a.sub.2 and 9f.sub.2 are also aligned with respect to each other, and disposed in such fashion that the second free end of a connection element is in transport connection with a second connection if the first free end of the same connection element is in alignment with the first connection.

As can be seen from the drawings, the distances of the first free ends relative each other can be optionally selected. These distances are suitably as small as possible to keep the travelling path of the carriage 8 as small as possible in the area of the first connection. The distance between two adjacent second free ends each results from the distance between the second connections allocated to these second free ends plus the distance of the allocated first free ends.

As is shown by FIG. 1 the main section 1 is connected to the second connection 6a via the first connection 2, the first free end 9a.sub.1 of the connection element 9a and its second free end 9a.sub.2. If another connection is to be established the carriage 8 is displaced in the direction of the double arrow A. FIG. 2 shows a position in which the carriage 8 was moved towards the left by one switching step. In this position the main section 1 is connected to the next following second connection 6b via the first connection 2, the first free end 9b.sub.1 of the connection element 9b and its second free end 9b.sub.2. The first connection 2 can be connected with each further second connection 6c to 6f of the group 6 in the same fashion via the further connection elements 9c to 9f.

If the carriage 8 is displaced towards the right in the direction of the double arrow the main section 1 can be connected--as is shown by FIG. 3--to all second connections of the group 7 in the fashion already described. In the repesented example of embodiment the first connection 3 is connected to the second connection 7e via the first free end 9e.sub.1 of the connection element 9e and its second free end 9e.sub.2. Also here each of the second connection 7a to 7f can be connected to the first connection 3 via the respectively allocated connection element 9a to 9f by suitably moving the carriage 8.

A carriage 8 for a suspension conveyor system is represented in FIGS. 4 to 6. As is shown by FIG. 5 the carriage 8 has a travelling frame 10 which consists of an upper supporting frame 10a, a lower supporting frame 10b and vertical connecting struts 10c, which connect the upper and lower supporting frames 10a and 10b to a U-shaped cross-section. The length of the vertical struts 10c is suitably selected in such fashion that the upper and the lower supporting frames 10a or 10b have a distance to each other which permits that the upper supporting frame 10 can engage over a secondary conveyor system or a conductor rail and the lower supporting frame 10 can engage below this rail. Thus a crossing possibility for two rail systems is provided in simple fashion. Travelling rollers 11 and guide rollers 12 are mounted on the upper supporting frame 10 in suitable bearings (not shown), which roll on and are supported by travelling sections 13 extending in parallel. The travelling sections 13 are fastened in customary fashion to a support 14 in such fashion that a neat straight-line guide of the carriage 8 is achieved in its movement along the double arrow A. A conductor rail 15 for a driving motor 16 is furthermore fastened to the support 14. The driving motor 16 drives a toothed pinion 17 which rolls in a rack 18 extending in parallel to the travelling sections 13. The driving motor 16 is suitably controlled via an incremental generator (not shown) by means of which also an adjustment movement across half a tooth or one fourth of a tooth can be implemented. In this fashion it is possible to move the carriage 8 automatically to any predetermined point.

The connection elements 9 are fastened to the lower side of the lower supporting frame 10b. Pieces of the same rail are suitably used as connection elements as they are also used for the main section 1 or the connections 2, 3, 6 and 7. If the profiled rail represented in more detail in FIG. 6 is used, it can be bent in simple fashion so that the aforementioned differences in the distances of the first free ends to each other and of the second free ends to each other result and the free ends themselves form a straight continuation of the respective connections.

As can be understood from FIGS. 5 and 6 it is not imperative that the second free ends of the connection elements 9 are all on the same transport level. In the represented exemplary embodiment the two central connection elements 9c or 9d are downwardly bent so that their second free ends 9c.sub.2 or 9d.sub.2 are in alignment with second connections (not shown) which are below the level of the allocated first connections.

The schematic representation of a further example of embodiment of the switch arrangement is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. To illustrate the representation the first connections 19, 20, 21 are represented in a broken line. Groups 22, 23, 24, 25 extend in parallel to the first connections 19, 20, 21 to respectively three second connections. Between two first connections 19 and 20 or 20 and 21 two groups each 22, 23 or 24, 25 of second connections are disposed symmetrically around the dash-dotted central line between the two first connections.

The free ends of the first connections 19, 20, 21 and the free ends of all second connections of each group 22, 23, 24, 25 extend in parallel and are in alignment and spaced. A carriage 26 outlined in dash-dotted fashion can be moved across this distance, which can be constructed analogously to the carriage 8. The carriage 26 has three connection elements 27a to 27c which can only be suitably guided in inclined fashion for bridging differences in level. Each of the connection elements 27a to 27c is shaped in such fashion that its two free ends 27a.sub.1 and 27a.sub.2 and 27b.sub.2, 27c.sub.1 and 27c.sub.2 open substantially in parallel to each other at the side of the carriage facing the connections. The distances of the first and second connections to each other are selected so that in the case of a displacement movement of the carriage 26 at least one first connection can be connected to each second connection of a group 22, 23, 24. The carriage 26 is moved in such fashion in FIG. 7 that the central one of the second connections 20 faces the second free end 27a.sub.2 of the connection element 27a, while the first free end of the connection element 27a is in alignment with the first of the second connections 22a of the group 22. Conveyor trains can thus be conveyed back from the rail track connected to the first connection 20 via the connection element 27a on the rail track connected to the second connection 22a. If e.g. the second one of the second connections 22b of the group 22 is to be connected to the first connection 20, the carriage is displaced towards the right by one switching step in the direction of the double arrow A until the second free end 27b.sub.2 of the connection element 27b is opposite to the first connection 20, the first free end 27b.sub.1 being in alignment with the desired second connection 22b. If e.g. the last second connection 23c of the group 23 is to be fed the carriage 26 is displaced to the right that much in the direction of the double arrow A until the first free end 27a.sub.1 of the connection element 27a is in alignment with the first connection 19. In this position the second free end 27a.sub.2 is in alignment with the desired second connection 23c.

As is shown by FIG. 8 the first connection 20 is not only allocated to the second connections of the group 22, but also to the second connections of the group 25. In the drawn position of the carriage 26 the first free end 27a of the connection element 27 is in alignment with the first connection 20 and the second free end 27a.sub.2 is in alignment with the last second connection 25c of the group 25. The other two connections of the group 25 can be connected analogously to the first connection 20 by stepwise displacement of the carriage 26 to the left.

FIG. 9 describes a further exemplary embodiment in which two first connections 28 and 29 are disposed side-by-side. Two groups each 30, 31 or 32, 33 of respectively three second connections are disposed on both sides of the first connections 28, 29. The carriage 26 corresponds to the carriage of FIGS. 7 and 8. As is shown by FIG. 9 the first connection 29 can be connected to the group 31 and in addition to the second connections of the group 33 upon displacement to the right in the direction of the double arrow A. The first connection 28 can be connected to all second connections 30a to 30c of the group 30 and to all second connections 32a to 32c of the group 32. If the second connections of the groups 30 or 31 are to be connected to the two first connections, further first connections 28', 29' can be disposed on the side of the groups 30, 31 facing the connections 28, 29. Then the connection 28' can be connected to the second connections of the group 30 and the first connection 29' can be connected to the second connections of the group 31.

An exemplary embodiment can be ascertained from FIG. 10 wherein differences in level between a first connection 34 and a group 35 of six second connections can be bridged. Each second connection of the group 35 can be at a level different to the first connection and to the other second connections in this exemplary embodiment. For this purpose a carriage 36 is provided on which the number of connection elements 27 disposed on it is equal to the number of existing second connections. Both free ends of each connection element 37 open at the same side of the carriage 36. The first free ends 37a.sub.1 to 37f.sub.1 are exactly at the level of the second connection 35a to 35f allocated to this connection element to bridge the differences in level, while the second free ends 37a.sub.2 to 37f.sub.2 are disposed at the level of the first connection 34. The connection elements 37 are thus guided in inclined fashion in analog fashion as e.g. the connection element 9c in FIG. 5. In the position of the carriage 36 drawn in FIG. 10 the second free end 37a.sub.2 of the connection element 37a is in alignment with the first connection 34 which is at a higher level and the first free end 37a.sub.1 of the same connection element 34a is in alignment with the second connection 35a being at a lower level. If the carriage 36 is displaced to the right in the direction of the double arrow A in FIG. 10, all second free ends of the connection elements 37 are successively aligned with the first connection 34, whereby the respectively allocated first free end of the connection element 37 is in alignment with the corresponding second connection in the already described fashion.

FIG. 11 describes a second possibility of bridging differences in level. In this exemplary embodiment two first connections 42 and 43 are disposed asymetrically between two first groups each 38, 39 or 40, 41 of three second connections each. The first connection 42 is allocated to the groups 38 and 40 and the first connection 43 is allocated to the groups 39 and 41. A carriage 44 is provided which has six connection elements 45a to 45f. The connection elements 45a to 45f are disposed on the carriage 44 in such inclined fashion that the first free ends 45d.sub.1, 45e.sub.1 and 45f.sub.1 and the second free ends 45a.sub.2, 45b.sub.2 and 45c.sub.2 are each on the joint level of the first connections 42 and 43. The remaining first free ends 45a.sub.1, 45b.sub.1 and 45c.sub.1 of the connection elements 45 are at the joint level of the second connections of the groups 38 and 39 which may be different from the level of the first connections 42, 43. The remaining second free ends 45d.sub.2, 45e.sub.e and 45f.sub.2 are at the level of the groups 40. The second connections of the groups 38 and 39 and of the groups 40 and 41 may be at a joint level. However, also the second connections of the groups 38 and 39 may be on a joint level and the second connections of the groups 40 and 41 may in turn be at a joint level being however different from that of the groups 38 and 39. It is furthermore possible to bring one or two second connections within the groups 38 and 39 or 40 and 41 to a deviating level provided this concerns in each case the same second connection of each group. It is e.g. possible to bring the connections 38a and 39a to a joint level which is different from the level of the connections 38b and 38c and 39b and 39c.

In the represented exemplary embodiment the first free end 45f.sub.2 of the connection element 45f is in alignment with the first connection 42 and establishes a connection to the second connection 40a via the second free end 45f.sub.2. If the first connection 42 is to be connected with the second connection 40b, the carriage 44 is moved to the right by one switching step so that the first free end 45e.sub.1 of the connection element 45e is in alignment with the first connection 42, whereby the second end 45e.sub.2 is aligned with the second connection 40b. If then the second connection 41a of the group 41 is to be fed, the carriage 44 is still further moved to the right in the direction of the arrow A so that the first free end 45f.sub.1 is in alignment with the first connection 43. In this position the second free end 45f.sub.2 of the connection element 45f.sub.2 of the connection element 45f is connected to the second connection 41a. The same processes take place if the second connections of the group 38 and 39 are to be fed. For the feeding of for instance the second connection 39c the carriage 44 is displaced that much to the left until the second free end 45c.sub.2 is in alignment with the first connection 43. In this position the first free end 45c is in alignment with the second connection 39c. If the second connection 38a of the group 39 is to be fed, the carriage 44 is still further displaced to the left until the second free end 45a.sub.2 of the conection element 45a is in alignment with the first connection 42. In this position the first free end 45a.sub.1 establishes a connection with the second connection 38a.

A preferred field of application of the described switch arrangement is a transport system for transporting bobbins from a flyer to a plurality of allocated ring spinners. The ring spinner has a creel at which a plurality of rail tracks are disposed on which the conveyor trains for the bobbins can enter the working area of the ring spinner. Each of the rail tracks is connected to one of the second connections of a group 6, 7 or 35 in the exemplary embodiments according to FIGS. 1 to 3 or 10 or to two adjacent groups 22, 23 or 24, 25 or 30, 31 or 32, 33 or 38, 39 or 40, 41 in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 7, 8, 9, 11. The lateral space within the creel is of course extremely restricted. However, it is possible due to the switch arrangement according to the invention to dipose the rail tracks that closely in side-by-side relationship that the bobbins can be directly spun off from the conveyor train.

If during the spinning the thread binding device or another operating device must be transferred from one long side of the ring spinner to the other long side, the carriage of the switch arrangement can be moved to clear the space in front of the narrow sides of the ring spinner so that the device can pass unhinderedly. It is possible to modify the described and illustrated exemplary embodiments to redesign the switch arrangement according to the invention e.g. also for a floor rail system. The number of the second connections per group can then be varied in accordance with the requirements. If it is necessary the connections within one group can also be optionally fed via two first connections. The number of the connection elements on the carriage can also be varied. It is furthermore possible to use two or more carriages in a switch arrangement, if this seems to be suitable. The ability of the switch arrangement according to the invention to bridge differences in level can furthermore also be used in ring spinners, in which the conveyor trains only required for spinning off are located in the creel, while only a reserve section is provided outside of and obliquely above the creel, from which bobbins can be manually transferred into the creel.