Automatic thread winding apparatus

An automatic thread winding apparatus for successively winding thread on double-flanged bobbins, which comprises in combination:

• a bevel-shaped dish for arbitrarily receiving a plurality of the bobbins therein, said bevel-shaped dish being rotatably supported in a horizontal position, rotating means coupled to said dish for continuously rotating said dish in one direction, a guide wall extending fixed in position slightly above said dish and around a part of the circumference of the dish slightly inwardly of the periphery of the dish, and a wire guide fixed in position around and just above the peripheral edge of said dish;
• winding means including a pair of axially aligned first and second holding means for firmly holding each one of the empty bobbins in a winding position between said first and second holding means in readiness for winding operation;
• a pair of spaced parallel wires, one extending from said wire guide and the other from an end of said guide wall adjacent the periphery of said bevel-shaped dish, said spaced parallel wires extending to a position adjacent to and spaced from said winding position;
• said guide wall and said guide wire guiding the bobbins placed on said dish towards and onto said spaced parallel wires during rotation of said dish;
• a guide block supported in position at said position adjacent to and spaced from said winding position and including a bobbin passage formed therein, said spaced parallel wires being coupled to said guide block at one end of said bobbin passage;
• a bobbin transfer member supported in position for pivotal movement between first and second positions, said bobbin transfer member having a bobbin receiving seat which is aligned with the other end of said bobbin passage in said guide block when said transfer member is in said first position and is brought to said winding position when said transfer member is in said second position, said bobbin transfer member further having a portion therein which moves past said other end of said bobbin passage in said guide block during pivotal movement of said transfer member between said first and second positions for blocking the movement of the next bobbin on said bobbin passage from falling out of said bobbin passage;
• thread anchoring means adjacent said holding means for anchoring the thread to the bobbin that is held in position between said holding means;
• first means operatively coupled to one of said holding means for rotating said one of said holding means;
• second means operatively associated with one of said holding means for axially moving said one of said holding means which is associated therewith, said one of said holding means associated with said second means being moved close to the other of said holding means for first tightly holding each bobbin that has been transferred by said bobbin transfer means onto said winding means in position between said holding means and then withdrawing slightly from the transferred bobbin, said axially movable holding means having an axially retractable mounting spindle carried thereby for axial movement in a direction aligned with the holding means independent of the axial movement of said axially movable holding means, and being inserted into the center of the transferred bobbin during movement of the axially movable holding means toward the bobbin and remaining within said bobbin during said slight withdrawing movement, and said each bobbin and said holding means of said pair being synchronously rotated by said first means through said one of said holding means which is coupled with said rotating means, thereby winding the thread thereon;
• detecting means adjacent said holding means and coupled to said rotating means for detecting whether or not the bobbin has had a predetermined quantity of thread wound thereon and for interrupting operation of said rotating means upon attainment of the predetermined quantity;
• doffing means coupled to said holding means and operable upon completion of the winding operation for axially moving said one of said holding means to release the full bobbin, said doffing means including a severing means for severing the thread to separate the thread wound on the bobbin from that leading from a thread supply device;
• and
• a storage receptacle beneath said doffing means for receiving the filled bobbins after the severing operation has been completed;
• and
• temporary storage means positioned below said winding means and between said winding means and said storage receptacle and substantially adjacent to said severing means for receiving the full bobbin from said holding means under the effect of gravity and temporarily storing the filled bobbin therein to assist said severing means, and for ejecting the filled bobbin into said storage receptable after said severing operation is completed.