Apparatus for balloon limiting at a bobbin creel

An anti-ballooning apparatus for a bobbin creel arranged between a bobbin mounted upon a bobbin holder of the creel and a thread guide and thread monitoring device operatively associated with such bobbin, the anti-ballooning apparatus preventing contact, entanglement, or both, of the thread balloon formed during withdrawal of the thread from the bobbins of the creel, comprising:

• two parallel rods located at a central region between the thread guide and monitoring device and the bobbin and extending in a plane substantially perpendicular to the direction of withdrawal of the thread from the bobbin;
• means mounting said two parallel rods for movement between a functional position and a manipulation position;
• said mounting means enabling said two parallel rods to be rocked out of said functional position each parallel to itself away from the bobbin holder into the manipulation position where the spacing from the end of the bobbin holder enables doffing of a bobbin mounted on the bobbin holder and a donning of a bobbin upon such bobbin holder.