Winding unit

In a winding unit of a spinning machine for taking up a plurality of spun synthetic fiber threads featuring

• a chuck to removably hold a plurality of spool sleeves on which said threads are wound with a traversing movement in a thread running plane, said chuck being rotatably mounted during the spool winding in a fixed axial position to project perpendicularly from a face of the machine,
• a contact roller arranged during said winding for rolling contact on the circumference of the sleeve or spool to control the peripheral speed of the spool being wound,
• a slide carriage which carries said contact roller and a traversing device assembled thereon in positions oriented parallel to the chuck axis with the thread running plane on one side of said carriage,
• traversing thread guide means on said traversing device projecting from the slide carriage and cantilevered into the thread running plane,
• means to support said slide carriage for vertically guided movement along a plane substantially parallel to said thread running plane such that said contact roller, being in circumferential contact with the sleeve or spool, will yield to the growing spool diameter during the winding, the improvement wherein:
• said support means for said slide carriage include guide members on the side of the slide carriage away from the thread running plane and in a plane substantially parallel to the thread running plane to guide movement of the slide carriage, said guide members being mounted outside of the largest radius of the wound spools;
• and
• counterbalancing means acting on said slide carriage so as to partly or completely compensate for the weight of the entire carriage assembly.