Apparatus for winding a plurality of yarns

A winding apparatus for winding a plurality of running yarns to form a corresponding number of yarn packages, and comprising bobbin support means for mounting a plurality of tubular bobbins in a coaxial arrangement, and yarn traverse means for reciprocating the running yarns along respective aligned traverse strokes and so as to form a wound yarn package on each bobbin, the improvement wherein said yarn traverse means comprises a plurality of traversing assemblies disposed in a closely spaced apart arrangement extending along said bobbin support means so as to permit the bobbins to be disposed closely adjacent to each other on said support means, with each traversing assembly being adapted to reciprocate a running yarn onto a rotating bobbin mounted on said support means, and with each traversing assembly comprising

• (a) a yarn guide bar mounted to extend in a direction generally parallel to the axis of said support means,
• (b) a first rotor having two oppositely directed radial arms of equal length, and with said rotor being mounted for rotation about a first axis such that the extremities of the rotating arms pass along said yarn guide bar and define a first plane,
• (c) a second rotor having two oppositely directed radial arms of equal length and which generally correspond to the length of said arms of said first rotor, and with said second rotor being mounted for rotation about a second axis such that the extremities of the rotating arms pass along said yarn guide bar and define a second plane, and with said first axis being parallel to and offset from said second axis in a direction generally parallel to the axis of said support means, and with the first and second planes being parallel to and closely adjacent each other,
• said traversing assemblies being mounted adjacent to each other such that each traversing assembly has its first axis offset from its second axis in the same direction and with the corresponding axes of all of the adjacent traversing assemblies being equally spaced apart a distance which is less than twice the radial length of the arms and greater than the radial length of the arms times the square root of two, and such that said first and second planes of said assemblies are respectively coincident, and further such that the extremities of the arms of adjacent traversing assemblies define circles upon rotation thereof which overlap in both of said first and second planes, and
• drive means for rotating the rotors of each traversing assembly in opposite directions with respect to each other, and for rotating the rotors of adjacent traversing assemblies such that the first rotors thereof rotate in the same direction with respect to each other and the second rotors thereof rotate in the same direction with respect to each other.