Control for a bobbin carrier

A bobbin carrier having a base member for operational mounting before a braid point on a strand fabricating machine;

• said bobbin comprising a spool, a package of wound strand material and a letoff length or free end of strand material extending in a movement path from said bobbin to said braid point, said bobbin spool having a hub and a control flange and an opposed side flange carried by said hub, said carrier base member having an axial post for rotatable mounting of said bobbin, said carrier further having post means located radially around said axial post, said post means supporting means for guiding said strand along said movement path, means for tensioning a moving strand in contact with said guide means, a reciprocating rod movable in response to said strand tensioning means and projecting into said base member, and a means to control bobbin rotation around said axial post during said strand path movement, said bobbin control means being carried by and mounted within said base member, said base member having cavities, said control means having movable components housed in said cavities in said base member and including:
• a finger cam connected to said reciprocating rod;
• a free cam movable by said finger cam;
• a ratchet gear rotatable around the base of said axial post;
• a first pawl cam normally biased to prevent rotation of said ratchet gear in one direction (e.g. clockwise);
• and, a second pawl cam normally biased to prevent rotation of said ratchet gear in a second direction (eg. counter-clockwise).