US 4,901,941 AGranted

Reusable winding tube

AssigneesStephen S. Powel, Robert J. Darby

InventorsStephen S. Powel, Robert J. Darby

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Abstract

An end cap is releasably mounted on the end of a cylindrical hollow tube to form a reusable cylindrical yarn carrier or winding tube which carries a filamentary or fibrous yarn thereon. A ring is slidably retained on the end cap in non-rotatably relation thereto between the adjacent end of the hollow tube and the confronting wall of the end cap. The confronting walls of the ring and end cap define a starting groove therebetween. A cavity of recess is formed, partially in the surface of each of the cap and ring, extending beneath and across the starting groove. When the yarn carrier has been emptied, the operator uses the cavity as access for scissors or a knife to sever the transfer tail and the major portion of the waste bunch. Later at a cleaning and refurbishing operation, the end cap is loosened from the hollow tube, and end cap and ring separated, and the remaining or residual fibers or filaments vacuumed or stripped away.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A reusable yarn carrier comprising:

(a) a hollow tube having an outer, substantially cylindrical surface adapted to carry a fibrous or filamentary yarn thereon;
(b) an end cap having an outer cylindrical surface substantially coextensive with the outer surface of said hollow tube, thread means for releasably mounting said end cap on at least one end of said hollow tube;
(c) an intermediate ring slidably retained on said end cap between said end cap and said one end of said tube, and locking means for preventing rotation of said ring with respect to said cap;
(d) confronting walls of said end cap and said ring defining a peripheral starting groove therebetween encircling said yarn carrier;
(e) a cavity formed by the combination of a recess in the surface of said cap and a recess in the surface of said ring, said cavity extending through the starting groove formed between said cap and said ring;
(f) whereby the cavity facilitates severing of the transfer tail and waste bunch, and said confronting walls of said intermediate ring and said end cap, when assembled form said starting groove, yet are separable to loosen remaining trapped fibers and facilitate cleaning for reuse.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.