Magnetic guiding assembly for yarn packages transported on a textile machine

An assembly for transporting tubes in association with a textile machine, the tubes being of the type on which yarn is wound, comprising:

• a plurality of tube support members for supporting tube for transport along a predetermined travel path, each said tube support member having an annular periphery and a ferromagnetic component disposed around its annular periphery;
• means for guiding said tube support members during the travel thereof along said predetermined travel path, said guiding means including an endless member assembly having an endless member and means for driving said endless member, said endless member frictionally engaging said tube support members to advance said tube support members along said predetermined travel path in correspondence with the driving operation of said endless member, and magnetic means, including a first magnet selectively operable to interact with said ferromagnetic components of said tube support members and a cooperating member spaced from said first magnet at a spacing less than the diameter of the annular periphery of a tube support member, said first magnet and said cooperating member cooperating together to engage a tube support member at circumferentially spaced locations thereon to selectively retain said engaged tube support member at a predetermined location along said predetermined travel path until deactivation of said first magnet;
• and
• means for selectively operating said magnetic means to magnetically interact with the ferromagnetic component of a tube support member to oppose frictional engagement of the tube support member by said endless member and thereby retain the tube support member at said predetermined location along said predetermined travel path.