US 6,163,733 A · Monitor and malfunction predictor for textile machines

Abstract

A monitor and malfunction detector for the thread feed of a textile machine. The monitor combines electronic information and mathematical analysis of the movement of the thread, including speed, tension and fiber and consistency, thereby permitting the determination of: 1) presence of knots and inconsistencies in the thread 2) the operating status of the textile equipment and thread feed; 3) the prediction of problems based upon the change of operating characteristics including speed, tension, draw and duty cycle patterns; 4) the control of the textile machine being monitored; 5) the diagnosis of mechanical faults; 6) production accounting; and 7) needle burr detection. The monitor also employs a unique signal comparison incorporating differential circuitry, pattern recognition, and averaging functions to achieve these goals efficiently and reliably.

Claims31

Dependent claims

An apparatus for detecting changes to average speed for a multiplicity of stitch duty cycles of a filament or fabric consumed by a textile machine, said apparatus comprising:

a vibrating means mounted to a stationary base;
a sensor for sensing the vibration of said vibration means and giving off an electrical signal in proportion thereto;
electronic means for receiving said electrical signal and determining changes to average signal level;
and,
equating means for equating said average signal level to said average speed.

2 more elements

A monitor for use with textile type machines functioning during a combination of partial, singular or multiplicity of machine duty cycles, including a means to sense speed, tension and material condition of thread, yarn or fabric feeding along a path and means to process sensed information to determine and predict the following conditions:

thread breaks and material exhaustion;
material inconsistency;
knots and snags;
machine duty cycle pattern failures;
take up failure and threading errors;
draw per unit time failures;
skipped stitch;
feed and tension malfunction;
machine mechanical diagnosis;
and, stitch count determination, which consists of:
a speed and tension sensor which can be mounted anywhere along said path, having a means for sensing a combination of speed and tension of material moving through the textile machine and converting the combination of speed and tension of the material into a corresponding electrical signal;
an electronic signal processor which processes speed and tension sensor electrical signal output, said processor output being a prediction or determination of operational status of the machine being monitored;
an electrical connection between the speed, tension and material condition sensor and the electronic signal processor;
and,
indicator means electrically connected to the signal processor.

12 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Monitor and malfunction predictor for textile machines

Life of this patent

Monitor and malfunction predictor for textile machines

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims31