Lap winding and doffing apparatus

Claim 1

AN AUTODOFFING APPARATUS OF A LAP - FORMING MACHINE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A PAIR OF FLUTED LAP ROLLERS ADAPTED TO BE WOUND WITH A LAP ON A SPOOL THEREON, A PAIR OF CALENDER ROLLERS, A PAIR OF RACKED ARMS DISPOSED VERTICALLY AND AXIALLY ON BOTH SIDES OF SAID FLUTED LAP ROLLERS, LAP DISC PLATES POSITIONED ON THE UPPER ENDS OF EACH OF SAID RACKED ARMS AND FACING EACH OTHER FOR CLASPING SAID SPOOL THEREBETWEEN AND BEING ADAPTED TO ASCEND IN RESPONSE TO THE THICKNESS OF THE LAP WOUND ON SAID SPOOL AND TO PUSH DOWNWARDS THE SPOOL FOR FRICTIONAL CONTACT WITH SAID LAP ROLLERS, SAID ARMS ALSO BEING ADAPTED TO ASCEND TO AN ELEVATED POINT AFTER FORMING A FULL LAP AND TO RELEASE SAID SPOOL SO AS TO BE EXCHANGED WITH A NEW SPOOL AT SAID POINT, MEANS FOR CLASPING THE LAP BETWEEN SAID LAP DISC PLATES, MEANS CONNECTED TO THE SAID RACKED ARMS FOR MAINTAINING A FRICTIONAL CONTACT BETWEEN SAID SPOOL AND SAID FLUTED LAP ROLLERS AND FOR ASCENDING THE RACKED ARMS TO THE ELEVATED POINT, AND AN AUTOMATIC SPOOL SUPPLY APPARATUS DISPOSED ABOVE SAID RACKED ARMS PROVIDED WITH A SPOOL CONVEYING DEVICE PUSHING OUT A FULL LAP AND SIMULTANEOUSLY CONVEYING ONE OF SUCCEEDING EMPTY SPOOLS TO BE CLASPED BY SAID LAP DISC PLATES BY THE SWING ACTION OF SAID SPOOL CONVEYING DEVICE, AND MEANS FOR SWINGING SAID SPOOL CONVEYING A DEVICE, WHEREBY, AFTER SAID SPOOL HAS BEEN WOUND WITH A FULL LAP, SAID RACKET ARMS FURTHER ASCEND, SAID DISC PLATES RELEASE SAID SPOOL AT SAID POINT OF THE ELEVATION FROM THE SURFACE OF THE FLUTED ROLLERS AND SAID FULL LAP IS PUSHED TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE FLUTED LAP ROLLERS BY SWINGING ACTION OF SAID SPOOL CONVEYING DEVICE.