The present invention relates to an arrangement in connection with a continuously operating apparatus for spooling threadlike products, said arrangement comprising a lifting fork, which is arranged to move a reel in the vertical direction in connection with a reel change, and means for removing the reel from the lifting fork when the lifting fork is in its lower position.

Arrangements of this type are currently widely known in different industrial fields in which threadlike products are treated. Cable industry can be mentioned as an example of industrial fields in which arrangements of this type are used particularly much.

In the previously used spoolers, a widely used solution has been to use a lifting fork as a reel lifter, this lifting fork being lifted for instance by means of a suitable cylinder means. The purpose of a reel lifter is to lift an empty reel from the basic level to the spooling level and correspondingly to lower a full reel from the spooling level to the basic level in order to remove the reel from the spooler. In the previously used devices, a reel has been removed from a lifting fork being in its lower position by using a separate removing device, which is arranged to push the reel from the lifting fork.

The disadvantage of the previously used devices has been their complexity. This is due to the fact that a separate device is provided for both the vertical movement and the removing movement. Due to the complexity, the previous devices have been disadvantageous as to their costs.

The object of the invention is to provide an arrangement by means of which the disadvantages of the

prior art can be obviated. This is achieved with the arrangement of the invention, characterized in that the lifting fork comprises two separate lifting arms, which are provided with mechanical gripping means for connecting the lifting arms detachably to each other in order to enable their simultaneous movement and the independent movement of one lifting arm.

In comparison with the prior art, the principal advantage of the invention is the cost saving achieved with it, because the function for removing a reel is obtained in a way as a by-product of the solution by which the vertical movement is produced. It is possible to reduce the number of separate equipments in comparison with the previous solutions, the amount of costs being thus reduced correspondingly. Another advantage of the invention is its simplicity, the operating costs thus remaining low and the reliability good. By means of the invention, advantages are achieved also in systems where a robot is used for moving reels. In systems of this type, the reels may be moved advantageously by means of the invention from the spooler for instance to a suitable trough structure, from which a robot can fetch the reels when it is advantageous in view of the rest of the operation of the robot.

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by means of a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing, in which

Figure 1 shows a spooler provided with the arrangement of the invention as a schematic top view,

Figure 2 shows the device according to Figure 1 as a view seen according to arrows II - II,

Figure 3 shows the arrangement of the invention as a schematic perspective view, and

Figure 4 shows the function for removing a reel achieved with the arrangement of the invention as a schematic view.

Figure 1 shows schematically a spooler in which the arrangement of the invention is used. Figure 1 shows a situation in which one reel is full, and the thread is guided onto an empty reel. The thread to be spooled is denoted by reference numeral 1, and the reels onto which the thread 1 is spooled are denoted by reference numerals 2 and 3. The full reel is denoted by reference numeral 2, and the empty reel is denoted by reference numeral 3. Reference numeral 4 is used to denote a finger, and reference numeral 5 is used to denote a gripper, correspondingly. The thread to be spooled is guided onto the empty reel by means of the finger 4 and the gripper 5 by moving the thread by means of the finger onto the path of the gripper that rotates with the reel. The reels 2 and 3 are rotated by means of the spooler in accordance with the arrows shown in Figure 1.

The general structure and operation of a spooler described above are fully known to one skilled in the art, wherefore they are not dealt with in more detail in this context. In spooling thread, the reels are brought to the spooler for instance from the side by means of a suitable trough. Said things are fully known to one skilled in the art, wherefore said structures are not shown in the figures. The troughs or similar used for bringing and removing the reels are usually situated lower than the spooling level is, the reels being thus lifted by means of a lifting fork to the spooling level and correspondingly lowered for removal from the spooling level to the level where the troughs are situated. The arrangement of the invention particularly

relates to the above-mentioned lifting fork. The arrangement according to the invention is generally denoted in the figures by reference numeral 6.

According to the essential idea of the invention, the lifting fork consists of two separate lifting arms 7, 8, which are provided with mechanical gripping means 9, 10 for connecting the lifting arms detachably to each other in order to enable their simultaneous movement and the independent movement of one lifting arm. The gripping means 9, 10 can be formed of protrusions which are preferably located on both lifting arms 7, 8, respectively, and which are directed from one lifting arm towards the other lifting arm, said protrusions being arranged to overlap in such a manner that one protrusion, the protrusion 10 in the case of the figures, can press its upper surface against the lower surface of the other protrusion 9, whereby the lifting arm 8 lifts the lifting arm 7 by means of the protrusion 10 in a situation where a lift is carried out. The connection of the lifting arms by means of the overlapping protruding parts causes, however, the lifting arm 7 to be able to be moved independently of the lifting arm 8 in the vertical direction. Due to the above-mentioned arrangement, it is possible to provide a solution in which the lifting arms 7, 8 move as a single unit in the vertical direction by means of a power element 11 affecting the lifting arm 8. The independent vertical movement of the lifting arm 7 is arranged to be carried out by means of a power element 12 affecting said lifting arm. It is thus necessary to dimension the power elements in such a manner that the power element 11 is capable of lifting both lifting arms 7, 8 on its own when a reel rests on them.

Naturally, the lifting arms 7, 8 can also be lifted and lowered as a single unit by means of both the

power elements 11, 12. The power elements 11 and 12 are thus arranged to affect the lifting arms 8 and 7, respectively. The structure is thus essentially similar to what has been described above, but in this embodiment, the power elements are dimensioned in a different manner than above, and they may also be used together if need be. In this embodiment, the power element 12 affecting the lifting arm 7 is also arranged to act as the power element that produces the independent movement of the lifting arm 7, if necessary. The power elements can be for instance pneumatic cylinders.

The independent vertical movement of one lifting arm is essential, because the preferred function for removing a reel is achieved with this solution without separate removing means. Said function for removing a reel is shown schematically in Figure 4.

The arrangement of the invention functions essentially in the following manner. In lifting a reel upwards from below, the cylinders 11 and 12 are driven up in such a manner that the outlet of the cylinder 12 is choked, whereby the lifting arm 8 forces the lifting arm 7 to join it by means of the mechanical gripping means 10. Said function is clearly shown for instance in Figures 2 and 3.

In lowering a reel, the cylinders 11 and 12 are driven down in such a manner that the outlet of the cylinder 11 is choked, whereby the gripping means 9 of the lifting arm 7 presses against the gripping means of the lifting arm 8, and the lifting arms 7 and 8 descend simultaneously.

In removing a reel from the lifting fork, the cylinder 12 is driven up and down in the manner shown in Figure 4, whereby the lifting arm 7 pushes the reel to the side in the manner shown in Figure 4. In Figure

4, the upper position of the lifting arm 7 is denoted by dashed lines. In this function, the lifting arm 8 remains in its place, because the gripping means 9 of the lifting arm 7 does not force the lifting arm 8 to join it, as seen in Figures 2 and 3.

The above-mentioned functions can also be carried out in such a manner that the cylinder 11 lifts and lowers the lifting arms 7 and 8 simultaneously, and the cylinder 12 is only used for carrying out the function for removing a reel according to Figure 4.

The above-mentioned embodiments are in no way intended to restrict the invention but it can be modified freely within the scope of the claims. It is thus apparent that it is not necessary for the arrangement of the invention or its details to be exactly like shown in the figures but that other types of solutions are also possible. For instance, it is not necessary for the power elements to be pneumatic cylinders, but any suitable components or mechanisms can be used as the power elements. As examples of suitable alternatives, hydraulic cylinders, screw mechanisms or other regulating units producing a linear movement can be mentioned. The invention can be applied to the spooling of any threadlike product such as insulated thread, bare thread, etc.