Yarn braking devices, as disclosed in EP-A-O 686 128 and EP-A-0 534 263, are equipped on the innee-side of the braking portion of the brake element with a circumferentially continuous lining, or metallic layer, defining a frustoconical brake band. Said brake band transmits the axial spring load from the braking portion onto the withdrawal rim of the yarn storage drum, and the yarn being withdrawn is locally clamped in the bra- king zone, while the force generated by the yarn is transmitted again to the braking portion. Yarn braking devices of this type guarantee a self- adjusting or self-compensating effect, i. e. they automatically reduce the braking effect as yarn speed increases, and viceversa, so as to achieve a tension profile in the yarn being withdrawn which has only small fluctua- tions, i. e. a relatively constant yarn tension level. This is of particu- lar importance in modern high-speed projectile or gripper looms, wherein the yarn is drawn from the reserve on the feeder through a yarn braking device of the aforementioned type. Ideally, the brake band should only serve to mutually transmit the reciprocal forces between the yarn and the braking portion and to define a predetermined coefficient of friction for the yarn, with minimum wear due to the abrasive effects of the yarn, but should not actively contribute with its own spring action or resistance to deformation. However, under critical operating conditions and with certain yarn qualities, the geometrical configuration of the frustoconi- cal brake band leads to an undesirable interference of the brake band in the cooperation between the braking portion and the yarn, thereby causing frequent undesired inconveniences (for instance, yarn breakages).

In a yarn braking device as disclosed in US-A-4 926 912, individu- ally bendable laminae, interconnected by a circumferentially extending base section of the annular brake element, are used to directly transmit

the axial load of the brake element onto the withdrawal rim of the yarn storage drum, and on the yarn itself. The withdrawn yarn, unwinding along the withdrawal rim, subsequently lifts the various laminae and becomes tensioned. An increase in the withdrawal speed hence leads to a progress- ive increase of the yarn tension, and the yarn braking device is thus un- able to accomplis a self-adjusting or self-compensating braking effect.

The object of the invention is to provide a yarn braking device and an annular brake element of the type described heretofore, having a self- adjusting or self-compensating effect and an improved operating behaviour resulting into a highly reduced number of operating inconveniences, par- ticularly of yarn breakages.

According to the invention, said object is reached with a yarn bra- king device having the characteristics disclosed in Claim 1, and with an annular brake element as in Claim 18.

According to Claim 1, said yarn braking device essentially compri- ses an annular brake element having a substantially conical and circumfe- rentially continuous braking portion, of which at least the radial flexi- bility is significant and which is positioned coaxial to a body shaped as a drum around which is wound a weft yarn reserve under an axial spring load and in peripheral contact, along an essentially circular braking zo- ne, with a rim of said drum from which the yarn is withdrawn, and a flex- ible and wearproof friction surface structure provided on said braking portion in said braking zone, and is characterized in that said friction surface structure is formed by a plurality of separate elements contact- ing said braking portion in said braking zone and movable one in respect of the other.

Since separate elements, positioned along said braking zone. are used to transmit the forces between the braking portion and the yarn withdrawal rim, or the yarn respectively, said separate elements being movable in relation to each other and being backed-up by the braking portion, it is not possible for such elements to accomplish a significant spring action or deformation resistance, apt to interfere with the mutual

cooperation between the braking portion and the yarn withdrawal rim, or the yarn respectively. In fact, the separate elements behave extremely passively and do not undesirably disturb the constant and smooth trans- mission of forces between the braking portion, and the yarn withdrawal rim and the yarn. The separate elements merely fulfil the task of provi- ding a predetermined coefficient of friction and an effective wear pro- tection for the braking portion. Failing, therefore, a circumferentially continuous structure with undesirable spring properties and deformation resistance, it is possible to obtain a performance of the braking device similar to that which would be obtained if the radially flexible braking portion were in direct contact with the yarn withdrawal rim, and with the yarn. Even at high speeds, in modern projectile or gripper looms, and with delicate yarn qualities, it is possible to obtain an efficient self- adjustment or self-compensation of the braking effect. which results into a significantly reduced number of operating inconveniences, such as yarn breakages. For example, a coarse denim yarn can be safely woven with a yarn feeder and a gripper loom working at high speed.

According to Claim 2, all said separate elements are movably inter- connected within a unitary body. This of course simplifies securing the elements to the braking portion, which must be done in such a way that, in the braking zone, said elements are separated one from the other.

According to Claim 3, said separate elements are not totally inter- connected, but are secured to the braking portion one by one. They anyhow provide the required wear resistance and friction coefficient and are apt to prevent the braking portion from contacting the yarn, but do not have any disturbing effect on the mutual cooperation between the braking por- tion and the yarn. Said elements might even be secured to the braking portion in the braking zone, i. e. directly behind the braking zone.

According to Claim 4, the separate elements are easy to manufacture and have a long-lasting operation, a high wear-resistance and a uniform passive behaviour. A solution of the present invention could also be to adopt a light braking body comprising laminae and to support such laminae

at the back-when they are lifted by the yarn unwound in"defile"along a spiral-shaped path-at least in the braking zone, by means of a circumferentially continuous, flexible and pre-loaded braking portion, acting as back-up member.

According to Claim 5, the laminae could be positioned in an essen- tially radial direction, if wishing to operate in both rotation senses of the yarn feeder. If the lananae are positioned obliquely'in respect of a radial direction, they can be used to operate only in one rotation sense, i. e. in the sense in which the laminae are inclined.

The embodiment according to Claim 6, comprising a single unitary strip with a base section connecting the laminae, is advantageous from a manufacturing point of view. The base section connecting the laminae is of course positioned at a distance from the braking zone and has no negative effects on the passive flexibility and relative mobility of said laminae. The main purpose of the base section is to keep the laminae in a predetermined positioning, for instance with small interspaces in which the yarn cannot touch the braking portion supporting them at the back.

According to Claim 7, the single unitary strip is manufactured in a flat condition, the laminae are formed by cutting interspaces therein, and the strip is subsequently bent into the shape corresponding to the shape of the braking portion in operating conditions.

The specific embodiment according to Claim 8 provides for a relati- vely large number of laminae, which is advantageous for their extreme flexibility and passive behaviour during operation of the device.

According to Claim 9, the braking portion extends close to the free tips of the laminae, which is even more advantageous in order to support said laminae over the full length thereof. It is important for the bra- king portion to support the laminae at the back, at least behind the braking zone, so that said laminae do not behave as active springs. An extension of the braking portion beyond the free tips of the laminae might be advantageous to prevent an undesired contact of the withdrawn yarn with said free tips.

According to Claim 10, said separate elements are particles applied onto the braking portion, in the braking zone. Said separate elements may define an almost continuous surface, but are nevertheless movable in res- pect of each other so as not to determine an undesirable spring behaviour or resistance to deformation in the mutual cooperation between the yarn and the flexible braking portion.

According to Claim 11,-the braking portion is part df an essential- ly annular elastic membrane apt to transmit the required forces, uniform- ly and smoothly, onto the yarn withdrawal rim and onto the yarn, and also to take up the counterforces of the yarn moving along a spiral-shaped path. The brake element is easy to manufacture and to mount, and leads to a uniform, long-lasting and reliable operation.

According to Claim 12, the braking portion does not release the ax- ial spring load directly onto the yarn withdrawal rim and onto the yarn, while it simultaneously takes up the counterforce of the yarn by elastic deformation. Due to the intrinsic elastic properties of the membrane, no additional spring means are required to generate the axial spring load.

By adjusting the axial position of the support in respect of the yarn storage drum, or of its yarn withdrawal rim, the strength of the axial spring load can be easily and gradually varied, resulting into a precise- ly adjustable braking effect.

In the alternative embodiment of Claim 13, the brake element is a frustoconical structure made, for example, of carbon fibers embedded in or coated with plastic material (strengthened fabric). Said brake element achieves a significant axial rigidity to release the axial spring load with minimum losses, a significant radial flexibility to allow a uniform braking effect, and a considerably low inertia leading to an excellent operation, even with drastic speed changes and for a great variety of different yarn qualities.

According to Claim 14, said frustoconical structure is supported. either at its end of wider diameter or at its end of smaller diameter, bv a stationary holder. The axial spring load is generated by spring means

provided between said holder and said frustoconical structure. This leads to a perfect self-centering behaviour of the brake element in operation, and allows to precisely adjust the braking action by adjusting the axial position of the holder in respect of the yarn withdrawal rim. The frusto- conical structure can be pulled or pressed in respect of the withdrawal rim of the yarn storage drum.

According to Claim 1aF a reliable bonding of the unitary body of separate elements to the brake element is provided for. The bonding area can be of circular shape coaxial to the braking zone, but also outside or inside the braking zone, to ensure the relative mobility between the separate elements in the braking zone.

Alternatively, according to Claim 16, the unitary body of separate elements is secured to the brake element by mechanical fixing means. This could be advantageous from the manufacturing point of view and as far as reliability. Furthermore, said mechanical fixing means can be used to se- cure the unitary body in a removable manner. This allows to replace said unitary body without having to replace the brake element, for example if having to adapt the yarn braking device to specific yarn qualities and special rotation directions (S or Z), for maintenance purposes or for replacement, for instance due to wear.

According to Claim 17, the mechanical fixing means are already pro- vided in the brake element. Different unitary bodies with separate ele- ments can be inserted in an interchangeable manner. The pocket, or the clamps, are merely meant to set the position of the unitary body in res- pect of the brake element, and are of scarce importance during operation of the device since the mutual contact between the separate elements and the braking portion is then sufficient to suitably position the unitary body.

According to Claim 18, the annular brake element of the present invention comprises a substantially conical and circumferentially conti- nuous braking portion, of which at least the radial flexibility is signi- ficant and which has a flexible and wearproof friction surface structure

extending circumferentially and coaxially along said braking portion, and is characterized in that said friction surface structure is formed by a plurality of separate elements, which are movable one in respect of the other and each of which moves into contact with said braking portion.

The annular brake element according to Claim 18 is easy to manufac- ture and can be used as a spare part fitting onto already existing brake devices.

Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a very diagrammatic side view of a yarn feeder; Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a brake element for a yarn feeder as shown in fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section view, on an enlarged scale, of one half of a yarn braking device according to a first embodiment of the pre- sent invention; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section view of another embodiment of said yarn braking device; Fig. 5 is a front view of a unitary body with separate elements. prior to its mounting onto the yarn braking device according to the invention; Figs. 6 and 7 show two variants of a detail of a brake element according to the invention: and fig. 8 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section view of a further embodiment of the yarn braking device according to the present invention.

Fig. 1 shows a yarn feeder F, meant to unwind a yarn Y from a spool A, so as to form a yarn reserve to be stored on the surface 3 of a body shaped as a drum 4, and allow the intermittent withdrawal of yarn Y by a textile machine T, for example a gripper or projectile loom. In the <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> housing 1 of the feeder F, a rotatable element 2 is driven into rotation by a motor (not shown) in order to perform successive windings of yarn Y around the drum 4. In the front end zone of the drum 4 an arm 6, forming part of the housing 1, supports a yarn braking device B cooperating with

the front end of the drum 4. The yarn braking device B comprises a sta- tionary holder H, also supported by the arm 6 in order to be able to adjust its position along the axis of the drum 4, and an annular brake element E supported by said holder H. The yarn Y, withdrawn through the yarn braking device B downstream of the drum 4 around which is wound the yarn reserve, slides through an outlet yarn guide eyelet 5 and is drawn and used by the textile machine T.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the brake element E consists of three ring-shaped components R1, R2, R3. The component R1 is an annular frustoconical membrane M of elastic material, as rubber, foam plastic, or rubber-like plastic material. Preferably, for the membrane NI use can be made of an age-resistant plastic material, for instance of the type sold under the registered trade mark DESiIOPAN. At the end of wider diameter of the membrane M, a stiff ring-shaped portion 7 is applied to allow mount- ing the brake element E onto the holder H. As shown in further detail in the longitudinal section view of fig. 3, the membrane NI extends outwardly towards the yarn feeder F with at least one circumferential wave portion 8-advantageous to give spring and/or self-centering properties to the brake element E-and terminates inwardly with a generally frustoconical wall section 9 which defines the braking portion P. The wall thickness of the membrane M can be uniform, but not necessarily. A seat 10 and fixing holes 11 can also be formed into the membrane M (which can be a single molded piece).

The ring-shaped component R2 is a unitary body U formed of a plura- lity of frustoconical elements made, for example, from thin sheet metal. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <P>Their thickness may vary from 0.01 to 0.5 mm, and preferably from O. Q T to 0.15 mm. The unitary body U may be a one-piece endless structure, or it can be obtained by bending a flat strip (fig. 5) into the shown confit- ration. A plurality of inclined laminae L, with small interspaces 14 between them, project from an outer circumferentially continuous base section 13 of the body U. Fixing holes 1 can be provided in the base section 13.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, for a braking zone Z having a diameter of about 120 mm, the thickness of the unitary body U <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> can be of 0.08 mm, the width of each lamina L can be about 1.5 mm. the interspaces 14 between said laminae can be about 0.1 mm, and the free length of the laminae L can be about l5 mm.

The ring-shaped component R3 is a mechanical fixing member allowing to apply the unitary body U onto the membrane il. Said ring-shaped compo- nent may consist of a molded plastic portion 16, with mechanical fixing elements D engaging into the holes 15 and 11. Instead of the mechanical fixing elements D incorporated into the portion 16, a plurality of sepa- rate fixing elements D can be adopted.

Fig. 3 illustrates the brake element E in its assembled condition <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> and installed for operation. The membrane il is supported, through its stiff ring-shaped portion ;, by the stationary holder H, in a position adjustable along the axis of the yarn storage drum 4, so that the braking portion P may be axially pressed against the front end of said drum 4 with a preset spring load K. The unitary body U is secured to the membra- ne M by the fixing elements D so that, when said body U is pressed bv the braking portion P against the drum 4, the laminae L may get in contact with the outlet rim W of said drum for yarn withdrawal in an essentially circular braking zone Z. The laminae L, being separated in the braking zone Z by the interspaces 14, are apt to move in relation to each other according to the deformations of the braking portion P. Preferably. the braking portion P is in contact with the laminae L without being connect- ed thereto, and preferably over almost their full length. It can be of particular importance that, in the braking zone Z, the laminae L may moreover be apt to move in respect of the braking portion P. However, according to another embodiment of the invention, it is also possible to secure the laminae L to the braking portion P even in correspondence of the braking zone Z. The laminae L form in their whole a friction surface structure S on the braking portion P, for the yarn Y drawn through the braking zone Z while simultaneously being braked. The outlet angle of the

yarn Y, on its path towards the yarn guide eyelet 5, is preferably more inclined than the braking portion P, so as to avoid contact between the yarn itself and the free tips of the laminae L. The laminae L define separate elements C, the purpose of which is to provide a good wear resistance and a predetermined coefficient of friction for the yarn Y in the braking zone Z. The laminae L, being parted and flexible in the braking zone Z, tend to behave passively to the respective forces being transmitted from the braking portion P onto the yarn Y and viceversa. The further is the position of the holder H adjusted towards the feeder drum 4, the stronger becomes the braking effect. The yarn Y, being unwound"in <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> defile"around the withdrawal rim \f in the braking zone Z, continuously deforms the braking portion P and is braked. The working of the yarn braking device B merely depends on the cooperation between the braking portion P and the yarn Y, and is not detrimentally influenced by the presence of the separate elements C, defined in this case by the laminae L. In operation, the laminae L behave extremely passively to the mutual forces transmitted between the braking portion P and the yarn Y, while simultaneously defining a predetermined coefficient of friction and providing a high resistance to wear; they moreover protect the braking portion P against wear due to abrasion determined by yarn passage.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the membrane M is provided with a circular pocket D'or with different circumferentially distributed camping means (not shown), to retain the unitary body U in a removable manner, so that it may be supported at the back by the braking portion P in its contact with the yarn withdrawal rim i in the braking zone Z. In the embodiments of figs. 3 and 4, the braking portion P terminates within the free tips of the laminae L. However, the braking portion P may also extend as far as the free tips of the laminae L, or even beyond said free tips, in order to create a protective guiding edge for the yarn Y being withdrawn, in case of unintentional contacts. Though not shown on the drawings, the unitary body U could also be bonded by glueing in a circu- lar area or bonded spot-wise directly onto the membrane M, or the braking

portion P respectively. In this case, when replacement is required, the whole brake element E needs to be replaced.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the unitary body U consists of a strip 12 of laminae L, produced flat and having a continuous outer base section 13 from which inwardly project the laminae L. Before applying said unitary body U onto the brake element E, the ends 18 of the strip 12 <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> are spaced apart. Subsequently, by joining the ends 18, the strip 12 of laminae L takes up a frustoconical configuration, as shown for example in figs. 2 and 3. In fig. 5 the laminae L are inclined, in respect of a ra- dial positioning, by an angle OL included between 10° and 70°. However, the laminae L can also be radially positioned. The inclination shown in fig. 5 allows to use the strip of laminae L only in one sense of rotation of the yarn Y being withdrawn along the rim \\, namely in the direction of arrow 17. The unitary body U can be easily replaced by disengaging the mechanical fixing elements D, without having to replace the membrane M.

The embodiment of fig. 6 provides for separate elements C, apt to fully define the friction surface structure S on the braking portion P in the braking zone Z. Such elements C, instead of being interconnected-as in figs. 2 to 5-by a base section 13, are fully parted and the base section is totally absent. The elements C are flexible, wearproof, and are apt to protect the braking portion P from direct contact with the yarn Y. Furthermore, they define a predetermined coefficient of friction for the yarn Y. The separate elements C can be bonded, for instance by glueing, onto the braking portion P, either with one of their ends or throughout their length.

In the embodiment of fig. 7, the elements C consist of a plurality of particles of a wearproof material bonded to the braking portion P, at least in the braking zone Z, either by glueing or by spraying.

The braking zone Z is a circle line only in theory, as in practice it might have a certain extension in width. In each of the embodiments, the elements C should cover an area of the braking portion P extending to a certain width, in order to make sure that the yarn Y will always and

only get in contact with the friction surface structure S.

In the alternative embodiment of fig. yarn braking device B consists of a frustoconical structure 19, made of a high-strength fibrous material containing, for example, carbon fibers and plastic material (fiber reinforced fabric). The braking portion P is po- sitioned either close to the end of wider diameter 20 or close to the end of smaller diameter 21 of the frustoconical structure 19. The structure 19 has a significant radial flexibility, a considerable axial rigidity and an extremely low inertia. The friction surface structure S is provi- ded either close to the end of wider diameter 20 or close to the end of smaller diameter 21 of said frustoconical structure 19, on the inner sur- face of the respective braking portion P, and it is defined by separate elements C at least in the braking zone Z. Preferably, the elements C are mutually connected outside the braking zone Z by a base section 13, as shown in fig. 5. The separate elements C may consist of laminae L, as shown in fig. 5, or of particles as shown in fig. 7. Even fully parted elements C could be used, as shown in fig. 6, at least partly bonded to the inner side of the braking portion P. The axial spring load (K), re- quired for the brake element E, is generated by spring means 21 provided between the stationary holder H and the frustoconical structure 19.