Flexible textile spindle assembly

A spindle shaft is flexurally elastic at its shank part mounted in a bearing sleeve. The spindle shaft carries a belt-engaging wharve which is arranged underneath the neck bearing and to which a drive belt engages to rotate the spindle shaft. The bearing sleeve is arranged to have radial play within a spindle housing 10. The bearing sleeve is fastened at its lower end via a flexurally elastic tilting joint 40 to the spindle housing 10 connected rigidly to the spindle rail. The pulling force of the drive belt engaged to the wharve during operation deflects the bearing sleeve radially by tilting it about the tilting joint. Such deflection brings about, on the other hand, a pivoting of the bobbin-carrying upper part of the spindle shaft about the neck bearing in the opposite direction as a result of the bending moment occurring on the shank part, an inclination of the spindle shaft with its upper part is thus avoided.

What is claimed is:

1. A spindle assembly comprising:

a tubular spindle housing;

a bearing sleeve tiltably disposed within said spindle housing and including a neck bearing and a step bearing, said bearing sleeve and said spindle housing being joined by a tilting joint provided at one end of said bearing sleeve; and

a spindle shaft having a flexible shank portion, and a belt-engaging portion located adjacent to said neck bearing and spaced away from said neck bearing in a direction towards said tilting joint, said spindle shaft being rotatably supported within said bearing sleeve by said neck bearing and said step bearing.

2. A spindle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tilting joint comprises at least one elastically flexble web member.

3. A spindle assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said at least one elastically flexible web is a material portion joining said bearing sleeve and said spindle housing having a plurality of helical slots formed therein.

4. A spindle assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein said web member is arranged coaxial to an axis of said spindle shaft in an unflexed state.

5. A spindle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tilting joint comprises a flexible and corrugated portion of said bearing sleeve.

6. A spindle assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tilting joint is formed as part of said bearing sleeve and is contained within said spindle housing.