17 this take up arrangement 22 forms at the same time a thread transport means which can displace the thread along the conical surface 18 of the drum 17 there is thus obtained the following mode of action the thread 3 coming from spool 2 has an input thread tension which is determined by means of the measuring means 23 the resulting position of the thread take up arrangement 22 is determined by the counterforce of spring 30 when the input thread tension increases the lever 28 is displaced together with a thread take up arrangement 23 the result of this is that the thread 3 looped around the drum 17 is displaced into a region of surface 18 having a larger diameter with the result that it is provided to the thread take up arrangement 4 at a higher velocity this in turn leads to a reduction of the output thread tension between the drum 17 and the thread take up arrangement 4 thus the thread tension effective before the drum is thus reduced or compensated this is also true of the effect of the prior brake 20 which is only put into operation when the thread tension is so small that it is necessary to ensure a reliable drive of the thread 3 from the drum 17 it is to be noted that the pitch of the surface 18 in the illustration is substantially exaggerated in actuality the difference in the diameter between one end and the other is only a few percent for example 2 since each.