3 the stiffener of which was inspired by a bottle stopper elastic rings 84 on a pin or bolt 85 expand at the inner side or wall of the empty bobbin tube 11 while an outer member 86 at the pin or bolt 85 bears upon the end face of the empty bobbin or tube 11 the pin or bolt 85 possesses an annular recess 87 and a spring element 89 which cooperates with a square element 90 of a latch 91 the latch 91 is firmly but rotatedly connected to the gripper holder 68 in such a manner that the spring element 89 turns the square element 90 and thus the latch 91 through 90 u00b0 during upward travel or movement of the pin or bolt 85 in this manner the pin or bolt 85 can be latched and unlatched a variant is shown in fig1 in that a latch 91 1 is secured to the pin or bolt 85 and a spring element 89 1 is secured to the gripper holder 68 a second exemplary embodiment of the apparatus constructed according to the invention is illustrated in fig1 as a completely different flyer doffer or doffing apparatus 20 1 in which various parts.