CA1041751A - Random length cutter - Google Patents

Abstract

RANDOM LENGTH CUTTER

Abstract of the Disclosure A cutter is provided for cutting rope into fibers of varying lengths. A plurality of blades are provided having cutting edges arcuately arranged and facing either inwardly or outwardly. Rope is fed against the cutting edges of the blades, forcing the rope against the cutting edges and through the spaces between them. The planes of the cutting blades diverge from one another, providing an angular blade arrangement such that the spacing between any pair of blades varies along the length of the blade. The cut fibers, having different lengths, are preferably conveyed by a fluid such as air to a collecting chamber.

Description

Brief Description of the Invention This invention relates to a random length cutter for cutting rope into a plurality of cut fibers having lengths which vary in accordance with a controlled pattern. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus employing a plurality of spaced apart cutting blades in a substantially closed configuration, with the blades facing either inwardly or outwardly.
In accordance with this invention, the blades are staggered with respect to each other, so that the cutting edges of any adjacent pair of blades are an-gularly related to each other in a manner to cut the ~ope into fibers of varying leng*hs. The fibers are preferably of staple lengths in the range of about one inch to six inches or even more or less~
Related Ap~ cation This application refers to United States Patent No. 3,861~257~ Laird , . . ..
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et al~ granted January 21~ 1975~ and assigned to the assignee hereof. In the aforesaid co-pending application a precision length cutter is described, ~ -~ .,.
- wherein the blades are arranged circularly ~ith the cutting edges facing in- `
wardly. In accordance with that disclosure, the rope is fed against the in-wardly facing cutting edges and is forcedooutwardly in a manner to cut the `~ rope into precision lengths. Such an arrangement is particularly useful for :
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;l 20 cutting of extremely short lengths such as flock length fibers~ and it is of !,'''.
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~ great advantage in avoiding jamming of the cut flock between the cutting blades.

- In the apparatus of the aforementioned United States Patent, a sys- ~-;
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tem is provided for con~eying away the cut fibers, utilizing air ducts driven by a blower. This air also causes m;~;ng of the flock fibers because of the r,` air turbulence in the conveying ducts.
In such an apparatus the cut fibers are all of the same length~ and ~' ; .
the blades are arranged parallel to each other.

Brief Descri~tion of the Prior Art . .
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Rope cutters have heretofore been provided utilizing a plurality of `~
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cutting blades which are spaced apart from each other. In one such apparatus~
which differs sharply from the apparatus of the aforesaid co-pending applica-tion, a cutting reel has been provided wherein a number of replaceable cutting ; blades are set around the reel circumference with the cutting edges on the outside. The rope passes through a tensioning device before reaching the cut-ting reel, and the reel is caused to revolve. This builds up a rope band around the cutting reel with the inner layer of the rope band against the cutting edges of the blades. Adjacent the circumference of the cutting reel there is located a pressure roller which is spaced slightly from the cutting edges of the blades. As the rope bands build up between the blades and the pressure roller9 the pressure on the rope increases until it becomes so high that the inner layer of rope is cut by the blades.
The cutting edges of the blades~ in such a configuration~ are parallel . .
to each other. Thus, as to any adjacent pair of blades, the intervening gap - is of constant dimension and as a result the cut fibers are of uniform length, regardless of the location along the lengths of the blades at which they are cut. An apparatus of that type is capable of producing a high quality cut staple, the fibers of which are uniform in length. They are necessarily of staple fiber length3 since an apparatus of this type has not been capable of ~`~ 20 producing cut fibers in extremely short lengths9 such as flock~ because of in- ;
terference of the blades with each other due to their convergence along the path of the cut fibers~
In the cutters of the prior art, either cutting inwardly or outwardly, ` it has been considered to be an advantage that the lengths of the cut fibers -were uniform However, it has now been discovered that a blend of cut fibers having superior characteristics can be prepared by deliberately cutting the fibers so that there is considerable variation in the lengths of the cut -fibers. It has been discovered that there is a strong analogy to the field of - worsted spun yarns, for e~ample sheep-grown fibers which may vary in length, ~ -2-... . . ~ . . .. . . . .. . . .

. -7~ifl in the worsted system~ from 1 1/2 - 5 or 6 inches or longer, and in the woolen system which utilizes combinations of relatively short fibers ranging in length from about 1 - ~ 1/2 inches or e~en slightly longer.
In the woolen system it has been considered advantageous to provide a combination of different fiber lengths. me long fibers, when twisted, lock together and tend to lock the shorter length fibers as well, thus giving a smooth effect in the yarn and a smooth surface in a fabric made of the yarn.
~ fforts have been made in the past to combine different lengths of nylon fibers in order to simulate a worsted spun yarn, or to provide fibers which can be blended with fibers of the worsted system. In this manner~ it is possible to obtain much better simulation of the worsted system by providing lengths that vary on a comparable scale. Such systems have been devised in the past~ having fixed percentages of fibers of different lengths, mixed to- ;~
gether. This has been accomplished by making a large quantity of each specific length and then attempting to blend the batches of fibers of different lengths.
However, this has been an expensive mixing operation and has not always been successful in producing a truly uniform mixture.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide novel ap-paratus for automatically and continuously providing a uniform mixture of cut fibers of different lengths. Another object is to provide a flock cutter which may be preset to cut fibers having controlled lengths of different mag-nitudes.

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Another object is to provide such an apparatus which produces pre-cisely cut flock, having mixed fiber lengths of exceptionally high quality~
- with a minimum number of fusions, of miscuts~ and of fiber deformation. -Still another object is to provide an apparatus which is capable of producing an oe~tremel~hD~o~ghlymixed product of cut staple fibers~ which are readily combinable with natural fibers of the worsted system.

These objects are accomplished through the provision~ in a cutter : ':

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.; ~, for cutting a rope into a plurality of cut fibers of varying lengths, wherein a support means is provided maintaining a plurality of spaced apart cutting blades in a substantially adjacent configuration, said blades having cutting - edges which are arranged to contact said rope, guide means are provided for guiding said rope to said support means to distribute a layer of said rope adjacent to said cutting edges, and wherein a pressure means is provided which . is operative and effective upon said rope to press it against said cutting edges to cut said rope in contact with said cutting edges, of the improvement .
wherein said cutting edges are angularly arranged with respect to each other - 10 to vary the distances between adjacent cutting edges along the lengths of said ; adjacent blades, whereby said rope is forced against said cutting edges and whereby the-resulting cut fibers have varying lengthsimproportion to-the dis-tance between the cutting edges at the point of cutting.
Other objects and advantages of this invention, including the ease with which the length ratios of the cut fibers may be varied~ and the ease with .. . . .
which the blades of the cutter may be interchanged and replaced~ will further .-. appear hereinafter and in the drawings. .
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.~ Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a flock cutter apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention, with many parts removed in order to reveal important details; ~ .
Figure 2 is a view in section taken as indicated by the lines and .
arrows II-II which appear in Figure 1, this sectional view being considerably enlarged as compared to Figure l;
Figure 3 is a view of the cut fibers themselves, as they appear at the instant of cutting, utilizing a staggered cutting blade arrangement as illustrated in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a flock cutter ar . ~ :
ranged to cut from inside out; and , ''" ' .

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:' ~4 ; Figure 5 is an enlarge plan view of one-half of the apparatus appearing in Figure 4.
Detailed Description of the Invention Although this description will utilize specific terms in the inter-est of clarity, it is to be understood that these terms are used in reference to the specific forms of the invention selected for illustration in the draw-ings, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is - defined in the appended claims.
As used in connection with this invention the term "rope" is in-tended to include an elongated bundle of filamen~s, usually of the syntheticfilament type, such as nylon, polyester, etc.5 arranged substantially parallel to each other and having a reasonably uniform thickness along its length.-The filaments of the rope may either be continuous or discontinuous, or ma~
be the same as each other or a blend of different fibers~ They may be the same denier or may have different deniers, and may include ~atural fibers or - synthetic fibers alone or blended with each other. Although the most fre-quently used form of rope is continuous filament tow, this term is also inten ded to include garnetted waste, piddled filament waste yarns, garnetted - sliver filaments and natural fibers, carded sliver, braided or twisted rope and the like. Preferably in accordance with this in~ention the rope is a t~w ! ~(. ..
which may be laid out flat, so that it assumes the shape of a band having a width which is considerably greater than its thickness.
Turning now to Figure 1 of the drawings, the number 10 comprehen-sively designates a cutter apparatus for cutting the rope R ~hich is fed con~
tinuously from any convenient source, not shown, over and under the flattening rods 11 in a manner to decrease the thickness of the rope while concurrently increasing its width, for a reason which will be described in further detail hereinafter. The number 12 designates a reel which is constructed to be driven in rotation about its center in a continuous manner and at a regulatable ~`~

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velocity of rotation. The rod 11 closest to reel 12 serves as a guide for the rope R. Located adjacent to the reel 12 is a pressurc roller 13 whi~h is ro-tatable about its axis 14 in the direction indicated by the arrow (a) appear-ing in Figure 1. Means are provided of a conventional nature, not shown, for pressing the roller 13 against the rope R which is wrapped repeatedly over and upon itself on the reel 12~ as shown in Figure 1.
The number 15 designates a plurality of cutter blades which are spaced apart from one another and arranged with their cutting edges facing radially outwardly. It will be apparent thatthe pressure of the roller 13, bearing upon the outermost layer of rope R3 transmits a pressure through the outer layer of rope R and forces the innermost layer of rope R against the adjacent cutting edges, causing the rope to be cut into staple length fibers ; F. These staple length cut fibers F are then mixed with one another in the turbulent air within the ring of blades, as indicated by the arrows (b) in i~
Figure 1~ thus causing an intimate admixture of the cut fibers. As stated, a conventional air conveying system, not shown in ~igure 1 of the drawings~ is ~ -desirably utilized to draw the cut fibers out of the space within the reel 12 and to convey them to a suitable destination such as a fiber collecting bin, for example.
Figure 2 of the drawings shows that the blades 15 are angularly arranged with respect to each other. Specifically, the cutting edges of each adjacent pair of blades are at angles to each other, such that the distance between the cutting edges varies across the path of the rope R. As will be apparent in Figure 2~ the reel 12 includes a pair of blade supporting rings 16, 17 which extend circularly completely around the reel and which constitute the supporting means upon which the blades are mounted. It will be appreciated that the rope R, which has been flattened and widened into a band by the rods 11 appearing in Figure 1~ occupies the entire space between the ring 16 and the ring 17. Similarly, the thickness of the pressure roll 13 is equal to the :-. . . ~

distance between the rings 16, 17, so that the pressure roll 13 exerts pressure on the rope all the way across the intervening space between the rings 16, 17, in other words, all along the lengths of the blades 15.
Accordingly, when the reel 12 and the pressure roll 13 are rotated, the pressure roll 13 forces the rope against the staggered edges of the blades 15, cutting them into a substantially infinite variety of different lengths. ;
Figure 3 shows the rope R at the instant of cutting, looking at the -rope from the same viewpoint as the blades are viewed in Figure 2. It will be apparent that each blade cooperates with its adjacent blades to cut the fibers of the rope R angularly, providing a variation of fiber length across the width of the band of rope R. Those fibers F~ which are located where the cut-ting edges are closest together are the shortest fibers produced by the cut-- ting operation~ whereas those fibers ~" which are located where the cutting -edges of the blades are farthest apart are the longest fibers produced by the cutting operation. The fibers in bet~een these locations have intermediate . .. ::
lengths. -Of course~ the enkire reel lO may be removed as a unit and rep~aced with another reel. In this manner~ adjustments may be made quickly with re-spect to different spacings between the blades, angular relationships between the blades, different types of blades, etc. Also, if desired, ~he blades may be individually adjustable upon the reels, if desired. In any even~, changing ~: .
of the reels or adjust=ent of the blades aIlows the operator to produce blended cut fibers having different desired ratios of long fibers to short fibers, and to vary the actual lengths of the longest fibers and of the shortest fibers. ;~
Similarly, some blades may even be omitted, and it is possible even to vary the distances in a random or predetermined pattern, between the adjacent pairs of ~: .
blades themselves. In this manner~ a wide variety of products may be obtained with certainty.
It is of great adYantage in accordance with this in~entlon that the ~ 7 ": .

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cut fibers are blended with each other in such a manner that the fibers that . are adjacent to each other have different lengths at the time the cutting operation is performed. This contributes to the ease of producing a uniform productg since the cut fibers of varying leng*hs are very easy to blend with each other in the simple process of conveying them away, utilizing turbulent air in an air delivery system.
me number of wraps of uncut rope R that are trained around the cut-ting edges may be varied at will, and depends of course upon the pressure ex- ~ `
erted by the pressure roIl 13. However~ it is preferred to space the pressure wheel at least far enough away that it cannot damage the cutting edges of the blades. There should normally be at least a par*ial layer of uncut infeeding ~ rope R in the intervening space between the pressure roll 13 and the arc in which the cutting edges lie.
Turning now to ~igure 4 of the drawings~ the number 110 comprehen-sively designates a precision cutter apparatus for cutting the rope R which is fed continuously from any convenient source, not shown, through a feed tube 111 which is arranged for rotation about a main drive shaft 112 which is driven in rotation by a variable speed motor 113 mounted upon a motor support 114.
The cutter apparatus 110 is supported by vertical supports 115~ 115 and includes a plurality of inwardly facing blades 116, circularly arranged with all cutting : ~-,.
edges fàcing inwardly toward the feed tube 111. ~ pressure disc 117 is also mounted for rotation about the shaft 112, driven by the motor 113 and carrying a multiplicity of spaced apar* pressure wheels 120, having a s*ructure and function which will be referred to in further detail hereinafter. As will ap-pear hereinafter the pressure disc 117 comprises upper and lower spaced discs 140~ 1~0 between which the pressure wheels 120 are located. ~owever, at this point it should be stated that the pressure wheels 120 are constructed and arranged to press the rope R outwardl~ against the cutting edges of the blades 116, causing the blades to cut the rope, and forcing the rope generally radially .

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outwardly into an annular chamber 121 which surrounds the disc 117 and blades 116 and is connected to ductwork 122 leading to the ~eed end of a blower 123 -having an outlet duct 124 leading into a collection chamber 125 for the cut flock. Openings are provided inwardly of the ring of cutter blades 116 for ad-mitting a fluid such as air into the suction chamber 121. Thus, the blower 123 draws air into the annular chamber 121, causing the air to flow radially out-wardly through the spaces between the blades 116, entraining the cut fibres and carrying them through the ductwork 122 and through the blower 123 and out-let duct 124 into the collection chamber 125, thus delivering the cut fibres for collection and ultimate shipment. It will be appreciated that collection chamber 125 is preferably a cyclone separator.
Turning to Figure 5 of the drawingsg further details are shown with respect to the manner in which the outwardly directed rope cuttin~ portion of the apparatus is constructed and operated. As will be observed in Figure 5, the feed tube 111 is rigidly mounted upon the disc 117 and swings around with it. The rope R passes through the tube 111 and over the curbed surface of one of the pressure wheels 120. Each pressure wheel 120 has a central shaft 130 which rides in slots 131, 131 formed in the spaced discs l~Og 1~0 of the pressure disc 117. A spring 132, continuously maintained in compression~ urges -the shaft 130 radially outwardly, causing pressure contact between the pressure wheel 120 and the rope R. All of the pressure wheels 120 are similarly con-structed and mounted and are maintained by their springs 132 continuously in . .
pressure contact with the rope R.
Each slot 131, however~ has an adjustable limit stop 133 at its outer extremity, limiting the permissible extent of movement of the shaft 130 in a ' radially outward direction, thus assuring that there will always be a spacing between the maximum radius of the path of movement of the pressure wheels 120, and the radius of the circle defined by the locus of the cutting edges ; of blades 116. Although the magnitude of the spacing S is not critical, it is g_ 7~1 preferred to allow enough spacing so that at least a portion of the thickness of one layer o~ rope is always uncut, and lies in the space provided by the spacing S.
It will be appreciated from Figure 5 that~ as the drive shaft 112 rotates under the influence of the motor 113, rope is distributed around the periphery of the pressure disc 117, in between the cutting edges and the pres-sure wheels 120, building into one or a plurality of layers in tha intervening ` space S As the rope is thus trained around in one or in multiple layers within the periphery of the cutting blades 116, the pressure wheels 120 ro-tate in the direction indicated by the arrows thereonO ~;;
In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the spacing S is such that three layers of uncut rope have been provided, these being designated Il, L2 and L3 in the upper portion of ~igure 5 In view of the fact that the spacing S is not ~ide enough to accommodate more than three layers of rope between the cut-ting blades 116 and the pressure wheel 120 without bui~ding up excessive pres sure, upon introduction of stiIl another layer~ the pressure wheel 120 forces `
the rope against the cutting blades with such a high pressure that the outer layer Ll, which is in contact with the cutting edges of the blades 1169 is ~ -cut into individual sections of precise dimensionO These cut sections, which `~
are designated as flock F in Figure 5, are then caused to move radially out-~ . .
uardly under the pressure of successively cut layers L2 and L3~ and are caught up in the air stream previously described and conveyed to the collection cham-ber 125 which may be a standard cyclone collector or bag collector, for example.
The rope R, of course~ may be of any denier at all. With smaller denier such as 10,000 or less, it is preferable to use a larger number of layers of uncut rope in the intervening space~ but with deniers of 250,000 to 500~,000 or more, a lesser number of such uncut layers (such as part of one or up to two) is considered more practical.
It will be appreciated that the rope R may be cut while wet, if --10-- ,~

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desired, and the wet cut fibers may be conveyed away either by air or by some -~
other fluid, or even by mechanical means.
- Although wide varieties of particular blend cuts may be made, some `~
of those which are considered particularly desirable are 1 1/2 to 3 inches,

2 t~ 4 inches, 2 1/2 to 5 inches, 3 to 5 inches, 3 to 6 inches and 4 to 6 - inches. Further, i~ is particularly desirable to make a cut blend of 4 to 7 1/2 inches, for productuion of a bulky but "even" carpet yarn. Although a cut staple of 7 1/2 inches length is in substantial use in the carpet industry, it produces a very lean yarn when spun. Graduated length cut fibers according to this invention produce a vastly superior yarn and a vastly superior carpet product, because the yarn is more bulky and less lean as compared to yarns of the prior art.
Although this invention has been described with reference to certain ~-specific embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that various modifications :. . .
may be made, including the substitution of equivalent elements for those shown and described. Further, the invention comprehends the use of certain features independently of other features; for example, it is possible to generate cut-ting pressure by an~ means other than the pressure roll 13 or pressure rolls 120, and in some cases the rope R has adequate geometry as delivered, and need not be flattened out in the manner illustrated and described in connection with Figure 1 of the drawings. Further, it is apparent that this invention is ~! fully applicable to a cutter which cuts in the opposite direction to that ~` shown in Figure 1, namely a cutter having blades which face inwardly and having ::
a pressure means which forces the fiber outwardly for cutting between the blades. O~her modifications include the reversal of parts, the substitution ; of equivalent elements, and other modifications which may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in ~he append-ed claims.

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Claims (11)

The following is claimed:

1. In a cutter for cutting a rope into a plurality of cut fibers of varying lengths, wherein a support means is provided maintaining a plurality of spaced apart cutting blades in a substantially adjacent configuration, said blades having cutting edges which are arranged to contact said rope, and wherein guide means are provided for guiding said rope to said support means to distribute a layer of said rope adjacent to said cutting edges, and wherein a pressure means is provided which is operative and effective upon said rope to press it against said cutting edges to cut said rope in contact with said cutting edges, the improvement wherein said cutting edges are angularly arranged with respect to each other to vary the distances between adjacent cutting edges along the lengths of said adjacent blades, whereby said rope is forced against said cutting edges and whereby the resulting cut fibers have varying lengths in proportion to the distance between the said cutting edges at the point of cutting.

2. The cutter defined in claim 1, wherein means are provided for flattening out the rope as it is fed to said cutter, to provide a flattened band having a width which is substantially greater than its thickness.

3. The cutter defined in claim 1, wherein said blades are substantially circularly arranged, and wherein said baldes face outwardly.

4. The cutter defined in claim 1, wherein said blades are arranged substantially circularly, and wherein said cutting edges face inwardly.

5. The cutter defined in claim 1, wherein means are provided for turbulently mixing the fibers after they have been cut.

6. The cutter defined in claim 1, wherein a pair of blade supports are spaced apart from one another, and wherein said blades are affixed to and extend between said supports.

7. The cutter defined in claim 2, wherein said flattening means is arranged to direct said flattened rope so that its width direction extends generally along the length directions of said blades.

8. The cutter defined in claim 1, wherein said blades are supported between a pair of spaced rings.

9. The cutter defined in claim 8, wherein said blades and rings are in the form of a reel which is removable as a unit from said cutter.

10. The cutter defined in claim 1, wherein the blades are individually adjustable upon said support means.

11. The cutter defined in claim 1, wherein the distances between the blades are varied.