GB2368350A

GB2368350A - Apparatus and method for forming a fibre sliver

Info

Publication number: GB2368350A
Application number: GB0125223A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gerd Pferdmenges
Original assignee: Truetzschler GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Truetzschler GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2000-10-19
Filing date: 2001-10-19
Publication date: 2002-05-01
Anticipated expiration: 2021-10-19
Also published as: CH695341A5; GB2368350B; FR2815645A1; GB0125223D0; FR2815645B1

Abstract

The apparatus on a carding machine for forming a fibre sliver includes roller apparatus 7 supplying a fibre web 22 towards a web funnel 10, where the rollers 7 rotate around an axis parallel to a first direction and where the elongate outlet of the web funnel 10 is orientated with its longitudinal axis extending in a second direction perpendicular or inclined to the first direction. The fibre web is fed from the roller apparatus 7 and passes via web guiding elements 9a,9b, shown in one embodiment as flexible conveyor belts revolving around guide rollers. The elongate outlet from the web funnel produces a rectangular shaped compressed sliver 17.

Description

2368350 TRUTZSCHLER GMBH & CO KG D-41199 MONCHENGLADBACH Apparatus and

method for forming a fibre sliver The invention relates to an apparatus and method for forming a fibre sliver.

A known apparatus has a roller apparatus and a web funnel device having draw-off rollers, wherein the roller apparatus comprises, for example, a doffer roller, stripper roller and/or nip rollers or the like, the web funnel takes in and compresses the fibre web, and the fibre sliver emerging from the web funnel is arranged to be supplied to the pair of draw-off rollers, a web-guiding element constructed in an approximately triangular shape being arranged between the roller apparatus and the web funnel.

In such a known apparatus (US 3 339 245) at a carding machine, there is arranged, downstream of the doffer, a forming or folding region having two web funnels arranged one after the other, between which there is provided a pair of pressing rollers The doffer, the web funnels and the pair of pressing rollers are each spaced apart from one another The axes of the doffer and of the pressing rollers are aligned parallel to one another The width of the outlet regions of the web funnels is greater than the height, the long, wide axes of the outlet regions extending parallel to the axes of the doffer and of the pressing rollers The wide, thin fibre web removed by the doffer passes through the first web funnel, which reduces the width to half the original width by folding over a quarter of the width (on each of the outer sides) onto the other half (located in the central region) After leaving the first web funnel, the fibre web, which in comparison to the fibre web removed by the doffer is thicker, passes through the nip of the pair of pressing rollers so that the fibre web is pressed flat On leaving the pair of pressing rollers, the fibre web is about half as wide and about twice as thick as the original fibre web The fibre web then passes through a second web funnel, which again reduces the width of the fibre web by about half The fibre web thereby reduced, which emerges from the second web funnel in the form of a strip, is stronger than the original fibre web, having been compressed into the narrower and thicker strip As a result of being brought together in a triangular shape towards the web funnel, the fibre web removed by the doffer has a plurality of folds (cross-waves) over its width Because of the low height of the web funnel in the outlet region, the folds are compressed (pressed down) from above, but laterally, because of the large width in the outlet region, they are merely brought closer together In the nip between the subsequent pressing rollers, the folds are squeezed fully 3 - together in the direction of their amplitude (height direction) The arrangement is demanding in terms of the apparatus involved It is also disadvantageous that there is no specific guidance of the fibre web upstream of and inside the web funnels so that reliable, problem-free introduction into the web funnel is not possible It is further disadvantageous that both the fibre web that emerges from the first web funnel and from the pair of pressing rollers and also the strip that emerges from the second web funnel have central regions of greatly reduced strength As a result, on further processing, the strip tears open in undesirable manner in the longitudinal centre when outwardly directed forces are applied to the edges.

Such irregularities are especially disadvantageous when the strip forms a preliminary or intermediate product for end products such as sanitary articles.

The problem underlying the invention is accordingly to provide an apparatus of the kind described at the beginning that avoids or mitigates the mentioned disadvantages, that especially is of simple construction and that allows the manufacture of a fibre sliver having a fibre distribution that is significantly more uniform and has increased strength.

According to the invention there is provided an apparatus at a carding machine, the apparatus including a web funnel device and a roller apparatus for supplying a web to the web funnel device, the roller apparatus including one or more rollers rotatable about axes parallel to a first direction and the web funnel device including a web funnel having an elongate outlet through which, in use, the web passes, the elongate outlet having a longitudinal axis extending in a second direction perpendicular to or inclined to the first direction.

According to the invention there is also provided a method of condensing a fibre web supplied by a roller apparatus including one or more rollers rotatable about axes parallel to a first direction, by passing the web through a web funnel device including a web funnel having an elongate outlet, wherein the elongate outlet has a longitudinal axis extending in a second direction perpendicular to or inclined to the first direction.

The invention still further provides apparatus at a carding machine for forming a fibre sliver, having a roller apparatus and a web funnel having draw-off rollers, wherein the roller apparatus comprises, for example, a doffer roller, stripper roller and/or nip rollers or the like, the web funnel takes in and compresses the fibre web, and the fibre sliver emerging from the web funnel is arranged to be supplied to the pair of draw-off rollers, a web-guiding element constructed in an approximately triangular shape being arranged between the roller apparatus and the web funnel, characterised in that the outlet region of the web funnel has a rectangular cross-section, and the long axis of the outlet region is arranged perpendicular to or at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the roller apparatus.

As a result of the measures according to the invention, it is possible to produce a fibre sliver having a fibre distribution that is significantly more uniform over its cross-section The fibre sliver so produced has greater strength, in particular with respect to forces acting in an outward direction within the plane of the sliver A significant advantage is that in contrast to the known apparatus there is displacement of a parting location in the strip from the middle of the width to the middle of the thickness The invention allows a higher delivery speed In addition, it is advantageously possible to process fibre material that has a relatively large amount of short-fibre material.

At least a partial region of the fibre web may be arranged to be deflected towards the outlet region The fibre web may be arranged to be deflected towards the outlet region The fibre web seen in terms of its width may be arranged to be deflected from the horizontal into a sloping or vertical position When the fibre web has been deflected, the amplitude of the folds (cross-waves) and the direction of the long axis of the outlet region are preferably Qriented substantially parallel to one another.

In the direction of their amplitude, the folds preferably pass through parallel to the longitudinal sides of the outlet region On passing through between the long walls of the outlet opening, the folds are preferably pressed together laterally (in the direction of their wavelength) At the outlet region, the ratio between the height (b) and the width (a) is preferably at least 1:5, more preferably at least 1:10, and still more preferably at least 1:30 The long axis of the outlet region is preferably oriented substantially in the amplitude direction of the folds (height direction) The overall height (h) of the folds is preferably about from 50 to 100 mm The height (h) is preferably approximately equal to or greater than the height (h') of a fold The height (b) is preferably about from 2 to 3 mm At the outlet, the inner walls located opposite one another across the height (h) are preferably parallel to one another.

The speed of delivery of the fibre sliver leaving the web funnel is preferably 100 m/min or more The fibre sliver leaving the web funnel preferably has a rectangular cross-section The outlet of the web funnel is preferably constructed with sharp edges The fibre sliver of rectangular cross-section is preferably supplied to further processing The fibre sliver leaving the outlet region of the web funnel is preferably a flat sliver, strip or the like.

The outlet region is preferably arranged in the gap between the draw-off rollers The outlet of the web funnel is preferably arranged close to the roller nip (gap between the draw-off rollers) The pair of draw-off rollers preferably has at least one spring-loaded draw-off roller The spring force of the spring is preferably adjustable.

The web funnel and the draw-off rollers may be rotatable about an axis extending in the working direction (A) with respect to the longitudinal axes of the nip rollers The longitudinal axes of the draw-off rollers are preferably arranged perpendicular to or at an angle to the longitudinal axes of the nip rollers.

The inlet of the web funnel preferably has an elongate cross-section, for example rectangular, oval or the like.

The inlet of the web funnel is preferably bevelled The web funnel preferably has at least one adjustable side wall The side wall may be adjustable to alter the length of the elongate outlet region of the web funnel.

The fibre web is preferably at least partially lifted up or lowered across its width when it is arranged to be supplied to the inlet opening Preferably there is associated with the inlet region a guide element that at least partially lifts up or lowers the fibre web across its width The fibre web is preferably arranged to be lifted up or lowered across its width continuously The guide element preferably has a passageway of rectangular shape along its length and/or at its outlet opening The longer dimension of the outlet is preferably approximately equal to or greater than the height of a fold On passing through the outlet region, the folds in the fibre web are preferably stratified and offset from one another The folds are preferably arranged offset from one another in the height (h) direction The folds are preferably stratified in the height (h) direction The degree of offset of the folds from one another is preferably adjustable On passing through the outlet opening, the folds are preferably pressed closer together laterally in the direction of their wavelength.

There is preferably provided inside the web funnel at least one guide element for the fibre web, which guide element guides the fibre web towards the outlet region.

The web-guiding element and the web funnel may be of one piece The web-guiding element and the web funnel may consist of two component parts The two component parts may be separably attached to one another The web-guiding element and the web funnel may be arranged beneath the roller apparatus, for example the stripper roller The web-guiding element and the web funnel may be arranged vertically or almost vertically The draw-off rollers may be arranged beneath the web funnel.

The longitudinal axes of the draw-off rollers may be arranged perpendicular to or at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the roller apparatus, for example the stripper roller The web-guiding element may have no moving parts The surfaces of the web-guiding element that may be in contact with the fibre web may be stationary.

The inlet region of the web-guiding element preferably extends across the width of the roller apparatus, for example the stripper roller The inlet region of the web- guiding element is preferably arranged almost adjacent (spacing f) to the roller apparatus, for example the stripper roller The outlet region of the web-guiding element is preferably arranged at a spacing (g) from the roller apparatus, for example the stripper roller.

The web-guiding element preferably forms a web- collecting region.

The web funnel preferably has a web-compressing region.

The width (a) of the outlet region is preferably at least 5 times greater than the height (b) of the outlet region.

At least one compression roller may be arranged between the doffer and the stripper roller.

The stripper roller preferably rotates in the clockwise direction (Fig 11).

The stripper roller may deliver the fibre material into a web-collecting element.

The compression rollers and the stripper roller may be arranged in an ascending configuration.

The web-collecting element may have closed wall surfaces in the material flow direction The fibre material may slide along the inner wall surfaces of the web-collecting element.

- Preferably fibres in an edge region of the web supplied by the roller apparatus are distributed throughout the length (longer dimension) of the elongate cross-section of the sliver emerging from the web funnel and similarly fibres in a central region of the web supplied by the roller apparatus are distributed throughout the length (longer dimension) of the elongate cross-section of the sliver emerging from the web funnel.

Certain embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig 1 shows, in a diagrammatic side view, a carding machine embodying the invention; Fig 2 is a side view of an embodiment incorporating a transverse belt draw-off arrangement; Fig 3 is a detailed plan view of a web funnel and draw-off rollers employed in the embodiment according to Fig 1; Fig 4 is a perspective view of one form of the web funnel having a rectangular outlet region; Fig 5 a is an end view of the outlet region of one form of the web funnel having an adjustable wall element; Fig 5 b is a cross-section through the fibre sliver that emerges from the web funnel; Fig 6 a is a plan view of an embodiment having a perpendicular arrangement of the nip rollers on the one hand, and the web funnel and draw-off rollers on the other hand, the embodiment including a transverse belt draw-off; Fig 6 b is a side view of the apparatus according to Fig 6 a; Fig 6 c is a plan view of a web funnel and draw- off rollers employing a spring-loaded roller; Fig 7 is a plan view of an embodiment similar to that of Figs 6 a and 6 b, but employing belts arranged at an angle; Fig 8 is a perspective view of a further form of the web funnel; Fig 9 a is a perspective view, showing in diagrammatic form the flow of fibre material from the outlet of nip rollers to the outlet of a web funnel; Fig 9 b is a diagram showing the fold formation in the fibre web emerging from the nip rollers; Fig 9 c is a diagram showing the fold formation in the fibre web entering the web funnel; 12 - Fig 9 d shows a fibre sliver of rectangular cross-section emerging from a web funnel in an apparatus embodying the invention; Fig 10 shows a fibre sliver emerging from a web funnel parallel to the roller apparatus in a known apparatus; Fig 11 shows, in a diagrammatic side view, a carding machine embodying the invention and having two compression rollers and a stripper roller; Fig 12 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying the invention; Fig 13 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying the invention; Fig 14 shows apparatus embodying the invention and employing an ascending arrangement of compression rollers and stripper roller.

Fig 1 shows a carding machine, for example a carding machine similar to that sold by us as a Trutzschler high- performance carding machine DK 903 The machine shown has a feed roller 1, feed table 2, lickers-in 3 a, 3 b, 3 c, cylinder 4, doffer 5, stripper roller 6, nip rollers 7, 8, web-guiding element 9, web funnel 10, draw-off rollers 11, 12 (see Figure 3) and revolving card top 13 with slowly revolving card top bars 14 The directions of rotation of the rollers of the carding machine are denoted by curved 13 - arrows At the exit from the carding machine there is a can coiler 16 together with a can 15 for receiving the sliver.

Reference letter A denotes the working direction (general direction of fibre material flow).

Referring now to the embodiment shown in Figure 2, downstream of the nip rollers 7, 8, which rotate in the direction of the arrows 7 a and 8 a, respectively, in working direction A, there is a transverse belt take-off 9, shown in more detail in Figs 6 a and 6 b.

Referring now to Figure 3, the web funnel 10 and the draw-off rollers 11, 12 are attached to a holding device 117 The web funnel 10 is constructed in an inwardly tapering shape in working direction A The height c of the inlet region l Ob (see Figure 4) is greater than the height b (see Figure 4) of the outlet region 10 a It will be understood that the term "height" is used in respect of the dimensions b and c of the web funnel 10, not to imply that the funnel is oriented such that those dimensions are vertical (as shown they are horizontal) but because they represent the shorter dimension (width) as opposed to the longer dimension (length) of the cross-section.

As shown in Figure 4, the outlet opening b Oa of the web funnel 10 has a height b of about from 2 to 3 mm The length a of the outlet opening b Oa of the web funnel 10 is at least about from 20 to 30 mm, preferably from 60 to mm The length a can, in accordance with the arrangement shown in Figure 5 a, be modified by means of a wall 14 - element l Oc that is displaceable in the direction of arrows D, E in the region of the outlet opening l Oa The rectangular region 10 a is constructed with sharp edges As a result, the flat fibre sliver 119 emerging from the web funnel has a sharp-edged cross-sectional shape, as shown in Fig 5 b.

Referring now to Figures 6 a, 6 b, arranged downstream of the axially parallel nip rollers 7, 8 are the transverse belt take-off 9, the web funnel 10 and the draw-off rollers 11, 12 The transverse belt take-off 9 has two endless flexible conveyor belts 9 a, 9 b, which revolve around guide rollers 91, 92 and 93, 94, respectively In each case, one of the guide rollers, e g 91 and 93, is driven via a shaft 9 (see Fig 2) by means of a - preferably common drive device (not illustrated) The belt portions of the conveyors 9 a, 9 b move in the directions denoted by arrows F, G and H, I The draw-off roller 12 is loaded by a compression spring 20 (see Figure 6 c) and is so mounted that it can move with respect to the stationary draw-off roller 11, with the result that the width of the nip (roller gap) d between the draw-off rollers 11, 12, and therefore the pressure on the fibre material can be adjusted The use of at least one spring- loaded (spring 20) calender or draw-off roller 12, the spring force of which is adjustable over a relatively wide range, is advantageous in enabling adjustment in dependence upon the subsequent process In a process where subsequent doubling of the web follows before further processing, excessive compression is disadvantageous If on the other hand further processing is carried out directly after the carding machine, a high degree of compression is desirable.

In the embodiment of Figure 7, the conveyor belts 9 a, 9 b are arranged at angles a, = 470 and a 2 = 470 with respect to the nip rollers 7 and 8 (only nip roller 7 is shown) As a result, the fibre material emerging from the nip between the nip rollers 7 and 8 is guided in direction F, H towards the gap e between the guide rollers 92 and 94.

Figure 8 shows two guide elements 21 a, 21 b in the region of the inlet opening lob of the web funnel 10, by means of which guide elements the fibre web is guided towards the outlet region l Oa, from a substantially horizontal orientation before the inlet opening lob into a vertical orientation after the outlet opening l Oa, as shown in diagrammatic form in Figure 9 a From the nip rollers 7, 8 to the inlet into the web funnel 10, the fibre web 22 has, in cross-section, a waveform structure (shown in Fig 9 b).

By means of the described construction, those waves in the web are brought closer together (and thereby compressed) both in the working direction and in the lateral direction and, in accordance with Fig 9 c, are also stratified or offset from one another in the vertical direction such that whilst an individual fold has a height h', the folds in combination have an overall height h In accordance with Fig 9 d, that leads to the cross-section of the rectangular 16 - web 17 emerging from the web funnel being thinner in the middle 17 a than in the two lateral regions 17 b and 17 c As a result, the web 17 is more resistant to tearing when forces Pl and P 2 are applied in a longitudinal direction.

If, in contrast thereto, the outlet cross-section 10 a were to be arranged with its longitudinal axes parallel to the nip rollers 7, 8 and the belts 9 a, 9 b, then the central, thinner region of the fibre web 22 (the outer regions of the fibre web 22 being denser) would appear, in accordance with Figure 10, as a central region 17 ' in the fibre sliver 17, bordered by two thicker regions 17 '' and 17 '''.

If two forces Pl and P 2 were then to be applied in a longitudinal direction, such a fibre sliver 17 would tear more readily in the region 17 ', that is to say it is far less resistant to tearing than the fibre sliver 17 shown in Figure 9 d.

Figure 11 shows a carding machine as in Fig 1 but in which there are arranged, between the doffer 5 and the stripper roller 6, two compression rollers 18, 19, which collect the fibre material in order to form a heavier web.

The stripper roller 6 rotates in the clockwise direction (as seen in Fig 11) and takes off the fibre material into a web-collecting element 77.

According to Figs 12 and 13, the web-collecting element 77 has, seen in the direction of fibre material flow, a web-collecting region and a web-compressing region.

According to Fig 12, the web-collecting element 77 17 - consists of a web-guiding element 9 defining a web- collecting region and a web funnel 10 defining a web- compressing region The web-guiding element 9 and the web funnel 10 are made as separate parts They are closed on all sides apart from their respective inlet and outlet openings for the fibre material (cf Fig 4 for the web funnel 10) The inlet opening of the web-guiding element 9 is arranged at a spacing f, for example about 50 mm, from the stripper roller 6.

According to Fig 13, the web-collecting element 77 provides the functions of both the guiding element 9 and the funnel 10 of Fig 12 and is constructed of one piece.

The outlet region of the web-collecting element 77 corresponds to the outlet region 10 a of the web funnel 10 (see Fig 4) and extends into the nip between the draw-off rollers 11, 12.

All the wall surfaces of the web-collecting element 77, in the embodiments according to both Fig 12 and Fig 13, are immovable in use, that is to say the fibre material slides along the inner wall surfaces of the web-collecting element 77.

In accordance with Fig 14, the compression rollers 18 and 19, which are located downstream of the doffer 5 and the stripper roller 6 are arranged in an ascending configuration By that means, the fibre material is raised to a specific height As a result, the web-collecting element 77 can be arranged beneath the stripper roller 6 so 18 - that the delivered fibre web material falls down into the web-collecting element 77, assisted by gravity The material flow is assisted as a result The draw-off rollers 11, 12 draw off the compressed fibre sliver 17 (see Figs.

9 a, 9 d) from the outlet opening of the web-collecting element 77.

Whilst various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be appreciated that many other modifications can be made within the scope of the invention The invention may for example be applied to any other kinds of carding machine, for example one that does not have a revolving card top Also it should be understood that both in the description with reference to the drawings and in the more general description preceding that, features described and/or shown in respect of one embodiment may, where possible, be employed in other embodiments.

19 -

Claims

Claims

1 An apparatus at a carding machine, the apparatus including a web funnel device and a roller apparatus for supplying a web to the web funnel device, the roller apparatus including one or more rollers rotatable about axes parallel to a first direction and the web funnel device including a web funnel having an elongate outlet through which, in use, the web passes, the elongate outlet having a longitudinal axis extending in a second direction perpendicular to or inclined to the first direction.

2 An apparatus according to claim 1, in which the roller apparatus includes a doffer roller for removing fibre material from a carding cylinder of the carding machine.

3 An apparatus according to claim 2, in which the roller apparatus includes a stripper roller for conveying fibre material removed by the doffer roller.

4 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the roller apparatus includes a pair of nip rollers through which the fibre material passes.

An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the web funnel device includes a pair of draw-off rollers for receiving the fibre sliver from the outlet of the web funnel.

6 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the web funnel device is arranged to confine, in use, the fibre web supplied by the roller device to a region - extending between the roller apparatus and the outlet of the web funnel that is of approximately triangular shape when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the first direction and to the general direction of travel of the fibre web through the web funnel device, the outlet of the web funnel defining an apex of the triangle and the downstream end of the roller apparatus defining an opposite side of the triangle.

7 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the elongate outlet of the web funnel is of approximately rectangular cross-section.

8 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the ratio of the length to the width of the elongate outlet of the web funnel is at least 5:1.

9 An apparatus according to claim 8, in which the ratio is at least 30:1.

An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the length of the elongate outlet of the web funnel is in the range of from about 50 to about 100 mm.

11 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the width of the elongate outlet of the web funnel is in the range of from about 2 to about 3 mm.

12 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the width of the elongate outlet of the web funnel is substantially constant along the length of the outlet.

21 - 13 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the passageway defining the elongate outlet of the web funnel is of substantially constant cross-section along the portion of the passageway in the region of the outlet.

14 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the outlet of the web funnel is provided with sharp edges.

An apparatus according to claim 5, or any of claims 6 to 14 when dependent upon claim 5, in which the outlet of the web funnel is arranged within the envelope of space defined by the draw-off rollers.

16 An apparatus according to claim 15, in which the outlet of the web funnel is arranged adjacent to a nip defined between the draw-off rollers.

17 An apparatus according to claim 5, or any of claims 6 to 14 when dependent upon claim 5, in which at least one of the draw-off rollers is spring-loaded in a direction towards the other draw-off roller.

18 An apparatus according to claim 17, in which the amount of the spring-loading is adjustable.

19 An apparatus according to claim 5, or any of claims 6 to 18 when dependent upon claim 5, in which the draw-off rollers have axes parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongate outlet of the web funnel.

An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

22 - 21 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the web funnel device is rotatable with respect to the roller apparatus to adjust the angle of the second direction to the first direction.

22 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the web funnel has an inlet of elongate cross- section.

23 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the inlet to the web funnel is bevelled.

24 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which at least one side wall of the web funnel is adjustable.

An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the path defined for the fibre material through the apparatus includes a vertical component of travel.

26 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the path defined for the fibre material through the apparatus is a downward, substantially vertical, path.

27 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the web funnel device further includes one or more web guiding elements in the web funnel for guiding the web towards the outlet of the web funnel.

28 An apparatus according to claim 27, in which the web guiding elements and the web funnel are formed as one component part.

23 - 29 An apparatus according to claim 27, in which the web guiding elements and the web funnel are formed as separate component parts.

An apparatus according to claim 29, in which the web guiding elements are detachably secured to the web funnel.

31 An apparatus according to any of claims 27 to 30, in which the web-guiding element has no moving parts.

32 An apparatus according to any preceding claim, in which the web funnel device includes a pair of guide devices for guiding fibre material from the roller apparatus to the web funnel.

33 An apparatus according to claim 32, in which the guide devices comprise revolving belts.

34 An apparatus according to claim 32, in which the guide devices comprise stationary guide surfaces.

An apparatus according to claim 34, in which the guide devices comprise a web-collecting element with closed wall surfaces that surround the fibre material.

36 An apparatus according to claim 35, in which the fibre material is arranged, in use, to slide along the wall surfaces of the web-collecting element.

37 An apparatus according to any of claims 32 to 36, when dependent upon claim 6, in which the guide devices at least partly define the two sides of the triangle adjacent to the apex defined by the outlet of the web funnel.

38 An apparatus according to claim 3, or any of claims 4 to 37 when dependent upon claim 3, in which at least one 24 - further roller is interposed between the doffer roller and the stripper roller.

39 An apparatus according to claim 38, in which said at least one further roller is a compression roller.

40 An apparatus according to claim 38 or 39, in which two further rollers are interposed between the doffer roller and the stripper roller.

41 An apparatus according to any of claims 38 to 40, in which the at least one further roller and the stripper roller are arranged in an ascending configuration.

42 An apparatus according to claim 3, or any of claims 4 to 40 when dependent upon claim 3, in which the stripper roller is arranged to rotate with its periphery rotating in the same direction as the roller from which it is arranged to take fibre material.

43 A carding machine including an apparatus according to any preceding claim.

44 A carding machine according to claim 43, including a carding cylinder, the roller apparatus being provided downstream of the carding cylinder.

A carding machine according to claim 44, including a revolving card top.

46 A carding machine substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

47 A method of condensing a fibre web supplied by a roller apparatus including one or more rollers rotatable - about axes parallel to a first direction, by passing the web through a web funnel device including a web funnel during an elongate outlet, wherein the elongate outlet has a longitudinal axis extending in a second direction perpendicular to or inclined to the first direction.

48 A method according to claim 47, in which the fibre web is transferred from a horizontally extending web to a vertically extending sliver at the outlet of the web funnel.

49 A method according to claim 47 or 48, in which fibres in an edge region of the web supplied by the roller apparatus are distributed throughout the vertically extending sliver at the outlet of the web funnel and fibres in a central region of the web supplied by the roller apparatus are similarly distributed throughout the vertically extending sliver at the outlet of the web funnel.

A method according to any of claims 47 to 50, in which the web is formed into folds, with the folds extending transverse to the general direction of travel of the web, as it passes from the roller apparatus to the web funnel outlet.

51 A method according to claim 50, in which the direction of the amplitude of the folds is substantially parallel to the second direction.

52 A method according to claim 50 or 51, in which the transverse dimension of the folds, measured along the first 26 - direction, reduces as the folds move towards the outlet of the web funnel.

53 A method according to any of claims 50 to 52, in which the peak-to-peak amplitude of the folds is approximately equal to or less than the length of the elongate outlet of the web funnel.

54 A method according to claim 53, in which the peak-to- peak amplitude of the folds is approximately equal to the length of the elongate outlet of the web funnel.

55 A method according to any of claims 50 to 54, in which the peaks of adjacent folds are offset from one another.

56 A method according to claim 55, in which the amount of the offset varies.

57 A method according to claim 55, in which the amount of the offset is adjustable.

58 A method according to any of claims 47 to 57, in which the speed of delivery of the fibre sliver leaving the web funnel is 100 m/min or more.

59 A method according to any of claims 47 to 58, in which the fibre sliver leaving the web funnel has a rectangular cross-section.

A method according to any of claims 47 to 59, in which the fibre web is raised as it passes through the roller apparatus.

61 A method according to any of claims 47 to 60, in which the fibre web travels in a downward direction as it passes through the web funnel device.

27 - 62 A method according to any of claims 47 to 61, in which a roller of the roller apparatus has a lower peripheral speed than a preceding roller, whereby the fibre material is condensed.

63 A method according to claim 47, employing an apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 42.

64 An apparatus at a carding machine for forming a fibre sliver, having a roller apparatus and a web funnel having draw-off rollers, wherein the roller apparatus comprises, for example, a doffer roller, stripper roller and/or nip rollers or the like, the web funnel takes in and compresses the fibre web, and the fibre sliver emerging from the web funnel is arranged to be supplied to the pair of draw-off rollers, a web-guiding element constructed in an approximately triangular shape being arranged between the roller apparatus and the web funnel, characterised in that the outlet region of the web funnel has a rectangular cross-section, and the long axis of the outlet region is arranged perpendicular to or at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the roller apparatus.