GB706043A - Improvements relating to the blending of textile fibrous materials - Google Patents

Abstract

706,043. Blending textile fibres. T.M.M. (RESEARCH), Ltd. July 29, 1952 [Aug. 16, 1951], No. 19356/51. Class 120(3) An apparatus for blending textile fibrous materials comprises in combination with a conveyer an assembly of measured rate delivery units each of which feeds to the conveyer a metered quantity of a fibrous material, the conveyer having spikes which co-operate with the metering elements of each unit to detach the fibre in finely divided tufts. A number of hopper feeders 1, Fig. 1. which may be of the kind described in Specification 670,827, discharges the fibrous material to be.blended through pneumatic ducts 2 into the blending apparatus 3 from which it is taken through pneumatic ducts 4 to hopper feeders 5 and intensive opening machines 6 which may be those described in Specification 650,157. The blending apparatus 3 comprises a number of feed trunks 7 each of which is fed with fibrous material from a duct 2. At the head of each trunk; the fibrous material passes a conventional rotary damped condenser cage 8 driven by a roller 24, all the cages 8 being aspirated by means of fans 10 through manifolds 11. At the foot of each trunk 7 the fibres are discharged on to the. spiked lattice conveyer 14 by rollers 13, and the superposed layers are removed from the conveyer 14 by a stripper 17 and are discharged into the shoot 18. The several moving parts of the apparatus are driven from two electric motors 21 through belt and pulley and gearing systems as shown. The drive to each pair of rollers 13 includes a variable speed device 42 by means of which the output from each trunk 7 may be controlled. A photo-electric cell 50 is arranged in each trunk 7 and is connected by a line 51 to an electronic apparatus 52 which controls a speed regulator 53 associated with the delivery element of the hopper feeder 1. A constant head of fibre is maintained within the trunk 7 and a fall in the upper surface of the fibre below a certain level is detected by the photo-electric cell to regulate the supply of fibre to the trunk. An electric contact 54 is provided in the distributer 18 and is connected to an electric apparatus 56 which controls a clutch 57 through which is arranged the drive to the delivery rollers 13. A photo-electric cell is arranged in each hopper feeder 5, and when. the desired level in the feeder is reached the cell operates the contact 54 to cut off the supply to that feeder with the consequent operation of the apparatus 56 to retard the delivery from the trunks 7. The mechanism in the distributer 18 is of known form incorporating electrically controlled doors connected in circuit with the photo-electric cells in the hopper feeders. In a modification, Fig. 4, the condenser cage 8 of each trunk 7 floats upon a pair of rubbercovered rollers 58 which impart the appropriate direction of rotation to the cage through spur gearing. The cages are provided with circumferential tongues which engage grooved rims in the rollers 58 to prevent endwise rotation.