JPS6325087B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In a chute apparatus and similar apparatus for collecting and densifying fibers fed as batts to carders and similar machines, defects may occur in the final yarn produced from the batts. It is important that the butts have uniform density to prevent this.

Since the fibers normally flow into the chute as relatively loose bundles, it is common practice to provide some device to compress or densify the fibers within the chute so that the fibers appear as butts. For example, U.S. Pat. A feeding device is disclosed in which the vibration speed of a plate is controlled by the rotational speed of a feed roller that feeds fibers to the plate.

Compression of the fibers within the chute may also be obtained using a compressed air stream that acts to compress the fibers contained within the chute, and the compressed air stream may be of the type disclosed in bellows or e.g. can be obtained from more complex airflow devices.

Finally, the airflow used to convey the fibers to the chute is controlled by slotting the walls of the chute and using adjustable needles that vary the open portion of such slots, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,482,883. can.

A stream of compressed air enters the chute to compress the fibers, flows through the chute, and as it exits beyond the chute it picks up lint, which must be separated from the air after it leaves the chute, thus adding This would require additional equipment or burden existing equipment. Furthermore, the force exerted on the fibers by the air is generally uniform across the surface of the collected fibers, and if the fiber levels are non-uniform, the density of the collected fibers will increase as a result of the generally equal compression exerted by the air. It becomes uneven across its width. On the other hand, while vibrating spanker plates avoid the problem of requiring additional air passage, feeding fiber bundles indiscriminately to the spanker plate can result in uneven fiber levels and a variety of fibers across the width of the spanker plate. They will be compressed to different densities.

In contrast, the present invention provides a chute that does not require additional air filtration and yet significantly improves the uniformity of fiber density as the fibers exit the chute in the form of butts.

According to the invention, the fiber supply device is provided with an opening roller positioned above a substantially enclosed fiber collection chute, said chute receiving fibers along its axial length from the opening roller. , and extending downwardly - the chute wall is formed with a plurality of perforations in areas extending above and below the normal level of fibers collected within the chute. Means are provided for generating a generally tangential air flow around the upper portion of the opening roller and towards the perforations of the chute wall. Since the normal level of collected fiber is within the interior of the perforation, as the fiber level varies, the perforation will be covered to a greater extent in areas of high fiber level and to a lesser extent in areas of low fiber level. As a result, more air enters areas with lower fiber levels and less air enters areas with higher fiber levels. As the fiber bundles leaving the opening rollers are carried by the air stream, more of these bundles are carried to areas with lower fiber levels;
This generally evens out the fiber levels within the chute.

Preferably, the chute is provided with a spanker plate to compress the fibers beneath the perforated wall section, so that high pressure air is not required to compress the fibers and a relatively gentle air flow can be used. . Since only a relatively mild airflow is required, a relatively small blower is used to provide such airflow, establishing a closed circuit contained within the chute, thereby reducing air overflow. Airflow is not required and can be effectively utilized to assist in separating the fiber bundle from the opening rollers.

A fiber level sensing device, such as an electronic eye, can be placed in the chute at the normal level of the fibers, and this sensing device can be used to control the flow of fiber from the opening rollers to the chute.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a fiber collection and feeding apparatus having an inlet duct 10 through which fibers are transferred from a source 68 to a motor 14.
The air is discharged onto the feed roller 12 rotated by the air flow. The inlet duct 10 has an outlet 16 through which the conveying air is passed and exhausted in a conventional manner for subsequent use. Feed roller 12 discharges to a conventional opening roller 18 which extends axially along substantially the entire width of the apparatus and is driven by a motor 20. The opening roller 18 has a plurality of protrusions 22 extending from its peripheral surface to open the fiber bundle sent to the opening roller 18 .

A substantially enclosed chute 24 extends generally downwardly below the opening roller 18 and extends parallel to the axis of the opening roller 18 to accommodate the fibers as they leave the face of the opening roller. It has an open end 26 extending to . The chute 24 has a stationary, non-perforated front wall 28 and two vertical side walls 30 (FIG. 2). Shoot 24
The other wall includes a fixed wall portion 32 extending downwardly from the chute opening 26 having a width substantially equal to the axial extent of the opening roller 18 . This wall 32 extends across its width and includes a plurality of perforations 34 formed in areas extending above and below the normal level of fibers collected in the chute, said level being L. It is shown.

The movable wall 36 is a perforated wall portion 32
It is located below as an extension of the stationary front wall 28, and is pivotally supported by its upper end 38 so that its lower end vibrates toward and away from the stationary front wall 28, and this vibration is caused by the drive motor 4.
0, and by an eccentric linkage 42 connected to the bottom end of the wall section 36.

A pair of conventional feed rollers 44, 46 are positioned at the bottom of the chute 24 to convey fibers from the chute 24 in the form of a vat to a fiber processing device such as a carder (not shown).

A horizontal dividing wall 48 is arranged in the compartment 50 behind the perforated wall section 32 and the movable wall section 36, leaving a gap 52 between the end of the dividing wall 48 and the perforated wall section 32. ing. A suitable air blower 54 is carried by the dividing wall 48, with its inlet end located below the dividing wall 48 and its outlet end above it. The lower portion of the septum 50 is substantially sealed or closed, and an air seal plate 56 is disposed adjacent the lower feed roller 44 to inhibit entry of air into the lower end of the compartment 50. Similarly, the upper end of the compartment 50 is connected to the air sealing plate 5.
8 and substantially sealed or closed by a housing wall 60 around opening roller 18 , partition wall 62 extends upwardly from dividing wall 48 to allow air to flow through perforated wall portion 32 and blower 54 .
divides the air flowing from the outlet end of the With the above configuration, the blower 54 generates an air flow that flows in a substantially closed circuit from the outlet of the blower 54 around the upper portion of the opening roller 18 in the direction of its rotation, as shown by arrow 64. , then generally tangentially from opening roller 18 to perforated wall section 32 and then through perforated wall section 32 and spacing 52 to the inlet side of blower 54 .

An electronic eye 66 is housed within one of the side walls 30 of the device at a point substantially between the upper and lower edges of the perforated wall section 32, the purpose of which is to control the fiber level L within the device in a conventional manner. That's true. Thus, when the fiber level L drops below a predetermined level, this drop is sensed by the electronic eye 66, which then generates a signal that operates the motor 20 to select the opening roller 18. drive more fibers and shoot more fibers24
supply to Although the fiber bell L will change to some extent during operation of the device, the vertical extent of the perforated wall portion 32 will be above and below the normal level of fiber collected in the chute, including anticipated variations in such fiber levels. selected to extend.

In FIG. 2, the fiber level L is indicated by a solid line with a slope extending upward and to the right so as to be sloped with respect to the horizontal line. This is an inconvenient situation. This is because, as previously discussed, this condition results in more fibers being collected on one side of the chute 24 than the other, and as a result of the densification of the fibers by the vibrating wall portion 36, more fibers are ejected from the feed rollers 44, 46. The butt will have non-uniform density across its width.

The aforementioned undesirable condition is corrected in accordance with the invention by the combination of air flow indicated by arrow 64 and perforated wall portion 32. 2, as the fiber level slopes upward and to the right as shown by the solid line, a large portion of perforation 34 near the right side of wall section 32 is covered by fibers, which is more completely covered near the left side of wall section 32. This is in contrast to the perforations 34 which are exposed to the surface. As a result, the fibers leave the surface of the opening roller 18 and blow into the blower 54.
The airflow drawn through the perforated wall section 32 by suction tends to flow in a direction toward the left in FIG. 2, where the greatest number of perforations 34 are exposed. Since the fibers leaving the opening roller 18 are fully opened, they are in the form of a lightweight, relatively loose bundle that is easily carried by the gentle air stream, thus allowing the fibers to spread across the width of the perforated wall section. It is clear that the number of fibers carried to the point is directly proportional to the area of the perforated wall portion not covered by fibers. Thus, in the solid line condition of FIG. 2, more fibers are carried to the left increasing the low end of the fiber level until it is substantially horizontal.

Similarly, in the situation shown by the dotted line in FIG. 2, more fibers are carried to the right in the same manner as above,
This attempts to even out the fiber levels. It will be appreciated that the two fiber level conditions shown in FIG. 2 are exemplary only and that any imbalance or non-uniformity in the fiber levels will be alleviated by the fluctuating air flow through the perforated wall section 32. .

The invention also realizes several additional advantages. First, because the closed air circuit passes around the upper part of the opening roller 18 in the direction of its rotation and from there generally tangentially to the perforated wall section 32, this air opens the lightweight fiber bundles. The bundle is then transferred to the opening roller 1 through the chute opening 26 rather than being delivered to the chute 24.
Helps prevent people from following 8. Furthermore,
Because the air flow is in a closed circuit within the device, there is no need to pass through the air to remove lint as would be the case if the air were to exit the device. Finally, since the airflow is used to carry lightweight fiber bundles into the chute rather than compressing the fibers collected within the chute, only a relatively gentle airflow is required; A small air blower 54 is suitable for purposes of the present invention.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes of illustration only and is limited by this description to the exclusion of changes or equivalent constructions that would be obvious to or suggested to one skilled in the art from the above disclosure. isn't it.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the fiber supply device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the device shown in FIG. 18...Fiber opening roller, 24...Chute, 34...Perforation, 40...Motor, 42...Eccentric link device, 54...Fan, 66...Electronic eye.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A device for supplying fibers to a fiber processing device such as a carding machine, which comprises: an axially extending rotatable opening roller; and a generally downwardly extending section below the opening roller. a substantially enclosed fiber collection chute means having an open upper end extending parallel to the axis of the opening roller to receive the fibers as they leave the opening roller; , a wall extending generally downwardly from the open upper end and having a width substantially equal to the axial extent of the opening roller; (b) a perforation formed in an area extending above and below the normal level of fibers collected in the chute; means for generating an air flow flowing around an upper portion of said roller and thence generally tangentially towards said perforation to assist in leveling the level of fibers collected by said perforation. A fiber supply device characterized by: 2. The fiber supply device according to claim 1, further characterized in that said air flow generating means includes a blower means disposed outside said chute wall with a suction side in open communication with said perforation. 3. Air discharge from the blower means is directed around the upper half of the opening roller in the direction of its rotation, passing through the perforation and the blower means and extending around the upper part of the opening roller. The fiber supply device according to claim 2, further characterized in that a closed air circuit is formed. 4. The chute wall includes a movable portion pivoted at an upper end for oscillatory movement with respect to the chute wall to densify fibers within the chute, the pivoted upper end of the movable wall portion being connected to the perforation portion of the chute wall. 2. The fiber feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the fiber feeding device is located below and adjacent to the area. 5 said chute includes therein fiber level sensing means disposed adjacent to its upper end and at a level within the vertical limits of said perforation area; 2. The fiber feeding apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for selectively operating said opening roller to feed fibers.