US2676361A

US2676361A - Preparatory fiber opener

Info

Publication number: US2676361A
Application number: US164501A
Authority: US
Inventors: John H Senior; Harmon B Riehl
Original assignee: Proctor and Schwartz Inc
Current assignee: Proctor and Schwartz Inc
Priority date: 1950-05-26
Filing date: 1950-05-26
Publication date: 1954-04-27
Anticipated expiration: 1971-04-27

Description

April 27, 1954 J. H. SENIOR ET AL PREPARATORY FIBER OPENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26 1950 April 27, 1954 J. H. SENIOR ET AL 2,676,361

PREPARATORY FIBER OPENER Filed May 26 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 27, 1954 BREPARATORY FIBER OPENER. John:- H; Senior, Germantown, and Harmon- Bi Rich], N orristown, Schwartz Inc., of- Pennsylvania Pa., assigrnors. to Proctor 8;. Philadelphia, Pa'.,. a. corporation;

Application May'26, 1950;.SerialNo'. 164,501

v Claims. I

The present invention relates to new and usefulv improvements in fibre treating apparatus and more particularly to new andusef-ulimprovements in apparatus for breaking up large clumps or masses of fibres and; thenfeeding them to further fibre-treating apparatussuch asv a carding machine.

Prior to the present invention fibres discharged from a breaker feed were tangled and not sufiiciently opened with the" result that they required extensive picking action before they were suitable for use.

With the foregoing inmind, the principal object of the present i'nventionistoprovide'a novel initial fibre opening device whichcperates to reduce themasses of fibres to smaller' increments before feeding them to other fibre treating apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel preparatory opener which, in ad.- dition to breaking up large masses or clump of fibres, also operates to pre-card the fibres before they aredischarged' from theopener.

A still further object ofthe present invention is to provide novel apparatus of the type described having the features and characteristics set forthwhich is entirely eihcient' and effective inoperation and-use.

These and other obj ect ofthe present invention and the various featuresand details of" the construction and operation thereof are hereinafter fully set forth and. described with reference. to the" accompanying drawings; in which:

Fig; 1 is a schematiclongitudinal sectional view of the preparatory opener made in accordance with the present-invention p 7 Fig; 2'i's an enlargedfragmenthbrysectional view ofa portion of the device; shown in' Fig. 1, showing'the'fibres being'acted-on by'the various rolls;

Fig; 3 is a side elevational view of a portion of the preparatory opener, showing; the arrangement of the, drive forthe various; rolls thereof; and.

Fig; 4 isan enlarged scctionallview. taken. on. line 4 4, Fig. 2; v

Referring more particularly to. the drawings,

. reference numeral; I, designates. generally a. preparatory fibre opener. to Whichlarge masses or clumps of fibresare. fed. The. reparatory opener I operates to break down these large masses, or lu ps of fibre and pineards. the, fibres to form a. mat. z of." substantial. thickness. in which; all; f the fibres; are. partially. aligned" in. preparation. to being. fed to some turther fibretreating. appara: tus, suchas a card (notshownh V v v The large masses or clumps offibres are fed" to the" preparatory opener I by a feed conveyor 3 which deposits the-fibres on a generally horizontal apron conveyor 4. Theapron conveyor dis intermittently fed by means of a crank armE-carried on a shaft 6' which pulls a pawl 7 by means of a connecting link 550 back and forth over a ratchet wheel 8 secured to the rear shaft 9 of the apron conveyor 4-. As thep-awl T is pulledforwardit engages the rearwardly inclined teethofthe ratchet wheel 8 and moves the apronconveyor forward, and as the pawl 1 is forced backwardit is disengaged from theteethor'thera-tchet wheel and the apron conveyor does not move; The apron' conveyor 4 is carried by sprocket'wheels 4w and 4b mounted on the shafts ii and 5) respectively: The sprocket 4bis loosely mounted on shaft 6 while the sprocket 4a isfixedlysecuredto therear-shaft 9 and driven thereby;

The fibres are pickecr'fronr the apron conveyor4 by an upwardly inclined pin conveyor [0 which consists of a seriesofhorizontar slats H", each of which carries aplurality of forward-1y inclined pins I Z; The-apron'conveyor'i carriedby sprock ets mounted on-rel'atively spaced horizontal upper and lower shafts t3 andi M; respectively; and is continuously'drivenpthereby;

Positioned adjacent the top of' the upper run of the pin conveyor vIll is a retractable?pinheater ['1 of the type shown and described U. S: Patent No; 2,372,543, issued March 27; 1945; The retract.- able pin beater I "l is mounted ona shaft ll'a' and consists of a plurality of'rows of retractable pins l8 which travel in an opposite direction to the pins I2 of the pin conveyor Ill. The retractable pin beater H; operates. to remove excess fibres which are picked up by-th-e. pin conveyorso. thata. mat of substantially uniform thickness is: formed; on the pin conveyor;

The fibres removed by the retractable pin beater 11' are firstv depositedjupon. a. plurality of elongatedifingers [9 which are positioned laterally adjacent, to the. upward, run of the pin conveyor l9. Thefingers l9 are rotatably carriedcnashaft 20 extending transversely across the preparatory opener; Also connected to. the, shaftlzfllis abounterweight 22' which normally. holds. the. fingersin the forwarder upper positionshowninFig. Land thus presses, the fibres thereon. against. thepin conveyor 10. 7

As the mass offibres between the pin convey.- or L0 and thefingers L9 builds upthefingers and he counterweight.- 22; are. oyerbalancecgby the; W i ht, of, the. fibre so. that said; fingers. rotate about the axisqfithe. shaft. 20'. in;a,clockwise direction. This in turn actuates in the downward and carries a plurality of direction a connecting link 23 which is also secured to the shaft 26 by means of a crank arm 24. The lower end of the connecting link 23 is secured to a bracket member which carries a cover plate 26 thereon and as the link 23 moves downward, the cover plate 26 is rotated about the axis of the ratchet wheel 3 and covers the teeth thereon preventing engagement of the ratchet wheel 8 by the pawl i. This controls the feed of the fibres to the pin conveyor it. When the fingers it are in their extreme downward position as indicated in broken lines in Fig. l, the teeth of the ratchet wheel 3 are completely covered by the cover plate 2% thereby precluding any forward motion of the apron conveyor 4. Alternatively, when the fingers are in their extreme forward or upper position shown in Fig. i, the ratchet is entirely uncovered allowing the maximum amount of feed of the apron conveyor and in any intermediate position of the fingers it the ratchet wheel 8 is partially covered by the cover plate 26 thereby controlling the amount of forward feed of the apron conveyor d.

Positioned adjacent the upper end of the pin conveyor it is a worker roll 28 carried by a shaft in which extends transversely across the preparatory opener. The worker roll 28 rotates in a counterclockwise direction at a susbtantially slower peripheral speed than the pin conveyor it rearwardly inclined pins fail thereon. As shown in Fig. 4 the rows of pins 3t on the worker roll 28 are staggered with respect to the rows of pins E2 on the pin conveyor it and an are connecting the outer surfaces of the pin 30 substantially overlaps a similar are connecting the outer edges of the pins ii? on the pin conveyor it. The pins 30 on the worker roll 23 engage the fibres carried by the pin conveyor and tend to straighten them and partially align them.

Positioned adjacent the worker roll 28 and the pin conveyor ill is a second retractable pin beater 3i which is carried on a shaft 32. This second retractable pin beater 3i is similar to the aforementioned retractable pin beater I1 and op crates to remove the fibres from the worker roll 28 and pin conveyor iii and then deposit them on a pin cylinder 33. The pin cylinder 33 is driven by a shaft 34 in a clockwise direction and has a plurality of rows of forwardly inclined pins 35 thereon.

Cooperable with the pin cylinder 33 is a second worker roll 31 carried by a shaft 38 and driven in a counterclockwise direction. A plurality of rows of rearwardly inclined pins 38 are secured to the worker roll 3'5. The worker roll 31 is positioned so that there is slight clearance between the pins 35 thereon and the pins 35 of the pin cylinder 33. The peripheral speed of the worker roll 3? is substantially slower than that of the pin cylinder 33, and as the fibres pass between the two rolls they are combed so that fibres discharged therefrom are substantially aligned.

A blade beater 41 secured to a shaft 42 rotating in a counterclockwise direction is positioned adjacent to the pin cylinder 33 and operates to remove the fibres therefrom. As the fibres are removed from the pin cylinder 33 they are deposited on a discharge conveyor 43 which car ries the fibres to some further fibre treating apparatus.

Extending transversely across the preparatory opener are a pair of guides Ni and 45 which are used to direct the fibres either forward onto the discharge conveyor 43 or backwards to a lower guide to from which the fibres will be picked up by the pin conveyor. The fibres directed backwards by the guide d5 are those which have dropped off from the pin conveyor it.

The drive mechanism for the various rolls is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The driv means (not shown) is connected to shaft cl which in turn drives shaft 38 by some suitable means, for example, a V-belt fat. The first retractable pin beater ii is driven by a belt 5 con.- necting shafts Ila and 4-8 as shown. The shaft 48 extends transversely of the preparatory opener iii and has a pair of pulleys 52 and secured thereto at its opposite end. The pill 52 and 53 drive a second pair of pulleys 55 respectively through suitable belt connections as shown.

The pulley 5a is secured to a shaft 5'? on which is mounted a pinion 553. Cooperable with the pinion 58 is a gear 59 secured to the it which drives the pin conveyor it. The pin conveyor id is mounted at its lower end on the Silo t it and in turn drives the shaft i l. The era a 5 is driven from shaft i l by a pair or" sprockets ti and 62 carried by shafts i i and 8, respectively, and interconnected by a chain 63.

The upper shaft is of the pin conveyor has a pair of sprockets t5 and 66 mounted th recn which in turn drive chains til and 5", respear tively. The one chain 6'! connects the shaft is with the idler wheel 59 and the shafts 25 and which carry the two worker rolls 28 and spectively. The other chain 68 drives the shaft 3% which carries the pin cylinder 33. The blade beater M is driven from the shaft 32 by a belt it and pulleys H and H2 carried respectively on shafts t2 and 32.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the present invention provides a novel preparatory opener which in addition to breaking up large masses or clumps of fibres also operates to align the fibres before they are discharged the breaker. Furthermore the present invention provides a novel initial opening device which also gives a preliminary carding to the fibres.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described her it is not intended to limit the invention to such disclosures, and changes and modifications be incorporated and embodied therein within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a preparatory opener comprising a feed conveyor on which large masses and clumps of fibres are placed, an upwardly inclined pin conveyor adjacent one end of said feed conveyor to remove said fibre therefrom, a retractable pin beater to remove excess fibres from said pin conveyor, a worker roll adjacent the upper end of said pin conveyor to align said fibres with the direction of travel of said pin conveyor, a second retractable pin beater at the opposite side of said worker from said first retractable pin heater to remove said fibres from said pin conveyor and worker roll, and a pair of pin cylinders rotating in opposite directions with different peripheral speeds to receive the fibres from said second retractable pin beater and produce a preliminary carding of the fibres discharged from said conveyor.

2. In a preparatory opener comprising a feed conveyor on which large masses and clumps of fibres are placed, an upwardly inclined pin conveyor adjacent one end of said feed conveyor to remove said fibre therefrom, a retractable pin beater to remove excess fibres from; said pin conveyor, a worker" rolli adjacent the upper" end at said pin. conveyor tov align said fibres with the direction of travel orjsaid' pin conveyor, a second retractable pin. beater at theopposite side of said worker from. said? first: retractable pin beater to remove said fibres from said pin. conveyor and worker: roll', a pair of pin cylinders rotating. in opposite directions with different peripheral speeds to receive the fibresv from said second retractable pin: beaterand. produce: a preliminary carding of the: fibres discharged from said: pin conveyor, a beater'ro'll toremove the fibres from said pin: cylinders; and a discharge conveyor on whichsaid; fibresv are deposited: to remove the fibres: from the opener" and feed them to. further fibre: processing apparatus.

3. In a preparatory opener comprising: a feed conveyor onwhich large masses and clumps of fibres are placed;. mechanism: to drive said feed conveyor, an: upwardly inclined pin conveyor adjacent the: forward end. of said feed conveyor to: remove said. fibres therefrom, means to remove excess fibres from said pin conveyor, a plurality of fingers laterally spaced. from the pin conveyor andv cooperable; therewith to receive and collect betweensaid fingers and pin conveyor the excess fibres removed from said. pin conveyor, said fingersoperable. to be: moved outward away from the. pin conveyor by the collected fibres, means connecting said fingers with said mechanism actuable by movement of said fingers to control the motion: of. said feed conveyor, a worker r'oll adjacent the upper end of said pin conveyor to align said fibres with the direction of travel of said pin conveyor, a pair of pin cylinders rotating in opposite directions with different peripheral speeds to produce a preliminary carding of the fibres discharged from said pin conveyor, a heater roll to remove the fibres from-said pin cylinders, and. a discharge conveyor on which said fibres. are deposited to remove the fibres from the opener and feed them to further fibre processing apparatus.

4. In a preparatory opener comprising a feed conveyor on which large masses and clumps of fibres are placed, mechanism; to drive said: feed conveyor, an upwardly inclined pin conveyor ad iacent the forward end of saidfeed conveyor to remove said fibres therefrom, means to remove excess fibres from said pin conveyor, a plurality of fingers laterally spaced from the pin conveyor and cooperable therewith to receive and collect between said fingers and pin conveyor the excess fibres removed from said pin conveyor, said fingers operable to be moved outward away from the pin conveyor by the collected fibres, means connecting said fingers with said mechanism actuable by movement of said fingers to control the motion of said feed conveyor, a worker roll adjacent the upper end of said pin conveyor to V align said fibres with the direction of travel of said pin conveyor, a retractable pin heater to remove said fibres from said pin conveyor, a pair of pin cylinders to produce a preliminary carding of the fibres discharged'from said pin conveyor, a beater roll to remove the fibres from said pin cylinders, and a discharge conveyor on which said fibres are deposited to remove the fibres from the opener and feed them to further fibre processing apparatus.

5. In a preparatory opener comprising a feed conveyor on which large masses and clumps of fibres are placed, drive mechanism to drive said feed conveyor, an upwardly inclined pin confibres are veyor adiacent theforward end or saidiieed' c'onveyor" to, remove said fibres: therefrom, means. to remove excess. fibres fromsaid pin conveyor, a plurality of fingers laterally spaced from. the pin conveyor and cooperable therewith to receive and collect between said fingers: and pin conveyor the excess fibres removed from. said pin conveyor, a. weight" operable to bias said fingers toward the pirr conveyor arranged to be overbalanced by apredetermined weightor the collected fibres to: cause: the fingers to: be actuated away from. the. pin: conveyor; means: connecting saida fingers' with said. drive mechanismv actuable by? movement of said: fingers to control; the. motion"- of; said feedr conveyors. a worker adjacent the upper end of. said. pin; conveyorto'alignsaid fibres: with thedirection of: travel of i said; pin conveyorr, a: pair of. pin cylinders to; produce a. preli'minary carding; of the: fibres: discharged from said: pin conveyor, and; a. discharge conveyor on which said fibres; are deposited: to remove the fibres; from the opener and. feed them to: further fibre processing apparatus 6., In a preparatory opener comprising a. feed conveyor 011i which, large masses and clumps of fibres are placed, drive mechanism to drive said feed conveyor, anupwardlyinclinedr pinconveyor adjacent the forward end of said teed conveyor to; remove said fibres: therefrom, means to: remove excess fibres from said: pin: conveyor, a. plurality of fingers laterally spaced. from the: pinconveyor and cooperable therewith to receive and collect between. said: fingers and: pin. conveyor the excess fibres removed from: said pin. conveyor; a weight operable: to bias said. fingers toward the pin: conveyor arranged to be overbalanced'by a predetermined weight or the: collected fibres to. cause the fingers be: actuated away from. the pin. conveyor; means; connecting. said fingers withv said drive mechanism actuable by movement of said fingers to control; the motion of said feed conveyor, a worker roll adjacent the upper end oi said pin. conveyor to: align said fibres with the direction of travel or said. pin conveyor, 9, pair of pin cylinders rotating: in opposite directions to produce apreliminary carding: oi: the fibres discharged. from said; pin: conveyor, 2; beaterroll to remove the: fibres from said pin; cylinders, and a discharge; con-veyor on": which said. fibres: are deposited to remove the fibres from the opener and feed them to further fibre processing apparatus.

7. In a preparatory opener comprising a feed conveyor on which large masses and clumps of placed, drive mechanism to drivev said feed conveyor, an upwardly inclined in conveyor adjacent the forward end of said feed conveyor to remove said fibres therefrom, means to remove excess fibres from said pin conveyor, a plurality of fingers laterally spaced from the pin conveyor and cooperable therewith to receive and collect between said fingers and pin conveyor the excess fibres removed from said pin conveyor, a weight operable to bias said fingers toward the pin conveyor arranged to be over-' balanced by a predetermined weight of the collected fibres to cause the fingers to be actuated away from the pin conveyor, means connecting said fingers with said drive mechanism actuable by movement of said fingers to control the motion of said feed conveyor, a worker roll adjacent the upper endof said pin conveyor to alighf said fibres with the. direction of travel of said pin conveyor, a retractable pin beater to remove said fibres from said pin conveyor, a pair of pin cylinders to roduce a preliminary carding of the fibres discharged from said pin conveyor, a beater roll to remove the fibres from said pin cylinders, and a discharge conveyor on which said fibres are deposited to remove the fibres from the opener and feed them to further fibre processing apparatus.

8. In a preparatory opener comprising a feed conveyor on which large masses and clumps of fibres are placed, ratchet mechanism to intermittently drive said feed conveyor, an upwardly inclined pin conveyor adjacent the forward end of said feed conveyor to remove said fibres therefrom, a retractable pin beater to remove excess fibres from said pin conveyor, a plurality of fingers laterally spaced from the pin conveyor and cooperable therewith to receive and collect between said fingers and pin conveyor the excess fibres removed from said pin conveyor, said fingers operable to be moved outward away from the pin conveyor by the collected fibres, means connecting said fingers with said ratchet mechanism actua-ble by movement of said fingers to control the motion of said feed conveyor, a worker roll adjacent the upper end of said pin conveyor to align said fibres with the direction of travel of said pin conveyor, 2, second retractable pin beater to remove said fibres from said pin conveyor, a pair of pin cylinders rotating in opposite directions to produce a preliminary carding of the fibres discharged from said pin conveyor, a heater roll to remove the fibres from said pin cylinders, and a discharge conveyor on which said fibres are deposited to remove the fibres from the opener and feed them to further fibre processing apparatus.

9. In a preparatory opener comprising a feed conveyor on which large masses and clumps of fibres are placed, ratchet mechanism to intermittently drive said feed conveyor, an upwardly inclined pin conveyor adjacent the forward end of said feed conveyor to remove said fibres therefrom, a retractable pin beater to remove excess fibres from said pin conveyor, a plurality of fingers laterally spaced from the pin conveyor and ccoperable therewith to receive and collect between said fingers and pin conveyor the excess fibres removed from said pin conveyor, a weight operable to bias said fingers toward the pin conveyor arranged to be overbalanced by a predetermined weight of the collected fibres to cause the fingers to be actuated away from the pin conveyor, means connecting said fingers with said ratchet mechanism actuable by movement of said fingers to control the motion of said feed conveyor, a worker roll adjacent the upper end of said pin conveyor to align said fibres with the direction of travel of said pin conveyor, a second retractable pin beater to remove said fibres from said pin conveyor, a pair of pin cylinders rotating in opposite directions to produce a preliminary carding of the fibres discharged from said pin conveyor, a beater roll to remove the fibres from said pin cylinders, and a discharge conveyor on which said fibres are deposited to remove the fibres from the opener and feed them to further fibre processing apparatus.

10. In a preparatory opener comprising a feed conveyor on which large masses and clumps of fibres are placed, an upwardly inclined pin conveyor adjacent one end of said fee-d conveyor to remove said fibre therefrom, means adjacent said pin conveyor operable to remove excess fibres therefrom, a Worker roll adjacent said pin conveyor to align the fibres remaining thereon with the direction of travel of the pin conveyor, a beater adjacent said pin conveyor and worker roll operable to remove fibres from both said pin conveyor and worker roll, and a pair of pin cylinders rotating in opposite directions with different peripheral speeds disposed to receive the fibres removed by said beater and operable to produce a preliminary carding of said fibres.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 312,456 Gessner Feb. 17, 1385 528,389 Potter Oct. 30, 1-894 1,610,791 Jolly Dec. 14, 1926 1,856,287 Nuttall et a1 May 3, 1932 2,353,541 Bokum et a1 July 11, 1944:

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 65,992 Germany Dec. 6, 1892 $9,213 Germany Nov. 2, 1896