US2736069A

US2736069A - mitchell

Info

Publication number: US2736069A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1956-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 1973-02-28

Description

Feb. 28, 1956 o. MITCHELL 2,736,059

AUTOMATIC CONTROL EOE COTTON PROCESSING EQUIPMENT Filed Aug. 15, 1951 /6 /0 Raus/4me MACH/#5^ Mm f l 1 50 UP CE /S TR/BUTOR TOWER DR/ER\ 60/ PHaDLE 50 Hor H/R HND Corro N- .56 `5Z 2,2

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COTTO/V anw/PER QA/o mf? 50c T/o/v W 40 Ez' SEPA RA Tof? 5/6 L T f f W ZZ .2. HOM/R WQGON COTTON FLOW FROM .SEPA RETO@ HTraR/VE Ys United States Patent-r AUTOMATIC CONTRL FOR COTTON PRUCESSING EQUIPMENT Orville Mitchell, Dallas, Tex., assignor to John Mitchell Company, Dallas, Tex., a corporation of Missouri Application August 15, 1951, Serial No. 242,026

5 Claims. (Cl. 19-69) The present invention relates generally to the cleaning and processing of mechanically picked cotton, and more particularly to an automatic control for controlling the ow of uncleaned cotton into the processing equipment so that the amount entering the equipment does not exceed the capacity of the gin stands.

As is well known to' those familiar with the cotton cleaning art, the uncleaned cotton is picked up from wagons by means of a suction pipe or pipes, is carried through various pieces of equipment to dry and clean it, and then passes to a distributor which distributes the cotton to feeder-extractors which feed clean cotton into gin stands disposed below them. 'Unfortunately, it is diflicult for the men operating the suction pipes in the wagon yard to accurately estimate the amount of uncleaned cotton which is being fed into the processing equipment with the result that quite often more cotton is sucked up than can be handled by the gin stands. When this occurs, the excess cotton ilows out of the end of the distributor and into the overow stall and must again pass through the processing equipment.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a novel automatic control for stopping the flow of cotton into the cleaning equipment when the amount of cotton in the distributor exceeds the amount that can be handled by the gin stands. More particularly, it is an object to provide a control which automatically cuts off the suction at the inlet when the cotton flows from the outlet of the distributor into the overow stall or when the cotton in the last hopper reaches a predetermined level.

Another object is to provide an automatic control which stops the ow of cotton into the equipment when the amount of cotton in the distributor exceeds the amount which can be handled by the gin stands and which, at the same time, energizes a warning device to indicate that too much uncleaned cotton is being fed into the equipment.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention Will be apparent from the detailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown.

The present invention is used with cotton processing equipment which includes a suction pipe for conveying the cotton from the wagon and introducing it into the separator, and a distributor for feeding the cotton into the gin stands, and, broadly comprises means for controlling the vacuum in the suction pipe responsive to the level of the cotton in the last hopper or to the position of a paddle pivotally mounted in the overliow outlet of the distributor, so as to stop the flow of cotton into the equipment when cotton lills the last hopper or flows from the overllow outlet. A signal, of either the visual or audible type, is also connected to the pivotally mounted paddle so as to indicate when more cotton is being fed into the equipment than can be handled by the gin stands.

p 2,736,069 Patented Feb. 28, 1956 CCY In the drawing, Fig. l is a schematic top plan View of a conventional cotton processing plant employing an automatic control embodying the teachings of the present invention and which is responsive to the ow of the cotton from the overtlow outlet of the distributor; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the end of the distributor and its overilow outlet and illustrates the use of a pressure switch in the last hopper to control the flow of uncleaned cotton into the system.

Referring to the drawing more particularly by reference numerals, specifically Fig. 1, 10 designates generally a conventional cotton processing plant provided with an automatic control responsive to the flow of cotton from the overflow outlet of the distributor, and generally indicated by the numeral 11.

The processing plant includes a first separator 12, a tower drier 14, a roughing machine 16, a second separator 17, and a distributor 18 which is disposed over a plurality of feeder-extractors and gin stands 20. The distributor 18 is provided with an overow outlet 19 which is positioned over an overflow stall 22 which catches the overow from the distributor when the cotton entering it exceeds the amount which can be handled by the gin stands 20. n

A suction pipe 24 is connected to one side of the separator 12. This pipe contains an inlet portion 26 disposed in the overflow stall 22, and an inlet portion 28 positioned in the wagon yard so that it can be worked around in the Wagon W by the operators.

A suction fan 32 is connected to the other side of the separator 12 by means of a pipe 34, and a damper valve 36 is contained in the pipe 34 for controlling the flow of air through it. The damper valve 36 is normally biased toward the open position and is closed by means of an electric motor 38 which forms part of the automatic control 11. The motor 38 is responsive to the How conditions in the equipment so as to close the damper valve 36 and stop the introduction of cotton into the separator when the amount of cotton in the distributor exceeds the amount which can be accommodated by the gin stands, as will be described more fully hereinafter.

A hot air inlet pipe 40 leads into the bottom of the separator 12, and a pipe 42 leads therefrom and connects the bottom of the separator 12 with the top of the tower drier 14. A pipe 44 leads from the bottom of the tower drier 14 and is connected to the inlet of the roughing machine 16, and the outlet of the roughing machine 16 is connected by a pipe 46 to the inlet of the second separator 17 which, in turn, is connected to the distributor 18.

The control 11 for automatically controlling the flow of cotton into the processing equipmentincludes a paddle 48 which is pivotally mounted in the overflow outlet 19 of the distributor 18. The paddle 48 isconnected to a micro-switch 50 and a dash pot 52. It is desirable that the paddle 48 be actuated only by a steady flow of cotton out of the overilow 19 and this is accomplished by the dash pot 52 which prevents a sudden swinging movement which might be caused by a momentary or false overflow.

One side of the micro-switch 50 is connected to one side of a source of electric power 54 by a conductor 56, and the other side of the micro-switch 50 is connected to one side of the motor 38 by a conductor S8. A conductor 60 connects the other side of the motor 38 with the other side of the power source 54. Thus, when the switch 50 is closed, the motor 38 is energized so as to move the damper valve 36 to the fully closed position and stop the flow of air to the suction fan 32.

An electrically operated signal 62 is located in the wagon yard in the vicinity of the operators working the suction inlet 28 so 'as to warn themwhen an excessive amount of cotton is being fed into the processing equip- 3 ment. The signal 62 is connected in parallel with the

conductors

58 and 60 by

conductors

64 and 66, respectively, and is preferably of the audible and visible type, although it can be either audible or visible.

Operation 'During normal operation, the damper valve 36 is maintained in the open position by the biasing means so that the suction fan 32 causes a vacuum at the ends of

pipes

26 and 28 which draws the unclean cotton from the overflow stall 22 and wagon W and causes it to enter into the separator 12. In the separator 12, the unclean cotton is separated from the air and drops downwardly into a receiver (not shown) below the separator. The air passes out of the separator, through the pipe 34 and past the damper valve 36 and into the suction 'fan 32.

Heated air enters the pipe 4t) and picks up the cotton from the receiver located below the separator and carries it through the pipe 42 into the top of the tower drier 14. The cotton then passes downwardly through the tower drier 14 and out through the pipe 44 into the roughing machine 16. The cotton leaves the roughing machine and passes through the pipe 46 and into the distributor 18 which distributes and feeds the cotton to the various gin stands 2t? disposed below.

lf the amount of cotton in the distributor 18 exceeds the amount which can be handled by the gin stands 20, the excess cotton will ilow out of the overow outlet 19 and fall into the overflow stall 22. If there is merely a short sudden overflow, the dash pot 52 will prevent movement of the paddles 48. However, if the overow is appreciable and sustained, the paddle 48 will pivot outwardly and cause the micro-switch S0 to close. When this occurs, an electrical circuit is made to the motor 38 from one side of the power source 54 through the conductor 56, the microswitch 50, the conductor 58, the motor 38, and back to the other side of the power source 54 through the conductor 60. When the motor 38 is energized, it actuates the damper valve 36 so as to cause it to close the pipe 34, thereby interrupting the vacuum in pipes 24 and

pipes

26 and 28. This prevents additional cotton from being sucked up into the separator 12 and from being introduced into the air stream passing through the pipe 42, thereby stopping the overloading of the distributor 18 so as to prevent the cotton from falling into the overflow stall 22.

Simultaneously with the completion of the electrical circuit through the motor 38 by means of the closing of the microswitch 58, a second circuit is completed through the signal 62 so as to inform the operators in the wagon yard that an excessive amount of cotton is being fed into the processing equipment. The circuit to the signal device 62 is made from one side of the power source 54 through the conductor 56, the micro-switch 54B, the conductor 64, the signal 62, the conductor 66, and back to the other side of the power source 54 through the conductor 60.

As soon as the amount of cotton in the distributor 18 drops to the amount which can be accommodated by the gin stands 20, the cotton will cease to flow out of the overow outlet 19. When this occurs, the paddle 48 will return to its normal position, thereby opening the microswitch 50. When the switch 50 is opened, the circuits to the motor 38 and to the signal device 62 are broken. This permits the biasing means to return the damper Valve 36 to the fully open position, ,thereby restoring the vacuum in the pipe 24. As soon as the vacuum is restored in the pipe 24 and its

branches

26 and 28, the ilow of cotton from the wagon W will be resumed. If the operators are not at the wagon when the vacuum is restored, the deenergization of the signal device 62 caused by the opening of the micro-switch 50 will indicate that the amount of cotton in the distributor has returned to normal so that they can resume the feeding of the cotton into the processing equipment.

l In the construction illustrated in Fig. 2, a pressure-sensitive switch is employed in the last hopper of the distributor next to its Voverflow outlet, to control the operation of the suction fan 32 in the same manner as` it is controlled by the micro-switch 50 in Fig. 1. This construction will now be more fully described.

The distributor 18, which receives the cotton from the second separator 17, includes a plurality of spaced hoppers 7G, each of which extends downwardly to the top of an extractor-feeder 20 disposed below the distributor. The hopper farthest from the distributor inlet and closet to its overliow outlet is identified in the drawing by the numeral 71.

A helicm conveyer screw 72 extends axially within the distributor 1S adjacent its bottom portion and conveys the mixed cotton and hulls from the distributor inlet to the various hoppers 70 in sequence.

A switch 74, which is of the pressure-sensitive type, is fastened to the upper portion of the wall of the last hopper 71 farthest from the inlet. When this construction is used in place of the paddle construction previously described and shown more particularly in Fig. l, the

conductors

56 and 58 are connected to the switch 74 instead of to the micro-switch 50.

In the type of screw feed illustrated, the hopper closest to the distributor inlet is lled rst, and then, if the irst extractor-feeder cannot handle all of the uncleaned cotton entering the distributor, the second hopper is lled, and so on, until finally, if there is enough material entering the distributor, the cotton and hulls will ow into the last hopper 71 closest to the overflow outlet 19.

When the mixed cotton and hulls entering the last hopper 71 reach the level of the switch 74, vthe pressure of the material against the switch 74 closes it and completes the circuit to the motor 38 and to the signal device 62, as previously described, thereby interrupting the flow of cotton into the equipment and signaling the operator that more material is entering it than can be conveniently handled by the extractor-feeders.

When the amount of cotton and hulls in the last hopper 71 drops below the level of the switch 74, the latter will open and the feeding of the material into the equipment will be resumed.

Thus, it is apparent that there has been provided novel automatic controls which fulll all of the objects and advantages sought therefor. When the amount of cotton in the distributor 18 exceeds the amount which can be handled by the extractor-feeders and gin stands 2t?, the vacuum in the inlet pipe 24 is interrupted so as to stop the feeding of the cotton into the processing equipment. At the same time, a signal is energized to warn the operators that more cotton is being fed into the equipment than can be properly handled by it so that they can learn to judge the capacity of the extractor-feeders and gin stands.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings have been given only by way of illustration and example, and that changes and alterations in the present disclosure, which will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention, which is limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

l. A device of the type described, comprising means for processing cotton including a distributor having an overflow outlet; means for causing the cotton to flow through the processing mea-ns; means for introducing cotton into the processing means including a suction fan, a

pipe connected to the inlet of the suction fan, and a motor operated damper valve in the pipe for controlling the tlow of air therethrough; and means for stopping the introduction of cotton into the processing means when the quantity of cotton owing from the overow outlet of the distributor exceeds a predetermined amount, said last named means including a switch responsive to the flow of said predetermined amount of excess cotton, said switch being connected to said motor for controlling the operation of said damper valve.

2. A device of the type described, comprising means for processing cotton including a distributor having an overow outlet; means for causing the cotton to flow through the processing means; means for introducing cotton into the processing means including a suction fan, a pipe connected to the inlet of the suction fan, and a motor operated damper valve in the pipe for controlling the ow of air therethrough; a paddle pivotally mounted in the outlet; means associated with the paddle to prevent movement of the paddle due to any sudden surges in cotton flow and thereby limit its rate of pivotal movement; and means for stopping the introduction of cotton into the processing means when the cotton flowing past the paddle pivots it to a predetermined position, said last named means including a switch adapted to be actuated by said paddle, said switch being connected to said motor for controlling the operation thereof.

3. A device of the type described, comprising means for processing cotton including a distributor having an overflow outlet; a paddle pivotally mounted in the outlet; a dash-pot connected to the paddle to prevent movement of the paddle due to any sudden surges in cotton flow and ythereby limit its rate of pivotal mov-ement; means for causing the cotton to flow through the processing means; means for introducing cotton into the processing means; and means for stopping the introduction of cotton into the processing means, said last-named means being responsive to a predetermined minimum of ow of cotton past the paddle which is of suicient Volume to operate the paddle against the dash-pot.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the distributor has an inlet and a plurality of spaced downwardly extending hoppers including a last one farthest from the inlet, and in which the switch is pressure sensitive and is mounted in the last hopper.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the distributor has an inlet and a plurality of spaced downwardly extending hoppers including a last one fartherest from the inlet, and in which the switch is pressure sensitive and is mounted in the last hopper on its wall farthest from the inlet.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 494,101 Gammons Mar. 21, 1893 601,174 Simington Mar. 22, 1898 1,450,903 Newhouse Apr. 3, 1923 1,899,791 Brennen Feb. 28, 1933 2,016,008 Henry Oct. 1, 1935 2,060,305 Hagler Nov. 10, 1936 2,119,783 Harrington June 7, 1938 2,189,099 Bennett Feb. 6, 1940 2,429,059 Horstkotte Oct. 14, 1947 2,544,054 Smith Mar. 6, 1951 2,576,543 Smith Nov. 27, 1951