US2785423A - Cleaning device for revolving clearer rolls - Google Patents

Description

March 19, 1957 F. H. MARTIN CLEANING DEVICE FOR REVOLVING CLEARER ROLLS Original Filed Dec. 14, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l sz 54 4.2so 26' 12 14 ze s 4g' c f6 Cw @E J r mw E m T N NR .R EA 0 WM n /r M M 0 F a .z A/m u w 1 1 `Iva March 19, 1957 F, H, MAR-[1N 2,785,423

CLEANING DEVICE FOR REvoLvING CLEARER RoLLs original Filed Dec. 14, 1951 s she'ets-sheet 2 14 1244 44 4240 j", gr, ,2 l w' ma JNVENTOR.

March 19, 1957 F. H. MARTIN Original Filed Dec. 14. 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A Tmp/vens United States Patent C l CLEANING DEVICE FllSEVOLVlNG CLEARER Furman H. Martin, Lancaster, S. C., assigner to The Springs Cotton Mills Original application December 14, 1951, Serial No. 261,648, now Patent No. 2,739,326, dated March 27, 1956. Divided and this application September 6, 1955, Serial No. 536,516

This invention relates to revolving clearer rolls such as are used as top roll clearers in spinning frames and other textile drafting equipment, and more particularly to a device adapted for cleaning these clearer rolls with exceptional speed and efficiency. This is a division of my co pending application Serial No. 261,648, tiled December 14, 1951. Revolving top clearer rolls are conventionaily formed with several Wooden body members of cylindrical shape spaced on a mounting shaft or rod, which is usually also formed of wood, so that the wooden body members are disposed to ride on the top rolls in a spinning frame or the like. These wooden body members are each provided with a covering, of woolen cloth or the like, that has an aiiinity for the ber being drafted so that any loose liber adhering to the top rolls during the drafting operation is picked up by these cloth covers to prevent fouling of the top rolls by this loose liber. Initially the clearer roll cloth covers act directly to pick up the loose fibers from the top rolls, and then subsequently the accumulating fibers on the cloth covers make the pick up until a mass of about one-fourth of an inch in thickness has been accumulated.

lt is. necessary to remove this. brous yaccumulation from the clearer rolls at more or less regular intervals because when the accumulation is allowed to become too great the bers tend to separate from the accumulated brous mass and fall into the ber being drafted to form the defects commonly referred to as slubs This difiiculty is particularly troublesome when revolving clearer rolls are used with long draft spinning apparatus, and it is especially important in this instance to provide for cleaning the clearer rolls with careful regularity and adequate frequency.

lt has been standard practice in the past to clean these clearer rolls by hand, which at best is a time consuming and expensive operation, and which is almost impossible to arrange satisfactorily in long draft spinning operations where the tending of the top clearer rolls is a critic-al factor. rIhere have been some prior proposals for cleaning these clearer rolls by mechanical means, but none of these proposals has` proven satisfactory because they required the clearer rolls to be removed and cleaned at a distance from the spinning equipment and therefore required an impractical amount of handling.

According to the present invention a cleaning device for top clearer rolls is` provided for operation directly at the spinning apparatus, so that the clearer rollsl may be removed for cleaning and replaced with great handling eiciency and at a suiciently rapid rate` to provide for maintaining, the clearer rolls in good operating condition at only a fraction of the cost heretofore incurred when this operation was attempted by hand.

Briefly described, the cleaning device of the present invention comprises a driven ber stripping rolll with adjacent means incorporating a rotatable carrier for progressively receiving and temporarily supporting the clearer rolls in spaced relation, and means for indexing this rotatable carrier so that ythe supported clearer rolls 2,785,423 Patented Mar. 19, 1957 ICC are successively presented at the stripping roll for cleaning. These operating elements of the device are arranged according to the present invention in a mobile housing that may be readily moved for operation directly at the spinning frame, and are associated with means by which the housing may be adapted for collecting the fibrous waste cleaned from the clearer rolls so that it needs to be removed and disposed of only at extended intervals.

These and other features of the clearer roll cleaning device of the present invention are described in further detail below, in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation, partly broken away, of a representative embodiment of the cleaning device of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is -a vertical section taken substantially on the line 2-2 in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional detail taken substantially ion the line 3--3 in Pig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation illustrating the arangement of a preferred form of doflng roll employed according to the present invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the cleaning device of the present invention is shown arranged with a suitable frame structure forming housing as indicated generally by the reference numeral itl. `The previously mentioned liber stripping roll is shown at l2 journalled for operation in a hood portion ld of the frame structure lil, with one end of the mounting shaft la for this stripping roll l2 extending from the frame structure liti to carry -a pulley member 18 for a belt connection as at Ztl from a drive motor .'22 suitably supported at the base of the frame structure itl.

The above noted hood portion lll of the frame structure itl is sufficiently open at the front of the device to allow cleaning contact of the stripping roll l2 with top roll clearers C presented serially for cleaning by a rotatable carrier disposed externally 'of the housing formed by the frame structure l0 at the open front portion thereof, as indicated generally at 24. This rotatable carrier 24 comprises spaced discs 26 which are formed with regularly spaced notches as at 28 that are shaped for loosely receiving and supponting the clearer rolls C so that they are free to revolve in these notches 2b.

On an are adjacent the stripper roll 12, guide bars 3i? are arranged concentrically with the rotatable carrier discs 26 to provide means for positioning the clearer rolls C properly in the notches 28 as the rotatable carrier Z4 is operated to present them at the stripping roll l2 for cleaning. These guide bars Si) are pivoted at: a lower straight shank portion 32 on a pivot rod 34 secured to the frame structure lli as at 36 (see Fig. 2.), and are also formed with upper straight shank portions 33 adapted for a clevis connection as at dit with positioning rods i2 secured in extending relation on the frame structure lil by opposed adjusting nuts as at da, so that the extending disposition of the positioning rods l2 may be varied `as desired to shift the arcuate portion of the guide bars 3d for guaging the depth of cleaning Contact of the clearer rolls C with the stripping roll l2.

Qperation of the rotatable carrier 2d for presenting the clearer rolls C serially at `the stripping roll l2 is pro vided through an indexing mechanism incorporating a ratchet wheel do which is carried on a common mounting shaft Lid with the notched carrying discs 2o, and which is engaged by a pawl member Si? arranged on an operating handle which is likewise carried on the mounting shaft for pivoting movement between limit stops disposed adjacently on the fra-me structure it) as at 54. This operating handle might, of course, be readily replaced by a toot pedal or a motor drive (not shown), if desired.

Proper alignment ot' the clearer `rolls C at the stripping roll 12 as the notched carrier Idiscs 26 are indexed in this manner is accomplished through a multi-faced cam 56 also carried on the mounting shaft 53 in relation to a spring loaded cam follower 5d that is biased with suiiicient pressure through a spring loading arrangement as at 6l) to position the carrier discs 26 through the cani 56 firmly at each indexed position until the indexing mechanism is again operated. As shown in the drawings, the multifaced alignment cam 56 is formed for this purpose with a number of faces corresponding to the number of notches 28 provided in the carrier discs 26.

All of the elements of the rotatable carrier 24 and its associated indexing mechanism should bc keyed on the common mounting shaft 48 as indicated `in Figs. 2 and 3 at 48', or similarly assembled thereon, so that the assembly may be readily maintained in time while allowing lateral adjustment of the notch discs 26 (through set screw fastening means or the like as at 26 in Fig. l) to t clearer rolls C from ditierent gauge frames, `and it will be noted that the positioning rods i2 for the guide bars 3i? are secured on the frame structure lo at elongated slots 42' for this same purpose.

ln order to maintain. the clearer rolls C in proper cleaning contact with the stripping roll as they are presented by the rotatable carrier 2d, a friction element or brake paddle 62 is mounted below the .point of cleaning contact on a pivot shaft 64 which also carries spring loading arms 66 adjacent each end from which tension springs 68 are extended. The pivot shaft 64 is arranged on the frame structure lt) in bearing brackets as at 6d', and the tension springs 68 are extended to stud members 70 secured at 'brackets 72 `on the frame structure lil by opposed adjusting nuts 74 which allow the tension of the springs 68 to be adjusted as desired. The force of these springs 68 results in urging the friction element 62 to a pivoted position pressing the clearer rolls C against the retaining bars 3i) for the cleaning contact gauged thereby, and also serves to cause the friction element 62 to impose a drag on the clearer roll C being cleaned so that it revolves at a relatively slow rate during the cleaning contact with the stripping roll l2 to allow the fibrous coating thereon to be cleaned to the best advantage.

ln operation, the clearer rolls C to be cleaned arc successively placed yin the notches 2S of the rota-table carrier discs 26 at the topmost position of these notches 2E. Actuation of the indexing mechanism through the operating handle 52 results in advancing each clearer roll C placed in the notches 28 at this position to a succeeding sidewise position at which it is presented in cleaning contact with the stripping roll l2, with the retaining bars 3i? guaging the depth of cleaning contact and the friction element 62 pressing the clearer roll C to the guaged cleaning ldepth and restraining its rotation for eifective cleaning. Succeeding actuations of the indexing mechanism result in moving a clearer roll C that has just been cleaned to the lowermost position `of the rotating carrier notches 28, and simultaneously presenting a following clearer roll C at the stripping roll 12 for cleaning. During this movement of the cleaned clearer roll to the lowermost position of the notches 28, the brake paddle 62 pivots at its pivot shaft 64 to a position as shown by broken lines in Fig. 3 so as to allow passage of the cleaned clearer roll as it moves to the lowermost position of 'the notches 28 and passes beyond the guide Ibars 3i) to drop from the carrier discs 26 as 4at C (see Fig. 2), the brake paddle 62 spring ing back after each cleaned clearer roll passes in this manner for Contact with the following clearer roll C simultaneous-ly presented for cleaning at the stripping roll 12.

The fiber stripping roll 12 by which the cleaning of the clearer roll C is effected is suitably formed with a covering of wire fillet as at 76, comparable to that used on card stripping rolls. The elements Iof the wire lillet covering 76 are preferably of the type having a bend or knee approximately midway of their length, and an operating 'speed of about 350 R. P. M. for a stripping roll about 6" in diameter has been found to give very satisfactory cleaning action.

In order to maintain the stripping roll l2 free of the brous waste cleaned from the clearer rolls C, a brush or dofing roll 78 is journalled in the fram-e structure 10 below the stripping roll 12, and with the mounting shaft Si? for this doiiing roll 78 also extending beyond the `frame structure lil to carry a pulley member 82 in contact with the belt connection 2@ from the drive motor 22. This clotting roll 73 is driven in the opposite direction to that of the stripping roll 3.2 and at approximately tive times the speed of the stripping roll 12 in order to provide a positive stripping action. The clotting roll 78 is formed with a highly polished body of wood or other suitable material and is provided with a wire brush-like covering which may be suitably formed by mounting small nail-like elements as at 84 to project radially and arranged spirally around the circumference of the roll from end to end (see Fig. 4). Four or tive lines of these spirally arranged nail-like elements S4 of about lVz inches in length and equally spaced about 1A inch apart provide very e'lective doiiing action when the brush roll 73 is set so that these elements S4 penetrate about 1A inch into the wire lillet cove-ring 76 of the stripper roll 12. The straight projecting forni of the nail-like elements 84 and the highly polished surface of the roll body, as mentioned above, as well as the high surface speed of the doing roll 78, allow the fibrous waste dotted from the stripper roll 12 to Vdetach itself easily `from the dotng roll '78 for collection in the housing formed by the frame structure 10.

Collection of this doied waste may be accomplished satisfactorily by merely allowing it to accumulate in the bottom portion of this frame structure 10 as delivered directly from the clotting roll 78, but the waste may be accommodated to even better effect by providing the frame structure 10 with a hopper portion 86 having sloping sides, as shown in the drawings, which lead to a pair of condensing rolls S8 that are spring loaded as indicated at 91) in Fig. 2 so as to turn in contact with each other and are driven through a speed reduction unit as at 92 through a belt connection 94 for operation at a relatively slow speed of about 5 to l() R. P. M. as compared with the doing and stripping roll speeds indicated above. As shown by directional arrows in Fig. 2 these condensing rolls 88 rotate inwardly and downwardly together so as to draw the dofied fibrous waste from the hopper portion 86 and force it in a very compact form into the lower portion of the housing formed by the frame structure 10, where an access door 96 may be provided for periodic removal of the collected waste.

The highly condensed form of the brous waste delivered in this manner for collection in the bottom housing portion of the frame structure 10 makes it possible to accumulate a very substantial amount of the waste before any removal is necessary, so that the cleaning device of the present invention is thereby rendered capable of operating for relatively extended periods without any attention to the collected waste and entirely satisfactory results in this respect may be obtained by merely allowing the compacted waste to accumulate in the bottom 0f the frame structure 10 as it issues from the condensing rolls 88. Alternatively, a winding pin (not shown) might be arranged in the lower frame structure -portion to rotate very slowly below the condensing rolls 88 so as to take up the compacted waste in roll form much in the way that a picker lap is formed to collect the fibrous waste in a cylindrical mass that might be removed from time to time through a suitably proportioned access door.

The frame structure 10 may also be provided with an access door as at 98 in the hood portion 14 to allow access at this point to the various' operating elements contained therein, and the frame structure 10 is suitably rendered mobile by means of wheels or rollers 100 vat the;

bottom of the frame structure adjacent each corner so that the cleaning device may be moved easily to a point directly adjacent the spinning apparatus for the cleaning operation. In order to facilitate steering of the device during movement from job to job, the rollers such as 100 located at the drive motor end of the device may be mounted in swivel casters (not shown), while the rollers 102 at the other end of the machine should be mounted in straight casters as at 102 so as to roll at right angles to the thrust of the 4operating handle 52 for the indexing mechanism and thereby stabilize the device against rolling when the cleaning operation is in progress.

In addition, the frame structure 10 is preferably equipped at its front face with a receiving trough for the cleaned clearer rolls C` A suitable receiving trough for this purpose may `be advantageously arranged as shown in the drawings at 104 by mounting framing rods 106 in sleeve brackets 108 to pivot about vertical axes, these framing rods 108 being formed with a horizontal reach from the frame structure 10 suicient to accommodate a folding shelf plate 110 hinged to the frame structure 10 as at 112, and with a succeeding vertical reach suflcient to receive edge sleeve portions of an outer plate or wall member 114. By this arrangement, the framing rods 106 are adapted for pivoting to a position at 90 from the front face of the frame structure 10 so that the shelf plate 110 may be folded downwardly to rest on their horizontal reach while their vertical reach positions the outer wall member 114 to form a trough for accumulating `a group of the cleaned clearer rolls C. When not in use, or when the cleaning device is being moved from one job to another, the shelf plate 110 may be folded up against the front face of the frame :structure 10 so as to allow the framing rods 106 to be pivoted to a retracted position about their vertical mounting axes with the wall member 114 being arranged to collapse as the framing rods 106 are retracted, or being removed and placed so as to be retained against the folded shelf plate 110 by the retracted framing rods 106.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise except as delined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A cleaning device for revolving clearer rolls, said device comprising a mobile frame structure forming a housing, means disposed externally on said frame structure incorporating a rotatable carrier for progressively receiving said clearer rolls in spaced relation and temporarily supporting said clearer rolls to revolve while supported, a driven fiber stripping roll disposed adjacent and parallel to said rotatable carrier and journalled in said frame structure and exposed from a housing hood portion thereof for cleaning contact with said clearer rolls while temporarily supported on said rotatable carrier, a driven dofng roll disposed adjacent and parallel to said stripping roll and journalled in said frame structure internally of the housing formed thereby to run in dolfing contact with said stripping roll, hopper means arranged below said dofng roll internally of said frame structure housing, a pair of condensing rolls journalled internally of said frame structure below lthe discharge portion of said hopper means, an access closure at the bottom portion of said frame structure housing below said condensing rolls, means for imposing a friction drag on said clearer rolls while in cleaning contact with said stripping roll and thereby causing said clearer rolls to revolve at a relatively slow rate during cleaning, means for driving said stripping roll at an effective fiber stripping rate and said dolng roll at a faster rate in the opposite direction, and means for rotating said condensing roll pair at a relatively slow rate for picking up doffed fiber from said hopper means and feeding the same densely compacted to the bottom portion of said frame structure housing for removal at extended intervals through said access closure.

2. In a cleaning device for revolving clearer rolls, said device comprising a frame structure forming a housing, means disposed on said frame structure incorporating a rotatable carrier for progressively receiving said clearer rolls in spaced relation and temporarily supporting said clearer rolls to revolve while supported, a driven liber stripping roll disposed adjacent and parallel to said rotatable carrier and journalled in said frame structure for cleaning contact with said clearer rolls while temporarily supported on said rotatable carrier, a driven doing roll disposed adjacent and parallel to said stripping roll and journalled in said frame structure internally of the housing formed thereby to run in clotting contact with said stripping roll, hopper means arranged below said doffing roll internally of said frame :structure housing, a pair of condensing rolls journalled internally on said frame structure below the discharge portion of said hopper means, an Iaccess closure at the bottom portion of said frame structure housing below said condensing rolls, means for driving said stripping roll at an effective fiber stripping rate and said dofling roll at a faster rate in the opposite direction, and means for rotating said condensing roll pair :at a relatively slow rate for picking up dolfed liber from said hopper means and feeding the same densely :compacted to `the bottom portion of said frame structure housing for removal at extended intervals through said access closure.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 6,135 Dyson Feb. 20, 1849 1,451,239 Terrell Apr. 10, 1923 2,385,039 Steinmetz Sept. 18, 1945

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