US3024721A

US3024721A - High speed tramper and bat feeding mechanism

Info

Publication number: US3024721A
Application number: US862358A
Authority: US
Inventors: Eugene H Brooks
Original assignee: Continental Gin Co
Current assignee: Continental Gin Co; Continental Eagle Corp
Priority date: 1959-12-28
Filing date: 1959-12-28
Publication date: 1962-03-13
Anticipated expiration: 1979-03-13

Description

March 13, 1962 E. H. BROOKS 3,024,721

HIGH SPEED TRAMPER AND BAT FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 28, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG-l I28 INVENTOR.

EUGENE H. BROOKS ATTORNEYS March 13, 1962 E. H. BROOKS 3,024,721

HIGH SPEED TRAMPER AND BAT FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 28, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. EUGENE H. BROOKS BYMW ATTORNEYS March 13, 1962 E. H. BROOKS 3,024,721

HIGH SPEED TRAMPER AND BAT FEEDING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 28, 1959 INVENTOR.

EUGENE H. BROOKS BY 774; mz

ATTORNEYS HIGH SPEED TRAMPER AND BAT FEEDING MECHANISM March 13, 1962 E. H. BROOKS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec.

*i z INVENTOR.

zussue u. BROOKS BY f7 ATTORNEYS March l3, 1962 E. H. BROOKS 3,024,721

HIGH SPEED TRAMPER AND BAT FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 28, 1959 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR. EUGENE H. BROOKS 3 ATTORNEYS Iliifi 3,024,721 Patented Mar. 13,

3,024,721 HIGH SPEED TRAMPER AND BAT FEEDING MECHANISM Eugene H. Brooks, Birmingham, Ala., assignor to Continental Gin Company, Birmingham, Ala, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 862,358 9 Claims. (Cl. 100-97) This invention relates to the handling of lint cotton and is particularly concerned with a method and apparatus for pressing lint cotton into bales. This invention thus relates to fiber presses and to mechanisms for supplying lint to the presses. Such devices are known in the art as trampers and are especially utilized for the baling of lint cotton.

In the baling of lint cotton it i important to attain a certain density in the finished bale and to make the bales up as rapidly as possible. Attaining the proper density in bales requires the elimination of air from the cotton by pressing it tightly during the baling operation. Normally a great deal of air is entrained in the lint being baled and for this reason many times the baling press portion of the apparatus has an extremely long stroke in order to obtain the desired degree of compacting of the fibers in the bale.

In some devices according to the prior art air is employed for moving the cotton fibers into the press box but on account of the resilient nature of such fibers they tend to expand and absorb a large amount of air thus requiring an elongated stroke of the plunger to accomplish the balmg.

In other cases revolving sweepers have been employed to push the lint cotton into the press box but this has the disadvantage of destroying the character of the bat that is being removed from the condenser and delivered to the press box and the result is to whip the lint into a loose mass containing a great deal of air and at the same time twisting and kinking the fibers which causes difiiculty when the cotton is removed from the bale at the mills.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that it is desirable in the baling of textile fibers for the bales to be uniform and for the fibers to be so compacted within the bale that they can be removed therefrom readily with the fibers being smooth and unkinked and being free of tangles or knots and, in short, to be in about the same condition as when they were removed from the condenser. Further, it is of advantage in baling of textile fibers for the fibers to be disposed in the bale in the form of a plurality of relatively thin layers or bats with the fiber in each bat being in the smooth kink and knot free condition as referred to above.

Heretofore in order to obtain such baling, the press boxes have tended to be extremely long so that the fibers could be introduced therein without being physically abused so that all of the other structure in connection with the mechanism has tended to be extremely large. Also due to the necessity of handling the lint cotton in such a manner as to avoid abuse thereof, elaborate timing and delay mechanisms have been utilized so as to increase the time available for the cotton to be delivered to the press box. Such devices have not only been bulky, expensive and troublesome, but have not been efiective to any substantial degree.

Having the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved tramping mechanism which will produce superior bales of fibers.

Another object of this invention is to providean arrangement for baling lint cotton in which the mechanism is relatively small.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for baling cotton or similar fibers in which the cotton being baled is maintained substantially air free up until the time it is delivered to the press box thus reducing the length of stroke required on the baling plunger.

A particular object of this invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for supplying bats of lint of a predetermined size to the proper position in the press box for baling so the cotton bale is made up of a plurality of superimposed bats or layers.

It is also an object of this invention to deliver the sized bats according to the preceding objective with the bats substantially de-aired thereby facilitating the baling operation.

A further objective of this invention is the provision of a method and apparatus for compacting lint cotton or like fibers into bales in which the speed of the apparatus can be increased greatly over speeds that have been obtainable heretofore and without increasing the power requirements.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of an arrangement in a press for baling lint cotton and the like, in which the desired bat character of the cotton is retained during the time that the baling is interrupted to remove a completed bale and bring an empty box into position.

It is still another object of this invention to provide bales of lint cotton and the like in which the bales are made up of individual superimposed bats of substantially the same size and thickness whereby the lint cotton can accurately be blended when the bales are broken open at the mill, such blending being a customary practice.

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view showing a tramping mechanism constructed according to my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view looking in from the left side of FIGURE 1 with the structure partly in section and showing the relationship of various portions of the apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view drawn at enlarged scale showing the apparatus in section;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view drawn at enlarged scale showing the feed rollers that deliver the bats toward the feed box of the baling section;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view indicated by line 55 on FIGURE 3 showing the arrangement for severing the supply of lint cotton into bats of the desired length;

FIGURE 6 is a view looking in from the left side of FIGURE 5 showing the mechanism which operates the devices for forming the bats of cotton;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 but shows the mechanism in the act of forming the bat;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view indicated by line 8--8 on FIGURE 5 showing the cam and roller arrangement for actuating the lower set of pins of the bat forming mechanism;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary view showing the variable speed drive to the feed rolls of FIGURE 4 by means of which the bats to be delivered to the baling chamber for baling therein are advanced at high speed when the baling head is retracted;

FIGURE 10 is a more or less diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the accumulator forming a part of the mechanism operates to accumulate the cotton dclivered by the condenser during periods when the baling chamber is being changed so that the bat character of the cotton is not destroyed during this period;

FIGURE 11 is a view similar to FIGUREZ but drawn from the opposite side of the machine showing other portions of the drive to the various parts of the mechamsm;

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary view showing the construction of a reversing mechanism which is included in the drive train to the accumulator; and

FIGURES l3 and 14 show arrangements for resiliently urging the feed rolls toward each other.

Referring to the drawings somewhat more in detail, the structure of the present invention, as will be seen on reference to FIGURES 1, 2, and 3 comprises a station which supplies a bat 12 of cotton to a feeding station 14 which delivers the bat downwardly and through a bat severing station 16 to a baling or tramping station 18 wherein the severed bats are compacted into bales.

Intermediate the

stations

10 and 14 is an accumulator station 20 in which the bat being delivered is accumulated during periods that the operation of the baling step is suspended to permit an empty chamber to be moved into position. Station 10 is in the form of a condenser and therein is a foraminous drum 22 that collects lint cotton in a well known manner and forms it into a bat and which bat is removed from the drum by the doffing rolls 24.

From the dofling rolls the bat passes between a plurality of feed rollers comprising the lower feed rollers 26 and the upper feed rollers 28 which are driven in synchronism so as to advance the bat downwardly along the inclined path defined by the feed rollers toward the bat severing station. A sprocket and chain drive, to be described hereinafter, is employed for driving the shafts of one of the sets of rollers, for example, the lower set of feed rollers; while the upper set of feed rollers are driven from the lower set of feed rollers as by the gears 30 fixed to the shafts of the sets of rollers.

The bat is advanced and compressed by the feed rollers and since the bat will vary somewhat in thickness, depending on various variables in the system leading to the feed rollers, it is preferable for the upper feed rollers to be resiliently supported relative to the lower feed rollers so that the proper pressure can be maintained on the bat and also so the rollers will separate slightly for a thicker bat passing therebetween. The upper rollers, for example, could be spring biased toward the lower rollers, or the shafts of the upper rollers could be mounted in resilient bearings such as rubber. In cases where the thickness of the bat could be depended upon to fall between relatively close predetermined limits, such resilient support of the rollers relative to each other could be eliminated.

FIGURES l3 and 14 show arrangements for urging the feed rolls toward each other. In FIGURE 13, the shaft 31 of the upper feed roll 30 illustrated is supported in bearings 33 (only one being illustrated), which are supported in resilient rubber blocks 35. In FIGURE 14, a spring 37 acts on the bearing 39 to urge the upper feed roll toward the lower feed roll.

The accumulator station 20 comprises a plurality of rollers 32 arranged in an arcuate path and reversibly driven. Between two of the rollers 32 there is a conveyor belt 34. Adjacent the one of rollers 32 Which is positioned adjacent the bat 12 is still another reversible roller 36. The arrangement is such that when roller 32 adjacent the bat of cotton is rotating counterclockwise, the bat is fed downwardly between the

feed rollers

26 and 28 but when it is desired to interrupt the feeding of the bat, the rollers 32 are caused to rotate in a clockwise direction and this causes the bat to be delivered into the accumulator station and rolled up therein as indicated by the dot-dash lines 38. When it is desired to resume delivery of the bat to the rollers, rollers 32 are again reversed so as to rotate in a counterclockwise direction while simultaneously roller 36 is also reversed so as to run in a clockwise direction and the bat then commences to move downwardly between the

feed rollers

26 and 28, passing therebetween in a doubled condition until the accumulated length of the bat is discharged from the accumulator. In this manner the condenser station at 10 can operate continuously thus preventing any interruption in the ginning and cleaningoperations proceeding this station while at the same time permitting a completed bale to be removed and an empty baling chamber moved into position.

At the lower end of the inclined line of feed rollers there is a member 39 forming a slide over which the bat of cotton passes. This slide, similarly to the feed rollers and accumulator rollers above referred to is disposed between the spaced side plates 40 of the mechanism. The slide is of about the same width as the press box 42 to which the bat is to be delivered and means are provided for severing or cutting olf or separating the bat into short bat lengths which will be slightly shorter than the front to back dimension of the press box.

The mechanism for forming the bat lengths consists of a set of tines 44 carried on a block 45 disposed beneath slide member 39 with there being apertures 46 in the sheet for receiving the tines. Angle members 48 attached to the underside of slide member 39 provide guide means for guiding block 45 as it reciprocates to carry the tines 44 through the apertures to intersect the bat and to withdraw the tines from the apertures so that the bat will pass on over the slide member 39.

The block 45 has attached to spaced points therealong the actuator members 50 which at their lower ends are bifurcated to embrace the cam shaft 52. The actuator members 50 are also bifurcated in the other direction and have supported between the legs thereof rollers 54 that engage cams 56 on shaft 52. It will be evident that rotation of shaft 52 will cause the tines 44 periodically to project through the apertures 46 and interrupt the movement of the bat through the feed rollers, and to retract downwardly to permit the bat again to advance across the slide member 39. Positioned above the slide member 39 is another transversely extending bar member 57 which has adjustably attached thereto as by screw 58, a plate 60 having depending therefrom a plurality of spaced tines 62 which are staggered transversely of the mechanism relative to the tines 44 previously referred to.

Bar member 57 is supported by tension springs 63 attached between the bar member and a stationary part of the machine frame above the bar member. A link 64 pivotally connected with the bar member is also pivoted to the upper end of an arm 66 which is pivoted on the machine frame at 68 and which arm carlies at its lower end a roller or cam follower 70 that engages a cam 72 attached to the end of cam shaft 52. A spring 73 connected between the machine frame and an upper part of arm 66 maintains roller 70 in engagement with cam 72.

It will be evident that as cam shaft 52 rotates arm 66 will oscillate about its pivotal support and cause bar member 57 and the tines 62 carried thereby also to oscillate.

The bar member 57 also has connected thereto at its opposite ends, arms 74 which extend downwardly to shaft 52 and which are apertured as at 76 for receiving the shaft. Apertures 76 are preferably of a size closely to embrace hubs 78 on cams 80 carried on cam shaft 52 and which cams 80 cooperate with rollers or cam followers 82 attached to the lower ends of arms 74.

It will be evident that rotation of shaft 52 will cause co-action between earns 80 and followers 82 which will bring about vertical reciprocating movement of the bar member 57 and the tines thereon.

The relationship of the earns 72 and 80 is such that as the cam shaft 52 rotates, the bar member 57 will first move downwardly to cause the tines to engage the hat of cotton and then the bar member 57 and tines 62 will move rearwardly toward the baling station and, at this time, cam 52 has lifted tines 44 into engagement with the hat of cotton leftwardly of tines 62 so that the described movement of tines 62 will cause the bat to be severed at the point of engagement of the tines with the bat. The timing of the aforementioned cams is such that the bat lengths of about 26" or 27 will be provided, this size being about the size necessary to form a layer in the bale being made in the baling station.

The movement of the tines 62 in severing the shorter bat length from the elongated bat being fed by the feed rollers also delivers the bat length to the bight of a group of feed rollers generally indicated at 84. These feed rollers, which may be referred to as accelerator rollers, differ from the rollers previously described in that they are adapted for being driven at variable speeds. The purpose of this is to advance the severed bat length very quickly at a predetermined time during its travel so that it can quickly be delivered to the baling position. To this end the rollers 84, as will be seen in FIGURE 4 are preferably lightweight and hollow and are advantageously fluted better to control and feed the bat lengths.

For driving the rollers 34, the lower two thereof are preferably interconnected by a chain drive 86 with one the upper rollers in turn being driven by a chain 88 from a sprocket 91 The rollers are preferably driven in synchronism by being geared to the lower rollers on the side of the machine from that seen in FIGURE 9.

The cut-oif bat length, indicated at 92 in FIGURES 3 and 9, upon being advanced by the rollers 84 is received on a reciprocating tray or table 94. This table is reciprocably supported as by the roller means 96 carried in the frame and has pivotally attached to one end thereof a drag link 98 which is, in turn, pivotally connected with one end of a rotary arm 108 carried on a shaft 102. As the shaft rotates the arm 100 rotates and this causes reciprocation of the table. In its advanced position the table positions the cut-ofi bat length 92 directly over the baling chamber 42 and when the table retracts the bat length is stripped off from the table by a stripper member 104 so that the bat length will drop into the baling chamber. The arm 111i) rotates counterclockwise as it is viewed in FIGURE 3 and this causes the table to be withdrawn rapidly from its advanced position and this assists in stripping the cut-off bat length from the bale.

The baling unit of the present invention comprises a pair of baling chambers that can be rotated into baling position so that when one is being filled the bale in the other can be completed and removed.

As will be seen in FIGURE 1 there is a base member 106 and extending upwardly therefrom is a column 108 supported at its upper end by a member 110 which also forms the bed of a baling press. This column provides a rotatable support for a frame 112 which carries the baling chambers 42. In the case of the baling chamber that is in position for receiving the bat lengths above referred to, there is a ram 114 extending into the baling chamber from beneath and carrying at its upper end a platen 116.

The platen 116 supportingly engages a follower block member 118 having battens 128 extending laterally thereacross and attached thereto which support the bat lengths 92 delivered thereto.

As will be seen hereinafter the follower block 118 is supported in its lowermost position by angle members 122 on the inside of the baling chamber so that after the required number of bat lengths have been delivered to the chamber, the supporting frame 112 can be rotated to carry the filled baling chamber over into baling position while delivering an empty baling chamber into position to receive another supply of bat lengths 92.

According to well known practices the ram 114- of the hydraulic motor referred to above yields as the bat lengths 92 are pressed downwardly in the chamber against a pressure developed by releasing fluid from the cylinder of the motor through a release valve.

The tramping mechanism that compacts the bats in the baling chamber comprises a frame that includes the

side members

124 and 126 which are supported on the

members

110 and 106. Laterally extending beams 128 extend between the upper ends of

members

124 and 126 forming a head portion for the tramping mechanism. Bearing blocks 130 suspended from the beams 128 rotatably support a shaft 132 driven by a chain 134 that engages a sprocket 136 on the shaft. The outer ends of shaft 132 carry counterweighted crank arms 138 which have attached thereto the connecting rods 140 which at their lower ends are interconnected by a spreader member 142. A shaft 144 is journaled in the extreme lower ends of connecting rods 140 and has fixed thereto a pair of spaced channels 146. Extending laterally beneath channels 146 are other channel members 148 having attached to their undersides the battens 150 which provide the means for directly engaging the bat of cotton being tramped. These battens, together with those referred to in connection with the follower block 118, provide means whereby air can readily escape from cotton in the baling chamber as it is tramped.

Reference to FIGURE 3 will show that the tramping structure above described has arms 152 attached to the channel members 146 and extending rearwardly therefrom to pivot points 154 provided on support members 156 which are fixed to the tramper frame. The arrangement is such that the tramper platen or upper block takes an arcuate movement about the pivot axis defined by the pivots 154 as shaft 132 is driven in rotation. The movement of the platen is timed with the bat feeding and bat separating and table reciprocating mechanism so that the tramping of the cotton follows immediately the depositing of a bat length in the baling chamber.

The correlation of the various drives is best illustrated in FIGURE 11 taken in connection with FIGURES 2, 3 and 6 thru 9. In these figures, and with particular reference to FIGURE 11, a motor M may be provided attached to shaft 158 extending laterally of the machine generally beneath the accumulator and journaled in suitable bearings that may be supported on the side plates 40 of the mechanism. This shaft is connected by chain and sprocket drive means 160 with a shaft 162 which carries one of a set of eccentric or elliptical gears 164, the other of which is mounted on shaft 186 to which is attached sprocket 90 that is connected for driving the accelerator rollers.

The shaft 158 also has a sprocket thereon that drives the chain 134 which, as described previously, drives the tramping mechanism.

A still further chain drive, indicated by chain 168, drives a sprocket on a transverse shaft 170. This transverse shaft 17 t) has another sprocket thereon which drives through a chain 172 to a sprocket 174 on shaft 102, rotation of which, as mentioned previously causes reciprocation of table 94.

The aforementioned shaft also has a sprocket thereon that drives through a chain 176 into a sprocket 178 on cam shaft 52 previously referred to which operates the bat severing mechanism.

Shaft 170 may also be availed of for driving lower feed rollers 26 as by the chain drive 188, FIGURE 11, the follower lower feed rollers being geared to the upper feed rollers 28 as previously described.

The drive to the rolls in the accumulator and including the drive to the conveyor belt is preferably taken from the same source of power that drives the condenser drum 22 since it is desirable for the accumulator to continue to operate even when the feeding and tramping mechanism is shut down. To this end, there is a chain 198 driving one of the doffing rolls 24, the other roll 24 being geared by geaning 196 thereto and driving a chain 182 which, in turn, drives the input member of a reversing mechanism generally indicated at 184 in FIGURE 11 and shown diagrammatically in section in FIGURE 12. The output of the reversing mechanism is connected by chain 186 with a first sprocket 188 attached to a reversible roll 36 which is located at the entrance of the accumulator.

This chain also engages sprocket 192 which is attached to the one of the rolls 32 that is associated with the conveyor belt 34. This last mentioned roll is geared to the accumulator rolls by the gearing generally indicated at 194 in FIGURE 2.

This gearing provides for all of the rolls 32 and the belt 34 to rotate in the same direction while the reversing mechanism provides means for reversing the direction of rotation of the rolls and belt.

Since it is desired for the accumulator mechanism to be reversibly driven, the reversing drive 184 is provided which is illustrated in FIGURE 12. In FIGURE 12. it will be noted that chain 182 drives a sprocket 200 fixed to a shaft 202 on which there is rotatable a first bevel gear 204. This gear meshes with an idler bevel gear 206 which in turn meshes With still another bevel gear 208 rotatable on shaft 202 but fixed to sprocket 210 about which chain 186 passes. The bevel gears 204 and 208 are provided with clutch elements 212 engageable by corresponding clutch elements on a reciprocating clutch member 214 which is slidably keyed, as by key 216, to shaft 202.

An arm 218 associated with the clutch member is normally urged by a spring 220 to engage the clutch member with gear 208 in which case the gear 208 runs the same direction as shaft 202. The drive to the accumulator can be reversed by energization of solenoid 222 which will engage clutch member 214 with gear 204 and, in which case, gear 208 will be driven in a direction opposite to shaft 202. By this arrangement the accumulator drive can be reversed at any time for storing up the bat of cotton, and can then again be reversed for delivering the bat to the feed rolls and thence to the tramping mechanism.

In operation, assuming the mechanism to be in about its FIGURE 3 position, the bat 12 will be continuously delivered downwardly through the feed rollers and shorter bat lengths will be separated therefrom at the bat separating station and these shorter lengths will be delivered by the accumulator rollers to the table or pan 94 which will drop the bats 92 into the baling chamber whereupon they are tramped by the tramping mechanism so as to compact the bats and compress air therefrom. When the baling chamber is filled to the desired degree the accumulator drive is reversed so that the bat 12 will commence to be accumulated therein. In order to interrupt the operation of the tramping and feeding mechanism during the time that the baling chamber is being changed, there may be provided a clutch 250 located between drive motor M and one of the shafts of the driven mechanism, for example, shaft 158 so that this clutch can be disengaged when the tramping mechanism is in an elevated position and the operation of the tramping mechanism and the feed mechanism will be interrupted until the baling chamber is changed by rotating frame 112 to carry the filled baling chamber out of tramping position and to move the empty baling chamber into tramping position.

When the new bale is in tramping position, the drive to the accumulator is again reversed, the ram 114 is raised upwardly to its uppermost position, clutch 250 is again closed, and delivery of bats 92 to the baling chamber is again resumed.

The filled baling chamber is now in position over another ram 224 which can be utilized for the high pressure compacting of the bale before it is bound and pressed from the baling chamber.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the arrangement of the invention is operable for extremely rapidly delivering at least partially de-aired bats of cotton of uniform length to a baling chamber with the delivery of the bats to the chamber being accomplished in the shortest possible time whereby the maximum amount of time is available for compacting and de-airing the so delivered bats. The tramping mechanism does not have to wait on the delivery of the bats as would be the case if the bats were delivered at the same linear speed as the original bat is delivered from the condenser drum, but instead the maximum amount of time is available for the tramping mechanism to operate.

Furthermore, if the bats are partially de-aired because of having been compacted during their travel between the feed and accelerator rollers, a minimum amount of air remains in the bats to be expelled therefrom by the tramping mechanism. Accordingly, highly emcient and extremely rapid baling can be accomplished according to the present invention.

It has been mentioned before that the forming of the continuous bat delivered from the condenser drum 22 into short bats is of advantage in assisting in blending of the lint cotton when the bales are subsequently broken open and the cotton processed in the mill.

The provision of the accumulator permits the mechanism to operate with a substantially continuous supply thereto so that the ginning and cleaning operations preceding the baling operation carried out by the mechanism of the present invention need not be interrupted during the time that the baling chambers are being changed. This is of particular advantage during the busy season when it is necessary to operate ginning establishments at maximum capacity to take care of the supply of cotton being delivered thereto.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for feeding and tramping lint cotton; feed rolls resiliently urged toward each other operable for feeding a hat of lint cotton of about the width of a baling chamber while simultaneously de-airing the bat, a severing station comprising a platform to which the bat is delivered by said feed rolls, means including tines operable periodically to engage the bat on the platform adjacent the feed rolls to halt the bat, means including other tines also operable periodically to engage the bat in the same region at the same time and to sever the bat to divide the bat into short lengths about the length of a baling chamber, other feed means including other feed rolls resiliently urged toward each other operable for receiving the short lengths from the severing station and for advancing them at accelerated speed to a baling chamber one at a time, and a reciprocating tramper operable for tramping the short lengths in the chamber.

2. In an apparatus for feeding and tramping lint cotton; feed rolls resiliently urged toward each other operable for feeding a bat of lint cotton of about the width of a baling chamber while simultaneously de-airing the bat, a severing station comprising a platform to which the bat is delivered by said feed rolls, means including tines operable periodically to engage the bat on the platform adjacent the feed rolls to halt the bat, means including other tines also operable periodically to engage the bat in the same region at the same time and to sever the bat to divide the bat into short lengths about the length of a baling chamber, other feed means including other feed rolls resiliently urged toward each other operable for receiving the short lengths from the severing station and for advancing them at accelerated speed to a baling chamber one at a time, and a reciprocating tramper operable for tramping the short lengths in the chamber, said other feed means further including a reciprocating tray movable to and from a position above said chamber timed so as to advance over the chamber when a short length is fed thereto so as to support the said short length and retractable prior to the advance of said tramper, there being a stripper member to prevent the short length from retracting with the tray.

3. In an apparatus for feeding and tramping cotton fibers; a plurality of pairs of feed rolls resiliently urged toward each other and arranged in an inclined path operable for feeding and de-airing a bat of cotton fibers; an inclined table positioned to receive the bat fed by the rolls, a first member extending transversely of the table at the feed roll end having tines to engage and halt the bat and reciprocable toward and away from bat engaging position, a second member parallel with the first member also having tines to engage the bat closely adjacent the first tines reciprocable toward and away from bat engaging position and movable longitudinally of the table when in bat engaging position, said members being reciprocable in timed relation to said feed rolls so as periodically to engage and halt said bat and sever the bat, feed roll means positioned to receive the severed short lengths of the hat, a horizontal tray reciprocable from beneath said feed roll means to a position ahead of the feed roll means and over the baling chamber, a tramper reciprocable into the baling chamber, means interconnecting the tramper and tray so the tray retracts when the tramper advances, means interconnecting said feed roll means with the tray for accelerated rotation of the feed roll means when the tray is advanced and means connecting the feed roll means to said members for operation in timed relation thereto.

4. An apparatus for advancing cotton fiber from a condenser drum to a baling chamber and tramping it therein comprising; a frame, a tramper member in the frame reciprocable into the upper end of a baling chamber, a feed tray reciprocable horizontally over the top of the chamber connected with the tramper so as to retract when the tramper advances and to advance when the tramper retracts, feed roll means for delivering short bats of cotton fiber to the tray when the tray is advanced, said feed roll means being connected with the tray via drive means that produces accelerated speed of the feed roll means when the tray is advanced to receive a bat and reduced speed thereof when the tray is retracted and the tramper is advanced, and means operable to receive a continuous hat of cotton from a condenser drum and to advance and de-air the bat and to sever the continuous bat into short bats.

5. An apparatus for advancing cotton fiber from a condenser drum to a baling chamber and tramping it therein comprising; a frame, a tramper member in the frame reciprocable into the upper end of a baling chamber, a feed tray reciprocable horizontally over the top of the chamber connected with the tramper so as to retract When the tramper advances and to advance when the tramper retracts, feed roll means for delivering short bats of cotton fiber to the tray when the tray is advanced, said feed roll means being connected with the tray via drive means that produces accelerated speed of the feed roll means when the tray is advanced to receive a bat and reduced speed thereof when the tray is retracted and the tramper is advanced, a plurality of pairs of feed rolls operable to receive a bat from a condenser drum and advance it toward said feed roll means, and severing means between the feed rolls and feed roll means operable periodically to engage and halt said bat and to sever the bat at the point of engagement to provide the said short bats, said severing means delivering the short bats directly to said feed roll means, and said severing means and feed rolls being operated in timed relation to said feed tray and tramper.

6. In a bat feeding and severing mechanism; a plurality of pairs of feed rolls resiliently urged toward each other and driven in unison operable to receive a bat and advance it while simultaneously at least partially de-airing the bat, an inclined platform across which the bat is fed by the feed rolls, a first set of tines adjacent the feed roll end of the platform driven in timed relation to the feed rolls to engage the bat at predetermined intervals and halt the hat, a second set of tines staggered relative to the first set driven together with the first set of tines to engage the bat adjacent the point of engagement thereof by the first set of tines and at the same time, and also driven to move longitudinally of the bat While both sets of tines are engaged therewith to sever the bat.

7. In a bat feeding and severing mechanism, a plurality of pairs of feed rolls resiliently urged toward each other and driven in unison operable to receive a hat of cotton fibers and to advance the bat while simultaneously at least partially de-airing the bat, an inclined platform across which the bat is fed by the feed rolls, a first member having a set of tines adjacent the feed roll end of the platform and therebeneath driven in timed relation to the feed rolls to move upwardly and bring the tines thereof into engagement with the bat to halt the bat at predetermined intervals, a second member and also having tines thereon above the platform driven together with the first member to move downwardly and bring the tines thereof into engagement with the bat at about the same time the first set of tines engage the bat and in about the same region, and means for moving said second member longitudinally of the bat while both sets of tines are engaged therewith to sever the bat into predetermined lengths.

8. In a bat feeding and severing mechanism, a plurality of pairs of feed rolls resiliently urged toward each other and driven in unison operable to receive a hat of cotton fibers and to advance the bat while simultaneously at least partially de-airing the bat, an inclined platform across which the bat is fed by the feed rolls, a first member having a set of tines adjacent the feed roll end of the platform and therebeneath driven in timed relation to the feed rolls to move upwardly and bring the tines thereof into engagement with the bat to halt the bat at predetermined intervals, a second member and also having tines thereon above the platform driven together with the first member to move downwardly and bring the I tines thereof into engagement with the bat at about the same time the first set of tines engage the bat and in about the same region, and means for moving said second member longitudinally of the bat while both sets of tines are engaged therewith to sever the bat into predetermined lengths, the means for driving said first and second members comprising a cam shaft and earns thereon operatively engaging said members.

9. An apparatus for receiving a bat of cotton fibers from a continuously rotating condenser drum and for advancing the bat to a baling chamber comprising; a plurality of pairs of feed roll means arranged in a row and operable for receiving the bat from the drum at one end of the row and for advancing it toward the baling chamber, severing station means at the other end of the row operable for receiving the bat from the feed rolls and for severing the bat into short lengths during its travel toward the baling chamber, accelerating feed roll means operable for receiving the short lengths and advancing them at accelerated speed to the baling chamber, means for interrupting the operation of the feed roll means and severing means when the baling chamber is filled to permit the baling chamber to be replaced by another, accumulator means located between the condenser drum and the feed rolls operable for receiving and accumulating the bat from the condenser drum While the operation of the feed roll means and severing means is interrupted, said accumulator means comprising a plurality of reversibly driven rolls confining a cavity for receiving the bat, and reversibly driven means at the inlet of the accumulator operable in one driven direction to divert the bat from the condenser drum into the accumulator and in the other driven direction to divert the bat from the condenser drum into the feed rolls while simultaneously discharging from the accumulator any cotton fibers therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 252,922 Bacon Jan. 31, 1882 429,640 Rembert June 10, 1890 840,534 Webb Jan. 8, 1907 1,340,964 Ligon May 25, 1920 1,437,921 Stobie Dec. 5, 1922 1,881,774 Mackenzie Oct. 11, 1932 2,059,229 Gregg Nov. 3, 1936