US3305182A

US3305182A - Crush roll system

Info

Publication number: US3305182A
Application number: US393018A
Authority: US
Inventors: Allen D Layson; John R Caldwell
Original assignee: Southern States LLC
Current assignee: Southern States LLC
Priority date: 1964-08-31
Filing date: 1964-08-31
Publication date: 1967-02-21
Anticipated expiration: 1984-02-21

Description

Feb. 21, 1967 A. D. LAYSON ETAL CRUSH ROLL SYSTEM Filed Aug. 31 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN JOHN R. CAL ALLEN D. LAYSON ATTORNEY ELL Feb. 21, 1967 LAYSO ETAL 3,305,182

CRUSH ROLL SYSTEM Filed Aug. 31, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 III] m I @//1 1 i "g w a Q i w l5 FIG. 6

INVENTORS JOHN R. CALDWELL ALLEN D. LAYSON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,305,182 CRUSH ROLL SYSTEM Allen D. Layson and John R. Caldwell, Hampton, Ga., assignors to Southern States, Inc., a corporation of Georgia Filed Aug. 31, 1964, Ser. No. 393,018 7 Claims. (Cl. 241-232) This invention relates to crush roll systems and more particularly to a crush roll arrangement for use with textile cards.

Known crush rolls for textile cards are arranged so that the carded yarn from a card machine is run between the rolls so as to crush and hence remove foreign particles such as dried leaf and stem particles and the like. While known arrangements perform satisfactorily in removing the foreign particles, such systems frequently cause damage and undesired changes to the fiber itself which in turn result in lowered quality of the finished product and are characterized by a lack of consistency and reliability in the performance of the crushing operation. Known systems also are provided with stationary elements on which fiber accumulates constantly. Such fiber eventually falls onto the web of fiber being processed and when it reaches the trumpet at the calender rolls, causes a break in the web because the large mass cannot pass through the trumpet.

A principal object of this invention is to provide an improved crush roll system which is characterized by a uniform high quality finished product.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a crush roll arrangement for use with textile cards which arrangement is specially constructed to perform an efficient crushing operation with respect to foreign par ticles desired to be removed and yet which produces a clean fiber which is the substantial equivalent of fiber produced by an ordinary card wherein the foreign particles are not removed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a crush roll arrangement wherein the pressure between the rolls is easily and precisely adjustable over a wide range of pressure so as to render the system readily adaptable to a wide variety of fibers and service conditions.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an arrangement wherein relative surface movement between the crushing surfaces of a pair of crush rolls is effectively prevented so as to avoid a scrubbing action and thereby to improve the quality of the finished product.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a system of crush rolls which is peculiarly adaptable to particular service conditions of a widely diverse nature so as to eliminate interruption in the process due to breakage of the fiber being processed.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved crush roll system for textile cards which utilizes a minimum of exposed stationary surfaces and which incorporates a special rotatable umbrella roll disposed above the crush rolls which constantly sheds the accumulating fibers out the web and thus effectively prevents the sudden and precipitous deposit of a large accumulation of fiber onto the web being processed and thereby serves to prevent breakage of the web due to this cause.

A still further object of the invention is to arrange the crush rolls relative to the comb and doffer so that automatic resumption of the crushing process is effected should a web severance occur for any reason.

The invention in one form as applied to a pair of crush rolls comprises a combination umbrella and pressure roll rotatably mounted on a fixed bearing, a first crush roll in rolling contact with the pressure roll and mounted on bearings which are supported in movable support means, the second crush roll being in rolling 3,305,182 Patented Feb. 21, 1967 contact with the first crush roll, and wherein force applying means is arranged to apply an adjustable force to the second crush roll thereby to force both crush rolls toward the pressure roll. In accordance with one facet of the invention, the movable support means for the bearings and crush rolls is arranged so that changes in the force applied thereto do not affect the positional relationship therebetween. According to another facet of the invention, the force applying means is arranged so that adjustments may be made therein during operation of the machine as well as during periods when the machine is shut down by virtue of a readily adjustable biasing element, the force of which is varied by changing the relative position of a pair of adjusting elements and wherein the positional relationship of such elements is maintained in a desired relationship by a holding element.

According to another facet of the invention, a pair of scrapers are provided for engaging and cleaning automatically the crushing surfaces of the crush rolls and a common biasing spring is used to apply uniformly consistent biasing pressure to each roll scraper. According to still another facet of the invention the combination umbrella and pressure roll is disposed atop the mechanism so that fibers falling on the mechanism first strike the combination roll which of course is constantly rotating and thus shedding the fiber at a constant rate thereby avoiding a sudden dumping of a large amount of fiber onto the web at once. According to yet another feature of the invention, the crush rolls are disposed close to and slightly below the comb so that any breakage for any cause the web is temporary and so that prompt and automatic resumption of the process is effected.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a crush roll system embodying the invention; FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 22 as indicated in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a force applying element constituting a facet of the invention; FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 and showing certain portions of the structure broken away to reveal the internal mechanism; FIG. 5 is an end view of the crush roll system as viewed from the opposite end from that depicted in FIG. 1 and showing the relative position of the crush roll system with respect to a schematically depicted card; and in which FIG. 6 is a top view of the crush roll system.

With reference to FIG. 1, the numeral 1 designates a portion of the frame of the system. It will be understood that the frame 1 is rigidly attached to or forms a part of the frame of the associated card. A combination umbrella and pressure roll 2 is rotatably mounted at its ends in bearings 3 which are fixedly secured to frame 1. A first crush roll 4 is mounted at its ends in bearings 5 which in turn are mounted in a pair of movable bearing supports 6 which are pivoted to frame 1 at 7. A second crush roll 8 is rotatably mounted at its ends in bearings 9 which are mounted in a pair of movable bearing supports 10. Bearing supports 10 are pivotally mounted to frame 1 at 11.

For the purpose of imparting crushing force to the crush rolls 4 and 8 whereby fiber from card 12 is passed therebetween for the purpose of removing impurities by crushing action in known manner, force applying means in the form of a link 13, crank 14 and adjustable biasing imeans generally designated at 15 are provided at each end of the rolls. Link 13 is pivoted at 16 to an end of bearing support 10 remote from its pivotal mounting 11. Link 13 is pivoted to crank 14 at 17. Crank 14 is pivoted to frame 1 at 18. Crank 14 is pivotally connected to biasing element 15 at 19. Biasing element 15 is pivotally mounted to the frame 1 at 20.

From the structural description thus far, it is apparent that a force applied to each crank arm 14 by biasing elements 15 and which tends to rotate the crank 14 in a clockwise direction about points 18 as viewed in FIG. 5, tends to impart a .generally upward bodily movement to links 13. Such movement of links 13 tends to swing bearing supports in a clockwise direction about the pivotal mounting 11. This tendency of bearing support 10 and associated structure of course tends to elevate crush roll 8 into crushing contact with the crush roll 4. Hence bearing support 6 and its associated bearing 5 are free to swing about the pivotal mounting 7. Upward movement of links 13 tends to force crush roll 4 into rolling contact with pressure roll 2. Since pressure roll 2 is mounted in fixed bearings 3, the overall effect of the bias of biasing elements is simply to control the crushing force between the first crush roll 4 and the second crush roll 8.

In order to minimize the effects of wear of the pressure roll 2 it may be desirable to dispose the axis of pressure roll 2 at an angle with respect to the axes of crush rolls 4 and 8 as best shown in FIG. 6. Thus since the pressure roll 2 is considerably shorter than the crush rolls 4 and 8 which are of equal length, it is apparent that contact between the pressure roll 2 and the crush roll 4 is only at the midportion of these rolls. Furthermore, it is apparent that any wearing will not result in a sudden ridge or change in the surface of crush roll 4. Thus as wear takes place over a period of time, uniform contact between rolls 4 and 8 may readily be maintained by simply adjusting the bias of biasing elements 15.

Biasing elements 15 may be adjusted for the purpose of adapting the system to a particular fiber and to particular pressure and crush roll surface conditions over a wide range of circumstances.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the crush rolls 4 and 8 are provided with driving means in the form of a sprocket 21 afiixed to the shaft 22 of one of a conventional pair of calender rolls 23 normally used in conjunction with conventional cards such as are designated by the numeral 12 in the drawing. Of course calender roll 23 cooperates with a similar calender roll 24. A driving chain 25 is disposed about sprocket 21 and imparts rotary motion to a sprocket 26' affixed to shaft 27 of the second crush roll 8. Affixed to shaft 27 is a driving pinion 28 which is provided with teeth which mesh with a driven pinion 29 afiixed to shaft 30 of crush roll 4. Thus rotation of the calender roll 23 and associated parts results in the application of a positive driving force to the crush rolls 4 and 8. In this manner the contacting crushing surfaces of the crush rolls 4 and 8 are driven at uniform constant speed at all times so that relative motion therebetween is prohibited. In this way a scrubbing action of the fiber being forced between the rolls 4 and 8 is prevented and a uniform condition and quality of the finished product insured.

As can best be seen from FIG. 4 each adjustable biasing means 15 forming an integral part of the force applying means comprises a compression spring 31 mounted about a stem 32 which in turn is afiixed by a pin 33 to the pivot block 34 having pivot pin 20 disposed therein. Biasing spring 31 engages one end of a movable force applying generally cup-shaped element 35 which is slidably mounted on pin 32. As can best be seen in FIG. 3 the slidable biasing element 35 is provided with pivot means 19 which engages the corresponding pivotal part 19 of crank 14 as already explained. The left hand end of spring 31 as viewed in FIG. 4 engages surface 36 of a cup-like adjusting element 37 having inclined adjusting

surfaces

38 and 39 disposed about its outer periphery and at its left hand end. Cooperating with adjusting element 37 is an adjusting element 40 having inclined adjusting

surfaces

41 and 42 which cooperate with the

inclined surfaces

38 and 39 of adjusting element 37. Dis- 4 posed at the left hand end of adjusting element 40 is a serrated surface 43 which cooperates with 3. corresponding surface of holding element 44 securely afiixed to stem 32 by suitable means such as by welding adjacent the head 45 of pin 32.

In order to increase the bias imparted at pivot 19 to crank 14, the adjusting element 40 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed for example in FIG. 3. Such rotation causes the

inclined surfaces

41 and 42 of adjusting element 40 to ride up hill relative to the inclined adjusting

surfaces

38 and 39 of adjusting element 37. Such action forces adjusting element 37 downwardly and toward the right as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4 thereby increasing the bias of biasing spring 31 and the resulting force on cup-shaped biasing element 35 toward the right. In this manner crank .14 is subjected to a moment which as viewed in FIG. 5 tends to impart clockwise rotation thereto about its fulcrum 18. As already explained such a force tends to elevate the associated link 13 bodily and to increase the crushing force between the engaging surfaces of crush rolls 4 and 8. Of course movement of adjusting element 40 in a clockwise direction as viewed for example in FIG. 3 reduces the crushing force between rolls 4 and 8.

As the fiber leaves the cylinder of the card 12 due to the action of the comb 46 as shown in FIG. 5, it passes directly to and between the crush rolls 4 and 8. It is possible that the extreme edges of the fiber may tend to become entangled in moving parts. To prevent the edges of the fiber from becoming entangled with moving parts, a pair of

shields

47 and 48 are mounted on the frame 1 to isolate the fiber from the moving parts.

The edges of the web may become frayed. In order to consolidate the frayed edges and to prevent the start of tears at the edges, 21 pair of bevel-shaped

guides

49 and 51 are used.

For cleaning the crush rolls 4 and 8 a pair of scrapers 51 and 52 are provided for the rolls 4 and 8 respectively, as viewed in FIG. 2. Scraper 51 is provided with a blade 53 and is pivoted at 54 to the frame 1. Likewise, scraper 52 is provided with a blade 55 and is pivoted to the frame 1 at 56. The scrapers may be cleaned quickly and easily while the machine is running by simply unloading the springs and swinging the scrapers away from their respective rolls.

Since the rolls 4 and 8 rotate in opposite directions, the scrapers and their blades are arranged oppositely so that a common biasing element such as 57 may be utilized to maintain the blades in secure engagement with their associated rolls. Preferably the tension spring 57 is provided with a protective tubular sleeve 58 arranged in any suitable manner as shown for example in FIG. 2.

From the description above it is apparent that the crush roll system of this invention is peculiarly adapted to maintain a desired crushing pressure between the rolls 4 and 8 and that these rolls are driven in such a way as to prevent any relative sliding motion therebetween. In view of this facet of the invention the quality of the fiber after removal of the foreign particles therefrom due to passage between rolls 4 and 8 is greatly improved and is maintained at a uniform quality. Furthermore, since the bearing supports 5 and 10 are arranged so that their pivot points 7 and 11 and their associated bearings 5 and 9 form the sides of a parallelogram, the rolls 4 and 8 are always maintained in a predetermined relationship. For this reason adjustments in pressure do not effect changes and other variables which might have a deleterious effect on the finished product and might impede the efficacy of the procedure of cleaning the fiber by the crush roll system of this invention. a

From FIG. 5 it is apparent that the point of removal of the fiber from the dotfer 12 immediately adjacent the comb 46 is close to and immediately above roll 8 so that a break or hole in the web occurring between the comb 46 and the crush rolls does not interrupt the process since the web coming from the doifer simply falls on the roll 8 and the web is thus immediately and automatically drawn between the crush rolls 4 and 8. If a sudden air current causes the Web to engage the roll 4 due to breakage of the web, the roll 4 will simply draw the web between the rolls 4 and 8. In this connection, the fact that the axes of all the rolls are aligned at an angle as shown in FIG. 2 is believed to contribute to the automatic resumption of processing of a broken web since the rolls 4 and 8 act as a shelf to receive a broken end of web as it comes from the doffer.

The pressure roll 2, being disposed atop the mechanism and being constantly rotating serves to shed fiber from the air onto the lower rolls or onto the web at a constant rate. Thus the pressure roll 2 also performs an umbrella function and prevents the sudden dumping of large accumulations of fiber onto the web which will break the web because of the inability to pass through the trumpet.

While a particular arrangement has been shown and described, the invention is not limited thereto and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A crush roll system comprising a support frame, a pressure roll rotatably mounted on said frame, a first pair of bearings movably mounted on said frame, a first crush roll rotatably mounted in said first pair of bearings and in rolling contact with said pressure roll, a second pair of bearings movably mounted on said frame, a second crush roll rotatably mounted in said second pair of bearings and disposed in rolling contact with said first crush roll, and force applying means connected with said second pair of bearings for urging said second crush roll toward said first crush roll and for urging said first crush roll into rolling contact with said pressure roll whereby crushing force is imparted to said crush rolls, the axes of said crush rolls being substantially parallel and the axis of said pressure roll being disposed at an angle to the axes of said crush rolls whereby contact between said first crush roll and said pressure roll is at the midportions thereof.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the pressure roll is disposed generally above the crush rolls so that rotation of said pressure roll causes fibers from the air to be shed and deposited on the web at a constant slow rate rather than precipitously at spaced intervals. i

3. A crush roll system comprising a support frame, a pressure roll rotatably mounted on said frame, a first pair of bearings movably mounted on said frame, a first crush roll rotatably mounted in said first pair of bearings and in rolling contact with said pressure roll, a second pair of bearings movably mounted on said frame, a second crush roll rotatably mounted in said second pair of bearings and disposed in rolling contact with said first.

crush roll, a bearing support for each of said bearings, said bearing supports being pivotally mounted on said frame, crank means pivotally mounted on said frame, biasing means arranged to impart a moment to said crank means, and linkage means pivotally connected to said crank means and to said bearing supports for said second crush roll whereby said second crush roll is urged toward said first crush roll and said first crush roll is urged into rolling contact with said pressure roll thereby to impart crushing force to said crush rolls.

4. A system according to claim 3 wherein said biasing means comprises spring means and relatively rotatable and axially movable adjusting elements for varying the bias of said spring means.

5. An arrangement according to claim 4- wherein a holding element is arranged to engage one of said adjusting elements for securing a desired positional relationship between said adjusting elements.

6. An arrangement according to claim 5 wherein said holding element is provided with a serrated surface for engaging a serrated surface of said one adjusting element under the force of said spring means and thereby to maintain a desired crushing force on said crush rolls.

7. An arrangement according to claim 3 wherein said adjusting elements are provided With mating inclined surfaces for imparting relative axial movement to said adjusting elements in coordination with relative rotation thereof thereby to vary the bias of said spring means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 133,832 12/1872 Comstock 19-106 373,408 11/1887 Mawhood 241167 X 1,553,643 9/1925 Steele 19106 1,579,998 4/1926 Becker et a1. 241-232 2,854,700 10/1958 Caspari et al 1965 X FOREIGN PATENTS 274,784 7/ 1927 Great Britain.

ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primary Examiner.