US3472107A - Tow cutting apparatus having knife resharpening means - Google Patents

Tow cutting apparatus having knife resharpening means Download PDF

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Publication number
US3472107A
US3472107A US608614A US3472107DA US3472107A US 3472107 A US3472107 A US 3472107A US 608614 A US608614 A US 608614A US 3472107D A US3472107D A US 3472107DA US 3472107 A US3472107 A US 3472107A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
knives
knife
tow
grinding disc
grinding
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US608614A
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English (en)
Inventor
James W Ij Heijnis
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Akzona Inc
Original Assignee
American Enka Corp
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by American Enka Corp filed Critical American Enka Corp
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Publication of US3472107A publication Critical patent/US3472107A/en
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Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D01—NATURAL OR MAN-MADE THREADS OR FIBRES; SPINNING
    • D01G—PRELIMINARY TREATMENT OF FIBRES, e.g. FOR SPINNING
    • D01G1/00—Severing continuous filaments or long fibres, e.g. stapling
    • D01G1/02—Severing continuous filaments or long fibres, e.g. stapling to form staple fibres not delivered in strand form
    • D01G1/04—Severing continuous filaments or long fibres, e.g. stapling to form staple fibres not delivered in strand form by cutting
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S83/00—Cutting
    • Y10S83/913—Filament to staple fiber cutting
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T83/00—Cutting
    • Y10T83/162—With control means responsive to replaceable or selectable information program
    • Y10T83/173—Arithmetically determined program
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T83/00—Cutting
    • Y10T83/303—With tool sharpener or smoother
    • Y10T83/313—Spatially fixed tool

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to apparatus for cutting tow into staple fibers.
  • the knives may pass between the nipping teeth of two draw wheels while severing the tow clamped by and passed between said draw wheels, the clamping faces of the teeth of one of the draw wheels being on a flat surface and the clamping faces of the relatively small number of teeth'of the other draw wheel being on a conical surface which rolls in true contact with the flat surface of the first wheel,
  • edge life of a knife is to be understood the number of cuts made by the knife before the quality of the fibre begins to decline appreciably. This loss of quality is particularly noticeable by irregular or fused fibre ends, which give rise to difficulties in the further processing thereof.
  • a longer edge life has been recognized as advantageous by those skilled in the art.
  • the art has recognized that the edge life of the knives may be prolonged by regrinding the knives during cutting.
  • a known embodiment of such an apparatus utilizes a knife in the form of a screw blade. The screw blade rotates between the teeth of two rotating cylindrical draw wheels.
  • the screw blade is sharpened by an abrasive stone which is reciprocated parallel to the shaft of the screw blade in contact with the knife edges.
  • this apparatus sufiers from drawbacks since it is difiicult and costly to accurately manufacture such screw blades.
  • the move-ment of the screw blade relative to the tow does not have a chopping as well as a cutting component.
  • the grinding or sharpening is not always satisfactory. Parts of this type of knife will still become blunt or show burrs in a relatively short time.
  • tow cutting apparatus having a rotatable cutter head with a plurality of knives mounted in the rim thereof is utilized in combination with a rotatable grinding disc which is positioned facing the hyperboloid surface which is generated by the path of the knife edges.
  • the grinding disc which is adjustably positioned, is coupled to an actuating system which may move the disc along a straight generatrix of said hyperboloid surface.
  • the present invention has the further advantage that the grinding disc may be moved out of contact with the knives in a simple way by periodically lengthening the traverse stroke of the grinding disc so that it is moved beyond the tips of the knives. This procedure avoids grinding the knives continuously so that the knives are not ground longer than is necessary to keep them sharp.
  • the edge life of the knives may be limited by the decreasing grinding action of a worn grinding disc.
  • this limiting factor on the edge life of the knives may be obviated by providing a diamond point or similar means for reconditioning the grinding disc when necessary.
  • FIGURE 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of a tow cutting apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the means for regulating the grinding disc being shown somewhat diagrammatically.
  • FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the FIGURE 1 embodiment omitting the grinding disc and associated control means.
  • FIGURE 3 is a partial cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale showing the position of a knife with respect to the cooperating teeth of the draw rollers.
  • FIGURE 4 is a partial plan view on an enlarged scale showing details of the connection of a knife to the cutter head and further illustrating the relationship of a knife to the tow to be cut.
  • FIGURE 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 4.
  • FIGURE 6 is a somewhat diagrammatic view illustrating the movement of the grinding disc.
  • FIGURE 1 there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the present invention which includes a pair of cooperating draw wheels 1 and 2.
  • the larger draw wheel 1 is rotated by a shaft 3 which is supported in bearings 5 and 6.
  • the smaller draw wheel 2 has a conical ci1'- cumferential rim and is rotated by a shaft 4 which is supported in bearings 7 and 8.
  • the shafts 3 and 4 lie in the same horizontal plane so that the conical rim of the draw wheel 2 can rotate about its axis while coming into true contact with the surface of draw wheel 1.
  • the draw wheels 1 and 2 are provided at their circumferential rims with teeth 9 and 10 respectively.
  • the number of teeth 9 of the larger draw wheel is a multiple of the number of teeth 10 of th draw wheel 2.
  • the teeth 10 are provided in the conical rim so that the teeth 9 and 10 which have the same pitch come into rolling contact to clamp the tow, but do not intermesh.
  • a gear rim 11 which is splined to the shaft 3 of the draw wheel 1 and a cooperating conical gear 12 on the shaft 4 of the draw wheel 2 ensure that the circumferential speeds of the draw wheels are equal.
  • a cutter head 13 is rotated by a shaft 14 which is supported in bearings 15 and 16.
  • the shaft 14 is parallel to the plane containing shafts 3 and 4, and shaft 14 crosses shaft 3 at an angle of 45.
  • the shaft 14 can also be coupled to the shaft 3; see Patent No. 3,150,552 dated Sept. 29, 1964.
  • a plurality of knives 17 equal in number to the number of teeth 10 of draw wheel 2 are mounted in the rim of the cutter head 13. The knives are positioned about shaft 14 at a helix angle of about 45".
  • a tow is drawn between the draw wheels 1 and 2 to be cut into staple fiber which falls down in the form of tufts (not shown).
  • a typical tow may be, for example, a 250,000 denier tow composed of filaments each having a 1.5 denier.
  • FIGURE 3 the tow is clamped between resilient gripping surfaces 18 and 19 which are secured to the teeth 9 and 10 respectively.
  • the gripping surfaces are made of rubber or similar material.
  • This figure illustrates the position of a knife 17 relative to the teeth 9 and 10 at the moment the tow is about to be cut. The dash lines indicate subsequent positions of the knife.
  • FIGURE 4 which also illustrates the mounting of a knife 17 in the cutter head 13.
  • Each knife is positioned within a knife holder 22 which extends into a channel 32 provided in the cutter head 13.
  • the holder 22 is dovetailed to fit between a clamping block 23 and an abutment 21.
  • a bolt 24 and an associated washer 33 are located in a bore 25 with the bolt extending through a counterbore in abutment 21 into threaded engagement with the clamping block 23. By loosening bolt 24, the position of the knife holder may be adjusted.
  • a grinding disc 26 is utilized to resharpen the knives 17. As shown in FIGURE 1, the grinding disc is positioned at an angular dstance of about 90 from the point relative to the cutter head where the two draw wheels contact each other. The grinding disc 26 is so positioned that its working surface makes an angle of a few degrees with the surface of the knife being resharpened. As a result, at any given time, only one side of the grinding disc will be in contact with a knife.
  • a motor 27 which is employed to rotate the grinding disc is mounted on a slidable support 28 which may be reciprocated along a guide 29 essentially parallel to shaft 14. The guide 29 is positioned essentially parallel to the edge of a knife which is being resharpened by the grinding disc. Thus, guide 29 is parallel to the generatrix of the hyperboloid surface generated by the movement of the edges of knives 17 so that the point of contact between the grinding disc and the knives is traversed along said generatrix.
  • the grinding disc 26 in addition to its rotary movement about its axis, makes a traversing movement over a distance which corresponds to the length of the knife edge. After a predetermined grinding period, the support 28 is moved within guide 29 to a position in which the grinding disc 26 no longer contacts the knives 17.
  • the position of guide 29 within a support 56 may be adjusted in any known manner, for example, by means of bolts passing through slots in the walls of guide 29 and support 56. After the knives have been ground several times, the position of guide 29 may be adjusted to compensate for disc and knife wear.
  • Suitable control means such as a r.p.m. counter 42 is operatively connected to a motor 40 driving shaft 3 to sense the number of revolutions of shaft 3. This signal is fed to a programmed controller 44 which is operatively connected to a transmission 46 associated with the drive motor of shaft 3.
  • the programmed controller When shaft 3 and hence cutter head 13 have made a predetermined number of revolutions, usually between 1,000 and 10,000 and preferably about 2500 revolutions, the programmed controller operatively connects a grinder actuator 48 to the motor driving shaft 3 via the transmission.
  • Suitable linkages 50 and 52 connect the transmission to the motor 40 and grinder actuator 48, respectively.
  • the grinder actuator 48 thereupon moves the grinding disc 26 from an inoperative position to an operative position in which it may traverse the blades of knives 17 by means of a suitable mechanical linkage 54.
  • the programmed controller actuates motor 27 to rotate the grinding disc. After a predetermined period of time sufficient to resharpen knives 17, support 28 which carries the grinding disc 26 is moved within guide 29 away from knives 17 to the inoperative position.
  • a diamond point 30 which is adjustably positioned in a support 58 is located in line with the knives 17 on the generatrix of the hyperboloid surface generated by the point of contact of the knives and the grinding disc 26.
  • the support 28 is moved further away from the knives so that the grinding disc is moved into contact with the diamond point 30 to be reconditioned.
  • This further movement to accomplish reconditioning is also carried out through the agency of the programmed controller and the grinder actuator.
  • the cutting apparatus may be kept in operation for long periods of time, for example, 1,000 to 2,000 hours. In this way, the time lost in exchanging worn knives is reduced to a minimum, and the risk of considerable variations in the shape of the cut staple fibers is minimized.
  • FIGURE 6 schematically indicates the various positions of the grinding disc 26 relative to a knife 17. From this figure, it is evident that the grinding disc 26 moves parallel to the direction of the edge of knife 17 when the latter is in contact with the grinding disc. As seen from the various positions of the grinding disc indicated by dash lines, the grinding disc 26 may be moved into position with the diamond point 30 to be reconditioned, may be moved into an inoperative position between diamond point 30 and the path of knives 17, and may traverse the edge of the knives to an extreme left position opposite the bottom 31 of the knife edge.
  • a tow cutting apparatus comprising a pair of cooperating draw wheels having teeth to clamp tow to be cut, a rotatable cutter head positioned in operative relationship with respect to said draw wheels and having a plurality of knives mounted on its rim for cutting said tow, a shaft for rotating said cutter head, said knives being helically positioned about the shaft of said cutter head, the improvement comprising rotatable grinding means positioned facing a hyperboloid surface generated by the path of the edges of said knives, control means to move said grinding means from an inoperative position to an operative position once for each 1,00010,000 revolutions of said cutter head for resharpening the edges of said knives, and actuator means to insure movement of said grinding means in operative position along a straight generatrix of said hyperboloid surface.
  • a tow cutting apparatus comprising a pair of cooperating draw wheels having teeth to clamp tow to be cut, a rotatable cutter head positioned in operative relationship with respect to said draw Wheels and having a plurality of knives mounted on its rim for cutting said tow, a shaft for rotating said cutter head, said knives being helically positioned about the shaft of said cutter head, the improvement comprising rotatable grinding means positioned facing a hyperboloid surface generated by the path of the edges of said knives, a slide support, a
  • control means including a programmed controller to pcriodically move said grinding means from an inoperative position to an operative position for resharpening the edges of said knives, actuator means to move said support and said grinding means in its operative position parallel to the generatrix of the surface generated by the path of the edges of said knives, a drive shaft for rotating at least one of said draw Wheels, and means operatively connected to said programmed controller to sense the number of revolutions of said drive shaft.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Finish Polishing, Edge Sharpening, And Grinding By Specific Grinding Devices (AREA)
  • Manufacture, Treatment Of Glass Fibers (AREA)
  • Preliminary Treatment Of Fibers (AREA)
US608614A 1966-01-11 1967-01-11 Tow cutting apparatus having knife resharpening means Expired - Lifetime US3472107A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL6600303A NL6600303A (en)van) 1966-01-11 1966-01-11

Publications (1)

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US3472107A true US3472107A (en) 1969-10-14

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US608614A Expired - Lifetime US3472107A (en) 1966-01-11 1967-01-11 Tow cutting apparatus having knife resharpening means

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US (1) US3472107A (en)van)
BE (1) BE692328A (en)van)
DE (1) DE1660172A1 (en)van)
ES (1) ES335384A1 (en)van)
FR (1) FR1507612A (en)van)
GB (1) GB1165992A (en)van)
LU (1) LU52788A1 (en)van)
NL (1) NL6600303A (en)van)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AU608964B2 (en) * 1988-03-31 1991-04-18 Monsanto Company Carpet fiber blends
US5373763A (en) * 1992-05-28 1994-12-20 Kabushiki Kaisha Takehara Kikai Kenkyusho Apparatus for cutting fiber
US20130213204A1 (en) * 2010-09-16 2013-08-22 Schmidt & Heinzmann Gmbh & Co. Kg Fiber cutting device

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2305312A (en) * 1939-10-23 1942-12-15 Kern Rudolf Apparatus and process for comminuting fibers
US3150552A (en) * 1961-02-20 1964-09-29 American Enka Corp Apparatus for producing staple fibers
US3374699A (en) * 1964-11-25 1968-03-26 Schmermund Alfred Sharpening arrangements

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2305312A (en) * 1939-10-23 1942-12-15 Kern Rudolf Apparatus and process for comminuting fibers
US3150552A (en) * 1961-02-20 1964-09-29 American Enka Corp Apparatus for producing staple fibers
US3374699A (en) * 1964-11-25 1968-03-26 Schmermund Alfred Sharpening arrangements

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AU608964B2 (en) * 1988-03-31 1991-04-18 Monsanto Company Carpet fiber blends
US5373763A (en) * 1992-05-28 1994-12-20 Kabushiki Kaisha Takehara Kikai Kenkyusho Apparatus for cutting fiber
US20130213204A1 (en) * 2010-09-16 2013-08-22 Schmidt & Heinzmann Gmbh & Co. Kg Fiber cutting device
US9308659B2 (en) * 2010-09-16 2016-04-12 Schmidt & Heinzmann Gmbh & Co. Kg Fiber cutting device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
BE692328A (en)van) 1967-06-16
ES335384A1 (es) 1967-12-01
FR1507612A (fr) 1967-12-29
LU52788A1 (en)van) 1967-03-13
GB1165992A (en) 1969-10-01
DE1660172A1 (de) 1971-07-22
NL6600303A (en)van) 1967-07-12

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