US3523335A

US3523335A - Pneumatic clearer

Info

Publication number: US3523335A
Application number: US669355A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert M Ingbam Jr
Original assignee: Milliken Research Corp
Current assignee: Deering Milliken Research Corp; Milliken Research Corp
Priority date: 1967-09-13
Filing date: 1967-09-13
Publication date: 1970-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 1987-08-11

Description

Aug. 11, 1970 V R. M. JINGHAM, JR

PNEUMATIC CLEARER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 16, 1966 R m E v W ROBERT M. INGHAM,JR.

ATTORNEY 1970 R. M. INGHAM, JR 3,523,335

PNEUMATIC CLEARER

Original Jugs

16, 2 Sheets sheet 2 INVENTOR' ROBERT M. |NGHAM,JR.

ATTORNEY Iinitcd Patent PNEUMATIC CLEARER Robert M. Ingham, Jr., Spartanburg, S.C., assignor to Deering Milliken Research Corporation, Spartanburg, S.C., a corporation of Delaware Continuation of application Ser. No. 564,462, June 16,

1966. This application Sept. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 669,355

Int. Cl. D01h /62 US. Cl. 19-263 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application. is directed to a scraper of plasticlike abrasive resistant material which engages at least one roll, preferably the top front roll, of a drafting system to clean lint, trash, etc., therefrom. The scraper is freely movable and is operably associated with a suction system to remove lint, trash, etc., from the ambient air around the drafting system.

This application is a continuation of applicants copending patent application Ser. No. 564,462, filed June 16, 1966, now abandoned which in turn is a continuation of Ser. No. 314,240, filed Oct. 7, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to textile handling apparatus employing drafting rolls and more particularly to vacuum clearing apparatus for clearing of lint and fiber from textile rolls such as those associated with spinning frames, roving frames, and the like.

This invention relates generally to the handling of any textile fibers but in particular is exceptionally useful in the spinning of dyed worsted fibers. Such dyed worsted fibers are difficult to spin due to the repeated chemical processing of the fibers prior to spinning. In prior art textile drafting apparatus, the top rolls frequently become coated with residues of the dyestuffs causing the fibers to wrap completely around the roll and mat thereon. Such phenomena is called a lap up and has partially been corrected in the past' by the use of a clearer in contact with the roll. Such clearers are normally equipped with felted pads, sheep skin, etc., and are either the revolving type or the stationary flat type. Such clearers perform well for a while but tend to allow fiber to accumulate behind the clearer which, if not cleared by the operator, will eventually be dragged into the roll and cause one or more ends down.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a top roll vacuum clearer for a drafting system which efilciently cleans the top roll and does not require con stant cleaning by the operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a top roll vacuum clearer which will pick up fibers which tend to wrap around the top roll in case of an end down and which also will prevent accumulation of short fibers or foreign matter coming through with. the fiber being drafted.

A third object of the invention is to provide an efficient and economical top roll vacuum clearer which will maintain the top drafting roll in clean condition without constant surveillance of an operator.

3,523,335 Patented Aug. 11, 1970 "ice A still further object of the invention is to provide a close'fitting vacuum type top roll clearer for the top front roll of a drafting system which performs the dual function of physically wiping the peripheral surface of the top roll and by the employment of a vacuum system, removes the lint and debris dislodged by the wiping action, to a point of collection before such material can damage the fibers being drafted.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be clearly apparent as the specification proceeds to describe the invention with reference to the accompanying draw ings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view of the new and improved vacuum clearer as applied to a conventional drafting arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a blown up perspective view of the clearer element with a portion broken to show the internal construction thereof;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottom of clearer shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the roll clearing member employed in the apparatus of FIGS. l-3; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modification of the clearer shown in FIG. 5.

Looking at the drawings the new and improved top roll vacuum clearer 32 is shown, for the purpose of illustration, on a conventional drafting arrangement 10 to which a linear mass of staple fibers in the form of roving 12 is fed from a supply source (not shown) to the drafting arrangement 10. The drafting arrangement is schematically illustrated for purposes of simplicity of explanation and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that conventional refinements may be added thereto, if desired.

In the illustrated drafting arrangement 10 as shown three sets of drafting rolls are provided, namely

back rolls

14 and 16,

middle rolls

18 and 20, and

front rolls

22 and 24. As in conventional practice, at least one of each of these sets of rolls is driven, and each succeeding set of rolls is as usual driven at a faster rate than the preceding rolls in order to give the desired degree of drafting of the fibers in the zones between the respective pairs of rolls. As is well known in the art,

drafting aprons

26 and 28 are employed in conjunction with

middle rolls

18 and 20, respectively, to control the flow of fibers to the

front rolls

22 and 24. The fiber mass is twisted as it leaves the nip N of the front pair of

rolls

22 and 24 by the twisting action of a twisting and take-up device, which in the illustrative form of the invention takes the form of a conventional ring and traveler twister 30 onto which the drafted and twisted fiber mass is then taken up as yarn Y on the bobbin B.

In the preferred form of the invention roving 10 is dyed worsted fibers which are tender due to repeated chemical processing of the fibers and to the many drafting operations prior to spinning. These fibers therefore tend to deposit residues of the dyestuffs on the front top drafting roll 22. Such residue is extremely hard to remove and normally requires periodic clearing by the operator. To alleviate this situation and to prevent ends down and lap ups due to accumulation of short fibers and foreign matter in the worsted, a new and improved top roll vacuum clearer 32 is employed in combination with a conventional suction manifold 34. It is within the scope of this invention to employ a rectangular manifold and a bottom roll clearer of the type disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 306,853, now US. Pat. No. 3,251,100, if desired.

Suction manifold 34, connected to a source of negative pressure, not shown, has a plurality of slots 36 therein beneath each of the lower front rolls 24 to gather the fly and lint adjacent the lower front rolls 24. Further, if the fiber should break between the

rolls

22 and 24 and the twister take-up device 30, the worsted fiber being processed thereafter and prior to the epair of the break will be directed to the collection zone (not shown) through the slots 36 in the suction manifold 34. This eliminates the generation of a lot of lint and fly in the surrounding area which will not only effect the yarn produced by the particular set of rolls but also which can have a deleterious effect on the yarn being produced in adjacent areas by other drafting arrangements.

Looking now to FIGS. l5 the clearer 32 is illustrated in the preferred embodiment as a T-shaped member having a head portion 37 of Delrin or other suitable material encompassing at least two

arms

38 and 40 which engage the peripheral surfaces of two adjacent top rolls 22, respectively. It is understood the arms 38 and 40- of the clearer 32 can be extended to encompass more than one top front drafting roll within the scope of the invention. Attached to plate member 41 is a tubular conduit 42 rotatably telescoped within another tubular conduit 44 which is in turn suitably connected to the suction manifold 34. Looking at FIG. 4 it can be seen that plate member 41 closes off the bottom of the clearer head member 37 except for the openings 46 and 48 adjacent the top rolls 22. Tubular conduit 42 is rotatably telescoped within the tubular member 44 to allow the clearer head member 37 to automatically align itself on the two top front rolls 22.

Each of the

arms

38 and 40 has surfaces 50- and 52 formed on the

sidewalls

54 and 56 which conform to the radius of curvature of the front roll 2-2 and bear thereon to form a seal between the surrounding atmosphere and the interior of the. head member 7. Each of the

arms

38 and 40 has a rear wall 5 8 with an elongated notch 59 thereon for the flow of air into the interior of the clearer for the reasons hereinafter set forth.

A three pronged scraper 60 is slidably received within notches 62 in the interior of the sidewalls '54 and 56 and is prevented from falling out of said notch by pins 64 which are inserted in the

sidewalls

54 and 56 and engage the rounded end 66 of the semi-circular notch 68 in the ends of the scraper 60. An are drawn through the end surfaces of the

prongs

69, 70 and 72 which frictionally engage the roll periphery conforms to the radius of curvature of the top roll 22 being engaged. Preferably, scraper 60 is formed from Delrin or other suitable abrasive resistant material and bears on the roll due to the. gravitational force exerted by the weight of the scraper. In its operative position, as shown in FIG. 2, an air passage 74 is left between the top of the scraper 60 and the interior of the

arms

38 and 40 to provide communication between the notch 59 and the

tubular conduits

42 and 44. Flange member 76 on plate member 41 is so designed so that it does not engage the periphery of the top roll thereby providing an elongated space 78 the full width of the

arms

38 and 40 to provide communication between the ambient air at the front part of the roll 22 and the

tubular conduits

42 and 44.

In operation, the drafting rolls 14, 16, '18, 20, 22, and 24 rotate in the direction denoted by the arrows. If an end should come down any fiber which tends to lap around the top roll 22 will be drawn into the notch 78 and be directed to the collection zone through

tubular conduits

42 and 44 and suction manifold 34, thereby preventing what is known in the trade as a top roll lap.

In normal operation, any accumulation of short fibers or foreign matter coming through with the fiber being processed and clinging to the top roll will be wiped or scraped off the periphery of the roll 22- by the scraper 60 and directed to the collection zone (not shown) through elongated space 78,

tubular conduits

42 and 44. Any fibers wiped or scraped off by the scraper 60 which tend to slide under the

prongs

69, 70 and 72 toward the feed end of the roll 22 will be drawn into the notch 9 and directed to the collection zone (not shown) through the air passage 74,

tubular members

42 and 44, and the suction manifold 34. Furthermore, the proximity of the notch 59 to the fiber being drafted will tend to collect any loose fibers, lint, and fly whichare separated from the fiber as it enters the nip N of the-drafting rolls- 22 and24.. e .1

FIG. 6 shows a modified scraper or wiper 600. Basically this modification consists of a felted member 80 secured in any suitable manner in a fairly heavy channel section 82 of sufficient weight to exert a substantial force in the felted member against the top roll 22. Felted member 80 is shorter in length than the channel section 82 leaving a space 84 at each end so that pins 64 can abut bottom 86 of the space 84 toretain the scraper or wiper 600 within the confines of the

arms

38 and 40 of the clearer. As in the preferred embodiment of FIGS. 1-5 the felted member 80 is maintained in contact with the top roll 22 to clean same due to the gravitational force exerted by the weight of the scraper or wiper 600.

The herein disclosed top roll vacuum clearer has many obvious advantages. Clearer 32 is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, and is easily installed as original equipment or as an addition to existing frames. Clearer 32 not only prevents top roll lap up when an end comes down but serves to prevent or lessen the number of ends down by keeping the top roll clear of any fibre or trash which tends to cause an excessive number of ends down. Furthermore, the new and novel clearer is substantially automatic greatly lessening the amount of time and attention required by an operator to clean and piece up ends on prior art drafting systems.

Although I have described in detail the preferred embodiments of my invention, I contemplate that many changes may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of my invention, and I desire to be limited only by the claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. Textile drafting apparatus comprising a pair of drafting rolls, said pair of rolls being in peripheral nip forming engagement with each other, means supplying fiber to be drafted between said pair of rolls, conduit means mounted adjacent said pair of rolls, means connecting said conduit means to a source of negative pressure, said conduit means having end portions thereof bearing on one roll of said pair of rolls, and a pronged scraper member slidably mounted in said conduit means in physical contact with said one roll of said pair of rolls to frictionally clean the peripheral surface thereof, siad pronged scraper member having the ends of the prongs which contact said one roll of said pair of rolls lying on a circle which is substantially equal to the radius of curvature of said one roll.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein pins are provided in said end portions of said conduit means and engage slots in each end of said scraper member to retain said scraper member within said conduit means.

3. Textile drafting apparatus comprising a pair of drafting rolls said pair of rolls being in peripheral nip forming engagement with each other, means supplyng fiber to be drafted between said pair of rolls, conduit means mounted adjacent said pair of rolls, means connecting said conduit means to a source of negative pressure, said conduit means having end portions, and a felted member slidably mounted in said conduit means in physical contact with said one roll of said pair of rolls to frictionally clean the peripheral surface thereof, and pin members in said end portions of said conduit means operably associated with each end of said felted member to retain said felted member Within said conduit means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS DORSEY NEWTON,

France.

Great Britain. Great Britain. Great Britain.

Primary Examiner