US3296663A - Arrangement for guiding the web at the discharge side of the doffer in carding machines - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 10, 1967 REn-ERER 3,296,663

ARRANGEMENT FOR GUIDING THE WEB AT THE DISCHARGE SIDE OF THE DOFFER IN CARDING MACHINES Flled June 22, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l V'LINTOR l l FERDINAND REITERER A TTOR/VEYS Jan. 10, 1967 REITER F. ER 3,296,663 ARR MENT FOR GUIDING THE WEB AT THE DISCHARGE DE OF THE DOFFER IN CARDING MACHINES Filed June 22, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENFOR FERDINAND REITERER ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice Patented Jan. 10, 15967 0, 9 4 Claims. (Cl. 19-106) This invention relates to devices for guiding the web of fibers delivered from the doffer of a carding machine toward a trumpet in which the web is formed into a sliver and, more particularly, to a new and improved web guide arrangement permitting a higher speed of carding machine operation.

In conventional carding machines, wherein a layer of fibers, after being combed on the surface of a main cylinder or swift, is condensed in web form on the clothing of a doffer cylinder, the web of fibers is detached from the dotfer surface and directed toward a trumpet and a pair of calender rolls where it is converted from the sheet-like form of the web into the rope-like form of a sliver. Accordingly, in the space between the web=detaching mechanism and the trumpet, the web assumes a triangular form wherein the selvedges of the web must traverse a greater distance at the same instant than a corresponding segment at the center of the web. For example, if the width of the web detached from the doffer is three feet and the trumpet is centrally located one foot away from the web detacher, the slant distance along the selvedges of the web from the detacher to the trumpet is about 22 inches or 80% greater than the length of a corresponding segment at the center of the web.

As a result of this stretching along the selvedges, it is necessary in order to avoid breaking of the web that the rate of motion of the web through the trumpet and calender rolls be reduced below the rate of delivery from the web-detaching mechanism. Such rate reduction, however, will obviously cause the web to become slack in the center portion and, with the web disposed in its usual horizontal path between the doffer and the trumpet, the center portion of the web will hang down or belly out to a considerable degree, which not only tends to produce a non-uniform sliver but, at high rates of carding machine operation, can cause breakage of the web. Moreover, it is not possible to support the web at the center in its horizontal path since even the smoothest surfaces, when held in contact with the moving web, produce enough frictional drag to cause disruption and breakage.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved arrangement for guiding the web at the discharge side of the doffer which effectively overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of conventional arrangements.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved web-guiding arrangement which permits high speed operation of the carding machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a webguiding arrangement which prevents bellying out of the web and assures greater uniformity of the sliver which is formed therefrom.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing, in a carding machine having a cylinder upon which a web of fibers is carried and having a webdetaching arrangement at one side of that cylinder for removing the web of fibers therefrom, trumpet means for condensing the web of fibers into a sliver dispose-d in the same vertical plane as the web-detaching arrangement so as to receive the web of fibers therefrom along a substantially vertical path. Preferably, the trumpet is disposed below the web-detaching arrangement and a pneumatic guiding arrangement is provided whereby the web is guided in its vertical path by air currents directed toward the trumpet means. In a particular embodiment, the air is directed through channel members which are inclined toward the trumpet along the path of the converging web and thereby enclose the selvedges. In addition, a casing may be provided between the channel members, including baffie plates, to divert impurities away from the web as it converges and a suction chamber may be disposed below the bafile plates to collect the diverted impurities. Also, to facilitate threading of the web, one side of each channel member may be hingedly mounted so as to open toward the operator and a linkage may be provided to retract the bafiie plates when the sides of the channel members are open.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section taken on the line 1-1 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating a carding machine provided with a representative web-guiding arrangement in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the machine shown in FIG. 1, further illustrating the web-guiding arrangement; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows, illustrating the lower portion of the webguiding arrangement.

In the carding machine partially represented in FIGS. 1 and 2, a doffer cylinder 10, having a toothed clothing 11 mounted on its outer surface, rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 so as to deliver a web of fibers 12 to a web-detaching arrangement 13. If desired, detaching of the web may be facilitated by air blown outwardly through an internal duct 14 within the doffer toward the web-detaching arrangement, the doffer surface being provided with openings 15 to allow passage of the air.

As illustrated in the drawings, the detaching arrangement 13 comprises a primary detaching roller 16 having a toothed surface and rotating in the same angular direction as the doffer 1d so as to deflect the web of fibers away from the doffer surface and toward a second detaching roller 17 having a smooth surface which rotates in the opposite angular direction. The web is then drawn about the second detaching roller and between that roller and a third detaching roller 18 by rotation of the third roller in the same direction as the first roller. In addition, a rotary cleaning brush 19 and a suction chamber 20 are mounted adjacent to the primary detaching roller 16 to clean the teeth thereof and a rubber scraper 21 is positioned to remove any fibers which might cling to the surface of the second detaching roller 17 In accordance with the present invention, a condens ing trumpet member 22 and calender rolls 23 and 24 of the usual type are provided but rather than being disposed forwardly from and at about the same horizontal level as the web-detaching arrangement 13 in the customary manner, the trumpet 22 and calender rolls 23 and 24 are located directly below the detaching arrangement so that the web 12 passes in a substantially vertical plane from the detaching roller 17 to the trumpet as illustrated in FIG. 1. Consequently, on its downward path, the loose central portion of the web 12 does not belly out in either direction but instead remains in substantially the same plane as the tightly drawn selvedges, thereby preventing irregularities in the sliver 27 which would result from bellying out of the loose portion and also permitting 3 high speed machine operation without causing breakage of the web.

To facilitate the inward convergence of the web 12 from the detaching arrangement 13 toward the trumpet 22, while maintaining the web in a substantially vertical plane, a pneumatic web-guiding arrangement 26 is preferably provided. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the pneumatic guiding device comprises two opposed channel members 27 and 28 which are inwardly inclined from the detaching roller 17 toward the trumpet 22 along the path of web convergence so as to partially surround the two web selvedges, respectively, as they travel along converging paths. Two air nozzles 29 and 30, one at the upper end of each housing, direct a stream of air along the bottom of each channel toward corresponding openings 31 and 32 in a suction housing 33 which surrounds the trumpet 22 and from which air is drawn by two conduits 34 and 35, the openings 31 and 32 being separated from the region of the trumpet 22 by two projecting curved bafiles 36 and 37, respectively, which deflect the air into the suction housing 33.

In the space between the downwardly directed web 12 and the doffer 10, the guiding device includes a rear wall 38 connecting the channel members 27 and 28 and between the web 12 and the rear wall 38 two horizontally extending pivotally mounted baffles 39 and 40 are provided. As best seen in FIG. 1, these battles are pivotable between a normal forward position close to the web 12, in which any particles of dirt or other impurities falling from the detaching arrangement will be deflected toward the rear wall 38, and a retracted position shown in dotted outlines in FIG. 1. To collect the impurities thus deflected, the suction housing 33 includes an opening 41 extending along the rear wall 38 from one side of the housing to the other.

As an aid to threading of the web 12 through the web guide device 26, the front walls 42 and 43 thereof are hingedly mounted on the channel members 27 and 28, respectively, so that they may be swung outwardly from the normal selvedge-enclosing positions illustrated in solid lines in the drawings to the dotted line positions shown in FIG. 3. In the dotted line open positions, moreover, the side wall 43 depresses two control rods 44 and 45 (only one of which is visible in FIG. 3) to actuate the retracting mechanisms 46 and 47 for the batfies 39 and 40, respectively, these mechanisms being spring-biased to restore the bafiles to their normally extended positions when the front wall 43 is released from a magnetic catch which tends to retain it in the open position. If desired, in order to allow sufficient space for the webguiding device 26 adjacent to the doffer and to facilitate convenient access thereto, the dofier may be raised above its usual position in the carding machine or it may be of larger than the usual diameter.

In operation, to thread the web 12 through the guiding device 26 and the trumpet 22, the walls 42 and 43 of the channels 27 and 28 are swung outwardly to the dotted line positions shown in FIG. 3, thereby retracting the baflles 39 and 40 in the manner previously described. When the web has been threaded, the walls 42 and 43 are returned to their normal positions, thereby restoring the bullies 39 and 40 to the extended positions. Thereafter, when the dofier operation is commenced, the converging motion of the web in a vertical plane prevents bellying out of the loose center portion of the web, thereby eliminating irregularities from the sliver. Moreover, the gentle pneumatic guiding action of the air currents directed through the channels 27 and 28 facilitates convergence of the web into the trumpet rapidly without breakage, thereby permitting a high speed of operation of the carding machine.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to a specific embodiment, many modifications and variations therein will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, all such variations and modifications are included within the intended scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a carding machine including a cylinder upon which a web of fibers is carried, web-detaching means adjacent to the cylinder for removing the web of fibers therefrom, and trumpet means for condensing the web into a sliver, means disposing the trumpet means substantially in a vertical plane which includes the web-detaching means so that the trumpet means receive the web of fibers from the web-detaching means along a substantially vertical path, thereby causing any loose web portions to remain in substantially the same plane as the remainder of the web, pneumatic web guiding means disposed adjacent to the vertical path of the web between the web-detaching means and the trumpet means to facilitate smooth convengence of the web toward the trumpet means, wherein the pneumatic web guiding means comprises a pair of channel means directed toward the trumpet means in the vertical plane of the web and air supply means for directing a current of air along each channel means toward the trumpet means, and wherein one side wall of each channel means is hingedly mounted so that it may be opened to facilitate threading of the web from the webdetaching means to the trumpet means.

2. In a carding machine including a cylinder upon which a web of fibers is carried, web-detaching means adjacent to the cylinder for removing the web of fibers therefrom, and trumpet means for condensing the web into a sliver, means disposing the trumpet means substantially in a vertical plane which includes the webdetaching means so that the trumpet means receive the web of fibers from the web-detaching means along a substantially vertical path, thereby causing any loose web portions to remain in substantially the same plane as the remainder of the web, pneumatic web guiding means disposed adjacent to the vertical path of the web between the web-detaching means and the trumpet means to facilitate smooth convergence of the web toward the trumpet means, wherein the pneumatic web-guiding means comprises a pair of channel means directed toward the trumpet means in the vertical plane of the web and air supply means for directing a current of air along each channel means toward the trumpet means, and including suction chamber means disposed adjacent to the trumpet means to receive the currents of air directed through the channel means toward the trumpet means.

3. A carding machine according to claim 2 including Wall means extending between the channel means along one side thereof, bafile means disposed between the wall means and the path of the web to divert impurities away from the web, and means forming an opening in the suc tion chamber means to draw air from the region of the bafile means.

4. A carding machine according to claim 3 including means for mounting the baffle means for motion between a normal extended position spaced from the wall means and a retracted position adjacent to the wall means, means for mounting the side wall of each channel means on the side opposite the wall means for motion to permit opening of the channel means to facilitate threading of the web, and means responsive to opening of the side walls of the channel means to cause retraction of the baffie means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,903,751 9/1959 Allred 19-106 X 3,119,152 1/1964 Kalwaites 19-106 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,149 of 1877 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner. P. C. FAW, D. NEWTON, Assistant Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. IN A CARDING MACHINE INCLUDING A CYLINDER UPON WHICH A WEB OF FIBERS IS CARRIED, WEB-DETACHING MEANS ADJACENT TO THE CYLINDER FOR REMOVING THE WEB OF FIBERS THEREFROM, AND TRUMPET MEANS FOR CONDENSING THE WEB INTO A SILVER, MEANS DISPOSING THE TRUMPET MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY IN A VERTICAL PLANE WHICH INCLUDES THE WEB-DETACHING MEANS SO THAT THE TRUMPET MEANS RECEIVE THE WEB OF FIBERS FROM THE WEB-DETACHING MEANS ALONG A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL PATH, THEREBY CAUSING ANY LOOSE WEB PORTIONS TO REMAIN IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE AS THE REMAINDER OF THE WEB, PNEUMATIC WEB GUIDING MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENT TO THE VERTICAL PATH OF THE WEB BETWEEN THE WEB-DETACHING MEANS AND THE TRUMPET MEANS TO FACILITATE SMOOTH CONVERGENCE OF THE WEB TOWARD THE TRUMPET MEANS, WHEREIN THE PNEUMATIC WEB-GUIDING MEANS COMPRISES A PAIR OF CHANNEL MEANS DIRECTED TOWARD THE TRUMPET MEANS IN THE VERTICAL PLANE OF THE WEB AND AIR SUPPLY MEANS FOR DIRECTING A CURRENT OF AIR ALONG EACH CHANNEL MEANS TOWARD THE TRUMPET MEANS, AND WHEREIN ONE SIDE WALL OF EACH CHANNEL MEANS IS HINGEDLY MOUNTED SO THAT IT MAY BE OPENED TO FACILITATE THREADING OF THE WEB FROM THE WEBDETACHING MEANS TO THE TRUMPET MEANS.

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