US3494000A - Flat end and chain cleaning card attachment for carding machines and the like - Google Patents

Description

K. w. SMITH 3,494,000

CLEANING CARD ATTACHMENT FOR CARDING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Feb. 10, 1970 FLAT END AND CHAIN Filed Dec. 5. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Kggneih ism/M ATTORNEYS 1 1970 K w. SMITH 3,494,000

FLAT END AND CHAIN CLEANING CARD ATTACHMENT FOR Filed Dec, 5, 1966 CARDING MACHINES AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 K m My BY a,

W a aa f ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 19-102 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The usual arcuate flanges 11 of the side arches 10 of the conventional carding machine adjustably support the opposed extensible, radially extending brackets 38 whose top bearings support the driven cross shaft 29 which is located between the runs of chain-carried flats 24a, said shaft 29 having a fixed cleaner brush 28 adjacent each end (see FIG. 4). The diametrically smaller brush portions 28a clean the adjacent chain 24b and the larger outer brush portions 28b clean the outer portions of related flats 24a. For ordinary flat end and chain cleaning during normal machine operation, various low speed drives of brush shaft 29 are available as shown in FIG. 1 by dotted drive belt-indicating lines 34a and 34b to brush shaft pulley 33 from various ones of conventional driven shafts of the machine including the licker-in shaft 16b which latter is made available by shifting brackets 38 on arcuate flanges 11 to the dotted line position of FIG. 1; and such shifting of 38 enables belt 34a to be tightened When used. But for actually polishing, the flat ends chain the high speed drive 34 to brush shaft pulley 33 from the large pulley on card shaft 12 is used.

The present invention relates to attachments for carding machines and the like.

Briefly and generated stated, the invention has for its primary object to provide for more efficient operation of carding machine and the like by providing novel means for keeping the flat-carrying chains free of foreign matter; but which also operates to prevent the accumulation of foreign matter on the fiat ends at opposite sides of the machine.

More specifically, the invention contemplates an attachment as characterized having driven brush means which is simple in construction; easy to install; applicable to all standard machines; and is adjustable to different positions as occasion may require for either slow or high speed drive from selected driven shafts which standard carding machines provide.

Invention also resides in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts, and in modes of operation thereof.

Referring to the drawings which disclose a now preferred form of the invention- FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a carding machine to which the attachment is applied;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the flat assembly and one of the brushes as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective of one of the brushes and related shaft;

FIG. 4 is partly broken top plan of the chain-carried flat assembly showing the relationship of the brushes and brush shaft thereto, other subjacent carding machine structure being deleted for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of one of the brush shaft brackets and its support; and

FIG. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, the conventional carding machine which is fragmentarily illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a card base-carried arch "ice 10 at each side of the card cylinder; and the outer surface of each of said arches 10 has the usual arcual flanges 11.

Upstanding mounts 13 on each side of the machine base support the card cylinder-carrying drive shaft 12, one end of which latter has a large, and at least, functionally integral and multiply grooved drive pulley 14, which is conventionally driven by the belt 15 from an electric motor (not shown). Another groove of pulley 14 has the belt drive connection 16 with the licker-in shaft drive pulley 16a.

As usual, a small pulley 17 on shaft 12 is the drive source for the conventional endless card cylinder-overlying flat assembly 24 which comprises flats 24a carried by the side chains 24b. Thus, referring to FIG. 1, the belt 18 from pulley 17 drives the fixed pulley 20 of shaft 19; and a gear 21 on the latter meshes with the fixed gear 22a on shaft 23 which latter has at each end the drive sprockets or the like 22 for the side chains 24b of flat assembly 24.

The customary sprocketform or other disks 25 on cross shafts 25a support the flat assembly chains 24b at opposite sides of the machine and said shafts 25a are journalled in the top end bearings of brackets 26 which are secured as at 27 to arches 10 above flanges 11.

Coming now to the present invention, same comprises circular chain and flat end-cleaning brushes 28 which are made fast adjacent each end of a driven arch-carried cross shaft 29 which extends between the upper and lower runs of the endless flat assembly 24.

The brushes 28 are duplicates and have their hubs 31 secured to shaft 29 by clamp bolts 32. Also, each brush 28 has an inner chain cleaning portion 28a and a diametrically larger outer portion 28b which engages against the end-adjacent areas of flats 24a. Brush portions 28a engage both the upper and lower runs of the related chain 24b; and brush portions 28b do the same as to adjacent chain sides and the related end-adjacent areas of the upper and lower runs of flats 24a.

The brush-carrying cross shaft 29 has its ends journalled in preferably ball bearing type bearings 30 at the upper ends of the arch-carried, arcuately shiftable and extensible brackets which are generally designated at 38. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a pulley 33 fast on one end of brush shaft 29.

For not only clearing of foreign matter from chains 24b and the ends of flats 24a (see FIG. 1) but also for polishing same, said shaft 29 will be periodically driven at high speed, from a groove of pulley 14, by belt 34 which is trained over the latter and the brush pulley 33 as shown in full lines in FIG. 1.

However, for simply clearing lint, etc. from the chains 24b and adjacent ends of the flats 24 in the normal operations of the machine, only a low speed drive of brush shaft 29 is necessary.

Since the brush shaft 29 supporting brackets 38 are arcually adjustable on the flanges 11 of arches 10, as illustrated in dotted linesh in FIG. 1, various low speed drives of brush shaft 29 from a pulley 19a on shaft '19 or from pulley 16a on the usual licker-inshaft 16b per the respective broken line drive belt showings 34a and 34b of FIG. 1; and of course the identical belt 34 can be used if desiredalthough shorter belts are illustrated.

Coming now to the frame-carried brackets 38 for the brush shaft bearing units 30 at opposite sides of the machine, each of same comprises the extensibly connected sections 39, 40. These sections 39, 40 are respectively slotted longitudinally as indicated at 39a, 40a, and are adjustably clamped together by bolts 44 extending through the aligned slots, the respective bolts have the clamp nuts 45. The brackets 38, as heretofore indicated, are also adjustable circumferentially on the respective flanges 11 of the related arches 10. This bracket 38 adjustment is made possible by forming the base 42 of each of the lower bracket members 40 with a lateral groove form seat 42a to receive the circular flange 11 of the related arch 10. Clamp bolts 43 secure the base portions 42 in selected adjusted position on the related flanges 11.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a carding machine for textile treatment providing a base, a driven superjacent card cylinder, a transversely extending base-carried first drive shaft on which said cylinder is fixedly mounted, an upstanding base-carried arch at each side of the machine and overlying the card cylinder sides, the outer surface of each arch having an arcuate outwardly extending flange, an endless series of sprocket side chain-carried flats providing vertically spaced upper and lower runs with the lower run cooperating with the card cylinder, and arch-carried means spacing said upper and lower flat runs, arch-carried drive means for said endless flat series and comprising a second drive shaft extending transversely of the machine, a sprocket gear fast on said second drive shaft adjacent each end thereof and operatively engaging the adjacent one of said flat-carrying sprocket chains, a driven licker-in shaft constituting a third transversely extending base-carried shaft; the improvement which comprises arch-carried brackets at each side of said cylinder, a hearing at the upper end of each bracket and aligned with the space between said upper and lower flat runs, a driven shaft journalled in said bearings, circular brushes fast on said last mentioned shaft adjacent each of the opposite ends of the latter, said brushes operatively engaging the sprocket chains of both the upper and lower flat runs, and a drive connection between said brush shaft and a selected one of said other shafts, each brush having a portion of increased diameter overlying adjacent flat ends to clean the latter, and the outer surface of each of said arches having an arcuate outwardly extending flange located inwardly of its upper and side edges, the lower portions of the brush shaft-supporting brackets having inwardly opening seats receiving the related side frame flange, whereby said brackets can be adjusted lengthwise of the related flanges to position the brush shaft at different positions with respect to said flat series and the aforementioned shafts, =bracket-carried clamping means engaging said flanges to retain the brackets in a predetermined set position, the drive connection between said brush shaft and a selected one of said other shafts comprising a pulley fast on one brush shaft end, a brush shaft drive pulley on the corresponding end of each of said three other aforementioned shafts, an endless flexible drive connection selectively connecting the brush carried shaft pulley with one of said three shaft-carried drive pulleys, a belt driven pulley of substantial diameter on the aforementioned end of said first shaft (namely the card cylinder drive shaft), a drive connection between said beltdriven pulley and the licker-in shaft, and the brush shaft drive pulley of said first shaft being functionally integral with said belt driven pulley and also being of larger diameter than the brush shaft drive pulleys of the other two of said three shafts for use when high speed drive of the brush shaft is desired for chain and flat end polishing purposes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 597,314 1/1898 Coffin 19-102 623,094 4/1899 Mills et al. 19102 1,297,367 3/1919 Lamb 19-102 1,479,639 1/1924 Albrecht 19111 2,181,535 11/1939 Schlipp et a1 19102 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 7,235 1915 Great Britain. 4,950 1892 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Saco-Lowell Bulletin, September 1949, p. 30.

DORSEY NEWTON, Primary Examiner

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