US3657772A - Refining feed unit for a carding machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A card feed unit is positioned at a carding machine in place of a standard lap stand to refiningly act on a supported picker lap so as to supply a light weight blanket of aligned fibers to the carding machine and thereby greatly increase the production rate of a carding machine. Such unit has a two column, frame supported, stack of horizontally disposed rolls of small diameter with the rolls of one column being in nested relation with the rolls of the companion column. The rolls from the lap receiving top of the blanket delivering bottom of the unit have an increased number of spirally arranged teeth and are driven at increased speeds. Each roll performs in two drafting stages; it drafts from the upper proceeding roll and holds against the lower succeeding roll.

Description

United States Patent Goldman Y [151 3,657,772 [4 1 Apr. 25, 1972 [54] REFINING FEED UNIT FOR A CARDING MACHINE 866,918 9/1907 Collins FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 665,892 5/1929 France ..19/114 Goldman 19/99 117,717 2/1901 Germany....

Primary Examiner Dorsey Newton A2tomeyMcCarthy, Depaoli, O'Brien and Price ABSTRACT A card feed unit is positioned at a carding machine in place of a standard lap stand to refiningly act on a supported picker lap so as to supply a light weight blanket of aligned fibers to the carding machine and thereby greatly increase the production rate of a carding machine. Such unit has a two column, frame supported, stack of horizontally disposed rolls of small diameter with the rolls of one column being in nested relation with the rolls of the companion column. The rolls from the lap receiving top of theblanket delivering bottom of the unit have an increased number of spirally arranged teeth and are driven at increased speeds. Each roll performs in two drafting stages; it drafts from the upper proceeding roll and holds against the lower succeeding roll.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Patented April 25, 1972 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 /NVNTUR v [Ill/1114 1 MnumcE AfiDLDMAN @Bnfm ATTORNEYS Patented April 25, 1972 3,657,772

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTUR Mnumcz AGULDMAN 2 WWDqmoQi W'Bfim ATTOZHEYS //V VENTU R ATTO RN EYS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 MHURICE A. GOLDMHN 3 m wfiapwfiwmw Patented April 25, 1972 Patented April 25, 1972 3,657,772

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 J M B' INVENTUR MHURlCE A. GDLDMAN B WWQE MMQ'BJJM ATTORNEYS REFINING FEED UNIT FOR A CARDING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally, appertains to new and novel improvements in carding machines and more particularly relates to a new and novel means for gradually attenuating a batt of fibers into a low level aligned fiber blanket, especially, though not restrictively, for feeding such blanket into a standard carding machine so as to greatly increase the production rate of a carding machine.

2. Description of the Prior Art Cotton fiber from the ginners to the textile mills is in compressed large bales. The opening and preparation machinery at the textile mills consists of coarsely pinned aprons and pinned cylinders operating in hoppers followed by a picking and lapping process that produces a compressed roll of continuous lap or batt of near uniform l6-ounce weight per yard. This thickness is necessary to hold the batt together for transportation and for unrolling at the carding machine. The produced batt is known as the picker lap or batt.

Conventional carding machines, generally in use in textile mills, consist essentially of a lickerin to pluck small tufts of fiber from the picker batt or lap, a carding cylinder onto which the plucked fibers are deposited by the lickerin, revolving flats which surround a part of the peripheral surface of the carding cylinder and a doffer which removes fibers from the carding cylinder. The revolving flats and the carding cylinder have needle-clothing surfaces and the carding cylinder in its surface rotation carries the fibers past the revolving flats.

The picker batts are fed to such carding machine that refines and reconstructs them to a continuous uniform sliver weighing 70 grains (more or less) per yard. The feed roll of the carding machine presents the fringe of the condensed picker batt to the highspeed coarsely pinned lickerin roll that plucks the tufts and passes them to the cylinder. All the coarse, as well as the fine work, to individualize and spread the fibers is done between the carding cylinder and the flats. They do both at the slow rate of not more than 15 pounds per hour of cotton. Such operating area between the cylinder and the flats is better designed for fine carding rather than doing coarse carding. The performance of both coarse and fine carding accounts primarily for the slow rate.

While cotton is now being carded at about 15 pounds per hour on a standard 40-inch width carding machine, it is my discovery that the principle and design of such carding machine is such that the carding machine could produce perfect 70 grain linear yard webs at 500 pounds per hour if the carding machine was fed with free untangled fiber formations. I have determined that if a standard carding machine at present speeds of lickerin, cylinder and flats was fed with a level, thin, aligned fiber blanket, such present operating carding machine can produce uniform cotton fiber webs for yarn spinning at the rate of 120 pounds per hour.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with my present invention, the lap refining and feeding unit reduces and evens the picker lap ahead of the carding machine and delivers a level, thin, aligned fiber blanket to the feed roll so that the carding machine can produce a perfect sliver off the doffer at 600 linear feet per minute weighing 70 grains per linear yard. This increases the card production to 120 pounds per hour instead of the present 15 pounds per hour without increasing the standard operating speeds of l,000 R.P.M. of the lickerin roll and 350 R.P.M. of the carding cylinder.

For best results, the card clothing on the carding cylinder should be the conventional standard high count 560 to 660 points per square inch hardened metallic rigid card clothing. The card clothing on the lickerin should be 192 points (16X 1 2) per square inch instead of the present 40. The movement of the flats should be increased to 12 or 15 per minute as necessary instead of the present 3 or 4.

Operating in conjunction with the present carding machine design, function and operation, the refining feed unit of the present invention acts to reconstruct the helter skelter, air blown batt of fibers from the picker machine into an evenly distributed level and light weight blanket of aligned fibers that are ready for the then permissible and possible high speed carding by the carding machine.

Typically, a l6-ounce per yard lap from the picker enters the refining unit at 2 yards per minute and is processed to leave as a 4-ounce web or sheeting at 8 yards per minute,"at which rate it enters the feed roll of the carding machine to come out at the doffer of the carding machine at 600 feet per minute or 200 yards at 70 grains per yard, the usual sliver weight for spinning. This amounts to a realized production of pounds per hour of grey cotton fibers.

The refining unit is afiixed to the carding machine in place of the usual lap stand and in position to supply the formed sheeting or web to the regular feed roll of the carding machine. It is operated in connection with the operation of the dofling roll of the carding machine.

The refining unit generally comprises a two-column stack of small-diameter, horizontally disposed rolls with the rolls in one column nesting with the rolls in the adjoining or companion column. The rolls are, thus, in vertically staggered relation from the top of the unit, where the lap is supported, to the bottom of the unit where the web is fed to the feed roll of the carding machine. The rolls, from top to bottom, are provided with increased spirally arranged rows of triangular teeth and are driven at progressively increased speeds so as to effect a graduated long total draft from the entering thick lap to the discharged thin web. The rolls function to gradually attenuate and level the entering l6-ounce picker lap of fibers to the extent of, at least, four to one. The total long uniform draft does not involve or permit separation of the entering and efiected lap at any stage although some of the fibers are moved forward four times their length. Thus, there is a total long uniform draft of a disassociated short fiber mass into a uniform wide web or sheeting without any breaks. 5

The refining unit, thus, functions to level a 40-inch wide air assembled batt of fibers by graduated attenuation into a level, thin, aligned fiber blanket.

The batt is not held in any roll nip through the unit. The fibers are free to move with the directioning by the teeth of the rolls. The batt is control fed to the rolls and the feed roll of the carding machine draws away the outflow for 120 pounds per hour of l-inch cotton, for example.

In typical operation, the 16 ounce picker lap will be fed to the refining unit at 2 yards per minute. The intake roll of the refining unit will revolve at 10 R.P.M. and the outlet roll of the unit at 40 R.P.M. The rolls of the unit are assembled at 0.010 inch clearance. The top rolls can move to open 0.125 inch under pressure to allow wrinkles and short folds to enter and pass, if permissible, but the unit will shut down if any objectionable extra weight lap load is presented.

In all known natural and synthetic fiber drafting or processing systems and machines, a pair of rolls are used for each stage of holding and drafting. In the fiber drafting assembly of this invention withthe refining unit, as an example thereof, each roll performs two functions in two drafting stages. It drafts from the preceeding slower roll and it holds against the drafting of the succeeding faster roll.

From the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a primary object of the present invention is to increase the rate of production of existing carding machines without materially altering the structure or operation of such existing carding machines.

A further object of the present invention is to provide means for effecting total long uniform draft of a disassociated short fiber mass into a uniform sheeting without breaks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective showing of the refining unit in association with a carding machine.

FIG. 2 is a rear end elevational view of the unit with portions thereof broken away to show all of the rolls of the unit.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, taken substantially on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a detailed vertical sectional view, taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIG. 2. y

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view, taken substantially on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

' nEscmmoN OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT,

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the numeral generally designates the fiber refining or attenuating unit of the present invention with the same being illustrated and described herein in structuraland operational feed association with a standard carding machine (only diagramatically illustrated)v because such is the preferred operational environment of the unit 10. But it is to be realized that, because of the drafting nature of the unit, it would find value in any industrial fiber drafting operation.

The unit 10 includes a framework 12 having a horizontal floor mounted section 14 from which laterally spaced apart, parallel, vertical sections 16 and 18 upstand. The framework, in the preferred operational environment of the unit 10, is suitably affixedto the carding machine in place of the standard lap stand and in position to feed to the card feed roll 20, as diagrammatically shown in FIG; 1, wherein the carding cylinder 22 is also depicted.

Between the parallel upright or vertical frame sections 16 and 18 of the unit 10 two columns 24 and 26 of small diameter, horizontally disposed rectifying and attenuating rolls are disposed. In the roll column 24, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, there are three rolls 28, 30 and 32, while in the companion or adjoining roll column 26, as also shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, there are three rolls 34, 36 and 38. Each of the rolls in each column is of the same small diameter and of a face length of 40 inches complemental to the standard 40 inch full width of a standard carding machine. The radius of each roll is the same and should be one-sixteenth inch greater than the average length of the fiber to be carded. The rolls of each column 24 and 26 w are in nested formation, as shown in FIG. 3, so that the rolls of the unit 10 are in vertically staggered or ofiset relation with the rolls operating in drafting relation with an upper preceeding and a lower succeeding roll- Thus, each roll of each column acts in drafting operation to two rolls of the companion column and in clearing operation with two rolls of its own column.

Each of the rolls in both columns, as shown in FIG. 4, has its reduced bearing ends journalled by bushings 40 in suitable openings in the upright frame sections 16 and 18 with bearing plates 42 being held in place by bolt assemblies 44 to retain the bushings in place. The rolls are free to move a limited, small distance apart. Such small degree of separation movement between the rolls in their columnar formation, that is laterally of the frame, is resisted by compression springs 46 structurally associated, as shown in FIG. 4, with the bearing mounts for the rolls. The rolls are preferably assembled at 0.010 clearance. The top rolls 28 and 34 in the columns 24 and 26 can move to open a distance 33 of 0.125 inch under pressure and against the resilient backing of the springs 46 so as to allow wrinkles and short folds in the picker lap to enter the unit. But, if any objectionable extra weight lap fold should attempt to enter, the topmost roll 34 in the column 26 will be moved outwardly against limit switches 48 so as to activate such switches, which will operate to shut down the unit 10.

It can be seen from FIG. 3 that the axes of rotation of the rolls 28, 30 and 32 in the roll column 24 are in direct vertical alignment while the axes of rotation of the rolls 34, 36 and 38 in the roll column 26 are in direct vertical alignment and that apart parallelism.

At the top of the frame 12 and rotatably disposedbetween the uprights 16 and 18, so that its axis of rotation lies in a vertical plane that passes between the vertical planes in which the axes of rotation of the columnar rolls 24 and 26 lie is a large diameter feed roll 50. The rotatable feed roll 50 lies over the two roll columns 24 and 26 at the top of the unit 10 and cooperates with a compressed roll 52 ofcontinuous lap or batt 54 from the lap picker (not shown) with the lap being of near uniform l6-ounce weight per yard. The lap roll 52 rests by gravity on the driven feed roll 50 and the lap or batt 54 is moved by the feed roll 50 around the convex outside of an inwardly curved fixed guide plate 56. The stationary guide plate 56 is fixed transversely between the vertical frame sections 16 and 18 and has a discharging tail portion 58 which overlies the nip 60 between the top rolls 28 and 34 in the roll columns 24 and 26 so that the lap 54 is guidingly directed into the nip 60 by the guide plate 56.

The guide plate 56 has a concave interior surface 62 which underlies, in radially spaced relation, the lower portion of the feed roll 50 and serves to clean the feed roll.

7 The lap or batt roll 52 is wound on a core 64 which has its coaxially reduced ends 66 slidably disposed in trackways 68 that project upwardly and outwardly from the upper ends of the vertical frame sections 16 and 18, in a rearward direction 69 away from the carding machine, whereby the lap roll gravitationally presses on the feed roll, regardless of the size of the lap roll. The feed roll 50 moves the lap 54 off the roll 52 and down around the guide plate 56 into the nip 60.

The rolls in each of thecolumns 24 and 26 are faced with metallic feed roll wire and perform to gradually attenuate and level the entering l6-ounce picker lap or batt of fibers to the extent of four to one. Each downwardly successive roll in the unit 10 is clothed with wire of an increased number of teeth per linear inch and with more winds of wire per inch of roll face surface. In each nip between the cooperating rolls in each of the columns 24 and 26 the faster roll has more ,teeth perv inchof nip, with the faster roll being the immediate lower roll in the staggered roll formation of the two columns 24 and 26.

The wire is a triangular toothed wire and is wound onto each roll at a five to fifteen degree spiral lead, more or less, as applicable, so that the strings and clumps in the fiber batt 54 are spread open by the wide base of the triangular teeth and cutting of the fibers is avoided. Also, the spiral arrangement of the triangular toothed wire will form an all over distribution of the fiber spread, avoiding any compact thread effect.

The topmost roll 28 in the roll column 24 is spirally wound with four strands of drafting wire 61 to the inch having four triangular teeth to the linear inch. The topmost roll 34 in the roll column 26 is spirally wound with five strands of triangular five-toothed wire 63. The intermediate roll 30 in the roll column 24 is spirally wound with six strands of triangular sixtoothed wire 65. The intermediate roll 36 in the roll column 26 is spirally wound with seven-strands of seven-toothed wire 67. The bottom roll 32 in the roll column 24 is spirally wound with eight strands of triangular eighttoothed wire 70. The bottom roll 38 in the roll column 26 is spirally wound with nine strands of triangular nine-toothed wire 72.

In the assembly of the rolls in the unit 10, the relative speeds of the downwardly consecutive rolls in the staggered 60 order of the columnar roll formation are, with regard to the other factors given in the disclosed example of operation, as follows: 1.00 for the top roll 28 in roll column 24; 1.10 for the top roll 34 inroll column 26; 1.32 for the intermediate roll 30 in roll column 24; 1.72 for the intermediate roll 36 in roll column 26; 2.40 for the bottom roll 32 in roll column 24; and 4.00 for the bottom roll 38 in roll column 26. I

The draft of the fiber mass progresses by the above relative speeds as approximately 10%, 20%, 30%, 60%.

The increased number of teeth and increased speed of the I The unit is driven in conjunction with the dofifer roll (now shown of the carding machine, which is only diagrammatically and briefly shown in FIG. 1. Thus, a drive shaft 74 from the drive for the card dofler roll drives, through bevel gearing 76, a pair of gears 78 and 80.

The lowermost roll 32 of the roll column 24 is provided with a small underlying and peripherally engaging cleaner roll 82 while the lowermost roll 38 in the roll column 26, which roll is the outlet roll of the unit 10, has a cooperating doffer roll 84. The doffer roll 84 is rotatably positioned alongside and in engagement with the outer face of the outlet roll 38 and serves to doff the web or sheeting 86 from the roll 38 and assist in delivering the web or sheeting to the carding machine feed roll 20.

The gear 78 directly drives the shaft of the outlet roll 38 and, through an appropriate chain and gearing drive arrangement 85, drives the doffer roll 84 at the same speed as the roll 38 while the gear 80 drives the shaft 88 of the roll 32 which, through the gear 90, drives the cleaner roll 82. From the shaft of the roll 32 the drive for the upwardly disposed rolls in both of the columns 24 and 26 is carried and transmitted upwardly and back and forth across the unit 10 by suitable intermeshing gearing 94 at appropriately opposite ends of the shafts for the upper rolls in each column, as can best be appreciated from a consideration of FIG. 1, wherein the gearing and shafting for the rolls are shown diagrammatically in connection with the rotative directional movement of the rolls in the columns 24 and 26, as indicated by the arrows. The feed roll 50 for the unit 10 is driven from the roll 28 by an appropriate chain drive 96. The card feed roll is driven by a suitable chain drive 98 from the drive for the unit 10, as shown in FIG. 1. The entire drive for the rolls of the unit 10 is a progressive one from the fastest roll 38 on up and through the slowest roll 28 in the ratio aforementioned.

It is to be particularly appreciated that there is no pair of socalled holding and drafting rolls involved in the unit 10 but, instead, for example, the roll 34 drafts from the preceeding roll 28 and, at the same time, holds against the drafting of the succeeding roll 30. In this regard, it must be borne in mind that the roll 28 is moving slower than the roll 34 while the roll 30 is moving faster than the roll 34.

While the unit 10 has been shown and described in environmental association with a conventional carding machine, as a refining feed unit therefor, wherein its presence will greatly increase the rate of production of the carding machine, the unit 10, in view of its drafting roll system and assembly, can be used alone or in connection with any industrial system of fiber drafting.

Also, while the present disclosure shows a draft of four to one on six rolls, it is contemplated that additional rolls can be added to achieve an increased draft, for example, the addition of two more rolls to achieve a draft of eight to one. Further,

while a specific wire arrangement has been shown, it is to be understood that the initial roll can have a greater number of strands progressing to a greater number of strands on the outlet roll. Furthermore, while a single doffer roll 84 has been shown, it is contemplated that two smaller rolls running in vertical nip relation can be used in place of the single doffer roll 84.

What is claimed is:

1. A refining feed unit for a carding machine having a feed roll to feed a cylinder comprising a framework vertically positioned in advance of the feed roll and adapted to be affixed to the carding machine, two columns of horizontally disposed, peripherally toothed rotary rolls mounted in parallelism on the framework, means mounting each roll of the two columns for batt of fibers including a feed roll rotatably disposed at the upper end of the framework and having its axis of rotation lying in a vertical plane passing between the spaced apart parallel vertical planes containing the axis of rotation of the rolls in the two columns, said feed roll being disposed at the inlet of the unit, means can'ied by the framework at its upper end for freely supporting a wound batt, said batt gravitatingly bearing on the rotating feed roll and being acted thereon to be fed into the inlet at between the uppermost rolls in the two columns, an outlet at the lower end of the columns for a thin level sheeting of fibers produced by the action of the rolls on the batt, means for driving said rolls at progressively increasing peripheral speeds from the inlet end to the outlet end, a roll in one column being in drafting relation with an upper slower rotating preceeding roll in the other column and in holding relation with a faster rotating succeeding roll in theother column and being in cleaning relation with adjoining rolls in the same column, and a stationary guide plate underlying the feed roll and having a tail portion leading into the nip between the uppermost rolls in the two columns and around which the batt is fed by the feed roll into the nip between the uppermost rolls in the two columns.

2. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said driving means includes interengaging gears on the ends of said rolls which-are so interrelated as to drive said rolls at peripheral speeds successively increasing by approximately 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 60%.

3. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said driving means includes interengaging gears on the ends of said rolls which are so interrelated that said rolls in successive drafting relation have successive relative speeds of 1.00, 1.10, 1.32, 1.72, 2.40 and 4.00. I

4. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said rolls in said two columns are provided with triangular teeth disposed in spiral rows around the rolls with the number of teeth on the rolls increasing from said inlet end to said outlet end.

5. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said triangular teeth are disposed so that a base of each triangular tooth is forwardly presented during rotation of said rolls.

6. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said rolls in successive drafting relation have successively the following numbers of teeth to the inch, both linearly and spirally: four, five, six, seven, eight and nine.

7. The feed refining unit of claim 6 wherein said rolls are faced with metallic feed roll wire wound at a 5 to 15 spiral lead, said wire being a triangular toothed wire to provide said triangular teeth. v

8. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein:

A. the lowermost roll in one of said columns is the fastest moving roll and constitutes the output roll for said unit at said outlet; and

B. a doffer roll is rotatably carried by said framework, in parallel with and engaging the outer face of said output roll, to move said sheeting of fibers from said output roll onto said feed roll of said carding machine.

9. The lap refining unit of claim 1 wherein the radius of each of said rolls is about one-sixteenth inch greater than the average length of the fiber in said batt during processing thereof.

* l l i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE @F CORRECTEON Dated April 25, 1972 Patent No. 3 657 ,772

lhven fl Maurice A. Goldman It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the Abstract, line 9, "of the blanket" should be to the blanket a Column 4 line 72, after 30%" insert 40% Claim 5, line 1, change "1" to 4 Claim 6, line 1, change "1" to 5 Signed and sealed this 3rd day of October 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD MQFLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 us. GOVERNMENT PRlNTING OFFICE \sss o-ase-su FORM PO-105O (10-69)

Claims (9)

1. A refining feed unit for a carding machine having a feed roll to feed a cylinder comprising a framework vertically positioned in advance of the feed roll and adapted to be affixed to the carding machine, two columns of horizontally disposed, peripherally toothed rotary rolls mounted in parallelism on the framework, means mounting each roll of the two columns for independent rotation, the columns being in adjoining vertical side by side relation with the rolls of the two columns being in staggered nested facing relation, the axes of rotation of the rolls in one column lying in the same vertical plane and the axes of rotation of the rolls in the other column lying in the same vertical plane with the two planes being parallel and spaced apart, an inlet at the upper end of the columns for a batt of fibers, including a feed roll rotatably disposed at the upper end of the framework and having its axis of rotation lying in a vertical plane passing between the spaced apart parallel vertical planes containing the axis of rotation of the rolls in the two columns, said feed roll being disposed at the inlet of the unit, means carried by the framework at its upper end for freely supporting a wound batt, said batt gravitatingly bearing on the rotating feed roll and being acted thereon to be fed into the inlet at between the uppermost rolls in the two columns, an outlet at the lower end of the columns for a thin level sheeting of fibers produced by the action of the rolls on the batt, means for driving said rolls at progressively increasing peripheral speeds from the inlet end to the outlet end, a roll in one column being in drafting relation with an upper slower rotating preceeding roll in the other column and in holding relation with a faster rotating succeeding roll in the other column and being in cleaning relation with adjoining rolls in the same column, and a stationary guide plate underlying the feed roll and having a tail portion leading into the nip between the uppermost rolls in the two columns and around which the batt is fed by the feed roll into the nip between the uppermost rolls in the two columns.

2. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said driving means includes interengaging gears on the ends of said rolls which are so interrelated as to drive said rolls at peripheral speeds successively increasing by approximately 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 60%.

3. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said driving means includes interengaging gears on the ends of said rolls which are so interrelated that said rolls in successive drafting relation have successive relative speeds of 1.00, 1.10, 1.32, 1.72, 2.40 and 4.00.

4. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said rolls in said two columns are provided with triangular teeth disposed in spiral rows around the rolls with the number of teeth on the rolls increasing from said inlet end to said outlet end.

5. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said triangular teeth are disposed so that a base of each triangular tooth is forwardly presented during rotation of said rolls.

6. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein said rolls in successive drafting relation have successively the following numbers of teeth to the inch, both linearly and spirally: four, five, six, seven, eight and nine.

7. The feed refining unit of claim 6 wherein said rolls are faced with metallic feed roll wire wound at a 5* to 15* spiral lead, said wire being a triangular toothed wire to provide said triangular teeth.

8. The refining feed unit of claim 1 wherein: A. the lowermost roll in one of said columns is the fastest moving roll and constitutes the output roll for said unit at said outlet; and B. a doffer roll is rotatably carried by said framework, in parallel with and engaging the outer face of said output roll, to move said sheeting of fibers from said output roll onto said feed roll of said carding machine.

9. The lap refining unit of claim 1 wherein the radius of each of said rolls is about one-sixteenth inch greater than the average length of the fiber in said batt during processing thereof.

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