US2771641A - Automatic apparatus for accumulating fibers delivered by continuously operating carding machinery - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 27, 1956 H. c. M. H. DUESBERG 2,771,641

AUTOMATIC APPARATUS POR AOOUMULATING FIBERs DELIVERED BY coNTINUOusLY OPERATING cARDING MACHINERY www, M M

NOW 27, 1956 H. c. M. H. DUEsBERG 2,771,641

AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR ACCUMULATING FIBERS DELIVERED BY CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING CARDING MACHINERY Flled Jan 25 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 27, 1956 H. c. M. H. DUESBERG 2,771,541

AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR ACCUMULATING FIBERS DELlVERED BY CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING CARDING MACHINERY Filed Jan. 23, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FR ACCUMULATING FIBERS DELIVERED BY CONTINUOUSLY OP- ERATDIG CARDING MACHINERY Hubert Charles Marie Henri Duesberg, Heusy, Belgium Application Ilv'anuary 23, 1951, Serial No. 207,393 Claims priority, application Belgium December 5, 1950 6 Claims. (Cl. 19--161) The present invention relates -to carding machinery comprising semi-automatic sets of cards, and more particularly to machinery of this charac-ter where devices are provided -for the accumulation of the web in layers upon an endless conveyor belt, ythe web produced by the carding engines having first been passed through a suitable machine for effecting the removal of any foreign bodies from the web, the last named machine comprising at least two superposed pressing rolls.

The thin fleece or web of fibers produced by the carding engines is ordinarily accumulated upon a continuously moving endless cloth or conveyor bel-t to which it clings. The first layer of fibers adheres directly to the rough outer surface of `the endless cloth or conveyor belt and successive layers of fibers adhere to underlying previously deposited layers until there is accumulated upon the conveyor belt an endless wad of carded fibers of suicient weight per unit length to be suitable for further processing, such as spinning.

The removal of this endless wad of carded fibers requires that the conveyor `belt be stopped and that the wad be severed by an attendant. The wad is then removed from the belt thus preparing the bel-t -for the accumulation of a new wad. It is presently common practice during this frequent and necessary in-terval of stoppage of the conveyor belt also to stop the feed and delivery rollers and intermedia-te doifers of the carding engine together with other portions of the carding machinery such as pressing cylinders which precede the endless conveyor belt.

Various mechanical problems arise from these repeated stoppages, which stoppages ordinarily take place at the rate of four or ve times an hour.

The disadvantages of this type of semi-automatic operation involve the following points:

l(a) irregularities in carding caused by the starting and stopping of the carding engines and the pressing cylinders.

(b) The inertia of the feed and delivery rollers and other parts -of the machinery. This inertia must be overcome at each starting and stopping of the machinery.

(c) The accumulation of material between the drums and the combers during the stoppage of the combers.

(d) The additional burden imposed upon the drive motors by a duty cycle which involves frequent starting and stopping.

The present invention has among its objects, to overe0 come these disadvantages by permitting the carding engines to continue their operation without interruption during the intervals when the endless conveyor belt upon which the web of fibers is deposited is stopped for the removal of the endless wad of accumulated layers of carded web.

A lfurther object of the invention is to avoid severing or division of the web, either between the comb and the endless conveyor belt, or if a Peralta is used, which device removes foreign bodies from the carded web by means of superposed pressing cylinders, then between the Peralta and the endless conveyor belt. Any breakage of 'ice 2 the Iweb of this character requires the intervention of a scribbler or other `attendant to replace the broken web of fleece upon the endless conveyor belt.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character in which the endless belt is stopped automati-cally after a predetermined amount of travel. Such predetermined amount of travel corresponds to a depositing on the conveyor belt of a predetermined number of layers of carded web, which in turn corresponds to a lxed weight of web, assuming that the carding and the depositing of the web 4both take place at a constant rate.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character in which the tleece or web of fibers is prevented from depositing on the endless conveyor belt while it is stopped, means being provided to return the web to the feeding portion of the loader or to any other convenient portion of the machine where it may accumulate in such a manner as to avoid any interruption of the continuous operation of the carding engines during the temporary stoppage of the conveyor belt.

Mechanical devices may be used to return the Web during the stoppage of the conveyor belt, but preferably, according to one embodiment of the invention, pneumatic means comprising a blower are provided for returning the web for re-'use during the time when the conveyor belt is stopped.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character in which a measuring device or meter is responsive to the running of the conveyor belt and after this has traveled through an adjusta'bly predetermined distance, will start the operation of a motor driven fan or blower. The blower produces air pressure for operation of the pneumatic web return means including a suction effect at its inlet side which is utilized for effecting the return of the web to the carding engines for re-use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device `of this character in which an audible or other preliminary warning signal is given to the machine attendant shortly before the conveyor belt is automatically stopped.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of means Ifor starting the blower motor prior to the stoppage of the conveyor belt so that the desired air pressure differential is available at the instant that the beltl stops without the delay Vwhich would otherwise be involved if the blower motor were not started until stoppage of the belt. In this connection, a pneumatic control valve is provided which connects the blower intake to the web aspirating or suc-tion device simultaneously with the stoppage ofthe endless conveyor belt.

Still another object of the invention is to provide manually operable cont-rol means for starting and stopping the conveyor belt independently of the measuring device.

Other and further objects will become apparent upon reading the following speciiication together with the accompanying drawing Aforming a part hereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view of an ernbodiment of the invention applied to a complete carding machine.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic elevational view showing the measuring device and the automatic control means which are actuated by the measuring device for stopping the conveyor.

Figure 2A is a diagrammatic view of a detail of the measuring and control portion of the machine.

Figure 2B is a view similar to Fig. 2A shown on an enlarged scale and partly in section.

Figure 2C is a sectional view taken along the line 2C-2C of Fig. 2B, looking in the direction' of the arrows.

Figure 3, is a planview correspondingl to Fig. 2,

Figure 3A is an enlarged plan view of a detail.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic View of the pneumatic web return system.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary View of a portion, of Fig. 2, showing a fixed projecting rod in end View with a latch member in a position which it occupies while the machine is running, the latch member being disengaged from a notch in which it may be received.

Figure 5A is similar to Fig. 5, showing the rod in side view.

Figure 5BV is similar to Fig. 5, showing the latch member engaged in the notch in which it is retained while the machine is stopped,

Figure 5C is similar to Fig. 5B, showing the rod in s ideview.y

Figure 6 is. an enlarged-.elevational view similarto Fig. 5 illustrating additional parts of the clutch control mechamsm.

Fig. 7 isa plan view, partly in section, of the mechanisrn shown inA Fig. 6.

Figure 8. is an electrical circuit diagram showing the control ofv a stoppage warning signal anda blower motor.

Referring to Fig. l, there is shown in a fragmentary and diagrammatic manner a carding engine comprising a main-'cylinder a, The carded fibers from the carding engine are fed continuously along a path indicated by a dotted line to a. continuously operating cleaner b of the Peraltatypewhich comprises superpo-sed pressing rollsv c and d.' The thin fieece or web of carded fibers, after, havingvbeenrcleanedby the Peralta cleaner b passes over a supporting roller e to a delivery apron B illustratively shown as a continuously moving endless conveyor belt. An endless conveyor belt or cloth A is normally in continuous movement, being driven by a drive roller connected toa gear 4t) which normally turns in a clockwise direction. At the left hand end of conveyor belt A the belt A passes around an idler roller 37 which likewise normally rotates in a clockwise direction. The endless belt A follows a zig-zag path over a series of large idler rollers 37a and small idler rollers 37b. During its passage around'idler rollers 37a and 37b', the outer surface of belt A is directed toward the smaller idler rollers 37b.

As it passes upwardly and toward the right around idler roller 37, the conveyor belt A underlies the extreme right hand end of delivery apron B.' The thin fleece of carded fibers drops by gravity from the delivery apron B upon the conveyor belt A at the fixed position where it is moving upwardly and to the right around idler cylinder 37; The outer surface of conveyor belt A has an adherentftexture such that the thin fleece of carded fibers delivered by the delivery apron B Will inherently cling thereto and be carried valong therewith. After the endless conveyor belt/A has made one complete passage beneath the right hand end of delivery apron Bv the thin Web-of fleece will'be deposited on a previously deposited layer of web, and because of the texture of `tlie carded fibers will naturally adhere to the underlying layer. This adherence-is enhanced by engagement ofthe outermost layer of fibers with the series of smaller idler rollers 37b in the course of-travel of the conveyor beltA through' the zig-zag path shown in Fig. 1.

The outer surface of delivery apron B is of such texture that the 'eecy web of carded fibers has little or no tendency to adhere thereto in order that it may either be delivered to the endless conveyor belt A or be returned by suction means for re-use as hereinafter described. The successive superposed layers of eecy web which accumulate on the conveyor belt A form an endless wad of carded fibers which progressively becomes heavier per unit of its length in the course of repeated complete passages of the endless conveyor belt A past the delivery apron B. After this wad has attained the desired weight per unit length to make it suitable for further processing, the conveyor belt A is automatically stopped, the wad of fibers isthen i severed and removed, and the belt is thereafter started again for the accumulation of a new Wad of fibers.

The direction of travel of the conveyor belt A is normally in the direction caused by clockwise rotation of drive roller gear 40. However, this normal direction of rotation may reverse whenever desired, by means of reversing gearing H which is provided for convenience in manipulation of the belt A at times when no web is being deposited thereon.

The stoppage of the conveyor belt A is preceded by the preliminary actuation` of the control armv 1 of a switch 2 comprising contacts 2a (Fig. S) which control the energization of a bell S via conductors 3. The switch 2 also controls the operation of a blower motor SZa-which drives a suction fan or blower 52 as hereinafter described.

The measuring device F, which controls the stoppage of conveyor belt A comprises a worm wheel 4 fixed to a shaft 5 and driven by a worm 6 fixed to a shaft 7.` A friction' wheel 8 is slidably splined on shaft 7 for rotationv therewith,v Friction wheel 8 is axially movable along shaft', 7 for engagement with a friction disc 9 at an adiustable; radial position thereon providing a variable ratio speed, changing device. Friction disc 9 is provided with gear teeth: which mesh with a pinion 10 fixed to a shaft 11'. A; sprocket; wheel 12 fixed on shaft 11 is connected to a further sprocket wheel disposed on a shaft 13 by means` of achain'14, the shaft 13 forming a part of the reversing gearing H.

.The position of friction wheel 8 may be varied by meansk of arrack 15 (Fig. 3) meshing with a pinion 16 fixed to. ashaft 1,7. Shaft 17 may be rotated by means of a hand-` wheel 18 fixed thereto in order to change the speed ratio of the friction drive-8 4! and, accordingly, the amount of; travel of conveyor belt A before the conveyor b'elt A` is automatically stopped. The amount of travel of conveyor belt A is determinative of the number of layers of. fieece which will be deposited thereupon at the time of' stoppage, and hence also determinative of the weight of the wadtof accumulated fibers to be removed from the; conveyor belt.

Thewormwheel 4 always operates through one corn-- plete; revolution irrespective of the speed ratio set by handwheel-18. The shaft 5, driven by worm wheel 4, has afnotched cam 19 adjustably fixed thereto which is engageable with a shoulder 20a near the free end ofv lever- 20.A The notched cam 19 may be angularly adjusted on shaft S to bring the notch 19a to a predetermined desired position with reference to arcalibrated scale 4a (Fig 2B) marked ,on the hubportion 4b of worm wheel 4. Suchv adjustment permits the relative positions of the notch 19a andshoulder Zliavnear the free end of leverl 20 to be adjusted. This adjustment varies the preliminary orwarnf ingatimepinterval.bywhich the ringing of bell S (Fig. `8) andthe-starting of blower motor 52a precede*` thegstop-V pagebfbelt-A.. In. making this adjustment, aset screw 19b-.(Figs. 2B,and 2C)A is temporarily loosened, andthe carrn19fturnedby, hand on shaft 5. When cam 19 has been .set in. thel desired position of adjustment, set screw 19h is` again tightened so that the adjustment will be maintained during the subsequent operation of the apparatus. i

The lever 20 is pivotally connected to the free end of the-actuating, arm 1 of switch 2. After shoulder 20a has engaged. :in: notch 19a of cam 19, ,continued rotationgof cam 19.will cause .actuation of switch 2 therebygstarting theblower motor 52a and causingbell Sto ring-as noted above.

Disposedl outside the cover 21 of the measuring-device F is a disc Z2 fixed to shaft 5 and provided withv a slotyi (Fig: 2) extendingradially inwardly from the periphery thereofl Disc 22 controls the stoppage of the conveyor belt :A. WhenY disc, 22 is brought into the positionffor stoppage of conveyorbelt A; a camrfollower-ZA is in alignment with-.slot 23 and moves to the left into slot23, asvievvedl ingFig. 2.y A' control rod ZS-moyes withhcarn follower 24. Control rod 25 is pivoted at 26 to 'an L- shaped lever 27 which is pivotally connected at 28 to a clutch control fork member 29. Fork member 29 is pivoted to the machine frame at 30. The forked end of member 29 is disposed in a groove 31 located between two ribs 32 of a sleeve portion 33 of the driven male portion 34 of a cone clutch. Male portion 34 of the cone clutch is engageable with and disengageable from the female driving portion 35 of the cone clutch, the driven male portion being freely revolubly and slidably mounted on a continuously revolving power driven shaft 36, the female driving portion 35 of the cone clutch being fixed to shaft 36. Conveyor cylinder 37 is freely revolubly mounted on the power driven shaft 36 and acts as an idler roller.

The male portion 34 of the cone clutch is normally pressed into driving engagement with the female portion 35 by a helical compression spring 38. Male portion 34 of the cone clutch is provided with gear teeth 39 which mesh with other gear teeth in the reversing gearing H to drive a gear 40 in a direction determined by the reversing gearing H. Gear 40 is fixed with respect to drive cylinder 41 which drives the endless conveyor belt A, and hence the belt A is driven by the male clutch member 34 through the gearing 39-H-40.

A continuously revolving eccentric cam 42 is fixed to shaft 36 and causes continuous oscillation of a clutch disengaging member 43 pivoted to the machine frame at 30 along with the clutch control fork member 29. One end of continuously oscillating member 43 cornes into proximity with fork member 29 once during each revolution of cam 42, but does not touch the fork member 29. When, however, the lever 27 is moved by the dropping of cam follower 24 into the slot 23 of disc 22, a portion of lever 27 is interposed between the end of oscillating member 43 and the fork member 29 causing fork member 29 to be revolved on its pivot 3B by oscillating member 43 to withdraw the male portion 34 of the cone clutch from its normal spring pressed engagement with the female portion 35. A latch member 47 carried by L- shaped lever 27, thereupon drops into a notch 47a (Figs. and 5A) in a fixed projecting rod 48 as shown in Figs. 5B and 5C and holds the fork lever 29 in its clutch disengaging position. This stops the further driving of the conveyor belt A through the cone clutch until the conveyor belt A is started again as described below.

To effect the return of the fleece while the conveyor belt A is stopped, a suction funnel 50 is provided as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. Funnel 50 is connected by a duct 51 with the intake side of a blower 52, and from the exhaust side of blower 52 another duct 53 extends to the loader 54 (Fig. l).

Disposed in conduit 51 intermediate funnel 50 and blower 52 is a three-way valve comprising a body 55 in which a rotary valve member 56 is disposed. Valve body 55 is provided with through openings 57 and a lateral opening 59. The valve is actuated by a roller 60 which engages the clutch control fork member 29 and the roller 60 is carried at one end of a lever 61 pivoted on a shaft 62 journaled in a fixed bearing 63. The opposite end of lever 61 terminates in an arcuate gear rack 64 which meshes with a sector gear 65 which drives rotary valve member 56.

While the endless conveyor belt A is in operation, the rotary valve member 56 is positioned to connect the intake of blower 52 to draw air from the room through the lateral valve opening 59. Thus, when the blower 52 starts operation shortly prior to the stoppage of the belt A, reduced pressure is available for sucking back the fleece, this reduced pressure being established in relatively close proximity to the suction funnel 50. When clutch forlf` member 29 is actuated to stop the conveyor belt A as described above, roller 60 is moved to rotate lever 61 about its pivot 62 and through the meshing 65 rotate valve member 56 to connect the intake of blower 52 with the suction funnel 50, the stoppage of conveyor belt A and the beginning of full suction action at funnel 50 being substantially simultaneous. It should be noted that the design and construction of valve body 55 and rotary valve member 56 is such as to minimize the catching of fibers in the returning fleece passing through the air duct 51.

When the conveyor belt A is started, with the fork lever 29 in clutch engaging position, a counterweight 67 draws arcuate rack 64 downwardly to rotate valve member 65 to draw air from the room through lateral opening 59, thus suppressing suction of the fleece.

The conveyor belt A is started in operation by means of a hand actuated control rod 70 suspended by links 71 and provided with a handle '72, the links 71 being secured to fixed pivots 73, control rod 70 being pivoted to L-shaped lever 27 at 26 together with control rod 25.

Pulling on handle 72 draws L-shaped lever 27 upwardly and forces control rod 25 to the right, thereby removing cam follower 24 from slot 23. A slot closer 74 actuated by gravity then closes slot 23 to prevent cam follower 24 from immediately reentering slot 23. Slot closer 74 may be restored in any convenient manner, not shown.

Pulling on handle 72 raises latch member 47 and allows spring 3S to reengage the cone clutch 34-35 thus starting the belt A, and also allows counterweight 67 on valve actuating arm 61 to rotate valve member 56 and stop the suction returning the fleece to the loader. The meter F is then ready to proceed through another complete revolution of worm wh-eel 4 and disc 22, after which the conveyor belt A may again be stopped.

The conveyor belt A may be stopped at will by pressing on handle 72. Cam follower 24 (Fig. 3A) moves with control rod 25 through the action of a compression spring 75 mounted on a rod 76 freely movable through an aperture in the laterally turned end portion 77 of control rod 25. Thus pressure on handle 72 allows movement of L-shaped lever 27 to cause stoppage of the conveyor belt A even though cam follower 24 may not enter the slot 23 in disc 22 by the compressibility of spring 76.

In operation, the carding machinery comprising carding cylinder a, the cleaner b and the delivery apron B is continuously supplying a thin fleecy web of carded fibers to the endless conveyor belt A. Before the belt A is started, clutch 34-35 is disengaged and blower 52 sucks up the continuously supplied fleecy web from delivery apron B just before it would otherwise be delivered to the conveyor belt A, the web being picked up by suction nozzle 50 and returned through valve D and duct 53 to the loader 54.

Handle 72 is pulled manually to start the belt A by causing engagement of clutch 154-35. This also causes operation of valve D to shut off the suction at nozzle 50. The fleecy web then passes from delivery apron B to the endless belt A clinging directly to its adherent surface until the belt has made one complete passage past delivery apron B whereafter the web adheres to the previously deposited underlying layer, the thin fleecy web accumulating in successively deposited superposed layers until the resulting endless wad of fibers has the desired weight per unit length as determined by the measuring device F. Shortly prior and preliminary to the actuation of measuring device F to stop the continued movement of belt A, the adjustable cam 19 moves lever 20 toward the right as viewed in Fig. 2A thus moving arm 1 to actuate switch 2. Actuation of switch 2 energizes blower motor 52a and starts the operation of blower 52 in anticipation of the impending stoppage of conveyor belt A. Actuation of switch 2 also cnergizes bell S to warn the attendant that the conveyor belt A is about to stop and that the accumulated wad of fibers must shortly be removed.

Soon after the preliminary actuation of switch 2, cam

.follower -24 drops into the radial slot 23 of circular .cam 22 which .is mounted on the single `revolution shaft .t of measuring device F. Thereupon lever 25 moves leftwardly as viewed in Pig. 2 causing counterclockwise rotation of L-shaped lever 27 about its pivot 28. A portion of L-shaped lever 27 adjacent to locking member 47 then becomes interposed between the .outer free end of continuously oscillating lever 43 and the forked clutch lever 29. As a result, on its next movement in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3, the free end of continuously oscillating power operated lever 43 presses on the outer side of L-shaped lever 27 and thereby forces both the L-shaped lever 27 and the forked clutch lever 29 to rotate together in a clockwise direction against the thrust of spring 38. This rotation immediately disengages lthe clutch .S4-35 stopping the further movement of conveyor belt A until it isl started again after removal of the accumulated Wad of bers by pulling on handle 72. The belt A may of course be stopped at any time by pushing handle 72 so that levers 25 and 70 move leftwardly together against the yielding pressure of the cam follower compression spring 75.

Although I have herein shown and described only one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A device of the class described for receiving and accumulating a thin ileecy web of carded iibers produced by .continuously operating carding machinery, and forming said web into an endless wad of predetermined weight per unit of its length, said device comprising: a movable endless conveyor belt having an adherent surface to which said web of bers will cling for receiving and retaining s'aid web thereon; delivery means for receiving said web from said carding machinery and depositing said web on said adherent .sur-face; controllable driving means for causing continued movement of said belt past said delivery means, repeated passages of said belt past said delivery means causing said web to accumulate thereon in superposed layers with the outer layers clinging to each other; control means for starting and stopping the operation of said driving means; means connected to said control means for star-ting the openation of said driving means; controllable pneumatically operated return means extending between said delivery means and said carding machinery for returning said web from said delivery means to said carding machinery for re-use; measuring means operative in accordance with a predetermined amount of continued movement of said belt past said delivery means,

said continued movement corresponding to the accumulation kon `said ibeltfof a l predetermined number lof superposed -layer-s'of said web -to form said wad, said measurling means being connected to said control means to cause stoppageof saidjbelt movement and connected to said contro-liable return means to `cause return of said web during said belt stoppage.

2. A device according -to claim l, further comprising, preliminary control means included in said measuring means and operative prior to said belt stoppage, controllable power operated air pressure producing means connected to 4said return means for said pneumatic operation thereoll said air pressure producing means being connected to said preliminary control means to be started in operation prior to said belt stoppage, and a pneumatic control valve connected in sa-id return means to cont-rol the operation thereof and connected for control by said measuring means to start operation of said return means substantial-ly simultaneously with said belt stoppage.

3. A device according to claim 2 in which saidpreliminary ,control means comprises electrical circuit control -means and wherein said air pressure producing means is driven by an electric motor, said motor being connected for kcontrol by said circuit control means,

4. A device according to claim 2 fur-ther comprising adjustable means included in said preliminary control means for varying the interval between the operation of said preliminary control means and said belt stoppage.

5. A device accord-ing to claim 2 further comprising warning signalmeans controlled by said preliminary con- -trol means for advising an attendant of an impending stoppage ot said belt.

6. A device according -toclaim 1, wherein said measuring means comprises a revoluble member which initiates said belt stoppage and adjustable variable speed ratio means driven with said belt by said driving means and connected tocause rotation of said revoluble member, whereby said predetermined number of layers may be varied by adjustment of said variable speed ratio means.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,132,878 Pilling Mar. 23, 1915 1,667,177 Trout Apr. 24, 1928 1,683,812 Walsh Sept. 11, 1928 1,980,841 Wuest Nov. 13, 1934 2,075,156 Albero Mar. 30, 1937 2,376,661 Clark May 22, 1945 2,441,390 Boeddinghaus May 1l, 1948 2,683,901 Griswold July 20, 1954

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