U.S. patent application number 10/145745 was filed with the patent office on 2002-12-19 for opening machine and an opening method.
This patent application is currently assigned to MARZOLI S.P.A.. Invention is credited to Pasini, Giovanni Battista, Vezzoli, Emilio.
Application Number | 20020189053 10/145745 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11458913 |
Filed Date | 2002-12-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020189053 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pasini, Giovanni Battista ;
et al. |
December 19, 2002 |
Opening machine and an opening method
Abstract
An opening machine for separating the fibres from intermingled
impurities in cotton tufts comprises a storage bin into which
cotton tufts to be processed are introduced, and an opening
cylinder associated with cleaning blades for separating the
impurities from the fibres and with suction openings for removing
the impurities and the fibres separately. The opening machine
comprises a pre-opening roller for performing a preliminary opening
of the tufts. The cotton material is withdrawn from the bin by feed
rollers, is processed by the pre-opening roller, and is introduced
into a chamber in the form of pre-opened tufts. A final feed roller
withdraws the tufts from the chamber and supplies them to the
opening cylinder. The final feed roller works at a withdrawal rate
greater than that of the feed rollers to prevent accumulation of
the tufts in the chamber.
Inventors: |
Pasini, Giovanni Battista;
(Palazzolo Sull ' Oglio, IT) ; Vezzoli, Emilio;
(Palazzolo Sull ' Oglio, IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SUGHRUE, MION, ZINN, MACPEAK & SEAS, PLLC
2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington
DC
20037-3213
US
|
Assignee: |
MARZOLI S.P.A.
|
Family ID: |
11458913 |
Appl. No.: |
10/145745 |
Filed: |
May 16, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
19/200 ;
G9B/5.193; G9B/5.198; G9B/5.231 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 5/5582 20130101;
D01G 9/12 20130101; G11B 5/5552 20130101; D01G 9/06 20130101; G11B
5/6005 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
19/200 |
International
Class: |
D01B 003/00; D02J
007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 31, 2001 |
IT |
TO2001A000518 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An opening machine for separating the fibres from intermingled
impurities in cotton tufts, of the type comprising: a storage bin
into which cotton tufts to be processed are introduced, an opening
cylinder associated with means for separating the impurities from
the fibres and with means for removing the impurities and the
fibres, separately, from the opening machine, the machine further
comprising roller pre-opening means which are interposed between
the storage bin and the opening cylinder and which can cooperate
with one another to perform a preliminary opening operation on the
tufts and to supply the tufts to the opening cylinder, in
controlled manner, in an at least partially-opened and
non-compacted condition.
2. The opening machine of claim 1, wherein the roller pre-opening
means comprise a pre-opening roller which can be rotated at
controlled speed and which has projecting peripheral elements
suitable for exerting an at least partial opening action on the
tufts.
3. The opening machine of claim 2, wherein the peripheral elements
are inclined slightly in the direction of rotation of the
pre-opening roller.
4. The opening machine of claim 2, wherein the roller pre-opening
means further comprise at least one second roller which is
operatively associated with the pre-opening roller and which can be
rotated at a controlled tangential velocity, in the same direction
of rotation as the pre-opening roller, in order to exert the at
least partial opening action on the tufts.
5. The opening machine of claim 4, wherein the second roller has a
clothing suitable for temporarily restraining the tufts thereon to
permit at least partial opening of the tufts by means of the
peripheral elements of the pre-opening roller.
6. The opening machine of claim 4, wherein the second roller is
located upstream of the pre-opening roller.
7. The opening machine of claim 4, wherein the pre-opening means
further comprise a third feed roller, located upstream of the
pre-opening roller and beside the second roller, in order to
cooperate with the second roller in the supply of the tufts from
the storage bin to the pre-opening roller.
8. The opening machine of claim 4, wherein the pre-opening roller
is rotated at a tangential velocity greater than that of the second
roller.
9. The opening machine of claim 1, wherein it comprises a supply
chamber located in an intermediate position between the roller
pre-opening means and a final feed roller associated with the
opening cylinder, the supply chamber being suitable for allowing
the material to pass through in a non-compacted and
partially-opened condition.
10. The opening machine of claim 9, wherein: the final feed roller
which supplies the material withdrawn from the intermediate supply
chamber to the opening cylinder, and the rollers of the roller
pre-opening means which withdraw the material from the storage bin,
have dimensions such, and/or are driven in a manner such, as to
prevent accumulation of material inside the intermediate
chamber.
11. The opening machine of claim 10, wherein the final feed roller
is arranged to supply the material from the intermediate chamber to
the opening cylinder with a delivery rate no less than the amount
of material withdrawn from the storage bin by the roller
pre-opening means per unit of time.
12. The opening machine of claim 11, wherein the final feed roller
is arranged to supply the material from the intermediate chamber to
the opening cylinder with a theoretical delivery rate about 20-50
times greater than the delivery rate of the roller pre-opening
means, or the quantity of material withdrawn from the storage bin
thereby per unit of time.
13. The opening machine of claim 9, wherein the intermediate
chamber comprises vent means for eliminating excessive air
pressure.
14. The opening machine of claim 15, wherein the vent means
comprise a perforated plate or grating defining one of the walls of
the intermediate chamber.
15. The method of opening cotton tufts and the like by means of an
opening machine according to claim 1, the method including the
steps of: a) introducing cotton tufts to be processed into a
storage bin, b) withdrawing the cotton material from a lower region
of the bin by means of roller feed means, c) pre-opening the cotton
material withdrawn by the roller feed means, by means of a
pre-opening roller rotated at controlled speed and having
projecting peripheral elements suitable for exerting an at least
partial opening action on the tufts, d) introducing the tufts into
an intermediate chamber in an at least partially-opened condition,
e) withdrawing the tufts from the intermediate chamber by means of
a final feed roller operatively associated with an opening
cylinder, f) opening the tufts by means of the opening cylinder,
separating the impurities from the fibres, and removing the
impurities and the fibres, separately, from the opening
machine.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step e) of the withdrawal
of the tufts from the intermediate chamber is achieved by
adjustment of the speed of the roller feed means and of the speed
of the final feed roller in a manner such as to prevent
accumulation of the cotton material in the intermediate
chamber.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the final feed roller is
rotated in a manner such as to supply the material from the
intermediate chamber to the opening cylinder with a theoretical
delivery rate about 10-50 times greater than the delivery rate of
the roller pre-opening means, or the quantity of material withdrawn
from the storage bin thereby per unit of time.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to an opening machine for
separating the fibres from intermingled vegetable impurities in
cotton tufts, of the type defined in the preamble to claim 1. The
invention also relates to a method of opening cotton tufts and the
like.
[0002] Conventional opening machines comprise an upper storage bin
or supply chamber into which the cotton tufts to be processed are
introduced. At the bottom of the storage bin there is an opening
cylinder (with prongs, needles or clothing) which cooperates with
cleaning blades to split up the fluffy masses of cotton at least
partially into their individual constituent fibres, eliminating the
intermingled vegetable impurities (parts of leaves, of capsules, of
seeds, earth, etc.) therefrom. In the vicinity of the opening
cylinder there are usually suction openings for removing the
impurities separated from the fibres and a duct through which the
impurity-free fibres are removed.
[0003] An example of this known technology is provided by U.S. Pat.
No. 4,858,277.
[0004] In conventional opening machines, the material in tufts
usually reaches the opening cylinder in the form of a compact mat.
When the material is processed in the compacted condition, the
opening cylinder cannot achieve good separation of the fibres from
the vegetable impurities, unless a clothing having quite
"aggressive" characteristics towards the material to be treated is
selected for the opening cylinder. However, a clothing of this type
brings about the breakage of a considerable quantity of fibres.
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an opening
machine which can eliminate the disadvantages of the prior art
discussed above. In particular, it is an object of the invention to
provide an opening machine which can bring about improved cleaning
efficiency, that is, which can achieve better separation of the
vegetable impurities from the fibres, without damaging the
fibres.
[0006] Another object of the invention is to provide an opening
machine which can operate with a shorter working cycle.
[0007] These and other objects and advantages which will be
understood further from the following are achieved, according to
the invention, by an opening machine having the characteristics
defined in claim 1.
[0008] According to a further aspect of the invention, a method
comprising the steps defined in claim 15 is proposed.
[0009] A preferred but non-limiting embodiment of an opening
machine and of an opening method according to the present invention
will now be described with reference to the appended drawing, which
is a schematic, vertically-sectioned view of an opening machine
according to the invention.
[0010] With reference to the drawing, an opening machine according
to the present invention is generally indicated 10. The general
structure of the opening machine shown in FIG. 1 may be considered
generally known; only the elements which are of specific importance
and interest for the purposes of the implementation of the
invention will therefore be described in detail in the following
description. For the construction of the parts and of the elements
which are not described in detail, reference may therefore be made
to any known opening machine.
[0011] The opening machine 10 comprises a substantially vertical
storage bin 11 in the upper portion of which there is an intake
device 12 connected to a duct 13 for the supply of cotton tufts
from the exterior.
[0012] In the lower portion of the opening machine there is a
conventional opening cylinder, indicated 14, associated with
conventional cleaning blades 15, carding segments 16 and openings
17 for the suction and removal of the impurities separated from the
fibrous portion of the cotton tufts. The fibres, on the other hand,
are removed by suction through a duct 18.
[0013] An important characteristic of the solution according to the
invention is that, in the lower portion of the bin 11 in which the
tufts to be processed are stored, there is a set of three rollers
which can perform a preliminary opening operation on the tufts and
can supply the tufts to the opening cylinder 14 in a controlled
manner and in an at least partially-opened and non-compacted
condition.
[0014] Two feed rollers 19 and 20 are arranged substantially side
by side in the lower portion of the storage bin 11 and are rotated
in the directions indicated by the arrows in order to withdraw, in
a metered manner, the material which is usually in a compacted
condition in the base of the storage bin 11, and to supply this
material, in a less dense condition, to a pre-opening roller
21.
[0015] The feed roller 19 has projecting peripheral elements 19a
adapted to force the tufts of material to fall into the passage
between the rollers 19 and 20.
[0016] The feed roller 20 has an outer clothing 20a which serves to
restrain the cotton tufts whilst they are located in the narrow
passage between the rollers 20 and 21 and are subjected to a
rubbing action by means of elements 21a projecting from the
periphery of the pre-opening roller 21. Since the pre-opening
roller 21 is rotated at a tangential velocity considerably greater
than that of the clothed roller 20 and of the feed roller 19, it
brings about, by means of the outer elements 21a, a preliminary or
at least partial opening of the tufts which are dragged along by
the clothing 20a of the clothed feed roller 20. By way of
indication, the feed roller 20 rotates at a tangential velocity of
between 1.5 and 4 m/min., whereas the preopening roller 21 rotates
at a tangential velocity of between about 400 and 600 m/min.
[0017] Preferably, a passage having a width of between 0.5 and 2
mm, and most preferably of about 1 mm, is defined between the
clothing 20a of the roller 20 and the ends of the elements 21a of
the pre-opening roller 21.
[0018] The tufts, in a partially-opened condition, are thus thrown
by the peripheral elements 21a of the rotating pre-opening roller
21 into an intermediate supply chamber 22 disposed immediately
upstream of the opening cylinder 14 and of a feed roller 24
associated therewith.
[0019] It is important to note that the feed roller 24, which is
disposed in the lower opening of the intermediate chamber 22, is
rotated at a tangential velocity greater than that of the feed
rollers 19 and 20 so as to prevent accumulation of material in the
intermediate chamber 22. In other words, the material coming from
the pre-opening roller 21 reaches the final feed roller 24 in the
form of non-compacted tufts. The speed of rotation of the final
feed roller 24 is preferably regulated in a manner such as to
supply the material to the cylinder 14 with a theoretical delivery
rate about 10.div.50 times greater, preferably about 30 times
greater, than the delivery rate of the feed rollers 19 and 20, or
the quantity withdrawn from the base of the bin 11 thereby per unit
of time.
[0020] Moreover, since the peripheral elements 21a of the
preopening roller 21 can exert a pumping action on the air, towards
the chamber 22, the chamber preferably has a grating or perforated
plate 23 which allows the air to escape and thus prevents the
formation of undesired excessive air pressure inside the
chamber.
[0021] The individual partially-opened cotton tufts are then passed
from the chamber 22 to the opening cylinder 14 by means of the
final feed roller 24. Since the cotton tufts reach the opening
cylinder 14 in an already partially-opened condition, the cylinder
14 can advantageously have finer or less aggressive clothings in
order to process the cotton tufts more effectively and to separate
their fibrous cotton fraction from the impurities without damaging
or breaking the fibres.
[0022] Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining the
same, the details of construction and forms of embodiment may be
varied widely with respect to those described and illustrated,
without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as
defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *