Patent ID: 7360474
Filing Date: 2008-04-22
Classification: C03B,D01G,Y02P,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of separating long lengths of unwound item(s) selected from the group consisting of fibers, fiber strands, string, yarn, wire, tape and ribbon into short pieces comprising feeding one or more items in an unwound form into a chopper comprising a frame, a front wall a rotatable backup roll outboard of one side of the front wall, the backup roll having a peripheral working layer with a working surface, a rotatable blade roll outboard of the front wall, the blade roll having a plurality of blades or sharp edges spaced apart around its periphery for contact with and penetration of said item(s) and said working surface and into the peripheral working layer of the backup roll, and a start up roll located on a pivot arm and an idler roll located vertically lower than the vertically lowest part of the peripheral working layer for the purpose of directing the unwound item(s) onto the peripheral working layer, the improvement comprising: placing a downstream shield between the idler roll and the blade roll and spaced from the working surface of the backup roll, an upper end of the shield being close to the working surface and having one or more air jets, the shield extending downwardly and ending at a location that is vertically lower than the bottom of the idler roll, the shield being at least as wide as a working surface of the idler roll and blowing a fluid across a surface of the shield, and operating the chopper to separate the item(s) into short segments.