Abstract:
A sawless lint cleaner receives the cotton as doffed from the gin stand in an airstream. The lint is deflected toward spiked cylindrical rollers of a cleaner and wiped across a grating at a speed about equal to the airspeed. The grating is in cylindrical segments as close to the spikes as tolerance will permit. The grating is composed of parallel bars approximately 5 mm thick spaced 13 mm apart and angled about 15° from the radial line of the shaft of the spiked cylinder. Trash passes through the grating. The lint is reunited with the air at the end of the cleaner and conveyed to a condenser. The condenser separates the air and forms the lint into a batt for further cleaning by a typical saw lint cleaner.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     None, however, Applicant filed Disclosure Document Number 325,404 on Feb. 22, 1993, which document concerns this application; therefore, by separate paper it is respectfully requested that the document be retained and acknowledgment thereof made by the Examiner. (MoPEP 1706) 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to cotton ginning and more particularly to a lint cleaner in a cotton gin. A cotton ginner is one having ordinary skill in this art. 
     As used herein, cotton gin refers to the building and all the structure and machinery within the building for receiving harvested seed cotton and separating the seed from the lint, and also removing the trash from the seed and lint. 
     Seed cotton refers to the cotton as harvested which will include not only the seed with the lint on the seed, but also burrs, sticks and other trash. 
     Cotton seed is used to refer to the seed with the cotton lint removed therefrom. 
     Lint is used synonymously with cotton lint and refers to the fibers of cellulose which form the lint and which have been separated from the seed. 
     The machinery used in the cotton gin is different from the machinery used in cotton mills. The cotton gins are required to handle high volumes of product. The modern cotton gins will process as much or more than 20 bales of cotton per hour. Also, the cotton leaving the cotton gin will not be as smooth and free of twisted fibers, naps, and the like, as is required by the cotton mills for the cotton to be spun into yarn and thread. The cotton gin machinery must first and foremost process cotton quickly. Cotton mills must process cotton so that the lint is in condition to be spun. 
     (2) Description of the Related Art 
     The first step in the preparation of cotton is normally done by a cotton gin. At the cotton gin the seed cotton is first cleaned. A common type of cleaner for cleaning the seed cotton as it arrives, is an &#34;air-line cleaner&#34;, or an &#34;inclined cleaner&#34;. Basically, these terms are different names for the same machine. Basically, in these cleaners, the cotton including burrs, sticks, trash, leaf particles and dirt, are carried along in an airstream. The entire mass of harvested material is wiped across a screen. Originally these screens were formed of a heavy, woven wire. Presently, they are often round bars parallel to a spiked drum which wipes the seed cotton across the screen. The wiping the seed cotton across the screen separates considerable dust, leaf trash, and sticks from the seed cotton and the cotton carried in the airstream. Also, in some of the seed cotton cleaning, the burr is removed. Normally in this step, the locks of seed cotton are snagged upon saw teeth and brought across bars. Often the bars are mounted on cylinders for rotating so that the surface of the saw teeth is moving in an opposite direction from the surface of the bars. In this manner the burrs are knocked free from the locks of seed cotton. 
     Regardless of the cleaning steps that are involved before the seed cotton is ginned, it is not unusual for it to be cleaned by several cleaning steps. 
     A gin stand removes the seed from the lint. Normally this is done by snagging the lint upon saw teeth and pulling the lint through spaces between ribs. The spacing of the ribs is too narrow for the seed to pass, and therefore the lint is pulled free of the seed. The cotton lint is doffed from the saw by brushes or air blast. The lint cotton is carried in an airstream. 
     After the lint has been separated from the seed it customarily is cleaned. For a saw lint cleaner the lint is first separated from the air and formed into a batt. Then, the batt is snagged on the teeth of the lint cleaner and brushed against stationary bars to remove fine leaf particles, and other trash, from the lint. Thereafter the lint was doffed from the saws of the lint cleaner, again condensed and baled into balers. 
     Often the cotton is passed through two saw lint cleaners. In the saw process of cleaning the lint it is not unusual to form naps or nips, or to crimp and twist the fibers of the cotton, resulting in a rough texture of the cotton, rather than a smooth cotton which is more easily handled by textile mills to spin into yarn to form threads for weaving. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Progressive Contribution to the Art 
     In an effort to reduce the amount of nips and to produce a smoother cotton after having been lint cleaned, this invention utilizes a sawless lint cleaner. 
     To a certain extent, the sawless lint cleaner of this invention is closely related in structure to an air-line cleaner or inclined cleaner as used to clean seed cotton. 
     The sawless lint cleaner receives the lint cotton entrained in an airstream. A deflection valve, somewhat resembling a comb, deflects the lint upon a spiked drum. According to the embodiment of this invention there is a series of four spiked drums inclined upward. 
     The sawless lint cleaner will be housed in an air-tight housing. The top of the housing is spaced above the top of the drums so that an air plenum is formed there. The lint will be wiped by spiked drums across a grating or screen below the drums. The air will pass through the plenum to the outlet where it is re-combined with the lint which has been brushed across the screen or grating. A grating, as used, is composed of a series of bars having rectangular cross-sections. The bars are about 5 mm in thickness and are spaced from adjacent bars by about 10 mm. The bars are inclined in a forward direction. Good success has been achieved by using this particular arrangement to separate the trash with minimum loss of lint. 
     After being cleaned by the sawless lint cleaners the cotton moves to a condenser where the air is separated and the lint formed into a batt to be cleaned by a saw lint cleaner. 
     (2) Objects of this Invention 
     An object of this invention is to clean lint cotton. 
     A further object of this invention is to clean lint cotton in high volumes in a cotton gin with a minimum damage to the smooth texture of the lint. 
     Further objects are to achieve the above with devices that are sturdy, compact, durable, lightweight, simple, safe, efficient, versatile, ecologically compatible, energy conserving, and reliable, yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture, install, operate, and maintain. 
     Other objects are to achieve the above with a method that is rapid, versatile, ecologically compatible, energy conserving, efficient, and inexpensive, and does not require highly skilled people to install, operate, and maintain. 
     The specific nature of the invention, as well as other objects, uses, and advantages thereof, will clearly appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, the different views of which are not necessarily scale drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a cotton gin according to this invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view somewhat schematic of a sawless lint cleaner according to this invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a detail of the interaction of the spikes on the spiked drum and the grating. 
     FIG. 4 is a detail of the intake air valve taken substantially on line 4--4 of FIG. 2. 
     FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of the trash disposal portion of the invention. 
     As an aid to correlating the terms of the claims to the exemplary drawing(s), the following catalog of elements and steps is provided: 
     10 cotton gin 
     12 harvested seed cotton 
     14 seed cotton cleaner 
     16 gin stands 
     18 lint duct 
     20 sawless lint cleaner 
     22 condenser 
     23 saw lint cleaner 
     24 baler 
     26 inlet 
     28 spiked drums 
     30 spiked drums 
     32 spiked drums 
     34 spiked drums 
     36 frame 
     38 axis 
     40 grating 
     42 outlet 
     44 auger conveyer 
     46 vacuum dropper 
     48 trash duct 
     50 transitional element 
     52 spikes 
     54 cylindrical segments 
     56 series of bars 
     58 tips 
     60 working face 
     62 separator 
     64 shaft 
     66 lever 
     68 tines 
     70 top 
     72 plenum 
     α plane angle 
     β grating angle 
     W width 
     L length 
     T thickness 
     SS separator space 
     SW separator width 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings, in FIG. 1 the dashed lines represents cotton gin 10. Harvested seed cotton 12 will arrive at the cotton gin in trailers or wagons or as modules. In normal operation the harvested seed cotton 12 will be transferred by suction into the gin 10 and into seed cotton cleaner 14. Although the seed cotton cleaner is shown as a separate unit, it will be understood by those in the art that it could be several units which in some cases the cotton would be entrained in air and blown, and in other cases it would be separated from the air and cleaned to remove the burrs and the like. In any event, the cotton seed cleaner will remove trash from the seed cotton and the clean seed cotton will be transferred to gin stands 16. 
     The gin stands are a battery of machines which separate the seed from the lint. The lint will be transferred by lint duct 18 which receives the lint cotton entrained in air from the gin stand 16 and transfers it to sawless lint cleaner 20. From the sawless lint cleaner the lint, entrained in air, will be taken to condenser 22 where the air is separated from the lint. 
     The lint will be formed in a batt by condenser 22 and fed to saw lint cleaner 23 where further cleaning takes place. Thereafter the lint is conveyed to baler 24 where the baled lint cotton is then available to be transported to warehouse. 
     Referring to FIG. 2 the sawless lint cleaner 20 is connected to the duct 18 by inlet 26 attached to the lint cleaner 20. The lint cleaner will include a series of spiked drums 28, 30, 32, and 34. Each of the drums will be journalled by suitable bearings to frame 36. The bearings are arranged so that axis 38 of each of the spiked drums lie in a single plane. Also it may be seen that the plane will be at an angle alpha &#34;α&#34; to horizontal. I have found that the cleaner works well with alpha equal to 30°. The spiked drums are driven by means not shown in the drawings for clarity and conciseness. The drums 28-34 as viewed in FIG. 2 all rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. It will be noted that the lint duct 18 is horizontal as it enters inlet 26 of the sawless lint cleaner 20. Normally, the lint in the airstream will be moving at about 460 meters (1500&#39;) per minute. The drive means for the drum is such that the drums are driven with a spike speed of about 460 meters per minute so that the drums with their spikes, move the lint at about the speed at which the cotton is moving in the airstream. Stated otherwise, the drums are connected to a means for rotating the drums at a circumferential speed about equal to the air speed. Thus, it may be seen that the drums 28-34 wipe lint entering from inlet 26 across grating 40. After the lint has been wiped across the grating 40 the lint is swept into outlet 42. At that point the lint will be entrained or reunited in the air and it will be taken from there to the condenser 22 as explained above. 
     The entire lint cleaner 20 from inlet 26 to outlet 42 is housed in a housing which is reasonably air-tight according to cotton gin standards as is known in the art. The trash which falls through the grating 40 will fall into auger conveyer 44 wherein it is transported to vacuum dropper 46 and the trash dropped to trash duct 48 to be disposed of. The trash will be directed by transitional element 50 from the grating to the conveyor 44. 
     Each of the spiked drums 28, 30, 32, and 34 will be cylindrical drums about 20 cm (8&#34;) in diameter. The length of the drums vary according to the amount of cotton produced, but many would be about 2 m (78&#34;) in length. Each of the drums will have spikes 52 projecting from them, the spikes will project from a sheet metal surface of the drum about 1&#34;. Each of the spikes 52 will be about 5 mm (3/16&#34;) in diameter. The spiked drums are sometimes referred to as spiked cylinders. 
     The grating 40 will have cylindrical segments 54 for each spiked drum. Each of the segments will be from a series of bars 56. The bars will each have a rectangular cross-section. The bars will have a width &#34;W&#34; of about 13 mm (1/2&#34;) and a thickness &#34;T&#34; of about 5 mm (3/16&#34;). Also, each of the bars will have a length &#34;L&#34; equal to the length of the spiked drums, which is to say about 2 m. The bars will all be parallel to one another and also, they will be parallel to the axis 38 of the spiked drums 28-34. The cylindrical segments 54 will also be co-axial with the spiked drums, i.e., they will each be an arc of the cylinder of which the axis 38 is the center. The bars will be spaced from tips 58 of the spikes 52 with small tolerances. Those having ordinary skill in the cotton ginning arts will understand the clearance needed between spiked drums and gratings associated therewith. 
     Each of the bars 56 will have what is called a working face 60 which will be that planar face 2 m long and about 13 mm wide. As may be seen in the drawing and particularly in FIG. 3, the bars are not radial from the axis 38 but are angled at an angle beta &#34;β&#34; therefrom. Good success has resulted from an angle &#34;β&#34; of about 15°. As may be seen, the angle &#34;β&#34; is the angle the working face makes with a radial line extending from the axis 38 of the spiked cylinder as measured at the clearance between the spikes and the grating 40. Also it may be seen that the bars are inclined in the direction of travel of the circumference of the spiked drums. 
     The open spaces between the bars is about 10 mm (3/8&#34;). Stated otherwise, the bars are on about 15 mm centers (9/16&#34;). 
     As stated above, after the lint has been cleaned in the sawless lint cleaner it will be conveyed by the outlet 42 through a duct to condenser 22 and to conventional saw lint cleaner 23. 
     Air valve or separator 62 is attached to shaft 64 which is journalled through the inlet 26. On the exterior of the inlet 26 lever 66 is attached to shaft 64 so that the separator may be positioned to different angles or positions within the inlet. The separator has a plurality of tines 68 which have a separator width &#34;SW&#34; of about 13 mm (1/2&#34;). A space between adjacent tines 68 shown on the drawing as separator space &#34;SS&#34; is also about 13 mm (1/2&#34;). The inlet 26 is rectangular and the entire width of the inlet which would be about 2 m (78&#34;) would be the length of the shaft 64 and separator 62. Each of the tines would be about 25 cm (10&#34;) in length. 
     Referring particularly to FIG. 2 it may be seen that in the normal position the separator would be pointing about to the axis of the spiked cylinder 28. By lever 66 it may be varied from horizontal to about 30° downward from horizontal. 
     The function of the separator or inlet valve is to direct the particles of lint upon the spiked drum 28, and to permit most of the air to go between the top of the spiked drums 28, 30, 32, and 34 and top 70 of the housing of the sawless lint cleaner 20. In this regard the space between the spiked drums and the top 70 is considered to be an air plenum 72. 
     The embodiment shown and described above is only exemplary. I do not claim to have invented all the parts, elements or steps described. Various modifications can be made in the construction, material, arrangement, and operation, and still be within the scope of my invention. 
     The restrictive description and drawings of the specific examples above do not point out what an infringement of this patent would be, but are to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The limits of the invention and the bounds of the patent protection are measured by and defined in the following claims.