A CARD CLOTHING FOR FLATS OF A CARDING MACHINE

Abstract: Each saw tooth wire strip (1) is provided with a plurality of angular bends forming a plurality of strip sections (8,9,10,11). The strip sections (8,11) located at the leading and the trailing end of the wire strip (1) extend parallel to the direction of fibre flow (A). The intermediate strip sections (9,10) extend inclined thereto. This allows a setting of a higher number of teeth in the card clothing. Also, a highly improved performance of the opening of neps as well as parallelizing of the fibres is achieved. The wire strips (1) are threaded onto an elongated carrier member (13) and are locked thereonto by means of a locking member (12) in a prestressed state. It is, therefore, not possible that individual wire strips (1) can be torn off by any forces acting thereupon leading to damages of the machine.

Description: The present invention relates to a card clothing for flats of a carding machine, which card clothing includes a plurality of mutually abutting saw tooth wire strips. Carding machines include as main working elements a rotating main carding drum provided with a saw tooth wire clothing in form of a saw tooth wire strip helically wound therearound and flats provided with a card clothing and located along a part of the circumference of the carding drum. One design of clothing of the flats includes a plurality of saw tooth wire strips. These cooperate with the clothing of the carding drum to produce a fleece free of neps and having parallelized fibres. The EP-A-144 607, which shows the most relevant state of the art discloses a card clothing for flats of a carding machine, which card clothing includes a plurality of mutually abutting saw tooth wire strips, which saw tooth wire strips extend inclined relative to the direction of fibre flow and are clampingly supported on an elongated carrier member in a lateral mutually prestressed manner. Furthermore, the DE-A-2 145 459 discloses saw tooth wire strips of a card clothing which comprise one bend. While saw tooth wire sections extending inclined relative to the direction of the fibre flow enhance the cleaning action of the fibres, they are deficient since the parallelizing of the fibres to form the fleece is poor. The invention as claimed is intended to provide a remedy. It solves the problem of how to design saw tooth wires for a card clothing in which the saw tooth wires have at their leading and trailing end portions extending parallel to the direction of fibre flow. The advantage offered by the invention is mainly that due to the portions of the saw tooth wires which extend parallel to the direction of fibre flow an improved parallelizing of the fibres is achieved. The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above, will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawing, wherein Fig. 1 illustrates in a partially exploded view an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2-4 illustrate top views of individual saw tooth wire strips embodying the present invetion. Fig. 1 illustrates a card clothing comprising a plurality of saw tooth wire strips 1 having a number of bends such that each saw tooth wire strip 1 is divided into several sections identified in Fig. 1 by the reference numerals 8,9,10,11. Fig. 2 illustrates a top view of the same embodiment of the inventive saw tooth wire strip. The direction of the fibre flow is indicated in all figures by the arrow "A". The portion 8 of the saw tooth wire strip is located at its leading end and extends parallel to the direction of the fibre flow "A". The strip 1 is now angularly bent such that the next section 9 extends inclined relative to the direction of the fibre flow "A". The angle of the inclination identified by α in fig. 2 may be in the range from about 65° to about 89°. This section 9 is followed by a further section 10 which is also inclined relative to the direction of the fibre flow "A", but in an opposite sense. A final section 11 at the trailing end of the saw tooth wire strip 1 extends again parallel to the direction of the fibre flow "A". In operation the incoming fibres will initially be engaged by the teeth of the leading section 8 of the saw tooth wire strip 1 extending parallel to the direction of fibre flow such that the fibres are engaged by the sharpest working or treating area of the clothing. This produces an excellent opening or eliminating, resp. of the neps of the fibres. After passing this initial treating zone the fibres will be engaged by the teeth of the first inclined strip section 9. Due to the inclination of the teeth relative to the direction of fibre flow an excellent parallelizing of the fibres is arrived at. The strip section 9 is followed by the oppositely inclined strip section 10 improving the parallelizing still further. Finally, the trailing and parallel section 11 of the clothing adds further to the resolving of neps or neplike entanglements. Due to the inclined orientation of the two intermediate sections 9 and 10 it is conclusively possible to choose a larger range of alternative settings of the teeth of the card clothing. Figs. 3 - 4 illustrate further embodiments or possibilities of practicing the present invention. The various shapes can be installed depending e.g. on certain particularities of the fibres being treated. It is now obvious that due to the inclined oriented sections 9 and 10 of the saw tooth wire strip a lateral force will be exerted onto a mounting means by which the strips are mounted onto their carrier. As mentioned above, a bonding by means of a bonding agent or a setting into a substrate of a plastic material leads to individual wire strips being torn off. Thus, the strips of the present invention are mounted such that above danger is eliminated. Fig. 1 illustrates among other details one single saw tooth wire strip 1 including a row of teeth 2. The strip 1 is of a twin-foot design having an upper foot 3 and a lower foot 4 including a web portion 5 extending therebetween. The web portion 5 is provided with a rectangular opening 6. At the two far ends of the strip 1 a slanted slot 7 is provided. This embodiment of the saw tooth wire strip 1 is angularly bent in accordance with the invention and this particular embodiment of the orientation of the various sections of the strip is specifically clearly illustrated in the top view of fig. 2. As illustrated in fig. 1 a plurality of saw tooth wire strips 1 is threaded onto an elongated carrier member 13 which extends through the individual openings 6 of the wire strips 1. The embodiment incorporates a carrier member 13 in form of a flat profile section. Obviously, other profiles may be used too, such as e.g. U-profiles, T-profiles, I-profiles, whereby the corresponding opening 6 in the saw tooth wire strips 1 may also have accordingly designed shapes. The individual slots 7 of the thus formed wire strip package unite to form a longitudinally extending slot. This slot will receive the known elongated clips by means of which the wire strip package is mounted to the flat as is common practice. The elongated carrier member 13 includes at its end section a laterally thereof extending opening. This opening 14 is to cooperate with a block shaped locking member 12. This locking member is provided with respective slots 7 for receiving above mentioned clips, and with an opening 17 corresponding in shape and location to the rectangular openings 6 of the wire strips 1. The opposite end of the elongated carrier member 13 may have a block shaped abutment integrally mounted thereto and operative to abuttingly contact the last wire strip of the entire package, or, alternatively, may be provided with a further opening 14 for lockingly receiving a further block-shaped locking member 12. In order to lock the block-like locking member 12 onto the carrier 13, the bottom portion of the locking member 12, i.e. the portion extending below its opening 17 is slit such to form two bars 15 and 16. After the locking member 12 has been slid onto the carrier member 13, bar 16 is deformed upwards such to engage into the opening 14 such that the locking member 12 is secured to the carrier member 13. Quite obviously, a variety of different securing means be applied. This particularly illustrated securing means corresponds to that which is disclosed in the CH-PS 655 521 of the same patentee. After the locking member 12 has been slid onto the carrier member 13 but before deforming its bar 16 into opening 14 a pressure is applied onto the locking member 12 such to have a prestressing force acting onto all saw tooth wire strips. The locking of the locking member 12 onto the carrier member 13 proceeds accordingly at this prestressed condition of the wire strips 1 such that after the bar 16 has been lockingly deformed into the opening 14 the saw tooth wire strips 1 are in a state of a permanent prestress on the carrier member 13. It is now obvious that laterally directed force components acting onto the individual saw tooth wire strips 1 can in no way give rise to the danger of individual wire strips getting torn out of their anchoring and thus damage the machine. Also, due to the illustrated angulated extent of the wire strips a vastly improved operational behaviour regarding the opening of neps as well as the parallelizing of the fibres treated is achieved.

Claims: A card clothing for flats of a carding machine, which card clothing includes a plurality of mutually abutting saw tooth wire strips of which at least one extends inclined relative to the direction of fibre flow, which saw tooth wire strips are clampingly supported on an elongated carrier member in a lateral mutually prestressed manner, characterized in that each saw tooth wire strip comprises two wire strip sections extending parallel relative to the direction of the fibre flow and located at the leading and trailing, respectively, end of the saw tooth wire strip. The card clothing of claim 1, in which each saw tooth wire strip is bent angularly such that a plurality of wire strip sections are formed, of which two extend inclined relative to the direction of fibre flow. The card clothing of claim 2, in which the two inclined extending wire strip sections are inclined oppositely to each other relative to the direction of fibre flow.

Inventors: GRAF, RALPH ARMIN
Applicants: GRAF + CIE AG
Application year: 1987
Main classification: D01G15
IPC codes: D01G15