FIBRE PROCESSING

Abstract: An apparatus (1) and method for fibre processing, in particular, for opening and drafting fibres. The apparatus includes a device (2) having a series of pins (7) coupled to a drive mechanism (8) and arranged for sequential insertion in a feed path (6) along which the fibres are passed, the mechanism being arranged to increase the relative speed between the pins after insertion, to open and draft the fibres.

Description: FIBRE PROCESSING Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of fibre processing and, in particular, to an apparatus and method for opening and drafting fibres. Background of the Invention In the textile industry, the conversion of raw or loose fibres into finished product often involves processing steps which reduce product quality by damaging and breaking the fibres. In the wool industry, in particular, the raw product firstly needs to be washed or scoured, which entangles the fibres, and then subjected to a "carding" operation to disentangle the fibres for subsequent processing. The carding operation involves passing the wool fibres over a rotating cylinder or 'card' which is covered with a dense arrangement of wire hooks designed to open the tangled fibres by a tearing action. Significant fibre damage and breakage occurs during this process. After the carding operation, the fibres are "drafted" through a series of rollers to draw out the fibres before being subjected to a "gilling" operation. The gilling operation realigns the fibres by drawing a series of combs through the fibres at a fixed rate, faster than the rate of travel of the introduced fibres. The gilling operation also leads to fibre breakage. After the gilling operation, the fibres may again be drawn out (drafted) through a series of rollers to produce what is know as a "sliver" for use in subsequent production of yarn. Object of the Invention The present invention seeks to provide an alternative apparatus and method for processing fibres, which allows for a reduction in damage to the fibres. Summary of the Invention In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for fibre processing, having a fibre-opening device including a series of pins coupled to a drive mechanism and arranged for sequential insertion in a feed path along which the fibres are passed, the mechanism being arranged to increase the relative speed between the pins after insertion. Preferably, the drive mechanism increases the speed between the pins by increasing the relative angle therebetween. Preferably, the drive mechanism drives the pins along a drive path which includes a curved portion to increase the relative angle therebetween, the curved portion extending over a substantial part of the feed path in which the pins inserted. Preferably, the pins are coupled to the drive mechanism so as to maintain an angle of greater than 90° relative to the feed path, in a direction of travel of fibres. Preferably, the pins are mounted to respective carriages which are pivotally connected to the drive mechanism. Preferably, the pins are each provided in a respective comb of pins, extending transversely of the feed path. Preferably, the drive mechanism includes a continuous loop drive which passes over a first cog or set of cogs to effect the curved portion of the drive path. Preferably, the continuous loop drive is a chain drive. Preferably, the apparatus includes feed-in rollers for directing the fibre travelling along the feed path to intersect with the drive path, the rollers being driven at a speed less than the speed of the pins so as to create a draft between the rollers and the device. Preferably, the apparatus includes a plurality of devices arranged in series. In another aspect, there is provided a method for opening and drafting fibres including passing the fibres along a feed path to be engaged by a series of pins coupled to a drive mechanism, for sequential insertion into the feed path, and increasing the relative speed between the pins after insertion in the feed path. Preferably, the method includes increasing the relative speed between the pins by increasing the relative angle therebetween. Preferably, the method includes passing the pins along a drive path which includes a curved portion to increase the relative angle therebetween wherein the curved portion extends over a substantial part of the feed path in which the pins are inserted. Preferably, the method includes maintaining the pins at an angle of greater than 90° relative to the feed path, along the curved portion, in a direction opposite the direction of travel of the fibres. Preferably, the method includes providing feed-in rollers to direct the fibres travelling along the feed path to intersect with the drive path and driving the rollers at a speed less than the speed of the pins along the drive path so as to create a draft between the rollers and the pins. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention is described in more detail, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus of the invention; Figure 2 is an illustration representing a processing line, including the apparatus of Figure 1; and Figure 3 illustrates an alternative arrangement of feed-in and take-up rollers, compared to that shown in Figures 1 and 2. Detailed Description The apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 includes a device 2 provided between feed-in rollers 3 and uptake rollers 4, which serve to feed fibres 5 along a feed path 6 which travels between the rollers 3 and 4 and over the device 2. The device 2 includes pins 7 which are mounted to a drive mechanism 8 for driving the pins 7 along a drive path 9 so that the pins 7 intersect with and are sequentially inserted in the drive path 6. After insertion, the relative speed between the pins is increased to open and draft the fibres. The increase in speed is effected by driving the pins along a curved portion 10 of the drive path 9 so as to increase the relative angle between the pins. For that purpose, the drive mechanism may preferably include a continuous loop drive such as a chain or belt 11 which passes over a single cog 12 or an equivalent series of smaller cogs (not shown). The pins 7 are preferably mounted to the drive mechanism 8 so as to maintain an angle of greater than 90° relative to the feed path 6, in a direction of travel of the fibres to ensure the take-off rollers 4 can easily remove the fibres from the pins at a take-off location 13 whilst minimising the chance of any tearing resulting from extraction of the pins. For that purpose, the pins are preferably mounted in carriages which are pivotally coupled to the chain drive 11 although other suitable mechanisms for mounting the pins to the drive mechanism 8 may instead be employed. The angle of the pins relative to the feed path 6 is preferably in the range 135 to 90°. It should be noted that, each pin shown in Figure 1 represents a full comb of pins carried by each respective carriage, extending in a direction transverse to the drive path 9. As may be appreciated from the above, separation of the teeth 7 as they pass around the portion 10, during their passage along the arcuate feed path contributes to the gradual and therefore gentle incremental opening, drafting and/or aligning of the fibres in a manner which will minimise breakage between the fibres and improve the overall quality of the resultant product. If further drafting is required, the rollers 3 may be driven at a reduced rate, as compared to the speed of travel of the pins 7 to produce a draft between the rollers 3 and device 1. If still further drafting is required, a number of devices 2 may be provided in series, as shown in Figure 2. More particularly, Figure 2 shows a processing line 40 which includes a first set 20 of devices 2, with associated rollers 21 to 24, to create a first draft directly from scoured wool 25. The output of the first set 20 may then be fed onto a doubling mechanism 26 which is arranged to then feed the fibres to a second set 27 comprising further devices 2 and associated rollers 28 to 31 to produce a resultant sliver 32. The first and second sets may be arranged to draft at a value of 20-1 each so as to produce an overall draft of 400-1, although the draft of either one of the sets may be greater or less, as appropriate depending on fibre characteristics. If further efficiency is required, the feed-in and take-off rollers associated with each device 2 may be provided in a configuration shown in Figure 3 where, for example, three rollers 33 to 35 are provided to enable closer spacing (ratches) between the feeding rollers and device 2, whilst improving the grip of the pins 7 on the fibres themselves. Trials have been conducted, using a production line with apparatus 1 of the invention, on a number of different types of fibre and the yield and fibre length of the resultant sliver has been favourably compared with corresponding fibres of a sliver produced using standard best known practice, incorporating the use of a carding operation. The comparative results are tabulated as follows. As can be seen, improvements were seen in both yield and fibre length. Accordingly, the present invention allows for minimum fibre breakage whilst maximising the generation of useable fibre. Also, the amount of waste, compared to conventional processing , has been found to be significantly reduced by virtue of the gentle teasing action of the cards, to as little as less than 1% of fibre mass. It should be appreciated that the invention has applicability to any type of fibre, for example, natural fibres such as those above, cellulosic fibres such as flax, cotton, etc. and man made staple and toe fibres. In that regard, many modifications and variations may be made to the overall construction of the apparatus of the invention to suit relevant fibre characteristics. The following may, for example, may be varied, as required: 1. pin density, pin length and pin diameter in the combs 2. angle of the pins in the combs, which affects the angle of entry and exit of the pins to the fibrous mass 3. offset of the height of the feed-in rollers relative to the combs 4. offset of the height of the delivery rollers relative to the combs 5. distance between combs and feed-in rollers (to vary ratch) 6. overall and relative speeds of rollers and combs (to vary draft) 7. diameter of rollers (to vary draft and ratch) 8. variation of the above parameters from one apparatus to the next so as to improve the efficacy of the overall process. Further, the device of the invention may be utilised at any production stage in a processing system and need not be limited to the assembly line 40 shown in Figure 2. The device may indeed be employed in an existing fibre-processing system to improve efficiency. More specifically, the opening and/or drafting and/or aligning capabilities of the present invention can be advantageously utilised at a number of different points in the fibre processing system e.g. before scouring; during scouring; between the scour and the card; as a replacement for the first (breast) section of the card; as a replacement of the (worsted) card; between the card and the preparatory gilling operations; as a replacement for the card plus some or all of the preparatory gillings; as a means for opening and partially de-burring heavy-burr wools; for the fibre recycling and reclaiming operations referred to above; or in any other textile process that can benefit from the unique, gentle, non-damaging opening, drafting or aligning actions of the present invention. With regard to another potential application of the invention, it should be noted that International Patent Application No. PCT/AU98/00105 also describes a process for producing an aligned sliver of textile fibres and it has been found that the apparatus of the present invention, when positioned between two pairs of nip rollers may be used advantageously in the process described in PCT/AU98/00105. The disclosure in PCT/AU98/00105 is incorporated herein by reference. In particular, it has been found that the first drafting means described in the International application may be replaced by an apparatus according to the present invention. Similarly the second and third drafting means may be replaced by the apparatus described in the present invention. Surprisingly, the assembly of combs may also be replaced by the apparatus of the present invention.

Claims: The claims: 1. An apparatus for fibre processing, having a fibre-opening device including a series of pins coupled to a drive mechanism and arranged for sequential insertion in a feed path along which the fibres are passed, the mechanism being arranged to increase the relative speed between the pins after insertion. 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism increases the speed between the pins by increasing the relative angle therebetween. 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pins are coupled to the drive mechanism so as to maintain an angle of greater than 90° relative to the feed path, in a direction of travel of the fibres. 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the pins are mounted to respective carriages which are pivotally connected to the drive mechanism. 5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pins are each provided in a respective comb of pins, extending transversely of the feed path. 6. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the drive mechanism drives the pins along a drive path which includes a curved portion to increase the relative angle therebetween. 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the curved portion extends over a substantial part of the feed path in which the pins are inserted. 8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the drive mechanism includes a continuous loop drive which passes over a first cog or set of cogs to effect the curved portion of the drive path. 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the continuous loop drive is a chain drive. 10. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 9, including feed-in rollers for directing the fibre travelling along the feed path to intersect with the drive path, the rollers being driven at a speed less than the speed of the pins so as to create a draft between the rollers and the device. 11. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, including a plurality of devices arranged in series. 12. A method for opening and drafting fibres including passing the fibres along a feed path to be engaged by a series of pins coupled to a drive mechanism, for sequential insertion into the feed path, and increasing the relative speed between the pins after insertion in the feed path. 13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the relative speed between the pins is increased by increasing the relative angle therebetween. 14. A method as claimed in claim 12 or 13, including passing the pins along a drive path which includes a curved portion to increase the relative angle therebetween. 15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the curved portion extends over a substantial part of the feed path in which the pins are inserted. 16. A method as claimed in claim 14 or 15, including maintaining the pins at an angle of greater than 90° relative to the feed path, along the curved portion, in a direction of travel of the fibres. 17. A method as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 16, including, providing feed-in rollers to direct the fibres travelling along the feed path to intersect with the drive path and driving the rollers at a speed less than the speed of the pins along the drive path so as to create a draft between the rollers and the pins.

Inventors: BEARD ROBERT DAVID, BELFIELD ANTONY JOHN MAUDE, EMERSON WILLIAM LENARD, LEEDER JOHN DAVID, RUSSELL THURLOW DI, BEARD, ROBERT, DAVID, BELFIELD, ANTONY, JOHN, MAUDE, EMERSON, WILLIAM, LENARD, LEEDER, JOHN, DAVID, RUSSELL, THURLOW DI
Applicants: BEARD ROBERT DAVID, BELFIELD ANTONY JOHN MAUDE, EMERSON WILLIAM LENARD, JINDALEE FIBRE DEVELOPMENTS PT, LEEDER JOHN DAVID, RUSSELL RUBY MAY HF, BEARD, ROBERT, DAVID, BELFIELD, ANTONY, JOHN, MAUDE, EMERSON, WILLIAM, LENARD, JINDALEE FIBRE DEVELOPMENTS PTY LTD, LEEDER, JOHN, DAVID, RUSSELL, RUBY, MAY HF
Application year: 2000
Main classification: D01G15
IPC codes: D01G9, D01G15