Patent GB-329050-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to controlling mechanism for machines for cleaning and opening cotton and forming the same into laps
IPC: D01G9/00
Filed: 1929-02-22
Abstract: 329,050. Platt Bros. & Co., Ltd., and Wilkinson, H. Feb. 22, 1929. Openers , cleaners, and scutchers. - In refining apparatus for opening and cleaning cotton comprising two cylinder openers with their feed rollers, dust cages, cage rollers and long pneumatic tubes, a lifting lattice and a feeding lattice the elements are grouped into three units or sections, viz. section I, a preliminary set feeding the material through the members 1, 2, 3, Fig. 1, and delivering to a hopper feed 4 with spiked lifting lattice 5 and thence on to a horizontal or inclined lattice 6 and feed rollers 7; section II, cylinder opener 8 with pneumatic tube 9 leading to cages 10 with cage rollers 11 cylinder feed rollers 12 &c. ; section III, cylinder opener 13 with pneumatic tube 14 leading to cages 15 with cage rollers 16, calender rolls 17 &c., the sections starting and stopping in the successive order I, II, III. The cylinder openers 8, 13 rotate constantly. The members 15, 16, 17 are driven through a gear-wheel 27 on a shaft 77, Fig. 7, actuated through gear-wheels 78, 79 from a belt 81, the wheel 27 being supported by the lap drop-lever 24, Figs. 4 and 6, pivoted at 25, in gear with a " spring-wheel " 28 on the axle of the bottom calender roll 17. The " spring-wheel " 28, Figs. 8 and 9, comprises a sleeved disc 29 having a projection 30 keyed on the roll axle 17, a spur-wheel 31 formed with a projection 32 and spaced gaps in any one of which an adjustable stud 33 may be secured, a housing 34 and a spring 35 therein its ends being secured respectively to the boss of the wheel 31 and to the housing. When at rest the stud 33 engages the projection 30. When the wheels 27, 28 are in gear the wheel 31 rotates till the projection 32 engages the projection 30; then the disc 29 and roll 17 are driven. The lever 24 also controls two pendent bars 37, 38, Fig. 4. The bar 37 acts through a bell-crank lever 39 and levers 41 - - 46 to operate a clutch 47 on the axle of one of the feed roller shafts 7 and thus control the drive to section I. The bar 38 acts through a connection 55 to actuate a clutch or catch-box 58 controlling the drive to section II. The clutch 47, Fig. 13, comprises a toothed clutch-half 48 carrying a spur-wheel 49, a notched disc 50 keyed on the shaft 7 and a slidable toothed clutch-half 51 having driving projections 52. In clutch the spur-wheel 49 becomes operative to drive the members of section I from the regulator motion 54, Fig. 7, whereby fibre is fed to the first cylinder opener 8 and toward the cages 10. The clutch or catchbox 58, Fig. 11, comprises two peripherallytoothed halves 59, 60 loose on the side-shaft 36, the half 59 having a bevel pinion 64 which when the clutch is transmitting the drive drives the members 10, 11, 12 through a bevel gear 65, and a " spring-wheel " device formed of a bush 66 keved on the shaft 36, a " timing-plate " 67 keyed to the bush and a spring 69 secured at its ends respectively to the plate 67 and the housing 68. The plate 67 carries two adjustable catches 70 while a stop 71 on the half 60 projects through a gap 72 in the plate 68. When the two halves are engaged by movement of the bar 38 the spring motion in the clutch 58 must first take up before the members 10, 11, 12 are driven. The spring wheel 28 driving section III is timed to function slightly later than the catch-box 58 driving section II. Consider the lap being wound on. At an appropriate moment the nog 21, Fig. 6, engages the nog 26<a> and moves the rod 26 against the spring 74 thereby operating successively the bars 37, 38. On release of the bar 37 the weight 75 acts to disengage the clutch 47 and the drive to section I stops. The slightly later release of the bar 38 results in the weight 61 disengaging the clutch 58 to stop section II. The cages 15, cage rollers 16 and lap rollers 17 continue to rotate until the fibre forward of and leaving sections II and III is substantially exhausted, whereupon the projection 76, Fig. 6, disengages the lever 22, the lever 24 drops, the gear-wheel 27 falls away from the wheel 28 and the members 15, 16, 17 stop. Means such as described in Specification 326,633 is. also preferably provided to arrest the conveying devices of the hopper feeder and stop the conveyance of cotton to the feeder 4. On restarting, the sections come into action in sequence from I onwards. Specifications 177,017 and 204,085 also are referred to.