Patent GB-1101658-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for feeding textile material
Inventor: WHITEHURST JOE RUFUS
IPC: D01H5/38
Filed: 1965-08-16
Abstract: 1,101,658. Feeding and drafting apparatus. IDEAL INDUSTRIES Inc. 16 Aug., 1965, No. 35092/65. Heading DID. Apparatus for feeding and levelling webs, slivers, strands &c. of varying thickness or density comprises a pair of intermeshing fluted rollers and means associated with one of the pair to change the extent to which the rollers mesh according to variations in the thickness or by causing the roller to move arcuately about the other of the pair. The apparatus may feed to means such as drafting, carding and combing apparatus. The feeding pair is followed by a faster-rotating pair so that drafting takes place between the nips of the two pairs. When a thin place in the material causes the movable roller to change the meshing relationship of the feed pair, the material is forced into the flutes of the lower roller so that the material is fed forward at an increased rate; also the nip of the feed pair is displaced to increase the nip distance between the two pairs of rollers. Thus the draft is decreased. When a thick place occurs, the top roller is lifted, the rate of feed is decreased and the nip distance shortened so that the draft is increased. In Fig. 1, the fluted feed-pair 10, 11 is followed by two pairs of fluted drafting rollers 12, 13 and 6, 7 which are weighted at each end at 26 and correctly distanced by spacing- rings 25. The lower roller of each pair is driven, the bearings of these and of the upper drafting-rollers being freely mounted in U-blocks adjustable along a bar 20. The upper feed roll is mounted at each end in a block 41, Fig. 2, carried by an arm 42 which is pivoted at 51 to the forward side of the U- block of the lower roll. The block is adjustable, at 52 as regards its position on the arm, and at 46, 47 as regards its inclination to the roller. A weighting-box 55 part-filled with mercury &c. and having baffles 62 is carried by the block so that its position towards and away from the block is adjustable. Thus, when the top roller is lifted or allowed to fall as a whole, or at one side, by a change in the thickness of the material, the block rocks around the lower roller, taking with it the upper roller, and so changing the extent of meshing between the flutes of the two rollers and the position of the nip. An alternative mounting of the arm 42 and means for adjusting the box are described, Fig. 6, not shown. In Fig. 9, three slivers are fed and levelled. For each sliver there is a feeding and drafting pair, each upper roller being mounted on a stub shaft while there are two common shafts, one for the three lower drafting rollers and one for the three lower feeding rollers. At each position is a longitudinal bar 114 along which the bearing blocks of the lower rollers are adjustable. The stub shaft 150 for each upper drafting-roller is journalled in a block 151, Fig. 10, adjustably secured at 149, 153, to an upright bracket pivotally connected at 154 to the bearing block 113 of the corresponding lower roller. Each 'block 151 is weighted by a link 160 pivoted thereto and loaded by a compression spring 163, a set-screw 156 limiting the position of the upper roller relative to the lower one. The bearing-block 171, Fig. 14, not shown, of the upper feed roll is adjustably connected to an arm 172 pivoted to the corresponding lower block, but there is no provision for tilting the block relatively to the roller-axis. The feeding rollers are substantially equal in width to a sliver and the bottom roller has discs on both its sides to confine the sliver. On its way to the feeding rollers, the sliver passes under a U-shaped guide 141 adjustably connected to the frame.