Patent Publication Number: US-9903052-B2

Title: Lint cleaning system for cotton processing

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The disclosed method and apparatus relates to an improvement to the current means of cleaning cotton lint. Specifically, the system described herein relates to an improved air ducting system that utilizes inertial energy to separate foreign material from cotton lint. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Machine harvested cotton contains undesirable foreign material primarily comprised of soil particles, plant parts, various types of “trash”, and other non-cotton materials. After harvesting, the unprocessed cotton (which includes commingled foreign material) is taken to a cotton gin for processing. One common device used for this process comprises a jet lint cleaner, which utilizes a high volume of air moving through a specialized ducting system at a high rate of speed. A sectional schematic of the conventional (prior art) jet cleaner  10 , is shown in  FIG. 1 . The jet lint cleaner  10  separates the cotton lint from the denser foreign materials through an inertial separation process. 
     Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 1 , commingled lint and foreign materials are conveyed into the jet lint cleaner  10  by an incoming air stream (schematically represented by the arrow  12 ). The incoming air stream  12  is drawn through an incoming duct  14  by a suction means (preferably a fan) that is that is in communication with the outgoing duct  16 . As the air stream  12  approaches a discharge aperture  18 , the velocity of the air stream  12  increases as a result of the decrease in the cross-sectional area of the duct  14 . The negative pressure created by the suction in the outgoing duct  16  results in supplemental air (schematically shown as the arrow  20 ) being drawn into the outgoing duct  16 . The incoming air stream  12  (comprising commingled lint and foreign materials) meets the supplemental air  20  at the discharge aperture  18 . At the discharge aperture  18 , the cleaned cotton lint (schematically shown as the arrow  22 ) turns upward into the outgoing duct  16 , as the foreign material (schematically shown as the arrow  24 ) having higher density than the lint  22 , is discharged through the discharge aperture  18 . The opening of the discharge aperture  18  can be increased or decreased by the adjustment mechanism  26  to provide more or less cleaning. 
     Although conventional jet lint cleaners  10  are reasonably effective, they are generally inefficient. For example, in the conventional cleaner shown in  FIG. 1 , the discharged foreign material  24  frequently mixes with the supplemental air  20  so that the incoming air is contaminated by the discharged material  24 . Further, there is no management or control of the incoming air  20  so that there is no ability to control/optimize the flow path or flow volume of supplemental air  20  in response to changes in the nature and characteristics of the harvested cotton crop. 
     The need exists for a more efficient lint cleaning system. The system described herein enables a user to exert greater control over the supplemental air  20  entering the jet air cleaner  10 . The system also enables a user to segregate the incoming supplemental  20  air from the foreign material  24  that is discharged from the system. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This disclosure is directed to a cotton processing system. The system is comprised of an incoming duct and an outgoing duct, with a foreign material discharge aperture positioned between the incoming duct and the outgoing duct. A supplemental air control vane is positioned adjacent the outgoing duct and the discharge aperture. The system is structured so that as an incoming airflow (which includes entrained cotton fibers and foreign material) flows from the incoming duct to the outgoing duct, the foreign material in the incoming airflow is ejected through the discharge aperture. Simultaneously, the supplemental air control vane controls a volume and a pathway of supplemental air entering the system through the discharge aperture. 
     This disclosure is further directed to a method of making a lint cleaning module. In accordance with the current method, an incoming air duct is connected to an outgoing air duct, with a foreign material discharge aperture positioned between the incoming duct and the outgoing duct. A supplemental air control vane is positioned adjacent to the discharge aperture. A supplemental air aperture is defined by the position of the supplemental air control vane. In operation, an incoming airflow flow with commingled cotton lint and foreign material is directed through the incoming duct. Foreign material in the incoming air flow is ejected out of the discharge duct and, simultaneously, the supplemental air control vane meters supplemental air into the system. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a prior art jet lint cleaner  10 . 
         FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of the inventors&#39; current lint cleaner  30 . Note that the sides of the lint cleaner  30  are made of a transparent material to allow an operator to inspect the interior components of the cleaner  30 . 
         FIG. 3  is a profile view of the current lint cleaner  30  including the section line IV. 
         FIG. 4  is a side sectional schematic view of the current lint cleaner  30  along the section line IV shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As generally shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , the method and apparatus described herein share some structural components with the prior art jet lint cleaner  10  shown in  FIG. 1 . However, the current cleaner  30  incorporates design features that significantly improve the efficiency and flexibility of the prior art jet cleaner system  10 . 
     Specifically, as best shown in  FIG. 4 , commingled lint and foreign materials are entrained in an incoming air stream (schematically represented by the arrow  32 ) and are conveyed into the current cleaner  30 . The incoming air stream  32  is drawn through an incoming duct  34  by a suction means (preferably a fan) that is that is in communication with the outgoing duct  36 . As the air stream  32  approaches a discharge aperture  38 , the velocity of the air stream  32  increases due to the decrease in the cross-sectional area of the duct  34 . 
     The negative pressure created by the suction in the outgoing duct  36  results in supplemental air (schematically shown as the arrow  40 ) being drawn into the outgoing duct  36 . The incoming air stream  32  (comprising commingled lint and foreign materials) meets the supplemental air  40  at the discharge aperture  38 . At the discharge aperture  38 , the cleaned cotton lint (schematically shown as the arrow  42 ) turns upward into the outgoing duct  36 , as the foreign material (schematically shown as the arrow  44 ) having higher density than the lint  42 , is discharged through the discharge aperture  38 . 
     However, as best shown in  FIG. 4 , unlike the prior art jet cleaner  10 , the inventors&#39; current system  30  further comprises a supplemental air control vane  50 . In the preferred embodiment, the air control vane  50  is comprised of at least one panel of planar metal sheet. The supplemental air control vane  50  defines a supplemental air aperture (a gap)  52  between the air control vane  50  and the outgoing duct  36 . 
     As the supplemental air  40  flows through the supplemental air aperture  52  and then though the discharge aperture  38 , the supplemental air creates a “high speed air curtain” at the discharge aperture  38 . In the current air cleaner  30 , the high speed air curtain deflects the discharged foreign materials  44  downwardly and away from the discharge aperture  38 . The discharged foreign materials  44  are prevented from circulating around and contaminating the incoming supplemental air  40  by (among other things) the supplemental air vane  50 . 
     For the purposes of this disclosure, a “high speed air curtain” comprises a supplemental air flow that has a flow velocity of at least 4,000 feet per minute and makes a change in direction (i.e. a turn) of greater than 90°, as schematically illustrated by the path of the supplemental air  40  in shown in  FIG. 4 . In the preferred embodiment, the supplemental air control vane  50  comprises a means for creating a high speed air curtain. In alternative embodiments, any means known in the art (i.e. pressurized incoming air, targeted air jets, etc.) may be used to create the high speed air curtain. 
     Essentially, in operation, the current lint cleaner  30  is similar to a conventional jet lint cleaner  10 , however the current system  30  further comprises a supplemental air control vane  50 . The supplemental air control vane  50  comprises a control surface that creates a high speed air curtain. In the preferred embodiment, the supplemental air control vane  50  changes position to control the volume and/or pathway of supplemental air  40  entering a system through the discharge aperture  38 . 
     For the purposes of this disclosure, an “air control vane” comprises a variable control surface that controls an amount and a pathway of supplemental air entering a system. The position of the supplemental air control vane  50  also segregates the incoming supplemental air  40  source from the outgoing foreign materials  44 , and thereby prevents contamination of the incoming supplemental air  40 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the size of the supplemental air aperture  52  is self-adjusting. Specifically, the air control vane  50  may be comprised of a semi-rigid material so that when the negative pressure (i.e. the suction) in the outgoing duct  36  reaches a threshold value, the air control vane  50  bends or otherwise deforms to increase the size of the supplemental air aperture  52 , and thereby enables a greater volume of supplemental air  40  to enter the outgoing air duct  36 . 
     In alternative embodiments, the size of the supplemental air aperture  52  may simply be manually adjusted by repositioning the air control vane  50  or by extending or retracting a portion (or all) of the air control vane  50  to effectively lengthen/shorten the air control vane  50  and thereby increase/decrease the size of the supplemental air aperture  52 . Alternatively, the position of the upper portion of the outgoing duct  36  may be adjusted to effectively increase/decrease the size of the supplemental air aperture  52 . 
     In further alternative embodiments, the size and position of the air control vane  50  may be mechanically or electrically controlled via a control system  54  shown schematically in  FIG. 4 . The control system  54  may comprise a hinge system wherein the air control vane  50  is held in place by mechanical springs or hydraulic shock absorber-type assemblies or the like. In this configuration, when the negative pressure exceeds a threshold value, the springs/hydraulic shocks compress (or expand) to increase the size of the supplemental air aperture  52  and thereby enable a greater/lesser volume of supplemental air  40  to enter the outgoing air duct  36 . 
     In further alternative embodiments, the size of the supplemental air aperture  52  may be electronically controlled by an electrical solenoid, or an electrical and/or hydraulic motor controlling a screw-type drive, or by any motive means known in the art. The size of the supplemental air aperture  52  may also be varied as a part of a larger computer controlled system. A more comprehensive electronic control system includes an array of sensors and also controls the size of the discharge aperture  38  and the negative pressure present in the outgoing duct  36 , and thereby optimizes the performance of the overall system. 
     Although  FIG. 4  shows the incoming air flow  32  entering the bottom portion of the cleaner  30  and the outgoing air flow  42  exiting the outgoing the top portion, in alternative embodiments, the cleaner  30  may be inverted so that air flow comes into the top portion of the cleaner  30  and exits through the bottom of the cleaner  30 . Essentially, the cleaner  30  functions effectively regardless of the spatial orientation of the cleaner module  30 . 
     Additionally, as best shown in  FIG. 2 , a further advantage of the current system  30  is the system&#39;s relatively compact modular construction. In operation, two or more of the air cleaners  30  may be connected in series (i.e. stages), with each of the stages contributing to the cleaning process. This multi-stage cleaning process produces relatively clean lint that exhibits long fiber length. Long lint fibers are generally more desirable and command a higher price than shorter fibers. 
     By contrast, prior art cleaning processes that are used to produce similarly cleaned lint, frequently use multiple interlocking combs or continuously rotating saw cylinders which scrub fibers against sharpened stationary grid bars as a means of removing the foreign material from the cotton lint. Although these techniques effectively remove the foreign material, the cleaning mechanisms break some lint fibers so that only relatively short fibers remain after the cleaning process. The ability to produce clean long lint fibers is an important advantage of the current technology. 
     Further, the compact, modular construction of the current lint cleaners enables  30  an operator to quickly remove and replace any malfunctioning cleaner stage with minimal down time. The individual modular stages/cleaners are also easier to trouble-shoot and simpler to repair than non-modular systems with more complex and interconnected mechanisms. The current individual stages/cleaners have variable adjustment mechanisms, but essentially no continuously moving parts and therefore exhibit very little wear over time. Additionally, the current cleaners  30  offer improved worker safety relative to saw/grid or comb type cleaners due to the lack of continuously moving (frequently sharp) components. Unlike the prior art saw and comb-type cleaners, the lint cleaner described herein requires no sharpening, lubrication, or synchronization with cooperating components. 
     For at least the foregoing reasons, it is clear that the method and apparatus described herein provides an innovative air cleaner that may be used in cotton processing operations. The air cleaner may be modified in multiple ways and applied in various technological applications. The disclosed method and apparatus may be modified and customized as required by a specific operation or application, and the individual components may be modified and defined, as required, to achieve the desired result. 
     Although the materials of construction are not described, they may include a variety of compositions consistent with the function described herein. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of this disclosure, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.