Patent ID: 8272106

Claim:
Ginning apparatus for separating cotton seed from fiber comprising: a driven conveyor having a linear flight extending for linear movement in a forward direction of travel, said linear flight having an upper surface for receiving and transporting seed cotton, which upper surface is roughened so that cotton fiber will adhere to it, and a blade extending transversely across said linear flight and having a lower surface in contact with said upper surface of said linear flight to define a pinch point therebetween so that adhesion of the cotton fiber to said flight upper surface pulls the fiber through the pinch point while simultaneously separating the fiber from the seed, characterized in that the driven conveyor providing the linear flight comprises a plurality of spaced apart slats, each extending transversely across said linear flight and each having a respective upper layer of surface roughened material to define thereby said linear flight upper surface, in which respect said upper surface is discontinuous by virtue of transverse gaps of between 2.5 mm and 7.5 mm between the respective slat upper layers.