Patent ID: 7774903

Claim:
A method for ginning cotton having various lengths of cotton fiber attached to the seed comprising the steps of: a. Entraining the cotton fibers on a fibrous surface of a ginning roll rotating at a predetermined speed about a longitudinal axis thereof; b. Creating a nip between said fibrous surface and a stationary knife extending longitudinally along said ginning roll such that fibers entrained on said fibrous surface are carried beneath a tip of said knife and movement of seed with said fibrous surface is arrested by said knife; c. Urging said seed over said knife with a rotary knife having a plurality of longitudinally extending blades that entrap the seeds between successive ones of said plurality of blades and the top surface of said stationary knife, said rotary knife rotating in a direction counter to the rotation of said fibrous surface to separate entrained cotton fibers from said seed; d. Releasing said seed as each blade of said plurality of blades moves away from said top surface at a predetermined seed release distance from said stationary knife tip such that seed having attached cotton fibers entrained within said nip are drawn back toward said stationary knife tip, e. Rotating said rotary knife at a speed sufficient that a subsequent blade thereof engages said seed at a point intermediate said seed release distance and said tip greater than the length of the shorter fibers on said seed.