Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/119,298 filed Apr. 10, 2002. 
    
    
     This application claims the priority of German Application No. 101 18 067.5 filed Apr. 11, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a device for a fiber processing machine such as a carding machine or a roller card for evening the fiber web or sliver produced thereby. The fiber processing machine may be preceded by a fiber tuft feeder which has a feed chute and further includes a feeding device composed of a feed roll and a feed tray which directly cooperate with an opening roll (such as a preliminary roll in a roller card and a licker-in in a carding machine) of the fiber processing machine. The lower end of the feed chute terminates in the region of the feed roll in such a manner that the feed roll draws the fiber material from the feed chute. 
     In a known device, such as disclosed in European Patent No. 468,985, a carding machine is fixedly connected with an upstream-arranged tuft feeder. The housing of the tuft feeder accommodates a feed chute which continues, without the interposition of delivery rolls, as a hopper slide, by means of which the fiber material (fiber batt) is advanced to the carding machine. The feed roll cooperates with the fixed-axis licker-in of the carding machine. Setting the distance between a clamping location defined by the cooperating feed roll and feed tray and a combing location (which is the location where the fiber material is transferred to the opening roll) is not contemplated by the prior art structure. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the invention to provide, in a fiber processing system, an improved device of the above-outlined type with which the distance between the clamping and transfer locations may be altered in a simple manner, making possible an improved processing of the fiber material. 
     This object and others to become apparent as the specification progresses, are accomplished by the invention, according to which, briefly stated, the fiber processing system includes a first roll; a feed tray forming a feeding device with the first roll and defining a clamping location therewith for clamping and advancing fiber material; a second roll cooperating with the feeding device for taking over the fiber material therefrom at a transfer location on the second roll; a third roll cooperating with the second roll for taking over the fiber material from the second roll; and an adjusting arrangement for varying a distance between the clamping and transfer locations. The adjusting arrangement includes a pivoting device for arcuately displacing the second roll about the rotary axis of the first roll or the third roll; and a shifting device for displacing the feeding device toward or away from the third roll. 
     By virtue of the fact that, as viewed in the direction of fiber processing, the opening roll adjoining the feeding device may be swung about the axis of an immediately adjoining roll, the transfer location may be changed, whereby the distance between the clamping location and the transfer location is altered as well. Thus, a distance adjustment is feasible which is of primary importance for a gentler and more uniform feed of the fiber material. In particular, an advantageous adaptation of the distance to the properties (particularly the fiber length) of the processed fiber material is feasible by setting the distance as a function of such properties. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a roller card, preceded by a roller card feeder. 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the invention in which the opening roll, cooperating with the feed roll, is pivotal about the rotary axis of the feed roll. 
     FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b  are schematic side elevational views, in two different operational positions, of a further preferred embodiment of the invention in which the opening roll, cooperating with the feed roll, is pivotal about the rotary axis of an immediately consecutive opening roll. 
     FIGS. 4 a,    4   b  and  4   c  are schematic side elevational views showing initial, intermediate and end positions of the pivotal opening roll of the FIG. 2 embodiment. 
     FIGS. 5 a,    5   b  and  5   c  are schematic side elevational views showing initial, intermediate and end positions of the pivotal opening roll of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 a,    3   b.    
     FIG. 6 is a schematic partial view of a carding machine incorporating another preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows a roller card  1  in which the processed fiber advances in the direction A. Upstream of the roller card  1 —as viewed in the fiber processing direction A—a roller card feeder  31  is arranged which may be, for example, a SCANFEED model manufactured by Trützschler GmbH &amp; Co. KG, Mönchengladbach, Germany. The feeder  31  has a housing  27  which is provided with wheels  28   a,    28   b  for displacing the feeder  31  on the supporting floor in the direction of the arrows B, C. The feeder  31  further includes a vertical reserve chute  2  supplied from above with a flow I composed of air and finely opened fiber, advanced in a supply and distributor conduit  3 . In the upper region of the reserve chute  2  air outlet openings  4 ′,  4 ″ are provided through which the conveying air stream II enters into a suction device  5  after the fiber tufts III have been separated from the stream II. A slowly rotating delivery roll  6  at the lower end of the reserve chute  2  advances the fiber material in cooperation with a feed tray  7  from the reserve chute  2  to a rapidly rotating opening roll  8  which is provided with a pin or sawtooth clothing. A circumferential portion of the opening roll  8  borders the entrance at the upper end of a downwardly extending feed chute  9  into which the opening roll  8  advances the fiber material. At the lower, outlet end of the feed chute  9  a slowly rotating delivery roll  10  is provided which, in cooperation with a feed tray  14 , advances the fiber material to the roller card  1 . 
     The walls forming the feed chute  9  are, in the region of their lower portion and up to a certain height, provided with air outlet openings  11 ′,  11 ″. For uniformly densifying and maintaining constant the discharged fiber quantities, at the upper, entrance end the feed chute  9  communicates with an air passage  12  coupled to a blower. As a result, the fiber material is exposed to an air stream at the delivery roll  6  from the air passage  12 , so that an air/fiber tuft mixture IV advances in the feed chute  9 . The air is withdrawn at the lower part of the feed chute  9  through the air outlet openings  11 ′,  11 ″. The fiber material is continuously introduced into the feed chute  9  at a predetermined flow rate by the feed roll  6  and the opening roll  8 , and the fiber material is discharged at the same flow rate from the feed chute  9  by the delivery roll  10  and the feed tray  14 . The feed tray  14  is composed of a series of individual feed tray elements rotatable about pivot  15  of a tray support structure  13  which, in turn, is mounted on the inside of the housing  27  of the feeder  31 . The delivery roll  10  and the feed tray  14  of the feeder  31  form a feeding device for supplying the fiber material (fiber batt) directly to the roller card  1 . For this purpose the feeder  31  is, from its position shown in FIG. 1, rolled to the immediate vicinity of the roller card  1 . 
     The feeding device  10 ,  14  is followed in the working direction A by a first preliminary roll  16   1 , a second preliminary roll  16   2 , a preliminary cylinder  17  (licker-in), a transfer roll  18 , a main cylinder  19 , a doffer  20  and a stripping roll  21 . With the licker-in  17  two roll pairs and with the main cylinder  19  six roll pairs cooperate, each being formed of a working roll  25  and a reversing roll  26 . The stripping roll  21  is adjoined by and is cooperating with two calender rolls  22 ,  23 . All the above-noted rolls of the roller card  1  rotate at high circumferential velocities. 
     Turning to FIG. 2, the feed tray  14 ′ is positioned above the feed roll  10  which rotates in the direction  10   a.  The feed roll  10  is followed by an opening roll  16  rotating in the direction  16   a.  These two directions of rotation are opposite to one another so that along the cooperating circumferential regions of the two rolls the latter move in the same direction. In this arrangement the opening roll  16  of FIG. 2 functions as the roll  16   1  of FIG.  1  and directly transfers fiber material to the preliminary drum  17 , whereby the second opening roll  16   2  of FIG. 1 is advantageously dispensed with. 
     The preliminary roll  16  is arranged for pivotal adjustment about the rotary axis M 1  of the feed roll  10 . For this purpose, one end of a lever  29  is mounted on the shaft of the feed roll  10  and the opposite end of the lever  29  is mounted on the shaft or supporting bracket of the preliminary roll  16 . By means of this construction the lever  29  may pivot in the direction of the arrows D, E about the axis M 1  of the feed roll  10 , and thus likewise, the preliminary roll  16  may swing about the axis M 1 . In this manner the distance between the clamping location (that is, the smallest distance between the feed roll  10  and the feed tray  14 ′) and the transfer location (that is, the smallest distance between the feed roll  10  and the preliminary roll  16 ) is changed. During the arcuate displacement of the axis M 2  of the preliminary roll  16  about the axis M 1  of the feed roll  10 , the distance between the non-illustrated clothings of the feed roll  10  and the preliminary roll  16  remains constant. In this construction the preliminary roll  16  is a structural component of the roller card feeder  31 . 
     Turning to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b,  the feeding device (composed of the feed roll  10  and the feed tray  14 ) of the roller card feeder, as well as the preliminary rolls  16   1  and  16   2  of the roller card are arranged in series. In this embodiment the preliminary roll  16   1  is arranged to swing about the axis M 3  of the subsequent preliminary roll  16   2 . For this purpose the two rolls  16   1  and  16   2  are coupled to one another by a lever  30  in a manner similar to the connection between rolls  10  and  16  by the lever  29  of the FIG. 2 embodiment. The lever  30  is pivotal in the direction of the arrows G, H about the axis M 3 . In this manner, the preliminary roll  16   1  may swing about the rotary axis M 3  of the preliminary roll  16   2 . By rotation in the direction of the arrow G, the distance e 1  according to FIG. 3 a  is increased to e 2  according to FIG. 3 b,  that is, the distance between the clamping location defined by the components  10  and  14  and the transfer location between the components  10  and  16   1  is adjustable. Further, a change of at least some of the distances a 1 , b 1 , c 1  and d 1  shown in FIG. 3 a  to distances a 2 , b 2 , c 2  and d 2  shown in FIG. 3 b  results from a displacement of the feeding device  10 ,  14  by rolling the roller card feeder  31  toward the roller card  1  (FIG. 1) in the direction of the arrow F. The swinging and shifting motions of the rolls will be described in further detail with reference to FIGS. 4 a,    4   b,    4   c  and  5   a,    5   b,    5   c  which relate to the two embodiments shown in FIG.  2  and in FIGS. 3 a,    3   b,  respectively. 
     In FIGS. 4 a,    4   b  and  4   c  the preliminary roll  16   1  is arcuately displaceable about the axis M 1  of the feed roll  10  as shown in FIG.  2 . FIG. 4 a  shows the starting position of the feeding device (feed roll  10  and feed tray  14 ) and the preliminary rolls  16   1  and  16   2  (in FIG. 2 the preliminary roll  16   2  was omitted). In a first step, according to FIG. 4 b,  the preliminary roll  16   1  is swung in the direction D about the axis M 1  of the feed roll  10 . As a result, the distance between the clothings of the preliminary rolls  16   1  and  16   2  and the distance between the clamping and transfer locations defined by the feeding device  10 ,  14  and the roll  16   1  rolls increases. In order to reestablish the required initial distance between the clothings of the preliminary rolls  16   1  and  16   2  shown in FIG. 4 a,  in a second step according to FIG. 4 c,  the feeding device  10 ,  14  is, together with the preliminary roll  16   1 , shifted in the direction F toward the preliminary roll  16   2  by rolling the feeder  31  toward the roller card  1  as noted earlier. As a result, the distance between the clamping location defined by the feed roll  10  and the feed tray  14  and the transfer location defined by the feed roll  10  and the preliminary roll  16   1  is enlarged, while the distance between the rolls  10  and  16   1  and between the rolls  16   1  and  16   2  remains the same, as may be seen by a comparison between FIGS. 4 a  and  4   c.    
     In FIGS. 5 a,    5   b  and  5   c  an arcuate displacement of the preliminary roll  16   1  about the axis M 3  of the preliminary roll  16   2  is shown in accordance with the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b.  In FIG. 5 a  the initial position of the feeding device (feed roll  10 , and feed tray  14 ), the preliminary roll  16   1  and the preliminary roll  16   2  is shown. In a first step according to FIG. 5 b,  the feeding device  10 ,  14  is shifted in the direction of the arrow I away from the preliminary roll  16   1  by rolling the feeder  31  away from the roller card  1  (FIG.  1 ). As a result, the distance between the clothings of the feed roll  10  and the preliminary roll  16   1  is increased. In order to reestablish the required initial distance between the feed roll  10  and the preliminary roll  16   1  according to FIG. 5 a,  in a second step according to FIG. 5 c  the preliminary roll  16   1  is swung in the direction of the arrow H about the axis M 3  of the preliminary roll  16   2 . In this manner, the distance between the clamping location defined by the feed roll  10  and the feed tray  14  and the transfer location defined between the feed roll  10  and the preliminary roll  16   1  is reduced as compared to that shown in FIG. 5 a  and also, the distance between the two rolls  10  and  16   1  is re-established. 
     While in the preceding description the invention was set forth in connection with a roller card and roller card feeder, it will be understood that in the same manner a mobile card feeder (incorporating the feeding device  10 ,  14 ) and a carding machine may be used. 
     FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which the feeding device  10 ,  14  is an integral part of the fiber processing machine, such as a schematically and partially shown carding machine CM. The feeding device  10 ,  14  is followed by three licker-ins  16   3 ,  16   4  and  16   5 . The feeding device  10 ,  14  receives the fiber tufts as a fiber batt from, for example, a non-illustrated card feeder and advances the fiber material to the licker-in  16   3 . The fiber material is then consecutively transferred to the licker-ins  16   4  and  16   5  and the latter transfers the fiber material to the main carding cylinder  35 . For varying, according to the invention, the distance between the clamping location defined by the feed roll  10  and the feed tray  14  and the transfer location at the licker-in  16   3 , the latter may be swung either about the rotary axis of the feed roll  14  as described in connection with FIGS. 2,  4   a,    4   b  and  4   c  or about the licker-in  16   4  as described in connection with FIGS. 3 a,    3   b,    5   a,    5   b  and  5   c.  For the required shifting of at least the feeding device  10 ,  14  in the direction of the arrow K, the feeding device  10 ,  14  is mounted on a support block  36  which may be displaced on a base block  37  which, in turn, is stationarily secured to the card frame  38 . 
     It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.

Technology Category: 6