Apparatus for producing staple fibers from continuous strands of textile fibers

Oct. 8, 1957 «prauTvs $ _P^cSⁿot^^lfieers ™m²’⁸⁰⁸’⁸⁸⁴

CONTINUOUS STRANDS OF TEXTILE FIBERS Filed April 5, 1954

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2,808,884

Patented Oct. 8, 1957

United States Patent Office

The cutter roll 2 comprises a metal core 14 carrying on its outer surface a plurality of helical lands 16. The peripheral ends of the lands are ground to a cylindrical surface concentric with the axis of the roll 2, which surface terminates in a sharp corner where it joins the side surfaces of the land. This blunt surface is narrow, of the order of %&lt; to wide. The maximum length of the fibers in the cut product is determined, other conditions remaining the same, by the spacing between the lands circumferentially of the roll. Each roll is designed to provide a certain specific range of fiber lengths. For instance, a mill operating on the worsted system may want fibers in any length from, say, 3 to 6, and for this use a cutter having a land spacing of 6 would be used.

The anvil roll 4 with which the lands of the cutter roll 2 cooperate to cut the fiber is a smooth hard-surfaced cylindrical roll, desirably made of steel and ground and polished. The anvil roll 4 is driven to rotate at the same surface speed as the surface speed of the tips of the lands 16 by a spur gear 18 mounted on the outboard end of the shaft 20 of the cutter roll 2 which extends through suitable bearings in the main frame 22 of the machine. The spur gear 18 drives the spur gear 24 similarly mounted near the outer end of the shaft 26 of the anvil roll 4, the relative size of these gears being selected to provide the stated speed ratio.

As the strand 6. approaches the nip between the rolls 2 and 4 it passes over and around the upper part of the surface of the anvil roll 4. At this point the exposed upper surface of the strand 6 is engaged by the guide roll 8 which is carried on a shaft 28 supported in the frame 22. The guide roll 8 is smooth surfaced, desirably of steel, ground and polished, and is driven at the spur gear 30 on the end of its shaft 28 which meshes with the spur gear 24 on the shaft of the anvil roll.

* An important feature of the invention is the disposition of the* guide roll 8 with respect to the anvil roll . ----.... nip between these rolls with a pressure which is just sufficient to prevent sidewise movement of the strand which otherwise would occur as a result of the tendency of the inclined helical lands to shift the fibers sidewise as they shear tnem. At the same time it is important that the nip between the guide roll 8 and the anvil roll 4 not be so tight as to prevent the strand 6 from sliding with respect to the moving surfaces of rolls 4 and 3 when its speed of travel is retarded below the surface speed of .

cut fiber products, as will be more fully hereinafter described.

The apron 10 which feeds the strand up to the anvil roll 4 is trained about lower and upper rollers 32, 34 which are journaled for free rotation in frame 22. The upper roller 34 is disposed closely adjacent the anvil roll *4 to cause the apron to deliver the strand 6 directly on to this roll. The upper flight of the apron 10 is supported in its travel between the rollers 32, 34 by a supporting 60 plate 36 carried by the frame 22. At each side of the apron 10 vertical guides 38, 38' are carried on frame 22 and,* in turn, support guide pieces 40, 40' (Fig. 5) extending inwardly to overlie the outer edges of the upper flight of the apron, whereby the fibers of the strand 6 are

The strand 6 is constrained to move along with the apron by means of a freely rotatable deadweighted roll 42, Fig. 2, resting on the upper surface of the strand and carried at the trailing ends of pivoted arms 44, 44'. The sufficient to extend between and beyond the guides 38, 38', on which it is removably supported by being dropped

2,808,884

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING STAPLE FIBERS FROM CONTINUOUS STRANDS OF TEXTILE FIBERS

William E. Shann, North Andover, Mass., and Silas M. Wheelock, Wilmington, Del., assignors to Pacific Mills, Lawrence, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts

Application April 5,1954, Serial No. 420,815 5 Claims. (CI. 164—68)

The present invention relates to an apparatus for forming staple textile fibers from a continuous strand of textile fibers such as natural or synthetic combed top, sliver, or continuous filament.

An object of the invention is to provide apparatus of this character for forming from such a continuous strand, staple fibers which in the case of a strand of continuous filament are all of the same desired staple length, or, in the case of a strand of natural or cut stable fiber, are all of less than a predetermined maximum length.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus capable of simple adjustment to change the length of the staple produced.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus which will form from either described type of strand a mixture of staple fibers of different lengths within a predetermined range.

A further object is to provide an apparatus for cutting 30 a continuous strand of continuous filament into cut staple fibers which is capable selectively, by simple adjustment , of the apparatus, of producing cut staple fibers which ^sar?^{e or are} different —j puwuwu, aim is unven ai me lengths within a predetermined range, and which similarly 35 same surface speed as the anvil roll 4 bv means of the will produce cut staples of controlled lengths from strands ------- — ~ ' of staple fibers.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus wherein the fibers are selectively cut to different staple lengths ----------------- „_lu„ _{lvopvvt lu Ulc allvu ruJ} as stated by simple and effective cutting means compris- 40 4 so that the traveling strand 6 is engaged in the nr mg a rotatable helical bladed cutter without changing the ...... ° · cutter itself.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an illustrative machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2—2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial end elevation;

Fig. 4 is a section, with parts in elevation, on the line 4—4 of Fig. 3; and

Fi₌. 5 is a vertical section through the feed mechanism ⁵⁰ these rolls, for the purpose of changing the length of the taken on the hne 5—5 of Fig. 2. -- ^c'-— — ’ ·” · —

Referring to the drawing, in general organization the illustrative apparatus shown comprises a cutting roll 2 cooperating with an anvil roll 4 to sever the traveling strand 6 into separate groups of fibers as it passes through ⁵⁵the nip between these rolls. A guide roll 8 cooperates with the anvil roll 4 to guide and control the strand as it* passes over the anvil roll in its approach to the cutting nip. The continuous strand 6 is fed into the apparatus just described by a feed apron 10.

Power to drive the machine is supplied to the chain 12, for example from an electric motor, not shown. The chain 12, through the variable speed gear box 13, drives the rolls 2, 4 and 8 which are interconnected to rotate _ _____; ________ at the same surface speed. From these rolls the apron 65 confined sidewise as the strand travels with the Toron 10 is driven by means of an adjustable variable speed ' · ... ^p · drive arrangement, to be described, in such a way that the strand is fed at all times at a speed not greater than the surface speed of the cutter roll 2. Depending upon f— -----at a selected constant speed or at a speed which continuously varies within a predetermined selected range.

_ J· . , J. ., , ^r ~ zzzw^z ui. UUV UUUIUq VllVlO U1 JJlVVvCLl &lt;11 Hid , jttp the adjustment of the apparatus, the apron is driven either 70 arms 44, 44' are fixed to a supporting shaft 4g _of a length at a selected constant cnpprl nr at o o«_Qari ,τ-ι,.μ, „_λ_ζ· __z z_ 1 , , . . _ ? “ ^1V“6^UI

2,808,884 movable and replaceable pin 102 to a lever 104 pivoted at one end to a fixed pivot 106 and slotted at 108 near its other end. The lever 104 is adapted to be oscillated in timed relation with the rotation of the shaft 66 (and the cutter roll 2) by means, for example, of a Scotch yoke arrangement comprising a crank pin 110 extending outwardly from the fiat face of a crank disc 112 and entering the slot 108 in lever 104. The disc 112 is driven through bevel gearing 114, 115 from the shaft 66. By this arrangement the shifter fork 76 is oscillated to move the belt 74 back and forth across the working faces of the cone pulleys'70,72, continually changing the speed of the apron 10 with respect to the speed of -the cutting mechanism and thus continuously varying the length of cut. In this way a mass of cut fibers of an array of different lengths corresponding to a fiber diagram may -be produced, simulating if desired the fiber array which exists in natural fleeces obtained from sheep.

The variable-speed gear box 13 serves to permit ad20 justment of the speed of the entire machine as may be desired for different conditions, different types of fibers or different lengths of cut. .For-example when the relative speed of the apron 10 is reduced to reduce the length of cut it may -be desirable to .adjust the speed -of the machine upwardly* by means of'gear-box 13, to maintain the production-of the machine-the same.