Textiles: fiber preparation – Working – Carding
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-07
2003-05-06
Gulakowski, Randy (Department: 1746)
Textiles: fiber preparation
Working
Carding
C019S218000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06557215
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for cleaning an all-steel sawtooth arrangement of a swift of a card or carding machine with a number of adjacently positioned sawtooth wire sections, wherein between the threads or windings of neighboring sawtooth wire sections a groove of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement is formed extending from the tooth tips of the sawtooth wire sections to the groove bottom, comprising at least one cleaning element for removing foreign particles from the grooves of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement. The invention also relates to a cleaning method that can be performed with such a device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices and methods of the aforementioned kind are required, for example, in connection with the operation of a card and, in particular, when operating a carding machine. During the operation of a card, short fibers and neps will collect in the area of a swift arrangement, formed by a sawtooth wire extending in a coil shape about a corresponding support, in the grooves of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement formed between the individual windings of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement. When operating carding machines for processing or producing carded yarns, combed yarns, synthetic fibers, cotton wadding, fleece material etc., foreign particles such as finishes, melted synthetic fiber packets as well as straw, wood, and burs will collect in the area of the corresponding swift or drum arrangements in Morell-type rollers when processing wool. These foreign particles must be removed from the grooves of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement for ensuring a satisfactory work result. For this purpose, it is conventional to employ cleaning brushes which are arranged outside of the actual working area of the swift or drum and rotate about a rotational axis which extends parallel to the rotational axis of the swift. During the cleaning process the cleaning brush bristles sweep through the all-steel sawtooth arrangement and remove foreign particles from the grooves of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement. After leaving the grooves of the all-steel sawtooth arrangements, the foreign particles are then removed conventionally by a suction device or the like from the cleaning brushes so that the cleaning brush bristles will not introduce new foreign particles during the subsequent sweep through the all-steel sawtooth arrangement.
Even though with these known cleaning devices, at least during processing of cotton fibers, satisfactory cleaning results can be obtained, it was found that the cleaning process that can be performed therewith results in additional wear of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement, which is already subjected to great wear due to the fiber processing, this additional wear resulting in a corresponding reduction of the service life of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement. Moreover, when using the known cleaning devices during the operation of a carding machine, only an incomplete cleaning of the corresponding swift or drum arrangement will be obtained. For eliminating the first mentioned deficiency, DE 195 32 592 C1 has already proposed cleaning devices that are useable for the cleaning of circular combs and make a contactless and accordingly wear-reduced cleaning process possible. When using the cleaning devices described in the aforementioned document for cleaning swift arrangements, however, only unsatisfactory cleaning results are obtained, in general. This is true especially for use of the known cleaning devices for cleaning high performance carding machines with which synthetic fibers are processed. In these machines a manual cleaning step must be performed, even when using the known cleaning brushes, in order to achieve a complete cleaning.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device of the aforementioned kind with which, while eliminating excessive wear of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement, a satisfactory cleaning can be achieved, even for operating carding machines that are used for processing synthetic fibers, and to provide also a cleaning method to be performed therewith.
In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved with respect to the device in that the cleaning element has a cleaning portion, preferably in the form of a cleaning blade, that can be placed against the groove bottom.
This invention is based on the finding that during the operation of a device for processing textile fibers foreign particles that collect in the area of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement are deposited only to a small degree in the area of the tooth tips of the sawtooth wires and are collected primarily in the area of the groove bottom of the grooves of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement that are formed between the individual sawtooth wire sections of an all-steel sawtooth arrangement. This holds true especially when processing synthetic fibers wherein the foreign particles are substantially comprised of melted products of the synthetic fibers which are produced from the synthetic fibers under the effect of the high temperatures resulting from operation of the high performance carding machines.
These foreign particles can be removed reliably and completely from the all-steel sawtooth arrangement by means of the cleaning portion of the cleaning device according to the invention resting against the groove bottom and being preferably in the form of a cleaning blade comprised of spring steel, without the sawteeth or sawtooth tips used for the actual fiber processing being loaded by the cleaning portion by an appreciable force. Accordingly, a satisfactory cleaning can be achieved with the cleaning device according to the invention, while preventing an appreciable wear of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement, even when melted products resulting during processing of synthetic fibers adhere to the all-steel sawtooth arrangement in the area of the groove bottom. These effects can be achieved in the cleaning of those all-steel sawtooth arrangements in which the groove bottom is formed by the foot of a sawtooth wire that is spirally applied as well as in the cleaning of those all-steel sawtooth arrangements in which the sawtooth wire is applied to a support provided with grooves so that the groove bottom is at least partially formed by the support surface.
In this context, the cleaning device according to the invention can be used not only as an alternative in the cleaning of the swift of a carding machine but also in addition to the known cleaning brushes. A gentle treatment of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement can be achieved in this context in that during the additional use of the device according to the invention cleaning brushes with softer cleaning brush bristles are employed.
In order to achieve an especially good cleaning action, it was found to be expedient to couple the cleaning element with a tensioning device forcing the cleaning portion in the direction toward the groove bottom because a reliable contact of the cleaning portion on the groove bottom is ensured in this way even for irregular surfaces of the groove bottom so that a satisfactory cleaning action can be achieved.
Damage to the all-steel sawtooth arrangement caused by the cleaning process can be reliably prevented when the cleaning portion is secured on a support so as to be movable in a direction counter to the tensioning force produced by the tensioning device. In this manner it is achieved that the cleaning portion can be deflected in a direction counter to the tensioning direction when a high resistance is encountered during the cleaning process, which can be, for example, caused by sawteeth buckled into the grooves of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement, in order to thereby prevent an excessive loading of the all-steel sawtooth arrangement by the cleaning process as well as breaking off of the cleaning portion.
It was found that the last described embodiment of the invention can be realized in a constructively especially simple manner when the cleaning portion is pivotabl
Chaudhry Saeed
Graf + Cie AG
Gulakowski Randy
Kueffner Friedrich
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