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AssigneeManville International, Inc.
InventorsRandall Clark Bascom, Harold Miles Hendrickson, Russell Donovan Arterburn, Carlos Gilberto Santizo, Emery Sidney Barber
Estimating the term…
A chopper for chopping fibers or fiber strands having a back up roll and a blade roll containing blades that work against a peripheral surface of the back up roll and a method of using is disclosed. The chopper has a number of improved features for reducing the frequency of long fibers or long fiber strands and fuzz from getting into the chopped product. The chopper can have one or any combination of the improvements. The improvements include a strand guide located at least two feet up stream of the chopper, a first starting roll for starting a new strand that runs on a fluid bearing that can be adjusted to control the RPM of the first starting roll, a mount for a roll that runs against the peripheral surface of said back up roll, a strand guide insert for reducing fuzz generation and for preventing fuzz from getting into the product, and a deflector plate for catching and deflecting chopped strands thrown off the back up roll into a chopped strand product chute.
A system of chopping fiber or strands of fiber comprising a chopper and a strand guide located at least two feet upstream of an upstream edge of said chopper to contain the strands running into said chopper and to keep said strands within a desired path as said strands enter said chopper, said strand guide having a bottom section and two generally vertical sections and an opening to allow a new strand to be placed into said strand guide.
A chopper for chopping fibers or strands of fibers having a first starting wheel for starting a new strand into the chopper, said first starting wheel being free to rotate on a bearing when the new strand is pulled partly around said first starting wheel, the improvement comprising that said starting wheel is supported by a fluid bearing and wherein said first starting wheel is mounted on a shaft having a raised shoulder that cooperates with the amount of fluid flowing around said shoulder between said shaft and an interior of said first starting wheel to control the rotational speed of said first starting wheel to minimize fuzz generation and roll wrap.
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said fluid is air.
The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said shaft is made from stainless steel, is hollow through a part of its length, wherein air under elevated pressure flows through an interior of said shaft and exits the interior through at least one hole joining said interior with the exterior of said shaft.
A mount for a removable roll that runs against fiber or fiber strands on a peripheral surface of a back up roll on a fiber or fiber strand chopper comprising:
A chopper for chopping fibers and fiber strands, said chopper having a protective cover guard covering a blade roll with blades that work against a back up roll to chop said fiber and fiber strands, said protective cover guard having a slot therein for allowing said fibers or fiber strands to pass from behind said protective cover guard to the outside of said protective cover guard, the improvement comprising a strand guide insert for mounting in a downstream portion of said slot to guide said fibers and fiber strands as they pass through said slot, said strand guide having at least one curved interior surface and no edges that can be contacted by said fibers or fiber strands as they pass through said strand guide insert.
A chopper having a blade roll with blades that work against a peripheral surface of a back up roll to chop fiber and chopped fiber strands, the improvement comprising a generally vertical deflector plate having an upper edge, said deflector plate mounted such that said upper edge is within about one-quarter inch from the peripheral surface of said back up roll and such that one surface of said plate is above a chopped product chute located in a path of said chopped fiber and chopped fiber strands.
A chopper for chopping fibers and fiber strands comprising a blade roll containing blades for chopping said fibers and fiber strands, said blades working against a peripheral surface of a back up roll, the improvement comprising said chopper also having one or more improvements selected from the group consisting of
A method of making chopped fiber or strand by pulling fibers or strands with a chopper comprising a blade roll containing blades for chopping, said blades working against a peripheral surface of a back up roll, the improvement comprising said chopper also having one or more improvements selected from the group consisting of
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.