Field to gin cotton handling and storge systems

Process of treating a module of compressed field harvested cotton on a pallet and having a high bulk density of 10 to 14 pounds per cubic foot and including a mixture of field trash of twigs, leaves and cotton bolls, comprising steps of

• a. moving said pallet with said module of compressed cotton thereon to a horizontally extending loading frame,
• b. moving the horizontally loading frame with pallet and module thereon horizontally toward a feeder compartment,
• c. tilting the module about a horizontal axis while holding the pallet and discharging the module into the feeder compartment and disrupting the mass of cotton on to a conveyor means in the feeder compartment at a lower overall bulk density than in the module,
• d. moving the resulting mass of cotton on a conveyor toward spaced apart tearing and beating elements surrounding orifices therebetween, and
• e. increasing the bulk density of the mass to a greater degree in a zone adjacent the dispersing elements than in a zone distant therefrom, and,
• f. beating and tearing the mixed mass of cotton bolls, twigs and trash and disrupting such components and passing the resulting disrupted components through the orifices between said tearing and beating elements to a separator whereat the trash and cotton are separated.

System for handling and transporting and treating field harvested seed cotton, said system comprising a mobile press assembly, a pallet, a tilt bed transport means, and a preginning module treating apparatus,

• a. said mobile press assembly comprising a plunger subassembly and a container subassembly, said container subassembly comprising a plurality of vertically extending side walls, an end wall and a movable wall with a container chamber therebetween, said pallet at the bottom of said chamber and a winch attached to said vertical end wall, said plunger assembly comprising a vertically movable tamping subassembly, said plunger assembly comprising a rigid frame means, a vertically movable center post, means supported on said frame means to move said center post vertically and quietly, and side posts, one side post on each side of said vertically movable center post, the bottom end of said center post and said side posts attached to horizontal and longitudinally extending tamper plate and flexible tension means connected from the bottom of each of said side posts to the top of the other side post, each said flexible tensioning means being at its bottom parallel to one of said side posts and adjacent thereto at the bottom end of said one post and at its top parallel to and adjacent to the top of the other side post, whereby to equalize vertical movement at the bottom end of each end of said tamping plate,
• b. said pallet comprising an imperforate water-impermeable transversely grooved thin corrugated sheet and a plurality of parallel longitudinally extending like runners, each runner composed of a two like vertically extending outwardly sloped side walls and a bottom flat smooth horizontal sheet, the side walls firmly yet resiliently joined at corners along the total length of their bottom edges to the total length of the left edge and right edges, respectively, of the bottom sheet and extending upwardly therefrom, and said sheet is firmly connected to the top of said side walls at regularly longitudinally spaced apart points,
• c. said tilt bed transport means comprising a winch and a bed, said winch attached to said bed, said trailer bed having a length at least the length of said pallet,
• d. the minimum radium of curvature on the bottom of said mass of cotton on said pallet moved onto the said bed is at least as great as the height of said mass of compressed seed cotton on said bed measured transversely to the horizontal surface covered by the edges of said bed,
• e. said preginning apparatus comprising a feeder assembly, a dispersing assembly, and a separator assembly,
• said feeder assembly comprising a base and rigid vertical longitudinally extending side wall and, spaced away therefrom and parallel thereto in closed position, a pivotal side door assembly and, below said closed pivotal side door and said rigid side door, a movable conveyor, said side wall firmly fixed to said base
• said pivotal side door comprising a frame pivotally attached to said base and extending along a pivotal axis parallel to the length of said rigid side door, and an extensible loading frame movably attached to the top of said pivotal frame,
• said extensible frame being movably mounted on said pivotal frame for movement in a direction perpendicular to said pivotal axis and a plurality of parallel roller means located on said extensible frame, each of said roller means each having an axis of rotation parallel to said direction of extension;
• said movable conveyor comprising an elongated belt attached to means to move said belt along direction of its length;
• said dispersing assembly comprising a plurality of spaced apart parallel beating elements extending in a plane at an upwardly oblique angle to the direction of movement of said belt, each of said parallel elements being operatively connected to a means for moving said elements in non-intersecting paths through a common volume of the space between said beating elements;
• said separator assembly comprising a pneumatic separator, a discharge duct for cotton and a discharge duct for waste and a feed belt leading to said separator;
• and
• said dispersing means located adjacent to said belt of said separator assembly, and
• power means operatively attached to means for moving said pivotal side door about its pivotal axis, and power means operatively attached to said extensible frame means for movement thereof towards and away from said pivotal axis, and power means operatively attached to said means to move said conveyor belt, and power means attached to said beating elements of said dispersing assembly and power means operatively attached to said separator assembly to supply an air stream to said pneumatic separator.

Process of compressing, loading, and transporting and treating field harvested seed cotton, said seed cotton comprising a mixture of components including cotton bolls and field trash as twigs and leaves, said process comprising the steps of

• a. vertically compressing a longitudinally continuous mass of said seed cotton on a horizontally extending support, to a uniform density between 10 and 14 pounds per cubic foot, and forming a compressed mass of said cotton,
• b. applying a water-impermeable cover to the top of said compressed mass and connecting said cover to said support
• c. moving said support with said mass of compressed cotton thereon to a horizontally extending loading frame,
• d. moving the horizontally loading frame with said support and said mass thereon toward a feeder compartment,
• e. tilting the mass about a horizontal axis while holding the support and discharging the mass into the feeder compartment and disrupting the mass of cotton onto a conveyor means in the feeder compartment at a lower overall bulk density than in said mass,
• f. moving the resulting mass of cotton on a conveyor toward spaced part beating and tearing elements surrounding orifices therebetween, and
• g. increasing the bulk density of the said resulting mass to a greater degree in a zone adjacent the beating and tearing elements than in a zone distant therefrom, while
• h. beating and tearing the mixed mass of cotton bolls, twigs, and trash and reducing the bulk density of said thus treated mixed mass and disrupting such components and passing the resulting components through the orifices between said beating and tearing elements and discharging the thus treated mass of seed cotton at a bulk density of between 2 to 3 pounds per cubic foot to a separator and there separating the trash and seed cotton.