Arrangement of fittings for flats in a carding machine

A carding machine for carding and for removing contaminants from a fibrous material, comprising a rotatably supported carding cylinder rotationally driven in a forward direction at a first speed and having first carding means on the peripheral surface thereof, a flat supported adjacent the peripheral surface of said carding cylinder for movement in said forward direction at a second speed less than said first speed and having second carding means on a first surface thereof which faces said carding cylinder, means defining a first opening in said first surface of said flat, a second surface provided on said flat and having a second opening therein, said second opening communicating with the ambient air surrounding said carding machine, means defining a passageway through said flat which communicates with said first opening and with said second opening, said passageway extending away from said first opening at least partly in said forward direction, and means on said flat defining a filter at a location remote from said first opening for filtering the air flowing through said passageway, said first carding means, in response to rotation of said carding cylinder at said first speed, entraining air situated between said carding cylinder and said flat and causing it to flow in said forward direction and into said first opening and said passageway and through said filter, contaminants from said fibrous material being carried by said air flow into said passageway, being filtered from said air flow by said filter and being thus retained in said passageway in said flat.