Carding machine with modular subdivision of the carding zones

A carding machine comprising a licker-in, a main cylinder and a doffer, the carding machine including in a direction of rotation of the main cylinder a main carding zone which can include a flat arrangement, a pre-carding zone between the licker-in and the main carding zone, a recarding zone between the main carding zone and the doffer and an intermediate carding zone between the doffer and the licker-in,

• at least one of the pre-carding, main carding, recarding and intermediate carding zones being subdivided with respect to an axis of rotation of the main cylinder into a plurality of angular ranges, each of which has an angular extension equal to an integer of at least one times a unified angular extension,
• the carding machine further including modules carrying at least one piece of equipment of the carding machine, the modules being mountable in the subdivided zone of the carding machine, each module including a pair of spaced-apart fastening plates, each of which is mountable on a respective side of the main cylinder and has an angular extension around the axis of the main cylinder corresponding to an integer of at least one times the unified angular extension, each pair of fastening plates including means for mounting thereon at least one piece of equipment of a card having an angular extension around the axis of the main cylinder corresponding to an integer of at least one times the unified angular extension, and
• the licker-in having a circumference subdivided into angular ranges, each of which is equal to the unified angular extension for receiving tool modules.

A carding machine comprising a licker-in, a main cylinder and a doffer, the carding machine including in a direction of rotation of the main cylinder a main carding zone which can include a flat arrangement, a pre-carding zone between the licker-in and the main carding zone, a recarding zone between the main carding zone and the doffer and an intermediate carding zone between the doffer and the licker-in,

• at least one of the pre-carding, main carding, recarding and intermediate carding zones being subdivided with respect to an axis of rotation of the main cylinder into a plurality of angular ranges, each of which has an angular extension equal to an integer of at least one times a unified angular extension,
• the carding machine further including modules carrying at least one piece of equipment of the carding machine, the modules being mountable in the subdivided zone of the carding machine, each module including a pair of spaced-apart fastening plates, each of which is mountable on a respective side of the main cylinder and has an angular extension around the axis of the main cylinder corresponding to an integer of at least one times the unified angular extension, each pair of fastening plates including means for mounting thereon at least one piece of equipment of a card having an angular extension around the axis of the main cylinder corresponding to an integer of at least one times the unified angular extension, each of the fastening plates having an angular extension measured in a circumferential direction around the axis of the main cylinder which is equal to four times the unified angular extension, and
• each of the modules including equipment selected from the group consisting of:
• (a) four card rods with the same clothing;
• (b) four card rods with various clothing;
• (c) one guide rod, one knife rod and two card rods;
• (d) one card rod, one guide rod, one knife rod and one card rod;
• (e) two card rods, one guide rod and one knife rod;
• (f) one main cylinder cover plate;
• (g) at least one main cylinder cover plate and at least one piece of equipment selected from a card rod, a guide rod and a knife rod;
• and (h) one transverse conveyor cleaning device.

A carding machine comprising a licker-in, a main cylinder and a doffer, the carding machine including in a direction of rotation of the main cylinder a main carding zone which can include a flat arrangement, a pre-carding zone between the licker-in and the main carding zone, a recarding zone between the main carding zone and the doffer and an intermediate carding zone between the doffer and the licker-in,

• at least one of the pre-carding, main carding, recarding and intermediate carding zones being subdivided with respect to an axis of rotation of the main cylinder into a plurality of angular ranges, each of which has an angular extension equal to an integer of at least one times a unified angular extension,
• the carding machine further including modules carrying at least one piece of equipment of the carding machine, the modules being mountable in the subdivided zone of the carding machine, each module including a pair of spaced-apart fastening plates, each of which is mountable on a respective side of the main cylinder and has an angular extension around the axis of the main cylinder corresponding to an integer of at least one times the unified angular extension, each pair of fastening plates including means for mounting thereon at least one piece of equipment of a card having an angular extension around the axis of the main cylinder corresponding to an integer of at least one times the unified angular extension, and
• the mounting means including spring clips, each of which has an angular extension around the axis of the card cylinder which is no greater than the unified angular extension.

A pre-adjusted module for a carding machine including in a direction of rotation of a main cylinder a main carding zone which can include a flat arrangement facing a portion of the main cylinder, a pre-carding zone between a licker-in and the main carding zone, a recarding zone between the main carding zone and a doffer and an intermediate carding zone between the doffer and the licker-in, at least one of the pre-carding, main carding, recarding and intermediate carding zones being subdivided with respect to an axis of rotation of the main cylinder into a plurality of angular ranges, each of which has an angular extension equal to an integer of at least one times a unified angular extension, the pre-adjusted module comprising:

• a pair of spaced-apart fastening plates, each of the fastening plates being mountable in the carding machine at a respective axial end of the main cylinder and having an angular extension around the axis of the main cylinder when mounted in the carding machine corresponding to an integer of at least one times the unified angular extension, the pair of fastening plates including means for mounting thereon at least one pre-adjustable piece of equipment of the carding machine so that the at least one pre-adjustable piece of equipment is adjustable and can be preset at a desired position in a radial direction with respect to a rotation axis of the main cylinder prior to mounting of the pre-adjusted module in the carding machine, the pre-adjusted module being mountable in the subdivided zone of the carding machine.

A method of mounting a pre-adjusted module on a carding machine including in a direction of rotation of a main cylinder a main carding zone which can include a flat arrangement facing a portion of the main cylinder, a pre-carding zone between the licker-in and the main carding zone, a recarding zone between the main carding zone and the doffer and an intermediate carding zone between the doffer and the licker-in,

• at least one of the pre-carding, main carding, recarding and intermediate carding zones being subdivided with respect to an axis of rotation of the main cylinder into a plurality of angular ranges, each of which has an angular extension equal to an integer of at least one times a unified angular extension,
• the pre-adjusted module carrying at least one pre-adjustable piece of equipment of the carding machine, the pre-adjusted module being mountable in the subdivided zone of the carding machine and including a pair of spaced-apart fastening plates, each of which is mountable at a respective side of the main cylinder and has an angular extension around the axis of the main cylinder corresponding to an integer of at least one times the unified angular extension, each pair of fastening plates including means for mounting thereon the at least one pre-adjustable piece of equipment, the method comprising:
• pre-adjusting the at least one pre-adjustable piece of equipment on the fastening plates by adjusting the pre-adjustable piece of equipment on a setting fixture such that when the pre-adjusted module is mounted in the carding machine a clothing clearance between a portion of the pre-adjustable piece of equipment and the main cylinder is at a preselected value;
• and
• mounting the pre-adjusted module on the carding machine after the pre-adjusting step.