Carding machine

A carding machine for a web of fibers comprising a first carding cylinder having carding elements rotatable in one direction, means for feeding said web to be carded on to the first carding cylinder, a second carding cylinder having carding elements rotatable in the same direction as the first carding cylinder, a plurality of transfer rollers for stripping said web from the first carding cylinder and for transferring it to the second carding cylinder, the cylinders and rollers having parallel axes, means for stripping the carded web from the second carding cylinder and delivering the twice-carded web from the machine, a plurality of flats each comprising a flat bar, each said flat bar extending parallel to the cylinder axes and supporting carding elements, means linking each said flat to the two immediately adjacent flats to form a closed chain of flats, and means for guiding the chain of flats so that each flat travels in a closed path, parts of said path passing immediately adjacent to an arc of the circumference of each of the first and second carding cylinders, respective groups of said flats forming respective arcs of said path cooperating simultaneously with corresponding arcs on the surfaces of said carding cylinders, the carding elements on said flats cooperating in a carding action firstly with carding elements on the first carding cylinder, and then with carding elements on the second carding cylinder.