Moisture conditioner for lint cotton
AssigneeJackson-Charter Limited Partnership
InventorsMartin L Mehner, Samuel G. Jackson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for processing a fibrous material batt like lint cotton to increase the moisture content of the material and to compress the batt of humidified fibers to increase the batt density. A stream of warm humid air is passed through the moving batt of fiber that is constrained between a rotatable hollow cylinder and a stationary perforated screen. The batt is doffed off the rotatable cylinder by a roller that serves to both doff and compress the batt. The doffer/compression roller compresses the batt against a smooth surface plate.
Claims20
An apparatus for processing fibrous material, comprising:
- a rotatable hollow first cylinder having a cylindrical sheet metal surface which has a plurality of punched perforations, defining a rough side where a punch has exited and a smooth side where the punch has entered;
- wherein
- the rough side of the surface of the first cylinder is located on the exterior of the first cylinder to enhance gripping fibrous material being processed;
- and
- a fan connected by a duct to an interior of the first cylinder for maintaining an interior of the first cylinder at less than ambient pressure to draw incoming fibrous material more tightly against the rough side of the cylindrical surface of the first cylinder.
A humidifying apparatus for a fibrous material processor having a lint separator for creating a continuous batt of the fibrous material, the humidifying apparatus comprising:
- a cylindrical drum having a drum screen with a plurality of openings, the drum being rotatable about a central axis and adapted to be located downstream from the lint separator;
- a stationary screen adapted to be located downstream from the lint separator and adjacent to a portion of the screen of the drum, the stationary screen having a plurality of openings and being spaced apart from the drum by a separating amount;
- and
- an air plenum mounted to the stationary screen for supplying a continuous stream of hot humidified air through the openings of the stationary screen, the batt and the openings of the drum for humidifying the batt as it travels through the separating amount.
In a cotton gin having a lint condenser for creating a batt of cotton from lint cotton, an improved lint conditioning apparatus, comprising:
- a feed ramp located adjacent to the lint separator for receiving that batt exiting the lint separator;
- a cylindrical drum having a drum screen with a plurality of openings, the drum being rotatable about a central axis and located at a downstream end of the feed ramp;
- a stationary screen located at the downstream end of the feed ramp and adjacent to a portion of the drum, the stationary screen having a plurality of openings and being spaced apart from the drum by a separating amount;
- an air plenum mounted to the stationary screen for supplying a continuous stream of hot humidified air through the openings of the stationary screen, the batt and the openings of the drum as the batt travels through the separating amount;
- a compression plate located downstream from and adjacent to the stationary screen;
- and
- a roller located adjacent to the drum and the compression plate for doffing the batt from the drum and compressing the batt between the roller and the compression plate.
A method for humidifying a fibrous material in a processor having a lint separator for creating a continuous batt of the fibrous material, comprising:
- (a) feeding the batt from the lint separator to a separation between a cylindrical rotating drum having a perforated drum screen and a perforated stationary screen adjacent to a portion of the drum screen;
- (b) forcing a continuous stream of hot humidified air through the stationary screen, the batt and the screen of the drum for humidifying the batt as it travels through the separation;
- and
- (c) doffing the batt off of the screen of the drum with a roller.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.