Handling cylindrical and rectangular modules
OwnerJimmy R. Stoverinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In one embodiment, a system for removing a plastic wrap from a cylindrical module includes a conveyor transporting the cylindrical module toward a disperser with the cylindrical axis of the module parallel to the direction of conveyor movement. In another embodiment, the disperser is a travelling head disperser thereby providing relative movement between the modules and the disperser. The direction of the wrap around the module is determined and the cover is removed during rotation of the module, either by unwrapping the plastic or by slitting the plastic and then rotating the module. The equipment used to handle a cylindrical module is moved out of the path of movement of a conventional rectangular module so an installation can handle both rectangular and wrapped cylindrical modules.
Claims21
A cotton gin including:
- at least one gin stand adapted to remove cotton seed from seed cotton;
- a module feeder equipped to handle rectangular modules and cylindrical modules, at least said cylindrical modules wrapped with a cover and having a smaller cross-sectional size and shorter height than the rectangular modules including:
- a disperser;
- a motorized conveyor having an outlet end adjacent the disperser and an inlet end for moving the modules toward the disperser;
- a device, intermediate the ends of the conveyor, facilitating removal of the cover from the cylindrical modules, the device being movable from a position adjacent the conveyor in the path of movement of the rectangular modules to a position outside the path of movement of the rectangular modules to allow the rectangular modules to pass toward the disperser;
- and
- wherein the device facilitating removal of the cover includes a mechanism to raise a cylindrical module at least partially off the conveyor, the mechanism being movable to a position outside the path of movement of the rectangular modules to allow the rectangular modules to pass toward the disperser.
A method of operating a cotton gin having at least one gin stand for removing cotton seed from seed cotton, a disperser adapted to digest a cotton module into clumps and delivering the clumps to the gin stand, a motorized conveyor adapted to deliver rectangular modules and cylindrical modules, at least said cylindrical modules wrapped with a cover, the cylindrical modules being of a smaller cross-sectional size and shorter height than the rectangular modules, the method comprising:
- conveying a wrapped cylindrical module on the conveyor toward the disperser;
- using equipment to facilitate removal of the cover from the cylindrical module as it is being conveyed toward the disperser, the equipment being in a path of movement of the rectangular modules at a time during removal of the cover;
- moving the equipment out of the path of movement of the rectangular module and then conveying a rectangular module on the conveyor toward the disperser;
- and
- wherein the equipment at least partially raises the cylindrical module off the conveyor during removal of the cover.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.