Cotton, Inc.

Lambert H Wilkes

Joseph K Jones

William F Lalor

Gary L Underbrink

Martin Mehner

Kenneth E Watkins

An apparatus for processing seed cotton and removing fiber fractions from the seed cotton includes a plurality of freely rotatable first rollers that are arranged substantially parallel to one another and that are rotatably driven in a continuous path. A plurality of nip rolls are positioned in abutting relation to the first rollers on the side on the continuous path that is opposite to the side on which the seed cotton is deposited. The apparatus includes a reorienting arrangement for reorienting the position of the seed cotton on the first rollers to thereby permit all or substantially all of the fibers on the seed cotton to be removed. In one embodiment, the reorienting arrangement includes a rotating reorienting roller that contacts the seed cotton located on the first rollers. In another embodiment, the reorienting arrangement includes an apparatus that directs streams of air at the seed cotton on the first rollers.

Method and apparatus for reorienting seed cotton on a ginning apparatus

An apparatus for removing a fiber fraction from seed cotton includes a plurality of freely rotatable cage rollers that are arranged substantially parallel to one another. The plurality of rollers are rotatable in a continuous path that has a first side for receiving seed cotton. A plurality of nip rollers are positioned in abutting relation to a second side of the continuous path. An arrangement is provided for removing unginned seed cotton and ginned seed from the first side of the continuous path. A reclaiming apparatus is provided for reclaiming unginned seed cotton and discarding ginned seed that has been removed from the first side of the continuous path by the removal arrangement. Also, a conveying device is included for conveying unginned seed cotton that has been reclaimed by the reclaiming apparatus back to the first side of the continuous path.

Method and apparatus for removing a fiber fraction from seed cotton

An apparatus for removing a fiber fraction from seed cotton includes a plurality of freely rotatable cage rollers that are arranged substantially parallel to one another. The plurality of rollers are rotatable in a continuous path that has a first side for receiving seed cotton. The outer peripheral surface of at least one nip roller is positioned in abutting relation to the cage rollers on a second side of the continuous path to thereby apply a force to the cage rollers. An arrangement is also provided for separating the seed cotton into individual locks before the seed cotton is fed onto the first side of the continuous path. Further, an arrangement can be attached to the at least one nip roller for varying the force applied by the nip roller to the cage roller.

Apparatus and method for removing a fiber fraction from seed cotton

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for recovering a fiber fraction from seed cotton. In a first embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of closely spaced, substantially parallel rollers are driven in a continuous path substantially perpendicular to the axes of the rollers. Seed cotton is deposited on a first side of the continuous path of rollers. At least one relatively large diameter nip roll is arranged in abutting engagement with a second side of the continuous path with the nip roll being fixed relative to the continuous path of the roller. A substantially constant quantity of air is drawn substantially straight between the rollers from the first to the second side of the continuous path in an area at least immediately upstream of the nip roll to aid in extending a fiber fraction between adjacent ones of the rollers. The nip roll is rotatably driven for separating the fiber fraction extended between the rollers by the air from the seed. In a further aspect of the present invention, a rotatable brush is arranged on the second side of the continuous path opposite to the deposited seed cotton. The brush is adapted both for aligning the fiber fraction between adjacent ones of the plurality of rollers and for cleaning the fiber fraction prior to nipping the fiber fraction between the nip roll and the rollers.

A system is disclosed wherein fibers are mounted on pallets for ease in handling and storage. The system uses the pallets to provide a continuous, uniform rate of fiber feed to other apparatus for subsequent fiber processing. A positioning system arranges pallets in end-to-end abutting relationship to provide the uniform rate of fiber feed generally desired for fiber processing. A plurality of vertically spaced horizontally disposed rotating augers engage the advancing face of fibers on a pallet to remove the bulk of fibers therefrom. The pallet surface is subsequently engaged by a pallet sweeper which removes any fibers not removed by the rotating augers. The loosened fibers are deposited on a transverse conveyor which overlies the pallet surface and moves the fibers transversely of the pallet unloading apparatus for delivery to the fiber processing apparatus.

Growing community of inventors

College Station, TX, United States of America

Lambert H Wilkes