Batt forming and feeding apparatus

Abstract

Apparatus for the formation and feeding of a cotton batt including a cotton retention chamber in which a first conveyor conveys cotton in a generally lateral direction toward a batt exit opening in a chamber and a second conveyor of the endless belt type with a lower drive roll conveys cotton away from the opening in an upward direction generally transverse to the lateral direction to establish a rotating batt supply body in the chamber. A rotatable stripper disposed between the front end of the first conveyor and the lower drive roll of the second conveyor forms the exit opening between the stripper and the front end of the first conveyor, and strips a batt from the supply body. The lower drive roll of the second conveyor is driven from the same drive means as the stripper and may be adjustable in an arcuate path about the axis of rotation of the stripper so that the angle the second conveyor makes with the first conveyor can be adjusted to expedite the operation of the apparatus without changing the adjustment of the size of the batt exit opening. Also the size of the batt exit opening may be independently adjusted by adjusting the front end of the stripper. The stripper may include a cylindrical hollow drum having a plurality of circumferentially and longitudinally spaced, circumferentially extending, slots, which drum is driven by fingers from an eccentric driver roll that moves outwardly and inwardly of the slots.