BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a flat card comprising one embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a further embodiment of the invention in which flats of a revolving card top unit opposed to a part of a carding cylinder define a carding gap between the clothings of the revolving card top flats and the cylinder clothing, each of the card top flats shown having a storage chip;
FIG. 3 shows a stationary carding segment with storage chips, and part of a side screen of a card, with a spacing between the carding segment clothing and the cylinder clothing; and
FIG. 4 shows part of the side view of the flat card according to FIG. 1 and a diagrammatic block circuit diagram with a writing device, a reading device and an electrical control and regulation device (machine control) and also, in diagrammatic form, the data transfer by radio between the storage device and the reading device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to FIG. 1, a flat card, for example, a TC 03 flat card made by Trützschler GmbH & Co. K.G. of Mönchengladbach, Germany, has a feed roller 1, feed table 2, lickers-in 3a, 3b, 3c, cylinder 4, doffer 5, stripper roller 6, nip rollers 7, 8, web-guiding element 9, web funnel 10, delivery rollers 11, 12, revolving card top 13 having card top guide rollers 13a, 13b and flats 14, can 15 and can coiler 16. The directions of rotation of the rollers are indicated by curved arrows. Reference letter M denotes the centre (axis) of the cylinder 4 and reference letter A denotes the working direction. Reference 4a denotes the clothing and reference 4b denotes the direction of rotation of the high-speed cylinder 4. Reference letter C denotes the direction in which the revolving card top 13 revolves at the carding location and reference letter D denotes the return transport direction of the flats 14. In the pre-carding region—between the licker-in 3c and the back card top guide roller 13a—there are arranged a plurality of fixed carding elements 25′ (see FIG. 3), and in the post-carding region—between the front card top guide roller 13b and the doffer 5—there are arranged a plurality of fixed carding elements 25″ (see FIG. 3). At each of the fixed carding elements 25′ in the pre-carding region and at each of the fixed carding elements 25″ in the post-carding region there is arranged a storage unit in the form of a storage chip 271 to 272, However, purely for the sake of simplicity, in each case it is only at one fixed carding element 25′ or 25″ that a storage chip 271 or 272, respectively, is shown.
In a further embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a flexible bend 17 having several adjustment screws is fixed laterally to the frame of the machine on each side, using screws (not shown). The flexible bend 17 has a convex outer surface 17a and an underside 17b. On top of the flexible bend 17 there is a slideway 20, for example made of low-friction plastics material, which has a convex outer surface 20a and a concave inner surface 20b. The concave inner surface 20b rests on top of the convex outer surface 17a. The card flats 14, which are extruded from aluminium, have a carrier member 14c in the form of a hollow profiled member, a card flat foot 14a and, at each of their two ends, a card flat head, in which there are mounted in an axial direction two steel pins 18, which slide on the convex outer surface 20a of the slideway 20 in the direction of arrow C. The card flat clothing 24 (small wire hooks) is mounted on the underside of the card flat foot 14a. Reference numeral 23 denotes the circle of tips of the card flat clothings 24. On the outside of the carrier member 14c of each of the card flats 14 there is arranged a storage chip 273, 274 and 275.
The cylinder 4 has on its circumference a cylinder clothing 4a, for example a sawtooth clothing. Reference numeral 22 denotes the circle of the tips of the cylinder clothing 4a. The spacing (carding gap) between the circle of tips 23 and the circle of tips 22 is denoted by reference letter a and is, for example, 2/1000″. The carding spacing of the flat card, that is to say of the cylinder 4 having the cylinder clothing 4a and of the card flats 14 having the card flat clothings 24, is set in practice. In order to reduce or avoid the risk of collisions, the carding gap between clothings located opposite one another is in practice set to be slightly greater, that is to say a certain safety margin is provided. However, a large carding gap results in undesirable nep formation in the carded sliver. Rather, an optimum, especially a narrow, size is desirable, as a result of which the proportion of neps in the carded sliver is substantially reduced. The spacing between the convex outer surface 20a and the circle of tips 22 is denoted by reference letter b. The radius of the convex outer surface 20a is denoted by reference letter r1 and the constant radius of the circle of tips 22 is denoted by reference letter r2. The radius r2 intersects the centre point M (see FIG. 1) of the cylinder 4. Reference numeral 14c denotes the back of the card flats. Reference numeral 19 denotes a clamping element, which engages around the card flat pins 18 and which is connected to the drive belt (not shown) for the card flats 14.
In the embodiment of FIG. 3, an approximately semi-circular, rigid side panel 18 is fixed laterally to the machine frame (not shown) on each side of the flat card, on the outside of which panel in the region of the periphery there is integrally cast in a concentric position a rigid arcuate supporting element 19, which has, as supporting surface, a convex outer surface 19a and an underside 19b. Stationary carding elements 25 have, at both their ends, mounting surfaces, which are mounted on the convex outer surface 19a of the mounting element. Fixed to the underneath surface of the carding element 25 are carding segments 26a, 26b having carding clothings 26a′, 26b′. Reference numeral 21 denotes the circle of tips of the clothings 26a′, 26b′. The cylinder 4 has, around its circumference, a cylinder clothing 4a, for example a saw-tooth clothing. Reference numeral 22 denotes the circle of tips of the cylinder clothing 4a. The spacing between the circle of tips 21 and the circle of tips 22 is indicated by the reference letter c and is, for example, 0.20 mm. Reference letter d denotes the spacing between the convex outer surface 19a and the circle of tips 22. Reference r1 denotes the radius of the convex outer surface 19a and reference r2 denotes the radius of the circle of tips 22. The radii r1 and r2 intersect in the centre M (see FIG. 1) of the cylinder 4. The carding element 25 according to FIG. 3 consists of a carrier 25a and two carding segments 26a, 26b, which are arranged one after the other in the direction of rotation (arrow 4b) of the cylinder 4, the clothings (26a′, 26b′) of the carding segments 26a, 26b and the clothing 4a of the cylinder 4 lying opposite one another. The spacing c between the clothings 26a′, 26b′ of the carding segments 26a, 26b and the cylinder clothing 4a is of great importance to the carding process and to the result of carding. The storage chip 271 is fixed, for example by means of adhesion, screws or the like, on the outer wall surface of the carrier 25.
In a further embodiment shown in FIG. 4, there is provided an electrical control and regulation device 28 (machine control) for the flat card, to which a writing device 29 for writing the information on the storage chips 271 and 272 and a reading device 30 for reading the information therefrom are connected. In the example shown, the data is wirelessly transferred between the storage element 272 and the reading device 30 by radio. The storage device 272 is equipped with a transmitter device (not shown) having an integral antenna and the reading device 30 is equipped with a receiver device comprising an antenna 31. Whereas storage devices are shown only on stationary carding elements 25 in FIG. 4, one or more revolving card flats of the revolving card top may optionally also be provided with electronic storage units which may be read by further reading and/or writing devices attached to the machine control 28.
A miniature wireless chip can be used as the storage device 27 in any of the embodiments shown. The chip may be provided with an integral antenna. Such a chip can store, for example, 4 MB or more. Access to the data on this storage chip 27 is accomplished, in the embodiment of FIG. 4, by means of a specific reading (30) and writing (29) device, which is positioned in the vicinity of the chip. The data stored on the chip 27 is displayed on this device, and new data can also be stored from this device. The chip 27 can be adhesively mounted on the surface of the component 14, 25, embedded in the component 14, 25 or constructed as self-adhesive and releasable small dots. The chip 27, which can, for example, be as small as 2 square. millimetres, is a storage device, for example based on a CMOS, an economical power circuit design. The chip 27 is expediently independent and is not dependent on external batteries or power supplies. It can be provided with power by the induction coupling of the reading device 30, in the process of which the energy of one circuit component is transferred to the other component by way of a common magnetic field. As a result of its small size, its storage capacity and rapid speed of access, the preferred chip 27 allows direct access to digital data.
The reading device 30 and writing device 29 of FIG. 4 may likewise be used with any of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 3, or any other suitable reading and/or writing device may be used.
A basic idea of the apparatus according to the invention lies in the fact that, for correct calculation of, for example, carding gaps, further variable parameters are required which cannot be measured on-line. These variable parameters are, for example, material-dependent deformation of components under the influence of temperature differences. Likewise, different constructional properties can also alter the deformation of components under the influence of temperature differences. These parameters have to be communicated to the control system without being measured on-line. Data of this kind is ascertained, as it were, at the premises of the machine manufacturer and may well be altered as a result of constructional measures. Once known, the parameters can be stored on the storage chip 27 associated with the component in question.
As a material-related parameter there is used, for example, the coefficient of linear expansion [1/K], in the course of calculations for calculating the carding gap. As a construction-related parameter there is designated, for example, a component-dependent factor which is multiplied in the description by a measured temperature difference. The objective in this case is to calculate a carding gap modification. A carding gap is not pre-specified. The calculated carding gap modifications can, however, be applied at the components in question by suitable actuation means.
Although the foregoing invention has been described in detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of understanding, it will be obvious that changes and modifications may be practised within the scope of the appended claims.
Patent Application
20080072401
