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Patent Searching and Data


Title:
CARD CLOTHING
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2002/031239
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
Card clothing which can be applied to a roller for use in a fibre carding process comprises a backing web and an array of carding needles which are embedded in the web. The card clothing has a machine direction axis defined by the edge of the backing web and a transverse axis perpendicular to the machine direction axis, and the carding needles are provided in the web in parallel rows and the rows are arranged so that they are not parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing. Each of the carding needles comprises an upstanding portion which extends from the surface of the web, and a cranked portion towards its tip which extends generally along the machine direction axis of the web, the upstanding and cranked portion defining the needle plane, and the needles being arranged on the web so that the needle planes are not parallel to the machine direction axis.

Inventors:
HOLDSWORTH WILLIAM ALEXANDER (GB)
Application Number:
PCT/GB2001/004489
Publication Date:
April 18, 2002
Filing Date:
October 10, 2001
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
HOLDSWORTH JAMES & BROTHERS (GB)
HOLDSWORTH WILLIAM ALEXANDER (GB)
International Classes:
D01G15/86; D04B9/14; (IPC1-7): D01G15/86; D01H4/32
Foreign References:
DE442972C1927-04-13
GB503019A1939-03-27
US5230124A1993-07-27
DE2918210A11980-11-13
US4100006A1978-07-11
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Belcher, Simon James (Urquhart-Dykes & Lord Tower House Merrion Way Leeds LS2 8PA, GB)
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Claims:
CLAIMS:
1. Card clothing which can be applied to a roller for use in a fibre carding process, which comprises a backing web and an array of carding needles which are embedded in the web, the card clothing having a machine direction axis defined by the edge of the backing web and a transverse axis perpendicular to the machine direction axis, in which the carding needles are provided in the web in parallel rows and the rows are arranged so that they are not parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing, and in which each of the carding needles comprises an upstanding portion which extends from the surface of the web, and a cranked portion towards its tip which extends generally along the machine direction axis of the web, the upstanding and cranked portion defining the needle plane, the needles being arranged on the web so that the needle planes are not parallel to the machine direction axis.
2. Card clothing as claimed in claim 1, in which the angle between the transverse axis of the card clothing and the rows of the needles is at least about 3 °.
3. Card clothing as claimed in claim 1, in which the angle between the transverse axis of the card clothing and the rows of the needles is at least about 4°.
4. Card clothing as claimed in claim 1, in which the angle between the transverse axis of the card clothing and the rows of the needles is not more than about 10°.
5. Card clothing as claimed in claim 1, in which the angle between the transverse axis of the card clothing and the rows of the needles is not more than about 7°.
6. Card clothing as claimed in claim 1, in which the angle between the needle planes and the rows of the needles is at least about 3 °.
7. Card clothing as claimed in claim 1, in which the needles are arranged in each row with spaces between them, and in which the needles overlap at least partially with spaces in immediately adjacent rows when the card clothing is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the rows.
8. Card clothing as claimed in claim 1, in which the backing web comprises a layer of a resilient material which carries the carding needles with the needles projecting from one surface thereof, and a flexible backing layer.
9. Card clothing as claimed in claim 7, in which the ends of the backing layer extend beyond the ends of the layer of resilient material.
10. Card clothing as claimed in claim 7, in which the ends of the layer of resilient material extend generally parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing.
11. Card clothing as claimed in claim 7, in which the ends of the layer of resilient material extend generally parallel to the rows of the needles.
12. A method of making card clothing which comprises passing a backing web under a needle insertion head and inserting needles into the backing web in parallel rows, the backing web having a machine direction axis defined by its longitudinal edge and a transverse axis perpendicular to the machine direction axis, in which the backing web is arranged as it passes under the needle insertion head such that the needles are inserted into the backing web with the rows not parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing.
Description:
CARD CLOTHING This invention relates to card clothing for application to a carrier cylinder or roll. The card clothing can be used to prepare carded fibres such as might be used in a pile fabric knitting machine.

Carded fibres are generally prepared by means of machines which include carding heads for feeding carded sliver fibres to the needles of high pile fabric knitting machines. The fibres can be prepared by one or more pairs of rotatable sliver feed rolls, usually having either wire-covered or fluted peripheries, a rotatable wire-covered main cylinder, and a rotatable wire-covered doffer. The sliver feed rolls draw sliver in rope form from a supply reel or other source, and deliver the fibres in sheet form to the main cylinder. The latter, acting as a transfer medium, conveys the sliver fibres to the doffer from which the fibres can be supplied to the needles of the knitting machine. For effective transfer of the fibres to the needles, it is preferred that the main cylinder rotates faster than the sliver feed rolls, and the doffer rotates faster than the main cylinder.

Effective carding of fibres requires that the array of needles on the rollers is continuous, without lines between the needles which can give rise to undesirable lines or shadows in the pile of a subsequently knitted fabric. Such lines or shadows are detrimental to the quality of the fabric. The needles on the rollers are provided in their array on a web of backing material. The backing material can comprise layers of, for example, a woven fabric and a resilient rubber. Details of such card clothing are disclosed in US-5230124 and US-5475898.

Needles are provided in card clothing sheet by widely used needle insertion machines. The mechanical nature of the needle insertion process means that the needles are inserted in rows across the web of backing material, and that needles in successive rows are aligned.

This alignment can give rise to perceivable lines in the needles along the length of the card clothing which, when the card clothing is in use on a roller, cause lines or shadows to be formed in the knitted fabric. The appearance of lines in the needles can be disguised by omitting needles in each row, for example by including just one needle in every three, and by ensuring that the retained needles in adjacent rows are not aligned. However, even with these techniques, knitted fabric can still have a lined appearance.

The present invention provides card clothing in which needles are arranged in lines on the backing web, with the lines of needles non-parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing.

Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention provides card clothing which can be applied to a roller for use in a fibre carding process, which comprises a backing web and an array of carding needles which are embedded in the web, the card clothing having a machine direction axis defined by the edge of the backing web and a transverse axis perpendicular to the machine direction axis, in which the carding needles are provided in the web in parallel rows and the rows are arranged so that they are not parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing, and in which each of the carding needles comprises an upstanding portion which extends from the surface of the web, and a cranked portion towards its tip which extends generally along the machine direction axis of the web, the upstanding and cranked portion defining the needle plane, the needles being arranged on the web so that the needle planes are not parallel to the machine direction axis.

The card clothing of the invention has the advantage that it can be wrapped around a roller for use in a carding machine and provide an array of carding needles which does not present lines in the needles which can cause lines or shadows to be created in fabric that is knitted from the fibres. Such an array of needles can be provided when the card clothing is wrapped in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of the roller: it is not necessary to wrap the card clothing circumferentially around the roller. This greatly facilitates the wrapping of the card clothing around the roller. It also allows the card clothing to be fixed to the roller using the widely accepted technique that is disclosed in US-5230124 and US-5475898 which cannot be used when card clothing is wrapped helically around a roller in order to reduce the creation of lines or shadows.

It has been found that only a small deviation in the orientation of the rows of needles is necessary to obtain the benefits provided by the present invention. Preferably, the angle between the transverse axis of the card clothing and the rows of the needles is at least about 3 °, more preferably at least about 4°. Preferably, the angle between the transverse axis of the card clothing and the rows of the needles is not more than about 10°, more preferably not more than about 7°, for example about 5°.

Similarly, it has been found that only a small deviation in the orientation of the needles relative to the machine direction axis of the card clothing is necessary to obtain the benefits provided by the present invention. Preferably, the angle between the needle planes and the machine direction axis of the card clothing is at least about 3 °, more preferably at least about 4°. Preferably, the angle between the needle planes and the machine direction axis of the card clothing is not more than about 10°, more preferably not more than about 7°, for example about 5°.

Preferably, the needle planes are approximately perpendicular to the lines which define the rows of the needles. Preferably, the planes are approximately perpendicular to the surface of the backing web. Preferably, the needle planes in each row are approximately perpendicular to each other.

The construction of the card clothing will generally be such that the needles are arranged in each row with spaces between them, and in which the needles overlap at least partially with spaces in immediately adjacent rows when the card clothing is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the rows. Generally, the spacing between each pair of adjacent needles will be constant in each row, and between rows. Such a construction has been used conventionally to reduce line effects in the array of needles. However, lines can still be perceived when the card clothing is viewed in a direction perpendicular to the rows. The card clothing of the present invention enables such lines to be eliminated by appropriate arrangement of the card clothing on a roller. This advantage is enhanced by arranging the needles so that the needle planes are not parallel to the machine direction axis.

Preferably, the backing web comprises a layer of a resilient material which carries the carding needles with the needles projecting from one surface thereof, and a thin backing layer, especially of a textile material which might often be woven. Such a construction is known generally. Preferably, the ends of the backing layer extend beyond the ends of the layer of resilient material. This allows the card clothing of the invention to be fastened to a roller using the technique disclosed in US-5230124 and US-5475898. According to that technique, the ends of the textile or other backing layer are received in a slot in the roller, and gripped there by means of a clip. The length of the layer of resilient material is selected so that the ends of the layer abut one another when the card clothing is wrapped around the roller and the ends of the backing layer inserted into the slot in the roller. The card clothing can then present a continuous array of needles on the surface of the roller.

When the ends of the backing layer extend beyond the ends of the layer of resilient material, so that the card clothing can be applied to a roller as described above, it will generally be preferred that the opposite ends of the layer of resilient material which are intended to abut one another when the clothing is on the roller are generally parallel to one another. They can be arranged so that they extend generally parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing. In another arrangement, they can be arranged so that they extend generally parallel to the rows of the needles. In this latter arrangement, the slot in the roller on which the card clothing is to be used should be arranged so that it is offset relative to the axis of the roller rather than parallel to the axis. The angle of the offset would generally be approximately the same as the angle between the transverse axis of the card clothing and the rows of the needles.

The card clothing of the invention can be made using apparatus that is based on that used conventionally, in which the backing web is passed under a needle insertion tool, which inserts needles into the web in rows, with the needles in each row spaced apart by a first pre-determined distance, and the rows spaced apart by a second pre-determined distance.

Such apparatus is widely available commercially. When used conventionally, the backing web is arranged so that its transverse axis is parallel to the rows of the needles that are inserted in the web by the needle insertion tool. The orientation of the web can be controlled by means of conventional web handling components, for example comprising feed and take-off rollers, and transverse guides.

To make the card clothing of the present invention, the web handling components are set so that the transverse axis of the card clothing as it travels through the apparatus offset relative to the rows of the needles by a pre-determined angle, such as about 5 °. This can be done by locating a transverse guide at the feed end of the machine to one side, and by locating a corresponding transverse guide at the take-off end of the machine to the opposite side, and by then appropriately aligning the feed and take-off rollers.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method of making card clothing which comprises passing a backing web under a needle insertion head and inserting needles into the backing web in parallel rows, the backing web having a machine direction axis defined by its longitudinal edge and a transverse axis perpendicular to the machine direction axis, in which the backing web is arranged as it passes under the needle insertion head such that the needles are inserted into the backing web with the rows not parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view schematic close-up representation of conventional card clothing in which the lines of carding needles are arranged parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing.

Figure 2 is a plan view schematic close-up representation of the card clothing of the present invention in which the angle between the lines of carding needles and the transverse axis of the card clothing is about 5°.

Figures 1 a and 2a are plan views of the card clothing shown in Figures 1 and 2, showing the entire piece of card clothing prior to application to a roller.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the apparatus which is used to make the card clothing shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the apparatus which is used to make the card clothing of the present invention.

Figure 5 is an isometric view of a roller which has card clothing applied to it for use in a carding process.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows conventional card clothing 2 which comprises a backing web 4 which has carding needles 6 embedded in it. The card clothing has a longitudinal axis 8 which extends parallel to the side edges of the backing web, and a transverse axis 10. The needles are embedded in the backing web in rows 12 which extend parallel to the transverse axis. The needles are spaced apart in each row, and positioned so that a needle in a first row is located between a pair of needles in an adjacent row.

As shown in Figure la, the backing web 4 comprises a laminate of a woven textile backing layer 14 and a layer of a resilient rubber material 16. The needles 6 are formed from a metal wire, especially stainless steel. The ends 18 of the textile backing layer extend beyond the ends 20 of the layer of the resilient rubber material. In a typical product, the thickness of the layer of the rubber material is about 5.0 mm, and the length of the needles extending from the surface of the rubber material is about 5.0 mm. The needles can be inserted into the rubber material inclined to the vertical, and can have a cranked portion towards their tips. The width of the backing web in a typical product might be about 60mm.

Lines 22 extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the card clothing can be identified between the carding needles.

Figure 2 shows the card clothing according to the present invention in which the rows 12 of the carding needles 6 are embedded in the backing web 4 such that the angle between rows of the carding needles and the transverse axis of the card clothing is about 5 °. In this way, longitudinally extending lines between the carding needles are eliminated. The carding needles are shown in Figure 2 with the cranked top portion extending in a direction generally along the machine direction axis of the web. The upstanding portion cannot be seen because they extend upwardly from the surface of the backing web, in the same plane as the cranked tips, but under the tips. As can be seen from the drawing, the plane of each of the needles (defined by the upstanding and cranked portions) is arranged so that the plane (as represented in the drawing by the visible) cranked tip) is not parallel to the machine direction axis 8. In the illustrated embodiment, the angle between the needle planes and the machine direction axis 8 is about 5°.

As shown in Figure 2 a, the ends 18 of the textile backing layer extend beyond the ends 20 of the layer of the resilient rubber material. The ends 20 of the layer of the resilient material are cut so that they extend generally parallel to the rows 12 of the carding needles 6 that are embedded in the resilient material.

The card clothing shown in Figure 1 can be made using apparatus as shown in Figure 3 in which a backing web 4 is fed in the direction indicated by arrow 30 under a needle insertion head 32 by means of feed rollers 33. The needle insertion head is able to insert needles into the backing web in transverse rows. The transverse position of the backing web is controlled by means of guides 34,36 on opposite sides of the needle insertion head, so that the longitudinal axis of the backing web 4 is perpendicular to the rows 12 of the carding needles as inserted into the backing web 4 by the needle insertion head 32.

Card clothing according to the present invention can be made using apparatus as shown in Figure 4 in which guides 38,40 are used to control the transverse position of the backing web such that the angle between the transverse axis of the backing web and the rows 12 of the carding needles as inserted into the backing web 4 by the needle insertion head 32 is about 5 °. This can be done by locating the guides 38 on the supply end 42 of the apparatus to one side and by locating the guides 40 on the take-off end 44 of the apparatus to the opposite side.

Figure 5 shows a doffer roller 50 which has card clothing 52 fitted to it so that it can be used in a carding machine. The roller 50 has a slot 54 in it, orientated at an angle of about 5 ° to the axle of the roller when the roller is viewed from a point radially above the slot.

The card clothing is wrapped around the roller until the cut ends 20 of the layer of resilient material abut one another. The ends 18 of the textile backing layer are fed through the slot 54 in the roller and are gripped there by means of a U-shaped clip 56. This technique for fixing card clothing onto a roller is described in more detail in US-5475898.

In an additional aspect, the invention provides card clothing which can be applied to a roller for use in a fibre carding process, which comprises a backing web and an array of carding needles which are embedded in the web, the card clothing having a machine direction axis defined by the edge of the backing web and a transverse axis perpendicular to the machine direction axis, in which the carding needles are provided in the web in parallel rows and the rows are arranged so that they are not parallel to the transverse axis of the card clothing.