Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02577568 2007-02-08
Ralph A. Graf, 8807 Freienbach / Switzerland
Combing Device for a Circular Comb and Method for the Manufacture of the
Combing Device
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The invention relates to a combing device for a combing machine, having at
least
one circular comb and at least one top comb and having a number of comb teeth
serving to engage in a fiber fleece and arranged side by side in a direction
that is
approximately vertical to the direction of combing.
The combing machine serves to refine yams manufactured from textile fibers. In
the manufacture of yams, it is typically arranged between the carding and the
stretching station. The main tasks of the combing machine consist of the
elimination of short fibers from the card slivers produced by the carding
station,
i. e. the improvement of the stack of the raw fiber material as well as the
improvement of the paralielization of the individual fibers of the fiber
fleece
supplied by the carding station in the form of the card sliver. As a secondary
effect, further cleaning of the fiber fleece is achieved in the combing
machine by
the elimination of neps and seed particles. To achieve the improvements of the
fiber fleece described above, a fiber tuft of the fiber fleece, which is fed
from a
supply cylinder and held by means of a gripper, is combed through by a
circular
comb in the combing machine, which rotates about a fixed axis; said fiber tuft
is
then soldered with an already combed combing fleece and is then torn off of
the
fiber fleece yet to be combed due to the engagement of a top comb in the tuft
which has been combed by the circular comb and the simultaneous removal of
the combing fleece from the supply cylinder. The desired improvement of the
parallelism of the individual fibers of the fiber fleece as well as the
improvement
of thd stack by means of elimination of short fibers is effected by the
interaction
of the circular comb and the top comb.
CA 02577568 2007-02-08
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The top comb of conventional combing machines is typically composed of a
support element in the form of a sheet metal strip and comb teeth soldered
thereto in the form of flat needles. It has been shown that, especially when
the
combing machine is operated at high operating speeds and when such top
combs are used, it is impossible to achieve a parallelization of the
individual
fibers of the fiber fleece that satisfies the requirements of high quality
yarns,
while at the same time heavy soiling of the top comb is observed, which makes
frequent cleaning necessary. In order to eliminate this deficiency, DE 195 31
605
proposes a further development of conventional top combs, characterized by the
comb teeth of the top comb as well as the comb teeth of the circular comb
having
the form of saw tooth wire sections with, respectively, at least one saw tooth
exhibiting tooth flanks extending essentially parallel to the direction of
combing
and a tooth face extending vertically thereto. Here, the saw tooth wire
sections
used for the manufacture of the top comb as well as the saw tooth wire
sections
used for the manufacture of the circular tooth may consist, respectively, of a
base
and a reed joined thereto and exhibiting the at least one saw tooth, with the
dimensions of the base being greater in a direction extending essentially
vertically to the direction of combing than the dimensions of the reed in this
direction, so as to provide the combing spaces enabling the passage of the
fibers
through the respective comb elements during the combing process.
For the manufacture of such combing devices, a wire-shaped basic raw material
is first subjected to a cold rolling process in order to create a wire profile
forming
the base area and the reed area of the saw tooth wire sections. In a next
manufacturing step, the saw teeth are extracted from the profile wire using a
punching process. From the saw tooth wire thus obtained, saw tooth wire
sections are cut off to such a length that is required for the manufacture of
a top
comb or a circular comb. The saw tooth wire sections are then combined into
bundles and attached on a suitable support element. Following the extraction
of
the saw teeth from the reed section of the profile wire, the saw teeth can be
subjected to a hardening process, such as, e. g., a laser or flame hardening
process.
CA 02577568 2007-02-08
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As it can be gathered from the above explanation of conventional combing
devices for top comb machines, their manufacture involves significant costs.
In
view of these technical problems, the invention is based on the technical
problem
of providing a combing device for combing machines, with said combing device
being especially easy to manufacture and with said combing device allowing the
production of a high quality carded and combed (top) sliver or a high quality
combing machine ribbon, using high machine running times and high operating
speeds, as well as providing a method for the manufacture of such combing
devices.
According to the invention, this problem is solved by means of a further
development of the conventional combing devices, with said further development
being essentially characterized in that the combing device exhibits at least
one
comb element with at least two, preferably three or more comb teeth made in
one
piece and arranged side by side in the direction extending vertically to the
direction of combing.
This invention is based on the insight that problems encountered in the
manufacture of conventional combing devices for combing machines are
primarily due to the fact that their comb teeth are formed by means of a
multitude
of individual parts to be arranged side by side, such as, e. g., saw tooth
wire
sections, with the additional requirement that these individual parts have to
be
manufactured beforehand using a required manufacturing process (cold rolling,
punching, hardening).
These problems are eliminated in the manufacture of the combing device in
accordance with the invention because two, three or more (if necessary 20, 30
or
more) of the comb teeth arranged side by side in the direction extending
vertically to the direction of combing are combined into a comb element made
in
one piece such that the process of bundling and attaching of the comb teeth to
a
support element can be significantly simpiified. In addition, it is possible
to
produce the comb elements of combing devices in accordance with the invention
in a particularly simple way because the preparatory activities to obtain the
profile
wire are eliminated and thus a basic raw material which exhibits the desired
material properties without having to undergo an additional hardening process
can be used for the manufacture of the comb eiements.
As can be gathered from the explanations regarding conventional combing
machines, it has been shown to be particularly advantageous if at least one of
the comb teeth has a saw tooth-shaped design with two tooth flanks extending
parallel to the direction of combing and a tooth face connecting the tooth
flanks
and extending approximateiy vertically thereto, with the transitions between
the
tooth flanks and tooth face possibly being rounded.
CA 02577568 2007-02-08
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With conventional combing devices, the fixing of the comb teeth is achieved
via
special fastening elements to which the comb teeth have to be attached. With
the
comb elements of combing devices according to the invention, it is also
possible
for the fastening area designed for the attachment of the comb element to the
combing machine to be made in one piece with the comb teeth.
Especially when using combing devices in accordance with the invention in the
form of circular combs for a combing machine, but also when using combing
devices in accordance with the invention in the form of top combs for a
combing
machine, it has been shown to be advantageous, in order to obtain an
especially
desirable combing effect, for the comb element to exhibit at least two,
preferably
three or more comb teeth arranged in series. When using combing devices in
accordance with the invention in the form of top combs, the tips of the comb
teeth
arranged side by side in the direction extending vertically to the direction
of
combing are expeditiously arranged approximately on a straight line extending
vertically to the direction of combing. The tips of the comb teeth arranged in
series in the direction of combing are preferably arranged, when using combing
devices in accordance with the invention in the form of circular combs,
approximately on a circular arc, the center of which falls on the fixed axis
rotated
about by the circular comb.
To manufacture the combing devices in accordance with the invention, it is no
longer necessary to first subject the base raw material to a cold rolling
process
and then a punching process. For this reason, the comb elements of combing
devices in accordance with the invention may be made at least in part from
high-
alloyed steel, in particular stainless chrome nickel steel, the cold forming
properties of which would no longer be sufficient for the manufacture of
profile
wires.
As can be gathered from the explanations regarding combing devices in
accordance with the invention, a comb element suitable for its manufacture is
essentially characterized in that it exhibits at least two, preferably three
or more
(if necessary 20, 30 or more) comb teeth made in one piece and arranged side
by side in the direction extending vertically to the direction of combing.
A top comb according to the invention, obtained by using respective comb
elements, is essentially characterized in that it exhibits two, three or more
comb
teeth made in one piece, the tooth tips of which are arranged on a straight
line
extending approximately vertically to the direction of combing.
CA 02577568 2007-02-08
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A circular comb manufactured by using comb elements in accordance with the
invention comprises both two, three or more comb teeth made in one piece and
arranged side by side in a direction extending vertically to the direction of
combing, as well as two, three or more comb teeth made in one piece and
arranged in series in the direction of combing. In this context, it is
possible, both
for the manufacture of top combs in accordance with the invention and the
manufacture of circular combs in accordance with the invention, for two, three
or
more comb elements in accordance with the invention to be arranged side by
side in a direction extending vertically to the direction of combing, and with
it also
being possible - especially for the manufacture of circular combs in
accordance
with the invention - to arrange two, three or more comb elements in series in
the
direction of combing.
A method in accordance with the invention for the manufacture of a comb
element in accordance with the invention for a combing device in accordance
with the invention is essentially characterized in that, in a first processing
step,
starting with, for example, an approximately cuboid raw material block,
specifically made from high-alloyed steel, such as, e. g., chrome nickel
steel, the
slots separating the individual comb teeth from each other in the direction
extending vertically to the direction of combing are formed in the raw
material
and then, in a second processing step, the form of the comb teeth is removed
from the raw material block in an aspect that is vertical to the direction of
combing, while a connecting area connecting the comb teeth with each other in
the direction extending vertically to the direction of combing as well as the
fastening area of the raw material block, serving to fasten the comb element
to
the combing machine, are being preserved.
For the purpose of an efficient manufacture of comb elements and combing
devices in accordance with the invention, it has been shown to be particularly
advantageous to form two, three or more slots simultaneously in the first
processing step. An efficient manufacture of comb elements or combing devices
in accordance with the invention may be ensured, while ensuring the required
high manufacturing precision, if the first and/or second processing step is
carried
out by spark erosion machining or spark erosion depth machining, with it being
possible to use a multi machining head for the simultaneous formation of two,
three or more slots in the raw material block and /or the simuitaneous removal
of
two, three or more saw teeth arranged in series in the direction of combing.
CA 02577568 2007-02-08
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It is possible to further accelerate the manufacturing method in accordance
with
the invention by processing the raw material block in the second processing
step
from two opposite directions, respectively extending vertical to the direction
of
combing.
In the following, the invention is explained by reference to the drawing,
which is
expressly referred to with respect to all details that are essential to the
invention
and details that were not elaborated on in detail in the description. The only
figure of the drawing schematically illustrates a method in accordance with
the
invention for the manufacture of comb elements in accordance with the
invention,
which are suitable for the manufacture of top combs in accordance with the
invention. In accordance with the drawing, a raw material block, e. g. made
from
stainless high-alloyed steel, such as e. g. chrome nickel steel, is used as a
basic
raw material for the manufacturing process. The width b of this raw material
block
may be up to 300 mm and the height h of the raw material may be 5 to 15 cm,
specifically 10 cm. The depth t of the raw material block may be 1 to 10 mm,
specifically 3 to 5 mm. In the manufacturing process shown schematically in
the
drawing, the slots 12 are removed from the raw material block 10 in a first
processing step via spark erosion machining using a multi machining head 20,
with said slots 12 separating the comb teeth from each other in a direction P
extending vertically to the direction of combing. In this process, three slots
12 are
simultaneously created by means of the multi machining head 20. In other
embodiments of the invention, four or more slots 12 or 2 or fewer slots 12 may
be
produced simultaneously. In a second processing step, profiles 50 are
simultaneously removed in an aspect directed vertically to the direction of
combing, by means of machining heads 30 and 40, from the raw material block
10, from two opposite directions respectively extending vertically to the
direction
of combing. These profiles may exhibit, underneath the slots 12, a fastening
area
54 connecting the combing teeth with each other, as well as saw teeth shaped
combing teeth 52.
In both processing steps, spark erosion processes may be used. In contrast to
conventional processes for the manufacture of combing devices for combing
machines, such processes allow for the manufacture of comb teeth 52 of any
desired form, specifically any face form and teeth or tooth flanks of any
profile. In
this process, the flanks of the tooth-shaped teeth 52 may converge, for
example,
in sections, symmetrically in the direction of the tooth tips with respect to
a plane
extending vertically to the direction P. The invention is not restricted to
the
embodiment explained by reference to the drawing. Instead, the manufacture of
circular comb sets by means of processes in accordance with the invention is
also contemplated.
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Multi machining heads may also be used in the manufacture of the tooth
profiles
in the second processing step as well. Furthermore, the manufacture of comb
teeth of any tooth shape is contemplated.
