Cotton sampling apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR SAMPLING FIBROUS MATERIAL DURING THE PROCESSING OF THE SAME TO PROVIDE A SAMPLE COMPOSED OF A PLURALITY OF CHARGES OF THE FIBROUS MATERIAL WITHDRAWN FROM THE PROCESSING SYSTEM AT SELECTED INTERVALS DURING THE PROCESSING OF THE FIBROUS MATERIAL REPRESENTING DISCREET SEGMENTS OF THE MATERIAL BEING PROCESSED, COMPRISING VALVE MEANS FOR PERIODICALLY WITHDRAWING A CHARGE OF THE FIBROUS MATERIAL FROM THE PROCESSING SYSTEM, A SAMPLER PRESS BOX HAVING A DISCHARGE OPENING THEREIN AND A STATIONARY COMPRESSION SURFACE, MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING THE CHARGES WITHDRAWN BY SAID VALVE TO SAID PRESS BOX, TRAMPER MEANS MOVABLE RECIPROCATIVELY IN SAID PRESS BOX TO COMPRESS EACH CHARGE TRANSFERRED TO SAID PRESS BOX AGAINST SAID COMPRESSION SURFACE, MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID VALVE MEANS TO WITHDRAW A SELECTED NUMBER OF CHARGES AT SELECTED PERIODIC INTERVALS DURING THE PROCESSING OF THE FIBROUS MATERIAL, MEANS FOR FORCING SAID TRAMPER MEANS TO ADVANCE TOWARD AND WITHDRAW FROM SAID COMPRESSION SURFACE THROUGH A SELECTED TOTAL STROKE INCLUDING FIRST DRIVE MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID TRAMPER MEANS RECTILINEARLY RECIPROCATIVELY THROUGH A FIRST STROKE SEGMENT OF SELECTED DISTANCE CORRESPONDING SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE HEIGHT OF THE DISCHARGE OPENING AND SECOND DRIVE MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID TRAMPER MEANS IN SELECTED RELATION TO SAID FIRST DRIVE MEANS THROUGH A SECOND STROKE SEGMENT FORMING THE COMPLEMENT OF SAID FIRST STROKE SEGMENT RELATIVE TO SAID TOTAL STROKE, SAID FIRST AND SECOND DRIVE MEANS BEING COOPERABLE TO ACTIVATE SAID TRAMPER MEANS TO COMPRESS EACH CHARGE WITHDRAWN DURING ONE OPENING OF SAID VALVE MEANS TO SEPARABLE CHARGE DENSITY AND TO COMPRESS THE ACCUMULATED SAMPLE CHARGES IN THE PRESS BOX REPRESENTING A SELECTED AMOUNT OF PROCESSED MATERIAL INTO A MASS OF SELECTED SAMPLE DENSITY ALIGNED WITH SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AND HAVING A HEIGHT SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE HEIGHT OF THE DISCHARGE OPENING, MEANS FOR INDEPENDENTLY ACTIVATING SAID FIRST DRIVE MEANS TO WITHDRAW SAID TRAMPER MEANS THROUGH SAID FIRST STROKE SEGMENT TO A POSITION SUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE TOP OF SAID DISCHARGE OPENING, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A SAMPLE RETAINING WRAPPER EXTERNALLY OF SAID PRESS BOX IN ALIGNMENT WITH A SELECTED AXIS OF THE ACCUMULATED SAMPLE CHARGES TRAMPED TO SAID SELECTED SAMPLE DENSITY, AND DISCHARGE MEANS OPERATIVE IN TIMED RELATION TO SAID TRAMPER MEANS FOR FORCING SAID ACCUMULATED SAMPLE CHARGES THROUGH SAID DISCHARGE OPENING INTO SAID RETAINING WRAPPER.