Process and apparatus for opening and cleaning fibrous material

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR OPENING, CLEANING AND FELTING A FIBROUS MATERIAL CONTAINING UNWANTED PARTICLES COMPRISING, AN AERATION CHAMBER, SAID AERATION CHAMBER EXTENDING IN A VERTICAL DIRECTION, A FELTING ZONE, DUCT MEANS FOR CONDUCTING AIR AND CLEANED FIBERS FROM SAID AERATION CHAMBER TO SAID FELTING ZONE, FORAMINOUS MEANS EXTENDING GENERALLY IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION ACROSS A LOWER PORTION OF SAID AERATION CHAMBER, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING THE FIBROUS MATERIAL CONTAINING UNWANTED PARTICLES INTO SAID AERATION CHAMBER BETWEEN SAID FORAMINOUS MEANS AND SAID DUCT MEANS WITH THE HEAVIER CLUMPS OF SAID FIBROUS MATERIAL FALLING ONTO THE SURFACE OF SAID FORAMINOUS MEANS CLOSEST TO SAID DUCT MEANS, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY DIRECTED FLUID STREAMS ACROSS SAID AERATION CHAMBER ADJACENT SAID SURFACE OF SAID FORAMINOUS MEANS CLOSEST TO SAID DUCT MEANS TO OPEN AND CLEAN SAID HEAVIER CLUMPS OF FIBROUS MATERIAL SO AS TO SEPARATE THE FIBERS FROM THE UNWANTED PARTICLES, MEANS FOR PRODUCING A FLOW OF VOLUME AIR PASSING THROUGH SAID FORAMINOUS MEANS AND INTO AND THROUGH SAID AERATION CHAMBER, SAID VOLUME AIR SERVING TO TRANSPORT CLEANED FIBERS FROM SAID AERATION CHAMBER THROUGH SAID DUCT MEANS TO SAID FELTING ZONE WHILE SAID UNWANTED PARTICLES PASS DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID FORAMINOUS MEANS, AND MEANS FOR FELTING SAID CLEANED FIBERS SO TRANSPORTED INTO SAID FELTING ZONE.