Fiber fractionating apparatus and process

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR FRACTIONATING LOOSE MASSES OF DISORIENTED TEXTILE FIBERS INTO DIFFERENT LENGTH GROUPS COMPRISING: (A) ENDLESS CONVEYING MEANS HAVING A SURFACE FOR CONVEYING A MASS OF FIBERS FROM A POINT OF DEPOSIT TO A POINT OF REMOVAL; (B) MEANS FOR ACTIVATING SAID CONVEYING MEANS CONNECTED THERETO; (C) AN ELECTRODE MEMBER MOUNTED ON EACH SIDE OF THE ENDLESS CONVEYING MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE THEREWITH AND TOGETHER DEFINING A FIBER FRACTIONATING ZONE HAVING AN INPUT END AND AN OUTPUT END, SAID ZONE CONTAINING SAID CONVEYING MEANS, RESPECTIVE OPPOSED EDGES OF SAID ELECTRODES BEING PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER IN THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE CONVEYING MEANS, A FIRST PAIR OF SAID OPPOSED EDGES OF SAID ELECTRODES BEING CLOSER TO EACH OTHER THAN THE SECOND PAIR OF OPPOSED EDGES WHEREBY THE ELECTRODES DIVERGE TRANSVERSELY TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE CONVEYING MEANS, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CONVEYING SURFACE AND THE ADJACENT EDGE OF THE FIRST PAIR OF OPPOSED EDGES OF THE ELECTRODES BEING NOT SMALLER THAN THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF THE LONGEST FIBERS OF THE MASS TO BE SEPARATED; (D) MEANS CONNECTED TO THE ELECTRODES FOR APPLYING AN ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE THERETO, THEREBY TO PRODUCE BETWEEN SAID ELECTRODES A NONUNIFORM ELECTROSTATIC FIELD