Apparatus for producing slivers

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A SLIVER OF TEXTILE FIBERS COMPRISING: A FIRST ROTATABLE SURFACE FOR FORMING A FIBROUS WEB, DOFFING MEANS FOR REMOVING SAID FIBROUS WEB FROM SAID FIRST ROTATABLE SURFACE, A PAIR OF ROTATABLE ROLLS COOPERATING TO FORM A NIP THROUGH WHICH THE FIBROUS WEB IS PASSED, A NARROW BELT, HAVING A RUN THEREOF ADJACENT THE NIP AND WITHIN THE AREA DEFINED BY THE EXTERIOR SURFACES OF SAID ROTATABLE ROLLS TO FORM A RESTRAINING CAVITY THEREBETWEEN, SAID BELT MOVING AT SUBSTANTIALLY RIGHT ANGLES TO THE DIRECTION OF THE FIBROUS MATERIAL, AS IT IS PASSED THROUGH SAID NIP AND SAID BELT MOVING AT A SURFACE LINEAR SPEED AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE SPEED OF SAID FIBROUS MATERIAL AS IT PASSES THROUGH SAID NIP TO CONTINUOUSLY CONVEY THE ENTIRE LEADING EDGE OF SAID FIBROUS WEB AT SUBSTANTIALLY RIGHT ANGLES TO THE DIRECTION IT IS MOVING WHEN PASSING THROUGH SAID NIP, WHEREBY THE WEB IS CONTINUOUSLY CONVERTED INTO A UNIFORM SLIVER OF TEXTILE FIBERS WHILE MAINTAINING THE FIBERS UNDER POSITIVE UNIFORM CONTROL.