Carding machine drive

Claim 1

For use in a carding machine and the like having means for feeding fibers to a main cylinder and means for doffing fibers from the main cylinder in the form of a web, a drive mechanism controlling the speed of each of said means comprising: A. a frame; B. a drive including variable speed mechanism carried by said frame for driving connection to said feeding means and said doffing means for accelerating said feeding means and said doffing to a predetermined creep speed at a predetermined rate for driving same at a predetermined operating speed; C. a movable control arm controlling the output speed of said variable speed mechanism; and D. first and second aligned fluid operated cylinder and piston assemblies having cylinders rigidly connected to each other, said first assembly being pivoted with respect to said control arm and said second assembly being pivoted with respect to said frame, for progressively positioning said control arm in a first position responsive to the action of one of said cylinders for achieving said creep speed and in a second position responsive to the action of the other of said cylinders for achieving operating speed; E. whereby said feeding means and doffing means may be slowly accelerated to creep speed and following servicing of the carding machine to operating speed.