Fiber-disintegrating unit for a spinning machine

Claim 1

In a spinning machine, a unit for disintegrating a fibrous mass into spinnable fibers, the unit comprising a. a drum for disintegrating the mass into spinnable fibers, the drum having serrations generating a cylinder and being operable to rotate in a predetermined direction, b. a first smooth feed roller for guiding the mass, the first feed roller being disposed adjacent the cylinder and defining with the cylinder first and second wedge-shaped spaces, respectively, on the sides of which the serrations approach and depart from the first feed roller during a rotation of the drum in the predetermined direction, the first feed roller being mounted for adjustment to vary the distance thereof from the cylinder, c. a second clamping and smoothing feed roller comprising a hard core and an elastic surface layer, the second feed roller being disposed in the first wedge-shaped space and defining a nip with the first feed roller, (1) the feed rollers being in surface contact, having axes of rotation at a fixed distance during operation and being operable to feed the mass through through the nip to the serrations, d. a cover extending into the second wedge-shaped space, the cover being closely spaced from the first feed roller and spaced as closely as possible from the cylinder, e. a first pair of pinch rollers operable to feed the fibrous mass between them to the nip, f. a second pair of pinch rollers operable to feed the fibrous mass between them to the first pair of pinch rollers, each of the pinch rollers comprising a hard core and an elastic surface layer, and each pair of pinch rollers having axes of rotation at a fixed distance during operation, and g. means for driving the second pair of pinch rollers, for driving the first pair of pinch rollers at a peripheral velocity higher than that of the second pair of pinch rollers, and for driving the first and second feed rollers at a peripheral velocity higher than that of the first pair of pinch rollers.