Method and means for providing assemblages of opened fibers for intimate blends

Claim 1

Improved means for providing fully opened, combed, discrete and non-condensed assemblages of staple fibers for subsequent blending in admixture with other such assemblages of staple fibers of diverse type thereto, then to produce intimate blends of such fibers of diverse types and, upon yet further processing, elongate strands or yarns which have uniquely uniform admixture compositions, said means comprising: a. separating and combing means for separating a discrete tuft of fibers from a mass thereof and for combing said tuft to remove impurities, foreign matter and immature fibers therefrom and to align its contituent fibers into an orientation substantially axially parallel one another while maintaining the same in a substantially non-condensed state; b. fiber tuft engaging, advancing and disengaging means for engaging said tuft as a discrete entity in a substantially non-condensed state, for advancing said fully opened, combed, discrete, non-condensed tuft in a direction substantially parallel to that of the axial orientation of its constituent fibers, and then for disengaging said tuft as a discrete entity; and c. fiber tuft receiving, conveying and collecting means for receiving said disengaged combed tuft as a discrete entity and in a substantially non-condensed state, and like preceding and succeeding ones thereof, individually as discrete entities, for conveying said tufts as discrete entities while maintaining said tufts in a substantially non-condensed state during said conveying, and for collecting said conveyed, non-condensed tufts as discrete entities; and d. wherein said fiber tuft receiving, conveying and collecting means includes means for providing currents of air to receive said tufts disengaged by said disengaging means, to convey said received tufts to a collection chamber and there to collect said conveyed tufts in a substantially non-condensed state.