초록 ▼

A gin process control system including sensing stations for sensing the physical properties of cotton as it progresses through a gin. A moisture sensor determines, over a wide range of values, the amount of moisture in the cotton. A quality monitor determines the color of the cotton, color distribut

A gin process control system including sensing stations for sensing the physical properties of cotton as it progresses through a gin. A moisture sensor determines, over a wide range of values, the amount of moisture in the cotton. A quality monitor determines the color of the cotton, color distribution, and the amount and type of trash or other impurities which may be entrained in the cotton. A micronaire unit determines both micronaire and cotton maturity. A fiber length tester provides information on the length distribution, breaking strength, and elongation of the cotton fibers. Cotton samples are gathered from the gin flow stream and presented to the sensing stations in a variety of manual, semi-automated, and automated fashions. In a fully automated unit, the sensing stations are connected directly to the gin. The sensing stations are also in communication with the gin process control system, which uses the data from the sensing stations to automatically control the operation of the gin. Alternately, the sensing stations are assembled into a stand-alone unit. In a semi-automatic version of the stand-alone unit, samples are manually gathered and presented to the unit in cassettes for automated subsampling and testing by the sensing stations. In this semi-automatic version, the sensing stations may be in a configuration identical to that of the fully automatic, on-line unit. In a manual version of the stand-alone unit, the samples are manually gathered and manually placed into contact with the various sensing stations. The information reported by the stand-alone units can be used to manually control the operation of the gin.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A fiber processing system having a fluidized transport system for transfer of a fiber-entrained air flow through said processing system, the improvement comprising:means for extracting a test sample of fiber from a fiber entrained air flow within said transport system;mea

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A fiber processing system having a fluidized transport system for transfer of a fiber-entrained air flow through said processing system, the improvement comprising:means for extracting a test sample of fiber from a fiber entrained air flow within said transport system;means for depositing said test sample of fiber in a test chamber; and,means for determining the micronaire value of said sample, said means for determining the micronaire value of said sample having:means for determining the quantity of test sample fiber deposited in said test chamber by measuring a first pressure loss of a first known air flow rate through a first known volume of fiber accumulated in said test chamber;means for confining a predetermined quantity of sample fiber within a known test volume of said test chamber;means for inducing a known test flow rate of air through said fiber in said known test volume; andmeans for determining a test air pressure loss by said test flow rate of air passing through said test volume of fiber.