LABOR SAVING—A bale of cotton can be thoroughly opened without damage to the staple in six to ten minutes, which means that one hand can open upwards of 150,000 to 200,000 lbs. per week and still have time for taking care of bagging, ties, etc. Even when the weekly consumption of cotton is very much less than this there is a saving in labor, as the quick completion of the work means that the attendant can give his attention to something else.
QUALITY OF WORK—The fluffy condition of the cotton as it is delivered from the Hopper Bale Opener shows the very thorough manner in which it is opened. Although the cotton is fed to the machine in large matted sections taken directly from the bales as they lie around the horizontal feeding apron, no bunches come through. When cotton is opened and mixed by hand the result is not what is generally supposed. The stock is still in large bunches and matted to such an extent that when fed into the Hoppers of ordinary Openers it is impossible to obtain an even or thorough mixing.
THE FEEDING APRON of the Hopper Bale Opener usually extends four feet back of the Hopper which enables the operator to group a number of bales around the machine so as to take cotton first from one and then from another. This gives an even mixing of the stock from the various bales. If it is desired this idea can be carried still further by making the Feeding Apron longer, so as to allow of taking cotton from a greater number of bales.
METHOD OF WORKING—The matted sections taken direct from the bale and placed on the slowly driven Horizontal Feeding Apron move forward into the Hopper and are taken by the more rapidly moving Spiked Elevating Apron, which subjects the cotton to a sort of combing action. At the top of this Apron there is a spiked Cylinder which further combs the cotton and throws back into the Hopper any unopened pieces. A Stripping Beater with stiff leather blades strips the stock from the Spiked Apron and delivers it onto the short delivery Apron at the front of the machine.
DELIVERY ARRANGEMENTS—The ordinary or standard delivery arrangement is shown in the cut, [page 8], and in the outline drawing, [page 12]. We have recently designed a double apron delivery for use with Condenser and Blower systems, where the cotton has to be carried quite a distance. This arrangement does away with the necessity of passing the stock through a fan and is approved by the Insurance Companies.
The cotton being delivered into the conveying pipe ahead of the "Blower Fan," there is no fire risk due to hard substances passing through or stock getting caught in the fan. We have designed many special delivery arrangements to meet the various conditions which present themselves, including a suitable delivery for use with either lattice distributing systems or blowing systems.
DISTRIBUTING SYSTEMS—The installation of this Hopper Bale Opener makes a distributing system more advantageous and satisfactory. We have equipped many Opening Rooms with Distributing Lattices which deliver the cotton directly into the Hoppers of the Self-feeding Openers, thus saving another handling.
When the Hopper Bale Opener is located some distance from the distributing lattice, the latter may be fed by a blower and condenser system, and when the distance is very short an elevating lattice is used, dropping the cotton directly on the distributing lattice. We are always glad to take up special cases and make recommendations in connection with the conveying and distribution of cotton either for short or long distances.