Abstract: A traveling cleaner system with means for effecting a temporary alteration in the rate of travel of the traveling cleaner unit which is characterized by its ability to provide additional amounts of cleaning to preselected portions of the textile mill. The invention is comprised of a traveling cleaner unit that is movable along an overhead track that extends above textile machinery or that is mounted to a crane bridge that travels reciprocally along rails extending parallel to rows of textile machinery. The traveling cleaner unit includes blowers for direction a reciprocating cleaning current of air onto the underlying machinery. In one enbodiment a variable speed drive motor propels the cleaner unit along the overhead track and in the second embodiment, a variable speed drive motor propels the crane bridge along the rails.

Abstract: A plurality of traveling pneumatic cleaners is provided for respective groups of textile machines and cooperates with respective unloading stations for transferring fiber waste from collection chambers of the traveling cleaners and into the unloading stations during unloading cycles actuated at spaced time intervals during operation of the traveling pneumatic cleaners. Suction producing means is connected between all of the unloading stations and a common fiber waste collecting unit and controls are provided for operating the suction producing means only during the unloading cycles, thereby saving energy during the collecting cycles. Controls are also provided for ensuring that each of the active traveling pneumatic cleaners is unloaded during each unloading cycle.

Abstract: A traveling pneumatic cleaner and apparatus for cleaning textile mill rooms in which a control arrangement for reversing the direction of rotation of a tractor drive motor and thus the direction of movement of the traveling cleaner includes circuits for interrupting operation of the tractor drive motor for a predetermined short interval of time sufficient to permit the traveling cleaner to coast to a standstill before reversal of its direction of movement along the track way.

Abstract: A plurality of traveling pneumatic cleaners for respective groups of textile machines cooperate with respective unloading stations for transferring fiber waste from collection chambers of the traveling cleaners into the unloading stations. All the unloading stations are connected, via normally closed valves, to a common source of suction, and according to the method and apparatus of this invention, provision is made for controlling the opening of the valves for the respective unloading stations so that only a single one of the valves may be opened at any given interval of time, thus minimizing the amount of suction required at the source for effectively transferring the fiber waste into the unloading stations. Further, a normally closed door for the collection chamber or chambers of each traveling cleaner is controlled so that the opening of each such door may be effected only at times when the valve of the respective unloading station is open.