Method and apparatus for recovering down from a wadding product

Abstract

A method and a device for recovering down from a product filled with down, the method comprising the steps of: - cutting (2) adapted to shred the filled product; - subsequently mechanically agitating the shreds in at least one first separation chamber (3, 4) to separate at least some of the down from the shreds; - suctioning the down, at the first separation chamber (3, 4) and upstream and / or downstream of the first separation chamber (3, 4); - collecting the sucked down in at least one container (71-73).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a method and corresponding apparatus for recovering down from down-filled products, particularly goose down and duck down, such as clothing, quilts, pillows and other items. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, automated systems are known for recovering down from down-filled products in order to recycle various components (and especially for reusing down in new filled products).

[0003] However, no effective solution has yet been found to extract down while maintaining high quality (especially a low percentage of foreign matter such as fibers, e.g., less than or equal to 0.5% by weight).

[0004] Furthermore, no solution has yet been found to extract high-quality down from stuffed products with mixed components (i.e., products made from fabrics and / or yarns with different stuffing materials). Summary of the Invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for recovering down from down-filled products for subsequent recycling, which improves upon the prior art in one or more of the above aspects.

[0006] Within this objective, one objective of the present invention is to improve the separation of down from debris of the initial filling product during the recycling process.

[0007] Another objective is to recycle down that retains high purity, regardless of the materials that make up the initial stuffing, particularly the electrostatic behavior of the fabric and / or the yarns (e.g., wool, cotton, polyester) of such stuffings that are typically used in items such as down-filled garments.

[0008] Furthermore, one objective of the present invention is to collect down feathers of different purities separately during the method.

[0009] Another objective of the present invention is to improve the purity of the extracted down during the recycling method when the purity of the extracted down is unsatisfactory.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention aims to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art in a manner that can replace any existing solution.

[0011] Another objective of this invention is to provide a recycling method and corresponding equipment that is highly reliable, easy to implement, and low in cost.

[0012] This objective and these other objectives, which will become more apparent below, are achieved by a method for recovering down from down-filled products, such as clothing, quilts, pillows, etc., said method comprising the step of feeding at least one down-filled product into a conveyor line in an inlet, and characterized by the following steps: - Cutting, adapted to shred at least one stuffing product to obtain scrap, in which the down is mixed with scrap of other components of the initial stuffing product, such as fabric, seams, zippers, buttons, etc., and then the scrap is advanced along the conveyor line; - The scrap is mechanically agitated inside at least one first separation chamber along the conveyor line, the mechanical agitation being adapted to separate at least a portion of the down from the scrap; - The separated down feathers are drawn out, and the drawing is performed at the first separation chamber and upstream and / or downstream of the first separation chamber; - Collect the extracted down in at least one down collection container.

[0013] The method according to the invention may optionally include one or more features according to other aspects of the invention.

[0014] The object and objective of this invention are also achieved by an apparatus for recovering down from down-filled products, such as clothing, quilts, pillows, etc., the apparatus comprising: an inlet for feeding the down-filled product; a conveyor line; and at least one outlet for collecting the down recovered from the down-filled product fed at the inlet, the apparatus characterized in that the apparatus includes, along the conveyor line: - At least one cutting station adapted to receive the stuffing product from the inlet to cut the stuffing product, and adapted to release the scrap as a result of the cutting onto the conveyor line; - At least one first separation chamber, located downstream of the at least one cutting station, the at least one first separation chamber being provided with at least one mechanical agitator for the scrap, the at least one mechanical agitator being adapted to separate at least a portion of the down from the scrap; Other features of the device are that the device includes: - A suction device connected to a suction port arranged along the conveyor line, particularly at the first separation chamber and upstream and / or downstream of the first separation chamber, to suck out down separated from the debris and convey the down toward at least one collection container.

[0015] The device according to the invention may optionally have one or more features according to other aspects of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the description of preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 The device according to the invention is shown; - Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 Top view of the equipment in the diagram; - Figure 3 It shows Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional view of the first separation chamber of the equipment, in which the inclined conveyor is located downstream; - Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the first separation chamber in the previous image, showing the flow of down and debris; - Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A partial cross-sectional view of the second separation chamber of the equipment; - Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view of the second separation chamber in the previous image, showing the flow of down and debris; - Figure 7 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the third separation chamber of the device, showing the flow of down and debris. Detailed Implementation

[0017] Referring to the accompanying drawings, the device according to the invention (generally referred to by reference numeral 1) is specifically designed for recovering down (especially goose down or duck down) from down-filled products 10, such as clothing, quilts, pillows and other items.

[0018] Such an initially down-stuffed product 10 (schematically shown in the figure as a jacket) is essentially a fabric bag filled with down (especially goose down or duck down), and such an initially down-stuffed product is provided with seams and optional sewing supplies or sewing accessories, such as zippers, buttons, belts, embellishments, ropes, etc.

[0019] The device 1 includes a conveyor line 12 having an inlet 11 for feeding the stuffing products 10 and at least one outlet for collecting down recovered from the stuffing products 10 fed to the inlet 11 by means of the invention. In the illustrated embodiment, there are three such collection outlets, indicated by the openings of corresponding down collection containers 71, 72, and 73.

[0020] Advantageously, the stuffing product 10 can be introduced into the inlet 11 as is, i.e., without first removing accessories such as zippers and / or buttons. In a preferred embodiment, in fact, the invention is able to handle the stuffing product even though these types of accessories are relatively heavy.

[0021] The conveyor line 12 may consist of a conveyor belt (motorized, preferably enclosed in a cover to prevent down from scattering and to ensure safety), wherein the processing stations 2, 3, 4, 5 (which will be better described below) of the device 1 are inserted into the conveyor belt.

[0022] Optionally, one or more conveyor belts may be configured to be inclined in the forward direction of the conveyor line 12 so that the conveyed material is raised to a certain height so that it can fall into the downstream processing station, thereby facilitating the separation of material components.

[0023] The processing station along the conveyor line 12 includes at least one cutting station 2 adapted to receive the stuffing product 10 from the inlet 11, cut it into pieces, and release such pieces onto the conveyor line 12, particularly onto a conveyor belt immediately downstream of the cutting station 2, which connects the cutting station to the subsequent processing station.

[0024] Preferably, the cutting station 2 includes a primary cutting station 21 and a subsequent rotary cutting station 24.

[0025] The primary cutting station 21 is preferably a guillotine type, adapted to receive the stuffing product 10 (which is fed into the inlet 11 of the device 1) at its inlet 22 and to cut the stuffing product substantially into thin slices using at least one guillotine blade (i.e., substantially vertical movement). The sliced ​​material can then be conveyed along a conveyor line 12 between the outlet 23 of the primary cutting station 21 and the inlet 25 of the rotary cutting station 24, so that the sliced ​​material can be further shredded and provided at the outlet 26 of the cutting station 2 for a larger quantity of down components for subsequent steps.

[0026] The material presented at the exit 26 of the cutting station 2 is referred to herein as “scrap” and may include separated down, down tufts attached to other residues (usually threads or fragments of fabric), and fragments of other materials and accessories (fabric, zippers, buttons, etc.) that may be mixed with the down.

[0027] The processing station along conveyor line 12 includes one or more separation chambers 3 and / or 4 located downstream of cutting station 2, each separation chamber being equipped with at least one mechanical agitator adapted to mechanically separate at least a portion of the down from the arriving scrap. Advantageously, each mechanical agitator consists of at least one motorized striking roller having a horizontal axis of rotation, i.e., an axis substantially parallel to the floor on which the equipment 1 is placed.

[0028] According to one aspect of the invention, the apparatus 1 further includes a suction device 6 connected to a plurality of suction ports arranged at at least one separation chamber and also upstream and / or downstream of the at least one separation chamber along the conveyor line 12 to suction down separated from the scrap from above in several different areas of the conveyor line 12 and at designated processing stations, and to convey such down to at least one down collection container 71, 72, 73 (e.g., a box or sack). Thus, the separated down is suctioned at the first separation chamber and at other locations or processing stations along the conveyor line.

[0029] The suction device 6 may include one or more pneumatic suction machines 61, 62, 63, such as an air compressor or fan, a suction pump or vacuum pump, or a suction fan. Each suction machine 61, 62, 63 may have: an inlet port connected via device 8 to a suction port for selective delivery; and an outlet port connected to the opening of the down collection container 71, 72, or 73.

[0030] The device 8 for selective transfer is basically composed of various tubular suction pipes that are conveniently connected to transfer down from various ports to the corresponding collection containers 71-73.

[0031] Suction from above is more advantageous than introducing an upward-pointing airflow because suction from above also reduces the risk of conveying debris and downy feathers that have been pressed down by contaminants toward the conveyor 8 and the collection containers 71-73.

[0032] The suction machines 61-63 can be arranged in corresponding storage cabinets, which also accommodate down collection containers 71-73. Alternatively, the suction machines can be arranged along the duct of the conveyor 8 or at the suction port in the processing station.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, the first separation chamber 3 located downstream of the cutting station 2 may include a stepped cleaner 30 having an inlet 31 for receiving scrap from the cutting station 2 and an outlet 32 ​​for releasing scrap that has been partially stripped of down by a combination of mechanical agitation and pneumatic suction by means of a suction device 6 onto the conveyor line 12.

[0034] Preferably, the outlet 32 ​​is configured as a tube to keep the space between the stepped cleaner 30 and the conveyor belt downstream of the stepped cleaner 30 closed.

[0035] The stepped cleaner 30 can consist of multiple impact rollers 33a, 33b, and 33c having a substantially horizontal axis of rotation. The impact rollers 33a, 33b, and 33c are arranged such that their axes are substantially perpendicular to the direction of material movement along the conveyor line, and the multiple impact rollers are arranged in a manner that gradually increases in height from the ground, so that the material rises and is progressively separated from the sucked-up down. The rotational speed of the impact rollers 33a, 33b, and 33c can include between 350 rpm and 400 rpm.

[0036] Each impact roller 33a, 33b, 33c is provided with multiple blades 35a, 35b, 35c, which protrude from the sidewall of the respective roller and are adapted to separate components of the debris and to optionally advance them with the aid of concave impact grids 34a-34b, which are arranged at least below the axis of rotation of the first rollers 33a-33b of the first stepped cleaner 30 in a manner that extends radially at a distance slightly greater than the radial extension of the blades 35a-35b. The impact grids 34a-34b may be adapted to allow waste debris to pass through in order to reduce the possibility of debris clogging at the outlet 32.

[0037] In the illustrated embodiment, the blades 35a, 35b, and 35c are arranged side by side at regular intervals along the respective generatrices of the striking rollers 33a, 33b, and 33c, which are equally spaced from each other.

[0038] In an alternative implementation (not shown), the blades may be arranged in an alternating manner along the sidewalls of the respective striking rollers, or they may be arranged side by side along a spiral.

[0039] The stepped cleaner 30 is enclosed in its upper region by a first suction shroud 37 connected to the suction device 6. Specifically, the first shroud 37 is connected to the first suction machine 61 via a port 82 disposed on the first shroud 37 and a first tubular suction conduit 83 of the selective delivery device 8. The first suction machine 61 (e.g., a pump) may be configured such that its inlet port is connected to the first conduit 83 and its outlet port is connected to the first collection container 71.

[0040] Optionally, the first suction conduit 83 may include a first branch 81 that allows the inlet port of the first suction machine 61 to be connected to another suction port 80 along the conveyor line 12 and preferably upstream of the first separation chamber 3.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment, the rotary cutting station 24 is also enclosed in the upper region by a corresponding suction hood 27, which is connected to the suction device 6 via, for example, a port 80 belonging to the first branch 81 described above, to draw out the portion of down that has been advantageously freed by the rotary cutting and the primary cutting in front.

[0042] The down suction at the rotary cutting station 24 can be used not only to recover down from the scrap, but also to reduce the mass of the scrap moving along the conveyor line 12, in order to prevent the scrap from clogging the conveyor line 12.

[0043] In an alternative implementation (not shown in detail), the suction hood of the cutting station 2 may be located at the outlet 26 of the rotary cutting station 24, wherein the suction hood closes the outlet 26 in the upper region.

[0044] Alternatively, suction from above can also be present in the primary cutting station 21.

[0045] Some of the down sucked out at the cutting station 2 and at the stepped cleaner 30 may be contaminated with residue (especially threads or fragments of fabric). Therefore, the quality level of the down collected in the first container 71 after suction may be lower than the target grade, and thus may be treated differently; for example, such down may be reintroduced into the device 1.

[0046] The debris at the outlet 32 ​​of the first separation chamber 3 still contains textile residues and non-textile residues 14 (fabric fragments, zippers, buttons, etc.) still attached with down tufts.

[0047] Advantageously, downstream of or in place of the first separation chamber 3, along the conveyor line 12, there may be a second separation chamber 4, which is adapted to receive, via the conveyor line 12, at its inlet 41, the scraps that have been partially stripped of down after suction at the upstream station.

[0048] Preferably, the second separation chamber 4 includes a (second) mechanical agitator for the crushed material, which is advantageously equipped with a single motorized striking roller 43 having a horizontal axis of rotation, preferably of the type having spikes 44. The spikes 44 are advantageously arranged side by side along a helix about the axis of rotation of the striking roller 43, thereby also promoting the axial advance of the residual debris 14 from the inlet 41 of the second separation chamber 4 facing one end of the roller 43 with spikes to the outlet 42 facing the other end of the roller 43 with spikes.

[0049] The roller 43 with studs also includes longitudinal blades 46, each of which projects radially from the axis of rotation and extends substantially along the entire length of the roller 43. The number of longitudinal blades 46 (equidistant from each other angularly) can be four (thus spaced 90° apart) as shown, and they define separation walls between the groups of studs 44, the height of which is substantially equal to or slightly less than the height of the groups of studs 44.

[0050] The spiked roller 43 is essentially a mechanical agitator, and its rotation is preferably much slower than that of the striking rollers 33a-33c of the first separation chamber 3. For example, the rotational speed of the spiked roller is about an order of magnitude smaller than that of the striking rollers 33a-33c, and the rotational speed of the spiked roller may, for example, be between 30 rpm and 50 rpm.

[0051] The spiked roller 43 advantageously interacts with the lower striking surface 45 (e.g., through which a concave grid passes any waste) for separating down 13.

[0052] A second cover 47 is also mounted on top of the spiked roller 43. This second cover is connected to at least one corresponding upper suction port, which in turn is connected to the suction device 6 and the conveying device 8. In particular, the second cover 47, which closes the second chamber 4 from above, may have multiple suction ports 84a-84c in the upper region. Therefore, if the power of a single suction machine 62 is insufficient to generate a partial vacuum in the second separation chamber 4, the second cover may optionally be associated with several suction machines 62-63.

[0053] Specifically, in a preferred embodiment, the upper portion of the second cover 47 is connected to two end ports 84a-84b and a central port 84c located between these two end ports. The two end ports 84a-84b are connected to a second suction machine 62 via corresponding tubular conduits 85a and 85b, which converge into a single tube towards the inlet of the second suction machine 62, through which the second suction machine transfers the down extracted therefrom to a second collection container 72. Conversely, the central port 84c is connected to a third suction machine 63 via another tubular conduit 85c, transferring the down extracted therefrom to a third collection container 73.

[0054] The second cover 47 can be shaped essentially like a truncated pyramid with a rectangular base, and the second cover defines a large enclosed free space (e.g., 1300 to 1700 liters) between the ports 84a-84c and the volume occupied by the spiked roller 43, in which down continuously separated from the scrap is released through the spike 44 and fed into the second cover 47 by the continuous rotation of the longitudinal blades 46.

[0055] The enclosed free space defined between the walls of the second cover 47 is so large that it is difficult for the enclosed free space to accommodate components with a high specific gravity, and therefore the enclosed free space helps to draw in only the lighter components, namely the down 13 with a low degree of contamination.

[0056] Maintaining a sufficient distance between the ports of the cover 47 and the rollers with the spikes 44 (e.g., the distance between ports 84a-84c and the spikes 44 closest to them is between 110 cm and 150 cm) reduces the likelihood of drawing out down contaminated by heavier components.

[0057] Similar to the debris remaining at the outlet 32 ​​of the first separation chamber 3, considering that the debris remaining at the outlet 42 of the second separation chamber 4 may still have down adhering to other materials, the device 1 may advantageously include a third separation chamber 5 in which debris from the upstream separation chamber (e.g., the second separation chamber 4) falls onto the obstruction due to gravity, while in the third separation chamber 5, suction from above remains effective to collect the down released inside the third separation chamber.

[0058] Specifically, the third separation chamber 5 can be connected to the second separation chamber 4 by a conveyor with inclined clamps 54, so that residual debris can be carried from the outlet 42 of the second separation chamber 4 to a higher height and into the third separation chamber 5.

[0059] Preferably, the third separation chamber 5 includes an internal obstruction surface 55, such that during descent, residual debris received at the inlet 51 of the third separation chamber 5 impacts this obstruction surface 55, thereby further releasing the down. The obstruction surface 55 is essentially a chute, which optionally has inclined stepped portions, i.e., the steps are substantially downward sloping, particularly towards the bottom outlet 52, to allow residue 14 of debris falling due to gravity to flow out. These "heavier" residues can be collected in a bag 58 for processing.

[0060] Optionally, the third separation chamber 5 may also include a third mechanical agitator 53, for example, a motorized cylindrical rotor with a horizontal axis of rotation, which is arranged close to the inlet 51 of the third separation chamber to intercept debris falling from the inlet 51, especially debris falling from the end of the conveyor 54, and to improve the separation of down 13 from debris 14.

[0061] Above the entrance 51 of the third separation chamber 5, a protective screen 59 may optionally be arranged, which is adapted to prevent down from being sucked directly upward from the scrap still on the conveyor 54.

[0062] The third separation chamber 5 is enclosed in the upper region by a third suction hood 57, the port 87 of which is connected to a third suction machine 63 via a tubular conduit 86 to collect the released down 13 in a third collection container 73. A tubular conduit 85c connected to the hood 47 of the second separation chamber 4 can branch off from the tubular conduit 86.

[0063] The method according to the invention is obvious from the description of device 1.

[0064] Essentially, the method requires the step of feeding a packing product 10, which is preferably arranged at the inlet 11 of the conveyor line 12, such that the direction of the suture of the packing product is oriented so that it is not parallel to the direction of the gate of the station 2, thereby improving the cutting of the suture.

[0065] In the cutting step, which as has been seen preferably consists of a primary guillotine cut and a subsequent rotary cut, the stuffing product 10 is cut into scraps in which down 13 is mixed with scraps 14 of other components (such as fabric, stitching, zippers, buttons, etc.).

[0066] Advantageously, suction is applied from above to the rotary cutting station 24 to facilitate the collection of the first portion of down released by the cutting. This down can be collected in a first container 71, which is designed to hold the most contaminated down that can be recovered from the conveyor line 12.

[0067] Subsequently, one or more separation steps of the shredded material are carried out in the respective separation chambers 3-4 along the conveyor line 12, wherein the separation steps are carried out by combining mechanical agitation of the shredded material with suction applied above the chamber.

[0068] Mechanical agitation is provided primarily by impact rollers 33a-33c, 43, which rotate continuously about a substantially horizontal axis and optionally rotate in an impact manner as the material falls into separation chamber 5 at the end of the conveyor line, while suction is carried out by corresponding covers 37, 47, 57, which close the respective separation chambers 3, 4, 5 from above.

[0069] Covers 27, 37, 47, and 57 are connected to collection containers 71-73 via corresponding ports and tubular conduits. Thus, as the scrap advances along conveyor line 12, after cutting and striking operations and movement operations via suction of down 13 at various ports arranged along conveyor line 12, the down gradually separated from the material will be sorted toward one or more collection containers 71-73 by suction device 6 and conveyor device 8.

[0070] It has been unexpectedly discovered that the purity of the down extracted in the separation chamber further downstream of conveyor line 12 is higher than that of the down extracted in the station further upstream. Therefore, it is preferable to transfer the down extracted from the separation chambers (e.g., chambers 4 and 5) arranged further downstream along the conveyor line to the separation container.

[0071] In this case, down extracted by a more upstream station (e.g., by the first chamber 3 and / or by the rotary cutting station 24) can optionally be transferred to the conveyor line 12, for example, upstream of the final separation chamber 4 or 5, to further reduce contamination of those down.

[0072] The down collected in containers 71, 72 and / or 73 can undergo subsequent sorting and washing steps that are conventional in themselves, and such down can be recycled by reuse in new stuffing products (e.g., clothing and other items).

[0073] In fact, it has been found that the present invention has fully achieved the intended purpose and objectives.

[0074] The invention conceived thus can be modified and varied in many ways, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, all details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

[0075] In practice, the materials used, as well as the shape and size, can be any material, shape, and size as required and in accordance with existing technology.

[0076] This application claims priority to Italian Patent Application No. 102021000029264, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0077] The reference marks following any technical feature mentioned in any claim are intended only to increase the comprehensibility of the claim, and therefore do not limit the interpretation of each element identified by way of example through these reference marks.

Claims

1. A method for recovering down from a down-filled product (10), such as clothing, a quilt, or a pillow, the method comprising the step of feeding at least one down-filled product (10) into a conveyor line (12) in an inlet (11), the method further comprising the step of: - A cutting step, adapted to shred the product (10) to obtain scrap, in which the down (13) is mixed with scrap (14) of other components of the product (10) initially filled, such as fabric, seam, zipper or button, and then the scrap is moved along the conveyor line (12). - The scrap is mechanically agitated inside at least one first separation chamber (3) along the conveyor line (12), the mechanical agitation being adapted to separate at least a portion of the down from the scrap; - The separated down is extracted, and the step of extracting and separating the down is performed at least in the first separation chamber (3); - Collect the extracted down in at least one down collection container (71-73); The method is characterized by a second step of mechanically agitating the debris inside at least one second separation chamber (4) to separate down from the debris from the first separation chamber (3), and the suction is also applied to the second separation chamber (4).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The debris falls into the second separation chamber (4) due to gravity, or into the third separation chamber (5) arranged downstream of the second separation chamber (4) along the conveyor line (12), such that during the fall, the debris impacts the obstruction surface set inside the second separation chamber or the third separation chamber, thereby releasing additional down (13), and the suction is also applied to the third separation chamber (5).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, During the cutting step, the down suction step is also applied at the cutting station (2) located upstream of the first separation chamber (3).

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The step of collecting the extracted down in at least one down collection container is used to transfer the down extracted upstream of the first separation chamber (3) and the down extracted in at least the first separation chamber and / or the second separation chamber to different down collection containers.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transferring the contents of the at least one first down collection container (71) to a point on the conveyor line (12) upstream of the first separation chamber (3) or upstream of the second separation chamber (4).

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The cutting steps include a first guillotine cutting step and a subsequent second rotary cutting step.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The mechanical agitation step is carried out in the first separation chamber and / or the second separation chamber by means of at least one mechanical agitator (33a, 33b, 33c, 43) consisting of a striking roller having a substantially horizontal axis of rotation.

8. An apparatus (1) for recovering down from down-filled products, such as clothing, quilts, or pillows, the apparatus comprising: An inlet (11) for feeding down-filled product (10); a conveyor line (12); and at least one outlet for collecting down recovered from the product (10) fed at the inlet (11), the device (1) comprising along the conveyor line (12): - At least one cutting station (2) adapted to receive the product (10) from the inlet (11) to cut the product, and adapted to release the scrap as a result of the cutting onto the conveyor line (12); - At least one first separation chamber (3) is located downstream of the at least one cutting station (2), the at least one first separation chamber is provided with at least one mechanical agitator (33a, 33b, 33c, 43) for the scrap, the at least one mechanical agitator (33a, 33b, 33c, 43) being adapted to separate at least a portion of the down (13) from the scrap; The device (1) further includes: - A suction device (6) is connected to suction ports (80, 82, 84a-84c, 87) arranged at least in the first separation chamber (3) along the conveyor line (12) to suck out down (13) separated from the debris and convey the down toward at least one down collection container. The device is characterized in that it includes at least one second separation chamber (4) located downstream of the first separation chamber (3) along the conveyor line, the second separation chamber being adapted to receive the scrap from the first separation chamber (3) via the conveyor line (12), the second separation chamber (4) being connected to at least one corresponding suction port to extract additional down (13) from the scrap from the first separation chamber (3) by means of the suction device (6).

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein, The second separation chamber (4) includes a second mechanical agitator (43) for the crushed material.

10. The device according to claim 8 or 9 further includes a third separation chamber (5) located downstream of the second separation chamber (4), in which the debris from the second separation chamber (4) falls by gravity onto an obstruction surface (55) inside the third separation chamber (5), such that during the fall, the debris impacts the obstruction surface (55), thereby releasing additional down (13), the third separation chamber (5) being connected to the suction device (6) and including an outlet (52) for draining debris (14) of the debris falling by gravity.

11. The device according to claim 10, wherein, The obstruction surface (55) is substantially inclined toward the outlet, and the third separation chamber (5) also includes at least one third mechanical agitator (53).

12. The device according to claim 8, wherein, The at least one cutting station (2) is connected to the suction device (6) to suck out any down (13) that has been separated as a result of the cutting.

13. The device according to claim 8, wherein, The at least one cutting station includes a primary cutting station (21) and a rotary cutting station (24) located downstream of the primary cutting station (21), and the suction device (6) is connected to the rotary cutting station.

14. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The device includes a conveying device (8) for selectively conveying down (13) drawn out by means of the suction device (6), the conveying device (8) being configured to separately convey down drawn out upstream and downstream of a given point on the conveying line to corresponding down collection containers.

15. The device according to claim 8, wherein, The mechanical agitator includes a striking roller having a substantially horizontal axis of rotation.

16. The device according to claim 8, wherein, The first separation chamber (3) includes a stepped cleaner (30) which is closed in the upper region by a corresponding first suction hood (37) connected to at least one corresponding suction port (82) connected to the suction device (6).

17. The device according to claim 8, wherein, The first separation chamber (3) or the second separation chamber (4) includes a spiked roller having a substantially horizontal axis of rotation and a corresponding second cover (47) mounted on top of the spiked roller and connected to the at least one corresponding suction port connected to the suction device (6). The second cover (47) defines a closed free space between the at least one corresponding suction port and the volume occupied by the spiked roller, in which down separated from the scrap is released by means of the rotation of the spiked roller.

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