Apparatus for the uniform distribution of fibers in an air stream

Abstract

An apparatus for the manufacture of an air laid web in which individual cellulose fibers or textile fibers or their blends can be conveyed and distributed by air uniformly onto a forming zone composed of either a foraminous screen or a fibrous melt blown matrix on top of a consolidating vacuum box.

1 . A device for air forming a fibrous web by expanding the width of the air conveying duct to the appropriate forming zone width and maintaining adequate cross direction fiber basis weight profiles by:
 a. dissipating the fiber velocities at the entrance of the forming device so that they are less than the conveying air stream at the top of the forming device,   b. having a geometry in the forming device which provides constant or slightly accelerating air and fiber velocities in the device to those found in the conveying duct, and,   c. having the length of the spreading device be about ten times greater than the diameter of the incoming duct.   
   
   
       2 . A means to adjust the cross-directional gap at the discharge of the device in  claim 1  to control the cross-direction air and fiber discharge onto a forming zone, by restricting the flow through undulations on a static plate. 
   
   
       3 . A forming apparatus made through a combination of the device in  claim 1  composed by joining in the cross-direction individual devices of  claim 1  to create a forming device of much greater width.