Article of manufacture making system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11220789-B2
Application number	US-201916511428-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 15, 2019
Priority date	Jun 3, 2015
Publication date	Jan 11, 2022
Grant date	Jan 11, 2022

Abstract

An article of manufacture making system for making an article of manufacture containing a plurality of dry solid additives, such as fibers, that utilizes a dry solid additive delivery system with a relatively low Stokes Number for the dry solid additives.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An article of manufacture making system that makes an article of manufacture comprising a plurality of dry solid additives selected from the group consisting of fibers, particulates, and mixtures thereof, the article of manufacture making system comprising a dry solid additive delivery system comprising one or more dry solid additive inlets and one or more dry solid additive outlets, wherein at least one of the dry solid additive inlets is intimately associated with at least one dry solid additive source that supplies dry solid additives to the at least one dry solid additive inlet wherein the dry solid additives are conveyed through the dry solid additive delivery system from at least one of the dry solid additive inlets to at least one of the dry solid additive outlets from which the dry solid additives are formed into an article of manufacture, wherein at least one of the dry solid additive outlets is intimately associated with the article of manufacture, wherein one or more prime movers are located between at least one of the dry solid additive inlets and at least one of the dry solid additive outlets, wherein at least one of the prime movers exhibits an aspect ratio of greater than 1, and wherein the Stokes Number of the dry solid additives within the dry solid additive delivery system has a value of less than 2000 in any region of analysis between at least one of the dry solid additive inlets and at least one of the dry solid additive outlets.

2. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 1 wherein the Stokes Number of the dry solid additives within the dry solid additive delivery system has a value of less than 1500 in any region of analysis between at least one of the dry solid additive inlets and at least one of the dry solid additive outlets.

3. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the dry solid additive sources is a discretizer.

4. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 1 wherein the dry solid additive delivery system comprises a plurality of dry solid additive inlets.

5. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the prime movers is an eductor.

6. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 1 wherein the number of dry solid additive sources is greater than the number of prime movers in the article of manufacture making system.

7. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 1 wherein the number of prime movers is greater than the number of dry solid additive sources in the article of manufacture making system.

8. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 1 wherein the dry solid additive delivery system comprises from 0 to less than 1000 cross flow members between at least one of the dry solid additive inlets and one of the dry solid additive outlets.

9. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the dry solid additive outlets exhibits a cross machine direction dimension greater than the cross machine direction dimension of at least one of the dry solid additive inlets.

10. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 1 wherein the number of dry solid additive outlets is greater than the number of dry solid additive sources in the article of manufacture making system.

11. An article of manufacture making system that makes an article of manufacture comprising a plurality of dry solid additives selected from the group consisting of fibers, particulates, and mixtures thereof, the article of manufacture making system comprising a dry solid additive delivery system comprising one or more dry solid additive inlets and one or more dry solid additive outlets, wherein at least one of the dry solid additive inlets is intimately associated with at least one dry solid additive source that supplies dry solid additives to the at least one dry solid additive inlet wherein the dry solid additives are conveyed through the dry solid additive delivery system from at least one of the dry solid additive inlets to at least one of the dry solid additive outlets from which the dry solid additives are formed into an article of manufacture, wherein at least one of the dry solid additive outlets is intimately associated with the article of manufacture, wherein one or more prime movers are located between at least one of the dry solid additive inlets and at least one of the dry solid additive outlets, wherein at least one of the prime movers exhibits an aspect ratio of greater than 1, and wherein the Stokes Number of the dry solid additives within the dry solid additive delivery system has a value of less than 2000 in any region of analysis between at least one of the dry solid additive inlets and at least one of the dry solid additive outlets ignoring the prime movers.

12. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 11 wherein the Stokes Number of the dry solid additives within the dry solid additive delivery system has a value of less than 1500 in any region of analysis between at least one of the dry solid additive inlets and at least one of the dry solid additive outlets.

13. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 11 wherein at least one of the dry solid additive sources is a discretizer.

14. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 11 wherein the dry solid additive delivery system comprises a plurality of dry solid additive inlets.

15. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 11 wherein at least one of the prime movers is an eductor.

16. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 11 wherein the number of dry solid additive sources is greater than the number of prime movers in the article of manufacture making system.

17. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 11 wherein the number of prime movers is greater than the number of dry solid additive sources in the article of manufacture making system.

18. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 11 wherein the dry solid additive delivery system comprises from 0 to less than 1000 cross flow members between at least one of the dry solid additive inlets and one of the dry solid additive outlets.

19. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 11 wherein at least one of the dry solid additive outlets exhibits a cross machine direction dimension greater than the cross machine direction dimension of at least one of the dry solid additive inlets.

20. The article of manufacture making system according to claim 11 wherein the number of dry solid additive outlets is greater than the number of dry solid additive sources in the article of manufacture making system.

Assignees

• Procter & Gamble

Inventors

• Young Christopher Michael
• Barnholtz Steven Lee
• Wang Fei

Classifications

• D04H1/732 Primary

  by fluid current, e.g. air-lay · CPC title

• D21H27/002 Primary

  Tissue paper; Absorbent paper (D21H21/22, D21H27/02, D21H27/20 take precedence; toilet paper A47K10/00; absorbent pads for physiological fluids A61L15/16; making on paper-making machines D21F11/00) · CPC title

• D01G13/00 Primary

  Mixing, e.g. blending, fibres; Mixing non-fibrous materials with fibres · CPC title

• D04H1/407

  containing absorbing substances, e.g. activated carbon · CPC title

• D01G1/02

  to form staple fibres not delivered in strand form · CPC title