Apparatus for making nonwoven from continuous filaments

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11655563-B2
Application number	US-202117213873-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 26, 2021
Priority date	Apr 29, 2016
Publication date	May 23, 2023
Grant date	May 23, 2023

Abstract

An apparatus for making nonwoven has a spinning device for spinning continuous filaments and moving the spun filaments in a vertical travel direction along a vertical travel path and a mesh belt below the spinning device, traveling in a horizontal direction, and having a multiplicity of vertically throughgoing openings distributed generally uniformly over its surface and of which a portion are plugged. A cooler and a stretcher are provided along the path downstream of the spinning device and above the belt for cooling and stretching the filaments and depositing the cooled and stretched filaments at a predetermined deposition location on the belt. A blower underneath the belt at the deposition location aspirates air through the openings and thereby holds the deposited filaments down on the belt.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for producing a nonwoven from continuous spun filaments, wherein at least one spinning device for spinning the filaments is provided, wherein the filaments are cooled and stretched, wherein a deposition device is provided for depositing the stretched filaments to form the nonwoven, wherein the deposition device is implemented in the form of a foraminous belt having a plurality of foraminous belt openings distributed over a foraminous belt surface, wherein the plurality of foraminous belt openings provide air flow through the foraminous belt, wherein at least one extraction fan is provided underneath the foraminous belt, wherein a portion of the foraminous belt openings are plugged with a sealing compound to create a partially plugged foraminous belt, wherein air permeability of an unplugged foraminous belt is between 300 cfm to 1100 cfm, wherein air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 150 cfm to 700 cfm, wherein the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is non-homogeneous, wherein a ratio of the air permeability of the unplugged foraminous belt to the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 1.2 to 4, wherein the sealing compound is arranged in and underneath the foraminous belt and does not project upward past the foraminous belt, wherein the foraminous belt comprises a woven fabric comprising warp threads and weft threads delimiting the foraminous belt openings, and wherein the woven fabric of the foraminous belt has a weave density of about 20 to about 75 warp thread/25 mm and of about 10 to about 50 weft threads/25 mm.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the air permeability of the unplugged foraminous belt is between 350 cfm to about 1050 cfm or between 400 cfm to 1000 cfm.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is between 250 cfm to 600 cfm or between 350 cfm to 500 cfm.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sealing compound comprises plastics or polymers.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sealing compound is photosensitive.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the smallest diameter of a plugged point of the foraminous belt is between 1.5 mm and 10 mm.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the air permeability of the unplugged foraminous belt to the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 1.3 to 3.5.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein plugged points are distributed in a regular pattern over the foraminous belt.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the air permeability of the unplugged foraminous belt to the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 1.3 to 3.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the air permeability of the unplugged foraminous belt to the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 1.8 to 2.8.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one cooling device for cooling the filaments and at least one stretching device for stretching the cooled filaments are provided, wherein a unit comprising the cooling device and the stretching device is configured as a closed unit, and wherein apart from the supply of cooling air in the cooling device no further air is supplied into the closed unit.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein at least one diffusor is arranged between the stretching device and the deposition device, through which the filaments are guided before depositing on the deposition device.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one compacting roller is provided for pre-consolidating the nonwoven deposited on the foraminous belt, and wherein the compacting roller is heated.

14. An apparatus for producing a nonwoven from continuous spun filaments, wherein at least one spinning device for spinning the filaments is provided, wherein the filaments are cooled and stretched, wherein a deposition device is provided for depositing the stretched filaments to form the nonwoven, wherein the deposition device is implemented in the form of a foraminous belt having a plurality of foraminous belt openings distributed over a foraminous belt surface, wherein the plurality of foraminous belt openings provide air flow through the foraminous belt, wherein at least one extraction fan is provided underneath the foraminous belt, wherein a portion of the foraminous belt openings are plugged with a sealing compound to create a partially plugged foraminous belt, wherein air permeability of an unplugged foraminous belt is between 300 cfm to 1100 cfm, wherein air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 150 cfm to 700 cfm, wherein the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is non-homogeneous, wherein a ratio of the air permeability of the unplugged foraminous belt to the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 1.3 to 3.5, wherein the sealing compound is arranged in and underneath the foraminous belt and does not project upward past the foraminous belt, wherein the foraminous belt comprises a woven fabric comprising warp threads and weft threads delimiting the foraminous belt openings, and wherein the openings have a minimum diameter of about 0.5 mm.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the ratio of the air permeability of the unplugged foraminous belt to the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 1.8 to 2.8.

16. An apparatus for producing a nonwoven from continuous spun filaments, wherein at least one spinning device for spinning the filaments is provided, wherein the filaments are cooled and stretched, wherein a deposition device is provided for depositing the stretched filaments to form the nonwoven, wherein the deposition device is implemented in the form of a foraminous belt having a plurality of foraminous belt openings distributed over a foraminous belt surface, wherein the plurality of foraminous belt openings provide air flow through the foraminous belt, wherein at least one extraction fan is provided underneath the foraminous belt, wherein a portion of the foraminous belt openings are plugged with a sealing compound to create a partially plugged foraminous belt, wherein air permeability of an unplugged foraminous belt is between 300 cfm to 1100 cfm, wherein air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 150 cfm to 700 cfm, wherein the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is non-homogeneous, wherein a ratio of the air permeability of the unplugged foraminous belt to the air permeability of the partially plugged foraminous belt is 1.3 to 3, and wherein the sealing compound is arranged only in and underneath the foraminous belt, wherein the foraminous belt comprises a woven fabric comprising warp threads and weft threads delimiting the foraminous belt openings, wherein the openings have a minimum diameter of about 0.5 mm, and wherein the woven fabric of the foraminous belt has a weave density of about 20 to about 75 warp thread/25 mm and of about 10 to about 50 weft threads/25 mm.

Assignees

• Procter & Gamble

Inventors

• Sommer Sebastian
• Wagner Tobias
• Linke Gerold

Classifications

• D04H3/02 Primary

  characterised by the method of forming fleeces or layers, e.g. reorientation of yarns or filaments · CPC title

• D03D13/008

  characterised by weave density or surface weight · CPC title

• D04H3/16

  with bonds between thermoplastic filaments produced in association with filament formation, e.g. immediately following extrusion · CPC title

• D01D5/12

  Stretch-spinning methods ({D01D5/098 takes precedence} finishing by stretching D02J1/22) · CPC title

• D01D5/088 Primary

  Cooling filaments, threads or the like, leaving the spinnerettes · CPC title