Coforming processes and forming boxes used therein

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11725309-B2
Application number	US-201514970586-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 16, 2015
Priority date	Jun 3, 2015
Publication date	Aug 15, 2023
Grant date	Aug 15, 2023

Abstract

Coforming processes for commingling two or more separate materials, for example solid additives, for example fibers and/or particulates, and filaments, and equipment; namely, forming boxes, useful in such coforming processes and more particularly to coforming processes for commingling filaments with one or more fibers, such as pulp fibers, and forming boxes useful therein are provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A coform box defined by a housing comprising one or more filament inlets and one or more additive inlets wherein at least one of the one or more additive inlets is connected to at least one of the one or more filament inlets, wherein the at least one of the one or more filament inlets is connected to one or more meltblow dies and wherein at least one of the one or more meltblow dies is connected to the housing that defines the coform box, wherein the housing that defines the coform box exhibits a downwardly flaring section from the one or more additive inlets to an exit of the coform box.

2. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more meltblow dies is a multi-row capillary meltblow die.

3. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein the coform box is geometrically symmetric with respect to the coform box's cross machine-direction axis.

4. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein the coform box exhibits symmetric momentum with respect to the coform box's cross machine-direction axis.

5. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein the coform box exhibits symmetric horizontal momentum with respect to the coform box's cross machine-direction axis.

6. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein the at least one of the one or more filament inlets is at an angle of less than 85° to the at least one of the one or more additive inlets.

7. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein the at least one of the one or more filament inlets is positioned between the at least one of the one or more additive inlets and at least one other of the one or more additive inlets.

8. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein the coform box exhibits a JAR of greater than 0.5 during operation.

9. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein the coform box exhibits a JAR of less than 15 during operation.

10. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein the one or more additive inlets are in fluid communication with an additive source.

11. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein at least two of the one or more additive inlets are independently controllable during operation.

12. The coform box according to claim 11 wherein the at least two of the one or more additive inlets are independently controllable with respect to concentration, type of additive, composition, aspect ratio of additive, and mixtures thereof.

13. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein at least two of the one or more filament inlets are independently controllable during operation.

14. The coform box according to claim 13 wherein the at least two of the one or more filament inlets are independently controllable with respect to concentration, type of polymer, composition, aspect ratio of additive, and mixtures thereof.

15. The coform box according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more filament inlets or at least one of the one or more additive inlets is independently controllable.

Assignees

• Procter & Gamble

Inventors

• Young Christopher Michael
• Wang Fei
• Barnholtz Steven Lee
• Eroglu Hasan
• Stewart Edwin Arthur
• Mckibben John Ferney
• Mellin Gustav Andre

Classifications

• D01F11/00 Primary

  Chemical after-treatment of artificial filaments or the like during manufacture · CPC title

• D01D5/00

  Formation of filaments, threads, or the like · CPC title

• D04H1/565

  by melt-blowing · CPC title

• D04H1/732

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

• D01D5/0985

  by means of a flowing gas (e.g. melt-blowing) · CPC title