Patents Examined by C. D. Chowder
  • Patent number: 5778492
    Abstract: An apparatus for refeeding scrap fibers into a gaseous stream of virgin fibers and mixing the scrap fibers with the virgin fibers to form a fibrous mat includes a fiber opener for opening up and substantially eliminating scrap fiber clumps and nodules from a supply of scrap fibers by releasing scrap fibers from the clumps and nodules. The scrap fibers are conveyed by a laminar airstream from the fiber opener to a virgin fiber containing gaseous stream where the scrap fibers are mixed with the virgin fibers and the mixture of fibers is collected to form a fibrous mat. The laminar airstream for conveying the scrap fibers is preferably formed by passing the airstream through a venturi eductor to reduce turbulence and impart a more laminar flow to the airstream to reduce scrap fiber entanglement in the conveying airstream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1998
    Assignee: Johns Manville International, Inc.
    Inventors: Leo Kurtis Thiessen, James Sheldon Graham