Abstract: A process of feeding carded fiber to an airlay and particularly to combining carding technology with airlay technology. A carding machine portion is arranged to card fiber while a disperser-roll in the airlay portion picks the individualized carded fibers from a tool bed roll and centrifugally doffs them into an air stream. As such, airlays will be able to handle longer fiber lengths which conventional airlay equipment is unable to handle or satisfactorily open up. Further, an improved process for doffing fiber from a airlay machine and particularly centrifugally doffing fiber from a carding machine.

Abstract: An apparatus for distributing fiber from a carding machine to an airlay wherein the apparatus comprises a system of ducts or conduits for controlling air flow having a curved top wall and a curved bottom wall that define a converging passageway and the distance between the walls is defined by an exponential equation.

Abstract: A device and process for dividing a pneumatic flow of fiber into a plurality of streams of pneumatically-conveyed fiber which aid in distributing the fiber more uniformly across an area such as a fiber bin.

Abstract: This invention relates to improved aerodynamics in dry fiber web forming machines and particularly to airlays which form high quality webs. The invention includes a disperser roll for feeding fibers into the air stream and a second roll opposite to the disperser roll for balancing the disruptive effects of long stationary walls and rotating members in the air duct. In one alternative arrangement of the invention, the fibers are also fed to the air stream by a second disperser roll opposite the first disperser roll.