Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming fluff pads and the like wherein fluff providing material webs are introduced into separate hammermills and then delivered through a plurality of ducts through a moving screen under vacuum and wherein the ducts are characterized by reverse bends to densify the particle stream at the outside of the curvature for generally perpendicular deposition on the screen.

Abstract: Non-woven fabrics comprising yarn-like fiber groups of parallel and tightly compacted fiber segments, which groups include fiber segments circumferentially wrapped around at least a portion of the fiber groups. The groups are interconnected at junctures by fibers common to the plurality of such groups.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for making spunlaced acrylic/polyester fabrics comprising applying low impact water jet energy to a fabric web and vacuum dewatering the resulting spunlaced fabric. The spunlaced fabrics exhibit very low wet and dry particle counts and high absorbency thereby making them particularly useful in cleanroom wiper applications and as coverstock for sanitary napkins, diapers and the like.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming fluff pads and the like wherein fluff particles are drawn from a hammermill through a plurality of ducts through a moving screen under vacuum and wherein the ducts are characterized by reverse bends to densify the particle stream at the outside of the curvature for generally perpendicular deposition on the screen.

Abstract: An apparatus for jetting high velocity liquid streams onto fibrous materials is constructed to provide a uniform distribution of the liquid medium to a nozzle strip through which the liquid streams are directed onto the fibrous material. The apparatus is constructed so that the nozzle strip can be removed from the cartridge containing the same quickly and with a minimum of part removal.

Abstract: An apparatus and related process for entangling a staple fibrous web which employs divergent fluid jets. The web is advanced through an entangling station on a conveying means which supports an entangling member having a symmetrical pattern of fluid pervious void areas. The divergent jet sprays which are disposed above the entangling member direct a continuous curtain of fluid onto the web, coacting with the entangling member to entangle web fibers into a coherent lattice structure. The divergent jet sprays are provided by nozzles having wide orifice diameters which accommodate less complex fluid recirculation and filtration systems than employed in prior art columnar jet processes.

Abstract: A strong, highly absorbent hard finished nonwoven toweling fabric consisting of wood pulp and textile fibers free from added binders is prepared by forming a wet-laid web of a blend of fibers containing 50 to 75 weight percent wood pulp and 25 to 50 weight percent staple length synthetic fibers and subjecting the fibers in the wet-laid web to hydroentanglement. The fabric may be apertured or essentially nonapertured and may be made water repellant. The fabric may be used in medical and surgical application, household cloths, food service wipes, industrial machinery wipes and the like.

Abstract: Provided is a high strength wet-laid nonwoven fabric having strength, i.e., tensile strength, tear strength and interlayer peeling strength, similar to those of a filament nonwoven fabric, and a uniformity similar to that of a conventional wet-laid nonwoven fabric. This nonwoven fabric is made of a fiber having a fiber diameter of from 7 .mu.m to 25 .mu.m and a ratio L/D of from 0.8.times.10.sup.3 to 2.0.times.10.sup.3 and is produced by entangling the fibers in a sheet made by a paper making machine by using a columnar water stream.

Abstract: Here are disclosed a composite non-woven fabric having a high dimensional stability and a process for preparing such non-woven fabaric. This non-woven fabric is prepared by a cross-stretching starting non-woven fabric obtained by a fiber entanglement treatment of a staple fiber web by fluid jets to form a substrate, then introducing short fibers onto this cross-stretched substrate and filling said cross-stretched substrate with said short fibers by further fiber entanglement treatment also by fluid jets. Such composite non-woven fabric is suitable particularly as cloth for disposable medican garments or the like.

Abstract: Nonwoven fibrous elastomeric web material, including absorbent webs and fabric web material, and methods of forming the same, are disclosed. The elastomeric web material is a hydraulically entangled coform or admixture of (1) meltblown fibers, such as elastic meltblown fibers and (2) pulp fibers and/or staple fibers and/or meltblown fibers and/or continuous filaments, with or without particulate material; such coform can be hydraulically entangled by itself or with other materials, including, e.g., super absorbent particulate material. The use of meltblown fibers facilitates the hydraulic entangling, resulting in a high degree of entanglement and enabling the use of shorter staple or pulp fibers. The hydraulic entangling technique provides a nonwoven fibrous elastic material having increased web strength and integrity, and allows for better control of other product attributes, such as absorbency, wet strength and abrasion resistance.

Abstract: A strong, absorbent nonwoven fabric containing wood pulp and textile fibers is prepared by hydroentanglement with a continuous filament, base web. The fabric may be apertured or essentially nonapertured and may be made water repellant for use in medical and surgical applications.

Abstract: A light weight entangled nonwoven fabric formed by fluid rearrangement/entangling of an oriented web of fibers comprising at least 75% polyolefin staple fibers and displaying excellent machine direction and cross direction strength.

Abstract: A loosely constructed knit or woven fabric is dimensionally stabilized by causing staple length textile fibers to be entangled about the intersections of the yarns comprising the fabric. The stabilized fabric is formed by covering one or both sides of the loosely constructed base fabric with a light web of the staple length fibers, and subjecting the composite material to hydraulic entanglement while supported on a porous forming belt configured to direct and concentrate the staple length fibers at the intersections of the yarns comprising the base fabric.

Abstract: A light weight entangled nonwoven fabric formed by fluid rearrangement/entangling of an oriented web of fibers comprising at least 75% polyester staple fibers, and displaying excellent machine direction and cross direction strength.

Abstract: The invention involves an injector which propels a curtain of water through perforations in a rotating cylinder.The curtain of water hits a non-woven fiber sheet at an angle, and the splashback is collected in a suction chamber. The width of the curtain of water is adjustable, and self-cleaning of the injector can take place while the machine is in operation.The invention is used for the production of perforations or embossed designs on non-woven fabric whether the fiber sheet is produced by the dry method or the wet method.

Abstract: A papermachine fabric comprises a spiral link belt covered with a sheet of non-woven fabric with the fiber ends being entangled with the elements of the spiral link belt. The non-woven fabric is bonded to the spiral link belt by a multiplicity of fine high pressure fluid jets. In the manufacture of the papermachine fabric the fluid jets are preferably arranged in a predetermined pattern which is produced by interposing a sheet with apertures arranged according to said pattern between the fluid nozzles and the non-woven fabric.

Abstract: A web of gray cotton fibers is entangled by passing it under a series of low pressure liquid nozzles or jets which are oscillated in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of the web. The entangled web is then subjected to a cotton scouring step, and then dried, to produce a strong coherent nonwoven fabric that requires no resin binder and has a high capacity for water. Particular parameters of liquid pressure, frequency and amplitude of oscillation of the nozzles or jets and energy transferred from the jets to the fibers have to be maintained.

Abstract: Ribbed terry cloth-like nonwoven fabric produced by fluid entangling of fibers on a special forming belt.

Abstract: Improved liquid-barrier properties are provided to spunlaced fabrics of woodpulp and synthetic organic fibers by employing closely spaced jets in a hydraulic entanglement treatment of the fibers. Additional improvement in barrier properties is provided by a finishing step which employs multiple passes under low pressure, closely spaced jets.

Abstract: Apertured nonwoven fabrics prepared by hydraulic entanglement of polyethylene terephthalate staple fibers of ribbon cross-section have unusually high resistance to disentanglement when the aspect ratio of the fiber cross-section (i.e., ratio of major to minor axis) is in the range of 1.8 to 3.0.

Abstract: A non-woven fabric having a plurality of patterns of groups of fiber segments that alternate and extend throughout the fabric. One pattern is disposed in discontinuous portions of the fabric, each of which portion include at least one pivotal packing of fiber segments protruding out of the general plane of the fabric and a yarn-like bundle of fiber segments attached to said pivotal packing by ribbon-like groups of aligned fiber segments extending from the pivotal packing. The discontinuous portions of the fabric are interconnected by highly entangled fibrous areas which form a continuous pattern throughout the fabric.

Abstract: A nonwoven fabric having alternating stripes of high fiber density and low fiber density is made in such a manner that the high fiber density stripes run across the fabric and maximize the cross direction strength to a point that the cross direction/machine direction strength ratio approaches unity. This advantageous and desirable characteristic can be achieved by hydroforming a card web, by disposing the carded web on a relatively fine mesh screen and placing a finger-like striping bars over the web with the axis of the bars at 90.degree. to the card web's general fiber orientation. Water was then sprayed over the assembly with sufficient force to rearrange the fibers in the web thereby producing the nonwoven fabric of this invention.

Abstract: A lightweight composite fabric characterized by high retention of fiber content during initial laundering and exceptionally high strength as measured close to the edge of the fabric with cover and fabric aesthetics equivalent to conventional fabrics having 50% higher basis weight are produced by hydraulically needling short staple fibers and a substrate of continuous filaments formed into an ordered cross-directional array. The individual continuous filaments of the array are well spread and separated so that they have a spaced-apart relationship allowing interentangling of the short staple fibers with the continuous filaments to form more than about two reversals in the staple fibers per cm of staple fiber length between the faces of the fabric. The staple fibers have a linear density of less than about 0.3 tex per filament, are from about 0.5 cm to about 1 cm in length and comprise about 20% to about 50% of the weight of the composite fabric.

Abstract: The tensile strength of nonwoven fabric made by traversing a fibrous web on an apertured support with fine columnar streams of liquid is increased when the fine columnar streams are divided up into an array of a plurality of rows of streams, instead of a single row, with the streams in each row being staggered from one another and the rows being spaced 10 to 80 mils apart.