Kimberly-clark Corporation

James L Post

Fred R Radwanski

Jark Chong Lau

Elizabeth A Wolfson

The present invention provides an improved apparatus and method for forming a fibrous web. In accordance with the invention, a distributor housing delimits a fiberizing zone, and a delivery mechanism supplies a fiberizable material into the fiberizing zone. A moveable striking mechanism located in the fiberizing zone contacts the fiberizable material to initially separate the material into individual fibers. A discharging mechanism exits the fibers from the fiberizing zone into a web forming zone and toward a foraminous web forming layer. A gas delivering mechanism forces a stream of gas into the fiberizing zone to entrain the fibers therein and to eject a moving stream of the gas and fibers through the discharging mechanism into the web forming zone. The gas-fiber stream moves at a velocity sufficient to draw an induced supplementary gas flow past the discharging mechanism and toward the foraminous forming layer. A steering mechanism located in the web forming zone selectively guides the induced supplemental gas flow to direct the fibers toward selected areas of the foraminous forming layer.

Eductor airforming apparatus

A fiberizer for disintegrating fibrous sheets and a method of fiberizing using a rotor having peripheral teeth arranged within bands which extend transversely around the rotor axis is disclosed. The tooth pattern in each band is circumferentially extending and shaped approximately in a sinusoidal wave on the rotor periphery extending in the direction of rotation, and providing a substantially sinusoidal distribution of impacts against a sheet fed to an anvil in the form of simple harmonic motion along a cross direction impact line adjacent the anvil and thus transversing impacts within adjacent strips of the sheet corresponding to the bands. Individual points along the width of the fibrous sheet are periodically impulsively loaded by the impacts when they are at a period of highest response, i.e., when the initial stress level has been increased to the highest optimal stress without causing fiber damage, and producing mechanical disturbances within the sheets which cause vibrations and break interfiber bonds so as to precondition the sheet as it is fed to the anvil.

Growing community of inventors

Appleton, WI, United States of America

James L Post