Wiggins Teape Limited

The Wiggins Teape Group Limited

Kieron P Green

Roger A Allen

Bruce R Inglis

Roger W Tringham

Bronislaw Radvan

Means for collating a flow of rod-like elements moving in a lengthwise direction comprising a rotatable drum arranged to receive the elements on its outer surface and move them transversely to their lengthwise direction, said drum having a porous wall and being rotatable through a reception zone where a fluid bed is created on its outer surface to assist reception of the elements thereon, a holding zone where a vacuum is created to hold the elements on the drum, and a discharge zone where fluid pressure is provided to assist discharge of the elements.

Collating means

Apparatus for making a fibrous element includes an elongate foraminous former provided by at least one foraminous belt, with a foraminous forming chamber through which said belt passes and which is formed to a hollow shape thereby. The belt is driven through the forming chamber, and fluid is extracted in a fluid extraction zone which surrounds at least part of the forming chamber and formed by a closed drainage casing. An injection nozzle injects a fibrous dispersion into the former within said forming chamber with the injection nozzle being dimensioned so as to substantially exclude the ingress of air around an interface with the walls of said belt so that the apparatus produces an elongate fibrous element having an outer core of greater density than the inner core which it surrounds.

Fibrous material moulding apparatus

A process for continuously forming a fibrous element in an elongate closed foraminous former during movement of the former through fluid extraction means, and which includes the steps of forming a fibrous dispersion, injecting the dispersion into said former, generating a pressure gradient across an extraction zone within said fluid extraction means and injecting the fibrous dispersion into the former at an injection velocity relative to the speed of the former (efflux ratio) to cause some of the fibres to build up as a fibrous mat on the inner surface of the former and the remainder to pack together to form a core so as to produce a continuous fibrous element having a fibrous core which is enclosed by a crust of greater density.

A fibrous element comprising an elongated structure having a fibrous core with the fibres arranged in random orientation, said core being stiffened and enclosed by a fibrous crust integral with the core and formed as a surface layer of greater density.

Moulded fibrous material

In a method of making non-woven fibrous material such as paper, the papermaking stock as it is being delivered to the foraminous support of a papermaking machine has air under pressure introduced into it to produce foaming of the stock and the stock is subjected to turbulence. This is effected by providing the head-box of the papermaking machine with a slice the body of which includes a slot through which the stock flows to the foraminous support and which is shaped to impart turbulence to the stock. The body also includes an air supply passage which communicates with the slot to introduce the pressurised air into the stock.

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Thame, United Kingdom

Kieron P Green