Apparatus for making dimensionally stable nonwoven fibrous webs
US6371749B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 23, 1999 |
| Grant date | Apr 16, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 23, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC D)Textiles; Paper
- CPC primaryD04H5/08
- WIPO fieldTextile and paper machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for tentering nonwoven webs during annealing. The nonwoven web of thermoplastic fibers is restrained on a tentering structure at a plurality of tentering points distributed across an interior portion of the web, rather than just along its edges. The nonwoven web is annealed while restrained on the tentering structure to form a dimensionally stable nonwoven fibrous web, dimensionally stable up to at least the heatsetting temperature. The annealed nonwoven fibrous web is then removed from the tentering structure. In one embodiment, the tentering structure restrains the nonwoven fibrous web in a non-planar configuration during the annealing process. The tentering structure includes a plurality of tentering points projecting distally from a tentering support. The tentering points are positioned to be engaged with an interior portion of the web, thus restraining the web during annealing.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.