Paper stock slurry feed apparatus and process

Claim 1

AN APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTION A SLURRY OF UNIFORM COMPOSITION TO A PLURALITY OF EVENLY SPACED INLETS ACROSS THE HEADBOX OF A BOARD FORMINC MACHINE COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF FIXED, SPACED APART SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL VERTICALLY DISPOSED PARTITIONS IN SUBSTANTIAL ALIGNMENT AND DEFINING PASSAGE FOR THE GRAVITATIONAL FLOW OF THE SLURRY; MEANS IN A FIRST PASSAGEWAY FOR DIVERTING THE SLURRY PASSING THERETHROUGH IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION MEANS IN A SECOND PASSAGEWAY ADJACENT THE FIRST FOR DIVERTING THE SLURRY PASSING THERETHROUGH IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION DIFFERENT THAN THAT OF THE FIRST; MEANS IN THE ORDER REMAINING PASSAGEWAYS FOR ALTERNATELY DIVERTING THE SLURRY STREAMS IN THE SAME ORDER AND DIRECTION AS IN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND PASSAGEWAYS RESPECTIVELY; CONDUIT MEANS FOR COLLECTING ALL OF THE STREAMS DIVERTED IN THE DIRECTION OF THE STREAM LEAVING THE FIRST PAS SAGEWAY; CONDUIT MEANS FOR COLLECTING ALL OF THE STREAMS DIVERTED IN THE DIRECTION OF THE STREAM LEAVING THE SECOND PASSAGEWAY; AND MEANS FOR VARYING THE SPACED APART DISTANCE OF THE INLET OF AT LEAST TWO OF THE ADACENT PARTITIONS.

Claim 2

AN APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTION A SLURRY OF UNIFORM COMPOSITION TO A PLURALITY OF EVENLY SPACED INLETS ACROSS THE HEADBOX OF A BOARD FORMINC MACHINE COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF FIXED, SPACED APART SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL VERTICALLY DISPOSED PARTITIONS IN SUBSTANTIAL ALIGNMENT AND DEFINING PASSAGE FOR THE GRAVITATIONAL FLOW OF THE SLURRY; MEANS IN A FIRST PASSAGEWAY FOR DIVERTING THE SLURRY PASSING THERETHROUGH IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION MEANS IN A SECOND PASSAGEWAY ADJACENT THE FIRST FOR DIVERTING THE SLURRY PASSING THERETHROUGH IN A PREDETERMINED DIRECTION DIFFERENT THAN THAT OF THE FIRST; MEANS IN THE ORDER REMAINING PASSAGEWAYS FOR ALTERNATELY DIVERTING THE SLURRY STREAMS IN THE SAME ORDER AND DIRECTION AS IN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND PASSAGEWAYS RESPECTIVELY; CONDUIT MEANS FOR COLLECTING ALL OF THE STREAMS DIVERTED IN THE DIRECTION OF THE STREAM LEAVING THE FIRST PAS SAGEWAY; CONDUIT MEANS FOR COLLECTING ALL OF THE STREAMS DIVERTED IN THE DIRECTION OF THE STREAM LEAVING THE SECOND PASSAGEWAY; AND MEANS FOR VARYING THE SPACED APART DISTANCE OF THE INLET OF AT LEAST TWO OF THE ADACENT PARTITIONS.

Claim 3

A METHOD OF PROVIDING AN EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF A SLURRY OF UNIFORM COMPOSITION ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE BELT OF A BOARD FORMING MACHINE COMPRISING; SPLITTING THE SLURRY FLOWING BY GRAVITY, INTO A PLURALITY OF SMALLER PARALLEL STREAMS; RECOMBINING ALTERNATE PARALLEL STREAMS INTO TWO EFFLUENTS, OF SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL VOLUME; REPEATING THE SPLITTING AND RECOMBINING OF THE EFFLUENTS AT LEAST ONE MORE TIME; AND SEPARATELY FEEDING THE FINAL EFFLUENT STREAMS OF EQUAL VOLUME TO THE BOARD FORMING MACHINE AT SPACED APART INTERVALS ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE BELT.

Claim 4

A METHOD OF PROVIDING AN EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF A SLURRY OF UNIFORM COMPOSITION ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE BELT OF A BOARD FORMING MACHINE COMPRISING; SPLITTING THE SLURRY FLOWING BY GRAVITY, INTO A PLURALITY OF SMALLER PARALLEL STREAMS; RECOMBINING ALTERNATE PARALLEL STREAMS INTO TWO EFFLUENTS, OF SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL VOLUME; REPEATING THE SPLITTING AND RECOMBINING OF THE EFFLUENTS AT LEAST ONE MORE TIME; AND SEPARATELY FEEDING THE FINAL EFFLUENT STREAMS OF EQUAL VOLUME TO THE BOARD FORMING MACHINE AT SPACED APART INTERVALS ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE BELT.