Apparatus for air-laying wet fibers

Claim 1

In an apparatus having means for forming and discharging a stream of air containing fibers, including a conduit means, a plurality of nozzle means having an outlet orifice positioned within said stream for spraying a liquid into and along said stream from its position within said stream, the improvement comprising each of said nozzle means extending inwardly from a wall of said conduit toward the center of said conduit, each of said nozzle means being a vanelike member having an edge abutting said wall, said vanelike nozzles each having a second edge inward of said wall and substantially parallel to the direction of flow of said stream, said vanelike nozzles each having a third edge extending from the upper end of said second edge at an angle thereto and terminating at its other end at said first edge, alternate ones of said nozzle means extending from the same wall of said conduit and the others of said nozzle means extending inwardly from an opposite wall.

Claim 5

An apparatus having means for forming and discharging a stream of air containing fibers, including a conduit means, said conduit means having an outlet and being so shaped at and adjacent said outlet as to produce a vena contracta in said stream downstream of said outlet, nozzle means having outlet orifice means positioned within said stream for spraying a flaring liquid spray into and along said stream, said outlet orifice being so positioned with respect to said conduit means that the flaring liquid spray therefrom avoids striking said conduit meanS, said outlet orifice also being so positioned with respect to the vena contracta of said stream that the liquid spray is flaring outwardly within said stream where said stream is contracting to form said vena contracta, said nozzle means extending inwardly from a wall of said conduit toward the center of said conduit, said nozzle means having upstream edge means abutting said wall at one end thereof and said edge means sloping steeply downstream from said one end, whereby mixing of the liquid spray and the fibers in said stream is accomplished and accumulation of fibers on said nozzle means is prevented.

Claim 6

An apparatus having means for forming and discharging a stream of air containing fibers, including a conduit means, said conduit means having an outlet and being so shaped at and adjacent said outlet as to produce a vena contracta in said stream downstream of said outlet, nozzle means having outlet orifice means positioned within said stream for spraying a flaring liquid spray into and along said stream, said outlet orifice being so positioned with respect to said conduit means that the flaring liquid spray therefrom avoids striking said conduit meanS, said outlet orifice also being so positioned with respect to the vena contracta of said stream that the liquid spray is flaring outwardly within said stream where said stream is contracting to form said vena contracta, said nozzle means extending inwardly from a wall of said conduit toward the center of said conduit, said nozzle means having upstream edge means abutting said wall at one end thereof and said edge means sloping steeply downstream from said one end, whereby mixing of the liquid spray and the fibers in said stream is accomplished and accumulation of fibers on said nozzle means is prevented.