Apparatus (discontinuous imperforate portions on backing means of closed sandwich)

Claim 1

Apparatus for producing a patterned nonwoven fabric having a plurality of patterns of areas of low fiber density that alternate and extend throughout said fabric, from a layer of fibrous starting material whose individual fibers are in mechanical engagement with one another but are capable of movement under applied fluid forces which comprises: backing means for said layer of fibrous starting material, said means having portions that are imperforate and portions that are foraminous, said imperforate portions being arranged in a discontinuous pattern and the remainder of said backing means being foraminous and lying between and interconnecting the imperforate portions; apertured forming means spaced from said backing means during use of the apparatus to provide a zone in which said layer of fibrous starting material may be positioned and in which fiber movement in directions parallel to said backing means is permitted in response to applied fluid forces, the apertures in said forming means being longitudinally and transversely spaced with land areas therebetween, said forming apertures being larger than the foramina in said foraminous portions of the backing means, each of said imperforate portions of the backing means underlying the entire area of at least four of the apertures in said apertured forming means, each of said imperforate portions being shaped to pRovide a compact area with the maximum dimension of the area of each imperforate portion being no more than about four times the minimum dimension of said area, the width of each of said interconnecting foraminous portions between immediately adjacent imperforate portions of the backing means being equal to at least about two times the distance between the center of a pair of immediately adjacent apertures of the apertured forming means; means for moving said backing means and said apertured forming means, with a layer of fibrous starting material positioned therebetween, through a rearranging zone without any translatory motion between said two means and the fibrous layer; and means for projecting streams of rearranging fluid through said apertures in the apertured forming means, and then against said fibrous layer to pass therethrough, some of said fluid streams thereafter striking said imperforate portions of the backing means and being deflected thereby in sidewise directions, and all of said fluid streams passing through and beyond said foraminous portions of the backing means.