Process for preparing airfelt

Claim 1

A process of disintegrated dried cellulosic fibrous sheet material and laying an airfelt therefrom comprising the steps of: A. Feeding said fibrous sheet into a disintegrator comprising a disintegrating element having a plurality of impacting elements which have tips and a casing having a slotted opening terminating in a sheet support element, said casing defining, in combination with said disintegrating element, a restricted channel; B. Supporting said sheet in said slotted opening; C. Moving said disintegrating element such that the tips of said impacting elements move at a velocity of at least about 6,000 feet/minute; D. Impacting said tips against the end of said fibrous sheet so that impact is substantially normal to the plane of said sheet whereby said fibrous sheet is disintegrated into individual fibers; E. Mixing said fibers with air in said restricted channel with said impacting elements to complete disintegration while maintaining a relatively even fiber density gradient and air flow velocity gradient across the axial width of said channel; and F. Removing the fiber/air mixture from the disintegrator along a tangent to the direction of motion of said impacting elements at the point of removal to a foraminous support positioned no more than about 3 feet away from said point at which the fiber/air mixture leaves said impacting elements so that said fiber/air mixture retains sufficient kinetic energy imparted thereto by the impacting elements to form an airfelt on said foraminous support, said air passing through said foraminous support and leaving said fibers on said foraminous support in the form of an airfelt.