US 11,702,780 B2
Apparatus for making nonwoven fabric from fibers
Claudio Cinquemani, Cologne (DE); Detlef Frey, Niederkassel (DE); Stefan Orendt, Neudrossenfeld (DE); and Thomas Pemsel, Ludwigsburg (DE)
Assigned to REIFENHAEUSER GMBH & CO. KG MASCHINENFABRIK, Troisdorf (DE); and MANN + HUMMEL GMBH, Ludwigsburg (DE)
Filed by REIFENHAEUSER GMBH & C KG MASCHINENFABRIK and MANN + HUMMEL GMBH
Filed on Mar. 29, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/215,048.
Application 17/215,048 is a division of application No. 16/476,125, filed on Jul. 5, 2019, granted, now 10,995,436.
Claims priority of application No. 17163369 (EP), filed on Mar. 28, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2021/0214870 A1, Jul. 15, 2021
Int. Cl. D01D 4/02 (2006.01); D01D 13/00 (2006.01); D01D 13/02 (2006.01); D04H 3/16 (2006.01); D06C 15/02 (2006.01); D06C 15/06 (2006.01); D06M 10/00 (2006.01); D04H 3/147 (2012.01); D04H 1/558 (2012.01); B29C 71/00 (2006.01); B32B 38/00 (2006.01)
CPC D04H 3/147 (2013.01) [B29C 71/0081 (2013.01); B32B 38/004 (2013.01); B32B 38/0008 (2013.01); B32B 38/0036 (2013.01); D04H 1/558 (2013.01); D04H 3/163 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for making a nonwoven fabric from thermoplastic fibers, the apparatus comprising:
a spinneret for spinning the fibers as continuous filaments;
a closed assembly comprising a cooler for cooling the filaments and therebelow a stretcher for stretching the cooled filaments, the closed assembly being so constructed as to exclude from the assembly any further fluid supply or air supply apart from a supply of a cooling fluid to the cooler;
a conveyor beneath the assembly for receiving the stretched filaments to form a nonwoven web;
a first consolidator for applying a hot fluid to a surface of the nonwoven web; and
a second consolidator downstream of the first consolidator and comprised of a dual-belt furnace for applying a hot fluid to the surface of the nonwoven web coming from the first consolidator and for applying to the surface of the nonwoven web a pressure with a force greater than 2 Pa.