CA1045361A - Apparatus and method for the high speed production of non-woven fabrics - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A method of making a non-woven fibrous web comprises providing a fluid stream, incorporating fibers in that stream, continuously directing the stream into a centrifugal flow, collecting the fibers from the flow as a substantially endless tubular web and flattening the web. Apparatus for producing A non-woven fibrous web comprises a flexible, endless foraminous belt, fore and aft guide means for tubularizing and de-tubularizing a section of the belt, and an exhaust plenum surrounding a portion of the tubularized section to apply suction to the surface of the belt. In addition, a nozzle arrangement is positioned to direct a slurry of fibers toward the tubularized section of the belt.

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Description

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This invention relates generally to the manufacture of non-woven fabrlcs and more particularly ~o ~he manufacture of 8uch products by substantially dry proceduxes.
Non-woven fabrics pose ~he potential of supplylng the need for disposable bedsheets; but heretofore, machinery has not been available for producing such fabri~s in sufficien~ width for use as sheeting and with sufficient speed to achieve necessary economy. For example, carding mach~nes operate too slowly, require relatively long staple fiber and are restricted in practl-cal width~ Rando-Webber machines (Rando-Webber i9 a trademark of the Curalator Corporation) are capable of handling inexpensive, short-staple fibers but are limited in width~
Therefore, an important obje~t of the present invention is to provide apparatus for porducing a non-woven fibrous web at high speeds and in substantial width.
A more general object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus and methods for producing a non-woven fibrous web.
These and other objects and features of the inven~ion will become more apparent from a consideration of the following dRscriptions.
The invention~ both as to its construction and its mode ~
of operations, will be better understood by reference to the following disclo~ure and drawings forming a part thereof, wherein:
Fig. 1 is a diagramatic perspective view o apparatu embodying the principles o the present invention;
Fig, 2 on sheet two of the drawing is a view similar to the showing of Fig. 1 but with the suction plenum and other equipment removed to show the tubularization of the fiber collecting belt;

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Fig, 3 on shee~ three of the drawing is a view similar to the showing of Fig, 1 but wi~h ~he suc~ion plenum removed and a portion of the belt broken away to show the fiber spray no~zle arrangemen~, the binder spray nozzle and the complementary air flow sy~tem; .
Fig. 4 on sheet one of the drawing is an elevational : view of the head pulley used in the apparatus o~ Fig, l;
Fig. 5 on sheet one of the drawlng is a cros~-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 with the fiber-collecting bel~ removed;
Fig. 6 on sheet one of ~he drawlng is an eleva~ional view of the tail pulley used in the appara~us of Fig, l;
Fig, 7 on sheet four of the drawing is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken through the exhaust plenum;
Fig. 8 on sheet four of the drawing is a further enlarged cross-section view showing the channels used in tubulariz~ng the travel ling belt; . ~.
Fig. 9 on sheet three of ~he drawing is an enlarged ~rag-mentary view showing the interior of the exhaust plenum and de- :
tails of its construction;
Fig. 10 on sheet three of the drawing is a fragmentary perspective view showing details of the construction of the travelling belt;
Fig. 11 on sheet five of the drawing is an enlarged ele- .;
vational view of the binder spray nozzle used in the apparatus of Fig. l;
Fig. 12 on sheet five of the drawing i~ a central cross- `;
sectional view of the blnder spray nozzle of Fig, 11;
Fig. 13 on sheet five of the drawing is an enlarged per-spectLve view of a part of the fiber distributing unit used in the apparatus of Fig, l; .
Fig. 14 on sheet six of the drawing is an enlarged long~
_ ~1 itudinal sectional view taken ~hrough the exhaust plenum; :
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Fig. 15 on sheet two of the drawing is a diagramaticview relating to ~he process oE the presen~ invention;
Fig, 16 is a view simllar to ~he showing of Fig. 14 but illustrating a modif~ed embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 17-17 of Fig. 16; and Fig. 18 is a fragmentary elevational view of a further modi.fied embodiment.
The term "slurry" as used herein is intended to mean a quantity of fibers suspended in a fluid such as air, The present invention contemplates injecting a fiber-air slurry onto the inside of a porous tu~e formed by curling a section of a foraminous belt and subse~uently flattening out the belt so that the formed and finished web may be lifted off and transferred to ~ubsequent processing statlons. This arrangement facilitates uniform distribution of the fibers and promotes application of bonding agents in liquid form~ ;
Referring n~w in detail to the drawlngs, specifically to Fig, 1, apparatus for producing a nvn-woven fibrous web is 20 indicated by the reference numeral 20; and the apparatus 20 broadly comprises a flexible, endless foraminous belt,.22, a guide ~mit 24,~a slurry supply arrangement 26.and an a'~r exhaust plenum system 28.~ A drive arrangement which will be described more fùlly hereina~ter, causes continuous, longitudinal movement of the belt ~.
22 ~n the direction of arrow 30 and between a tail pulley 32 and ~.
a head pulley 34. `. `
The guide unit 24 includes a fore section 36 which . ~
~ubularizes the foraminous belt and an aft section 38 which .;
de-~ubularizes the belt. The gulde unit 24 additionally :
includes an intenmediate guide section 40 which corresponds wi~h ~he ~ubularized length of the belt. Turning now to ;:
Fig. 10 for a description of the foraminous belt 22, it will i.` ~ be appreciated that the edges o the belt traverse a greater '.
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distance n ~or~l~ng the tubularized section than does the cen~er line o~ the bel~l While these di~ferent amounts o~
movement ma~ be accomAmodated by means of crowned pulleys or "bent" pulle~s, in accc,rdance with the present invention, they are accommodated by means of bias woven strands 42 and 44~ ~trands 42 running at a ~orty-~ive degree angle to the center line o~ the belt in one direction and strands~44 .
~unning at a ~orty-~ive degree angle in the opposi~e direction so that the respective sets of strands cross each other at right angles. Thus, local changes in the bias angles permit ~ -the belt to ~lex internally and accommodate the di~erential movements. Flexible edge ~trips 46 are secured to the cut ends o~ the woven strands to complete the assembly. Various material~ can be used ~or the strands 42 and 44 including metalli~ wire ~nd such synthetic materials as nylon and polyester resins. With reference to Fig~ 8, the edge strips 46 are ~ro~ided~with mu~ually int~rengageable aligning means ~-~
comprising a pair of spaced, resillently convergible blades 48 ra~hloned on one edge ~trip and a mating groove 50 ~ashioned .r~7 in the opposite edge strl~. Upon the two edge strips being brought forcibly togethe~J the blades 48 wedge into the groov~ -50 and provide alignm~n~ and a seal. Carrier elements are `~
mounted on th~ edge strips 46 ~or use in directlng the ~ora-minous belt in its tubularizing and de-tubularizing movement~
Speciflcallyj hutton rol:l~rs 52 are a~ixed to ~he edge strips 46 at ~paced intervals ~y mean~ of a bushing 54 and a rivet 56.
Rein~orclng bands 58 and 6~ are situated within the edge strips on opposite slde~ o~ the belt 22 in the vicinit~ o~ the rivet~
5G. The button rollers 52 tra~Jel in lnverted channel members on ralls 62 formin~ the respective sect-lon~ of the guide unit.
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In order ko drive the ~or~minous belt longit~ldinall~, gear teeth 64 are ~a~hi~ned on appropriate s~r~aces Or the ~lexlble edge strip~ 46, and turning to Fi~. 6, the tail pulle~ 34 includes a pair o~ spur gears 66 which meshably engage the gear teeth o~ the respective edge strips ~6.
Slmilarly, and with reference to Fig~ 4~ the head pulley 32 includes a pair of spur gears 68 which mesh with the gear teeth 64. Power is supplied to the drive arrangement by means o~ a sproc~et 70 and a drive chain 72, sprocket 70 being attached to the head pulley 32 by means of a sha~t 74 ~nd the chain ~ being drivingl~ connected with a suitable motor, not shown.
It is advantageous to lift the ~ibrous web ~rom the foraminous belt 22 at the end o~ belt travel in the machine direction; and for thi~ purpose, head pulley 32 comprises a p rforated me~al d~m 76 that ls arranged c.oaxially with an air duct 78. ~ will be ~een in Fig. 5, the duct 78 includes a central cyl~ndr~ portion and a radiall~ extending vent portlon 80 which co~m~nicates the central portion with the perforated ~ur~ace of drum 76. If desired, the duct 78 may be arranged to be ro~ated to position the vent portion 80 i~
ror maximum e~fectivene~3. ~ -In order to promote e~iciency in the deposit of ~iber~ on the tubulariæed section o~ the ~oraminous belt, . ~ .
suction i~ applied ~y means o~ the exhaust plenum 28; and wlth re~erence to Flg. 1, t~le plenum 28 comprisas an outer 8hell 82 and a ~uit~ble number of ~uctlon lin~ 84. Turnlng to a con~ideration of Fig. 7 in con~unction with Fig. 9, the exhaust plenum 28 additionall~ comp.rls~s a cylindrical ..
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per~orated inner snal.l 86 whic~ is spaced apart ~rom the '`' ~ .
outer ~hell 82 by ri~ 88. In order to miniml~e the ~ri~tional `:

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attack on the foraminous ~elt, rectangular spacer bars ~0 with rounded, smoothly polished edges are secured to the inner shell 86 to extend radially inwardly toward the belt 22. In addition, the bars 90 are hardened or hard-coated. '~
As is best seen in Fig. 9, the spacer bars 90 are situated a~ a shallow angle w~t~ respect to the direction of belt travel 30 in order to avoid blank spots in the ~fiber deposit, and the bars 90 on opposite sides of the shell 86 are oppositely -angled to avoid inducing rotation of the belt.
Turning now to Fig. 3 for a description of thP
fiber delivery system and related equipment, a conduit 92 ;~
delivers a slurry of suitably opened fibers to the tubular~
ized section of the foraminous belt. Numerous types of fibers may be employed in the invention, such as wood, synthetic cellulose, cotton, synthetic polymers, asbsestos and glass;
and these fibers are opened to the point where each fiber is detached from the others and becomes a separate entity. Long staple can be fluffed up and separated by well known devices such as opening pickers, cards and garnetts while wood cellu-lose is generally provided in sheet form that can be fluffed up by equipment such as hammer mills, special cards arranged for that purpose, and disc grinders. After opening, the fibers are mixed with flowing air delivered by a fan 94 shown in Fig. 15. ~ -Continuing with reference to Fig. 15 together with Fig. 3, the slurry supply conduit 92 terminates at the tubu-larized section of the foraminous belt in a nozzle arrangement ~-96 which releases the slurry into a tapering angular chamber de~ined between an upstream conical member 98 and a downstream conical member 100. A series of deflector vanes 102 are -. ' . ~ .

mounted be~een the conical mem~ers 98 and 100 to produce a swirl flow in a subs~antially tangential direction along the inside of the foraminous belt. The shaping of the vanes 102 is shown in greater detail in Fig. 13.
It is oftentimes advantageous to provide at least preliminary bonding of the non-woven web before it exists from the tubularized section of the foraminous belt. For this purpose, a binder supply conduit 104 for liquid binder mater-ial is arranged coaxially with the slurry supply conduit 92.
As is shown in Figs. 11, 12 and 14, a rotating nozzle ring 106 carries a suitable number of radially disposed spray nozzles 108 and surrounds a stationary ring 110. Liquid binder material flows from the conduit 104 to a rotating toroidal ;
manifold 112 through a suitable number of flaring pipes 114 which also serve as the mechanical connection between ring S
lQ6 and a swivel joint 116. A suitably energized drive motor 118 is provided with a spur gear 120 on its output shaft, ``
and the spur gear 120 meshes with a second spur gear 122 mounted on the swivel joint 116. In addition, the swivel ~,~
joint 116 includes a rotary liquid coupling to make a leak-tight seal between the conduit 104 and the pipes 114.
With reference to Figs. 11 and 12, each of the binder spray nozzles 108 communicates with the manifold 112 through a stub conduit 124, and a shut-off needle 126 is slidably disposed in a nozzle bore intercepting the conduit 124 at right angles t~ereto. A spring 128 biases the needle ~
generally away from the stub conduit. The needle 126 termin-ates in the radially inward direction in a heel pla~e 130 which is positioned to engage a stationary cam 132 on the ring llQ once each rev~lution. T~us, the nozzles are shut ~'. . .

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~ 3 off periodically; and this has been fou~d to create surge loads having a tendency to clear the nozzle of incipient coagulants. The narrow region where no spray occurs i~
advantageously arranged to coincide with the united edg~
strips 46 in the tubularized section of the foraminous bel~, shown for example in Fig. 7. It wqll be appreciated that no substantial fiber deposit occurs on these edge strips because there in no suction behind them. Thus, the fibrous web is `-formed initially with a longitudinal discontinuity which permits flattening without cutting.
Returning to Fib. 14, the exhaust plenum 28 is advantageously divided into three separate sections by means of annular bulkheads 134 and 136. When these bulkheads are positioned as sho~l, the leading section becomes a fiber air return; the intermediate section, a binder air return; and the trailing section, a dryer air return. Furthermore, an imperforate tubular chamber 138 desirably penetrates the first section of the exhaust plenum so that an air stream ~ay be injected generally in the direction of belt travel.
In addition, the upstream section of the exhaust plenum is advantageously penetrated by a tu~ular duct 140 so that an -air stream may be injected in the downstream direction generally opposite the stream delivered through the tube 138. A diffuser ~nit 142 is secured to the bulkhead 136 in alignment with the duct 140 to direct the air stream in a generally outward direction. The two air streams that are injected into the intermediate exhaust plenum section cooper- ~ -ate both in directing binder material away from the bulkheads and other structures and in carrying the bonding liquid deep ;`
into the ~ibrous str~cture carried on the foraminous belt.

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Since it is frequently desira~le to distribute heated air over the fibrous web, as for example to evaporate ~ater, extract solvents, fuse binder material or foam a binder material, means are provided in the present invention for supplyîng heated air to the final section of the exhaust plenum. Specifically, an annular chamber 144, shown in Fig.
14, is arranged to receive a supply of heated air from a fan 146 and heaters 148, shown in Fib. 15, ~he annular chamber 144 being defined by a perforated metal tube 150 and the '',A~
duct 140. Electromagnetic drying may be used in place of ;
heated air, and the cylindrical shape of the tubularized section of belt 22 presents an ideal configuration for :~
radio frequency drying.
With respect to the operational characteristics of the described apparatus and consi~ering Fig. 15, fibers are introduced into the inlet slurry supply conduit 92 by sus-pending them uniformly in a moving air stream. The resultant slurry is a function of the nature of the fiber or fibers in-volved, a high density, thick fiber generally requiring more air t~an a light, thin and irregularly shaped fiber. However, in general, best results are obtained if the slurry has a density of not less than thirty cubic feet of air per pound , of fiber9 preferably between fifty and two-hundred cubic fee~
of air per pound of fiber. The velocity to which the slurry is adjusted is also a function of fiber characteristics. The minimum slurry velocity to maintain the fibers in suspension and prevent any undesirable degree of fiber agglomeration is approximately 1,500 feet per minute and preferably in the range of about 3,000 to about 5,000 feet per minute. The slurry is directed toward t~e moving foraminous belt 22 in a centrifugal - la - .
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flow by the nozzle arrangemen~ 96, the slurry being volumetri-cally expanded in a substantially uniorm manner until its average velocity at right angles through the belt is less ~han about 1,000 feet per minute and preferably less than about 300 feet per minute. The vanes 102 act ~o direct the slurry in successive streams w~ereby to provide commingling layers of deposited fibers. Suction from the exhaust plenum 28 co- ~
operates in the volumetric expansion of the slurry flow and ~-promotes uniformity in the fiber deposit by tending to draw more fiber toward thin areas than those where the deposit is thicker. Belt speed, slurry density and slurry velocity determine the weight of the deposited web.
After the fibers have been deposited, binder is sprayed onto the resultant web by means of the spinning nozzles 108 while the web and the foraminous belt are still in tubu-larized form, air assist from both the upstream and the down-stream direction promoting rapid efficient binder disposition.
Thereafter, and in continued tubularization of the foraminous belt, heated air from ~he fan 14~ is delivered to the dryer section through the perforated drum 150 for curing the binder `-material.
After exiting from the final section of the exhaust plenum 28, the foraminous belt 22 is de-tubularized by the channels 62 of aft guide section 38, and the bonded fibrous web is lifted from the head pulley 32 by air from the duct 78, as is shown in Fig. 3, for such finishing operations as additional bonding, coating, printing and embossing. After it has passed from the head pulley 32, the belt 22 may be backwashed with air, scrubbed with solvent, brushed and dried, during its return trip to tail pulley 34.
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~ ~ ~ S 3 While a particular embodiment o. the invention has been thus far shown and described, it should be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since many modifications may be made. In order to enhance the understanding of the invention, one such modification form of th~ invention has been illustrated in Fibs. 16 and 17. :
Since many of the elements of this modified embodiment are similar to those shown and described with reference to `~
Figs. 1-15, like parts have been identified with like numerals, .
the suffix letter "a" being employed to distinguish those elements associated with the embodiment of Figs. 16 and 17.
The embodiment of Figs. 16 and 17 is distinguished by the manner in which the fiber slurry is directed toward the foraminous belt. More specifically, a plurality of fiber dispensing nozzles are focused toward the foraminous ~:
belt and are continuously directed in a path of movement , :~
generally away from the point of instaneous impingment` ~ .
at the belt. Structurally, a nozzle unit 152 is disposed :
within the tubularized section of the foraminous belt co-a~ially therewith, the nozzle unit 152 being provided with an upstream collar 154 which fits rotatably over a slurry .
delivery cGnduit 156. The collar 154 supports the nozzle .
unit 152 from the conduit 158 and establishes an end seal t~erewith. `
In order that the motor 118a may drive both the ;~
nozzle unit 152 and the rotary binder spray arrangement, .
motor 118a is displaced upstream from the nozzle unit 152;
and the swivel joint 116a is replaced by a simple support ring whic~ is connected to a drive sleeve 158. A spur :-gear 16Q is mounted on the sleeve 1S8 to be drivingly coupled !:
to the moto~ 118a through a meshing pinion gear 162. Rotary ~.

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mo~ion is imparted to the nozzle unit 152 by means of a ~;
pinion gear 164 w~ich meshes with t~e pinion gear 162 and w~ic~ powers the nozzle unit by means of a rîng gear 166 fashioned on the nozzle unit and a pinion gear 168 carried on a common, journaled shaft 170.
The nozzle unit 152 is provided with a suitable nu~ber of discharge orifîces 172 which open to the slurry deliyery conduit 156 through respective, arcuate channels 174. An aerodynamic shroud 176 is located upstream from the drive motor 118a to minimize disturbances in the slurry `~
movement which might otherwise be caused by the drive ~ -arrangement; and in order to promote uniform volumetric expansion of the slurry, the nozzle unit 152 is rotated in the direction of arrow 178 generally in a direction opposite to the tangential velocity vector of the individual existing slurry streams. Spin rates on the order of 1,500 r.p.m.
have proved useful in a specific embodiment of the invention ~here the tubularized section of the belt took a diameter of one foot. Slower spin rates have proved useful with larger diameter sections, Air supply for the binder is provided exclusively from the tubular conduit 140a. In addition, the discharge from nozzle unit 152 is substantially radial whereas the discharge from noæzle arrangement 96 is more nearly a down stream divergent, hollow, conical flow. In other respects, the apparatus of Figs. 16 and 17 is constructed and operates s~milarly to the apparatus of Figs. 1-15.
A modified form of rotating slurry discharge member is s~own in Fig, 18 where slots 172b of nozzle unit 152b are flared in the upstream direction in order to level slurry dlscharge, the general direction of air travel being shown by arrow 180.
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An electrostatic fieId may be included in the apparatus of the invention for enhancing fiber deposit and is of .-.
special advantage in that it will permit electrostatic ...
flocking at high machine speed and accomplish flocking ' with long staple fibers. q.
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are to be considered as being primarily illustrative.
Various changes beyond those described will, no doubt, occur , ~ to those skilled in the are; and such changes a~.e to be under- . ;
stood as forming a part of this invention insofar as they ::
fall with.in the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

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Claims (28)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. The method of making a non woven fibrous web comprising the steps of: providing a fluid stream; incorporating fibers in said stream; continuously directing said stream into a centrifugal flow; collecting said fibers from said flow as a substantially endless substantially tubular web; and flattening said web.

2. The method according to Claim 1 wherein said method comprises the additional step of adding binder to said fibers.

3. The method according to Claim 2 wherein said binder is added to said fibers in said tubular web.

4. The method according to Claim 1 wherein said fibers are collected from said flow using suction.

5. The method according to Claim 1 wherein said flow is a downstream diverging, hollow, generally conical flow,

6. The method according to Claim 1 wherein said flow is a substantially radial flow.

7. The method according to Claim 1 wherein said tubular web is formed initially with a longitudinal discon-tinuity whereby to facilitate flattening.

8. The method according to Claim 1 wherein said fluid stream is a gas stream.

9. The method of making an agglomerated web com-prising the steps of: providing a fluid stream having particulate matter incorporated therein; continuously directing said stream into a centrifugal flow; and collecting said particulate matter from said flow as a uniform deposit of a substantially tubular web.

10. The method of making a non-woven fibrous web com-prising the steps of: providing a moving slurry of air and fibers having a velocity of at least about 1,500 feet per minute whereby to insure a uniform suspension of substantially unagglom-erated fibers; providing a moving foraminous belt; and directing said slurry toward said belt in a centrifugal flow and volume-trically expanding said slurry in a substantially uniform manner to decrease the exit velocity thereof to less than about 1,000 feet per minute at right angles through said belt whereby to collect said fibers from said slurry and form a uniform deposit of a substantially tubular web on said belt.

11. The method according to claim 10 wherein said exit velocity is less than about 300 feet per minute.

12. The method according to claim 10 wherein said slurry is directed toward said belt in successive streams whereby to provide overlapping layers of deposited fibers.

13. The method according to claim 10 wherein said slurry is volumetrically expanded by a combination of suction at said belt and directing said slurry through nozzles focused toward said belt and moving generally away from said belt.

14. Apparatus for producing a non-woven fibrous sheet-like web comprising: a flexible, endless foraminous belt;
drive means for causing continuous longitudinal movement of said belt; fore and aft guide means engaging said belt for tubularizing and detubularizing a section of said belt; supply means for providing a suspension of fibers in air; nozzle means connected to said supply means and positioned intermediate said guide means within the tubularized section of said belt for directing a flow of said fibers toward the interior surface of said tubularized section of said belt; and exhaust means mounted in substantially coaxial relationship with at least a portion of the tubularized section of said belt in cooperative relationship with said nozzle means to apply suction to the exterior surface of said belt for promoting rapid deposit of fibers on said belt in the form of a substantially hollow tubular web, said nozzle means including a plurality of orifices which are focused toward said belt, said apparatus further including drive means for rotating said nozzle means in a path of movement generally away from the point of instantaneous impingement at said belt.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said belt comprises a fabric of first and second interwoven strands, said first strands being disposed at a first angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of said belt and said second strands being disposed at a second angle with respect to said axis and gen-erally across said first strands, whereby to permit said belt to flax internally upon executing tubularization movements.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said first and second strands normally cross each other at substantially right angles.

17. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said belt comprises a central permeable band and flexible edge strip secured to the opposite edges of said band.

18. Apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said edge strips include mutually interengageable aligning means,

19. Apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said guide means include a pair of channel members and wherein said belt further includes carrier elements mounted on said edge strips and rollably engaging said channel members.

20. Apparatus according to claim 17 wherein each of said edge strips includes a plurality of gear teeth and where-in said drive means includes gear means meshing with said gear teeth.

21. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said belt includes carrier members mounted at the opposite edges thereof and wherein said guide means includes a pair of channel members transportably engaging said carrier members.

22. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said fiber supply means includes a conduit disposed within the tubularized section of the belt, substantially coaxially therewith, and connected to said fiber delivery nozzle means and wherein said apparatus further comprises binder supply means including a binder supply conduit coaxially arranged with said fiber supply conduit and binder nozzle means connected to said binder supply conduit downstream from said fiber delivery nozzle means in the direction of the belt travel in the tubularized section.

23. Apparatus according to claim 22 which further comprises dryer means encircling said tubularized belt section downstream from said binder nozzle means in the direction of belt travel in the tubularized section.

24. Apparatus according to claim 22 which further comprises air supply means disposed downstream from said fiber delivery nozzle means in the direction of belt travel in the tubularized section and including an outlet positioned to direct a stream of air towards said binder nozzle means whereby to promote uniform distribution of binder material.

25. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said nozzle means includes a plurality of arcuately spaced orifices providing overlapping discharge patterns.

26. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said nozzle Deans includes a plurality of arcuately spaced orifices tapering from a narrow opening adjacent the downstream end to a wider opening adjacent the upstream end.

27. Apparatus for producing a non-woven fibrous web comprising: a flexible, endless foraminous belt; drive means for causing continuous, longitudinal movement of said belt;
supply means for providing a suspension of fibers in air, nozzle means connected to said supply means and including a plurality of arcuately spaced orifices focused toward said belt for providing overlapping discharge patterns; and means for rotating said nozzle means in a path of movement generally away from the point of instantaneous impingement at said belt, said belt surrounding a substantial region of said nozzle means, whereby said discharge orifices scan the surface of said belt,

28. Apparatus for producing a non-woven fibrous sheet-like web comprising: a flexible, endless foraminous belt, drive means for causing continuous longitudinal movement of said belt; fore and aft guide means engaging said belt for tubularizing and detubularizing a section of said bolt; supply means for providing a suspension of fibers in air; nozzle means connected to said supply means and positioned intermediate said guide means within the tubularized section of said belt for directing a flow of said fibers toward the interior surface of said tubularized section of said belt; and exhaust means mounted in substantially coaxial relationship with at least a portion of the tubularized section of said belt in cooperative relationship with said nozzle means to apply suction to the exterior surface of said belt for promoting rapid deposit of fibers on said belt in the form of a substantially hollow tubular web, said nozzle means including orifice means focused toward said belt, said apparatus further including drive means for rotating said nozzle means in a path of movement generally away from the point of instantaneous impingement at said belt.