US2985220A - Method and apparatus for making non-woven fabric - Google Patents

Description

May 23, 1961 H. P. FRY, JR 2,985,220

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NON-WOVEN FABRIC Filed Oct. 31, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 23, 1961 H. P. FRY, JR 2,985,220

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NON-WOVEN FABRIC Filed Oct. 51, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 23, 1961 H. P. FRY, JR 2,985,220

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NON-WOVEN FABRIC Filed Oct. 31, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 23, 1961 H. P. FRY, JR 0 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NON-WOVEN FABRIC Filed Oct. 31, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 H. P. FRY, JR 2,985,220

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NON-WOVEN FABRIC May 23, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 31, 1958 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING NON-WOVEN FABRIC Horace P. Fry, Jr., West Chester, Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa, a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. '31, 1958, Ser. No. 771,610

13 Claims. (Cl. 154-117) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for making non-woven fabric of the open-mesh variety sometimes known as scrim.

The prior art teaches the making of non-woven fabric by arranging a plurality of strands in spaced parallel relation in the form of a warp and laying fill strands either singularly or as a group substantially crosswise of the warp. Either the warp or the fill or both may be impregnated or coated with an adhesive material so that the strands are adhered together at their points of intersection to thus form a reticulated web. Further disclosed in the patented art are various forms of apparatus wherein the warp strands are arranged in the form of a cylinder or tube, mounted at spaced intervals around the periphery of which are a plurality of packages of fill strands which are laid around the cylindrical warp by rotating the packages therearound. The heretofore known forms of circular warp type apparatus have had one particularly outstanding shortcoming and that is that the quantity of fill strand material which can be accommodated is necessarily limited, thus requiring frequent shutdown of the apparatus to permit replenishing the supplies of fill ma terial.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for making nonwoven fabric wherein the strands making up the warp and the strands making up the fill are all fed from a stationary creel located separately from the actual fabricmaking apparatus so that the making of the fabric may proceed continuously with no necessity whatsoever for shutting down in order to replenish the supplies of strand material.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus particularly adapted for making of wide widths of non-woven fabric.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent as a detailed description of the method and of a preferred form of apparatus proceeds.

Before describing the apparatus in detail, the inventive method of making the fabric will first be described in a general way. A large plurality of strand packages are arranged on a creel and the greatest part of these strands are then led from their packages and formed into a cylindrical warp arrangement wherein the stands extend lengthwise of the cylinder and parallel to one another and the cylindrical warp is then led forward in the direction of its longitudinal axis. The strands making up the warp are impregnated or coated, either before being formed into the packages or after they have been arranged into the cylindrical warp, with a suitable adhesive means, the particular composition of which will of course vary in accordance with the material of which the strands are made. Preferably the adhesive material will be such that the strands are not normally sticky or adhesive but may be rendered so by the application of heat or a solvent. A multiplicity of strands from the remaining packages on States Patent the creel are then arranged in parallel relation to one another and fed as a group toward the axis of the cylindrical warp and radially thereof. These strands will constitute the fill of the fabric and may either be arranged in a single group or in several groups spaced around the periphery of the cylindrical warp. Assuming for the moment that the fill strands are arranged in a single group, the leading ends of the strands are grasped at a point close to or slightly below the surface of the cylindrical warp and while the feeding thereof continues they are picked up at a point close to the place where their leading ends are held and moved circumferentially around the warp, this movement together with the continued feeding of the strands creating a layer of strands lying against the warp strands and a second layer which trails toward the point from which said strands are being fed. As the fill strands move around the warp those portions of the strands which are in contact with the warp become adhered thereto and as soon as the fill strands have engaged at sufficient number of warp strands that the leading ends of the fills will not readily pull away from the warp the leading ends are released. The movement of the fill strands around the warp is continued until they have reached substantially halfway around the cylindrical warp, at which time the trailing layer of fill strands is cut adjacent the point at which the leading ends were originally held so that as the movement of the fill strands about the warp continues the trailing layer will be gradually reduced in length until an entire length of fill strands is pressed against the warp entirely around the circumference thereof. Since the warp is being moved forward during the operation of wrapping the fill strands around it the fill will not lie at to the warp but rather will extend diagonally thereof. By continued repeating of the above-described operations group after group of fill strands are laid against the warp to make a fabric of any desired length. The cylindrical warp may very easily be made of a large diameter so as to produce a wide width fabric. Several fabrics of narrower width maybe made from a large diameter cylindrical warp by leading the fill strands toward the warp at several points spaced around the periphery of the warp in which event the fill strands of any given group will be moved around the warp only halfway toward the next group of fill strands before the trailing layer is cut.

The above-described manipulative steps, which may obviously be carried out by widely differing forms of apparatus, will become more fully understood when considered in the light of the disclosure of the apparatus of the present invention.

For a description of the apparatus, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the overall apparatus;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus;

Figure 3 is an end view of that portion of the apparatus involving the layer of the fill strands against the cylindrical warp;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view showing particularly the means for feeding the fill strands toward the warp;

Figure 5 is an enlarged view partially in section of the fill strand feeding means and certain other vital parts of the mechanism; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 66 of Figure 4.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2 the overall arrangement comprises a creel it) which, as indicated in Figure 1, may comprise as many separate sections as necessary to accommodate the number of strands required. The strands which are to form the warp of the fabric are indicated at 11 and these strands are pre-impregnated or coated with a material which when subjected to heat renders thev strands adhesive. The particular coating or impregnating material will of course vary with the material forming the strands but in general it may be a heat softening material such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene, plasticized polystyrene, a polyvinyl chloride, or any of a large num-v ber of various other resinous materials. The strands 11 are led through guides in an eye board 12 whereby they are arranged in the form of a large cylinder in which arrangement they proceed to a cylindrical fabric-forming apparatus generally designated at 13. As is usual with creels, each station thereof may be supplied with two packages with the tail end of the package being unwound tied to the other package so that when onepackage becomes exhausted the material will be pulled from the other package without interruption. The strands which will form the fill are led from the creel in two groups 14 and 15 to eye boards 16 and 17, respectively, from which they proceed as flat bands of parallel strands toward diametrically opposite sides of the fabric-forming apparatus 13. The apparatus illustrated in the drawing makes two fabrics simultaneously and, as indicated in Figure 2, one of the fabrics 18 is pulled from the apparatus 13 by a set of pull rolls 19 and led around a group of guide rollers 20 before being wound into a roll 21 while the other fabric 22 is pulled from the apparatus 13 by a set of pull rolls 23 and wound into a roll 24. In elfect, the pull rolls 19 and 23 constitute a means for continuously moving the warp through the fabric-making apparatus.

Referring now to Figure 3, the fabric-making apparatus 13 comprises a vertically arranged cylindrical frame member 25 supported by suitable uprights 26 and 27. Mounted within the frame member 25 is an operating ring 28 supported by ball bearings 29 whereby the operating ring 28 constitutes the inner rotatable member of a large ball bearing assembly. Mounted concentrically within the operating ring 28 is a strand supporting ring member or platen 39 carried by a suitable stationary framework. The ring member 30 may be made as one continuous circular member having diametrically opposed slots through a portion of its periphery or may be made as two semicircular pieces with opposed slots between the two pieces. As shown in Figure 6, the ring member 30 is provided with longitudinally arranged sets of guides 31, 32 and 33 which guide the individual warp strands 11. Longitudinal rows of these guides extend entirely around the outer periphery of the ring member 30 to guide the warp strands in a parallel cylindrical pattern.

The feeding and guiding means for the fill strands entering from opposite sides of the apparatus are identical in construction and therefore only one of them need be described in detail. As best shown in Figures 4 and 5 the fill strand feeding means shown on the right-hand side in Figure 3 and generally indicated at 34 constitutes a pair of furnishing wheels 35 and 36 secured respectively to shafts 37 and 38. Timing gears'39 and 49 are secured respectively to the shafts 37 and 38 for registering the furnishing wheels so that the teeth or convolutions thereof are not in driving engagement with one another but which serve to draw the fill strands 15 therethrough as is customary with mechanisms of this type.

An endless chain or toothed belt 41 driven from a motor 42 extends about a group of grinding and tension regulating wheels 43 carried on the'lower half of the cylindrical frame member 25 and around toothed drive wheels 44 and 44 mounted on the shafts 38 and 39 to drive the furnishing wheels 35 and 36, the wheels 44 and 44' being connected to the shafts 38 and 39 through overrunning clutches so that the furnishing wheels can be turned by hand when the chain is stationary. From the wheel 44' the chain 41 moves into engagement with a channel section 45 (see Figures 4 and 6) of the operating ring. 28 and continues around the upper portion of said operating ring so as to provide a continuous friction drive for said operating ring. As the chain approaches the fill 4 strand feeding means on the left-hand side of Figure 3, said feeding means being generally indicated at 46, the chain passes into engagement with a pair of toothed driving wheels similar to the driving wheels 44 and 44' before returning to the motor 42. The chain 41 thus provides a continuous drive for both sets of till strand feeding means as well as imparting continuous counter-clockwise rotation to the operating ring 28.

Located adjacentthe dischargeside of the furnishing wheels 35 and 36 is a guide member 47 provided with a line of tubular ducts 48 for maintaining the fill strands 15 in their parallel arrangement and for directing them along a radial plane toward the axis of the ring 30. As best shown in Figure 6, the guide block 47 is supported at one end by a bracket 49 secured to the cylindrical frame member 25 and at its other end is secured to a post 56 carried by the inner framework of the ring 30. To facilitate the lacing up of the guide 47 and for a more important purpose presently to be explained, air passages 51 and 52 extend lengthwise along the guide block 47 and communicate with the tubular strand guiding passageways 48. Air under pressure is introduced into the passageways 51 and 52 through a pipe 53 and the pressure of the air feeds the strands through passageways 48. An identical guide block 54 is located on the left-hand side of the apparatus to accommodate the fill strands .14.

Located below the surface of the ring 30 and suitably mounted on the inner framework of said ring is a suction tube 55 (see Figure 5) having a slot 56 longitudinally aligned with the guide ducts 48 of guide 47 and as the fill strands emerge from the ducts 48 they are drawn through the slots 56 and into the suction tube. The ring member 30 is slotted as shown in Figure 5 to accommodate the passage of the fill strands through the ring member.

Formed integrally with suction tube 55 is an anvil 57 with which a clamp member 53 cooperates to temporarily hold the leading ends of the fill strands 15. The clamp member 58 is secured to a rock shaft 59 carrying at one cally said cam serves to move the clamp member 53 into 1 end an operating arm 60, see Figures 5 and 6. The op-v erating arm 60 extends into the path of movement of a cam 61 secured to the operating ring 28 so that periodiengagement with the anvil 57 to thus hold the leading ends of the fill strands. When the cam 61 moves past the upper end of the operating arm 60 a spring 62 returns the clamp 58 to its inactive position shown in Figure 5.

Secured to the operating ring 28 at positions 90 apart are :four carrier'members 63, 64, 65 and 66. The carrier member 63 is shown in Figure 6 where it may be observed that said member extends outwardly from the side of the operating ring so as to intercept the strands extending between the guide block 47 and the suction duct 55 during its passage around the ring member 31 Preferably, the

leading edges of the carriers are provided with notches 67, one of which accommodates each fill strand. As shown in Figure 5, the clamp operating cam 67 is located slightly ahead of the carrier 63 so that when said carrier contacts the fill strands 15 the leading ends of said strands are clamped between the anvil 57 and the clamp member 58. It will be appreciated that there is a clamp operating cam located just ahead of each of the other carriers 64, 65 and 66. The carrier 63 moves in a path very close to the surface of the ring member 30 and as it contacts the strands 15 it starts to form a loop of strands between the holding means 57, 58 and the guide member 47 as clearly shown in Figure 5. Y

The surface of the ring member 30 is heated by suitable means as, for example, by resistance heating rings. 8% shown in the Figure 4 so asrto, activateor render adhesive the warp strands 11. the fill strands 15 are held close to or slightly below the surface of the ring 30 the movement of the carrier 63 brings that portion of said strands extending between the carrier and the holding means 57, 58 into contactwith the now adhesive warp strands 11. After the strands 15 Since the leading. ends of have engaged only a few of the warp strands 11 they will be sufiiciently adhered to the warp that they will not readily pull away and at that time the cam 61 passes beyond the clamp operating arm 60 to thus permit the spring 62 to release said clamp from engagement with the leading ends of the fil-l strands. Since the warp strands 11 are continuously moving forward, it is not desirable to hold the clamp member 58 in operating position for more than a short time, at least not for very long after the strands have been picked up by one of the carriers. To prevent that portion of the loop of fill strands extending between the carrier 63 and the guide member 47 from contacting the adhesive warp, the operating ring 28 may be provided with a number of strand supporting arms 68 between each carrier and spaced at a somewhat greater distance from the surface of the ring 30.

When the carrier 63 has progressed around the warp a distance of 90 from the point where it initially contacted the fill strands 15, the strands are cut at the point of initial contact in a manner presently to be explained. The carrier then has trailing behind it a suflicient amount of fill to reach another 90 around the warp and as said carrier continues to move these trailing ends are gradually shortened and laid against the adhesive warp strands. The carrier 63 will at that time have reached the point Where it will engage the fill strands 14 being fed in from the opposite side of the machine. The timing of the speed of movement of the operating ring 2.8 and consequently of the various carriers 63, 64, 65 and 66 with respect to the speed of feeding of the warp is such that at the time of cutting the fill strands the warpwill have progressed far enough so that a fresh portion of the warp will be aligned with the fill strands picked up by the following carrier. The feeding of the fill strands toward the warp is so timed in relation to the speed of the operating ring 28 that those portions of the fill strands extending between a carrier and the feeding means are maintained under a slight tension.

The apparatus for severing or cutting the fill strands is best shown in Figure 6 and comprises a knife 69 secured to one arm of a bell crank 70' pivotally mounted at 71 on a bracket 72 extending outwardly from the inner framework of the ring member 30. An adjustable operating arm '73 is pivotally connected at one end to the other arm of the bell crank 70 and at its other end is pivotally connected to one arm of a lever 74 pivotally mounted on the framework at 75. The upper arm of the lever 74 is provided with a roller 76 which rides in a cam track 77 secured to the inner periphery of the operating ring 28. The movable knife blade 69 cooperates with a stationary blade 78 secured to one side of the guide member 47, as best shown in Figure 5. The configuration of the cam track 77 is such that as one of the carriers reaches the point 9 from where it has picked up the fill strands, the knife blade 69 is swung upward to cut the fill strands in cooperation with the blade 78 and then immediately swung back to the position show in Figure 6.

As soon as the fill strands are cut, those portions of the strands still within the guide ducts -48 are projected downwardly by the combined action of the air under pressure in the passageways 51 and 52 and the vacuum in the suction tube 55 so that a group of fi-ll strands again extends between the guide member 47 and the tube 55. Those short portions cut from what were the leading ends of the strands are drawn into the suction tube 55' and led to a suitable waste receptacle. At this moment the clamp member 58 is again operated to grasp the leading ends of the fill strands and said strands are picked up by the following carrier 66 to be taken around the warp as pre viously explained.

With the particular form of appartus thus far described two fabrices will be produced, each of which has a width equal to substantially one-half the circumference of the cylindrical warp, A fabric of twice this width may be created by bringing in the fill strands from only one side of the warp, in which event it will be understood that the carriers will be allowed to proceed halfway around the warp before the fill strands are cut. Also, fabric of narrower width may be produced by introducing the fill strands to the warp at more than two equally spaced points in which event the fill strands will be cut when a carrier has progressed halfway to the next point of introduction of fill strands. It will be understood that at each fill strand introducing station there will be guiding means similar to the guide 47, a suction tube like the tube 55, leading end holding means such as the clamp 58 and a knife similar to the knife 69, 78.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. The method of making a non-woven fabric comprising forming a warp of a plurality of parallel adhesive strands, feeding a multiplicity of parallel fi-ll strands toward said warp at substantially right angles thereto, holding the leading ends of the fill strands stationary at a point close to the warp, continuing to feed the fill strands toward the warp, engaging the fill strands as a group at a point close to the warp and between the point where their leading ends are being held and the point from which they are being fed, moving the fill strands across the warp while continuing the feeding to create a loop of fill strands one end of which is held close to the warpand the other of which trails toward the point from which they are being fed, bringing the fill strands as a group progressively into contact with the parallel warp strands commencing at the point where the leading ends of the fill strands are held whereby the fill strands become adhered to the warp strands due to the adhesive quality of the latter, parting the trailing ends of the fill strands, and continuing to move the fill strands across the warp until the trailing ends have been brough into contact with the warp strands.

2. The method of making a non-woven fabric comprising forming a warp of a plurality of parallel adhesive strands, moving the warp lengthwise, feeding a multiplicity of parallel fill strands toward said warp at substantially right angles thereto, temporarily holding the leading ends of the fill strands stationary at a point close to the warp, continuing to feed the fill strands toward the warp, engaging the fill strands as a group at a point close to the warp and between the point where their leading ends are being held and the point from which they are being fed, moving the fill strands across the warp while continuing the feeding to create a loop of fill strands one end of which is held close to the warp and the other of which trails toward the point from which they are being fed, bringing the fill strands as a group progressively into contact with the parallel warp strands commencing at the point where the leading ends of the fill strands are temporarily held, releasing the leading ends of the fill strands as soon as said fill strands become sufficiently adhered to the warp strands due to the adhesive quality of the latter that they will not pull away, continuing to move the fill strands further across the warp, cutting the trailing ends of the fill strands near the point where the leading ends thereof were temporarily held, and continuing to move the fill strands across the Warp until'the trailin ends have been brought into contact with the warp strands.

3. The method of making a non-woven fabric comprising arranging a plurality of adhesive warp strands in the form of a cylinder with the individual strands extending lengthwise of the cylinder, moving the thus formed cylinder of warp strands in the direction of its longitudinal axis, feeding a multiplicity of parallel fill strands toward the cylinder of warp strands and radially thereto, temporarily holding the leading ends of the fill strands stationary at'a point close to the surface of the cylinder of warp strands, continuing to feed the fill strands toward the cylinder of warp strands, engaging the fill strands as a group at a point close to the surface of the cylinder of warp strands and between the point where their leading ends are being held and the point from which they are being fed, moving the fill strands part way around the cylinder of warp strands while continuing the feeding to create a loop of fill strands one end of which is held close to the cylinder of warp strands and the other end of which trails toward the point from which they are being fed, bringing the fill strands as a group progressively into contact with the cylinder of warp strands commencing at the point where the leading ends of the fill strands are temporarily held, releasing the leading ends of the fill strands as soon as said strands become sufficiently adhered to the warp strands due to the adhesive quality of the latter that they will not pull away, cutting the trailing ends of the fill strands, and continuing to move the fill strands around the cylinder of warp strands until the trailing ends have been brought into contact with the warp strands.

4. The method of making a non-woven fabric comprising arranging a plurality of adhesive warp strands in the form of a cylinder with the individual strands extending lengthwise of the cylinder, moving the thus formed cylinder of warp strands in the direction of its longitudinal axis, feeding a multiplicity of parallel fill strands toward the cylinder of warp strands and radially thereto, temporarily holding the leading ends of the fill strands stationary at a point close to the surface of the cylinder of warp strands, continuing to feed the fill strands toward the cylinder of warp strands, engaging the fill strands as a group at a point close to the surface of the cylinder of warp strands and between the point where their leading ends are being held and the point from which they are being fed, moving the fill strands part way around the cylinder of warp strands while continuing the feeding to create a loop of fill strands one end of which is held close to the cylinder of warp strands and the other end of which trails toward the point from which they are being fed, bringing the fill strands as a group progressively into contact with the cylinder of warp strands commencing at the point where the leading ends of the fill strands are temporarily held, releasing the leading ends of the fill strands as soon as said strands become sufficiently adhered to the warp strands due to the adhesive quality of the latter that they will not pull away, continuing to move the fill strands further around the cylinder of warp strands, cutting the trailing ends of the fill strands near the point where the leading ends thereof were temporarily held, and continuing to move the fill strands around the cylinder of warp strands until the trailing ends have been brought into contact with the warp strands. I

5. The method of making a non-woven fabric comprising arranging a plurality of adhesive warp strands in the form of a cylinder with the individual strands extending lengthwise of the cylinder, moving the thus formed cylinder of warp strands in the direction of its longitudinal axis, feeding a pair of sets of parallel fill strands from opposite sides toward the cylinder of warp strands and radially thereto, temporarily holding the leading ends of each set of fill strands stationary at a point close to the surface of the cylinder of warp strands and on diametrically opposite sides of the cylinder, continuing to feed each set of fill strands toward the cylinder of warp strands, engaging each set of fill strands as a group at a point close to the surface of the cylinder of warp strands and between the point where their leading ends are being held and the point from which they are being fed, moving each set of fill strands part way around the cylinder of warp strands while continuing the feeding to create loops of fill strands one end of each of which is held close to the cylinder of warp strands and the other end of which trails toward the point from which they are being fed," bringing the sets of fill strands as a group progressively into contact with the cylinder of warp strands commencing at the point where the leading ends of each set are temporarily held, releasing the leading ends of the fill strands as soon as said strands become sulficiently adhered to the warp strands due to the adhesive quality of the latter that they will not pull away, continuing to move the setsof fill strands to positions substantially ninety degrees around the cylinder of Warp strands from the points at which the leading ends were temporarily held, cutting the trailing ends of the fill strands near the point where the leading ends thereof were temporarily held, and continuing to move the fill strands around the cylinder of warp strands for another ninety degrees until the trailing ends have been brought into contact with the warp strands.

6. In apparatus for making non-woven fabric, a ring member, guides for guiding a plurality of parallel adhesive strands about said ring member in the form of a cylindrical warp, means for moving said warp over said ring member, guide means for directing a multiplicity of parallel fill strands toward the axis of said ring member and radially thereto, continuously operating feed means for feeding said fill strands through their guide means, holding means for temporarily holding the leading ends of said fill strands close to the cylindrical warp, operating means mounted for rotation about said ring member, means for rotating said operating means, a carrier mounted on said operating means for engaging said fill strands as a group and carrying them about the circular warp whereby said fill strands will progressively engage and adhere to the adhesive warp strands commencing at said holding means, means for releasing said holding means when said fill strands have engaged a sutficient number of warp strands that due to the adhesive quality of the latter they will not pull away, parting means parting said fill strands, means on said operating means for operating said parting means when said carrier has progressed a substantial distance past said holding means to part said fill strands and permit the continued movement of said carrier to wrap said fill strands further about the circular warp.

7. In apparatus for making non-woven fabric, a ring member, guides on the outer surface of said ring member for guiding a plurality of parallel adhesive strands about said ring member in the form of a cylindrical warp, guide means for directing a multiplicity of parallel fill strands toward the axis of said ring member and radially thereto, feed means for feeding said fill strands through their guide means, holding means carried by said ring means for holding the leading ends of said fill strands close to the cylindrical warp, an operating ring mounted for rotation about said ring member, means for rotating said operating ring, a carrier mounted on said operating ring for engaging said fill strands as a group and carrying them around the circular warp whereby said fill strands will progressively engage and adhere to the adhesive warp strands commencing at said holding means, knife means supported by said ring member for cutting said fill strands, means on said operating ring for operating said knife means when said carrier has progressed a substantial dis tance past said holding means to cut said fill strands and permit the continued movement of said carrier to wrap said fill strands further about the circular warp.

8. In apparatus for making non-woven fabric, a ring member, guides on the outer surface of said ring member for guiding a plurality of parallel adhesive strands about said ring member in the form of a cylindrical warp, means for continuously moving said warp over said ring member, guide means for directing a multiplicity of parallel fill strands toward the axis of said ring member and radially thereto, continuously operating feed means for feeding said fill strands through their guide means, holding means carried by said ring means for temporarily holding the leading ends of said fill strands close to the cylindrical warp, an operating ring mounted for rotation about said ring member, means for rotating said operating ring, a carrier mountedon said operating ring for engaging said fill strands as a group and carrying them around the circular warp whereby said fill strands will progressively engage and adhere to the adhesive warp strands commencing at said holding means, means for releasing said holding means when said fill strands have engaged a sulficient number of warp Strands that due to the adhesive quality of the latter they will not pull away, knife means supported by said ring member for cutting said fill strands, cam means on said operating ring for operating said knife means when said carrier has progressed a substantial distance past said holding means to out said fill strands and permit the continued movement of said carrier to wrap said fill strands further about the circular warp.

9. In apparatus for making non-woven fabric, a ring member, guides for guiding a plurality of parallel adhesive strands about said ring member in the form of a cylindrical warp, means for drawing said warp over said ring member, guide means for directing a multiplicity of parallel fill strands toward the axis of said ring member and radially thereto, holding means for temporarily holding the leading ends of said fill strands close to the cylindrical warp, continuously operating feed means for feeding said fill strands through their guide means, an operating ring mounted for coaxial rotation about said ring member, a carrier mounted on said operating ring for engaging said fill strands as a group from the side thereof close to the point where their leading ends are temporarily held and moving them around the warp so as to provide two runs of fill strands the first of which lies against the warp and extends from the holding means to the carrier and the other of which extends from the carrier to the guide means, means on said operating ring for holding the second run of fill strands out of contact with the warp, parting means for parting the second run of fill strands adjacent said holding means so that continued movement of said carrier about the warp gradually shortens the second run of fill strands and lays this portion of said strands against the warp, and means for operating said parting means.

10. In apparatus for making non-woven fabric, a ring member, guides on the outer surface of said ring member for guiding a plurality of parallel adhesive strands about said ring member in the form of a cylindrical warp, means for continually drawing said warp over said ring member, guide means for directing a multiplicity of parallel fill strands toward the axis of said ring member and radially thereto, holding means carried by said ring member for temporarily holding the leading ends of said fill strands close to the cylindrical warp, continuously operating feed means for feeding said fill strands through their guide means, an operating ring mounted for coaxial rotation about said ring member, a carrier mounted on said operating ring for engaging said fill strands as a group from the side thereof close to the point where their lead ing ends are temporarily held and moving them around the warp so as to provide two runs of fill strands the first of which lies against the warp and extends from the holding means to the carrier and the other of which extends from the carrier to the guide means, means on said operating ring for holding the second run of fill strands out of contact with the warp, means for releasing said holding means when said fill strands have engaged a sufiicient number of warp strands that due to the adhesive quality of the latter they will not pull away, knife means for cutting the second run of fill strands adjacent said holding means so that continued movement of said carrier about the warp gradually shortens the second run of fill strands and lays this portion of said strands against the Warp, and means carried by said operating ring for operating said knife means.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the last-men- 10 tioned means is located substantially behind said corner so that said carrier lays the fill strands approximately about the cylindrical warp for each revolution of said carrier.

12. In apparatus for making non-woven fabric, a ring member, guides on the outer surface of said ring member for guiding a plurality of parallel adhesive strands about said ring member in the form of a cylindrical warp, means for continually drawing said Warp over said ring member, guide means for directing a multiplicity of parallel fill strands toward the axis of said ring member and radially thereto, holding means carried by said ring member for temporarily holding the leading ends of said fill strands close to the cylindrical warp, continuously operating feed means for feeding said fill strands through their guide means, an operating ring mounted for coaxial rotation about said ring member, a carrier mounted on said operating ring for engaging said fill strands as a group from the side thereof close to the point where their leading ends are temporarily held and moving them around the warp so as to provide two runs of fill strands the first of which lies against the warp and extends from the holding means to the carrier and the other of which extends from the carrier to the guiding means, means on said operating ring for holding the second run of fill strands out of contact with the warp, means for releasing said holding means when said fill strands have engaged a sufficient number of warp strands that due to the adhesive quality of the latter they will not pull away, knife means for cutting both runs of fill strands adjacent said holding means, suction means for drawing away the small end remnants cut from first run of the fill strands, continued movement of said carrier about the warp gradually shortening the second run of fill strands and laying this portion of said strands against the warp, and means canied by said operating ring for operating said knife means.

13. In apparatus for making non-woven fabric, a ring member, guides on the outer surface of said ring member for guiding a plurality of parallel adhesive strands about said ring member in the form of a cylindrical warp, means for continually drawing said warp over said ring member, diametrically opposed guide means for directing a pair of sets of parallel fill strands from opposite sides toward the axis of said ring member and radially thereto, holding means carried by said ring member for temporarily holding the leading ends of the strands of each of said sets of fill strands close to the cylindrical Warp, continuously operating feed means for feeding said sets of fill strands through their guide means, an operating ring mounted for coaxial rotation about said ring member, carriers mounted on said operating ring for engaging each of said sets of fill strands from the side thereof close to the point Where their leading ends are temporarily held and moving them around the warp so as to provide two runs of fill strands in each of said sets the first of said runs lying against the warp and extending from the holding means to the carrier and the other extending from the carrier to the guide means, means for releasing said holding means when said fill strands have engaged a suflicient number of Warp strands that due to the adhesive quality of the latter they will not pull away, knife means on opposite sides of said ring member for cutting the second run of said sets of fill strands adjacent said holding means so that continued movement of said carriers about the warp gradually shortens the second runs of fill strands and lays this portion of said strands against the warp, and elements carried by said operating ring for operating said knife means, said elements each being located substantially 90 behind the preceding carrier whereby when the second runs are out each carrier continues to lay fill strands against the warp for another 90 of travel.

No references cited.

Images