Melt-blowing apparatus with improved puller device for producing tubular nonwovens

摘要

This disclosure is related to the manufacture of melt blown coreless tubular nonwovens. Such manufacture includes a melt blowing apparatus to deposit fibers onto a rotating mandrel for forming a tubular nonwoven; a puller device to withdraw the tubular nonwoven from the mandrel; and a cutting device to cut the tubular nonwoven into cartridges of a desired length. The puller device has a pair of drive axles mounted on a gap-setting device, such as a scissor jack or its equivalent. Each drive axle includes one or more driven multi-directional puller wheels, which is formed of or surrounded by non-driven rollers. When the rollers engage the rotating tubular nonwoven, the tubular nonwoven is pulled axially and steadily from the mandrel without affecting the rotational motion of the tubular nonwoven. As a result, the tubular nonwovens have consistent dimensions and quality without damage to the inner or outer surfaces of the tube.

主权项

1. A system for producing tubular nonwovens, the system comprising:
a melt-blowing die for producing molten fibers; a rotating mandrel having a surface onto which the molten fibers are deposited to produce a continuous tubular nonwoven; a puller device downstream of the melt-blowing die, the puller device having an upper wheel assembly and a lower wheel assembly, each of the upper wheel assembly and the lower wheel assembly including a plurality of multi-directional rollers engageable with an outer surface of the tubular nonwoven, each of the multi-directional rollers being independently rotatable; and a cutting device for cutting the tubular nonwoven into a nonwoven cartridge.