METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING PARTICLE-EMBEDDED WEBS

摘要

A dispenser (24) for dispensing particles (26) onto a surface includes a hopper (50) for receiving particles. A screen (56) having openings is located adjacent an opening of the hopper. The screen openings can be uniformly sized and spaced and sufficiently large to let the largest particles pass through while being dispensed yet sufficiently small to hold the particles back when the dispenser is not operating. A rotatable brush (58) covered with regularly spaced bristles is located outside of the hopper. The size of the bristles can be smaller than the size of the openings of the screen, and as the bristles move over the surface of the screen, they protrude through the openings of the screen and draw particles through the screen to dispense them onto the surface. Also, a device for moving the brush between a first position away from the screen and a second position contacting the screen can be used. The invention is also an apparatus for making a web with embedded particles. The apparatus can include a maker (18) for making the web receptive to the particles; a dispenser (42) for dispensing the particles onto the web; a disperser for dispersing the particles to minimize particle aggregation in the web and provide a substantially uniform dispersion of particles in both the longitudinal and transverse directions of the web; and an embedder (36) for embedding the dispensed particles in the web.