Through-air apparatus with a shroud

Abstract

A through-air apparatus for drying or bonding paper, tissue, or nonwoven webs is provided. The through-air apparatus includes a through-air roll configured for rotational movement about a first axis, the through-air roll having a first end and a second end. The through-air apparatus includes an exhaust duct/passage adjacent to the first end of the through-air roll, and a hood encompassing a portion of the through-air roll, where the hood defines an active arc length of the through-air roll positioned inside of the hood. The through-air apparatus further includes a first shroud extending substantially from the exhaust duct to the hood, the first shroud configured to reduce the amount of process air inside of the through-air apparatus that is released out of the through-air apparatus and reduce the amount of air outside of the apparatus that leaks into the through-air apparatus.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.