Apparatus for the production of a fibrous web

An apparatus for producing a uniform and strongly adherent air-laid fibrous web, said apparatus comprising a fiber distributor, a suction box positioned below said fiber distributor and a movable foraminous forming wire located therebetween, said fiber distributor including

• a housing which has a perforated bottomwall which faces said movable foraminous forming wire,
• at least two rows of stirring means positioned in said housing, each row extending transversely of said housing, and each stirring means including an impeller which is rotatable in a plane parallel to the perforated bottom wall of said housing,
• means for rotating the impellers of the stirring means in each row in the same direction but oppositely to the direction of the rotation of the impellers in the adjacent row(s),
• at least one partition means extending transversely across said housing, a separate partition means acting to separate adjacent rows of stirring means, each partition means including a vertically-extending portion which has a bottom edge which is spaced apart from the perforated bottom wall of said housing and a top edge,
• overhang elements which extend in opposite directions away from the top edge of each partition means and towards the adjacent rows of stirring means, and
• at least one discharge means for discharging an air stream containing dry, defibrated fibrous material downwardly toward the top edge of a partition means, a separate discharge means being associated with alternate partition means, each discharge means acting to supply the dry, defibrated material to zones on each side of the associated partition means such that it is stirred, then spread in a sausage-shaped configuration on the perforated bottom wall therebelow, and then deposited on the foraminous forming wire therebelow, the overhang elements of the partition means acting to prevent dry, defibrated material from being stirred upwardly thereabove.