Method of treating discontinuous fibers
AssigneeWeyerhaeuser Company
InventorsRichard H. Young, Sr., Amar N. Neogi, Christel Brunnenkant, James F. L. Lincoln, Michael R. Hansen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Discontinuous fibers are entrained in a gaseous medium and coated while entrained with a substantially continuous coating of a binder material. Plural coatings of various binder materials may be applied to the entrained fibers. Also, one or more solid particulate materials may be adhered to the fibers by the binder material as the binder material dries. The binder material may be heat bondable and mixed with other fibers for use in producing a wide variety of products.
Claims25
A method of treating discontinuous fibers comprising:
- entraining the fibers in a gaseous medium;
- applying a liquid binder material to the entrained fibers in an amount which is sufficient to produce fibers in which the binder material is at least about seven percent of the combined dry weight of the binder material and fibers and such that a substantial majority of the binder containing fibers remain unbonded;
- adhering a solid particulate material to the liquid binder material on the fibers to thereby bind the solid particulate material to the fibers, a substantial majority of the binder containing fibers remaining unbonded.
A method of treating discontinuous fibers comprising:
- entraining the fibers in a gaseous medium;
- coating the fibers while entrained with a substantially continuous layer of a liquid heat bondable binder material having a hot tack or curing temperature;
- and
- drying the liquid binder material on the entrained fibers at a temperature below the hot tack or curing temperature to form a substantially continuous binder coating on the fibers with at least a substantial majority of the coating fibers remaining as individual unbond coated fibers;
- and
- including the step of adding solid particles to the fibers coated with the liquid binder material and entraining the fibers and such that the binder material adheres the particles to the fibers as the liquid binder material is dried.
A method of treating fibers comprising:
- moving the fibers through a gaseous medium;
- passing the fibers through droplets of a liquid binder material to apply the binder material to the surface of the fibers in an amount which is at least about twenty percent of the combined weight of the binder and fibers and such that a substantial majority of the binder containing fibers remain unbonded;
- and
- adhering a solid particulate material to the liquid binder material as the liquid binder material dries to thereby adhere the solid particulate material to the fibers, a substantial majority of binder containing fibers remaining unbonded.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.