Method and apparatus for making particle-embedded webs

Abstract

A method for dispensing particles onto a surface. The steps of the process include holding the particles in a hopper having a dispensing opening covered by a screen which has uniformly sized openings that are sufficiently large to allow the largest particles to pass through, yet sufficiently small to hold the particles back when the dispenser is not operating; rotating, outside the hopper, a cylindrical brush covered with regularly spaced bristles and positioned such that the bristles protrude through openings in the screen and draw particles through the screen to dispense them onto the surface; and varying the dispensing rate of the particles by at least one of (a) varying the rotation speed of the brush, (b) adjusting the distance from the screen to the central longitudinal axis of the brush, (c) adjusting the screen opening size, (d) adjusting the brush-to-screen pressure, or (e) adjusting the tension of the screen. A method of making a web with embedded particles. This method includes the following sequential steps: making the web receptive to the particles; eliminating static charge present on the web; dispensing the particles onto the web; dispersing the particles to minimize particle clumping in the web; and embedding the dispensed particles in the web.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.