Bulkiness recovery apparatus and bulkiness recovery method for nonwoven fabric

An apparatus for recovering bulkiness of nonwoven fabric by blowing hot air to heat the nonwoven fabric, the apparatus comprising:

• a conveying section that conveys the nonwoven fabric along a conveying direction, the nonwoven fabric being continuous in the conveying direction;
• a heating section that heats the nonwoven fabric by blowing the hot air to the nonwoven fabric being conveyed;
• a width sensor
• that measures a widthwise dimension of the nonwoven fabric at a position downstream from the heating section in the conveying direction, and
• that outputs information concerning the widthwise dimension;
• and
• a controller that controls at least either one of the heating section and the conveying section based on the information that has been output from the width sensor,
• wherein
• based on the information that has been output from the width sensor, the controller controls the heating section so as to change at least either one of a temperature of the hot air and a volume (m3/min) of the hot air.

A method of recovering bulkiness of nonwoven fabric by blowing hot air to heat the nonwoven fabric, the method comprising:

• conveying, by a conveying section, the nonwoven fabric along a conveying direction, the nonwoven fabric being continuous in the conveying direction;
• heating, by a heating section, the nonwoven fabric by blowing the hot air to the nonwoven fabric being conveyed;
• outputting, by a width sensor, information concerning a widthwise dimension of the nonwoven fabric having been heated by the hot air, by measuring the widthwise dimension at a position downstream from the heating section in the conveying direction;
• and
• adjusting, by a controller, at least either one of the conveying and the heating based on the information that has been output from the width sensor,
• wherein
• the conveying includes conveying the nonwoven fabric along a predetermined conveying path,
• the conveying section includes
• a first driven roller located in the conveying path at a first end of the heating section in the conveying direction, and
• a second driven roller located in the conveying path at a second end of the heating section in the conveying direction, the first and second driven rollers being driven and rotated for conveying the nonwoven fabric,
• the first driven roller is located upstream of the second driven roller in the conveying direction, and
• the controller changes a circumferential speed value of the first driven roller based on the information that has been output from the width sensor.

A method of recovering bulkiness of nonwoven fabric by blowing hot air to heat the nonwoven fabric, the method comprising:

• conveying, by a conveying section, the nonwoven fabric along a conveying direction, the nonwoven fabric being continuous in the conveying direction;
• heating, by a heating section, the nonwoven fabric by blowing the hot air to the nonwoven fabric being conveyed;
• outputting, by a width sensor, information concerning a widthwise dimension of the nonwoven fabric having been heated by the hot air, by measuring the widthwise dimension at a position downstream from the heating section in the conveying direction;
• and
• adjusting, by a controller, at least either one of the conveying and the heating based on the information that has been output from the width sensor,
• wherein
• based on the information that has been output from the width sensor, the controller controls the heating section so as to change at least either one of a temperature of the hot air and a volume (m3/min) of the hot air.