Provided is a sheet manufacturing apparatus capable of desirably adjusting the thickness of the sheet, and forming sheets with highly uniform thickness or grammage. A sheet manufacturing apparatus configured to make a sheet from defibrated material of defibrated paper includes: a drum unit having a cylinder with a defibrated material storage space inside and multiple openings through which the defibrated material passes formed in the outside of the cylinder; an accumulator configured to accumulate the defibrated material that past the openings, forming a deposit; and a housing configured to enclose the drum unit and the accumulator, the housing having a vent through which air passes between the drum unit and the accumulator.

Provided is a sheet manufacturing apparatus capable of desirably adjusting the thickness of the sheet, and forming sheets with highly uniform thickness or grammage. A sheet manufacturing apparatus configured to make a sheet from defibrated material of defibrated paper includes: a drum unit having a cylinder with a defibrated material storage space inside and multiple openings through which the defibrated material passes formed in the outside of the cylinder; an accumulator configured to accumulate the defibrated material that past the openings, forming a deposit; and a housing configured to enclose the drum unit and the accumulator, the housing having a vent through which air passes between the drum unit and the accumulator.

An apparatus for making a nonwoven fabric from thermoplastic plastic filaments has an air permeable deposit conveyor having a horizontal face displaceable in a horizontal travel direction and a spinneret above the conveyor for spinning the filaments and depositing the spun filaments on the deposit conveyor in a deposit area of the conveyor as a nonwoven web for conveyance in the travel direction. An extractor beneath the conveyor draws air or process air through the deposit conveyor in the deposit area in a main extraction area below the deposit conveyor and is delimited by, relative to the travel direction, upstream and downstream suction partitions. One of the partitions has an upper edge set at a predetermined vertical spacing below the conveyor equal to between 10 mm and 250 mm.

An apparatus for making a nonwoven fabric from thermoplastic plastic filaments has an air permeable deposit conveyor having a horizontal face displaceable in a horizontal travel direction and a spinneret above the conveyor for spinning the filaments and depositing the spun filaments on the deposit conveyor in a deposit area of the conveyor as a nonwoven web for conveyance in the travel direction. An extractor beneath the conveyor draws air or process air through the deposit conveyor in the deposit area in a main extraction area below the deposit conveyor and is delimited by, relative to the travel direction, upstream and downstream suction partitions. One of the partitions has an upper edge set at a predetermined vertical spacing below the conveyor equal to between 10 mm and 250 mm.

An aerodynamic nonwoven forming device (2) for a fibrous nonwoven (10), the nonwoven forming device (2) having a discharge region (6) for fibers, in which the fibrous nonwoven (10) is aerodynamically formed. The nonwoven forming device (2) is incorporated in the discharge region (6) in a furnace (4). The nonwoven forming device (2) has a fiber support (5) which emits a fiber stream (12) in the discharge region (6) into a free area (31) within the furnace (4). The fiber support (5) spins off the fiber stream (12) on a detachment area (22) into the free area (31) in free flight.

A crosslapper, a process and a formed fabric web shielding device for a cross lapper shield a formed fabric web moved in the crosslapper. The formed fabric web has a bottom side, a top side and side surfaces located at formed fabric longitudinal edges. The crosslapper includes a displaceable main carriage and a crosslapper laying belt feeding the formed fabric web in a web direction to the displaceable main carriage with the formed fabric web bottom side located on the cross lapper laying belt. The shielding device includes a housing configured to be arranged in the crosslapper and configured to cover the side surfaces of the formed fabric web located on the laying belt and being fed to the displaceable main carriage, which side surfaces extend along the web direction, to shield the side surfaces of the formed fabric web against external environmental effects.

A crosslapper, a process and a formed fabric web shielding device for a cross lapper shield a formed fabric web moved in the crosslapper. The formed fabric web has a bottom side, a top side and side surfaces located at formed fabric longitudinal edges. The crosslapper includes a displaceable main carriage and a crosslapper laying belt feeding the formed fabric web in a web direction to the displaceable main carriage with the formed fabric web bottom side located on the cross lapper laying belt. The shielding device includes a housing configured to be arranged in the crosslapper and configured to cover the side surfaces of the formed fabric web located on the laying belt and being fed to the displaceable main carriage, which side surfaces extend along the web direction, to shield the side surfaces of the formed fabric web against external environmental effects.

The feed device for feeding individualized fibers or fiber flocks to a transport device which includes a first feed segment and a second feed segment for feeding in a starting material. Each feed segment has its own feed roller and each feed roller is individually actuatable. The feed device also includes an opening roller, which cooperates with the feed rollers of the first and second feed segments to individualize the starting material into fibers or fiber flocks. The first and second feed segments are arranged a certain distance apart in a circumferential direction of the opening roller.

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes a defibrator configured to produce defibrated material, a feedstock supply unit, a monitoring device, and a cleaning device. The feedstock supply unit includes a conveyance device configured to convey feedstock, a storage device configured to accumulate the feedstock conveyed from the conveyance device and supply the feedstock to the defibrator, and a measuring device configured to measure a state of the feedstock accumulated on the storage device. The monitoring device is configured to predict stopping of conveyance of the feedstock by the feedstock supply unit and activate the cleaning device when a conveyance speed of the feedstock by the feedstock supply unit becomes slower than during normal operation. The cleaning device is configured to execute on at least one of the conveyance device and the storage device a cleaning process that preemptively prevents the stopping of conveyance.

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes a defibrator configured to produce defibrated material, a feedstock supply unit, a monitoring device, and a cleaning device. The feedstock supply unit includes a conveyance device configured to convey feedstock, a storage device configured to accumulate the feedstock conveyed from the conveyance device and supply the feedstock to the defibrator, and a measuring device configured to measure a state of the feedstock accumulated on the storage device. The monitoring device is configured to predict stopping of conveyance of the feedstock by the feedstock supply unit and activate the cleaning device when a conveyance speed of the feedstock by the feedstock supply unit becomes slower than during normal operation. The cleaning device is configured to execute on at least one of the conveyance device and the storage device a cleaning process that preemptively prevents the stopping of conveyance.