An apparatus for making spunbond from continuous thermoplastic filaments has a spinneret for spinning the continuous filaments and advancing them in a filament-travel direction, a cooler for cooling the filaments, a stretcher for stretching the filaments, a depositing device including a foraminous belt extending in a machine direction transverse to the filament-travel direction for deposition of the filaments as a nonwoven web and conveyance away from the stretcher, a diffusor between the stretcher and the foraminous belt so that filaments and primary air from the stretcher enter into the diffusor, and a suction device for extracting air through the foraminous belt at an unobstructed extraction region underneath the diffusor outlet and having a width b in a machine direction that is greater than a width B of the diffusor outlet. The diffusor forms upstream and downstream secondary air-inlet gaps at opposite ends through which secondary air is aspirated into the diffusor.

A laminate including a substrate layer and a fibrous layer. The fibrous layer includes cellulose fibers and irregularly shaped lumps of a hotmelt material. The lumps of hotmelt material may at least partially bond the cellulose fibers together, thus increasing the integrity and resilience of the fibrous layer.

Fibres and nonwoven materials comprising microfibrillated cellulose, and optionally inorganic particulate material and/or additional additives, and optionally a water soluble or dispersible polymer. Nonwoven materials made from fibres comprising microfibrillated cellulose, and optionally inorganic particulate material and/or a water soluble or dispersible polymer.

A method for producing a nonwoven fabric made of crimped synthetic fibers, wherein the synthetic fibers are spun and are deposited on a conveyor as a nonwoven web. The deposited nonwoven web is pre-bonded by means of at least one first hot-air bonding device, wherein a main suction air is sucked from below through the conveyor in the area of fiber deposition. A first suction air is sucked from below through the conveyor in the region of the first hot-air bonding device. The air speed of the main suction air is greater than the air speed of the first suction air.

Provided are a use of a thermoplastic polyurethane for forming an impact resistant layer and an impact resistant composite laminate. The thermoplastic polyurethane comprises a structural unit represented by Formula (I):

##STR00001## wherein each R independently is an alkylene group having 2 to 8 carbon atoms or CH.sub.2CH.sub.2OCH.sub.2CH.sub.2; n is a number from 2 to 13; and the structural unit has a Mn ranging from 700 g/mole to 2500 g/mole. In addition, the impact resistant layer has a thickness of larger than 1.5 mm. The impact resistant composite laminate comprises a base layer and the impact resistant layer disposed on the base layer.

A nonwoven web is made by first depositing fibers as a nonwoven web in a deposition area, then conveying the web away from the deposition area in a web-travel direction, preconsolidating the web in the path, and passing the preconsolidated web between a pair of rollers that compress and final consolidate the preconsolidated web, One of the rollers is separated from the web such that final consolidation of the web at a starting level is stopped and at the same time or immediately beforehand upstream preconsolidation of the web increased. After separating the one roller from the web, another roller is engaged with the web at the consolidation station and then final consolidation is recommenced, whereupon upstream preconsolidation of the web is reduced back to the starting level.

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.

Articles, for example multi-ply fibrous structure-containing articles such as multi-ply sanitary tissue products, containing two or more fibrous structure plies, and more particularly to multi-ply articles containing two or more fibrous structure plies having a plurality of fibrous elements wherein the articles exhibit improved bulk and absorbent properties compared to known articles and methods for making same, are provided.

A system and method for providing a plurality of fibers from a spinneret; subjecting the fibers to quench air; attenuating the fibers through a closed stretching unit; reducing a velocity of the plurality of fibers in a diffuser that is spaced apart from an exit of the closed stretching unit in a direction of travel of the fibers, the diffuser having opposed diverging sidewalls; and subjecting the fibers to an applied electrostatic charge before the fibers enter the diffuser, wherein the electrostatic charge is applied by one or more electrostatic charging units.

An apparatus for making spunbond from continuous thermoplastic filaments has a spinneret for spinning the continuous filaments and advancing them in a filament-travel direction, a cooler for cooling the filaments, a stretcher for stretching the filaments, a depositing device including a foraminous belt extending in a machine direction transverse to the filament-travel direction for deposition of the filaments as a nonwoven web and conveyance away from the stretcher, a diffusor between the stretcher and the foraminous belt so that filaments and primary air from the stretcher enter into the diffusor, and a suction device for extracting air through the foraminous belt at an unobstructed extraction region underneath the diffusor outlet and having a width b in a machine direction that is greater than a width B of the diffusor outlet. The diffusor forms upstream and downstream secondary air-inlet gaps at opposite ends through which secondary air is aspirated into the diffusor.