Patent ID: 7938935

Claim:
A process to monitor characteristics of a continuously circulating machine clothing during the manufacture of paper material which comprises the steps of: (a) operating the continuously circulating machine clothing, which has opposed major surfaces including an inner surface and outer surface, such that a sheet of aqueous fibrous composition is supported on a portion of the outer surface of the circulating machine clothing; (b) irradiating a target area of the circulating machine clothing, wherein the target area is located at a part of the circulating machine clothing that is not supporting the aqueous fibrous composition, with infrared radiation; (c) detecting the amount of radiation that emerges from the target area of the circulating machine clothing; (d) developing a machine clothing profile based on the amount of radiation that is detected; (e) irradiating a part of the sheet of aqueous fibrous composition, that is supported on the continuously circulating machine clothing, with infrared radiation; (f) detecting the amount of radiation that emerges from the sheet of aqueous fibrous composition and the circulating machine clothing; (g) determining a first moisture content of the aqueous fibrous composition together with that of the circulating machine clothing; (h) determining a second moisture content of the circulating machine clothing alone; and (i) subtracting the second moisture content from the first moisture content to determine the moisture content in the sheet of aqueous fibrous composition.