Patent ID: 7704062

Claim:
A nonwoven production machine including alternate path and pathways for selected web travel and processing comprising: a spun bond tower for depositing filaments as a web on an upper run of a first conveyor extending a first direction, a first means for forwarding said web from said first conveyor to a first water jet consolidation unit along a path having a second direction other than said first direction, a second conveyor for forwarding the web leaving the first consolidation unit to a second waterjet consolidation unit, said web leaving said second waterjet consolidation unit being directed to an application unit for final processing, a calender located downstream of said first means in said first direction for producing a calendered web that has bypassed said first waterjet consolidation unit, said second waterjet consolidation unit being located downstream of said calender in said first direction, and a deflection means for deflecting said calendered web in a first pathway directly to said application unit or in a second pathway, different from said first pathway, to said second waterjet consolidation unit with said web then being directed from said second waterjet consolidation unit to said application unit, both pathways being possible with the production machine, whereby processing of said web produced by a single feed to said spun bond tower may be selected to form nonwoven of different grades corresponding with the selected processing.