Patent ID: 7337512

Claim:
A hydrodynamic needling apparatus for use on a textile web moving in a longitudinal web-travel direction, the apparatus comprising a first array of needle-jet orifices emitting respective needle-jet sprays extending in the travel direction between the respective orifices and the web, the array extending transversely across a full transverse width of the web at a substantially constant spacing therefrom with the sprays forming an angle greater than 0° and less than 90° with the web-travel direction; and a second array of needle-jet orifices emitting respective needle-jet sprays extending in the travel direction between the respective orifices and the web, the second array extending transversely across a full transverse width of the web at a substantially constant spacing therefrom with the respective sprays forming the same angle with the web-travel direction as the sprays of the first array, but oppositely thereto, whereby the sprays of the first array are directed to one side and the sprays of the second array to an opposite side from the respective arrays.