Patent ID: 7922849

Claim:
A method of making voluminous spun-bond fabric, the method comprising the steps of: spinning a multiplicity of extruded and continuous filaments having natural crimp and passing them downward through a closed system comprised of a cooler, a stretcher, and a diffuser and depositing them as a batt while still crimped on a gas-permeable belt screen; cooling the filaments with air in the cooler; stretching the filaments in the stretcher; admitting air to the diffuser or between the stretcher and the diffuser through an air inlet while excluding the entry of outside air to the closed system except for the air used for cooling in the cooler and air admitted to the diffuser or through the inlet; activating natural crimp of at least some of the naturally crimped filaments in the diffuser; displacing the filaments on the belt screen directly after being deposited and without any preconsolidation into a consolidating device; and in the consolidating device projecting a hot fluid perpendicularly against the batt to press the batt against the belt screen and thermally consolidate the filaments of the batt.