Patent ID: 7762800

Claim:
An apparatus for making a spunbond web, the apparatus comprising: a deposition surface; means including a spinneret above the surface for producing a bundle of filaments that move downward along a path toward the surface; a cooling chamber below the spinneret; means for supplying cool process air to the chamber and thereby cooling the filaments as they pass downward through the chamber; a laterally closed stretching unit downstream of the cooling chamber having laterally closed side walls that have portions that diverges downward; a connecting region between the stretching unit and the cooling chamber substantially excluding access of air from outside to the filaments as they pass from the cooling chamber to the stretching unit, the cooling chamber, connecting region, and stretching unit being aligned vertically such that the bundle of filaments drops through the chamber, the region, and the unit onto the deposition surface; and means including an intake opening generally at an upstream end of the diverging portions of the walls of the stretching unit for injecting outside air into the stretching unit and thereby separating the filaments and broadening the bundle of filaments in the stretching unit.