EP0569860A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Durable nonwoven fabric
Assignee: Kimberly Clark Worldwide Inc
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Filing: 1993-05-06
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2013-05-06
Abstract
Abstract There is disclosed a thermally bonded spunbond web of thermoplastic filaments and a nonwoven fabric laminate comprising an internal layer of meltblown thermoplastic microfibers sandwiched between two layers of spunbond thermoplastic filaments. The spunbond web and the spunbond layers of the fabric laminate consist of thermoplastic filaments which are formed from a mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and an effective amount of a nucleating agent. The layers are bonded by thermal spot bonding. In the preferred embodiment, the thermoplastic polymer is polypropylene with a melt-flow rate of at 230°C of or greater than 12 grams per ten minutes. Also in the preferred embodiment, the nucleating agent constitutes from about 0.1 to 0.3 percent by weight of the mixture of polypropylene and nucleating agent. The nucleating agents that are useful include dibenzylidene sorbitol, di(methylbenzylidene) sorbitol, bis (p-ethylbenzylidene) sorbitol and hydrophobic, fumed silica having particle sizes up to 1 micron in diameter. The nonwoven laminate is particularly useful in manufacturing work garments and other protective apparel having enhanced durability.
Inventors
- 👤 Linda Ann Connor
- 👤 Peter Maddern
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 20:04
CPC Classifications
B; B32; B32B; B32B5/00; B32B5/22; B32B5/24; B32B5/26; D; D04; D04H; D04H3/00; D04H3/005; D04H3/007; A; A41; A41D; A41D31/00; A41D31/04; A41D31/24; A41D31/245; B32B5/02; B32B5/022; D04H1/00; D04H1/40; D04H1/54; D04H1/542; D04H1/544; D04H1/559; D04H1/56; D04H3/08; D04H3/14; D04H3/16; B32B2262/00; B32B2262/02; B32B2262/0253; B32B2309/00; B32B2309/02; B32B2437/00; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/24; Y10T428/24479; Y10T428/24595; Y10T428/24603; Y10T428/24612; Y10T428/24802; Y10T428/24826; Y10T442/00; Y10T442/60; Y10T442/608; Y10T442/614; Y10T442/621; Y10T442/625; Y10T442/659; Y10T442/66
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
29 words
A durable nonwoven web comprising thermoplastic filaments formed from a mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and an effective amount of a nucleating agent and which filaments are thermally bonded.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
14 words
The nonwoven web of claim 1, wherein the nonwoven web is a spunbond web.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The nonwoven web of claim 1, wherein the nucleating agent is selected from the group consisting of dibenzylidene sorbitol, di(methylbenzylidene) sorbitol, bis (p-ethylbenzylidene) sorbitol and hydrophobic, fumed silica having particle sizes up to 1 micron in diameter.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
The nonwoven web of claim 3, wherein the nucleating agent constitutes 0.1 to 0.3 percent weight of the mixture.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
The nonwoven web of claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polymer has a melt flow rate at 230° C of or greater than 12.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
The nonwoven web of claim 5, wherein the thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, and random copolymers based on propylene and ethylene with up to 5% by weight of ethylene.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
54 words
A durable nonwoven laminate comprising at least one spunbond layer comprising thermoplastic filaments formed from a mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and an effective amount of a nucleating agent and at least one layer of a meltblown web of thermoplastic microfibers, wherein the layers of the laminate are thermally bonded together in discrete areas.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 7, wherein the laminate comprises three layers: one meltblown layer laminated between two of the spunbond layers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
38 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 8, wherein the nucleating agent is selected from the group consisting of dibenzylidene sorbitol, di(methylbenzylidene) sorbitol, bis (p-ethylbenzylidene) sorbitol and hydrophobic, fumed silica having particle sizes up to 1 micron in diameter.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 9, wherein the nucleating agent constitutes 0.1 to 0.3 percent weight of the mixture.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 8, wherein the thermoplastic polymer has a melt flow rate at 230° C of or greater than 12.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 11, wherein the thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, and random copolymers based on propylene and ethylene with up to 5% by weight of ethylene.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
65 words
A garment for protecting a worker constructed from a fabric comprising a durable nonwoven laminate comprising at least one spunbond layer comprising thermoplastic filaments formed from a mixture of a thermoplastic polymer and an effective amount of a nucleating agent and at least one layer of a meltblown web of thermoplastic microfibers, wherein the layers of the laminate are thermally bonded together in discrete areas.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 13, wherein the laminate comprises three layers: one meltblown layer laminated between two of the spunbond layers.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
38 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 14, wherein the nucleating agent is selected from the group consisting of dibenzylidene sorbitol, di(methylbenzylidene) sorbitol, bis (p-ethylbenzylidene) sorbitol and hydrophobic, fumed silica having particle sizes up to 1 micron in diameter.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 15, wherein the nucleating agent constitutes 0.1 to 0.3 percent weight of the mixture.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 14, wherein the thermoplastic polymer has a melt flow rate at 230° C of or greater than 12.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
36 words
The durable nonwoven laminate of claim 17, wherein the thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, and random copolymers based on propylene and ethylene with up to 5% by weight of ethylene.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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