EP0687757A2
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EP
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Thermally apertured nonwoven product and process for making same
Assignee: Fitesa Simpsonville Inc
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Filing: 1995-06-13
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2015-06-13
Abstract
Abstract A process for producing an apertured nonwoven fabric combines one or two outer nonwoven layer(s) with a layer of polymeric material having a lower melting temperature and a property of shrinking when melted. Heat and pressure are applied through a calendar roll such that the polymeric material becomes bonded to the fibers of the nonwoven layer(s) and simultaneously shrinks and takes back the fibers away from the calendaring points, thereby generating apertures through the nonwoven fabric. Preferably, the fibers are polyethylene or polypropylene fibers, and the layer of polymeric material is a thin plastic film of polyethylene stretch-wrap, elastomeric, or heat shrink material. One outer nonwoven layer may be combined with the plastic film layer to form a bi-laminate product, or two outer nonwoven layers may be combined with an intermediate plastic film to form a tri-laminate product. Low denier polypropylene/polyethylene bi-component fibers or a blend of higher and lower melting fibers may also be used. Apertured products can also be obtained with non-thermoplastic outer layers and an intermediate plastic film layer.
Inventors
- 👤 Ramesh Srinivasan
- 👤 W. Andrew Coslett
- 👤 Leonardo B. Leonguerrero
- 👤 Donald V. Mccoombs
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 03:23
CPC Classifications
D; D04; D04H; D04H1/00; D04H1/40; D04H1/54; D04H1/559; B; B32; B32B; B32B7/00; B32B7/02; B32B7/027; D04H1/558; B32B2250/00; B32B2250/40; B32B2262/00; B32B2262/02; B32B2262/0207; B32B2262/0215; B32B2262/0253; B32B2262/04; B32B2262/12; B32B2262/14; B32B2274/00; B32B2307/00; B32B2307/50; B32B2307/51; B32B2307/514; B32B2307/70; B32B2307/726; B32B2307/732; B32B2307/734; B32B2307/736; B32B2555/00; B32B2555/02; B32B27/00; B32B27/12; B32B27/30; B32B27/302; B32B27/306; B32B27/32; B32B3/00; B32B3/26; B32B3/266; B32B5/00; B32B5/02; B32B5/022; B32B5/08; B32B7/04; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/24; Y10T428/24273; Y10T428/24322
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
92 words
A process for producing an apertured nonwoven fabric comprising the steps of: combining nonwoven fibers having a higher melting temperature and a layer of polymeric material having a lower melting temperature and a property of shrinking under application of heat, and applying heat and pressure to the combination of the nonwoven fibers and the other polymeric material at localized regions, such that the melted polymeric material becomes bonded to the nonwoven fibers and simultaneously shrinks and takes back the nonwoven fibers away from the calendaring points, thereby generating apertures through the fabric.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
21 words
A process according to claim 1 in which the heat and pressure are applied at localized regions by means of calendering.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the nonwoven fibers are present as a nonwoven layer and the polymeric material is present as a film, which may be apertured.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the nonwoven fibers are carded olefinic fibers.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the nonwoven fibers are polypropylene fibers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the polymeric material comprises an olefinic material, an elastomeric material, or a heat shrink material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
A process as claimed in claim 6, in which the polymeric material is a polyethylene stretch wrap material.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
A process as claimed in claim 6, in which the polymeric material is an elastomeric styrene block copolymer based material.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
A process as claimed in claim 6, in which the polymeric material is polyethylene with ethylvinyl acetate.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
29 words
A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the fabric is formed by combining two outer nonwoven layers with the polymeric material between them.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
A process as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, in which the fabric is formed by combining one outer nonwoven layer with a plastic film layer.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
40 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the fabric is formed with the nonwoven fibers and the polymeric material combined as a layer of bi-component fibers made of a lower-melting sheath and a higher-melting core.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the fabric is formed with the nonwoven fibers and the polymeric material combined as a blend of low and high melting fibers.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
26 words
A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the temperature is in the range of 138 to 232°C (280°F to 450°F).
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
29 words
A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the pressure is in the range of 35 to 107 Kgs/linear cm (200 to 600 pounds/linear-inch).
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
28 words
A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the apertured area is in the range of 9% to 16% of the fabric area.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
49 words
An apertured nonwoven fabric comprising nonwoven fibers having a higher melting temperature and polymeric material having a lower melting temperature and a property of shrinking under application of heat, the polymeric material being bonded to the nonwoven fibers at least in the vicinity of the edges of the apertures.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
33 words
A fabric as claimed in claim 17 in which the nonwoven fibers and the polymeric material are combined as a layer of bi-component fibers made of a lower-melting sheath and a higher-melting core.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
27 words
A fabric as claimed in claim 17 in which the nonwoven fibers and the polymeric material are combined as a blend of low and high melting fibers.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
25 words
A fabric as claimed in claim 17 which is formed with two outer nonwoven layers of olefinic fibers and a thin plastic film in between.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
33 words
A fabric as claimed in claim 17 which is formed with one outer nonwoven layer of olefinic fibers and one outer nonwoven layer of non-thermoplastic fibers and a thin plastic film in between.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
25 words
A fabric as claimed in claim 17 which is formed with two outer nonwoven layers of non-thermoplastic fibers and a thin plastic film in between.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
A fabric as claimed in claim 22 in which the two outer nonwoven layers are made of rayon fibers.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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