Non-woven materials

Claim 1

A BONDED NON-WOVEN WEB COMPRISING CONTINUOUS FILAMEMTS LAID IN A RANDOM SERPENTINE MANNER AND CONSISTING OF A BLEND OF HOMOFILAMENTS AND BICOMPONENT FILAMENTS, 20 PERCENT-65 PERCENT OF THE FILAMENTS BEING BICOMPONENT FILAMENTS, SAID HOMOFILAMENTS CNSISTING OF AT LEAST PARTLY ORIENTED POLYPROPYLNE AND SAID BICOMPONENT FILAMENTS HAVING TWO COMPONENTS ARRANGED IN A CORE/SHEATH RELATIONSHIP, THE CORE COMPONENT BEING NOT LESS THAN 30 PERCENT BY VOLUME AND NOT MOE THAN 80 PERCENT BY VOLUME AND BEING COMPOSED OF AT LEAST PARTLY ORIENTED POLYPROPYLENE AND THE SHEATH BEING A COPOLYAMIDE WHICH IS CAPABLE OF BEING RENDERED ADHENSIVE IN PRESSURIZED SATURATED STEAM AND WHICH HAS A MELTING POINT HIGHER THAN THAT OF THE CORE COMPONENT, THE SAID WEB CONTAINING A PLURALITY OF EQUISPACED AND PARALLEL YARNS LAID IN THE LENGTHWISE DIRECTION THEREOF, WHICH YARNS ARE COMPOSED OF ORIENTED BICOPONENT CONTINUOUS FILAMENTS HAVING A CORE/SHEATH RELATIONSHIP, THE SHEATH COMPONET BEING A COPOLYAMIDE WHICH CAN BE RENDERED ADHENSIVE IN PRESSURISED SATURATED STREAM AT THE PRESSURE REQUIRED TO RENDER THE SHEATH COMPONENT OF THE BICOMPONET FILAMENTS OF THE WEB ADHENSIVE, SAID STREAM PRESSURE LEAVING THE CORE COMPONENT OF THE FILAMENTS COMPRISING THE EQUISPACED AND PARALLEL YARNS UNAFFECTED, THERE BEING AT LEAST 80 SUCH YARNS PER METRE ( MASURED IN THE CROSSWISE DIRECTION), THE STRUCTURE BEING BONDED TOGETHER AT A MULTIPLICITY OF BICOMPONENT FILAMENT CROSS-OVER POINTS.