Treated fabric structure

Claim 2

An artificial leather sheet material for lasted shoe uppers comprising a backing layer of permeable fabric of interlaced multifilament yarns and a continuous microporous elastomeric polymer layer on its upper face wherein the improvement comprises that the lower face of said fabric has a nap of fibers teasted from said yarns and bonded together, said bonded nap being open and compressible, having a void volume above 50% and a thickness of about 0.1 to 1 mm, said shoe upper sheet material having a thickness of at least about 1.2 mm, said bonded nap comprising said teased-out fibers and an elastomeric bonding agent.

Claim 3

Product as in claim 1 in which said fabric is a woven fabric.

Claim 4

Product as in claim 2 in which said fabric comprises cellulosic fibers.

Claim 5

Product as in claim 2 in which said fabric comprises thermoplastic organic polymeric fibers.

Claim 6

Product as in claim 1 in which said microporous layer has a continuous substantially non-porous skin at its upper surface.

Claim 7

Product as in claim 5 in which said microporous layer is of microporous elastomeric polyurethane.

Claim 8

Product as in claim 5 in which said microporous layer is of blown plasticized polyvinyl chloride.

Claim 9

Product as in claim 1 in which the void volume of said bonded nap is above 70%.

Claim 10

Product as in claim 1 in which the bulk specific gravity of the bonding agent in the nap zone is at most about 0.5.

Claim 11

Product as in claim 1 in which the interlaced fabric structure is substantially free of bonding agent but said bonding agent is in contact with surfaces of the multifiber yarns at the base of said nap.

Claim 12

Product as in claim 1 in which the thickness of said bonded nap is about 0.1 to 0.7 mm.

Claim 13

Product as in claim 11 which the there is a continuous cellular elastomeric layer on the upper face of said fabric and a thin continuous substantially non-porous skin on the upper surface of said cellular layer, the combined thickness of said cellular layer and said skin being about 0.2 to 1.5 mm.

Claim 14

Product as in claim 12 in which the specific gravity of said cellular layer is less than about 0.6 and the specific gravity of said skin is at least 0.9.

Claim 15

Product as in claim 13 in which said yarns are twisted staple fiber yarns, the total weight of fibers in said interlaced fabric and the nap thereof is at least 200 g/m 2 and said fibers are largely thermoplastic staple fibers.

Claim 16

Product as in claim 14 in which said thermoplastic staple fibers are largely polyethylene terephthalate and said total weight is in the range of about 200 to 300 g/m 2 .

Claim 17

Product as in claim 14 in which said thermoplastic staple fibers are largely stereoregular polypropylene and said total weight is in the range of about 200 to 300 g/m 2 .

Claim 18

Product as in claim 14 in which said bonded nap comprises said teased-out fibers and an elastomeric bonding agent therefor, and said bonding agent is present as webs joining individual filaments of the nap, said webs being so thin that the outlines of individual nap fibers are visible, said bonded nap being open, compressible and having the feel of a fabric surface and having a void volume above 50%, and in which said webs bridge neighboring fibers, but do not form a continuous pore-free layer, there being impregnant-free spaces between fibers, said void volume being over 70%, said fabric having at least 3000 yarn cross overs per square inch.

Claim 19

Product as in claim 14 in which said bonded nap comprises said teased-out fibers and an elastomeric bonding agent therefor and said bonding agent is present as nodules deposited from a dispersion of particles of said agent.

Claim 20

In the process for making artificial leather sheet material for shoe uppers in which a continuous microporous elastomeric polymer layer is applied to a fabric, the improvement which comprises providing a fabric having an interlaced structure of multifiber twisted yarns, teasing from yarns of said fabric a nap of fibers anchored within said twisted yarns, bonding together fibers of said nap to form an open, compressible bonded nap having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1 mm and applying said polymer layer to the face of the fabric opposite to said nap, the thickness of said polymer layer and said fabric being such that the total thickness of said artificial leather sheet material is at least about 1.2 mm, said bonding comprising applying to said nap a solution of an elastomeric bonding agent without substantial impregnation of the interlaced yarn structure of said fabric, and removing liquid of said solution to set said bonding agent while maintaining said nap in such open condition that the void volume of the bonded nap is at least 50%, the conditions of said impregnation and removing being such that the set bonding agent is present as webs joining individual filaments of the nap, said webs being so thin that the outlines of individual nap fibers are visible, and said webs bridge neighboring fibers, but do not form a continuous pore-free layer, there being impregnant-free spaces between fibers.

Claim 21

In the process for making artificial leather sheet material for shoe uppers in which a continuous microporous elastomeric polymer layer is applied to a fabric, the improvement which comprises providing a fabric having an interlaced structure of multifiber twisted yarns, teasing from yarns of said fabric a nap of fibers anchored within said twisted yarns, bonding together fibers of said nap to form an open, compressible bonded nap having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1 mm and applying said polymer layer to the face of the fabric opposite to said nap, the thickness of said polymer layer and said fabric being such that the total thickness of said artificial leather sheet material is at least about 1.2 mm, said bonding comprising applying to said nap a solution of an elastomeric bonding agent without substantial impregnation of the interlaced yarn structure of said fabric, and removing liquid of said solution to set said bonding agent while maintaining said nap in such open condition that the void volume of the bonded nap is at least 50%, the conditions of said impregnation and removing being such that the set bonding agent is present as webs joining individual filaments of the nap, said webs being so thin that the outlines of individual nap fibers are visible, and said webs bridge neighboring fibers, but do not form a continuous pore-free layer, there being impregnant-free spaces between fibers.

Claim 22

In the process for making artificial leather sheet material for shoe uppers in which a continuous microporous elastomeric polymer layer is applied to a fabric, the improvement which comprises providing a fabric having an interlaced structure of multifiber twisted yarns, teasing from yarns of said fabric a nap of fibers anchored within said twisted yarns, bonding together fibers of said nap to form an open, compressible bonded nap having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1 mm and applying said polymer layer to the face of the fabric opposite to said nap, the thickness of said polymer layer and said fabric being such that the total thickness of said artitifical leather sheet material is at least about 1.2 mm, said bonding comprising applying to said nap a dispersion of particles of an elastomeric bonding agent in a liquid and removing liquid of said dispersion to set said bonding agent while maintaining said nap in such open condition that the void volume of the bonded nap is at least 50%.

Claim 23

In the process for making artificial leather sheet material for shoe uppers in which a continuous microporous elastomeric polymer layer is applied to a fabric, the improvement which comprises providing a fabric having an interlaced structure of multifiber twisted yarns, teasing from yarns of said fabric a nap of fibers anchored within said twisted yarns, bonding together fibers of said nap to form an open, compressible bonded nap having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1 mm and applying said polymer layer to the face of the fabric opposite to said nap, the thickness of said polymer layer and said fabric being such that the total thickness of said artitifical leather sheet material is at least about 1.2 mm, said bonding comprising applying to said nap a dispersion of particles of an elastomeric bonding agent in a liquid and removing liquid of said dispersion to set said bonding agent while maintaining said nap in such open condition that the void volume of the bonded nap is at least 50%.

Claim 24

Process as in claim 20 in which said dispersion is an aqueous latex.

Claim 25

A lasted shoe upper of the material of claim 1.

Claim 26

A lasted shoe upper of the material of claim 17.

Claim 27

Product as in claim 17 in which the bonding of said nap fibers is such as to have no substantial effect on the breathability of the product, said nap is unsheared, has fibers longer than 2 mm, has about 1000 to 3000 nap filaments per square inch and substantial components lying generally parallel to the main plane of the fabric, said void volume is above 70%, the napped fabric is a woven fabric which, as such and without bonding of the nap, has a trouser tear strength of at least about 7 pounds in both warp and filling direction and an elongation at break of at least 10% and a modulus at 5% elongation of about 5 to 30 lbs./in., said fabric being woven in a pattern having repeating lengths of yarn spanning at least two transverse yarns.