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US5202178A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

High-strength nylon battery separator material and related method of manufacture

Assignee: Fitesa Simpsonville Inc
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Filing: 1992-02-28
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Granted: 1993-04-13
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Expires: 2012-02-28
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Abstract

Abstract A nylon battery separator material for use in nickel-cadmium batteries has a laminated construction comprising a nonwoven web of nylon staple fibers sandwiched between a pair of webs of spun-bonded nylon fibers. The staple web comprises nylon 6 and nylon 6-6 fibers. The spun-bonded fibers are nylon 6-6. During manufacture the staple web is fed between the webs of spun-bonded nylon fibers. The three webs form a sandwich which is passed through a stack of heated calendar rolls. The maximum temperature of the stack of calendar rolls is greater than the softening temperature of the nylon 6 fibers, but less than the melting temperature of the nylon 6-6 fibers. Upon cooling, the webs of spun-bonded fibers will be bonded to the staple web by the re-solidified nylon 6 fibers, whereby the laminated battery separator material is formed.

Inventors

  • 👤 Larry Turner

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 15:49
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01M; H01M50/00; H01M50/40; H01M50/409; H01M50/44; B; B32; B32B; B32B5/00; B32B5/02; B32B5/022; B32B5/22; B32B5/24; B32B5/26; B32B7/00; B32B7/02; B32B7/027; D; D04; D04H; D04H1/00; D04H1/40; D04H1/42; D04H1/4326; D04H1/4334; H01M10/00; H01M10/24; H01M10/30; H01M50/411; H01M50/414; H01M50/423; H01M50/449; H01M50/457; B32B2250/00; B32B2250/20; B32B2262/00; B32B2262/02; B32B2262/0261; B32B2377/00; B32B2457/00; B32B2457/10; H01M2300/00; H01M2300/0002; H01M2300/0014; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E60/00; Y02E60/10; Y10; Y10T; Y10T442/00; Y10T442/60; Y10T442/637; Y10T442/641; Y10T442/659; Y10T442/66

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim 26 words
A battery separator material having a laminated construction comprising a first nonwoven web of staple fibers sandwiched between second and third nonwoven webs of spun-bonded fibers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 26 words
A battery separator material having a laminated construction comprising a first nonwoven web of staple fibers sandwiched between second and third nonwoven webs of spun-bonded fibers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 57 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 1, wherein at least some of said stable fibers comprise first thermoplastic material and at least some of said spun-bonded fibers comprise second thermoplastic material, said melting temperature of said second thermoplastic material having a melting temperature which is higher than the melting temperature of said first thermoplastic material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 25 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 2, wherein said first thermoplastic material is nylon 6 and said second thermoplastic material is nylon 6-6.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 25 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 3, wherein said staple fibers comprise nylon 6 fibers and said spun-bonded fibers comprise nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 18 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 4, wherein said staple fibers further comprise nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 37 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 4, wherein 5 to 60 wt. % of said staple fibers are nylon 6 fibers and 40 to 95 wt. % of said staple fibers are nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 34 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 3, wherein said staple fibers comprise bicomponent fibers having a nylon 6 sheath and a nylon 6-6 core and said spun-bonded fibers comprise nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 21 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 7, wherein the material. % of said staple fibers are said bicomponent fibers.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 31 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 3, wherein the material making up said staple fibers consists of 5-60 wt. % nylon 6 and said spun-bonded fibers comprise nylon 6-6.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 139 words
A battery separator material comprising a first nonwoven web of staple fibers sandwiched between second and third nonwoven webs of spun-bonded fibers, wherein at least some of said stable fibers comprise first thermoplastic material and at least some of said spun-bonded fibers comprise second thermoplastic material, said melting temperature of said second thermoplastic material having a melting temperature which is higher than the melting temperature of said first thermoplastic material, said second and third nonwoven webs being laminated to said first nonwoven web by heating said first thermoplastic material at least to a temperature at which said first thermoplastic material is softened without melting said second thermoplastic material and then cooling said first thermoplastic material such that portions of said first thermoplastic material bond to at least some of said spun-bonded fibers of said second and third nonwoven webs.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 139 words
A battery separator material comprising a first nonwoven web of staple fibers sandwiched between second and third nonwoven webs of spun-bonded fibers, wherein at least some of said stable fibers comprise first thermoplastic material and at least some of said spun-bonded fibers comprise second thermoplastic material, said melting temperature of said second thermoplastic material having a melting temperature which is higher than the melting temperature of said first thermoplastic material, said second and third nonwoven webs being laminated to said first nonwoven web by heating said first thermoplastic material at least to a temperature at which said first thermoplastic material is softened without melting said second thermoplastic material and then cooling said first thermoplastic material such that portions of said first thermoplastic material bond to at least some of said spun-bonded fibers of said second and third nonwoven webs.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 46 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 10, wherein said first, second and third nonwoven webs are laminated together by calendaring at a temperature greater than the softening temperature of said first thermoplastic material but less than the melting temperature of said second thermoplastic material.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 25 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 11, wherein said first thermoplastic material is nylon 6 and said second thermoplastic material is nylon 6-6.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 25 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 12, wherein said staple fibers comprise nylon 6 fibers and said spun-bonded fibers comprise nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 18 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 13, wherein said staple fibers further comprise nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 37 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 12, wherein 5 to 60 wt. % of said staple fibers are nylon 6 fibers and 40 to 95 wt. % of said staple fibers are nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim 34 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 12, wherein said staple fibers comprise bicomponent fibers having a nylon 6 sheath and a nylon 6-6 core and said spun-bonded fibers comprise nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim 23 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 16, wherein 10 to 100 wt. % of said staple fibers are said bicomponent fibers.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim 31 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 11, wherein the material making up said staple fibers consists of 5-60 wt. % nylon 6 and said spun-bonded fibers comprise nylon 6-6.
Claim 21
Independent Claim 131 words
A method of manufacturing a battery separator material comprising a first nonwoven web of staple fibers sandwiched between second and third nonwoven webs of spun-bonded fibers, wherein at least some of said stable fibers comprise first thermoplastic material and at least some of said spun-bonded fibers comprise second thermoplastic material, said melting temperature of said second thermoplastic material having a melting temperature which is higher than the melting temperature of said first thermoplastic material, comprising the steps of: sandwiching said first nonwoven web between said second and third nonwoven webs; softening said first thermoplastic material without melting said second thermoplastic material; and cooling said first thermoplastic material such that portions of said first thermoplastic material bond to at least some of said spun-bonded fibers of said second and third nonwoven webs.
Claim 22
Independent Claim 131 words
A method of manufacturing a battery separator material comprising a first nonwoven web of staple fibers sandwiched between second and third nonwoven webs of spun-bonded fibers, wherein at least some of said stable fibers comprise first thermoplastic material and at least some of said spun-bonded fibers comprise second thermoplastic material, said melting temperature of said second thermoplastic material having a melting temperature which is higher than the melting temperature of said first thermoplastic material, comprising the steps of: sandwiching said first nonwoven web between said second and third nonwoven webs; softening said first thermoplastic material without melting said second thermoplastic material; and cooling said first thermoplastic material such that portions of said first thermoplastic material bond to at least some of said spun-bonded fibers of said second and third nonwoven webs.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim 50 words
The method of manufacturing a battery separator material as recited in claim 19, wherein said first, second and third nonwoven webs are laminated together by calendaring at a temperature greater than the softening temperature of said first thermoplastic material but less than the melting temperature of said second thermoplastic material.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim 29 words
The method of manufacturing a battery separator material as recited in claim 19, wherein said first thermoplastic material is nylon 6 and said second thermoplastic material is nylon 6-6.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim 25 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 21, wherein said staple fibers comprise nylon 6 fibers and said spun-bonded fibers comprise nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim 17 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 22, wherein said staple fibers further comprise nylon-6-6 fibers.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim 37 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 21, wherein 5 to 60 wt. % of said staple fibers are nylon 6 fibers and 40 to 95 wt. % of said staple fibers are nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim 34 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 21, wherein said staple fibers comprise bicomponent fibers having a nylon 6 sheath and a nylon 6-6 core and said spun-bonded fibers comprise nylon 6-6 fibers.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim 23 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 25, wherein 10 to 100 wt. % of said staple fibers are said bicomponent fibers.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim 31 words
The battery separator material as recited in claim 21, wherein the material making up said staple fibers consists of 5-60 wt. % nylon 6 and said spun-bonded fibers comprise nylon 6-6.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3595731A Cited
US4039711A Cited
US3770562A Cited
US4863785A Cited
US5089360A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1996-04-12 1996-10-12 1997-04-13 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2000-04-12 2000-10-12 2001-04-13 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2004-04-12 2004-10-12 2005-04-13 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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