US5883023A — Glass monofilament and strand mats, thermoplastic…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 211 words

A mat adapted to reinforce a thermoplastic matrix material, the mat comprising: (a) a plurality of glass monofilaments present in an amount ranging from at least about 30 weight percent to about 99 weight percent of the mat on a total solids basis, the plurality of glass monofilaments having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a filament coating composition which is compatible with a thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass monofilaments; and (b) a plurality of glass fiber strands, each glass fiber strand having at least about 100 generally parallel glass fiber monofilaments, the plurality of glass fiber strands having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a strand coating composition which is compatible with the thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass fiber strands; wherein the mat has a mat surface weight greater than about 200 grams per square meter, the glass monofilaments and glass fiber strands are essentially uniformly distributed throughout the mat and at least a portion of the glass monofilaments are entangled with at least a portion of the glass fiber strands by needling the portions together.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 211 words

A mat adapted to reinforce a thermoplastic matrix material, the mat comprising: (a) a plurality of glass monofilaments present in an amount ranging from at least about 30 weight percent to about 99 weight percent of the mat on a total solids basis, the plurality of glass monofilaments having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a filament coating composition which is compatible with a thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass monofilaments; and (b) a plurality of glass fiber strands, each glass fiber strand having at least about 100 generally parallel glass fiber monofilaments, the plurality of glass fiber strands having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a strand coating composition which is compatible with the thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass fiber strands; wherein the mat has a mat surface weight greater than about 200 grams per square meter, the glass monofilaments and glass fiber strands are essentially uniformly distributed throughout the mat and at least a portion of the glass monofilaments are entangled with at least a portion of the glass fiber strands by needling the portions together.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 24 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the filament coating composition is present upon the surfaces of the monofilaments as an essentially dried residue.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 26 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the strand coating composition is present upon the surfaces of the glass fiber strands as an essentially dried residue.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 18 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the filament coating composition is different from the strand coating composition.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 19 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the filament coating composition is the same as the strand coating composition.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 34 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the glass monofilaments are present in an amount ranging from about 40 weight percent to about 90 weight percent of the mat on a total solids basis.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 34 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the glass monofilaments are present in an amount ranging from about 50 weight percent to about 70 weight percent of the mat on a total solids basis.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 35 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the glass fiber strands are present in an amount ranging from about 1 weight percent to about 70 weight percent of the mat on a total solids basis.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 33 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the glass monofilaments and the glass fiber strands are needled together at a punch density ranging from about 12 to about 47 punches per square centimeter.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 22 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the mat surface weight ranges from about 500 to about 1200 grams per square meter.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 20 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the mat further comprises a plurality of randomly oriented essentially continuous glass fibers.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 19 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the mat further comprises a plurality of unidirectional essentially continuous glass fibers.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 13 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the mat further comprises a fabric.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 12 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the fabric comprises glass fiber.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 29 words

The mat according to claim 1, wherein the mat further comprises fibers formed from a material selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic materials, thermosetting materials and natural materials.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 209 words

A reinforced polymeric composite comprising: (a) a thermoplastic matrix material; and (b) a reinforcing mat comprising: (1) a plurality of glass monofilaments present in an amount ranging from at least about 30 weight percent to about 99 weight percent of the mat on a total solids basis, the plurality of glass monofilaments having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a filament coating composition which is compatible with the thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass monofilaments; and (2) a plurality of glass fiber strands comprising at least about 100 glass fiber monofilaments per strand, the glass fiber strands having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a strand coating composition which is compatible with the thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass fiber strands; wherein the mat has a mat surface weight greater than about 200 grams per square meter, the glass monofilaments and glass fiber strands are essentially uniformly distributed throughout the mat and at least a portion of the glass monofilaments are entangled with at least a portion of the glass fiber strands by needling the portions together.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 209 words

A reinforced polymeric composite comprising: (a) a thermoplastic matrix material; and (b) a reinforcing mat comprising: (1) a plurality of glass monofilaments present in an amount ranging from at least about 30 weight percent to about 99 weight percent of the mat on a total solids basis, the plurality of glass monofilaments having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a filament coating composition which is compatible with the thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass monofilaments; and (2) a plurality of glass fiber strands comprising at least about 100 glass fiber monofilaments per strand, the glass fiber strands having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a strand coating composition which is compatible with the thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass fiber strands; wherein the mat has a mat surface weight greater than about 200 grams per square meter, the glass monofilaments and glass fiber strands are essentially uniformly distributed throughout the mat and at least a portion of the glass monofilaments are entangled with at least a portion of the glass fiber strands by needling the portions together.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 32 words

The composite according to claim 16, wherein the thermoplastic matrix material is selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, polyamides, thermoplastic polyurethanes, thermoplastic polyesters, acrylic polymers, vinyl polymers, derivatives and mixtures thereof.

Claim 20

Independent Claim 207 words

A method for making a mat adapted to reinforce a thermoplastic matrix material, the method comprising the steps of: (a) mixing a plurality of glass monofilaments with a plurality of glass fiber strands to form an essentially uniform mixture, the glass monofilaments comprising about 30 to about 99 weight percent of the mixture on a total solids basis, the glass monofilaments having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a filament coating composition which is compatible with a thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass monofilaments, each glass fiber strand having at least about 100 generally parallel glass fiber monofilaments, the plurality of glass fiber strands having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a strand coating composition which is compatible with the thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass fiber strands; (b) dispensing the mixture onto a collector to form a mat having a mat surface weight greater than about 200 grams per square meter; and (c) entangling the glass monofilaments with the glass fiber strands of the mat by needling the monofilaments and glass fiber strands together.

Claim 21

Independent Claim 207 words

A method for making a mat adapted to reinforce a thermoplastic matrix material, the method comprising the steps of: (a) mixing a plurality of glass monofilaments with a plurality of glass fiber strands to form an essentially uniform mixture, the glass monofilaments comprising about 30 to about 99 weight percent of the mixture on a total solids basis, the glass monofilaments having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a filament coating composition which is compatible with a thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass monofilaments, each glass fiber strand having at least about 100 generally parallel glass fiber monofilaments, the plurality of glass fiber strands having a mean average length ranging from about 5 to about 150 millimeters and having a strand coating composition which is compatible with the thermoplastic matrix material applied to at least a portion of surfaces of the glass fiber strands; (b) dispensing the mixture onto a collector to form a mat having a mat surface weight greater than about 200 grams per square meter; and (c) entangling the glass monofilaments with the glass fiber strands of the mat by needling the monofilaments and glass fiber strands together.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 57 words

A method for reinforcing a thermoplastic matrix material to form a reinforced composite, the method comprising the steps of: (a) coating an impregnating at least a portion of the mat of claim 18 with a thermoplastic matrix material; (b) heating the thermoplastic matrix material; and (c) cooling the thermoplastic matrix material to provide a reinforced thermoplastic composite.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2002-03-15	2002-09-14	2003-03-16	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2006-03-15	2006-09-14	2007-03-16	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2010-03-15	2010-09-14	2011-03-16	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Glass monofilament and strand mats, thermoplastic composites reinforced with the same and methods for making the same

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