Fine hollow fibers having a high void fraction
AssigneeKimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
InventorsEric E. Lennon, John H. Conrad, Douglas J. Hulslander, David W. Hall
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A hollow fiber that extending along at least a portion of the fiber along a longitudinal axis thereof and is defined by an interior wall is provided. Through selective control over the manner in which it is formed, the present inventors have discovered that the hollow fiber can exhibit a unique combination of a high void fraction and small fiber size that makes it particularly suitable for use in certain applications, such as in nonwoven webs for absorbent articles.
Claims6
A spinneret for forming a hollow fiber, the spinneret containing a spin plate that defines a plurality of capillaries having one or more spaced apart slots, wherein at least a portion of the one or more spaced apart slots have a width and length such that the ratio of the length to the width is greater than 5, the width of the one or more spaced apart slots being from 0.08 to 0.2 millimeters, wherein the one or more spaced apart slots further have an outer diameter that is defined as a distance between outer edges of the one or more spaced apart slots, the outer diameter being greater than 0.6 millimeters, wherein the one or more spaced apart slots occupy a total open area of from 0.10 to 0.40 square millimeters, and wherein the one or more spaced apart slots have an end distance between the one or more spaced apart slots of from 0.18 to 0.5 millimeters, the end distance between the one or more spaced apart slots being measured from a top surface of each of the one or more spaced apart slots.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.