Deep patterned nonwoven fabrics and method of making them
OwnerClifford Ellis, Terry Hill +2inventors
InventorsClifford Ellis, Terry Hill, Melpo Lambidonis, Stephen Baratian
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Abstract
A deep patterned nonwoven fabric including a plurality of raised portions having a first thickness of at least 1.5 mm and a plurality of depressed portions having a second thickness at least 50% less than the first thickness is prepared using a process which reduces and minimizes distortion of the raised portions. The process includes the steps of heating a precursor nonwoven fabric to soften its fibers and passing the heated nonwoven fabric to a nip defined by a patterned roll and an opposing member.
Claims34
A deep patterned nonwoven fabric, comprising:
- a plurality of raised portions having a first thickness of at least about 1.5 mm;
- and
- a plurality of depressed portions between the raised portions having a second thickness which is about 50-95% less than the first thickness of adjacent raised portions;
- wherein the nonwoven fabric has a depth/distortion ratio of at least about 5.
A deep patterned nonwoven fabric, comprising:
- a through-air bonded web having a plurality of raised portions and a plurality of depressed portions between the raised portions;
- the raised portions having a first thickness of at least about 1.5 mm and a bulk density of about 10-50 kcm;
- the depressed portions having a second thickness about 50-95% less than the first thickness of adjacent raised portions;
- wherein the nonwoven fabric has a depth/distortion ratio of at least about 5.
A method of making a deep patterned nonwoven fabric including a plurality of raised portions having a first thickness of at least about 1.5 mm and a plurality of depressed portions having a second thickness at least 50% less than the first thickness, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming or placing a nonwoven fabric on a conveyor belt;
- heating the nonwoven fabric to an elevated temperature to form a heated nonwoven fabric;
- and
- passing the heated nonwoven fabric through a nip defined in part by a patterned roll to form the deep patterned nonwoven fabric.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.