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US 2009/0047856 A1Published application
Area bonded nonwoven fabric from single polymer system
AssigneeFiberweb, Inc.
InventorsGregory W. Farrell, Edward Keith Willis
Life of this patent
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AssigneeFiberweb, Inc.
InventorsGregory W. Farrell, Edward Keith Willis
Estimating the term…
A nonwoven fabric is provided having a plurality of semi-crystalline filaments that are thermally bonded to each other and are formed of the same polymer and exhibit substantially the same melting temperature. The fabric is produced by melt spinning an amorphous crystallizable polymer to form two components having different levels of crystallinity. During spinning, a first component of the polymer is exposed to conditions that result in stress-induced crystallization such that the first polymer component is in a semi-crystalline state and serves as the matrix or strength component of the fabric. The second polymer component is not subjected to stress induced crystallization and thus remains in a substantially amorphous state which bonds well at relatively low temperatures. In a bonding step, the fabric is heated to soften and fuse the binder component. Under these conditions, the binder component undergoes thermal crystallization so that in the final product, both polymer components are semi-crystalline.
A method of making a nonwoven fabric comprising the steps of melt extruding a crystallizable amorphous polymer to produce a plurality of fibers;
A method of making a nonwoven fabric comprising the steps of:
A method of making a nonwoven fabric comprising the steps of:
An area bonded nonwoven fabric comprising fibers of a semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer fusion bonded to one another throughout the fabric to form a strong coherent nonwoven fabric, and wherein the fibers of the nonwoven fabric exhibit a single melting peak as evidenced by a DSC trace.
An area bonded spunbond nonwoven fabric consisting essentially of continuous filaments of a semi-crystalline thermoplastic polymer and a multiplicity of thermal fusion bonds located throughout the fabric, the fusion bonds consisting of areas in which contacting filaments have softened and thermally fused to one another, and wherein the filaments have retained their filamentary form throughout the fabric.
An area bonded spunbond nonwoven fabric comprising continuous filaments of polyethylene terephthalate homopolymer including matrix filaments melt extruded from a relatively higher intrinsic viscosity polyethylene terephthalate homopolymer and binder filaments melt extruded from a relatively lower intrinsic viscosity polyethylene terephthalate homopolymer, and a multiplicity of thermal fusion bonds located throughout the fabric, the fusion bonds consisting of areas in which the binder filaments have softened and thermally fused to adjacent filaments at points of contact, and wherein the binder and matrix filaments have retained their filamentary form throughout the fabric, and wherein both the matrix and binder filaments are in a semi-crystalline state and exhibit a single melting peak as evidenced by a DSC trace.
An area bonded spunbond nonwoven fabric comprising continuous bicomponent filaments of polyethylene terephthalate homopolymer including a matrix component melt extruded from a relatively higher intrinsic viscosity polyethylene terephthalate homopolymer and a binder component melt extruded from a relatively lower intrinsic viscosity polyethylene terephthalate homopolymer, and a multiplicity of thermal fusion bonds located throughout the fabric, the fusion bonds consisting of areas in which the binder component has softened and thermally fused to adjacent filaments at points of contact, and wherein both the matrix and binder components are in a semi-crystalline state and exhibit a single melting peak as evidenced by a DSC trace.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.