Adsorptive nonwoven fabric comprising fused fibers, non-fused fibers and absorptive material and method of making same

A liquid-holding nonwoven fabric web comprising a support consisting of a thin paper of the like having superposed thereon a liquid-holding layer, said liquid-holding layer consisting essentially of (1) short-length supporting fibers which consist of a mixture of (a) a short-length natural cellulose fiber and (b) a short-length heat-fusible fiber;

• and (2) a liquid-holding or swelling material, said mixture having been disintegrated in air before it was joined in an air current by a liquid-holding or swelling material added thereto to be pneumatically admixed and dispersed on a wire screen of a web-forming machine with said thin sheet interposed between said wire screen and the resulting mixture of said fibers and said liquid-holding or swelling material to form a web on said wire screen, which web was subjected to heat treatment at a temperature above the melting point of said heat-fusible fiber in order to firmly fix the liquid-holding or swelling material in the web by fusion of at least part of said heat-fusible fiber, said liquid-holding or swelling material being fixed to said heat-fusible fiber substantially only at points of contact between said heat-fusible fiber and liquid-holding or swelling material such that all but a very small part of the surface area of the liquid-holding or swelling material remains exposed, and said main supporting fiber being fixed in the web substantially only at points of contact between said heat-fusible fiber and said main supporting fiber such that all but a very small part of the surface area of said main supporting fiber remains exposed.

A method of making an adsorptive nonwoven fabric web which comprises the steps of:

• shredding a natural short-length cellulose fiber in air;
• adding a short length heat-fusible fiber to said cellulose fiber to form a mixture;
• feeding said mixture to a disintegrator to form disintegrated short-length supporting fibers;
• adding a powdered adsorptive material to said disintegrated short-length supporting fibers;
• pneumatically conveying said mixture containing said adsorptive material to a wire screen of a web-forming machine where it is formed into a web;
• applying a thin sheet of paper or the like between said mixture containing said adsorptive material and said wire screen of said web-making machine;
• applying heat to said mixture containing said adsorptive material to bring the temperature thereof above the melting point of said heat-fusible fibers to fix said adsorptive material in the web by heat fusion via said heat-fusible fibers, resulting in said adsorptive material being fixed to said heat-fusible fiber substantially only at points of contact between said heat-fusible fiber and adsorptive material such that all but a very small part of the surface area of the adsorptive material remains exposed, and said main supporting fiber being fixed in the web substantially only at points of contact between said heat-fusible fiber and said main supporting fiber such that all but a very small part of the surface area of said main supporting fiber remains exposed.

A method of making a liquid-holding nonwoven fabric web which comprises the steps of:

• shredding a short-length natural cellulose fiber in air;
• adding a short-length heat-fusible fiber to said cellulose fiber to form a mixture;
• feeding said mixture to a disintegrator to form disintegrated short-length supporting fibers;
• adding a liquid-holding or swelling material to said disintegrated short-length supporting fibers;
• pneumatically conveying said mixture containing said liquid-holding or swelling material to a web-forming machine where it is formed into a web;
• applying a thin sheet of paper or the like between said mixture containing said material and said wire screen of said web-making machine;
• applying heat to said mixture containing said material to bring the temperature thereof above the melting point of said heat-fusible fibers to fix said material in the web by heat fusion via said heat-fusible fibers, resulting in said liquid-holding or swelling material being fixed to said heat-fusible fiber substantially only at points of contact between said heat-fusible fiber and liquid-holding or swelling material such that all but a very small part of the surface area of the liquid-holding or swelling material remains exposed, and said main supporting fiber being fixed in the web substantially only at points of contact between said heat-fusible fiber and said main supporting fiber such that all but a very small part of the surface area of said main supporting fiber remains exposed.