Bicomponent fibers and webs made therefrom
AssigneeMinnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
InventorsDennis L. Krueger, Daniel E. Meyer
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Abstract
Bicomponent fibers, and webs made therefrom, are taught in which one component of the fibers is a crystallizable material. When a web of the fibers is heated in a mold above the temperature at which crystallization occurs, the fibers tend to be set in the position they are held in the mold. A preferred fiber comprises blown fibers comprising as one component amorphous, crystallizable polyethylene terephthalate, and as the other component polypropylene. A web of such fibers not only becomes formed into a shape-retaining form by crystallization during the molding process, but also can be further established in its shape-retaining character by heating the web above the softening point of the polypropylene, whereupon the fibers become bonded at their points of intersection.
Claims11
A fibrous web comprising bicomponent fibers that individually comprise a first polymeric material extending longitudinally along the fiber through a first portion of the cross-sectional area of the fiber and a second polymeric material extending longitudinally along the fiber through a second portion of the cross-sectional area of the fiber;
- the first polymeric material being of amorphous form but undergoing a crystallization at a temperature less than the melting temperature of the second polymeric material which causes the bicomponent fibers to retain the shape they assume during crystallization, whereby the web can be molded to a fibrous shape-retaining form.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.