Composite elastic nonwoven fabric
AssigneeFiberweb North America, Inc.
InventorsThomas E. Quantrille, Jared A. Austin, G. Stanley Zimmerman
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Abstract
The invention provides composite elastic nonwoven fabrics and the process of making them. The composite elastic fabrics of the invention include an elastomeric net and at least one fibrous web including binder fibers and which is intimately hydroentangled with the elastomeric net. At least a portion of the binder fibers in the hydroentangled fibrous web have been thermally activated thereby bonding the hydro-entangled web into a coherent, substantially unitary structure encompassing the elastomeric net.
Claims51
A composite elastic nonwoven fabric comprising:
- an elastomeric net having a plurality of apertures;
- a fibrous web comprising at least about 10 wt. % binder fibers, said binder fibers comprising at least one low melting material having a melting temperature between about 100 and about 135.degree. C., said fibrous web additionally comprising non-binder fibers and being intimately hydroentangled with said net such that at least a portion of said binder fibers extend through at least a portion of the apertures in said net;
- and
- at least a portion of said binder fibers having been thermally activated thereby bonding said hydroentangled web into a coherent, substantially unitary structure encompassing said elastomeric net.
A composite elastic nonwoven fabric comprising:
- an elastomeric net having a plurality of apertures;
- a first and a second fibrous web, each comprising at least about 10 wt. % binder fibers said binder fibers comprising at least one low melting material having a melting temperature between about 100.degree. to about 135.degree. C., each of said fibrous webs additionally comprising non-binder fibers and being intimately hydroentangled with said net from opposite sides of said net such that at least a portion of said binder fibers in each of said first and second webs extend through apertures in said net;
- at least a portion of said binder fibers having been thermally activated thereby bonding said hydroentangled first and second webs into a coherent, substantially unitary structure encompassing said elastomeric net.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.