Highly absorbent nonwoven fabric
AssigneeKimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
InventorSteven Wayne Fitting
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Abstract
The invention provides a process for producing a highly absorbent, high strength wiper, which comprises the steps of providing a bonded nonwoven web selected from the group consisting of spunbond fiber webs and staple fiber webs, stretching the nonwoven web by applying a stretching tension in at least one direction, aperturing the nonwoven web while maintaining the stretching tension, and relaxing the apertured web, thereby returning the apertured nonwoven web substantially to its pre-stretched dimensions, wherein the process is conducted at a temperature below the softening point of the nonwoven web. The invention also provides a nonwoven wiper produced in accordance with the production process.
Claims4
An absorbent wiper comprising a bonded nonwoven web selected from spunbond fiber webs and staple fiber webs, wherein said nonwoven web is apertured with a process comprising the steps of:
- a) stretching said nonwoven web by applying a stretching tension in at least one direction,
- b) aperturing said nonwoven web while maintaining said stretching tension, and
- c) relaxing the apertured web, thereby returning the apertured nonwoven web substantially to its pre-stretched dimensions,
- wherein said process is conducted at a temperature below the softening point of said nonwoven web.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.