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US 8,802,002 B2Granted
Dimensionally stable bonded nonwoven fibrous webs
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsMichael R. Berrigan, John D. Stelter, Ruth A. Ebbens, Sian F. Fennessey
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Abstract
A method for making a bonded nonwoven fibrous web comprising extruding melt blown fibers of a polymeric material, collecting the melt blown fibers as an initial nonwoven fibrous web, annealing the initial nonwoven fibrous web with a controlled heating and cooling operation, and collecting the dimensionally stable bonded nonwoven fibrous web is described. The bonded nonwoven fibrous web shrinkage is typically less than 4 percent relative to the initial nonwoven fibrous web.
Claims9
A method for making a bonded nonwoven fibrous web comprising the sequential steps:
- a) extruding melt blown fibers comprising a polymeric material;
- b) collecting the melt blown fibers as an initial unbonded nonwoven fibrous web, wherein the fibers are substantially free of strain induced crystallization;
- c) annealing the initial unbonded nonwoven fibrous web with a controlled heating and cooling operation comprising:
- i) heating through the initial unbonded nonwoven fibrous web by forcefully passing through the initial unbonded nonwoven fibrous web a first fluid having a temperature above a cold crystallization temperature (Tcc) of the polymeric material of step a) to decrease the orientation of amorphous regions of the melt blown fibers, thereby providing a bonded nonwoven fibrous web;
- and
- ii) cooling through the bonded nonwoven fibrous web by drawing a second fluid having a temperature below a glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymeric material of step a) over and through the bonded nonwoven fibrous web to retain the amorphous regions of the melt blown fibers providing a cooled bonded nonwoven fibrous web;
- and
- d) collecting the cooled bonded nonwoven fibrous web providing a dimensionally stable bonded nonwoven fibrous web;
- wherein the melt blown fibers of the cooled bonded nonwoven fibrous web retain a substantial cold crystallization exotherm.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.