Nonwoven fibrous hydraulically entangled elastic coform material and method ...

United States Patent m

Radwanski et al.

[11]

[45]

Patent Number: Date of Patent:

4,879,170 Nov. 7, 1989

[54] NONWOVEN FIBROUS HYDRAULICALLY ENTANGLED ELASTIC COFORM MATERIAL AND METHOD OF FORMATION THEREOF

[75] Inventors: Fred R. Radwanski, Norcross, Ga.;

Lloyd E. Trimble, Dustin, Okla.;
Roland C. Smith, Gainesville; Linda
A. Connor, Atlanta, both of Ga.

[73] Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Corporation,
Neenah, Wis.

[21] Appl. No.: 170,196

[22] Filed: Mar. 18, 1988

[51] Int. CI." B32B 1/04

[52] U.S. CI 428/233; 28/104;

28/105; 428/236; 428/237; 428/240; 428/283: 428/284; 428/286; 428/287; 428/288; 428/296: 428/299; 428/301

[58] Field of Search 428/284, 286, 287, 288,

428/296, 299, 301, 233, 236, 237, 240, 283;

28/104, 105; 424/421, 422

[56] References Cited

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

"First Weaving, Then Knitting, Now Spunlaced Nonwovens", Nonwovens Industry, Jul. 1987, pp. 32, 34 and 35.

"Water Jet Entangled Nonwovens", John R. Starr, Insight 87, 9-21-87, pp. 1-20.

(List continued on next page.)

Primary Examiner—Marion C. McCamish
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Karl V. Sidor

[57] ABSTRACT

Nonwoven fibrous elastomeric web material, including absorbent webs and fabric web material, and methods of forming the same, are disclosed. The elastomeric web material is a hydraulically entangled coform or admixture of (1) meltblown fibers, such as elastic meltblown fibers and (2) pulp fibers and/or staple fibers and/or meltblown fibers and/or continuous filaments, with or without particulate material; such coform can be hydraulically entangled by itself or with other materials, including, e.g., super absorbent particulate material. The use of meltblown fibers facilitates the hydraulic entangling, resulting in a high degree of entanglement and enabling the use of shorter staple or pulp fibers. The hydraulic entangling technique provides a nonwoven fibrous elastic material having increased web strength and integrity, and allows for better control of other product attributes, such as absorbency, wet strength and abrasion resistance. A smooth surfaced and/or highly absorbent elastic web material, with isotropic strength and recovery in both machine- and cross-directions, can be provided according to the present invention.

27 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets

OTHER PUBLICATIONS "Spunlaced Products. Technology and End-Use Appli-" cations", E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Inc., Section XII.

"Suominen Offers Wide Range of Spunlaced Nonwovens", vol. 12, No. 6, European Disposables and Nonwovens Assoc. Newsletter, Nov./Dec. 1986. "The Perfojet Entanglement Process", Andre Vuillaume, Nonwovens World, Feb. 1987, pp. 81-84.

"Burlington Tries Polyester/Cotton Spunlace", Nonwovens World, May-Jun. 1987, pp. 19 and 21. "Progress with Sontara and Spunlaced Fabrics in Europe", Nonwovens Report, Jan. 1978, pp. 7 and 8. "Composite of Synthetic-fiber Web and Paper", Research Disclosure, No. 09196/78, Jun. 1978. "Inda Looks Into the Future of Nonwovens Fabrics", INDA-TEC Nonwovens Technology Conference, Jun. 2-5, 1986, p. 5.