3m Innovative Properties Company

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Other

John M Brandner

Seyed Abolhassan Angadjivand

James E Springett

Timothy J Lindquist

John D Stelter

Matthew T Scholz

Duane Douglas Fansler

Andrew R Fox

Marvin E Jones

Stephen M Sanocki

David A Olson

Rahul R Shah

Douglas C Sundet

Fuming B Li

John F Reed

Robert J Wolf

John M Sebastian

Tien T Wu

Scott M Purrington

Ronald Wayne Ausen

Michael R Berrigan

Thomas J Nelson

Aaron K Nienaber

William J Kopecky

James P Endle

Robert J Maki

Nathan E Schultz

Lauren K Carlson

Caroline M Ylitalo

Robin Edgar Wright

Scott J Tuman

Philip G Martin

Nicholas R Baumann

Anthony F Schultz

Mitchell T Johnson

Narina Y Stepanova

Richard C Webb

Richard L Walter

John A Temperante

Nhat Ha T Nguyen

Michael D Romano

Justin L Keough

Sonja K Belgrade

James W Zurawski

Shannon Dowdell

Siwei Leng

Charged polymeric webs, such as electret webs, include a thermoplastic resin and a charge-enhancing additive. The charge-enhancing additive is a substituted-benzimidazole compound. The electret webs may be a non-woven fibrous web or a film. The electret webs are suitable for use as filter media.

Substituted benzimidazole melt additives

Charged polymeric webs, such as electret webs, include a thermoplastic resin and a charge-enhancing additive. The additives are substituted heterocyclic thiols. The heterocyclic thiol has 2 nitrogen groups and a third group that may be an NH, N—NH, O, or S group. The substituent group is an aromatic or heterocyclic aromatic group. The electret webs may be a non-woven fibrous web or a film. The electret webs are suitable for use as filter media.

Substituted thiol melt additives

A scouring article including a monolithic nonwoven pad with a semi-densified fibrous layer that is integral to the monolithic nonwoven pad and that provides a major surface of the monolithic nonwoven pad, and methods of making and using.

Scouring article and methods of making and using

A laterally-stretched netting comprising a patterned abrasive layer on a first major surface thereof, and methods of making.

Latterally-stretched netting bearing abrasive particles, and method for making

A flat-fold respirator is made from a stiff filtration panel joined to the remainder of the respirator through at least one line of demarcation. The panel contains a porous monocomponent monolayer nonwoven web that contains charged intermingled continuous monocomponent polymeric fibers of the same polymeric composition and that has sufficient basis weight or inter-fiber bonding so that the web exhibits a Gurley Stiffness greater than 200 mg and the respirator exhibits less than 20 mm HO pressure drop. The respirator may be formed without requiring additional stiffening layers, bicomponent fibers, or other reinforcement and can be flat-folded for storage. Scrap from the manufacturing process may be recycled to make additional stiff filtration panel web.

Flat-fold respirator with monocomponent filtration/stiffening monolayer

A respiratorthat has a mask bodyand a harnessthat is attached to the mask body. The mask bodyincludes a filtering structurethat has an inner cover web, an outer cover webthat comprises melt-blown fibers and staple fibers, and a filtration layerthat is located between the inner and outer cover webs. The mask bodyalso has a meshthat is joined to the outer cover web. A respirator having this construction is more resistant to inward collapse of the filter media during breathing and is more aesthetically pleasing.

Molded respirator having outer cover web joined to mesh

Reinforced filter media are prepared by adhering discrete, non-intersecting strands of thermoplastic or thermoset materials to the filter media web. The filter media may be a fabric, a nonwoven web or a filtering foam. The reinforced filter media can be used to prepare respirators, including flat-fold respirators or molded respirators.

Reinforced filter media

Methods of preparing polymeric webs include hot melt blending of thermoplastic resins and processing aids. The process aids include hindered amine N-substituted succinimide oligomers. The webs prepared from the blends may be in the form of films or non-woven fibrous webs. Non-woven microfiber webs are useful as filtration media. Among the polymeric webs produced are electret webs. The processing aids also function as charge-enhancing additives for the electret webs.

Processing aids for olefinic webs, including electret webs

Methods of making a (e.g. dilute) cleaning solution from a hydrogel cleaning concentrate, packages of hydrogel cleaning concentrate, and methods of making a hydrogel cleaning concentrate are described.

Method of making a cleaning solution from hydrogel cleaning concentrate and packaged cleaning concentrate

A molded respirator is made from a monocomponent monolayer nonwoven web containing a bimodal mass fraction/fiber size mixture of intermingled continuous monocomponent polymeric microfibers and larger size fibers of the same polymeric composition. The respirator is a cup-shaped porous monocomponent monolayer matrix whose matrix fibers are bonded to one another at least some points of fiber intersection. The matrix has a King Stiffness greater than 1 N. The respirator may be formed without requiring stiffening layers, bicomponent fibers, or other reinforcement in the filter media layer.

Process of making a molded respirator

A porous monocomponent nonwoven web contains a bimodal mass fraction/fiber size mixture of intermingled continuous microfibers and larger size fibers of the same polymeric composition. There are at least five times as many microfibers as larger size fibers, and a histogram of the mass fraction of fibers vs. fiber size exhibits a larger size fiber mode greater than 10 &#x3bc;m. The web may be made by flowing fiber-forming material through a die cavity having larger size orifices and at least five times as many smaller size orifices to form filaments, attenuating the filaments into fibers and collecting the attenuated fibers to form the nonwoven web. The web is especially well suited to the manufacture of self-supporting three dimensional articles such as molded cup-shaped respirators and pleated air filters.

Process of making a monocomponent non-woven web

A pleated filter is made from a monocomponent monolayer nonwoven web containing a bimodal mass fraction/fiber size mixture of intermingled larger size and smaller size continuous monocomponent polymeric fibers of the same polymeric composition. Rows of pleats are formed in the nonwoven web, and the pleated web is cut to a desired size and shape to provide a filter element containing a self-supporting porous monocomponent monolayer matrix of fibers bonded to one another at least some points of fiber intersection and having an average initial submicron efficiency of at least 15% at a 1.52 meters/sec face velocity. The filter element is deformation resistant without requiring stiffening layers, bicomponent fibers or other reinforcing measures in the filter media layer.

Pleated filter with bimodal monolayer monocomponent media

Growing community of inventors

Saint Paul, MN, United States of America

John M Brandner