3m Innovative Properties Company

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Marvin E Jones

Seyed Abolhassan Angadjivand

Alan D Rousseau

Thomas P Klun

Kevin Michael Lewandowski

Thomas Edward Wood

Larry A Brey

Gina M Buccellato

Allen Raymond Siedle

Craig S Chamberlain

Seyed A Angadjivand

Christopher Stewart Lyons

Jeffrey L Solomon

David B Redmond

Duane Douglas Fansler

John M Brandner

Fuming B Li

Badri Veeraraghavan

John M Sebastian

John S Huberty

Andrew R Fox

Betty Z Mei

Daniel E Meyer

Seth M Kirk

James E Springett

Michael R Berrigan

John D Stelter

Rudolf J Dams

Chetan P Jariwala

Thomas I Insley

Joseph D Rule

John T Brady

Daniel A Japuntich

Steven John Pachuta

Philip D Eitzman

Justin L Keough

Gerald R Spartz

Britton G Billingsley

Philip G Martin

Rahul R Shah

Nathan E Schultz

David A Olson

Timothy J Lindquist

John F Reed

John E Trend

Feng Bai

Luke T Dressel

William P Klinzing

Patrick J Sager

Andrew W Chen

Shih-Hung Chou

Larry J Carson

Michael G Schwartz

Gezahegan D Damte

Hyacinth L Cabibil

Rahul B Shah

Larry A Schumann

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 method of making a fluorinated fibrous web, which method includes providing a nonwoven webthat contains polymeric fibers, creating a plasma that contains fluorine atoms at a first location, and contacting the nonwoven web with products from the plasma at a second locationremote from the first location. The method avoids exposure of the web to the plasma and hence expands the manufacturing processing window. Webs so fluorinated have a different CFHto CFratio when compared to locally fluorinated webs having similar levels of surface fluorination. The remote fluorinated webs can be subsequently charged electrically to provide a good performing electret filtersuitable for use in an air purifying respirator. Webs fluorinated in accordance with this invention also may exhibit good performance even after being 'aged' at high temperatures.

Remote fluorination of fibrous filter webs

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

Electret webs are presented which include a blend of a thermoplastic resin and a charge-enhancing additive. The charge-enhancing additives include a heterocyclic imide material which is free of fluorinated groups. 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.

Electret webs with charge-enhancing additives

Use of physical vapor deposition methodologies to deposit nanoscale gold on activating support media makes the use of catalytically active gold dramatically easier and opens the door to significant improvements associated with developing, making, and using gold-based, catalytic systems. The present invention, therefore, relates to novel features, ingredients, and formulations of gold-based, heterogeneous catalyst systems generally comprising nanoscale gold deposited onto a nanoporous support.

Catalysts, activating agents, support media, and related methodologies useful for making catalyst systems especially when the catalyst is deposited onto the support media using physical vapor deposition

Heterogeneous catalyst systems, methods of making these systems, and methods of using these systems, wherein catalytically active gold is deposited onto composite support media. The composite support media is formed by providing nanoporous material on at least a portion of the surfaces of carbonaceous host material. In representative embodiments, relatively fine, nanoporous guest particles are coated or otherwise provided on surfaces of relatively coarser activated carbon particles. Catalytically active gold may be deposited onto one or both of the guest or host materials either before or after the guest and host materials are combined to from the composite host material. PVD is the preferred catalyst system of depositing gold.

Heterogeneous, composite, carbonaceous catalyst system and methods that use catalytically active gold

Electret webs are presented which include a blend of a thermoplastic resin and a charge-enhancing additive. The charge-enhancing additives include N-substituted amino carbocyclic aromatic materials. 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.

A filter element utilizes a porous shape-retaining self-supporting non-woven web. The web includes thermoplastic elastomeric polymer fibers and active particles disposed in the fibers. The web also possesses a three-dimensional deformation.

Filter element utilizing shaped particle-containing nonwoven web

Electret webs are presented which include a blend of a thermoplastic resin and a charge additive. The charge additives include ester-substituted and amide-substituted trianilino triazine materials. 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.

Growing community of inventors

Grant, MN, United States of America

Marvin E Jones