Kuraray Co., Ltd.

Masaru Makimura

Norio Makiyama

Kunio Kogame

Hisao Yoneda

Michinori Fujisawa

Yoshiki Nobuto

Yoshiyuki Ando

Yoshihiro Tanba

Hidekazu Andoh

Yasunori Murate

Setsuo Yamashita

A leather-like sheet containing a microfine long-fiber nonwoven fabric containing an entangled web structure made of bundles of microfine long fibers and an elastic polymer impregnated in the microfine long-fiber nonwoven fabric. The leather-like sheet has a machine direction/transverse direction ratio of breaking strength of 1/1 to 1.3/1, an elongation at break in each of the machine direction and the transverse direction of 80% or more, and a machine direction/transverse direction ratio of elongation at break of 1/1 to 1/1.5. The leather-like sheet has a natural dense feeling, a soft hand, a small difference of mechanical properties in the machine direction and the transverse direction, a moderate resistance to elongation and a durable recovery.

Leather-like sheet and process for producing the same

A suede-type leather-like sheet having excellent appearance and exhibiting an excellent deodorizing effect and a soft feel in combination without agglomeration of napped fibers or deterioration in the appearance (whitening) due to the deodorant is provided. The deodorant suede-type leather-like sheet comprises a fiber-entangled fabric comprising a microfine fiber and a particulate deodorant, wherein the surface area of the microfine fiber per the unit volume of the fiber-entangled fabric is 3&#xd7;10to 9&#xd7;10cm/cm, and at least a portion of the deodorant having an average diameter of primary particles of 0.1 &#x3bc;m or smaller is present on the surface of the microfine fiber.

Deodorant suede-tone-leather-like sheet

A grain-finished artificial leather composed of a base layer and a coating layer Y formed on one of the surfaces of the base layer. The base layer is composed of an entangled nonwoven fabric X made of bundles of microfine fibers having an average single fiber fineness of 0.07 dtex or less and impregnated with a polymeric elastomer A and a polymeric elastomer B. The entangled nonwoven fabric X is composed of a lower layer Xand an upper layer Xwherein the lower layer Xis impregnated mainly with the polymeric elastomer A which is substantially not adhered to the bundles of microfine fibers and the upper layer Xis impregnated mainly with the polymeric elastomer B which is substantially not adhered to the bundles of microfine fibers. The coating layer Y is composed of a coating layer Yhaving a thickness of 1 to 10 &#x3bc;m which is made of the polymeric elastomer B and formed on the upper layer X, a coating layer Ywhich is made of a polymeric elastomer C and formed on the coating layer Y, and a finished layer Ywhich is formed on the coating layer Y. The grain-finished artificial leather having the above structure combines a natural leather-like, delicate appearance, a good softness and flexibility, and a high peel strength.

Grain-finished artificial leathers

A fiber entanglement is provided which is characterized in that it is a three-dimensional entanglement comprising elastic fibers (A) each being a fine-denier fiber bundle or exhibiting porous fiber structure as seen on a fiber cross section with a number of irregularly-shaped pores extending in the fiber axis direction; nonshrinkable, nonelastic fibers (B); and shrinkable, nonelastic fibers (C); said fibers (A) are at least partially bonded or fused together at various points of contact with one another and, thereby, produce a taut condition; said nonshrinkable, nonelastic fibers (B) are folded several times over by means of the elastic fibers (A) and the shrinkable, nonelastic fibers (C). This fiber entanglement is useful as a base material for leather-like sheet materials.

Fiber entanglements and method of producing same

There is provided a fabric made of sheath-core type composite fibers in which the core is made of an elastomer (A) and occurs in a fineness of not less than 0.15 denier per core piece and the sheath is either made of sea-island phase whose island component is a nonelastic, fiber-forming polymer (B) and occurs in each fiber in the form of a large number of fine island pieces having a fineness of less than 0.15 denier and whose sea component is a soluble polymer (C), or made of a multilayer laminate phase with the nonelastic, fiber-forming polymer (B) and the soluble polymer (C) occurring radially and alternately. Also provided is a fabric derived from the above fabric by removal of the soluble polymer (C) in the composite fibers by treatment with a solvent. The resultant fabric comprises bicomponent fiber bundles each composed of a core fiber of elastomer (A) and a large number of ultrafine fibers of nonelastic polymer (B) surrounding the core fiber.

Fabric comprising composite sheath-core fibers, fabric comprising

An entangled fibrous mat comprising an elastic polymer fiber A and a nonelastic polymer fiber B, said fiber A having voids therein and being in a taut condition within the mat; while said fiber B is in a slack condition and is highly elastic and flexible, rich in fullness, and firm-bodied, thus being very suitable for use as a substrate for artificial leather.

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Okayama, Japan

Masaru Makimura