Kuraray Co., Ltd.

Norio Makiyama

Yoshiyuki Ando

Jiro Tanaka

Michinori Fujisawa

Yoshiki Nobuto

Hisao Yoneda

Tsuyoshi Yamasaki

Masaru Makimura

Kimio Nakayama

Tetsuya Ashida

Yasuhiro Yoshida

Yasunori Murate

Hidekazu Andoh

Masasi Meguro

Tatsuya Nakashima

Yasumasa Tatekawa

Yoshimi Yamaguchi

Kyoichi Fujimoto

Kozo Hayashi

A substrate for artificial leather comprising a nonwoven fabric of bundles of microfine filaments. The substrate for artificial leather simultaneously satisfies the following requirements 1 to 4: (1) the bundle of microfine filaments comprises 8 to 70 microfine filaments having a cross-sectional shape of nearly circle; (2) the bundle of microfine filaments has a cross-sectional area of 170 to 700 &#x3bc;mand a flatness of 4.0 or less; (3) on a cross section parallel to a thickness direction of the nonwoven fabric body, cross sections of the microfine fiber bundles exist in a density of 1500 to 3000/mm; and (4) on a cross section parallel to a thickness direction of the nonwoven fabric body, gaps between the microfine fiber bundles have a size of 70 &#x3bc;m or less. By satisfying the requirements, the substrate for artificial leather combines high level of sensuous qualities and high level of physical properties which have been considered to be mutually exclusive.

Base material for artificial leather and process for producing the same

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 (semi)grain-finished leather-like sheet composed of an entangled nonwoven fabric of three-dimensionally entangled fiber bundles containing microfine long fibers and an elastic polymer contained in the entangled nonwoven fabric. When dividing the (semi)grain-finished leather-like sheet to five layers with equal thickness, i.e., surface layer, substrate layer, substrate layer, substrate layerand back layer in this order along the thickness direction, part of the microfine long fibers forming the surface layer and/or the back layer are fuse-bonded to each other and the microfine long fibers forming the intermediate layer are not fuse-bonded. With such a fuse-bonding state of the microfine long fibers, the (semi)grain-finished leather-like sheet combines a low compression resistance and a dense feel each comparable to natural leathers, has a sufficient practical strength, and are excellent in properties which are required according to its use.

Leather-like sheet bearing grain finish and process for producing the same

A method of producing a substrate suitable for artificial leathers. The substrate is composed of an entangled nonwoven fabric made of microfine fibers and a binder resin. At least one surface of the substrate is a densified layer which is made of the microfine fibers and which is substantially free from the binder resin. The binder resin is impregnated into a portion of the substrate other than the densified layer. The densified layer prevents the binder resin impregnated into the entangled nonwoven fabric from migrating into the surface of the entangled nonwoven fabric, thereby providing the substrate having the surface substantially free from the binder resin. The peeling strength between the substrate and a grain layer formed on the surface thereof is drastically improved because the surface of the substrate is substantially free from the binder resin.

Base material for artificial leather and grained artificial leather

The present invention relates to a flame-retardant leather-like sheet having a soft hand, excellent surface touch and excellent appearance, which includes an entangled nonwoven fabric of microfine polyester fibers having an average single-fiber fineness of 0.5 dtex or less, and an elastic polymer contained inside the nonwoven fabric, wherein a flame-retardant is exhausted into the elastic polymer and wherein a flame retarder solution containing bubbles forcibly formed is applied to a back surface of the leather-like sheet so that the flame retarder is present in a region extending from the back surface to an inside of the leather-like sheet but is not present on side of a front surface of the leather-like sheet.

Flame-retardant leather-like sheet and process for producing the same

A substrate for artificial leathers, comprising a nonwoven fabric body made of microfine fiber bundles and an elastic polymer impregnated therein. The substrate for artificial leathers simultaneously satisfies the following requirements 1 to 4: (1) each of the microfine fiber bundles contains 6 to 150 bundled microfine long fibers in average; (2) a cross-sectional area of the microfine long fibers constituting the microfine fiber bundles is 27 &#x3bc;mor less, and 80% or more of the microfine long fibers has a cross-sectional area of from 0.9 to 25 &#x3bc;m; (3) an average cross-sectional area of the microfine fiber bundles is from 15 to 150 &#x3bc;m; and (4) on a cross section parallel to a thickness direction of the nonwoven fabric body, cross sections of the microfine fiber bundles exist in a density of from 1000 to 3000/mmin average. The raised artificial leathers and grain-finished artificial leathers made from the substrate for artificial leathers are excellent in the properties which are hitherto difficult to be combined.

Base for synthetic leather and synthetic leathers made by using 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 leather-like sheet having a fibrous substrate layer, a polyurethane non-porous layer and a polyurethane surface layer which are successively laminated in this order. The polyurethane surface layer contains a binder polyurethane and polyurethane fine particles having a particle size of 1 to 50 &#x3bc;m. The total thickness of the polyurethane non-porous layer and the polyurethane surface layer is 150 &#x3bc;m or more. The polyurethane surface layer contains the polyurethane fine particles in an amount of 10 to 40 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the binder polyurethane. The polyurethane fine particles are not exposed to the surface. The grain-finished leather-like sheet characterized by the above features has a smooth and luster surface, a good hand, and excellent scratch resistance, abrasion resistance and buckling wrinkle resistance. The sheet hardly damages or soils an object which is in contact with its surface by friction.

Grain leather-like sheet having excellent scratch resistance and abrasion resistance

A napped leather-like sheet material comprising an entangled nonwoven fabric composed of ultrafine fibers and an elastomer contained therein and having a nap made of ultrafine fibers on one or both sides thereof, which material is provided with a silk protein substance and a softening agent on the surface portion of the napped face or faces; and a method of producing the above napped leather-like sheet material which comprises applying a liquid containing a silk protein substance and a softening agent to the surface of a napped leather-like sheet material by, for example, a gravure printing or spraying technique.

Growing community of inventors

Okayama, Japan

Norio Makiyama