Kimberly-clark Worldwide, Inc.

Kraton Polymers U.S. LLC

Oomman Painummoottil Thomas

Howard Martin Welch

James Russell Fitts, Jr

James Austin

Bryan David Haynes

Vasily Aramovich Topolkaraev

Ali Yahiaoui

David Martin Jackson

Wing-Chak Ng

Patricia Hwang Calhoun

Janis Wilson Hughes

Timothy Wilson Reader

Dave Allen Soerens

Peiguang Zhou

Kaiyuan Yang

Jeffrey Eldon Fish

Susan Elaine Shawver

Fred R Radwanski

Charles John Morell

Tamara Lee Mace

Davis Dang Hoang Nhan

Kathryn J Wright

Mark G Reichmann

John E Flood

James Marcus Carr

Bryon Paul Day

Lavada Campbell Boggs

John Joseph Lassig

Gregory K Hall

Glynis Allicia Walton

Jose Siqueira

Balaji Kovil Kandadai

Stephen C Meyer

Jerome Joseph Schwalen

Glynis Alicia Walton

Christopher Laslie

Luke McCullen

Martin S Shamis

Renette E Richard

Audrie Tomoko Ono

Alphonse Carl DeMarco

Donald V Willitts

Jeffrey Jennings Krueger

Simon K Poruthoor

Hristo Angelov Hristov

Thomas Gerard Vercauteren

Glen Thomas Mildenhall

Peter Robert Elliker

Richard Macferran Shane

Lisa Sanabria

C Allen Smith

Jason Alan Baker

Daniel Wideman

Dennis Lloyd Hasha

Melpo Lambidonis

Iris V Schumacher

Anita S Bell

Bryon P Day

Jerome J Schwalen

Jose A Siqueira

James R Fitts

Melpo Levantis

Christopher A Laslie

James R Fitts Jr

A nonwoven web material that contains fibers formed by compounding at least one polymer with a tackifier is provided. The nonwoven web material can be used as a wipe or tack cloth and can exhibit a dust holding capacity of at least about 10 grams/mand a lint potential of less than about 5 fibers/cm. In addition to containing a tackifier that is compounded with the polymer(s) used to form the fibers of the web, the nonwoven web material can be textured, post-bonded, apertured, or treated with elemental fluorine gas to further improve its dust holding capacity and minimize lint production. In addition, the nonwoven web material leaves minimal residue after contacting a surface.

Nonwoven tack cloth for wipe applications

An aesthetically pleasing elastic film with three-dimensional characteristics is provided. In one embodiment, a two-dimensional ink structure is printed onto an elastic film, which is then activated, for example, by heat, which transforms the two-dimensional ink structure into a three-dimensional ink structure on one or more outer surfaces of the film. The location and amount of ink applied can be selectively controlled so that the film has the desired hand feel without sacrificing the elastic properties of the film. Further the printing and activating of the ink can be controlled to increase the tear resistance of the film or to conversely allow the film to tear or rip at desired locations on demand. In another embodiment, the elastic film can be laminated to a facing to form a laminate, where the outer surface of the film that is not in contact with the facing contains the three-dimensional ink structures.

Printed 3D-elastic laminates

An elastic nonwoven laminate that contains an elastic film laminated to one or more nonwoven facings is provided. The nonwoven facing contains a conventional polyolefin and can also contain a polyolefin-based plastomer. The laminate is activated by grooving to decouple the nonwoven facing from the elastic film. To reduce fiber-pull out that can result due to activation by grooving, the laminate can be post-bonded at room or elevated temperatures and a specific range of pressures to compact the fibers of the facing and minimize fiber pull-out/fuzziness while not sacrificing the softness, elasticity, and feel of the laminate.

Method of making post-bonded grooved elastic materials

Post-bonded grooved elastic materials

A nonwoven composite that exhibits latent elastic properties is provided. The composite is formed from a multi-layered, elastic film laminated to a nonwoven web facing. Latent elasticity is imparted to the composite through the use of at least one base layer that contains a thermoplastic elastomer and at least one skin layer that contains a propylene/&#x3b1;-olefin copolymer. During formation, the film is stretched in one or more directions to orient the elastomer chains. Without intending to be limited by theory, the present inventors believe that the oriented state of the chains may be held in place by the relatively stiff semi-crystalline domains of the propylene/&#x3b1;-olefin copolymer. The stretched elastic film may subsequently be relaxed and bonded to a nonwoven web facing to form the composite. The composite may be later activated (e.g., heated at or above the softening point of the copolymer) to soften the crystalline domains and allow the chains to return to their unoriented state. This causes the film to retract, which forms buckles in the nonwoven facing. In this manner, the resulting composite becomes elastic in that it has the ability to stretch and recover due to the 'latent' buckle formation in the nonwoven facing.

Latent elastic composite formed from a multi-layered film

Stronger thermoplastic elastomeric films having improved tensile strength and elastic properties are disclosed herein. The thermoplastic elastomeric films include a combination of polyolefin-based thermoplastic elastomers, styrenic block copolymers, and strength-enhancing agents. The films are suitably free of filler particles such as calcium carbonate.

Strong polyolefin-based thermoplastic elastomeric films and methods of making

The present invention relates to elastic film formulations that have surprisingly high tensile strengths in addition to good viscosity stability and are based on a blend of two styrene block copolymers, namely, styrene-isoprene/butadiene-styrene and styrene-butadiene-styrene. The blend of these two styrenic block copolymers in the range set forth and described herein yield high tensile strength that is at least 50% higher than that of the prior art based styrenic block copolymers and have good viscosity stability. Moreover, the present invention relates to a blend of two different styrene block copolymers that can be made by dry blending the block copolymer components. Then the blend can be extruded into uncross-linked film, fiber, or plurality of fibers.

Elastic film/fiber formulations

An elastic composite formed from a laminate that contains an elastic film and a lightweight nonwoven facing having a low strength in the cross-machine direction ('CD') is provided. Due to the low strength of the facing, it is desirable that the elastic film have a sufficient thickness and weight to enhance the strength of the resulting composite. Unfortunately, the ability to join an elastic film to such a lightweight nonwoven facing becomes increasingly difficult as the thickness of the film increases. In this regard, the present inventors have discovered that a second laminate may be employed in the elastic composite that is formed from a thermoplastic film and nonwoven facing to impart increased strength to the composite. The film and facing of the second laminate may be formed from the same or different materials than the film and facing of the first laminate. Regardless, the laminates are positioned so that the elastic and thermoplastic films are in a face-to-face relationship. Through selective control over the polymer content and thickness, the present inventors have discovered that the elastic and thermoplastic films may be readily joined together under light pressure, even at ambient temperature conditions. This avoids the application of a substantial amount of heat used in conventional calender bonding processes, which can otherwise damage the film, and also minimize the need for costly adhesives.

Elastic composite formed from multiple laminate structures

An elastic composite formed from a lightweight nonwoven facing that has a low degree of strength in the cross-machine direction ('CD') is provided. Through selective control over certain parameters of the materials employed in the composite and the formation process, the present inventors have discovered that such low strength and lightweight facings may be readily laminated to an elastic film without significantly damaging their integrity. For example, in one embodiment, the elastic film may possess a multi-layered construction that includes an elastomeric elastic layer positioned adjacent to a strength-enhancing thermoplastic layer. The polymer content and thickness of the thermoplastic layer are generally selected to impart additional strength and integrity to the film. Likewise, the polymer content of the elastic layer may also be selected so that the film possesses a sufficient tack for adhering to the facing. In certain cases, it may be desirable to position the layer between two elastic layers so that the strength-enhancing layer does not substantially contact the nonwoven facing. In this manner, the strength-enhancing layer may avoid substantial damage during the lamination process.

Elastic composite containing a low strength and lightweight nonwoven facing

A sheet material that includes an elastic component or material (e.g., film, nonwoven web laminated to the elastic component, etc.) is provided. The elastic component is formed from a styrenic block copolymer composition containing from about 10 wt. % to about 90 wt. % of styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer; and from about 10 wt % to about 90 wt. % of styrene-isoprene/butadiene-styrene block copolymer. The styrenic block copolymer composition has good viscosity stability during extrusion and thus may be readily formed into an elastic sheet material. The elastic sheet material may be subsequently crosslinked to achieve the desired elastic and mechanical properties.

Sheet materials containing S-B-S and S-I/B-S copolymers

A nonwoven web material that contains an elastic component is provided. The elastic component contains a crosslinked network formed from a linear block copolymer having a monoalkenyl aromatic midblock positioned between conjugated diene endblocks (e.g., butadiene-styrene-butadiene ('B-S-B') triblock copolymer). Prior to crosslinking, such linear block copolymers have a relatively low viscosity and thus may be readily formed into a precursor elastic component that is subsequently crosslinked to achieve the desired elastic and mechanical properties. Crosslinking is typically achieved through the formation of free radicals (unpaired electrons) that link together to form a plurality of carbon-carbon covalent bonds at the conjugated diene endblocks.

Nonwoven web material containing a crosslinked elastic component formed from a linear block copolymer

An elastic material for use in an absorbent article is provided. The elastic material contains a crosslinked network formed from a linear block copolymer having a monoalkenyl aromatic midblock positioned between conjugated diene endblocks (e.g., butadiene-styrene-butadiene ('B-S-B') triblock copolymer). Prior to crosslinking, such linear block copolymers have a relatively low viscosity and thus may be readily formed into a precursor elastic material (e.g., film, strands, web, etc.) that is subsequently crosslinked to achieve the desired elastic and mechanical properties. Crosslinking is typically achieved through the formation of free radicals (unpaired electrons) that link together to form a plurality of carbon-carbon covalent bonds at the conjugated diene endblocks.

Crosslinked elastic material formed from a linear block copolymer

An elastic laminate that contains a nonwoven web bonded to an elastic layer is provided. The elastic layer contains one or more elastomeric polymers that are generally polar in nature, such as polyurethanes. To the contrary, the nonwoven web is formed from a material that is non-polar in nature. Nevertheless, one or more surfaces of the nonwoven web are fluorinated so that the resulting surface tension is increased. In this manner, the present inventors have discovered that, despite the difference in polarity between the layers, good attachment may be achieved without necessarily requiring an adhesive. Not only will such layers remained attached, but the functionality of the resulting laminate is also not adversely affected.

Laminate containing a fluorinated nonwoven web

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Alpharetta, GA, United States of America

Oomman Painummoottil Thomas