Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Innovative Properties Company

Raju Venkatapathy

David L Braun

James E Steffen

Corrugating apparatus that includes paddles and an ultrasonic welding device. The paddles are attached at one end to a transport that moves about a path. The paddles extend radially from the transport, and each paddle has a free end that is capable of supporting a web as the paddles move about the path. The free ends of the paddles are able to move towards each other to cause the web to corrugate. The ultrasonic welding device is located downstream to where the paddles' free ends move towards each other. The ultrasonic welding device has a horn and an anvil, and the anvil includes the free ends of the paddles.

Corrugating apparatus

Apparel having thermal insulation containing a corrugated nonwoven web and a means for retaining the shape of a corrugated web. The shape-retaining means is not coextensive with the corrugated nonwoven web and is secured to the valleys of the corrugations. The corrugated nonwoven web has a solidity of 0.1 or less and contains microfiber and crimped staple fibers that have a percent crimp of at least 15 percent.

Apparel containing corrugated microfiber-containing thermal insulation

A composite structure contains a lofty corrugated nonwoven web of polymeric microfiber that is maintained in a corrugated condition by securing a fabric to the corrugated web at the valleys of the corrugations. The composite structure is made without substantially effecting web loft by (i) introducing the nonwoven web to the ends of a plurality of spaced paddles, (ii) causing the spacing between the ends of the paddles to decrease to corrugate the nonwoven web, and (iii) securing the fabric to the corrugated nonwoven web at the valleys of the corrugations. A composite structure of this construction made by this method provides very good filtration performance, making it particularly suitable for use as a filter in a cup-shaped face mask. The composite structure also is very suitable for use as thermal insulation in apparel.

Corrugated nonwoven webs of polymeric microfiber

Thermal insulation contains a corrugated nonwoven web and a means for retaining the shape of a corrugated web. The shape-retaining means is not coextensive with the corrugated nonwoven web and is secured to the valleys of the corrugations. The corrugated nonwoven web has a solidity of 0.1 or less and contains microfiber and crimped staple fibers that have a percent crimp of at least 15 percent.

Thermal insulation containing corrugated nonwoven web of polymeric

A method of making a corrugated nonwoven web of polymeric microfiber, which method comprises:

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Woodbury, MN, United States of America

Raju Venkatapathy