Kimberly-clark Corporation

Dow Global Technolgoies LLC

Stephen M Englebert

Rajen M Patel

Antonios K Doufas

Andy Cheng Chang

Edward N Knickerbocker

Hong Peng

Varunesh Sharma

Joy Francine Jordan

Christian Lee Sanders

Renette E Richard

Jozef J I Van Dun

Randy E Pepper

Bryon Paul Day

Gary H Meitner

Harry W Hotchkiss

Lizhi Liu

Nanette J Logsdon

Kurtis L Brown

Patrick J Notheis

Ann L Wagner

Byron P Day

Gregory S Hafer

Amy W Barrs

James F Dickson

Bryon P Day

Josef J I Van Dun

Josef JI Van Dun

Extensible bicomponent fibers and webs particularly adapted for disposable personal care product component applications. Sheath/core configurations providing desirable feel properties for elastic embodiments when compared with conventional elastic fibers and webs are obtained with specific olefin polymer combinations and sheath configurations.

Extensible and elastic conjugate fibers and webs having a nontacky feel

Fibers that exhibit good elasticity or extensibility and tenacity, and low modulus are prepared from propylene-based copolymers. The propylene-based copolymers comprise at least about 50 weight percent (wt %) of units derived from propylene and at least about 8 wt % of units derived from one or more comonomers other than propylene, e.g., ethylene. Particularly preferred propylene copolymers are characterized as havingC NMR peaks corresponding to a regio-error at about 14.6 and about 15.7 ppm, the peaks of about equal intensity. In one aspect of the invention, fibers are subjected to stress-induced crystallization by subjecting the fiber to tensile elongation during draw.

Propylene-based copolymers, a method of making the fibers and articles made from the fibers

Rolled material dispenser

Nonwoven web and method of making including interbonded thermoplastic fibers in an array of hollow projections extending outwardly from at least one surface of said web. The projections are separated by land areas of interbonded fibers, and the fiber orientation is greater in the projections than in the land areas. Either the projections or the land areas may be perforated as desired for controlled porosity and fluid flow properties. The nonwoven webs of the invention may be made by a number of processes but, preferably, are made by forming directly on a surface with corresponding projections with or without apertures and a vacuum assist or by forming on an apertured surface with a pressure differential sufficient to draw the fibers through the apertures forming the projections. The disclosure includes such webs with added fiber layers and as components of a wide variety of products including personal care items such as liners for sanitary napkins, household products such as cleaning materials and wipers, in the service product area such as towels, washcloths and bathmats, in the marine and automotive area as scrubbing and protective applicators, and in the hospital and veterinary areas as wipes and dispensing cloths. The method and apparatus disclosed may be varied as to steps and configuration to impart desired web constructions and properties, and preferred embodiments are disclosed.

Nonwoven web with projections

Nonwoven wiper having improved absorbency characteristics and streak free wiping properties having a laminate construction including a relatively high basis weight middle layer of meltblown thermoplastic microfibers and, on either side, a lightweight layer of generally continuous filament thermoplastic fibers having a larger average diameter. These wipers are strong, fabric-like, and are useful for a wide variety of applications including industrial uses, food services, as well as many others. The continuous filament layers provide strength and low lint properties while the combination exhibits improved wiping characteristics. The laminate is preferably bonded by application of heat and pressure and the individual components are preferably treated with a surfactant. The preferred combination of a layer of meltblown polypropylene microfibers having on either side a spunbonded polypropylene filament layer is particularly effective as an all purpose wiper.

Nonwoven wiper laminate

Improved low linting, low sodium ion content, wettable nonwoven wiper is provided through the use of a treatment involving a mixture of wetting agents. The wiper of the invention maintains the excellent wiping and low linting characteristics of nonwoven wipers while greatly reducing the amount of sodium ions present in the wiper and avoiding contamination problems especially prevalent in wipe applications for the electronics industry. Specifically, the combined wetting agent treatment includes a mixture of sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate such as Aerosol OT and a nonionic surfactant such as alkyl phenoxy ethanol (Triton X-100). The preferred mixtures are about 25 to 75% sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate with a ratio of about 40 to 60 preferred and about 50/50 especially preferred. The result is a wiper having essentially the desired wettability of those made with 100% sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate wetting agent and yet having only about half the sodium ion content. The wiper, therefore, can be employed advantageously in clean room applications such as the manufacture of micro-electronic devices where the prsence of greater amounts of sodium ions can be very detrimental due to changes of electrical properties of the semiconductor devices. Substrates for the wiper may include various synthetic filamentary material such as polyolefins, including polyethylene and polypropylene, and others which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Clean room wiper

Growing community of inventors

Woodstock, GA, United States of America

Stephen M Englebert