Kuraray Co., Ltd.

Kurray Co., Ltd.

Tsuyoshi Yamasaki

Kimio Nakayama

Jiro Tanaka

Yoshiyuki Ando

Yoshihiro Tamba

Norio Makiyama

Nobuo Takaoka

Hidekazu Andoh

Mitsuru Kato

Michinori Fujisawa

Yoshiki Nobuto

Yoshiaki Yasuda

Yoshihiro Tanba

Shuhei Yorimitsu

Kunio Kogame

An artificial leather including a base layer and a surface layer which is formed on one of surfaces of the base layer. The base layer includes bundles of microfine filaments and an elastic polymer. The surface layer includes the microfine filaments or includes the microfine filaments and the elastic polymer. The surface layer satisfies the relationship of X/Y&#x2265;1.5 wherein X is the number of cut ends of the microfine filaments which exist in a region from a surface to a 20 &#x3bc;m depth in a cross section of the artificial leather, Y is the number of cut ends of the microfine filaments which exist in a region from a surface to a 20 &#x3bc;m depth in a cross section perpendicular to the cross section for determining X, and X&#x3e;Y. The artificial leather having such surface layer exhibits a sufficient gloss without coating a pigment such as metallic powder.

Artificial leather, entangled web of filaments, and process for producing these

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 leather-like sheet composed of a microfine-fiber entangled body made of bundles of microfine fibers and an elastic polymer impregnated therein. The bundles of microfine fibers are composed of microfine monofibers having an average cross-sectional area of 0.1 to 30 &#x3bc;mand have an average cross-sectional area of 40 to 400 &#x3bc;m. The bundles of microfine fibers exist in a density of 600 to 4000/mmon a cross section taken along the thickness direction of the microfine-fiber entangled body. The elastic polymer contains 30 to 100% by mass of a polymer of ethylenically unsaturated monomer. The polymer of ethylenically unsaturated monomer is composed of a soft component having a glass transition temperature (Tg) of less than &#x2212;5&#xb0; C., a crosslinkable component, and optionally a hard component having a glass transition temperature (Tg) of higher than 50&#xb0; C. and another component. The polymer of ethylenically unsaturated monomer is bonded to the microfine fibers in the bundles of microfine fibers. The leather-like sheet has a flexibility and hand such as dense feeling each resembling natural leathers and a high quality appearance. The leather-like sheet is highly stable in quality such as fastness and surface abrasion resistance and excellent in practical performance.

Leather-like sheet and method of manufacturing the same

A method of producing an entangled sheet of microfine long fibers using long fibers for forming microfine fibers. The method includes a step of forming a long-fiber web made of long fibers for forming microfine fibers, at least one component of the long fibers being a water-soluble, thermoplastic polyvinyl alcohol resin; a step of entangling the long-fiber web to form a long-fiber entangled sheet; a step of shrinking the long-fiber entangled sheet to form a long-fiber shrunk sheet; and a step of converting the long fibers for forming microfine fibers in the long-fiber shrunk sheet to microfine long fibers, thereby producing the entangled sheet of microfine long fibers. The step of entangling is conducted so as to allow the long-fiber entangled sheet to have an interlaminar peel strength of 2 kg/2.5 cm or more. The step of shrinking is conducted so as to shrink in an areal shrinkage of 35% or more.

Process for producing intertwined ultrafine filament sheet

The suede artificial leather of the present invention comprises a three-dimensional entangled body comprising a superfine fiber having a fineness of 0.2 dtex or less and an elastomeric polymer A, and satisfies the requirements (1) to (4) as specified in the specification. By meeting the requirements, the suede artificial leather acquires excellent color fastness to light and color development in a wide range of colors and a high quality with good suede feeling, surface touch, hand, mechanical properties and color fastness.

Suede artificial leather and production method thereof

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

The leather-like sheet of the invention comprises a napped part of ultrafine fibers and a grainy part of nonporous elastic polymer randomly existing in the surface of a substrate prepared by infiltrating a porous polymer elastomer into a three-dimensionally intermingled nonwoven fabric of ultrafine fibers of not more than 0.5 dtex, and this is characterized in that the nonporous elastic polymer is infiltrated into the substrate to a depth thereof of from 5 to 20 &#x3bc;m from the surface of the substrate. The production method of the invention is for producing a nubuck-type leather-like sheet of good surface abrasion resistance. A grainy part of resin and ultrafine fibers and a part of the ultrafine fibers are mingled on the surface of the substrate, and the sheet has an elegant and three-dimensional appearance like natural leather.

Leather-like sheet and method for production thereof

A fibrous substrate for artificial leather, containing microfine fiber bundles, each of which is composed of 3-50 microfine fibers (A) containing an elastic polymer and having an average fineness of 0.5 denier or less and 15 or more microfine fibers (B) containing a non-elastic polymer and having an average fineness of 0.2 denier or less. The microfine fiber bundles satisfy the following conditions (1)-(3): (1) the ratio of the number of strands of the A to the number of strands of the B in cross sections of the bundles (A/B) is 1/5 or less, (2) the ratio of the weight of the A to the weight of the B in the bundles (A/B) is 10/90-60/40, and (3) the microfine fibers (B) containing the non-elastic polymer encircle each of the microfine fibers (A) comprising the elastic polymer.

Fibrous substrate for artificial leather and artificial leather using the same

An artificial leather sheet substrate comprising: a fiber entangled nonwoven fabric composed of bundles of a polyamide-based microfine fibers comprising a polyamide or a polyamide composition having a hot toluene swelling degree of 2 to 10%, and having a fineness of 0.1 decitex or less; and an elastic polymer and a releasing agent between the bundles, the releasing agent being also added to the inside of the bundles. This leather-like sheet substrate is soft and is excellent in denseness, dyeability and color fastness. The sheet is suitable, as a suede-like artificial leather or a grain surface like artificial leather, for fields for which high quality is required, for example, for clothing. The sheet is high in denseness of surface napped fiber and is excellent in hand touch, writing effect and draping ability, especially as a suede-like artificial leather. According to the present invention, the shrinkage ratio, which is unstable according to producing methods in the prior art, can be obtained stably in the industry.

Artificial leather sheet substrate and production process thereof

Method of making a leather-like sheet material having a low bounce impact elasticity, which comprises: (a) mixing (i) a solvent solution of a polymer (A) consisting mainly of an elastomer and (ii) a dispersion in a liquid of a polymer (B) consisting mainly of an elastomer, thereby obtaining a composite solution containing fine particles of (B) dispersed in a solution of polymer (A); (b) coating a sheet or impregnating a fibrous mat substrate with the composite solution; (c) immersing the substrate in a coagulation bath to deposit and coagulate both polymers; and (d) drying said sheet or mat.

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Okayama, Japan

Tsuyoshi Yamasaki