The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 26, 2015
Filed:
Feb. 10, 2012
Neil T. Scholl, Neenah, WI (US);
Ryan J. Mceneany, Appleton, WI (US);
Thomas A. Eby, Greenville, WI (US);
Vasily A. Topolkaraev, Appleton, WI (US);
Neil T. Scholl, Neenah, WI (US);
Ryan J. McEneany, Appleton, WI (US);
Thomas A. Eby, Greenville, WI (US);
Vasily A. Topolkaraev, Appleton, WI (US);
Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI (US);
Abstract
A thermoplastic composition that contains a rigid renewable polyester and has a voided structure and low density is provided. To achieve such a structure, the renewable polyester is blended with a polymeric toughening additive to form a precursor material in which the toughening additive can be dispersed as discrete physical domains within a continuous matrix of the renewable polyester. The precursor material is thereafter stretched or drawn at a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the polyester (i.e., 'cold drawn'). This creates a network of voids located adjacent to the discrete domains, which as a result of their proximal location, can form a bridge between the boundaries of the voids and act as internal structural 'hinges' that help stabilize the network and increase its ability to dissipate energy. The present inventors have also discovered that the voids can be distributed in a substantially homogeneous fashion throughout the composition.