USO0RE38105E

(19) United States (12) Reissued Patent

(10) Patent Number:

James et al. (54)

(45) Date 0f Reissued Patent:

APPARATUS FOR MAKING NONWOVEN FABRICS HAVING RAISED PORTIONS

5,098,764 A 5,115,544 A 5,158,819 A

(75) Inventors: William A. James, Pennington, NJ _

.

.

.

,

(

)

_

_

_

(73) Assrgnee: McNell-PPC, Inc., Skrllman, NJ (US)

Elf/“Ch et ‘11-1 amura e

a.

5/1995 Suzuki et a1‘

5,585,017 A

12/1996 James et al.

5,674,591 A

10/1997

5,981,824 A

(21) Appl. No.: 09/457,157 Filed:

10/1992 Goodmand, Jr. et al.

,

5,414,914 A

May 6, 2003

3/1992 Drelich et al. 5/1992 Widen

2

(\IIJIS)I,J;V1ll1am G. F. Kelly, Mrddlesex,

(22)

US RE38,105 E

James et al.

11/1999 Luceri

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS

Dec. 10, 1999 Related US. Patent Documents

EP

0 127 192

5/1984

EP

0 152 604

11/1985

EP

0 432 958

6/1991

Reissue of:

(64) Patent NO_;

5,822,833

Issued:

Primary Examiner—Danny Worrell

Oct. 20, 1998

Appl. No.:

08/799,638

(57)

F?edi

Feb- 10, 1997

A topographical support member and a method of forming

_

_

a topographical support member for use in producing non

U-S- Apphcatlons?

Woven fabrics With raised portions, especially intaglio and

(62) g‘g’i‘sion OfPaPPEICatiSOIGI7Ii%-898/308,017: ?led on 56P- 16: ’ now

(51) (52) (58)

ABSTRACT

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slub type portions. The topographical support member com prises a body having a top surface including a ?rst micro

Int. Cl.7 ................................................ .. D04H 1/46 US. Cl. .......................................... .. 28/105; 28/106 Field of Search ........................ .. 28/103, 104, 105,

sized topographical pattern and a pattern of apertures eXtehding through the body' At least one macro-sized region recessed below the top surfaee is provided The miere-sized

28/106, 107, 109

pattern produces a background portion of the fabric and the macro-sized recessed regions produce the raised portions of the fabric. Multiple levels may be provided in the macro

(56)

References Cited

siZed region to produce multiple level raised portions. U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

4,995,151 A

2/1991 Siegel et a1.

4 Claims, 17 Drawing Sheets

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FIG.9 POSITION

FIBROUS WEB ONTO SUPPORT MEMBER BOX If

‘I PRE-SOAK FIBROUS WEB ON SUPPORT

MEMBER

BOX 2/

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ASS SUPPOR T

MEMBER UNDER

HIGH PRESSURE BOX 3-’

sucnow WATER V

AWAY UNDER

SUPPORT MEMBER

WATER NOZZLES

BOX 4/ I

DE - WATER

FORMED FABRIC VIA SUCTION BOX 5/ I

REMOVE FORMED FABRIC FROM SUPPORT MEMBER BOX 6“ ‘

PASS’ FORMED FABRIC OVER DRYING

BOX 7-/'~

DRUMS

[BOX 8 h REMOVE/FINISH

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2

APPARATUS FOR MAKING NONWOVEN FABRICS HAVING RAISED PORTIONS

US. Pat. Nos. 5,098,764 and 5,244,711 disclose the use of a support member in one such method of producing nonWoven fabrics. The support members have a topographi

Matter enclosed in heavy brackets [ ] appears in the original patent but forms no part of this reissue speci? cation; matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

cal feature con?guration as Well as an array of apertures. In

This is a divisional application of US. application Ser. No. 308,017, ?led Sep. 16, 1994, now US. Pat. No. 5,674, 587.

this process, a starting Web of ?ber is positioned on the

topographical support member. The support member With the ?brous Web thereon is passed under jets of high pressure 10

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditional fabrics have, for centuries, been decorated and had their surface texture modi?ed by embroidery and other needle arts. Originally, this process Was obtained through

15

tedious hand labor, painstakingly applying ?ne stitches that

them in their neW arrangement to provide a stable fabric. The support member must not under go any substantial distortion

had the cumulative effect of building up a region of the

background fabric according to some particular pattern. The resulting product had a base fabric, comprised of threads or yarns, Woven or knitted according to some pattern, a raised

20

under the force of the ?uid jets. Also, the support member must have means for removing the relatively large volumes of entangling ?uid so as to prevent “?ooding” of the ?brous

region formed by a collection of threads in some stitch pattern, and an overall pattern of these raised regions deter

Web, Which Would interfere With effective entangling.

Typically, the support member includes drainage apertures

mined by their respective siZe, shape, orientation and place ment. While rich in appearance, these products Were com

?uid, typically Water. The jets of Water cause the ?ber to intertWine and interentangle With each other in a particular pattern, based on the topographical con?guration of the support member. The pattern of topographical features and apertures in the support member is critical to the structure of the resulting nonWoven fabric. In addition, the support member must have suf?cient structural integrity and strength to support a ?brous Web While ?uid jets rearrange the ?bers and entangle

Which must be of a suf?ciently small siZe to maintain the 25

integrity of the ?brous Web and prevent the loss of ?ber through the forming surface. In addition, the support mem ber should be substantially free of burrs, hooks or the like irregularities that could interfere With the removal therefrom of the entangled fabric. At the same time, the support

30

integral pattern during the course of their manufacture.

member must be such that ?bers of the ?brous Web being processed thereon are not Washed aWay under the in?uence

Those having an integral pattern of their oWn fall into tWo

of the ?uid jets.

plicated to create and costly to produce. Most nonWoven fabrics are ?at and visually uninteresting. In some instances, nonWoven fabrics are embossed or

printed With some sort of design to provide visual interest. In other instances, nonWoven fabrics are provided With an

categories: 1) Apertured fabrics—Where a pattern is created by a netWork of bundled ?ber segments surrounding aper

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 35

tures or holes; or

The present invention is directed to topographical support members and methods of making them. These topographical

2) Weight patterned fabrics—fabrics that achieve a visual

support members can be used to make nonWoven fabrics

effect by concentrating ?bers into regions of higher

having a ?brous background portion in one plane thereof and raised ?brous portions in another plane thereof. There may be tWo types of raised portions. The basis Weight of the ?rst type of raised portion is substantially the same as the basis Weight of the background portion of the nonWoven fabric. The basis Weight of the second type of raised portion is greater than the basis Weight of the background portion.

basis Weight to increase opacity relative to the loWer basis Weight regions Which are more translucent.

40

It is important to differentiate betWeen basis Weight and density. “Basis Weight” is the Weight of a unit area of ?brous Web or fabric or portion thereof being characterized. Basis Weight has also been called “area density” in some prior art patents. The term “density” is the Weight of a unit volume of

45

iZed. “Density” has also been called “volume density” in some prior art patents. Typical embossing processes create

regions of higher density Without altering the basis Weight. Traditional nonWoven patterning processes produce regions

50

The prior art nonWoven fabrics made With these knoWn

portion is substantially the same as the basis Weight of the 55

60

for many years. In one process, a ?ber batt or Web is treated With Water streams to cause the ?ber to entangle With each

other and provide some strength in the batt. Many methods have been developed for treating ?ber batts in this manner in an attempt to duplicate the physical properties and appear ance of Woven fabrics.

background portion. The density of the background portion and the density of the raised portion are substantially the same. A raised portion Whose basis Weight is substantially the same as the basis Weight of the background portion is

nonWoven fabrics are not dimensionally stable and their

raised portions lose their three-dimensional structure When stressed, as for example, When they are handled or laun dered. Processes for making nonWoven fabrics have been knoWn

the nonWoven fabric. The raised portion of the nonWoven fabric is located in a second plane Which is above and

parallel to the ?rst plane. The raised portion is joined to the background portion by a ?brous transition region. In this speci?c nonWoven fabric, the basis Weight of the raised

of varying basis Weight, While maintaining substantially uniform density. patterning processes do not have clear, Well de?ned raised portions and therefore the desired patterns are dif?cult to see. In addition, the raised portions of prior art embossed

On type of nonWoven fabric Which can be made With

support members of the present invention comprises a background portion and at least one raised portion. The background portion is located in and de?nes a ?rst plane of

a ?brous Web or fabric or portion thereof being character

65

sometimes referred to as an “intaglio” portion. Another type of nonWoven fabric Which can be made With

support members of the present invention also comprises a background portion and at least one raised portion. As Was the case With the ?rst nonWoven fabric, the background portion is located in and de?nes a ?rst plane of the non Woven fabric and the raised portion is located in a second plane Which is above and parallel to the ?rst plane. As Was the case With the ?rst nonWoven fabric, the raised portion is

US RE38,105 E 3

4

joined to the background portion by a ?brous transition

background portion of the nonWoven fabric. The macro

region. In the case of the second type of nonWoven fabric

siZed region produces raised portions of the fabric conform ing to the shape and depth of the macro-siZed region. The macro-siZed recessed region preferably has the same topo graphical pattern as the top surface of the support member,

hoWever, the basis Weight of the raised portion is greater than the basis Weight of the background portion. The density of the raised portion of this second nonWoven fabric is substantially the same as the density of the background

hoWever, the regions may have a different pattern or no

portion. A raised portion Whose basis Weight is greater than the basis Weight of the background portion is sometimes

pattern. In addition, the macro-siZed region may include a major surface recessed a ?rst depth beloW the top surface

referred to as a “slub” portion. and one or more minor surfaces recessed at depths different Yet another type of nonWoven fabric Which can be made 10 from the ?rst depth. For eXample, one minor surface sur

With support members of the present invention, comprises a background portion, at least one ?rst raised portion, and at

rounding the major surface may be provided that is recessed

least one second raised portion. As Was the case With the ?rst

cross-sectional Width substantially less than the Width of the

and second nonWovens discussed above, the background portion is located in and de?nes a ?rst plane of the non Woven fabric. The ?rst raised portion is located in a plane

Which is above and parallel to the ?rst plane. Similarly the second raised portion is located in a plane Which is above and parallel to the ?rst plane. Each of the ?rst and second raised portions is joined to the background portion by a ?brous transition region. In this third nonWoven fabric, the basis Weight of the ?rst raised portion is substantially the same as the basis Weight of the background portion, While the basis Weight of the second raised portion is greater than the basis Weight of the background portion. In other Words,

at a depth beloW the ?rst depth and has a diameter or a

15

major surface. The topographical pattern comprising the top surface of the support member is preferably produced by a laser drilling process. The laser drilling process produces a plu rality of peaks, valleys and apertures in the top surface of the support members. The macro-siZed regions, formed by a laser ablation process, have a cross-sectional Width larger

than the repeat spacing of the repeating pattern. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 25

in this third type of nonWoven fabric, the nonWoven fabric

FIG. 1A is a top plan vieW of one nonWoven fabric Which can be made using a support member of the present inven

has one or more ?rst raised portions Which are sometimes referred to as “intaglio” portions and one or more second

tion;

raised portions Which are sometimes referred to as “slub”

using a support member of the present invention;

portions. It is not necessary that the ?rst raised portion and the second raised portion be in the same plane; rather the ?rst raised portion may be in a plane Which is above the

FIG. 1C is a top plan vieW of a third nonWoven fabric Which can be made using a support member of the present

FIG. 1B is another nonWoven fabric Which can be made

invention;

plane of the background portion and the second raised

FIG. 2 is a photomicrograph, in plan vieW, of a portion of

portion may be in a plane Which is above the plane of the

?rst raised portion.

a nonWoven fabric made using a support member of the 35

In the process of forming nonWoven fabrics using the topographical support members of the present invention, a Web or layer of ?bers or a lightly entangled ?brous Web is placed on a foraminous forming plate or topographical

FIG. 2A is a perspective vieW of the cross-sectional vieW taken along line 2A—2A of FIG. 2. FIG. 2B is a perspective vieW of the cross-sectional vieW taken along line 2B—2B of FIG. 2.

support member comprising an essentially planar back

FIG. 3 is a photomicrograph of a cross-sectional vieW

ground surface With at least one relatively Wide recessed

taken along line 2A—2A of FIG. 2.

region signi?cantly displaced from the background surface

FIG. 4 is a photomicrograph of a cross-sectional vieW

of the forming plate. Typically, the support member com prises a multiplicity of recessed regions, positioned as depressions in some predetermined array, that Will form a desired pattern of raised portions on the nonWoven fabric. Fluid forces, in the form of streams of Water, are applied to the upper surface of the starting ?brous Web or layer of

45

type of raised portion in a nonWoven fabric made With a

type of raised portion in a nonWoven fabric made With a

support member of the present invention.

applying ?uid forces continues, the ?bers are entangled and

FIG. 7 is photomicrograph of a cross-sectional vieW taken along Line 7—7 of FIG. 6.

locked together so as to provide a nonWoven fabric com

prising a background portion and one or more raised por tions Which are permanently positioned With respect to one 55

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatic vieWs of three

The present invention is directed to a topographical support member and a method for forming a topographical support member for producing nonWoven fabrics having raised

types of apparatus for producing nonWoven fabrics using support members of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective vieW, With parts in cross-section, of that portion of a topographical support member used to

portions. The support members of the present invention comprise a body portion having a top surface including a ?rst micro-siZed topographical pattern and a plurality of comprises at least one macro-siZed region disposed beloW said top surface. The micro-siZed pattern produces the

FIG. 8 is an idealiZed sketch of the cross-sectional vieW shoWn in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the steps of the process for

making nonWoven fabrics using support members of the present invention.

from the planar background surface of the forming plate.

apertures through its thickness. The body portion further

taken along Line 4—4 of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional vieW, greatly enlarged, of one

support member of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a photomicrograph, in plan vieW, of a second

?bers. Initially, these ?uid forces “mold” the starting Web to the three dimensional support member; as the process of

another. In an alternative embodiment, the topographical support member has a relatively narroW recessed region displaced

present invention.

65

produce one background portion of a nonWoven fabric. FIG. 14A is a sketch in cross-section shoWing one type of

recessed region in a topographical support member of the present invention.