Hydroentangled polyolefin web
First Claim
1. A process for hydroentangling an unbonded, nonwoven polyolefin web comprising the steps of:
- (a) supporting a lightweight web of continuous polyolefin filament fibers on a fine mesh screen; and
(b) passing the supported web underneath high energy water jets operating at a pressure of at least 2000 psi and providing a total impact energy of at least 0.7 MJ-N/Kg to entangle the web in a random manner.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A process is disclosed for hydroentangling continuous polyolefin filament fibers to form a fabric web. The fibers are supported on a 60 to 150 mesh screen and passed under high pressure water jets operating at at least 2000 psi and providing a total impact energy of at least 0.7 MJ-N/Kg to entangle the fibers. Preferably, the hydroentangled web is thereafter passed under finer finishing water jets operating at a pressure of between 300 to 1200 psi to redistribute the fibers. If desired, a finish may be applied to the entangled web. The resulting hydroentangled web has considerably increased visual uniformity, opacity, softness, comfort, strength and barrier properties compared to prior art webs thereby making it particularly useful as a disposable industrial garment.
293 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A process for hydroentangling an unbonded, nonwoven polyolefin web comprising the steps of:
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(a) supporting a lightweight web of continuous polyolefin filament fibers on a fine mesh screen; and (b) passing the supported web underneath high energy water jets operating at a pressure of at least 2000 psi and providing a total impact energy of at least 0.7 MJ-N/Kg to entangle the web in a random manner. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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- 11. An unbonded, nonwoven hydroentangled polyolefin web having a strip tensile strength of at least 3.5 lbs/oz/yd2, an opacity of at least 90%, and an average pore size of less than 10 microns.
Specification