System for adapting heat shrinkable fibrous structures to particular uses

• US 5,059,378 A
• Filed: 02/22/1990
• Issued: 10/22/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Albany International Corporation
• Original Assignee: Albany International Corporation
• Inventors: Petterson, Dewitt R., DiTaranto, Francis A., Kramer, Charles E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cannon, James C.
• Application Number:
  US07/483,565
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 428/113, 428/198, 428/152, 428/161, 428/166, 428/170, 428/172, 428/119, 428/174, 428/286, 428/287, 156/85, 156/86, 156/148, 264/113, 264/123, 264/258
• US Class Current: 264/258
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/0036 Heat treatment for heating or cooling of layers during lamination B32B37/06, B32B37/08
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/06 characterised by a fibrous or filamentary layer mechanically connected, e.g. by needling to another layer, e.g. of fibres, of paper
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/06 by treatment to produce shrinking, swelling, crimping or curling of fibres
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/482 in combination with shrinkage
• CPC Class Codes: D04H 1/498 entanglement of layered webs
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1328 Shrinkable or shrunk [e.g., due to heat, solvent, volatile agent, restraint removal, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1366 Textile, fabric, cloth, or pile is sandwiched between two distinct layers of material unlike the textile, fabric, cloth, or pile layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24124 Fibers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24174 including sheet or component perpendicular to plane of web or sheet
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24446 Wrinkled, creased, crinkled or creped
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24521 with component conforming to contour of nonplanar surface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24562 Interlaminar spaces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24612 Composite web or sheet
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24628 Nonplanar uniform thickness material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24645 with folds in parallel planes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/682 Needled nonwoven fabric

Abstract

Composite product of adjacent interconnected layers of heat shrinkable fibers, made by heat shrink processing of interconnected such layers of differential shrinkage properties.

Claims

1. A structural or filler article of manufacture comprising one or more pairs of adjacent layers of heat-shrinkable fibers of different shrink characteristics in the respective layers which have been heat treated together to produce a differential degree of fiber shrinkage from layer to layer and consequent differential densification of the layers, the layers of at least one adjacent pair of layers being Z-axis linked by spanning pillars of Z-oriented fiber groups that span the layers.

2. Article as in claim 1 wherein the adjacent layers are of flat sheet form.

3. Article as in claim 1 wherein the adjacent layers are of curved sheet form.

4. Article as in claim 1 as made with a layer of essentially no shrinkage and a shrinkable layer connected thereto.

5. Article as in claim 1 as made with two heat shrinkable layers of substantially different shrinkage characteristics.

6. Article as in claim 1 comprising a single pair of adjacent such layers.

7. Article as in claim 1 comprising a triad of such layers.

8. Article as in any of claims 1, 6 or 7, comprising multiple modular sets of adjacent such layers in combination and co-acting to jointly provide composite properties, the modular sets being loosely bonded in comparison to the interlayer bonding of layers within each modular set.

9. Article as in claim 1 wherein the fibers are of a composition selected form the class represented by specification-defined structural formula I as clarified by specification-defined structures II through IV.

10. A process of utilizing heat shrinkable fibers to establish a controlled multi-density structure, comprising the steps of:

(a) establishing adjacent layers of heat shrinkable fibers of differing shrink characteristics,

(b) establishing interpenetration of fibers from one of said layers into the other, to form a laminate, and

(c) restraining the laminate from shrinkage in at least one lateral dimension and heating the laminate above the glass transition temperature of fiber components of at least one of the layers.

11. Process of claim 10 wherein the laminate is heated above the glass transition temperature of both the adjacent layers.

12. Process of claim 10 wherein the laminate is molded subsequent to its heat shrink processing.