Patent GB-942455-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to fibrous sheet-like articles
IPC: D04H1/74
Filed: 1960-01-19
Abstract: 942,455. Laminates. E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO. Jan. 19, 1960 [Jan. 19, 1959; Dec. 24, 1959], No. 1994/60. Heading B5N. [Also in Divisions C3 and D1] A process for making a porous, sheet-like article comprises forming a body of filaments or fibres having a contorted configuration, in which at least 25% of the overall volume is void, and the majority, i.e. at least 65% of the filaments or fibres are aligned in the same general direction and overlap adjacent filaments or fibres at a plurality of points and cutting the body at an angle of 20 to 90 degrees to the general direction to form the sheet. The majority, i.e. at least 65% of the fibres, are thus aligned at 20 to 90 degrees, to the faces of the sheet, which preferably contains 0.5 to 35 pounds of fibres per cubic foot. A major portion of the fibres not aligned in the general direction are preferably aligned in a second direction also at 20 to 90 degrees to the faces of the sheet, but in the opposite sense, e.g. at 90 degrees to the general direction, the out being made at 45 degrees to both directions. Before cutting, the body may be impregnated under pressure with a binder, e.g. latex, e.g. 0.5% by weight of the body, and the binder may be subsequently leached out, preferably after the sheet has been secured by adhesive to a backing material. In a batch method, crimped, overlapping fibres are arranged in a perforated mould, impregnated with latex and dried with hot air. Sheets or wafers are cut at the desired angle from the block so formed. In alternative methods, sheets are sliced from a rotating shell of radially disposed bonded fibres or strips are cut from a web of bonded fibres on a conveyer. Instead of using a binder, fusible fibres may be employed, and caused to adhere to each other by heating, and they may be contorted before or after being formed into the body, e.g. nylon and cellulose acetate fibres may be contorted, and simultaneously bonded, by means of a solvent, e.g. a zinc chloride/methanol solution and acetone, respectively. Additives, e.g. size, sawdust, salt floe, rayon or cotton sinters, wood flour, pigments, whiting, sand diatomaceous earth, may be included in the bonded body, which may be dyed. In a continuous method (Fig. 1) a web of contorted, aligned staple fibres is formed by passing staple fibres 1 from feeders 2, 2<SP>1</SP> through garnetting machines 3, 3<SP>1</SP> on to a conveyer belt 4 driven by drive rolls 5, 5<SP>1</SP>. Binder composition is sprayed on to the web by sprays 6, 6<SP>1</SP>. The web is dried under infra-red lamps 7 and fed vertically downward into reciprocating cutter 8. The cut-off sections are forced by reciprocating ram 9 into forming chamber 10 where they are impregnated with a latex composition fed through inlets 11, 11<SP>1</SP>. The impregnated block is fed through a vacuum chamber 12 to remove excess latex and then passed between dielectric heating plates 13, 13<SP>1</SP> to dry the block and complete the bonding. The block is fed through the forming chamber by means of carrier belts 14 and 14<SP>1</SP> driven by drive rolls 15.. 22 inclusive. Thin wafers or sheets 31 are then slit from the resulting block by horizontal knife cutters 23, 23<SP>1</SP>, 24, 24<SP>1</SP> and other knives (not shown), and may be cemented to backing material, e.g. woven, knitted or non- woven fabric, fed from feed rolls 28, 28<SP>1</SP>, 29, 29<SP>1</SP> to which an adhesive has been applied by adhesive applicator rolls 30, 301 and finally wound up on rolls 26, 26<SP>1</SP>, 27, 27<SP>1</SP> and others not shown. Unspecified rigid backing material may be employed, and flexible backings mentioned are rubber-impregnated cellulosic material and polyamide fabric in each case secured to the block by a neoprene-based adhesive. Backing may be applied to both sides of the sheet. Suitable starting materials for making the articles of the invention are (i) a card web of substantially aligned staple fibres or (ii) a body of substantially aligned filamentary structures prepared from a warp of sliver, roving, tow, continuous filament yarn or spun yarns. Specified fibres are those made from polyamides such as poly(hexamethylene adipamide), poly(hexamethylene sebacamide), polycaproamide, copolyamides; polyesters and copolyesters such as condensation products of ethylene glycol with terephthalic acid, of ethylene glycol with a 90/10 mixture of terephthalic/isophthalic acids, of ethylene glycol with a 98/2 mixture of terephthalic/5-(sodium sulpho)-isophthalio acids and trans-p-hexahydro-xylylene glycol with terephthalic acid; polyacrylonitrile, copolymers of acrylonitrile with other monomers such as vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, methyl acrylate, vinyl pyridine, sodium styrene sulphonate, terpolymere of acrylonitrile/methylaorylate/sodium styrene sulphonate vinyl and vinylidene polymers and copolymers, polycarbonates, polyurethanes, polyesteramides, polyethylenes, polypropylenes, fluorinated ethylene polymers and copolymers cellulose derivatives such as cellulose acetate and cellulose triacetate, regenerated cellulose, cotton, wool, glass, silk, mohair, angora, vicuna. The fibres and filaments may be crimped or unerimped ,bulked or unbulked, drawn or undrawn. The fibres may be in the form of continuous monofilaments, continuous multifilaments, carded webs, warp sliver, roving, tow, spun yarn, bolts, felts, papers or other non- woven webs. Specified binders are natural rubber, synthetic elastomers (such as chloroprene, butadiene styrene copolymers, butadiene acrylonitrile copolymers) vinyl acetate, acrylic polymers (such as ethyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, acrylic acid/acrylic esters, copolymers and methyl methacrylate, cellulose acetate, polyester resins such as ethylene terephthalate/ ethylene isophthalate copolymers, polyurethanes such as the polymer from piperazine and ethylene bis - chloroformate, methoxymethyl polyamides and polyvinyl chloride/vinylidene chloride copolymer lattices, polyvinyl alcohol, sodium alginate, carboxymethyl cellulose, polytetrafluoroethylene and urea-formaldehyde resin lattices, chlorosulphonated polyethylene; butyl rubbers, such as isobutylene/isoprene copolymers; polyhydrocarbons such as polyethylene, polypropylene; high molecular weight polyethylene glycols ; epoxide resins such as the diepoxides of bisphenols and glycols; polystyrene; polyesters of glycerol with phthalic or maleic acid; phenol formaldehyde resins; polyvinyl acetols, such as polyvinyl butyral and polyvinyl formal; polyvinyl ethers such as polyvinyl isobutyl ether; starch, gelatine, methyl cellulose, polyvinyl fluoride, acetone, polyether/amides, polyether/ureas, polyester/ urethanes and polypropylene/methanes. Specification 905,895 and U.S.A. Specification 2,939,201 are referred to.