Patent ID: 7341963

Claim:
A non-woven material, comprising: first binder fibers, bulking fibers, and second binder fibers; wherein the non-woven material being a unitary material formed in a single process without joining together discrete separate layers having: a first planar zone defined by a first boundary plane and an inner boundary plane, the first planar zone including a portion of the first binder fibers and the bulking fibers; a bulking planar zone defined by a second boundary plane and said inner boundary plane, the bulking planar zone including a portion of the first binder fibers, the second binder fibers, and the bulking fibers; a first semi-rigid skin at the first boundary plane formed by melt bonding the first binder fibers on the first boundary plane of the first planar zone, the first skin comprising the first binder fibers; wherein concentrations of said first binder fibers in said first planar zone being greater than concentrations of the first binder fibers in said bulking planar zone, and the concentration of the first binder fibers decreases in a gradient from the first boundary plane to the inner boundary plane; and wherein concentrations of said bulking fibers being greater in said bulking planar zone than the concentration of the bulking fibers in said first planar zone, and the concentration of bulking fibers decreases in a gradient from the second boundary plane to the inner boundary plane.