Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Methods – Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-01
2004-01-06
Yao, Sam Chuan (Department: 1733)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Methods
Surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
C156S179000, C156S226000, C156S227000, C156S291000, C156S292000, C156S308200, C156S434000, C156S443000, C156S459000, C156S466000, C264S008000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06673186
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laminated structural body having unidirectionally arranged strands sandwiched between two web layers such as of nonwoven fabric or film, and a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing such a laminated structural body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various composite sheets of nonwoven fabric and resilient body have heretofore been proposed in the art. See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publications Nos. 174764/96, 132856/97, 279453/97, and 222759/99. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 174764/96 discloses a composite body comprising at least two laminated layers including a stretched long fiber web of thermoplastic resin and a stretchable elastomer layer, the composite body being stretchable in a limited direction. The stretched long fiber web comprises a unidirectionally stretched web of long fibers formed by spinning a thermoplastic resin, the long fibers being unidirectionally arranged.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 132856/97 reveals an extensible spun bonded nonwoven fabric which can be extended readily in the transverse direction under very small stresses and has an excellent surface strength and touch. To form the disclosed extensible spun bonded nonwoven fabric, a thermoplastic resin is melted and extruded into a group of continuous fiber filaments which are taken up while being stretched with a high-speed, high-pressure air stream by an ejector, opened, and caught and stacked on a catching support, thereby forming a web. Regular intermittent first self-fusion zones are formed in the web, thereby forming a continuous fiber spun bonded nonwoven fabric. There is longitudinally drawn the continuous fiber spun bonded nonwoven fabric having the first self-fusion zones such that the width of the nonwoven fabric before it is stretched and the width of the nonwoven fabric after it is stretched have a ratio ranging from 100:90 to 100:50. While the width of the nonwoven fabric after it is stretched is being maintained, the nonwoven fabric is heated by a heating roll to form regular intermittent second self-fusion zones. Specifically, after a spun bonded nonwoven fabric is lightly embossed, it is longitudinally stretched to reduce its width, and then further embossed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 279453/97 shows a unidirectionally stretchable nonwoven fabric and a method of manufacturing such a unidirectionally stretchable nonwoven fabric easily and efficiently. According to the disclosed method, a nonwoven fabric made mainly of fibers of thermoplastic resin is produced. Then, the nonwoven fabric as an un-stretched raw fabric is uniaxially stretched at a temperature which is 60° C. to 10° C. lower than the melting point of the thermoplastic resin, by two nip rolls at a stretching ratio ranging from 1.4 to 4.0, the nip rolls being spaced in the stretch direction by an interval that is 0.5 to 10 times the width of the stretched raw fabric. In this manner, the unidirectionally stretchable nonwoven fabric is manufactured.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 222759/99 discloses a composite stretchable nonwoven fabric comprising a laminated structure of a stretchable nonwoven fabric of long fiber filaments and an extensible elastomer layer. The stretchable nonwoven fabric comprises a nonwoven fabric that is stretched at least three times in at least one direction. The stretchable nonwoven fabric is chiefly made of long fiber filaments each having a diameter ranging from 3 &mgr;m to 15 &mgr;m, and can be spread at least 150% without a reduction in elongation stresses when elongated in a direction perpendicular to the stretch direction. The elastomer layer may be in the form of a film, a nonwoven fabric, a foamed body, or the like. The elastomer layer and the stretched nonwoven fabric are joined to each other by an extrusion lamination process, a bonding process using an adhesive, or a process of applying an elastomer solution.
Apparatus for manufacturing a web by spinning strands with a rotating spinning head are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publications Nos. 60462/82, 35301/82, 39539/84, and 52228/85. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 39539/84 discloses a manufacturing apparatus which ejects a melted polymer under centrifugal forces from the spinning nozzles of a spinning head that is rotating at a high speed. The ejected filaments of the melted polymer are cooled and solidified by a cylindrical cooling surface disposed around the spinning head. The material of the filaments, i.e., the material polymer, mainly comprises a thermoplastic polymer. To the cooled and solidified filaments, there is bonded a pair of warp selvedge members extending substantially perpendicularly to an arranging direction of the filament, thus producing a parallel weft body composed of filaments bonded to the warp selvedge members.
When a composite sheet is manufactured as a laminated body of a nonwoven fabric and a resilient body, the resilient body and its material are handled in an exposed state in a certain process. In such a process, the material of the resilient body adheres to components of the manufacturing apparatus, thus blocking the manufacturing apparatus, and depositing the resilient body on components of the manufacturing apparatus. Therefore, the manufacturing apparatus tends to have mechanical problems. The manufacturing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 39539/84 also has a process of solidifying filaments spun by a spinning head with a cooling surface and a process of transporting the filaments in an exposed state. Therefore, since the material of the resilient body is liable to adhere to components of the manufacturing apparatus, the manufacturing apparatus tends to be blocked, and the resilient body tends to be deposited on components of the manufacturing apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a laminated structural body of a web as of nonwoven fabric and resilient strands laminated on the web, which laminated structural body can be manufactured industrially efficiently by preventing a manufacturing apparatus from being blocked due to the adhesion of the material of the strands to components of the manufacturing apparatus and also preventing the material of the strands from being deposited on components of the manufacturing apparatus, and a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing such a laminated structural body.
To achieve the above object, there is provided in accordance with the present invention a laminated structural body of a web shape comprising a laminated body with a layer of strands laminated on the inner surface of a tubular nonwoven fabric, the laminated body being folded flatwise, the strands being arranged transversely of the laminated structural body between folded layers of the nonwoven fabric. The strands which are unidirectionally arranged are sandwiched between two layers of the nonwoven fabric, and covered in their entity with the nonwoven fabric. Preferably, the strands are made of a thermoplastic elastomer, and the nonwoven fabric has an elongation of 100% or higher in the transverse direction of the laminated structural body. For example, the tubular nonwoven fabric has high strength in the longitudinal direction thereof and an elongation of 100% or higher in the transverse direction of the laminated structural body, and the strands have large stretchability. The laminated structural body is longitudinally highly strong and dimensionally stable, and transversely highly stretchable. To manufacture such a laminated structural body, a nonwoven fabric is curved into a cylindrical shape, and strands are spun in the cylindrical nonwoven fabric and laminated on an inner surface of the cylindrical nonwoven fabric. A laminated body, which comprises the cylindrical nonwoven fabric with the strands laminated on the inner surface thereof, is folded flatwise into a laminated structural body. In the manufacture of the laminated structural body, any pr
Ishida Takashi
Katoh Tadayoshi
Murakami Shuichi
Ohta Toshio
Yazawa Hiroshi
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
Nippon Petrochemicals Co. Ltd.
Yao Sam Chuan
LandOfFree
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