CA2947826A1 - Use of continous filament non-woven fabrics for preventing down leakage from down-filled textile products - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to the use of a nonwoven fabric made of continuous filaments for the preventing of leakage of down from a down filled textile product, whereby a nonwoven fabric is obtained in a spinning process in which multicomponent fibres are deposited into a nonwoven mat, whereafter the multicomponent fibres are split into endless filaments having a titer of less than 0.15 dtex and the nonwoven mat mechanically solidified into a nonwoven fabric, without thermal or chemical solidification of the nonwoven fabric.

Description

Use of Continuous Filament Non-Woven Fabrics for Preventing Down Leakage from Down-Filled Textile Products The invention relates to the use of a nonwoven fabric made of continuous filaments for preventing down leakage from a down-filled textile product, whereby the continuous filaments have a titer of less than 0.15 dtex. The invention relates also to down-filled textile products and the processes for their manufacture.
Background Art Down, also called under feathers, are feathers with short rachis and soft barbs. Down is used in textile products such as bedding, jackets or sleeping bags, as fillers for thermal insulation.
The down feathers are thereby enclosed by and contained in envelopes made of sheet form textile materials. Down filled products must be down leakage proof during their intended use.
That means that the down cannot penetrate or even exit the envelope. Since rachis of down feathers are pointy and hard, the envelopes must have a high closeness. Thick and strong cloth is especially suited as envelopes. Cloth consists of mutually interwoven warp and weft yarns.
Down rachis, which are pointy but are in general significantly larger than cloth yarns and textile loops, cannot penetrate woven fabric, since the fibres are not sufficiently displaceable relative to one another. The down tightness of woven fabric can be tested with a standardized process according to DIN 12132-1.
Contrary to woven fabric, textile nonwoven materials are not suited as envelopes for the filling with down. Even thick textile nonwoven materials are relatively easily penetrated by down. Since the fibres of common nonwoven materials are unorganized and therefore displaceable relative to one another, rachis can readily penetrate them. Down tightness of nonwoven materials can be achieved by solidifying them over a large area either thermally or chemically. The fibres are then bound to one another, similar to in a woven fabric and no longer freely placeable relative to one another. Such a large area solidification is however not acceptable for textile uses, since it leads to disadvantageous properties such as low softness and elasticity, low porosity and associated low permeability for air and humidity. Therefore, woven fabric is generally used for down fill in the art since it was assumed in the art that commonly known nonwoven materials are not suited for filling with down, no standardized process for the measurement of down tightness for nonwoven materials exists similar to the DIN 12132-1 for woven fabric.
It would however be desirable to make nonwoven materials also suitable for such applications, since nonwoven materials have many advantageous properties which distinguish them from woven fabric, such as high softness, elasticity, stability, porosity and high air and moisture permeability, as well as good availability and workability.
It is therefore suggested in the art to use nonwoven materials for the storage of down only as a component in laminates. For example, JP 2008/303480A suggests the use of a laminate material made of a woven fabric and a nonwoven material. JP 2006/291421A
discloses down tight laminates which include thermally solidified nonwoven materials. It is however disadvantageous that components are included which are actually not ideal nonwoven materials. Moreover, laminates are relatively difficult to manufacture in particular because the components need to be glued together or solidly connected with one another in some other manner.
The utility model DE 203 10 279 U 1 describes envelopes made of microfibre nonwoven material with good air permeability which form a protection against allergens and mites. The envelopes have advantageous mechanical properties characteristic for nonwoven materials, for example with respect to washability and stability. It is also alleged in the disclosure that the microfibre nonwoven material is down-proof. No evidence is provided. The microfibre fleece according to the exemplary embodiment of DE 203 10 279 U 1 is a real nonwoven material which was neither thermally solidified over a large area nor strengthened by other layers as part of a laminate. Therefore, the fibres in non-solidified regions are displaceable relative to one another and it is not believable to the person skilled in the art that such a common nonwoven material is supposed to be down-proof. Contrarily, it must be assumed that this is alleged in DE 203 10 279 U 1 simply for the reason that a good tightness against allergen and mites was found and because down feathers are of a similar size.
However, one cannot draw conclusions on the tightness against down on a basis of the tightness against allergens and mites. While allergens and mites are simply particles, down has a unique hard and pointed structure, with barbs and is easily able to bore through nonwoven materials.

2 The applicant of the present application has therefore tested whether the allegation of DE 203 10 279 U 1 that such fine microfibre nonwoven materials are down-proof is true.
DE 203 10 279 U 1 includes an exemplary embodiment, but no details on the origin or manufacture of the exemplary nonwoven material are provided. The general details on the constitution of the microfibre nonwoven material are also relatively superficial. The microfibre nonwoven material described corresponds however essentially to a commercially available product of the trademark Evolon 100' of the company Freudenberg, which was commercially available in 2003. The product with the trademark Evolon is manufactured out of multi-component fibres including 16 microfibres per filament in a pie shaped arrangement (PIE16). Since the individual fibres are formed by pie shaped segments, they exhibit an angular cross-sectional profile which is pretty similar to a triangle. The nonwoven material is solidified by waterjet treatment, whereby the multicomponent fibres are split into individual filaments of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyamide (PA). The fibre thickness of the multi-component fibre is about 2.4 dtex and that of the individual fibres after the splitting is about 0.2 dtex and 0.1 dtex. The nonwoven material Evolon 100 would thereby with respect to the polyamide fibre component be even finer than the one described in DE
203 10 279 U 1 .
It can however be assumed that the microfibre nonwoven material was described and tested in the exemplary environment of DE 203 10 279 U 1 was Evolon 100 of the company Freudenberg. This is supported in that the specifications in the utility model application essentially correspond with that of the Evolon 100 nonwoven material, that the product Evolon 100 was commercially available in 2003, and that no comparable products of any other manufacturers were commercially available in 2003. One also finds no indication in the utility model application that the applicant of the utility model manufactured the product itself.
In order to test the allegation of down-tightness made in DE 203 10 279 Ul, the applicant of the present application has tested whether a microfibre nonwoven material of the trademark Evolon, which is comparable with the nonwoven material of the exemplary embodiment of DE 203 10 279 U 1 , is in fact down-proof. It was thereby found, as expected, that such a microfibre nonwoven material does not have sufficient down-tightness. The microfibre nonwoven material does not fulfil the standardized pillow simulation test for down-tightness

3 according to DIN 12132-1 (see exemplary embodiment of the present application:
test with Evolon 120, coated with 15g/m2 polyurethane or cross-linked polyacrylic binder on the inside of the down envelope; with pure down and goose feathers of class I of 90% down and 10% feathers according to EN12934). The test protocol is originally for the examination of woven fabrics, but can be analogously used for nonwoven materials without change in form and content. A corresponding standard for nonwoven materials is not available, only because there was no need therefor in the art, since nonwoven materials in principle are not down-proof. Therefore, the general knowledge was confirmed that such nonwoven materials are allergen, mosquito bite, or mite proof, but not down proof.
The applicant further microscopically investigated the effect of down rachis on such a microfibre nonwoven material. The result is illustrated in figures 1 to 4.
Figures 1 and 2 show a typical down rachis after penetration of the microfibre nonwoven material, at different magnifications. It is apparent from both illustrations that the down rachis has a point with which it can penetrate into the much finer nonwoven material. The rachis has fine barbs which support a directional penetration. Figure 3 shows a down rachis in the process of penetrating the nonwoven material. Figure shows a typical perforation which a down has drilled through the nonwoven material. Overall it is clear that the down rachis can easily penetrate a nonwoven material according to DE 10 2014 002232 Ul and that it simply pushes the fine individual fibres aside, whereby the directed penetration is further supported by the barbs. Such a fine microfibre nonwoven material cannot provide sufficient resistance to such pointy down rachis.
The absent down-tightness of the microfibre nonwoven material according to DE

Ul is in accordance with the common general knowledge according to which non-thermally solidified nonwoven materials, even though they consist of very fine fibres, are not down proof DE 20310279E01 does not include any teaching on how to overcome known disadvantages of nonwoven materials with respect to their missing down-tightness.
Nonwoven materials found in the prior art are therefore used for the storage of down only when sufficiently thermally solidified or lined with other layers in laminates.

4 WO 01/48293A1 relates to sleep clothing made of a microfilament nonwoven material with a surface weight of 60 to 200 g/m2 and the particle retention capacity of >90%
for particles of <0.5 micrometer. During the manufacture of the nonwoven material, multicomponent continuous filaments are split and solidified to at least 80% to continuous microfilaments of a titer of 0.1 to 0.8 dtex.WO 01/478293 Al does not relate to the problem of preventing the penetration of such pointy down through nonwoven materials. The "particles"
are really fine nanoparticles and in particular house dust mites and their excretions. In contrast, down is pointy and has length in the centimeter range. A good retention capacity for nanoparticles requires a highly fine fibre network but not any special mechanical stability.
It was therefore to be assumed that a highly fine fibre structure made of mutually displaceable fibres is in particular not suited to prevent the penetration of thin, pointy and comparatively large objects such as pins, down rachis or mosquito stingers. It was therefore generally assumed in the art that only especially stable fibre products such as textile woven fabrics, can prevent the penetration of relatively large pointy objects.
It was also experimentally confirmed within the framework of the present invention that even nonwoven materials made of multicomponent fibres, which after splitting have a significant proportion of individual filaments with a titer of about 0.1 dtex, are not generally down-proof (see above discussion in relation to DE 203 10 279 Ul and its exemplary embodiment).
Overall, the persons skilled in the art not have assumed that nonwoven materials described in WO 01/48293 Al could be down proof.
The object of the invention It is an object of invention to provide materials for the storage of down for textile applications and textile products with good mechanical properties for the storage of down.
The textile products preferably have good softness, elasticity, porosity, or air and moisture permeability but are to be down proof at the same time. The materials are preferably relatively easily available and the manufacturing process preferably excludes involved processing steps, such as lamination or special after-treatments.

5 Disclosure of the invention A nonwoven material made of continuous filaments is preferably used for preventing the leakage of down from a down-filled textile product. The nonwoven material is preferably available from a spinning process in which multicomponent fibres are deposited into a nonwoven web, whereafter the multicomponent fibres are split into continuous filaments of a titer of less than 0.15 dtex and the nonwoven web is solidified to a nonwoven fabric by way of a mechanical solidification including a fluid jet solidification, whereby the nonwoven fabric is not thermally or chemically solidified over a large area.
The material is preferably used for a down-filled textile product. The textile product has an envelope which encloses a cavity wherein the down are contained, separate from ambient.
The nonwoven material forms the envelope of the textile product or at least a part thereof.
According to the definition under DIN 61 210 (part 2, 1988), textile sheets made of loosely deposited fibres that are connected with one another by friction, cohesion or adhesion are nonwoven fabrics. The nonwoven fabric used as envelope and barrier keeps the down from leaking from the textile product.
The nonwoven fabric consists of continuous filaments. The term "filaments"
defines fibres which in contrary to staple fibres are produced in a continuous process and thereby directly deposited into a nonwoven.
The term "down" as used throughout the present application covers down feathers (under feathers) of birds which are suited for textile fills. A definition of down is found in DIN
12934. Down are in particular feathers with a very short rachis and long, radially positioned barbules. Down also generally have fewer barbs than other feathers. Because of their high elasticity and shape retention in connection with thermally insulating properties down are used for a multitude of textile applications.
The nonwoven material of the invention is preferably used for the prevention of leakage of down from a down-filled textile product. In such textile products, the down fill is contained in an envelope that separates the fill from ambient. The term "leakage" specifies any movement of the down by which the envelope is penetrated. The down can thereby penetrate the

6 envelope only partially or completely. The term "leakage" thereby includes the situation that rachis have penetrated into the envelope with only part of their tip and are stuck or the down may have completely passed through the envelope and exited the textile product.
Down tightness is preferably determined by way of the simulated pillow stress test according to DIN EN 12132-1, Part 1, whereby the nonwoven fabric is used in place of a woven fabric.
The nonwoven fabric preferably passes the test according to DIN EN 12132-2, which means that in each tested direction (longitudinally and transverse) not more than 20 particles penetrate, which means have gotten stuck in the textile material or have passed through it.
Preferably, an average of multiple individual measurements is analyzed, especially of 5, 10 or t) 20 individual measurements. Preferably, not more than 15 particles penetrate during the test, particularly preferably not more than 12 particles.
In a preferred embodiment, the nonwoven material is in direct contact with the down fill. That means that no further layer is present between the nonwoven material and the down. The down engage the nonwoven material and would penetrate it, if the down tightness would be insufficient. The nonwoven material is thereby preferably used as a textile envelope in which the down are contained. That means that the nonwoven material itself forms the envelope. It is therefore not a component of a laminate with further, different layers. Thus, when the textile product is for example bedding, the nonwoven material would directly enclose the down. It was surprisingly found in accordance with the invention that a nonwoven material itself made of fibres with a titer of less than 0.15 dtex can prevent the leakage of down without the need for a thermal solidification or lamination with other layers, especially woven fabric layers or stronger nonwoven fabric layers.
Multicomponent fibres are filaments made of at least two different parallel continuous filaments which have phase boundaries and are splitably connected with one another. The multicomponent fibres are split into continuous filaments of a titer of less than 0.15 dtex. The continuous filaments therefore have a titer of less than 0.15 dtex. That means that the nonwoven fabric has essentially or exclusively filaments of a corresponding titer as filament components. Such nonwoven fabrics can include local regions in which multicomponent fibres are not or only incompletely split. However, with sufficient mechanical splitting,

7 especially by way of a water jet, nonwoven fabric can be obtained which consists almost exclusively of individual filaments. Preferably at least 80% especially preferably at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98% or about 100% individual filaments are present, relative to the total volume of the fibres. The proportion can be microscopically determined by the testing of randomly selected portions of a nonwoven fabric.
In a preferred embodiment, the splitting generates continuous filaments with a titer of less 0.14 dtex, less than 0.12 dtex or less than 0.11 dtex. The titer is preferably larger than 0.01 dtex or larger than 0.025 dtex. The titer of all continuous filaments is preferably between 0.01 dtex and 0.15 dtex, preferably between 0.02 dtex and 0.12 dtex or between 0.03 dtex and 0.11 dtex. The average titer of the continuous filaments is preferably between 0.01 dtex and 0.15 dtex, preferably between 0.025 dtex and 0.125 dtex, or between 0.03 dtex and 0.11 dtex.
In a preferred embodiment, the nonwoven fabric includes as the continuous filament component a filament mixture, especially of two or three different filament types. For example, it is preferred that two or more continuous filament types with different titers are included. Multicomponent fibres are preferably used which include different fine continuous filaments made of different polymers. In a preferred embodiment, the nonwoven fabric includes at least two components and thereby continuous filaments with a titer of less than 0.075 dtex, preferably less 0.065 dtex. The titer of a first fibre component is preferably between 0.80 dtex and 0.15 dtex, preferably between 0.80 dtex and 0.125 dtex and a titer of a second fibre component between 0.01 dtex and 0.075 dtex, preferably between 0.02 dtex and 0.065 dtex. The difference between the titer of the two components is preferably at least 0.02 dtex. Especially by way of a commingling of a second, especially fine fibre component, an advantageous combination of down-tightness and stability can be achieved. The proportion of fibres with the lower titer is preferably at least 5 volume % or at least 10 volume %, especially preferably 20 volume %. The amount of the fibre strands of the first and second fibre component is preferably equal. When the titer of the first fibres is twice as high as that of the second fibres, volume conditions of about 2 to 1 are obtained, which means about 70 to 30.
It was surprisingly found that even relatively thin and light nonwoven fabrics with relatively low surface weight stand up to down. It was unexpected, since down rachis are relatively hard

8 and pointed and during conventional uses exert large forces on a nonwoven fabric, especially when they are pressed into a pillow envelope. Without being tied to a theory, it is assumed that the down when in a tightly intertwined nonwoven fabric of a fibre fineness past a certain threshold value are no longer able to displace the individual filaments with respect to one another and penetrate the nonwoven fabric. When this threshold value is reached even a thinner nonwoven fabric is sufficient in order to achieve the down tightness.
In contrast, above the threshold value even a relatively thick nonwoven fabric is unsuited for preventing the leakage of down. Without being bound to a theory, it is assumed that the down tightness is achieved not only by way of the fine fibres, but also by way of the special manufacturing process with mechanical splitting of multicomponent fibres, by which an especially dense and homogenous mixing and intertwining of the filaments is achieved.
In a preferred environment, the nonwoven fabric has a surface weight of 70 g/m2 to 200 g/m2.
In a preferred embodiment, the nonwoven fabric has a surface weight of 90 g/m2 to 100 g/m2, especially 100 g/m2 to 160 g/m2or of 110 g/m2 to 150 g/m2. The surface weight is preferably at least 70 g/m2or at least 90 g/m2, especially preferably at least 110 g/m2 in order to guarantee a high mechanical stability and down tightness. The surface weight is preferably not higher than 200 g/m2, not higher than 160 g/m2 or especially not higher than 160 g/m2 in order to achieve sufficient porosity, with air and moisture permeability.
Nonwoven fabric with two fibre components is preferred, preferably made of split bicomponent fibres, whereby the titer of the first fibre component is preferably between 0.08 dtex and 0.15 dtex and the titer of a second fibre component is preferably between 0.01 dtex and 0.075 dtex, whereby the proportion of the fibres with the lower titer is preferably at least 10 volume % in connection with a surface weight of 70 g/m2 to 200 g/m2, preferably 90 g/m2to 160 g/m2.
The nonwoven fabric is obtainable with a spinning process in which multicomponent fibres are deposited into a nonwoven mat, whereafter the multicomponent fibres are split into continuous filaments and the nonwoven mat mechanically solidified into a nonwoven fabric.
The special internal structure of the nonwoven product is achieved with such a manufacturing

9 process, since the continuous filaments are especially tightly intertwined with one another therein.
The multicomponent fibres are preferably produced by melt spinning. During melt spinning, thermoplastic polymers are melted and spun into fibres. This process generally allows for an especially simple and reliable manufacture of nonwoven fabrics made of multicomponent fibres.
The multicomponent fibres preferably include two, three or more different continuous filaments. Preferably, the multicomponent fibres are bicomponent fibres.
Eventually, individual filaments are obtained by splitting off multicomponent fibres which have cross sections with corners or edges. This is advantageous, since the individual filaments are harder to move relative to one another. It is assumed that this improves the down-tightness.
In a preferred embodiment, the multicomponent fibres, for example, bicomponent fibres, have a pie-shaped (orange, "PIE-", pie) structure. The structure preferably includes 24, 32, 48 or 64 segments. During splitting, the multicomponent fibre disintegrates into a corresponding number of individual continuous filaments (individual filaments). The segments thereby preferably include alternating polymers. Also suitable are hollow pie structures that can also have an asymmetrically axially extending cavity. Pie structures, especially hollow pie structures, are advantageous, since they can be especially easily split.
Furthermore, the individual filaments preferably have an irregular cross section, which increases the internal solidity of the nonwoven fabric. The term "pie" or "pie shape" describes for such highly fine, split fibres actually the design of the spinning nozzle, and only approximately the actual cross section of the filaments. Preferred are multicomponent fibres in pie shape of at least 32 segments, especially preferably exactly 32 segments, whereby no other fibre component is added. Such structures are conventionally available and evenly and easily worked. The surface weight is thereby probably at least 110 g/m2.
The fibre forming polymers of the multicomponent fibres are preferably thermoplastic polymers. The multicomponent fibres preferably include components which are selected from polyesters, polyamides, polyolefins and/or polyurethanes. Especially preferred are bicomponent fibres with a polyester component and a polyamide component.
In order to achieve an easier splitting, it is preferred to use multicomponent fibres including continuous filaments of at least two thermoplastic polymers (in different components).
Preferably, the multicomponent fibres include thereby at least two incompatible polymers.
Incompatible polymers are understood to be polymers which when combined result in pairings that do not adhere or adhere only conditionally and preferably with difficulty. Such a multicomponent fibre has a good splitability into elementary filaments and enables an advantageous ratio of solidity to surface weight. Polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides and/or polyurethanes are preferably used as incompatible polymer pairs in such combination that only pairings result which adhere only conditionally or only with difficulty.
Polymer pairs with at least one polyamide or with at least one polyester, especially polyethylene terephthalate are preferred because of their limited adhesion.
Polymer pairs with at least one polyolefin are preferably used because of their difficulty to adhere.
Combinations of polyesters, preferably polyethylene terephthalate, polylactic acid and/or poly-butylene terephthalate with polyamides, preferably polyamide 66, polyamide 46, have been found preferable, possibly in combination with one or more components in addition to the above mentioned, preferably selected from polyolefins. These combinations have an excellent splitability. Especially preferred are combinations of polyethylene terephthalate and polyamide 6 or of polyethylene terephthalate and polyamide 66.
Polymer pairs are also preferred which include at least one polyolefin, especially in combination with at least one polyester or polyamide. Preferred are thereby for example polyamide 6/polyethylene, polyethylene, terephthalate/polyethylene, polypropylene/
polyethylene, polyamide 6/polypropylene, or polyethylene terephthalate/polypropylene.
In a preferred embodiment, the volume ratio of the first to the second continuous filament is between 90:10 and 10:90, preferably between 80:20 and 20:80.

The average cross-sectional area of the filaments should be less than 15 Mm2 or less than Mm2. The cross-sectional area of cut filaments can be microscopically determined. The diameter of the endless filaments can also be theoretically determined from the titers, taking into consideration the densities, whereby the indication of the fibre diameter is of little value 5 with angular filaments.
Suitable multicomponent fibres for the manufacture of continuous filaments by way of splitting are known in the art. The manufacture of such multicomponent fibres is described for example in FR 2 749 860 A or DE 10 2014 002 232 Al. A spun bonded fabric line of the brand Reicofil 4 of the company Reifenhauser, DE, can be used for example, for the

10 manufacture of such spun fabrics.
The polymers form the fibre forming component of the fibres. The fibres can additionally include common additives. Additives are typically added to such fibre polymers in order to modify the workability during manufacture, or the properties of the fibres.
The use of additives also allows adaptation to client-specific requirements. Suitable additives can be selected, for example, from the group consisting of pigments, antistatics, antimicrobial agents, such as copper, silver or gold, hydrophilizing agents or hydrophobizing agents. They can be added in amounts of up to 10 weight percent, up to 5 weight percent or up to 2 weight percent, especially between 150 ppm to 10 weight percent (%/wt).
The nonwoven fabric was mechanically solidified. Mechanical solidification includes a fluid jet solidification. With mechanical solidification processes, such as the fluid jet solidification, the connection between the fibres is created by friction fit or by a combination of friction and form fit. The solidification is preferably achieved by a close into mixing of the filaments. A
nonwoven fabric can thereby be achieved which has advantageous softness and elasticity in combination with good porosity. Sufficient down tightness is surprisingly achieved, although the individual fibres are actually displaceable relative to one another.
Preferably, multicomponent filaments are also split into continuous filaments during the mechanical solidification.

The fluid jet solidification occurs under the influence of pressure and fluids. Solidification thereby occurs by working with fluids under pressure, especially liquids or gases. The mechanical solidification further includes other complementary processes such a pressing, especially through calendering. Splitting of the multicomponent fibres preferably occurs at the same time as the fluid jet solidification. The solidification is therefore carried out long enough and with sufficient strength. The multicomponent filaments are preferably split into continuous filaments during the fluid jet solidification. A combination of further mechanical solidification processes can also be carried out in order to split the multicomponent fibres completely or at least as much as possible. At the same time, a close mixing and intermingling of the individual filaments is achieved.
Solidification includes a fluid jet solidification. Preferably, the fluid is a liquid, especially water. Therefore, the water jet solidification is especially preferred. Water is preferred in comparison to other fluids, since it does not leave any residue, is easily available and the nonwoven fabric can be easily dried. A deposited nonwoven web is thereby subjected under high pressure to a water jet whereby the nonwoven web on the one hand is densified into a nonwoven fabric and on the other hand multicomponent fibres in the web are split into individual filaments. It has been found that a water jet solidification is especially suited to achieve a close intertwining of the continuous filaments, which results in good mechanical properties and improves down tightness. The mechanical solidification, especially the water jet solidification is thereby carried out in such a way that the microfilaments are not compromised or not too much. Upon an excessively strong water jet solidification of such fine filaments, the mechanical stability and thereby especially the tear propagation strength (tear strength) is decreased. The nonwoven fabric preferably has a tear propagation strength according to DIN EN 13937-2 of 4 to 12 N, especially of 5 to 12 N or of 6 to 10 N.
Further mechanical solidification steps can be carried out to complement the fluid jet solidification and especially the water jet solidification. A solidification can be carried out, for example, by needling and/or calendering. In a preferred embodiment, a presolidification is carried out by way of needling and/or calendering, followed by a water jet solidification.

The calendering is carried out at a sufficiently low temperature so that no thermal solidification by adhesion of the fibres is carried out.
The nonwoven fabric was not thermally solidified over a large area. This means that it was not subjected continuously, which means over the whole nonwoven fabric surface, to a temperature treatment at which the fibres, or a melt adhesive, are softened to such a degree that fibres adhere to one another. The thermal solidification of the fibres is achieved by material adhesion, whereby the fibres are connected by adhesion or cohesion. A
nonwoven fabric without thermal solidification is advantageous, since its softness and elasticity is maintained. In contrast, the mechanical properties are significantly changed upon normal thermal solidification and in a manner which is disadvantageous for textile applications. In particular, the nonwoven fabric is stiffer, which means less elastic and soft and less porous so that the air and moisture permeability is decreased.
The nonwoven fabric was not chemically two dimensionally solidified. This means that the fibres are not connected with one another by way of a chemical reaction and especially not cross linked by way of a binder. No covalent bonds were created between the fibres.
In one embodiment, the nonwoven fabric can be thermally and/or chemically solidified, but only locally. Local solidification in partial regions which are evenly distributed over the nonwoven fabric surface can increase stability. The local solidification can especially occur in the form of a dot pattern. However, in order to maintain the typical advantageous properties of nonwoven fabrics, only a small portion of the nonwoven fabric should be solidified, preferably less than 30%, less than 10% or less than 5% of the total surface. The down tightness is thereby also provided in the non-solidified areas. The localized thermal solidification does not provide for, and is not needed for, the down-tightness. Hovever, the nonwoven fabric of the invention is preferably not thermally or chemically solidified at all.
This means that no thermal or chemical solidification was carried out in order to improve the stability of the nonwoven fabric material over a large area. The advantageous nonwoven fabric property is thereby completely maintained. This does of course not conflict with inclusion in the nonwoven fabric of sealing seams, adhesive seams or other regions which are needed for the conversion into a textile product.

Nonwoven fabric can be cured after the solidification by known processes, for example by drying and/or shrinking. The nonwoven fabric is then formed into an envelope into which the down is inserted and enclosed.
In a preferred embodiment, the multicomponent fibres have a pie shaped (orange) structure and are split into continuous filaments with a titer of less than 0.12 dtex whereby the mechanical solidification includes a water jet solidification and whereby the nonwoven fabric has a surface weight of 70g/m2 to 200g/m2. Preferably used are bicomponent fibres, preferably made of a polyester component and a polyamide component.
In a preferred embodiment, the nonwoven fabric has an average pore size of 511m to 20t.tm and/or a maximum pore size of 10[im to 501.tm, measured by way of a pore size measurement apparatus PSM165 of the company Topas, DE according to the specification of the manufacturer and on the basis of ASTM E 1294-89 and ASTM F 316-03.
The thickness of the nonwoven fabric is preferably between 0.2mm and 0.6mm, especially between 0.25mm and 0.5mm, measured according to DIN EN 964-1.
The maximum tensile strength (breaking force) in all directions is preferably at least 150 N/5cm, measured according to EN 13934-1. The breaking extension in all directions is preferably at least 20%, preferably at least 30%, measured according to DIN EN
13934-1.
The nonwoven fabric is preferably distinguished by very good water absorption.
The latter is preferably between 250 ml/m2, especially more than 350 ml/m2 measured according to DIN 53923 in analogy for nonwoven fabrics.
The down tightness is preferably maintained even over long periods of use and under normal mechanical loads. It was found that the down tightness remains intact when the nonwoven fabric is repeatedly washed. Preferably, the nonwoven fabric is down tight within the meaning of DIN EN 12132-1 even after 5, 10 or 20 household washes according to DIN EN
ISO 6330.

The air permeability according to EN ISO 9237:1995-12A is preferably at least 20 mm/s, preferably at least 30 mm/s, measured with a test surface of 20 cm2 and a differential pressure of 200 Pa, preferably as a mean of 10 or 50 individual measurements.
The nonwoven fabric especially preferably has a surface weight of 90 g/m2 to 150 g/m2, an air permeability according to EN ISO 9237:1995-12A of at least 20 mm/s and a tear propagation strength according to DIN EN 13937-2 of 4 to 12 N. It is advantageous in accordance with the invention that the down tightness can be achieved with very fine fibres and relatively low surface weights so that a sufficient air permeability for textile applications is achieved.
The nonwoven fabric includes at least 12,000 km/m2 individual filaments per surface unit, especially preferably at least 13,500 km/m2 or at least 15,000 km/m2. The number of the individual filaments per surface unit can be calculated from the determined surface weight and the fineness of the individual filaments (in dtex), whereby it has to be assumed that the multi-component fibres were completely split. It was found that a high down tightness can be achieved by the adjustment of such a relatively high filament number per surface unit with highly fine fibres.
Overall, it is preferred to rely on the following properties of the nonwoven fabric:
- a surface weight of 90 g/m2 to 160 g/m2, preferably of 110 g/m2 to 160 g/m2, - a high air permeability according to EN ISO 9237:1995-12A of at least 20 mm/s, preferably of at least 30 mm/s and - at least 12,000 km/m2, preferably at least 13,500 km/m2 of individual filaments per surface unit.
The nonwoven fabric preferably includes or consists of continuous filaments which have a titer of less than 0.075 dtex. Especially preferably, the nonwoven fabric consists of 32 PIE-multi-component fibres or includes such fibres.
As discussed above, the nonwoven fabric is in and of itself suited for the use in accordance with the invention. Nevertheless, it is conceivable to strengthen the nonwoven material with further textile layers. The use in accordance with the invention can, for example, consist of a laminate of the nonwoven fabric with at least one further layer, for example one or two further layers. It is thereby preferred that the nonwoven fabric is immediately adjacent the down and thereby forms a barrier. On the outside directed away from the down, the nonwoven fabric could be provided with at least one further layer to provide the laminate with a desired further property, such as moisture protection or increased mechanical strength.
However, even in such a laminate, the purpose, which means the object of achieving down tightness, is achieved by the nonwoven fabric itself, which forms a physical barrier for the down.
Additional layers, especially on the outside are preferably applied for another purpose, which means they do not or only immaterially improve the down tightness.
A down filled textile product is also provided the invention, especially selected from bedding, jackets, upholstery, mattresses or sleeping bags, including a textile envelope and down contained therein. The envelope includes a nonwoven fabric of continuous filaments for preventing the leakage of the down, whereby the nonwoven fabric is obtainable with a spin bonding process in which multi-component fibres are deposited into a nonwoven mat, whereafter the multi-component fibres are split into continuous filaments with a titer of less than 0.15 dtex and the nonwoven mat is solidified into a nonwoven fabric by way of mechanical solidification, including a fluid jet solidification, without chemical or thermal solidification of the nonwoven fabric.
The end result is a textile layer has a suitable form to store down therein.
The textile envelope can consist essentially of the nonwoven fabric. This means that the nonwoven fabric forms at least part of the textile envelope by which the storage of the down and their separation from ambient is achieved. The textile envelope can be further modified for other purposes, for example with decorative elements or closing elements such as buttons or zippers.
The textile product is preferably a bedding product, a jacket, a cushion, a mattress or a sleeping bag. The textile product is especially preferably a bedding product.
Because of the down tightness in combination with the good mechanical properties and especially the high softness and elasticity, the nonwoven fabrics of the invention are especially well suited as body covers or underlays, such as duvets, pillows or mattress covers.

In a preferred embodiment, the down is goose down. Those penetrate textile envelopes especially easily because of their hardness and shape. It was found that the use in accordance with the invention with the special nonwoven fabrics enables one to down tight store even goose down.
Apart from down, the filler can also include also other conventional filler materials, such as feathers or synthetic fillers. Down are often used for textile applications in mixtures with feathers. Preferably the proportion of the down in the fill is at least 30 weight % or at least 50 weight % , especially at least 70 weight %.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a process for the manufacture of the down filled 1() textile product, including the steps of:
(a) provision of the textile envelope which includes the nonwoven fabric of continuous filaments, (b) filling of the textile envelope with down, and (c) sealing of the textile envelope down tight.
The down tight sealing can be achieved, for example, by thermal sealing, stitching, gluing or other conventional processes. Since, in particular, spinnable and therefore thermoplastically processable polymers are used, sealing by thermal connecting processes such as ultrasound stitching or welding is especially preferred.
The nonwoven fabrics in accordance with the invention are advantageous to a high degree, since they are not only down tight but frequently also provide protection against allergens such as pollen or house dust or mosquito bites. The latter is especially advantageous, since woven fabrics in general do not provide any protection against mosquito bites.
The nonwoven fabrics useable in accordance with the invention therefore offer overall and inordinately high protection against disturbing environmental influences.
The nonwoven fabric is overall distinguished by an advantageous combination of properties.
The mechanical properties, for example with respect to maximum tear strength, maximum extension strength, isotropy, expansion module or tear propagation strength are excellent and readily allow for applications in the textile field. Moreover, the nonwoven fabric has advantageous properties especially for typical textile applications such as absorption, shrinking by washing or pore size. Overall, it was surprising that a combination of preferred properties could be achieved in connection with high down tightness without the need for thermal or chemical solidification, even at low surface weights. In addition, it is advantageous that the nonwoven fabric can be manufacture easily without the requirement for special process steps such as lamination or chemical curing.
The materials for its manufacture, especially multi-component fibres and corresponding continuous filaments, are also easily obtained and processed.
The nonwoven fabric in accordance with the invention has a very good down tightness, while comparable nonwoven fabrics with somewhat thicker fibres have no down tightness at all. It was thereby surprising that the down tightness did not increase proportionally to the fineness of the fibres, but that nonwoven fabrics with fibres up to a certain fibre thickness are wholly unsuited for the storage of down, while fibres with higher fineness all of a sudden have a high down tightness. It could not have been expected that the down tightness would be achieved especially with very fine fibres and certainly not all of a sudden. One would have rather expected that very fine fibres could no longer be able to counteract the hard and pointy down rachis with sufficient mechanical strength. It is therefore made possible by the invention to use only mechanically solidified nonwoven fabrics for the storage of down.
Figures Figures 1 to 4 show microscopic photographs of a state of the art nonwoven fabric which was penetrated by a down rachis.
Figure 1 shows at 100x magnification a typically hard and pointy down rachis with barbs which penetrates a conventional nonwoven fabric.
Figure 2 shows a typical down rachis with barbs in 2000x magnification. The radius of the tip is about 3.6 p.m and the diameter below the tip is about 19.1 p.m.

Figure 3 shows in 100x magnification a conventional nonwoven fabric which is penetrated by a down rachis.
Figure 4 shows in 100x magnification a perforation in the conventional nonwoven fabric from Figure 3, which was bored by a down rachis.
Exemplary Embodiments Examples 1 to 4: Manufacture of Nonwoven Fabrics The manufacture of nonwoven fabrics of bicomponent fibres with pie-shaped cross-section and using a bicomponent spunbond nonwoven line is described by example in the following.
Two nonwoven fabrics in accordance with the invention were produced with 32 individual filaments (type "PIE 32") and surface weights of about 100 g/m2 and 130 g/m2 (examples 2 and 4). For comparison with the state of the art from DE 203 10 279 Ul , two nonwoven fabrics were made of bicomponent fibres with 16 individual filaments (type "PIE 16) and surface weights of about 100 g/m2 and 130 g/m2 (examples 1 and 3). The components and manufacturing conditions are summarized in the following.
Raw Materials Proportions Polyester, INVISTA, DE 70 Polyamide 6, BASF, DE 30 Hydrophil, CLARIANT, CH 0,05 in PET
Ti02, CLARIANT, CH, Renol WeissTM 0,05 in PET
Antistatic, CLARIANT, CH, HostatstatT" 0,05 in PA6 Extruder PET, Zones 1-7 270-295 C
PA6, Zones 1-7 260-275 C

Spinning Pumps Volume, Rotation Speed, Throughput PET: 2x10cm3/U, 16,56 U/min, 0,923g/L per min Volume, Rotation Speed, Throughput PA6: 2x3cm3/U, 26,25 U/min, 0,377 g/L per min Total Throughput: 1,3 g/L per min (71/29) Nozzles Nozzle Type: PIE 16 or PIE 32, pneumatic stretching Laying Down Onto a carrying belt with pre-adjusted speed, which results in a nonwoven surface weight of 100 or 130 g/m2.
Solidification Pre-solidification by needling with 35 stitches/cm2 and subsequent calendering with steel rollers smooth/smooth at 160-170 C and 65-85 N line pressure.
Final solidification with splitting of the bicomponent filaments into individual filaments through water jet solidification with 4 to 6 alternating passes on the upper side A and underside B of the nonwoven fabrics in the sequence ABAB(AB) at 220-250 bar, with a nozzle strip hole diameter of 130 p.m on a carrying belt of 80 mesh.
Aftertreatment/Curing The nonwoven fabric is subsequently dried with a cylindrical through-air dryer at 190 C and partially shrunken in order to enable as much as possible a shrinkage upon wash of <3% in the first hot wash.
The production speeds in the process steps subsequent to the exit from the nozzles depend on the desired surface weight.
Example 5: Properties of the Nonwoven Fabrics Properties of the nonwoven fabrics produced in accordance with Examples 1 to 4 which are of importance for typical textile applications were tested with appropriate measurement protocols. Unless otherwise indicated, the testing was carried out according to the following standards, in force at the filing date.
Property Unit Standard Surface Weight g/m2 EN 965 Thickness mm EN 964-1 Tear Strength N/5cm EN 13934-1 Breaking Extension EN 13934-1 Module N EN 13934-1 Porosity tm ISO 2942 / DIN 58355-2 Tear Propagation Strength N EN 13937-2 Wear Martindale (9kPa) Tours EN 12947 Pilling Note adapted from DE. 53867 Water Absorption adapted from DIN 53923 Household Wash (shrink % at DIN EN ISO 6330 95 C) Air Permeability (air stream mm/s DIN EN ISO 9237:1995-measurement protocol) 12A
The results are summarized in the following Table 1.

Table 1: Properties of Nonwoven Fabrics According to Example 5 Example 1 2 3 4 (Comparison) (Comparison) - _ Type PIE16 PIE32 PIE16 PIE32 , ' Surface Weight (g/m2) 99 97 130 127 Thickness (mm) 0,37 0,33 0,44 0,41 Titer Individual Filaments dtex 0,2 / 0,1 0,1 / 0,05 ' 0,2 / 0,1 0,1 / 0,05 Physical Textile Testing Carried Out at 20 C, 400m m/min Tear Strength longitudinally (N) 320 275 424 transverse (N) 290 237 388 192 Isotropy 1,1 ' 1,16 1,09 1,52 Breaking Tension longitudinally (%) 48 ' 40 42 35,5 transverse (%) 51 ' 51,5 46 39 Module / 3 % longitudinally (N) 73 ' 76 84 transverse (N) 36 31 43 26 Module! 5 A longitudinally (N) 89 93 110 , transverse (N) 48 40 59 35 , Module! 15% longitudinally (N) 150 154 209 , transverse (N) 102 77 134 75 Module! 40 A) longitudinally (N) 285 276 417 -, transverse (N) 240 190 333 206 , Tear Propagation Strength longitudinally (N) 8,5 7 8,6 5,5 , Before Washing transverse (N) 9,8 10 11,4 10,2 Pilling underside/ 4,5 / 4,5 - 4,5 / 5 3,5 / 3,5 5+ / 5+
top Absorption (1/m2) 350 400 490 467 Wear Martindale Hole 12000 20000 16000 35000 9 kPa Formation After 95 C-Wash Aspect 2,5 1,5 2 1,5 Shrink Upon Washing longitudinally' (%) 4,8 2,4 3 2,6 transverse (%) 3 3,1 2,4 1 After 3 Washes Aspect 2,5 1,5 2,5 1,5 Permeability Average Pore Size 25 12 18 8 Maximum Pore Size 75 37 59 21 Air Permeability (mm/s) 71 37 The results show that all four nonwoven fabrics have good textile properties.
At the same surface weight, the nonwoven fabrics for use in accordance with the invention of the type PIE
32 (examples 2 and 4) have a better washing resistance, allergens tightness and mosquito bite tightness compared to the comparison nonwoven fabrics of the type PIE 16 (examples 1 and 3).
Example 6: Down Tightness:
The testing of the down tightness was carried out with the simulated pillow stress test according to DIN EN 12132-1. This standard is used for the testing of the down tightness of woven fabrics and is analogously useable for nonwoven fabrics. According to Part 1, a simulated pillow stressing was carried out. The testing was carried out on two pillows of the dimensions 120 mm x 170 mm. With pillow 1, the longer side extends in direction 1. With pillow, the longer side extends in direction 2. White, new, pure goose down and feathers of Class 1, 90% down/10% feathers was used as filler material. This testing material corresponds to EN 12934 ¨ Characterization of the composition of finished feathers and down. The result determined was the number of downs/feathers or particles which penetrated after 2,700 rotations. According to the definition, a sample is down tight which has a result in all directions of 20 or less.
For the nonwoven fabric according to Example 2 (PIE 32, 97 g/m2 surface weight), a result of 16 was achieved in direction 1 (1 particle stuck in the textile material, 15 particles in the plastic bag), and in direction 2 a result of 34 (2 particles stuck in the textile material, 32 particles in the plastic bag). For the nonwoven fabric according to Example 4 (PIE 32, 127 g/m2) a result in direction 1 of 9 was achieved (2 particles stuck in the textile material, 7 particles in the plastic bag) and in direction 2 a result of 3 (0 particles stuck in the textile material, 3 particles in the plastic bag). These results show that the nonwoven fabric in accordance with the invention has an excellent down tightness. The down tightness of a nonwoven fabric in accordance with the invention having a surface weight of 100 g/m2 is already high, while the down tightness at 130 g/m2 fully corresponds to the requirements for bedding.
For comparison, a nonwoven fabric made of a mixture of continuous filaments with a titer of 0.1 dtex and 0.2 dtex was tested. The nonwoven fabric was manufactured analogous to Example 1, but had a surface weight of 120 g/m2 and was additionally provided with a stabilizing coating of polyurethane (15 g/m2). After a household wash, the simulated pillow to stress test according to DI NEN 12132-1 provided a result in direction 1 of 42 (5 particles stuck in the textile material, 37 particles in the plastic bag) and in direction 2 of 35 (3 particles stuck in the textile material, 32 particles in the plastic bag). This nonwoven fabric therefore has no down tightness which would be sufficient for textile applications.
Upon microscopic investigation it was found that the rachis of the down easily penetrate such comparative nonwoven fabrics (Figures 1 to 4). The nonwoven fabrics made of continuous filaments with a titer of 0.2 and 0.1 dtex cannot offer sufficient strength against the hard, pointy rachis with barbs.
These results show that the comparative nonwoven fabrics are not down tight, as expected. It was, however, surprising that a somewhat finer nonwoven fabric is down tight.
Figure 2 shows a typical pointy rachis with a tip which is about 3.6 i,tm wide. The circumference of the tip is significantly smaller than the average pore size between 8 and 25 [tm of all four nonwoven fabrics of Examples 1 to 4. One would therefore have expected that the rachis will penetrate through all four nonwoven fabrics. In addition one would have expected that the finer fibres provide even less resistance against a hard and pointy object.
Without being bound by theory, the special down tightness of the nonwoven fabrics for use in accordance with the invention could be caused by the internal structure made of the closely interwoven continuous filaments.

Example 7: Importance of Surface Weight and Fibre Number Nonwoven fabrics made of 32 PIE bicomponent fibres or mixtures with 50% 16 PIE
and 32 PIE bicomponent fibres with different surface weights were manufactured. As described in Example 6, the down tightness of the nonwoven fabrics was determined with a simulated pillow stress test for woven fabrics analogous to DIN EN 12132-1. How many individual filaments per surface unit of the nonwoven fabric were present (1 dtex corresponds to g/km) was determined from the fibre fineness of the individual filaments.
The fibres and split filaments had the following properties:
10 Material: Polyethylene Terephthalate/Polyamide 6 (PET/PA6) in a ratio of about 70/30 Fineness:
PIE 16: Fibres before splitting 2.4 dtex Filaments after splitting: PET 8x 0.2 dtex / PA6 8x 0.1 dtex Average diameter filaments: 0.15 dtex PIE 32: Fibres before splitting 2.4 dtex Filaments after splitting: PET 16x 0.1 dtex / PA6 16x 0.05 dtex Average diameter filaments: 0.75 dtex Length of the Filaments Per Weight PIE 16: about 66.7 km/g PIE 32: about 133.3 km/g The properties of the nonwoven fabrics and their results are summarized in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Properties of Nonwoven Fabrics According to Example 7 Non- Type Theoretical Measured Filaments Penetrations Penetrations Air woven Surface Surface Per Surface by Down by Down Permeability No. Weight Weight Area @200Pa PIE [g/m2] [g/m2] [km/M2] Number Average [mm/s]
MD+CD Number A 32/16 100 102 10.200 30 + 30 30 B 32/16 130 132 , 14.960 20 + 12 C 32 100 99 13.200 17 + 13 15 81 D 32 100 100 13.333 19 + 32 20,5 89 E 32 110 110 . 14.667 24 + 19 21,5 49 .
F 32 120 125 . 16.667 15 + 10 12,5 52 G 32 120 120 16.000 8 + 5 7,5 52 I H 32 130 130 17.333 9 + 4 6,5 48 (MD = machine direction CD = cross machine direction) As already discussed above in relation to Example 6, it is assumed that a sample is down tight when a result of 20 or less penetrations is achieved in all directions.
According to DI NEN
12132-1, the nonwoven fabrics B, C, F, G, and H are therefore down tight. The nonwoven fabrics also have good air permeability and are therefore suitable for textile applications, for example as bedding. The results show that it is advantageous to coordinate the filament fineness and the surface weight in such a way that a sufficiently high number of fibres is present per surface unit. It can thereby be advantageous when relatively fine filaments are used to adjust the surface weight in such a way that a desired air permeability is provided.

Claims (21)

CLAIMS:

1. Use of a nonwoven fabric made of continuous filaments for preventing the leakage of down from a down filled textile product, whereby the nonwoven fabric is obtained in a spinning process in which multicomponent fibres are deposited into a nonwoven mat whereafter the multicomponent fibres are split into continuous filaments with a titer of less than 0.15 dtex and the nonwoven web is mechanically solidified by way of a fluid jet solidification into a nonwoven fabric without wide area thermal or chemical solidification.

2. Use according to claim 1, whereby the multi component fibres are split into continuous filaments with a titer of less than 0.12 dtex.

3. Use according to claim 1 or 2, whereby the nonwoven fabric includes continuous filaments having a dtex of less than 0.075.

4. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 3, whereby the nonwoven fabric has a surface weight of 70 g/m2 to 200 g/m2.

5. Use according to claim 4, wherein the surface weight is 90 g/m2 to 150 g/m2.

6. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the multicomponent fibres are bicomponent fibres.

7. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the multicomponent fibres include components selected from polyester, polyamide, polyolefin, and polyurethane.

8. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the multicomponent fibres are bicomponent fibres made of a polyester component and a polyamide component.

9. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the multicomponent fibres have a pie shaped (orange shaped) structure, including 24, 32, 48 or 64 segments.

10. Use according to claim 9, wherein the multicomponent fibres include 32 segments.

11. Use according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein the nonwoven fabric has an average pore size of 5 µm to 20 µm, or a maximum pore size of 10 µm to 50 µm, measured by a pore measurement apparatus PSM 165 of the company Topas DE, in analogy to ASTM E

and ASTM F 316-03.

12. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the nonwoven fabric has an air permeability of at least 20 mm/s, measured according to EN ISO 9237:1995-12A
using a testing surface of 20 cm2 and a differential pressure of 200 Pa.

13. Use according to claim 12, wherein the air permeability is at least 30 mm/s.

14. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the nonwoven fabric has at least 12000 km/m2 individual filaments.

15. Use according to claim 14, nonwoven fabric has at least 13500 km/m2 individual filaments.

16. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the nonwoven fabric has a surface weight of 90 g/m2 to 160 g/m2, an air permeability according to EN ISO
9237:1995-12A of at least 20 mm/s and includes at least 12000 k/m2 individual filaments.

17. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the multicomponent fibres have a pie shaped (orange shaped) structure and are split into continuous filaments having a titer of less than 0.12 dtex, whereby the mechanical solidification includes a water jet solidification and whereby the non woven fabric has a surface weight of 70 g/m2 to 200 g/m2.

18. Use according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the nonwoven fabric is down tight in a simulated pillow stress test according to DIN EN 12132-1, Part 1, with a mixture of 90%
goose down and 10% goose feathers.

19. A down filled textile product, comprising a textile envelope and down encased therein, the envelope including a nonwoven fabric of continuous filaments for preventing leakage of the down, the nonwoven fabric having been obtained by a spinning process wherein multicomponent fibres are deposited into a nonwoven mat whereafter the multicomponent fibres are split into continuous filaments with a titer of less than 0.15 dtex and the nonwoven mat is subjected to mechanical solidification including a fluid jet solidification and solidified into a nonwoven fabric, without thermal or chemical solidification of the nonwoven fabric.

20. The down filled textile product of claim 19, selected from bedding material, a jacket, upholstery, a mattress, or a sleeping bag.

21. Process for the manufacture of a down filled textile product according to claim 19 or 20, comprising the steps of:
a) providing the textile envelope including the nonwoven fabric of continuous filaments, b) filling of the envelope with down, and c) down tight sealing of the envelope.