MXPA00003756A - Soft, strong hydraulically entangled nonwoven composite material and method for making the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A methodof making a nonwoven composite material. The method includes the steps of:providing a hydraulically entangled web containing a fibrous component and a nonwoven layer of substantially continuous filaments;applying a bonding material to at least one side of said web;and creping said at least one side of the hydraulically entangled web. The bonder material may be an aqueous mixture including a curable latex polymer, a pigment, and a cure promoter. Also disclosed is a nonwoven composite material made of a hydraulically entangled web including a fibrous component;a nonwoven layer of substantially continuous filaments;and regions containing bonder material covering at least a portion of at least one side of the composite material;wherein at least one side of the web has been creped.

Description

COMPOSITE MATERIAL NON-WOVEN HYDRAULICALLY STRONG AND SOFT LINKED AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Field of the Invention The present invention is generally directed to nonwoven composites. More particularly, the present invention is directed to cleaning products that are strong, absorbent and soft.

Antecedents of the Invention Absorbent products such as industrial cleaning cloths, cleaning cloths for food services, and other similar articles are designed to combine several important attributes. For example, the products should have good volume, a soft feel and should be highly absorbent. The products must also have a good resistance even when they are wet and must resist tearing. In addition, cleaning products must have good strength characteristics, must be resistant to abrasion and must not deteriorate in the environment in which they are to be used.

In the past, many attempts have been made to increase and increase certain physical properties of cleaning products, especially cleaning products that contain a large proportion of pulp or paper. Unfortunately, however, when the steps to increase a property of a cleaning product are usually taken, another characteristic of the product may be adversely affected. For example, in pulp fiber-based cleaning products, the softness and volume can be increased by decreasing or reducing the interfiber bond within the paper web. Inhibiting or reducing the binding of fibers by the chemical and / or mechanical binder, however, adversely affects the strength of the product. A challenge encountered in the design of pulp-based cleaning products is to increase softness, volume and texture without decreasing the strength and / or resistance to abrasion.

A particular process that has proved to be very useful and successful in the production of paper towels and other cleaning products is described in United States Patent No. 3,879,257 issued to Gentile et al. Which is incorporated herein by reference. In its whole. In Gentile et al., A process for producing soft absorbent and single layer fibrous fabrics having a laminate type structure is described.

The fibrous tissues described in Gentile et al. Are formed from an aqueous solution of lignocellulosic fibers. mainly under conditions which reduce the interfiber bond. A bonding material, such as a elastomeric latex composition, is applied to a first surface of the fabric in a spaced apart pattern. The bonding material provides resistance to the fabric and resistance to abrasion to the surface.

The bonding material can then be similarly applied to the opposite side of the fabric to further provide additional strength and resistance to abrasion. Once the bonding material is applied to the second side of the fabric, the fabric can be brought into contact with a creping surface. Specifically, the fabric can be adhered to the creping surface according to the pattern by means of which the bonding material was applied. The tissue is then creped from the creping surface with a doctor blade. The creping of the tissue mechanically dislodges and disrupts the fibers within the tissue, thereby increasing the softness, absorbency and volume of the tissue.

In an alternate embodiment described in Gentile et al., Both sides of the paper web are creped after the bonding material has been applied.

Even though this technology has been applied to paper products, it has not been tested with compounds that have a fibrous component and a continuous filament component that reinforces and affirms the material. A disadvantage of the incorporations described in Gentile et al. Is that the bonding material is generally crimped or dried at the high temperatures degrading the continuous filaments.

Composite materials, which desirably combine the pulp and a non-woven layer of essentially continuous filaments, have desirable levels of strength but frequently exhibit a poor tie-up of the fibrous component. That is, the fibrous material and / or any fiber-rich surfaces tend to be weaker than the continuous filament component. This can cause undesirable levels of fraying, poor resistance to abrasion and can give a material that has less overall resistance. Attempts to soften and / or increase the volume of these composite materials can interrupt the binding or bonding of the fibrous material.

Therefore, there is still a current need for a pulp-based cleaning product that includes a continuous filament substrate. There is also a need for a pulp-based cleaning product that incorporates a continuous filament substrate and has an improved smoothness over conventional products while still remaining strong. There is also a need for a cleaning product based on pulp that incorporates a continuous filament substrate that does not compress when wet and that has aesthetics of textile feel during use.

Synthesis of the Invention The deficiencies described above are examined by the present invention which provides a method for forming a hydraulically entangled and smoothed nonwoven composite material. The method includes the steps: of providing a hydraulically entangled fabric containing a fibrous component and a nonwoven layer of essentially continuous filaments; applying a bonding material to at least one side of the fabric; and creping said at least one side of the hydraulically entangled fabric.

The binding material may be a conventional adhesive such as, for example, an acrylate, a vinyl acetate, and a vinyl chloride or a methacrylate type adhesive.

The binding material may contain an aqueous mixture that includes a settable latex polymer, a pigment and a curing promoter. Desirably, the aqueous mixture includes about 100 dry parts by weight of curable latex polymer, between about 0.5 and 33 dry parts by weight of pigment and between about 1 to 10 dry parts by weight of curing promoter. Even more desirably, the aqueous mixture includes about 100 dry parts by weight of curable latex polymer, between about 1 and 5 dry parts by weight of pigment, and between about 1 and 5 dry parts by weight of a curing promoter. .

An aqueous mixture can have a precured pH adjusted to about 8 using a fugitive alkali and the mixture can be cured at a temperature below the melting temperature of any individual component of the hydraulically entangled fabric.

The curable latex polymer in the aqueous mixture can be cured before the creping step. Alternatively and / or additionally, the curable latex polymer in the aqueous mixture can be cured after the creping step.

The binding material can be applied to a first side of the fabric and to a second and opposite side of the fabric. The binding material may be applied to at least one side of said fabric in an amount of from about 2% to about 15% by weight. It is contemplated that less than about 2% (e.g., about 1%) of the binder material may be applied to each side of the fabric.

The woven may furthermore contain a debinding agent, the debinding agent inhibits at least a part of the fibrous component of the fabric to be joined together. A friction reducing agent can be applied to at least one side of the fabric.

The binder material can be applied to the fabric in a pattern. For example, the pattern may be a grid type pattern, a fish scale pattern, a dot pattern or discrete spots and the like. A wide variety of patterns is contemplated.

The present invention encompasses a method for forming a composite nonwoven material which includes the steps of: (1) providing a hydraulically entangled fabric that includes a fibrous component and a nonwoven layer of essentially continuous filaments, the fabric has a first side and a second side, (2) apply a binding material to the first side of the fabric in a preselected pattern; the joining material being added to the first side in an amount of from about 2% to about 15% by weight of said fabric, the joining material being used to adhere said first side of said fabric to a first creping surface; (3) creping said first side of the fabric from the first creping surface; (4) applying said binding agent to the second side of the fabric in a preselected pattern, the binding agent being added to the second side in an amount of from about 2% to about 15% by weight of the fabric, in binder material being used to adhere the second side of the fabric to a second creping surface; and (5) creping said second side of the fabric from the second creping surface.

The present invention also encompasses a composite and hydraulically entangled material made according to the process described above. The composite material contains a hydraulically entangled fabric that includes a fibrous component and a non-woven layer of essentially continuous filaments; and regions containing a binder material covering at least a portion of at least one side of the composite material. Desirably, the hydraulically entangled fabric includes more than about 50 percent, by weight, of a fibrous component, and more than about 0 to about 50 percent, by weight, of a nonwoven layer of essentially continuous filaments. More desirably, the hydraulically entangled fabric includes more than about 70 percent, by weight, of a fibrous component and more than about 0 to about 30 percent by weight, of a nonwoven layer of essentially continuous filaments.

The essentially continuous filaments may be monocomponent filaments or these may be spun and conjugate filaments having at least one low softening point component and at least one knitted component. of high softening and having at least some outer surfaces of the filaments composed of at least one low softening point component. Alternatively and / or additionally, the conjugated spunbond filaments may be splittable fibers (for example, fiber that can be divided into a plurality of fibers or fibrils).

The fibrous component may be pulp, the fibrous component may also include synthetic fibers. The nonwoven composite may also include a secondary material. The secondary material may include any suitable materials such as, for example, clays, fillers, starches, particles, superabsorbent particles and combinations of one or more thereof. The non-woven composite material can have a basis weight of from about 20 to about 200 grams per square meter.

In one aspect of the invention, the hydraulically entangled and softened nonwoven composite material incorporates a bonding material that can retain a color fastness above three when exposed to liquids with a p of between about 2 to about 13. The material The composite can incorporate a binder material that retains a color fastness above three when exposed to sodium hypochlorite. The composite material can incorporate a binder material which retains a color firmness above 3 when exposed to alcohol.

The present invention encompasses a hydraulically entangled and softened nonwoven composite material that includes: (1) a hydraulically entangled fabric containing a fibrous component; and a non-woven layer of essentially continuous filaments; and (2) regions containing binder material covering at least a portion of at least one side of the composite material, wherein the at least one side of fabric has been creped.

The present invention further encompasses a cleaning product formed from the nonwoven composite described above.

Definitions As used herein, the term "nonwoven fabric or fabric" means a fabric having a structure of individual fibers or threads which are interleaved, but not in an identifiable manner as in a textile fabric. Non-woven fabrics or fabrics have been formed from many processes such as, for example, meltblowing processes, spinning bonding processes, and carded and bonded tissue processes. The basis weight of the non-woven fabrics is usually expressed in ounces of material per square yard (osy) or grams per square meter (gsm) and useful fiber diameters are usually expressed in microns. (Note that to convert from ounces per square yard to grams per square meter, you must multiply ounces per square yard by 33.91).

As used herein, the term "microfiber" means small diameter fibers having an average diameter of no more than about 75 microns, for example, which have an average diameter of from about 0.5 microns to about 50 microns, or more particularly , the microfibers can have an average diameter of from about 2 microns to about 40 microns. Another frequently used expression of fiber diameter is denier, which is defined as grams per 9000 meters of a fiber. For example, the diameter of a polypropylene fiber given in microns can be converted au denier by squaring, and multiply the result by 0.00629, therefore, a polypropylene fiber of 15 microns has a denier of about 1.42 (152 x 0.00629 = 1.415).

As used herein, the term "meltblown fibers" means fibers formed by extruding a melted thermoplastic material through a plurality of thin, usually circular, capillaries, like strands or filaments fused into gas streams (e.g. of air) at high speed and converging which attenuate the filaments of the molten thermoplastic material to reduce its diameter, which can be to a microfiber diameter. Then, the melt blown fibers are carried by the gas stream at high speed and are deposited on a collecting surface to form a meltblown fabric of fibers blown at random. Such a process is described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,849,241. Generally speaking, melt blown fibers can be microfibers which can be continuous or discontinuous, are generally smaller than 10 microns in diameter, and are generally sticky when deposited on a collecting surface.

As used herein, the term "polymer" generally includes but is not limited to homopolymers, copolymers, such as, for example, block, graft, random and alternating copolymers, terpolymers, etc., and the mixtures and modifications thereof. In addition, unless specifically limited otherwise, the term "polymer" will include any possible geometric configuration of the material. These configurations include, but are not limited to, isotactic, syndiotactic and random symmetries.

As used herein, the term "monocomponent fiber" refers to a fiber formed from one or more extruders using only one polymer. This does not mean that fibers formed from a polymer to which they have been added small amounts of additives for coloring, antistatic properties, lubrication, hydrophilicity, etc. These additives, for example, titanium dioxide for placement, are generally present in an amount of 5 percent by weight and more typically of about 2 percent by weight.

As used herein, the term "spunbond filaments" refers to essentially continuous filaments of small diameter which are formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic material as filaments of a plurality of thin, usually circular, capillary vessels of a spinner member. with the diameter of the extruded filaments then being rapidly reduced as by, for example, eductive pulling mechanisms and / or other well-known spinning mechanisms. The production of non-woven fabrics bonded with yarn is illustrated in the patents, such as, for example, in US Pat. Nos. 4,340,563 issued to Appel et al., 3,692,618 issued to Dorschner et al., 3,802,817 issued to Matsuki. and others, 3,338,992 and 3,341,394 granted to Kinney, 3,502,763 granted to Hartman, 3,502,538 granted to Levy and 3,542,615 granted to Dobo and others. Spunbond filaments are not generally sticky when they are deposited on a picking surface. Filaments linked with spinning often have larger diameters of 7 microns, more particularly, of between about 10 and 20 microns.

As used herein, the term "bonded and conjugated filaments" refers to bonded filaments and / or fibers composed of multiple fibrillar or filamentary elements. Exemplary conjugated filaments may have a sheath / core configuration (e.g., a core portion essentially or completely wrapped by one or more sheaths), and / or a side-by-side thread configuration (e.g., filaments) ( for example, filaments / multiple fibers attached along a common interface). Generally speaking, the different elements that make up the conjugated filament (for example, the core part, the sheath part, and / or the side-by-side filaments) are formed from different polymers and yarns using processes such as, for example, melt-spinning processes, spinning processes with solvents and the like. Desirably, the spun and conjugate filaments are formed from at least two extruded thermoplastic polymers of separate extruders but spun together to form a fiber. Conjugated filaments are also sometimes referred to as multicomponent or bicomponent filaments or fibers. The polymers are usually different from one another even though the conjugated filaments may be monocomponent filaments. Conjugated filaments are taught in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,108,820 issued to Kaneko et al .; 5,336,552 granted to Strack and others, and 5,382,400 granted to Pike and others. For the two-component filaments, the polymers may be present in proportions of 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 or any other desired proportions. Alternatively, and / or additionally, the spun and conjugated filaments can be splittable fibers (eg, fibers that can be divided or separated into a plurality of fibers or fibrils.) Such filaments or fibers are taught in the United States of America patent. No. 4,369,156 issued to Mathes et al., And in United States of America Patent No. 4,460,649 issued to Park et al.

As used herein, the term "softening point" refers to a temperature near the melting transition of a generally thermoplastic polymer. The smoothing point occurs at a temperature near or just below the melt transition and corresponds to a quantity of phase change and / or change in polymer structure sufficient to allow a relatively stable bond or fusion of the polymer with other materials, such as, for example, fibers and / or cellulosic particles. Generally speaking, internal molecular arrays in a polymer tend to be relatively fixed at temperatures below the smoothing point. Under such conditions, many polymers are difficult to soften, so that they creep, flow and / or otherwise distort to integrate or merge and eventually melt or merge with other materials. Around the smoothing point, the ability of the polymer to flow is increased so that it can be durably bonded with other materials. Generally speaking, the softening point of the generally thermoplastic polymer may be characterized as being near or around the Vicat Softening Temperature as determined essentially in accordance with ASTM D 1525-91. That is, the smoothing point is generally less than around the melt transition of the polymer and generally around or greater than the Vicat Softening Temperature of the polymer.

As used herein, the term "low softening point component" refers to one or more thermoplastic polymers that comprise an element of a spun and conjugate filament (e.g., a core, a sheath and / or a side element by side) having a smoothing point lower than the one or more polymers composing at least one different element of the same conjugated spun filament (e.g., the high softening point component), so that the low softening point component can be essentially smoothed, malleable or easily distorted when it is at or around its smoothing point while the one or more polymers that component the at least one different element or the same conjugated bonded filaments remain relatively difficult to distort or reshape at the same conditions. For example, the low softening point component may have a smoothing point that is of at least about 20 ° C lower than the high softening point component.

As used herein, the term "high softening point component" refers to one or more polymers that comprise an element of a spun and conjugate filament (e.g., a sheath, a core, and / or side by side) that has a smoothing point greater than one or more polymers that component at least one different element of the same spun and conjugate filament (e.g., a low softening point component), so that the high softening point component remains relatively undistorted or non-conformable when it is at a temperature under which one or more component polymers at least one different element of the same spun and conjugated filament (e.g., low softening point component) are essentially softened or malleable ( for example, around its softening point). For example, the high softening point component may have a smoothing point that is at least about 20 ° C higher than the low softening point component.

As used herein, the term "biconstituent filaments" refers to filaments or fibers which are formed of at least two extruded polymers from the same extruder as a mixture. The term "mixture" is defined low. The biconstituent filaments do not have the various polymer components arranged in distinct zones placed relatively constant across the cross-sectional area of the filament and the various polymers are usually non-continuous along the entire length of the filament, instead of This usually forms fibrils or protofibrils which start and end at random. The biconstituent filaments are sometimes also referred to as multi-constituent filaments. Fibers and filaments of this general type are discussed in, for example, U.S. Patent No. 5,108,827 issued to Gessner. The biconstituent and conjugate fibers / filaments are also discussed in the text "Polymer Blends and Compounds" by John A. Manson and Leslie H. Sperling, copyright 1976 by Plenum Press, a division of Plenun Publishing Corporation of New York, IBSN 0-306-30831-2, pages 273 to 277.

As used herein, the term "mixture" means a combination of two or more polymers while the term "alloy" means a subclass of mixtures wherein the components are immiscible but have been compatibilized. The "miscibility" and the "immiscibility" are defined as mixtures that have negative and positive values, respectively for the free energy of mixing. In addition, "compatibilization" is defined as the process to modify the properties interfacial of a mixture of immiscible polymer in order to make an alloy.

As used herein, the term "point bond" refers to a joining technique that involves passing a fabric or fabric of fibers to be joined between a heated calender roll and an anvil roll. The calendering roller usually has, although not always, a pattern in some way so that the entire fabric is not mixed throughout its entire surface. As a result of this, various patterns have been developed for calendering rolls for functional as well as aesthetic reasons. An example of a pattern having points is the Hansen Pennings pattern or "H &P" with an area of 30% joined with about 200 joints / square inch as taught in United States of America patent number 3,855,046 issued to Hansen and Pennings. The H &P pattern has a square point or bolt joint areas where each bolt has a side dimension of 0.965 millimeters, a spacing of 1,778 millimeters between bolts, and a joint depth of 0.584 millimeters. The resulting pattern has a bound area of about 29.5%. Another typical point bonding pattern is the Hansen and expanded Pennings junction pattern or "EHP" which produces a 15% bond area with a square bolt having a side dimension of 0.94 millimeters, a bolt spacing of 2,464 millimeters and a depth of 0.991 millimeters. Another designated typical point union pattern "714" has square bolt joint areas where each bolt has a side dimension of 0.023 inches, a gap of 1,575 mm between the bolts, and a joint depth of 0.838 mm. The resulting pattern has a bound area of about 15%. Yet another common pattern is the star pattern in C which has a bound area of about 16.9%. The star pattern in C has a bar design in the transverse direction or "corduroy" interrupted by shooting stars. Other common patterns include a diamond pattern with slightly off-centered and repetitive diamonds and a woven wire pattern that looks like the name suggests as a window grid. Typically, the percent of bonded area ranges from about 10% to about 30% of the area of the fabric laminated fabric. The knit union keeps the laminated layers together as well as the one imparting integrity to each individual layer by joining the filaments and / or the fibers within each layer.

As used herein, the term "cleaning cloth for food service" means a cleaning cloth used primarily in the food service industry, for example, restaurants, cafeterias, bars, etc., but which can also be used in the home . Cleaning cloths for food service can be made of woven and / or non-woven fabrics. These cleaning cloths are usually used to clean food spills on counters, chairs etc., and in the cleaning of grease, oil, etc., from spills or run-off in the service or kitchen areas, with a wide variety of cleaning solutions. The cleaning solutions typically used in cleaning the food service area can vary widely in pH from highly acidic to highly alkaline and can be solvent solutions as well.

The term "pulp" as used herein, refers to fibers from natural sources such as woody and non-woody plants. Woody plants include, for example, deciduous and coniferous trees. Non-woody plants include, for example, cotton, flax, esparto grass, bensetósigo, straw, jute, hemp, and bagasse.

The term "average fiber length" as used herein refers to a heavy weight length of the pulp fibers determined using a Kajaani fiber analyzer number FS-100 or 200 available from Kajaani Oy Electronics, of Kajaani, Finland. According to this procedure, a sample of pulp is treated with a masking liquid to ensure that no bunches or pieces of fibers are present. Each pulp sample is disintegrated in the hot water and diluted to a solution of approximately 0.001% by weight. Individual test samples are pulled in approximately 50 to 100 milliliter portions of the diluted solution when tested using A standard Kajaani fiber analysis test procedure. The average heavy fiber length can be expressed by the following equation: S (X¡ * n¡) / n X, = 0 where k = maximum fiber length xj = fiber length nj = number of fibers having the length x, n = total number of measured fibers.

The term "low average fiber length pulp" as used herein, refers to pulp that contains a significant amount of short fibers and non-fiber particles. Many secondary wood fiber pulps can be considered low average fiber length pulps; however, the quality of secondary wood fibers will depend on the quality of the recycled fibers and the type and amount of pre-processing. The low average fiber length pulps have an average fiber length of less than about 1.2 millimeters as determined by a fiber optic analyzer, such as, for example, a Kajaani fiber analyzer model number FS-100 ( from Kajaani Oy Electronics, Kajaani, Finland). For example, the length pulps of Average fiber can have an average fiber length that varies from about 0.7 to 1.2 millimeters. The low average fiber length pulps of example include virgin hardwood pulp, and secondary fiber pulp from sources such as, for example, office waste, newsprint, and cardboard cutouts.

The term "high average fiber length pulp" as used herein refers to the pulp containing a relatively small amount of short fibers and non-fiber particles. The high average fiber length pulp is typically formed from non-secondary fibers (e.g. virgins). The secondary fiber pulp which has been screened can also be a high average fiber length. The high average fiber length pulps typically have an average fiber length of more than about 1.5 millimeters as determined by a fiber optic analyzer such as, for example, a Kajaani fiber analyzer model number FS-100 ( from Kajaani Oy Electronics, from Kajaani, Finland). For example, a pulp of high average fiber length can have an average fiber length of from about 1.5 millimeters to about 6 millimeters. The high average fiber length pulps of example which are pulps of wood fiber include, for example, pulps of virgin softwood bleached and not bleached.

As used herein, the term "color fastness" refers to the transfer of a colored material from a sample as determined by a color fastness test to excess surface dye. The firmness of color as excess surface dye is measured by placing a piece of materials of 127 millimeters by 178 millimeters that will be tested on an excess dye meter model cm-1 available from Atlas Electric Device Company of 4114 Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago Illinois 60613. The excess dye meter glued or rubs a cotton cloth back and forth through the sample pro a predetermined number of times (in the tests here the number is more than 30) with an amount fixed force. The color transferred from the sample to the cotton is then compared to a scale where 5 does not indicate color on the cotton and 1 indicates a large amount of color on the cotton. A higher number indicates a relatively firmer color sample. The comparison scale is available from the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), PO Box 12215, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709. This test is similar to test method 8 of the American Association of Chemists and Colorists Textiles except that the test procedure of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists put only 10 passes through the cloth and uses a different sample size. The inventors believe that their 30-pass method is more rigorous than the method of 10 passes of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is an illustration of an example embodiment of a process for forming a hydraulically entangled fabric.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a process for double creping of a paper weave in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed description It has been found that hydraulically entangled composite materials have good absorbent properties but are generally rigid, thin and flat (for example lacking in texture) and can be improved by printing a binder material on at least one side of the composite and compacting the tissue to impart texture. Also of great significance, it has unexpectedly been discovered that the process of the present invention not only increases the softness but also does not adversely affect the strength of the fabric compared to similarly manufactured composites. In some applications, the resistance of the tissue is increased currently. It has been found that fiber lashing can be improved. This phenomenon can result in higher abrasion resistance and lower pick-up values. The improved fastening of the fiber also aids the operation of the composite fabric when subjected to mechanical smoothing as creped by keeping the fibrous material attached to continuous filament components.

Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown an example hydraulic entanglement process used to make composite materials. The hydraulically entangled composites contain, for example, a fibrous component ta as a pulp and an essentially continuous filament nonwoven layer are described in, for example, the United States of America Patent No. 5,389.20 issued to Everhart and others, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Generally speaking, hydraulically entangled composite materials can be made by supplying a dilute suspension of pulp to a head box 12 by depositing it through a channel 14 in a uniform dispersion on a forming fabric 16 of a conventional paper making machine. The slurry of pulp fibers can be diluted to any consistency which is typically used in conventional papermaking processes. The Water it is removed from the suspension of the pulp fibers to form a uniform layer of pulp fibers 18.

The pulp fibers may be of any pulp of high average fiber length, pulp of low average fiber length, or mixtures thereof. Examples of wood pulps of average fiber length include those available from Kimberly-Clark Corporation under the trade designations Longlac 19, Coosa River 56 and Coss River 57.

The average low fiber length pulp may be, for example, certain hardwood pulp virgin pulp from secondary pulp (eg recycled) from source such as, for example, newspaper, reclaimed cardboard, office waste.

Mixtures of high average and low average fiber length pulps may contain a significant proportion of low average fiber length pulps. Other fibrous materials, such as, for example, synthetic fibers, fibers of basic length and the like can be added to the pulp fibers.

These other fibrous materials can be "non-binding fibers" which are generally referred to as fibers that do not undergo hydrogen bonding during tissue formation. The non-binder fibers may include, for example, polyolefin fibers, polyester fibers, nylon fibers, polyvinyl acetate fibers, and mixtures thereof. The non-binding fibers can be added to the fabric in an amount of from about 5% to about 30% by weight. Fibrous material such as, for example, meltblown fibers can also be used. The meltblown fibrous material may be in the form of individualized fibers or a fabric of meltblown fibers. In one embodiment of the invention, the meltblown fibrous material may be placed in the form of a sandwich between two or more non-woven layers of essentially continuous filaments. Various combinations of melt blown fibers, basic fibers, pulp and / or essentially continuous fibers are contemplated.

In addition to the non-binding fibers, the thermomechanical pulp can also be added. The thermomechanical pulp refers to pulp that is not cooked during the pulping process to the same extent as conventional pulps. The thermomechanical pulp tends to contain rigid fibers and has higher levels of lignin. The thermomechanical pulp can be added to the base web of the present invention in order to create an open pore structure, thereby increasing the volume and absorbency.

When present, the thermomechanical pulp can be added to the base fabric in an amount of from about 10% to about 30% by weight. When the thermomechanical pulp is used, a wetting agent is also preferably added during the formation of the tissue. The wetting agent can be added in an amount of less than about 1% and in one embodiment, it can be a sulfonated glycol.

Small amounts of moisture resistance resins and / or resin binders can be added to improve abrasion resistance and firmness. The cross-linking agents and / or the moisturizing agents can also be added to the pulp mixture. The debinding agents can be added to the pulp mixture to reduce the degree of hydrogen bonding if a loose or very open nonwoven pulp fiber fabric is desired. The addition of certain binder agents in the amount of, for example, 1 to 4%, by weight, of the composite also appears to reduce the measured static and dynamic coefficients of friction and improve the abrasion resistance of the continuous rich filament side of the composite fabric. The binder is believed to act as a lubricant or a friction reducer.

A non-woven substrate of continuous filament 20 is unwound from a supply roll 22 and displaced in the the direction indicated by the arrow associated therewith upon rotation of the supply roll 22 in the direction of the arrows associated therewith. The non-woven substrate 18 passes through a pressure point 24 of an S-roll arrangement 26 formed by the stacking rolls 28 and 30.

The nonwoven substrate 20 can be formed by continuous filament nonwoven extrusion processes, such as, for example, known solvent spinning or spinning and melting processes and is passed directly through a pressure point without first stored on a supply roll. Desirably, the continuous filament nonwoven substrate is a non-woven fabric of spun and conjugate filaments. More desirably, the spun and conjugated filaments are spun and melted filaments such as, for example, spunbond filaments and conjugates. Such filaments can be formed filaments, sheath / core filaments, side-by-side filaments or the like. The conjugated fused and fused filaments can be splittable filaments.

Spunbonded filaments can be formed from any molten and spinnable polymer, copolymers or mixtures thereof. Desirably, the conjugated spun filaments are fused and spun filaments and conjugates. More desirably, the spun and conjugate filaments are fused filaments and conjugated yarns composed of at least one low softening point component and at least one high softening point component (in which at least some of the outer surfaces of the filaments are composed of at least one point component of low softening). A polymeric component of the fused-spun and conjugate filaments should be a polymer characterized as a low softening point thermoplastic material (e.g., one or more low softening point polyolefins, low softening point elastomeric block copolymers, copolymers of low softening of ethylene and at least one vinyl monomer [such as, for example, vinyl acetates, unsaturated aliphatic monocarboxylic acids, and esters of such monocarboxylic acids] and mixtures thereof). For example, polyethylene can be used as a low softening point thermoplastic material.

Another polymeric component of the conjugated spunbond filaments should be a polymer characterized as a high softening point material (for example one or more polyesters, polyamides, high smoothing polyolefins, and mixtures thereof). For example, polypropylene can be used as a high softening point thermoplastic material.

In one embodiment of the invention, the continuous non-woven filament substrate can have a bonded area of less than about 30% and a uniform bonding density greater than about 100 bonds per square inch. For example, the continuous nonwoven filament substrate can have a total bonded area of from about 2 to about 30 (as determined by conventional optical microscopic methods) and a bonding density of from about 25 to 500 Bolt joints per square inch.

Such combination of total bond area and bond density can be achieved by joining the continuous filament substrat with a pin bonding pattern having more than about 100 bolt joints per square inch which provides a total bonded surface area less than about 30% when it makes full contact with a smooth anvil rodill. Desirably, the bonding pattern can have a pin bonding density of from about 250 about 350 bolt joints per square inch and a total bonded surface area of from about 10% to about 25% when contacted with a smooth anvil roller.

Although the bolt joint produced by the thermal bonding rollers is described above, the incorporations of the present invention contemplate any form of union which produces a good anchoring of the filaments. with a global joint area itself. For example, ultrasonic bonding, thermal bonding, a combination of thermal bonding, ultrasonic bonding and latex impregnation can be used to provide a desired filament tie with a minimum bound area. Alternatively and / or additionally, a resin, bead or adhesive can be applied to the non-woven continuous filament fabric by, for example, spraying or printing, and drying to provide the desired bond. If splittable fibers / filaments are used, hydraulic entanglement may be employed to provide the desired level of bonding alone or in combination with other bonding techniques.

When the conjugated spun filaments are used to form the non-woven substrate 20 or are included in the non-woven substrate 20, the non-woven substrate can be relatively lightly bonded or even disengaged before the entanglement with the pulp layer.

The pulp fiber layer 18 is then placed on the nonwoven substrate 20 which rests on a perforated tangled surface 32 of a conventional hydraulic entanglement machine. It is preferable that the pulp layer 18 be between the nonwoven substrate 20 and the entanglement manifolds 34. The pulp fiber layer 18 and the nonwoven substrate 20 passes under one or more hydraulic entanglement manifolds 34 and are treated with jets of fluid to entangle the pulp fibers with the filaments of continuous filament nonwoven substrate 20. The fluid jets also propel the pulp fibers into and through the nonwoven substrate 20 to form the composite material 36.

Alternatively, the hydraulic entanglement can take place while the pulp fiber layer 18 and the nonwoven substrate 20 are on the perforated grid itself (eg the mesh fabric) where the wet laying took place. The present invention also contemplates superimposing a dried pulp sheet on a continuous filament nonwoven substrate, rehydrating the dried pulp sheet to a specified consistency and then subjecting the rehydrated pulp sheet to the hydraulic entanglement.

The hydraulic entanglement can take place while the pulp fiber layer 18 is slightly saturated with the water. For example, the pulp fiber layer 18 can contain up to about 90% by weight of water just before the hydraulic entanglement. Alternatively, the pulp fiber layer can be an air-laid or dry-laid layer of pulp fibers.

The hydraulic entanglement can be accomplished using conventional hydraulic entanglement equipment as found in, for example, the United States patent of America number 3,485,706 granted to Evans, whose description is incorporated here by reference. The hydraulic entanglement of the present invention can be carried out with any suitable working fluid such as, for example, water.

The fluid sticks to the pulp fiber layer 18 and the non-woven substrate 20 which are supported by a perforated surface which may be, for example, a single-plane mesh having a mesh size of from about 8 mesh. x 8 to about 100 x 100. The perforated surface may also be a multi-stratified mesh having a mesh size of from about 50 x 50 to about 200 x 200.

The wire mesh pattern can be selected to provide a textile-like appearance over the hydraulically entangled product. For example, rough mesh fabrics tend to produce remarkable valleys and ridges on the hydraulically entangled fabric. A desirable mesh material can be obtained from Albany International of Portland, Tennessee under the designation of Form Tech 14 wire.

The wire can be described as a 14 x 13 mesh of Flat arp 14C, single layer fabric. The warp yarns are polyester 0.88 x 0.57 millimeters. The weft threads are 0.89 mm polyester. The average gauge is 0.057 inches, the air permeability is 725 cfm (cubic feet per minute); and the open area is 27.8%.

As is typical in many water jet processing processes, the vacuum slots 38 may be located directly under the multiple perforations or below the entanglement surface perforate 32 down the entangling manifold so that the excess water is Removal of hydraulically entangled composite material 36.

After the jet treatment with fluid, the composite fabric 36 can be transferred to a non-compressive drying operation. A differential speed pickup roller 40 can be used to transfer the material from the hydraulic drill strip to a compressive drying operation. Alternatively, conventional vacuum type collections and transfer fabrics can be used. If desired, the composite fabric can be creped wet before being transferred to the drying operation. Compressive drying of the fabric can be achieved using the conventional rotary drum air drying apparatus shown in Figure 1 at point 42. The continuous dryer 42 can be an outer rotating cylinder 44 with the perforations 46 in combination with a outer cover 48 for receiving the hot blown air through the perforations 46. A continuous drying band 50 carries the composite fabric 36 over the upper part of the outer cylinder of the continuous dryer 40. The heated air forced through the perforations 46 at outer cylinder 44 of continuous dryer 40 removes water from composite fabric 36. Other methods of useful continuous drying apparatus can be found in, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 2,666, 369 and 3,821,068, the contents of which are Incorporate here by reference. It should be understood, however, that other drying devices can be used in the process. For example, it is believed that during some applications, a Yankee dryer may be used in place of or in addition to the continuous drying operation.

The fabric may contain various materials such as, for example, scrubbing agents, abrasives, activated carbon, clays, starches, and superabsorbent materials. For example, these materials can be added to the suspension of the pulp fibers can be used to form the pulp fiber layer. These materials can also be deposited on the pulp fiber layer prior to the fluid jet treatments so that they are incorporated into the composite fabric by the action of the fluid jets. Alternatively and / or additionally, these materials can be added to the composite fabric after the fluid jet treatments.

A binder material can be applied to the complete hydraulically entangled fabric 36 either before the drying operation or after the drying operation. He Binder material can be applied using any conventional technique. Desirably, the binder material is printed on the composite material. The printing method can be any which is known in the art to be effective such as, for example, flexographic printing, gravure printing, ink jet printing, spray printing and / or grid printing. .

Generally speaking, the binder material can be based on latex. These may contain a latex base and a curing promoter and a pigment if desired. A setting promoter can be added to a latex base in order to allow the composition to cure at ambient temperatures, well below what will melt the polymer components of a non-woven fabric which generally includes a polyolefin such as polypropylene if it is considered desirable to avoid such temperatures. The curing process can be triggered by the loss of a fugitive alkali which can be part of the formula. Alternate latex polymers with internal curing agents can be used.

An additional viscosity or water modifier can also be part of the formula if the viscosity is not in the proper range for printing after the addition of all the ingredients.

An acceptable latex polymer system for use in this invention must be crosslinkable at room temperature or at slightly elevated temperatures and must be stable under ambient conditions and be flexible when cured. Examples include polymers of ethylene vinyl acetates, vinyl ethylene chlorides, styrene-butadiene acrylates and styrene-acrylate copolymers. Such latex polymers generally have a glass transition temperature in the range of -15 to +20 degrees centigrade. A suitable latex polymer composition is known as HYCAR 26084 from B. F. Goodrich of Cleveland, Ohio. Other suitable latents include RHOPLEX® B-15, HA-8 and NW-1715 from Rohm & Haas, DUR-O-SET® E-646 from National Starch & Chemical Company of Bridgewater, New Jersey and BUTOFAN® 4261 and STYRONAL® 4574 of BAS of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

An acceptable pigment for use in this invention (if a pigment is desired) must be compatible with the latex and crosslinker used. Generally speaking, pigments refer to compositions that have colored bodies in particles, not liquids as in a dye. Commercially available pigments for use in this invention include those manufactured by Sandoz Chemica Company of Charlotte, North Carolina under the designation d GRAPHTOL®. Particular pigments include GRAPHTOL® 1175- (red), GRAPHTOL® 6825-2 (blue), GRAPHTOL® 5869-2 (green), GRAPHTOL® 4534-2 (yellow). Pigment combinations can be used to provide various colors. In addition to or perhaps in place of some pigment, a filler such as a clay can be used as an extender. Clays seem to have an effect of reducing the firmness of color of the composition and do not provide the color of a pigment, but they are a measure of cost savings since they are less expensive than pigments. A clay which can be used is for example, Ultrawhite 90, available from Englehard Corporation, 101 ood Avenue, Iselin, New Jersey 08830.

Useful curing promoters must cause or result in cross-linking of the latex polymer in the composition. Desirably, the curing promoters must allow the latex-based composition to cure at room temperature or slightly above that of the composite material that does not require heating at a temperature at which it will begin to melt in order to cure the latex. . The curing promoter can be made active at a pH which is neutral or acidic so that the binder composition is maintained at a pH above 8 during mixing and application. The precuration pH is maintained above 8 by the use of a fugitive alkali such as, for example ammonia. The fugitive alkalies remain in solution until they are expelled by drying at room temperature or alternatively, by heating them for a small amount to increase the rate of evaporation. The loss of the alkali causes a drop in the pH of the composition which triggers the action of the curing promoter.

Suitable curing promoters are for example XAMA®-2 and XAMA®-7 and are commercially available from B.F. Goodrich Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Another acceptable curing promoter is Chemitite PZ-33 available from Nippon Shokubai Company of Osaka, Japan. These materials are aziridine oligomers with at least two aziridine functional groups.

A viscosity modifier, although not necessarily, may be used if the viscosity of the printing composition is not suitable for the desired printing method. One such suitable viscosity modifier is known as ACRYSOL® RM-8 and is available from Rohm and Haas Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If it is desired to reduce the viscosity of the printing composition of this invention, the water can simply be added to the mixture.

Other suitable binding materials that can be used in the present invention include latex compositions such as acrylates, vinyl acetates, vinyl chlorides, and methacrylates. Other binding materials that may also be used include polyacrylamides, polyvinyl alcohols and carboxymethylcellulose.

In one embodiment, the binding material used in the process of the present invention comprises a d ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer. In particular, the ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer can be cross-linked with N-methyl acrylamide groups using an acid catalyst. Suitable acid catalysts include ammonium chloride, citric acid, and malic acid. The bonding agent must have a glass transition temperature of no lower than about 10 degrees F and not higher than +10 degrees F.

As noted above, the binding material is applied to the composite fabric 36 in a preselected pattern. In an embodiment, for example, the binder material may be applied to the fabric of the composition 36 in a grid pattern, such as the pattern that is interconnected forming a network type design on the surface. For example, the binder material can be applied according to a diamond-shaped rejill. The diamonds in an embodiment can be squares that have a longitudinal dimension of an eighth of an inch. In an alternate embodiment, the diamonds that make up the network can have a length of 6 x 10"3 inches and 9 x 10" 3 inches.

In one embodiment, the binder material can be applied to the fabric in a pattern representing a discrete point suspension. This particular incorporation It may be very suitable for use with lower base-weight cleaning products. Applying the binding agent in discrete forms, such as dots, provides sufficient strength to the fabric without covering a substantial part of the surface area of the fabric. In some situations, the application of the binder material to the surfaces of the fabric can adversely affect the absorbency of the fabric. Therefore, in some applications, it is preferable to minimize the amount of binder material applied.

In a further alternating embodiment, the binder material can be applied to the fabric / fabric 36 according to a grid pattern in combination with discrete dots. For example, in one embodiment, the binder material may be applied to the fabric according to a diamond-shaped grid having discrete stitches applied to the fabric within the diamond shapes.

The binder material can be applied to each side of the fabric to cover almost any amount of the surface area. For example, the binder material can be applied to cover from about 10% to about 60% of the surface area. Desirably, the binder material will cover from about 20% to about 40% of the surface area of each side of the fabric. The total amount of binder material applied to each side of the Fabric / fabric will preferably be in the range of from about 2% to about 15% by weight, based on the total weight of fabric. Therefore, when the binder material is applied on each side of the fabric, the total aggregate will be from about 4% to about 30% by weight.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown an example embodiment of a process in which a bonding material is applied to both sides of a fabric 36 and both sides of the fabric are creped.

A non-woven composite fabric or fabric 36 may be made according to the process illustrated in Figure 1 or according to a similar process and passed through a first binder application station generally 50. Station 50 includes a point of pressure formed by a smooth rubber press roll 52 and a patterned rotogravure roller 54. The rotogravure roller 54 is in communication with a reservoir 56 which contains a first binding agent 58. The rotogravure roller 54 applies the binding agent 58 on one side of the fabric 36 in a preselected pattern. The fabric 36 is then pressed into contact with a first creping drum 60 by means of a press roll 62. The fabric is adhered to the creping drum 60 at those places where the binding agent has been applied. If desired, the creping drum 60 can be heated to promote clamping between the tissue and the surface of the drum and to partially dry the fabric. Care must be taken so that the temperature of the drum is not hot enough to degrade the strength of the fabric.

Once adhered to the creping drum 60, the fabric 60 is brought into contact with a creping blade 64, specifically the fabric 36 is removed from the creping roller 60 by the action of the creping blade 64, carrying out a first creping with controlled pattern. over the tissue.

Once creped, the fabric 36 can be advanced by the pull-on rollers 66 to a second binding agent application station generally indicated with the number 68. The station 68 includes a transfer roller 70 in contact with a rotogravure roller 72, which is in communication with a reservoir 74 containing a second binding agent 76. Similar to station 50, a second binding agent 76 is applied to the opposite side of the tissue 36 in a preselected pattern. Once the second binding agent is applied, the fabric 20 is adhered to the second creping roller 78 by a press roll 80. The fabric 36 is carried on the surface of a creping drum 78 for a distance and then removed from it. by the action of a second creping blade 82. The second creping blade 82 performs a second creping operation with controlled pattern on the second side of the fabric.

Once creped for a second time, the fabric 36, in this embodiment, is pulled through a drying or curing station 84. The drying station 84 can include any form of a heating unit, such as an energized oven by infrared heat, microwave energy, hot air or the like. The drying station 84 may be necessary in some applications to dry the fabric and / or cure the first and second bonding agents. Depending on the selected binding agents, however, in other applications the drying station 84 may not be necessary. Care must be taken that the temperature of the fabric in the drying station is not so high as to degrade the strength of the fabric. Desirably, the binder material is adapted to be cured at low temperatures so that the durability station is not required.

Once pulled through the drying station 84, the fabric 36 can be transferred to another location for further processing or it can be cut into commercially sized sheets for packaging as a rag type cleaning cloth product.

The binding agents applied to each side of the fabric 36 are selected not only to aid in the creping of the fabric but also to aid dry strength, wet strength, stretchability, and resistance to wear. torn paper. The binding agents also prevent the lint from escaping from the cleaning products during use.

After the binder material is applied to the fabric and the fabric is creped, the fabric is ready to be used as a cleaning cloth product according to the present invention. Alternatively, however, additional processing steps on the fabric may be carried out as desired.

It is contemplated that the fabric 36 may be rewound to relatively high levels of stretch and imparted to its fabric by the creping process. This results in a fabric that has a high level of texture which can increase cleaning, scrubbing and / or cleaning. Alternatively, much of the texture or stretch can be removed from the sheet by stretching or pulling the sheet. This can be done immediately after creping or it can be done during the re-rolling operation or the like. Such a stretched or pulled sheet tends to have a smooth and smooth appearance that provides a cleaning panel that easily conforms to the surfaces.

In an embodiment, the fabric can be calendered and then can be treated with a reducing agent of friction in order to provide a cleaning product having a low friction and smooth surface. It should be understood, however, that the calendering step can be eliminated from the process if it is imparted to conserve as much volume as possible.

The friction reducing composition can be sprayed onto the fabric or it can also be printed on the fabric using a lithographic printing source. The friction reducing composition can be applied to either a single side of the fabric or both sides of the fabric of the fabric surface and lowers the friction. Some examples of the friction reducing compositions that can be used in the process of the present invention are described in U.S. Patent No. 5,558,873 issued to Funk et al. Which is incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the friction reducing composition applied is a quaternary lotion, such as a quaternary silicone spray. For example, the composition may include a silicon quaternary ammonium chloride. A commercially available glycol-silicon quaternary ammonium chloride suitable for use in the present invention is marketed by ABIL S of Goldshmidt Chemical Company of Essen, Germany.

In another embodiment, the friction reducing composition is applied to one side of the fabric in an amount of from 0.4% about 2% by weight and particularly from about 0.4% to about 1.4% by weight, based on the weight of the tissue.

After being sprayed with the friction reducing composition, the fabric can be fed to a dryer, such as an infrared dryer, to remove any remaining moisture within the fabric.

The fabric can then be wound into a roll of material, which can be transferred to another location and cut into commercially sized sheets for packaging as a cleaning cloth product.

Textured composite nonwovens made according to the process described above provide many advantages and benefits over many cleaning products made in the past. Of particular advantage, cleaning products, the present invention has the appearance and feel of a textile product.

Compared with conventionally made non-textured hydraulically entangled composites, the textured materials of the present invention have much greater formability and stretch. Textured materials can also provide better cleaning or scrubbing properties due to the texture. Also, the best bonding or binding of the fibrous material provides greater resistance to abrasion, lower levels of fraying and better strength. In addition, the textured composite materials of the present invention have an improved wet volume due to the texture and latex printing.

The basis weight of hydraulically entangled and softened nonwoven composite materials made in accordance with the present invention can generally vary from about 20 to about 200 grams per square meter (gsm), and particularly from about 35 grams per meter square to around 100 grams per square meter. In general, lower weight basis products are very suitable for use as lightweight cleaning cloths while higher weight basis products are better adapted for use as industrial cleaning cloths.

The present invention can be better understood with reference to the following example.

EXAMPLE The hydraulically entangled and softened nonwoven composites were made from a hydraulically entangled composite material. The different agglutinating materials were applied and during the creping operation. The resulting products were compared with an untreated cleaning product (eg, unprinted and n creped) made of essentially the same hydraulically entangled compost material.

Three different cleaning products were produced and tested. The results of the tests are contained in Table 1 given below. The base fabric used to make the samples was identical and was formed by depositing a paper fabric on a non-woven fabric of essentially continuous filament and then dried completely. The base fabric is available from Kimberly-Clark Corporation with Orkhorse® Fabricated Strips and has a basis weight of approximately 55 grams per square meter. The material contained about 75% by weight of kraft pulp of soft northern wood and about 25% by weight of material bonded with polypropylene yarn. The results of testing this material are reported in Table 1 under the heading "Sample 1".

The two creped samples were printed with a latex binding material on both sides. In each case, the latex binding material was applied according to a quarter-inch diamond pattern in combination with a dot pattern. The latex binding materials were used to contain 33% latex solids and were printed at a printing pressure of 30 pounds per square inch. The latex binding material was applied to each surface of the base fabric in an amount of 5% by weight. The samples were creped on each side according to the procedure shown in Figure 2 using crepe driers set at 210 ° F, crepe knife 10 °, shelf angle of 10 ° to achieve a creping of approximately 15%.

A creped sample was printed with a latex available from Air Products under the designation Airflex A-105. This sample required curing in a curing oven set at 280 ° F for less than one second. The results of the test of this material are reported in Table 1 under the heading "Sample 2".

Another creping sample was printed with latex available from B.F. Goodrich from Cleveland, Ohio as HYCAR® latex 26469. This material is carboxylated acrylic. The latex was mixed with about 5%, by weight, of a curing promoter available from B.F. Goodrich, designation XAMA®-7. This material is a derivative of aziridine. Approximately 0.5% by weight of an ammonium chloride catalyst was added to the XAMA®-7 curing promoter. A small amount of defoamer was also added. This sample did not require additional curing. The results of the test of this material are reported in Table 1 under the heading "Sample 3".

Table 1 The tests carried out on the samples were made according to conventional methods which are well known in the art. From the table mentioned above, taber refers to an abrasion test that determines how many cycles, for a paper cleaning product to develop a half-inch hole. The dry cleaning test determines the area of a pond of 1.5 thousandths of water that will be absorbed by a sheet of a paper cleaning product that has a particular size.

These and other modifications and variations of the present invention may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art, being from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims. In addition, it should be understood that the aspects of the various incorporations can be exchanged both in whole or in part. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is given by way of examples, except that it is not intended to limit the invention so far described in such appended claims.

Claims (35)

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N S

1. A method for forming a composite non-woven material comprising the steps of: providing a hydraulically entangled fabric comprising a fibrous component and a woven layer of essentially continuous filaments; applying a binder material to at least one side of said fabric; creping said at least one side of hydraulically entangled fabric.

2. A method as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that said binder material is applied to a first side of the fabric and to an opposite side of the fabric.

3. A method as claimed in clause 2, characterized in that the first side of the fabric and the second side of the fabric are creped.

4. A method as claimed in clause 2, characterized in that the binder material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a acrylate, a vinyl acetate, a vinyl chloride and a methylated methacrylate.

5. A method as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the binder material is applied to at least one side of the fabric in an amount of from about 2% to about 15% by weight.

6. The method as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the binder material comprises an aqueous mixture which includes a curable latex polymer as a pigment and a curing promoter.

7. The method as claimed in clause 6, characterized in that the aqueous mixture comprises about 100 dry parts by weight of curable latex polymer, between about 0.5 and 33 dry parts of a pigment, and between about 1 and 10 parts dry by weight of the curing promoter.

8. The method as claimed in clause 6, characterized in that the aqueous mixture comprises about 100 dry parts by weight of curable latex polymer, between about 1 and 5 dry parts by weight of pigment and between about 4 and 6 parts dry by weight of the curing promoter.

9. The method as claimed in clause 6, characterized in that the aqueous mixture has a precured pH adjusted to around 8 using a fugitive alkali and the mixture is cured at a low temperature of the melt temperature of the hydraulically entangled fabric.

10. The method as claimed in clause 6, characterized in that the latex polymer curable in the aqueous mixture is cured after the step of compaction.

11. The method as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the fabric also contains a debinding agent, the debinding agent inhibits at least a part of the fibrous component of the fabric to be joined together.

12. The method as claimed in clause 1, further characterized in that it comprises the step of applying a friction reducing agent to at least one side of the fabric.

13. The method as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that the binder material is applied to the fabric in a pattern.

14. The method as claimed in clause 13, characterized in that the pattern comprises a pattern of grid type.

15. A composite nonwoven material according to the process as claimed in clause 1, the composite material contains a hydraulically entangled fabric comprising: more than about 50%, by weight, of a fibrous component; more than about 0 to about 50%, by weight of a non-woven layer of essentially continuous filaments; regions containing a binding material that cover at least a portion of at least one side of the composite material.

16. The composite material as claimed in clause 15, characterized in that the essentially continuous filaments are conjugated spun filaments comprising at least one low softening point component and at least one high softening point component and which have at least some outer surfaces of the filaments composed of at least one low softening point component.

17. The composite material as claimed in clause 15, characterized in that the fibrous component comprises pulp.

18. The composite material as claimed in clause 17, characterized in that the fibrous component further comprises synthetic fibers.

19. The composite material as claimed in clause 15, characterized in that the composite material also includes secondary materials.

20. The composite material as claimed in clause 19, characterized in that the secondary material is selected from clays, fillers, starches, particles, superabsorbent particles and combinations thereof.

21. The composite material as claimed in clause 15, characterized in that the material has a basis weight of from about 20 to about 200 grams per square meter.

22. The composite material as claimed in clause 15, characterized in that the binder material retains a color fastness above 3 when exposed to liquids with a PH within about 2 and about 13.

23. The composite material as claimed in clause 15, characterized in that the binder material retains a color fastness above 3 when exposed to sodium hypochlorite.

24. The composite material as claimed in clause 15, characterized in that the binder material retains a color fastness above 3 when exposed to alcohol.

25. A method for forming a composite nonwoven material comprising the steps of: providing a hydraulically entangled fabric comprising a fibrous component and a woven hood of essentially continuous filaments, the fabric having a first side and a second side; applying a binder material to the first side of the fabric in a preselected pattern; the binder material is added to the first side in an amount of from about 2% about 15% by weight of said fabric, said binder material being used to adhere said first side of the fabric to a first creping surface; creping said first side of the fabric from the first creping surface; applying said binder to the second side of the fabric in a preselected pattern, the binder is added to the second side in an amount of from about 2% about 15% by weight of the fabric, the binder material is used to adhere the second side from the weave to a second creping surface, creping said second side of the woven of the second creping surface.

26. A nonwoven composite material comprising: a hydraulically entangled fabric comprising: a fibrous component; a non-woven layer of essentially continuous filaments; and regions containing binder material covering at least a portion of at least one side of the composite material, where at least one side of the fabric has been creped.

27. The nonwoven material as claimed in clause 26, characterized in that the fabric hydraulically Tangled contains more than about 50%, by weight, of a fibrous component; and more than about 0 to about 50% by weight, of a non-woven layer of essentially continuous filaments.

28. The nonwoven composite material as claimed in clause 26, characterized in that the hydraulically entangled fabric contains more than about 70% po weight, of a fibrous component, and more than about 0 about 30% by weight, of a woven hood of essentially continuous filament.

29. The non-woven composite material as claimed in clause 26, characterized in that the essentially continuous filaments are conjugated spun filaments that comprise at least one low softening point component and at least one softening point component alt and that they have at least some outer filament surfaces composed of at least one low softening point component.

30. The non-woven composite material as claimed in clause 26, characterized in that the fibrous component comprises pulp.

31. The non-woven composite material as claimed in clause 26, characterized in that the fibrous component further comprises synthetic fibers.

32. The nonwoven composite material as claimed in clause 26, characterized in that the composite material also includes a secondary material.

33. The nonwoven composite material as claimed in clause 32, characterized in that the secondary matter is selected from clays, fillers, starches, particles, superabsorbent particles and combinations thereof.

34. The non-woven composite material as claimed in clause 26, characterized in that the material has a basis weight of from about 20 about 20 grams per square meter.

35. A cleaning product comprising the non-woven composite material as claimed in clause 26.