RU2625930C2 - Packaging for goods - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: packaging industry.

SUBSTANCE: each of the fibers plurality contains the plurality of fibrils, extended outward from the fibers surface in the central longitudinal third of the fibers, at that the fibrils plurality contains the plurality of wet carboxethyl ester, characterised by the melting point above 35°C, and wherein the plurality of fibers does not contain the drop shaped clusters of the wet carboxethyl ester.

EFFECT: good resistance to the moisture penetration into the package, thereby maintaining the products in the dry state, at the same time providing some ability of the package to breathe.

37 cl, 36 dwg

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present invention essentially relates to packages and packaging materials containing one or more nonwoven substrates for use in packaging goods.

BACKGROUND

In some cases, polymer films are used in packages and packaging materials for goods. Films provide high resistance to the flow of a fluid substance and air and, thus, are ideal packaging materials for goods. However, films are quite expensive and lose aesthetically to non-woven foundations. For this reason, manufacturers of goods in which films are used as packaging materials usually try to reduce the number of films required for the packaging materials they produce and / or to obtain films that are more aesthetically pleasing. Thus, packaging and packaging materials are required containing one or more non-woven substrates that can function as films, or essentially films, and which are aesthetically attractive but can be made at a lower cost than standard polymer films .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention relates in part to packaging for a product. The package contains a non-woven base containing one or more layers of fibers. Each of the plurality of fibers contains a plurality of fibrils extending outward from the surface of the fibers in a central longitudinal third of the fibers. Many fibrils contain fatty ether, characterized by a melting point above 35 ° C. Many fibers do not contain teardrop clusters of fatty ether.

In another embodiment, the present invention relates in part to a package containing a product and a non-woven base containing one or more layers of fibers. The fiber layer contains many bonds. Each bond has a bond region. Many fibrils extend outward from the surface of at least one of the bonding areas.

In another embodiment, the present invention relates in part to a packaging material for a product. The packaging material contains a non-woven base containing one or more layers of fibers. Many fibers contain fibrils, which extend outward from them only after a certain period of time. This time period is more than about 24 hours at ambient conditions after the formation of the nonwoven backing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention, as well as methods for achieving them along with the invention itself, will become more apparent from the following description of non-limiting embodiments of the invention, given in combination with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an absorbent article (laid flat without elastic contraction), with the surface facing the garment facing the viewer in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an absorbent article according to FIG. 1, wherein the elastic elements are in a free / shortened state in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the absorbent article of FIG. 1 taken along line 3-3 in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a molding machine used to make a nonwoven backing, in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an example of a cross-sectional view of a non-woven backing in a three-layer configuration in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the nonwoven backing of FIG. 5, wherein various portions of the nonwoven layers are cut so that the composition of each nonwoven layer is visible in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a non-woven backing in a four-layer configuration in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the nonwoven backing of FIG. 7, wherein various portions of the nonwoven layers are cut so that the composition of each nonwoven layer is visible in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of an absorbent article constituting a sanitary napkin that may comprise nonwoven webs according to the present invention, in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 10-12 are photographs of a non-woven base containing fibrils in its spunbond layers, made using a scanning electron microscope ("SEM"), in accordance with various non-limiting embodiments;

FIG. 13-15 are additional SEM photographs of a non-woven base containing fibrils in its spunbond layers, in accordance with various non-limiting embodiments;

FIG. 16-18 - SEM photographs of species in cross section of parts of a non-woven base containing fibrils in its spunbond layers, made using a scanning electron microscope ("SEM"), in accordance with various non-limiting embodiments;

FIG. 19 is an SEM photograph of a portion of a bonding portion having a bonding region, where a plurality of fibrils extends from the bonding region, in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 20-22 — SEM photographs of species in cross-section of parts of a bonding portion having a bonding region of a non-woven base, with a plurality of fibrils extending from the bonding region in accordance with various non-limiting embodiments;

FIG. 23 is an example of a graph depicting the effect of an additive for modifying the properties of a melt representing glycerol tristearate on the specific surface area of non-woven substrates according to the present invention, compared with the specific surface area of standard non-woven substrates without glycerol tristearate in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

24 is an example of a graph of the relationship of the time of leakage of a fluid with a low surface tension (seconds) to the bulk (g / m ² ) (seconds / (g / m ² )), on the amount of glycerol tristearate (g / m ² ) non-woven backing in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 25 is an example of a plot of specific surface area (m ² / g) versus time (hours) after formation of a non-woven backing or non-woven layer for non-woven backings according to the present invention in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 26 is an example of a bar chart of the leakage time of a fluid with a low surface tension (seconds) for various non-woven substrates according to the present invention, compared with a standard non-woven base SMN with a bulk of 13 g / m ² in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 27 is an example of a plot of the leakage time of a fluid with a low surface tension (seconds) versus the percentage by weight of glycerol tristearate in the composition used to form the fibers, in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 28 is an example of a plot of the leakage time of a fluid with a low surface tension (seconds) versus the percentage by weight of glycerol tristearate in the composition used to form the fibers, in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment. The bottom line represents a non-woven backing made of spunbond technology with a bulk of 19 g / m ² . The middle line is a non-woven base made of material obtained by the technology of spunbond, with a bulk of 16 g / m ² . The upper line represents a non-woven backing made of spunbond technology with a bulk of 13 g / m ² .

FIG. 29 is an example of a plot of the leakage time of a fluid with low surface tension (seconds) versus fiber diameter (μm) in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 30 is an example of a graph of the relationship of the leakage time of a fluid with a low surface tension (seconds) to the amount of glycerol tristearate (g / m ² ) in various nonwoven substrates in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a tissue or cleaning base, wherein the tissue or cleaning base may comprise non-woven substrates according to the present invention in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 32 is a perspective view of a packaging for goods, wherein a portion of the packaging may comprise non-woven backings according to the present invention in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 33 is an SEM photograph of a cross-sectional view of a non-woven backing according to the present invention, wherein the fatty esters in spunbond fibers were dissolved using the gravimetric weight loss method in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 34 is an SEM photograph of a cross-sectional view of a fiber obtained by spanbond technology according to FIG. 33 in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment;

FIG. 35 is an example of a plot of the weight average fiber diameter (X axis) versus specific surface area (Y axis) in accordance with one non-limiting embodiment; and

FIG. 36 is an illustration of an opening used in performing the leak test of a low surface tension fluid material disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this section, various non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described to provide a general understanding of the principles of the device, operation, manufacture and use of product packaging disclosed herein. One or more examples of such non-limiting embodiments are shown in the attached drawings. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the product packaging described in particular in this document and shown in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting embodiments, given as examples, and that the scope of various non-limiting embodiments of the present invention is determined solely by the claims. . The features shown or described in relation to one non-limiting embodiment may be combined with the features of other non-limiting embodiments. It is intended that such modifications and changes fall within the scope of this disclosure.

Definitions

In this document, the following terms have the following meanings:

The term "absorbent article" refers to disposable devices, such as diapers for infants, children or adults, or products for people with incontinence, panties for potty training, sanitary napkins, tampons and the like, located in close proximity to the body or natural openings of the user's body in order to absorb and retain various excretion products (e.g., urine, feces, menstrual flow) secreted by the body. Certain absorbent articles may include a top sheet or a liquid permeable layer, a bottom sheet or a liquid impermeable layer, and an absorbent core located at least partially between the top sheet and the bottom sheet. These products may also contain an absorption system (which may consist of one or more layers) and, as a rule, other components. Examples of absorbent articles according to the present invention will be further shown in the form of a diaper with Velcro and sanitary napkins in the following description and figures. However, nothing in this description should be construed as limiting the scope of protection provided by the claims based on the shown and described examples of absorbent articles. In essence, the present invention is applicable to any suitable type of absorbent article (for example, potty training pants, adult incontinence products, sanitary napkins). For the avoidance of doubt, absorbent products do not include wipes. Wipes are defined further in the description and are also included in the protection scope of the present invention.

The term "environmental conditions" means the standard conditions after the manufacture of the non-woven base and / or absorbent product, storage conditions of the non-woven base and / or absorbent product, in particular, conditions at 20 degrees C +/- 7 degrees C at a relative humidity of 50% + / - thirty%.

The term “product” includes any products, such as, for example, absorbent products, wipes (wet or dry), cleaning or dusting bases, filters, filter media, toothbrushes or batteries.

The term "bulk" is defined in the test for bulk, disclosed below in this document. The bulk is indicated in grams per square meter (g / m ² ).

The term “bonding region” refers to the region of individual bonding regions.

The term "transverse direction" refers to a direction essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

The term "diameter", as applied to fibers, is disclosed in a test to determine the physical diameter and diameter in denier, which is described later in this document. The physical diameter of the fibers is indicated in micrometers.

The term "elastic core" or "elastic element" refers to a tape or core (i.e., with a much longer length than the width and height or diameter of its cross section), which may be part of the collecting component of the inner or outer cuff products.

The term “fiber” refers to any type of artificial fiber, filament or fibril, continuous or discontinuous, produced as a result of a spinning process, meltblown technology, melt fibrillation, film fibrillation or electrospinning, or any other suitable process.

The term “film” refers to a polymeric material having a skin-like structure and not containing separately distinguishable fibers. Thus, the "film" does not include non-woven material. For the purposes of the present invention, a skin-like material may be perforated, contain holes, or it may be microporous and still conditionally be a “film”.

The term “fibrils” refers to protrusions, oblong protrusions or tubercles extending outward from the surface or essentially radially outward from the outer surface of the fiber. In some cases, these protrusions, elongated protrusions or tubercles can be extended radially outward relative to the longitudinal axis of the fiber. Radially outward - means in the range from 1 to 89 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis. In other cases, said protrusions, elongated protrusions, or tubercles may extend radially outward from the surface of the fiber in at least a longitudinal central third of the fiber. These protrusions, oblong protrusions or tubercles contain, consist of, or consist essentially of (i.e., contain from 51% to 100% or 51% to 99%) additives to modify the properties of the melt, such as fatty esters. These protrusions, oblong protrusions or tubercles grow from the fibers after the formation of the non-woven base only after a certain period of time (for example, 6-100 hours) under ambient conditions. Fibrils can be seen through SEM at a magnification of at least 1000 times.

The term “hydrophobic” refers to a material or composition characterized by a contact angle of greater than or equal to 90 °, according to a publication by the American Chemical Society “Contact Angle, Wettability, and Adhesion,” edited by Robert F. Gould and copyrighted in 1964. In certain embodiments hydrophobic surfaces can be characterized by contact angles of more than 120 °, more than 140 °, or even more than 150 °. Hydrophobic liquid compositions are essentially immiscible with water. The term "hydrophobic additive for modifying the properties of the melt" refers to a hydrophobic composition that has been included as an additive in the hot-melt composition (ie, was mixed with a thermoplastic melt), from which fibers and / or the base are then formed (for example, by technology spunbond, meltblown, melt fibrillation or extrusion).

The term "hydrophobic surface coating" refers to a composition that has been applied to a surface in order to make the surface hydrophobic or more hydrophobic. The term “hydrophobic surface coating composition” means a composition that is applied to a surface or base, such as a non-woven base, to provide a hydrophobic surface coating.

The term “coupled” or “fastened” or “attached” as used herein encompasses configurations in which an element is directly attached to another element by attaching said element directly to another element, as well as configurations in which the element is indirectly attached to another element by attaching said element to one or more intermediate elements, which, in turn, are attached to another element.

The term "low surface tension fluid" refers to a fluid characterized by a surface tension of 32 mN / m +/- 1.0 mN / m.

The term "low surface tension fluid leakage time" is defined in the low surface tension fluid leakage test below. The leakage time of a fluid with a low surface tension is indicated in seconds.

The term "longitudinal direction" (MD) means the direction of material flow during the process.

The term “calendered bonding” or “thermal bonding” refers to bonding formed between nonwoven fibers under pressure and temperature, wherein the polymer fibers within the bonding melt or fuse together to form a compressed flat region, which can be a material in the form continuous film. The term “calendered bond” does not include a bond formed using adhesive, and also does not include a bond formed using pressure, which is defined below as mechanical bonding. The term "thermal bonding process" or "calender bonding process" refers to the process used to create thermal bonding.

The term "mechanical bonding" refers to a bonding formed between two materials by pressure, ultrasonic bonding and / or another mechanical bonding process without intentionally applying heat. The term mechanical bonding does not include bonding formed using an adhesive.

The term “layer” refers to one sheet or layer of non-woven or other material.

The term “backing” refers to a sheet-like structure of one or more layers, such as a non-woven backing.

The term "linear density" refers to the density in the longitudinal direction, measured in terms of mass per unit length of fiber.

The term "denier" refers to a unit of fiber thickness equal to the mass (in grams) per 9000 m of fiber.

The term "mass-average diameter" refers to the weight-weighted arithmetic average diameter of the fibers, determined on the basis of the diameter of the fiber, which was measured in accordance with the test to determine the physical diameter and diameter in denier, described later in this document. The weight average fiber diameter was determined by calculating the fiber diameter given later in this document. The mass average fiber diameter is indicated in micrometers.

The term "number average diameter", alternatively, "average diameter" refers to the weight-weighted arithmetic average diameter of the fibers, determined on the basis of the diameter of the fibers, which was measured in accordance with the test to determine the physical diameter and diameter in denier, described later in this document. The number average fiber diameter was determined by calculating the fiber diameter given later in this document. The number average fiber diameter is indicated in micrometers.

Preferred are nonwoven substrates having properties matching or close to coinciding with some properties of the films. One preferred property of a film for a nonwoven fabric is the ability of the film to be liquid impermeable or substantially liquid impermeable. Typically, films are less "breathable", less comfortable, and substantially more noisy when moving than non-woven materials, unless the films are given a look more similar to non-woven materials using expensive manufacturing methods. In fact, non-woven materials having permeability properties for a fluid substance similar to or close to those for a film are preferable, since there are huge savings in money, as well as a higher level of comfort for the user. In one embodiment, the present invention provides non-woven substrates characterized by enhanced barrier properties to a fluid substance. In another embodiment, the present invention provides non-woven webs containing one or more layers of fibers, said non-woven webs having specific surface areas that are larger than the specific surface areas of standard non-woven webs. In one embodiment, the non-woven backing of the present invention may comprise one or more layers of fibers, and the plurality of fibrils may extend outward or radially outward from the surface of at least some fibers in said one or more layers of fibers. Fibrils can provide reduced permeability to a fluid substance (e.g., liquid or gas), especially to a liquid, in said fiber layer, as well as in the non-woven base as a whole. All layers of the nonwoven backing may have fibers containing fibrils, or fibers with fibrils may not be present in all layers. In other words, some layers may have fibers that do not contain fibrils, while other layers may have fibers with fibrils. Some layers may have fibers with fibrils and fibers without fibrils. The specific surface areas of non-woven substrates, as well as fibers with fibrils will be discussed in more detail below after a more general description of one example of an absorbent article, with reference to use with non-woven substrates according to the present invention. Wipes, packages, and packaging materials that use the nonwoven substrates discussed herein are also within the scope of protection of the present invention. They will also be discussed in more detail below.

Non-woven substrates may contain sheets of individual non-woven layers of fibers, threads, as well as combinations of fibers and threads bonded together using mechanical, thermal or chemical bonding methods. Non-woven substrates can be formed as relatively flat porous sheets made directly from individual fibers, including staple fibers, directly from molten plastic, from plastic films and / or some combination of the above components. Some nonwoven substrates can be hardened or reinforced, for example, with a backing sheet. Nonwoven substrates can be technical fabrics, which can be fabrics with a limited lifespan, disposable fabrics, or very reliable reusable fabrics. In various embodiments, nonwoven substrates provide specific functions, such as absorbency, water repellent, resilience, elasticity, opacity, softness and / or strength. Such properties are often combined to create non-woven substrates suitable for specific applications, while at the same time providing a good balance between service life and product cost. More complete information on nonwoven fabrication methods is provided, for example, in the source "The Handbook of Nonwovens" edited by S.J. Russell and published by Woodhead Publishing Limited and CRC Press LLC (ISBN: 978-0-8493-2596-0).

Direct wet spinning of non-woven polymer materials

Technology for forming continuous and discontinuous fibers from molten materials, typically thermoplastics, is commonly referred to as melt spinning or spanmelt technology. Spanmelt technologies can include both meltblown technology and spanbond technology. Spunbond technology involves feeding a molten polymer, which is then extruded through a die under pressure through a large number of holes in a plate known as a die. The resulting continuous fibers are cooled and drawn by any means, such as, for example, slotting systems, drawing guns or drawing shafts (rollers). In spunlade or spunbond technologies, continuous fibers are collected in the form of loose material on a moving perforated surface, such as, for example, a conveyor belt in the form of a wire mesh. If more than one die is used on the formation line of the multilayer nonwoven base, subsequent nonwoven layers are collected on the uppermost surface of the previously formed nonwoven layer. Non-woven substrates obtained using spunlade or spunbond technology can be multicomponent (for example, in the form of a core and a shell, in the form of a “pie-cut into segments” or configuration in the form of islands), can have many components (i.e., are mixtures of many chemicals in one component), and also have many cross-sections other than cylindrical or round, for example three-lobed, oval or hollow. Examples of the manufacture of such a wide variety of layers or materials prepared using spunlade technology are disclosed in US Pat. Nos. 3,502,763 (Hartmann et al.), 3,692,618 (Dorschner et al.), 3,338,992 (Kinney), 4,820,142 (Balk), 5,460,500 (Geus et al.), 6,932,590 (Geus et al.), 5,382,400 (Pike et al.), 7,320,581 (Allen et al.), and 7,476,350 (Allen).

Meltblown technology refers to spunlade or spunbond technology in that they form a non-woven backing layer, wherein the molten polymer is extruded through holes in a die or die, typically with one row of small holes in the die. An intense fast flow of hot gas acts on and pulls the fibers as they exit the head and quickly pulls them into microfibers with diameters of the order of ten micrometers and with an indefinite length. This is different from spunbond technology, in which fiber continuity is not strictly maintained. The fibers are then blown and laid with high speed air flow onto a collecting device, conveyor or other web. Other non-woven meltblown layers are added to the non-woven spunbond layers to form spunbond-meltblown non-woven substrates (“SM”) or spunbond-meltblown spunbond non-woven substrates (“SMS”) that combine properties non-woven structures of spunbond (S) and meltblown (M), i.e. for the formation of durable non-woven substrates with some barrier properties. Descriptions of methods for making such fibers, layers, and non-woven substrates obtained using the meltblown technology can be found, for example, in the source "Superfine Thermoplastic Fibers", Van A. Wente, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 48 (8) 1956, pp. 1342-46, or U.S. Patent Nos. 3,849,241 (Buntin et al.) And 5,098,636 (Balk).

Other methods for making even finer fibers, including fibers with average diameters of less than one micrometer or 1000 nanometers (“N-fiber”), may include melt fibrillation, advanced meltblown technology, or electrospinning. Improved Meltblown technology is described, for example, in US patents Ms 4,818,464 (Lau), 5,114,631 (Nyssen et al.), 5,620,785 (Watt et al.) And 7,501,085 (Bodaghi et al.). The melt fibrillation technology of films as an example of melt fibrillation is a general fiber manufacturing class and consists in the fact that one or more polymers are melted and extruded in a variety of different configurations (for example, in the form of hollow tubes of films, sheets of films, together extruded, homogeneous or bicomponent films or filaments) and then fibrillate or dissolve into filaments. Examples of such technologies are described in US Pat. Nos. 4,536,361 (Torobin), 6,110,588 (Perez et al.), 7,666,343 (Johnson et al.), 6,800,226 (Gerking). Electrospinning technologies applicable for the manufacture of thin fibers are described in US Pat. Nos. 1,975,504 (Formhals et al.), 7,585,437 (Jirsak et al.), 6,713,011 (Chu et al.), 8,257,641 (Qi et al.); as well as from Electrospinning, A. Greiner and J. Wendorff, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2007, 46 (30), 5670-5703.

Spun-fiber or spunbond fibers are typically characterized by an average diameter in the range of about 8 micrometers to about 30 micrometers, or a linear fiber density in the range of 0.5 to 10 denier. Meltblown fibers are characterized by a diameter, on average, typically in the range of 0.5 micrometers for 10 micrometers, or from 0.001 denier to 0.5 denier, with a range from approximately 0.1 micrometers to more than 10 micrometers . Thin fibers are characterized by an average or median diameter in the range of 0.1 micrometer to 2 micrometers, while some fine fibers are characterized by a number average diameter of less than about 1 micrometer, a weight average diameter of less than about 1.5 micrometers, and a ratio of the weight average diameter to number average diameter of less than about 2 .

Other non-woven layers ("M") obtained by the meltblown technology are added to the non-woven layers ("S") obtained by the spunlade technology to form non-woven spunbond-meltblown ("SM"), non-woven spunbond-meltblown-spunbond ( “SMS”), SSMMS non-woven substrates, SSMMSS non-woven substrates or other non-woven substrates that combine the properties of spunbond (S) and meltblown non-woven structures (M), i.e., to form strong non-woven substrates with some barrier properties for fluid substance. The same can be done with thin fibers and thin fiber layers labeled “N” to form SN, MN, SMN, SMNS, SMNMS, SNMN, SSMNS, SSMNNS, or other suitable layer combinations.

Dry and wet molded non-woven substrates

In addition to non-woven substrates made using extrusion techniques from molten materials, non-woven substrates can also be made in other ways from preformed fibers (including natural fibers), for example, by dry and wet molding techniques. Dry forming technologies include carding and aerial styling. These technologies can be combined with each other, for example, dry molding technology with melt molding technology to form multilayer functional non-woven substrates.

The carding process uses fibers that are cut into separate segments called staple fibers. The type of fiber and the desired properties of the final product determine the fiber length and diameter in denier. Typical staple fibers are characterized by a length in the range of 20 mm to 200 mm and a linear density in the range of 1 d / in to 50 d / in (denier per fiber), although staple fibers with characteristics beyond these limits are also used for carding. Carding technology converts such staple fibers into a molded base. Staple fibers are usually sold in compacted briquettes, which must be loosened to produce uniform nonwoven substrates. Such a loosening process can be performed by combining the process of loosening the briquette, coarse loosening, delicate loosening, or a similar process. Staple fibers are often mixed to mix different types of fibers and / or to improve uniformity. The fibers can be mixed using mixing hoppers for fibers, loosening devices for briquettes, mixing chambers, or the like. Loosened and mixed fibers are transported to a trough that stacks the fibers across the width of the card and with a density as uniform as practical for the manufacture of a non-woven base with the required uniformity of the bulk. The card machine contains many parallel rolls and / or fixed plates covered with a metal casing, hard wires with teeth of a special geometry, between which staple fibers are passed. Carding occurs when, on a specified metal casing, fiber bundles move between the tangent points of two surfaces that have different surface speeds and opposite angular directions. Card machines can have one main cylinder for carding or many cylinders. Card machines may have one removable drum or multiple removable drums to remove combed fibers, while the cards may contain mixing rollers or collecting rollers to reduce the excessively high isotropic orientation of the individual fibers in the fabric. The carding process may include the use of a single carding machine or a plurality of carding machines matched to each other, the fibers of each subsequent carding machine being laid on top of the fibers of the previous carding machine, and thus many layers can be formed, for example, of fibers of different compositions . The orientation of such cards can be parallel with respect to the operation located lower in the technological scheme, or perpendicular to the operation located lower in the technological scheme by providing rotation or transformation of the carding.

Airline technology also uses fibers in the form of separate segments, although such fibers are often shorter than staple fibers used for carding. The length of the fibers used in aerial laying is typically in the range of 2 mm to 20 mm, although lengths outside this range can also be used. Particles may also be introduced into the fibrous structure during the air-laying process. Some fibers for air laying can be prepared in the same way as for carding, for example, by loosening and mixing, as described above. Mills such as a hammer mill or disk mill can be used to separate other fibers, such as cellulose. To increase the uniformity of the properties of the finished nonwoven base, various fibers can be mixed. An air-laid forming device combines external air and fibers and / or particles in such a way that said fibers and / or particles are captured by the air stream. After their capture, the fibers and / or particles are collected in the form of loose material on a moving perforated surface, such as, for example, a conveyor belt in the form of a wire mesh. Aerial styling technology may include the use of a single aerial styling device or a plurality of aerial styling devices combined in a line, wherein fibers and / or particles from a subsequent airlaid forming device are stacked on top of the fibers and / or particles from a previous molding device for air styling, thus enabling the manufacture of a multilayer non-woven base.

Non-woven materials obtained by wet molding, are made using a modified method of making paper, using fibers from 2 mm to 20 mm in length, although length values outside this range can also be used. Some wet spinning fibers can be prepared in the same way as for carding, for example by loosening and mixing, as described above. Mills such as a hammer mill or disk mill can be used to separate other fibers, such as cellulose. The fibers are weighed in water, possibly with other additives, such as binders, and this solution is usually placed in a headbox from which it flows onto a wet forming apparatus to create a sheet of material. After removal of the source water, the web is held together and dried.

Bonding

Non-woven substrates can be bonded (combined) using thermal, mechanical or chemical methods. In the case of non-woven substrates made from cellulosic materials, non-woven substrates can be hydrogen bonded. Bonding is usually performed on the same line with the molding process, however, it can also be performed outside of it. The thermal bonding process includes a calender bonding realized by smooth and / or embossed shafts, as well as an air bonding implemented by a flat belt and / or drum surfaces. The mechanical bonding process involves piercing with needles, stitch bonding, and sewing together (also known as spunlace technology). The chemical bonding process involves applying adhesives, latexes and / or solvents to the fibers by spraying, printing, foaming or saturation, followed by drying and creating a non-woven backing with significant integrity. Other subsequent processing steps, such as printing or coating, may then follow. After that, the non-woven warp is wound into rolls, cut / rewound, packaged or shipped for further processing and / or conversion to final products.

Composition of fibers and threads

In various embodiments, synthetic fibers of nonwoven structures can be made of polyesters, including PET, PTT, PBT and polylactic acid (PLA), as well as alkyds, polyolefins, including polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and polybutylene (PB), olefin copolymers from ethylene and propylene, elastomeric polymers, including thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) and styrene block copolymers (linear and radial di- and tribloxopolymers, for example, various types manufactured by Kraton), polystyrenes, polyamides, PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates) and, on for example, PHB (polyhydroxybutyrates), as well as starch-based compositions including, for example, thermoplastic starch. Component fibers can be obtained from biological sources, for example, from plant material, for example, in the case of PLA or "bio-PE." The above polymers can be used as homopolymers, copolymers, mixtures, as well as their alloys. In various embodiments, natural fibers of nonwoven structures can be made, inter alia, of digested cellulose fibers from softwood (obtained from coniferous trees), hardwood (obtained from deciduous trees) or cotton, including artificial silk and cotton, fibers from esparto grass, pulp of sugarcane, short coarse carpet, linen, jute, kenaf, sisal and other sources of lignocellulosic and cellulose fibers. The fibers may contain other constituents to provide color, strength, resistance to aging, deodorization or other purposes, for example, they may contain titanium dioxide to reduce gloss and increase opacity.

Non-woven substrates, for example SMS substrates, are used in many mass-produced absorbent articles and goods in their production. Some of the largest consumers of such nonwovens are disposable diaper manufacturers, napkin manufacturers, cleaning base manufacturers, and feminine hygiene products.

The following description essentially discloses a suitable absorbent core, a top sheet or a liquid permeable layer, and a bottom sheet or a liquid impermeable layer that can be used in absorbent articles. The absorbent core may be located at least partially between or completely between the liquid permeable layer and the liquid impermeable layer. Other products, such as sanitary napkins, cleaning products and wipes, are also included in the protection scope of the present invention and will be disclosed below.

In FIG. 1 is a plan view of an absorbent article 10, which may have nonwoven substrates according to the present invention as its component. The absorbent article 10 is shown in its flat, unabridged state (i.e., in a state where the contraction provided by the elastic elements is neutralized for clarity), while portions of the absorbent article 10 have been cut to more clearly show the design of the absorbent article 10. The portion of the absorbent article 10 directed away from the user (i.e., the surface facing the garment), in FIG. 1 is oriented towards the beholder. In FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an absorbent article 10 according to FIG. 1 in a partially reduced condition. As shown in FIG. 1, the absorbent article 10 may comprise a liquid-permeable topsheet 20, a liquid-impervious bottomsheet 30 connected to said topsheet 20, and an absorbent core 40 located at least partially or completely between the topsheet 20 and the bottomsheets 30. Absorbent the core 40 has an outer surface (or a garment-facing surface) 42, an inner surface (or a garment-facing surface) 44, side edges 46 and waist edges 48. In one embodiment, the absorbent article 10 may comprise sealing barrier cuffs 50 and longitudinal barrier cuffs 51. In some embodiments, the longitudinal barrier cuffs 51 may extend substantially parallel to the central longitudinal axis 59. For example, the longitudinal barrier cuffs 51 may extend substantially between two end edges 57. The absorbent article 10 may comprise an elastic element in the waist region, repeatedly indicated by 60, and a fastening system, essentially repeatedly indicated by she is 70.

In one embodiment, the absorbent article 10 may have an outer surface 52 (a garment-facing surface), an inner surface 54 (a user-facing surface) opposite the outer surface 52, a first waist region 56, a second waist region 58, and an outer boundary 53 defined by longitudinal edges 55 and end edges 57. (Although a person skilled in the art will understand that an absorbent article, such as a diaper, is usually described as having a pair of waist areas and a crotch area between and waist, in this application, for simplicity of terminology absorbent article 10 is described as having only waist area containing a part of the absorbent article which is typically formed as part of the crotch region). The inner surface 54 of the absorbent article 10 comprises a portion of the absorbent article 10 that is located near the user's body during use (i.e., the inner surface 54 is essentially formed by at least a portion of the top sheet 20 and other components that can be connected to the top sheet 20 ) The outer surface 54 comprises a portion of the absorbent article 10, which is located at a distance from the user's body (i.e., the outer surface 52 is essentially formed by at least a portion of the bottom sheet 30 and other components that can be connected to the bottom sheet 30). The first waist region 56 and the second waist region 58 are extended, respectively, from the end edges 57 of the outer border 53 to the transverse midline (transverse cut line 3-3) of the absorbent article 10.

In FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an absorbent article 10 (wherein the elastic elements are in a reduced state) containing a pair of longitudinal barrier cuffs 51 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. one.

In one embodiment, the absorbent core 40 may take any size or shape compatible with the absorbent article 10. In one embodiment, portions of the absorbent core 40 may be made of one or more nonwoven substrates according to the present invention. In one embodiment, the absorbent article 10 may have an asymmetric modified T-shaped absorbent core 40, characterized by a narrowing of the side edge 46 in the first waist region 56, but remaining substantially rectangular in the second waist region 58. The absorbent core may also have any other suitable handicap, for example, a rectangular one. In the prior art, various designs of an absorbent core are well known. The absorbent core 40 may also include a core shell 41 (as shown in FIG. 3 and as described in more detail below) and a non-woven bulk layer 41 'located between the absorbent core 40 and the bottom sheet 30. In one embodiment, the core shell 41 and the nonwoven bulk layer 41 ′ may be made of one or more nonwoven webs according to the present invention.

The core 40 may be a core wrapped in a C-shell or a core of any suitable configuration. In a core wrapped in a C-shaped shell, the core shell 41 may be wrapped, at least partially, around the bulk layer 41 ', or vice versa, to seal the core 40, as well as to prevent or at least slow the leakage of the contents from the core 40 after exposure to body fluids. In one embodiment, the core may comprise superabsorbent polymers in percent by weight of at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 95%, or even 100%.

In one embodiment, the topsheet 20 of the absorbent article 10 may contain a hydrophilic material that facilitates the rapid passage of fluid substances (e.g., urine, menstrual flow and / or fluid excrement) through the topsheet 20. The topsheet 20 may be malleable, soft to the touch, and not irritating the user's skin. In addition, the upper sheet 20 may be permeable to fluid substances, allowing the rapid penetration of fluid substances through its thickness (for example, menstrual flow, urine and / or liquid bowel movements). In one embodiment, the topsheet 20 may be made of a hydrophilic material, or at least the topsurface of the topsheet can be treated so that it is hydrophilic so that fluid materials pass through the topsheet faster and penetrate the absorbent core 40. This reduces the likelihood that body excretion products or fluid substances will drain from the top sheet 20 instead of being drawn through the top sheet 20 and absorbed by the absorbent core 40. The top sheet 20 can It can be made hydrophilic, for example, by treatment with a surfactant. In one embodiment, the topsheet 20 may be made from one or more nonwoven webs of the present invention.

In one embodiment, the bottom sheet 30 may be impermeable or at least partially impermeable to fluids or fluids with low surface tension (for example, for menstrual flow, urine and / or liquid bowel movements). The bottom sheet 30 may be made of a thin plastic film, although other flexible, fluid-impervious materials may also be used. The bottom sheet 30 can prevent or at least slow down the wetting of articles in contact with the absorbent article 10, such as, for example, sheets, clothes, pajamas and underwear, as a result of contact with body secretions absorbed and held in the absorbent core 40. The bottom sheet 30 may comprise a woven or non-woven base, polymer films, for example thermoplastic films of polyethylene or polypropylene, and / or composite materials, such as a film-coated non-woven material or a laminate of a film with non-woven fabric rial. In one embodiment, the bottom sheet 30 may be a plastic film having a thickness of from 0.012 mm (0.5 mil) to 0.051 mm (2.0 mil). Examples of polymer films are manufactured by Clopay Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio, under the name P18-1401, and Tredegar Film Products in Terre Hot, Indiana, under the name XP-39385. The bottom sheet 30 may be embossed and / or may have a matte finish to make its appearance more similar to the fabric. In addition, the bottom sheet 30 may allow vapors to escape from the absorbent core 40 (i.e., the bottom sheet 30 is “breathable” and has adequate air permeability) and, at the same time, it may still obstruct, or at least slow the passage of body secretions through the bottom sheet 30. The size of the bottom sheet 30 may be dictated by the size of the absorbent core 40 and the particular design of the absorbent article. In one embodiment, the bottom sheet 30 may be made of one or more nonwoven webs according to the present invention.

Other optional elements of the absorbent article 10 may include a fastening system 70, elastic side panels 82 and an elastic element 60 at the waist. The attachment system 70 allows the first region 56 to be connected to the second waist region 58 in the form of an overlapping configuration so that lateral tension is maintained around the circumference of the absorbent article 10 to hold the absorbent article 10 on the user. Examples of attachment systems 70 are disclosed in US Pat. 4,662,875 issued by Hirotsu et al., May 5, 1987, and 5,151,092 issued by Buell et al., September 29, 1992. In certain embodiments, the attachment system 70 may be absent. In such embodiments, waist regions 56 and 58 may be joined by the manufacturer of an absorbent article for forming a panty-shaped diaper having a pre-formed waist hole and leg hole (i.e., no manipulation is required to form the waist hole and leg hole, produced by the end user). Panty diapers are also commonly referred to as “closed diapers,” “pre-fastened diapers,” “pull-on diapers,” “potty-trained panties,” and “diaper panties.” Suitable panty diapers are disclosed in US Pat. Johnson et al., September 19, 2000, 4,940,464 issued by Van Gompel et al., July 10, 1990 and 5,092,861 issued by Nomura et al., March 3, 1992. In essence, waist regions 56 and 58 can be connected by a method permanent bonding or re-bonding bonding method.

In one embodiment, the absorbent article 10 may comprise one or more longitudinal barrier cuffs 51, which may provide improved retention of fluid substances and other body excretory products. The longitudinal barrier cuffs 51 may comprise one or more nonwoven webs according to the present invention. Longitudinal barrier cuffs 51 may also be referred to as foot cuffs, barrier foot cuffs, longitudinal foot cuffs, foot tapes, side flaps, elastic cuffs or “standing” elastic valves. Elongation of the longitudinal barrier cuffs 51 by means of one or more elastic members 63. The elastic elements 63 can provide elasticity to the longitudinal barrier cuffs 51 and can help to keep the longitudinal barrier cuffs 51 in a “standing” position. US Pat. No. 3,860,003, issued to Buell on July 14, 1975, discloses a disposable diaper that provides a tapered opening for the leg, having a side flap and one or more elastic elements to provide an elastic leg cuff. U.S. Patent Nos. 4,808,178 and 4,909,803 issued by Aziz et al. February 28, 1989 and March 20, 1990, respectively, describe absorbent articles comprising “standing” elastic valves that improve retention in the region of the leg openings of the absorbent article 10. Furthermore, in some embodiments, said one or more longitudinal barrier cuffs 51 may be made integrally with one or more sealing cuffs 50. As with the longitudinal barrier cuffs 51, the sealing cuffs 50 may contain one or more elastic elements 62. The sealing cuffs 50 may contain one or more non-woven x bases according to the present invention.

In FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an absorbent article 10 according to FIG. 1 drawn along line 3-3. In FIG. 3 shows one type of cuff design, however, modifications can be made to the cuff design without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The sealing collar 50 and the longitudinal barrier collar 51 are both shown in FIG. 3, however, a single cuff design may be suitable. In FIG. 3 shows a design with a sealing collar 50 and a longitudinal barrier collar 51 in accordance with one embodiment. Both cuffs 50, 51 can be on a common non-woven base 65, such as, for example, a non-woven base SMS, non-woven base SNS or non-woven base SMNS. The longitudinal barrier cuff 51 is shown in a single layer configuration, where a significant portion of the lateral width of the longitudinal barrier cuff 51 contains one layer of non-woven backing 65. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the particular configuration of the non-woven backing can vary in various embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 3, a core shell 41 may be included in certain embodiments of the absorbent article 10 to ensure the structural integrity of the absorbent core 40. The core shell 41 may comprise components of the absorbent core 40, such as cellulosic material and absorbent gelling material or superabsorbent polymers, both of which can have a tendency to move, move or release into the air in the absence of a physical barrier. The core sheath 41 may completely encompass the core 40, as shown in FIG. 3, or it may partially cover the absorbent core 40.

In certain embodiments, the absorbent article 10 may comprise an outer shell 31. The outer shell 31 may cover all or substantially the entire outer surface of the absorbent article 10. In some embodiments, the outer shell 31 may be adjacent to the bottom sheet 30. The outer shell 31 may be bonded to a portion of the bottom sheet 30 to form a laminate structure.

In FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a molding machine 110 used to make a nonwoven backing 112 according to the present invention. For the manufacture of a non-woven base, the molding machine 110 is shown having a first beam 120 for producing coarse fibers 135 (e.g., spunbond fibers), an optional second beam 121 for producing intermediate fibers 127 (e.g., meltblown fibers), a third beam 122 for the production of thin fibers 131 (e.g., N-fibers), and a fourth beam 123 for the production of second coarse fibers 124 (e.g., spunbond fibers). The molding machine 110 may comprise a continuous molding belt 114 that moves around the rollers 116, 118, so that the molding belt 114 is driven in the direction shown by arrows 114. In various embodiments, if an optional second beam 121 is used, it may be located between the first beam 120 and the third beam 122 (as shown), or it can be located, for example, between the third beam 122 and the fourth beam 124. The shafts 138 and 140 can form a gap for bonding or bonding using the calender in curl in many layers to form a non-woven base. Element 136 may be a layer of spunbond fibers. Element 128 may be a layer of intermediate fibers, spunbond fibers, or thin fibers. Element 132 may be a layer of intermediate fibers, spunbond fibers, or thin fibers. Element 125 may be a layer of spunbond fibers. Each of their fiber layers can be formed in such a way as to ensure the growth of fibrils, extending outward after them after a predetermined period of time under environmental conditions, which is described in more detail below. In FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an SNS nonwoven base or SMS non-woven base in a portion 168 of a bonding calender according to one embodiment. Fibrils can grow from the portion 168 obtained by calender bonding after a predetermined period of time in ambient conditions, as described below. Spunbond fibers, intermediate fibers, as well as thin fibers may be single-component or two-component, or they may contain a mixture of polymers.

In one embodiment, with reference to FIG. 5 and 6, the nonwoven backing 112 may comprise a first nonwoven layer 125, a second nonwoven layer 132, and a third nonwoven layer 136. The bonding portion 168 may have a bonding region. The second non-woven layer 132 may be located between the first non-woven layer 125 and the third non-woven layer 136. Also, the first non-woven layer 125, the second non-woven layer 132 and the third non-woven layer 136 can be intermittently bonded to each other using any suitable bonding method, for example , a method of fastening with a calendaring. In one embodiment, the nonwoven backing 112 does not contain films. In various embodiments, the nonwoven backing 112 may comprise a spunbond layer, which may refer to the first nonwoven layer 125, an N-fiber layer or an intermediate layer, which may refer to the second nonwoven layer 132, and a second spunbond layer, which may refer to the third nonwoven layer 136 .

In one embodiment, with reference to FIG. 7 and 8, the non-woven backing 212 may comprise a first non-woven layer 225, a second non-woven layer 232, a third non-woven layer 236 and a fourth non-woven layer 228. A bonding portion 268, for example a portion of a bonding calender, is shown in the non-woven base 212. The bonding portion 268 has a bonding area. The first nonwoven layer 225, the second nonwoven layer 232, the third nonwoven layer 236, and the fourth nonwoven layer 228 can be intermittently bonded to each other using any suitable bonding method, for example, a calender bonding method. In one embodiment, the nonwoven backing 212 is film free. In various embodiments, the non-woven backing 112 may comprise a spunbond layer, which may refer to the first non-woven layer 225, a meltblown layer or a layer of thin fibers, which may belong to the fourth non-woven layer 228, a thin or N-fiber layer, or a meltblown layer, which may relate to a layer 232 of a second nonwoven component, and a second spunbond layer, which may refer to a layer 236 of a third nonwoven component. Other non-woven backing configurations are also contemplated that are also within the protection scope of the present invention, for example, a non-woven backing containing one or more layers of spunbond, one or more layers of meltblown or intermediate layers, and / or one or more layers of thin or N-fibers .

In one embodiment, the nonwoven webs of the present invention can be formed from a plurality of nonwoven layers arranged in various combinations and combinations of spunbond, meltblown, N-fiber layers, including but not limited to SMS, SMMS, SSMMS, SMMSS, SMN, SNS, SMNMS, SMMNMS, SSMMNS, SSNNSS, SSSNSSS, SSMMNNSS, SSMMNNMS and other suitable combinations.

In one embodiment, with reference to FIG. 9, the absorbent article may be a sanitary napkin 110. The surface facing the user is facing the viewer in FIG. 9. The sanitary napkin 110 may comprise a liquid permeable topsheet 114, a liquid impermeable or substantially liquid impervious bottom sheets 116, and an absorbent core 118 located at least partially between the upper sheet 114 and the lower sheet 116. The sanitary napkin 110 may also comprise wings 120 extending outwardly relative to the longitudinal axis 180 of the sanitary napkin 110. The sanitary napkin 110 may also have a lateral axis 190. The wings 120 may be attached to the upper sheet 114, lower the sheet 116 and / or the absorbent core 118. The sanitary napkin 110 may also include a leading edge 122, a trailing edge 124, opposite in the longitudinal direction relative to the leading edge 122, a first side edge 126 and a second side edge 128, opposite in the longitudinal direction relative to the first side edges 126. The longitudinal axis 180 can be extended from the midpoint of the leading edge 122 to the midpoint of the trailing edge 124. The lateral axis 190 can be extended from the midpoint of the first side edge 126 to the midpoint of the second fetter edge 128. The sanitary napkin 110 may also be provided with any additional elements are usually present in sanitary napkins as known in the art, for example, it may be provided with adhesive on the bottom sheet for attaching the sanitary napkin to the undergarment. The nonwoven webs of the present invention can form one or more parts of a sanitary napkin 110, such as, for example, a top sheet 114, a bottom sheet 116, an absorbent core 118, and / or wings 120.

In one of the embodiments, the non-woven base may contain one or more layers of fibers obtained by the technology of spunbond - "S", fibers obtained by the technology of meltblown - "M" and / or thin fibers - "N". One or more nonwoven layers may contain fibers, at least a plurality of fibers or all or most of the fibers contain fibrils extending outward or predominantly radially outward from the surface or radial outer surface of the fibers. In one embodiment, the fibrils may be present in one layer of the nonwoven backing (in all or some fibers), in all layers of the nonwoven backing (in all or some fibers), or in less than all layers of the nonwoven backing (in all or some fibers). In one case, at least one layer of nonwoven webs of the present invention may have multiple fibers, or all fibers, not containing fibrils or essentially not containing fibrils.

In FIG. 10-15 show photographs of non-woven substrates obtained using a scanning electron microscope having fibers obtained using spunbond technology containing fibrils extended outward or radially outward from their surface. In FIG. 10-12 show an SMMS non-woven backbone with a base weight of 22 g / m ² , wherein the non-woven backbone fibers produced by spunbond technology were formed from a composition containing approximately 10% fatty ester as glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition. Each of the layers of spunbond non-woven warp is characterized by a bulk of 10 g / m ² , with each of the layers of meltblown characterized by a bulk of 1 g / m ² . The meltblown layers in FIG. 10-12 do not have fibers containing fibrils, although meltblown fibers (as well as thin fibers) having fibrils are included in the scope of the present invention. In FIG. 11 and 12 show more enlarged views of the nonwoven backing of FIG. 10. In FIG. 13-15 show a non-woven backing SM with a basis weight of 14 g / m ² , while the non-woven backing fibers obtained by the spunbond technology were formed from a composition containing 10% fatty ether in the form of glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition. In FIG. 14 and 15 show more enlarged views of the nonwoven backing of FIG. 13. The non-woven backing spunbond layer is characterized by a bulk of 13 g / m ² , while the meltblown layer is characterized by a bulk of 1 g / m ² . The meltblown layers in FIG. 13-15 do not have fibers containing fibrils, although fibers obtained using the meltblown technology (as well as thin fibers) having fibrils are included in the scope of the present invention.

In FIG. 16-18 show SEM photographs of species in cross section of an SMNS nonwoven base, with at least some of the spunbond fibers containing fibrils. The non-woven base is characterized by a total bulk of 18 g / m ² . Spunbond fibers containing fibrils are formed from a composition containing 10% glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition. The meltblown layer and the thin fiber layer do not have fibers containing fibrils in FIG. 16-18, although Meltblown fibers and thin fibers having fibrils are within the scope of the present invention.

Listed below are some examples of nonwoven backing configurations containing one or more layers having multiple fibers containing fibrils, or all fibers containing fibrils. The symbol "*" after the letter means that the layer has fibers, some or all of the fibers having fibrils. Some examples are as follows: S * MS *, SM * S, S * M * S, SM * S *, S * M * S *, S * M * NS, S * M * NS *, S * M * N * S *, SM * N * S, S * MNS *, SMN * S, S * SMNS, S * S * MNS, S * S * MNS *, S * S * M * NS *, S * S * M * N * S *, S * SM * NS *, S * MNMS *, S * M * NMS *, SSM * N * MS, S * S * M * MS, S * SM * MS and / or S * MM * S. Any other suitable combinations of layers containing or not containing fibrils are also included in the scope of the present invention.

In some embodiments, it may be preferable that one or more layers containing fibers containing fibrils be located on certain sides of the nonwoven backing or in certain places inside the nonwoven backing. In one example, layers containing fibers that contain fibrils can be located on the user-facing side or clothing side of the absorbent article, or on both of these sides, while the middle layers of the nonwoven base may or may not contain fibers containing fibrils . In other embodiments, layers containing fibers that contain fibrils may be located in the intermediate layers of the nonwoven backing. In other embodiments, layers containing fibers that contain fibrils can alternate in a nonwoven base (for example, a layer with fibers containing fibrils, a layer without fibers containing fibrils, a layer with fibers containing fibrils, and the like). In other embodiments, layers with fibers containing fibrils can be arranged so that they contact surfaces with each other. The arrangement of layers containing fibers that contain fibrils may depend on specific applications. In the case of wipes, the layer or layers of fibers containing fibrils can be located on the side of the wipe, which will come into contact with the surface or part of the body that should be cleaned, wiped, wiped or washed, or they can be located in other places.

Although fibrils extend outward from the surface of individual fibers, fibrils can also extend to (i.e., contact with) other fibers in the same layer or in another layer of the nonwoven base and / or to fibrils extending from fibers in the same layer or in another nonwoven backing layer. One example of such a property is disclosed in FIG. 14 and 15. If the fibrils extend between the fibers and / or other fibrils, the non-woven base may be more resistant to penetration of the fluid (eg, leakage of the fluid with low surface tension) due to the fibrils closing the gaps or pores in the non-woven base in contact with other fibers or fibrils. In other words, the fibrils stretched between the fibers and / or other fibrils reduce the open area of the nonwoven backing, thereby improving the barrier properties of the fluid. In some cases, longer fibrils may come into contact with other fibrils and / or fibers to a greater extent than shorter fibrils.

In various embodiments, the fibrils may have a length from the outer surface or from the radial outer surface of the fibers to the free end of the fibrils (i.e., to the end of the fibrils farthest from the outer surface of the fibers), in the range of from about 0.2 μm to about 40 μm, from about 0.5 microns to about 20 microns, from about 1 microns to about 15 microns, from about 1 microns to about 10 microns, from about 1 microns to about 5 microns, from about 2.5 microns to about 5 microns, from approximately 2 microns to about 4 microns, about 2.5 microns to about 3.5 microns, or from about 3 microns, thus including all increments of 0.1 microns within the above ranges and all ranges formed in them or by them. Fibrils of different fibers in one or more nonwoven layers can be of the same length, or their lengths can be in the same length range, can be essentially the same length, or their lengths can be essentially the same length range, or they can be of different lengths or their lengths may be in different length ranges. In one embodiment, the fibers in the non-woven base layer, such as a spunbond layer, can have fibers containing fibrils having a first length, or whose length is in the first length range, the fibers in a second non-woven base layer, such as a spunbond layer, meltblown or a layer of thin fibers may have fibers containing fibrils having a second length, or the length of which is in the second range of lengths. The first and second lengths and / or length ranges of fibrils can be the same, essentially the same, or different. In one embodiment, the first and second lengths and / or ranges of fibril lengths may be less or more in the meltblown layer (s) or thin fiber layer (s) than in the spunbond layer (s). In addition, the first and second lengths and / or length ranges of fibrils can be less or more in the layer (s) of thin fibers than in the layer (s) of meltblown. Fibrils can have a uniform thickness or varying thickness, while they can also have any suitable cross-sectional shape. It is generally accepted that one key factor that determines the length, thickness and / or cross-sectional shape of fibrils is the amount by weight of the composition of additives to modify melt properties, such as fatty esters, added to the composition used to form the fibers, which will be disclosed more detail below. It is also important to choose the composition of the block polymer, in which an additive is added to modify the properties of the melt, and from which the fibrils appear, in particular, the hardness, density and crystallinity of the block polymer matrix in the fibers are important factors. Another factor is the composition of the additive for modifying the properties of the melt, which is, for example, a special type of fatty ester, which can more or less easily diffuse through the block polymer matrix and continue to grow in the form of fibrils from the surface of the fiber. Other factors affecting the length, thickness and / or cross-sectional shape of fibrils are environmental conditions, in particular conditions under which the parameters are significantly higher or lower than the parameters of the environmental conditions. The length of the fibrils is measured in accordance with the test for measuring the length of the fibrils below.

In various embodiments, the fibrils may have a cross-sectional shape that is not round, but that is essentially elliptical, or even close to rectangular. Thus, it is advisable to describe the cross-sectional size ("thickness" or "width") of the fibrils in terms of hydraulic diameter. The hydraulic diameter is determined by calculating the cross-sectional area (measured approximately in the center 1/3 of the length of the fibril), multiplying by 4 and dividing the cross-sectional shape by the perimeter. Hydraulic diameter D _H = 4 * cross-sectional area / perimeter. In the case of a fibril having a circular cross-section, the hydraulic diameter is equal to the diameter of the fibril, and in the case of a fibril having a rectangular cross-section, the hydraulic diameter is D _H = 4 * L * W / (2 * L + 2 * W), where L and W are the sides of a rectangular cross-section, so a fibril with a cross-sectional dimension of 300 nm (W) and 1500 nm (L) has a hydraulic diameter of 500 nm. The approximated values of the perimeters of other cross-sectional shapes can be calculated according to well-known mathematical formulas.

In various embodiments, the average hydraulic diameter (i.e., cross-sectional thickness) of the fibrils can range from about 50 nm to about 1100 nm, from about 100 nm to about 800 nm, from about 200 nm to about 800 nm, from about 300 nm to approximately 800 nm, from approximately 500 nm to approximately 800 nm, from approximately 100 nm to approximately 500 nm, or from approximately 600 nm, including all increments of 1 nm within the above ranges and all ranges, about azovannye them or by them. The hydraulic diameter of an individual fibril may be constant or variable along the length of the fibril. In one embodiment, the hydraulic diameter of the fibril may decrease along the length of the fibril (from the initial end of the fibril to its outermost end). In one embodiment, the fibers in the non-woven base layer, such as the spunbond layer, can have fibers containing fibrils having a first average hydraulic diameter, or the average hydraulic diameter of which is in the first range of average hydraulic diameters, the fibers in the second layer of non-woven base, such as a meltblown layer or a layer of thin fibers, may have fibers containing fibrils having a second average hydraulic diameter, or whose average hydraulic diameter is in the second medium range their hydraulic diameters. The first and second average hydraulic diameters and / or ranges of average hydraulic diameters of the fibrils can be the same, essentially the same, or different. In one embodiment, the first and second average hydraulic diameters and / or ranges of average hydraulic diameters of the fibrils may be smaller, larger, or the same for the meltblown layers or layers of thin fibers, compared with the layer or layers of spunbond. In addition, the first and second average hydraulic diameters and / or ranges of average hydraulic diameters of the fibrils can be smaller, larger, or the same for the layers of thin fibers, compared with the layers of the meltblown.

In one embodiment, the non-woven backing may have bonding portions 168, 268 described above with respect to FIG. 5 and 7. Each bonding portion may have a bonding region. In FIG. 19 shows an SEM photograph of fibrils at 200x magnification that grew from a portion of the bonding portion in the bonding region after the bonding portion was created on a non-woven base. This photograph was taken after at least 100 hours after the formation of the bonding area (for example, bonding obtained with the calender) in a non-woven base. The nonwoven backing of FIG. 19 is an SM backing, wherein the non-woven backing fibers produced by the spunbond technology were formed from a composition containing 10% fatty ether as glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition. The meltblown layer in FIG. 19 does not contain fibers having fibrils, although Meltblown fibers (as well as thin fibers) having fibrils are included in the scope of the present invention. The spunbond layer is characterized by a bulk of 13 g / m ² , while the meltblown layer is characterized by a bulk of 1 g / m ² . Fibrils can extend outward from the surface of the bonding site. In such an embodiment, layers of nonwoven warp fibers were formed and then bonded using a calender or otherwise (for example, using shafts 138 and 140 of FIG. 4), after which the fibrils grew outward from the surface of the fiber bonding portion in one or more layers non-woven backing. The packages, packaging materials, and napkins of the present invention may also comprise non-woven substrates containing a fiber layer containing bonding portions, each bonding portion comprising a bonding region, and wherein a plurality of fibrils extend outward from the surface of the bonding region.

In FIG. Figures 20-22 show SEM photographs of species in cross-section taken with respect to a portion of the bonding portion of the non-woven base SMNS, characterized by a bulk of 18 g / m ² . Spunbond fibers incorporated into a nonwoven base are formed from a composition containing 10% glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition. At least some of the spunbond fibers contain fibrils. The meltblown layer and the thin fiber layer do not have fibers containing fibrils in FIG. 20-22, although Meltblown fibers and thin fibers having fibrils are within the scope of the present invention.

In one embodiment, the composition used to create the fiber layer, in which at least some or all of the fibers contain fibrils extending outward from them, may contain polyolefins and one or more additives to modify the properties of the melt, such as additives to modify the properties of the melt into fatty ester base, or any of the materials discussed herein in relation to fiber compositions with additives to modify melt properties. Polyolefins may contain polypropylene, polyethylene or other polyolefins, such as, for example, polybutylene or polyisobutylene. Additives to modify the properties of the melt or fatty esters may be present in the composition in an amount in the range from 2% to 45%, from 11% to 35%, from 11% to 30%, from 11% to 25%, from 11% to 20% , from 11% to 18%, from 11% to 15%, from 11% to 15%, 3%, 5%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35 % or 40% by weight of the composition, including all increments of 0.5% within the above ranges and all ranges formed in them or them. Additives for modifying the properties of the melt suitable for the present invention may be hydrophobic additives for modifying the properties of the melt. Thus, additives for modifying the properties of the melt can increase the hydrophobicity of the fibers in the fiber layers, especially with the growth of fibrils from the fibers. This leads to longer leakage times of the fluid with lower surface tension and higher hydrophobicity for the fiber layer in the non-woven backings and / or the non-woven backings themselves, compared to non-woven backings that do not have at least one layer formed from a composition containing one or more additives to modify the properties of the melt. It can also lead to better filtration and / or better specific grip properties compared to standard nonwoven substrates.

Additives for modifying the properties of the melt according to the present invention, namely fatty esters, can have a melting point in the range from 30 ° C to 160 ° C, from 40 ° C to 150 ° C, from 50 ° C to 140 ° C, from 50 ° C to 120 ° C, from 50 ° C to 100 ° C, from 60 ° C to 80 ° C, from 60 ° C to 70 ° C, approximately 60 ° C, approximately 65 ° C or approximately 70 ° C, including at this is all increments of 1 ° C within the specified ranges and any ranges formed in them or them. In various embodiments, additives for modifying the properties of the melt according to the present invention may have a melting point above 30 ° C, above 40 ° C or above 50 ° C, but less than 200 ° C or less than 150 ° C.

Additives to modify the properties of the melt used in the composition may contain derivatives of fatty acids, for example, a fatty acid ester; usually an ester formed from an alcohol with two or more hydroxyl groups and from one or more fatty acids having at least 8 carbon atoms, at least 12 carbon atoms or at least 14 carbon atoms, while in one ether compound groups derived from various fatty acids may be present (referred to herein as fatty acid esters).

The compound in the form of a fatty acid ester can be an alcohol ester containing two or more, or three or more functional hydroxyl groups per alcohol molecule, each of the hydroxyl groups forming an ester bond with fatty acids (both with fatty acids and with their mixtures).

In one embodiment, the alcohol may have three hydroxyl functional groups.

In one of the embodiments, one or more additives to modify the properties of the melt may contain mono - and / or diglyceride ether, and / or triglyceride ether (with one, two or three groups derived from fatty acids).

Fatty acids used to form essential compounds for the purposes of the present invention include fatty acid derivatives. A fatty acid monoester or, for example, a monoglyceride, contains one fatty acid, for example, combined with glycerol; a fatty acid diester, or, for example, a diglyceride contains two fatty acids, for example, combined with glycerin; a fatty acid triester or, for example, a triglyceride, contains three fatty acids, for example, combined with glycerol. In one embodiment, the melt modifier may comprise at least a triglyceride fatty acid ester (i.e., the same or different fatty acids).

It should be understood that the triglyceride ester may have an esterified glycerin backbone without non-hydrogen substituents on the glycerol backbone; however, said glycerol backbone may also contain other substituents.

In one embodiment, the glycerol backbone of the glycerol ether may contain only hydrogen. Glyceride esters may also contain polymerized (eg, three) glyceride esters, for example, polymerized saturated glyceride esters.

In fatty acid esters having more than one ether linkage, such as di- or triglycerides, the group derived from the fatty acid may be the same, or they may be groups derived from two or even three different fatty acids.

The additive for modifying the properties of the melt may contain a mixture of mono-, di- and / or triesters of fatty acids (i.e., from mono-, di- and / or triglyceride) esters with a group derived from the same fatty acid per molecule , and / or with groups derived from different fatty acids.

Fatty acids can be obtained from plant, animal and / or artificial sources. Some fatty acids can range from C8 fatty acids to C30 fatty acids, or from C12 fatty acids to C22 fatty acids. Suitable plant fatty acids typically include unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid. The fatty acid may be archidic, stearic, palmitic, myristic, tetradecenoic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic and / or arachidonic acid.

In another embodiment, substantially saturated fatty acid can be used, in particular when saturation occurs as a result of hydrogenation of the fatty acid precursor. In one embodiment of C18, a fatty acid or octadecanoic acid, or more commonly referred to as stearic acid, can be used to form ether bonds in the fatty acid ester of the present invention; stearic acid can be obtained from animal fat and oils, as well as from certain vegetable oils. Stearic acid can also be prepared by hydrogenating vegetable oils, for example, cottonseed oil. The fatty acid ester of the present invention may contain fatty acids from a mixed hydrogenated vegetable oil, for example, from an oil with registration number CAS 68334-28-1.

At least one stearic acid, at least two or three stearic acids are combined with glycerol to form glycerol tristearate for additives to modify the properties of the melt according to the present invention. The melt modifying additive of the present invention may contain at least glycerol tristearate.

In one embodiment, the melt modifier may comprise glycerol tristearate (CAS No. 555-43-1), also known as tristearin or 1,2,3-trioctadecanoyl glycerol. (In the future, the name glycerol tristearate will be used, and in case of doubt, CAS No. should be considered as the main identifier).

In one embodiment, the fatty acid ester of the melt modifier may have an average molecular weight in the range of 500 to 2000, 650 to 1200, or 750 to 1000, including all integer increments within the above ranges and any ranges formed in them or them.

The additive for modifying the properties of the melt may contain very little or no halogen atoms; for example, an additive to modify the properties of the melt may contain less than 5 weight. % halogen atoms (by weight of the additive to modify the properties of the melt), or less than 1 weight. %, or less than 0.1 weight. % by weight additives to modify the properties of the melt; the additive to modify the properties of the melt may essentially be halogen free.

In one embodiment, the melt modifier may be or may contain glycerol fatty ether or tristearate. In various embodiments, the fibrils may contain, consist of, or consist essentially of (i.e., contain from 51% to 100%, from 51% to 99%, from 60% to 99%, from 70% to 95%, from 75% to 95%, from 80% to 95%, including all increments of 0.1% within the above ranges and all ranges formed in them or them) additives to modify the properties of the melt.

The masterbatch added to the composition from which the fibers of the present invention are formed may be a mastbatch disclosed in US Pat. No. 8,026,188 (Mor).

When using an additive composition to modify the properties of the melt and polyolefin to form the fiber layer, the fiber layer can be incorporated into a non-woven base, as disclosed in the example of FIG. 4. Non-woven substrates having one or more layers of fibers having many fibers, which have fibrils extending from them, may contain additives to modify the properties of the melt in the range from 1% to 35% by weight of the non-woven base, depending on the concentration of additives for modification of the properties of the melt in the composition used to form the fibers, and also depending on how many layers of fibers of the nonwoven base have fibers containing additives to modify the properties of the melt. Other possible ranges of additives for modifying the melt properties by weight of nonwoven substrates can be ranges from 2% to 35%, from 5% to 25%, from 11% to 35%, from 11% to 25%, from 11% to 20%, from 11% to 18%, from 11% to 15%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 15% or 18%, including all increments of 0.5% within the ranges specified in this paragraph , and all ranges formed in them or them.

In one embodiment, fibrils can grow from fibers after forming a non-woven backing (i.e., at the end of the process shown in FIG. 4) under ambient conditions. Fibrils can be seen when using SEM after about 6 hours after the formation of the non-woven base under environmental conditions. The growth of fibrils can stop after approximately 50 hours, 75 hours, 100 hours, 200 hours or 300 hours after the formation of the non-woven base, in ambient conditions. The time range for the noticeable growth of fibrils after the formation of the non-woven base can be a range from 5 hours to 300 hours, from 6 hours to 200 hours, from 6 hours to 100 hours, from 6 hours to 24 hours, from 6 hours to 48 hours, or from 6 hours to 72 hours in ambient conditions, including all increments of 1 minute within the above ranges and all ranges formed in them or them. The time to ensure full growth of fibrils after the formation of the nonwoven backing can be, for example, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 60 hours, 72 hours, 100 hours or 200 hours in ambient conditions.

Also provided is a method of forming an absorbent article having one or more nonwoven webs according to the present invention. The absorbent article, as disclosed in the description of the methods, can be, for example, a diaper, panties for potty training, adult products with incontinence and / or hygiene material.

In one embodiment, a method for forming an absorbent article may comprise providing one or more nonwoven substrates, each of which contains one or more layers of fibers, wherein the plurality of fibers or all fibers in one or more layers contain many fibrils extending outward or radially outward from the body and / or surface of the fibers. Fibrils can at least extend outward from the longitudinal central third of the fibers. Fibrils may contain, consist of or consist essentially of one or more additives to modify the properties of the melt, such as fatty ether or glycerol tristearate. The method may also include incorporating one or more nonwoven substrates into an absorbent article. In one embodiment, said inclusion comprises forming at least a portion of the film-free, liquid-impervious material, or the bottom sheet of an absorbent article. In other embodiments, said inclusion comprises forming at least a portion of the film-free, liquid-permeable material, or the top sheet of an absorbent article. In yet another embodiment, said inclusion comprises forming a portion of a barrier cuff for a leg or a sealing cuff of an absorbent article, or another part of an absorbent article, such as, for example, a core sheath or a bulk layer.

In one embodiment, the method of forming a component or part of an absorbent article, package or article may comprise spinning the fibers used to form the first nonwoven backing layer, the fibers in the first layer being formed from a composition containing a thermoplastic polymer and a fatty ether such as glycerol tristearate. The method may include molding the fibers used to create the second layer of non-woven warp. The fibers of the second layer may or may not be formed from a composition containing a fatty ester, such as glycerol tristearate, but they may at least contain a thermoplastic polymer. In one embodiment, the first layer may comprise spunbond fibers or meltblown fibers, the second layer may comprise spunbond fibers, meltblown fibers or thin fibers. The method may further comprise bonding the first and second layers and growing fibrils from at least some fibers under ambient conditions after a predetermined period of time (for example, from 6 hours to 100 hours or from 24 hours to 300 hours) to form a non-woven base. Fibrils can grow from at least a central 1/3 of the longitudinal length of the fibers. The fibril growth step may be carried out before or after the bonding step. The bond may be a calender bond, a mechanical bond process, a thermal bond process and / or other types of bonding known to those skilled in the art. The method may comprise forming fibers used to create at least a third layer (e.g., fourth layer, fifth layer, etc.) of a non-woven backing. The fibers of the third layer may or may not be formed from a composition containing a fatty ester, such as glycerol tristearate, but they may at least contain a thermoplastic polymer. The bonding step may include bonding the first, second, and third layers to form a non-woven backing. Third, fourth, fifth, etc. the layer may contain spunbond fibers, meltblown fibers, and / or fine fibers.

In another embodiment, a method of forming a component of an absorbent article may comprise the steps of: providing one or more non-woven substrates, each of which contains one or more layers of fibers, ensuring the growth of a plurality of fibrils from at least some or all of the fibers after forming the non-woven base, under environmental conditions and also incorporating the nonwoven backing into one or more components of the absorbent article. The indicated inclusion step may be carried out before or after the specified provision step. Said components may be one or more of a barrier foot cuff, a sealing cuff, a top sheet or liquid permeable material, a bottom sheet or liquid impervious material, wings, core shells, bulk layers or other components. These components may not contain films or they may be combined with films. The fibril growth time period after the formation of the nonwoven backing can be at least 12 hours, at least 24 hours, at least 50 hours, at least 75 hours, at least 100 hours, or at least 200 hours.

In another embodiment, a method for forming an absorbent article may comprise the steps of: providing one or more nonwoven webs containing one or more layers of fibers, providing an increase in the specific surface area of the nonwoven webs by at least 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 100% , 200% or more, but less than 400%, 350%, or 300%, from 10% to 350%, or from 20% to 200%, including all increments of 1% within the above ranges and all ranges formed in them or them, after the formation of a non-woven base, in environmental conditions, providing Ia fibril growth of one or more layers after formation of the nonwoven substrate, under ambient conditions, and the inclusion of the nonwoven substrate in the portion of the absorbent article. The specified step of inclusion can be carried out before or after any of or both of these stages of support. Fibers having fibrils can be spunbond fibers, meltblown fibers, and / or thin fibers. The time to increase the specific surface area after the formation of the nonwoven backing, under ambient conditions, can be at least 6 hours, at least 24 hours, at least 48 hours, at least 60 hours, at least 100 hours, at least 200 hours, but less than 300 hours, including all increments of 1 minute within the above ranges.

In yet another embodiment, the method of forming an absorbent article may comprise the steps of: providing one or more nonwoven webs, each of which contains one or more layers of fibers, providing an increase in the specific surface area of said one or more nonwoven webs by at least 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 100%, 200%, or 300% after the formation of environmental fiber or more layers of fibers, and the inclusion of a non-woven base in an absorbent product. The indicated inclusion step may be carried out before or after the specified provision step.

In one embodiment, the nonwoven webs of the present invention may contain one or more layers of fibers containing fibrils. Non-woven bases after the growth of fibrils in environmental conditions, can have specific surface areas in the range from 0.3 m ² / g to 7 m ² / g, from 0.5 m ² / g to 5 m ² / g, from 0, 6 m ² / g to 3.5 m ² / g, from 0.7 m ² / g to 3 m ² / g, from 0.7 m ² / g to 1.5 m ² / g, from 0.84 m ² / g to 3.5 m ² / g or more than 1.15 m ² / g, including all increments of 0.1 m ² / g within the above ranges and all ranges formed in them or them.

In FIG. 23 is a graph of the specific surface areas of standard non-woven substrates (various samples of SM and SMN without an additive in the form of a fatty ether to modify the properties of the melt according to the present invention) compared with the specific surface areas of exactly the same non-woven bases, but with an additive in the form of a fatty ether for modification properties of the melt according to the present invention. The axis X in FIG. 23 represents the specific surface area without fibrils, and the Y axis represents the specific surface area with fibrils. The nonwoven webs of the present invention of FIG. 23 is formed from a composition containing 10% (triangles in Fig. 23) or 15% (circles in Fig. 23) of glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition in a spunbond layer of samples, while standard non-woven bases (rhombuses in Fig. 23) do not contain tristearate glycerol in their fiber compositions. The dashed line represents the specific surface areas of standard non-woven substrates. The calculated specific surface areas of standard non-woven substrates without glycerol tristearate in FIG. 23 are shown as open rectangles. As you can see, the specific surface areas of non-woven substrates according to the present invention, containing fibers, formed from a composition containing 10% or 15% glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition for fibers obtained by the spunlade technology, are much larger than the specific surface areas of standard non-woven substrates, glycerol tristearate-free in their fiber formulations. The asterisks in FIG. 23 represent examples of bases SMN nonwoven with a basis weight of 1 g / m ² (for M) and 1 g / m ² (to N) for each sample and the mass of 13 g / m ² (lower values in comparison, about 0.67 ) or 19 g / m ² (higher values in comparison) for a spunbond layer containing 10-15% glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition used to form spunbond fibers. Such samples were not made without additives to modify the properties of the melt according to the present invention, and it was shown that their specific surface areas are in the expected, predicted range of specific surface areas, which are greater by 20% to 100% than for specific surface areas for samples without additives to modify the properties of the melt.

In one embodiment, the nonwoven backings of the present invention can be characterized by a ratio of the time of leakage of a fluid with a low surface tension (according to the test for leakage of a fluid with a low surface tension below) to the bulk (according to the test for the bulk below), components from 0.35 s / (g / m ² ) to 5.0 s / (g / m ² ), from 0.37 s / (g / m ² ) to 5.0 s / (g / m ² ) from 0.4 s / (g / m ²⁾ to 4 / (g / m ^2), 0,35 s / (g / m ²⁾ to 15 / (g / m ^2), 0, 5 / (g / m ²⁾ to 15 / (g / m ^2), 1 c / (g / m ²⁾ to 10 / (g / m ²⁾ 2 s / (g / m ² ) up to 4 s / (g / m ² ), more than 0.37 s / (g / m ² ), more than 0.38 s / (g / m ² ) or more than 0.4 s / (g / m ² ), including all increments of 0.1 s / (g / m ² ) within the above ranges and all ranges formed in them or them. This ratio may be higher when a larger amount of fatty ether additive is present in the non-woven base to modify the properties of the melt, and lower when a smaller amount of fatty ether additive is present in the non-woven base to modify the properties of the melt.

In FIG. 24 shows a graph of the relationship of the leakage time of a fluid with a low surface tension (seconds) to the bulk (g / m ² ) (seconds / (g / m ² )) compared to the bulk (g / m ² ) of glycerol tristearate in non-woven the basics. Rhombuses represent the non-woven foundations of SM or SMS, and triangles represent the non-woven foundations of SMNS and SMN. The patterns shown by the rhombuses are characterized by the same bulk as for the samples of the nonwoven backing SM and for the samples of the nonwoven backing SMS. The patterns shown by the rectangles are characterized by the same ground mass for both the SMNS nonwoven backing samples and the SMS nonwoven backing samples. The axis X in FIG. 24 represents the bulk of glycerol tristearate in the tested non-woven substrates, the Y axis represents the ratio of the leakage time of the fluid with low surface tension (seconds) to the bulk (g / m ² ) (seconds / (g / m ² )) for the tested non-woven substrates. At least 30% change in the ratio of leakage time to the bulk is present for approximately every 0.5 g / m ² glycerol tristearate in non-woven substrates. In some cases, there is an approximately 100% change in the ratio of leakage time to the bulk for each 1 g / m ² glycerol tristearate in non-woven substrates.

In one embodiment, the absorbent article may comprise a nonwoven base comprising one or more layers of fibers. These fibers may or may not contain fibrils extending outward from the surface of the fibers. The specific surface area of the nonwoven backing can increase by at least 5%, at least 10%, at least 15%, at least 20%, at least 25%, at least 50%, by at least 100%, at least 200%, at least 300%, or a value in the ranges from 10% to 300%, from 10% to 250%, or from 20% to 200%, including all increments of 0.5% within the specified ranges and any ranges formed in them or them during a predetermined period of time after the formation of the non-woven warp in the environment ayuschey environment. The specified predetermined time period may be more than 6 hours and less than 200 hours, more than 12 hours and less than 120 hours. The predetermined time period after the formation of the nonwoven backing may also be the same as indicated herein.

If not limited to any particular theory, in FIG. 25 shows an example of a plot of the specific surface area (m ² / g) of a non-woven base according to the present invention containing 15% glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition used to make spunbond fibers, wherein said specific surface area increases over time. In this example, glycerol tristearate is not present in the meltblown fibers or in fine fibers. The nonwoven backing graphically shown in FIG. 25, is a non-woven base SMN with a bulk of 13 g / m ² . The specific surface area increases after the fiber is formed and / or after the formation of the nonwoven backing under environmental conditions.

With reference to FIG. 26, the seepage time of a liquid fluid with a low surface tension (seconds) is plotted for various nonwoven substrates according to the present invention. All nonwoven substrates of the present invention are SMN nonwoven substrates with a basis weight of 13 g / m ² . Asterisks refer to layers containing GTS (glycerol tristearate). An asterisk after layer S means that spunbond fibers having fibrils were formed from a composition containing approximately 10% GTS by weight of the composition, and an asterisk after layer N means that nanofibers were formed from a composition containing approximately 1% GTS by weight of the composition. As can be seen in FIG. 26, the more layers containing glycerol tristearate and, thus, fibrils, the longer will be the leakage time of the fluid with low surface tension. The seepage time for a standard non-woven backbone SMN with a basis weight of 13 g / m ^{2 is} also graphically shown in FIG. 26 for comparison.

With reference to FIG. 27, the leakage time of a fluid with a low surface tension in seconds (Y axis) increases in the nonwoven webs of the present invention as the percentage of glycerol tristearate increases by weight of the composition used to form the fibers. The samples in FIG. 27 are spunbond staples with a bulk of 50 g / m ² containing fibers with a diameter of approximately 20 micrometers.

With reference to FIG. 28, the leakage time of a fluid with a low surface tension in seconds (Y axis) increases in the nonwoven webs of the present invention as the concentration of glycerol tristearate in percent by weight of the composition used to form the fibers (X axis) increases, as well as as the main masses of non-woven warp. The samples in FIG. 28 are a non-woven spunbond base with a bulk of 13 g / m ² (bottom line in FIG. 28), a non-woven spunbond base with a bulk of 16 g / m ² (middle line in FIG. 28) and a non-woven spunbond base with the main mass of 19 g / m ² (the upper line in Fig. 28). As can be seen in the graph in FIG. 28, the percolation time increases significantly as the percentage of glycerol tristearate increases by weight of the composition used to form the fibers, and also as the bulk of the non-woven base increases.

With reference to FIG. 29, the seepage time of a fluid with a low surface tension in seconds (Y axis) of the nonwoven webs of the present invention decreases as the fiber diameter increases. All samples contain 15% glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition used to form the fibers. Samples with reference to FIG. 29 are spunbond substrates with a bulk of 50 g / m ² .

With reference to FIG. 30, the leakage time of a fluid with a low surface tension in seconds (Y axis) of non-woven substrates of the present invention increases when more fine fibers are added to the non-woven substrates and / or as the bulk of glycerol tristearate in the non-woven base increases (X axis). The top line in the graph represents a non-woven base (SMN) containing spunbond / meltblown fibers, formed from a composition containing 10% glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition, and containing fine fibers with a bulk of 1 g / m ² not containing tristearate glycerin. The bottom line in the graph represents a non-woven backing (SM) containing spunbond / meltblown fibers formed from a composition containing 10% glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition and not containing fine fibers. The upper line is characterized by an additional bulk of 1 g / m ² , compared to the bottom line, due to the addition of thin fibers with a bulk of 1 g / m ² .

In one embodiment, the nonwoven webs of the present invention may comprise one or more layers, each of which contains a plurality of fibers, with at least some fibers or all fibers containing fibrils extending outward or radially outward from their surface. Nonwoven substrates can be used as a receiving component in the fastening system of an absorbent article. The receiving component may be configured to receive a fastening tab of the mounting system 70 or another mounting tab or element. In one embodiment, the non-woven backing can form all or part of the fastening zone of one or more fastening tabs or elements. The fastening tabs or elements may have hooks (for example, hook and loop fastening sides) engaged with a non-woven base. Due to the fact that the specific surface area of the nonwoven backing increases after the formation of the nonwoven backing, when compared with standard nonwoven backings, and also due to the presence of fibrils, the nonwoven backings according to the present invention can provide better attachment of hooks to the nonwoven backings. Examples of suitable location patterns of attachment zones as well as other aspects regarding nonwoven webs of the present invention can be found in US Pat. Nos. 7,895,718 (Horn et al.), 7,789,870 (Horn et al.), As well as in US Patent Applications No. No. 13 / 538,140 (Ashraf et al), 13 / 538,177 (Ashraf et al.) And 13 / 538,178 (Rane et al.).

When used as a fluid permeable layer (for example, as a topsheet), nonwoven substrates according to the present invention may have a tendency to retain fluid, stool or menstrual flow less than standard non-woven substrates, and thus thus, they can be emptied to a greater extent into the absorbent core beneath them, thereby providing a cleaner looking, as well as more sensible, top sheet. Examples of non-woven substrates that can be used as fluid permeable layers can be non-perforated structures with a low density, for example, structures made using spunlade technology with a relatively large thickness and porosity, or perforated non-woven substrates.

The nonwoven webs of the present invention having at least one layer containing fibers containing fibrils can be made so that they are softer or stiffer, or have the same softness as standard nonwoven webs and / or they can have more coarse, soft or the exact same tactile properties compared to standard non-woven substrates. The softness, rigidity and / or tactile properties of nonwoven substrates can vary, for example, depending on the type and amount of fatty esters present in the composition used to form the fibers, as well as the length of the fibrils. The softness, stiffness and / or texture may also vary depending on where in the nonwoven base these one or more layers of fibers containing fibrils are located.

In one embodiment, one or more nonwoven webs of the present invention can be used as a filter material, filter, or part thereof for filtering various fluid substances (e.g., liquids (e.g., water) or gases (e.g., air)). Fibrils and thus an increased surface area of the fibers can provide better and / or more efficient filtration of fluids by filtering out more particles or unwanted materials contained in the fluids. It can also increase the effective life of the filter and / or filter material. The concentration of fatty esters by weight of the composition used to make the fibers can be increased to further facilitate more efficient filtration and / or longer filter and / or filter material life.

In one embodiment, the fibrils may have a color different from the color of the fibers from which they grow. In other words, fibrils can have a first color, and the fibers from which they grow can have a second color in areas of fibers where there are no fibrils. The first color may differ from the second color (for example, the regions of fibers where there are no fibrils can be white, and the fibrils can be blue, or the regions of fibers where there are no fibrils can be light blue, and the fibrils can be dark blue). Such a color change can be realized by adding a coloring agent, such as a pigment or dye, to fatty esters before adding them to the composition used to form the fibers. When fatty esters grow from fibers, they differ in color from the fibers from which they grow, thus providing a color contrast between the fibrils and the fibers from which they grow. In one embodiment, the non-woven backing layer containing fibers containing fibrils can change color after some period of time (for example, the period during which fibrils grow, or parts thereof) due to the contrast of the color of the fibrils relative to the fibers from which they grow. Different layers of fibers can have fibrils and / or fibers of different colors within the same non-woven base. In one embodiment, the dye added to the fatty esters may be soluble in urine, menstrual flow, fluid excrement, other body fluids, or other fluids (e.g., water). In various embodiments, a soluble dye in fibrils can be used, for example, as an indicator of wetness in an absorbent article. Fibers having colors different from the colors of their fibrils can be used in napkins, or in any part of the product, such as an absorbent article.

The nonwoven backings of the present invention can be used to form at least part or all of a suitable product. Examples of products are wet wipes, wet wipes for children, facial wipes, makeup / make-up wipes, medical wipes, dressings and wrappers, cleaning wipes, technical wipes, towels, cleaning wipes, sanitary napkins, cleaning products such as Swiffer ^® , as well as any other wipes and substrates (collectively referred to as "wipes" in this document). One example of such a wipe is shown in FIG. 31. Wipes may have advantages due to the presence of fibrils in at least one layer of nonwoven base fibers, for example, due to better absorbency, cleaning ability, particle capture ability, particle holding ability, dirt attracting ability, dirt holding ability and / or application ability due to the presence of fibrils. Fibrils can be formed from fatty esters or other additives to modify the properties of the melt, which can be similar to wax when touched, or can have a texture that can help attract and retain particles of dirt and other substances.

Wipes or said one or more nonwoven wipes having fibrils may comprise a composition. The composition may be applied to the fibers of the nonwoven backing and / or may be at least partially contained or applied to the fibrils. The composition may contain water, a flavoring agent, soap, a makeup composition, a skin care composition, a lotion, a polishing agent, a cleansing composition, other suitable compositions and / or combinations thereof. The compositions may be in liquid, semi-liquid, pasty or solid form on fibrils and / or when applied to fibrils. If the composition contains moisture, such as water, the napkin may have from 100% to 600%, from 150% to 550%, or from 200% to 500%, the moisture weight relative to the weight of the napkin in the dry state or in relation to to the weight of the non-woven base in the napkin in a dry state, including all increments of 1% within the above ranges and any ranges formed in them or them. The napkin or non-woven base may contain at least 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 150%, 200%, 300% or more of the composition relative to the total weight of the napkin or relative to the total weight non-woven backing. If not limited to any theory, it should be assumed that non-woven substrates having one or more layers of fibers containing fibrils are characterized by better affinity for the compositions and / or better ability to hold the compositions in a non-woven base. Thus, it is generally accepted that fibrils and a nonwoven layer containing said fibrils can absorb and stably hold large amounts of compositions compared to standard nonwoven substrates without fibrils. In addition, fibrils can slow down the delamination in a stack of multiple wipes during storage and before use (i.e. slow down the delamination of drier wipes at the top of the stack and wetter wipes at the bottom of the stack) better than standard nonwovens without fibrils .

In one embodiment, at least some of the fibrils containing the composition can be removed or separated from the fibers by friction of the wipe on a surface, for example, a surface requiring cleaning, or on the surface of the body. Fibrils can be detached from the fibers, thereby allowing the composition to be applied to the surface. Such separation may occur due to friction forces acting on the tissue during its movement on the surface. In one embodiment, fibrils containing the composition may be formed in a tissue lotion wipe. When the user moves the tissue over the surface of the body, the fibrils can be separated from the fibers to apply skin care lotion to the surface of the body. Other examples are also included in the scope of the present invention.

In one embodiment, the nonwoven webs of the present invention containing one or more layers containing fibers containing fibrils can improve the acoustic damping performance of nonwoven webs compared to standard nonwoven webs, since fibrils increase the dispersion of sound waves as they pass through non-woven backing. In addition, the nonwoven webs of the present invention may have better masking or clouding characteristics than standard nonwoven webs due to the scattering of light provided by the fibrils as light waves travel through the nonwoven webs.

The nonwoven backings of the present invention can be used as packaging materials or can be used to form at least parts of the packages or packages in their entirety. Packages can be made in the form of any suitable configuration, for example, in the form of a configuration in which one or more goods are inside the packages or in the form of any other configuration. The packaging materials used in the present invention also include tear-off films covering adhesive on sanitary napkins or absorbent products, or any other components placed on, attached to, or formed with the consumer product before sale or use, even if such the component does not form the outside of the package. In one embodiment, the nonwoven backing can be used to form at least the outer part, inner part or other part of the package. With reference to FIG. 32, packages 300 may contain one or more products 302 and may be at least partially formed by nonwoven backings 304 according to the present invention. Products 302 may also have packaging materials formed from nonwoven substrates according to the present invention. A portion of the package 300 is cut out in FIG. 32 in order to show products 302 inside the package 300. The hydrophobic nature and the long leakage time of the low surface tension fluid through the nonwoven webs of the present invention provide them with good resistance to moisture penetration into the packages, thereby keeping the products dry or substantially dry while providing some packaging ability to “breathe”. Non-woven substrates can also be combined with other materials, such as films, to form packages or packaging materials. One typical packaging material for goods is films. The nonwoven webs of the present invention may not contain films or may contain a small amount, thereby saving costs. Nonwoven substrates can also provide softer packaging materials than films.

In one embodiment, the fatty esters in fibers having fibrils of the nonwoven backings of the present invention may not contain teardrop clusters of fatty esters. The phrase "does not contain droplets of fatty esters" means that the fatty ether (eg, GTS) is essentially uniformly, or uniformly, distributed as very small particles in the composition used to form the fibers (i.e., in the form of particles with a diameter of less than 300 nm, less than 200 nm or less than 100 nm) and, thus, in the fibers formed from the specified composition, and does not form pockets of fatty esters in the fibers. In cross sections of fibers containing fatty esters according to the present invention, teardrop clusters are invisible at 8,000 times magnification using SEM (see, for example, FIG. 34 shown at 8,000 times). The teardrop clusters referred to herein have a minimum size of at least 300 nm and can be seen in fiber cross-sections through SEM at 8,000 times magnification if such teardrop clusters are present. In addition, after dissolving the fatty ester in a gravimetric weight loss test, there are no empty voids in the fibers. The empty voids referred to in this document have a minimum size of 300 nm and can be seen with an 8,000-fold increase in fiber using SEM. The fibers of the present invention do not have such teardrop clusters and thus, empty voids do not form in the fibers after the gravimetric weight loss test.

In FIG. 33 and 34 show cross-sectional views of fibers after performing a gravimetric weight loss test (i.e., after fatty esters such as GTS have been dissolved in the fibers). The fibers of FIG. 33 and 34 are fibers of the SMNS material with a bulk of 18 g / m ² containing about 10% glycerol tristearate by weight of the composition used to form the S layers, with layer M, plus layer N - together having a bulk of 2 g / m ² after dissolving the GTS. As shown, there are no empty cavities in the fibers due to the essentially uniform or uniform distribution of fatty esters in the fibers. Empty cavities could form in the fibers if the fibers had teardrop clusters of fatty esters present in them. Since the fibers of the present invention do not contain teardrop clusters, no gravity cavities are formed in the fibers after the gravimetric weight loss test.

The components of absorbent articles, packaging, and products described herein may at least partially consist of materials of biological origin, as described in US Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0219521 A1 (Hird et al.), Published September 20, 2007, publication US patent application No. 2011/0139658 A1 (Hird et al.), published June 16, 2011, the publication of US patent application No. 2011/0139657 A1 (Hird et al.), published June 16, 2011, the publication of US patent application No. 2011/0152812 A1 (Hird et al.), Published June 23, 2011, publication of US patent application No. 2011/0139662 A1 (Hird et al.), Published June 16, 2011, and publication of US patent application No. 2011/0139659 A1 (Hird et al.), Published June 16, 2011. Such components include, but are not limited to, nonwovens on the top sheet, films on the bottom sheet , non-woven materials of the bottom sheet, non-woven materials of the side panels, non-woven materials of the barrier foot cuffs, superabsorbents, non-woven absorbent layers, non-woven materials of the shells for the core, adhesives, fastener hooks and non-woven materials of the fastening zones, as well as the base of the films.

In one embodiment, the disposable absorbent article component, product component, or packaging component may contain materials from biological sources in an amount of from about 10% to about 100% according to ASTM D6866-10, Method B, in another embodiment, from about 25% to about 75%, and in another embodiment, from about 50% to about 60% according to ASTM D6866-10, method B.

In order to apply the methodology of ASTM D6866-10 for determining the content of materials from biological sources in any component of an absorbent article, packaging component or component of a product, an appropriate sample of an absorbent article component, packaging component or product component should be obtained for testing. In one embodiment, the absorbent article component, packaging component, or article component can be pulverized to particles of less than about 20 mesh in size using known grinding methods (for example, using a Wiley® mill), with a typical sample of a suitable mass selected from randomly mixed particles .

In FIG. 35 shows an example of a plot of the weight average fiber diameter (X axis) versus specific surface area (Y axis). Triangles represent the calculated theoretical specific surface area of various non-woven backing patterns S, SM, SMS, SMNS and M without the presence of GTS in their fibers. "Xs" represents the calculated theoretical specific surface area of the nonwoven webs in the triangles, plus the calculated 20% increase in specific surface area. Such a 20% increase in specific surface area results from the use of spunbond fibers formed from a composition containing GTS in an amount of from about 10% to about 15% by weight of the composition. If the fibers have a mass-average fiber diameter of less than 5, then GTS in an amount of from about 10% to about 15% is added to the meltblown layer, since such samples do not have a spunbond layer. Diamonds represent samples of various nonwoven SMN substrates having fibers in which some of the fibers were formed from compositions containing GTS. Layers S were formed from a composition containing GTS in an amount of from about 10% to about 15% by weight of the composition, wherein one of the layers M or N was formed from a composition containing GTS in an amount of 1% by weight of the composition. The squares represent non-GTS non-woven backing patterns of GTS in their fibers. The mass average fiber diameter is indicated in microns, and the specific surface area is indicated in m ² / g. For a weight average fiber diameter of more than 8 μm, the specific surface area may be approximately 1.6 m ² / g or more. For mass-average fiber diameters above 10 μm, the specific surface area may be approximately 1.2 m ² / g or more. For mass-average fiber diameters above 12 μm, the specific surface area may be approximately 0.8 m ² / g or more. In various embodiments, the specific surface area of the fibers according to the present invention can be in the range from about 0.5 m ² / g to about 10.0 m ² / g, from about 0.7 m ² / g to about 8.0 m ² / g, or even from about 0.8 m ² g to about 6.0 m ² / g, including all increments of 0.1 m ² / g within the above ranges and all ranges formed in them or them.

In one embodiment, the absorbent article, packaging material and / or napkin may comprise one or more non-woven substrates, each of which contains a plurality of fibers, at least some fibers may have a mass-average fiber diameter of more than 8 μm and a specific surface area of at least 1.6 m ² / g. In one embodiment, the absorbent article, packaging material and / or napkin may comprise one or more non-woven substrates, each of which contains a plurality of fibers, at least some fibers may have a mass-average fiber diameter of more than 10 μm and a specific surface area of at least 1.2 m ² / g. In one embodiment, the absorbent article, packaging material and / or napkin may comprise one or more non-woven substrates, each of which contains a plurality of fibers, with at least some fibers having a mass-average fiber diameter greater than 12 microns and a specific surface area of at least 0.8 m ² / g. Absorbent articles may comprise a liquid permeable material, a liquid impermeable material, and an absorbent core located at least partially between the liquid permeable material and the liquid impermeable material.

In one embodiment, the packaging for the product may contain a non-woven base containing a layer of fibers. Each of the plurality of fibers may comprise a plurality of fibrils extending outward from the surface of the fibers in a central longitudinal third of the fibers. Many fibrils may contain fatty ether, characterized by a melting point above 35 ° C or above 40 ° C. Many fibers may not contain droplets of fatty ester. Non-woven backing may not contain films. The nonwoven backing can form the outer part of the package. Many fibrils may consist essentially of a fatty ester. Many fibers can be formed from a composition comprising a polyolefin and a fatty ester. The composition may contain from 11% to 35% fatty ether by weight of the composition. The average length of the fibrils from the surfaces of the fibers to the free ends of the fibrils can be in the range from 0.5 μm to 20 μm. The fiber layer may contain spunbond fibers, meltblown fibers, and / or fine fibers. Fibrils may have a first color. Fibril-free fiber regions may have a second color. The first color may coincide with or differ from the second color. The fiber layer may contain many bonds, and each bond contains a region of bonding. At least some of the fibrils may extend outward from the surface of at least one of the bonding regions. Many fibrils may contain glycerol tristearate. A nonwoven backing may surround part of the product. The average hydraulic diameter of the fibrils can range from 100 nm to 800 nm. The nonwoven backing may comprise a second layer of fibers. The fibers of the second layer of fibers may essentially not contain fibrils or may contain fibrils. The fiber layer may comprise spunbond fibers or meltblown fibers, wherein the second fiber layer contains meltblown fibers or thin fibers.

TESTING

Liquid surface tension

The surface tension of a liquid is determined by measuring the force acting on a Wilhelmy platinum plate at the interface between air and liquid. Use a K11 tension gauge from Kruss or equivalent. (Available from Kruss USA ( www.kruss.de )). The test is carried out in laboratory conditions at 23 ± 2 ° C and a relative humidity of 50 ± 5%. The test liquid is placed in a container provided by the manufacturer, and surface tension values are recorded using an appropriate instrument and its software.

Bulk test

Use a large piece of non-woven warp with an area of 9.00 cm ² , i.e. 1.0 cm wide and 9.0 cm long. The sample can be cut from a consumer product, such as a napkin or absorbent product or its packaging materials. The sample must be dry and free from other materials such as glue or dust. Samples are kept under conditions at a temperature of 23 ° Celsius (± 2 ° C) and a relative humidity of 50% (± 5%) for 2 hours until an equilibrium state is reached. The mass of the cut non-woven base is measured on a balance accurate to 0.0001 g. The resulting mass value is divided by the area of the sample to obtain a result in grams / m ² (g / m ² ). The exact same procedure is repeated for at least 20 samples of 20 identical consumer goods or their packaging materials. If the consumer product or its packaging materials are large enough, then more than one sample can be obtained from each of them. One example of a sample is a portion of the top sheet of an absorbent article. If a test is carried out to locally change the bulk, the same samples and data are used to calculate and record the average bulk.

Test for determination of physical diameter and diameter in denier

The diameter of the fibers in the non-woven base sample is determined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and image analysis software. A magnification of 500 to 10,000 times is selected to ensure proper fiber enlargement for measurement. Compounds based on gold or palladium are sprayed onto the samples to prevent electric charge and fiber vibrations in the electron beam. Use the manual procedure for determining the diameters of the fibers. Using the mouse and cursor, they search for the edge of an arbitrarily selected fiber and then measure across its width (i.e. perpendicular to the direction of the fiber at a given point) to the other edge of the fiber. For non-circular fibers, the cross-sectional area is measured using image analysis software. Then calculate the effective diameter by calculating the diameter, as if the found area would be a circle. A calibrated and calibrated image analysis tool provides sizing after enlargement in order to obtain real values in micrometers (μm). Thus, several fibers are randomly selected within the non-woven backing using SEM. At least two samples are cut from the non-woven base and tested in this way. In total, at least 100 such measurements are performed and then the data is recorded for statistical analysis. The recorded data is used to calculate the average (average) diameter of the fibers, the standard deviation of the diameter of the fibers and the median diameter of the fibers. Another useful statistical analysis is to calculate the number of fibers characterized by a parameter below a certain upper limit. To obtain such statistics, the software is programmed to calculate how many fiber diameter results are below the upper limit, and this number (divided by the total amount of data and multiplied by 100%) is given as a percentage, as a percentage below the upper limit, for example , the percentage of fibers with a diameter of less than 1 micrometer, or, for example, the percentage of fibers of submicron diameter.

If you need to get the results in denier, carry out the following calculations:

Fiber diameter in denier = cross-sectional area (in m ² ) * density (in kg / m ³ ) * 9000 m * 1000 g / kg;

The cross sectional area = π * diameter ^2/4. The density of polypropylene, for example, can be taken equal to 910 kg / m ³ .

If the fiber diameter in denier is known, the physical diameter of the round fiber in meters (or micrometers) can be found in accordance with these ratios, and vice versa. We indicate the measured diameter (in microns) of an individual round fiber as d _i .

In the case of fibers characterized by non-circular cross-sections, the value of the diameter of the fiber is determined as it is equated to the hydraulic diameter discussed above.

Low surface tension fluid leakage test

The permeation test of a fluid with a low surface tension is used to determine the amount of time it takes for a certain amount of fluid with a low surface tension, released at a certain speed, to completely penetrate the sample of the nonwoven base, which is placed on a reference absorbent pad. By default, this test is also called a leak test of a fluid with a low surface tension of 32 mN / m due to the surface tension of the test fluid, with each test being applied to two layers of nonwoven fabric samples simply stacked on top of each other.

For this test, the reference absorbent pad is 5 layers of Ahlstrom Grade 989 filter paper (10 cm × 10 cm), and the test fluid is a fluid with a low surface tension of 32 mN / m.

Test purpose

This test is intended to characterize non-woven substrates in terms of the leakage time of a low surface tension fluid (in seconds) that is designed to provide a barrier to low surface tension fluids, such as, for example, a mixture of urine and stool or liquid stool.

Equipment

Lister permeation test device: This instrument is the exact same instrument as described in EDANA ERT 153.0-02 part 6, with the following exception: the permeation plate has a star-shaped hole of 3 slots located at an angle of 60 degrees at this narrow slots have a length of 10.0 mm and a width of 1.2 mm Hole 2000 is shown in FIG. 36. This equipment is available from Lenzing Instruments (Austria), as well as from W. Fritz Metzger Corp (USA). The device must be configured so that it does not turn off after 100 seconds.

Reference absorbent plate: Use Ahlstrom Grade 989 filter paper in the form of pieces with dimensions of 10 cm × 10 cm. The average leakage time is 3.3 + 0.5 seconds for 5 layers of filter paper using a test fluid with a surface tension of 32 mN / m and without a sample of the canvas. Filter paper may be purchased from Empirical Manufacturing Company, Inc. (EMC) 7616 Reinhold Drive Cincinnati, OH 45237.

Test fluid: A fluid with a surface tension of 32 mN / m is prepared using distilled water and 0.42 +/- 0.001 g / liter Triton-X 100. All fluid substances are maintained at ambient conditions.

Rinsing liquid for electrodes: Use a 0.9% aqueous solution of sodium chloride (CAS 7647-14-5) (9 g of NaCl per 1 liter of distilled water).

Test procedure

- Ensure that the surface tension is 32 mN / m +/- 1 mN / m in accordance with the surface tension test of the liquid described herein. Otherwise, the test fluid is prepared anew.

- Prepare a 0.9% aqueous solution of NaCl as a liquid for washing the electrodes.

- Ensure as follows that the estimated leakage time (3.3 +/- 0.5 seconds) for the reference absorbent pad is achieved when testing 5 layers using a test fluid with a surface tension of 32 mN / m:

- Carefully lay on top of each other 5 layers of the reference absorbent pad on the main plate of the leakage test device.

- Place the plate for the leak test over 5 layers and ensure that the center of the plate is above the center of the paper. Center this node under the dosing channel.

- Ensure that the upper assembly of the leakage test device is brought to a lower position — to a predetermined stopping point.

- Ensure that the electrodes are connected to a timer.

- Turn on the leak test device and reset the timer.

- A 5 ml test fluid with a surface tension of 32 mN / m per channel is measured using a 5 ml fixed volume pipette and tip.

- Open the channel magnetic valve (for example, by pressing a button on the device) to release 5 ml of test fluid. The initial flow of fluid closes the electrical circuit and starts the timer. The timer stops when a fluid enters the reference absorbent pad and falls below the level of the electrodes in the plate for leakage testing.

- Register the time shown on the electronic timer.

- Remove the unit for testing and discard the used reference absorbent pad. The electrodes are washed with 0.9% aqueous NaCl to prepare them for the next test. Dry the recess above the electrodes and the back of the plate to conduct a leak test, and also wipe the outlet of the metering device and the bottom plate or table surface on which filter paper is laid.

- Repeat this test procedure at least 3 times to ensure the estimated leakage time for the reference absorbent pad. If the estimated time is not reached, the reference absorbent pad may be declared inappropriate for the required characteristics and should not be used.

- After checking the characteristics of the reference absorbent pad, non-woven backing tests may be performed.

- Cut the required number of samples of non-woven bases. For non-woven substrates, the samples of which were taken from a roll, the samples are cut square 10 cm by 10 cm. For non-woven substrates, the samples of which were taken from a consumer product, the samples are cut square 15 cm by 15 cm. Fluid flows to the sample nonwoven backing plate. Contact with a nonwoven backing sample is present only at the edge.

- Carefully lay on top of each other 5 layers of the reference absorbent pad on the main plate of the leakage test device.

- Place a sample of non-woven base on top of 5 layers of filter paper. In this test method, two layers of a nonwoven sample are used. If the non-woven backing sample has an asymmetric configuration (i.e., has a different layer configuration, depending on which side is directed in a particular direction), the side facing the user (for the absorbent product) is directed upward in this test.

- Place the plate for the leak test over the sample of the non-woven base and ensure that the center of the plate for the leak test is over the center of the sample of the non-woven base. Center this node under the dosing channel.

- Ensure that the upper assembly of the leakage test device is brought to a lower position — to a predetermined stopping point.

- Ensure that the electrodes are connected to a timer. The leak test device is turned on and the timer is reset to zero.

- Carry out as described above.

- Repeat this procedure for the required number of samples of non-woven base. A minimum of 5 samples of each different non-woven backing is required. The average value is the leakage time in seconds of a fluid with a low surface tension of 32 mN / m.

Specific surface area

The specific surface area of non-woven substrates according to the present invention is determined based on the adsorption of krypton gas using Micromeritic ASAP 2420 or an equivalent device according to the method of constant saturated vapor pressure (Po) (according to ASTM D-6556-10), and also following the principles and calculations of Brunauer, Emmett and Teller based on Kr gas adsorption using the BET method, including automatic correction of degassing and temperature. It should be noted that, based on the recommendations according to the indicated method, the samples should not be degassed at 300 ° C; instead, they should be degassed at room temperature. The specific surface area should be recorded in m ² / g.

Obtaining samples of non-woven bases

Each measurement of surface area is carried out in relation to a sample representing 1 g of a non-woven base according to the present invention. In order to obtain 1 g of material, a plurality of samples may be taken from one or more absorbent articles, one or more packages or one or more napkins, depending on which product from the absorbent articles, packages or napkins is tested. Samples of wet wipes are dried at 40 ° C for two hours to a state in which the flow of liquid from the sample stops when light pressure is exerted on it. These samples are cut with scissors from absorbent products, packages or napkins (depending on which product from absorbent products, packages or napkins are tested) in areas that do not or essentially do not contain adhesives. Samples are then placed in an ultraviolet fluorescence analysis chamber to detect the presence of adhesives, since the adhesives will fluoresce under such lighting. Other methods for detecting adhesives may also be used. The regions of samples on which adhesives are present are cut off from the samples so that the samples do not contain adhesives. Samples can now be tested according to the specific surface area test method described above.

Obtaining samples of non-woven barrier cuffs

Each measurement of surface area is carried out in relation to samples of a non-woven barrier cuff (for example, 50, 51) taken from absorbent products, while the total mass of the samples reaches 1 g. Samples are cut using scissors from barrier cuffs in areas that are not attached directly to the absorbent product (for example, in area 11 in Fig. 3). Samples are then placed in an ultraviolet fluorescence analysis chamber to detect the presence of adhesives, since the adhesives will fluoresce under such lighting. Other methods for detecting adhesives may also be used. The regions of samples on which adhesives are present are cut off from the samples so that the samples do not contain adhesives. Samples can now be tested according to the specific surface area test method described above.

Fibril Length Test

1) Using software such as Image J, the number of pixels is measured within the length of the legend on the SEM image of the non-woven backing using a straight line (for example, a line having a length and no thickness). Record the line length and the number of micrometers to which the indicated symbol corresponds.

2) Select the fibril and measure its length from the free end to the end, coming from the fibers that are most clearly visualized. Record the line length.

3) Divide this length by the length of the legend in pixels and then multiply by the length of the legend in micrometers to obtain the length of the fibril in micrometers.

If the fibrils are long and winding, then the length of such fibrils is determined based on linear increments.

Weight average diameter

The mass average fiber diameter is calculated as follows:

where it is assumed that the fibers in the sample are round / cylindrical,

d _i = the measured diameter of the i-th fiber in the sample,

∂х = the infinitely small longitudinal part of the fiber on which its diameter is measured is the same for all fibers in the sample,

m _i = mass of the i-th fiber in the sample,

n = number of fibers in the sample whose diameter is measured

ρ = fiber density in the sample - the same for all fibers in the sample

V _i = volume of the i-th fiber in the sample.

The weight average fiber diameter should be recorded in microns.

Gravimetric weight loss test

A gravimetric weight loss test is performed to determine the amount of fatty ester (e.g., GTS) in a non-woven base according to the present invention. One or more samples of a non-woven base are placed in acetone, while the smallest sample size is not more than 1 mm, with a ratio of 1 g of non-woven base per 100 g of acetone, using a system based on a reflux vessel. First, the sample is weighed before being placed in a vessel under reflux, and then the mixture of the sample with acetone is heated to 60 ° C for 20 hours. Then the sample is removed and dried in air for 60 minutes and the final mass of the sample is determined. The equation for determining the content in the sample of fatty ether in weight percent is as follows:

The weight. % fatty ether = ([initial mass of the sample - final mass of the sample] / [initial mass of the sample]) × 100%.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited by the indicated exact numerical values. On the contrary, unless otherwise indicated, each such size should be implied both as a specified value and as a functionally equivalent range covering a given value. For example, a dimension indicated as “40 mm” should be understood as “approximately 40 mm”.

All documents referred to in this document, including any cross-reference or related patents or patent applications, are hereby fully incorporated into this document, with the exception of clearly indicated exceptions or other restrictions. The citation of any document is not an assumption that it is a prototype of any invention disclosed or claimed in this document, or that it, or in combination with another source or sources, provides explanations, assumptions or discloses any of these inventions. Also, in the event that any meaning or definition of a term in this document contradicts any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the value or definition assigned to such a term in this document shall have priority.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the appended claims are intended to cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.

Claims (42)

1. Packaging for the goods, and this package contains: a non-woven base containing a fiber layer containing a plurality of fibers, in which each fiber contains a plurality of fibrils extending outward from the surface of the fibers in a central longitudinal third of the fibers, said plurality of fibrils containing fatty ether, wherein the fatty ether has a melting point above 35 ° C and wherein said plurality of fibers do not contain teardrop clusters of fatty ester. 2. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the non-woven base does not contain a film and the non-woven base forms the outer part of the package. 3. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the said plurality of fibrils consist essentially of fatty ether. 4. A package according to claim 1, characterized in that said plurality of fibers are formed from a composition comprising a polyolefin and a fatty ether, and wherein said composition contains from 11% to 35% fatty ether by weight of the composition. 5. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the average length of the fibrils from the surfaces of the fibers to the free ends of the fibrils is in the range from about 0.5 microns to about 20 microns. 6. The packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the average hydraulic diameter of the fibrils is in the range from about 100 nm to about 800 nm. 7. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that said layer of fibers contains fibers obtained by spanbond technology. 8. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that said fiber layer contains fibers obtained by the meltblown technology. 9. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that said layer of fibers contains thin fibers. 10. The packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that at least some of the fibrils extend radially outward from the surface of the fibers, the fibrils having a first color, while the fiber areas not containing fibrils have a second color and the first color is different from the second color. 11. Packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made in such a way that many fibrils grow from the surface of the fibers under environmental conditions after the formation of a non-woven base. 12. A package containing: product; and non-woven base containing a layer of fibers, while the layer of fibers contains many bonding, with each bonding contains a bonding region and the many fibrils extend outward from the surface of at least one bonding region. 13. A package according to claim 12, characterized in that said plurality of fibrils consist essentially of fatty ether. 14. Packaging according to claim 12, characterized in that said plurality of fibrils contain glycerol tristearate and the non-woven base forms the outer part of the package and surrounds part of the product. 15. The packaging according to claim 12, characterized in that the plurality of fibers comprise fibrils extending radially outward from the surface of the fibers, which do not contain bonding areas. 16. Packaging according to claim 15, characterized in that the non-woven base contains a second layer of fibers, while the fibers of the second layer of fibers essentially do not contain fibrils. 17. The package according to p. 15, characterized in that the non-woven base contains a second layer of fibers, and many fibrils extend radially outward from the surface of at least some fibers in the second layer of fibers. 18. Packaging according to claim 15, characterized in that at least some of the fibers are formed from a composition containing from 11% to 35% fatty ether by weight of the composition, the fatty ether having a melting point above 40 ° C, and the fibers do not contain drop-shaped accumulations of fatty ether. 19. Packaging material for the goods, and this packaging material contains: a non-woven base containing a layer of fibers, wherein the plurality of fibers is configured to contain fibrils that extend outward from them only after a certain period of time, and this time period is more than about 24 hours under ambient conditions after the formation of the non-woven base. 20. The packaging material according to p. 19, characterized in that the specified period of time is more than approximately 60 hours in environmental conditions after the formation of the non-woven base, and the non-woven base forms the outer part of the package. 21. The packaging material according to claim 19, characterized in that the fibrils have a first color, while the regions of the plurality of fibers not containing fibrils have a second color, and the first color is different from the second color. 22. Packaging for the goods, and this packaging contains: a non-woven base containing a fiber layer containing a plurality of fibers, in which each fiber contains a plurality of fibrils extending outward from the surface of the fibers in a central longitudinal third of the fibers, said plurality of fibrils containing fatty ether, wherein the fatty ether has a melting point above 35 ° C preferably above 40 ° C. and wherein the plurality of fibers mentioned do not contain teardrop clusters of fatty ester. 23. The package according to p. 22, characterized in that the non-woven base does not contain a film and the non-woven base forms the outer part of the package. 24. The package of claim 22, wherein said plurality of fibrils consists essentially of a fatty ester. 25. The packaging of claim 22, wherein said plurality of fibers are formed from a composition comprising a polyolefin and a fatty ether, and wherein said composition comprises from 11% to 35% fatty ether by weight of the composition. 26. The package according to p. 22, characterized in that the average length of the fibrils from the surfaces of the fibers to the free ends of the fibrils is in the range from 0.5 μm to 20 μm. 27. Packaging according to p. 22, characterized in that said layer of fibers contains fibers obtained by spanbond technology. 28. The packaging according to p. 22, characterized in that said layer of fibers contains fibers obtained by the meltblown technology. 29. The packaging according to p. 22, characterized in that said layer of fibers contains fine fibers. 30. The package according to p. 22, characterized in that the fibrils have a first color, while the fiber areas that do not contain fibrils have a second color and the first color is different from the second color. 31. The package according to p. 22, characterized in that the fiber layer contains many fasteners, with each fastener containing a fastening area and at least some fibrils extend outward from the surface of at least one fastening area. 32. The package according to p. 22, characterized in that many fibrils contain glycerol tristearate, and the non-woven base surrounds part of the product. 33. The package according to p. 22, characterized in that the average hydraulic diameter of the fibrils is in the range from 100 nm to 800 nm. 34. Packaging according to any one of paragraphs. 22-33, characterized in that the non-woven base contains a second layer of fibers, and the fibers of the second layer of fibers essentially do not contain fibrils. 35. Packaging according to any one of paragraphs. 22-33, characterized in that the non-woven base contains a second layer of fibers, and the fibers of the second layer of fibers contain fibrils. 36. The packaging according to claim 34, wherein said fiber layer contains spunbond fibers, and wherein the second fiber layer contains meltblown fibers or thin fibers. 37. The packaging of claim 35, wherein said fiber layer contains spunbond fibers, and wherein the second fiber layer contains meltblown fibers or fine fibers.

Images