Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B68—SADDLERY; UPHOLSTERY
  • B68G—METHODS, EQUIPMENT, OR MACHINES FOR USE IN UPHOLSTERING; UPHOLSTERY NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B68G1/00—Loose filling materials for upholstery
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/42—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
  • D04H1/4382—Stretched reticular film fibres; Composite fibres; Mixed fibres; Ultrafine fibres; Fibres for artificial leather
  • D04H1/43835—Mixed fibres, e.g. at least two chemically different fibres or fibre blends
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06M—TREATMENT, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE IN CLASS D06, OF FIBRES, THREADS, YARNS, FABRICS, FEATHERS OR FIBROUS GOODS MADE FROM SUCH MATERIALS
  • D06M15/00—Treating fibres, threads, yarns, fabrics, or fibrous goods made from such materials, with macromolecular compounds; Such treatment combined with mechanical treatment
  • D06M15/19—Treating fibres, threads, yarns, fabrics, or fibrous goods made from such materials, with macromolecular compounds; Such treatment combined with mechanical treatment with synthetic macromolecular compounds
  • D06M15/37—Macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
  • D06M15/507—Polyesters
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/02—Cotton wool; Wadding
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/42—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
  • D04H1/4326—Condensation or reaction polymers
  • D04H1/435—Polyesters
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/42—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
  • D04H1/4382—Stretched reticular film fibres; Composite fibres; Mixed fibres; Ultrafine fibres; Fibres for artificial leather
  • D04H1/43825—Composite fibres
  • D04H1/43828—Composite fibres sheath-core
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/42—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
  • D04H1/4391—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece characterised by the shape of the fibres
  • D04H1/43914—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece characterised by the shape of the fibres hollow fibres
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/42—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece
  • D04H1/4391—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece characterised by the shape of the fibres
  • D04H1/43918—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties characterised by the use of certain kinds of fibres insofar as this use has no preponderant influence on the consolidation of the fleece characterised by the shape of the fibres nonlinear fibres, e.g. crimped or coiled fibres
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/54—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties by welding together the fibres, e.g. by partially melting or dissolving
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04H—MAKING TEXTILE FABRICS, e.g. FROM FIBRES OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; FABRICS MADE BY SUCH PROCESSES OR APPARATUS, e.g. FELTS, NON-WOVEN FABRICS; COTTON-WOOL; WADDING ; NON-WOVEN FABRICS FROM STAPLE FIBRES, FILAMENTS OR YARNS, BONDED WITH AT LEAST ONE WEB-LIKE MATERIAL DURING THEIR CONSOLIDATION
  • D04H1/00—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres
  • D04H1/40—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties
  • D04H1/54—Non-woven fabrics formed wholly or mainly of staple fibres or like relatively short fibres from fleeces or layers composed of fibres without existing or potential cohesive properties by welding together the fibres, e.g. by partially melting or dissolving
  • D04H1/542—Adhesive fibres
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06M—TREATMENT, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE IN CLASS D06, OF FIBRES, THREADS, YARNS, FABRICS, FEATHERS OR FIBROUS GOODS MADE FROM SUCH MATERIALS
  • D06M15/00—Treating fibres, threads, yarns, fabrics, or fibrous goods made from such materials, with macromolecular compounds; Such treatment combined with mechanical treatment
  • D06M15/19—Treating fibres, threads, yarns, fabrics, or fibrous goods made from such materials, with macromolecular compounds; Such treatment combined with mechanical treatment with synthetic macromolecular compounds
  • D06M15/37—Macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
  • D06M15/53—Polyethers

Definitions

• This invention concerns improvements in polyester fiberfill material, commonly referred to as polyester fiberfill, and more particularly to providing polyester fiberfill in a form that is especially adapted for blending with binder fibers, to such blends as can be thermally bonded to provide useful bonded products having advantageous properties, such as bonded batts, and to the resulting bonded batts and other products incorporating the same.
• Polyester fiberfill is used commercially in many garments and other articles, such as sleeping bags, cushions, comforters and pillows.
• a particularly useful and desirable form of polyester fiberfill has a coating of cured polysiloxane, often referred to as silicone slickener, e.g. as disclosed in Hofmann U.S. Patent No. 3,271,189 and Mead et al. U.S. Patent No. 3,454,422, because certain desirable properties, such as hand, bulk-stability and fluffability are improved thereby.
• silicone slickened-polyester fiberfill it has long been recognized that this coating has an important disadvantage, together with the desirable qualities.
• the main object of the present invention is to provide a properly through-bonded batt having advantages of the type that have been obtainable previously only from unbonded slickened materials, e.g. in hand, in combination with the improved performance (especially durability) that has only been attainable previously with bonded batts from "dry" fiberfill.
• Another object is to improve the resilience and structure stabilization of slickened fiberfill products.
• Jayne discloses surface-modified polyester fiberfill products having improved compressional recovery and other outstanding properties (see paragraph from column 2 - column 3) and to a method for providing such fiberfill products.
• the coating is co-crystallized on the surface of the crimped polyester staple fiber, and consists of a copolyester comprising about 20-95% by weight of poly(oxyalkylene) units and about 80-5% by weight of ester units identical to those present in the polyester staple fiber substrate. Batts of such coated fibers may be bonded or unbonded and are preferably unbonded (column 2, lines 57-59).
• Bonding resins may be applied to the batts to prevent any later fiber leakage and/or to prevent shifting of the batting in end-use applications, e.g. by spraying on both sides of the surface in the form of water emulsions, followed by drying and curing (column 5, lines 15-21). Jayne does not mention binder fibers, and Jayne's fiberfill has not been used commercially, so far as is known.
• polyester fiberfill can be bonded more effectively than silicon e-slickened fiberfill, e.g. from blends with binder fiber, and has other advantages in reduced flammability and improved moisture transport, as will be mentioned hereinafter. It is believed important to ensure that the hydrophilic coating is "cured" properly onto the polyester fibers, in other words, that the poly(alkylene oxide) chains are essentially permanently affixed to the surface of the polyester fibers, i.e. so that they will not be removed by washing or by other treatments that will be encountered in normal processing or use.
• an improved polyester fiberfill blend consisting essentially of, by weight, (a) from about 60 to about 95% of crimped polyester staple fiber, and (b) complementally, to total 100%, from about 5 to about 40% of crimped staple binder fiber, comprising a polymer having a binding temperature lower than the softening temperature of the said polyester staple fiber, characterized in that the said polyester staple fiber has a coating cured thereto of a slickener consisting essentially of chains of poly(alkylene oxide).
• Two commercial poly(alkylene oxide) copolymers involving two different mechanisms of "curing” are described more particularly below.
• One is a block copolymer of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) which, when applied to the surface of a polyester fiber containing repeat units of poly(ethylene terephthalate), and cured at about 170°C, is fixed to the fiber.
• the mechanism by which it is cured is not fully understood, but is suggested to be the co-crystallization of the polyester segments on the polyester fiber.
• Another curing mechanism is effected by cross-linking poly(alkylene oxide) chains modified with reactive groups capable of cross-linking with or without the addition of catalysts or cross-linking agents. Both these routes can be effected by using commercially available polymers with large segments of poly(ethylene oxide) and/or poly(propylene oxide), poly(ethylene oxide) being preferred.
• a polyester fiberfill blend consisting essentially of, by weight, (a) from about 60 to about 95%, preferably about 80 to about 90%, of crimped polyester staple fiber and (b), complementally to total 100%, from about 5 to about 40%, preferably about 10 to about 20%, of crimped staple binder fibers, comprising a polymer having a melting point lower than that of the polyester staple fiber, wherein the polyester staple fiber is coated with a segmented copolymer of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(ethylene oxide) in amount from about 0.1 to about 1% by weight of the polyester staple fiber.
• a polyester fiberfill blend consisting essentially of (a) from about 60 to about 95% by weight of crimped polyester staple fiber and (b) complementally to total 100% by weight, from about 5 to about 40% by weight of crimped staple binder fibers, comprising a polymer having a melting point lower than that of the polyester staple fiber, wherein the polyester staple fiber is coated with a modified poly(alkylene oxide) grafted with functional groups to permit cross-linking, in amount from about 0.1 to about 1% by weight of the polyester staple fiber.
• An important element of the present invention is the use of an appropriate coating material to provide the desired hydrophilic coating of poly(alkylene oxide) chains on the polyester fiberfill. As already indicated, some of these materials are available commercially.
• Coating materials that are suitable for use according to the invention include segmented copolyesters consisting essentially of poly(ethylene terephthalate) segments and of poly(alkylene oxide) segments, derived from a poly(oxyalkylene) having a molecular weight of 300 to 6,000.
• segmented copolyesters consisting essentially of poly(ethylene terephthalate) segments and of poly(alkylene oxide) segments, derived from a poly(oxyalkylene) having a molecular weight of 300 to 6,000.
• Several such copolyesters and dispersions thereof are disclosed in McIntyre et al. U.S. Patent Nos. 3,416,952, 3,557,039 and 3,619,269, and in various other patent specifications disclosing like segmented copolymers containing poly(ethylene terephthalate) segments and poly(alkylene oxide) segments.
• the poly(alkylene oxide) will be poly(ethylene oxide), which is also of commercial convenience.
• the coating material can be applied to the polyester fiber either on the crimped staple or, preferably, on the tow, especially after drawing, in the crimping chamber. It is cured onto the fiber, by a process which is said to involve co-crystallizing or crosslinking, depending on the nature of the material.
• the fiberfill can then be blended with the binder and packed, or can be packed separately and be blended with the binder fiber prior to processing the product on standard batt manufacturing equipment. In any case the batt is generally processed, e.g. in an oven, to bond the binder to the fiberfill, and to achieve the special properties of the battings described herein.
• the coating can also be applied to the fiberfill staple at the end of the process line, after cutting and prior to packing, without curing , then be blended with the binder fiber.
• the blend is then processed on the standard carding equipment and the curing can take place in the oven at the same time as the bonding by the binder.
• These coating materials generally produce better results when they are applied prior to or during crimping, as the reduced fiber to fiber friction favors the formation of smoother crimp, which can also contribute to an improved durability and increased softness, and the bonding appears to be better as a result of the earlier curing.
• the binder fiber blend is processed on commercial carding equipment, cross-lapped, and heat-treated in an oven to bond the fiberfill and the binder fiber.
• the binders are preferably heat-activated, i.e. they melt or soften at temperatures some 50°C or more below the melting points of the polyester fiberfill, so that the bonding does not affect the integrity of the fiberfill itself.
• sheath/core binder fibers are preferred, single component binders can also be used with an improvement over the controls made from the same binder and fiberfill without the coating.
• the denier of the binder fiber will generally be between about 3 to about 30 dtex, preferably less than about 20 dtex. Further information about binder fibers is given in my copending European Patent application 87115403.5 (0268099) filed simultaneously herewith and in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,281,042 and 4,304,817.
• the fiberfill can be of about 1 to about 30 dtex, can be solid or hollow, with single or multiple voids, and have a round or an odd cross section.
• the lower deniers are used mainly in applications where the thermal insulation is an important factor, such as apparel, sleeping bags and special bedding articles for institutional applications.
• the blends of the invention have shown several advantages over commercially-available polyester slickened batts or binder fiber blends.
• the bonded batts have shown a combination of softness and good bonding with good thermal insulation. The loft and softness have been maintained after many washings, because of the resistance of the coating to washing, and the excellent tear resistance of the batts has been shown, as a result of good bonding with the binder fiber core.
• the performance of these bonded batts is very surprising, in view of the previous difficulty in bonding fiberfill slickened with prior art silicone slickeners.
• the batts combine this desirable softness with a low flammability such as is characteristic of batts from non-slickened fibers, and which also contrasts with the flammability of fibers slickened with silicones.
• Foot B (20 cm diameter) is used for lower density products (e.g. pillows) with a maximum pressure of 100N, and support bulk (SB) at 30N (representing the height in cm of the pillow under the weight of an average head).
• Softness is sometimes expressed as relative softness, i.e. as a percentage of IH2.
• Foot A ( 10 cm diameter) is used for higher density products (e.g. furnishing cushions, mattresses) with maximum pressure (the same as support bulk, in this instance) at 60N (corresponding to the pressure extended by a sitting person).
• softness is sometimes expressed as relative softness, relative to IH2.
• the firmness of a cushion correlates with a strong support bulk, and is inversely related to softness.
• Resilience is measured as Work Recovery (WR), i.e. the ratio of the area under the whole recovery curve calculated as a percentage of that under the whole compression curve. The higher the WR, the better the resilience.
• WR Work Recovery
• Another series of cushions was prepared by stacking a number of layers to product cushions with 850 ⁇ 15 g.
• the cushions were compressed using buttons to produce furnishing back cushions with a density of 25-28 g/1 (depending if the measurement is done on the crown or in the vicinity of the buttons).
• These back cushions were submitted to a stomping test using the shape of a human bottom with an area 37 x 43 cm and a pressure of 8.8 kPa. The stomping was repeated at a rate of about 1,000 cycles/hour for 10,000 cycles. The cushions were remeasured after the testing and the bulk losses calculated.
• Flammability Two tests were used: The methanamine pill test is based on the U.S. Federal Method, Flammability Standard for Carpets DOC FF 1-70.
• the area destroyed was measured and recorded in both cases, and the rate of propagation of the flame also recorded in the open flame test.
• Laundry Tests One layer (40X40 cm) of each batting is quilted (in apparel fabric) and sewn in the middle. The compression of two layers is measured by Instron (foot B-20 cm diameter), maximum pressure 240 N). All the samples are washed together in a washing machine at 40°C for three complete cycles. The samples were remeasured after laundry and the difference in thickness was calculated.
• a commercial hollow unslickened polyester fiberfill (6.1 dtex) was coated with 0.35% by weight (solids) of a hydrophilic slickener by spraying with an aqueous solution containing 2.8% solids of "ATLAS" G-7264, obtained by diluting the commercial emulsion (14%) with 5X its weight of water, and then dried in air at room temperature.
• the coated staple was blended (85/15) with the above-mentioned sheath/core binder fiber of 4.4 dtex. This blend was processed to produce a 1 meter wide batt of density about 180 g/sq.m. by superposing four parallel layers without crosslapping. This batt was heat bonded in a commercial 3.5 m.
• Items 1 and 4 are controls, items 2, 5 and 6 are coated with ATLAS G-7264, while items 3 and 7 are coated with UCON 3207A; items 2, 3 and 5 are coated in staple form, and cured at 170°C, whereas items 6 and 7 are coated in tow form, before setting the crimp at 175°C; items 1-3, 6 and 7 have fiberfill of dtex 6.1, whereas items 4 and 5 are of 13 dtex.
• Table 2 gives the compression data for all 7 bonded batts, to show good results, i.e. good bonding occurred in every case, in contrast with silicone-slickened fiberfill that cannot be bonded in this manner.
• Tables 3, 4 and 5 give flammability data. It will be noted that none of the items showed flammability, and the areas destroyed were compatible to controls 1 and 4, in which unslickened (dry) fiberfill was used, i.e. and fiberfill coatings have not significantly increased flammability over that of dry fiberfill. In contrast, flammability tests were made on controls 8 and 9, to show the well-known flammability associated with silicone-slickened products. Control 8 was a batt entirely of commercial silicone-slickened fiberfill, otherwise as used in Examples 1 and 2 except for the silicon-slickener.
• Control 9 was from a 60/20/20 blend of 60% unslickened fiberfill, as used in Examples 1 and 2, with 20% slickened fiberfill, as used in Control 8, and 20% of the binder used in Examples 1 and 2; this shows that even the addition of a minor proportion of silicone-slickened fiberfill causes a very significant increase in flammability, which is undesirable. The flammability tests did not warrant normalization.
• Table 6 shows the breaking strength measurements.
• the top set gives the actual measurements and the different weights of each batt, while the lower set gives calculated measurements all normalized to the same weight of 200 g/m2, since this is a better comparison which somewhat favors control 1 of lower weight.
• the significantly superior breaking strength of preferred item 6 is most impressive.
• the low figures of items 3 and 7 are speculated to be because of the nature of the coating, and better results would be expected from an analogous coating based on poly(ethylene oxide) chains, such as is preferred, but it is significant that even these coatings give significant bonding, in contrast to silicone-slickened fiberfill which gives products having virtually no bonding (except possibly between the residues of the bicomponent binder fibers).
• Table 7 shows the results of the delamination test, and again shows the strength of the bonds between the layers, especially for preferred item 6, which is much better than the control. This is a very important test, since delamination is a major cause of failure in some constructions in furnishings and mattresses, and is important also in sleeping bags and sportswear.
• Table 8 contains two sets of data; in part A the trade control is compared with item 6 in condensed cushions, having a density of 25 to 28 g/l.
• a comparison of the data shows that item 6 has a higher height under relatively low loads (IH2 and 7.5 N), but a lower bulk at the support bulk level. This reflects the improved softness of the product which is explained by the reduced fiber to fiber friction.
• the test item 6 has a much better durability at all loads than the commercial control, although it has a density which is a little lower.
• part B of the Table the differences in bulk are much higher when considering the same items in the noncondensed deco cushions or pillows. Despite the considerable differences in density, the test item 6 has equal bulk losses and maintains after the durability test a much higher bulk.
• Item 7 is also showing considerable improvement in bulk durability versus the commercial item, particularly in the support bulk range. Items 3 and 7, made with the Union Carbide 3207A are also the softest, having the lowest support bulk. This can be of interest for applications such as sleeping bags, where a high compressibility is required. Essentially all test items show an equal to better durability than controls, even if they have a somewhat lower density.
• the durability advantage of the products of the invention versus the controls is very significant in both densities and at the whole practical range of loads.
• the increased softness and the durability advantage correspond to a real market need, and the value of the products of the invention is further increased by the good bonding and nonflammability of these waddings. These properties are of particular interest for applications such as furnishing and mattresses, but also sportswear, sleeping bags, etc.
• Table 9 shows the change in bulk after 3 home laundries at 40°c. This shows again the good performance of most products of the invention, as these have the lowest changes, although items 6 and 7 have a considerably higher bulk than the control. The only exception is item 3, which may reflect defects in the preparation of this item.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Treatments For Attaching Organic Compounds To Fibrous Goods (AREA)
• Nonwoven Fabrics (AREA)
• Yarns And Mechanical Finishing Of Yarns Or Ropes (AREA)

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• 1987
  • 1987-10-19 IN IN812/CAL/87A patent/IN168824B/en unknown
  • 1987-10-20 DK DK548387A patent/DK548387A/da not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1987-10-20 EP EP87309241A patent/EP0265221B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1987-10-20 ES ES87309241T patent/ES2013980B3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1987-10-20 DE DE198787309241T patent/DE265221T1/de active Pending
  • 1987-10-20 CA CA000549793A patent/CA1306102C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1987-10-20 DE DE8787309241T patent/DE3771436D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1987-10-20 ES ES87309241D patent/ES2013980A4/es active Pending
  • 1987-10-21 FI FI874637A patent/FI87806C/fi not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1987-10-21 KR KR1019870011683A patent/KR900005000B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1987-10-21 TR TR724/88A patent/TR23129A/xx unknown
  • 1987-10-21 JP JP62266155A patent/JPS63120148A/ja active Granted
• 1990
  • 1990-09-26 JP JP2256792A patent/JPH03279453A/ja active Pending
• 1991
  • 1991-10-17 HK HK817/91A patent/HK81791A/xx unknown

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