GB1596718A - Non-woven fabric comprising buds and bundles connected by highly entangled fibous areas and methods of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The fleece web (60) to be patterned is guided past a first treatment station (36-38, 64) between a perforated supporting member (40) and a perforated drum casing (30, 33). At the same time, by being subjected to fluid, the fleece web (60) is provided with a first pattern, in that the fibres are ordered by the specific position of the perforation of the member (40) and of the casing (30, 33) in order to form the first pattern. After this first treatment, the supporting member (40), together with the patterned fleece web (60), is removed (B) from the drum casing (30, 33) and is then reapplied (C) to the drum casing. This produces a repeat shift between the perforations of the member (40) and casing (30, 33), so that, in a subsequent second treatment station (36a-38a, 65), the fleece web (60), by being subjected to fluid, receives, as a result of the other position of the perforations in relation to one another, a second pattern which, on account of the repeat shift, is different from the first pattern and which is superposed on the latter in the desired way. Further places for the repeat shift and further treatment stations can also be present. <IMAGE>

Description

(54) NON-WOVEN FABRIC COMPRISING BUDS AND BUNDLES CONNECTED BY HIGHLY ENTANGLED FIBROUS AREAS AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME (71) We, JOHNSON & JOHNSON, a Corporation organised under the laws of the State of New Jersey, United States of America, of 501 George Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States of America, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to a nonwoven fabric and more particularly to pattern non-woven fabrics made from a layer of fibrous material such as a fibrous web, wherein the individual fiber elements are capable of movement under the influence of applied fluid forces. The patterns in the fabric are patterns of groups of fiber segments. One pattern comprises pivotal packings of fiber segments or nubs protruding out of the plane of the fabric along with a yarn-like fiber bundle with the nub connected to the bundle by groups of aligned fibers extending from the nub.

A second pattern comprises highly entangled areas of fibers, where the fibers interentangle in the longitudinal and transverse directions and through the thickness of the fabric. The second pattern is continuous and extends throughout the fabric and connects the discontinuous pattern described above.

Background Of The Invention For a number of years there have been known various types of foraminous apertured non-woven fabrics made by processes involving the rearrangement of fibers in the starting web or layer of fibers. Some of these fabrics and methods of manufacture are illustrated, shown and described in U.S.

Patents 2,862,251; 3,081,500 and 3,081,515.

The fabrics disclosed and claimed in the patents just listed contained apertures or holes or other areas of low fiber density outlined by interconnected bundles of fibrous elements, wherein the fiber segments within the bundle are closely associated and parallel and have a yarn-like configuration.

Another type of apertured non-woven fabric is shown, illustrated and described in U.S.

Patent 3,033,721. The fabric disclosed in that patent comprises protuberant pivotal packings of fibers, which protrude out of the plane of the fabric and are interconnected by flat ribbon-like groups of aligned fiber portions which define low fiber density areas therebetween. Such fabrics are generally termed "rose-bud", non-woven fabrics.

Another type of apertured non-woven fabric is shown, illustrated and described in U.S.

Patent 3,485,706. The fabric disclosed in that patent comprises highly entangled fiber areas. The fibers have been so highly entangled in "rose-bud" type configurations or similar configurations that the fabric is strong without requiring the addition of binder.

Still further types of fabrics are disclosed in U.S. Patents 3,682,756 and 3,681,183 which discloses various combinations of yarnlike bundle patterns and protuberant pivotal packings or "rose-bud" type patterns in various combinations to produce uniquely patterned non-woven fabrics. Almost all of these rearranged non-woven fabrics are made by supporting a fibrous web or layer of fibers on a permeable backing member and applying sets of opposing fluid forces to the layer while thus supported. The fluid by which the forces are applied passes through the layer over the backing member and through the backing member to pack various groups of fibrous elements and place these elements into closer proximity and substantial parallelism to form bundles of fiber segments.

To produce "rose-bud" fabrics, the layer is supported on a perforated backing member and again fluid is applied over the layer while supported. A vacuum or suction means is placed behind the perforated member to draw the fluid through the layer and out through the perforations.

According to the present invention, we provide a non-woven fabric with a plurality of patterns of groups of fiber segments, units of which patterns alternate with one another and occur throughout the fabric, which comprises: groups of fiber segments in discontinuous portions of the fabric, said discontinuous portions forming a first pattern, each of said groups including at least one nub of fiber segments interentangled in a random arrangement, said nub protruding out of the plane of the fabric, each of said groups also including at least one yarnlike bundle of fiber segments wherein the fiber segments are in close proximity and substantial parallelism to one another, said first discontinuous portions of the fabric being bounded and interconnected by a continuous highly entangled, interlaced fibrous area, said continuous fibrous area forming a second pattern and the fibers in said continuous fibrous area being entangled in substantially all directions including the thickness of the fabric.

Our new fabric has a substantial uniformity of pattern of areas and has excellent strength characteristics, in addition to considerable esthetic appeal. It may even be used without any additional binder. If additional binder is required, it only need be used in minor amounts to produce products that are very soft and have good absorptive capacity. Also the new non-woven fabric of the present invention unexpectedly has a depth or three dimensional appearance which makes it iook as though it were a multi-layered fabric.

In a preferred embodiment, our new fabric has what appears to be an array of cones which extend through the thickness of the fabric, with the wide diameter of the cone formed by very dense areas on one surface of the fabric, and which extend to a pivotal proturberance on the other surface of the fabric. This unexpected three dimensional or multi-planar configuration provides the fabric with a "cling" and with excellent softness characteristics.

Method Of Making The Fabric Of This Invention In manufacturing our new non-woven fabric, from a layer of starting fibrous material the individual fibrous elements of which are capable of movement under applied fluid forces, we employ a method which comprises: a) supporting said starting material on a foraminous member having a predetermined topography, b) treating said starting material while so supported with a first pattern of longitudinally and transversely spaced and simultaneously flowing fluid streams, c) removing said fluid streams while maintaining said treated material on said foraminous member, and d) treating said material with a second pattern of longitudinally and transversely spaced and simultaneously flowing fluid streams, said second pattern being out of register with the first pattern of longitudinally and transversely spaced fluid streams.

The fluid can be directed against the fibrous layer, while it is on the backing member (i.e. the foraminous member), through a member which is apertured. The fibrous layer in this case is placed on the backing member and the apertured member placed on top of the fibrous layer, and fluid streams are directed through the apertured member to act on the fibrous layer and then out through rhe permeable backing member. The apertured member is removed and the backing member with the fibrous material thereon is placed beneath an apertured member for a second time. It may in fact be the same apertured member as the first time but the second time, as indicated above, there is a different registry between given areas of the fibrous layer and backing member and the apertures. The fibrous layer is again treated with fluid passing through the apertured member through the fibrous layer and out through the permeable backing member. The fluid flow causes counteracting components of force to act beneath the land areas in the apertured members to rearrange fibers into yarn-like bundles. The fluid flow also causes other components of force to act on the fibrous layer to pack fiber portions into groups of pivotal packings in accordance with the pattern of permeable areas in the backing member. The fluid flow causes yet other components of force to act on the fibrous layer to form a continuous interconnecting pattern (the "second pattern" mentioned earlier) of highly entangled interlaced fibers, which are interconnected in the longitudinal and transverse direction of the fabric as well as through the thickness of the fabric.

Basically the method and apparatus for making the fabric of this invention can be as shown and described in U.S. Patent 2,862,251 issued December 2, 1958. Full particulars of the basic method and apparatus are disclosed in that patent and reference to the latter is recommended accordingly, although some of those particulars are repeated here.

In addition, the specific features peculiar to the method and apparatus for making the fabrics of the present invention are described in detail in this specification.

The starting material used with the method and apparatus for making the fabrics of this invention can be any of the standard fibrous webs such as oriented card webs, isowebs, air laid webs or webs formed by liquid deposition. The webs may be formed in a single layer or by laminating a plurality of the webs together. The fibers in the web may be arranged in a random matter or may be more or less oriented as in the card web. The individual fibers may be relatively straight or slightly bent. The fibers intersect at various angles to one another such that adjacent fibers come into contact only at the points where they cross. The fibers are capable of movement under forces applied by fluids e.g. water or air.

To produce the fabric having the characteristic hand and drape of a textile fabric, the starting material used with the method and apparatus of this invention may comprise: natural fibers, e.g. cotton or flax; mineral fibers e.g. glass; artificial fibers, e.g. viscose rayon or cellulose acetate; or synthetic fibers, e.g. the polyamides, the polyesters, the acrylics or the polyolefins; these being employed alone or in combination with one another. The fibers used are those commonly considered textile fibers, that is generally having a length from about 1/4" to about 2 to 2h". Satisfactory products may be produced in accordance with this invention from starting webs weighing between 80 grains per square yard to 2,000 grains per square yard or higher.

The apertured forming means used with the method and apparatus for making the fabrics of this invention has apertures disposed longitudinally and transversely across its area with land areas lying between the apertures. The forming apertures may have any desired shape, e.g. round, square, diamond, oblong or free form, and may be arranged in any desired pattern over the surface of the forming means.

The land areas of the apertured forming means that lie between and interconnect the forming apertures may be narrow or broad in comparison to the forming apertures as desired.

As two apertured forming means are used in the method and apparatus of the present invention, the apertured forming means may either be the same or different in size, shape, pattern, or any combination thereof of the apertures.

The backing means is a foraminous member and is usually a woven wire mesh with hills and valleys where the wires cross each other. The wires or filaments are woven fairly loose to produce openings or foramina in the backing member and depending on the properties of the filaments or wires used the configuration where one wire crosses another wire may vary in both depth and slope.

The rearranging fluid for use with this invention is preferably water or similar liquid or it may be other fluids such as gas as described in U.S. Patent 2,826,251.

Brief Description Of The Drawings The invention will be more fully described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a photomicrograph of a fabric of the present invention at an original enlargement of 16 times.

Figure 2 is a photomicrograph of another fabric of the present invention at an original enlargement of 4 times.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic showing in elevation of one type of apparatus for carrying out the method for producing fabrics of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a view in perspective of a portion of a backing member that can be used in the apparatus of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along iine 6--G of Figures 4 and 5.

Detailed Description Of Specific Embodiments Of The Invention Referring to the photomicrograph in Figure 1, there is shown a non-woven fabric 10 of the present invention. The fabric com prises a regular or predetermined pattern of areas in discontinuous portions of the fabric. Each area 11 is circular and has at least one pivotal packing of fiber segments 12. The pivotal packings protrude out of the plane of the fabric. The fiber segments in the pivotal packings are interentangled and in helter-skelter (i.e. random) arrange ment. The pivotal packings are attached to a yarn-like bundle 13. The yarn-like bundle comprises fiber segments in substantial parallelism and in close proximity. The pack ings and bundles are connected by groups of aligned fibers 14 which extend from the pivotal packings to the yarn-like bundles. In Figure 1, the circular areas are bound and interconnected throughout the fabric by highly entangled fibrous areas 15. The highly entangled and interlaced fibrous areas extend in all directions of the fabric including the thickness of the fabric.

Referring to the photomicrograph in Figure 2, there is shown another non-woven fabric 20 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the areas 21 containing the pivotal packings 22 of fibers are substantially square in configuration. The square areas contain pivotal packings 22 of entangled, helter-skelter (i.e. random) fiber arrangement and yarn like fiber bundles 23 with fiber segments in close proximity and substantial parallelism.

The pivotal packings 22 and the fiber bundles 23 are connected to one another by groups of ribbon-like fiber segments 24. The square areas are bound and interconnected throughout the fabric by highly entangled, interlaced fiber segments 25 with the fibers being interlaced in all directions including the thickness of the fabric.

In both Figures 1 and 2, it can be seen that portions of fibers extend into the discontinuous areas and in many instances through the discontinuous areas.

Description Of Machine And Method For Making Fabrics Of The Invention Referring to Figure 3 in the drawings, there is shown one form of apparatus for carrying out methods to produce products in accordance with the present invention.

Full particulars of this apparatus, except for the details of the novel aspects of the present invention, including methods of mounting, rotation, etc. are fully described in U.S.

Patent 2,862,251 issued December 2, 1958, and reference should thus be made to the latter for such particulars as are not described in complete detail herein. The apparatus of Figure 3 will in fact be described in general terms insofar as essential elements are the same in the patent just mentioned, and the novel elements of this apparatus, that is, the removal and replacement of the backing or supporting member, will be described in more detail.

The apparatus includes a rotatable perforated drum 30 suitably mounted on flange guide wheels 31 and 32. The drum has apertures 33 uniformly spaced over its entire surface. The guide wheels are mounted for rotation on shafts 34 and 35. Inside the drum there is stationarily mounted along the full width of the drum, a manifold 36 to which a fluid is supplied through conduit 37. On one side of the manifold is a series of nozzles 38 for directing the fluid against the inside surface of the drum. In the embodiment shown there is a second manifold 36a, for directing the fluid against the inside of the drum at another portion along the inside perimeter of the drum. A backing or supporting member 40 is arranged to travel with the drum 30 as will be described hereinafter. (The terms backing member and support member are used interchangeably throughout this description).

The support member as shown in the embodiments in Figures 4, 5 and 6 is foraminous. The support member 40 is formed from coarse woven screen, preferably metal, or it may be metal in one direction and textile filaments in the other direction, or other coarse woven screens. The screen has wires 51 running vertically in Figure 4 which are straight, while wires 52 running horizontally weave alternately over and under wires 51. Protuberances 53 are present throughout the foraminous screen as the top most part of each "knee" of a given strand 52 of the screen that is formed as the strand weaves over and under the strands 51 that lie perpendicular to it.

As a given strand 52 slants downward to pass under a strand 51 perpendicular to it, it crosses two other strands 52 disposed on either side of it, as those strands slant upward to pass over the same perpendicular strand that the given strand will pass under.

Each series of such "crossing points" 54 forms a trough, such as trough 55 formed by crossing points 54 in Figures 4 and 5 that lies between adjacent proturberances 53.

The effective shape of the trough 55, as can be best seen in Figure 5 (which shows a cross-section of element 40 of which a plan view is given in Figure 4) is substantially an inverted triangle.

A series of slightly deeper troughs 56 is formed between adjacent proturberances 53 but extending at right angles to troughs 55. As best seen in Figure 6, the bottom of each trough 56 is formed by portions of straight strands 51, with successive protuberances 53 on each side of the trough forming the tops of the troughs. As seen in Figure 6, the effective shape of trough 56 may be characterized as a shallow "U" shape.

As shown in Figure 5, a plurality of troughs 55 and a plurality of proturberances 53 alternate in one direction across the surface of the backing means. Figure 6 shows that a plurality of troughs 56 and a plurality of proturberances 53 alternate in a direction perpendicular to troughs 55. Hence a plurality of troughs and a plurality of proturberances alternate in both the longitudinal and transverse directions of the backing member 40.

The backing member 40 passes about the drum and separates from the drum at guide roll 41 which rotates on a shaft 42. The backing member passes downwardly around guide roll 43 rotating on a shaft 44 and then rearwardly over vertically adjustable tension and tracking guide roll 45 rotating on a shaft 46 and then around guide roll 47 on a shaft 48. The member passes upwardly and around guide roll 49 rotating on shaft 50 to be returned about the periphery of the drum.

The drum and supporting belt provide a rearranging zone between them through which a fiber starting material may move to be rearranged under the influence of applied fluid forces to a non-woven fabric having a plurality of patterns throughout its area.

Tension on the support member is controlled and adjusted by the tensioning and tracking guide roll. The guide rolls are positioned in slidable brackets which are adjustable to assist in the maintenance of the proper tension of the support member. The tension required will depend upon the weight of the fibrous web being treated and the amount of rearrangement and patterning desired in the final product.

Apertured drum 30 rotates in the direction of the relevant arrow in Figure 3, and support member 40 moves in the same direction and at the same peripheral speed as the drum, and within the indicated guide channels, so that both longitudinal and lateral translatory motion of the backing member, the apertured forming means, and the fibrous layer with respect to each other are avoided.

The fibrous material 60 to be rearranged is fed between the drum and support member at point A, passes through the first fiber rearranging zone where fluid rearranging forces are applied to it. The backing member with the fibrous material is then removed from the drum at point B and is placed back onto the drum at point C so that there is now a new relationship between the apertures in the drum, the fibrous material and the backing member, and is now passed through a second rearranging zone for a second rearrangement.

The fabric in its new form is removed from between the support member and the apertured drum at point D. As the fibrous material passes through the fiber rearranging zones, a liquid such as water is directed against the inner surface of the rotating apertured drum through the nozzles mounted inside the drum. The liquid passes through the drum apertures and through the fibrous web and hence through the backing member thereby affecting rearrangement of the fibers of the web. In the first rearranging zone, the liquid passes through in one manner and in one relationship of apertures, fibers and backing member, and in the second rearranging zone, the relationship of the apertures, fibers and backing member has been altered to obtain a second type of rearrangement.

Vacuum assist boxes 64 and 65 are located against the outside surface of the backing member. The vacuum boxes have a slotted surface located closely adjacent to the outer surface of the belt and through which suction is caused to act upon the web. Suction thus applied assists in rearrangement of the fibers as the web material passes through the rearranging zones. In addition it serves to help de-water the web and prevent flooding during fiber rearrangement.

The directions the streams of rearranging fluid projected through the apertures of the drum 30 take as they move into and through the fibrous web, determine the types of forces applied to the fibers and, in turn, the extent of rearrangement of the fibers.

Since the directions the streams of rearranging fluid take after they pass through the apertures 33 are determined by the foraminous backing member, it follows that it is a combination of the patterns in the drum and backing member that at least in part determines the patterns of holes and other areas of low fiber density in the resulting fabric.

The rearranged web or fabric of the present invention may be treated with an adhesive, dye or other impregnating, printing or coating material in a conventional manner. For example, to strengthen the rearranged web, any suitable adhesive bonding materials or binders may be included in an aqueous or non-aqueous medium employed as the rearranging fluid. Or an adhesive binder may, if desired, be printed on the rearranged web to provide the necessary fabric strength.

Thermoplastic binders may, if desired, be applied to the fibrous web in powder form before, during or after rearrangement, and then fused to bond the fibers.

The optimum binder content for a given fabric according to this irs, invention depends upon a number of factors, including the nature of the binder material, the size and shape of the binder members and their arrangement in the fabric, the nature and length of the fibers, total fiber weight or and the like. In some instances, because of the strength of the fibers used connected or the tightness of the interentangled areas connected to the discontinuous portions, no binder at all need be employed to provide a usable fabric.

Also, wood pulp fibers may be incorporated along with the textile fibers and rearranged along with the textile fibers.

Although we have described a single drum and belt or backing member unit wherein we take the belt away from the drum and then place it back on the drum, two drums and belts in series or more, may be used to accomplish the same objective. We can also use two drums and one belt with the belt going about a substantial portion of the periphery of one drum, being removed therefrom, and then going about a substantial portion of the periphery of a second drum.

Depending upon the number of times that we remove the belt and web from the aperture means and replace it thereto and, of course, on the amount of pressure used in the nozzles, we can determine the ultimate strength of the final fabric.

The fluid may be applied to the material at anywhere from about 30 pounds per square inch up to 200 to 250 pounds per square inch or even higher, though higher pressures are not required.

The following is an illustrative example of the method and apparatus of this invention to produce the novel patterned nonwoven fabrics of the present invention.

EXAMPLE In apparatus as illustrated in Figure 3, a web of loosely assembled fibers, such as may be obtained by air laying apparatus, is fed between an apertured forming drum and the backing member. The web weight is about 620 grains per square yard and its fiber orientation ratio approximately one to one. The web is made from viscose rayon fibers approximately 14 inches long of 1.5 denier.

Apertured forming means has about 120 substantially round holes per square inch, each approximately 0.065 inch in diameter.

The holes are arranged in a staggered pattern over the forming means. Each aperture is spaced on approximately 0.09 inch centers from immediately adjacent apertures on the drum both about the periphery of the drum and transverse of the drum.

The backing member is a woven polyester screen of approximately 23 by 23 mesh or substantially 529 openings per square inch.

The web is placed on the backing member and water is projected from nozzles through apertures in the apertured drum and thence through the fibrous web and the backing member into the vacuum assist box. The apertured forming means, web and backing means have a linear speed of 30 feet per minute.

Approximately 180 gallons per minute of warm water at 1100F. and pressures of about 190 psi are projected against the drum.

The backing member with the rearranged web thereon is removed from the drum and placed back on the drum as shown in the drawing. Water is again projected from nozzles through apertures-in the apertured drum and through the fibrous web and out the backing member into the vacuum assist box. Approximately 180 gallons per minute of water at pressures of about 190 psi are used in the second treatment.

The nozzles used in both treatments comprise four rows on one inch centers. Fourteen nozzles per row are used with the nozzles staggered in each row. Each nozzle has a diameter of 75mils.

With the conditions indicated, good fiber rearrangement and entanglement are obtained, and a non-woven fabric such as is shown in the photomicrograph in Figure 1 is produced.

The fabric produced is tested for tensile strength in both the machine direction and the cross direction of the final fabric. The machine direction tensile strength is 5 pounds and the cross direction tensile strength is 4.25 pounds. The fabric may be used as a wiping cloth or as a cover for an absorbent product or similar end uses. The fabric is very soft and absorbent.

The above detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only.

No unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:- 1. A non-woven fabric with a plurality of patterns of groups of fiber segments, units of which patterns alternate with one another and occur throughout the fabric, which comprises: groups of fiber segments in discontinuous portions of the fabric, said discontinuous portions forming a first pattern, each of said groups including at least one nub of fiber segments interentangled in a random arrangement, said nub protruding out of the plane of the fabric, each of said groups also including at least one yarn-like bundle of fiber segments wherein the fiber segments are in close proximity and substantial parallelism to one another, said first discontinuous portions of the fabric being bounded and interconnected by a continuous highly entangled, interlaced fibrous area, said continuous fibrous area forming a second pattern and the fibers in said continuous fibrous area being entangled in substantially all directions including the thickness of the fabric.

2. lie non-woven fabric of Claim 1 wherein said nubs are connected to said yarn-like bundles by ribbons of aligned fiber segments.

3. The non-woven fabric of Claim 1 wherein the discontinuous portions are cone shaped with the nubs all on the same surface of the fabric.

4. The non-woven fabric of Claim 1 wherein the discontinuous portions are square in shape.

5. The non-woven fabric of Claim 1 wherein each nub is substantially surrounded by yarn-like fiber bundles.

6. The method of producing a non-woven fabric having a plurality of patterns of groups of fiber segments, units of which patterns alternate with one another and occur throughout said fabric, from a layer of starting fibrous material the

Claims (11)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. may be obtained by air laying apparatus, is fed between an apertured forming drum and the backing member. The web weight is about 620 grains per square yard and its fiber orientation ratio approximately one to one. The web is made from viscose rayon fibers approximately 14 inches long of 1.5 denier. Apertured forming means has about 120 substantially round holes per square inch, each approximately 0.065 inch in diameter. The holes are arranged in a staggered pattern over the forming means. Each aperture is spaced on approximately 0.09 inch centers from immediately adjacent apertures on the drum both about the periphery of the drum and transverse of the drum. The backing member is a woven polyester screen of approximately 23 by 23 mesh or substantially 529 openings per square inch. The web is placed on the backing member and water is projected from nozzles through apertures in the apertured drum and thence through the fibrous web and the backing member into the vacuum assist box. The apertured forming means, web and backing means have a linear speed of 30 feet per minute. Approximately 180 gallons per minute of warm water at 1100F. and pressures of about 190 psi are projected against the drum. The backing member with the rearranged web thereon is removed from the drum and placed back on the drum as shown in the drawing. Water is again projected from nozzles through apertures-in the apertured drum and through the fibrous web and out the backing member into the vacuum assist box. Approximately 180 gallons per minute of water at pressures of about 190 psi are used in the second treatment. The nozzles used in both treatments comprise four rows on one inch centers. Fourteen nozzles per row are used with the nozzles staggered in each row. Each nozzle has a diameter of 75mils. With the conditions indicated, good fiber rearrangement and entanglement are obtained, and a non-woven fabric such as is shown in the photomicrograph in Figure 1 is produced. The fabric produced is tested for tensile strength in both the machine direction and the cross direction of the final fabric. The machine direction tensile strength is 5 pounds and the cross direction tensile strength is 4.25 pounds. The fabric may be used as a wiping cloth or as a cover for an absorbent product or similar end uses. The fabric is very soft and absorbent. The above detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only. No unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. A non-woven fabric with a plurality of patterns of groups of fiber segments, units of which patterns alternate with one another and occur throughout the fabric, which comprises: groups of fiber segments in discontinuous portions of the fabric, said discontinuous portions forming a first pattern, each of said groups including at least one nub of fiber segments interentangled in a random arrangement, said nub protruding out of the plane of the fabric, each of said groups also including at least one yarn-like bundle of fiber segments wherein the fiber segments are in close proximity and substantial parallelism to one another, said first discontinuous portions of the fabric being bounded and interconnected by a continuous highly entangled, interlaced fibrous area, said continuous fibrous area forming a second pattern and the fibers in said continuous fibrous area being entangled in substantially all directions including the thickness of the fabric.

2. lie non-woven fabric of Claim 1 wherein said nubs are connected to said yarn-like bundles by ribbons of aligned fiber segments.

3. The non-woven fabric of Claim 1 wherein the discontinuous portions are cone shaped with the nubs all on the same surface of the fabric.

4. The non-woven fabric of Claim 1 wherein the discontinuous portions are square in shape.

5. The non-woven fabric of Claim 1 wherein each nub is substantially surrounded by yarn-like fiber bundles.

6. The method of producing a non-woven fabric having a plurality of patterns of groups of fiber segments, units of which patterns alternate with one another and occur throughout said fabric, from a layer of starting fibrous material the individual fibrous elements of which are capable of movement under applied fluid forces, which method comprises; a) supporting said starting material on a foraminous member having a predetermined topography, b) treating said starting material while so supported with a first pattern of longitudinally and transversely spaced and simultaneously flowing fluid streams, c) removing said fluid streams while maintaining said treated material on said foraminous member, and d) treating said material with a second pattern of longitudinally and transversely spaced and simultaneously flowing fluid streams, said second pattern being out of register with the first pattern of longitudinally and transversely spaced fluid streams.

7. The method according to Claim 6 wherein the fluid streams are liquid streams.

8. The method according to Claim 6

wherein the pattern of longitudinally and transversely spaced fluid streams is the same in both treatments.

9. The method according to Claim 8 wherein the fluid streams are liquid streams.

10. Non-woven fabric substantially as described and shown in the accompanying drawings.

11. A method of producing a non-woven fabric substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.