DISPOSABLE FABRIC

1,188,506. Laminated non-woven material. KIMBERLEY-CLARK CORP. 11 April, 1967 [28 April, 1966], No. 16622/67. Heading B5N. A non-woven web material comprising a unitary multi-component structure comprises top and bottom layers 14, 11 of cellulose wadding, i.e. so called creped tissue paper, a " highly drafted " inner layer 13, 12 of substantially aligned fibres adjacent to each of the wadding layers with the fibre direction in one fibre layer being disposed angularly to the fibre direction in the other fibre layer, adhesive being disposed in spaced pattern layers 15, 15a between each wadding layer and its adjacent fibre layer, the adhesive of each of the adhesive layers partially penetrating its adjacent wadding layer, the fibres in each of the fibre layers being partially embedded in and held by the adjacent adhesive layer, and a portion of the adhesive in each of the adhesive layers joining the adhesive in the other of the adhesive layers at regularly spaced points throughout the structure in areas where the adhesive patterns are superimposed and where adhesive extends between the fibres in each of the fibre layers. A " highly drafted " layer is one in which at least 80% of the fibres are extended to their full length in side-by-side relationship and are substantially aligned in one direction. The material may be manufactured by applying the pattern of adhesive 15 to the wadding layer 11 and joining the fibre layer thereto whilst under tension by hot calendering to form a component A. This is then joined to a component B consisting of similarly connected layers 13, 14 and adhesive 15a, by further hot calendering, which softens the adhesive and joins the patterns 15, 15a where they overlap. The wadding layers may be formed on paper making machines to have a high crepe factor which is then reduced by stretching and ironing before lamination. The wadding layers may include melamine- or urea-formaldehyde, or polyalkylene polyamide, resin to give them wet strength. The fibre layers 12, 13 may be of staple fibres or continuous synthetic filament tow and are preferably of rayon, nylon, polyesters, acrylonitriles, polyethylene or polypropylene. The adhesives may be plastisols, e.g. of vinyl chloride polymers, or copolymers of vinyl chloride with other vinyl resins plasticized by organic phthalates, sebacates, adipates, or phosphates, or may be resins per se, e.g. polyvinyl acetate, alkyl acrylate, butadiene-styrene or butadiene-acrylonitrile resins. Other patter