Patents Examined by Norca L. Torres-Velazquez
  • Patent number: 7781353
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are extruded articles such as, for example, fibers and films, containing thermoplastic polymeric compositions having a copolymeric major component and a melt processable additive treatment, wherein the melt processable additives have enhanced segregation to or expression at the surface of the article, thereby improving the effect of the desired characteristic of the additive treatment. Also disclosed are multicomponent extruded thermoplastic articles having two or more distinct components arranged in a specific geometric arrangement, wherein the thermoplastic polymeric composition of at least one geometric component includes a copolymeric major component and a melt processable additive treatment. Also disclosed are web materials including the extruded articles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
    Inventors: Hue Scott Snowden, Michael David Powers, Roger Bradshaw Quincy, III
  • Patent number: 7776770
    Abstract: Knit fabric compositions have now been discovered that often have a balanced combination of desirable properties. Said fibric compositions comprise fibers of olefin block interpolymers or homogeneous branched ethylene polymers or a combination thereof. The fibers are characterized by an amount of crosslinking such that the fabric is capable of being molded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Assignee: Dow Global Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Jerry Chien Ting Wang, Fabio D'ottaviano, Shih-Yaw Lai, Hongyu Chen, Yuen-Yuen D. Chiu, Rio Aditya Akbar, Beverly Selle
  • Patent number: 7772139
    Abstract: Packaging using Gas Permeable Non-Woven Fabric based Film extends the shelf life of various fresh fruits and vegetables and vase life of fresh cut flowers by changing the atmosphere in which these living products are stored and respires. The high oxygen and carbon dioxide permeability of the Gas Permeable Non-Woven Fabric based Film establishes an ideal atmosphere for the specific perishable item, and therefore extends its shelf life. The establishment of lower oxygen and carbon dioxide atmospheres inside packages using Gas Permeable Non-Woven Fabric based film, also leads to reduction in the respiration rate of the perishable items. The reduction in the respiration rate prevents loss of moisture, production of metabolic heat, and yellowing, browning, reduction in production levels of ethylene. Thus the created atmosphere is able to extend shelf life, maintain high quality and preserve nutrients of fresh produce items by naturally regulating respiration of said produce/flower.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2010
    Inventor: Shubham Chandra
  • Patent number: 7763555
    Abstract: A composite flexible fabric is employed as a covering for an opening of a building, such as a window or door. The composite fabric protects the opening from hurricane force winds and associated flying objects. The composite fabric is formed from at least one layer of a fabric comprised of high tenacity fibers and at least one ultraviolet radiation resistant layer which is attached to the high tenacity fiber fabric. The UV resistant layer limits transmission of both UVA and UVB rays preferably to less than about 10% of the radiation incident upon such layer. Preferably, the UV resistant layer is a woven fabric, and the layer of high tenacity fibers is a woven fabric of extended chain polyethylene fibers. An adhesive layer may be used to enhance bonding between the fabric layer and the UV resistant layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2010
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Huy X. Nguyen, John E. Holland, Connie W. Holland
  • Patent number: 7763556
    Abstract: A composite flexible fabric is employed as a covering for an opening of a building, such as a window or door. The composite fabric protects the opening from hurricane force winds and associated flying objects. The composite fabric is formed from at least one layer of a fabric comprised of high tenacity polyolefin fibers and at least one layer of a plastic film. The film is attached to at least one surface of the high tenacity polyolefin fiber fabric. Each of the fabric layer and the film layer are sufficient translucent so as to permit light to enter the opening of the building. The fabric layer provides protection against high wind and impact from projectiles, and the film layer provides an impervious barrier to water, such as wind driven rain. An adhesive layer may be used to enhance bonding between the fabric layer and the film layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2010
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Huy X. Nguyen, John E. Holland, Connie W. Holland
  • Patent number: 7759267
    Abstract: A multi-layered fiber reinforced sheet for automotive vehicle interior structural components includes, in an exemplary embodiment, a permeable fiber reinforced thermoplastic core layer having a first surface and a second surface. The core layer includes a plurality of reinforcing fibers bonded together with a thermoplastic resin, and has a density of about 0.1 gm/cc to about 1.8 gm/cc. The multi-layered fiber reinforced sheet also includes at least one first reinforcing skin applied to the first surface of the core layer, and at least one second reinforcing skin applied to the second surface of the core layer. Each first and second reinforcing skin includes a matrix of reinforcing fibers and a thermoplastic resin wherein the matrix of reinforcing fibers applied to the first surface are arranged in a bi-directional orientation and the matrix of reinforcing fibers applied to the second surface are arranged in a bi-directional orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Assignee: Azdel, Inc.
    Inventors: Amy M. Conover, Scott Davis
  • Patent number: 7754627
    Abstract: The present invention provides an absorbent article imparting superior comfort during wearing without inhibiting an absorbent property of an absorbent body, and a manufacturing method thereof. In the stretchable non-woven fabrics composed of a stretchable thermoplastic fiber and a heat-adhesive fiber having a lower melting point than that of the thermoplastic fiber which is arranged on a skin non-contacting side of a chassis, a low-stretchability portion is formed, in which the stretchability of the stretchable non-woven fabrics is lowered, at least in a portion thereof which overlaps an absorbent body in a thickness direction. The low-stretchability portion is formed by heating and pressurizing the portion of an elasticized non-woven fabric being extended.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: Uni-Charm Corporation
    Inventors: Hirotomo Mukai, Tatsuya Hashimoto, Tomoko Tsuji, Akiyoshi Kinoshita, Hidefumi Goda, Masaharu Tomioka, Shinji Noma
  • Patent number: 7749923
    Abstract: A facing laminate for insulation products includes: a foil or metallized polymeric film sheet layer forming an inner layer of the laminate that is adapted be bonded directly to a surface of an insulation product; a paper composite sheet layer, which may include synthetic and/or inorganic fibers, forming an outer exposed layer of the laminate; and a scrim intermediate and bonded to the foil or metallized polymeric film sheet and paper composite sheet layers. The facing laminate may include a humectant and/or a water, oil, and/or grease repellant component. The paper composite sheet layer of the laminate exhibits greater dimensional stability and reduced wrinkling when the laminate is exposed to conditions of high humidity. Insulation products to be faced with this facing laminate include pipe insulation, duct board, duct wrap insulation, metal building insulation, and other building insulation products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: Johns Manville
    Inventors: Anthony Edward Moore, Melvin Glenn Mitchell, Monroe William Shumate, Edward Albert Bright, James W. Stacy
  • Patent number: 7749601
    Abstract: The invention concerns a flame-resistant spun staple yarns and fabrics and garments comprising these yarns and methods of making the same. The yarns have 50 to 75 parts by weight of a polymeric staple fiber containing a polymer or copolymer derived from a monomer selected from the group consisting of 4,4?diaminodiphenyl sulfone, 3,3?diaminodiphenyl sulfone, and mixtures thereof; 2 to 15 parts by weight of a fiber having low thermal shrinkage; 1 to 5 parts by weight of an antistatic fiber; and the remainder being flame resistant fibers having a limiting oxygen index of 21 or greater, based on 100 total parts by weight of the polymeric fiber, the low thermal shrinkage fiber, the antistatic fiber, and the flame resistant fibers in the yarn.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company
    Inventors: Reiyao Zhu, Vlodek Gabara
  • Patent number: 7749927
    Abstract: Tethered flange corners including at least one ply of barrier fibers and at least one fiber tow wrapped about the barrier fibers. Also included are flanges having a tethered corner containing at least one ply of barrier fibers, at least one fiber tow wrapped about the barrier fibers, at least one ply of filler fibers applied over the fiber tow, and at least one ply of flange fibers applied over the filler fibers. Additionally included are articles incorporating a composite structure having a flange with a tethered corner containing at least one ply of barrier fibers and at least one fiber tow wrapped about the barrier fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Lee Alan Blanton, Curt Brian Curtis, Frank Worthoff
  • Patent number: 7745356
    Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to adhesive compositions comprising selected ratios of crystalline and amorphous polymers. In some versions of the invention, polymers capable of existing in different configurations (e.g., a polymer such as polypropylene which can exist in an atactic, syndiotactic. or isotactic configuration) are used to prepare adhesives of the present invention. As an example, a selected amount of isotactic polypropylene is blended with a selected amount of atactic polypropylene to prepare an adhesive composition having one or more performance properties (e.g., bond strength) that are superior to the performance properties of a conventional hot-melt adhesive. The adhesive compositions of the present invention are suitable for use in the preparation of laminated disposable absorbent products.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2010
    Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy J. Blenke, Peiguang Zhou
  • Patent number: 7741235
    Abstract: A composite sheet that has a low basis weight and can inhibit adhesives from flowing out is provided. The composite sheet 1 according to the present invention is formed by bonding a stretchable nonwoven fabric 2 and a non-stretchable nonwoven fabric 3 to each other with adhesives 4. The stretchable nonwoven fabric 2 in an extended state is bonded to the non-stretchable sheet. The stretchable nonwoven fabric 2 has a plurality of strip-shaped non-dense regions 21 and a plurality of strip-shaped dense regions 22 formed on both its surfaces alternately and alternately in the transverse direction such that the dense regions 22 on one of the surfaces and the dense regions 22 on the other surface are not overlapped with each other. The stretchable nonwoven fabric 2 includes thermoplastic fibers that have been stretched at least partially and elastomer fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Assignee: Uni-Charm Corporation
    Inventors: Tatsuya Hashimoto, Hirotomo Mukai, Satoshi Mitsuno, Tomoko Tsuji, Kenichi Akaki
  • Patent number: 7741234
    Abstract: A fibrous structure product comprising one or more plies of fibrous structure; a basis weight from about 10 lbs/3000 ft2 to about 50 lbs/3000 ft2; from 16% to about 40% of hardwood fibers, in one embodiment eucalyptus fibers, wherein the starting hardwood fibers have a Runkel Ratio of from 4.5 to about 15 and a fiber count of from about 12 fibers/gram to about 35 fibers/gram; and a Residual Water Value from about 0.001 to about 0.18. In one embodiment the product comprises two or more plies of fibrous structure, a basis weight from about 25 lbs/3000 ft2 to about 50 lbs/3000 ft2 and from about 23% to about 40% of hardwood fibers. In another embodiment at least one of the piles of the fibrous structure product further comprises a plurality of embossments thereon comprising an embossment height of from about 600 ?m to about 1,200 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Dana Jacqueline Smith, LaRhonda Rachell Preston, Kevin Mitchell Wiwi, Ward William Ostendorf, Paul Dennis Trokhan
  • Patent number: 7736718
    Abstract: A laminate comprising a tough, flexible, hard layer and a cushion layer for uses such as in making a compact, athletic equine boot that resists turning on the animal's hoof when the animal such as a horse is jumping, running and turning in water, mud, sand and sawdust comprising a bell portion having a cushiony layer on the interior of a relatively rigid or hard shell, an internal compressible protrusion, a fastener to secure the boot on the hoof, the hard shell being flexible and strong to resist blows from over-reaching rear hooves. The invention also includes a method of making the laminate comprising a layer of a tough, flexible, strong material and a cushiony layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2010
    Assignee: Equibrand Products Group LP
    Inventor: Robby Wayne Wilson
  • Patent number: 7732355
    Abstract: A water-vapor permeable film. The film includes 90˜99 wt % polyurethane (PU) and 1˜10 wt % polyethylene (PE). The invention also provides a textile including the film.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2010
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Dan-Cheng Kong, Lien Tai Chen, Ruei-Shin Chen
  • Patent number: 7723246
    Abstract: A laminate material web has two webs of nonwoven fabric that lie on the outside, and film strips of an elastic film disposed between them, in sections, whereby the nonwoven fabric webs are connected with one another in the regions between the film strips. The film strips are connected with the inner surfaces of the nonwoven fabric webs only at the two longitudinal edges, in each instance, both on the top and on the bottom, and the nonwoven fabric webs have weakenings running in the web direction, in the regions that cover the film strips. A method for the production of a laminate material web is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Nordenia Technologies GmbH
    Inventors: Georg Baldauf, Marcus Schönbeck, Christoph Willing
  • Patent number: 7718249
    Abstract: The invention provides a non-woven fabric comprising at least two separate but interconnected layers, each of the layers being provided with discrete interconnections so as to provide discrete voids between the two layers of fabric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2010
    Assignee: Nonwovens Innovation & Research Institute Limited
    Inventors: Stephen J. Russell, Alireza Pourmohammadi, Ningtao Mao, Idris A. Ahmed, Manoj K. Rathod
  • Patent number: 7713892
    Abstract: A laminate sheet that can be easily produced together with improving the heat resistance and the water absorbency. Provided is a laminate sheet prepared by laminating plural sheet materials by a resin composition, wherein the resin composition is comprised of an aromatic polyamide resin and an epoxy group-containing phenoxy resin having an epoxy group in the molecule, and the resin composition is a polyamide resin composition that contains 30 to 50% by mass of the epoxy group-containing phenoxy resin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2010
    Assignees: Nitto Shinko Corporation, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Dupont Teijin Advanced Papers (Japan) Limited
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Kihara, Yoshiki Takahashi, Hidenori Takayama, Masanori Imai, Yasunori Tanaka, Shinji Naruse, David Wayne Anderson
  • Patent number: 7709094
    Abstract: Disclosed is a co-extruded water-proof and moisture-permeable film structure, including a top skin layer, a core layer, and a bottom skin layer. The top and bottom skin layers include polyolefin or polyurethane and the core layer comprise polyurethane. The core layer is disposed between the top and bottom skin layers. If polyurethane is adopted in top and/or bottom skin layers, the polyurethane of the skin layers has lower moisture and vapor permeability than the polyurethane of the core layer. The described film can be manufactured by co-extruded bubble blown or co-extruded casting. In addition, the film can be laminated to a fabric to form a water-proof and moisture-permeable textile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Dan-Cheng Kong, Ruei-Shin Chen, Yih-Her Chang
  • Patent number: RE41539
    Abstract: A breathable composite sheet material, a method for making such a sheet material, and an absorbent article utilizing the sheet material are provided. The composite sheet material is comprised of a thermoplastic film adhered directly to a fibrous substrate. The thermoplastic film comprises at least 50% by weight of a polymer material from the group of block copolyether esters, block copolyether amides and polyurethanes. The substrate comprises a fibrous web of at least 50% by weight of polyolefin polymer synthetic fibers. The composite sheet exhibits a peel strength of at least 0.1 N/cm, a dynamic fluid transmission of less than about 0.75 g/m2 when subjected to an impact energy of about 2400 joules/m2, and a moisture vapor transmission rate, according to the desiccant method, of at least 1500 g/m2/24 hr.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Nora Liu Carroll, Hyun Sung Lim, George Joseph Ostapchenko, Shailaja R. Vaidya, J. Michael McKenna, John Joseph Curro, Gary Dean Lavon, Richard L. Sparks