Classifications

• • 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
  • D04H1/425—Cellulose series
  • D04H1/4258—Regenerated cellulose series
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L13/00—Implements for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
  • A47L13/10—Scrubbing; Scouring; Cleaning; Polishing
  • A47L13/16—Cloths; Pads; Sponges
• • 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
  • D04H1/44—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 the fleeces or layers being consolidated by mechanical means, e.g. by rolling
  • D04H1/46—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 the fleeces or layers being consolidated by mechanical means, e.g. by rolling by needling or like operations to cause entanglement of fibres
  • D04H1/492—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 the fleeces or layers being consolidated by mechanical means, e.g. by rolling by needling or like operations to cause entanglement of fibres by fluid jet
• • 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
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T442/00—Fabric [woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.]
  • Y10T442/60—Nonwoven fabric [i.e., nonwoven strand or fiber material]
  • Y10T442/69—Autogenously bonded nonwoven fabric
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T442/00—Fabric [woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.]
  • Y10T442/60—Nonwoven fabric [i.e., nonwoven strand or fiber material]
  • Y10T442/696—Including strand or fiber material which is stated to have specific attributes [e.g., heat or fire resistance, chemical or solvent resistance, high absorption for aqueous compositions, water solubility, heat shrinkability, etc.]
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T442/00—Fabric [woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.]
  • Y10T442/60—Nonwoven fabric [i.e., nonwoven strand or fiber material]
  • Y10T442/697—Containing at least two chemically different strand or fiber materials

Definitions

• the invention relates to fabrics for use in wiping liquids and/or particles from surfaces.
• du Pont de Nemours and Company DuPont
• Such nonwovens have been used in cleanrooms rated as Class 100 or higher in accordance with Federal Standard 209E, Sept. 11, 1992, however, typically they have not been fully accepted as suitable for critical cleanroom applications rated as Class 10 or lower (i.e., cleaner).
• the standard shows the maximum number of airborne particulates at a given size.
• Class 100 has a maximum of 100 particles per cubic foot at a size of 0.5 micrometer
• Class 10 has a maximum of 10 particles per cubic foot at the same size.
• This invention is directed to a wiping material comprising a polyester nonwoven fabric that has been cleanroom laundered and is adapted for use in cleanrooms rated as Class 10 or cleaner.
• the invention is also directed to a method of using a nonwoven fabric for wiping in cleanrooms rated as Class 10 or cleaner.
• wipe-dry is not merely a desirable feature in a cleanroom wiping material from a housekeeping point of view, but is a critical feature in wiping up spills of dirty liquids and, by extension, in the removal of particles from surfaces.
• the following two methods are among the most useful of these wet tests.
• the first is a test for the number of readily releasable particles found on a wiper as set forth in Mattina, C. F., and Paley, S. J., “Assessing Wiping Materials for their Potential to Contribute Particles to Clean Environments: A Novel Approach,” Particles in Liquids and Gases 2: Detection Characterization and Control, K. L. Mittal, editor, 117-128, Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York (1990).
• a second method involves the construction of a characteristic curve for each wiper as presented in Mattina, C. F., and Paley, S.
• a wiping speed of 25 cm/s was used as being more realistic of actual wiping than 50 cm/s.
• a 50-cm stainless steel tray was used whose inside long dimension of 45 cm provided a free distance of about 36 cm in front of a 1-kg sled.
• the sled's footprint had dimensions of 114 mm on an edge to accommodate wiping materials that had been quarter-folded from their most common size of 229 mm by 229 mm (9 inches by 9 inches).
• sled stainless steel, 1 kg, 114 mm ⁇ 114 mm base; a curved leading edge on the base of the sled forms a lip to which the quarter-folded sample is attached using a spring-loaded clip. Two stainless steel screws are affixed to either outboard edge of the sled in the leading curved edge.
• dispenser Brinkmann Bottletop Buret, Model 25, for reproducible and accurate delivery of volumes of liquid
• apparatus a polyester string is attached to the sled at the stainless steel screws, forming a yoke.
• a second polyester string (about 4 ft long) is attached at the midpoint of the yoke. The string is used to pull the sled by hand at a rate of about 25 cm/sec.
• a i the intrinsic sorptive capacity of a wiper is not already known, determine it on a separate ply of the material using the procedure of IEST-RP-CC004.2 as referenced above. From the calculated A i , and the measured mass of each wiper, calculate the per-ply capacity A ip [mL/g] for each wiper. This quantity is needed in order to know what fraction of the sorptive capacity is represented by each volume of liquid challenge.
• DWE can be presented as a function of the absolute volume of the challenge, v c , and as a function of the challenge relative to A i .
• the relative challenge is expressed as 100 v c /A ip .
• a quarter-folded wiper (attached as described above to the under-side of the sled and pulled across a clean stainless steel pan) was drawn through a challenge of water in which were dispersed poly(styrene) spheres of known dimension and concentration. After the sled and fabric were removed from the tray, the particles and liquid remaining on the tray were dispersed in clean water and counted with a discrete-particle counter. The particles left behind from the challenge were presented versus the volume of the liquid challenge, v c , and versus the challenge expressed as a percentage of the fabric's sorptive capacity, 100 v c /A ip .
• the water challenge was dosed with a fairly large number of spheres, (about 10 ⁇ 10 6 ), so that, after wiping and subsequent dilution, a sufficient number of the spheres would remain so as to be distinguishable from the background count of the clean water.
• spheres with diameters of 1.59 micrometers were chosen so that measurements could be safely made in the 1.0 to 3.0 micrometer channel of the discrete-particle counter.
• the spheres were deposited using a microliter syringe, the plunger of which was incrementally adjusted until 10 ⁇ 10 6 spheres could be delivered reproducibly. This portion of the work was done in a horizontal, laminar-flow clean workstation (Atmos Tech, Model 6302).
• spheres poly(styrene), particle-deposition standards, Duke Scientific Surf-Cal Scanner, PD 1600, 1.59 micrometers at a concentration of 3 ⁇ 10 8 /mL
• water Millipore system consisting of a reverse osmosis unit (Milli-RO 10 Plus), an arrangement of filters and ion exchange beds Milli-Q UF Plus), and a 0.2 micrometer filter (Millipak 40) at the point of use
• particle counter PMS Microlaser Particle Spectrometer ( ⁇ LPS) fitted with a Corrosive Liquid Sampler, Model 200
• PRA can be presented as a function of the absolute volume of the challenge, v c , and as a function of the challenge relative to A 1 .
• the relative challenge is expressed as 100 v c /A ip
• Example 1 was DURXTM 670, a hydroentangled, nonpatterned nonwoven fabric of 55% wood pulp and 45% (poly)ethyleneterephthalate having an average basis weight of 70.6 grams per square meter (g/m 2 ). The material is available from Berkshire Corporation, Great Barrington, Mass.
• Example 2 was MICROFIRSTTM, a hydroentangled, 24-mesh patterned nonwoven fabric of 45% wood pulp and 55% (poly)ethyleneterephthalate having an average basis weight of 54.2 g/m 2 .
• the material is available from Berkshire Corporation.
• Comparative Example 3 was SUPERPOLX 1200TM, a cleanroom laundered, knitted, fabric of 100% (poly)ethyleneterephthalate having an average basis weight of 154 g/m 2 and with unsealed edges. The material is available from Berkshire Corporation.
• Example 4 was DyNamixTM 4990Q, a hydroentangled, 40-mesh patterned nonwoven fabric of 42% lyocell and 58% (poly)ethyleneterephthalate having an average basis weight of 75.2 g/m 2 .
• the material is available from Berkshire Corporation.
• Example 5 was DyNamixTM 6900Q, a cleanroom laundered, hydroentangled fabric of 100% (poly)ethyleneterephthalate having an average basis weight of 112 g/m 2 .
• the starting nonwoven fabric is Sontara® 8007 which was cleanroom laundered as indicated below.
• the laundered material DyNamixTM 6900Q is available from Berkshire Corporation.
• Comparative Example 6 was TexWipe® TX309, a woven fabric of 100% cotton having an average basis weight of 173 g/m 2 .
• the material is available from The Texwipe Company, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
• Comparative Example 7 was Alpha 10® TX1010, a cleanroom laundered, knitted, fabric of 100% (poly)ethyleneterephthalate having an average basis weight of 141 g/m 2 and with sealed edges. The material is available from the Texwipe Company.
• Comparative Example 8 was PROWIPE 880, a spunbonded fabric of 100% (poly)propylene having an average basis weight of 85.9 g/m 2 .
• the material is available from Berkshire Corporation.
• Example 9 was DyNamixTM 5900Q, a hydroentangled fabric of 100% lyocell having an average basis weight of 102 g/m 2 .
• the material is available from Berkshire Corporation.
• sorptive capacity and the releasable particles were determined for each example using the Po test which is found in IEST-RP-CC0004.2. The results are presented in the following table. It is further noted that the following results were for particles in the 1-3 micrometer range. Sorptive capacity is expressed in mL/g and releasable particles as 10 6 /m 2 .
• Tables 2 and 3 present data for challenge volumes of 10 milliliters (mL) and approximately 130% of sorptive capacity, respectively.
• TABLE 2 capacity % capacity liquid sorbed Example mL/ply for 10 mL mL % 1 15.6 64.1 9.41 94.1 2 14.4 69.4 8.96 89.6 3 23.5 42.6 9.89 98.9 4 21.3 46.9 9.18 91.8 5 22.4 44.6 9.84 98.4 6 12.3 81.3 8.38 83.8 7 16.3 61.3 8.40 84.0 8 23.4 42.7 4.35 43.5 9 34.8 28.7 9.90 99.0
• Example 5 exhibited very good properties conducive to critical cleanroom wiping applications, especially as tested by the newly developed methods.
• the hydroentangled lyocell fabric of Example 9 was found to be an excellent candidate for critical cleanroom applications, particularly in dynamic wiping efficiency (DWE).
• DWE dynamic wiping efficiency
• the results of the particle removal ability (PRA) tests showed that hydroentangled fabrics of pulp/polyester (Examples 1 and 2) and lyocell/polyester (Example 4)had surprisingly higher ratings especially when tested at volumes of challenge liquids that exceeded the intrinsic sorptive capacity of the material.
• These examples of low-cost hydroentangled fabrics represent a significant advance for general wiping applications and, particularly for use in the critical cleanroom applications.
• the subject nonwoven fabrics equal and often exceed the performance of knitted fabrics in the comparative exmples that heretofore were considered the industry standard, especially in cleanroom applications.
• meltspun nonwoven fabric having substantially continuous filament polymer fibers would be useful in the subject invention.
• Such fabrics have continuous filaments, as do the aforementioned knitted fabrics.
• the polymer fibers can be polyesters or polypropylene or bicomponent fibers of polyester and polypropylene as described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application with Docket Number SS-2911, filed on Dec. 20, 1999 and also assigned to DuPont.
• Inventive Example 10 is a cleanroom laundered DyNamixTM 6900QL as used in Example 5, above.
• Comparative Example 11 is Sontara® style 8007, which is essentially the same fabric as in Example 10 except that it was not cleanroom laundered.
• Comparative Example 12 was Sontara® style 8000 with a low basis weight of 39.9 g/m 2 that was not laundered, but treated with surfactant to improve its sorptive properties.
• Comparative Example 13 is SUPERPOLX 1200, a polyester knit having been cleanroom laundered as in Example 3, above.
• the inventive Example 10 exhibits excellent cleanliness data, low fiber shedding, and excellent sorbency. It also exceeds the unlaundered example in ion contamination.
• Comparative Example 11 is reasonably clean based on biaxial shake number, but exhibits medium to high fiber shedding, and very poor sorbency.
• Comparative Example 12 is deficient by comparison in particle burden, sorbency capacity and rate, extractable matter, and ion burden.
• the treatment with surfactants while helpful in increasing sorptivity, resulted in greater amounts of undesirable ions.
• Comparative Example 13 is similar to the inventive fabric in terms of biaxial shake particles and ions. Being continuous filament, it excels in low fiber shedding, but it did not perform as well as the inventive fabric in sorptive capacity.
• the Particle Removal Ability results show the superior cleaning ability of the inventive fabric of Example 10, which left only 11,000 particles from a 10 million-particle challenge compared to 5.3 million particles left by its unlaundered counterpart, Comparative Example 11. Particularly relevant is that Example 10 out-performed Comparative Example 13, which left 73,000 particles in its wake. It is especially surprising that the inventive fabric combined excellent cleanliness properties as determined by conventional static means, as well as superior sorptive properties and excellent performance in particle removability (functional cleanliness).

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Cleaning Implements For Floors, Carpets, Furniture, Walls, And The Like (AREA)
• Nonwoven Fabrics (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Related Parent Applications (1)

Publications (1)

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Citations (6)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1999
  • 1999-12-21 KR KR10-2001-7007791A patent/KR100441928B1/ko not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-12-21 WO PCT/US1999/030481 patent/WO2000037724A2/fr not_active Ceased
  • 1999-12-21 ID IDW00200101326A patent/ID28961A/id unknown
  • 1999-12-21 EP EP99968157A patent/EP1139851A2/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 1999-12-21 CN CNB998148431A patent/CN1192134C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1999-12-21 JP JP2000589771A patent/JP2002533139A/ja active Pending
  • 1999-12-21 CA CA002351723A patent/CA2351723A1/fr not_active Abandoned
• 2004
  • 2004-04-28 US US10/833,422 patent/US20040198128A1/en not_active Abandoned

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