Appeal No. 97-4294 Page 28
Application No. 08/294,155
moisture, generally have a weight-average size of about 75 to
800 microns, preferably about 100 to 500 microns. Bair
teaches that generally, the SAP particles amount to about 5 to
50 per cent by weight of the composite article, preferably
about 25 to 40%.
Bair discloses that the fibrous web into which the SAP
particles are dispersed can be prepared from commercially
available fiber and can be assembled by carding, air-laying,
or the like to form the web. The individual staple fibers of
the web can have the same or different compositions, lengths
and decitex. Fibers having an average length in the range of
3.5 to 10 cm are suitable. Lengths averaging in the range of
4 to 6 cm are preferred for good cotton-system carding. Bair
teaches that in one embodiment of his invention, the web
comprises two types of fibers, matrix fibers and binder
fibers. The binder fibers have a lower melting temperature
than the matrix fibers, usually by 3° to 50° C. For example,
the matrix fibers can be of polyethylene terephthalate
homopolymer and the binder fibers can be of an 80/20
polyethylene terephthalate/isophthalate copolymer. Bair
Page: Previous 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007