Claims
- 1. A flexible sheet of crystallizable material having opposed first and second surfaces, said flexible sheet comprising:(a) a plurality of crystalline regions located in said first surface; (b) an amorphous matrix surrounding and separating said crystalline regions from one another; and, wherein said flexible sheet is formed into a three-dimensional structure having a caliper substantially greater than the thickness of the material from which it is made.
- 2. The sheet of claim 1, wherein said crystalline regions are separated from one another by valleys formed by said amorphous matrix.
- 3. The sheet of claim 1, wherein said crystalline regions are arranged to form a regular ordered pattern in said first surface.
- 4. The sheet of claim 1, wherein said crystalline regions are arranged to form an amorphous pattern in said first surface.
- 5. The sheet of claim 1, wherein said crystalline regions extend from said first surface to said second surface.
- 6. The sheet of claim 1, wherein said crystalline regions extend from said first surface inwardly into said sheet a distance less than the thickness of said sheet, such that a region of said second surface corresponding to said crystalline region exhibits amorphous characteristics.
- 7. The sheet of claim 1, wherein said sheet comprises polyethylene terepthalate.
- 8. The sheet of claim 1, wherein said crystalline regions form an amorphous pattern.
- 9. The sheet of claim 1, wherein said sheet includes a plurality of apertures such that said sheet is fluid pervious, said sheet further including an absorbent layer adjacent said second surface and a fluid impervious backing sheet adjacent said absorbent layer.
- 10. The sheet of claim 1, wherein said first surface is textured.
- 11. The sheet of claim 10, wherein said first surface includes unitarily formed texturing.
- 12. The sheet of claim 10, wherein said first surface includes externally applied texturing.
- 13. A method of making a flexible, cut resistant, and abrasion resistant sheet material, said method comprising the steps of:(a) providing a sheet of crystallizable amorphous material having opposed first and second surfaces; (b) three-dimensionally macroscopically expanding said sheet material; and, (c) crystallizing discrete regions of said first surface of said sheet of material, said discrete regions being separated from one another by a continuous amorphous matrix.
- 14. The method of claim 13, further including the step of rendering said sheet of material fluid pervious.
- 15. The method of claim 13, wherein said crystallized regions extend fully between said first and second surfaces.
- 16. The method of claim 13, wherein said crystallized regions on said first surface overlie regions of amorphous material on said second surface.
- 17. The method of claim 13, further including the step of texturizing said first surface.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said texturing step includes the addition of additional materials to said first surface.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation-in-part of our commonly-assigned, co-pending prior application Ser. No. 09/336,495, filed Jun. 18, 1999 abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/336495 |
Jun 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/358136 |
|
US |