Claims
- 1. A homogeneous polymeric product produced from molecularly oriented melt spun or gel spun fibers of thermoplastic polymer, said product being produced by a process comprising the steps of:
- forming an assembly of molecularly oriented thermoplastic melt spun or gel spun fibers of thermoplastic polymer;
- applying a contact pressure to said assembly sufficient to ensure intimate contact by the polymer fibers with each other;
- heating said assembly of polymer fibers to an elevated temperature sufficient to selectively melt between 5 and 50% by weight of the polymer fibers while in intimate contact with each other, the molten polymer on cooling recrystallizing to form a melt phase which has a melting point less than the melting point of the fibers and which binds said fibers together; and
- subsequently compressing said bound fibers at a compaction pressure higher than said contact pressure while still maintaining said assembly at an elevated temperature to produce said product, said product having higher strength in a direction transverse to said fibers as compared to a product produced without application of a contact pressure.
- 2. A product according to claim 1, wherein said thermoplastic polymer fibers are selected from the group consisting of homo- and copolymers of a polyolefin.
- 3. A product according to claim 1, wherein said thermoplastic polymer fibers are polyethylene fibers.
- 4. A product according to claim 1, wherein said thermoplastic polymer fibers are fibers of a polymer selected from the group consisting of a vinyl polymer, a polyester, a polyamide, a polyetherketone and a polyacetal.
- 5. A product according to claim 1, wherein said polyester is polyethylene terephthalate.
- 6. A product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the molecularly oriented polymer fibers are fibers that have been melt spun or gel spun and then drawn.
- 7. A product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polymer is a polyolefin.
- 8. A product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recrystallized melt phase is derived from between 5 to 20% by weight of the molecularly oriented polymer fiber.
Priority Claims (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
9104781 |
Mar 1991 |
GBX |
|
PCT/GB92/00401 |
Mar 1992 |
WOX |
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Parent Case Info
This is a Rule 60 Division of application Ser. No. 08/315,680 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,946 filed Sep. 30, 194, which is a Rule 62 Continuation application of Ser. No. 07/934,500, filed Oct. 21, 1992, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (18)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0 116 845 |
Jan 1984 |
EPX |
0 201 029 |
Apr 1986 |
EPX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary, The Riverside Publishing Company, p. 766, 1984. |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
315680 |
Sep 1994 |
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
934500 |
Oct 1992 |
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