NONWOVEN STRETCH FABRIC AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING THE SAME

摘要

A stretch nonwoven fabric 10 includes an elastic fiber layer 1 and inelastic fiber layers 2 and 3 having substantial inelasticity on the respective sides of the elastic fiber layer 1. The fiber layers 1, 2, and 3 are joined together over the entire area by thermal fusion at fiber intersections while the fibers of the elastic fiber layer 1 remain the fibrous form. The inelastic fiber layers 2 and 3 have part of their fibers enter the elastic fiber layer 1 and/or the elastic fiber layer has part of its fibers enter the inelastic fiber layers 2 and 3. The stretch nonwoven fabric is preferably produced by stacking an elastic fiber web and an inelastic fiber web on each other, applying a through-air system hot air treatment to the stack while the webs are in a non-united state to obtain a fibrous sheet having the webs united together, stretching the fibrous sheet in at least one direction, and releasing the fibrous sheet from the stretched state.