Thermoformed, resiliently compressible article from nonwoven fabric

摘要

The present invention provides a resiliently compressible, cloth-like thermoformed article produced from a lofty nonwoven crimped-fiber substrate web containing a structural fiber component and an heat-activatable adhesive component and having a density between about 0.01 g/cm<3> to about 0.1 g/cm<3>. Additionally provided is a process for producing the thermoformed article. The process includes the steps of heating the web to melt the adhesive component and to make the web pliable without melting the structural fiber component, shaping the web on a mold by lightly applying a pneumatic or mechanical conforming pressure, and cooling the shaped web to solidify the melted adhesive component and to form interfiber bonds, wherein the thermoformed article has a density-over-area ratio between about 1 and about 1.8.