초록 ▼

Resilient battery separator media, especially adapted for use as battery separators for starved electrolyte batteries, are formed from air laid, fibrous mats of randomly oriented, entangled microfibers which may be needled to further entangle the fibers. The fibrous mats may be essentially uniform i

Resilient battery separator media, especially adapted for use as battery separators for starved electrolyte batteries, are formed from air laid, fibrous mats of randomly oriented, entangled microfibers which may be needled to further entangle the fibers. The fibrous mats may be essentially uniform in density throughout their thickness or may include one or two relatively high density, high tensile strength fibrous surface layer(s) and a relatively low density, more resilient fibrous layer integral with and, in one embodiment, intermediate the two surface layers wherein the fibers in the surface layer(s) of the mats are more entangled than the fibers in the resilient layer. The fibrous mats, with one or two surface layers, are formed from the air laid fibrous mats by further entangling the fibers at and adjacent one or both surfaces of the mats, e.g. through hydroentanglement, relative to the entanglement of the fibers in the resilient fibrous layer. The fibrous mats with substantially uniform densities may be made by flooding the air laid mats with a liquid and drawing a vacuum though the mats. Preferably, no organic binders are used in the mats. However, the fibers of the mats may be treated with an acid solution to hydrolyze the surfaces of the fibers and bond the entangled fibers together at their points of intersection.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method of making resilient fibrous, battery separator media comprising:air laying glass microfibers having a mean diameter between about 0.5 and about 2.0 microns to form a resilient fibrous mat of randomly oriented, entangled glass microfibers having a weight between a

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method of making resilient fibrous, battery separator media comprising:air laying glass microfibers having a mean diameter between about 0.5 and about 2.0 microns to form a resilient fibrous mat of randomly oriented, entangled glass microfibers having a weight between about 50 and 450 grams per square meter of surface area, and a density, and a tensile strength; the air laid fibrous mat having first and second major surfaces for contacting major surfaces of electrode plates of a battery in which the air laid fibrous mat is installed as a separator and a resilience in a direction perpendicular to the major surfaces of the air laid fibrous mat for maintaining the major surfaces of the air laid fibrous mat in contact with the major surfaces of the electrode plates while undergoing repeated compressions and expansions during a service life of the battery.