High lateral stretch nonwoven fabric

Abstract

The present invention relates to a nonwoven sheet comprising two surface layers of spunbond nonwoven material and an intermediate layer of meltblown nonwoven material, wherein the spunbond material of the surface layers comprises crimped fibers and has high inherent cross-machine elongation, and the fibers of the meltblown material of the intermediate layer comprise a thermoplastic elastomer and are weakly bonded. The present invention also relates to methods for producing such nonwoven articles, laminates comprising such nonwoven articles and elastic stretchable materials, and sanitary products comprising such nonwoven sheets or laminates.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a stretchable nonwoven sheet comprising two spunbond surface layers and a meltblown intermediate layer, and to a method for manufacturing these sheets. [Background technology]

[0002] In the hygiene industry, nonwoven sheets are widely used as materials for baby diapers and adult incontinence products. In many cases, for example, to manufacture the back year of an open diaper, the material is required to be elastically stretchable. One option for manufacturing an elastically stretchable material is to laminate an elastic nonwoven article with an elastic film or strand. The elastic film imparts elastic properties, while the nonwoven sheet layer makes the material appear and feel like an integrated part of the diaper. In such a structure, the nonwoven sheet itself does not need to have elastic properties, but its elongation, which means its ability to stretch, is a limiting factor in the overall elongation of the back year. Therefore, the nonwoven material should have considerable elongation properties. More specifically, in the manufacturing method of open diapers, the longitudinal direction of the back year, which requires elastic elongation, is usually the cross-machine direction (CD) of the nonwoven sheet, so it is advantageous for a nonwoven sheet laminated with an elastic film or strand to make the back year of a diaper to exhibit considerable elongation, especially in the cross-machine direction.

[0003] Given the current state of technology, nonwoven sheets with satisfactory inherent CD-direction elongation that can be manufactured at a reasonable cost are unavailable. As an alternative, it is known to pre-stretch an elastic film and then laminate a nonwoven sheet to both sides of the elastic laminate in a stretched state. When the elastic film is shrunk, the nonwoven sheet also shrunk, acquiring drape. The downsides of this approach are overuse of the nonwoven material, as well as increased thickness and a deterioration in the visual appearance of the final product. Another known method is to pre-stretch the nonwoven sheet by ring rolling or a similar method, which partially breaks the nonwoven structure and enhances its elongation properties. However, activation results in additional manufacturing steps, and the partially broken nonwoven structure creates an undesirable visual appearance. [Overview of the project]

[0004] The objective of the present invention is to provide a nonwoven sheet that has a satisfactory inherent CD elongation and can be manufactured at a reasonable cost. Against this backdrop, the present invention provides a method for producing a nonwoven sheet, the nonwoven sheet comprising two surface layers of spunbond nonwoven material and an intermediate layer of meltblown nonwoven material, wherein the spunbond material of the surface layers comprises crimped fibers, and the method includes the steps of: spinning crimped multicomponent fibers and laying them on a moving spin belt to form a web preceding one of the surface layers; meltblown the fibers and laying them on the surface of the web formed in the previous step to form a web preceding the intermediate layer; spinning crimped multicomponent fibers and laying them on the surface of the web formed in the previous step to form a web preceding the other of the surface layers; and bonding adjacent webs to form a nonwoven sheet by point bond hot calendering. According to the present invention, the fibers of the meltblown material of the intermediate layer comprise a thermoplastic elastomer, and the temperature of the calender's carving roll is at least 10°C and / or 5% lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the multicomponent fibers. The calender roll temperature refers to the surface temperature of the calender roll. In practice, the temperature is rarely measured at the surface; it is usually set by setting the temperature of the heating oil used to heat the roll by passing it through conduits inside the roll. The relationship between the oil temperature and the actual surface temperature is not linear and is influenced by several factors. However, in any case, the surface temperature is never higher than the oil temperature. In other words, the definition that the (surface) temperature of the calender's carving roll is at least 10°C and / or 5% lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the multi-component fiber includes the (narrower) definition that the temperature of the heating oil used to heat the roll is at least 10°C and / or 5% lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the multi-component fiber.

[0005] The present invention further proposes a nonwoven sheet manufactured by the method of the present invention, comprising two surface layers of spunbond nonwoven material and an intermediate layer of meltblown nonwoven material, wherein the spunbond material of the surface layers comprises crimped fibers, and the meltblown material of the intermediate layer comprises a thermoplastic elastomer and is weakly bonded. Point bond hot calendering almost always involves the use of a two-roll nip consisting of a heated carving roll (e-roll) and typically an equally heated smooth roll (s-roll). A multilayer web is fed by an apron leading to the calender nip, and the fiber temperature rises locally until, through tackiness and melting, the fiber segments sandwiched between the carving point tip and the smooth roll bond to each other. Process temperature, and especially the temperature of the engraving calender roll, are important parameters for bonding quality. Given a nip line pressure, e.g., 20-100 N / mm, preferably 30-70 N / mm, and a line speed, e.g., 100-400 m / min, preferably 200-350 m / min, the breaking strength reaches its maximum value at the critical bonding temperature. If the temperature of the calender's engraving roll is significantly lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the multi-component fibers, the critical bonding temperature will be significantly lower, resulting in weak bonding of the sheet, especially spunbond nonwoven materials. This means that the amount of fiber segments bonded at the engraving point is significantly reduced compared to the critical bonding temperature.

[0006] In the nonwoven sheet manufactured according to the present invention, the meltblown intermediate layer acts as an adhesive to the spunbond surface layer. Spunbond materials containing crimped fibers have a certain intrinsic elongation. However, even the intrinsic elongation of these materials is still limited. Intrinsic elongation can be increased by weak adhesion. However, if a weakly bonded sheet consists of only one or more layers of spunbond material, the sheet tends to be unstable and fuzzy. The present invention uses a meltblown layer of thermoplastic elastomer material between two surface layers of spunbond material. Due to the intrinsic tackiness of the newly formed thermoplastic elastomer meltblown fibers, the meltblown layer acts as an adhesive between the surface layers. It has been found that the tackiness of the elastic meltblown layer allows for weak adhesion of the surface layers without compromising the stability of the fabric. At the same time, since the meltblown fibers are manufactured from a thermoplastic elastomer, and therefore the layer itself is elastic, the additional layer does not hinder elongation to the extent that it at least offsets the positive effect of its ability to weakly adhere.

[0007] In contrast to techniques using spunbond layers formed from thermoplastic elastomer materials, the present invention aims to provide a nonwoven material that has inherent elastic stretchability and does not require lamination with an elastic film or strand. The sheet of the present invention is highly stretchable but has little to no inherent elasticity. In other words, when the sheet of the present invention is stretched, at least some of the deformation becomes permanent. The meltblown layer is formed from a thermoplastic elastomer and functions only as a linking element for the structural integrity of a weakly bonded web, but does not have sufficient strength to impart inherent elastic properties to the sheet. Where this specification refers to the temperature of the calender's engraving roll being at least a certain percentage, e.g., 5%, lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the multi-component fiber, the melting temperature is expressed in °C. Therefore, taking a polymer component with a melting point of 140°C as an example, 5% would be 7°C, and at least 5% lower than 140°C would be 133°C or less in absolute terms.

[0008] In embodiments, the temperature of the calender's carving roll can be at least 20°C, at least 30°C, or at least 40°C lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the multi-component fiber. In embodiments, the temperature of the calender's carving roll can be at least 10%, at least 20%, or at least 30% lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the crimped multi-component fiber. In embodiments, the absolute temperature of the calender's carving roll can be 130°C or less, 120°C or less, 110°C or less, 110°C or less, or even 90°C or less. As further explained above, temperature generally refers to the surface temperature of the roll, but this feature includes a (narrower) definition that the temperature of the heating oil used to heat the roll is at least a certain absolute temperature (°C) or relative temperature (%) lower than, or below, the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the multi-component fiber.

[0009] In the embodiment, the temperature of the smoothing rolls of the calender is lower than the temperature of the engraving rolls of the calender. Preferably, the temperature difference between the rolls is less than 20°C. Here again, the definitions in the embodiment can be applied to both the comparison between the surface temperature of the rolls and the temperature of the heating oil used to heat the rolls. The fibers forming the surface layer may include or consist of crimped multi-component fibers. For sufficient elongation, it is preferable that at least 70% by mass, preferably at least 80% by mass, and more preferably at least 90% by mass of the fibers are crimped multi-component fibers. In addition to improving flexibility and elongation, the crimped multi-component fibers impart improved softness and high bulkiness to these layers.

[0010] The crimped multi-component fiber has an arbitrary asymmetric cross-sectional distribution and is preferably a two-component fiber. A side-by-side fiber is preferred, but it may also be an eccentric-sheath-core structure or other known structures. In a preferred embodiment, one component of the fiber is polypropylene (PP), and the other component is a propylene-α-olefin copolymer material (co-PP). The copolymer is preferably a poly(propylene-ethylene) copolymer. In another embodiment, both components are polypropylene, but they are polypropylenes with different properties to cause crimping in the fiber.

[0011] The melting temperature of the polypropylene (PP) material used in the surface layer may, in one embodiment, be in the range of 150 to 170°C, preferably 155 to 165°C. The melting temperature of the propylene-α-olefin copolymer (co-PP) material used in the surface layer may, in one embodiment, be in the range of 140 to 160°C, preferably 145 to 155°C. The melting temperature (T) given herein m It is generally understood that the value is determined using DSC in accordance with ISO 11357-3. Typical melt flow rates for polymers used in two-component fibers can range from 10 to 50 g / 10 min. The melt flow rates expressed herein are generally understood to be those determined according to ISO 1133 under conditions of 230°C and 2.16 kg. The mass ratio of one component to another is preferably 20 / 80 to 80 / 20, more preferably 30 / 70 to 70 / 30, and even more preferably 40 / 60 to 60 / 40. Each spunbond surface layer may consist of a single layer, or it may consist of two or more layers in the SS structure.

[0012] To obtain sufficient adhesion, it is preferable that at least 10% by mass, preferably at least 50% by mass, and more preferably at least 90% by mass, of the material forming the intermediate layer meltblown fibers is a thermoplastic elastomer. In one embodiment, the meltblown fibers consist of 100% by mass of thermoplastic elastomer. From the viewpoint of adhesion, 100% by mass of TPE may be preferred. However, for processability, it may be advantageous to mix it with another thermoplastic polymer, such as ordinary thermoplastic polypropylene. When another thermoplastic polymer is used together with the TPE material in the production of meltblown fibers, it is preferable that this material has a melt flow rate. The melt flow rate of the polymer used in meltblown is usually higher than that of the polymer used in spun bonding. A typical value is greater than 500 g / 10 min, determined according to ISO 1133 using conditions of 230°C and 2.16 kg.

[0013] The thermoplastic elastomer may be a thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer (TPE-o), preferably a thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer comprising a propylene-α-olefin copolymer. Suitable TPE-o materials for use in the context of the present invention are, for example, those included in the Vistamaxx® series from ExxonMobil. One example is Vistamaxx® EXP520. Alternatively or additionally, other thermoplastic elastomer materials may be used, in the sense of a mixture, particularly thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or styrene block copolymer (TPE-s). In one embodiment, the thermoplastic elastomer material may contain, after the thermoplastic elastomer, a thermoplastic olefin such as homo-polypropylene in an amount of 20% by mass or less, preferably 10% by mass or less. The meltblown intermediate layer may consist of a single layer, or it may contain two or more layers in the MM structure.

[0014] The nonwoven sheet according to the present invention has a tensile strength at 100% elongation, preferably less than 0.65, and more preferably less than 0.55, and both the tensile strength at 100% elongation and the tensile strength at rupture are determined according to WSP110.4. The preferred quotient between the tensile strength at 100% elongation and the tensile strength at rupture is less than 0.50, less than 0.45, or even less than 0.40. Furthermore, the nonwoven sheet according to the present invention preferably has a cross-machine elongation at break in the cross-machine direction (CD) as measured according to WSP110.4 of at least 150%. The CD elongation at 5N is preferably at least 75% as measured according to WSP110.4. In one embodiment, the basis weight of each surface layer is 5-40 g / m². 2 Preferably 10-25 g / m 2 In one embodiment, the basis weight of the meltblown intermediate layer is 10 g / m². 2 The following are possible:

[0015] cloth surface 1cm 2The number of bonding points per unit may be less than 100, preferably less than 70, and preferably more than 30. The total surface area of ​​the fabric occupied by planar bonding points is less than 18%, preferably less than 15%, and preferably more than 8% in one embodiment. The surface layers on both sides of the intermediate layer may be identical or different. They can be configured individually according to the embodiments described above.

[0016] The present invention further relates to a laminate comprising a nonwoven sheet and an elastic stretchable material according to the present invention. The elastic stretchable material may be an elastic film or strand, an elastomer coating, an elastomer nonwoven article, a scrim, or the like. Preferably, the elastic stretchable material is sandwiched between two nonwoven sheets according to the present invention. Lamination can be carried out by ultrasonic bonding, thermal bonding, adhesive bonding, and other known techniques. In one embodiment, when laminating, the film may be pre-stretched and then relaxed, thereby causing the nonwoven sheet to shrink and acquire drape. While this may not be considered the optimal solution compared to the prior art using such workarounds, the inherent high elongation of the nonwoven sheet of the present invention reduces the degree of pre-stretching, resulting in increased thickness and reduced material usage. Furthermore, although this may not be considered the optimal solution, the nonwoven sheet or laminate of the present invention before lamination can be subjected to ring rolling for pre-stretching, but with less pre-stretching and consequently less impact than the less elastic nonwoven sheet of the prior art. Alternatively, the nonwoven sheet according to the present invention can also be used as a standalone product in hygiene products where elasticity is required. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a sanitary product comprising a nonwoven sheet or laminate according to the present invention. For example, the sanitary product may be an open diaper having diaper ears, and the nonwoven sheet or laminate according to the present invention can form at least a portion of the diaper ears. Further details and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the figures and examples described below. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] [Figure 1] This is a diagram of a schematic cross-section of the non-woven sheet of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a diagram of a typical process line for manufacturing the non-woven sheet of the present invention.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] In FIG. 1, a schematic cross-section of a sandwich-type stretchable non-woven sheet is shown. The sheet, generally indicated by reference numeral 100, includes an intermediate layer 130 covered on both sides by surface layers 110 and 120, respectively. Both surface layers 110 and 120 are spunbond non-woven fabrics formed from crimped multi-component fibers. The intermediate layer 130 is a meltblown non-woven fabric formed from fibers containing a thermoplastic elastomer material. Layers 110, 120, and 130 are hot calendar point bonded to each other, but the fabric is weakly bonded because a calendar temperature lower than that normally considered appropriate for adhesion is used. A typical process line for practicing the method of the present invention and manufacturing the non-woven sheet 100 shown in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2.

[0019] The process line includes a conveyor belt running along a first spunbonding machine 10 for forming one of the surface layers 110, two meltblowing machines 11 for forming the intermediate layer 130, a spunbonding machine 10 for forming the other surface layer 120, a pair of preliminary densification rollers behind each spunbonding machine 10, and an adhesion station 12 downstream of the four machines 10 and 11 and including a pair of calendar rolls, namely an e-roll 13 and an s-roll 14. Each span bonding machine 10 includes two storage tanks for polymer raw materials forming the two components of the two-component fiber, a mixing and supply channel, an extrusion die, an air channel for quenching and stretching, and an air suction device under the conveyor belt. Each melt blowing machine 11 includes a storage tank for a thermoplastic elastomer material, a feeder, an air manifold, a die, and an air suction device under the conveyor belt. Preliminary consolidation results in a slight integration between the fibers necessary to withstand further processing.

Example

[0020] ( Examples 1-7 )[[ID=CO]] The example described in Table 1 was prepared in the SMMS (spanbond, meltblown, meltblown, spanbond) line shown in FIG. 2 with the spanbond layer in a bulky state (including two-component fibers). The line parameters were a line speed of 268 m / min and a nip pressure of 52 N / mm. The adhesion pattern was an open dot adhesion pattern with an adhesion area of 13.6%.

Table 1

[0021]

Table 2

[0022] As already outlined above, the objective of the material of the present invention is to achieve a minimum CD elongation of 150% at fracture. In addition, it is desirable to achieve easy elongation. This can be measured by the properties of tensile elongation at 5N, tensile force at 100% elongation, and tensile force at 150% elongation. Furthermore, the slope of the tensile-elongation graph should be taken into consideration to ensure that the nonwoven web remains continuous and complete throughout the stretching of the nonwoven article.

[0023] Table 2 shows the measurement results for the nonwoven sheets in Examples 1-7. [Table 3] All values ​​in Table 2 were determined according to the WSP100.4 testing method.

[0024] A comparison of Examples 1 and 5 (both outside the scope of the present invention) demonstrates that when the sheet is weakly bonded, as in Example 1, the CD elongation at 5N is higher (improved). At the same time, the CD elongation at break does not reach the desired 150% in either case, and is even slightly worse in Example 1. Furthermore, the fact that the sum of the 100-150% gradients in Example 1 is negative proves that the sheet in Example 1 is no longer perfect in the elongation range above 100%. In contrast, embodiments of the present invention achieve easy elongation of the nonwoven sheet while maintaining the nonwoven sheet material and obtaining high CD elongation exceeding 150% at maximum load. Thus, the meltblown layer formed from the thermoplastic elastomer functions as an adhesive that keeps the nonwoven sheet intact while allowing the spunbond fibers to adhere weakly without the nonwoven sheet delaminating in layers during elongation.

[0025] For example, comparing Example 2 / 6 of the present invention with Comparative Example 5 instead of Comparative Example 1 demonstrates that when a thermoplastic elastomer is used in the M layer, the weakly bonded sheet has different and improved properties. The CD elongation at fracture is higher, exceeding the desired limit of 150%, and the CD elongation at 5N is even higher (improved), with the gradient from 100% to 150% remaining positive. The fact that both the absolute tension in Example 2 at the 100-150% gradient and the 150% elongation are higher than in Example 6 can be considered an indicator that the higher Vistamaxx content (75% by mass) in Example 2 maintains greater integrity of the nonwoven material than in Example 6 (50% by mass of Vistamaxx).

[0026] ( Examples 8-11 ) The examples described in Table 3 were prepared in a bulky state (including L, two-component fibers) using the SMMS (spunbond, meltblown, meltblown, spunbond) line shown in Figure 2. The line parameters were a line speed of 290-305 m / min and a nip pressure of 56-66 N / mm. The bonding pattern was an open-dot bonding pattern with a bonding area of ​​13.6%.

[0027] [Table 4]

[0028] [Table 5] The 708FB material is a standard polypropylene homopolymer meltblown grade manufactured by Borealis, with an MFR of 800 g / 10 min.

[0029] Examples 8, 9, and 10 are comparative examples outside the scope of the present invention because they do not contain TPE material in the meltblown core layer (Examples 8 and 9) and / or are not weakly bonded (Examples 9 and 10). Example 11 is an embodiment of the present invention. The measurement results for the nonwoven sheets of Examples 8-11 are shown in Table 4.

[0030] [Table 6] All values ​​in Table 4 were determined according to the WSP100.4 test method.

[0031] As is evident, the examples using TPE in the meltblown layer (Examples 10 and 11) exhibit superior tensile strength and much better elongation than the examples using standard meltblown grade material (Examples 8 and 9). Furthermore, as is evident from the last column of Table 4, both examples using TPE in the meltblown layer (Examples 10 and 11) show that the tensile force at 100% elongation is much smaller than the tensile force at fracture (0.65), and even less than 0.55. The comparison of the CD tensile force at 100% elongation and the CD tensile force at fracture is representative of the very easy elongation below 100% elongation, especially in the most useful range of 50–100% elongation. Among the examples using TPE in the meltblown layer (Examples 10 and 11), the weakly bonded embodiment of the present invention (Example 11) exhibits even better properties, including elongation at break (over 250%) and a quotient of tensile force at 100% elongation to tensile force at break of less than 0.40. In examples using standard meltblown grade materials (Examples 8 and 9), weak adhesion, such as in Example 8, far worsened these properties rather than improved them.

[0032] In summary, using an elastic polymer in the meltblown layer allows for weak adhesion of spunbond bulky fibers (by keeping the calender temperature below the normal bonding temperature). As a result, the spunbond fibers do not become a limiting factor for stretchability, and the elastic polymer in the meltblown layer acts as an adhesive layer that keeps the nonwoven web intact. The elastic polymer not only promotes higher stretchability itself, but also allows for particularly weak adhesion of spunbond fibers while avoiding the layered delamination of the nonwoven web that is usually seen when SS and SMS nonwovens (SMMS) are weakly bonded.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a nonwoven sheet, wherein the nonwoven sheet comprises two surface layers of spunbond nonwoven material and an intermediate layer of meltblown nonwoven material, the spunbond material of the surface layers comprises crimped multi-component fibers, and the method is as follows: The step of spinning crimped multi-component fibers and laying them on a moving spin belt to form a web preceding one of the surface layers; A step of melt-blowing fibers and laying them on the surface of the web formed in the previous step to form a web preceding the intermediate layer; The steps include: spinning crimped multi-component fibers and laying them on the surface of the web formed in the previous step to form a web preceding one of the other surface layers; and The steps include bonding adjacent webs together to form a nonwoven sheet by point bond hot carving, Includes inline steps, The fibers of the meltblown material in the intermediate layer contain thermoplastic elastomer (TPE); The temperature of the calender's engraving roll is determined using DSC in accordance with ISO 11357-3, and is at least 10°C and / or 5% lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the multi-component fiber. method.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the calender's engraving roll is at least 20°C, preferably at least 30°C, more preferably at least 40°C lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the crimped multi-component fiber, and / or the temperature of the calender's engraving roll is at least 10%, preferably at least 20%, more preferably at least 30% lower than the melting temperature of the lowest molten component of the crimped multi-component fiber.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the absolute temperature of the carving roll of the calendar is 130°C or less, preferably 120°C or less, and more preferably 110°C or less.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the temperature of the smoothing roll of the calender is lower than the temperature of the engraving roll of the calender, preferably the temperature difference between the engraving roll and the smoothing roll of the calender is less than 20°C.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the nip pressure of the calender is 20 to 100 N / mm, preferably 30 to 70 N / mm; and / or the line speed of the nonwoven sheet passing through the calender is 100 to 400 N / min, preferably 200 to 350 m / min.

6. The carving roller reaches 1 cm from the surface of the fabric. 2 The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the number of bonding points per unit is 30 to 70, the total area of ​​the fabric surface occupied by the bonding points is 8 to 15%, or both.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein one component of the crimped multi-component fiber is a polypropylene (PP) material, and another component of the crimped multi-component fiber is either a different polypropylene (PP) material or a propylene-α-olefin copolymer (co-PP) material, preferably a poly(propylene-ethylene) copolymer material.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the melting temperature of the polypropylene (PP) material is determined by DSC in accordance with ISO 11357-3 to be 150 to 170°C, preferably 155 to 165°C; and / or the melting temperature of the propylene-α-olefin copolymer (co-PP) material is determined by DSC in accordance with ISO 11357-3 to be 140 to 160°C, preferably 145 to 155°C.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the melt flow rate of all polymer materials used as components of the multi-component fiber is determined in accordance with ISO 1133 under the conditions of 230°C and 2.16 kg, and is 10 to 50 g / 10 min.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein at least 10% by mass, preferably at least 50% by mass, and more preferably at least 90% by mass of the material forming the meltblown fibers of the intermediate layer is a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material; and / or the thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material is a thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer (TPE-o) material, preferably a thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer material comprising a propylene-α-olefin copolymer.

11. A nonwoven sheet manufactured by the method of any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising two surface layers of spunbond nonwoven material and an intermediate layer of meltblown nonwoven material, wherein the spunbond material of the surface layers comprises crimped multi-component fibers, The intermediate meltblown material includes a thermoplastic elastomer; and Weakly bonded, Nonwoven sheet.

12. The nonwoven sheet according to claim 11, having a tensile strength at 100% elongation that is less than 0.65, preferably less than 0.55, of which both the tensile strength at 100% elongation and the tensile strength at 100% elongation are determined in accordance with WSP 110.

4.

13. A nonwoven sheet according to claim 11 or 12, having a break elongation in the cross-machine direction (CD) measured according to WSP110.4 which is at least 150%, a CD elongation at 5N measured according to WSP110.4 which is at least 75%, or both.

14. A laminate comprising a nonwoven sheet according to any one of claims 11 to 13, and an elastic stretchable material, preferably an elastic stretchable film.

15. A sanitary product comprising a nonwoven sheet according to any one of claims 11 to 13, or a laminate according to claim 14, wherein the sanitary product is an open diaper having diaper ears, and the nonwoven sheet or laminate forms at least a portion of the diaper ears.

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