NONWOVEN LAMINATE

Abstract

The invention provides a nonwoven laminate, comprising in order (A) to (E): a spunbond nonwoven layer (A) comprising fibres, which comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and copolyester; an optional spunbond nonwoven layer (B) comprising fibres, which comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and copolyester, the nonwoven layer (B) having a higher copolyester content than nonwoven layer (A); a needled staple fibre nonwoven layer (C), comprising: monocomponent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) staple fibres (c1), and multicomponent staple fibres (c2), which comprise at least a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) component and a copolyester component; an optional spunbond nonwoven layer (D) comprising fibres, which comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and copolyester, the nonwoven layer (D) having a higher copolyester content than nonwoven layer (E); a spunbond nonwoven layer (E) comprising fibres, which comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and copolyester; wherein all layers are melt-bonded to each other.

Claims

1. A nonwoven laminate, comprising in order a spunbond nonwoven layer (A) comprising fibres, which comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and copolyester; an optional spunbond nonwoven layer (B) comprising fibres, which comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and copolyester, the nonwoven layer (B) having a higher copolyester content than nonwoven layer (A); a needled staple fibre nonwoven layer (C), comprising: monocomponent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) staple fibres (c1), and multicomponent staple fibres (c2), which comprise at least a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) component and a copolyester component; an optional spunbond nonwoven layer (D) comprising fibres, which comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and copolyester, the nonwoven layer (D) having a higher copolyester content than nonwoven layer (E); a spunbond nonwoven layer (E) comprising fibres, which comprise polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and copolyester; wherein all layers are melt-bonded to each other.

2. The nonwoven of claim 1, wherein none of layers (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) is mechanically bonded to any other of layers (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E).

3. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1, wherein the needled staple fibre nonwoven layer (C) is heat-shrunk.

4. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1, wherein none of the layers contain a polyolefin.

5. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1, wherein none of the layers contain inorganic reinforcements.

6. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1, wherein the laminate has at least one of the following characteristics: a bending strength according to ISO 178:2019-04 of 330 MPa; a tensile strength according to ASTM 5034:2009 of 780 N; and/or a tear strength according to DIN EN 29073-3:1992-08 of 110 N.

7. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1, wherein the copolyester in layers (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) is a copolymer of polyethylene terephthalate, said copolymer having a melting point of 240 C.

8. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1, wherein layers (A) and (E) each comprise 10% to 70% copolyester.

9. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1, wherein at least one of comprising spunbond nonwoven layer (B) and spunbond nonwoven layer (D) are present and wherein the fibres of spunbond nonwoven layer (B) and/or spunbond nonwoven layer (D) comprise copolyester; and/or spunbond nonwoven layer (B) and/or spunbond nonwoven layer (D) have a basis weight according to DIN EN 29073-1:1992-08 of 1 to 100 g/m2.

10. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1, wherein needled staple fibre nonwoven layer (C) comprises 10 to 90% of monocomponent staple fibres (c1) and 10 to 90% of multicomponent staple fibres (c2), and/or has a basis weight according to DIN EN 29073-1:1992-08 of 1700 g/m2.

11. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1 wherein: the nonwoven laminate comprises layers (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E); the copolyester in layers (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) is a copolymer of polyethylene terephthalate, said copolymer having a melting point of 160 to 240 C.; each of spunbond nonwoven layer (B) and spunbond nonwoven layer (D) comprises copolyester and each has a basis weight according to DIN EN 29073-1:1992-08 of 10 to 20 g/m2; and needled staple fibre nonwoven layer (C) comprises 40 to 60% of monocomponent staple fibres (c1) and 40 to 60% of multicomponent staple fibres (c2).

12. The nonwoven laminate of claim 1 wherein: the nonwoven laminate comprises neither spunbond nonwoven layer (B) nor spunbond nonwoven layer (D); the copolyester in layers (A), (C) and (E) is a copolymer of polyethylene terephthalate, said copolymer having a melting point of 160 to 240 C.; and needled staple fibre nonwoven layer (C) comprises 40 to 60% of monocomponent staple fibres (c1) and 40 to 60% of multicomponent staple fibres (c2).

13. A moulded article comprising a nonwoven laminate according to claim 1.

14. A vehicle comprising: a body; and an underbody shield comprising the nonwoven laminate according to claim 1.

15. A process for producing the nonwoven laminate according to at least of claim 1, comprising: preparing a needled stable nonwoven layer (C) by needling; providing in order layers (A) to (E); and melt-bonding layers (A) to (E) to each other.

16. The nonwoven laminate of claim 4, which does not contain polypropylene.

17. The nonwoven laminate of claim 5, which does not contain glass fibres.

18. The nonwoven laminate of claim 8, wherein layers (A) and (E) each comprise at least 30% copolyester.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0112] Exemplified embodiments of the invention and aspects of the invention are shown in the figures.

[0113] FIG. 1 shows schematically and in exemplified form individual layers of a preferred five-layer nonwoven laminate in accordance with the present invention.

[0114] FIG. 2 shows schematically and in exemplified form individual layers of a preferred three-layer nonwoven laminate in accordance with the present invention.

[0115] FIG. 3 shows schematically and in exemplified form a pie-segment filament construction which can especially be used in a spunbond nonwoven layer in accordance with the present invention.

[0116] FIG. 4 shows schematically and in exemplified form a sheath-core filament construction which can especially be used in a spunbond nonwoven layer in accordance with the present invention.

[0117] FIG. 5 shows schematically and in exemplified form a side-by-side filament construction which can especially be used in a spunbond nonwoven layer in accordance with the present invention.

[0118] FIG. 6 shows the results of acoustic measurements on nonwoven laminates in accordance with the present invention.

[0119] FIGS. 7a to 7c are microscopic images of a mechanically bonded (needled) nonwoven produced according to US 2016/0288451 A1.

GENERAL CONSTRUCTION AND PRODUCTION OF NONWOVEN LAMINATES

[0120] In FIG. 1, a preferred five-layer nonwoven laminate 1 in accordance with the present invention is shown. The five-layer nonwoven laminate 1 comprises a first outer layer 2 (corresponding to layer (A)), a first adhesive layer 3 (corresponding to layer (B)), a core layer 4 (corresponding to layer (C)), a second adhesive layer 5 (corresponding to layer (D)), and a second outer layer 6 (corresponding to layer (E)). The layers of this laminate are not mechanically bonded to each other. Rather, the layers of this laminate are exclusively melt-bonded to each other.

[0121] In one embodiment, an advantageous fibre preparation is carried out before needling the staple fibres (c1) and (c2) into core layer 4. More specifically, before the needling process, fibres (c1) and (c2) are opened from bales, mixed and carded. Thereafter, fibres (c1) and (c2) are cross-lapped and passed onto a needling machine. An alternative fibre preparation is done with an airlay or air-laid process in which the opened fibres are collected on a suction band and needled. The core 4 is pre-shrunk by application of heat to avoid shrinkage during a subsequent moulding process. Staple fibres (c1) and/or (c2) preferably have a staple length in the range of 10 mm to 150 mm, more preferably of 40 mm to 100 mm. The core layer 4 preferably has a basis weight between 100 g/m2 and 2000 g/m2.

[0122] In one embodiment, the core layer 4 contains a mixture of 10 to 70% of virgin or recycled PET staple fibres (c1) in combination with 30 to 90% of bicomponent fibres (c2). The bicomponent fibres have a sheath-core construction in which the sheath has a melting point that is less than the melting point of the core. The bicomponent fibres preferably assume a variety of geometric configurations, such as side-by-side, sheath-core, segmented pie or island-in-the-sea structures.

[0123] In one embodiment, the binder polymer in a bicomponent fibre (c2) is selected based on its melting point. In a preferred sheath-core configuration as shown in FIG. 4, the core 11 preferably consists of PET and the sheath 10 preferably consists of a copolyester having a melting point of <200 C. One particularly preferred binder fibre has a sheath-core filament configuration. The core 11 consists of PET having a melting point of >250 C., i.e. of about 260 C., and the sheath 10 comprises a copolyester having a lower melting point in the range between 110 C. and 180 C.

[0124] In one embodiment, the core layer 4 is preshrunk to avoid further shrinkage in a subsequent moulding process. The pre-shrinkage is carried out after the needling process. The needled staple fibres are processed through an oven which is normally set above the melting point of the low melting copolymer. For example, for bicomponent fibres having a sheath polymer which has a melting point of 180 C., the temperature set for the oven may be more than 180 C.

[0125] In one embodiment, the outer layers 2 and 6 are coarse denier spunbond nonwoven layers weighing between 10 and 500 g/m.sup.2. The spunbond is a PET-based filament having a circular construction with an amount of 1 to 50% of copolyester. The copolyester melts during a moulding process and helps to adhere to the adjacent layer. In addition, the basis weight of layers 2 and 6 is significantly lower than the weight of layer 4. This can be desirable under circumstances where one desires a light overall weight of the final part and cost reduction.

[0126] The layer between the core layer 4 and the outer layers 2 and 6, i.e. layer 3 and/or layer 5, is a copolyester-based spunbond nonwoven layer. This copolyester-based spunbond nonwoven layer is used to enhance the bonding of the outer layers to the core layer, i.e. it is an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer 3, 5 comprises a low melting co-polyester. Its weight preferably ranges from 1 g/m.sup.2 to 50 g/m.sup.2.

[0127] In FIG. 2, a preferred three-layer nonwoven laminate 7 in accordance with the present invention is shown. The layers of this laminate are not mechanically bonded to each other. Rather, the layers of this laminate are exclusively melt-bonded to each other.

[0128] In one embodiment, the core layer 4 is pre-shrunk to avoid shrinkage during a subsequent moulding process. The core layer 4 has a basis weight between 100 g/m.sup.2 and 2000 g/m.sup.2.

[0129] In one embodiment, the outer layers 2 and 6 are coarse denier spunbond nonwoven layers weighing between 10 and 500 g/m.sup.2. The spunbond is a PET-based filament having a circular construction with an amount of 1 to 50% of copolyester. The copolyester in all present layers 2 to 6 melts during a moulding process and helps to adhere to the adjacent layer. The fibres of the nonwoven laminate, in particular the fibres containing copolyester, may thereby partially or fully lose their fibrous structure in the laminate after melt-bonding. A resulting structure is encompassed by the inventive nonwoven laminate.

[0130] The difference between the configuration of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is that in FIG. 2 the adhesive layers 3 and 5 are not used. Instead, the amount of copolyester in the outer layers 2 and 6 is usually increased. This can be realized by adopting one of the configurations described in FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0131] After the preferred five-layer construction 1 or the preferred three-layer construction 7 is formed as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, i.e. is formed by establishing a melt-bond, but no mechanical bond, between the respective layers, it is in the condition for moulding into a desired shape for a particular vehicular underbody. The layered construction can preferably be moulded in two different ways: in a cold mould process or in a hot mould process.

[0132] In FIG. 3, a pie-segment filament construction is shown. This construction is useful for spunbond nonwoven layer 2, 3, 5 and/or 6 as well as for multicomponent staple fibres (c2). The shown pie-segment filament construction has eight segments alternatingly consisting of PET segments 8 and copolyester segments 9. It may alternatively have a filament construction with 16, 32 or 64 segments alternatingly consisting of PET segments 8 and copolyester segments 9. During a moulding process, the low melting copolyester melts and provides rigidity to the material.

[0133] In FIG. 4, a sheath-core filament construction is shown. This construction is useful for spunbond nonwoven layer 2, 3, 5 and/or 6 as well as for multicomponent staple fibres (c2). The shown bicomponent filament construction consists of a sheath 10 consisting of low melting copolymer and of a core consisting of PET 11 having a higher melting point. During a moulding process, the low melting copolyester melts and provides rigidity to the material.

[0134] In FIG. 5, a side-by-side filament construction is shown. This construction is useful for spunbond nonwoven layer 2, 3, 5 and/or 6 as well as for multicomponent staple fibres (c2). The shown side-by-side filament construction consists of one side 13 consisting of the low melting copolymer and of another side 12 consisting of PET having a higher melting point. During the moulding process, the low melting copolyester melts and provides rigidity to the material.

EXAMPLES

Example 1Cold Mould Process

[0135] Materials for the construction of a nonwoven laminate and for an underbody shield comprising the nonwoven laminate:

Staple fibres (for core layer 4): 50% monocompoment staple fibres (c1):
Material: r-PET
Staple length: 64 mm
Fineness: 6.7 dTex
50% bicomponent staple fibres (c2):
Configuration: sheath-core Material: sheath of PET;
core of copolyester having a melting point of 180 C.
Staple length: 51 mm
Fineness: 5 dTex
Spunbond (for outer layers 2 and 6):

Material: 90% PET;

[0136] 10% copolyester of PET (CoPET)
Basis weight: 90 g/m.sup.2

Thickness: 0.33 to 0.59 mm

[0137] Filament diameter: 25-60 m
CoPET spunbond (for adhesive layers 3 and 5):
100% copolyester of PET (CoPET)
Basis weight: 16 g/m.sup.2

Thickness: 0.15 to 0.45 mm

[0138] Filament diameter: 25-60 m

[0139] The staple fibres were mixed in a ratio of 50%:50%. The staple fibres were then carded, cross-lapped and needled. The needles used were Groz-Beckert 36 gg fine needles with a total needling intensity of 350 needles/cm.sup.2. The needling depth was set at 10 mm on both sides. The needled material was then passed through a through air oven which was heated up to 200 C. at a rate of 10 C./min. This heating of the needled material activated the bicomponent fibres. This made the material coming out of the oven to be stiff. A core layer 4 was thereby produced. The core layer 4 was then passed through a set of calendar rollers where the CoPET adhesive layers 3 and 5 and outer layers 2 and 6 were introduced on both sides. The calendar pressure was set at 25 bars on both sides and at a temperature of 200 C., thereby producing a nonwoven laminate. In this nonwoven laminate, all layers 2 to 6 are melt-bonded to each other. None of layers 2 to 6 is mechanically bonded to any of the other layers. The produced laminate was then sheet-cut.

Underbody Shield:

[0140] The sheet-cut material was introduced into an oven heated up to 210 C. for 3 min (in case of an through air oven) or 1 min (in case of an infra-red oven). The material became soft due to the heat. It was then transferred immediately to a cold press where the material was moulded at high pressure (50 tons or more).

Acoustic Measurements:

[0141] Samples of produced underbody shields were tested for their acoustics properties in an instrument called Alpha-Cabin. In an Alpha-Cabin, the tested sample is laid either near to the wall or the ground with an air gap of 2 mm. The absorption coefficient of the samples is then measured by a series of sensors in the cabin. The results of the Alpha-cabin test for samples having a moulded thickness of 3 mm, 4 mm and 5 mm are shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Frequency Moulded thickness (Hz) 3 mm 4 mm 5 mm 250 0.02 0.03 0.03 315 0.02 0.01 0.03 400 0.01 0.02 0.05 500 0.01 0.02 0.08 630 0.04 0.05 0.10 800 0.05 0.06 0.14 1000 0.07 0.11 0.22 1250 0.11 0.15 0.26 1600 0.17 0.23 0.37 2000 0.21 0.31 0.47 2500 0.33 0.43 0.61 3150 0.44 0.53 0.67 4000 0.52 0.62 0.72 5000 0.68 0.74 0.78 6300 0.75 0.81 0.85 8000 0.82 0.86 0.90 10000 0.83 0.91 0.90
In FIG. 6, the results for the flat moulded samples with a thickness of 3 mm, 4 mm and 5 mm are graphically shown by applied sound frequency (abscissa) vs. absorption coefficient as (ordinate). The higher the sound absorption coefficient as, the better is the acoustic performance of the tested sample. It is seen that the sound absorption coefficient increases with increasing thickness of the tested sample.

Example 2Cold Mould Process

[0142] In the cold mould process, a nonwoven laminate is preheated at a temperature range between 180 C. and 220 C. for 1 to 5 min depending on the basis weight. This is to activate the low melting copolyester which acts as a binder. By activating the binder, it melts and forms a kind of glue between the virgin or recycled PET fibres. It also acts as a glue between the staple fibre nonwoven layers and the spunbond nonwoven layers. After activating, the nonwoven laminate is placed in a compression mould. The compression mould may then compress all or a portion of the nonwoven laminate at a tonnage of 50 tons to 200 tons. The nonwoven laminate is allowed to remain in the mould for up to 60 seconds. The compressed nonwoven laminate is allowed to cool inside or outside the mould to allow the copolyester fibres in the staple fibres and in the spunbond construction to cool below their melting point. Thereafter, the nonwoven laminate is converted to its final shape. The final thickness of the material is between 2 mm and 6 mm depending on the requirements of the intended application. The nonwoven laminate is then trimmed as required, which may be achieved by mechanical, thermal or waterjet cutting.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 SF with Only staple needled Nonwoven Proper- fibre spunbond laminate ties Unit Standard (comparative) (comparative) (inventive) Weight g/m.sup.2 DIN EN 1000 980 1000 29073-1 Bending MPa ISO 178 333 300 438 strength Tensile N ASTM 640 708 970 strength 5034 Tear N DIN EN 91 96 165 strength 29073-3
In Table 2, the Only staple fibre sample was a 2 mm thick single layer needled PET web comprised of 50% recycled polyester staple fibre and the remaining 50% PET bicomponent fibre. The bicomponent fibre had a PET core with a PET copolymer sheath with a melting point in the range of 75 C. to 230 C.
SF with needled spunbond refers to a layered structure in accordance with the disclosure in US 2016/0288451 A1. The layered structure had two outer PET spunbond layers at a basis weight of 90 g/m2 and a middle layer of needled staple PET staple fibres at a basis weight of 800 g/m2. The two outer PET spunbond layers were needled into the middle layer of needled staple PET staple fibres. The two outer PET spunbond layers were thereby mechanically bonded to the middle layer of needled staple PET staple fibres. No melt-bonding of those layers to each other occurred. The layered structure had an initial overall thickness of 7.0 mm. The layered structure was then compression moulded to a final thickness of 2 mm.
Nonwoven laminate refers to a nonwoven laminate in accordance with the present invention. The nonwoven laminate had two outer PET spunbond layers at a basis weight of 90 g/m.sup.2 and a middle layer of heat-set needled PET staple fibres at a basis weight of 800 g/m.sup.2. The two outer PET spunbond layers were melt-bonded to the middle layer of heat-set needled PET staple fibres. No mechanical bonding of those layers to each other occurred. The nonwoven laminate had an initial overall thickness of 7.0 mm. The nonwoven laminate was then compression moulded to a final thickness of 2 mm. The needled staple fibres with a density of 650 g/m.sup.2 were sent into the oven for heat-setting. The heat-setting resulted in shrinkage. After shrinkage a desired weight of 800 g/m.sup.2 was obtained. The spunbond is not needled onto the core, but instead melt-bonded. The used spunbond had a higher amount of copolyester, which ensured better bonding between the layers.

[0143] As can be seen from Table 2, the results of the mechanical property testing confirm that the nonwoven laminate sample significantly increases the bending, tear and tensile strength. Without being bound to theory, it is believed that the reason for the increase of the bending strength is the presence of a high amount of binder material, which holds the spunbond straight enough to produce a flat surface. The inclusion of spunbond itself helps to the increase the tear strength because of the endless calendared filaments in the spunbond.

Example 3Hot Mould Process

[0144] In the hot mould process, the nonwoven laminate is placed between a pair of hot compression mould plates. The plates are then allowed to close to a desired thickness which is less than the thickness of the material. For example, if the nonwoven laminate thickness is 6 mm, the thickness between the plates is between 2 mm and 5 mm. The moulding plates are heated to a temperature in the range of 180 C. to 220 C. The nonwoven laminate then is compressed for 1 to 3 min depending on the basis weight, which is to activate the low melting copolyester (or binder). By activating the binder, it melts and forms a glue between the virgin or recycled PET fibres. Also, it acts as a glue between the staple fibres and the spunbond. The compression of all or of a portion of the nonwoven laminate may be done at a tonnage of 50 tons to 200 tons. The compressed nonwoven laminate is allowed to cool inside or outside the mould to allow the binder fibres in the staple fibres and in the spunbond construction to cool below their melting point. Thereafter, the nonwoven laminate is converted to its final shape. The final thickness of the material is between 2 mm and 6 mm depending on the requirement of the intended application. The nonwoven laminate is then trimmed as required, which may be achieved by mechanical, thermal or waterjet cutting.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 SF with Only staple needled Nonwoven Proper- fibre spunbond laminate ties Unit Standard (comparative) (comparative) (inventive) Weight g/m.sup.2 DIN EN 1000 980 1000 29073-1 Bending MPa ISO 178 575 471 760 strength Tensile N ASTM 1021 1114 1420 strength 5034 Tear N DIN EN 93 120 158 strength 29073-3
The Only staple fibre, the SF with needled spunbond and the Nonwoven laminate were the same as described in Example 2. As can be seen from Table 3, similar trends as in Table 2 are noticed which confirm the significant enhancement of bending, tear and tensile strength for the nonwoven laminate sample. The values of bending strength and tensile strength are higher for hot mould samples in comparison with cold mould samples. Without being bound to theory, it is believed that this is because of the hot surface of the plates being in contact with the sample directly, which in turn melts the fibres and forms a thin plastic sheet on both sides of the needled web.

Example 4Weight Variation

[0145] Mechanical properties were also tested for moulded nonwoven laminate samples having a thickness of 2 mm at varying weights of 1000, 1200 and 1400 g/m.sup.2. The test results are shown in Table 4.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Properties Unit Standard Nonwoven laminate Weight g/m.sup.2 DIN EN 1000 1200 1400 29073-1 Bending MPa ISO 178 438 500 594 strength Tensile N ASTM 970 1172 1315 strength 5034 Tear N DIN EN 165 201 222 strength 29073-3

[0146] As can be seen from Table 4, a linear increase in the mechanical properties with respect to the basis weight was observed. A higher weight means a higher amount of staple fibres, as the weight of spunbond remained the same. A higher amount of staple fibres results in a higher percentage of bicomponent fibres and hence in more binder material, which in turn results in more stiffness and enhanced mechanical property values.

Example 5 (Comparison)Mechanically Bonded Nonwoven Laminate

[0147] FIGS. 7a, 7b and 7c are microscopic images of a needled nonwoven produced according to US 2016/0288451 A1. The fibre layers thereof have been joined mechanically be needling, i.e. they are mechanically bonded to each other. Reference numeral 14 indicates regions of lower fibre density which are due to the needling. It is seen that some fibres of one layer (the core layer) extend into and penetrate through the adjacent layer (spunbond outer layer). An intermingling of the respective fibres is thereby formed, which leads to a mechanical bond between the two layers. Such a bonding may lead to deformation upon further compression and moulding of the layered structure, resulting in an uneven product with a wavy appearance (elephant skin).

[0148] The inventive nonwoven laminate can avoid such drawbacks by exclusively melt-bonding the layers of the laminate to each other. No mechanical bonding is thus present in the inventive laminate, only melt-bonded layers are present.

[0149] While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill within the scope of the following claims. In particular, the present invention covers further embodiments with any combination of features from different embodiments described above and below. Additionally, statements made herein characterizing the invention refer to an embodiment of the invention and not necessarily all embodiments.

[0150] The terms used in the claims should be construed to have the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the foregoing description. For example, the use of the article a or the in introducing an element should not be interpreted as being exclusive of a plurality of elements. Likewise, the recitation of or should be interpreted as being inclusive, such that the recitation of A or B is not exclusive of A and B, unless it is clear from the context or the foregoing description that only one of A and B is intended. Further, the recitation of at least one of A, B and C should be interpreted as one or more of a group of elements consisting of A, B and C, and should not be interpreted as requiring at least one of each of the listed elements A, B and C, regardless of whether A, B and C are related as categories or otherwise. Moreover, the recitation of A, B and/or C or at least one of A, B or C should be interpreted as including any singular entity from the listed elements, e.g., A, any subset from the listed elements, e.g., A and B, or the entire list of elements A, B and C.