Abrasive article with open structure

Abstract

An abrasive article includes a fabric comprising a front face and a back face. The front face is formed of first knitted yarns. Each yarn of the first knitted yarns includes a plurality of filaments. A plurality of threads intertwines with the first knitted yarns and extending between the front face and the back face. The plurality of threads defines a hollow space between the front face and the back face. The abrasive article also includes abrasive grains adhered to the front face of the fabric.

1 . An abrasive article comprising:
 a fabric comprising a front face and a back face, the front face formed of first knitted yarns, each yarn of the first knitted yarns comprising a plurality of filaments, a plurality of threads intertwined with the first knitted yarns and extending between the front face and the back face, the plurality of threads defining a hollow space between the front face and the back face; and   abrasive grains adhered to the front face of the fabric.   
     
     
         2 . The abrasive article of  claim 1 , wherein the abrasive article has a force-to-compress at 50% compression of at least 0.5 N/cm 2 . 
     
     
         3 . The abrasive article of  claim 2 , wherein the force-to-compress at 50% compression is at least 1.0 N/cm 2 . 
     
     
         4 . The abrasive article of  claim 3 , wherein the force-to-compress at 50% compression is at least 2.0 N/cm 2 . 
     
     
         5 . The abrasive article of  claim 2 , wherein the force-to-compress at 50% compression is not greater than 12.0 N/cm 2 . 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The abrasive article of  claim 1 , wherein the threads have a diameter at least 50% greater than the diameter of the filaments. 
     
     
         8 .- 9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . The abrasive article of  claim 1 , wherein the diameter of the threads is in a range of 0.05 mm to 5 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The abrasive article of  claim 1 , wherein the knitted yarns define a pattern of openings. 
     
     
         12 . The abrasive article of  claim 11 , wherein each opening in the pattern of openings has a cross-dimension in a range of 0.2 mm to 25 mm. 
     
     
         13 .- 14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . The abrasive article of  claim 11 , wherein the pattern of openings provides at least 5% open area relative to the area defined by the front face. 
     
     
         16 . The abrasive article of  claim 15 , wherein the open area is in a range of 5% to 70% of the area defined by the front face. 
     
     
         17 .- 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . The abrasive article of  claim 1 , wherein the threads comprise polyamide. 
     
     
         20 . The abrasive article of  claim 1 , wherein the filaments comprise polyester. 
     
     
         21 . The abrasive article of  claim 1 , wherein the filaments comprise polyamide. 
     
     
         22 . The abrasive article of  claim 1 , further comprising a binder, the binder adhering the abrasive grains to the front face. 
     
     
         23 . The abrasive article of  claim 22 , wherein the binder is a resin selected from the group consisting of phenolic resin, ureaformaldahyde resin, acrylic resin, epoxy resin, silicone resin, isocyanurate resin, melamine-formaldehyde resin, polyimide resin, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         24 .- 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . The abrasive article of  claim 22 , wherein the binder forms a layer contiguous with the first knitted yarns of the front face of the fabric. 
     
     
         27 . The abrasive article of  claim 1 , wherein the back face comprises second knitted yarns, the plurality of threads intertwined with the second knitted yarns of the back face. 
     
     
         28 . An abrasive article comprising:
 a fabric comprising a front face and a back face, the front face formed of first knitted yarns, each yarn of the first knitted yarns comprising a plurality of filaments, a plurality of threads intertwined with the first knitted yarns and extending between the front face and the back face, the back face formed of second knitted yarns, the plurality of threads intertwined with the second knitted yarns, the threads defining a hollow space between the front face and the back face;   a binder disposed on the front face of the fabric; and   abrasive grains adhered to the binder.   
     
     
         29 .- 33 . (canceled) 
     
     
         34 . An abrasive article comprising:
 a fabric comprising a front face and a back face, the front face formed of first knitted yarns, a plurality of threads extending between the front face and the back face, the plurality of threads defining a hollow space between the front face and the back face; and   abrasive grains adhered to the front face of the fabric;   wherein the abrasive article has a force-to-compress at 50% compression of at least 0.5 N/cm 2 .   
     
     
         35 .- 50 . (canceled)