Fender liner and process for producing the same

1. A fender liner attached to a motor vehicle wheel house, comprising:

a breathable base material layer produced by forming a fiber assembly into a shape along the wheel house; and

a protective layer made of waterproof material;

the protective layer is laminated on a surface of the base material layer that is opposite to a side facing the wheel house;

the protective layer is provided with a plurality of through-holes that allow air to flow through the protective layer to the surface of the base material layer on which the protective layer is laminated;

the fender liner has a middle section between front and rear sections of the fender liner; and

an opening ratio in the middle section is larger than opening ratios in the front and the rear sections.

2. A fender liner attached to a motor vehicle wheel house, comprising:

a breathable base material layer produced by forming a fiber assembly into a shape along the wheel house; and

a protective layer made of a waterproof film-like material obtained by thermoforming thermoplastic resin material;

the base material layer is formed by thermoforming a sheet-like material obtained by intertwining a mixture of matrix fibers and binder fibers through needling;

the protective layer is laminated on a first surface of the base material layer that is opposite to a side facing the wheel house;

the protective layer is produced by forming a plurality of through-holes by passing a plurality of hot needles through the film-like material independently from intertwining the mixture of fibers of the base material layer;

the plurality of through-holes allows air to flow through the protective layer to the surface of the base material layer on which the protective layer is laminated;

the base material layer has a second surface in contact with air opposite to a side on which the protective layer is laminated;

the base material layer has a flow resistance value of 20 to 500 Nsm −3 ;

the protective layer has a flow resistance value of 200 to 3800 Nsm −3 ; and

the fender liner has a flow resistance value of 250 to 4000 Nsm −3 ;

the fender liner has a middle section between front and rear sections of the fender liner; and

an opening ratio in the middle section is larger than opening ratios in the front and the rear sections.

3. The fender liner according to claim 2 , wherein the through-holes of the protective layer have a diameter of 0.3 to 5.0 mm, and the protective layer has an opening ratio of 0.5% to 15.0% in area ratio.

4. The fender liner according to claim 2 , wherein the surface of the base material layer on which the protective layer is laminated is provided with holes connected to the through-holes and recessed toward the wheel house.

5. The fender liner according to claim 2 , obtained by:

laminating a waterproof thermoplastic film-like material serving as the protective layer on one surface of the sheet-like material of the fiber assembly serving as the base material layer;

forming the plurality of through-holes by passing the plurality of hot needles through the film-like material from a side of the film-like material using a perforator equipped with the plurality of hot needles; and

forming the film-like material provided with the plurality of through-holes and the sheet-like material into a shape along the wheel house while heating the materials in a laminated state.

6. A process for producing a fender liner attached to a motor vehicle wheel house, comprising:

laminating a waterproof thermoplastic film-like material on one surface of a breathable sheet-like material of a fiber assembly;

forming a plurality of through-holes by passing a plurality of hot needles through the film-like material from a side of the film-like material using a perforator equipped with the plurality of hot needles; and

forming the film-like material provided with the plurality of through-holes and the sheet-like material into a shape along the wheel house while heating the materials in a laminated state;

wherein

the fender liner has a middle section between front and rear sections of the fender liner; and

an opening ratio in the middle section is larger than opening ratios in the front and the rear sections.

7. The fender liner according to claim 5 , wherein a diameter of the through-holes provided in the film-like material is larger than a diameter of the through-holes provided in the protective layer.

8. The fender liner according to claim 5 , wherein an opening ratio of the film-like material is larger than an opening ratio of the protective layer.

9. The process according to claim 6 , wherein a diameter of the through-holes provided in the film-like material is larger than a diameter of through-holes provided in the protective layer.

10. The process according to claim 6 , wherein an opening ratio of the film-like material is larger than an opening ratio of the protective layer.