CZ20001758A3 - Process and apparatus for making a selectively-coated web - Google Patents

Abstract

The jacket manufacturing device (1) is optionally coated a structure (10) comprising the coating composition (2) for applying a shell (11) to the backing structure (10) in an amount coated regions, these sheathed regions (36) are in a separate, parallel relationship with uncoated areas (34). The device further includes carriers means (4) for supporting the structure (10) after application of the housing (11), the support means comprises a plurality of carriers parts (18), each of which is uncoated in the casing cover areas (34). In a preferred embodiment, the coated sheath is useful emulsions applied in selected areas extrusion. Also described is a method of forming a sheath coated structures without coating formation material on the support rollers. This method includes the following steps: (a) undercoat coating structures in a plurality of coated regions, these coated the areas are in parallel, spaced apart from each other relation to uncoated areas; (b) securing the carrier portions, z which is covered in uncoated cover areas; and (c) guiding the sheath-coated structure in contact with by the support portions such that each support portion is covered with uncoated area of this structure.

Description

Method and apparatus for producing a sheath optionally coated structure

Technical field

The present invention relates to the processing of continuous sheet materials or structures such as underlying nonwoven materials. In particular, it relates to the processing of intermittent coatings (or sheaths) on continuous structures, for example, on cellulose fiber paper.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nonwoven structures, or sheet materials made of paper, are widely used in modern society. Paper structures are commonly processed as handkerchiefs, wipes and other disposable absorbent articles. Paper towels, for example, are a basic commercial item that has long been used to wipe spills and to remove stains and / or contamination from hard surfaces such as window glass, counter and partition surfaces, sinks, porcelain and metal fittings, walls and the like, and other surfaces such as carpets or furniture.

Backing materials with skin care compositions (or lotions) and other coatings are well known in the art. Skin care products are often used in conjunction with the underlying materials to soften them and may <RTIgt; </RTI> <RTIgt; </RTI> · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · They may also be used to soothe the skin, such as facial tissues or cosmetic tissues. Examples of base lotions with lotions and useful in the manufacture of cosmetic tissues are found in U.S. Patent No. 4,426,418, issued January 17, 1984 to Coleman et al., And commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 4,481,243, issued November 6, 1984. Allen, whose content is incorporated herein by reference.

Products such as moisturizing wipes have been developed. Some wipes have a considerable advantage over prior art cleaning products to remove soiling especially from the perianal area. These wipes include a backing material (e.g., a nonwoven or tissue) treated with a water-in-lipid emulsion. The water-in-lipid emulsion provides water in the solid outer wax phase that prevents water loss from being used. In use, the wax phase is broken, releasing the inner water phase. Thus, these wipes release considerable amounts of water during use, for convenient and more efficient cleaning. These wipes are particularly useful for cleaning, especially when provided in a form resembling damp cleaning wipes to remove stains in the perianal area. Examples of such wipes and their manufacture are found in co-assigned WO 96/14835, published May 23, 1996, by the name of Mackey et al., The disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The mechanism for transferring water from the emulsion to the surface to be cleaned comprises several steps. First, the water is released from the emulsion due to the pressure exerted by the user. This pressure breaks (decomposes) the outer phase of the emulsion and releases the inner water phase. The water then saturates the substrate. After saturation, water permeates the substrate in the Z direction. Excess water, which is water in addition to the local absorbent capacity of the substrate, is then transferred from the napkin to the surface.

· · · · · 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 · · 4 4 9 9 4 4 • 94 ·· 44 444 44 4 ·

One potential approach to the problem of providing sufficient amounts of water to saturate the substrate and transfer it to a given surface is to provide an uninterrupted (continuous) layer of emulsion on the substrate. The continuous emulsion layer may contain more water than the intermittent emulsion layer. This potential approach has several shortcomings. First, the thin continuous layer of the emulsion need not exceed the local absorbent capacity of the substrate. Second, the excess lipid phase in the emulsion causes deposition and may not be well received by the user and may contribute to manufacturing difficulties. Third, if the amount of emulsion becomes too large, breaking the emulsion and releasing water therefrom can be difficult. Such difficulty is due to the increased amount of lipid phase present. As the amount of lipid phase increases, the emulsion slips itself rather than breaking it. Fourth, the surface area to volume ratio is far from the optimum. Finally, the cost of this napkin increases directly with the amount of emulsion provided.

In addition to these drawbacks, it has been unexpectedly found that uninterrupted coating of the emulsion on the backing material does not provide the most effective cleansing, especially when it is desired to clean human skin. An intermittent (discontinuous) emulsion pattern on the substrate provides a more efficient cleaning mechanism. One such discontinuous emulsion pattern on a backing material is described in commonly assigned US application Ser. No. 08 / 909,449, filed Aug. 11, 1997, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

During cleaning, water is released from the emulsion to remove dirt from the skin. The skin area moistened with water and from which dirt is removed is then wiped dry with areas of the substrate without emulsion. A similar benefit occurs when the napkin is used to clean other surfaces such as window panes, tops

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 444 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 44 44 counters, sinks, porcelain and metal parts, walls and the like, and other surfaces such as carpets or furniture.

One drawback of sheathing a nonwoven or cellulosic backing material with materials such as an emulsion is that once the emulsion has been applied to the backing, it can be wiped off or scraped down by the web processing elements. For example, the emulsion may accumulate on rollers, for example on support rollers, when the structure is controlled during processing. The emulsion accumulated on the support rollers is waste and its accumulation or deposit on the rollers must ultimately be cleaned, leading to undesirable equipment downtime and disruption of production.

In addition to waste generation and manufacturing deficiencies, contact of the roll disrupts the emulsion on the backing material. This is particularly undesirable if the emulsion needs to maintain a certain thickness on the substrate. Similarly, if the emulsion is required to remain on the substrate in a pattern, any friction or abrasion due to contact with the guide roller in the process should be minimized. For example, if a sheath also serves a decorative and aesthetic purpose, smearing or removing the sheath is undesirable. Further, if a water-in-lipid emulsion is applied to a given structure, friction or scratching during processing of the structure will similarly cause a failure of the solid wax phase, leading to premature release of water.

While these drawbacks are particularly undesirable in the context of applying the emulsion to the underlying materials, they may equally be undesirable in the overall context of coatings containing liquid paints and dyes, extruded polymers, liquid adhesives and the like. Once the liquid coating is applied to a structure, these materials are susceptible to wiping or scraping, or are otherwise damaged by further processing through • · ·

guide rollers, drive rollers, support rollers and the like. The result is a change in the original placement of the material on the substrate and the formation of unwanted build-up on the rollers downstream of the device forming the housing.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to apply a sheath to the backing material and further treat the structure so as to prevent damage to the applied sheath.

Additionally, it would be desirable to apply a sheath to the backing material in predetermined patterns, without breaking the sheath or pattern during subsequent processing of the substrate.

Further, it would be desirable to apply an emulsion in a predetermined pattern or amount to the substrate material of the cellulosic structure without breaking the pattern or amount during subsequent processing of the structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention includes a device for producing a sheath optionally coated structure. The apparatus includes a coating means for applying a sheath to the backing structure in a plurality of coated areas, the coated areas being spaced apart, parallel to each other with the uncoated areas. The invention further includes support means for supporting the backing structure after the coating has been applied, the support means comprising a plurality of support portions, each of said support portions being in cover (in a coincident position with) the uncoated area with the casing. In a preferred embodiment, the coating of the useful emulsion is extruded in selected areas.

Also described is a method of forming a sheathed structure without forming a build-up of coating material on the support rolls. The method comprises the steps of: (a) coating the substrate structure in a plurality of coated areas, the coated areas being in parallel, spaced apart relationship to the uncoated areas; (b) securing the support portions, each of said support portions being aligned in coverage with the housing uncoated region; and (c) guiding the sheath-coated structure in contact with the support portions such that each support portion is aligned in coverage with the sheath uncoated region of said structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although this description is terminated by the claims that specifically define and clearly claim the present invention, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like elements and represent:

Giant. 1 is a schematic side view of the structure of the sheathing device according to the invention.

Giant. 2 is a side view of a gravure cylinder representing the printing cylinder of the invention.

Giant. 3 is a side view of the support, cylindrical support means of the invention, optionally carrying a sheathed structure.

Giant. 4 is a plan view of the shaft and roller support means.

Giant. 5 is an end view of a pivot arm and roller support means.

Giant. 6 is a side view of a pivot arm shaft and roller support means.

Giant. 7 is a side view of an air permeable shaft and roller support means.

• 9 9 9 · 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9999 99 99 99 99 99

Giant. 8 is a detail view of the air permeable shafts and roller support means.

Giant. 9 is a plan view of an embodiment of an optionally sheathed backing treated by the method and apparatus of the present invention.

Giant. 10 is a plan view of another embodiment of an optionally sheathed backing treated by the method and apparatus of the present invention.

Giant. 11 is a schematic side view showing a device (extruder) for coating a backing material with an extruded sheath.

Giant. 12 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of an optionally sheath-coated backing treated by the method and apparatus of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Although the following description describes the apparatus and method of the invention primarily in relation to cellulosic substrate materials coated with a useful emulsion, it is to be understood that the method or apparatus of the invention is not limited to the processing of these structures. The apparatus and method of the invention may be useful for treating any backing material and its sheath, which may be performed, for example, by printing, embossing or otherwise partially or totally coating the backing with paint, dyes, emulsions, adhesives or other powder or liquid coatings. The backing materials may comprise any materials that can be processed as structures, including paper, fabrics, textile materials, polymeric films, nonwoven or other sheet materials.

• · · <

··· · «··· • · ·>

As used herein, the backing material refers to a material, and in particular to a structured (or mesh) material processed by the method and apparatus of the present invention. For example, suitable support materials for use in the present invention include cellulose paper, fabrics, textile materials, polymeric films, nonwoven or other sheet materials, including sheet metal. The term backing material and structure used herein are interchangeable.

As used herein, the terms sheathing or coating, such as verbs, include covering, overlapping, finishing or otherwise applying a layer of material to a backing material. For example, sheathing comprises printing, spraying, extruding and laminating materials onto a substrate material in a predetermined, controlled manner. Suitable materials include liquid materials, as well as powdered materials, which can be applied as a coating in a manner similar to liquid materials.

As used herein, terms, sheathing or sheathing, as nouns, refer to a material on a backing material after the process of applying it to the backing. The coating according to the invention is generally carried out in a discontinuous (intermittent) manner. As used herein, a discontinuous sheath coating pattern is a pattern having substrate areas without sheath coating between the substrate areas on which the sheath is arranged. For example, extruding spaced emulsion beads onto a backing material will produce a discontinuous pattern, such as printing a regular pattern of spaced points of adhesive on the nonwoven.

As used herein, the term optionally coated refers to a backing structure having a sheath optionally applied in its predetermined areas of material. In accordance with the present invention, the predetermined sheath-coated areas are in the range of β 99 to · fl fl fl to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to To · to to to to sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe sebe promoting (or carrying) means as fully described below. For example, the sheath is optionally coated with a structure having a discontinuous pattern of substantially parallel strips or bands separated by strips or bands of uncoated areas. In addition, the strips forming the sheathed area on the optionally coated structure may themselves be applied in a discontinuous pattern. For example, a discontinuous pattern of spaced points of adhesive may generally form a band or band of coating.

As used herein, the term "napkin" refers to any substrate material preferably covered with performance enhancing materials used for cleaning. For example, the napkin can be used as a cosmetic handkerchief, toilet paper, paper towel, baby napkin, adult napkin, hard surface cleaner, etc. Thus, the intended use of this napkin does not limit the end product.

As mentioned above, the device and method of the invention can be used in a wide variety of applications and end uses. For purposes of documenting its features, the present invention is described in detail below in relation to a preferred embodiment of a cellulosic paper backing material optionally coated with a useful emulsion sheath.

Equipment

Giant. 1 shows schematically a typical arrangement of the device 1 of the present invention. Overall, the device 1 comprises a coating (coating) means 2, for example a printing roll 6, and a support means 4, eg a backing roll (s) 16, in a casing.

9 9 9 9 9 • · «9 9 999 9 9 9 9

999 99 9

9 9 9 9 9

999 99 99 999 99 99 functional relationship. As used herein, the functional relationship means that in the processing of the structure, the coating means 2 and the support means 4 are arranged such that the coating means 2 selectively coat the substrate structure 10, and the support means 4 subsequently support the substrate with support portions 18 in cover. with uncoated parts of the optionally coated structure.

The sheath 11 may be applied and arranged on the substrate 10 by any suitable means that allows select areas of use such as gravure printing, flexographic printing, screen printing, spraying and extrusion. The sheath 11 is preferably an emulsion (as described in more detail below with reference to Fig. 1012) applied to the substrate by gravure printing.

More preferably, the emulsion is extruded as a series of continuous, cylindrically shaped bodies (beads, beads). A continuous cylindrical shape is preferred for the emulsion because this shape reduces the surface area to volume (amount) of the emulsion.

In a preferred embodiment, the coating means comprises a gravure cylinder 20 as shown in FIG. 2, and the support means comprises a roller laminated roller, such as a support roller 16, as shown in FIG. 3. As used herein, layered or layered means that the backing roll is formed to have at least two diameters, with a plurality of larger diameter layers 14 spaced apart as shown in FIG. The larger diameter layers 14 preferably have the same diameter, so that they serve as support portions 18 for the relatively planar backing structure 10 during processing. In a preferred embodiment and as used herein, the rolls are typically support rolls or guide rolls. The invention is not limited to the support rollers, but these rollers may

be driven to assist in transporting the backing structure during processing without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The intaglio printing cylinder 20 functions as part of an intaglio printing apparatus (not shown). The gravure cylinder 20 may be configured to print various patterns, including a regular pattern of overall square dots 22, as shown in FIG. Generally, for any given pattern, an intaglio roller is designed to selectively coat the structure 10 so that the non-printing portions 24 correspond to the non-coated regions 34 (as discussed below with reference to Figs. 4 and 5) of the optionally coated structure treated by the apparatus and method of the invention. Similarly, the printing portions 26 correspond to the sheath-coated regions 34 of the optionally coated structure treated by the apparatus and method of the present invention. As shown by the regularly spaced points 22 in FIG. 2, the sheath-coated area 36 may include a discontinuous pattern of material that integrally forms a strip or band of the sheath-coated area 36.

The layers 14 of the backing roll 16 are in a spaced relationship so as to serve as support portions 18 contacting the substrate with the uncoated areas 34 of the optionally coated structure. By contacting the structure only in the uncoated areas, the carrier portions 18 do not accumulate the sheath material and the sheath in the covered areas is not broken. Thus, the coated sheath remains on the structure in the desired specific pattern and amount, and the support means 4, for example, the support roll 16, remains free of sheath material that would otherwise be deposited on it during processing of the structure.

The width and spacing of the sheath-coated regions 36 (or uncoated regions 21) of the backing structure 10 may be adjusted as desired, with the mere requirement that on subsequent support by the support means 4, the support portion 18

contacting the structure in the uncoated areas 34. However, it is not necessary that the carrier portion be associated with each uncoated area. Depending on the width of the coated and uncoated areas, it may be desirable to have more than one support portion in some uncoated areas, or depending on the uncoated areas. For example, it may be desirable to have a minimum number of carrier parts necessary to adequately support the structure, with the ability to vary the number of coated / uncoated regions between the carrier parts of the structure. In this way, the amount and location of the material on the substrate structure can be varied for different manufacturing requirements without having to change the support means accordingly.

Giant. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the support means 6 as a layered support roller 16. In a preferred embodiment, the laminated roller 16 serves as a rolling support portion, with the layers 14 preferably in non-slip contact with the substrate 10, particularly in the uncoated areas of the optionally coated substrate. In other words, it is generally not desirable to have a sliding, abrasive or frictional contact between the backing roll and optionally the sheath coated with a cellulosic structure. By using the cylindrical support, there is reduced and preferably no relative movement between the peripheral surface of the layers 14 and the substrate 10. If necessary, the peripheral surface of the layers 14 can be treated with a non-stick coating with high friction coefficient to ensure rolling contact with the underlying structure 10. As mentioned above, the support roller is a preferred embodiment of the support means 6. However, the support means 6 may include a driven roller as necessary to process an optionally sheathed structure.

As shown in FIG. 3, the layers 14 may be described as a disc contacting structure and may be formed integrally with the backing roll 16 by correspondingly processing the length of the rounded blank or tube. For example, in a preferred embodiment, the length of an aluminum tube having an outer diameter approximately equal to the diameter of the layers 14 is machined, e.g., by a lathe, to remove material between the layers 14. At least enough material is removed to allow the applied sheath 11 to pass between these layers without contacting the roller. 16. Once complete, the layers 14 include a structure contacting the disc integral with the backing roll, i.e., stationary, permanently positioned on the roll. Alternatively, the structure contacting disks may be formed as annular, circular, disc-shaped parts, and attached to a correspondingly large cylindrical shaft. For example, the annular portions may be mounted on the shaft by pressing or mounted by screw means for mounting in a stationary position on the shaft of the support cylinder.

Another alternative of providing a cylindrical support for an optionally sheathed backing structure 10 is shown in partially dimmed view in FIG. 4. As shown, the cylindrical support may be provided by adjusting separate cylindrical portions, for example, of the rollers (s) 42, on the non-rotatable shaft 40. The bearings 44 in the rollers 42 provide smooth, free rotation of the rollers 42. 40, or alternatively secured by any means known in the art, including the use of adjusting screws. The rollers 42 may be coated with a non-adherent covering material 15 with a high coefficient of friction as necessary for rolling contact. As with the backing roll 16, the rollers 42 are spaced apart axially and positioned such that the backing structures 11 are optionally coated with the uncoated areas 34 in the covering.

• · · · · · · · · · · ·

The shaft and rollers shown in FIG. 4 may be particularly desirable for use in the structure of the Mount Hope cylinder processing apparatus. The Mount Hope cylinder is a structure stretching device that generates transverse stresses on the structure to pull free creases. These rollers are known in the art of processing structures and generally include a shaft forming an upwardly oriented arc that forces the structure to expand as it passes over the rollers located on the shaft. The cylinder of the present invention may be adapted to be a Mount Hope cylinder by optionally placing the cylinders on a bent shaft.

Other support means, either rolling or non-rolling, can be used with good results, depending on the underlying material. For example, on certain substrates, such as polymeric films, non-rolling support means may be adequate. For example, instead of using a backing roll or separate rollers on the shaft, the support means may comprise rigid or spring guides or tabs (not shown) that smoothly contact the moving backing structure in sliding contact. The only requirement for the purposes of the present invention is that the sliding contact is performed in a covering with the sheath uncoated areas of the optionally coated backing structure.

In addition, variations are envisaged on the carrier means. For example, separate rolling parts may be located at the end of the adjustable arms on a stationary shaft as shown in FIG. 5 and 6. The stationary, non-rotatable shaft 50 serves as a mounting surface for a plurality of rotatably adjustable roller support arms 52. In one embodiment, the roller support arms 52 may be adjustably fastened by tightening the mating clamping portion 53 with the clamping means 56. In this way, the roller support arms 52 are adjustable both axially along the shaft 50 and rotatable about the shaft 50 as

see FIG. Separate rollers 53 are mounted to support the arms 52. To accommodate different jacket designs, the different roller support arms 52 may be rotated into or out of the contacting location structure, as shown in FIG. 5 and 6 as 52 '.

For certain substrates, particularly very flexible, elastic or low strength, the cylindrical support means 4 may be varied to provide air support to the structure between the support portions 18. A preferred cylinder for this purpose is shown in Figs. 7. In FIG. 7 it can be seen that certain backing structures may be susceptible to sagging or sagging between the carrier parts. Thus, a porous cylinder 17 having air supply assembly 19 may be used. Air under pressure enters an axially mounted air supply assembly 19 and exits the air permeable cylinder 17 as a layer of air pressure around the periphery of the cylinder between the carrier portions 18. As shown in FIG. 8, air layer 21, 21 ^of the structure 10 floats between the supporting parts 18 and prevents contact between the roller 17 and the structure 10, or plastic coated eleventh

A preferred air permeable roller 17 is a Mott air cylinder, specifically designed to guide during transportation of any structure on the air cushion. A preferred air permeable roller is a formed sintered metal allowing a uniform air flow through the roller. The roller may be air permeable around the entire perimeter, but it is preferable to mask part of its inactive surface area. By masking the inactive parts of the cylinder, the compressed air is only released by the cylinder in the areas adjacent to the transported structure. The inactive surface area includes areas not adjacent to the transferred structure. For example, in FIG. 8, the air cushion layer 21 is shown near the structure 11 and is therefore the active surface. The air layer 21 'is not adjacent to the structure 11 and is therefore an inactive surface. The actual extent of inactive surfaces depends on the angle of the structure envelope across the cylinder.

The method of masking the air-permeable cylinder 17, if used, depends on the arrangement of the shaft and the rolling support means 14. If the support parts 18 are mounted (e.g. by a press fit) on the shaft 17 such that the shaft and support parts rotate as one unit, a non-rotating inner mask is preferred. If the support portions 18 are rotatably mounted (e.g., on roller bearings) such that the support portions 18 rotate on a non-rotating shaft 17, other masking means may be used, including painting the masking surfaces with a removable paint or grinding the porous metal so that they are closed its pores.

As shown in FIG. 9 and 10, the sheathing can be used in virtually any pattern, including decorative patterns. The only limitation of the pattern selection is that the pattern is bounded within a zone area shown by the dashed lines 38. The printed pattern bands naturally leave the bands or strips of the uncoated areas shown in FIG. 5 and 6 (?), Also divided by dashed lines 38. Although not strictly necessary for the purposes of the present invention, it is highly preferred that the zones of the uncoated areas are generally parallel to each other in a spaced relationship relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of the backing structure. The longitudinal direction is parallel to the longitudinal axis L as shown in FIG. 9, and perpendicular to the transverse direction T.

As shown in FIG. 9, the coating of the sheath 11, which is preferably a useful emulsion 12, can be applied in a non-linear manner, i.e. by varying in width or position in the transverse direction within the boundaries of the sheath-coated area 36.

• ···

The only limitation of the transverse placement of the coating 11 is that the minimum width of the uncoated area 34 remains with each uncoated area 34 that is in a generally linear, parallel relationship to other uncoated areas 34. The minimum width of the uncoated area 34 is dependent on, and should at least equal to or greater than the width of the support portions 18.

As shown in FIG. 10, the skin of the coating 11 can be applied in visually appealing patterns that impart a beneficial aesthetic appearance to the substrate. For example, the emulsion 12 may be applied in the form of flowers in a repeating pattern to form an intermittent coating zone forming a sheath-coated area 36. Each coated area 36 of the repeating patterns is separated by the sheath-free areas 34 as shown by the dotted lines 38. with the method of the invention, truly unlimited variations of discontinuous patterns are possible. For example, if the gravure cylinder of FIG. 2, the pattern produced on the backing material would be zones or stripes of sheath-coated areas comprising discontinuous coating of spaced apart square points. Although spaced apart to form a discontinuous coating, these points together form strips or zones of the sheathed areas 36.

In a more preferred embodiment, the sheath 11, preferably the emulsion 12, is applied by extrusion as shown in FIG. As the backing structure 10 is provided from the supply roll 62, it is optionally coated with a plurality of spaced apart extrusion heads 60. As shown in FIG. 11, the support means 4 may include support for forces other than the force of gravity. For example, as shown, since the optionally coated structure is being processed, it may need to be directionally controlled, requiring support means, for example, a support roller 16, typical of that shown in FIG. 3.

··· · ···················

At any point, when processing the sheath of the optionally coated structure, the structure must change direction as shown in FIG. 11, a carrier means 6 of the present invention may be necessary. Extrusion of the preferred emulsion in the optionally coated pattern is preferably achieved using a standard processing apparatus configured to extrude hot melt adhesives.

Referring back to FIG. 3, 9-10, the sheath optionally coated structure is treated by the apparatus and preferably comprises a substrate 10 and a sheath 11 optionally arranged thereon according to the method of the present invention. The backing material 10 is preferably cellulosic, especially tissue paper, nonwoven, foam, or any combination thereof. The sheath 11 is preferably a useful emulsion 12, for example some skin care composition. Preferred backing materials 10, emulsions 12 and patterns are now described below with respect to the preferred napkin 30, as shown in FIG. 12, manufactured from a preferred backing structure 10.

Preferred underlying structure

Trokhana et al .; Trokhana; č et al .; C

Suitable cellulose-based substrates 10 are described in U.S. Patent No. 5,245,025, issued September 14, 1993 to Trokhan et al .; No. 5,503,715, issued April 2, 1996 to Trokhan et al .; No. 5,534,326, issued Jul. 9, 1996 to U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,859, issued Jan. 20, 1987 to

514,345, issued April 30, 1985 to Johnson 4,529,480, issued July 16, 1985 to

Trokhana; No. 5,328,565, issued July 12, 1994 to Rasch et al .; No. 4,191,609, issued Mar. 4, 1989 to Trokhan; No. 4,300,981, issued November 17, 1981 to Carstens; No. 4,513,051, issued April 23, 1985 to Lavash; No. 4,637,859, · 4 · 4, 4, 44, 44, 44, 44, 44, 44, 44, 44, 44 Granted on January 20, 1987 to Trokhan; No. 5,143,776, issued September 1, 1992 to Givense; No. 5,637,194, issued June 10, 1997 to Ampulski et al .; No. 5,609,725, issued March 11, 1997 to Phan; and No. 5,628,876, issued May 13, 1997 to Ayers et al .; the disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference.

A suitable napkin backing material 10 has a basis weight of about 7 to 25 pounds (about 3.175 to 11.339 kg) per 3,000 square feet (279 m ² ) (i.e. about 0.011 kg / m ² to 0.040 kg / m ² ) per layer, preferably about 8 to 10 pounds (about 3.628 to 4.535 kg) / per 3,000 square feet (279 m ² )) (i.e., about 0.013 kg / m ² to 0.162 kg / m ² ) per layer, and most preferably about 8 L / 2 pounds (about 3.855 kg) per 3,000 square feet (279 m ² ) (ie about 0.013 kg / m ² ) per toilet paper application layer; and about 18-22 pounds (about 8.164-9.979 kg) per 3,000 square feet (279 m ² )) (i.e., about 0.029 kg / m ² to 0.035 kg / m ² ) per layer for hard cleaning applications surfaces. For this claimed invention, a multi-basis weight substrate 10 is feasible. The multi-basis weight substrate 10 has high and low basis weight regions located adjacent to each other and, optionally, intermediate regions of different basis weight. Areas with a high basis weight provide strength. Areas of low basis weight ensure the transfer of water released from the emulsion to a surface. In the extreme case, the low basis weight regions may be openings to increase water transfer to the surface. If a multi-basis weight substrate 10 is used, the averaging of both the high-basis weight and low-basis weight areas, or the high, intermediate, and low basis weight areas is taken into account.

If a multi-basis weight substrate 10 is desired, such substrate 10 may be manufactured according to commonly assigned U.S. Patent Nos. 5,277,761 issued January 11, 1994 to Phan et al. To this in t ♦ · t · .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .; .;; No. 5,443,691, issued August 22, 1995 to Phan et al .; ač. No. 5,614,061, issued March 25, 1997 to Phan et al .; the disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. If a multi-basis weight substrate 10 having radially oriented fibers is desired, such substrate 10 may be manufactured according to commonly assigned U.S. Patent Nos. 5,245,025, issued September 14, 1993 to Trokhan et al .; No. 5,503,715, issued April 2, 1996 to Trokhan et al .; No. 5,527,428, issued June 18, 1996 to Trokhan et al., or No. 5,534,326, issued July 9, 1996, to Trokhan et al .; the disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference.

If someone wishes to use a napkin 10 more durable or nonwoven material, such a napkin 10 can be made according to commonly assigned U.S. Patent Nos. 4,097,965, issued July 4, 1978 to Gotchel et al .; No. 4,130,915, issued December 26, 1978 to Gotchel et al .; No. 4,296,161, issued October 20, 1981 to Kaiser et al., and No. 4,682,942, issued July 28, 1987, to Gotchel et al .; the disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference.

Coat coating with preferred emulsion

A preferred coated sheath 11 is some useful emulsion 12. A preferred emulsion 12 comprises: (1) a continuous solidified lipid phase; (2) an emulsifier that forms an emulsion 12 when the lipid phase is liquid; and (3) an inner polar (opposite) phase dispersed in the lipid phase. This emulsion 12 breaks down when subjected to a low shear force, such as wiping the skin or other surface, during use and releases the inner opposite phase.

1. External lipid phase

4 4 4 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 444 44 444 44 4 4 4 4444

4 ·· ·· 4 4 4 4 4 ·

The continuous solidified lipid phase provides a basic stabilizing structure for the high internal phase inverse emulsions 12 of the present invention. In particular, this continuous lipid phase is what keeps the dispersed inner phase from being prematurely released prior to use of the article, for example during storage.

The continuous lipid phase may comprise from about 2 to about 60% of emulsion 12 of the present invention. Preferably, the continuous lipid phase will contain from about 5 to about 30% emulsion 12. Most preferably, the continuous lipid phase will contain from about 6 to about 15% emulsion 12.

The major component of this continuous lipid phase is a waxy lipid material. This lipid material is characterized by a melting point of about 30 ° C or higher, i.e., is solid at ambient temperatures. Preferably, the lipid material has a melting point of about 50 ° C or higher. Typically, the lipid material has a melting point in the range of about 40 ° C to about 80 ° C, more typically in the range of about 50 ° C to about 70 ° C.

Although this waxy lipid material is solid at ambient temperatures, it is also desirable to be liquid or plastic at those temperatures at which the high internal phase inverse emulsion 12 is applied to a carrier. In addition, although the lipid material is liquid or plastic at those temperatures where the emulsion 12 is applied to the support substrate 10, it is desirable that it is still somewhat stable (ie, minimal agglomeration of the emulsion 12 microdroplets) for extended periods of elevated temperature (e.g. 50 ° C or higher) that normally occur during storage and dispensing of the products of the present invention. This lipid material also needs to be sufficiently brittle under the shear conditions of use of the article so that it breaks and releases scattered internal

the opposite phase. These lipid materials should also desirably provide a good skin feel when used in personal care products such as wet-like wipes 30 and wipes used to clean the perianal area.

Suitable wax lipid materials for use in the high internal phase inverse emulsion 12 of the present invention include natural and synthetic waxes as well as other oil-soluble materials having a wax consistency. As used herein, the term waxes refers to organic compositions or compounds that are generally water insoluble and tend to exist at ambient temperature (for example, at about 25 ° C) as amorphous or microcrystalline or crystalline solids. Suitable waxes include various types of hydrocarbons, as well as esters of certain fatty acids and fatty alcohols. They may be derived from natural sources (i.e., animal, plant or mineral) or may be synthesized. Mixtures of these various waxes may also be used.

Some exemplary animal and vegetable waxes that may be used in the present invention include beeswax, carnauba wax, spermacet, lanolin, shellac wax, candelilla wax and the like. Particularly preferred animal and vegetable waxes are beeswax, lanolin and candelilla wax. Exemplary mineral waxes that may be used in the present invention include petroleum based waxes such as paraffin, petrolatum (natural petrolatum) and microcrystalline wax and fossil or earth waxes such as white ceresine, yellow ceresine, white ozokerite wax and the like. Particularly preferred mineral waxes are petrolatum, microcrystalline wax, yellow ceresin and white ozokerite wax. Exemplary synthetic waxes that may be used in the present invention include ethylene polymers such as polyethylene miscible wax, chlorinated naphthenates such as Halowax, hydrocarbon type waxes produced by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and the like. Particularly preferred synthetic waxes are polyethylene waxes.

In addition to the waxy lipid material, the continuous lipid phase may contain minor amounts of other lipophilic or lipid miscible materials. These other lipophilic or lipid miscible materials are typically included for the purpose of stabilizing the emulsion 12, to minimize the loss of the inner opposite phase, or to improve the aesthetic feel of the emulsion 12 on the skin. Suitable materials of this type that may be present in the continuous lipid phase include heat-melt adhesives such as Findley 193-336 resin, long chain alcohols such as cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol and cetaryl alcohol, water-insoluble soaps such as aluminum stearate, silicone polymers such as polydimethylsiloxanes, hydrophobically modified silicone polymers such as phenyl and the like. Other suitable lipophilic / lipid materials include polyol polyesters.

By polyol polyester is meant a polyol having at least 4 ester groups. By polyol is meant a polyhydric alcohol containing at least 4, preferably from 4 to 12, and most preferably from 6 to 8, hydroxyl groups. The polyols include monosaccharides, disaccharides and trisaccharides, sugar alcohols and other sugar derivatives (e.g., alkyl glycosides), polyglycerols (e.g., diglycerol and triglycerol, pentaerythritol and polyvinyl alcohols. Preferred polyols include xylose, arabinose, ribose, xylit, methyl, glucose, mannose, glucose, mannose, glucose) galactose, fructose, sorbitol, maltose, lactose, sucrose, raffinose, and maltotriose. A particularly preferred polyol is sucrose. more than 3, and more preferably no more than 2, non-esterified hydroxyl groups Typically, substantially all (for example, at least about 85%) of the hydroxyl groups of the polyol are esterified, and in the case of sucrose polyesters from about 7 to 8 hydroxyl groups of the polyol are typically esterified.

By liquid polyol polyester is meant a polyester of the above-described groups having a liquid consistency at or below about 37 ° C. The term rigid polyol polyester refers to a polyol polyester of the groups described herein, with a plastic or rigid consistency at or above about 37 ° C. Liquid polyol polyesters and rigid polyol polyesters can be successfully used as plasticizers and immobilizers, respectively, in the emulsions 12 of the present invention. In some cases, rigid polyol polyesters may also provide some softening functionality.

2. Internal reverse phase

Typically, the main component of the high internal phase inverse emulsions 12 of the present invention is the dispersed internal polar (opposite) phase. In preferred embodiments, the reverse phase will comprise a significant percentage of water, preferably at least about 60% by weight of emulsion 12, preferably at least about 75% by weight, and more preferably at least about 90% by weight.

The inner opposite phase, when released, can provide a variety of different benefits. For example, in soaked similar wipes 30 for cleaning the perianal area where the internal phase is water, it is this released water that provides the primary cleaning activity of these wipes 30.

• 9 · 9 · 9 ·

9 9 9999 9 9

99999 9 9 9 9 99 9

9 99 9 9999

999 99 99 999

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inner opposite phase (preferably containing water as the largest component) is a disinfecting phase comprising an antimicrobial compound, preferably an ether oil or an active ingredient thereof, and a bleach, preferably peroxygen. Disinfectant wipes 30 comprising this inner opposite disinfection phase provide effective disinfection performance on the surface while being safe for the treated surface.

By effective disinfection performance, it is meant herein that the disinfectant wipes 30 of the present invention allow a significant reduction in the amount of bacteria on the infected surface. Indeed, effective disinfection from a variety of microorganisms, including Gram positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, and Gram negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as various more resistant microorganisms such as fungi (e.g. Candida albicans) present on the infected surfaces can be achieved.

Another advantage of the disinfectant wipes 30 of the present invention is that, in addition to providing the disinfectant properties, good cleaning is also ensured, since the disinfectant reverse phase may further include active surfactants and / or solvents.

A substantial portion of the preferred disinfectant reverse phase is an antimicrobial compound, typically selected from the group consisting of an ethereal oil and its active ingredient, paraben (eg, methylparaben, ethylparaben), glutaraldehyde, and mixtures thereof. For use herein, the preferred antimicrobial compounds are the essential oils or their active ingredients.

Suitable ether oils or their active ingredients for use herein are ether oils exhibiting antimicrobial activity, and more particularly antibacterial activity. By ethereal oil active agents is meant herein any component of the ether oil which exhibits antimicrobial / antibacterial activity. A further advantage of these etheric oils or their active ingredients is that they impart a pleasant fragrance to the disinfectant wipes 30 of the present invention without the need to provide any perfume. Indeed, the disinfectant wipes 30 of the present invention provide not only excellent disinfection performance on infected surfaces, but also a pleasant scent.

These essential oils include, but are not limited to, those obtained from thyme, east indian grass, citrus, lemons, oranges, anise, cloves, anise seeds, cinnamon, geranium, roses, mint, lavender, lemon essential oil, eucalipte, menthol, camphor, sandalwood, cedar and mixtures thereof. Ethereal oil active ingredients for use herein include, but are not limited to, thymol (present, for example, in thyme), eugenol (present, for example, cinnamon and clove), menthol (present, for example, in mint), geraniol (present, for example, geranium and rose), verbenone (present for example in verbena), eucalyptol and pinocarvone (present in eucalyptus), cedrol (present for example in cedar), anethole (present for example in anise), carvacrol, hinokitiol, berberine, terpineol, limonene, methyl salicylate and mixtures thereof. Preferred ethereal oil active ingredients for use herein are thymol, eugenol, verbenone, eucalyptol, carvacrol, limonene and / or geraniol. Thymol is commercially available from Aldrich, eugenol can be purchased, for example, from Sigma, Systems-Bioindustries (SBI) - Manheimer Inc.

The antimicrobial compound or mixtures thereof will typically be present in the inner opposite phase at a level of from 0.001% to 5%, preferably from 0.001% to 3%, more preferably from 0.005% to 1%, by weight of the total internal opposite phase.

«»

An important part of the internal disinfection opposite phase is some bleaching agent or mixtures thereof. Any bleach known to the person skilled in the art, including any chlorine bleach, as well as any peroxygen bleach can be used herein. The presence of a bleaching agent, preferably a peroxygen bleaching agent, in the disinfectant wipes 30 of the present invention contributes to their disinfectant properties.

Suitable chlorine bleaching compositions for use herein include any compound capable of releasing chlorine when the compound is in contact with water. Suitable chlorine bleaches include alkali metal dichloroisocyanurates as well as alkali metal hypohalides such as hypochlorite and / or bromate. Preferred chlorine bleaching agents are alkali metal hypochlorites. Various forms of alkali metal hypochlorite are commercially available, for example sodium hypochlorite.

Preferred bleaching agents are peroxygen bleaching agents, especially hydrogen peroxide or a water-soluble source thereof, or mixtures thereof. Hydrogen peroxide is particularly preferred.

Peroxygen bleaching agents such as hydrogen peroxide are preferred herein because they are generally well accepted from the viewpoint of environmental protection. For example, hydrogen peroxide decomposition products are oxygen and water.

As used herein, a source of hydrogen peroxide refers to any compound that produces perhydroxyl ions when the compound is in contact with water. Suitable water-soluble sources of hydrogen peroxide for use herein include percarbonates, per silicates, persulfates such as monopersulfate, perborates, peracids such as diperoxy dodecanoic acid (DPDA), magnesium perfalic acid dialkyl peroxides, diacyl peroxides.

• 1 2 ««

9 9 9 · 9 • 9 9 · ········ ·

9 9 9 «

Percarboxylic acids, organic and inorganic peroxides and / or hydroperoxides, and mixtures thereof.

Typically, the bleaching composition or mixtures thereof is present at a level of from 0.001% to 15% by weight of the total internal reverse phase, preferably from 0.001% to 5%, and more preferably from 0.005% to 2%.

The internal disinfectant reverse phase may further comprise some detersive surfactant or mixtures thereof. Typically, the agent or mixtures thereof is present at a level of from 0.001% to 40% by weight of the total internal reverse phase, preferably from 0.01% to 10%, and more preferably from 0.05% to 2%.

Suitable cleaning surfactants for use in the present invention include any surfactant known to those skilled in the art, such as nonionic, anionic, caitone, amphoteric and / or zwitterionic surfactants. Preferred cleaning surfactants for use herein are amphoteric and / or zwitterionic agents.

Aqueous amphoteric detergent surfactants for use herein include amine oxides of the formula R ¹ , R ² , R 10, wherein each R ¹ , R ² , and R ³ is independently a saturated, substituted or unsubstituted, linear or branched hydrocarbon chain having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms. Preferred amine oxide surfactants for use in the present invention are amine oxides having the formula R ¹ R ² R ³ NO, wherein R ¹ is a hydrocarbon chain having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms, preferably from 6 to 20, more preferably from 8 to 16, most preferably from 8 to 12, and wherein R ² and R ³ are independently substituted or unsubstituted, linear or branched hydrocarbon chains having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, preferably from 1 to 3 carbon atoms, and more preferably are methyl groups. R ¹ may be a saturated, substituted or unsubstituted, linear or branched hydrocarbon chain. Suitable amine oxides for use herein are, for example

4

4

4

4

4

· 4

4 natural mixtures of C 8 -C 10 amine oxides as well as C 12 -C 16 amine oxides commercially available from Hoechst. Amine oxides are preferred here because they provide effective cleaning performance and further participate in the disinfection properties of the disinfectant wipes 30 here.

Suitable zwitterionic surfactants for use herein include both cationic and anionic hydrophilic groups on the same molecule over a relatively wide pH range. A typical cationic group is a quaternary ammonium group, although other positively charged groups such as phosphonium, imidazolinium and sulfonium groups may also be used. Typical anionic hydrophilic groups are carboxylates and sulfonates, although other groups such as sulfates, phosphonates and the like can be used. The generic formula for some zwitterionic surfactants for use here is:

Ε ^ -Ν + ίΗ ² ) (R ³ ) R ⁴ [χη wherein R ¹ is a hydrophobic group; R ² and R ³ are each a C 1 -C 14 alkyl, hydroxyalkyl or other substituted alkyl group which may also be attached to form ring structures with N; R ⁴ is a moiety attaching a cationic nitrogen atom to a hydrophilic group and is typically an alkylene, hydroxyalkylene, or polyalkoxy group containing from 1 to 10 carbon atoms; and X is a hydrophilic group, which is preferably a carboxylate or sulfonate group. Preferred hydrophobic groups ^R1 are alkyl groups containing 1 to 24, preferably less than 18, preferably less than 16 carbon atoms. The hydrophobic group may contain an unsaturation state and / or substituents and / or linking groups such as aryl groups, amide groups, ester groups and the like.

»· 1 · 4 · 4 · * · ·

• · · · <

• 4 ► * · ♦

In general, simple alkyl groups are preferred for cost and stability reasons.

Highly preferred zwitterionic surfactants include betaine and sulfobetaine active surfactants, derivatives thereof, or mixtures thereof. These betaine and sulfobetaine surfactants are preferred herein because they aid disinfection by increasing the permeability of bacterial cell walls, thus allowing other active ingredients to enter the cell.

In addition, due to the mildly acting profile of betaine and sulfobetaine surfactants, these are particularly suitable for cleaning delicate surfaces, for example hard surfaces in contact with food and / or children. Betaine and sulfobetaine surfactants are also exceptionally mild to the skin and / or treated surfaces.

Suitable betaine and sulfobetaine surfactants for use herein are betaine / sulfobetaine and betaine-like detergents in which the molecule contains both basic and acidic groups that form an internal salt providing the molecule with both cationic and anionic hydrophilic groups over a wide pH range. Some common examples of these detergents are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,082,275, 2,702,279 and 2,255,082, incorporated herein by reference. Preferred betaine and sulfobetaine surfactants are according to the following formula:

R ² (CH ₂ ) _n [Y ~] 4444 44 44

4 9 4 4 4 4 4 9 9

4 t · to ··· this to this "to" in which R ¹ is a hydrocarbon chain containing from 1 to 24 carbon atoms, preferably from 8 to 18, more preferably from 12 to 14; wherein R ² and R ³ are R ¹ hydrocarbon chains containing from 1 to 3 carbon atoms, preferably 1 carbon atom; wherein n is an integer from 1 to 10, preferably from 1 to 6; more preferably is 1; Y is selected from the group consisting of carboxyl and sulfuryl radicals; and wherein the sum of the hydrocarbon chains R ^1, R ² and R ³ is from 14 to 24 carbon atoms or mixtures thereof.

Examples of particularly suitable betaine active surfactants include C ₁₂ -C 16 alkyldimethyl betaine such as coconut betaine and C 10 -C 16 alkyldimethyl betaine such as lauryl betaine. Coconut betaine is commercially available from Seppic under the trade name Amonyl 265 ^R. Laurylbetain is commercially available from Albright & Wilson under the trade name Empigen BB / L ^R.

Other specific zwitterionic surfactants have generic formulas:

R ^{v * * * * x} -C (O) -N (R ² ) - (C (R ³ ) 2) n N (R ² ) 2 ⁽⁺⁾ - (C (R ³ ) 2) _n -SO 3 ^{(- )} ; or

R ^x -C (O) -N (R ² ) - (C (R ³ ) 2) n N (R ² ) 2 ⁽⁺⁾ - (C (R ³ ) ₂ ) _n -COO ^(_) ;

wherein each R ¹ is a hydrocarbon, for example an alkyl group containing from 8 to 20, preferably up to 18, more preferably up to 16 carbon atoms; each R ² is either hydrogen (when attached to the amide nitrogen), short chain alkyl or substituted alkyl having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, preferably a group selected from methyl, ethyl, propyl, hydroxy substituted ethyl or propyl, and mixtures thereof preferably methyl; each R ³ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and hydroxy, and each

• 44

4 4

4 4

444

4

N is a number from 1 to 4, preferably from 2 to 3, more preferably 3, with no more than one hydroxy group in each moiety (C (R ³ ) ₂ ). The R ¹ groups may be branched and / or unsaturated. The R ² groups can also be joined to form annular structures. The active surfactant of this type is C10-C14 fatty acylamidopropylene- (hydroxypropylene) sulfobetaine, which is available from Sherex Company under the trade name Varion CAS sulfobetaine ^{(R &lt;&gt;&gt;)} .

Suitable nonionic surfactants for use herein are fatty alcohol ethoxylates and / or propoxylates which are commercially available with a variety of fatty alcohol chain lengths and a variety of degree of ethoxylation. Indeed, the HLB values of these alkoxylate nonionic surfactants depend essentially on the chain length of the fatty alcohol in question, the nature of the alkoxylation and the degree of alkoxylation. Surfactant catalogs are available with a list of surfactants, including non-ionic ones, together with their respective HLB values.

Particularly suitable for use herein as nonionic surfactants are hydrophobic nonionic surfactants having an HLB (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance) value below 16 and preferably below 15. These hydrophobic nonionic surfactants have been found to provide good oily cutting properties.

Preferred nonionic surfactants for use herein are nonionic surfactants according to the formula:

R _{0 -} (C ₂ H ₄ O) _n (C ₃ H ₆ O) _m H, wherein R is a C 6 -C ₂₂ alkyl chain or a C ₅ -C ₂₈ alkylbenzene chain, and wherein n + m is from 0 to 20 and n is from 0 to 15 and m are from 0 to 20, preferably n + m is from 1 to 15 and n and are from 0.5 to 15, more preferably n + m is from 1 to 10 and n are from 0 to 10. Preferred R chains for use herein are alkyl Accordingly, suitable hydrophobic nonionic surfactants of the brand Dobanol R 912.5 (HLB = 8.1; R is a mixture of alkyl chains Cg and Cn, n being 2.5 are suitable for use herein) am is 0) or Lutensol R ΊΌ 3 (HLB = 8; R is alkyl chains of C 13, n is 3 and m is 0), or Lutensol R AO3 (HLB = 8; R is a mixture of alkyl chains of C ₁₃ and C ₁₅ , n is 3 and m is 0), or Tergitol R 25L3 (HLB = 7.7; R is in the range of alkyl chain length C _I2-C15, n is 3 and m is 0), or Dobanol R 23-3 (HLB = 8.1; R is a mixture of C12 and C13 alkyl chains, n is 3 and m is 0), or Dobanol R 23-2 (HLB = 6.1; R is a mixture of or C12 and C13 alkyl chains, n is 2 and m is 0, or Dobanol R 45-7 (HLB = 11.6; R is a mixture of C14 and C15 alkyl chains, n is 7 and m is 0), or Dobanol R 23- 6.5 (HLB = 11.9); R is a mixture of C12 and C13 alkyl chains, n is 6.5 am is 0), or Dobanol R 25-7 (HLB = 12; R is a mixture of C12 and C15 alkyl chains, n is 7 am is 0), or Dobanol R 91-5 {HLB = 11.6; R is a mixture of alkyl chains C8 and Cn, n is 5 and m is 0) or Dobanol R 91-6 (HLB = 12.5; R is a mixture of alkyl chains C8 and Cn, n is 6 and m is 0), or Dobanol R 91-8 (HLB = 13.7; R is a mixture of alkyl chains of C8 and Cn, n is 8 and m is 0), and Dobanol R 91-10 (HLB = 14.2; R is a mixture of alkyl chains of C8 to Cn, n is 10 and m is 0), or mixtures thereof. Preferred herein are Dobanol R 912.5, or Lutensol R TO3, or Lutensol R AO3, or Tergitol R 25L3, or Dobanol R 23-3, or Dobanol R 23-2, or Dobanol R 2310, or mixtures thereof. Dobanol R surfactants are commercially available from SHELL. Lutensol R surfactants are available from BASF and Tergitol surfactants are commercially available from UNION CARBIDE.

λ / Value anionic surfactants for use herein include water soluble salts or acids of the formula ROSO 3 M wherein R is preferably a hydrocarbyl C ₂ -C ₆ 4z preferably an alkyl or hydroxyalkyl having an alkyl component of C8-C ₂ o ·· ·· preferably ft ftftftft · «ftft • ·« · · · · · · ftftftft • ft · ftftftft ftft • · · · · ftftft ftftft ftft ft • • ftftft ftftftft · ·· ftft ftft ftftft ftft ftft -C ₈ alkyl, C ₈ or hydroxyalkyl, and M is H or a cation such as an alkali metal cation (such as sodium, potassium carbonate, lithium), or ammonium or substituted ammonium (such as methyl, dimethyl, and trimethyl ammonium cations and quaternary ammonium cations such as tetramethylammonium, and dimethylpiperdinium quaternary ammonium cations and cations derived from alkylamines such as ethylamine, diethylamine, triethylamine, and mixtures thereof, and the like).

Other suitable anionic surfactants for use herein include alkyl diphenyl ether sulfonates and alkyl carboxylates. Other anionic surfactants can include salts (including, for example, sodium, potassium, ammonium and substituted ammonium salts such as mono-, di- and triethanolamine salts) of soap, linear alkylbenzenesulfonates C9-C20 primary or secondary alkanesulfonates C ₈ -C _22, C ₈ -C ₂₄ olefin sulfonates, sulfonated polycarboxylic acids prepared by sulfonating the pyrolyzed alkaline earth citrate product, for example as described in British Patent No. 1,082,179, C ₈ -C ₂₄ alkyl polyglycol ether sulfates (containing up to 10 moles of ethylene oxide); alkyl ester such as methyl ester and _6-CI4; acyl glycerol sulfonates, fatty oleylglycerosírany, alkyl phenol, paraffin sulfonates, alkyl phosphates, isethionates such as the acyl isethionates, N-acyl taurates, alkylsukcinimáty and sulfosuccinates, monoesters of sulfosuccinate (especially saturated and unsaturated monoesters of C ₂ -C ₈₎ diesters of sulfosuccinate (especially saturated and unsaturated C ₆ -C diesters ₄ ) Acyl sarcosinates, alkyl polysaccharide sulfates such as alkyl polyglucoside sulfates (nonionic unsulfated branched primary alkyl sulfates, carboxylates such as those having the formula:

described mze), alkylpolyethoxyRO (CH ₂ CH ₂ O) _to CH ₂ COO-M +;

Ftftft 9 ftftft 9 ft ftft

Dissolving means may be present, preferably providing improved wipes 30 of the present invention. Suitably wherein R is alkyl of C 8 -C ₂₂ , k is an integer from 0 to 10, and M is a soluble salt-forming cation. Resin acids and hydrogenated resin acids such as rosin, hydrogenated rosin, and resin acids and hydrogenated resin acids present in or derived from tall oil are also suitable. Additional examples are provided in Surfactants and Cleaners (Vol. I and II by Schwartz, Perry and Berch). The variety of these surfactants is also generally described in U.S. Patent No. 3,929,678, issued December 30, 1975 to Laughlin et al., At Block 23, line 58 to Block 29, line 23 (incorporated herein by reference).

Preferred anionic surfactants for use herein are alkylbenzene sulfonates, alkyl sulfates, alkyl alkoxylated sulfates, paraffin sulfonates, and mixtures thereof.

The internal disinfectant reverse phase of the present invention has a pH of from 1 to 12, preferably from 3 to 10, and more preferably from 3 to 9. The pH can be adjusted using alkalizing or acidifying agents. Examples of alkalizing agents are alkali metal hydroxides such as potassium and / or sodium hydroxide, or alkali metal oxides such as sodium and / or potassium oxide. Examples of acidifying agents are organic or inorganic acids such as citric or sulfuric acid.

The internal disinfecting opposite phase of the present invention, these solvents utíracím cleaning solvents for incorporation herein include propylene glycol derivatives such as nbutoxypropanol or n-butoxypropoxypropanol, water-soluble CARBITOL® solvents ^(r) or water-soluble CELLOSOLVE® solvents ^(R). Water soluble solvents * · • φ φ φ φ φ φ φ • • · φ φ φ φ φ • • • • • • •

CARBITOL ^(r) is a compound of the 2- (2-alkoxyethoxy) ethanol class in which the alkoxy group is derived from ethyl, propyl or butyl. A preferred water-soluble carbitol is 2- (2-butoxyethoxy) ethanol, also known as butylcarbitol. The water-soluble CELLOSOLVE ^(R) solvents are compounds of the 2-alkoxyethoxyethanol class, with 2-butoxyethoxyethanol being preferred. Other suitable solvents are benzyl alcohol, methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol and diols such as 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol and 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol and mixtures thereof. Preferred solvents for use herein are n-butoxypropoxypropanol, butylcarbitol ^(R) and mixtures thereof. The most preferred solvent for use herein is butylcarbitol ^(R) .

The internal disinfectant reverse phase may further include other optional ingredients comprising radical scavengers, chelating agents, thickeners, fillers, silencers, stabilizers, bleach activators, dirt suspending agents, dye transfer agents, brighteners, anti-dusting agents, enzymes, dispersant, limiters dye transfer, dye, perfume, (organic) dye, and the like.

Suitable radical scavengers for use herein include the well-known, substituted mono- and di-hydroxybenzenes and their derivatives, alkyl and aryl carboxylates, and mixtures thereof. Preferred radical scavengers for use herein include a diterc. butylhydroxytoluene (BHT), p-hydroxytoluene, hydroquinin (HQ), di-tert-butylhydroquinin (DTBHQ), mono-tert-butylhydrochinin (MTBHQ), tert-butyl-hydroxyanysole, p-hydroxyanysole, benzoic acid, 2,5- dihydroxybenzoic acid, 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid, toluylic acid, catechol, t-butylcatechol, 4-allylcatechol, 4-acetylcatechol, 2-methoxyphenol, 2-ethoxyphenol, 2-methoxy-4- (2-propenyl) phenol,

3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, 2,3-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, benzyl 44a · aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 1,1,3-tris (2-methyl-4-hydroxy-5- t -butylphenyl) butane, tert-butylhydroxyanylin, p-hydroxyanylin as well as n-propyl gallate. Highly preferred for use herein is di-tert-butylhydroxytoluene, which is, for example, commercially available from SHELL under the trade name IONOL CP ^(R) .

The radical scavenger or mixture thereof is typically present in the internal water phase up to a level of 5% by weight, preferably from 0.001% to 3% by weight, and more preferably from 0.001% to 1.5%.

Suitable chelating agents for use herein may be any chelating agent known to those skilled in the art, such as those selected from the group consisting of phosphite chelating agents, aminocarboxylate chelating agents, or other carboxylate chelating agents, or polyfunctionally substituted aromatic chelating agents, and mixtures thereof.

Such phosphonate chelating agents may comprise etidronic acid (1-hydroxyethylidenebiphosphoric acid or HEDP) as well as aminophosphite compounds containing alkylene phosphite, alkali metal ethane 1-hydroxydiphosphite, nitrilotrimethylene phosphite, ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphite, and diethylenetaphosphite. The phosphite compounds may be present either in their acid form or as salts of different cations on some or all of their acid functionalities. Preferred phosphite chelating agents for use herein are diethylenetriamine pentamethylene phosphites. These phosphonate chelating agents are available from Monsanto under the trade name DEQUEST ^(R) .

Polyfunctionally substituted aromatic chelating agents may also be useful herein. See. U.S. Patent No. 3,812

No. 044, issued May 21, 1974 to Connor et al. Preferred • 99 99 9999 99 99

9 9 * 9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 999

999 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

9 9 9 9 9

999 99 99 999 99 99 compounds of this type in acid form are dihydroxydisulfobenzenes such as 1,2-dihydroxy-3,5-disulfobenzene.

A preferred biodegradable chelating agent for use herein is ethylenediamine N, N ^x -disuccinamic acid, or an alkali metal, or an alkaline earth, ammonium, or a salt substitute thereof, or mixtures thereof. The ethylenediamine 1SbNP-disuccinic acid, especially the (S, S) isomer, is extensively described in U.S. Patent No. 4,704,233, issued May 23, 1992.

November 1987 to Hartman and Perkins. Ethylenediamine N, -disukcinamová ^I is, for example, commercially for grabs from Palmer Research Laboratories under the tradename ssEDDS ^(R).

Suitable aminocarboxylate chelating agents useful herein include ethylenediaminetetraacetate, diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA), N-hydroxyethylenediamine triacetate, nitrilotriacetate, ethylenediaminetetrapropionate, triethylenetetraaminhexaacetate, ethanediglycine tetracycline acid, propylenediamine tetraacetate) , ammonium and substituted ammonium salts. Particularly suitable for use herein are diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), propylenediaminetetraacetic acid (PDTA), which is, for example, commercially available from BASF under the trade name Trilon FS ^(R) and methylglycine diacetic acid (MGDA).

Other carboxylate chelating agents for use herein include malonic acid, salicylic acid, glycine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, dipicolinic acid, and derivatives or mixtures thereof.

The chelating agent or mixture thereof is typically present in the inner opposite phase at a level of from 0.001% to 5% by weight, preferably from 0.001% to 3% by weight, and more preferably from 0.001% to 3% by weight.

0.001% to 1.5%.

The disinfectant wipes 30 of the present invention are suitable for disinfecting a variety of surfaces, including living surfaces (eg, human skin), as well as inanimate surfaces containing any solid surfaces.

Regardless of its composition, the inner opposite phase will preferably contain from about 67 to about 92% emulsion 12. Most preferably, the inner opposite phase will contain from about 82 to about 91% emulsion 12.

Where the inner opposite phase contains water as the main component, the inner phase may comprise water-soluble or dispersible materials that do not adversely affect the stability of the high internal phase inverse emulsion 12. One such material, which is typically contained in the inner aqueous phase, is a water-soluble electrolyte. The dissolved electrolyte minimizes the tendency of the materials present in the lipid phase to also dissolve in the aqueous phase. Any electrolyte capable of imparting ionic strength to the aqueous phase may be used. Suitable electrolytes include water-soluble mono-, di- or trivalent inorganic salts such as water-soluble halides, e.g., alkali metal chlorides, nitrates and sulfates and alkaline earth metals. Examples of such electrolytes include sodium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and sodium bicarbonate. The electrolyte will typically be present at a concentration ranging from about 1 to about 20% of the internal aqueous phase.

Other water-soluble or dispersible materials that may be present in the inner opposite phase include thickeners and viscosity modifiers. Suitable thickeners and viscosity modifiers include polyacrylic and hydrophobically modified polyacrylic resins such as Carbopol and Pemulen, starches such as corn starch, potato starch, tapioca, gums such as guar gum, gum arabic, cellulose ethers such as hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose and hydroxyethyl cellulose. . These thickeners and viscosity modifiers will typically be present at a concentration ranging from about 0.05 to about 0.5% of the internal phase.

Again, where water is a major component of the inner opposite phase, the water-soluble or dispersible material that may be present in the inner phase comprises polycationic polymers to provide steric (spatial) stabilization at the opposite phase-lipid phase interface and nonionic polymers which also stabilize emulsion 12. Suitable polycationic polymers include Reten 201, Kymene ^(R) 557H, and Aero 711. Suitable nonionic polymers include polyethylene glycols (PEG) such as Carbowax. These polycationic and nonionic polymers will typically be present at a concentration ranging from about 0.1 to about 1.0% of the opposite phase.

3. Emulsifier

Another key component of the high internal phase inverse emulsion 12 of the present invention is an emulsifier. In the emulsions 12 of the present invention, the emulsifier is contained in an effective amount. What constitutes an effective amount will depend on many factors including appropriate amounts of lipid and internal reverse phase components, the type of emulsifiers used, the level of impurities present in the emulsifiers, and similar factors. The emulsifier typically comprises from about 1 to about 10% emulsion 12. Preferably, the emulsifier will comprise from about 3 to about 6% emulsion 12. Most preferably the emulsifier will comprise from about 4 to about 5% emulsion 12. Although a single emulsifier is used to describe this component More than one emulsifier may be used to form the emulsion. Indeed, as discussed below, it may be desirable, when certain materials are used, to utilize both a primary and a secondary emulsifier. Although it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention where two emulsifiers are used, the primary emulsifier comprises from about 1 to about 7%, preferably from about 2 to about 5%, and most preferably from about 2 to about 4% by weight of emulsion 12; and the secondary emulsifier comprises from about 0.5 to about 3%, preferably from about 0.75 to about 2%, and most preferably from about 0.75 to about 1.5% by weight of emulsion 12.

The emulsifier needs to be substantially lipid soluble or miscible with the lipid phase materials, especially at temperatures at which the lipid material melts. It should also have a relatively low HLB value. Emulsifiers suitable for use in the present invention typically have HLB values in the range of about 2 to about 5 and may contain mixtures of different emulsifiers. These emulsifiers will preferably have HLB values in the range of about 2.5 to about 3.5.

Preferred emulsifiers for use in the present invention include silicone polymer emulsifiers such as alkyldimethicone copolyols (e.g., Dow Corning Q2-5200 laurylmethicone copolyol). Such emulsifiers are described in detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 767,120, filed Jan. 14, 1997, by L. Mackay (Case 5653C), incorporated herein by reference.

Other suitable emulsifiers are described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 336,456, filed November 9, 1994, by L. Mackey et al. (Case 5478); and U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 761,097, filed Dec. 5, 1996, by L. Mackey et al. (Case 5478R); both of which are incorporated herein by reference. The emulsifiers described therein contain certain sorbitan esters, preferably sorbitan esters of C16-C22 fatty acids, saturated, unsaturated or branched chain. Because of the way in which they are typically produced, these sorbitan esters usually contain mixtures of mono-, di-, tri-, etc. esters. Representative examples of suitable sorbitan esters include sorbitan monooleate (e.g., SPAN ^R) 80), sorbitan sesquioleate (e.g. Arlacel ^(R) 83), sorbitanmonoizostearat (e.g. Crill ^(R) 6 made by Croda, sorbitan (e.g., SPAN ^(R) 60 ), sorbitan trioleate (eg, SPAN ^(R> 85), sorbitan tristearate (eg, SPAN ^(R) 65) and sorbitan dipalmitates (eg, SPAN ^(r) 40). Lauryl methicone copolyol is a particularly preferred emulsifier for use in the present invention. Other suitable emulsifiers described herein include certain glyceryl monoesters, preferably saturated, unsaturated or branched C ₁₆ -C ₂₂ fatty acids, such as glyceryl monostearate, glyceryl monopalmitate and glyceryl monobehenate; certain sucrose fatty, preferably sucrose fatty acid esters of saturated, branched C ₂ -C ₂₂ fatty acids such as sucrose trilaurate and sucrose distearate (for example, Crodesta ^(R) F10), and certain polyglycerol esters of C ₁ -C ₂₂ fatty acids, such as diglycerol monooleate and tetraglycerol monooleate, may be added. In addition to these primary emulsifiers, useful co-emulsifiers may be used to provide additional stability to the water-in-lipid emulsion 12. Suitable co-emulsifiers include phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidycholine containing compounds such as lecithins; fatty acid salts, long chain C ₆ -C ₂₂ such as sodium stearate, long chain _C22-CI6 dialiphatic, short chain _Ci-C4 dialiphatic quaternary ammonium salts such as sodium and dilojodimethylchlorid dilojodimethylmethylsíran sodium; dialkoyl (alkenoyl) -2-hydroxyethyl long chain C ₆ -C _22; C1-C4 short-chain quaternary ammonium dialiphatic salts such as dilojooyl-2hydroxyethyldimethyl sodium chloride, long-chain C16- _C22 acid esters, unsaturated and

Dialiphatic imidazole quaternary ammonium salts such as methyl-1-tallowamidoethyl-2-tallowimidazole methylsulfate and methyl 11-oleylamidoethyl-2-oleylimidazole methylsulfate; C1-C4 short chain dialiphatic, C16-C22 long chain monoaliphatic benzylic salts of quaternary ammonium such as dimethylstearyl benzyl chloride and synthetic phospholipids such as stearamidopropyl PG-dimonium chloride (phospholipid PTS from Mona Industries). Interfacial voltage modifiers such as cetyl and stearyl alcohol may also be included in the water-lipid interface for closer packaging.

Other emulsifiers useful in making the present invention include the high viscosity emulsifiers described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 759,547, filed Dec. 5, 1996, by L. Mackey and B. Hird, which is incorporated herein by reference. These emulsifiers preferably have a viscosity at 55 ° C of at least about 500 centipoise. (Viscosity can be measured using a Brookfield-type rotary disk viscometer from Lab-Line Instruments.) This application describes in particular the use of emulsifiers such as those referred to by The Lubrizol Corporation (Wickliffe, OH) such as OS-122102, OS-121863, OS -121864, OS-80541J and OS-80691J, which are products of the reaction of: (i) a hydrocarbyl substituted carboxylic acid or anhydride (preferably polyisobutylene substituted succinic acid or anhydride); and (ii) an amine or an alcohol to form an ester or amide product. Materials and methods for their manufacture are described in U.S. Patent No. 4,708,753, issued November 24, 1987 to Forsberg (see especially column 3, lines 32-38; and column 8, line 10 to column 26, line 68); and U.S. Patent No. 4,844,756, granted

July 4, 1989 to Forsberg; both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

• ·

Other materials believed to be useful in the present invention include hydrocarbon substituted succinaldehydes such as those described in U.S. Patent No. 3,215,707, issued November 2, 1965 to Rense; U.S. Patent No. 3,231,587, issued November 25, 1996 to Rense; U.S. Patent No. 5,047,175, issued to Forsberg on September 10, 1991; and World Patent Publication No. WO 87/03613, published by Forsberg on June 18, 1987. These publications are all incorporated herein by reference.

Still other materials useful as emulsifiers, especially as a co-emulsifier with a high viscosity primary emulsifier, are ABA block copolymers of 12-hydroxystearic acid and polyethylene oxide. Such materials are described in U.S. Patent No. 4,875,927, issued to T. Tadros on October 24, 1989, which is incorporated herein by reference. An exemplary material of this class useful herein is an emulsifier available from Imperial Chemical Industries PLC as Arlacel P135.

Although all of the materials described above may be used as a single emulsifier, it may be desirable to use more than one emulsifier to form emulsion 12. Particularly where a high viscosity emulsifier is used, some sticky feeling may occur when the product treated by it is subjected to shear pressures that break up emulsion 12 in use. In this case, it may be desirable to use a relatively lower viscosity co-emulsifier with the primary emulsifier, to allow the use of a lower amount of the main emulsifier, thereby reducing stickiness. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a primary emulsifier available from Lubrizol (i.e., a reaction product of a polyisobutylene substituted succinic acid and an amine) and a secondary emulsifier which is an ABA block copolymer of poly-12-hydroxystearic acid and polyethylene oxide (e.g. Arlacel P135) ICI), to provide an emulsion of 12 elevated levels of water retention over time as well as a beneficial reduction in tackiness (through a reduction in the level of the primary emulsifier). The skilled artisan will appreciate that it is the various end uses that dictate where multiple emulsifiers and appropriate relative amounts of each are suitable, if appropriate. This determination will require only routine experimentation by the skilled artisan in view of this disclosure.

4. Optional emulsion components

The high internal phase inverse emulsions 12 of the present invention may also contain other optional components typically present in moisture retention solutions of this type. These optional ingredients may be present either in the continuous lipid phase or in the inner polar (opposite) phase and include perfumes, antimicrobial (e.g., antibacterial) active agents, pharmaceutical active agents, deodorants, opacifiers, contractions, skin moisturizers and the like, as well. as mixtures thereof. All of these materials are well known in the art as ingredients for such formulations and can be used in effective, appropriate amounts in the emulsions 12 of the invention. A particularly preferred optional ingredient that is included in the emulsions 12 of the wet-like wipes 30 of the present invention is glycerin as a skin conditioning agent.

The composition of the emulsion 12 of the articles of the invention is described and claimed herein in terms of the components and corresponding amounts of these components that are present after the formation of the emulsion 12. That is, when a stable emulsion 12 is formed and applied to a given carrier. It is to be understood that the respective description (components and amount) of emulsion 12 also includes emulsions 12 formed by combining the described components and their levels, regardless of the chemical identity of the components after emulsification and application to a given carrier.

Other optional components of the product

In addition to the high internal phase inverse emulsion 12, there are other optional ingredients that may be included in the articles of the invention, typically for the purpose of increasing the cleaning performance of the article when the internal opposite phase of the emulsion 12 is released. emulsion 12 at significant levels (e.g. greater than 2% of the internal phase) as it could cause premature break of emulsion 12. These include a variety of anionic detersive surfactants having relatively high HLB values (e.g., HLB values from about 10 to about 25 ), such as sodium linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS), or alkyl ethoxy sulfites (AES), as well as nonionic cleaning surfactants such as alkyl ethoxylates, alkylaminoxides, alkyl polyglycosides, zwitterionic surfactants, ampholic cleaning surfactants, and cationic surfactants and such as cetyltrimethylammonium salts and lauryltrimethylammonium salts. See. U.S. Patent No. 4,597,898 to Vander Meer, issued July 1, 1986 (incorporated herein by reference), in particular columns 12 to 16 with respect to exemplary anionic, nonionic, zwitterionic, ampholic and cationic detersive surfactants. Instead, these high HLB cleaning surfactants may be applied to or contained in the article separately from emulsion 12. For example, an aqueous solution of these high HLB cleaning surfactants may be applied to the carrier either before or after the emulsion is applied thereto.

9

9

9 9 9

9 9 9

9

9 9 • 9 9 99

9 9

9 9

999

99

12. During wiping, emulsion 12 is broken and releases components of the opposite phase so that they can then be combined with a high HLB cleaning surfactant to provide better cleaning of the hard surface.

Although the disclosure of the present invention relates generally to the use of one emulsion 12 per carrier, it is recognized that two or more different emulsions 12 may be used in the preparation of a single article. In such embodiments, emulsions 12 may vary in a variety of ways, including but not limited to internal reverse phase and external lipid phase, emulsifiers used, components used for both internal and lipid phases, and the like. The use of multiple emulsions 12 in one product may be particularly desirable when two or more components are incompatible with each other, but each may be contained in a separate (or separate) emulsion 12. Alternatively, if a particular reaction is desired at the time of use, the reactants may be are provided in separate emulsions 12. After the shearing action of the emulsion 12, a desirable reaction occurs. For example, where it is desired during the foaming wipe process, mild acid may be incorporated into the inner opposite phase of one emulsion 12, while bicarbonate is incorporated into the inner opposite phase of the other emulsion 12. By breaking the emulsions 12 during use, the reactants in question react together to provide the desired foam.

Descriptions of suitable emulsion 12 are also found in the aforementioned co-assigned World Patent Application No. WO

96/14835, published May 23, 1996, on behalf of Mackey et al., Incorporated herein by reference.

Preferred emulsion pattern · · • · • · φ · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · φ · · · ΦΦΦ 4 4 4

Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ Φ 4

ΦΦ · ΦΦ φφ «φ

As noted above, the emulsion 12 may be applied to the backing layer (or even only the backing) 10 in some intermittent (or discontinuous) pattern. As noted above, the discontinuous coated sheath is one in which the areas of the substrate on which the sheath is not are between the areas of the substrate on which the sheath of the coating is. Suitable intermittent patterns include separate islet regions of emulsion 12, a substantially continuous emulsion mesh 12, and separate emulsion macro macros 12. In a preferred embodiment, emulsion 12 is deposited in separate strips of emulsion 12 as shown in FIG. These strips are preferably continuous as shown, but may alternatively include a pattern of discontinuous segments that together include the strip. When strips are selected, these are preferably oriented in the longitudinal direction (production lines), for ease of manufacture.

The emulsion 12 may be applied and arranged on the backing material 10 by any suitable means well known in the art such as gravure printing, flexographic printing, spraying and preferably extrusion. More preferably, the emulsion 12 is extruded as a series of continuous, cylindrically shaped bodies (or beads). A continuous cylindrical shape is preferred for the emulsion 12 because this shape reduces the surface area to volume (or quantity) of the emulsion 12.

The strips may be straight as shown, may be sinusoidal shaped and the like. If sinusoid-shaped strips are selected, these strips are preferably in a phase such that parallelism is maintained and each strip remains equally spaced from adjacent strips.

It is desirable that the emulsion 12 have a minimum possible surface area to volume ratio. Minimizing the surface area to volume ratio reduces water loss from emulsion 12 due to evaporation. The emulsion 12 preferably has a surface area ratio of 49

4 4 4 · 4 9 9 · 4 • 4 4 4 4 44 4 4 4 4

949 49 4,999 44 4 • * · · 4 · 4 4 4

44944 44 444 94 44 to a volume less than or equal to 4 / unit length, preferably less than or equal to 3 / unit length, most preferably less than or equal to 2 / unit length, in which the unit length is measured in the emulsion 12 cross section. the surface areas to the volume for the cylindrical bodies (or strips) of the emulsion 12 range from 101.6 to 508 cm ^-1 , and preferably 190.5 to 317.5 cm ^-1 .

However, optimum results are not achieved by applying a single unit emulsion sphere to the wearer 30 with such a wipe. Such an arrangement would likely provide adequate water, but distribution of this water would be highly localized and would not extend across the surface of wipe 30. the distribution of the emulsion 12, or more specifically the water released therefrom, is approximately equal to the perception of water spray on the skin.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that when the basis weight and absorbency of the substrate 10 increases, the amount of water necessary to saturate the substrate 10 is also increased. Thus, as the basis weight and / or absorbency of the substrate 10 increases, the amount of emulsion 12 applied to the substrate 10 should increase proportionally.

Preferably, 5 to 35 percent, and preferably 10 to 25 percent of the surface area of the moisturizing wipe 30 has an emulsion 12 disposed thereon. After breaking the emulsion 12 locally moistens the corresponding areas of the substrate 10. The wetted portion of the substrate 10 can range from 10 to 90% The surface area of the substrate 10 is, of course, an equilibrium of the surface area of the substrate 10 remaining dry due to the given intermittent pattern.

Obviously, in use, the percentage of wetted surface area will be greater than the percentage of surface area initially covered with emulsion 12. It is further to be understood that certainly the entire «to · ···· ··« · • · ··· ···· The composition of the silk moisturizer wipe 30 may be moistened as a function of time and / or use of this napkin 30.

Thus, the beads (or strips) of emulsion 12 are preferably applied to the substrate 10 in an arrangement that satisfies both the diameter and pitch of the beads in some preferred geometry. The amount of water carried by the emulsion 12 increases according to the square of the diameter of these beads. Thus, as the diameter of these bodies increases, the spacing between adjacent strips of emulsion 12 should also increase. Suitable spacing between adjacent beads of the emulsion ranges from 0.76 to 38.1 mm and preferably from 4.44 to 9.52 mm.

If the emulsion 12 is to be directly exposed to the surface, i.e. arranged on the exterior of the substrate 10 when the moisturizing wipe 30 is applied to the wearer, the emulsion 12 preferably comprises a level of at least 25 percent, more preferably at least 50 percent and most preferably at least 75 percent of the basis weight of the substrate 10. Alternatively, when the emulsion 12 will be disposed between two layers of the substrate 10 in a laminate for application of paper tissues, the emulsion 12 preferably comprises at least 150 percent, more preferably at least 200 percent, and most preferably at least 250 percent of the basis weight given two layers. In such a laminate assembly for hard surface cleaning applications, emulsion 12 preferably comprises at least 500 percent, more preferably at least 650 percent, and most preferably at least 800 percent of the combined basis weight of the two layers.

It should be noted that the basis weights described herein refer to the total basis weight of substrate 10, as the average of areas with different basis weights contained in substrate 10. The basis weight of substrate 10 can be measured according to ASTM Test Method D3776-9, which test method is incorporated herein. By reference, with results reported in pounds per 3000 square feet (279 m ² ). The weight of the emulsion 12 is gravimetrically measured once the basis weight of the substrate 10 is known as a tare.

If desired, the regions 34 of the emulsion-free substrate 10 may be slightly wider in the (transversal) cross-section at the edges of the wipe 30 than the corresponding emulsion-coated regions 34 disposed on the interior of the wipe 30. This arrangement suits processing and longitudinal cutting moisturizing napkin 30 into narrower, separate units for transportation and sale to the consumer. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the emulsion-free regions 34 may also form an edge at the ends of the napkin 30. Such geometry is readily accomplished by not applying the emulsion 12 continuously. Instead, the emulsion 12 may be applied intermittently in the longitudinal direction (production lines). The substrate 10 is then cut or perforated in a transverse direction, coinciding with the areas 34 without emulsion 12, to provide separable wipes 30.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the emulsion 12 may define decorative features such as macro-patterns. The macroscopes may be used as shown or placed on the intermittent band pattern of emulsion 12 described by reference to Figs. The emulsion macro macros 12 provide the advantage that locally larger amounts of water can be used from a pattern that provides an aesthetically pleasing visual feel to the user where the emulsion 12 is present. The emulsion macro macros 12 can form decorative features. These decorative features may take the form of flowers, butterflies, clouds, trade names, advertisements, or any other pattern intended by the user.

In a preferred embodiment, the backing material 10 comprises tissue paper with a plurality of basis weights. Such a substrate 10

9999 9 9 9 9 99 9 9

999

98 • 9 9 9

9 9 9

9 9 9

9 9 9 • 9 9 · may be manufactured according to the aforementioned patterns describing the same and incorporated herein by reference. A multi-basis weight substrate 10 provides the advantage that excess water will more easily saturate low basis weight regions and, therefore, will be easier to use on the surface. Preferably, the multi-basis weight substrate 10 comprises a substantially continuous basis weight network area with discrete low basis weight areas distributed throughout the substantially continuous network.

Alternatively, a backing material 10 having a semi-continuous pattern of high and low basis weight regions may be selected. In an even less preferred embodiment, a substrate 10 having a substantially continuous network of low basis weight regions may be utilized with separate high-basis weight regions separated therefrom, provided that we are willing to compromise on the strength inherent in the substrate. 10, envisaged, provides the benefit that a substantially continuous pattern of low basis weight regions will more readily allow water displaced from emulsion 12 to penetrate the substrate 10 and be transferred to the surface.

If a substrate 10 having a substantially continuous basis weight region is selected, the spacing of the separate regions of low basis weight is less than the spacing between adjacent strips of emulsion 12. This relative pitch difference ensures that the emulsion 12 will delimit areas of low basis weight and it will be easier to transmit as described above.

For the embodiments described herein for handkerchief applications, a substrate having a basis weight of about 7-10 pounds (3.17-4.53 kg) per 3000 square feet (279 m ² )) (i.e. about 0.011 kg / m ² to 0.016 kg) is suitable. m ² / per layer, and about 50 to 300, and preferably about 100 to 200, separate low basis weight areas per ftftft square inch (6.45 cm ² ). For applications for cleaning hard surfaces is a suitable substrate 10 having a basis weight of 20 pounds (9.07 kg) per 3,000 square feet (279 m ²⁾ / i.e. about 0.032 kg / m ² / a of about 100 to 200 discrete regions with low basis weight per square inch (6.45 cm ² ).

In a preferred embodiment, the moisturizing wipe 30 may be fabricated according to commonly assigned US patent application. No. 08 / 886,764, entitled Cleaning Products Containing Cellulose Based Fibrous Structure Having Separate Areal Weight Areas Treated with High Internal Phase Inverse Emulsion, filed July 1, 1997, by Nicholas J. Nissing et al., Description of this Patent is incorporated herein by reference.

If a backing material 10 having a semi-continuous basis weight pattern is chosen, such a backing 10 may be manufactured according to commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 5,628,876, issued May 13, 1997 to Ayers et al., And incorporated herein by reference. This semi-continuous pattern is preferably oriented in the longitudinal direction (production lines). If such geometry is selected, it is contemplated that the beads (or strips) of emulsion 12 may be applied to the semi-continuous patterned substrate 10 such that the emulsion 12 is positioned adjacent and preferably coinciding with regions of low basis weight of substrate 10. This arrangement provides the above discussed advantage. in that the water displaced from the emulsion 12 is more easily transported through the low basis weight regions of the semi-continuous patterned substrate 10. The low basis weight regions of the semi-continuous pattern, when parallel to the longitudinal direction, may be arranged at a pitch less than or equal to the strips of emulsion 12. .

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that many variations are feasible within the scope of this claimed invention. For example, a laminate assembly can be performed. * *Ίφφ ,φφφ φφ · · · · · · · · · · · · φφφ *φ *φφφφφ φφφφφφφφφφφφφφφφ φφ

Including an emulsion 12 disposed between two layers of the backing material as described above. However, it is not necessary that these layers be identical. One layer may be a nonwoven material for strength. The second layer may be tissue paper to provide water transfer to the surface. If desired, the nonwoven layer may be treated to become hydrophobic, thereby ensuring that the water released from the emulsion 12 is transferred to the surface by a tissue paper layer.

Alternatively, a laminate of two layers of tissue paper may be selected. One of these layers may have a pattern of a multi-weight area as described above. An area with multiple basis weights may include some semi-continuous pattern. The second layer may comprise a single basis weight region for strength. This embodiment provides greater water transfer through one of these layers than the other. Alternatively, the multi-basis weight region layer may comprise a substantially continuous network of high basis weight regions with separate low basis weight regions distributed therein.

In yet another embodiment, a laminate having a plurality of layers may be provided. These layers may include alternating layers of substrate 10 and emulsion 12. This laminate may have two outwardly facing layers of substrate 10 as described above. The emulsion 12 may be completely contained within the laminate or, alternatively, the emulsion 12 may be disposed on one exposed surface of the laminate.

In yet another embodiment, the strips of emulsion 12 may be comprised of discrete beads or spherical surfaces of emulsion 12. These discrete spherical surfaces of the emulsion are preferably placed side by side so as to form a generally intermittent pattern. This arrangement provides the advantage of a suitable ratio of surface area to volume (or quantity) of the emulsion, similar to the above.

described generally cylindrically shaped bodies. Although strips of discrete spherical surfaces are preferred, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that these discrete spherical surfaces of emulsion 12 can be juxtaposed to form any desired discontinuous pattern.

Once again, varying the amount of emulsion 12 within a given discontinuous pattern. For example, certain strips of emulsion 12 may have relatively more emulsion 12 than other strips. This arrangement allows locally greater amounts of water to be discharged onto the surface to be cleaned, but still provides relatively drier edges to minimize the amount of residual water remaining on the surface.

It will be appreciated that, depending on the desired use, the moisturizing wipes 30 may be provided as separate units, may be joined together by perforations as a whole and the like. The wipes 30 may be dispensed individually, as is normally the case with cosmetic tissues. If dispensing is desirable one at a time, these humectant wipes may be provided in a dispensing device from which they are either pulled out or out of, as described in commonly assigned US patents: 4,623,074, issued November 8, 1986 to Dearwester ; No. 5,520,308, issued May 28, 1996 to Berg Jr. et al .; and No. 5,516,001, issued May 14, 1996 to Muckenfuhse et al .; whose descriptions are incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the moisturizing wipes 30 may be rotated on the core as described in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 5,318,235, issued June 7, 1994 to Sato, the disclosure of which is also incorporated herein by reference. If desired, the moisturizing wipes 30 may be slightly compressed for packaging, provided care is taken not to break the emulsion 12. Such packaging may be achieved as described in commonly assigned US Patent No. 5,664 •• 99 999 9999 ··· ····· 9999 · 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 • · ·· 9 9999 ··· ·· 99 ··· 99 99

897, issued July 8, 1997 to Young et al., The disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover all changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

An apparatus (1) for producing a sheathed optional coated structure (10), the apparatus being characterized by: (a) a coating means (2), preferably an intaglio roller, for applying the sheath (11) to the backing structure (10) in a plurality of coated areas, the sheath-coated areas (36) being spaced apart, parallel to each other in a plurality of uncoated areas / 34 /; and (b) support means (4), preferably a cylindrical support portion, to support the structure (10) after application of the sheath (11), said support means comprising a plurality of support portions (18), each of which is incoated with the sheath. 34 /. Device according to claim 1, further characterized in that the coating means (2) comprises an extruder. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the support means (4) comprises a plurality of discrete cylindrical portions (18) attached to the shaft portion, each of said discrete cylindrical portions being positioned in a cover with a non-coated area (34). /. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support means (4) comprises a cylinder, preferably a support cylinder (16) having a first diameter, said cylinder comprising a plurality of axially spaced, given structure of contact disks (14) having a second diameter greater than the first diameter, each of the structure of the contacting discs being in cover with the housing 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 · · · · · 4 4 4444 4 4 4 4,444 * 4 · 44 · 44 4 • 4,444 4,444 44444 44444 44 44 and is preferably integral with said cylinder. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the structure (10) contacting the discs (14) has a structure contacting the circuit with a high coefficient of friction, so that the structure makes rolling contact with these structure contacting the discs of said cylinder. 6. A method of forming a sheath-coated structure, without forming a coating material on the support rolls, the method being characterized by the following steps: (a) coating the backing structure in a plurality of coated areas, the coated areas being in parallel, spaced apart relationship to the uncoated areas; (b) securing the carrier portions, each of which is aligned in coverage with the housing uncoated area; and (c) guiding the sheath-coated structure in contact with said support portions such that each support portion is in an overlapped area of the structure with the sheath. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that the coating in the coated area is intermittent. Method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the coating step comprises a printing process. Method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the printing process comprises gravure printing. The method of any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the sheath coating step comprises extrusion.