DK144406B - FIBROES SOIL-FILLED MUSHROOM AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE MUSHROOM - Google Patents

Description

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(21) Application No. 4674/74 (51) IntCI.3 A 47 K 7/03 (22) Commencement day 4. s ep. 1974 (24) (4th day of ep. 1974 (41) Aim. Available 15 Mar. 1975 (44) Submitted 8 Mar. 1982 (86) International Application No. - (86) International Filing Day - (85) Continuation Day - (62) Stock Application No. -

(30) Priority 14. s ep. 1975, 597545, US

(71) Applicant MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Saint Paul, US.

(72) Inventor Douglas D. CJampbell, US.

(74) Associate Company Chas. Rude.

(54) Fibrous soap-filled sponge and method of making the sponge.

The present invention relates to a fibrous, soap-filled sponge of the kind specified in the preamble of claim 1.

French Patent Specification No. 1,556,238 discloses a massage sponge with two welded concave parts made of a water-absorbent plastic, such as a sponge, between which parts are soaped.

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Accordingly, this sponge has a circular weld edge that can scratch O and irritate the user's skin.

-d- -d "French Patent No. 1,457,713 also discloses a scouring-brush-like tool for scouring and scrubbing kitchen utensils. This tool consists of two outer layers of flexible, abrasive, plate-shaped material consisting of non-woven, arbitrarily oriented fibers and, by means of a binder attached to an inner layer of a foamed thermoplastic material, which can both compress and absorb water, the inner layer acts as a welded joint to which the two outer layers are The inner layer acts as a water-absorbing sponge, which makes it impossible to remove all water from this layer, which must necessarily lie directly on the soap core, which means that the soap core would always be moist and consequently dissolve quickly. Furthermore, due to the welding between the layers, this tool has an unwanted coarse stitch that would damage a user's skin if used for body wash during bathing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a seamless, fibrous, soap-filled sponge which beneficial in giving the human body during bathing a cleansing and mildly stimulating rubbing or rubbing action without acting on the wearer, heavily abrasive or unpleasant, and which is easily adapted to the contour of the bather's body.

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For the purpose of this purpose, the fungus initially mentioned is characterized by that of the characterizing part of claim 1, thereby obtaining a fungus whose fibrous nature provides an effective cleansing of the skin while providing a pleasantly effective stimulation by a light brushing effect, without that the skin is scratched unnecessarily. After use, the excess soap foam can be easily cleaned from the sponge and residual water is shaken out, especially when the fibers used are hydrophobic. The sponge, which is then not slimy, can be placed in a soap dish for later use.

The invention also relates to a method for preparing the sponge according to claim 1, wherein a small soap body is formed which is surrounded by a sheath of organic fibers, and this method is characterized by the method of claim 2, which provides a simple method of forming about a soap body a homogeneous, seam-free sponge which, at the same time after use, easily dries so that it does not get a slimy, greasy character by dissolving the soap completely or partially between each use.

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In order to ensure a good interconnection between the loose fibers in the plate, it has been found convenient that the stitching is performed by tangential insertion or piercing of the felting needles in the fiber plate.

In order to provide a good connection to the soap body, it is advantageous if the felting pins are inserted a little into the surface of the soap body during the stitching.

An embodiment of the sponge according to the invention will be apparent from the following description on the basis of the drawing, in which fig. 1 is a perspective view of the sponge according to the invention; and FIG. 2 is a cross section of the sponge shown in FIG. 1, seen in perspective.

The sponge 10 is made of a nail-free sheath 11 consisting of crimped, rigid, resilient, stretchable, synthetic, organic fibers which surrounds a solid core 12 of any suitable soap or surfactant. The sheath 11 is a thick, composite structure formed solely by the interference or entanglement of the fibers.

The soap-filled sponge according to the invention is preferably formed as a flattened sphere and typically has a diameter of between 5 and 15 cm and a thickness between approx. 10 and 50 mm so that it fits comfortably into the user's hand. The fibers that make up the sheath may go somewhat into the soap core to provide a better overall consistency for the sponge, but the soap should not extend to the outer surface of the sponge. The jacket should be at least approx. 5 mm thick, and the weight ratio of the detergent to the sheath is preferably in the range of from approx.

1: 1 to 20: 1 to provide the desired cleansing and scrubbing effect when used as described above.

The fibers forming the sheath can be any of several water-insoluble synthetic fibers ranging from acetate rayon and cellulose (which are relatively soft when wetted with water) to nylon, polyester and isotactic polypropylene (which are relatively solid ). Nylon and polyester fiber fibers 4 144406 may be oriented to provide additional elasticity and strength. The fiber length should be at least 3 cm to ensure they stay in the sheath. The average diameter of the fibers can vary quite a bit from 20 microns to 200 microns, depending on the expected use of the product. For hand washing, polyester and nylon fibers of 150-200 microns in average diameter provide an effective, powerful cleaning that easily cleans even the dirtiest hands, e.g. a mechanic. Thinner, softer fibers, e.g. acetate rayon fibers having a diameter of 20-50 microns, are commonly used for bathing.

The synthetic fibers may consist of polyamides such as poly (hexamethylenadipamide), polycapromide and / or their copolymers; polyesters such as poly (ethylene terephthalate); poly (hexahydro-p-xylyl lenterephthalate) and / or copolymers; polyolefins such as polypropylene and polyethylene, polyurethanes, polycarbonates, polyacetals, polyacryls, vinyl polymers, vinylidene polymers and similar substances.

It is preferred to use wrinkled fibers for the sponge. The fibers used typically have 2-10 ripples per minute. cm. The ripple increases the elasticity of the sponge and the ability of the fibers to be retained as a coherent, entangled structure as described herein.

Fibers consisting of different polymers and / or of different diameters can be used in the same sponge for e.g. to obtain a few coarse fibers among predominantly fine, soft fibers, the former having a very stimulating effect on the wearer's skin while the latter retaining water.

The solid soaps used in the sponge may be any soap or surfactant suitable for use on human skin. Typical examples of such substances include C 2 -C 2 g fatty acid soaps, such as those based on vegetable oleic acids (e.g., on the basis of coconut oil), sebum, olein, stearin and palmitic acid, saponified with a base, such as potassium or sodium hydroxide. The preferred soap compositions are made somewhat more comfortable by the presence of smaller amounts of 5 144406 (e.g. 5-20% by weight of the total) of plasticizers such as glycerol or water.

A sponge according to the invention is formed by forming a small ball of moldable soap and surrounding it with a plate of crimped loose fibers on which the fibers are stitched together to connect them to one continuous seam-free sheath around the soap. For the preparation, either staple fibers or scraped fibers can be used. The resulting product is then pressed into a flattened, spherical shape.

Alternatively, a ball of loose fibers may be formed into a coherent spherical shape by stitching, after which molten soap may be injected into its interior to form a solid core within the ball.

The sponges of the invention can be made either manually or mechanically, using repeated stitching of felting needles to cause the fibers to adhere to a coherent, entangled, continuous sheath surrounding the soap core. The stitching is performed using felting needles, i.e. straight needles with one or more hooks or notches gripping the fibers as the needles are inserted into a pulp and transporting the grasped fibers into the pulp and releasing the fibers upon extraction of the needles, and are performed essentially by tangential insertion or piercing in the fiber plate which is to form the sheath, with a lesser perpendicular insertion to produce a small entanglement between the sheath and the soap core. The stitching with the needles is continued until a cohesive sheath is formed, which usually takes less than 5 minutes per minute. sponge if worked manually.

The fibers can be dyed to any color to get attractive, colorful sponges on which surface, by printing, weaving or stitching, can be characterized or decorated. In addition, the soaps of the fungus may contain perfumes, antibacterial substances and other substances commonly used in soap mixtures such as medications (for example, to limit liposuction), emollients and other additives.