EP1189531A1

EP1189531A1 - Hydrophilic cotton product comprising a soft surface and a scraping surface

Info

Publication number: EP1189531A1
Application number: EP00951582A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bernard Louis Dit Picard
Original assignee: Georgia Pacific France SAS
Current assignee: Essity Operations France SAS
Priority date: 1999-06-16
Filing date: 2000-06-13
Publication date: 2002-03-27
Anticipated expiration: 2020-06-13
Also published as: PL357249A1; EP1167605B1; ATE248551T1; US6998360B1; WO2000076384A1; DE60005004D1; PT1189531E; EP1189531B1; DE60005004T2; ES2204671T3; FR2795100A1; ES2309025T3; DE60039045D1; ATE397112T1; FR2795100B1; EP1167605A1; PL196841B1

Abstract

Hydrophilic cotton product with front soft surface and rough reverse surface, comprises first soft external layer of fine fibers, and second rough external layer of large fibers. The product, consisting totally of cotton fibres, comprises at least one first and one second external layer, the former made of fine fibers with low micron index, forming soft surface, and the latter of larger fibers with higher micron index, forming rough surface. The surface of the external layers may be divided into stripes, with the space between the stripes of first external layer smaller than that of the second external layer, preferably 0.4-1.2 mm and 1.2-3 mm, respectively, or the second layer may have a sequence of groups of stripes, with the space between the stripes in each group 0.4-1.2 mm and the space between each group and the next one equal 1.4-4 mm. At least one of the external layers may have surface imprint, and the first external layer (soft) may comprise softening agent distributed within this layer. Independent claims are also included for: (1) the process of making hydrophilic cotton product as claimed, during which each external layer is sprayed with jets of water with the determined distance between the axes of each consecutive jet, and this distance is adjusted in such manner as to produce different space between the stripes produced by jets on the first layer to that produced on the second layer; and (2) the use of the product as claimed for applying and/or removing make-up.

Description

HYDROPHILIC COTTON PRODUCT HAVING A SOFT FACE AND A SCRATCH SIDE

The subject of the invention is a hydrophilic cotton product consisting one hundred percent of cotton fibers and intended in particular for cosmetic use: make-up and / or make-up removal from the skin.

Most cotton products on the market are in the form of cut formats: round, oval or square for makeup removal and have exterior surfaces of identical fibrous composition. When using these products, it is not possible to differentiate the use between the two sides of the product if you want to use a particular side for makeup, for example by applying a liquid: milk, lotion or cream, and the other side for removing makeup by cleaning the skin by wiping and light friction.

Patent application No. 0 750 062 describes skin cleansing articles which are both gentle to the skin and sufficiently resistant to allow friction on the skin without causing irritation or damage to the latter. The rubbing action allows the elimination of impurities and dead cells from the surface of the skin. These articles comprise a substrate made of non-woven fabric, preferably hydrolyzed, having a grammage of 20 to 150 g / m ² , characterized by a specific coefficient of friction. The substrate preferably comprises at least in part long fibers capable of emerging from the main surface under the action of friction while remaining attached to the substrate. It can be composed of a mixture of hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers or of purely hydrophilic or purely hydrophobic fibers.

At least one face of the article or of the substrate used essentially performs the function of cleaning the skin. It also serves as a support for cleansers or make-up removers such as lotions or toilet milks. In the case where the article cleaning the skin would consist only of this substrate, the two faces of the article are not distinguished and can be used interchangeably one from the other for cleaning the skin.

European patent application No. 0 851 052 discloses a cotton makeup remover pad, in particular cosmetic use, comprising at least two layers. In order to avoid fiber loss while maintaining a quality of softness and absorption, the fibers of the outer layers are longer than those of the central layer (s). The thickness of the central layer or layers is preferably greater than the thickness of the outer layers. Nor do such products have separate faces allowing specific use per side.

Cotton cleansing products are most often composed of a mixture of cotton fibers of different qualities or a mixture of cotton fibers and ^other fibers depending on the desired product or the manufacturing process used. Such products are of homogeneous composition throughout their thickness. Certain other products consist of several layers or layers. However, it is clear from the above that the two outer layers are always of identical composition and cannot be differentiated.

There is a need for cotton products having two different sides allowing differentiation of use between the two faces, in particular for cosmetic use: one side for removing make-up or cleansing of the skin and one side for making up by applying the product. on the skin.

In the field of industrial wiping, European patent application No. 0 826 811 proposes a complex absorbent nonwoven material comprising a flexible face and a rough face. This material consists of at least two superposed fibrous sheets, linked together by interpenetration of the fibers in the thickness direction. However, the first layer consists for all or part of synthetic hot-melt fibers preferably selected from the class of polyolefins and the second layer consists of natural and / or artificial and / or synthetic fibers finer than the fibers of the first layer. The synthetic fibers used in the composition of the first layer make it possible to create the scraping surface of the article. This scraping effect is obtained by reorientation of the synthetic fibers in order to present free ends or loops visible on an external face and by fusion of the free ends of the synthetic fibers.

This product is not intended for cosmetic use but is suitable for making semi-scouring or very absorbent wiping products.

The object of the invention is to provide a cotton product for removing makeup comprising two distinct faces. A first face is described as scraping and has the function of cleaning the skin, in particular for removing makeup, for example using a milk or a lotion. The other side is soft and allows the application of a makeup product, milk, lotion or cream on the face or skin. The differentiation of the faces is essentially done by touch and, if necessary, visually.

The invention also aims to provide a "natural" product consisting only of natural fibers without the addition of artificial and / or synthetic fibers or binder, moreover making it easy to recycle the scraps produced during the manufacturing process.

The subject of the invention is a hydrophilic cotton product consisting one hundred percent of cotton fibers comprising at least a first and a second outer layer.

According to an essential characteristic of the invention, the first layer consists of fine fibers having a low micronaire index forming a face soft and the second layer consists of fibers having a higher micronaire index forming a scraping face.

The micronaire index represents the average mass of fibers per unit of length, in μ g / inch, of a sample of cotton product tested. This index is directly linked to the average section of the fibers. It defines the size of the cotton fibers and is measured using a measuring device such as the SHEFFIELD Micronaire. Further details on this index and its measurement method are given in the following description.

According to a more precise characteristic of the invention, the first outer layer has a micronaire index of between 2 to 5 μg / inch and the second outer layer has a micronaire index of between 4 to 10 μg / inch, the difference between the micronaire indices of the two outer layers being at least 1 μg / inch.

According to a preferred characteristic of the invention, the first layer has a micron number between 2.8 and 4.2 μg / inch and the second layer has a micron number between 5 and 8.5 μg / inch.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the outer layers have a grammage of at least 8 g / m ² .

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the product also comprises at least one central layer disposed between the two outer layers.

In order to more easily distinguish the faces and according to a characteristic of the invention, the outer layers have streaks on the surface, the spacing between the streaks of one of the layers being less than the spacing between the streaks of the other layer. .

The invention also relates to a process for manufacturing a hydrophilic cotton product according to the invention, the outer layers of which have ridges on the surface.

According to an essential characteristic of this process, each outer layer is hydroliaged by means of water jets whose axes are spaced from each other by a given distance, this distance being different between the jets used for the first layer and the jets used for the second layer so as to obtain outer layers having streaks on the surface with a different spacing.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear in more detail in the description which follows and with reference to the appended drawings in which:

- Figure 1 shows a schematic cross section of an embodiment of the product according to the invention comprising two layers of cotton; - Figure 2 shows a schematic cross section of an embodiment of the product according to the invention comprising three layers;

- Figure 3 shows a schematic cross section of a variant of the product according to 1 ^* invention shown in Figure 2;

- Figure 4 shows a schematic cross section of another variant of the product according to the invention shown in Figure 2;

- Figure 5 shows a schematic cross section of a product according to the invention comprising four layers;

- Figure 6 shows a product according to the invention further having faces having streaks of different spacing; and

- Figure 7 schematically shows the surface of a perforated blade of a hydroliage device in which the blade is perforated with holes in a sequence.

The product according to the invention consists of one hundred percent natural cotton fibers and comprises at least two layers or layers each having an outer face.

The first layer consists of fine and soft fibers which have a low micronaire index.

The second layer, on the contrary, is made up of fibers of larger cross section having a higher micronaire index and therefore having a scraping effect.

Several factors such as the linear density, the maturity of the cotton fibers can vary and influence the values of the micronaire index.

The micronaire index is measured using a device of the SHEFFIELD Micronaire type according to a defined method, for example the ISO 2403 or NF G 07-073 method.

This index is used to characterize the fineness of the cotton fibers. Its measurement is based on the air permeability of a mass of cotton under certain specific conditions, according to an arbitrary scale called the micron scale, calibrated using a series of cottons (ten standard cottons) to which we has assigned micron indices by international agreement. The air permeability of a given sample, taken from an external layer of the product according to the invention (constituting the test specimen), is measured by reading the resistance to the passage of the air flow over the air flow device, on a scale graduated according to variations in air flow or pressure differences. This scale has been previously calibrated with the reference cotton series.

The apparatus includes a balance for measuring the mass of the test piece, an air flow device for measuring the micronaire index, consisting of a perforated compression cylinder containing the test specimen and devices necessary for measuring the air permeability of the test piece, such an air pump, means for adjusting the air flow or the pressure passing through the test piece in the compression cylinder, a pressure gauge to read the required pressure difference and a flow meter for reading the air flow through the test tube, and if necessary a scale graduated in micronaire index values or a table providing the conversion of the readings into micronaire index. The sampling and the taking of the test pieces is done for example in accordance with standards NF G 07-050 and NF G 07-062.

The mass of the test piece is then determined. The specimen is uniformly introduced in small quantities into the compression cylinder and the fiber compression piston is put in place, which is then locked. The air supply is opened at the appropriate pressure or flow and the pressure difference is noted on the scale of the instrument.

For devices the scale of which is graduated in micronaire index values, the average of the readings obtained for all the test pieces taken from the same sample is calculated. For devices whose scale is graduated in units other than micronaire index values, direct readings are converted into micronaire indices from the conversion curve.

The micronaire index representing the average mass of fibers per unit of length is expressed in μg / inch.

The first layer of the product according to the invention consists of cotton fibers having a micron index between 2 and 5 μg / inch, preferably between 2.8 and 4.2 μg / inch.

The second layer consists of cotton fibers having a higher micron index between 4 and 10 μg / inch, preferably between 5 and 8.5 μg / inch. For an appreciable differentiation of the two faces of the product, it is estimated that the difference between the micronaire indices of the two outer layers should not be less than 1 μg / inch.

To illustrate the value of micronaire index, we determined its correspondence in deci-tex which is also a measure of the mass of a fiber or a thread per unit of length but which is a specific measure of artificial and synthetic fibers . The latter have a regular profile unlike natural fibers whose section is variable and depends on the state of maturity of the fiber. The fineness of cotton fibers with an average micronaire index of 7 was determined on a test sample, using the method corresponding to standard ASTM D 3818-79 (Finesse and maturity index of cotton fibers), 82 μg / inch, used for an outer layer forming the scraping surface. The fineness or titer of the fibers has been estimated at 4.04 dtex, which is less than the titer of the synthetic fibers used for the scraping face of the wiping products described in European patent application No. 0 826 811. The cotton layers or tablecloths forming the product according to the invention can be of identical or different grammage. For example, the first layer consisting of soft fibers and having a low micron index may be of a grammage between 10 and 40 g / m ² and the second layer consisting of fibers having a scraping effect may be of a grammage between 10 and 300 g / m ² . Conversely, the layer consisting of soft fibers may have a grammage between 10 and 300 g / m ² and the layer consisting of fibers having a scraping effect, a grammage between 10 and 40 g / m ² .

Another example illustrated by FIG. 1 is a product for removing makeup 1 comprising two layers. The first outer layer 2 has a low micron index and the second outer layer 3 has a high micron index. The grammage of each of these two layers is between 50 and 250 g / m ² .

The product can also have more than two layers. One or more central layers are then placed between the two outer layers provided that the micron indices of the fibers constituting each of these two outer layers are different from one layer to another to obtain a soft face and a more scratchy face.

It is important that the outer layers have a minimum grammage of 8 g / m ² , in order to have a significant differentiating effect and neutralize the feel of the central layer or of one of the outer layers. In fact, the increase in the grammage of each outer layer reinforces this differentiation by avoiding a reduction in the desired effect generated for example by the soft fibers of an outer layer in contact with the other outer layer made up of so-called scraping fibers and having a too light grammage or by a central layer of medium micron index or also by the soft fibers of a central layer placed just below an outer layer made up of so-called scraping fibers and having a too light grammage.

Examples of composition of products comprising more than two layers are illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5.

Figure 2 shows schematically in cross section a product 4 consisting of three layers of cotton. The first outer layer 5 has a basis weight between 10 and 40 g / m ² and has a low micron index. The second outer layer 6 also has a basis weight between 10 and ^'40 g / m ² but has a high micronaire value. The central layer 7 located between the two outer layers has a basis weight between 50 and 300 g / m ² .

Figure 3 shows schematically in cross section another product 8 comprising three layers. Here, the first layer 9 has a grammage between 10 and 40 g / m ² and has a low micronaire index while the second outer layer 10 has a grammage between 50 and 200 g / m ² for an index higher micronaire. The central layer 11 disposed between the two outer layers has a basis weight between 50 and 200 g / m ² .

Figure 4 shows in cross section another variant of the product according to the invention. This product 12 is composed of three layers, an outer layer 13 having a basis weight between 10 and 40 g / m ² and a high micron index and another outer layer 14 having a basis weight between 50 and 200 g / m ² and with a low micronaire index, surrounding a central layer 15 having a basis weight between 50 and 200 g / m ² .

Finally, Figure 5 always shows in cross section a product 16 comprising four layers of cotton. The first outer layer 17 has a low micron index and the second outer layer 18 has a high micron index, both having a basis weight between 10 and 40 g / m ² . The product further comprises two central layers 19 and 20 each having a basis weight between 50 and 200 g / m ² , arranged between the two outer layers.

The process for manufacturing the products according to the invention consists in preparing at least two layers of cotton fibers forming the two outer layers of the product, one with a low micron index, the other with a higher micron index. The difference between the micron indices of the two outer layers is at least 1 μg / inch. The tablecloths can be made directly from hydrophilic and bleached cotton. They can also be obtained from unbleached raw cotton, then chemically treated to obtain hydrophilicity and bleaching. After the plies have been formed or coated, the cotton plies are superimposed and are then combined by any known means such as bonding means or mechanical means such as calendering or needling. The means of association can also be hydraulic. A good combination can be obtained by impregnation of the superimposed layers by any known conventional means such as passing through an impregnation bath, spraying, pouring a solution. This impregnation must be associated with an expression compacting the sheet and eliminating part of the amount of liquid contained in the wet sheet, for example by calendering or passing over a vacuum slot. A continuous production and association process for plies is described by European patent No. 0 681 621 in the name of the applicant. In the latter case, the impregnation of the layers carried out during the various chemical treatments contribute to their association.

Preferably, the layers are combined by hydroletting, that is to say by means of high pressure water jets combined with vacuum expression. Such an association can be carried out on a device marketed by the company ICBT-PERFO-JET, Grenoble, France. This latter technique allows both the association of the two plies with one another and the bonding of at least one surface of the ply, thereby reducing the fluffing of the products. This hydroliage step, in the case of an unbleached fiber which is going to be chemically treated, can take place just after the impregnation step of the sheet as described in European patent application No. 0 735 175. It can also be placed in the final rinsing phase according to European patent n ° 0 805 S 88 in the name of the applicant.

Products in formats are then cut from the tablecloths thus combined by any conventional means.

One of the advantages of the product according to the invention in terms of manufacturing is its composition one hundred percent cotton fibers. Indeed, this makes it easy to recycle the waste from cutting by using the scraps for the composition of new products.

By taking and touching the product, the user can differentiate between the soft and the most itchy side.

In order to accentuate this difference, a softening agent can be sprayed only on the soft side of the product. Therefore, the composition of the first outer layer of cotton having a low micron index will include a softening agent distributed essentially on the surface of this layer.

In addition, it is possible to provide a visual differentiation of the product by different means.

We can for example tint the outer layers of different colors beforehand or tint only one and keep the other white.

It is also possible to mark one of the external faces by marking by forming an impression by pressure. Methods using engraved cylinders or calenders, where applicable heated, or even marking fabrics, can be used.

Preferably, the hydroliage technique already used will be used to combine the layers and avoid fluffing, to visually differentiate the two faces of the product.

This allows by means of a single technique to fulfill three different functions.

In this case, the different layers are prepared, then superimposed; the whole is impregnated. The two outer layers are then hydrosed one after the other on endless canvases or cylinders.

The hydroliage process allows the two sides to be treated differently. Indeed, the high pressure water jets used to intertwine the fibers of the outer layers, mark the surface of these streak layers visible to the naked eye, the spacing of which corresponds to the distance between the axes of the jets. More specifically, the hydroliaging device comprises a high pressure pump supplying an injector placed transversely to the travel of the sheet or layer of fibers, over its entire width. The injector consists of a volume of pressurized water, closed by a blade of steel which is perforated with calibrated holes producing jets in the form of fine needles of high pressure water projected perpendicular to the surface of the sheet of fibers. These fine jets entangle the fibers. The holes perforated in this steel blade (commonly called "strip") have a diameter ranging from 100 to 200 μm, preferably 120 to 140 μm and are regularly spaced. The distance between the axes of two consecutive holes in the steel blade is generally between 0.5 and 3 mm, most often between 0.6 and 1 mm. The position of the injector being fixed and the tablecloth or layer of cotton moving beneath the latter, there is observed on the surface of the layer, a series of parallel ridges or grooves corresponding to the passage under the jets.

It is thus possible to modify the distance between the axes of the holes of the blade of a hydroliage device used for the treatment of an outer layer relative to the other device used for the treatment of the other layer.

In order to obtain a different appearance between the two faces of the product, it is possible for example to use for one face, a hydroliage device the blade of which is perforated with a large distance between the holes of 1.2 to 3 mm, preferably 1.6 to 2.5 mm, and for the other face, a device whose blade is perforated with a distance between the holes of between 0.4 and 1.2 mm, preferably between 0.5 and 0, 8 mm. The streaks or grooves with a spacing of 1, 2 to 3 mm will be more visible on the side thus treated than the streaks on the other side.

One then obtains a finely striated face and the other more coarsely.

An example of a product exhibiting this differentiation is illustrated in FIG. 6.

This product 21 includes a first outer layer 22 with a micron index of 3.4 μg / inch and a grammage of 25 g / m ² , a second outer layer 23 with a micron index of 6.8 μg / inch and a grammage of 25 g / m ² and a central layer 24 of 200 g / m ² .

The face 25 of the outer layer 22 has grooves 26 having a spacing di of 0.6 mm and the face 27 of the outer layer 23 has grooves 28 having a spacing d of 2 mm.

The user is thus guided to discern the soft side of the more itching side of the product in order to use each of the sides of the product in its correct destination: make-up and / or make-up removal.

However, the increase in the distance between the holes of the perforated blade has the direct consequence of a reduction in the number of holes and therefore a lower energy supply on the sheet which it is not always possible to compensate with a increased water pressure in the injector. This reduction in the energy transmitted to the sheet can cause an increase in linting compared to the result obtained on a sheet having undergone a hydroletting step by means of a perforated blade whose distance between the holes is small and uniform. In order to limit this increase in lint, you can use a perforated blade of holes in a sequence, for example groups of 6 holes spaced 0.6 mm, each group being spaced next 1.8 mm. This gives a face where the streaks are clearly visible because they appear with a wide spacing: the pitch is large on the order of 4. S mm. The increase in linting is thus limited thanks to an average frequency of holes greater than that of a regularly perforated blade, for example at a distance of 1.8 mm. In this example of a sequence, the average number of holes per meter is 1250, while in the case of regularly spaced holes at a distance of 1.8 mm, this number is 555. For a given hole diameter and pressure , we can therefore provide more than double the energy with the perforated blade according to this sequence, compared to the regularly perforated blade at a distance of 1.8 mm.

FIG. 7 illustrates a blade perforated with holes according to a sequence, here by group of 5 holes spaced by a distance ei equal to 0.6 mm, each sequence or group of holes being spaced from the next by a distance e ₂ equal at 1.8 mm.

This results in the product by a first outer layer which has streaks with a certain spacing between 0.4 and 1.2 mm (here 0.6 mm) and a second outer layer which has streaks in a sequence comprising several groups of streaks, each group of streaks having a certain spacing between the streaks, this spacing being between 0.4 and 1.2 mm (here 0.6 mm) and each group being spaced from the following group by a distance comprised between 1.2 and 4 mm (here 1.8 mm).

The user thus has a cotton product whose two sides stand out, which retains its qualities of mechanical resistance, lint resistance, cohesion (resistance to delamination) and softness even if one of the sides has a more itching effect. than the other for cleaning.

Claims

1) Hydrophilic cotton product consisting of one hundred percent cotton fibers comprising at least first and second outer layers, characterized in that the first layer consists of fine fibers having a low micron index forming a soft face and the second layer consists of fibers having a higher micronaire index forming a scraping face.

2) Product according to claim 1, characterized in that the first outer layer has a micron index between 2 and 5 μg / inch and the second outer layer has a micron index between 4 and 10 μg / inch, the difference between the micron indices of the two outer layers being at least 1 μg / inch.

3) Product according to claim 2, characterized in that the first layer has a micron index between 2.8 and 4.2 μg / inch and the second layer has a micron index between 5 and 8.5 μg / inch.

4) Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer layers have a grammage of at least 8 g / m ² .

5) Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises at least one central layer disposed between the two outer layers.

6) Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer layers have streaks on the surface, the spacing between the streaks of one of the outer layers being less than the spacing between the streaks of the other layer. .

7) Product according to claim 6, characterized in that the spacing between the streaks of the first outer layer is between 0.4 and 1.2 mm and the spacing between the streaks of the second outer layer is between 1 , 2 and 3 mm.

8) Product according to claim 6, characterized in that the first outer layer has streaks, with a certain spacing, this spacing being between 0.4 and 1.2 mm and the second outer layer has streaks according to a sequence comprising several groups of streaks, each group of streaks having a certain spacing between the streaks, this spacing being between 0.4 and 1.2 mm and each group being spaced from the next group by a distance between 1.2 and 4 mm .

9) Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of the outer layers has an imprint.

10) Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first outer layer, of low micron index, comprises a softening agent distributed essentially on the surface of this layer. 11) Method for manufacturing a hydrophilic cotton product according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that each outer layer is hydroliée by means of water jets whose axes are spaced from each other by a given distance , this distance being different between the jets used for the first layer and the jets used for the second layer so as to obtain outer layers having ridges on the surface with a different spacing.

12) Use of the product according to one of claims 1 to 10, for makeup and / or makeup removal.