Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L13/00—Implements for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
  • A47L13/10—Scrubbing; Scouring; Cleaning; Polishing
  • A47L13/20—Mops
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L13/00—Implements for cleaning floors, carpets, furniture, walls, or wall coverings
  • A47L13/10—Scrubbing; Scouring; Cleaning; Polishing
  • A47L13/16—Cloths; Pads; Sponges
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D04—BRAIDING; LACE-MAKING; KNITTING; TRIMMINGS; NON-WOVEN FABRICS
  • D04B—KNITTING
  • D04B21/00—Warp knitting processes for the production of fabrics or articles not dependent on the use of particular machines; Fabrics or articles defined by such processes
  • D04B21/02—Pile fabrics or articles having similar surface features

Definitions

• the present invention is directed to material suitable for wiping cloths, mops, and the like.
• Wiping cloths and mops are generally used for absorbing, scrubbing, and 10 polishing. Many materials have been selected for such uses. However, the fabric must be selected based upon its contribution to the desired attributes for the particular application. Also, there are additional considerations such as soil resistance, lint generation, etc. Furthermore, the selection of fabric for a wiping cloth or mop can influence the life and cost of those products. There remains a need for 15 wiping cloths and mops having desirable absorbing, scrubbing, and polishing characteristics, which also have high soil resistance and low lint generation.
• FIG. 1 is an illustration of a wiping cloth according to the present invention
• FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-section of the fabric in the wiping cloth from FIG.
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a process for forming a wiping cloth
• FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mop formed in accordance with the present invention
• FIG. 5. is a top view of a mop head formed in accordance with the present invention.
• FIG. 6 is a side view of a mop head formed in accordance with the present 30. invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• the wiping cloth 10 generally comprises a fabric 20 with edging 30.
• the edging 30 helps prevent the fabric 20 from unraveling on the edges and corners.
• the edging 30 is a thread sewn around the edge of the fabric.
• the edging 30 could also be an ultrasonic sealing of the fabric 20 on the perimeter of the wiping cloth 10.
• the fabric 20 includes a substrate 100 having a first substrate surface 102 and a second substrate surface 103, a plurality of first free end pile yarns 200 extending outwardly from the first substrate surface 120, and a plurality of second free end pile yarns 300 extending from the second substrate surface 103.
• the substrate 100 is a Raschel knit fabric having course yarns 120 and wale yarns 130.
• the first pile yarns 200 and the second pile yarns 300 are knotted into the first side 102 of the substrate 100.
• the first side yarns 200 extend outwardly from the first surface 102 of the substrate 110.
• a portion of the second pile yarns 300 extend through the substrate 100, and emanate from the second surface 103 of the substrate 100. Another portion of the second pile yarns 300 emanate from the first surface 102 of the substrate 100, pass over at least one course yarn 120 and/or one wale yarn 130, and then pass through the substrate 100 to emanate from the second side 103 of the substrate 100. The wrapping of the second pile yarns 130 around and through yarns of the substrate 100 is believed to provide additional security for inhibiting the ability of the pile yarns 200 and 300 to be removed from the substrate.
• a preferred material for the fabric 100 is polyester, however, fabrics formed of synthetic such as polyester typically have a lower capability to pick up and retain liquids.
• the fabric 100 is chemically treated to improve the hydrophilic, wicking, and soil release properties of the fabric 100.
• a preferred chemical treatment is an ethoxylated polyester.
• ethoxylated polyesters include an anionic- ethoxylated sulphinated polyester and high molecular ethoxylated polyester.
• Such agents are described in U.S. Patent 5,935,484, the content of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by specific reference thereto. It is believed that the additional surface areas created by the open ends of the cut pile yarns 200 and 300, combined with the chemical treatment of the present invention, facilitate an unexpected wicking and retention of liquids by the wiping cloth.
• FIG. 3 there is shown a block diagram illustrating the process of the present invention for forming a wiping cloth.
• Sandwich fabric is produced in Step 410 by knitting two Raschel knit fabrics face to face with float yarns interlaced between the two.
• the knitted sandwich is heat set in Step 420.
• the heat set knitted sandwich is then silted in Step 430 to produce two pile fabrics having a substrate with the free end pile yarns emanating from only one surface of the substrate.
• Step 440 a portion of the pile is forced back through the substrate to emanate from the opposing side using fluid jets.
• the process for pushing the pile fabric through the substrate to the opposing side is known in the art and is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,235,733, which issued on August 17, 1993, to Charles E. Willbanks et al., and which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by specific reference thereto. It is preferred to push 50% of the pile back through the substrate in an irregular or regular pattern that results in a continuous surface of pile yarns on both sides of the substrate. It is believed that the process of using fluid jets to position the pile yarns also results in the removal of lint and/or structures that could break loose during use to become lint. This reduction of lint makes the wiping cloth or mops of the present invention particularly useful for applications such as clean rooms.
• Step 450 the pile fabric is chemically treated to improve the hydrophilic, wicking and soil resistance of the fabric.
• the dyed fabric is dried.
• Step 470 the fabric is cut into wiping cloths, and in Step 480 the edging is applied.
• a sandwich of two Raschel knitted substrates was knitted face to face using a 1/100/34 56T textured polyester ground yarn as the course yarn, and a (115)70/34 56 warp drawn dull polyester ground yarn as the wale yarn, and a pile yarn of 1/100/100 57 dull textured polyester yarn as the pile yarn connecting the two base fabrics.
• the fabrics were knitted as a 44-gauge needle bar, single pile bar knit. After the fabric was knitted, it was heat set and slit to form two identical pile fabrics with the cut pile on one side of each of the two fabrics.
• the silted pile fabrics are then subjected to impact by multiple, thin, high velocity jet streams on to the pile surface of the fabric. The jets cause approximately 50% of the pile to be forced through the substrate to the other side of the fabric. The result is a fabric with cut pile on both sides.
• the fabric was then chemically treated to improve the hydrophilic and stain resistance of the material.
• the chemical treatment was a condensate of dimethyl terephthalic and a high molecular weight polyethylene glycol sold by ABCO Chemical, Roebuck, S.C. under the name LUBRIL QCX.
• a dye was applied to the fabric at the same time as the fabric was chemically treated to increase the hydrophilic properties.
• the LUBRIL QCX was applied to the fabric as an aqueous solution having about 16% solids, and being applied to the fabric at a rate of about 3.0% of the weight of the fabric.
• the fabric was dried, cut in to appropriate wiping cloth dimensions, and an edging was applied by sewing a thread around the edges of the material.
• the mop head includes a plurality of strips 504 of the above-described material slit at each end thereof to form elongated fingers 506. A preselected number of strips are laid one on top of the other and connected centrally in a transverse direction by a band or web 508 wrapped therearound and stitched along spaced lines, as shown in Figures 5 and 6.
• the web used to centrally connect the strips of material is made from polyester or acrylic coated polyester, but it is to be understood that any suitable material may be used for this purpose.
• the elongated fingers 506 of the mop fabric in a preferred embodiment, should be about 1 inch wide by 15 inches long, although it is anticipated that other shapes and sizes of individual strips may be utilized.
• the mop head 502 may be attached to any type of suitable mop handle 510 in any conventional manner.
• synthetic textiles used for soaking up water exhibit poor absorbance characteristics.
• a chemically treated synthetic material exhibiting high levels of absorbency provides a significant advantage over untreated synthetic mops.
• synthetic mops generally tend to last longer than natural or natural blend fiber mops, partially because they will not degrade over time when exposed to bleaching agents. Moreover, synthetic mops are resistant to mildew and mold, unlike natural or natural blend fiber mops.
• a synthetic mop constructed by using the novel fabric described herein exhibits absorbance characteristics roughly equal to cotton or cotton blend mops, and is bleach resistant, strong, lightweight, and mildew resistant.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Cleaning Implements For Floors, Carpets, Furniture, Walls, And The Like (AREA)
• Knitting Of Fabric (AREA)
• Treatments For Attaching Organic Compounds To Fibrous Goods (AREA)
• Woven Fabrics (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

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• 2001
  • 2001-07-18 AU AU2001280617A patent/AU2001280617A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-07-18 EP EP01959021A patent/EP1311184A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2001-07-18 CA CA002418132A patent/CA2418132A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-07-18 JP JP2002520682A patent/JP2004520862A/ja active Pending
  • 2001-07-18 WO PCT/US2001/022723 patent/WO2002015764A1/en not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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