GB2119709A

GB2119709A - Hygiene material

Info

Publication number: GB2119709A
Application number: GB08311447A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Adrian Hilton Ellam
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-04-27
Filing date: 1983-04-27
Publication date: 1983-11-23
Also published as: GB2119709B; GB8311447D0

Abstract

Hygiene material, for example lavatory paper, comprises a layer which in use is substantially water- impermeable and after use and when placed in water at least partly dissolves to give a reduced wet strength. A further layer of liquid-absorbent material is laminated to the layer. The layer 10 may be liquid- absorbent paper coated or impregnated with material having a transient water-insolubility e.g. polyvinyl alcohol; the material may be in the-form of an applied film; the material may act as an adhesive for the layers. The hygiene material may be used as a wound dressing or in an incontinence pad.

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to hygiene material This invention relates to hygiene material.

One form of body hygiene material is lavatory or toilet paper which is used in wiping the rectal area after defaecation and conventionally is of the so-called soft, absorbent tissue, or creped paper; or the so-called hard or smooth finish type or uncreped paper. Other forms of hygiene material are surgical and wound dressings and pads and incontinence pads and pants (underwear).

It is desirable that the transmission of bacteria through the hygiene material to a user's hand be as little as possible.

According to one aspect of the invention hygiene material comprises a layer of material which in use is substantially water-impermeable, and when placed in water at least partly dissolves to give a reduced wet strength.

The hygiene material may take the form of lavatory paper material.

The term lavatory paper material is to be understood in a broad sense and is not limited to cellulose-based material; it includes material made from fibres or plastics, and is to be understood as referring to material for use in wiping the rectal or anal area.

The hygiene material may comprise said layer and a further layer of liquid-absorbent material.

In one arrangement the layers are held together by adhesive.

The hygiene material may comprise another layer of material on the opposite side of the firstmentioned layer to said further layer and of material having greater liquid permeability than the first-mentioned layer.

the first-mentioned layer may comprise liquidabsorbent paper coated or impregnated with material which is at least partly soluble in water, or has a transient water insolubility. The impregnating or coating material may be a polymer.

One suitable impregnating or coating material is polyvinyl alcohol, sometimes described as having a limited water solubility.

The first-mentioned and further layers may be of different colours.

The said further layer can itself be formed from two superposed layers of liquid absorbent paper.

The first-mentioned layer and/or further layer could be embossed, for example with a regular array of spaced depressions.

In one form the first-mentioned layer is roughened or otherwise treated on its outer surface to improve the grip.

In one arrangement the layers are held together by adhesive. The impregnated material may itself act as the adhesive.

In one form the invention comprises a layer of particles and/or fibres applied, for example by blowing, onto one face of the first-mentioned layer to form the further, more permeable layer. The one face would be coated with an adhesive.

The invention from another aspect also includes such lavatory paper material formed into a roll, or a pack of sheets. It will be appreciated that the material in the roll would have a series of longitudinally spaced transverse rows of perforations enabling it to be readily separated into individual pieces for use. In the pack, a plurality of pieces are generally superposed, often interfolded so that extraction of one piece from the pack causes a part of the next piece to protrude from the pack.

A user may use more than one piece at a time, the further layer being nearer to the body.

It will be appreciated that the further layer is preferably soft which is more pleasant for the user than hard less permeable paper or material.

The invention also includes a method of making hygiene material comprising applying material which is at least partly soluble in water to liquidabsorbent material to form a layer which is substantially water-impermeable.

The invention further includes a method of making hygiene material comprising applying material which has a transient water insolubility to liquid-absorbent material to form a layer which is substantially water-impermeable.

The material may be applied by impregnation or by coating.

The invention may be performed in various ways and some specific embodiments with possible modifications will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side view of lavatory paper material; Fig. 2 is a side view of apparatus for forming material; Fig. 3 is a side view of another embodiment; Fig. 4 is a side view of apparatus for forming the material of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 shows a pack of sheets; Figs. 6 and 7 show another form of lavatory paper material; Fig. 8 is a modification of Fig. 7; fig. 9 shows apparatus for making a further form of lavatory paper material; and Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of another form of lavatory paper material.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, lavatory paper material comprises a first layer 10 of waterabsorbent paper adhered to a second layer 11 of water-resistant paper. The layer 10 may for example be paper as conventionally used in kitchen rolls or conventional soft lavatory paper, sometimes referred to as creped paper or soft tissue. The layer 10 could itself be of two-layers of absorbent material. It will be appreciated that the water-absorbent paper 10 has more water permability than the water-resistant paper 11.

The lavatory paper material may be in separate sheets or in a long length with longitudinally spaced transverse rows of perforations 12.

In Fig. 2 a roll 13 of water-absorbent paper 10 and a roll 14 of hard or smooth finish type lavatory paper 10 are rotatably mounted in a frame (not shown) and the respective papers 11, 10 are drawn off the rolls by feed rollers 1 5, 1 6 mounted in the frame for rotation and driven in known manner by suitable means such as an electric motor.

One surface 20 of paper 11 is in engagement with a rotatable roll 17 arranged to dip into a suitable liquid 18 in a bath 19 and transfer the liquid to the paper 10. The papers 10, 11 are joined together as they pass between the feed rolls and are wound up on roll 21. A device 22 is arranged to produce the rows 12 of perforations in known manner. Alternatively the assembled paper 23 can be drawn off the roll 21 and cut by a knife into separate pieces which are formed into flat packs in known manner. An example of a flat pack is shown in Fig. 5, in which a paper holder 40 has an opening 41 in one side and the pieces 42 are interfolded so that extraction of one piece 42 causes a part of the next piece to protrude through the opening.

The roller 17 could be in the form of a brush.

Instead of roller 17, the liquid could be sprayed on to the sheet 11 by a nozzle 24 receiving the liquid through a line 25 from a source 26 through a a pump (not shown).

The liquid 18 may be a non-thermoplastic filmforming material. For example, the liquid 18 may substantially impregnate the paper 11 to form a substantially water-impermeable layer, but after a relatively short time the material dissolves in water. There is thus substantially no danger of blockage of a lavatory. The liquid 18 has a transient water insolubility and is at least partly soluble in water.

It is thought that suitable materials for the liquid 18 include a water solution of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose; starch; ethyl cellulose; gelatin; and polyvinyl alcohol. The impregnated or coated paper 11 is dried before passing to the feed rolls 15, 1 6 and for this purpose the material may pass through an oven indicated diagrammatically at 9, or the nozzle 24 may be arranged to deliver hot air to dry the material.

Polyvinyl alcohol is particularly suitable.

Polyvinyl alcohol resin will act as an adhesive so that if drying is incomplete it will cause the waterabsorbent water-permeable paper layer 10 to adhere to the impregnated, water-impermeable layer 11.

Polyvinyl alcohol resin can be used in various grades having different viscosities, degrees of polymerization and hydrolysis. In general the lower the degree of polymerization the higher the water solubility. One particularly suitable grade has a viscosity of 4.6 to 5.4 cps, as determined by the Hoepplerfalling ball method on a 4% aqueous solution at 200 C, a hydrolysis of 87 to 89 mole % and a degree of polymerization of 500 to 600.

One suitable example is grade PVA-205 as supplied by Globe Products (Accrington) Limited of Accrington, England. A 10% to 25% solution of PVA-205 in water is suitable for spraying on to the paper 11. The viscosity should be about 5 for spraying purposes.

The degree of impregnation can be varied as desired.

In a modification shown dotted at 8, the paper 11 is drawn through a bath 8 of the liquid 18 to impregnate the paper, the bath 19 being omitted.

In a modification of Fig. 2, the paper 10 is omitted.

The wet and dry bursting strengths of the lavatory paper material are preferably at least 350 grams per sq cm (51b per sq in).

The substantially water-impermeable layer prevents or restricts the transfer of faecal bacteria to a user's hand.

It will be understood that after use and deposition in the water in a lavatory bowl, the polyvinyl alcohol or other material providing the layer with water impermeability will at least partly dissolve in the water so that the lavatory paper material will then have a low wet strength and will be unlikely to cause any blockage of the drains.

In a further modification, the layer 11 takes the form of a film which is substantially waterimpermeable during use but which, when placed in water, at least partly dissolves to give a low wet strength. One suitable film is a film of polyvinyl alcohol resin of suitable grade. In this case the bath 19 is omitted. If the paper 10 is slightly damp this may effectively adhere to the film.

The lavatory paper material is effectively waterimpermeable during the period of use.

In one arrangement the length of the roll 21 is equal to the length of several conventional rolls of toilet paper, and the lavatory paper material is drawn off the roll 21, passed through slitters to slit it into conventional lengths, and wound up into rolls.

The liquid 18 could be applied to paper 10 rather than paper 11.

In one embodiment the layer 10 is conventional soft paper tissue and the layer 11 conventional hard or smooth finish lavatory paper.

The grip on the exterior surface 11 a Fig. 1, which is possibly shiny, of the less permeable layer could be improved by dimpling, ridging or roughening. The paper 11 could be crinkled to improve the grip.

The layers 10, 11 could be of different colours to assist in identification. For example a dye or other colouring material, non-toxic, could be used.

An antiseptic and/or bacteriostatic material could be included if thought appropriate to maintain the paper sterile or hygienic before use.

The lavatory paper material of Fig. 3 has an additional layer 1 Oa of water-absorbent paper, for example the same as layer 10, adhered to the other side of layer 11.

In the apparatus of Fig. 4, generally similar to that of Fig. 2, the material of layers 10, 11, 1 0a is drawn by feed rolls 1 5, 1 6 respectively from rotatable rolls 14, 1 3, 1 4a. The two sides of the paper 11 are coated with liquid 18 by coating rolls 17 and the assembled lavatory paper material 30 is wound into roll 31. Additional feed and guide rolls could be used if required. Again, brushes or spray devices could be used to apply the liquid.

The paper of Fig. 3 can be used with either layer 10 or 1 Oa nearer the body and the layer further from the body may provide an improved grip.

Additionally or alternatively the rolls 13, 14, 21 or 13, 14, 1 4a, 31 could be driven.

In the embodiment of Fig. 6 the layers 10, 11 are held together by embossing or deforming the two layers, for example using embossing rollers 45, 46 Fig. 2. The embossing could be parallel to the perforations 12 at the ends of each piece as shown at 47 Fig. 7 or parallel to the sides as shown at 48 Fig. 8. In one form the device 22 for perforating is arranged also to emboss.

In the arrangement of Fig. 9 liquid is applied to the less permeable layer 11 and small particles of paper fibre or plastics fibres, of an absorbent, soft nature are blown onto the adhesive to form a soft, more liquid permeable, layer 50. Fibres are contained in a hopper 51 and a blower 52 blows them onto the layer 10 using air under pressure from a source 53.

In an alternative, polyvinyl alcohol in the form of fibres or particles or pieces of film is blow on to the surface of paper, which may be soft tissue or smooth, harder, paper, to provide the water impermeability.

The material in effect has a layer forming a barrier to bacteria.

The invention may be applied to hygiene material other than lavatory paper material. For example the hygiene material as described above can be used as part of surgical or wound dressings or pads, for example colostomy dressings or pads, to resist or prevent bacteria or other undesired matter engaging a user's or nurse's hand. The material could act as an outer layer or cover for the dressing or pad with the water-absorbent layer being of increased thickness. The dressing would then be disposable rather than require to be incinerated.

The hygiene material described may also be used in incontinence pads or garments, possibly as an outermost layer, and these would be disposable as water-borne sewage.

Claims

1. Hygiene material comprising a layer of material which in use is substantially waterimpermeable, and when placed in water at least partly dissolves to give a reduced wet strength.

2. Hygiene material as claimed in claim 1, comprising said layer and a further layer of liquid absorbent material.

3. Hygiene material as claimed in claim 2, in which the layers are held together by an adhesive.

4. Hygiene material as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, including another layer of material on the opposite side of the first-mentioned layer to said further layer and having greater liquid permeability than the first-mentioned layer.

5. Hygiene material as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the first-mentioned layer comprises liquid-absorbent paper impregnated with material which is at least partly soluble in water.

6. Hygiene material as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, which the first-mentioned layer comprises liquid-absorbent paper impregnated with material which has a transient water insolubility.

7. Hygiene material as claimed in any of claims 1 1 to 4, in which the first-mentioned layer comprises liquid-absorbent paper coated with a material which is at least partly soluble in water.

8. Hygiene material as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, in which the first-mentioned layer comprises liquid-absorbent paper coated with a material which has a transient water insolubility.

9. Hygiene material as claimed in claim 5 or 6, in which the impregnating material comprises a polymer.

10. Hygiene material as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8, in which the coating material comprising a polymer.

115. Hygiene material as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, in which the impregnating material comprises polyvinyl alcohol.

12. Hygiene material as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8, in which the coating material comprises polyvinyl alcohol.

13. Hygiene material as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 or claim 7 or claim 8, in which the impregnating material acts as an adhesive.

14. Hygiene material as claimed in any of claims 2 to 13, comprising a layer of particles and/or fibres applied on to one face of the firstmentioned layer to form said further layer.

15. Hygiene material as claimed in claim 1 substantially as herein before described with reference to and as shown in Fig. 1, or Fig. 3, or Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings.

16. Hygiene material as claimed in any preceding claim, in the form of lavatory paper material.

17. Lavatory paper material as claimed in claim 16 formed into a roll.

18. Lavatory paper material as claimed in claim 16 formed into a pack of sheets.

19. A method of making hygiene material comprising applying material which is at least partly soluble in water to liquid-absorbent material to form a layer which is substantially waterimpermeable.

20. A method of making hygiene material comprising applying material which has a transient water insolubility to liquid-absorbent material to form a layer which is substantially water-impermeable.

21. Hygiene material made by a method as claimed in claim 19 or claim 20.

22. Lavatory paper material made by a method as claimed in claim 19 or claim 20.