KR101331275B1 - Wear indicator for a flocked scouring material - Google Patents

Abstract

A scouring material is disclosed that comprises upstanding flock fibres secured to a substrate web material by an adhesive. The colours of the fibres and adhesive being such that the apparent colour of a flocked area of the substrate changes as the flock fibres in that area wear away.

Description

Wear indicator for flocked scouring materials {WEAR INDICATOR FOR A FLOCKED SCOURING MATERIAL}

The present invention relates to a flocked material suitable for consumer use as a scouring material for cleaning surfaces in a variety of environments, including the home, industrial, hospital and food industry environments.

Materials that provide a scouring action are widely used for cleaning in the home environment, and are most often used to clean cooking utensils and to clean kitchen and bathroom surfaces. Scouring materials already known for this use include resin bonded nonwoven webs of the type described in US Patent Publication US-A-2 958 593. Such webs may include abrasive particles to enhance their polishing action.

In addition, GB-A-1 539 477 and WO 02/06009 disclose the use of flocked materials for cleaning at home and the use of floc fibers in the form of abrasive beads. Deposition at the free end has been suggested to enhance the polishing action of the material. Alternative products comprising pile fabrics which seek to provide an improved abrasive action in combination with a wiping action are described in EP-A-0 632 990. Flocked materials and their manufacturing processes are known. In a conventional process, an adhesive layer is applied to the base web material, and while the adhesive is still tacky, the flocking fibers are electrostatically attracted to the adhesive so that the flocking fibers are embedded at one end of the adhesive and generally in the substrate material. It is erected vertically. This material is then heated in an oven to dry and cure the adhesive layer.

International Publication No. WO 2004/021855 has (i) a softer polishing action but nevertheless can quickly and completely remove substances such as dust, grease, burned food and the like, and (ii) (e.g., Consumer's care for cleaning products that are easily cleaned by themselves, by simple rinsing after use, and which do not contain unwanted residues (e.g., portions of food) and unwanted odors which may subsequently contaminate other surfaces that may be used. It describes a product comprising a flocked material provided to meet increasing demands.

For environmental and cost reasons, the consumer wants to obtain the maximum service life of the cleaning article. On the other hand, the consumer also wants to ensure that the cleaning article is replaced in time before the cleaning article becomes ineffective. To this end, for some cleaning articles, wear indicators have been presented to provide the user with an indication that the cleaning article is nearing the end of its service life. In the field of wipes, for example, WO 2001/047403 describes indicators that change color upon exhaustion of a formulation, as well as a method of applying an anti-microbial formulation to a sterile wipe. International Publication No. WO 2005/072594 describes a wipe with an active graphic informing the user when the wipe should be discarded. Abrasion indicators are also known outside the field of household cleaning supplies, for example US Patent Publication No. US-A-6 895 631 discloses the use of long fibers of one color and short fibers of another color. A buffer pad comprising a mixture is disclosed wherein the short fibers are only clearly visible upon breaking of the long fibers, indicating that the pad should be replaced.

The present invention relates specifically to a flocked scouring material and to the problem of providing a user of such material an indication that it is approaching the end of its service life.

The present invention provides a scouring material comprising upstanding flocking fibers that are secured to the substrate web material by an adhesive to form a flocked area, wherein the color of the fibers and adhesive is the apparent color of the flocked area of the substrate. color) changes as the flocking fibers in the area wear out.

The fibers and adhesives can be of different colors so that the color of the adhesive becomes visible upon the wear of the fibers. Advantageously, the color of the adhesive contrasts with the color of the base material.

By way of example, a scouring material according to the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of a flocked scouring material;

2 is a plan view of a portion of the patterned flocked scouring material.

3 is a schematic cross sectional view of a hand pad comprising flocked scouring material;

4 is a perspective view of the hand pad of FIG.

The flocked scouring material 1 shown in cross section in FIG. 1 comprises flocking fibers 3 disposed substantially perpendicular to the substrate web material 5 and fixed to the substrate material by an adhesive layer 7. .

As mentioned above, the flocked material of the general type shown in FIG. 1 and its manufacturing process are known. In a conventional process, the adhesive layer 7 is applied to the base material 5, the flocking fibers 3 are electrostatically pulled into the adhesive while the adhesive is still tacky and the flocking fibers are embedded at one end of the adhesive. Upright generally perpendicular to the base material. This material is then heated in an oven to dry and cure the adhesive layer. If desired, the flocking fiber can be applied to the other side of the base material 5 in the same manner.

The flocking fibers 3 may be applied evenly over the base material 5 or may be applied to form a pattern over the surface of the base material. Processes that can pattern the flocking fibers are known and generally involve applying the adhesive 7 to the base material 5 in a pattern required by any form of printing process, resulting in flocking fibers ( 3) will only be attached to the substrate in the area where the adhesive is applied. For example, FIG. 2 shows a pattern made by applying adhesive 7 to regularly spaced rectangular patches 11 of substrate material 5. In this case, the flocking fibers 3 will be attached to the base material 5 in the patch and the base material 5 will remain exposed at other places. The size of the patch 11 can be changed to change the area of the base material 5 covered by the flocking fibers 3, and the shape of the patch 11 can also be changed.
Through suitable selection of the base material 5 and the flocking fiber 3, the flocked surface is subjected to a polishing action on the surface in order to rub the specific surface, i.e. to remove dust which cannot be removed by simply wiping the surface. Can be used to add.

The cleaning article can be formed by cutting the flocked scouring material into pieces, as described above, and the size of the pieces will depend on the intended use of the article. When used by hand in a home environment, a suitable size may be about 30 cm x 30 cm. An alternative type of scouring article may be formed by laminating the floccated scouring material onto another material that may simply support the floccated scouring material or provide an alternative cleaning action.

 For example, FIGS. 3 and 4 are formed by laminating the flocked scouring material 1 as described above in another material, in this case a layer of foam 9, to form a hand pad. A cleaning article 12 is shown. The foam 9 may be of any type known to be suitable for household cleaning, including cellulose foam having a density in the range of 75 to 125 kg / m 3 and polyurethane foam having a density in the range of 18 to 30 kg / m 3. The foam 9 may be of any suitable thickness, but a thickness in the range of 0.5 to 5.0 cm has been found to be particularly useful for household washing. If a thinner layer of foam is used, the laminate can be cut into hand pads having a larger surface area (eg, having a size up to 20 cm × 20 cm). Thicker layers of foam may be more suitable for pads having a smaller surface area (eg, dimensions of about 7 cm × 9 cm). It will be appreciated that the flocking fibers 3 may be applied continuously over the base material 5 of the scouring material 1 instead of being applied in a pattern as shown in FIG. 4.

Scouring materials and scouring articles as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 are also described in WO 2004/021855. The scouring material and / or any other material on which the scouring material is laminated may contain a cleaning composition if necessary.

According to the present invention, the adhesive 7 and the flocking fibers 3 have different colors so that as the fibers wear, the color of the adhesive becomes more and more visible until the color of the adhesive predominates and the scouring action of the material or article Provide the user with an indication that this has been degraded. The color chosen for the adhesive and the fibers should be such that the appearance change of the scouring material / article is clearly visible. Suitable color combinations will be described below.

Base material

Any woven or nonwoven flexible material suitable for surface cleaning (ie, capable of at least withstanding hot water and cleaning fluids), among other factors, in particular whether the flocked material 1 is used alone as a cleaning article or It can be used for the base material 5 depending on whether it is laminated to other materials, such as a sponge.

If the flocked material 1 is used alone as a scouring article, it will typically be cut to a size of about 30 cm × 30 cm. Substrate material 5 may be a disposable, semi-disposable or reusable fabric wipe material, in which case the flocking fiber 3 remains exposed to part of the surface of the substrate (eg, one side of the substrate). It can be applied to a substrate and used to provide a wiping action as well as a scouring action on the surface being cleaned. Woven wipe materials may be of woven, knitted or nonwoven construction, and will typically have a basis weight in the range of 15 to 300 g / m 2, but materials having a larger basis weight may also be used. Suitable nonwoven wipe materials for the base material 5 include dry-laid, wet-laid, spun-bond and spun lace materials, and are suitable. Preferably, thermally bonded, resin bonded, ultrasonically bonded, needle-punched, hydro-entangled, latex coated, or the like. Fabric wipe materials may include natural fibers (eg, cotton fibers) and / or artificial fibers (eg, PET, rayon, viscose, polypropylene, polyamide, or polyester fibers). Any substrate material described above may also be used if the scoured scouring material is to be laminated to another material.

Flocking  fiber

Any fiber known to be suitable for flocking and also suitable for cleaning (ie, capable of at least withstanding hot water and cleaning fluids) may be applied to the flocking fiber 3 if they are available in a suitable color in view of the color selected for the adhesive. Can be used (see below). Particularly suitable materials are polyamides, especially in the form of nylon 6 or nylon 6.6, but polypropylene or polyester fibers can also be used. The fibers should have a titer (mass per unit length) and length appropriate to the type of cleaning operation in which the flocked substrate is to be used, in particular the aggressiveness of the scouring action required and the characteristics of the surface to be cleaned. .

The amount of flocking fiber 3 deposited on the base material 5 should be sufficient to cover the adhesive 7 and should also be selected in consideration of the scouring action that needs to be provided by the base material 1. For example, WO 2004/021855 discloses that flocking fibers having a length in the range of 0.4 to 0.8 mm and a titer in the range of 15 to 80 dtex are applied to the base material in an amount of 150 to 180 g / m 2. It describes a scouring substrate.

In the case where the improvement of the scouring action is required, abrasive particles may be applied to the flocking fibers 3. The abrasive particles may comprise abrasive minerals attached to the fibers 3 by the resin, or the abrasive particles may simply comprise beads of resin free of abrasive minerals. Alternatively, as described in WO 2004/021855, the fiber 3 itself may provide the necessary scouring action.

Flocking glue

The adhesive 7 chosen to bond the flocking fibers 3 to the base material 5 must also be suitable for use in conditions intended for wipes (eg, must be able to withstand hot water and cleaning fluids). Preferably, the adhesive should not adversely affect the flexibility of the base material 5. Suitable adhesives are acrylic adhesives and PVC (polyvinylchloride) resins and are applied in amounts to form very thin layers on the base material. Typical coating weights for adhesives are about 90 to 140 g / m 2.

Color selection for flocking fibers and flocking glue

As mentioned above, the adhesive 7 and the flocking fibers 3 have different colors so that the color of the adhesive becomes more and more visible until the color of the adhesive prevails as the fibers wear out. This color change in the flocked area of the scouring material 1 indicates to the user that the scouring action of the material is disappearing.

Examples of color combinations of the adhesive 7 and the flocking fiber 3 which have been found suitable for use on the pale green substrate material 1 are

(i) red glue and purple fibers,

(Ii) pink adhesive and turquoise fibers,

(Iii) purple adhesive and orange (021C / 165C) fibers.

here,

Red is PANTONE® "Warm Red",

Purple is reference number 2587, 265 or 266 from PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM®,

Pink is reference number 238 or 239 of Pantone Matching System®, cyan is reference number 312, 313 or 3135 of Pantone Matching System®,

Orange is Pantone® "Orange 021" or reference number 165 of Pantone Matching System®.

However, it will be appreciated that other color combinations may be used and the choice of color will be affected by the color of the base material 1. In addition, it is preferable that the adhesive 7 should be colored prominently with respect to the base material 1, but this is not essential. As an alternative, a clear adhesive 7 can be used in combination with the contrasting color flocking fiber 3 for the base material 1, in which case it becomes clear in the flocked area as the flocking fiber wears out. (Not the color of the adhesive 7) It is the color of the base material 1 of the lower part.

Embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail in the following examples.

Example 1-hand pad comprising flocked substrate material laminated to a foam layer

The flocking fibers were cyan polyamide fibers with a length of 0.8 mm and a titer of 44 dtex (see above), the flocking adhesive was a red acrylic adhesive (see above), and the base material was 105 g / m 2 It was a light green coated nonwoven material comprising 65% cotton and 35% polyester with a basis weight of. Flocking fibers were applied to one surface of the substrate material in shaped and spaced areas forming a repeating pattern covering approximately 50% of the surface of the substrate material. The substrate material was laminated to a cellulose sponge layer having a density of about 29 kg / m 3 (when drying) and a thickness of 2 cm on its unflowing side.

The hand pad was used for normal household use and it was observed that the red color of the adhesive in the flocked area became more and more visible as the turquoise flocking fibers were worn during use.

Example 2-a hand pad comprising a flocked substrate material laminated to a sponge cloth material

The flocked substrate material was the same as the substrate material of Example 1 above. The base material was laminated to a sponge cloth material having a basis weight of about 260 g / m 2 (when drying) and a thickness of 2.5 mm on its non-floating side.

The hand pad was used for normal household use and it was observed that the red color of the adhesive in the flocked area became more and more visible as the turquoise flocking fibers were worn during use.

Example 3-Wipes Including Flocked Substrate Material

The flocking fibers were dark blue polyamide fibers with a length of 0.8 mm and a titer of 44 dtex, the flocking adhesive was a red acrylic-styrene resin (see above), and the base material was a blue reusable nonwoven wipe material, Specifically viscose-polyester latex coated wipes formed by the processes of carding, crosslapping and needletacking and having a basis weight of about 120 g / m 2. Flocking fibers were applied to the base material in shaped and spaced areas forming a repeating pattern covering approximately 15% of the surface of the base material.

The wipe was used for normal household use, and it was observed that as the blue flocking fibers were worn during use, the red color of the adhesive in the flocked area became more and more visible.

Claims (12)

A scouring material, comprising upright flocking fibers fixed to a substrate web material by an adhesive to form a flocked area, wherein the color of the fibers and adhesive is the flocking treatment of the substrate. And the apparent color of the areas to be changed as the flocking fibers of the flocked areas wear out. The scouring material of claim 1, wherein the fibers and adhesives are of different colors so that the color of the adhesive becomes visible as the fibers wear. 3. The scouring material of claim 1, wherein the flocking fiber is applied only to patches of the substrate web material and the surface of the substrate web material is exposed between the patches. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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