US20070271719A1

US20070271719A1 - Cleaning Cloth

Info

Publication number: US20070271719A1
Application number: US11/571,929
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas Schindler; Annette Schaadt; Stefan Duda; Ralf Elsasser
Original assignee: Carl Freudenberg KG
Current assignee: Carl Freudenberg KG
Priority date: 2004-08-14
Filing date: 2005-04-19
Publication date: 2007-11-29
Also published as: DE102004039517A1; AU2005274509A1; EP1776029A1; DE102004039517B4; AU2005274509B2; NO20071273L; CA2577045A1; WO2006018051A1; CA2577045C; JP2008509764A; CN101001561A

Abstract

Disclosed is a cleaning cloth (1) that is made of a planar textile structure (2) and is provided with at least one cleaning surface (3), on at least some parts of which a surface coating (5) is disposed. Said surface coating (5) is embodied as a printed pattern (4) and contains abrasive agents (6).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter of the invention relates to a cleaning cloth made of a textile fabric having at least one cleaning surface, on at least part of which a surface coating in the form of a printed pattern is disposed.

PRIOR ART

Cleaning cloths of this type are known from DE 25 36 440. The prior art cleaning cloth is made of a textile fabric, for example, a nonwoven material. To improve the abrasion resistance, the cleaning cloth has a surface coating that is disposed on the surface of the nonwoven material in the form of a raised printed pattern. The printed pattern makes it possible for liquids to be wiped off a surface and to be absorbed by the absorbent nonwoven material. The removal of stubborn soil, however, is made difficult because of the smooth surface of the printed pattern and the nonwoven material of the cleaning cloth.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to further develop the cleaning cloth known from the prior art in a manner to ensure that the removal of stubborn soil is improved.
This problem is solved by the characteristics of Claim 1. Advantageous
To solve the problem, the surface coating comprises abrasive substances. The abrasive substances are intimately bound to the surface coating and, because of their scouring action, improve the cleaning action of the cleaning cloth. In particular, the cleaning action on soil stubbornly clinging to the surface to be cleaned is improved. The abrasive substances can be formed by particles with an abrasive action. Abrasiveness can also be implemented, for example, by means of surface profiles or by means of stiff fibers.
The textile fabric can be made of a nonwoven material. Nonwoven materials can be produced easily and inexpensively. Nonwoven materials have a low mass per unit area and can be designed so as to be absorbent.
The nonwoven material can be made of a fiber material that is held together by means of a binding agent. Binding agents to be used include, for example, latex, acrylate, phenol resin, melamine resin or nitrile rubber. According to another embodiment, the fiber material can be set by means of thermal fusion. The binder or the thermal fusion stabilizes the fabric and the fibers are bound in the fabric.
The abrasive substances can be mineral and/or organic additives. Mineral abrasives to be used include, for example, quartz, aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, chalk or glass granules. Mineral abrasives are marked by a high hardness and therefore have an abrasive scouring action. Mineral abrasives are therefore especially suitable for removing extremely stubborn soil.
Non-mineral or organic abrasives include, for example, polyurethane, PMMA or nutshells. Non-mineral or organic abrasives can be easily processed and are inexpensive as well. The non-mineral or organic abrasives are not as hard as mineral abrasives. These abrasives therefore do not have an abrasive scouring action and are especially suitable for cleaning sensitive surfaces.
The surface coating may comprise polishing particles. The polishing particles may be formed, for example, by silica. With the polishing particles, the cleaning cloth produced has an only mildly abrasive action. Such a cleaning cloth is especially suitable for cleaning and polishing sensitive objects, for example, cutlery.
The ratio between the thickness of the textile fabric and the thickness of the surface coating can be in a range from 40:1 to 3:1. At these ratios, it is possible to produce a cleaning cloth that can be produced inexpensively and that does not take up much space.
In one embodiment, the ratio can be a maximum of 10:1. Cleaning cloths produced in this ratio range are especially suitable for cleaning cloths that have an abrasive action.
In another embodiment, the ratio can be a minimum of 20:1. Cleaning cloths produced in this ratio range are especially suitable for cleaning cloths that have a polishing action.
In addition, the problem is also solved by a method for the production of a cleaning cloth, comprising the following steps:

- production of a textile fabric from a fiber material;
- fixing the textile fabric by applying a binding agent;
- printing the printing paste onto the textile fabric and applying abrasive substances, with the printing paste containing the abrasive substances being cured to form a surface coating.

The production of the cleaning cloth requires only a few processing steps and is therefore easy and inexpensive. The printing paste may comprise a binding agent which may contain latex, acrylate, phenol resin, melamine resin or nitrile rubber.
In one embodiment of the method, the abrasive substances can be mixed with the printing paste and subsequently, the printing paste that has been mixed with the abrasive substances can be printed onto the textile fabric. In this case, the abrasive substances are uniformly distributed in the printing paste. In another embodiment of the method, the printing paste can be printed onto the textile fabric, and the abrasive substances can be scattered over the still wet printing paste that has been applied to the textile fabric. In this case, the abrasive substances are fixed in the surface area in the surface coating.
The use of a disposable cleaning cloth is described in any one of Claims 1-6. The cleaning cloth can be produced easily and inexpensively and, because of its low thickness, does not take up much space. It is therefore especially suitable for use as a disposable cleaning cloth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

A few practical examples of the cleaning cloth according to the present invention will be explained in greater detail below based on the figures. As can be seen, the drawings in the form of diagrams include:
FIG. 1 which shows a top view of the cleaning cloth according to the present invention; and
FIG. 2 which shows a cross section through the cleaning cloth according to the present invention.

MEANS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a cleaning cloth 1 that is made of a textile fabric 2. The textile fabric 2 has a cleaning surface 3 on which a surface coating 5 is disposed, which has been applied as a printed pattern 4 to the cleaning surface 3. The printed pattern 4 allows the surface coating 5 to be designed in many different ways. Thus, it is possible, for example, to print a number of geometric shapes, such as rhombi, bars and triangles, or combinations thereof onto the cleaning surface 3. The surface coating 5 comprises abrasive substances 6 which can be formed by mineral and non-mineral additives. In addition, polishing particles can also be used as abrasive substances 6.
The cleaning cloth 1 can be used as a disposable cloth.
FIG. 2 shows a cross section through a cleaning cloth as in FIG. 1. Abrasive substances 6, in this case, abrasive particles, are bound in the surface coating 5. The surface coating 5 covers the cleaning surface 3 only partially and is printed in geometric patterns onto the cleaning surface 3. This leads to an additional improvement of the cleaning action of the cleaning cloth 1. The textile fabric 2 is made of a nonwoven material. The fiber material 8 of the nonwoven material is bound by means of a binding agent 7. The binding agent 7 can be formed from latex, acrylate, phenol resin, melamine resin or nitrile rubber. The ratio between the thickness of the textile fabric 2 and the thickness of the surface coating 5 is 10:1. The quantity of abrasive and/or polishing substances measures between 4 and 20%, relative to the overall weight of the cleaning cloth 1. The quantity of the printing paste measures between 10 and 40%. The quantity of coating applied measures between 15 and 100 g/m².
To produce a cleaning cloth 1 according to the present invention, first a textile fabric 2 is produced from a fiber material that consists of natural or synthetic fibers. The textile fabric 2 is fixed by applying a binding agent 7, for example, a latex emulsion, or by means of thermal fusion with thermoplastic fibers. To produce the surface coating 5, a printing paste is mixed with abrasive particles. This printing paste is printed in a geometrical pattern onto the textile fabric 2. In a last processing step, the printing paste is cured to form the surface coating 5 that is mixed with abrasive substances 6, which curing can also be achieved by means of a heat treatment of the coated cleaning cloth 1.

Claims

1. A cleaning cloth comprising a textile fabric which comprises a minimum of one cleaning surface, on at least part of which a surface coating produced in the form of a printed pattern is disposed, the surface coating comprises abrasive substances.

2. The cleaning cloth as in claim 1, wherein the abrasive substances are particles that have an abrasive action.

3. The cleaning cloth as in claim 1 wherein, the textile fabric is made of a nonwoven material.

4. The cleaning cloth as in claim 3, wherein, the nonwoven material is made of a fiber material that is bound by a binding agent.

5. The cleaning cloth as in claim 1, wherein the abrasive substances are formed by mineral additives.

6. The cleaning cloth as in claim 1, wherein the surface coating comprises polishing particles.

7. The cleaning cloth as in claim 1, wherein the ratio between the thickness of the textile fabric and the thickness of the surface coating is in a range from 40:1 to 3:1.

8. The cleaning cloth as in claim 7, wherein the ratio is a maximum of 10:1.

9. The cleaning cloth as in claim 7, wherein the ratio is a minimum of 20:1.

10. A method for the production of a cleaning cloth, comprising the following steps:

production of a textile fabric from a fiber material;

fixing the textile fabric by applying a binding agent;

making available a printing paste;

printing the printing paste onto the textile fabric and applying abrasive substances, with the printing paste that comprises the abrasive substances being cured to form a surface coating.

11. The method as in claim 10, wherein the printing paste is mixed with abrasive substances and the printing paste that is mixed with the abrasive substances is printed onto the textile fabric.

12. The method as in claim 10, wherein the printing paste is printed onto the textile fabric and the abrasive substances are scattered over the still wet printing paste that has been applied to the textile fabric.

13. The use of a cleaning cloth as in claim 1 as a disposable cleaning cloth.

14. The cleaning cloth as in claim 1, wherein the abrasive substances are formed by organic additives.

15. The cleaning cloth as in claim 3, wherein the nonwoven material is made of a fiber material that is fixed by thermal fusion.