CLEANING CLOTH
The present invention relates to a cloth for cleaning purposes, whether in catering facilities, in the household or otherwise: the invention also relates to cleaning devices formed from or including such a cloth. Various cloths are known which are used for cleaning purposes. So-called microfibre cloths are particularly effective in removing material of a soiling nature from a surface to be cleaned. One such microfibre cloth comprises a multiplicity of loops of yarn of synthetic plastics material distributed over at least one surface of the cloth and projecting loosely from that surface, the yarn of these loops being sub-divided into a multiplicity of filaments: in accordance with our International patent application WO02/071914, this cloth may comprise a carrier web which carries the multiplicity of loops of yarn, the carrier web being formed at least in part from yarn which exhibits an antibacterial property and/or an anti-fungal property. We have now devised a cloth which exhibits improved ability to remove soiling material from a surface to be cleaned. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a cleaning cloth which comprises a multiplicity of lengths of yarn, with adjacent and/or intersecting and/or traversing lengths of yarn being fused together along selected lines or over selected areas of at least a. portion of at least one surface of the cloth. The result of adjacent and/or intersecting and/or traversing lengths of yarn of the cloth being fused together along selected lines or over selected areas is that the cloth has a rougher or relatively abrasive nature over the respective portion of its surface, leading to an improved ability to remove stubborn stains etc. from a surface to be cleaned. The fusing together of the adjacent and/or intersecting and/or traversing lengths of yarn is preferably achieved by
subjecting the cloth to treatment by a laser beam, the laser beam traversing successive lines across the surface of the cloth. The cloth may be of knitted, woven or any other construction. The yarn of the cloth may be formed into a multiplicity of loops, distributed over at least one surface of the cloth and loosely projecting from it: the cloth may comprise a carrier web from which the loops of yarn project loosely; in either case, the yarn of the loops may be sub- divided into multiplicity of filaments, to provide one form of so-called micro-fibre cloth. The cloth may exhibit antibacterial and/or anti-fungal properties, in accordance with our International patent application WO02/071914. The cloth may be of woven or other construction, comprising a multiplicity of lengths of yarn, or threads, extending adjacent to each other and/or intersecting and/or traversing each other. At least some of the lengths of yarn may be subdivided into a multiplicity of filaments, to provide a micro-fibre cloth: some of the lengths of yarn may exhibit an anti-microbial property and/or an anti-fungal property. In accordance with the present invention, adjacent and/or intersecting and/or traversing lengths of yarn, or threads, are fused together along selected lines or over selected areas of at least a portion of at least one surface of the cloth. The pattern of lines or areas along or over which adjacent and/or intersecting and/or traversing lengths of yarn are fused together may be selected as desired. For example, the lengths of yarn may be fused together along lines which are straight or curved and define any desired or selected pattern, or along lines and/or over areas defining logos, alpha-numeric characters, or over blocked (i.e. solid) areas. The pattern may extend over the entire surface of the cloth, or it may be confined to a portion only of the surface area of the cloth. Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a cleaning cloth, comprising the
steps of providing a cloth having a multiplicity of lengths of yarn, then causing the fusing together of adjacent and/or intersecting and/or traversing lengths of yarn along selected lines or over selected areas of at least a portion of at least one surface of the cloth. The cloth of the present invention may be used as a dish cloth or other cleaning cloth. It may however be used as part of a wide variety of cleaning devices: for example, it may be used to form the head (or cover the head) of a cleaning mop or other cleaning device; in the case of a floor mop, for example, which comprises a cloth in accordance with the present invention, this has the advantage that it exhibits substantially less drag when rubbed across the surface of the loor. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a view of one side of a cloth which has been subjected to laser treatment. Referring to the drawing, there is shown a cleaning cloth 10 which is formed of yarn. The cloth may comprise a carrier web formed of yarn, this carrier web carrying a multiplicity of loops of yarn projecting loosely from it: the yarn which forms these multiple loops may comprise a synthetic plastics material subdivided into a multiplicity of filaments, to form a so-called micro-fibre cloth. In accordance with the teachings of our International patent application W002/071914, the carrier web may be formed in part from yarn which exhibits an anti-bacterial property, and/or an anti-fungal property: for example, the yarn of the carrier web may comprise a synthetic material in which an agent or agents having anti-bacterial and/or anti-fungal properties are dispersed; instead, the yarn of the carrier web may include silver, e.g. as a coating on constituent fibres (silver having effective anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties) . The carrier web may be of knitted construction, with the multiplicity of loops which it carries
also forming part of the knitted construction. The cloth may however be of woven or other construction. In accordance with the present invention, the cloth 10 has been subjected to treatment by a laser beam, with the effect of fusing together a number of adjacent loops of yarn along the lines, or over the areas, traversed by the laser beam. In the example shown, the laser beam has traversed a first series of parallel straight lines 12 and a second series of parallel lines 14, the two series of lines together forming a lattice of 1 cm squares. The effect of fusing together adjacent loops of the yarn of the cloth is that the cloth is of a rougher texture, or relatively abrasive. Because of this abrasive texture, the cloth is more able to remove stubborn stains or soiling from surfaces to be cleaned. Instead of comprising a cloth formed with a multiplicity of loosely projecting loops, the cloth may comprise a woven construction made up of one series of lengths of yarn, or threads, traversing and interwoven with a second series of lengths of yarn, or threads: in accordance with the present invention, adjacent and/or traversing lengths of yarn are fused together along selected lines or over selected areas. At least some of the lengths of yarn may be subdivided into a multiplicity of filaments, to form a micro-fibre cloth. At least some of the lengths of yarn may exhibit anti-bacterial and/or anti -fungal properties. The pattern of lines or areas traversed by the laser beam may vary as desired. The laser beam may thus define any desired pattern, for example logos, lettering, or blocked areas (whether squares or otherwise) . The laser treatment may be applied to ne or to both sides of the cloth. The laser treatment pattern may be localised to one or more areas of the cloth, rather than being applied over its entire surface area. It will be appreciated that the cloth of the present
invention can be of any desired construction, may or may not be of micro-fibre construction and may or may not exhibit antimicrobial and/or anti-fungal properties. In any event, the fusing together of adjacent and/or intersecting and/or traversing lengths of yarn, along selected lines or over selected areas of at least a portion of at least one surface of the cloth, leads to the cloth exhibiting a relatively abrasive nature and improved ability to remove stubborn stains from surfaces to be cleaned.