SCOURING PRODUCTS

Abstract

A hand-held scouring product is disclosed. The hand-held scouring product is hand-sized in three dimensions and, throughout. The hand-held scouring product consists essentially of abrasive material comprising non-woven, autogenously-bonded fibres.

Description

The present invention relates to scouring products that are suitable for hand-held use in various environments including, but not restricted to, the domestic environment.

Substrates that provide a scouring action are widely used for cleaning in the domestic environment, being most frequently employed for cleaning cooking utensils and for cleaning surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms. Scouring substrates that are already known for such uses include fibrous non-woven materials, which may incorporate abrasive particles to enhance their abrasive action. Comparatively-thin, resin-bonded, non-woven webs of that type are often cut into hand pads that provide a scouring action on both sides, and even thinner webs of that type are often laminated to a layer of sponge and cut into hand pads that provide a scouring action on one side and a wiping action on the other. U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,593 (Hoover et al), for example, describes scouring pads for use in the kitchen, which are formed from a lofty, non-woven three-dimensional web of autogenously-bonded fibres, with abrasive particles distributed within the web and bonded to the web fibres. The pads have a size of 4.25×7.0×0.25 inches (approximately 10.8×17.8×0.65 cm).

Other hand-held scouring articles are described, for example, in WO 92/01536; WO 95/34239; EP-A-0 808 602; GB-A-1 143 238; GB-A-1 171 980; U.S. Pat. No. 3,175,331; U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,134 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,604. U.S. Pat. No. 3,345,668 describes an abrasive article for hand-scouring operations, which comprises a pad-type structure formed from a plurality of interlaced strips of plastic film.

The present invention is concerned with the provision of alternative scouring products comprising fibrous non-woven webs, with a view to offering the consumer a wider choice of products that are convenient to handle and suitable for use in differing circumstances.

The present invention provides a hand-held scouring product that is hand-sized in three dimensions and, throughout, consists essentially of abrasive material comprising non-woven, autogenously-bonded fibres. In embodiments of the invention described herein, the product is substantially cube-shaped or spherical but may also, for example, be substantially ellipsoidal or cylindrical.

By way of example, scouring products in accordance with the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a scouring product in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a modified form of the scouring product of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another scouring product in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of one form of scouring product of the general type shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of another form of scouring product of the type shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of yet another scouring product in accordance with the invention.

Products in accordance with the embodiments of the invention described below are all hand-sized in three dimensions and, throughout, consist essentially of abrasive material comprising non-woven, autogenously-bonded fibres (i.e. fibres that are bonded to one another at mutual contact points). The abrasive material is lofty in nature, i.e. it has a relatively high degree of openness, or a comparatively low density, due to the presence of a network of many, relatively large, intercommunicated voids. In the context of the present invention, the term “lofty” indicates that the bonded web preferably has a density no greater than about 60 kg/m³.

Three-dimensional matrices (for example, webs) of non-woven fibres may be formed in different ways using known equipment provided specifically for that purpose, and the bonding of the fibres may also be brought about in different ways including, for example: spraying the matrix with a bonding resin, incorporating thermo-bonding fibres in the matrix as it is being formed, and incorporating powdered bonding resins in the matrix as it is being formed.

FIG. 1 shows a hand-held scouring product 1 that comprises a generally cube-shaped piece of fibrous, non-woven web material. The fibre web is an air-laid web formed, using a Rando-Webber web-making machine, from a mixture of comparatively-coarse polymeric fibres and thermo-bonding fibres. The comparatively-coarse fibres have a titre in the range of from about 200 to about 500 dtex. The web-making machine is adjusted to form a comparatively thick web, (for example, about 5 cm thick) with a comparatively low fibre basis weight (for example, in the range of from 500 to 2000 g/m²). The fibre web is pre-bonded by passing it through an oven which is operated at a temperature sufficient to soften the thermo-bonding fibres and cause them to bond to the other fibres in the web. The pre-bonded web is then roll-coated with a suitable resin, in an amount sufficient to saturate the web, and the resin is cured by passing the web once more through the oven to form a bonded web that has a density in the range of from 40 to 60 kg/m³. The bonded web is then cut into cubes each being as shown in FIG. 1.

The comparatively coarse fibres may be polymeric fibres including, for example, polyamide, polyester and/or polypropylene fibres. Alternatively, the comparatively coarse fibres may be natural fibres including, for example, coco and/or sisal fibres. The thermo-bonding fibres may be polyester or polypropylene fibres, and may be of bi-component form. The roll-coat resin may be an acrylic latex resin or a rubber latex resin, resulting in a comparatively flexible web. However, any other suitable materials can be used.

If desired, the abrasive effect of the scouring product 1 can be increased by incorporating abrasive particles in the roll-coat resin. Those particles may be of any type known to be suitable for use in scouring materials, and may comprise mineral and/or polymeric particles. Alternatively, the abrasive effect of the scouring product 1 can be increased by incorporating some very coarse fibres (having a titre of, for example, about 1000 dtex) into the web.

In a first example, the non-woven web used for the scouring product 1 is formed from a fibre mixture comprising Nylon 6.6 fibres having a titre of about 200 dtex and polyester bi-component thermo-bonding fibres having a titre of about 20 dtex, in which the amount of thermo-bonding fibres is 20% by weight of the amount of Nylon fibres. The fibre web is formed with a thickness of 5 cm and a fibre basis weight of 1000 g/m².

In a second example, the non-woven web used for the scouring product 1 is formed from a fibre mixture comprising Nylon 6.6 fibres having a titre of about 500 dtex and polyester bi-component thermo-bonding fibres having a titre of about 20 dtex, in which the amount of thermo-bonding fibres is 20% by weight of the amount of Nylon fibres. The fibre web is formed with a thickness of 5 cm and a fibre basis weight of 1300 gsm.

In a third example, the non-woven web used for the scouring product 1 is formed from a fibre mixture comprising Nylon 6.6 fibres having a titre of about 500 dtex; differently-coloured fibres, also of Nylon 6.6 but having a titre of about 1000 dtex, and polyester bi-component thermo-bonding fibres having a titre of about 20 dtex, in which the amount of the 1000 dtex fibres is 25% by weight of the amount of the 500 dtex fibres and the amount of thermo-bonding fibres is 28% by weight of the amount of the 500 dtex fibres. The fibre web is formed with a thickness of 5 cm and a fibre basis weight of 1100 gsm.

In each of the above examples, the web is roll-coated with an acrylic latex resin after it has been pre-bonded, specifically a resin available under the trade name “Primal HA 12S” from Rolun & Haas Company of Philadelphia, Pa., USA.

The comparatively thick web from which the scouring product 1 is cut could, of course, be formed in any other way known to be suitable for that purpose. For example, the thermo-bonding fibres could be replaced by a powdered bonding resin, or the fibre web could be sprayed with a bonding resin.

If desired, one or more sides of the scouring product can be coated with a layer of abrasive particles to provide an alternative scouring effect. To achieve a visually-attractive appearance, those particles may be coloured polymeric particles, for example multi-coloured PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or melamine particles. FIG. 2, for example, shows a scouring product similar to that of FIG. 1 with abrasive particles 1A applied to one of its faces. This product can be formed by coating one side of a pre-bonded fibre web with a resin, applying the abrasive particles 1A while the resin is still wet, and allowing the resin to cure before cutting the web into cubes each being as shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively, the resin and the abrasive particles 1A can be combined to form a slurry that is sprayed onto the web.

Another hand-held scouring product 2 that is also cube-shaped is shown in FIG. 3. In this case, the scouring product is of layered construction and comprises approximately square pieces 3 of fibrous, non-woven web material placed one on top of another to form a cube. The pieces 3 may, for example, be approximately 7.0 cm square and 1.0 cm thick and be formed from any suitable grade of “ScotchBrite™” scouring material available from 3M Company of St. Paul, Minn.; USA.

The layers 3 of web material forming the scouring product 2 may be permanently bonded together using a suitable adhesive. To produce such a scouring product, lengths of web material would be bonded together to form the required number of layers and the layered material would then be cut into cube-shaped items. Suitable adhesives include hot-melt urethane adhesives. The adhesive may be applied continuously over the entire surface of a web and may, for example, be applied in the form of a film. Alternatively, the adhesive may be applied only to discrete areas spaced at regular intervals over the surface of a web sufficient to ensure effective bonding to the adjacent web.

Alternatively, the layers 3 of web material forming the scouring product 2 may be temporarily attached together so that they can be separated, if required. In that way, if the upper or lower surface of the product should become dirty or damaged, it can be removed to expose a clean, unused surface. The layers can be attached together by, for example, using a suitable peelable adhesive; using discrete areas of adhesive that can readily be separated; providing hook members on one layer that engage in the web material of the adjacent layer; lightly needle-tacking one layer to another; or using web materials that inherently cling to one another.

The adjacent layers 3 of web material may be of different colours to enhance the appearance of the scouring product 2, but that is not essential. It is also possible to provide the product with two different scouring actions by forming the half of the layers, at the top of the stack, from one grade of abrasive material and the other half of the layers, at the bottom of the stack, from a different grade. In that case, the different grades of material may be of different colours to provide a visual indication to the user.

An alternative way of forming the scouring product 2 is illustrated in FIG. 4. In this case, the adjacent layers 3 of web material do not adhere to one another across the whole of 15 their surface area but only at one edge 4. Moreover, the edge 4 at which adjacent layers 3 are attached to one another is located alternately on opposed sides of the cube. The result, as shown in FIG. 4, is that the scouring product can be opened-up somewhat in the manner of a concertina and, consequently, is more flexible than the product described above with reference to FIG. 3.

As described above, the attachment between adjacent layers 3 of the scouring product of FIG. 4 can be permanent or temporary; the adjacent layers 3 may be of different colours; and the layers 3 at one end half of the stack may be formed from a different grade of abrasive material to the layers at the other end half of the stack.

A further alternative way of forming the scouring product 2 is illustrated in FIG. 5. In this case, the product is formed from one length of non-woven web material 5 which is Z-folded as illustrated to form a cube. Partial cuts may be formed in the outermost surface of the web material at the locations of the folds 6, if desired, to facilitate the folding operation and also to make the folds less apparent at the side faces of the final product. The length of material 5 may, for example, be approximately 7.0 cm wide and folded (at locations spaced approximately 7.0 cm apart along its length) a sufficient number of times to produce a Z-folded stack that is approximately 7.0 cm high. The Z-folded construction, like the concertina construction of FIG. 4, also provides a more flexible scouring product.

Adjacent layers of the product of FIG. 5 can be attached to one another, either permanently or temporarily as described above with reference to FIG. 4.

The web material 5 of FIG. 5 may, for example, be any suitable grade of the above-mentioned “Scotch-Brite™ ” scouring material available from 3M Company of St. Paul, Minn., USA. Alternatively, the web material 5 may be an open material having a density no greater than 60 kg/M³ (preferably no greater than 50 kg/m³) and formed from comparatively coarse fibres, for example polypropylene or polyester fibres that may be coloured as desired to impart an attractive appearance to the product. Those fibres are preferably bonded to one another by a transparent resin selected, for example, from polyester, epoxy and latex resins. The web material 5 may further include abrasive particles bonded to the fibres: the particles may be comparatively large in size (for example having a diameter in the range of from 60 to 500 μm or even larger) and/or of a contrasting colour to the fibres, to impart an attractive appearance to the product and also to ensure that the presence of the particles is clearly apparent to the user through the open fibre web. It will be appreciated that, because the scouring product of FIG. 5 is effectively formed from several layers of a thinner web material, the construction of the product will be substantially uniform throughout: in particular, the abrasive particles will be distributed substantially uniformly throughout the product and will not be concentrated only at a surface.

Another hand-held scouring product 8 is shown in FIG. 6. In this case, the product is generally spherical and has a diameter of the order of 7.0 cm and a density no greater than 60 kg/m³. The fibrous matrix from which the scouring product 8 is formed can comprise similar fibres to those in the scouring products of FIGS. 1 to 4 described above, and the fibres can also be bound to one another in similar ways, for example by spraying the matrix with a bonding resin, incorporating thermo-bonding fibres in the matrix as it is being formed, or incorporating powdered bonding resins in the matrix as it is being formed. The scouring products 8 may be formed individually from spherical masses of fibres, or may be formed from an existing fibrous web either before or after the bonding process has been completed.

Advantageously, the scouring product 8 comprises comparatively coarse fibres, having a titre of at least 200 dtex, formed into a comparatively open matrix. Fibres of two or more different colours and/or different titres may be used, to enhance the appearance of the product and/or to modify its abrasive performance.

In one example, a spherical scouring product 8 is made in the following manner. An air-laid fibre web is formed, using a Rando-Webber web-making machine, from a mixture of comparatively-coarse polymeric fibres and thermo-bonding fibres. The comparatively-coarse fibres have a titre of at least 200 dtex. The web-making machine is adjusted to form a comparatively thick web (for example, about 5 cm thick) with a comparatively low fibre basis weight (in the range of from 500 to 2000 g/m²). The fibre web is pre-bonded by passing it through an oven which is operated at a temperature sufficient to soften the thermo-bonding fibres and cause them to bond to the other fibres in the web. While the web is still warm, it is formed by hand into spherical pieces having a density of about 40 kg/m₃.

A suitable fibre mixture for the product 8 comprises white Nylon 6.6 fibres having a titre of 500 dtex, blue Nylon 6.6 fibres having a titre of 1000 dtex (to enhance the abrasive effect of the product), and polyester bi-component thermo-bonding fibres having a titre of 20 dtex, in which the amount of blue fibres is 25% by weight of the amount of white Nylon fibres and the amount of thermo-bonding fibres is 28% by weight of the amount of white Nylon fibres.

Products similar to that shown in FIG. 6 could be provided with other shapes, for example generally ellipsoidal or cylindrical shapes.

The various scouring products described above with reference to the drawings are all convenient and comfortable to use because of their size and, consequently, enable the user to carry out a scouring operation more efficiently. They provide the user with an increased choice regarding both the overall form and the construction of scouring products, making it easier for the user to select a product that is most suitable for a particular cleaning operation. Moreover, the construction of the products makes it comparatively easy for the manufacturer to vary their appearance, through the use of different coloured fibres and abrasive particles (when present), and thereby enhance their appeal to the consumer.

Claims

1-16. (canceled)

17. A hand-held scouring product that is hand-sized in three dimensions and, throughout, consists essentially of abrasive material comprising non-woven, autogenously-bonded fibers.

18. The product as claimed in claim 17, in which the size of the product is substantially the same in the three dimensions.

19. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the size of the product is at least 5.0 cm in the three dimensions.

20. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the size of the product is in the range of from 5.0 to 12.0 cm in the three dimensions.

21. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the abrasive material comprises polymeric fibers or natural fibers.

22. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the abrasive material comprises polymeric fibers having a titre of at least 20 dtex.

23. The product as claimed in claim 1, in which the abrasive material is a lofty material having a density no greater than about 60 kg/m3.

24. The product as claimed in claim 1, comprising substantially the same abrasive material throughout.

25. The product as claimed in claim 1, including abrasive particles bonded to the fibers.

26. The product as claimed in claim 1, which is substantially cube-shaped.

27. The product as claimed in claim 1, the product being formed from a single web of non-woven material.

28. The product as claimed in claim 1, the product being formed from a plurality of adjacent layers of abrasive material that are attached to one another.

29. The product as claimed in claim 28, in which some, at least, of the layers are separable from the others.

30. The product as claimed in claim 29, the product being formed from a length of non-woven material that is Z-folded to form a cube-shaped stack.

31. The product as claimed in claim 1, which is substantially spherical, ellipsoidal or cylindrical in shape.