Wet wipe
AssigneeThe Dexter Corporation
InventorsHelen Viazmensky, Eugene R. Benjamin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Wet wipes having improved wet strength, wet thickness and wet toughness are provided by incorporating a wet strength agent in the fibrous web containing pulp fibers and at least five percent by weight man-made fibers and hydraulically entangling the web. No post-formation bonding treatment is employed and the fiber dispersion includes only about 1% by weight of the wet strength additive. The hydroentanglement coupled with the low amount of additive provides unexpected synergistic strength and absorbency characteristics. The wet wipe retains its strength characteristics despite packaging and prolonged storage in a wet condition.
Claims19
A nonwoven wipe material suited for wet household and personal care use comprising a fibrous web material comprising a mixture of pulp fibers and at least five percent by weight man-made fibers and containing less than two percent by weight of a wet strength agent, the fibers within the web material being hydroentangled at an entanglement energy level up to 0.2 horsepower-hours per pound of web, the web material exhibiting no significant reduction in absorption capacity relative to comparative material without the wet strength agent.
A biodegradable nonwoven wipe material suited for wet household and personal care use comprising a totally cellulosic fiber web material comprising 70-95 percent by weight of pulp fibers and 5-30 percent by weight of rayon fibers and containing 0.5-1.3 percent by weight of a wet strength agent, the fibers within the web material being hydroentangled at an entangling energy level in the range of 0.01-0.15 horsepower-hours per pound of web, the web material exhibiting an absorptive capacity of at least 500 percent.
A method of forming a nonwoven wipe material comprising the steps of forming a fiber dispersion comprising pulp fibers and at least five percent by weight of man-made fibers, adding to the dispersion less than two percent by weight of a wet strength agent, forming a web of the fibers from the dispersion, hydroentangling the fibers within the web at an entanglement energy level up to 0.2 horsepower-hours per pound of web, said energy being sufficient to impart to the web when dry an absorptive capacity of at least 500 percent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.