Cleaning pad and cleaning implement

• US 20050076936A1
• Filed: 10/05/2004
• Published: 04/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: Allie, Edward Phillip, O'Donnell, Hugh Joseph, Pung, David John, Breidenbach, Vincent Sean
• Application Number:
  US10/958,791
• Publication Number:
  US 20050076936A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 134/6
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/17 containing cleaning agents A47L13/19 takes precedence ; chemical compositions C11D17/049
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/20 Mops
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2432/00 Cleaning articles, e.g. mops, wipes personal care B32B2555/00
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 3/28 characterised by a layer comprising a deformed thin sheet , i.e. the layer having its entire thickness deformed out of the plane, e.g. corrugated, crumpled B32B29/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 38/06 Embossing
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 7/04 Interconnection of layers

Abstract

The present invention relates to disposable cleaning pads for removable attachment to a cleaning implement, the cleaning pad comprising an absorbent structure, and a plurality of reservoirs defined in the absorbent structure, formed by bonding or embossing throughout the thickness of the absorbent structure.

Claims

1. A disposable cleaning pad for removable attachment to a cleaning implement, the cleaning pad comprising

an absorbent structure, and

a plurality of reservoirs defined in the absorbent structure, formed by bonding or embossing throughout the thickness of the absorbent structure.

2. A disposable cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning pad further comprises a means for removably attaching the cleaning pad to a cleaning implement.

3. A disposable cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning pad is pre-moistened with a liquid cleaning composition.

4. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent structure comprises an upper surface and a lower surface, and the reservoirs are formed by bonding together the upper surface and the lower surface of the absorbent structure at selected locations.

5. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent structure comprises an upper sheet, a lower sheet, and an absorbent core positioned between the upper and lower sheets, wherein the fluid reservoirs are defined by bonds formed between the upper sheet and the lower sheet, and each fluid reservoir comprises a discrete portion of the absorbent core.

6. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the reservoirs are defined by intersecting bond lines extending in different directions across the cleaning pad.

7. A cleaning pad according to claim 6, wherein the cleaning pad has side edges and the bond lines extend from one side edge of the cleaning pad to another side edge of the cleaning pad.

8. A cleaning pad according to claim 7, wherein the bond lines define an acute angle with a side edge of the cleaning pad.

9. A cleaning pad according to claim 7, wherein the cleaning pad is substantially square or rectangular in shape, and wherein the bond lines are substantially parallel to the side edges of the cleaning pad.

10. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the reservoirs are defined by a plurality of bond sites separated from one another by a distance in the range 0.015 to 0.05 in.

11. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the reservoirs are defined by a plurality of bond sites, each bond site having an aspect ratio of less than 0.01.

12. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the reservoirs are defined by a plurality of bond sites, each bond site having a surface area of less than 0.003 sq in.

13. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the total area of bonding comprises less than 10% of the area of the absorbent structure.

14. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the absorbent structure comprises an upper surface and a lower surface, and the reservoirs are formed by embossing the absorbent structure so as to bring the upper and lower surfaces into contact with one another at selected locations.

17. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein the fluid reservoirs have a shape selected from circles, squares, rectangles, diamonds, ovals, triangles, hexagons and combinations thereof.

18. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, wherein adjacent reservoirs are in fluid communication with one another.

19. A cleaning pad according to claim 1, which further comprises a scrubbing strip of abrasive material.

20. A cleaning implement comprising

a handle;

a head portion attached to the handle; and

removably attached to the head portion, a cleaning pad as defined in claim 1.

21. A cleaning implement according to claim 20, wherein the head portion is pivotally attached to the handle.

22. A cleaning kit comprising

a cleaning implement comprising a handle and a head portion;

and

a cleaning pad as defined in any of claim 1, for removable attachment to the head portion.

23. A method of cleaning a hard surface, comprising

providing a cleaning implement comprising a handle and a head portion attached thereto;

removably attaching to the head portion a cleaning pad as defined in any of claim 1;

wiping the surface to be cleaned with the cleaning pad; and

,

optionally, removing the cleaning pad.

15. A disposable cleaning pad for removable attachment to a cleaning implement, the cleaning pad comprising an absorbent structure, and

a plurality of reservoirs defined in the absorbent structure, wherein at least some of the reservoirs contain superabsorbent material.

16. A cleaning pad according to claim 15, wherein the absorbent structure comprises an upper sheet, a lower sheet, and an absorbent core positioned between the upper and lower sheets, and wherein each reservoir comprises a discrete portion of the absorbent core.