CLEANING MEDIUM FOR REMOVING CONTAMINATION AND METHOD OF MAKING
First Claim
1. A cleaning medium comprising:
- a substrate having a bulk mass and a front surface having fibers; and
polyisobutylene disposed on the fibers adjacent to the front surface of the substrate, wherein a substantial portion of the polyisobutylene has a viscosity average molecular weight (MVA) greater than approximately 30,000 and the relative weight ratio between the polyisobutylene and the fibers having polyisobutylene disposed thereon is between approximately 1 to 10 wt % polyisobutylene to approximately 90 to 99 wt % fibers.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A cleaning medium that includes polyisobutylene (also sometimes referred to as polybutylene or as polybutene). Cleaning media include cleaning implements, polishers, and filters. Typically a substantial portion of the polyisobutylene has a molecular weight (MW) greater than 30,000 and in some particular applications the molecular weight is around 85,000. The polyisobutylene is generally adjacent to the surface of a substrate, such as a non-woven or woven fabric. A method of making a cleaning medium is provided. The method typically involves dissolving polyisobutylene in a solvent such as hexane to form a tackifier solution, soaking the substrate in the tackifier to produce a preform, and then drying the preform to produce the cleaning medium. The cleaning media are typically used dry, without any liquid cleaning agent. In embodiments where the cleaning medium is as cleaning implement or a polisher, the surface to be cleaned is wiped with a surface of the cleaning medium adjacent to which the polyisobutylene is disposed. Vigorous wiping may be used in applications where contamination is difficult to remove. In embodiments where the cleaning medium is a filter, a fluid is passed through the cleaning medium and the cleaning medium traps particles and aerosols entrained in the fluid.
19 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A cleaning medium comprising:
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a substrate having a bulk mass and a front surface having fibers; and polyisobutylene disposed on the fibers adjacent to the front surface of the substrate, wherein a substantial portion of the polyisobutylene has a viscosity average molecular weight (MVA) greater than approximately 30,000 and the relative weight ratio between the polyisobutylene and the fibers having polyisobutylene disposed thereon is between approximately 1 to 10 wt % polyisobutylene to approximately 90 to 99 wt % fibers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. The cleaning medium of claim 8 wherein the amount of solvent does not exceed approximately 1000 ppm weight ratio of solvent to solvent plus polyisobutylene.
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9. A cleaning medium comprising:
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(a) a substrate comprising a plurality of fibers each having a surface; and (b) polyisobutylene disposed adjacent to the surface of the fibers to form treated fibers having a treated thickness;
wherein the polyisobutylene comprises droplets disposed on the treated fibers, the droplets having a length that is between approximately one and five times the treated thickness of the treated fibers and the droplets having a width that is between approximately 110% and 150% of the treated thickness of the treated fibers. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A cleaning medium comprising:
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a substantially impervious substrate having a front surface; and polyisobutylene disposed on the front surface of the substrate, wherein a substantial portion of the polyisobutylene has a viscosity average molecular weight (MVA) greater than approximately 30,000. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method of making a cleaning medium, the method comprising:
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(a) dissolving polyisobutylene having a viscosity average molecular weight (MVA) over 30,000 in a solvent selected from the group consisting of an alkane, an isoparaffin, an aliphatic compound, a cycloaliphatic compound, a terpene, and mixtures of two or more of the foregoing to form a tackifier solution of approximately 0.5 wt % to approximately 10 wt % polyisobutylene; (b) applying the tackifier solution to a substrate to produce a preform; and (c) drying the preform to form the cleaning medium. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A cleaning wipe having a total dry weight, the cleaning wipe comprising:
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(a) a porous substrate, the porous substrate having a bulk mass with a plurality of voids and the porous substrate embodying a percentage of the total dry weight of the cleaning wipe, leaving a remaining percentage of dry weight; and (b) polyisobutylene disposed within at least a portion of the plurality of voids, the polyisobutylene embodying substantially all of the remaining percentage of dry weight of the cleaning wipe
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Specification