Composite foam-textile cleaning pad

• US 4,569,861 A
• Filed: 06/18/1984
• Issued: 02/11/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Creative Products Resource, Inc. (Henkel AG & Co KGaA)
• Original Assignee: Creative Products Resource Associates, Ltd.
• Inventors: Smith, James A., Murphy, Betty J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Foelak, Morton
• Application Number:
  US06/621,376
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 427/244, 427/387, 427/389.9, 521/52, 521/76, 521/110, 521/111, 521/122, 521/123, 521/159, 252/90, 252/91, 252/174
• US Class Current: 427/244
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 13/16 Cloths; Pads; Sponges metal scraping sponges A47L13/07
• CPC Class Codes: B24D 3/32 for porous or cellular structure
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2038/0076 Curing, vulcanising, cross-linking
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2262/14 Mixture of at least two fibres made of different materials
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2266/0278 Polyurethane
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2266/06 Open cell foam
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2305/20 in the form of a non-woven mat
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/72 Density
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2307/728 Hydrophilic
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2315/16 Clay
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2391/00 Waxes
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 2432/00 Cleaning articles, e.g. mops, wipes personal care B32B2555/00
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 27/12 next to a fibrous or filamentary layer
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 5/245 another layer next to it being a foam layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 521/905 Hydrophilic or hydrophobic cellular product
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 521/918 Physical aftertreatment of a cellular product

Abstract

A composite cleaning pad is provided which incorporates a sheet of open-celled reticulated, hydrophillic polyurethane foam which integrally incorporates silane-coupled abrasives and a gelled aqueous phase and a textile sheet which covers a surface of the foam sheet and is bonded thereto.

Claims

1. A process for preparing a composite cleaning pad incorporating opposed foam and textile surfaces comprising:

(a) forming an aqueous reactant phase comprising about 45-75% by weight of solid abrasive particles, about 0.1-5% of the weight of the abrasive particles of a silane coupling agent, about 1-10% of a nonionic surfactant, about 1-10% of a gelling agent, and about 15-35% water;

(b) mixing and foaming said aqueous reactant phase with a water-foamable prepolymer resin which contains about 1.3-1.5 mEg of free isocyanate groups per gram of resin so that the final mole ratio of water to total free isocyanate groups is within the range of about 20-80;

1; and

(c) curing said foaming mixture in contact with a highly reticulated textile sheet to provide a hydrophillic, oil and water absorbent foam sheet, one surface of which is integrally bonded to said textile sheet.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein said foam sheet has a density of about 0.2-0.4 g/cc and a breaking strength of about 300-400 g.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the aqueous reactant phase further comprises about 2-10% of a silicone fluid.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein the aqueous phase further comprises about 0.5-5% of an anionic surfactant.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein said aqueous reactant phase is formed by slurrying the solid abrasive particles with about 50-70% of the total water, adding the silane coupling agent, stirring and heating the water phase to about 21°

-32°

C. and adding the remainder of the water, the surfactants, and the gelling agent.

6. The process of claim 5 wherein the solid particles comprise silaceous mineral particles and said silane coupling agent is an aminoalkyl(tris-alkoxy)silane.

7. A process for preparing a composite cleaning pad incorporating opposed foam and textile surfaces comprising:

(a) forming a slurry comprising water and about 300-400% weight excess of solid abrasive particles;

(b) treating said slurry with an amount of a silane coupling agent equal to about 0.1-5% by weight of the amount of abrasive particles;

(c) adding to said slurry an amount of water-comprising an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant comprising a poly(lower)alkylenoxy moiety, and an inorganic gelling agent to form an aqueous reactant phase comprising about 45-75% abrasive solids and about 1-10% gelling agent;

(d) mixing and foaming said aqueous reactant phase with a water-foamable, self cross-linking prepolymer resin in a weight ratio of aqueous phase to prepolymer of about 4-2;

1, said prepolymer resin comprising a polyisocyanate-capped polyalkylenoxy polyol, said polyol having a molecular weight of about 900-1100 and said resin comprising about 1.3-1.5 mEq/g of free isocyanate groups; and

(e) curing said foaming mixture in contact with a textile sheet to provide an oil and water absorbent, open-celled, highly reticulated foam sheet, one surface of which is integrally bonded to said textile sheet.

8. The process of claim 7 wherein step (c) further comprises treating the aqueous reactant phase with a silicone fluid.

9. The process of claim 8 wherein the aqueous reactant phase comprises about 4-8% nonionic surfactant, about 1.5-2.5% by weight of anionic surfactant, and about 2-10% of silicone fluid.

10. The process of claim 7 wherein the aqueous reactant phase is cooled to about 8°

-15°

C. and the resin is warmed to about 35°

-45°

C. prior to mixing.

11. The process of claim 7 wherein the inorganic gelling agent comprises a smectite clay, an inosilicate mineral or mixtures thereof.

12. The process of claim 7 wherein the foam sheet exhibits a density of about 0.25-0.35 g/cc and a breaking strength of about 300-400 g.

13. The process of claim 7 wherein the textile sheet comprises a nonwoven blend of about 70-80% polyester and about 20-30% rayon.