Friable foam textile cleaning stick

• US 4,594,362 A
• Filed: 10/31/1985
• Issued: 06/10/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/1983
• 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:
  US06/793,166
• Time in Patent Office: 222 Days
• Field of Search: 521/52, 521/111, 521/76, 521/122, 521/123, 521/159, 521/905, 521/918, 210/924, 252/90, 252/91, 252/174
• US Class Current: 510/281
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 25/08 Pads or the like for cleaning clothes using adhesive surfaces A47L25/005
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2375/04 Polyurethanes
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2491/00 Characterised by the use of oils, fats or waxes; Derivatives thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 9/0061 characterized by the use of several polymeric components
• CPC Class Codes: C09G 1/02 containing abrasives or grinding agents abrasives as such C09K3/14; polishing of semi-conductors H01L
• CPC Class Codes: C09G 1/10 based on mixtures of wax and natural or synthetic resin
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 1/72 Ethers of polyoxyalkylene glycols
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 17/048 Soap or detergent bars or cakes with an inner core consisting of insoluble material floating soaps C11D17/02
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 17/049 Cleaning or scouring pads; Wipes
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/0031 Carpet, upholstery, fur or leather cleansers
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/0094 High foaming compositions
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/14 Fillers; Abrasives ; Abrasive compositions; Suspending or absorbing agents not provided for in one single group of C11D3/12; Specific features concerning abrasives, e.g. granulometry or mixtures dyes, pigments C11D3/40
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/162 containing Si
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/18 Hydrocarbons C11D3/164 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/373 containing silicones
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 210/924 using physical agent, e.g. sponge, mop
• 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 dry-type textile cleaning article is disclosed which comprises a friable hydrophilic polyurethane foam body which incorporates abrasive particles, solvents, surfactants, and adjuvants such as fragrance, biocides, and fiber emollients. When rubbed over a textile surface the foam body yields shreds which are effective to remove both liquid and dry soils from textiles.

Claims

1. A textile cleaning stick having a tensile strength of less than about 1. lb comprising a friable open celled reticulated hydrophillic polyurethane foam matrix, wherein said matrix integrally incorporating (a) abrasive particles silane-coupled within said matrix and (b) an aqueous phase incorporating an effective amount of an organic solvent dispersed therein, so that said foam matrix yields oil and water absorbent shreds when it is rubbed across a textile surface.

2. The cleaning stick of claim 1 wherein said matrix incorporates about 50-90% of abrasive particles on a dry weight basis.

3. The cleaning stick of claim 1 wherein the organic solvent is dispersed in the aqueous phase by a nonionic surfactant.

4. The cleaning stick of claim 1 wherein said matrix further incorporates particles of an inorganic dispersing agent.

5. The cleaning stick of claim 1 wherein the aqueous phase further includes a silicone fluid.

6. The cleaning stick of claim 1 wherein the aqueous phase includes an odoriferous agent.

7. The cleaning stick of claim 1 wherein the aqueous phase further includes a protease.

21. A method for cleaning a solid textile which comprises rubbing the cleaning stick of claims 1, 8 or 16 over the surface of said soiled textile.

8. An oil and water absorbent textile cleaning stick having a tensile strength of less than about 2.0 lbs prepared by a process comprising:

(a) forming an aqueous reactant phase comprising about 40-70% by weight of abrasive solid particles, about 0.1-5% of the weight of the solid particles of a silane-coupling agent, about 0.1-10% of a nonionic surfactant, about 1-20% of an organic solvent and about 15-40% water;

(b) mixing said aqueous reactant phase with a water-foamable prepolymer resin which contains at least 2 free isocyanate groups per resin molecule so that the final mole ratio of water to total free isocyanate groups is within the range of about 5-200;

1, thereby converting said resin into a friable, open-celled, reticulated polyurethane foam body.

9. The cleaning stick of claim 8 wherein the weight ratio of the aqueous phase to the prepolymer resin is about 7.5-15:

1.

10. The cleaning stick of claim 8 wherein the aqueous reactant phase further incorporates about 1-10% by weight of a silicone fluid.

11. The cleaning stick of claim 8 wherein the aqueous reactant phase further comprises about 0.025-2% of fragrance.

12. The cleaning stick of claim 8 wherein the aqueous phase further comprises about 0.25-10% of an inorganic suspending agent.

13. The cleaning stick of claim 8 wherein the aqueous phase further comprises about 0.1-2% of an alkaline protease.

14. The cleaning stick of claim 8 wherein said aqueous reactant phase is formed by slurrying the solid particles with the water, adding the silane-coupling agent, stirring and heating the water phase to surface-coat the abrasive with the silane and adding the surfactant and the solvent.

15. The cleaning stick of claim 14 wherein the solid particles comprise silaceous mineral particles and said silane coupling agent is an aminoalkyl(tris-alkoxy)silane.

16. A textile cleaning stick having a tensile strength of less than about 1. lb prepared by a process comprising:

(a) forming an aqueous reactant phase comprising about 20-30% by weight of water, about 0.5-5.0% of a nonionic surfactant, about 1-10% by weight of a polydimethylsiloxane silicone fluid, about 5-15% of an organic solvent, about 45-60% of abrasive mineral particles, about 0.1-5% by weight of the mineral particles of a silane-coupling agent and about 0.5-2% of an inorganic suspending agent;

(b) mixing said aqueous reactant phase with a water-foamable prepolymer resin in a weight ratio of aqueous phase to prepolymer of about 7.5-15;

1, said prepolymer resin comprising a toluene diisocyanate-capped polyalkylenoxy ether comprising about 1.3-2.5 mEq/g of isocyanate groups, so as to convert such resin into a hydrophilic, open-celled reticulated, friable polyurethane foam body.

17. The cleaning stick of claim 16 wherein the nonionic surfactant comprises the condensation product of ethylene oxide with a polyoxypropylene ether having a molecular weight of about 1500-3000.

18. The cleaning stick of claim 16 wherein the nonionic surfactant comprises the condensation product of about 3-50 moles of ethylene oxide with a C₁₁ -C₁₅ fatty alcohol.

19. The cleaning stick of claim 16 wherein the weight range of aqueous phase to prepolymer resin is about 10-15:

1.

20. The cleaning stick of claim 16 wherein the organic solvent comprises mineral spirits or a low molecular weight mineral oil.