Personal care articles

• US 6,428,799 B1
• Filed: 11/19/1999
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: Phipps, Nichola Jacqueline, Smith, Edward Dewey III, Cen, Raymond Wei
• Primary Examiner(s): Page, Thurman K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Howard, S.
• Application Number:
  US09/442,298
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 424/400, 424/402, 424/401
• US Class Current: 424/402
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/16 Paper towels; Toilet paper; Holders therefor dispensers A47K10/32
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 7/03 containing soap or other cleaning ingredients, e.g. impregnated

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substantially dry, disposable personal care article suitable for cleansing and/or therapeutically treating comprising a water insoluble substrate which comprises a non-scouring, lofty, low density batting layer which comprises synthetic fibers and wherein said batting layer exhibits a number of physical properties either individually or in combination which are believed to contribute to the overall effectiveness of the personal care article of the present invention. The physical properties of the batting include a Lather Permeability of at least 0.2 g/sec at 7 cm H₂O, a Lather Permeability Critical Pressure of less than about 4 cm H₂O, an Air Permeability of at least 900 ft³/min/ft², a Compression Relaxation Hysteresis Value of from about 25% to about 60%, and an Abrasiveness Value of greater than about 15. These articles have been found to be particularly useful for personal cleansing applications, namely for the skin and hair.

Claims

1. A substantially dry, disposable personal care article suitable for cleansing and/or conditioning, said article comprising:

a) a water insoluble substrate which comprises;

i) a non-scouring, batting layer having a density of from 0.00005 g/cm³ to about 0.1 g/cm³ which comprises synthetic fibers and wherein said batting layer has a Lather Permeability of at least 0.2 g/sec at 7 cm H₂O; and

b) a cleansing component disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a lathering surfactant.

2. The article of claim 1 which further comprises a therapeutic benefit component, disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a therapeutic benefit agent.

3. The article of claim 2 wherein the surface to saturation ratio is greater than or equal to about 1.25 at any point on the surface of the substrate.

4. The article of claim 1 wherein said batting layer comprises synthetic fibers selected from the group consisting of nylon fibers, rayon fibers, polyolefin fibers, polyester fibers, and combinations thereof.

5. The article of claim 1 wherein said batting layer comprises fibers selected from the group consisting of multiconstituent fibers, multicomponent fibers, and combinations thereof.

6. A method of cleansing the skin and hair which comprises the steps of:

a) wetting the article of claim 1; and

b) contacting the skin or hair with the wetted article.

7. A method of conditioning the skin and hair which comprises the steps of:

a) wetting the article of claim 2; and

b) contacting the skin or hair with the wetted article.

20. The article of claim 1, wherein the article is disposed or discarded after less than about 2 entire usage events.

8. A substantially dry, disposable personal care article suitable for cleansing and/or conditioning, said article comprising:

a) a water insoluble substrate which comprises;

i) a non-scouring, batting layer having a density of from 0.00005 g/cm³ to about 0.1 g/cm³ which comprises synthetic fibers and wherein said batting layer has a Lather Permeability Critical Pressure of less than about 4 cm H₂O; and

b) a cleansing component disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a lathering surfactant.

9. The article of claim 8 which further comprises a therapeutic benefit component, disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a therapeutic benefit agent.

16. The article of claim 8, wherein the article has a surface to saturation ratio of greater than or equal to about 1.25 at any point on the surface of the substrate.

10. A substantially dry, disposable personal care article suitable for cleansing and/or conditioning, said article comprising:

a) a water insoluble substrate which comprises;

i) a non-scouring, batting layer having a density of from 0.00005 g/cm³ to about 0.1 g/cm³ which comprises synthetic fibers and wherein said batting layer has an Air Permeability of at least 900 ft³/min/ft²; and

b) a cleansing component disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a lathering surfactant.

11. The article of claim 10 which further comprises a therapeutic benefit component, disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a therapeutic benefit agent.

17. The article of claim 10, wherein the article has a surface to saturation ratio of greater than or equal to about 1.25 at any point on the surface of the substrate.

12. A substantially dry, disposable personal care article suitable for cleansing and/or conditioning, said article comprising:

a) a multi-layer, water insoluble substrate which comprises;

i) a non-scouring, batting layer having a density of from 0.00005 g/cm³ to about 0.1 g/cm³ which comprises synthetic fibers and wherein said batting layer has a Compression Relaxation Hysteresis Value of from about 25% to about 60%; and

b) a cleansing component disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a lathering surfactant.

13. The article of claim 12 which further comprises a therapeutic benefit component, disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a therapeutic benefit agent.

18. The article of claim 12, wherein the article has a surface to saturation ratio of greater than or equal to about 1.25 at any point on the surface of the substrate.

14. A substantially dry, disposable personal care article suitable for cleansing and/or conditioning, said article comprising:

a) a water insoluble substrate which comprises;

i) a non-scouring, batting layer having a density of from 0.00005 g/cm³ to about 0.1 g/cm³ which comprises synthetic fibers and wherein said batting layer has an Abrasiveness Value of greater than about 15; and

b) a cleansing component disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a lathering surfactant.

15. The article of claim 14 which further comprises a therapeutic benefit component, disposed adjacent to said water insoluble substrate, wherein said component comprises from about 10% to about 1000%, by weight of the water insoluble substrate, of a therapeutic benefit agent.

19. The article of claim 14, wherein the article has a surface to saturation ratio of greater than or equal to about 1.25 at any point on the surface of the substrate.