Wetness indicator having improved colorant retention and durability

• US 6,904,865 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2002
• Issued: 06/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: Roe, Donald Carroll, Klofta, Thomas James, Wise, Brandon Ellis
• Primary Examiner(s): Fulton, Christopher W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): JOHNSON, AMY COHEN
• Application Number:
  US10/323,574
• Publication Number:
  US 20030154904A1
• Time in Patent Office: 909 Days
• Field of Search: 116/206, 116/200, 252/194, 604/361, 604/385.01, 604/362
• US Class Current: 116/206
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/42 with wetness indicator or alarm

Abstract

Wetness indicating compositions having improved colorant retention and durability and to wearable articles comprising this wetness indicating composition are provided.

Claims

1. A wetness indicating composition comprising:

(a) a colorant, said colorant having an initial color state, said initial color state being associated with a first state of said composition and a final color state, said final color state being associated with a second state of said composition; and

(b) a matrix comprising a mixture of a first binding agent and a second binding agent;

wherein said first binding agent immobilizes said colorant when it is in its said initial color state and said second binding agent immobilizes said colorant when it is in its said final color state; and

wherein said second binding agent is selected from the group consisting of cationic clay materials, quaternary ammonium compounds, ethoxylated quaternary ammonium compounds, quaternized silicone compounds, cationic guars, cationic exchange resins, anionic exchange resins, polyacrylic acid polymers, organic acids, and combinations thereof.

2. The wetness indicating composition of claim 1 wherein the ratio of said first binding agent to said second binding agent is from about 2:

1 to about 40;

1.

3. The wetness indicating composition of claim 1 wherein said colorant is a pH indicator.

4. The wetness indicating composition of claim 1 wherein said colorant is selected from the group consisting of bromocresol green, bromocresol purple, bromophenol blue, m-cresol purple, cresol red, chlorophenol red, bromothymol blue, bromopyrogallol red, bromoxylenol blue, acridine, acridine orange, and combinations thereof.

5. The wetness indicating composition of claim 1 wherein said first binding agent immobilizes said colorant, by one or more forces selected from the group consisting essentially of adhesion, hydrogen bonding, polar covalent bonding, Van der Waal'"'"'s forces, ionic forces, dipole-dipole force, London dispersion forces and combinations thereof.

6. The wetness indicating composition of claim 1 wherein said second binding agent immobilizes said colorant by covalent bonding, ionic bonding, and combinations thereof.

7. The wetness indicating composition of claim 1 wherein said first binding agent is selected from the group consisting of rosin eaters, polymerized rosins, styrenated terpenes, polyterpene resins, terpene phenolics, and combinations thereof.

8. The wetness indicating composition of claim 7 wherein said first binding agent is a rosin ester.

9. The wetness indicating composition of claim 1 further comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of:

(c) a stabilizer;

(d) a surfactant;

(e) a structural adjunct; and

(f) combinations of (c), (d) and (e).

10. The wetness indicating composition of claim 9 wherein said stabilizer (c) is selected from the group consisting of monostearyl phosphate, citrate esters, alcohol ethoxycarboxylates, glycolate esters, lactate esters, fatty acids, ether carboxylic acids, fatty acid methyl esters, sulfate esters, fruit acids, inorganic acids, monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, dipropylenetriamine, diiosopropyl amine, 1,3-bis(methylamine)-cyclohexane, 1,3-Pentanediamine, sodium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide and combinations thereof.

11. The wetness indicating composition of claim 9 wherein said surfactant (d), is selected from the group consisting of nonionic surfactants, anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants and combinations thereof.

12. The wetness indicating composition of claim 9 wherein said structural adjunct (e), is selected from the group consisting of HLB modifiers, viscosity modifiers, hardening agents, and combinations thereof.

13. The wetness indicating composition of claim 1 wherein said first state of said composition is a first pH value, said second state of said composition is a second pH value, wherein said second pH value is different than said first pH value and is substantially the same as the pH of urine.

14. A disposable absorbent article comprising a wetness indicating composition according to claim 1, wherein said composition is affixed to a structural component of said disposable absorbent article.

15. A disposable absorbent article comprising a wetness indicating composition affixed to a structural component of said article, said wetness indicating composition comprising:

(a) a colorant, said colorant having an initial color state, said initial color state being associated with a first state of said composition and a final color state, said final color state being associated with a second state of said composition; and

(b) a matrix comprising a mixture of a first binding agent and a second binding agent;

wherein said first binding agent immobilizes said colorant when it is in its said initial color state and said second binding agent immobilizes said colorant when it is in its said final color state and the ratio of said first binding agent to said second binding agent is from about 2;

1 to about 40;

1; and

wherein said second binding agent is selected from the group consisting of cationic clay materials, quaternary ammonium compounds, ethoxylated quaternary ammonium compounds, quaternized silicone compounds, cationic guars, cationic exchange resins, anionic exchange resins, polyacrylic acid polymers, organic acids, and combinations thereof.

16. The disposable absorbent article of claim 15 wherein said wetness indicating composition is affixed to said article in one or more patterns selected from the group consisting of stripes, dots, geometric shapes, irregular shapes, alphanumeric characters, anthropomorphic images, pictorial representation of animals, pictorial representation of inanimate objects, cartoon characters, logos, trademarks and combinations thereof.

17. The disposable absorbent article of claim 15 wherein said colorant is selected from the group consisting of bromocresol green, bromocresol purple, bromophenol blue, m-cresol purple, cresol red, chlorophenol red, bromothymol blue, bromopyrogallol red, bromoxylenol blue, acridine, acridine orange, and combinations thereof.

18. The disposable absorbent article of claim 15 further comprises a matrix additive, said matrix additive is selected from the group consisting of:

(c) a stabilizer;

(d) a surfactant;

(e) a structural adjunct; and

(f) mixtures of (c), (d) and (e).

19. The disposable absorbent article of claim 15 wherein said first binding agent is a rosin ester.