Wipe material with nanofiber layer

Abstract

A flexible wipe comprising at least one conformable non-woven layer and at least one adhered nanofiber layer can be used to remove a variety of particulate soils from planar, curved or complex surfaces. The nanofiber layer is configured onto the flexible non-woven in a fashion such that particulate of a broad particle size range is trapped by the nanofiber layer and efficiently removed from the contaminated surface. The nanofiber layer comprises a web of spun fibers that can incorporate and trap soil particles for efficient soil removal.

Description

[0001] The invention is embodied in a surface shape conformable and flexible wipe having at least two layers of material. The wipe comprising a nanofiber layer and a flexible fabric substrate, can remove soils in the form of inorganic or organic particulate, oily or greasy soils, or dispersions of particulate in liquid. The wipe has a layer specifically designed to incorporate finely divided small particle size soil for efficient removal from a variety of contaminated surfaces. The layer can also absorb oily or greasy soils onto the fiber substrate. Further, when used with appropriate liquid (aqueous or organic) cleaning, dusting or other such compositions, the fine fiber layer can obtain an improved surface appearance due to the reduced size of any structure formed from cleaning compositions.[0002] Both woven and non-woven fabrics have been used for many years for cleaning and polishing purposes. Such fabrics are typically manufactured by forming fiber into a woven or non-woven str...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] The fine fiber layer of the invention comprises a layer having a layer thickness of about 0.05 to 30 millimeters, a fiber diameter of about 0.05 to 0.5 microns, a basis weight of about 0.0012 to 3.5 grams per meter.sup.2 and a pore size that ranges from about 0.5 to 20 microns. The presence of the very small diameter fine fiber (compared to conventional fibers) permits the fine fiber to incorporate inorganic particulate and absorb organic soil in cleaning operations. In polishing operations, the small dimensions of the fine fiber results in improved surface characteristics derived from polishing or first coating applications. The fine fiber layer on the flexible wipe of the invention provides a web of fibers having a smaller dimension than conventional cleaning wipes. Such small fibers, when used with a material that forms a surface finish or coating on a cleaning surface, can obtain a smoother, shinier, more aesthetically pleasing appearance. Any finish formed using the fine fiber layer will have an improved surface finish resulting from the improved surface characteristics left by the smaller fiber of the fine fiber layer. The fine fiber forms fewer and smaller defects than larger fiber wipes. Accordingly, the fine fiber wipes of the invention can be used in a process that forms an improved finish on a cleanable surface by contacting the surface with a composition that can form a coating on the surface, wiping the surface with a fine fiber layer (either saturated with the composition or with a composition pre-applied to the surface), distributing the coating and permitting the coating to form its final improved characteristic.

[0009] One important characteristics of the wipe is the flexibility of the wipe and the flexibility of the fine fiber layer. While the polymers of the invention display flexural properties similar to unfilled polymer, the small fiber diameter gives the fiber on the wipe a unique flexibility and improved cleaning / polishing character. Cleaning pressure can bring the fine fiber into intimate contact with the soil, the surface regardless of its complexity. In contact with the soils, the unique nature of the fine fiber causes the fiber to combine with the soils and trap or accumulate soils as the fiber layer is mechanically stretched, wrapped and changed. In a polishing mode, the fiber small size can form an improved surface coating due to the coating having a reduced defect character due the size of the fiber. Larger conventional fiber leaves larger defects in the finished coating. In the wipe substrate, many synthetic and natural fiber materials are available that have substantial stiffness. Such materials cannot be made sufficiently flexible to be able to easily comply with complex surfaces faced by individuals who wish to clean or polish such surfaces. The wipes should be manufactured from a material that is flexible and easily conformable to the surface. The term "conformable" means that the wipe and the fine fiber layer can be placed into contact with a surface for cleaning proposes even with surfaces that have complex angled or curved surfaces. Minimal pressure can bring the fine fiber layer into intimate contact with substantially all surfaces of a complex article.

Problems solved by technology

The wipes often fail to substantially remove small particulate in a cleaning mode.

The large fiber part of these materials results often in a level of finish formation not acceptable to users.

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