Embossed Nonwoven Fabric Maintaining Wet Pattern
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cloth towels and rags are inefficient in absorbing liquids without allowing them to penetrate, potentially exposing users to hazardous substances, and their embossed patterns deteriorate when wet, losing effectiveness in cleaning oils and greases.
Innovation Solution
A three-dimensional hydraulically entangled nonwoven fibrous composite structure with a high pulp content and continuous filament nonwoven web, which maintains its embossing structure and absorbency even when wet, achieved through hydraulic entangling and embossing processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If cloth towels and rags are used for cleaning liquids, then they are absorbent and effective in picking up particulates, but liquids penetrate through the woven structure and contact the user's hands
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a hydrophobic coating layer over the absorbent nonwoven fabric to create a flexible barrier film that prevents liquid penetration while maintaining the underlying absorbent structure. This coating acts as a protective shell that allows the material to remain absorbent for particulates while blocking liquid passage to the user's hands.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure combining an absorbent nonwoven fabric layer with a hydrophobic coating layer. This composite material integrates the absorbency of the fabric with the liquid-repelling properties of the coating, achieving both particulate absorption and liquid blocking simultaneously.
2Strength
If externally reinforced pulp fiber webs are used to increase strength, then abrasion resistance improves, but binders add expense and leave streaks during use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the binder component from the pulp fiber web construction, achieving strength and abrasion resistance through the hydrophobic coating application and the structural integrity of the nonwoven fabric itself, thereby eliminating the source of streaking while maintaining mechanical performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a disposable nonwoven fabric construction that eliminates the need for permanent binder reinforcement. The material is designed to be discarded after use, avoiding the long-term durability issues and streaking problems associated with binder-based reinforced webs.
3Strength
If externally reinforced pulp fiber webs are used, then strength and abrasion resistance improve, but binders may be leached out when used with volatile or semi-volatile solvents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the binder component from the material construction, replacing it with a hydrophobic coating system that provides strength without being susceptible to solvent leaching. This eliminates the harmful interaction between binders and volatile solvents while maintaining the required mechanical strength.
4Ease of manufacture
If embossing pattern is applied to hydroentangled pulp wipers, then cleaning of oils and greases improves, but embossing structure becomes less defined when wet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a hydrophobic coating over the embossed nonwoven fabric to create a protective film that preserves the embossing pattern's definition when wet. This coating prevents water from compromising the embossed structure while maintaining the cleaning effectiveness of the patterned surface for oils and greases.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composite structure effectively absorbs liquids without allowing them to penetrate, maintaining its cleaning effectiveness and embossed pattern clarity even when wet, providing enhanced safety and performance in cleaning applications.
Implementation Method 1
a three-dimensional hydraulically entangled nonwoven fibrous composite structure having at least one moldable nonwoven fibrous web and a fibrous material integrated into the nonwoven fibrous web by hydraulic entangling
Implementation Method 2
a fibrous material integrated into the nonwoven fibrous web by hydraulic entangling
Data Source
AI summary
A three-dimensional hydraulically entangled nonwoven composite structure made of nonwoven fibrous web and a fibrous material integrated in the nonwoven fibrous web by hydraulic entanglement is disclosed. The nonwoven composite structure has a greater ability to maintain an embossed pattern when wet and has the ability for the structure to recover after it has been compressed, to a greater degree than previously found. Also disclosed is a method of making an embossed hydraulically entangled nonwoven composite fabric.