Multi-Layer Nonwoven Cleaning Wipe for Textured Floor Conformability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cleaning wipes with flat, nonwoven layers fail to effectively clean floors with varied surface textures, leaving detritus in the valleys of the surface texture due to inadequate conformability.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning wipe design featuring multiple nonwoven layers with strategically bent and interlaced strips to create a three-dimensional structure that can better conform to irregular floor surfaces, enhancing the wipe's ability to sweep and mop effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a flat laminate structure is used, then the cleaning wipe is simple to manufacture, but it cannot effectively clean textured floor surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional flat laminate structure to a three-dimensional structure by incorporating raised portions and recesses that extend vertically from the base layer. This dimensional change allows the cleaning wipe to conform to textured floor surfaces while maintaining manufacturability through techniques like embossing or adding discrete elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning wipe is divided into multiple functional layers including a base layer, raised portions, and optional absorbent layers. Each segment serves a specific function: the base layer provides structural support, the raised portions contact and clean the floor surface, and absorbent layers capture debris. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each component.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple nonwoven layers are added to improve conformability, then cleaning effectiveness increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple functional layers are combined into a single integrated structure where the base layer and raised portions form a unified component. Optional absorbent layers are merged with the structural layers through bonding or adhesives, creating a consolidated assembly that reduces the number of separate parts while maintaining conformability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible nonwoven materials for the base layer and raised portions that can bend and conform to irregular floor surfaces. This flexibility allows the multi-layer structure to adapt to textured surfaces without requiring rigid support structures, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning wipe including a first nonwoven having a plurality of first nonwoven strips, a second nonwoven having a plurality of second nonwoven strips, a third nonwoven having a plurality of third nonwoven strips, and a fourth nonwoven having a plurality of fourth nonwoven strips. The cleaning wipe includes a central bonded portion and the fourth nonwoven is further joined to the third nonwoven by a pair of outboard bonds. More than about 10% of the second nonwoven strips are bent so that the free ends of the second nonwoven strips are bent out of plane relative to the fixed ends of the second nonwoven strips.