CA2211793A1 - Personal cleansing implement using knitted tubing and method of construction - Google Patents

Abstract

A personal cleansing implement (34) comprises a substantially rectangular hydrophobic batt (26). The batt (26) is a piece of knitted tubing (10) made from extruded linear low density polyethylene monofilaments knitted into a tube (10) on a knitting machine having a setting ranging from 32 to 64 needles per machine diameter. The monofilaments have substantially circular cross sections in the range of 0.003 inches to 0.015 inches diameter. The piece of knitted tubing (10) also has a longitudinal axis with about 6 to about 9 stitches per inch, as typically measured along its longitudinal axis. Furthermore, the piece of knitted tubing (10) is inverted upon itself at least once along its longitudinal axis to form a plurality of concentric layers of tubing, which are then substantially flattened to form the batt (36). Each of the layers has a similar length and substantially overlaps the other layers. The batt (26) has a top surface (28), a bottom surface (30), and two open ends (22, 24). The top and bottom surfaces (26, 28) are bonded together at the two open ends (22, 24) by a bonding means to maintain the implement (34) substantially flattened. However, the batt (26) retains sufficient loft to function as a personal cleansing implement (34).

Description

, W~ 96/23439 PC'r/lJS96~00~7~

PERSONAL CLEANSING ~IPLEMENT USING KNl~ED TUBING AND
METElOD OF CONS~UCTION

FD LD OF TEE INVENTION

The present invendon relate~ to hand helt ~ used for p~ onal c~ 3 and more p~u ~ ' ly to such impl -~n~nt5 luving sclubbing surfaces madc 10 ~om h~trot~hob:c knitl:et ...o"~.r.~

. BJ~CKGROUND OF T~E INVENTION

A v~ety of cll~g imFI~ nts have be~ u~ed to remove dirt and desd 15 sldn from the user s body turing bathing or ah~ ..J.g. Tr&~;~;onol~, hand held terry ~ 1~rlo~h~ ant natural ant ;.~,~th_Lc ~.ponga have been uscd Each of the~e has one or more significant d~ For e~umple, a sponge ha~. pores which makc it ~ ~c~ to removc dirt from the implement once the dirt i~ om the body A ~ ~ t~ o*en ;-~ ir ~ bll~.ulg even though lathering is a p.~ ;on of a 20 cleansing implement 30me spo~ absorb thc deansers that are ;~ rdc~ to help "~ve tirt. Ndther spong~ nor ~ can be dried quickly because they b~s...~ water-logged. As a ne~lt they d~,.10p unpleasant odors and-bcc4,.l~ a place for breeding bact~ia, mold, etc. Also, such implements are typically not suitablc for de ning ~111 body parts Wa-hrl~lh~ arc too so~ to stimulate and 25 exf~li~c sldn, ant ~ponge~ are too rough to clesnse sensitive skin areas P-~ !;~ ~u.,tur~s mate: of pol~..._. netting have also been found in the prior ~It. An cxamplc i~ tisclosct ill U S. Patent No. 5,144,744 to Cal F ~oli issued r 8, 1992. Ball-lilce ~ w are hand held and arc made of d:s ,,Q~I
m~h poly_lh~rlc..c. r!;v -~ esh poly_lh~h~c is an ex~uded sc~im ~.~te ial which 30 i~ co ..o~ found covenng vegetables, meat, ant poultry ~o .~ c;ally availableimplements of thi~ typo arc ~old by The Body Shop of ~on~io~l, F.ng]'~-~l ant byBilange of New Yorlc, NY. Such constructions are very c~lJa~:re bccause they have Mically boen made by hant.
One way to make such ball-like structures is to stretch multiple tubular pieces 3S of d: .~ond-mesh scrim ~ .ely to their tubular axes Each piece is then placed over s:p~ate support posts The supported pieces, held in a ,I,~t.,hed con.litio~

, CA 02211793 1997-07-29 W O 96/2343~ PC~rnUS~U471' ?

are ~ ,d either pa~allel to or at dil~e~ l angles to each other. By l~ t~ th~r the st~ Led pieces 8~ thar centers, and then rCl~c;~ the rcsili~lt piece~ from the posts, each piece springs back towsrd the tied c,enter to ~ C a bsll-lilce shape.
h~ 5 the ~ ~ the ccnters of the piece~ prvtuces a hard densc core, which hinders nnsing and dlyin~. Whi~e the ~r~-e of a baU~ tructure nlay h~ve high open area at tits surf~ce,, it is f3i~ t to ciean the center of the impl~m~nt for reus~!
~ ed hlbin~s made ~iom p~stic ~;ln, ~ is ~..vtt~,r m~e~ found in the10 s~ ; ;"~ ast. ~nin~ ~bin~ is oftal avoi~ed for such imp~ nt~, L,~e.r_., be~ ~ it i~ ~newe~l as a mor~ material t~ArA an e,YIIu~
Whi}e the ~a~ l itselfm~ylbe more ~ -r ~ ~-'~re~ 1 ~ made of ~ tubing may }~ve a bettes "feel~ to Otl~'S skin. Kn;tt~ F.~e ca~ zed and sh~ to feel softer than extnl~ed stsun whien a ~.~.al cl~i~ implemer~ is Iubb~l 15 ~inst one~s sicin. The u~ id~al ~ ,l~s n~ fiee to move an~ defbnn when tc~, çh~ the ~ h~s axtruded ~cnm ~mplem~ have ~lu..,s fo....~
~.~.~ which sle fixed t~g,u~ at the~r c. ~ point~. Such gtrand~ must mow and deform as a gn~up ~ather than ...L~ Lc..,f~nc pio~;~e a gtiffer s~ucture for 8~n~ar ten~i~ and open anea. FLhlh ~ n~te~ t~ are 20 int~l~c1~i in a way tha~ ~uvidF~s a s~ re, having a natural lo~, wi~ ~ i~
t~rpically flat ss~id ~ heat. sett~ng pleat~ to cr~te a ~ofted stru~e.
oltgh hliKed ~ .lbt~ 3, implema~ e hlQWII 2n the art, they ~re ~enerslly kniKed of me~ or ro~ fi~ers for ~e ~u.} ~e of be~ bras~ve for re,-~v~u~, soil fi~m }~rd ~ es. For ~ . , 'e, U.S. Pstent ~o.4,017,949 to Botvin 25 di~clo~~ a ~ l,; pat~ of ~ L~ it. A kt it l~ol~pn~ f;l--~ttuh~ar envelope ;~w-u~dis a stuffer . .at~ In a later Botvin patent the s~uffer mate~l is the ~ame ~s tl~ khit em~elope. The l~e,thoc~ turns tlu cn.~clc,pe "ir~side outn, or u~ve~ it. ~hc f~.tlGn~A h~ heat ~esled a~ss the open el~d8.
Fil4 ~ S are e~ther nbbon-like or are P~hp~ tl..~ ha~g a cio~ se~on ~vith ~or axis of 0.030 inches am~ minor a~us of 0.009 ~nches. The a~~ of s~bbon - sn~ other sl~t films for ~b.~ b~u-~ is thst they Lb.il~t~, ~.,4ti.~s a rou~h surfilce. T..~ -- -t~ de o~ n~dt~i~ls are not s~ crA~Iy ge~ltle wh~n rubbed agsînst hurnan s~in to be CQ~3~ HsoR", and Ih_.~f~l~, are not ~~LG~-~b~e p~nal cl~A~ P implemcn~

.
W 096/23439 PCT~US96/00~71 S mblbLlJRY OF l~rE DNn~ENllO N

In one aspect of the present invention, a pc~onal cle~nQing ~ ~Icn~nt 5 co,..~,. s~s a s~b~ allly r~ r~ .lsr hydroFhob c batt, which is a piece of Imittet tubing made ~om extrutet plastic ~.- no~ s knitted on a L~ 8 machine having a setting of from 32 to 64 needles pa machinc A;a ~. t~ r. The monsfilsrn~nts havc Q~ lly circul,ar e.. y s~ ~ r;~nc in the range of 0.003 inches to 0.015 inches ,t~. The piece of lalittet tubing has a l~ h~ a~as. The piece of knitted 10 tubing has about 6 to about 9 _titche~ per inch along the lQng1t.~ axis, as l~r- ~Iy ~..~r~ by hand in the u.d~,. The piecc of knitted tubing is i~.~wl~
upon itself at least once along the IQ~1~ tal a~us to fonn a plurality of cQnce .~;c layers of tubing. Each of the layers has a~out the same length and substantiallyo~-.laps the other laya-s. Thc batt has a top surface, a bottom surf~ce, and two~5 open ends when the piece of knitted tubing is u~/wted upon itself ant then y n~ pc.~d~ ar to the lo~t~ ' a~us. The top surfice ant tke bottom ~ce are bonlded together at the two open ends by a b~ af~ means to the batt sub~tantially ;~ e~l~rA The personal cleansing implement may filrther c0...~,.i3c a means for hanging so that it may more quicldy ddct a~er rinsing.
The p.~fw.~d w~l.udc~ pla~ic .. on~Jfilunent is linear low density polye~ lene. Such a l-"~ "~ ~1 in the above tiamet~ range ant spacing pa.~lla~s plo~idcs an ~de~dy soft "feel" when a ~ cleansing implement is con~uaeld in thi~ m~ nner. More preferably, the --O~C!fi~ have a diamet~
of le~ than 0.009 inches and the batt comprise~ 8 layers of h~itted tubing when~25 ~ub~ t~
In another aspoct of thc present u~ ion, a Ill~h~d of CoC_~uet;~lQ a ~w~onal deansing implement c~)...l,.;ses the steps of knitting a piece of tubing on a Imitting machine having a s~ing ranging from 32 to 64 needles per machine diameta, and using ~I..Idcd plastic mono~ c having ~b~ 1;9l1y circular .,.. ,~ in thc rangc of 0.003 ;nch~ to 0.01~ inch~ d ~ t~ ~. Thc piece of tubing has about 6 to about 9 stitch~ pcr inch as typically ~ along a lo~ J~inql axis of the l~ubing. Anoth~ step involves u.~ ulg the piece of tubing on itself at least once allong the IQn~ ql axis to fonn a plurality of c.~ ;clayers oftubing. Fq~h ofthe layers is u..lc.tcd to havc a similar length and such that 35 the layers substantially overlap the oth~ layers. Yet another step involvcs sub~ lly fl~ ning the p;cce of tubing perpe~dic~ to the long;itu~linql axis to .
W O g6~439 P{~rnUS9~0~4711 ,~

form a baet. F~ e~u~g ~le.~le~ ~ top ~u-r~_ and a ~/t~n~ fsce of the b~t.
The batt has two open ends. A final gtep Lnvolve5 bon~;ng t~ t-- the top and bs1lo,~ cea ofthe batt at the t~ro open ends by a bon~ m~ to ~ the batt S~s~ y n~ ..FA
The ~ I.nr~ may fi~ er Cci-l~J~;Se. the step of attaching a tether to the pie;:eof tu~g for ~ yr~ 5 the p~ 1 c)~A~ o i ,JI- "~t. The bQ~ ay in~ e st;-~hi-~g or ~

~KI~;~ OES~O~ 0~ TE~ DRAW~NGS
While the ~re.ifi~ r r4ncl~1des widl claims whi~h ~&Lwl~iy poi~t out and d~ y daim the p-~5~ Li~ , it i~ bel;~ l that the pr~-L
be better ~ om the follo~g des~i~tio.~ of tn~ ~1 c-~
in c~3~ ~th the a~ J~ ike .~R ~ce n~
15 ident~ i~tic~l e~ and. ~her~
~ ;IG. i is a l., s~ rc ~iew of 8 p~-~l piece of ~ttai tubmg of the p~So1~ cleangm~ ~plement of thc prwe~ i~ t;on, disclo~ a ~be havu~g c4.-r:~r~bly E~
F~G. 2 i5 a ~ view thereo~ ~ho.~ the ri~ht en~ folded back o~er 20 at least one ~ t~. ~e orig~ }en~h of the tubing;
FIG. 3 LS a y- ~ riew th~cof, ~ho~ ;s the le~ end folded bactc over at lea~ one ~ t~ the on~l len~h of the tu~ing;
P~G. 4 is a per~pective vie~ al~of, ~l.o- ~ the ~ted ri~ end folded back OVer th~ inverted left end of tho tubing :~uch that t}le re~ting c~
:2~ ~rhich a~ s e i have s~ 11y the same length and their end~ are ~ush;
- PI~. S is a ~.~ , view Ill.e,r~, sho~g the .n~i~L~ tubin~s n~ d to form ~. rectangular b~t;
FIG. 6 i~ a top plan view of a r~ ba~, ~-v .~ "1~,Y a~oss she two open ends of she tubitlg, and a tether looped Ihr<~u~h the ba~; u~d ~IG. 7 is a fiont ~le.a~.. ~ncw ll._.~,~f; :;h.. ~-~ 2he batt r~w~
~ n~t;ql1y fl~t~er~ duc to end clos~ns, but with ~,~c;v ~ lo* to be used as a p~5~ cl~g împ}emenL

Dl:TAILED DES~KIL ~lON OF T~E IN~EN~ON

.
' W O 96/23~39 P ~ ~usg6~aa~7~

Refel.ing now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a first ~ef~ d r.,,l,o~""~n~ ofthe present invention, which provites a piece of knit tubing, and is gcnerally ;~ &d as 10. Tubing 10 is knitted on a co~
knittirlg m~rhin~, such ~ a ~d~d 12 inch Ai~..ct~r circular L~ 8 machine, 5 mate by Scott ~ Williams of New York NY. A high open area is ach;c~ct b~
monofilqmP ts by a 32 to 64 necdle cross-stitch. This ~ alCS a spacing of mormfilqrn~nt~ of about ~5 to about 9 mnnofil~nente per inch of hubing, as typically mcasuret in the intustly along the lo~h~ ' axis of thc hubing by hant ~ t.,l...~g and measuring a short piecc of lubing. l~c p-.,f~ d l~lhc.~ bcncfit ~ss~ d 10 with such a knit implemont is bc!ic~d tue to this spacing b~ ml n~filqrnPnt~
Piece of h~it hubing lt) is preferably rnade of ."~hudcd p1astic .~ on-~f.lunents.
Extrudhg the l~lr~ 1s svoids ~~ t;Gn and ~ou~ -~~s associatcd with slit film fil~ .t~ Fi~ Ld;o.l and ro~gll n~ss pro~idc poor rin~ng and dlying capabiliq.
Fibrillatcd strands hold ~atcr by capill&~ action.
The pl~,f~-~d sol~ "fed" of a knit implernent is believet primarily duc to the sizc and shspe of the ~ utcd ~-~A--rl-ment uset. P~red .~on~rlaments arc subs~ll;all~ circular in cro~s~ o~ having a diamctcr ranging from 0.003 incha to 0.015 hches. Wlth~in this diamet~ range d;rf~l materials have d;rf~.l _ ~ e e9 It is ~1;_.~ tha1~ Çlunent stiffilcss is thc pnmary ~r -~e 20 controlling so* "fcd". '~Ithin a givcn implcmcnt it is po~lc to u~c two dil~
sizc or two dil~ m~ltenal ,- -~n ~rlaments to creatc a composite which has the most acceptable "feel". II.,. ._r, for the lowest cost implcmcnt it has been fount that ~dcd monofibments mate of lin~r low density poh~ c.~c, and ~zed less than 0.009 rnches in tiamet~, have an o~t;,,..~,,. nfed".
Ci~wlar cros~s:~io~ r.l- .t5 casily twist when nubbet against one's skin.
Eue of twis~ng also helps circular cros~s ~inn ~- onc~aments pass from bobbins throu~ the guides of the L. ~ g machine ~ L~rl~ brealdng. For the p,ihli~lar ng machine and filament rnaterial and size noted above, it is believed that ovality Of ~r~ cros~sc~;ol~2 of 1.7:1 or greater myor/minor diamcter ratio tended to brealc as lthey passed ~o~ch the machine.
Tubing 10 is s,.p,,v~l~tely 5 inches iri diamet~. L~ . ccn 24 and 28 inches long are cut from the cor~tin~Q~sly knit tubing to 4cn~.~e ~ r, '.~g implements ofthe prcsent i..~ ;on.
FIG. 2 shows a light end 12 of tubing 10 being L..._tcd or folted back o~er an outside surfi~ce 14 of tubing 10 towart a le~ end 16. Preferably, both light and le~ ends of tubing 10 are il.~ cd over outside surface 14 such that ends 12 and 16 ~, .
W O g6~3g PC~rl~ S71;

overlap ~ lJ ne~ the cenlter of tubin~g lO- N~ Jos;l~ ends lB and 20 ~re fo....~ by such i~ven~ ind 20 is then inve~ted a~ain, ~ut this time end 20 18 to create four c~ t.~c l~ye~ o~bir~ which S~ ;A~ly overlap e~ch ot~er and luwe open ents 22 and 24.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show 1lle twic~ ~nv~led huit structure havn~ open ends 22 and 24. FIG. 5 als0 shows t~: fl~ oftub~ lO into an 8 ~ay~r batt 26 ha~g a top ~ 8 anda botlo~ slR~ce 30. B~K 26 is .--~ A ~-~S~ n~ e~l by dosu~ s 22 ~nd 2.4. C:lo~ i~ h~ d by s~ x or by pYoc~c~ n~ 1Y known in the ~. TIL ~ r~ dL~ may: ---1 ~k ~o he~ted die CO~ , ul~ or other ll-~ ",~ ~ 5.
;t~ p~ lS a cn~ which is les~ stiff and dense than that ~1vhich ~bol~ding nor~l~y provide~ "h;'lg iS shown in FIG. 6. A dosed batt 26 s a ~,~ n~ ' ~ t ~ ~11y ;.,.1~ A aS 34 l;)luing or a~ter do5ing the ~nds of i~ d tubing lO, a tethe~ 36 ~
~S preferably attached to b&tt ;~6 by ~hreading it th,u.l~h top anci ~tt~.. 5ur~ 28 ~nd 30. This is shown in l~(;S. 6 and 7. The tet~er is prefer~bly plac~d ~de a ~itch s~d near a co~ner of th~ ~n~1~ ~t Tether 3~ blw the user to hang the pws~1~1 cl~g implement after nn~n~ in ordel t~t it may try 4u..,~. Tether 36 is preferably h~ h~b'~ b,~i-led rope ~e of polJl~n~ made: Of a 3.5 nUn di~meter hydr~pho~ic rope .. ,&t~;~L such as ~-ec~ t W-ûl availab}e ~om M~Cord of Chicago, IL.
Implem~e~t 34 ha~ a high open area, ~ t ~ncc, and its mate~ are "t - This com~in~ion ~.v.r.dc~ a ~ of lather when u~ed with aliqUld~ gcl, or ~olid fo~ of ~ cle~n~. I he implement i8 held in one hand.2~ C~le~ser ~ pr~erably ~dded to the ~mplanent ~ather t~ to the sicin. ~he ~

and ~r~ tcd ~Idn into the ~nFle~ It is b~ ut lalh~...g eP~"~Cre the n~.ov~l of dirt and ~, r.";~ 5~ f~om the 4uR~e of ~e bod~r. The ~ ~.'e mçnt of the ~. . n~ de~gn enables ~ mo~e la~her and beIter eQ'~ her to 30 be developed t~ is gene~ pos~ible with a ~ or ~ponge.
Once ~ or S~ t'Bl~n~ are completed, ~ ~le~t 34 may be ql~cl~
rinsed and dned, ~by a~roiding the slow drying of ~dhcl~l.~, i~..~5C5 or imp~err~ts with hard deD c;~re~. The cot~l.~ction of implement 34 plu~idc~ a center ~ .l which lias no ihard~ dense core. Ihe ~ u.., of implement 34 is 35 tl~ ~.c bd;e~ to be more s~u~r than mo~ pnor ~rt ~ ck"" ;"~
~mp~ t~

.
W O 96/23439 p ~ ~US96/Oa471 If stitches are us~i insteat of th-,. .,.obondhl~, stitches are preferably matc of hydf ~hob c thread mado of polyester. Such thread is Co.. P............. ,;ally available ~om Beachwood, Ltd. of Cle~el~nd, Ohio. It has a spe~ifir~fion number 2743 MAA .
While particular e~ 5 of the present invention have been illustratcd 5 and d~ ibcd, it will be obvious to thosc sldlled in'the art that var ous cho~ges may ~ be made without departing fiom the spirit and scope of thc .. .~ tion, ant it is j"1 ~ed to cover in the ~ dcd claims all such ~lo~ c ';o~ that are within the scopc of thc invcn~Gn.

Claims (10)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A personal cleansing implement characterized by a substantially rectangular hydrophobic batt, said batt being a piece of knitted tubing made from extruded plastic monofilaments knitted on a knitting machine having a setting offrom 32 to 64 needles per machine diameter, said monofilaments having substantially circular cross-sections in the range of 0.003 inches to 0.015 inches diameter, said piece of knitted tubing having a longitudinal axis, said piece ofknitted tubing having about 6 to about 9 stitches per inch as typically measuredalong said longitudinal axis, said piece of knitted tubing being inverted upon itself at least once along said longitudinal axis to form a plurality of concentric layers of tubing, each of said layers having a similar length and substantially overlapping said plurality of layers, said batt having a top surface, a bottom surface and two open ends when said piece of knitted tubing inverted upon itselfis substantially flattened perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, said top surface and said bottom surface being bonded together at said two open ends by a bonding means to maintain said batt substantially flattened.

2. The personal cleansing implement according to Claim 1 further characterized by a means for hanging said personal cleansing implement.

3. The personal cleansing implement according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein said extruded plastic monofilament is characterized by linear low density polyethylene.

4. The personal cleansing implement according to any of Claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein said bonding means is characterized by thermobonding.

5. The personal cleansing implement according to any of Claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein said bonding means is characterized by stitching.

6. A method of constructing a personal cleansing implement characterized by the steps of:
a) knitting a piece of tubing on a knitting machine having a setting ranging from 32 to 64 needles per machine diameter, and using extruded plastic monofilaments having substantially circular cross-sections in the range of 0.003 inches to 0.015 inches diameter, said piece of tubing having about 6 to about 9 stitches per inch as typically measured along a longitudinal axis of said tubing;
b) inverting said piece of tubing on itself at least once along said longitudinal axis to form a plurality of concentric layers of tubing, each of said layers having a similar length and substantially overlapping said plurality of layers;
C) substantially flattening said piece of tubing perpendicular to said longitudinal axis to form a batt, thereby generating a top surface, a bottom surface, and two open ends of said batt;
d) bonding together said top and bottom surfaces of said batt at said two open ends by a bonding means to maintain said batt substantially flattened

7. The method according to Claim 6 further characterized by a means for hanging said personal cleansing implement.

8. The method according to Claim 6 or Claim 7 wherein said extruded plastic monofilament is characterized by linear low density polyethylene.

9. The method according to any of Claims 6, 7, or 8 wherein said bonding means is characterized by thermobonding.

10. The method according to any of Claims 6, 7, or 8 wherein said bonding means is characterized by stitching.