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  Multi-layer nonwoven having a printed layer and products made therefromUSPTO Application #: 20080102725Title: Multi-layer nonwoven having a printed layer and products made therefrom Abstract: A multi-layered nonwoven having a printed layer comprises a pair of outer layers, with each of the outer layers comprising a carded web. An inner layer is disposed between the outer layers and includes printed indicia, which may be in the form of text, graphics, colors, or other suitable indicia. The inner layer is bonded to each of the outer layers by hydroentanglement. A method of making such a nonwoven may include the steps of providing a pair of outer layers comprising carded webs, providing a pulp inner layer having printed indicia, positioning the inner layer between the outer layers, passing the outer layers and the inner layer together through a hydroentangling system to secure the inner layer to each of the outer layers to form a web, and drying the web. (end of abstract) Agent: The Procter & Gamble Company Intellectual Property Division - West Bldg. - Cincinnati, OH, US Inventors: Martin Patrick Lacey, Michael Sean Pratt, Michael Jan Trinkaus, Philip Andrew Sawin USPTO Applicaton #: 20080102725 - Class: 442327 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080102725. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001]The present invention relates generally to substrates including nonwoven substrates and, more specifically, to a nonwoven substrate comprising a multi-layer structure in which one of the layers includes printed indicia or colors, or both. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002]Consumers use a wide variety of substrate products including wet and dry disposable wipes, diapers, feminine protection products, and other substrate products, in a variety of applications. Such substrates products are constructed from substrate materials which may be cut and formed into a variety of configurations, depending on the desired end use of the product being manufactured. During manufacture, the web is cut to the desired size and shape and, if desired, joined to other materials or moistened with a lotion or other suitable substance. [0003]In the case of wipe products, the wipes may be wet or dry wipes. During manufacture, a nonwoven or other suitable web is cut to the desired size and, if desired, moistened with a lotion or other suitable substance. The resulting wipe, whether wet or dry, is used by consumers to clean bodily exudates, such as urine, feces, or menses from babies, hospital patients, the infirm, women, etc. Such wipes also are used in home and institutional cleaning applications, such as for cleaning floors, sinks, tubs, and other fixtures or surfaces. [0004]Nonwovens preferably have a number of advantageous properties. For example, for manufacturing purposes, the structural integrity and the uniformity of the web are considerations in order to minimize web breakage or other quality control issues. The feel and softness of the finished wipe are additional considerations, as is the flexibility or drape of the finished wipe. [0005]Many nonwovens typically are disposed of after use. Thus in order to keep the costs down for the resulting end product, the manufacture of the nonwoven should be relatively cost-effective. The average consumer may have second thoughts about using a product that holds itself out as disposable if the cost per article is too high. Nevertheless, manufacturers as well as consumers may desire additional features that make the nonwovens and the end products more attractive to manufacturers, retailers, and purchasers. Unfortunately, cost considerations and the above-described desired physical properties often present a hindrance to incorporating additional features into the finished nonwoven and/or the resulting end product. [0006]Moreover, because the web or other substrate used in nonwovens is often incorporated into products which are used to scrub surfaces (i.e. wipes) or used in skin-contact environments (i.e. wipes, diapers, feminine protection products), it may be difficult to add some attractive features, such as text, graphics, colors or other indicia, and still maintain the desired degree of image integrity and/or prevent or minimize the potential for transfer of the inks and/or pigments used in creating the graphics or other indicia to the skin. Further, it may be difficult to add these desired features without unduly hampering the drape, flexibility, and other desirable physical properties of the nonwoven. [0007]Thus, it would be desirable to provide nonwovens with text, graphics, or colors, and to provide methods for making such nonwovens. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008]Nonwovens are used in many product applications including diapers, wipes, feminine protection products and the like. In order to make these products most useful to consumers, such products will frequently include a number of features that increase their utility, ease of use, appropriateness of use, ancillary benefits, etc. to best meet the needs of the consumers. [0009]One example of a feature that some manufacturers, retailers and consumers may find desirable is the addition of text, graphics, or colors to the nonwoven and/or to the resulting end product. In accordance with the disclosed example, constructing a printed or colored nonwoven by hydroentangling a printed or colored layer with a layer of nonwoven substrate may offer certain advantages over the existing state-of-the-art printed nonwovens. For example, nonwoven-based products, such as wipes, and absorbent articles are often used for cleaning and/or scrubbing and/or for skin-contact purposes. In such applications, it can be advantageous that the printed indicia and/or colors be arranged so as to not be disposed at the surface of the nonwoven itself. Thus, it may be desirable to join a printed or colored layer to another layer such that the printed or colored layer is not disposed on the outermost surfaces of the resulting nonwoven. [0010]For example, some nonwoven-based products, such as wipes, are often used for cleaning and/or scrubbing. Thus, placing the printed or colored elements inside the nonwoven may provide increased abrasion-resistance of the printed elements. Specifically, placing the printed or colored elements away from the surface of the nonwoven helps to retain the integrity of the image or the color, even in circumstances where the surface of the nonwoven is disrupted due to scrubbing or other surface abrasion. [0011]Separately, for skin-contact products such as absorbent articles and wipes intended for use on the body (for example, baby wipes, cosmetic wipes, topical-applicator wipes, and other such products), placing the printed or colored elements internally or within the nonwoven reduces the potential transfer to the skin of the inks, dyes, pigments and the like used in the printing or coloring process. This aspect may offer particular advantages in the context of baby wipes, where safety concerns can be particularly important to consumers. [0012]Additionally, in accordance with the disclosed example, joining the printed or colored layer to a nonwoven layer by hydroentanglement may offer certain advantages. Although it may be contemplated to bond a printed layer to a nonwoven layer as a means of removing the printed image from the outermost surface of the resulting nonwoven using conventional bonding methods such as adhesive-bonding or thermal-bonding, these alternative bonding techniques typically impart the finished nonwoven with undesirable properties, such as increased stiffness, reduced drapability, and reduced flexibility. Nonwoven products based on stiff and/or inflexible nonwovens can be undesirable to consumers, particularly for skin-contact products such as wipes, and absorbent articles. Furthermore, these conventional bonding techniques may have the disadvantage of requiring the use of adhesives and/or specific thermoplastic polymeric additives to achieve the required lamination. These additional components may add unnecessary cost and complexity to the manufacturing of the nonwovens, and these components have the potential to interact negatively with applied lotions or other treatments. [0013]In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a multi-layer nonwoven may comprise at least one layer that is printed, or colored, or both, bonded to a nonwoven by hydroentanglement. In further accordance with a preferred form, a multi-layered nonwoven may be incorporated into a wipe or absorbent article made from nonwovens, with the nonwoven or the end product having text, graphics, images, colors, or any other suitable indicia. [0014]In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the printed layer may comprise a pulp material, and the indicia may include text, graphics, or both, and also may include colors. The printed layer may be hydroentangled to a synthetic layer, such as a fibrous layer. The layer or layers of synthetic fibers may comprise discrete staple synthetic fibers, essentially continuous filaments, or combinations thereof. Such layers of synthetic fibers may be formed by many forming processes known to those skilled in the art, such as carding, wet-laying, air-laying, or spunmelt formation. The printed layer may be hydroentangled to one or more other layers, such as the synthetic layer, in a first direction and then in a second direction. The resultant nonwoven may be hydroentangled once again, in either the first or second directions, or in a third direction. [0015]The resulting nonwoven may form a web, and the web may be dried. The dried web may be used in the construction of a nonwoven-based absorbent article product such as a disposable diaper or feminine protection product. The web also may be used as a wipe product in the dry state. If desired, the web may be moistened with a lotion or other suitable substance or preparation. [0016]In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the at least one layer of synthetic fibers may comprise staple fibers of polypropylene and rayon. The ratio of the polypropylene fibers to the rayon fibers may be about 60% to 40%. The polypropylene fibers may have a denier of about 1.5 and a length of about 1.50 inches (38 mm), and wherein the rayon fibers have a denier of about 1.5 and a length of about 1.57 inches (40 mm). [0017]In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a multi-layered nonwoven having indicia may comprise a pair of outer layers, each of the outer layers comprising a carded web of staple or continuous fibers, and an inner layer disposed between the outer layers and having printed indicia. The inner layer is secured to at least one of the outer layers by hydroentanglement. [0018]In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a multi-layered nonwoven having indicia comprises a pair of outer layers, each of the outer layers formed of a web of staple or continuous fibers comprising a mix of polypropylene fibers and rayon fibers, a printed center layer disposed between the outer layers and having indicia, the center layer comprising a pulp material, and a bond formed by hydroentanglement to secure the printed the center layer to each of the outer layers. [0019]In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing a nonwoven comprises the steps of providing a pair of outer layers comprising carded webs, providing a pulp inner layer having printed indicia, positioning the inner layer between the outer layers, passing the outer layers and the inner layer together through a hydroentangling system to secure the inner layer to each of the outer layers to form a web, and drying the web. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0020]While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter that is regarded as the present invention, it is believed that the invention will be more fully understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Some of the figures may have been simplified by the omission of selected elements for the purpose of more clearly showing other elements. Such omissions of elements in some figures are not necessarily indicative of the presence or absence of particular elements in any of the exemplary embodiments, except as may be explicitly delineated in the corresponding written description. None of the drawings are necessarily to scale. Continue reading... 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