U.S. patent application number 13/992551 was filed with the patent office on 2013-10-31 for cleaning cloth comprising cleaning islands.
This patent application is currently assigned to CARL FREUDENBERG KG. The applicant listed for this patent is Karl-Ludwig Gibis, Norbert Weis. Invention is credited to Karl-Ludwig Gibis, Norbert Weis.
Application Number | 20130283557 13/992551 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44913222 |
Filed Date | 2013-10-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130283557 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gibis; Karl-Ludwig ; et
al. |
October 31, 2013 |
CLEANING CLOTH COMPRISING CLEANING ISLANDS
Abstract
Cleaning device comprising a support (1) with at least one
cleaning surface (2) on which raised cleaning islands (3) are
arranged at certain distances (4, A, B, C, D, E, 9) from each other
such that the cleaning islands (3) are surrounded on all sides by
storage spaces (5) for holding dirt. The size of the storage spaces
(5) decreases steadily from at least one edge (6) of the cleaning
surface at least to the middle of the cleaning surface (2) in the
cleaning direction (7).
Inventors: |
Gibis; Karl-Ludwig;
(Limburgerhof, DE) ; Weis; Norbert; (Weinheim,
DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Gibis; Karl-Ludwig
Weis; Norbert |
Limburgerhof
Weinheim |
|
DE
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
CARL FREUDENBERG KG
Weinheim
DE
|
Family ID: |
44913222 |
Appl. No.: |
13/992551 |
Filed: |
October 17, 2011 |
PCT Filed: |
October 17, 2011 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP11/05200 |
371 Date: |
July 16, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/209.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L 13/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/209.1 |
International
Class: |
A47L 13/16 20060101
A47L013/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 9, 2010 |
DE |
10 2010 054 009.9 |
Claims
1-21. (canceled)
22. A cleaning device comprising: a carrier with at least one
cleaning surface on which a plurality of raised cleaning islands
are disposed in spaced relation to each other, each cleaning island
being surrounded by storage spaces for holding soil, wherein the
storage spaces become steadily smaller in a wiping direction
starting from at least one edge of the cleaning surface and
extending at least up to a middle of the cleaning surface.
23. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the cleaning
islands are arranged into a plurality of rows each extending in a
direction transverse to the wiping direction, the storage spaces
that are arranged adjacent to each other in the direction
transverse to the wiping direction having a uniform size.
24. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the cleaning
islands become steadily larger in the wiping direction starting
from at least one edge of the cleaning surface and extending at
least up to the middle of the cleaning surface.
25. The cleaning device as in claim 24, wherein the cleaning
islands are arranged into a plurality of rows each extending in a
direction transverse to the wiping direction, the cleaning islands
that are arranged adjacent to each other in the direction
transverse to the wiping direction having a uniform size.
26. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the cleaning
surface has a substantially centrally disposed central cleaning
island that is concentrically surrounded by other cleaning
islands.
27. The cleaning device as in claim 26, wherein adjacent cleaning
islands are spaced a radial distance from each other that becomes
steadily larger in directions starting from the central cleaning
island and extending towards each edge of the cleaning surface.
28. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein each of the
cleaning islands is substantially round.
29. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the cleaning
islands are arranged in a plurality of rows each extending in a
direction transverse to the wiping direction and wherein the
cleaning islands of each row are staggered in gaps between the
cleaning islands of the next island row in the wiping
direction.
30. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the distance
between adjacent cleaning islands is 0.1 mm to 50 mm.
31. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the cleaning
islands cover 1% to 80% of the cleaning surface.
32. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the cleaning
islands cover 5% to 50% of the cleaning surface.
33. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the cleaning
islands comprise flock fibers.
34. The cleaning device as in claim 33, wherein at least some of
the flock fibers of each cleaning island have different lengths and
wherein the flock fibers of each cleaning island are disposed
perpendicular to the cleaning surface.
35. The cleaning device as in one of claims 34, wherein each
cleaning island has some flock fibers that are approximately 1 mm
in length and some flock fibers that are approximately 3 mm in
length.
36. The cleaning device as in one of claim 34, wherein the flock
fibers are substantially homogeneously distributed to form the
cleaning islands.
37. The cleaning device as in claim 33, wherein the flock fibers of
each cleaning island include viscose fibers and polyamide
fibers.
38. The cleaning device as in claim 37, wherein the mixture ratio
of viscose fibers to polyamide fibers of each cleaning island is
between 80:20 and 20:80.
39. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the carrier is
flocked with flock fibers.
40. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the carrier
comprises a nonwoven material.
41. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the carrier is a
towel.
42. The cleaning device as in claim 22, wherein the carrier is a
sponge.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application is the national phase of
PCT/EP2011/005200, filed Oct. 17, 2011 which claims the benefit of
German Patent Application No. 10 2010 054 009.9, filed Dec. 9,
2010.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to a cleaning device comprising a
carrier with at least one cleaning surface. Raised cleaning islands
are disposed on the cleaning surface in spaced relation to each
other. The cleaning islands are surrounded on all sides by storage
spaces for holding soil particles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A cleaning device as described above is made, for example,
as a cleaning towel on the cleaning surface of which congruently
shaped cleaning islands are disposed in a uniformly distributed
pattern. Congruently shaped storage spaces for holding soil
particles are disposed around the cleaning islands.
[0004] However, the soil particles that are removed from the
surface being cleaned have different sizes, and such soil particles
of different sizes cannot be held very effectively by the
congruently shaped cleaning islands and the correspondingly shaped
storage spaces. Larger soil particles, for example, long hairs,
cannot be held in small storage spaces, while fine dust is not
retained in large storage spaces. In each of these cases the
cleaning result is not very satisfactory.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] A general object of the invention is providing a cleaning
device of the kind described above that is configured so that soil
particles of different sizes can be effectively removed from the
surface being cleaned and held and retained in the storage
spaces.
[0006] To this end, the storage spaces are made steadily smaller
starting from at least one edge of the cleaning surface in a wiping
direction at least up to the middle of the cleaning surface. It is
advantageous if during wiping, at first larger soil particles, for
example, long hairs, can be held in the large storage spaces that
lie at the front in the wiping direction. Smaller soil particles,
for example, dust, pass by the larger storage spaces largely
unhindered and then reach the smaller storage spaces lying behind
them in the wiping direction. The smaller soil particles then
accumulate in these smaller storage spaces. The smallest soil
particles, for example, fine dust, pass by even these storage
spaces and accumulate either in the smallest storage spaces or in
the cleaning islands themselves. A single cleaning device is thus
suitable for removing and holding soil particles of different sizes
from the surface that is to be cleaned and thereby achieving an
especially good cleaning result.
[0007] The storage spaces that are adjacent to each other in a
direction transverse to the wiping direction can have a uniform
size. Because of this configuration, the production of the cleaning
device can be manufactured simply and affordably.
[0008] To produce a steady decrease in the size of the storage
spaces in the wiping direction at least up to the middle of the
cleaning surface, the cleaning islands can be configured to become
steadily larger in the wiping direction at least up to the middle
of the cleaning surface, starting from at least one edge of the
cleaning surface. It is advantageous if large cleaning islands are
provided that bind very small soil particles (e.g., fine dust
particles) in the islands themselves, in addition to being captured
in the small storage spaces that surround the large cleaning
islands.
[0009] In order to be able to wipe large, evenly soiled surfaces in
the wiping direction and produce a good, uniform cleaning result,
only the cleaning islands that are adjacent to each other in the
direction transverse to the wiping direction can be configured with
a uniform size. With such an arrangement, substantially the same
effect as described above is achieved as with the arrangement in
which the storage spaces adjacent to each other in the direction
transverse to the wiping direction have a uniform size.
[0010] The cleaning surface can be configured with one
substantially centrally disposed central cleaning island, which is
concentrically surrounded by other cleaning islands. The cleaning
islands may be configured and arranged such that the radial
distances between the adjacent cleaning islands become steadily
larger proceeding in a radial direction towards each edge, starting
from the central cleaning island. With such an arrangement, the
wiping direction extends in the radial direction with respect to
the central cleaning island. Practically independent of the wiping
direction, this results in the storage spaces lying around the
central cleaning island being smaller than the storage spaces
disposed radially further in the direction towards the edge.
[0011] Each of the cleaning islands and/or the central cleaning
island can have a substantially round configuration. With such a
configuration, the soil particles can easily pass by the cleaning
islands without getting caught on them and thus blocking the flow
in the direction of the smaller storage spaces.
[0012] The cleaning islands disposed next to each other in a
direction transverse to the wiping direction can form an island
row. The cleaning islands of the island row can be staggered in the
gaps between the cleaning islands of the next island row in the
wiping direction. Arranging the cleaning islands that are next in
the wiping direction in the gaps between the previous row of
cleaning islands can ensure that no un-wiped strips will remain on
the surface being cleaned if the sizes of the cleaning islands are
appropriate matched.
[0013] The distances and/or the radial distances between the
adjacent cleaning islands can be 0.1 mm to 50 mm. Such distances
are advantageous for forming storage spaces that are well suited
for holding ordinary household soil.
[0014] The cleaning islands can cover 1% to 80% of the cleaning
surface. More preferably, the cleaning islands can cover 5% to 50%
of the cleaning surface. Coverage of up to 50% is sufficient for
most uses. Because of the material of which the cleaning islands
consist is often quite expensive, such a design is advantageous.
Thus, with this configuration, the cleaning device can be made
cheaply.
[0015] The cleaning islands can include flock fibers. The use of
flock fibers helps achieve a good cleaning performance. However,
hand flocking of carrier materials with flock fibers is expensive
compared to the carrier material itself. A large portion of the
costs associated with flocking comes from the materials, namely the
flock fibers and the adhesive that is necessary to affix the flock
fibers to the carrier material. Due to the arrangement of the
storage spaces and the cleaning islands, only a comparably small
amount of flock fibers is necessary to achieve a good cleaning
performance, so the cleaning device can be made cheaply.
[0016] The flock fibers of each cleaning island can have different
lengths and can be oriented substantially perpendicular to the
cleaning surface. For example, a cleaning island can have flock
fibers with two different lengths. For example, the lengths can be
1 mm and 3 mm. This type of arrangement provides a further way to
produce a three-dimensional structure for soil removal and soil
holding. Each cleaning island thus has a more highly structured
surface. It was found that when flock fibers of 1 mm and 3 mm are
used standard household soil is held on average 23% better than
with a cleaning device that has cleaning islands with flock fibers
of the same length.
[0017] The flock fibers of different lengths can be substantially
homogeneously distributed throughout the cleaning island.
[0018] The flock fibers of a cleaning island can be formed by
viscose fibers and/or polyamide fibers. It is advantageous for the
cleaning islands to maintain their three-dimensional flocking
structure even in wet cleaning A flock fiber mixture of viscose and
polyamide has good water absorbency properties. The viscose fibers
are very water absorbent and would, without the additional use of
fibers with a support effect (for example, polyamide fibers), lie
against the carrier material in a wet state resulting in a loss of
the pronounced three-dimensional structure of the flocking Flock
fibers of polyamide, and also polypropylene or polyethylene, absorb
only small amounts of water and therefore remain in their upright
position projecting from the surface of the carrier even in a wet
state. Such fibers therefore perform a supporting function for the
viscose fibers. In order to achieve this supporting function, a
fraction of support fibers .gtoreq.20% with respect to the viscose
fibers is necessary.
[0019] In each case depending on how the cleaning cloth is used,
particularly depending on how the surface to be cleaned is made and
its material of construction and depending on the kind of soil that
is supposed to be removed and held by the cleaning device, it was
found to be advantageous if a mixture ratio of 80:20 to 20:80 of
viscose fibers to polyamide fibers per cleaning island is used.
[0020] The carrier also can be flocked with flock fibers.
Preferably, the carrier is a nonwoven material and is made as a
towel or sponge. The flocking of the carrier with flock fibers can
take place, for example, electrostatically, with the flock fibers
affixed generally perpendicularly to the carrier material with one
end of the fibers in an adhesive layer. With such a configuration,
the carrier with the flocked fibers has a three-dimensional
structure with an increased surface area. Because of this increase
in surface area, soil can be removed from the surface to be cleaned
and held in the storage spaces especially well both in dry cleaning
and wet cleaning. An electrostatic flocking has the advantage that
it achieves a high flocking density. In order to achieve a
sufficient three-dimensionality of the surface structure and to
keep the production costs of the mop as low as possible, the
coverage of the carrier with the cleaning islands preferably does
not exceed 80%.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] Two exemplary embodiments of a cleaning device in accordance
with the invention are described in more detail below with
reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0022] FIG. 1 includes a schematic top view of a first exemplary
embodiment of a cleaning device in which the storage spaces
disposed next to each other in the direction transverse to the
wiping direction have the same size. FIG. 1 also includes an
enlarged view of a portion of the cleaning cloth.
[0023] FIG. 2 includes a schematic top view of a second exemplary
embodiment of a cleaning device according to the invention, in
which the cleaning surface has only one substantially centrally
disposed central cleaning island, which is surrounded by other
cleaning islands. FIG. 2 further includes an enlarged view of a
portion of the cleaning cloth.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] Each of FIGS. 1 and 2 shows a top view of a cleaning towel.
A carrier 1 of the cleaning towel includes a nonwoven material with
raised cleaning islands 3 disposed on the cleaning surface 2 of the
carrier 1. The cleaning islands 3 are surrounded on all sides by
storage spaces 5, where both the cleaning islands 3 themselves as
well as the storage spaces 5 can hold soil particles.
[0025] In the illustrated embodiment, the distances 4, A, B, C, D,
E, 9 between the adjacent cleaning islands 3 are between 0.1 mm and
50 mm, with the cleaning islands 3 covering about 50% of the
cleaning surface 2.
[0026] The cleaning islands 3 include flock fibers. The flock
fibers of each cleaning island 3 have different lengths, in order
to be able to make available more surface for holding soil. In the
illustrated embodiment, the flock fibers of each cleaning island 3
include viscose fibers and polyamide fibers, where the mixture
ratio of viscose fibers to polyamide fibers for each cleaning
island 3 is about 50:50.
[0027] In the illustrated embodiment, the storage spaces 5 become
steadily smaller in the wiping direction 7 up to the middle of the
cleaning surface 2, starting from at least one edge 6 of the
cleaning surface 2. Also, the cleaning islands 3 become steadily
larger in the wiping direction 7 up to the middle of the cleaning
surface 2, starting from at least one edge 6 of the cleaning
surface 2.
[0028] A first exemplary embodiment of a cleaning towel is shown in
FIG. 1. The storage spaces 5, which surround the cleaning islands 3
on all sides, become steadily smaller in the wiping direction 7
starting from edge 6. In addition, the cleaning islands 3 become
steadily larger in the wiping direction 7 starting from the edge
6.
[0029] When the cleaning towel is moved in the wiping direction 7,
coarse soil particles like hairs or crumbs first arrive at the
large storage spaces 5, while finer soil particles like dust or
pollen pass by the larger storage spaces 5 at the small cleaning
islands 3 and are held in the smaller storage spaces 5. Fine dust
particles are held not only in the storage spaces 5, but also in
the storage islands 3 themselves.
[0030] Sets of the cleaning islands are disposed next to each other
in a direction transverse to the wiping direction 7 so as to form
an island row. A plurality of adjacent island rows 10 extending
transverse to the wiping direction 7 are provided on the cleaning
cloth. The cleaning islands 3 of each island row 10 are staggered
in the gaps of the cleaning islands 3 of the next island row 10 in
the wiping direction 7. With this arrangement, when wiping in the
wiping direction 7, no un-wiped strips remain on the surface being
cleaned.
[0031] The cleaning towel of FIG. 1 has two wiping directions 7.1
and 7.2. The wiping direction 7.1 extends from edge 6.1 up to the
middle of the wiping towel, and the wiping direction 7.2 extends
from edge 6.2, likewise to the middle of the cleaning towel. The
function of the cleaning towel is accordingly connected with the
wiping direction.
[0032] The reverse side of the cleaning towel, not shown here, can
also be flocked with flock fibers like the illustrated cleaning
surface 2. Alternatively, the reverse side of the cleaning towel
can be flocked in a manner different from the illustrated cleaning
surface 2.
[0033] The cleaning surface 2 of FIG. 2 is designed differently
from the cleaning surface 2 of FIG. 1. The entire cleaning surface
2 consists of one pattern of cleaning islands 3 in which the
cleaning surface 2 has only one centrally disposed central cleaning
island 8, which is concentrically surrounded by other cleaning
islands 3.
[0034] In contrast to the cleaning towel shown in FIG. 1, the
cleaning towel of FIG. 2 has not just two wiping directions 7, but
rather a plurality of wiping directions 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and
7.5, each of which extends in the radial direction with respect to
the central cleaning island 8. The radial distances 9 between the
cleaning islands 3 that are next to each other in the radial
direction become steadily larger in the direction of each edge 6.1,
6.2, 6.3, and 6.4 of the cleaning surface 2, starting from the
central cleaning island 8. The flocking used in the cleaning
islands 3 can be the same as used in the embodiment of FIG. 1.
Additionally, the coverage with which the cleaning islands 3 cover
the cleaning surface 2 can be the same as the embodiment of FIG.
1.
* * * * *