CARE ITEM AND CLEANING DEVICE COMPRISING SUCH A CARE ITEM

Abstract

A care item for cleaning a determined surface is provided. The item has a three-dimensional textile component of unitary knitted construction, including a first knitted textile layer and a second knitted textile layer, connected by connecting threads extending between the first textile layer and the second textile layer, in that the first layer comprises, on its external face referred to as cleaning, microfibres, and optionally scratching fibres having a count greater than 1 dtex, and in that the connecting threads form a water-absorbing intermediate layer.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A care item for cleaning a determined surface wherein it comprises a three-dimensional textile component, of unitary knitted construction, comprising a first knitted textile layer and a second knitted textile layer, connected by connecting threads extending between the first textile layer and the second textile layer, in that the first layer comprises, on its external face referred to as cleaning, microfibres, and wherein the connecting threads form a water-absorbing intermediate layer.

17. The care item according to claim 16, wherein the connecting threads comprise microfibres.

18. The care item according to claim 16, wherein the connecting threads comprise mono-filament threads.

19. The care item according to claim 18, wherein the mono-filament threads have a diameter greater than or equal to 10 m (microns).

20. The care item according to claim 16, wherein the three-dimensional textile component comprises, according to all or part of its perimeter, a connecting zone in which the first and second textile layers, and the connecting threads are thermo-welded.

21. The care item according to claim 16, wherein the first layer comprises scratching fibres having a count greater than 1 dtex.

22. The care item according to claim 21, wherein the first textile layer comprises, on its external face referred to as cleaning, microfibres alternating with scratching fibres according to a first pattern.

23. The care item according to claim 16, the external face of the first knitted layer comprising a front part and a rear part in extension of each other, having respective external faces, the front part comprises, according to its external face, microfibres and scratching fibres, the rear part comprises, according to its external face, microfibers having a count greater than 1 dtex, in that the average count T1 (dtex) of microfibres and scratching fibres on said external face of the front part is greater than or equal to 0.5 dtex, the average count T2 (dtex) of microfibres on said external face of the rear part is less than or equal to 2 dtex, and in that the average count T1 (dtex) is different from the average count T2 (dtex).

24. The care item according to claim 23, wherein the average count T1 (dtex) is greater than the average count T2 (dtex).

25. The care item according to claim 23, wherein the rear part of the first layer comprises, according to its external face, a proportion by weight of microfibres greater than the proportion by weight of microfibres of the front part, relative to the total weight of the first layer.

26. The care item according to claim 23, wherein the external face of the rear part comprises scratching fibers, and wherein the microfibres and the scratching fibres on the external face of the front part of the first layer alternate repeatedly according to a first pattern, and wherein the microfibres and the scratching fibres on the external face of the rear part alternate repeatedly according to a second pattern.

27. The care item according to claim 26, wherein the first pattern is different from the second pattern.

28. The care item according to claim 26, wherein the first pattern and/or the second pattern is/are selected from: continuous or discontinuous alternating lines of microfibres and/or scratching fibres, zig-zags of microfibres and/or scratching fibres, islets or localized areas of scratching fibres or microfibres.

29. The care item according to claim 16, the textile component comprises two side pockets formed by folding and partial connection of the two lateral ends of said textile component, in particular according to at least said connecting zone, each pocket being arranged so as to receive a lateral end of a head-plate of a cleaning device.

30. A cleaning device comprising a care item according to claim 16, wherein it comprises a broom equipped with a broom handle fitted at its distal end with a head-plate, whereof the dimensions are of the order of those of the care item.

31. A manufacturing process of a care item for cleaning a determined surface according to claim 16, wherein it comprises the following steps: (i)a step for knitting a three-dimensional textile panel, of unitary knitted construction, comprising a first knitted textile layer and a second knitted textile layer, connected by connecting threads extending between the first textile layer and the second textile layer, the first layer comprising, on its external face referred to as cleaning, microfibres, and optionally scratching fibres having a count greater than 1 dtex, and the connecting threads form a water-absorbing intermediate layer, (ii)a step for forming a three-dimensional textile component by cutting said knitted textile panel at step (i).

32. The process according to claim 31, wherein the cutting of said knitted textile panel is accomplished by means of an ultrasonic cutting device.

33. The process according to claim 31, comprising a step for forming a connecting zone arranged according to all or part of the circumference of the three-dimensional textile component, in which connecting zone the first and second textile layers, and the connecting threads are thermo-welded.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0092] The present disclosure will be better understood from the following exemplary embodiments, cited by way of non-limitation and illustrated by the following figures attached to the present, and in which:

[0093] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation, in perspective, of a first example of care item according to the disclosure;

[0094] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the first example of care item 1 according to the sectional plane II-II shown in FIG. 3;

[0095] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation, seen from above, of the first example of care item shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0096] FIG. 4 is a schematic representation, in perspective, of a second example of care item according to the disclosure;

[0097] FIG. 5 is a schematic representation, in perspective, of a third example of care item according to the disclosure;

[0098] FIG. 6 is a schematic representation, in perspective, of a fourth example of care item according to the disclosure comprising two side pockets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0099] The care item 1 for cleaning a determined surface shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 comprises a three-dimensional textile component 2, of unitary knitted construction, comprising a first knitted textile layer 3 and a second knitted textile layer 4, connected by connecting threads 5 extending between the first textile layer 3 and the second textile layer 4. The first textile layer 3 comprises, on its external face 3a referred to as cleaning, microfibres, and optionally scratching fibres having a count greater than 1 dtex. The connecting threads 5 form a water-absorbing intermediate layer 7 and comprise microfibres and mono-filament threads. The mono-filament connecting threads extending between the first knitted layer 3 and the second knitted layer 4 have a diameter greater than or equal to 10 m (microns), especially of the order of 64 m (microns). The mono-filament connecting threads are preferably made of polyethylene terephthalate.

[0100] The connecting threads 5 comprising microfibres are multifilament whereof the filaments each have a count less than or equal to 1 dtex, in particular less than or equal to 0.87 dtex.

[0101] The textile component 2 is a three-dimensional knit whereof the first textile layer 3 and the second textile layer 4 are each a warp stitch knitted fabric.

[0102] The textile component 2 is three-dimensional in the plane (x, y, z) and has a thickness e greater than or equal to 1 mm, in particular less than or equal to 6 mm. The knitted textile component 2 has a width l and a length L greater than its width l. The knitted textile component 2, seen from above (FIG. 3), has a rectangular form but could have any form according to the targeted application (lozenge, square, trapezoid, . . . ).

[0103] The textile component 2 comprises according to all or part of its perimeter a connecting zone 10 in which the first 3 and second 4 knitted textile layers, and the connecting threads 5, are thermo-welded.

[0104] Advantageously, the thermo-welded zone 10 is formed during cutting in a knitted textile panel 3D.

[0105] The first textile layer 3 comprises, on its external face 3a referred to as cleaning, microfibres alternating with scratching fibres without a particular pattern.

[0106] It has been observed that the microfibres of the intermediate layer 5 achieve absorption rates of the order of 600%-650% for the care item 1, whereas the mono-filament threads improve resistance to compression according to the direction z of the care item 1.

[0107] The second example of care item 15 shown in FIG. 4 will be described hereinbelow only by its differences to the first example care item 1. The second example of care item 15 comprises a three-dimensional knitted textile component 16 in which the external face 17a referred to as cleaning of the first layer 17 comprises scratching fibres alternating with microfibres according to a first pattern 18. Said first pattern 18 comprises strips of microfibres alternating with strips of scratching fibres. The scratching fibres can for example have a colour different to the colour of the microfibres to reinforce the visual effect of the first pattern 18.

[0108] The third example of care item 20 shown in FIG. 5 will be described hereinbelow only by its differences to the first example care item 1. The external face 21a of the first knitted layer 21 of the three-dimensional knitted textile component 22 comprises a front part 23 and a rear part 24 in extension of each other having respective external faces 23a, 24a, the front part 23 comprises, according to its external face 23a, microfibres and scratching fibres, the rear part 24 comprises, according to its external face 24a, microfibres, and optionally scratching fibres having a count greater than 1 dtex. The average count T1 (dtex) of microfibres and scratching fibres on said external face 23a of the front part 23 is greater than or equal to 0.5 dtex, the average count T2 (dtex) of microfibres, and optionally scratching fibres, on the external face 24a of the rear part 24 is less than or equal to 2 dtex, and the average count T1 (dtex) is different to the average count T2 (dtex), in particular the average count T1 (dtex) is greater than the average count T2 (dtex).

[0109] The front part 23 and the rear part 24 are in extension of each other and formed in a single textile panel, in this example specified by the first knitted layer 21. The dotted line 25 fictitiously delimits the border between the front part 23 and the rear part 24. The microfibres and the scratching fibres are arranged according to no particular pattern on the front 23 and rear 24 parts.

[0110] The rear part 24 comprises, according to its external face 24a, a proportion by weight (g) of microfibres greater than the proportion by weight (g) of microfibres of the front part 23, relative to the total weight (g) of the first layer 21 (considered without the connecting threads).

[0111] The fourth example of care item 30 shown in FIG. 6 will be described hereinbelow only by its differences to the first example care item 1.

[0112] The textile component 31 comprises two side pockets 32, 33 formed by folding and partial connection of the two lateral ends of said component 31, in particular according to at least said thermo-welded connecting zone 34, each pocket 31, 32 being arranged so as to receive a lateral end of a head-plate of a cleaning device. The edges 32a, 32b, 32c, 33a, 33b, 33c of the pockets 32, 33 are joined, preferably by sewing, in the connecting zone 34, which avoids creating spaces through which the microfibres in the intermediate layer are sent into the atmosphere.

[0113] Advantageously, the care items 1, 15, 20, 30 comprise a textile component in a single piece comprising three layers formed integrally during knitting of the textile component.

[0114] Also, in operation, the intermediate layer 7 of the three-dimensional knitted textile component 2 achieves water absorption rates of the order of 600% when the connecting threads 5 comprise microfibres.

[0115] The care items 1, 15, 20, 30 according to the disclosure offer excellent water absorption capacity, excellent ergonomics, improved aesthetics and low particular discharge due to their monobloc construction. The unitary knitted construction of 3D textile components of care items 1, 15, 20, 30 should also improve the potential cleaning surface covered by said items compared to complexes multilayers used in the prior art.

[0116] Throughout the description, including the claims, the term comprising a should be understood as being synonymous with comprising at least one unless otherwise stated. In addition, any range set forth in the description, including the claims should be understood as including its end value(s) unless otherwise stated. Specific values for described elements should be understood to be within accepted manufacturing or industry tolerances known to one of skill in the art, and any use of the terms substantially and/or approximately and/or generally should be understood to mean falling within such accepted tolerances.

[0117] Where any standards of national, international, or other standards body are referenced (e.g., ISO, etc.), such references are intended to refer to the standard as defined by the national or international standards body as of the priority date of the present specification. Any subsequent substantive changes to such standards are not intended to modify the scope and/or definitions of the present disclosure and/or claims.

[0118] Notably, although some features, concepts or aspects of the inventions may be described herein as being a preferred or advantageous arrangement or method, such description is not intended to suggest that such feature is required or necessary unless expressly so stated.