HYGIENIC TISSUE

Abstract

A hygienic tissue includes a front side and a back side. The front side includes an absorbent material and the back side includes an absorbent material. A fluid resistant material is between the front side absorbent material and the back side absorbent material, and a pocket is on the back side for receiving one or more of a user's fingers. The back side defines an aperture for providing access to the pocket. The aperture is surrounded on one or more sides by the back side such that one or more pockets are formed along the back side. Attachments can be used to attach the tissue to a user's hand, wrist or ears. The tissue can be used, for example, when sneezing, coughing, nose blowing or touching contaminated surfaces, as a hygienic tissue, face mask, and wet wipe.

Claims

1. A method of using a hygienic tissue infused with liquid, comprising: wiping a surface with the tissue, the tissue having a front side and a back side, the front side including an absorbent material, the tissue including a fluid resistant material behind the absorbent material and a pocket on the back side for receiving one or more of a user's fingers.

2-9. (canceled)

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising placing one or more fingers in the pocket.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising accessing the pocket through an aperture defined by the back side.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the aperture is surrounded on four sides by the back side such that pockets are formed along an entire circumference of the back side and the method includes placing fingers in the pockets.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein multiple pockets are formed on the back side and the method includes placing fingers in the pockets.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein wiping the surface with the tissue includes the back side of the tissue including an absorbent material and the fluid resistant material is between the front side absorbent material and the back side absorbent material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] The following detailed description of specific embodiments can be best understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings:

[0058] FIGS. 1A-1D are front, back, side and perspective views, respectively, of an embodiment of a hygienic tissue showing a pocket on the back side in which a user's hand is inserted.

[0059] FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional and perspective views, respectively, of another embodiment of a hygienic tissue.

[0060] FIGS. 2C and 2D illustrates the hygienic tissue of FIGS. 2A and 2B prior to and after folding, respectively.

[0061] FIGS. 3A-3D, 4, 5A and 5B illustrate additional alternative embodiments of a hygienic tissue.

[0062] FIG. 6 illustrates a process of forming a hygienic tissue.

[0063] FIGS. 7A and 7B are side views of a hygienic tissue dispenser and FIG. 7C is a top view of the dispenser.

[0064] FIG. 8A illustrates a hygienic tissue and attachable fastener; FIG. 8B illustrates a hygienic tissue with two attached fasteners; and FIG. 8C illustrates a hygienic tissue with one attached fastener.

[0065] FIGS. 9A and 9I illustrate folding a fabric to form hygienic tissue and FIGS. 9B-9H illustrate various configurations of hygienic tissue formed by folding a fabric.

[0066] FIGS. 10A-10D illustrate forming hygienic tissue using a tube forming process and FIG. 10E illustrates alternative shapes punched in the fabric.

[0067] FIG. 11 illustrates an alternative folding method for forming hygienic tissue.

[0068] FIGS. 12A-12E illustrate an alternative tube forming process for forming hygienic tissue.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0069] Referring to FIGS. 1A-1D, a hygienic tissue 10 includes a front sheet 12 at a front side of the tissue, and a back sheet 14 at a back side of the tissue. The front sheet 12 includes a front side absorbent material with a fluid resistant material behind the absorbent material, for example, the front sheet 12 is a multi-layer sheet having a layer 12a of absorbent material such as cellulose derived material, for example, viscose, rayon, cotton, flax and/or bamboo, and a layer 12b of fluid resistant material such as polypropylene, polyurethane, polyethylene, and/or polyactide. The back sheet 14 includes at least an absorbent material, for example, a layer of absorbent material. The back sheet can include an additional layer of fluid resistant material located, for example, in front of the layer of absorbent material of the back sheet.

[0070] The front and back sheets 12, 14 are secured along all four of their outside edge regions 16, 18, respectively. The back sheet 14 defines an aperture 20 such that pockets 22 are formed along the entire circumference of the tissue 10. The pockets 22 are defined by the front and back sheets 12, 14 and extend from inner edges 24 of the back sheet 14 to the joined outside edge regions 16, 18. The outside edge regions 16, 18 can be joined along their outer edges, can be joined along regions extending inward from their outer edges, or can be joined along regions spaced from their other edges. The pockets 22 allow a person to tuck at least a portion of her hand and/or fingers 26 inside through the aperture 20 of the back sheet 14 and into the space 28 between the front and back sheets defined by the pockets 22.

[0071] While square-shaped sheets are illustrated, the sheets may be the same shape or differently shaped, and may be other rectangle shapes, circular, polygonal, or other geometric shapes.

[0072] Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, in an alternative embodiment, rather than forming the tissue from separate front and back sheets that are joined, a tissue 50 is formed from a single, planar, multi-layer sheet 52. The sheet 52 has a front side 54 formed by a layer 56 of absorbent material with a layer 58 of fluid resistant material behind the layer 56. Pockets 60 are formed along the entire circumference of the tissue 50 by folding four circumferential sections 69 of the sheet over forming four folded edges 62. The folding of the sheet 52 forms a back side sheet 64 of the tissue 50 having an aperture 66 for introducing fingers into the pockets 60. The back sheet is secured, for example, by bonding, along four bond lines 68 to maintain the shape of the folded sheet forming the pockets 60. As illustrated in FIGS. 2C and 2D, prior to folding the sheet 52, the sheet 52 can be cut to shape to create the four sections 69 that when folded back overlap enough such that the four bond lines 68 can be bonded.

[0073] The tissue may have all four edges folded, or 1, 2, or 3 edges folded, as illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3D, such that at least one edge region includes an open portion. Optionally, the sides 70 of a single folded edge are elongated, as illustrated in FIG. 4, to cover the thumbs and fingers of a user. The folded edges of FIGS. 3A-3D are sealed along 72 to form pockets. The folded edge of FIG. 4 is sealed along 74 to form pockets.

[0074] Referring to FIG. 5A, a tissue 100 includes a front sheet 102 and a back sheet 104, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1D, with the back sheet 104 being shorter than the front sheet 102. The back sheet 104 has a top portion 106 and side portions 108, 110 for covering the fingers. The back sheet 104 can have, for example, a curved contour along a bottom edge 112, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, or an angular contour along the bottom edge 112, as illustrated in FIG. 5B. The front and back sheets 102, 104 are joined along the edge regions 114 to form pocket 116. Because the back sheet is shorter than the front sheet, at least one edge region includes an open portion and a user can easily separate the sheets of material in order to slip the hand/fingers inside the pocket 116.

[0075] Rather than joining a back sheet to a multi-layer front sheet, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the tissue 10 can be formed by joining three separate sheets. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the tissue 10 is formed from a front sheet 152 of absorbent material, a middle sheet 154 of fluid resistant material, and a back sheet 156 of absorbent material. Prior to joining the three sheets at 158, the back sheet 156 is die cut at 160 to form the aperture 20. The three sheets are joined at 158 by, for example, an ultrasonic or thermal die cutter that seals the edge regions of the sheets together and cuts the tissue to size. For example, front sheet 152 can be unwound from a tissue or spunlace unwind 162; middle sheet 154 can be unwound from a meltblown unwind 164; and back sheet 156 can be unwound from a spunbonded unwind 166.

[0076] Joining and/or securing of front and back sheets is accomplished through various methods known in the art. For example, compiled sheets of nonwoven, woven, paper, cellulose-derived, or cotton-derived material may be joined by sewing, gluing, heating, and/or ultrasonic welding. Methods of bonding may include but are not limited to hot calendaring, belt calendaring, through-air thermal bonding, ultrasonic bonding, and/or radiant-heat bonding.

[0077] Woven materials are materials manufactured by holding fibers and/or yarns together by spinning and/or weaving. The fibers may be derived from a variety of base materials, including cotton, polyester, and/or viscose/Tencel. Weaving includes carding or combing fibers into one direction. The aligned fibers are then twisted or spun together to make a long continuous yarn, which is woven on a loom into a sheet, wherein yarns interlock to create strength.

[0078] Nonwoven materials are produced and held together by a method other than weaving. Fibers can be formed into a sheet using carding technology, wet forming technology, or air forming technology. The fibers are then locked in place to create strength using a variety of methods, including resin or chemical bonding, mechanical entanglement (e.g., hydroentangling with high pressure water jets or needle punching), thermal fusing (melting fibers together), and hydrogen bonding (e.g., ionic bonding between hydrogen and hydrozyl groups on the surface of cellulose). Base materials include, but are not limited to, polyester, viscose, Tencel, polypropylene, polyethylene, cotton, and/or wood pulp.

[0079] Paper materials are produced by mixing wood pulp fibers into a slurry with water. The slurry is poured onto a moving wire and the water is vacuumed off and dried. Hydrogen bonding, mechanical entanglement, and use of wet strength resin hold the web together to give the sheet strength.

[0080] Cellulose-derived materials originate from plant sources. The most common sources include wood pulp (derived from trees), viscose (fiber made by chemically dissolving and re-extruding the cellulose material into long fibers), Tencel, cotton, flax, and bamboo. Cellulose-derived materials have a surface chemistry that allows them to absorb and hold on to water better than synthetic or petroleum-based materials. Cellulosic materials will also biodegrade over time.

[0081] In certain embodiments, the hygienic tissue has one or more sheets that have a three dimensional patterned fusion of material forming a rippled, creped or quilted texture.

[0082] FIGS. 7A and 7B show two embodiments of a dispenser 200 that stores a plurality of tissues according to any of the embodiments described above, packaged for easy removal. Fig. 7C is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 7B. The dispenser can alternatively be configured for convenient portability in a purse, pocket, etc.

[0083] Optionally, the tissue according to any of the embodiments described above can be used with one or more fasteners, such as a clip, tie or loop, for attaching the tissue to the body of the user. The ties or loops can be formed from a variety of materials, including woven, nonwoven, paper, cellulose-derived, cotton-derived, elastic, and the like. For example, the fastener can be one or more elastic loops. Referring to FIG. 8A, a linear elastic loop 210 is attachable to a tissue 10. The elastic loop 210 includes attachments 212 for attaching the loop 210 to the tissue 10, for example, close to the edge 110. The attachments 212 can be adhesives, loop and hook closures, clips, ties, and/or grippers and the like.

[0084] As illustrated in FIG. 8B, elastic loops 210 are attached via attachments 212 to either side of the tissue 10 to provide an easily assembled face mask 214. A face mask frees the hands of the user, particularly if it is necessary to use the hygienic tissue for prolonged periods of time. As illustrated in FIG. 8C, an elastic loop 210 is attached at a corner of the tissue 10. Elastic loop(s) 210 can be attached to the tissue in any number of configurations, such that the tissue can be conveniently attached to the hand, body, or face of a user or to a purse or bag. A user may attach one loop, such that the tissue can be easily attached to the wrist or hand, or a user may 4attach two loops, such that the tissue can be converted to a face mask and worn on the face, with the loops hooking behind the ears of the user.

[0085] The various embodiments of the hygienic tissue described above can be infused with a liquid composition, for example to form a wet wipe. Liquid composition as used herein means any liquid including, but not limited to a pure liquid such as water, an aqueous composition, a colloid, an emulsion, a suspension, a solution and mixtures thereof. The liquid composition may be added to the hygienic tissue to form a wet wipe prior to and/or after packaging and/or prior to and/or after folding, if any, and/or prior to and/or after any post processing operation, such as embossing, tuft generating, and printing. The liquid composition may comprise water, alcohol, natural fats or oil emulsion, sterol or sterol derivative, fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin E, emulsifying surfactant or cosurfactants, humectants, chelating agents, buffers, solvents, thickeners, dyes, colorants, lotions, biocides, fragrances, defoamers, pertrolatum, mineral oil, emulsifying wax and mixture thereof. Liquid composition may also comprise hydrophilic polymers selected from the group consisting of polysaccharides, polycarboxylates, polyvinyl alcohols, polyvinylpyrrolidones, polyethylene glycols, methylvinyl ethers, and mixtures thereof.

[0086] Multiple tissues can be stored in a container containing the liquid and can be pulled out individually for use as a wet wipe used in cleansing hard surfaces, food, inanimate objects, toys and body parts including the face. In particular, they may be used on the perianal area after defecation. They may also be used to remove make-up or apply lotion on the body.

[0087] Rather than forming the hygienic tissue of separate sheets that are joined, the hygienic tissue can be formed from a single sheet of fabric having a front side including an absorbent material, a back side including an absorbent material, and a fluid resistant material between the front side and the back side. The single sheet of fabric can include a layer of absorbent material at the front side, a layer of absorbent material at the back side, and a layer of fluid resistant material at the back side in the form of, for example, SMS (spunbond, meltblown, spunbond) or MSM (meltblown, spunbone, meltblown) material.

[0088] Additional manufacturing processes for making the hygienic tissue from separate sheets that have been joined or from a single sheet of fabric are illustrated in FIGS. 9-12. For example, referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, to manufacture a tissue such as shown in FIGS. 3A and 9B, a top edge 302 of a length of flat fabric 300 is folded over, arrow 304, for example, along an axis that is not the midline of the fabric, to create a folded edge 306. The sides 308 of the tissue between the folded edge 306 and the top edge 302 are then sealed to form the pocket 310. The various configurations of the tissue shown in FIGS. 9C-9H can be formed by trimming the edge 302 to a desired design prior to folding over the edge. As illustrated in FIG. 9C, the sealed side edges 308 can extend to a bottom edge 307 of the fabric 300.

[0089] The tissue can be manufactured in an assembly line. For example, referring to FIG. 91, fabric 300 from, for example, a fabric supply roll, is trimmed to the desired shape at 312, here the shape of the tissue of FIG. 9H, and folded at 314. The sides 308 are cut and sealed at 316.

[0090] Alternatively, tissue can be formed using a fabric tube welding machine. Referring to FIG. 10A, a tube welding machine 320 pulls fabric from a roll of fabric supply 322 on an unwinder 323, folds the side edges 324, 326 of the fabric together (arrows 327) to form a tube shape 328, seals the side edges 324, 326 with a welding unit 321 to form a tube 330, and then flattens the tube at 331 and cuts the fabric to length to form the separate tissues while also sealing the cut edges with a cutting roller 333. Referring to FIGS. 10B-10D, to form the pocket(s) in the tissue, prior to forming the tube shape, shapes 332 are punched out in the fabric to create openings 334. The tube shape is then formed and the edges 324, 326 sealed to form sealed edge 329. The fabric is then cut and sealed such that opposing cut edges 338, 340 are sealed to form sealed edge 342, and opposing cut edges 344, 346 are sealed to form sealed edge 348. The final flattened product (FIG. 10D), has the opening 334 generally located in the center of the tissue forming four pockets 350. FIG. 10E illustrates examples of various shapes 332 that can be punched out in the fabric to create openings 334.

[0091] Referring to FIG. 11, in another alternative method of manufacturing the tissue, a fabric folding machine is used rather than a tube forming machine. Rather than punching an opening 334 along the middle of the fabric as seen in machine of Fig, 10A, the opening 334 is punched closer to the edge 326 or 324 of the fabric and then the fabric is folded along the midline (arrow 380). Edges 324 and 326 are sealed together at 381 created, for example, an ultrasonic rolling seam, to form sealed edge 382. The fabric is then cut and sealed at 384 to form the closed top end and the closed bottom end to form the final product. Alternatively, edges 324 and 326 can be sealed at 384. FIG. 10E illustrates examples of various shapes 332 that can be punched out in the fabric to create openings 334.

[0092] In an alternative method of manufacturing the tissue using the tube welding machine of FIG. 10A, rather than punching the fabric to create openings 334 before forming the tube, the fabric is cut after the sealed tube is formed. In particular, referring to FIGS. 12A-12D, the sealed tube is formed, the tube is flattened at 360, and a shape 352 is cut through one edge of the tube at 362 (a half-triangular shape cut is shown in FIG. 12A and a half-pentagon cut 352 is shown in FIG. 12C). The orientation of the plane of the fabric run is then changed at 364, rotating the tube 90 degrees such that when the re-orientated tube is again flattened at 366 for cutting and sealing, a full triangle or pentagon shape is formed, as illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12D. The fabric is then cut and sealed to form top end sealed edge 370 and cut only at the bottom end 372 to form the final product of FIG. 9C (triangle cut) or the final product of FIG. 9D (pentagon cut). The next tissue in line can be cut and sealed at its top end 370 or the previous bottom end cut can just be sealed to form the top end of the next tissue. Referring to FIG. 12E, by modifying the shape of the cut 352 various configurations such as illustrated in FIGS. 9B and 9E-9H can be formed.

[0093] In general, the machine for making the tissue includes, for example, an unwinder for a fabric (material) supply roll, a tension belt to regulate tension of the fabric, a fabric puller, an optional ultrasonic welding unit for embossing, a material folding triangle board, an ultrasonic welding unit, a cutting roller, an optional final product folding unit, an optional final product stacking unit, and a conveyor. For punching openings, the machine includes, for example, an ultrasonic welding unit for shape hole sealing, a shape hole cutting roller, and an optional scrap export unit.

[0094] While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to one skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.