WO2014097342A2 - Anti-scratch abrasive sponge - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention concerns an abrasive sponge (10) comprising a layer of spongy material (11) covered on at least one side, by a coating layer (12) for the removal of dirt, characterised in that said coating layer (12) has a rilief structure and is coupled with said layer of spongy material (11) by glueing with a layer of flexible crosslinked polymeric material with melting temperature greater than 90°C and is alternatively made of one or more overlapping nets or of a flexible support from which a plurality of stems extend.

Description

Anti-scratch abrasive sponge

The present invention concerns an anti-scratch abrasive sponge. More specifically, the invention concerns an abrasive sponge with improved cleaning ability, with particular reference to the need to prevent scratching of sensitive surfaces subject to cleaning.

As well known, by the term sponge it is generally indicated a wide range of products for the cleaning of people or objects, in particular plates, dishes or other household items that are washed frequently. Historically obtained by drying and special treatment of the skeleton of some species of aquatic organisms of the same name, today the majority of sponges are made artificially, and are made up of flexible plastic foam material. In particular, the materials of sponges of vegetable origin may be cellulose- based, those of animal origin are the so-called marine sponges and those of synthetic origin are generally in polyurethane, polyether, or polyester.

In all cases, a common capability to the natural or artificial material at the base of all the sponges is its ability to absorb significant amounts of water and other liquid substances, due to its porous structure.

In the following description, this capacity will be indicated with the term sponginess and such material will be indicated with the term spongy material. The term sponge instead indicates the article made by said spongy material.

A particular type of sponges are the abrasive sponges, which are made of natural or synthetic spongy material and are provided on at least one side of a layer of abrasive material covering the surface of the spongy material, said abrasive layer being generally made of abrasive fibers. The spongy material performs the function of liquid absorption and the abrasive layer coupled thereto performs the function of the abrasive removal of dirt.

More in particular, a spongy synthetic material suitable for the production of abrasive sponges can be chosen by way of example between polyester, polyether or polyurethane, while a spongy material can be for example the natural cellulose.

As to the layer of abrasive material, this can be constituted, in addition to the already said abrasive fibers, for example by abrasive powders, applied to the foam material in various ways.

Also, in general, the coupling between the abrasive layer and the spongy material can be achieved by flaming or by glueing.

According to the prior art, therefore, in the realization of an abrasive sponge two more or less flexible materials are coupled together.

The cleaning action by the user of the sponge is done by finger pressure on the sponge, the abrasive side of which removes the dirt from the surface to be cleaned. Obviously, the more strongly the dirt is attached to the surface to be cleaned, the greater will be the pressure that must be applied so that the abrasive layer can remove dirt itself.

A cleaning action carried out by an abrasive material can cause scratches on the surface to be cleaned, in particular on the most delicate surfaces, and and this is even more true the greater the pressure, when the dirt is very strong (for example in the case of incrustations).

This involves the progressive wear of the surfaces, which may for example lose their brilliance or even lose the layer of enamel or any decorations covering them.

In light of the above, it appears evident the need to have an abrasive sponge which facilitates the cleaning of the surfaces, making the action carried out by the operator more effectively without compromising the integrity of the surfaces to be cleaned.

In this context it is included the solution according to the present invention, which aims to provide an abrasive sponge with an abrasive layer made of a material having a specific structure, with the aim to reduce the possibility of scratching the surfaces to be cleaned.

These and other results are obtained according to the present invention proposing an abrasive sponge in which the layer of abrasive material is made of a rilief structure, in particular a net with a more or less wide mesh or a plurality of overlapping nets or even a flexible support from which a plurality of stems extend, eventually conformed as an hook, similar to the male of Velcro®.

Purpose of the present invention is therefore to provide an abrasive sponge that allows to overcome the limits of the solutions according to the prior art and to obtain the technical results previously described.

Further object of the invention is that said abrasive sponge can be realized with substantially contained costs.

Another object of the invention is to provide an abrasive sponge which is substantially simple, safe and reliable.

It is therefore a first specific object of the present invention an abrasive sponge comprising a layer of spongy material covered on at least one side, by a coating layer for the removal of dirt, wherein said coating layer has a rilief structure and is coupled with said layer of spongy material (11) by glueing.

In particular, according to the invention, said rilief structure is made of a net of non abrasive material or of a plurality of overlapping nets with identical mesh or with different mesh.

Alternatively, always according to the present invention, said rilief structure is made of a flexible support from which a plurality of stems extend, preferably conformed as a hook or a mushroom.

Finally, according to the invention, said glueing is realised with a layer of flexible crosslinked polymeric material with melting temperature greater than 90°C.

The present invention will be now described, for illustrative but not limitative purposes, according to its preferred embodiment, with particular reference to certain illustrative examples and to the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 shows a side view of an abrasive sponge according to an embodiment of the present invention, and

- Figures 2A-2D show different types of layers of coating material for the abrasive sponge of Figure 1.

Referring to the figures, an abrasive sponge according to the present invention is generally indicated by the reference number 10, and is made of a spongy layer 11, generally but not necessarily with a parallelepiped shape, that, on the surface of one of its faces, is covered by a coating layer 12 made of a wide-mesh fabric or of a net of non abrasive material or of more overlapping nets, possibly with different width of the mesh, for the removal of dirt. In an alternative embodiment, not shown, said coating layer can be made of a flexible support from which a plurality of stems extend, possibly shaped as an hook, like the male of Velcro®, or a mushroom. In any case the material of the coating layer (most preferably polyester/polyamide) must be such that it can not scratch the surfaces to be cleaned, even the most delicate, such as steel, glass, laminates, teflon, ceramic, chrome. This ensures that the surfaces are not scratched and that the principle of removal of dirt is displacement instead of abrasion (consumption through abrasion of the encrusted dirt)).

Specifically, for example, but not limiting of the present invention, the layer of spongy material 11 can be made of polyester foam sponge and the coating layer 12 of a net of polyester/polyamide. In general, the material of the spongy layer 11 can be any material selected among those commonly used for the sponges (abrasive and not), and in consideration of the different characteristics of wear resistance, absorption capacity, price. Regarding the coating layer 12, the choice of material must be made between those which, for hardness, do not scratch surfaces like glass, stainless steel, aluminum, ceramic, for the cleaning of which the abrasive sponge of the invention could be used. The coating layer 12 is coupled with the spongy layer 11 by glueing, so that the coupling resistance is adequate for the maintenance of the product. In particular, said glueing is realised with a layer of flexible crosslinked polymeric material with melting temperature greater than 90°C, more in particular a polyurethane base; or the melting temperature of the glue with which the coupling is made is such to be sufficient to withstand the temperature conditions that can be formed in a washing machine, dishwasher or autoclave within which the abrasive sponge 10 of the present invention can be inserted for an eventual washing.

In particular, for example, the coating layer 12 is made of a net of polyester/polyamide.

The result is an abrasive sponge 10 comprising a soft part, represented by the spongy layer 11 , which acts as the absorbent part and a part for the removal of dirt, constituted by the coating layer 12.

Attraverso la abrasive sponge 10 according to the present invention, e garantito un risultato di pulizia superiore, grazie alia forte azione meccanica garantita dalle maglie della rete.

Through the abrasive sponge 10 according to the present invention, it is guaranteed a result of superior cleaning, thanks to the strong mechanical action guaranteed by the mesh of the net.

Furthermore, the system of removal of dirt through the mesh and thus the mesh fabrics, makes the product much more durable as the mesh fabric has a wear resistance far superior to common abrasive fibers.

Similar considerations also adapt to the solution in which the coating layer is made of a flexible support from which a plurality of stems extend, as the flexible support has a much more cohesive structure than the common abrasive fibers, ensuring improved wear resistance and the stems, in particular when conformed as an hook or mushroom, exert an optimal penetration into the dirt to be removed but they bend with respect to the surface of the objects to be cleaned, avoiding any type of scratching of the surfaces themselves.

In particular, the coating layer 12 may have different characteristics of stiffness, thickness, mesh size, depending on the result in terms of abrasive capacity to be obtained.

For example, a rigid net with large mesh is very suitable for deep cleaning works with stubborn dirt (scale), while a semi rigid net with medium mesh is more suitable in the case of dirt from food with not strong scale, and a soft net with little mesh is more suitable for cleaning from soiling such as soap scum, toothpaste, or light dirt fo food type. In any case the material (mostly preferred polyester/polyamide) must be such that it can not scratch the surfaces to be cleaned, the principle of removal of dirt being to displace dirt instead of abrasion.

Example

An abrasive sponge according to the present invention has been realized starting from a spongy material based on polyester, on which was applied, in the absence of oxygen, a layer of DUDITERM PU PS 211/16 (of Durante & Vivan), a hot-melt polyurethane adhesive (HMPUR) 100% solid, with immediate grip and chemical curing chemistry in 48 hours (23 °C and 55% RH), product with high tackiness and flexible after curing, applied at 140 °C by means of cylinder coating. A thin coating layer, made of a polyester fabric was calendared immediately on the layer of adhesive.

The finished product, before further processing was stored for 3/5 days at an ambient temperature higher than 8 °C and RH> 30% (ideally 23 °C and 55% RH).

Finally, the product was cut and divided into sponges of the desired size using a cutter blade or a hollow punch.

The present invention has been described for illustrative but not limitative purposes, according to its preferred embodiments, but it is understood that variations and / or modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the relevant scope of protection, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1) Abrasive sponge (10) comprising a layer of spongy material (11) covered on at least one side, by a coating layer (12) for the removal of dirt, characterised in that said coating layer (12) has a rilief structure and is coupled with said layer of spongy material (11) by glueing.

2) Abrasive sponge (10) according to claim 1 , characterised in that said rilief structure is made of polyester/polyamide.

3) Abrasive sponge (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said rilief structure is made of one or more overlapping nets.

4) Abrasive sponge (10) according to claim 3, characterised in that said overlapping nets have identical mesh.

5) Abrasive sponge (10) according to claim 3, characterised in that said overlapping nets have different mesh.

6) Abrasive sponge (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said rilief structure is made of a flexible support from which a plurality of stems extend.

7) Abrasive sponge (10) according to claim 6, characterised in that said stems are shaped as a hook or a mushroom.

8) Abrasive sponge (10) according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said glueing is realised with a layer of flexible crosslinked polymeric material with melting temperature greater than 90°C.