Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or... – Adhesive outermost layer
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-06
2003-03-25
Dixon, Merrick (Department: 1774)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or...
Adhesive outermost layer
C428S35500R, C428S908000, C156S277000, C156S244160
Reexamination Certificate
active
06537658
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a film-based dressing material with imprint and a process for producing the printed dressing material.
Film-based dressing materials are known. In particular, the films comprise polyurethane. These PU films are used, inter alia, as backing materials for plasters for covering wounds.
The PU film plasters are produced by spreading a PU dispersion (preferably Impranil® from Bayer AG) two-dimensionally on an appropriate auxiliary backing, preferably a surface-embossed PE film, and drying the dispersion to form a film. Coating and drying may be carried out a number of times, producing a layered structure in which the layers are visually indistinguishable and inseparable.
The resulting auxiliary backing/PU film(s) assembly may be coated on the other side from the auxiliary backing with a suitable adhesive composition and lined with release paper, cut to form the stock roll, and processed to individual plasters by applying a wound cover paper and enclosing paper. The plaster produced in the manner set out above is transparent to opaque, depending on the coat thickness and the adhesive composition selected, with the centrally applied wound pad showing below the backing film.
At the time of application of the plasters, the stabilizing PE auxiliary backing is delaminated in order to make use of the flexible properties of the PU film.
Such plasters are comprehensively described in the prior art.
DE 40 26 755 A1 discloses a film-based dressing material lined on one side with a backing material which possesses the same size as the film and has at least one grip strip, and is provided on the other side with a self-adhesive layer. The grip strips for removing the backing material are arranged within its peripheral extent. Preferably, only one grip strip is applied on the backing material. DE 43 14 834 C2 discloses a film-based dressing material lined on one side with a backing material which possesses the same size as the film and has at least one grip strip, and is provided on the other side with a self-adhesive layer. The grip strips for removing the backing material are arranged within its peripheral extent. Preferably, only one grip strip is applied on the backing material.
It is advantageous to print the backing materials of plasters, for example for adolescents and children, for whom the application of plasters is fairly unpopular. This is because plasters are associated with negative recollections such as of pain, possibly bleeding or injuries. In order to raise the visual stimulus for children and adolescents, the imprints may be provided in particular with at least one cartoon figure. The printed film plasters encountered on the market consist primarily of PVC, PE, PET and other oligomeric backing films, which are usually relatively thick, relatively inflexible, relatively unconforming, relatively hard, and impermeable to water vapour in comparison to the PU films described, inter alia, in DE 40 26 755 A1 and DE 43 14 834 C2.
DE U 74 20 413 describes a badge which on its visible surface has a two-dimensional or three-dimensional reproduction of at least one figured representation which is familiar to and preferably popular with children, the said badge being characterized in that it is designed as a wound plaster having a cover layer which is made of material which is gentle on wounds and/or promotes healing and/or breathes, which forms the backing material for the figured representation, and which has regions that can be adhered to the skin. This badge too has regularly shaped backings onto which the desired figured representation is printed.
In general, however, plasters have predominantly no imprint on the side of the plaster backing material opposite from the body.
Only quite recently have plasters of this kind been encountered on the market. For instance, so-called Junior-Strips® bearing an imprint consisting in particular of representations of drawn figures, on a plaster of conventional form, which enjoys very great popularity especially among children, are marketed.
DE 197 09 606 A1, furthermore, describes a plaster for adhesive bonding to the skin, in particular for the covering of relatively small wounds, comprising a backing material which is provided on its bottom side with a dermatologically compatible self-adhesive layer. Some or all of the top side of the backing material—preferably a polyethylene film—bears a long-afterglow imprint formed by a coating system into which a long-afterglow pigment has been incorporated. Also described is a process for producing a plaster of this kind, which comprises the following steps:
a) at least one printing of the top side of the backing material over its full area with white flexographic printing ink by flexographic or screen printing,
b) if desired, printing of the part-areas of the top side of the backing material that are not to be printed in step d) by flexographic printing,
c) preparation of the mixture comprising a coating system and the afterglow pigment,
d) printing of the top side of the backing material with the mixture, preferably by screen printing, in the case of partial printing, using a screen mechanism to fill in the white areas defined in step b), and
e) if desired, postcrosslinking of the mixture by means of UV radiation or thermally.
It is an object of the invention to provide a film-based dressing material which bears an impression, especially one applied by reversal printing.
This object is achieved by means of a film-based dressing material as specified in the main claim. The subsidiary claims relate to advantageous developments of the dressing material and to a process for producing the dressing material of the invention.
The invention accordingly provides a film-based dressing material lined on the side remote from the wound with a backing material of the same size as the film, which in particular is transparent, the wound-facing side of the transparent film bearing an imprint. This imprint is applied in particular by reversal printing. In a reversal printing process, a mirror-inverted print is used. When the impression/inscription is viewed from the side remote from the wound, through the film, it is perceived in normal form.
By means of the impression it is possible, for example, to apply patterns, or the impression may be made over the entire area, so that the colour of the backing is adapted to the skin and thus the product can be made less conspicuous. Particular mention should be made in this context of the economic and cost advantages relative to a process of colouring whatever kinds of backing materials. Furthermore, there is great flexibility in the selection of the inks at a cost which is constant and independent of volume.
A further advantage consists in the optical lamination (by printing at the corresponding wound pad position of the backing material) of the wound backing, which in the case of very severe bleeding of the wound becomes soaked through and is perceived visually from the outside as disruptive.
In a first preferred embodiment of the dressing material, at least one further film is present on the transparent film with the imprint, and thus covers the imprint. As a result, the printing ink is protected between the films and has no direct contact with the adhesive composition which may be applied subsequently, or its auxiliaries. It is of advantage in this context that the use of any printing ink or coating, examples being UV printing inks, thermal printing inks, particular microcapsule coatings, etc., is made possible. This protective covering of the impression excludes interactions which might take place between the printed PU film side with the solvent-based adhesive compositions, the UV adhesive compositions, the dispersion adhesive compositions and/or the thermoplastic adhesive compositions such as hot-melts. Interactions between the adhesive compositions and any solvents, pigments, binders or additives that may be present in the printing ink are likewise unable to occur. In particular, within the storage life of years that is expected of plasters, any adver
Bruss Witta
Trotter Sebastian
Beiersdorf AG
Dixon Merrick
Norris & McLaughlin & Marcus
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