Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Preparations characterized by special physical form – Web – sheet or filament bases; compositions of bandages; or...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-18
2004-07-27
Page, Thurman K. (Department: 1615)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Preparations characterized by special physical form
Web, sheet or filament bases; compositions of bandages; or...
C424S400000, C424S402000, C424S404000, C424S076100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06767553
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to natural fibers, desirably absorbent fibers such as cellulose fibers, which are treated with acidic odor control agent/binder systems. The treated fibers are useful in the absorbent cores of personal care absorbent articles, medical absorbent articles and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For many personal care absorbent articles, medical absorbent articles, and the like, it is desirable to reduce, prevent, or eliminate odors during use. For diapers and other incontinence products, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate the odor of ammonia which is present in urine. For feminine hygiene products, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate the odors of trimethylamine and triethylamine. Other common odor-producing substances include isovaleric acid, dimethyl disulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide.
Odor control agents include odor inhibitors, odor absorbers, odor adsorbers and other compounds which suppress odors. Odor inhibitors prevent the odor from forming. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,786 to Kraskin teaches the use of an aminopolycarboxylic acid compound for inhibiting the formation of ammonia from urea in urine. Odor absorbers and adsorbers remove odor after it is formed. Examples of odor control agents that remove odor by absorption or adsorption include activated carbon, silica, and cyclodextrin.
Acidic odor control agents based on carboxylic acids and their derivatives are used to neutralize or inhibit formation of odors from ammonia and other basic odor-forming compounds. Ammonia, released from aqueous ammonium hydroxide, is one of the primary odor-producing substances in urine. One of the drawbacks of acidic odor control agents is they are not inherently durable, i.e., they pass into solution after one or more insults with aqueous liquid, and may acidify the liquid. If some of the acidified aqueous liquid leaks from the absorbent article and passes to the wearer's skin, the wearer may experience itching, rash, and/or other uncomfortable effects.
Previously, acidic odor control agents have been applied to absorbent articles in the form of powders, coatings, and the like, which can be easily dissolved away. There is a need or desire for absorbent articles having durable acidic odor control agents, which retain their odor control functions and do not pass into solution after one or more insults with aqueous liquid.
DEFINITIONS
The term “cellulose fibers” refers to fibers from wood, paper, woody plants, and certain non-woody plants. Woody plants include, for example, deciduous and coniferous trees. Non-woody plants include, for instance, cotton, flax, esparto grass, milkweed, straw, jute hemp, and bagasse.
The term “natural fibers” includes cellulose fibers, carbon fibers, and other fibers existing in nature, as well as modifications of such fibers (for instance, treated cellulose fibers, activated carbon fibers, and the like).
The term “average fiber length” refers to a weighted average length of fibers determined using a Kajaani fiber analyzer Model No. FS-100 available from Kajaani Oy Electronics in Kajaani, Finland. Under the test procedure, a fiber sample is treated with a macerating liquid to ensure that no fiber bundles or shives are present. Each fiber sample is dispersed in hot water and diluted to about a 0.001% concentration. Individual test samples are drawn in approximately 50 to 500 ml portions from the dilute solution and tested using the standard Kajaani fiber analysis procedure. The weighted average fiber lengths may be expressed by the following equation:
∑
X
i
>
0
k
(
X
i
*
n
i
)
/
n
where
k=maximum fiber length,
X
i
=individual fiber length,
n
1
=number of fibers having length X
i
and
n=total number of fibers measured.
The term “carboxylic acid-based odor control agent” includes odor control agents based on carboxylic acids and/or their partially neutralized salts. The term “multi-carboxylic acid-based odor control agent” includes odor control agents based on dicarboxylic acids, tricarboxylic acids, polycarboxylic acids, etc., having two or more carboxylic acid groups, and/or their partially neutralized salts.
The term “polymeric polycarboxylic acid” refers to a polymer having multiple carboxylic acid groups in its repeating units. Examples include polyacrylic acid polymers, polymaleic acid polymers, copolymers of acrylic acid, copolymers of maleric acid, and combinations thereof. Other examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,511, which is incorporated by reference.
The term “odor control system” refers collectively to individual odor control agents, and combinations (by chemical reaction and/or blending) of two or more odor control agents.
The term “nonwoven fabric or web” means a web having a structure of individual fibers or threads which are interlaid, but not in a regular or identifiable manner as in a knitted fabric. Nonwoven fabrics or webs have been formed from many processes such as, for example, meltblowing processes, spunbonding processes, air laying processes, and bonded carded web processes. The basis weight of nonwoven fabrics is usually expressed in ounces of material per square yard (osy) or grams per square meter (gsm) and the fiber diameters useful are usually expressed in microns. (Note that to convert from osy to gsm, multiply osy by 33.91.)
The term “microfibers” means small diameter fibers having an average diameter not greater than about 75 microns, for example, having an average diameter of from about 1 micron to about 50 microns, or more particularly, microfibers may have an average diameter of from about 1 micron to about 30 microns. Another frequently used expression of fiber diameter is denier, which is defined as grams per 9000 meters of a fiber. For a fiber having circular cross-section, denier may be calculated as fiber diameter in microns squared, multiplied by the density in grams/cc, multiplied by 0.00707. A lower denier indicates a finer fiber and a higher denier indicates a thicker or heavier fiber. For example, the diameter of a polypropylene fiber given as 15 microns may be converted to denier by squaring, multiplying the result by 0.89 g/cc and multiplying by 0.00707. Thus, a 15 micron polypropylene fiber has a denier of about 1.42 (15
2
×0.89×0.00707=1.415). Outside the United States the unit of measurement is more commonly the “tex,” which is defined as the grams per kilometer of fiber. Tex may be calculated as denier/9.
The term “spunbonded fibers” refers to small diameter fibers which are formed by extruding molten thermoplastic material as filaments from a plurality of fine capillaries of a spinnerette having a circular or other configuration, with the diameter of the extruded filaments then being rapidly reduced as by, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,563 to Appel et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,618 to Dorschner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,817 to Matsuki et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,338,992 and 3,341,394 to Kinney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,763 to Hartmann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,538 to Petersen, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,615 to Dobo et al., each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Spunbond fibers are quenched and generally not tacky when they are deposited onto a collecting surface. Spunbond fibers are generally continuous and often have average diameters larger than about 7 microns, more particularly, between about 10 and 30 microns.
The term “meltblown fibers” means fibers formed by extruding a molten thermoplastic material through a plurality of fine, usually circular, die capillaries as molten threads or filaments into converging high velocity heated gas (e.g., air) streams which attenuate the filaments of molten thermoplastic material to reduce their diameter, which may be to microfiber diameter. Thereafter, the meltblown fibers are carried by the high velocity gas stream and are deposited on a collecting surface to form a web of randomly dispersed meltblown fibers. Such a process is disclosed for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,241 to Butin et al. Meltblown f
Edens Ronald L.
Hu Sheng-Hsin
Sun Tong
Kimberly--Clark Worldwide, Inc.
Oh Simon J.
Page Thurman K.
Pauley Peterson & Erickson
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