Fabric (woven – knitted – or nonwoven textile or cloth – etc.) – Coated or impregnated woven – knit – or nonwoven fabric which... – Coated or impregnated synthetic organic fiber fabric
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-10
2004-06-08
Robertson, Jeffrey B. (Department: 1712)
Fabric (woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.)
Coated or impregnated woven, knit, or nonwoven fabric which...
Coated or impregnated synthetic organic fiber fabric
C442S060000, C442S081000, C442S084000, C442S087000, C442S090000, C442S171000, C442S400000, C428S447000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06746977
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a disposable fabric sheet impregnated with car wax. More particularly, this invention relates to a low-lint fabric sheet impregnated with a silicone-based aqueous car wax emulsion and a silicone polyether wetting agent.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A number of products are available for polishing and waxing cars. Typically these materials are paste or liquid wax formulations. The waxes are applied by wiping a cloth over the wax surface and rubbing the wax onto the vehicle or by pouring a liquid wax onto the cloth or vehicle and rubbing the wax over the surface of the vehicle. Such products generally require that the wax be allowed to dry for a period of time. Then the surface of the vehicle must be buffed to remove excess wax and polish the surface. Unlike wax-based products, car waxing formulations based on silicone oil do not require buffing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,001 to Floyd et al. discloses a one step dry-and-shine polishing cloth for polishing a pre-washed, wet automobile surface. The cloth simultaneously polishes the car and dries the surface. The Floyd et al. polishing cloth is a dry product which comprises a non-woven polyolefin fabric sheet, such as a melt-blown polypropylene fabric sheet that is discontinuously coated with a formulation of saponified and non-saponified waxes and silicone oils. The wax formulations disclosed by Floyd et al. are generally high solids water-in-oil emulsions that are printed onto the fabric in a pattern that covers generally about 9 to 25 percent of the surface of the fabric, utilizing gravure printing methods and the like. The wax components of the polishing compositions of Floyd et al. comprise about 5 to 50% of the formulation on a weight basis. Although the polishing cloths of Floyd et al. eliminate the need for buffing, they do require that the automobile surface be wet prior to application of the wax.
Polishing a dry, lightly soiled automobile surface is generally problematic, since the soil particles abrade the finish of the car causing undesirable scratch marks, thus it is generally a requirement that car waxes be applied to a clean surface. It would be desirable to provide a car polishing product that can be applied to a dry, lightly soiled surface without scratching the finish of the vehicle, and that does not require buffing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A moist, wax-impregnated towelette, suitable for polishing a lightly dirty automobile exterior surface without abrading the vehicle finish, is a low-lint fabric sheet substantially uniformly impregnated with an aqueous silicone-based wax emulsion containing a silicone polyether wetting agent, which is a dialkylsiloxane-alkylene oxide copolymer. The wax-impregnated towelette of the present invention preferably comprises a sheet of low-lint fabric, such as melt-blown polypropylene non-woven fabric, impregnated with about 30 grams to 170 grams of an aqueous silicone based wax emulsion per square meter of fabric.
The aqueous silicone-based car wax emulsions of the present invention contain a silicone oil, such as polydimethylsiloxane, an amino-functional silicone, such as an aminoethylaminopropylsiloxane-dimethylsiloxane copolymer, isopropanol, nonionic and cationic emulsifiers, anti static agent, and a silicone polyether wetting agent, such as an ethylene oxide-dimethylsiloxane copolymer and a wax, such as carnauba wax. The car wax emulsions may optionally contain small amounts of UV absorbers, solvents such as mineral oil and butyl cellosolve, fragrances, preservatives, additional wetting agents, antifoaming agents, and neutralizing agents such as mineral acids or organic acids, and the like.
The silicone-based wetting agent component of the aqueous silicone-based car wax emulsions provides for a substantially uniform distribution of the wax emulsion into the fabric sheet. In addition, the wetting agent aids in the application of the car wax to the exterior surface of a vehicle when the impregnated sheet is wiped across the vehicle surface. The amino-functional silicone components for the formulations provide strength and durability to the wax film after application to the vehicle surface. The fabric sheet material is chosen so as to minimize streaking and to minimize lint deposits on the finish of the vehicle during the polishing process. A high-gloss protective film, substantially free of lint, is thus obtained, without the need for buffing or additional wiping away of excess polish as is generally required with car wax application. Because of the high lubricity of the silicone-based wax formulation, the wax-impregnated towelettes of the present invention may be utilized to polish a dry, lightly soiled vehicle surface without washing and without abrading or scratching the vehicle finish.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A moist, wax-impregnated towelette, suitable for polishing a lightly dirty automobile exterior surface without washing and without abrading the vehicle finish comprises a low-lint fabric sheet impregnated with an aqueous silicone-based wax emulsion and a silicone polyether wetting agent.
As used herein, the term “silicone” and grammatical variations thereof means a polymer having the general formula (R
n
SiO
((4−n)/2)
)
m
wherein n is between 0 and 3 and m is 2 or greater, as defined in
Silicone Compounds Register and Review,
5th Edition, R. Anderson, G. L. Larson and C. Smith Eds., Hüls America Inc., Piscataway, N.J., p 247 (1991). Silicones may be linear or branched. The term “amino functional silicone” and grammatical variations thereof means a silicone as defined above, wherein the alkyl or aryl group is substituted with a primary, secondary or tertiary amino group. The term “silicone-based” as used herein means a material that contains a silicone component.
The term “car wax” and grammatical variations thereof, as used herein, means a composition suitable for polishing the exterior surface of a vehicle such as a car, truck, motorcycle, or the like. As used herein, the term “wax-impregnated towelette” means a disposable sheet of pliant material impregnated or coated with a car wax formulation, of a size suitable for hand application of car wax to a vehicle surface. The term “low-lint” means a fabric that does not leave a visible deposit of fibers on a vehicle surface when utilized for application of car wax.
When referred to herein, the viscosity of a liquid component of the invention is quoted as a kinematic viscosity in centistokes (cSt), measured at 25° C. (77° F.) unless otherwise specified.
Fabric sheet materials useful for the wax-impregnated towelettes of the present include any low-lint fabric. Preferably, the low-lint fabric is a melt-blown polypropylene fabric such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,001 to Floyd et al., the relevant disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The fabric sheets generally have a weight of about 20 grams per square meter (0.75 ounce per square yard) to about 200 grams per square meter (6 ounces per square yard), preferably about 33 grams per square meter (1 ounce per square yard). Also suitable are substantially low-lint fabrics such as polyurethane-coated polyester fabrics.
Preferably, the silicone-based car wax useful with the wax-impregnated towelettes of the present invention is an aqueous emulsion containing about 1 to about 5 weight percent isopropanol, about 0.5 to about 1 weight percent of a silicone oil, about 0.01 to about 1 weight percent of an amino functional silicone, about 0.001 to about 0.15 weight percent of a wax, about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent of a cationic emulsifier, about 0.01 to about 0.08 weight percent of a nonionic emulsifier, about 0.01 to about 0.1 weight percent of an antistatic agent, and about 0.05 to about 0.5 weight percent of a silicone polyether wetting agent.
Preferred silicone oils are C
1
-C
18
alkyl or C
6
-C
10
aryl substituted polysiloxanes, more preferably poly(C
1
-C
4
dialkyl)siloxanes. Most preferably, the silicone oil is a polydimethylsiloxane. The silicone oils useful in the car
Glover Karen P.
Schultz Michael A.
Olson & Hierl Ltd.
Robertson Jeffrey B.
Turtle Wax, Inc.
LandOfFree
Wax-impregnated towelette does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Wax-impregnated towelette, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Wax-impregnated towelette will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3365534