Abstract:
A dry wipe to remove sand from a skin surface is provided. The wipe includes a substrate having a hydrophilic powder disposed thereon. The dry wipe is manufactured by the process of providing a wet substrate; applying a hydrophilic powder to at least one side of the wet substrate; and drying the wet substrate. A method of removing sand from a skin surface using the wipe is also provided.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/645,773, filed on 21 Jan. 2005. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a powder-embedded wipe that is used to wipe sand from a skin surface, a method of manufacturing the wipe, and a method of using the wipe.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Many young children take great joy in playing in sand, whether at the beach or in a sandbox. However, the sand tends to stick to the children&#39;s hands, making for a difficult time to clean the child&#39;s skin. Additionally, some children tend to touch their faces with sandy hands, transferring some of the sand from their hands  10  onto their faces, making clean-up particularly difficult. Oftentimes, a towel is used to attempt to clean the skin surface, but such application tends only to remove some, but not all of the sand, and the abrasive nature of the sand may cause skin irritation as the sand is rubbed against the skin by the towel.  
         [0004]     There exists a need to provide a product that is easy to use to wipe the is sand from a skin surface, such as hands and/or face.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     Briefly, the present invention provides a dry wipe comprising a substrate having a first side and an opposing second side, with a hydrophilic powder disposed on at least the first side of the substrate.  
         [0006]     Also, the present invention provides a dry wipe comprising a substrate having a hydrophilic powder disposed thereon. The dry wipe is manufactured by the process of providing a wet substrate; applying a hydrophilic powder to at least one side of the wet substrate; and drying the wet substrate.  
         [0007]     The present application also provides a dry wipe comprising a substrate having a hydrophilic powder disposed thereon. The dry wipe is manufactured by the process of: providing a dry substrate; applying a hydrophilic powder to at least one side of the dry substrate; wetting the dry substrate, thereby forming a wet substrate; and drying the wet substrate.  
         [0008]     Further, the present invention provides a method of removing sand from a skin surface comprising providing a dry wipe comprising a substrate having a hydrophilic powder disposed on at least one side of the substrate; and wiping the skin surface and sand on the skin surface with the dry wipe, wherein sand is transferred from the skin surface to the dry wipe. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the features of the invention. In the drawings:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a wipe according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a side profile view of the wipe shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a side profile view of an alternative embodiment of a wipe according to the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of another alternative embodiment of a wipe according to the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is side profile view showing a first method of manufacturing the dry wipe according to the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is a side profile view showing a first method of manufacturing the dry wipe according to the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a third method of manufacturing the dry wipe according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     In the drawings, like numerals indicate like elements throughout. In the drawings, like numerals indicate like elements throughout. Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. The embodiments illustrated below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. These embodiments are chosen and described to best explain the principle of the invention and its application and practical use and to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention.  
         [0018]     A dry wipe or towelette that is impregnated with a hydrophilic powder, such as talcum powder, is provided.  FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of such a wipe  100 . The wipe  100  includes a substrate  110  that is coated or impregnated by the powder  130 . The substrate  110  includes a first side  112  and an opposing second side  114 . The powder  130  may be disposed on only the first side  112 , however the powder  130  may be disposed on both the first side  112  and the second side  114 .  
         [0019]     The first and second sides  112 ,  114  may be contoured to retain particles of the powder  130 . As used herein, the term “contoured” means a surface that has non-uniform surface features. Examples of contoured surfaces include embossed, quilted, pleated, corrugated, and ribbed surfaces, although other types of contoured surfaces are contemplated by the present invention.  FIGS. 2 and 3  show alternative embodiments of contoured surfaces that may be used with the present invention.  FIG. 4  shows a quilted surface  116  with powder  130  embedded in the quilting  118 .  
         [0020]     The substrate  110  may be woven or non-woven, sponge, foam, battings, balls, puffs, or films. The material comprising the substrate  110  may be natural or synthetic fibers, or a mixture thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the substrate  110  is constructed from a hydrophilic material such as viscose, cotton, flax, or other suitable hydrophilic material, being natural, synthetic, or a combination thereof.  
         [0021]     The substrate  110  may be manufactured according to methods well known to those skilled in the art. For example, the substrate  110  may be manufactured by dry forming techniques such as air-laying or wet laying, such as on a paper making machine. However, the method of manufacturing the substrate  110  is not to be limited by the general methods discussed herein.  
         [0022]     The powder  130  may be affixed to the substrate  110  in one of several methods. In one exemplary manufacturing method, the substrate  110  is wetted with a wetting agent, such as water or a volatile solvent, such as alcohol. At least the first side  112 , and alternatively, both sides  112 ,  114 , of the substrate  110  are wetted with the wetting agent. The substrate  110  may be in web form, dispensed from a drum or roller, into the wetting agent. After wetting the substrate  110 , the powder  130  is applied to at least one side, or alternatively, both sides, of the substrate  110 . The wet substrate  110  serves to adhere the powder  130  onto the substrate  110 .  
         [0023]     In an alternative exemplary method, illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the powder  130  is dry sprayed onto the wet substrate  110 . The powder  130  may be sprayed only onto the first surface  112 , or alternatively, the powder  130  is sprayed onto both the first and second surfaces  112 ,  114 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . Spray nozzles  120 ,  122  are disposed on either side of the substrate  110 , which is drawn between rollers  124 ,  126 . As the substrate  110  is pulled between the rollers  124 ,  126 , the nozzles  120 ,  122  spray the powder  130  onto each of the first and second sides  112 ,  114  of the substrate  110 , respectively.  
         [0024]     In another exemplary method of manufacturing the dry wipe  100 , shown in  FIG. 6 , the substrate  110  is wetted and then drawn through a pan  128  containing the powder  130 . Excess powder  130  is shaken from the substrate  110 , such as by vibrating the substrate  110  with a vibrator  129 .  
         [0025]     In another method of manufacturing the dry wipe  100 , shown in  FIG. 7 , the substrate  110  is wetted as described above and then run through a gravure drum assembly  140 . The substrate  110  is run over a rotating gravure drum  142  loaded with powder  130  to force powder  130  into the substrate  110 . The substrate  110  is forced between the rotating gravure drum  142  and a rotating impression cylinder  144 . As the gravure drum  142  rotates, the gravure drum  142  picks up powder  130  disposed in a vessel  146 . A doctor blade  148  removes excess powder  130  from the gravure drum  142  prior to contact with the substrate  110 . As the substrate  110  engages the powder-loaded drum  142 , the impression cylinder  144  forces the powder  130  onto the substrate  110  SO that the powder  130  is embedded in the first side  112  of the substrate  110 , forming the wipe  100 . If the powder  130  is to be embedded on the second side  114  of the substrate  110 , the process is repeated on a second gravure drum assembly (not shown). Although not shown, the gravure drum  142  may be contoured to impose a contoured surface to the substrate  110  as the substrate  110  is drawn over the gravure drum  142 .  
         [0026]     In another exemplary method of applying the powder  130  to the substrate  110 , the powder  130  is wetted with a wetting agent, such as water or a volatile liquid, such as alcohol. The wet powder  130  is then sprayed onto the dry substrate  110 , forming the wipe  100 . The arrangement for spraying the wetted powder  130  onto the substrate  110  is similar to that shown in  FIG. 5 , but the powder  130  being sprayed from the nozzles  120 ,  122  is pre-wetted prior to the powder  130  engaging the substrate  110 .  
         [0027]     In yet another exemplary method of applying powder  130  to the substrate  110 , dry powder  130  is applied to a dry substrate  110  in at least one of any of the methods described above. The dry substrate  110  and dry powder  130  are then wetted down to adhere the powder  130  onto the substrate  110 . After the powder  130  is applied to the substrate  110 , the substrate  110  and the powder  130  on the substrate  110  are dried, such as by heating or other suitable method. The powder  130  remains affixed to the now-dried substrate  110 .  
         [0028]     The substrate  110  can then be cut into appropriately sized sheets, forming a plurality of wipes  100 . The wipes  100  are stored in a container (not shown) for dispensing, such as in a Z-fold configuration as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,344, in a spiral configuration as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,790, or any other suitable configuration conducive to quick and easy dispensing.  
         [0029]     The methods recited above for adhering the powder  130  to the substrate  110  are illustrative only and are not meant to be limiting in any way. Those skilled in the art will recognize that alternative methods of applying the powder  130  to the substrate  110  may be used, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. However, it is within the scope and spirit of the present invention that the finished product be a dry wipe  100  having the substrate  110  with the powder  130  adhered thereto or embedded therein.  
         [0030]     To use the wipe  100 , the wipe  100  is removed from its storage container and rubbed along a sandy skin surface, such as hands or face. The water in the sand and on the skin surface that serves to adhere the sand to the skin surface is dried by the powder  130 . The sand is thus transferred from the skin surface to the substrate  110 , and the substrate  110  wipes the sand off of the skin surface. After use, the wipe  100  is discarded.  
         [0031]     While an exemplary use for the wipe  100  is to clean sand from a skin surface, it has been recognized that the absorbent capabilities of the powder  130  impregnated within the substrate  110  may also be utilized to absorb excess moisture from the skin surface, particularly in areas of skin-to-skin contact, such as under arms, in the crotch area, between toes, or any other skin surface areas that may need to be dried.  
         [0032]     It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.