Selectively-activatible sheet material for dispensing and dispersing a substance onto a target surface

The present invention provides a selectively-activatible sheet material for dispensing and dispersing a substance onto a target surface. The sheet material comprises a three-dimensional sheet of material having a first side and a second side. The said first side has a plurality of hollow protrusions extending outwardly therefrom and separated from one another by valleys, while the second side has a plurality of depressions corresponding with the hollow protrusions. A substance adheres to and partially fills a location protected from external contact comprising the valleys and/or the depressions. The sheet material may be selectively activated by deforming the hollow protrusions to deliver the substance to a target surface, the substance having an effective viscosity upon activation which permits the substance to be liberated from its protected location and dispensed onto the target surface. Suitable substances include cleansing agents, medicinal agents, emollients, lubricants, colorants, preservatives, protectants, condiments, adhesives, fragrances, anti-perspirants, deodorants, and combinations thereof. The present invention also includes such materials having two or more substances of diverse composition, and substances which undergo a decrease in effective viscosity upon activation (such as shear-thinning substances) are particularly preferred. Additional layers of porous material may also be employed on the opposite side of the substance from the sheet material such that the substance may be dispensed through the porous material. Porous materials may provide additional beneficial interaction with the substance, including enhanced distribution and dispersal.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a sheet-like materials containing a 
substance for application to a target surface. More particularly, the 
present invention relates to such materials wherein the substance may be 
released from the sheet material and distributed upon the target surface. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In the art of dispensing, articles have been developed which are coated or 
impregnated with useful substances intended to be utilized when the 
article is contacted with a target surface. While there are advantages 
with having the substance present on or near the surface of such articles, 
there is often the drawback that the useful substance is unprotected and 
is subject to inadvertent contact before intended use. Inadvertent contact 
may lead to contamination of the substance, loss of the onto surfaces 
other than the desired target surface, and/or contamination of such other 
surfaces with the substance. 
One approach to addressing such issues involves the use of protective 
packaging for the article, such as a sleeve, envelope, or other wrapping. 
While such protective packaging has proven effective in preserving the 
integrity and condition of the substance, depending upon the nature of the 
substance it is frequently the case that varying amounts of the substance 
remain on the article-facing surfaces of the packaging after it is removed 
from the article, thereby causing inefficient use of the substance. 
Moreover, such packaging adds additional non-value-added cost to the total 
price of the article. This approach also does not provide a method of 
control of uniformity of thickness of the substance since the product 
(substance) may be unevenly smeared on the carrier surface while in 
transit, storage, or upon opening of the sleeve, envelope, or other 
wrapping. 
In the art of tapes, labels, and other articles using pressure sensitive 
adhesive to adhere an adhesive coated surface to a target surface, there 
has been recognized the problem of premature sticking to the target 
surface. That is, before the adhesive coated surface can be properly 
positioned over a target surface, inadvertent contact of the adhesive with 
the target surface causes premature sticking at one or more locations, 
thereby inhibiting proper positioning. Premature sticking may also cause 
contamination or degradation of the adhesive prior to final positioning 
upon the target surface. 
One approach to addressing this problem involves the use of standoffs on a 
material surface, between which adhesive or adhesive elements are located. 
Standoffs include any means extending outwardly from an adhesive surface 
which is contacted first before the adhesive surface is exposed to contact 
by another surface. Such standoffs may be either deformable or may rely 
upon deformation of the target surface to provide contact between the 
adhesive and the target surface. Although approaches of this type have 
proven successful with adhesives, such materials are typically designed so 
that the adhesive remains attached to the material surface rather than 
transferring at least partially onto the target surface. Moreover, the 
adhesive typically remains substantially in its original placement 
relative to the target surface, such that a discontinuous or interrupted 
layer of adhesive fails to uniformly contact or coat the target surface. 
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a sheet-like material which 
is capable of delivering and dispensing a substance onto a target surface 
for treating the target surface while the material is in contact with the 
target surface and/or leaving the substance on the target surface even 
after removal of the sheet material. 
It would also be desirable to provide such a material which protects the 
substance from inadvertent contact prior to placement upon the desired 
target surface. 
It would further be desirable to provide such a material which facilitates 
the dispersal of the substance on the target surface beyond the area of 
initial placement. 
It would further be desirable to provide such a material which facilitates 
the dispersal of the substance on the target surface without user contact 
with the substance. 
It would still further be desirable to provide such a material which may be 
readily and economically produced utilizing a continuous process. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a selectively-activatible sheet material for 
dispensing and dispersing a substance onto a target surface. The sheet 
material comprises a three-dimensional sheet of material having a first 
side and a second side. The said first side has a plurality of hollow 
protrusions extending outwardly therefrom and separated from one another 
by valleys, while the second side has a plurality of depressions 
corresponding with the hollow protrusions. A substance adheres to and 
partially fills a location protected from external contact comprising the 
valleys and/or the depressions. The sheet material may be selectively 
activated by deforming the hollow protrusions to deliver the substance to 
a target surface, the substance having an effective viscosity upon 
activation which permits the substance to be liberated from its protected 
location and dispensed onto the target surface. Suitable substances 
include cleansing agents, medicinal agents, emollients, lubricants, 
colorants, preservatives, protectants, condiments, adhesives, fragrances, 
anti-perspirants, deodorants, and combinations thereof. 
The present invention also includes such materials having two or more 
substances of diverse composition, and substances which undergo a decrease 
in effective viscosity upon activation (such as shear-thinning substances) 
are particularly preferred. Additional layers of porous material may also 
be employed on the opposite side of the substance from the sheet material 
such that the substance may be dispensed through the porous material. 
Porous materials may provide additional beneficial interaction with the 
substance, including enhanced distribution and dispersal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
As utilized herein, the term "selectively activatible" is used to refer to 
materials which exhibit substantially non-active properties when brought 
into contact with target surfaces until some action is taken by a user to 
"activate" the material to expose and dispense a substance. Accordingly, 
selectively-activatible properties differ from permanently-active strips 
of material which either maintain the substance in a permanently-deployed 
orientation or rely upon removal of liner materials (typically 
silicone-coated paper strips) or wrappings to expose the substance for 
use. 
Selective activation of such materials allows the user to properly position 
opposing surfaces before activation is accomplished, as well as minimizing 
the likelihood of contamination of the substance. This characteristic 
permits the material to be manipulated in any desired mode without 
encountering the difficulties of premature contact of the substance with 
itself or to other portions of the sheet material or target surface 
without the need for separate release sheets, liners, spacers, or the 
like. 
Although materials in accordance with the present invention may be provided 
with two active sides or surfaces, if desired for particular applications, 
in accordance with the present invention it is presently preferred to 
provide such material with only one active side and one inactive or inert 
side. Under some circumstances it may be acceptable or desirable to design 
the sheet material so as to form an intermittent or discontinuous layer of 
substance on its active surface, while in other circumstances the sheet 
material be designed so as to exhibit a continuous layer of substance on 
its active side. For some applications it may also be desirable to provide 
multiple products on a single side of the material, deposited in discrete 
discontinuous cells or regions (e.g., co-dispensing epoxies, catalyzed 
reactions, etc.). 
Various means of activation are envisioned as being within the scope of the 
present invention, such as: mechanical activation by compression, 
mechanical activation by tensile forces, and thermal activation. However, 
it is envisioned that there may be or be developed other means of 
activation which would trigger an activation of the material which would 
be capable of functioning as herein described. In a preferred embodiment 
the active side is activatible by an externally applied force exerted upon 
the sheet of material. The force may be an externally applied compressive 
force exerted in a direction substantially normal to the sheet of 
material, an externally applied tensile force exerted in a direction 
substantially parallel to the sheet of material, or a combination thereof. 
One such material of current interest for use in accordance with the 
present invention comprises a three-dimensional, conformable web 
comprising an active substance on at least one surface protected from 
external contact by the three-dimensional surface topography of the base 
material. After activation, such materials form a substance delivery 
system which delivers the substance to the target surface. Such materials 
comprise a polymeric or other sheet material which is embossed/debossed to 
form a pattern of raised "dimples" on at least one surface which serve as 
stand-offs to prevent a substance therebetween from contacting external 
surfaces until the stand-offs are deformed to render the structure more 
two-dimensional. Representative structures include those disclosed in 
commonly assigned, co-pending (allowed) U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 
08/584,638, filed Jan. 10, 1996 in the names of Hamilton and McGuire, 
entitled "Composite Material Releasably Sealable to a Target Surface When 
Pressed Thereagainst and Method of Making", 08/744,850, filed Nov. 8, 1996 
in the names of Hamilton and McGuire entitled "Material Having A Substance 
Protected by Deformable Standoffs and Method of Making", 08/745,339, filed 
Nov. 8, 1996 in the names of McGuire, Tweddell, and Hamilton, entitled 
"Three-Dimensional, Nesting-Resistant Sheet Materials and Method and 
Apparatus for Making Same", 08/745,340, filed Nov. 8, 1996 in the names of 
Hamilton and McGuire, entitled "Improved Storage Wrap Materials". The 
disclosures of each of these applications are hereby incorporated herein 
by reference. 
The three-dimensional structure comprises a piece of deformable material 
which has a first side formed to have a plurality of hollow protrusions 
separated by valleys. The plurality of hollow protrusions have outermost 
ends. The piece of material has a second side. The second side has a 
plurality of depressions therein corresponding to the plurality of hollow 
protrusions on the first side. The substance adheres to and partially 
fills the valleys between the plurality of hollow protrusions. In the 
limiting circumstance, the substance fills the valleys to a point at or 
slightly below the highest point of the protrusions, particularly if a 
meniscus is formed wherein the substance decreases in thickness with 
increasing distance from the surface of the protrusions. The substance has 
a surface below the outermost ends of the plurality of hollow protrusions, 
so that when a portion of the first side of the piece of deformable film 
is placed against a target surface, the plurality of hollow protrusions 
prevent contact between the substance and the target surface until the 
portion is deformed at the target surface. Preferably, the plurality of 
protrusions deform by modes which are selected from the group consisting 
of inverting, crushing, and elongating. 
FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a preferred embodiment of a material according to the 
present invention, which comprises a three-dimensional sheet-like 
structure generally indicated as 10. Material 10 includes a deformed 
material 12 having hollow protrusions 14 and a layer of substance 16 
located between protrusions 14. Protrusions 14 are preferably conical in 
shape with truncated or domed outermost ends 18. In the embodiment of 
FIGS. 1-4, protrusions 14 are equally spaced in an equilateral triangular 
pattern, all extending from the same side of the material. Preferably, the 
protrusions 14 have heights which are less than their diameters, so that 
when they deform, they deform by substantially inverting and/or crushing 
along an axis which is substantially perpendicular to a plane of the 
material. This protrusion shape and mode of deforming discourages 
protrusions 14 from folding over in a direction parallel to a plane of the 
material so that the protrusions cannot block substance between them from 
contact with a target surface. 
FIG. 3 shows a target surface 20, which is smooth but which may have any 
surface topography, being spaced away from layer of substance 16 by 
outermost ends 18 of protrusions 14. Target surfaces in accordance with 
the present invention comprise any surface to which it is desired to apply 
the substance to be delivered. FIG. 4 shows target surface 20 contacting 
layer of substance 16 after protrusions 14 have been partially deformed 
under pressure applied to the non-substance side of material 12, as 
indicated by force F. The external target or contact surface may be either 
compliant or rigid and planar or non-planar. Having the three dimensional 
structure deform as described herein is preferred for use with a rigid 
target surface. 
The more protrusions per unit area, the thinner the piece of material and 
protrusion walls can be in order to resist a given deformation force. The 
size and spacing of protrusions may be selected to provide a continuous 
substance path surrounding protrusions (as shown in the embodiment of 
FIGS. 1-4) so that a continuous pattern of the substance may be provided 
to a target surface, while also providing the optimum pattern of standoffs 
for selective activation. 
Sheet materials utilized as a carrier material may be made from films 
comprising homogeneous resins or blends thereof. Single or multiple layers 
within the film structure are contemplated, whether co-extruded, 
extrusion-coated, laminated or combined by other known means. The key 
attribute of the sheet material is that it be formable to produce 
protrusions and valleys. Useful resins include polyethylene, 
polypropylene, PET, PVC, PVDC, latex structures, nylon, etc. Polyolefins 
are generally preferred due to their lower cost and ease of forming. Other 
suitable materials include aluminum foil, coated (waxed, etc.) and 
uncoated paper, coated and uncoated nonwovens, scrims, meshes, wovens, 
nonwovens, and perforated or porous films, and combinations thereof. 
Different applications for the selectively-activatible sheet material will 
dictate the ideal size and density of protrusions, as well as the 
selection of the substances used therewith. It is believed that the 
protrusion size, shape and spacing, the web material properties such as 
flexural modulus, material stiffness, material thickness, hardness, 
deflection temperature as well as the forming process determine the 
strength of the protrusion. A "threshold" protrusion stiffness is required 
to prevent premature activation of the closure means due to the weight of 
overlaying layers of sheets or other forces, such as forces induced by 
shipping vibrations, mishandling, dropping and the like. 
Inversion of protrusions minimizes protrusion spring back so that 
activation of the sheet material may be self-sustaining with little or no 
continuously-supplied forces. A resilient protrusion could be used, for 
example, where it is intended for the activation to be permanent, where 
aggressive adhesive overcomes spring back, or when the activation is 
intended to be momentary. Also, a resilient protrusion may be desirable 
where repeat use of the material is intended. 
In the present invention, the term "substance" can mean a flowable 
substance which is substantially non-flowing prior to delivery to a target 
surface. "Substance" can also mean a material which doesn't flow at all, 
such as a fibrous or other interlocking material. "Substance" may mean a 
fluid or a solid. "Substance" is defined in this invention as any material 
capable of being held in open valleys and/or depressions of a three 
dimensional structure. Adhesives, electrostatics, mechanical interlocking, 
capillary attraction, surface adsorption, van der Waals forces, and 
friction, for example, may be used to hold the substances in the valleys 
and/or depressions. The substances are intended to be at least partially 
released therefrom when exposed to contact with external surfaces or when 
the three dimensional structure is deformed, heated, or otherwise 
activated. Of current interest in the present invention include substances 
such as gels, pastes, foams, powders, agglomerated particles, prills, 
microencapsulated liquids, waxes, suspensions, liquids, and combinations 
thereof. 
The spaces in the three dimensional structure of the present invention are 
normally open; therefore it is desirable to have substances stay in place 
and not run out of the structure without an activation step. The 
activation step of the present invention is preferably deformation of the 
three dimensional structure by compression. However, an activation step to 
cause substance to flow could be heating the material to above room 
temperature or cooling it below room temperature. Or it could include 
providing forces excessive of the earth's gravity. It could also include 
other deforming forces, such as tensile forces and combinations of these 
activation phenomena. 
The term "deformable material" is intended to include foils, polymer 
sheets, cloth, wovens or nonwovens, paper, cellulose fiber sheets, 
co-extrusions, laminates, and combinations thereof The properties of a 
selected deformable material can include, though are not restricted to, 
combinations or degrees of being: porous, non-porous, microporous, gas or 
liquid permeable, non-permeable, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, hydroscopic, 
oleophilic, oleophobic, high critical surface tension, low critical 
surface tension, surface pre-textured, elastically yieldable, plastically 
yieldable, electrically conductive, and electrically non-conductive. 
The larger and more closely spaced the protrusions, the greater the 
likelihood of stretch occurring in a given material. Reducing the 
protrusion spacing to the closest possible spacing which is manufacturable 
may increase material stretch, but it may be beneficial in reducing the 
volume of substance between protrusions. Different applications for the 
formed material of the present invention will dictate ideal size and 
density of protrusions, as well as the selection of the substances used 
therewith. 
In accordance with the present invention, the substance utilized in 
combination with the deformable material exhibits a selection of physical 
properties which enable it to be dispensed from its protected orientation 
within the three-dimensional structure and applied to the target surface. 
Such dispensation may be partial, or substantially or totally complete in 
nature. 
To facilitate such dispensing, substance properties which are believed to 
be important include the relative affinity of the substance for the target 
surface versus that for the deformable material and the apparent viscosity 
or flowability of the substance after activation of the three-dimensional 
structure. It is presently believed that the substance should 
preferentially adhere to the target surface to a greater extent than to 
the deformable material and/or to a greater extent than for other portions 
of the substance itself. Said differently, the substance has a greater 
affinity for the target surface than for itself and/or for the deformable 
sheet material. 
Substances may inherently possess viscosity and flow characteristics which 
permit their liberation from their protected location within the sheet 
material or may require viscosity modification to permit liberation and 
dispersal. Viscosity modification may be obtained by the selection of 
substances which undergo a change in viscosity in response to the mode of 
activation selected. For example, for a mechanical activation such as a 
compressive force it may be desirable, and preferably, to employ 
substances which are commonly referred to as "shear-thinning" 
(pseudoplastic) substances. Examples of such substances include polymer 
solutions, many gels and pastes such as dentrifice and body creams, 
paints, gelled wood stains, etc. Other materials behave as shear-thinning 
materials only after a certain threshold shear (yield stress) is reached 
or exceeded. Such materials are commonly referred to as Bingham plastic 
materials, and one common example of a substance exhibiting such behavior 
is the type of condiment known as ketchup. 
Some of the factors believed to influence the adhesion or affinity of the 
substance for the target surface include: electrostatic or electrical 
charges; chemical bonds via hydrogen bonding, covalent bonding, ionic 
bonding, partial ionic bonds (partial dipolar attraction), van der Walls 
forces, osmotic forces, etc.; capillary pressure (suction); adsorption; 
absorption; vacuum/suction; etc. Other important factors include the 
wettability of the substance upon the target surface, as reflected by the 
contact angle of the substance on the target surface. 
To facilitate spreading or dispersal of the substance upon the target 
surface, particularly to counteract the tendency of the substance to 
remain in a localized distribution pattern given the localized orientation 
upon the deformable substance, it is presently preferred to utilize 
substances which are tailored so as to be wettable on the target surface. 
Other factors which may aid in dispersion or distribution of the substance 
upon the target surface include the use of substances which exhibit a 
shear-thinning behavior, as well as mechanical spreading action provided 
by the user of the composite sheet material to impart a lateral mechanical 
motion after activation but prior to removal of the deformable material 
from the target surface. Such lateral mechanical action may also provide 
additional interaction with the substance such as for shear-thinning 
substances and may provide additional benefits such as lathering, foam 
generation, scrubbing/abrasive action, etc. 
Successful dispersal occurs when a portion of the deposited or dispensed 
substance subsequently coats a portion of the target surface where the 
substance was not originally deposited. Upon removal of the sheet material 
from the target surface, at least some of the substance remains located on 
the target surface, preferably in a substantially-uniform fashion. 
As discussed above, a wide variety of substances may be selected for use in 
accordance with the principles of the present invention. Representative 
substances for illustrative purposes include cleansing agents such as 
soaps and detergents, emollients such as lotions, medicinal agents such as 
ointments, anti-inflammatory creams, etc., health and beauty care 
products, including antiperspirants, deodorants, cosmetics, fragrances, 
and the like. Other more diverse applications for such a sheet material 
include applicators for automotive and household products such as 
lubricants, colorants, protectants such as oils and waxes, adhesives, 
preservatives, and the like, as well as food-oriented applications such as 
condiments (mustard, ketchup, etc.). 
Multiple substances may also be employed which are not only protected from 
inadvertent contact but segregated from one another initially (on the same 
face of, or on opposing faces of, the sheet material) and be commingled 
during the activation process or during subsequent dispensing and/or 
dispersion operations. Such an arrangement may be particularly useful for 
substances which beneficially interact with one another (e.g., 
co-dispensing epoxies, catalyzed reactions, etc.) to provide additional 
functionality with each other and/or with the target surface. 
FIG. 5 shows a suitable method for making a material such as the material 
30 useful in accordance with the present invention, which is generally 
indicated as 180 in FIG. 5. 
The first step comprises coating a forming screen with a first substance. 
The forming screen has a top surface and a plurality of recesses therein. 
The coating step applies the first substance to the top surface without 
bridging the recesses. A second step includes introducing a piece of 
material, which has a first side and a second side, onto the forming 
screen such that the first side is in contact with the first substance on 
the top surface of the forming screen. The first substance preferentially 
adheres to the first side of the piece of material. A third step includes 
forming the piece of material to create a plurality of hollow protrusions 
extending from the first side into the recesses of the forming screen. The 
plurality of hollow protrusions are spaced apart by valleys into which the 
first substance is transferred from the forming screen. The plurality of 
hollow protrusions are accurately registered with the first substance by 
use of a common transfer and forming surface. The first substance forms an 
interconnected layer in the valleys between the protrusions. 
Forming screen 181 is threaded over idler pulley 182 and a driven vacuum 
roll 184. Forming screen 181 is preferably a stainless steel belt, having 
the desired protrusion pattern etched as recesses in the belt. Covering 
the outer surface of vacuum roll 184 is a seamless nickel screen which 
serves as a porous backing surface for forming screen 181. 
For producing a substance containing material, a substance 186 is coated 
onto forming screen 181 by a substance applicator 188 while forming screen 
181 rotates past the applicator. A web of material 190 is brought into 
contact with the substance coated forming screen at material infeed idler 
roll 192. Hot air is directed radially at material 190 by a hot air source 
194 as the material passes over vacuum roll 184 and as vacuum is applied 
to forming screen 181 through vacuum roll 184 via fixed vacuum manifold 
196 from a vacuum source (not shown). A vacuum is applied as the material 
is heated by hot air source 194. Polymer films are most easily 
thermoformed, whereas other materials such as foils or papers may best be 
embossed or hydraulically formed, wherein heating the material prior to 
forming may not be advantageous. A formed, substance coated material 198 
is stripped from forming screen 181 at stripping roll 200. Because the 
same common forming screen is used to transfer the substance to the 
material as is used to form the protrusions, the substance pattern is 
conveniently registered with the protrusions. 
Stainless steel forming screen 181 is a fabricated, seamed belt. It is 
fabricated in several steps. The recess pattern is developed by computer 
program and printed onto a transparency to provide a photomask for 
photoetching. The photomask is used to create etched and non-etched areas. 
The etched material is typically stainless steel, but it may also be 
brass, aluminum, copper, magnesium, and other materials including alloys. 
Additionally, the recess pattern may be etched into photosensitive 
polymers instead of metals. Suitable forming structures are described in 
greater detail in the above-referenced and above-incorporated Hamilton et 
al. and McGuire et al. patent applications. 
The outer surface of the forming structure is treated to have a low 
critical surface tension so that substance 186 will not strongly adhere to 
it upon cooling or drying. In a preferred embodiment, the outer surface is 
coated with a Series 21000 proprietary release coating made by and applied 
by Plasma Coatings of TN, Inc., located in Memphis, Tenn. It is believed 
that this coating is primarily an organo-silicone epoxy. As applied to a 
stainless steel forming screen used in the method of the present 
invention, this coating provides a critical surface tension of 18 
dynes/cm. Other materials which may prove suitable for providing reduced 
critical surface tension include paraffins, silicones, PTFE's and the 
like. 
Material web 190 is preferably attracted to layer of substance 186, at 
least sufficiently so that the substance has a greater affinity for 
material web 190 than for forming screen 181. For example, if material web 
190 is a polyolefin film, corona treating the film will improve adhesion 
by making the film more easily wetted. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, 
material may be extruded directly onto the outer surface of the screen 
atop layer of substance 108. 
Alternatives to heat and vacuum for forming protrusions in a material web 
are well known in the art. For example, by applying heated compressed gas 
to the non-substance side of the web of deformable film while the material 
web rests against the forming screen, protrusions may be created. Also, 
mechanically embossing the material web against the forming screen 
provides yet another forming method for use with female forming 
structures. 
As forming screen 181 rotates, vacuum thermoforming, hydraulic forming, 
embossing, or combinations thereof, are completed and a formed material 
web 198 is thereafter discharged around a discharge idler roll 200. 
Automated process 180 may also have a sprayer (not shown) located upstream 
of substance application system 188. Such a sprayer may be used for 
applying a renewable release agent to the outer surface of the forming 
structure so that substance 186 will be preferentially attracted to 
material web 190. Alternatively, a permanent release agent may be applied 
to the outer surface to alleviate the need for such a sprayer. 
Conical recesses in the forming screen may have sidewalls which have cone 
angles which vary from 0.degree. to 60.degree.. That is, the recesses may 
have straight sidewalls or tapered sidewalls. Straight sidewalls might be 
found, for example, in screens which have punched holes therein. Methods 
of making metal screens by photoetching are described in more detail in 
commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,314 to Radel and Thompson, No. 
4,508,256 to Radel et al., and No. 4,509,908 to Mullane, Jr., which are 
hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
Drying is achieved by application of warm air or radiant heat, for example. 
Some substances may not require drying, such as powders or 
microencapsulated liquids. Substance 186 preferably does not bridge the 
recesses, but instead remains only on the top surface of the forming 
screen between recesses. Applying a low level vacuum through the recesses 
during spraying of the substance onto the top surface helps to avoid 
substance bridging of the recesses. 
Because of preferential adhesion, the substance stays attached to formed 
material 198. Protrusion shapes other than conical may be produced by 
different shaped screen recesses. Recesses may be pyramidal, 
hemispherical, cylindrical, polygonal, and elongated, for example; 
however, the conical shaped protrusion is believed to provide 
substantially consistent inverting and/or crushing resistance. Recesses 
may be formed to produce different shapes and sizes and heights of 
protrusions within a given pattern, but again it is generally desired that 
protrusions be uniform so that the deformation force is predictable and 
consistent. 
Protrusion shape has also been found to influence the stacking of material 
sheets or the rolling of material webs into rolls. If the same protrusion 
shape repeats over and over on the same spacing, for example, adjacent 
material sheets in a stack and adjacent layers in a roll tend to nest 
together, thereby negating the benefit of standoffs in protecting the 
substance internal to the standoffs. For situations where nesting is an 
issue, non-uniformly shaped or sized or spaced protrusions may be 
advantageous over a regular pattern of conical protrusions. Non-uniformly 
shaped or sized or spaced protrusions are disclosed in the aforementioned 
and incorporated McGuire et al. application. 
Because the same common forming screen is used to transfer the substance to 
the material as is used to form the protrusions, the substance pattern is 
conveniently registered with the protrusions. In the preferred embodiment, 
the top surface of the forming screen is continuous except for the 
recesses; thus, the substance pattern is totally interconnected in this 
configuration. However, if a discontinuous pattern of substance were 
coated onto the forming screen, a discontinuous substance pattern between 
protrusions would result. 
It is believed that the protrusion size, shape and spacing, the web 
material properties such as flexural modulus, material stiffness, material 
thickness, hardness, deflection temperature as well as the forming process 
determine the strength of the protrusion. The forming process is important 
in polymer films for example, since "cold forming" or embossing generates 
residual stresses and different wall thickness distributions than that 
produced by thermoforming at elevated temperatures. For some applications 
it is desirable to provide a stiffness (deformation resistance) which is 
sufficient to withstand a pressure of at least 0.1 pounds per square inch 
(0.69 kPa) without substantially deforming protrusions to where the 
substance contacts an external surface. An example of this requirement 
would be the need to wind the web onto a roll for transport and/or 
dispensing. Even with very low in-wound pressures of 0.1 pounds per square 
inch (0.69 kPa), a residual in-wound pressure in the interior of the roll 
may deform protrusions in the web sufficiently to bring the overlaying web 
layers into contact with the substance. A "threshold" protrusion stiffness 
is required to prevent this winding damage from occurring. Similarly, when 
the web is stored or dispensed as discrete sheets, this "threshold" 
stiffness is required to prevent premature activation of the product due 
to the weight of overlaying layers of sheets or other forces, such as 
forces induced by shipping vibrations, mishandling, dropping and the like. 
FIG. 6 depicts another method of forming a material, generally indicated as 
80. Method 80 has a deformable material 82 placed onto a forming screen 
84. Forming screen 84 has a top surface 86 and recesses 88. Top surface 86 
is coated with a substance 90 such that substance 90 does not bridge 
recesses 88. Material 82 is placed on top of substance 90 as in the 
embodiment illustrated by FIG. 5. However, FIG. 6 shows a positive 
pressure forming force H applied to material 82 from above the screen 
instead of a vacuum force applied from below the screen. Forming force H 
may originate from a liquid applied under pressure against material 82, 
such as occurs in hydraulic forming. Forming force H may also be generated 
by application of a pressurized gas, perhaps heated. A preferred fluid for 
use in a positive pressure forming application is heated water, the use of 
which is described in greater detail in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 
4,695,422 to Curro et al., No. 4,778,644 to Curro et al., and No. 
4,839,216 to Curro et al., which are hereby incorporated herein by 
reference. 
FIG. 6 discloses an alternative process generally indicated as 100. Process 
100 has forming screen 102, which is curved to form a drum. A substance 
source and application system 104 are positioned upstream of an extruder 
106. Substance application system 104 deposits a thin coating of a 
substance 108 onto an outer surface 110 of forming screen 102. Outer 
surface 110 is treated to have a low critical surface tension so that 
substance 108 will preferentially adhere to a material introduced onto 
substance 108 rather than to outer surface 110 when substance 108 is dried 
or cooled. Process 100 is different from process 30 in that a material 112 
is created by directly extruding material 112 onto forming screen 102 
instead of metering a preformed web thereon. Material 112 is laid on top 
of layer of substance 108 and material 112 has a greater affinity for 
substance 108 than does outer surface 110, so that substance 108 is 
effectively transferred to material 112 when contact between them occurs. 
As forming screen 102 rotates past extruder 106, material 112 is formed as 
shown in FIG. 5. A vacuum manifold 116 is illustrated with forming screen 
102 so as to draw material 112 around layer of substance 108 and into 
recesses in forming screen 102 for forming hollow protrusions. Once 
formed, hollow protrusions preferably pass under an "ink jet" type 
substance injection delivery system 120 (pressurized nozzle array 
comprising a plurality of pressurized nozzles), which deposits a spot of 
substance 122 into the depression of each hollow protrusion from outside 
forming screen 102, resulting in a formed material 121. Although 
registration is required between substance injection system 120 and the 
hollow protrusions, system 120 may be registered directly from the 
recesses in forming screen 102, which define the location of the 
protrusions. This is much less difficult than would be registration with a 
transient web of material, particularly very thin webs. Formed material 
121 is thereafter discharged around a discharge idler roll 118. 
FIG. 7 shows formed material 121 after it leaves process 100. Formed 
material 121 has protrusions 124 and valleys 126 surrounding protrusions 
124. Located in valleys 126 is preferably an interconnected, continuous 
layer of substance 108. Although, as described earlier, a discontinuous 
application of substance to the forming screen results in a discontinuous 
pattern of substance on material 121. Inside depressions of hollow 
protrusions 124 are discrete spots of substance 122. Substance 108 and 
substance 122 may be the same, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive. If a 
pressure sensitive adhesive, substances 108 and 122 are on opposite sides 
of formed material 121, protected from contact with external surfaces 
adjacent to material 121 by being located in two different types of 
protected locations, namely both the valleys and inside the hollow 
protrusions. In this situation, the formed material together with adhesive 
108 and 122 may function as a double-sided tape. Substances 108 and 122 
could be distinctly different from each other and serve different 
purposes, however. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8 a similar material 
155 could be produced having the substance 152 located only within the 
conical protrusions 158. 
Other manufacturing processes could be utilized, including those in which a 
male-type forming structure replaces the female-type forming structures 
depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6 with their accompanying recesses. Such 
alternative processes include those described in greater detail in the 
above-referenced and incorporated U.S. patent application Ser. No. 
08/744,850, filed Nov. 8, 1996 in the names of Hamilton and McGuire 
entitled "Material Having A Substance Protected by Deformable Standoffs 
and Method of Making". 
Any other suitable method of manufacture which delivers satisfactory 
results for the given substance and sheet material utilized may be 
employed, including but not limited to manual methods of uniting the 
substance and sheet material. One such alternative would be a method 
similar to that of FIG. 6, but wherein the incoming sheet of material is 
already pre-existing as a web of material rather than being extruded onto 
the forming screen 84. Another adaptation of the method of FIG. 6 would 
employ a doctor blade or squeegee assembly which would replace the 
pressurized nozzle delivery system 120 to meter the substance into the 
depressions corresponding to the hollow protrusions and ensure that the 
substance in the finished sheet material is in the protected location 
below the outermost surfaces of the sheet material. 
FIG. 9 shows a preferred shape of the protrusions and valleys of the 
present invention, which enables protrusions to substantially invert 
and/or crush as a mode of deforming. The preferred shape minimizes 
protrusion fold-over and interference with substance placed in valleys 
between protrusions, or inside hollow protrusions, or both. Also, the 
preferred shape helps to ensure a repeatable, predictable, resistance to 
protrusion deformation. FIG. 9 shows that each protrusion is defined by a 
height dimension A and a base diameter dimension B. A preferred ratio of 
base diameter B to height A, which enables protrusions to substantially 
invert and/or crush without fold-over, is at least 2:1. 
Deformation mode and force can be influenced by the sidewall thickness 
profile to provide more desired results. A protrusion's sidewall connects 
the outermost portion of the protrusion to the unformed material adjacent 
to base perimeter of the protrusion. The sidewall as defined may also 
contain a peripheral region substantially within the outermost portion 
which is substantially thinner than the interior region of the outermost 
portion. Protrusions where at least a portion of the sidewalls are 
substantially thinner than the unformed material adjacent to the base 
perimeter are believed preferred for deformation by the user. Sidewalls 
that are also substantially thinner in at least a portion of the sidewall 
as compared to the material at the outermost portion of the protrusion 
also beneficially bias the deformation to occur primarily within the 
sidewall structure. 
In structures containing relatively small protrusions, as found in high 
number density protrusion patterns, such thinner sidewall gauges can be 
particularly useful. 
Methods of production can influence the sidewall thickness profile such as 
in the use of a forming screen with essentially straight screen walls 
which define the forming screen hole. Such a process allows for 
substantially thinner sidewall thickness since the protrusion is freely 
drawn from the base perimeter into the forming screen recess to the point 
of contact with the internal backup screen. The internal backup screen's 
purpose is to prevent further drawing of the protrusion. This approach 
yields a more varied gauge profile within the sidewalls. 
Micro-texturing the material during forming may also be useful, such as in 
producing a distinction between one side of the material and the other 
side. Micro-texturing of the outermost surface features of the three 
dimensional structure may be achieved in the present invention, for 
example, by drawing the piece of material into forming screen recesses and 
against a micro-textured surface, such as a vacuum drum having tiny 
apertures therein. 
FIG. 10 depicts another embodiment of a material in accordance with the 
present invention, structurally similar to that depicted in FIG. 8. 
However, in addition to the structural elements of FIG. 8 the material of 
FIG. 10 includes an additional structural element in the form of one or 
more layers of a porous material 165 which overlies the protected 
substance 152 from the side opposite to that protected by the sheet 
material. Porous material 165 may be any material sufficiently porous as 
to not block or significantly impair the ability of the substance 152 to 
be dispensed from the sheet material onto the target surface, against 
which the porous material would be placed. Porous materials may comprise, 
as depicted in FIG. 10, a fibrous material such as a woven or nonwoven 
material, a scrim or mesh-like material, a porous or apertured film or the 
like, of similar or diverse composition to that of the sheet material 
itself. Any of the aforementioned types of sheet-like materials may be 
utilized. The inclusion of such a porous material provides additional 
protection for the substance prior to activation of the sheet material and 
may provide additional distributive benefit to more evenly disperse the 
substance onto the target surface particularly when translational motion 
of the sheet material is also employed. The porous material may also 
provide additional interaction with the substance such as for 
shear-thinning substances and may provide additional benefits such as 
lathering or foam generation, etc. One application envisioned for such a 
structure would be a cleansing cloth which provides its own source of 
cleansing agent. 
In general, the present invention is a three dimensional structure for 
holding a substance protected from inadvertent contact with external 
surfaces. The structure is convertible to a substantially two dimensional 
structure by applying a compressive force so that the structure collapses 
to release or expose the substance into contact with external surface(s). 
However, the scope of the invention also applies to three dimensional 
structures holding substances from inadvertent contact, which are 
converted to substantially two dimensional structures by means other than 
compression. For example, the inventors have found that a tensile force 
applied to the same three dimensional structure can cause it to 
plastically deform longitudinally and thereby contract in caliper or 
thickness to similarly expose or release substance. It is believed that 
under sufficient tension, the material between protrusions deforms in 
response to forces in the plane of the material and that protrusions are 
thereby elongated in the same direction. When the protrusions are 
elongated, they are reduced in height. With enough elongation the 
protrusions are reduced in height to where the substances between them, in 
them, or both are exposed. 
A combination of compression and tensile forces may be applied to the 
material of the present invention in order to expose a substance from 
within the three dimensional structure. Although in a preferred embodiment 
of the present invention, the tensile force necessary to achieve 
sufficient deformation of said three dimensional structure in order to 
expose substance to an external surface is significantly greater than a 
compressive force to achieve the same result, a structure may be designed 
which is more easily deformed by a tensile force applied in a specific 
planar direction. For example, a structure may have parallel waves instead 
of protrusions and the waves may be easily flattened by stretching the 
structure perpendicular to the waves but in the plane of the waves. Other 
suitable tensile response structures are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
5,518,801 to Chappell et al. which is hereby incorporated herein by 
reference. 
In another example, heat could be applied to cause the same structure made 
of shrinkable film to reduce in thickness to similarly release or expose 
the substance. 
Examples of uses of the three dimensional structure of the present 
invention besides tapes, labels, and storage wraps include: lotion 
impregnated facial tissues, scented strips containing microencapsulated 
perfumes, adhesive impregnated shelf and wall paper, medicinal patches, 
patterned condiment delivery to a surface, two component adhesives, 
laundry pre-treating chemicals, abrasive delivery systems, and other 
applications where avoidance of contact with a substance held in a 
substrate is desired until some action is taken. 
As described hereinafter, different substances can be deposited on the 
opposing faces of the formed material. Multiple substances can be located 
on the same face of the material either geometrically spaced from each 
other or commingled. Substances can be partially layered. An example is a 
layer of adhesive adjacent to the material surface with a solid 
particulate adhered to the exposed side of the adhesive layer. As 
discussed previously, multiple substances which are initially separated 
(on the same face of, or on opposing faces of, the sheet material) may be 
commingled during the activation process or during subsequent dispensing 
and/or dispersion operations. 
A pattern of protrusions can be superimposed either on a similar 
dimensional scale or on a different dimensional scale such as a single or 
multiple "microprotrusion" pattern located on the tops of other larger 
protrusions. 
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated 
and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various 
changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit 
and scope of the invention, and it is intended to cover in the appended 
claims all such modifications that are within the scope of the invention.