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Europaisches Patentamt ||||||| |||||| ||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||||| ||| |||||| |||| |||| ||| (1 9) Qjl) European Patent Office Office euroDeen des brevets (11) EP 0 879 575 A1 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION (43) Date of publication: (51 ) |nt. CI.6: A47K 1 0/42 25.11.1998 Bulletin 1998/48 (21) Application number: 97108388.6 (22) Date of filing: 23.05.1997 (84) Designated Contracting States: (72) Inventor: AT BE CH DE DK ES Fl FR GB GR IE IT LI LU NL Hill, Simon David Julien PT SE 651 89 Wiesbaden (DE) (71) Applicant: (74) Representative: THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY Kohol, Sonia et al Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 (US) Procter & Gamble European Service GmbH Sulzbacher Strasse 40-50 65824 Schwalbach am Taunus (DE) (54) Folding and stacking configuration for wet wipes having improved dispensation and single wet wipe separation from the stack (57) The present invention relates to wet wipes for use in wiping surfaces in the home and in industry, in addition to their use on the human body such as for baby wipes, make-up removal and other skin care appli- cations. The wet wipes (1) are folded and interleaved with one another to provide an improved stacking con- figuration whereby each wipe can be readily singly sep- arated from the wet wipe stack (23) by the consumer. < LO r»- LO <7> co o Q_ LU Printed by Xerox (UK) Business Services 2.16.6/3.4 1 EP 0 879 575 A1 2 Description current products. The problem of the lack of satisfactory wet wipe dis- Field of the Invention pensation from the stack and container is due to a number of reasons. Firstly, wet wipes are typically The present invention relates to stacks of wet wipes 5 folded and either placed one on top of the other or inter- which are provided with an improved interfolding and leaved with an adjacent wipe. However, the exact loca- interleaving configuration, such that each wipe can be tion of the leading edge of the upper most wipe of the readily separated from the wet wipe stack by the con- current stack is not easily identifiable, either visually or sumer. tacitly. This is because the substrate material of the 10 wipe is typically homogeneous and thus the leading Background of the Invention edge of the wipe, particularly when folded, cannot be distinguished from the wipe substrate material on which Wet wipes are typically premoistened, disposable it rests. In addition, the leading edge portion of the wipe towelettes which may be utilised in a variety of applica- also has a tendency to adhere to the underlying wipe tions both domestic and industrial and perform a variety 15 substrate material on which it rests. Hence even tactile of functions. Wet wipes are typically used to wipe sur- identification of the edge by running or dragging of the faces both animate and inanimate, and may provide fingers across the wipe surface does not immediately numerous benefits such as cleaning, cleansing, disin- result in the identification of the location of the edge. fecting, and skin care benefits. Secondly, once the leading edge has been located, One particular application is the use of wet wipes 20 it is difficult for the consumer to grasp hold of sufficient for wiping parts of the human body particularly when substrate material and maintain grasp thereof, in order wash water is not available, for example when traveling. to separate a single wipe from the stack upon which it Wipes are commonly used for human cleansing and rests. The consumer often is only able to grasp a small wiping such as anal, perineal cleansing and genital portion of the leading edge such that a tight grip thereof cleansing and face and hand cleansing for example as 25 is not established and hence the wipe easily slips from intimate hygiene wipes such as feminine wet wipes. Wet the fingers of the consumer. wipes may also be used for application of substances to These problems associated with wet wipe dispen- the body including removing and applying of make-up, sation have been recognised in the art. For example US skin conditioners and medications. Another application 5 540 332 addresses dispensability of wet wipes and a of wipes is during diaper changes and also for the treat- 30 method of producing these wipes. The improved dis- ment of adult and baby dermatitis partly caused by the pensability is achieved by providing at least a portion of use of diapers and incontinence devices. In addition wet one of the end edges of the wipe with a repeating non- wipes are also applicable for wiping and or cleaning linear pattern such as a sine wave configuration. How- other surfaces or for the application of compositions to ever, the problem of single wet wipe dispensation is nei- surfaces, for example kitchen and bathroom surfaces, 35 ther addressed or overcome by the use of a non linear eyeglasses, shoes and surfaces which require cleaning leading edge. in industry for example surfaces of machinery or auto- Another proposed solution to the dispensing prob- mobiles. Wet wipes also include articles used for the lem is described in US 4 778 048, which discloses a cleaning or grooming of pets. product comprising a stack of wet wipes tilted on edge Wet wipes are commonly constructed of combina- 40 within a container for improved access, dispensing and tions of synthetic and natural fibres, such as polyolefin equal liquid distribution. In a preferred embodiment, the fibres, viscose fibres and cotton fibres, which are gener- edge of each wipe has a Gurley Stiffness greater than ally moistened with an aqueous composition which con- the stiffness of the main body of the wipe. However, the tains amongst others surfactants, preservatives, oils provision of such a stiff edge is in itself undesirable and scents. The wet wipes are then typically provided in 45 characteristics of a wet wipe. Wet wipes, particularly a folded stacked configuration within a covered con- those intended for use on sensitive areas of the skin tainer such as a tub-like container having a lid. Alterna- such as baby wipes require a certain degree of soft- tively, the wipes may be provided in tub containers ness. The edge of the wipe which is stiffened is no having a dispensing aperture. In both cases this allows longer suitable for use as is indeed recognised in the easy transportation and storage of the wipes. so patent itself, and hence the wipes have a reduced sub- However, a problem with the current stacking of strate surface suitable for use. Also care needs to be folded wet wipes is the lack of easy, single wipe dispen- taken to reduce or avoid contact of this edge portion sation from the wet wipe stack. This problem is particu- with the skin as it may cause irritation. Moreover, the larly acute in circumstances of use such as when a stiffness of the edge again does not solve the problem consumer is holding a baby during a diaper change. 55 of single wipe dispensation. In addition, the provision of Under such conditions the consumer needs to be able such a non linear edge on a nonwoven substrate using to pick up and separate the wipe from the stack using current manufacturing techniques would also result in only one hand. This is not achieved satisfactorily with the fraying of the edges of the substrate which is also 2 3 EP 0 879 575 A1 4 highly undesirable. interactions that exist between substrate material and Alternatively, it has also been proposed to provide lotion in the wet wipe product, it is known that the folding specifically designed dispensing containers having dis- configurations generally utilized in such dry tissue prod- pensing orifices in order to aid in the identification of the ucts cannot be reapplied to wet wipes. leading edge by the consumer. These containers are s Furthermore, many of the proposed interleaving designed such that during the removal action of the configurations have associated problems therewith. In upper most wipe from the container, the adjacent wipe particular, when as a result of interleaving the degree of is elevated from the stack such that it partially protrudes overlap of substrate material between adjacent wipes is through the orifice once the upper most wipe has been large, then the problem of substrate adhesion is merely removed. In this manner the uppermost wipe is posi- to exacerbated such that the wipes are effectively always tioned for easy grasp by the consumer. However, a dis- released in pairs, or although the wipe is dispensed sin- advantage with such devices is that too much substrate gly, a large proportion of an adjacent wipe may still be material of the adjacent wipe is exposed through the ori- exposed through the dispensing orifice after the fice. Accordingly, the wipe becomes dry and unsuitable removal of the upper wipe, such that the wipe becomes for use and has to be discarded. EP 747 313 proposes 15 dry. On the other hand, if the overlap between adjacent a means to address this problem and discloses a multi- wipes is minimised such that single wipe dispensation is ple folded paper, such as wetted tissue paper, for con- guaranteed, there is no recognisable separation of the tinuous disposal through a container orifice. In this adjacent wipe from the stack and the problem of leading manner a maximum of a quarter of the length of the edge identification reappears. adjacent wipe is exposed through the dispensing orifice. 20 Furthermore, in addition to the unsatisfactory dis- However, such paper tissue products cannot be utilised pensation of the wipes, other problems related to the for all wet wipe applications, such as baby wipes as the proposed prior art interleaving configurations may also wetted tissue paper is not satisfactory in terms of soft- arise.

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