The invention relates to means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer goods having a core made of at least one layer of elastic polyurethane/polyester foam and a manufactured product utilizing the same.

There are numerous small articles for everyday use at home, as well as for personal everyday use, the articles having the same form for years, and yet purchased frequently due to their utility features. Thus far, the frequency of purchasing such articles depends only on the intensity of individual use of the same and on length of the period during which the articles maintain their basic functional and aesthetic characteristics (depending on the use intensity).

The articles of the kind include among others, multilayer foam products, such as bath and body-care sponges, dishcloths, cloths for kitchen use, as well as cleaning and care cloths for residential and industrial interiors, including windows, floors, countertops, furniture, home equipment cloths; interiors and fittings for bathrooms and toilets cloths; car bodies, windshields, other car window glasses and cabin interiors cloths in vehicles intended for transportation of people or goods.

Thus far, marketing efforts to increase sale volumes of such goods were based on a change of a trade-dress of the product, offering the products in bigger packages for the same price as before, forming sets of the same goods and the sets being offered for the price lower than the value of a number of goods multiplied by their individual price, forming sets of the goods of the same or different manufacturers for a price lower than the sum of prices of individual products forming such a set. The advantage of such known form of promotion is a short-term elongation of the buyer contact with the product or brand and also the price incentive contributing to the temporary increase in turnover.

Another marketing incentive is to make the package itself more attractive. However, half effect only is achieved: changing the package for a more attractive one encourages the purchase but the new package disappears just after unpacking and during the product service life which itself has not been changed.

Various attempts were made to decorate such articles in order to use them as attractive promotional gifts. For example, by means of unilateral or bilateral lamination with non-woven polyester fabric of the cores consisting of at least one polyurethane foam layer and by covering the outer surface of the non-woven fabric with in full or selectively with decoration after or during the lamination process. The decoration in form of a logotype, trademark or other graphic elements is applied at the stage of lamination or after this stage of production of such items using heat stabilized sublimation dyes. Such a process is known from the patent No. PL 220941. Earlier solutions, involving lamination of said cores with a non-woven fabric covered with a previously applied decorations, required time-consuming positioning of cutting devices used for manufacturing the products and gave a considerable amount of wastes and under-quality products due to imprecise adjustment of the cutting devices.

Promotional gifts produced in accordance with the patent No. PL 220941 are usually used to promote specific cleaning products, sometimes the service companies, branches or retail chains, handing out such items to their customers free of charge, or they are used by manufacturer of whichever goods, to which such an item is attached - as a free of charge supplemental information medium carrying the company's logo or trademark, thus promoting the company or the goods of this manufacturer.

Although such promotional gifts bearing the company distinctive signs and promoting its goods or services are in a widespread use, it is not possible to adapt this solution to increase attractiveness of all the products based on multilayer flexible laminates being permanently in turnover.

There exists a still unsatisfied need to control market demand for the goods of the kind, thus improving the processes of these articles distribution and planning their sale, and moreover optimally predicting the periods of increased market demand for these goods.

It has now surprisingly been found that it is now possible to create and/or intensify market demand for the above described laminated multilayer goods having a core made of at least one flexible polyurethane/polyester foam layer, due to a development of means according to the present invention suitable for this purpose.

It is the object of the present invention to provide means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer goods having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyurethane/polyester foam and to provide a manufactured product utilizing such means.

Means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer articles having a core made of at least one layer of elastic polyurethane/polyester foam, according to the invention is characterized in that it has a form of a textile web covered with an occasional multicolor print or distinguished by color only, laminated with a thin layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam with fine pores, ready for bonding with a material intended for the core of a laminated multilayer product and made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam.

According to the invention, the textile web is a web of material selected from a group consisting of fabrics, non-woven fabrics and knitted fabrics. Preferably, the textile web is a web of non-woven fabrics.

According to the invention, the textile web has a monochromatic outer surface.

Alternatively, the multicolor occasional print on the textile web is arranged in a geometric or fanciful pattern, and the elements of the print are periodically repeated and preferably cover the entire outer surface of the textile web.

According to the invention the occasional print on the outer surface of the web consists of series of repeated elements randomly displayed on the outer surface of the web, and the size of the elements is adjusted to the expected dimensions of a laminated multilayer article having a core made of at least one elastic layer of polyester/polyurethane foam, such that at least one such element is present in a complete form on each manufactured product utilizing the textile web covered with such print.

The invention relates also to a product being a laminated, multilayer article having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam and an outer working layer made of material with properties suitable for the purpose of the article, in which - according to the invention, the top layer - opposite to the working layer, is constituted by the above described means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer articles having a core made of at least one layer of elastic polyurethane/polyester foam.

Preferably, the product according to the invention has an absorbent working surface and a monochromatic outer surface of the textile web identifies the purpose of this product to dry specific surfaces such as, for example, windshields in a cabin of a car, car body, headlight glass and car lamps, or other surfaces easily becoming damp, whereas such products having the outer surfaces of the textile web in different colors may preferably constitute a set of care products.

Alternatively, the product according to the invention has a working surface with a roughness adapted to washing, peeling, massage, and the outer surface of the textile web is covered with a print with identical or complementary motifs, whereas such products having different working surface properties may preferably constitute a set of occasional care products, for example for holidays, birthday or similar occasions.

When according to the invention, the product of the invention has a working surface suitable for body washing, and the outer surface of the textile web is covered with a print with motifs identifying different members of the family, then such products with the outer surface of the textile web decorated with motifs for a lady, a man, for a girl and/or a boy may preferably constitute a family set of care products for everyday use.

Importantly, using of the means does not require any changes in the technological lines for the production of the above mentioned articles.

Depending on the size of the manufacturing order, or depending on the needs of the machine park or orders of manufacturers, the means according to the invention for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer articles having a core made of at least one elastic layer of polyester/polyurethane foam, may be provided in sheets or in roles.

At the same time, by introducing on the outer surface of a textile web constituting means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer products having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam the individualizing prints, it is possible to prepare care sets for hotels, tourist offices, sport centers, composed of products with a core made of elastic polyester/polyurethane foam intended for use in various zones of private homes (bathroom, kitchen) or in different departments of production plants, healthcare facilities and sanatoriums and similar facilities, where it is appropriate to distinguish where the certain products according to the invention belong.

The most important, however, is the possibility to adapt the style of an individual bathroom or kitchen to the season, holidays, personal interests of the owner, his/her occupation, age and other aspects of his/her life, encouraging more frequent replacement of products according to the invention, as appropriate.

Of course, the present invention also creates conditions for collecting products according to the invention according to the decorative motifs applied to a textile web laminated with a thin layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam of fine pores forming the means of the invention for creating and/or intensifying the market demand for laminated, multilayer products having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which fig. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary structure of a product according to the present invention with a printed top surface of means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer products having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam, fig. 2 to fig. 5 is a top view of exemplary shapes of a product according to the present invention with a top surface of means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated, multilayer products having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyurethane foam having an outer surface nonwoven fabrics covered completely with evenly displayed, repeated verbal and/or graphic elements, fig. 6 shows the structure and illustrates a method of manufacturing a product according to the invention with two different (figs. 6a and 6b) working surfaces opposite to the position of the means according to the invention for creating and/or intensifying market demand, figs. 7a-7d present exemplary prints on a textile web forming the outer surface of the means according to the invention for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer articles having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam.

Detailed description of the invention

So far, small articles for everyday use, such as sponge washers, cloths, cleaning cloths, etc., being multilayer products having a core in the form of at least one layer of flexible polyurethane foam, were purchased at a frequency resulting from their natural wear, i.e. from the loss of their functional or aesthetic features. This allowed the producers to anticipate only a possible market demand for products of this kind, with a more or less uniform level of sales throughout the year.

There is a well-established social habit of customizing the interior design of the immediate surroundings of the consumer (his apartment, office, holiday resort, hotel, as well as commercial and service outlets) to periodically recurring seasons, periods associated with holidays and non-working days, to the events in personal life or to sympathy and interests of individuals, as well as other circumstances, such as important sporting events.

An illustration of such circumstances conducive to changing the decoration of the surrounding environment may be the occasions on which people are do commonly send greetings to relatives and friends, such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, New Year, religious holidays (like Christmas and Easter), birthdays, name days, and even a wedding or the birth of a child. Sympathies and interests of individuals can be realized by fan-clubs of audio-video performers, athletes, football, hockey and speedway teams, sports associations, associations of collectors and the like. In the individual's life, special situations requiring additional celebration by means of the occasional change in ambient design may include, for example: starting school, eighteenth birthday, completing a specific stage of education - at school or study, planned holiday trip to the seaside or skiing resorts or others.

The means according to the invention for creating and/or intensifying market demand has a form of a textile web, covered with an occasional multicolor colored print or distinguished by a single color only, laminated with a thin layer of flexible polyester/poly-urethane foam of fine pores, ready for bonding with the material intended for the core of the laminated multilayer product and made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam.

The color of the textile web is uniform or arranged in a geometric or fanciful pattern, and the element of the print is repeated periodically and preferably covers the entire outer surface of the web, preferably of nonwoven fabric and has a size that ensures the occurrence of at least one full print element on a product according to the invention covered with such means for creating and/or intensifying market demand.

Said product according to the invention is a laminated multilayer article having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyurethane foam, such as a washer, bath sponge, massage sponge, cleaning cloth for car glass washing or drying, a sponge for washing the interior of the vehicle cabin, dishwashing or washing cloths, cloths for drying, maintenance of flat surfaces and the like goods, to be used daily by the consumer in body care or interior environment treatments, coated at least on one side with the above mentioned means for creating and/or intensifying market demand according to the invention, in the form of a textile web covered on the outer surface with the occasional print or distinguished by color only, whereas the color is being uniform or arranged in a geometric or fanciful pattern, while the print element is repeated periodically and preferably covers the entire outer surface of the nonwoven laminated fabric and moreover has a size ensuring that at least one full print element appears on the product according to the invention.

The means for creating and/or intensifying market demand according to the invention, applied onto a multilayer laminated article having a core made of at least one elastic polyester/polyurethane foam, fulfills its promotional function in commerce due to a periodic design changing in cycles corresponding to the calendar of occasions emphasized by the applied designs, for example: Christmas tree itself, Christmas tree baubles and bundles of gift boxes - for Christmas; balloons, masks and fireworks - for New Year's Eve and carnival; hearts - for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, toys - for Children's Day; sailboats, anchors and beach toys - for a seaside or lake trips; crayons, notebooks and school satchels - for the beginning of school; ghosts and scarers - for halloween; cakes with candles - for birthdays. Also the prints addressed to specific purchasers' circles - regardless of the time flow, may be displayed on the means of the invention to promote the intensification of the sale of laminated multilayered articles having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyurethane foam. There may be mentioned the following: club emblems - for sport club fans; old cars - for participants of old- mobiles’ meetings and rallies and racing cars for fans of Formula 1; drawings and photos of cats or dogs - for animal lovers; female accessories for girls; sports accessories for boys; collectibles such as post stamps - for their collectors; witty messages, such as smoking ban - for those seeking an incentive to give-up this addiction. Additional content and patterns of prints on the means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer articles include, for example, snowmen and sledges in the winter season, flowers - in the spring season; forest fruits - in the summer season; mushrooms, chestnuts and golden leaves - in the autumn season and many, many other.

Imprints on the outer surface of the present inventive means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer articles having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam may be made according to own designs, designs prepared by the manufacturer or commercial partner, or else designs including, for example, popular characters of Walt Disney cartoons, pixar, hello kitty and similar, on the basis of licenses granted by the owners of corresponding copyrights.

In addition, the products according to the invention covered with means according to the invention for creating and/or intensifying market demand, may be offered to the buyers in the sets in which the textile web, preferably of nonwoven fabric, constituting the outer surface of the multilayer article with core made of at least one layer of elastic polyester/polyurethane foam, is covered with a single color only, the color serving for identification of the purpose of the products according to the invention. In such a set, for example a washcloth covered with a green nonwoven fabric is intended for cleaning a dog bowl, the same washcloth covered with an orange nonwoven fabric is intended for cleaning dishes used by the family members, and the same washcloth with violet unwoven fabric on the top is intended for cleaning the washbasin in a bathroom sink. In another set - a sponge covered with a yellow nonwoven fabric is to be used to dry car windows and the same sponge covered with blue nonwoven fabric is to be used for cleaning the vehicle’s consoles or vice versa.

In the prior art solutions, producers of everyday products, being laminated multilayer goods having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam, such as above mentioned sponges and washers, did use well-known devices for gluing polyester/polyurethane foam mats having desired absorbency, softness or surface properties parameters consistent with the intended use of such multilayer products.

In the case of the production of articles covered with nonwoven fabrics with decorative elements and laminated on one or both sides of the article, it was necessary either precisely adjust the position of cutting devices to a position of decorative elements on the applied nonwoven fabric or - as it is the case when the solution according to the above quoted patent No. PL 220941, to exploit an additional device for applying decorative elements to the surface of those laminated products after cutting. In the latter case, changes are required in the technological line for the production of laminated multilayer articles products, and often also an increase of number of staff serving the line.

The present invention provides the means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer articles having a core made of at least one layer of a flexible polyester/polyurethane foam, in the form of a textile web covered on one side with an occasional print or distinguished with single color only, and on the other side laminated with a thin layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam. The means according to the invention delivered to the producers of articles such as washers, bath sponges, sponges for massage, wash cloths and cloths for drying of automobile window glass, sponges for cleaning interior of the vehicle cabins, dishwashing cloths or various cloths for washing, drying, maintenance of flat surfaces and the like, in the form of long (several meters) webs wound to a log or in sheets to be welded with a previously formed web or sheet of the core of the final product, composed of at least one layer of a flexible polyester/polyurethane foam, depending on the available machinery. In the next or the same production stage, the core of the final product is glued on the opposite side to a working layer having absorbent properties, or being of softness or surface features suitable to the intended purpose of the final product, and next the resulting whole is cut into unitary products.

In fig. 1, the product according to the invention is covered with means l-G for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer articles having a core 2 made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam and with the working layer 3. The means 1 - G is a textile web 1 with a color print, laminated with a thin layer G of elastic poly- ester/polyurethane foam. The outer layer 1, with a color print, is also indicated in figs. 2-5.

The product according to the invention, constituting the final laminated multilayer article having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyurethane foam, due to its utility characteristics may also function as an advertising gift tailored to the individual to needs of the customer, while maintaining the condition of the proportion of repeated decorative elements to the surface of the article.

In figs. 2-5 the product of the invention has at the top a textile layer covered with decorative elements on the outer side and on the other side permanently integrated with a multilayer core structure made of at least one layer of a flexible polyester/polyurethane foam, the core layers varying in thickness and/or pore structure and water-absorbent properties. The extreme layer opposite to the top textile layer - with decorative elements, is at the same time a working layer of the product according to the invention, opposite to the top textile layer. The properties of the working layer differentiate the purpose of the product according to the invention according to its functional features and decide whether the product is, for example, a window drying sponge or a massage sponge.

In accordance with the present invention, as illustrated in fig. 6, the means 1-G creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer articles having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam 2 and a working layer 3 is arbitrarily shaped by the manufacturer and laminated with the means 1-G. The outer surface of the means according to the invention allows for individualization of the product according to the invention and to create market demand for this product. It is entirely or in any part covered by decorative elements, which may also include promotional content, such as logos and trademarks.

The outer face of the product according to the invention, i.e. its top layer 1 (figs. 1-7) is entirely covered by evenly displayed repeated verbal and/or graphic elements. According to the present invention, the decorative or promotional elements may also cover only part of the above-mentioned top layer 1. It is important that the defined content be arranged so that at least one repeated element of this content appears in its entirety on the outer surface of the product according to the invention. The dimensions of this element are preferably much smaller than the dimensions of the surface of the outer layer 1 covering the product according to the invention. This allows for the product according to the invention to be given any shape and for free cutting of individual products from a larger sheet of a multilayer structure with a top layer covered with such a content. This ensures that at least one repeated decorative or promotional element appears in its entirety on the surface of the product at least once. In the case of the prior art technic of covering an outer nonwoven fabric of a laminated layered product with content that is not repeated many times, cutting of individual products from a larger sheet requires - on one hand, an increased precision of printing such a content and on the other hand - a greater accuracy in cutting off individual products from the sheet of a multilayer structure.

In figs. 2-5, the product according to the present invention has, in the top view, any desired shape inscribed in a rectangle, and in a particular case of a circle - inscribed in a square. The product may have in a top view any other desired shape, for example it may have rounded comers and/or a shape of a pentagon, a hexagon, a polygon in the shape of two trapeziums with a common shorter or longer base, or any other polygon. Preferably, it has dimensions adapted to the size of the human palm, also when it is a wipe cloths.

In the product according to the present invention, the individual layers are bound together by a known method of thermal or adhesive lamination.

In a preferred embodiment, the top layer of the product (fig. 6) is a nonwoven fabric layer 1 , laminated at the internal side with a thin layer 1 ' of elastic urethane foam of fine pores. It represents means of the invention for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer products having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam. It may be produced in a separate operation by the manufacturer of the products according to the invention or may be delivered to such a manufacturer in a form ready for being joined with the product core, for example in sheets or rolls, depending on the machine types owned by the manufacturer.

On the nonwoven fabric layer 1, decorative or promotional elements are applied by means of printing or dyeing and printing methods suitable for decorating nonwovens fabrics, before or after lamination of the same with a thin flexible layer of polyurethane foam having fine pores, but always before bonding it to a multilayer structure constituting the inner layer 2 or having further internal layers. The number of layers of the internal structure depends on the intended use of the product according to the invention. The individual layers of the core structure may be of a single- or multicolor and may have specific colors of the corporation, sport club or national colors of the manufacturer of the product according to the invention.

The outer working layer 3 of the product according to the present invention may have a smooth surface or may have a rough, uneven surface, for example evenly covered with conical protrusions. If the layer is made of a foam stiffer than the foam constituting the inner layer, the final product can serve as an ideal washer or wash cloth.

If the means for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer products having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyurethane foam, have in the decorative layer elements identifying a particular company interested in using the product according to the invention for promotional purposes, such a company promoting its own logo or trademarks may be, for example, a chain of food stores or multi-branch stores, a manufacturer of household chemicals, a producer of soaps and/or detergents, a manufacturer of manufacturer, etc.

The outer working layer 3 (fig. 6) of the product according to the present invention can have strong absorptive properties and serve for drying the wet windshields and other windows glass in vehicles. Such a working layer 3 may be made of an artificial chamois, and a company using this product according to the invention for promotional purposes may be a network of service stations or liquid fuel stations, a manufacturer of car body care agents, windscreens or vehicle mechanisms, a producer of oil, brake fluids, radiator fluid, etc.

According to the present invention, between the means of the invention for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer products having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam that constitutes the top layer 1-G of the product according to the invention and the opposite extreme working layer 3 of the layered structure, irrespectively of the fine pore foam layer G constituting the supportive element of the means of the invention for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer products having a core made of at least one layer of flexible polyester/polyurethane foam, there is at least one the inner layer 2 (fig. 1, fig. 6) or a plurality of inner layers of a soft flexible polyester/polyurethane foam of fine pores, preferably of in variety of colors. If there is more than one such an inner layer, each of them preferably has a different color, for example being arranged in the colors of the rainbow.

The fig. 7 shows several variants of decorative elements arranged on the outer surface of the means according to the invention, whereas in fig. 2-5 on the outer surface the trademark SPONGYM and graphic motifs depicting the exercise weights are printed.

The individual layers of the product according to the invention are permanently bonded to each other along their entire interfaces by adhesive or thermal lamination, in accordance with known techniques. Flame lamination is considered to be beneficial due to the fact that the material connecting the individual layers is the melted material forming these layers, which ensures the material homogeneity.

The product according to the present invention is of any desired size, preferably of the dimensions adjusted to the size of human palms, which provides the possibility of convenient utilization of useful properties of the product and its use as a washer, sponge, massage sponge, cloth, washer cloth, etc.

Although the means of the invention for creating and/or intensifying market demand for laminated multilayer products having a core made of at least one layer of flexible poly- ester/polyurethane foam has been described above in the application as a top layer of products according to the invention, i.e. typical multilayer laminated products such as washers, sponges, cloths and washer cloths, there are no obstacles to using this means for sewing, for example, kitchen gloves for gripping hot dishes, as well as pads for tables and bars, as well as covers for chairs or benches.