Valve Layer for Pad

The present invention relates to an economical and disposable pad. More particularly the present invention relates to a pad accommodating a product that can be applied onto a surface, where the construction of the pad will ensure that a controlla- ble amount of the product is applied onto the surface.

In order to apply various liquids or colloidal substances, hereinafter referred to as a product, on a desired spot or surface today are used different methods. The product can for instance be applied to a surface by the user simply placing the product from a bottle or tube on their hand and then manually spreading the product on the de- sired surface. This method is the most inexpensive, but it is also inefficient, messy and may result in a non-uniform application of the product. Furthermore, the bottles or tubes contain a fairly large quantity of the product and can therefore be inconvenient to carry with the user.

One other method is to have separate bottles and applicator elements. The applicator element will soak up a quantity of the product when they are brought in contact with each other, whereby the user use the applicator element to disperse the product on a desired spot or surface. This method may result in spillage when applying a product to the applicator element, and some of the product also be wasted as the applicator element itself will absorb some of the product. A further problem with this method is that the product to be applied may come in contact with the user's hands, which is not desirable, especially if the product is irritating for the skin.

Yet another method to apply a product at a desired surface is to use a disposable or single-use applicator that is supplied with a pre-determined quantity of a product. Such applicators are manufactured from a disposable material substantially fully infused with the appropriate product, for example, a cleansing cream, and sealed in a container. This results in relatively costly manufacture, since a greater quantity of cosmetic product is applied to the sheet of material than is required. The applicator may also be so infused with the product to be applied that it will result in uneven application of the product. It will also be very difficult to control the amount of product transferred from the applicator to the skin, increasing the chances of excessive application of the product.

The above mentioned products can for instance be liquids like wound cleansing agents, special cleansing liquid for various purposes such as, for examples, nail varnish, varnish remnants, glue remnants etc and the colloidal substances can for in- stance be shoe cream, cosmetics, moisture creams, cleansing creams, self-tanning creams, various gel products for personal hygiene, soap etc.

US 3.466.131 disclose a dispensing package that comprises an applicator pad of porous material which is sealed to the underside of a housing. The housing encloses a

rupturable capsule that contains the material to be dispensed. The liquid flow from the rupturable capsule to the pad is directed by channels formed in the housing.

From US 4.878.775 it is known a liquid transfer device which comprises a support layer bonded to a permeable applicator pad to form a chamber in which is placed a carrying substrate filled with frangible microcapsules containing the liquid to be applied. The compression of the carrying layer ruptures the microcapsules and releases the liquid through the applicator pad.

A common feature of the prior art is that the applicators are neither economical nor can control the applying of a product onto a surface. One of the disadvantages of the prior art is the uncontrollable rate and/or direction at which the flowable material is squeezed and discharged out of the package. Due to its form of construction, there is furthermore no control to the flow from the package.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an economical device for containing and dispensing a liquid or substance in a convenient, uniform and simple manner to a surface.

It is further an object of the present invention to provide an applicator for products, in the form of a single product that minimize and possibly alleviate the above disadvantages normally associated with use of such products as currently applied, and help make their use easier and more effective.

It is further an object of the present invention to provide a device which is economical and simple to manufacture.

Yet an object of the present invention is to provide an applicator that is designed to deliver a single dose of a personal care product in a format that can be conveniently carried along in the users pocket or purse.

Still an object of the present invention is to provide a device that is compact and can be transported or stored without being opened or desiccated.

These objectives are achieved with a device for applying a product onto a surface according to the invention as defined in the enclosed independent claim, where em- bodiments of the invention are given in independent claims.

The present invention is intended to provide a disposable pad that can apply a product in a controlled manner onto a surface or a spot and comprises several material layers that are attached to each other in appropriate ways. Each layer has its own specific function. A typical pad can for example be consisted of five layers, the lay- ers being a backing layer, a storage layer, a delivery layer, a contact layer and a top layer.

The backing layer constitute the rear surface of the device, and serves to protect the storage layer, the user's hands from the product and may also facilitate gripping of the applicator by the user. The backing layer may be manufactured from a liquid- impermeable material, for instance a plastic film that has good welding properties, in order to attach it to the one or more of the other layers. This can for instance be done by means of a heat-seal, ultrasonic weld or adhesive to prevent its removal from the storage layer or the valve layer

The storage layer according to the present invention may be provided by a fibre structure with intersecting fibres, where the fibres can be situated in one or several layers. The structure of the fibres will form cavities of a size and shape that enable it to contain the specific product that has to be stored. The size of the cavities may be varied depending on the viscosity of the product to be contained. As the structure substantially is not absorbent, it has to be dosed with or be supplied in another way with a product it has to contain. The storage structure may also be manufactured from a material having a different cell structure, for instance a rubber sponge material or a non-woven material, having sufficient porosity to store the product to be applied.

This will result in that the storage layer has an "spring effect", where the storage layer will release some of the product each time it is compressed. When the pressure is relieved, the remaining product will be stored in the storage layer.

The perforations or openings in the storage layer may also be made artificial, this being important when a certain amount of a product is to be stored on a specific location in the pad.

The storage layer may also be manufactured as a multi chambered layer, where this for instance is advantageous when the storage layer contain two or more different products that is not to be mixed before the device is to be used. This "chambering" may be achieved by a weakened welding along a line in the storage layer, where this welding will burst when a certain pressure is applied on the storage layer.

In one embodiment of the present invention the backing layer and the adjacent valve layer, by being connected to each other, may provide a receptacle for the product to be applied. This result in that the storage layer may be loosely arranged within the cavity of the receptacle or the storage layer may also be omitted. In this case the receptacle will contain the product to be applied. The receptacle may also be manufactured to form a multi-chambered receptacle. A delivery layer according to the present invention admits the product from the underlying storage layer or storage receptacle to pass through it. This will however not occur before the disposable pad is to be used and a top layer has been ripped off

the disposable pad. This tearing-off will result in that the surface of the delivery layer opens as the top layer is spot connected, e.g. by welding or gluing to the delivery layer. If the storage layer or the storage receptacle now is exposed to a certain pressure, the product to be applied onto a surface will be dosed through the delivery layer and further through the contact layer.

Openings or ruptures in the delivery layer, caused by spot connection and the tearing-off of the top layer, will have a form and/or size that are adapted to disperse or distribute the product in a desired direction and/or in a desired amount. The form and size of these ruptures or openings will also depend on the properties of the product to be applied. Furthermore, the spot welding between the top layer and the delivery layer may be arranged on a part or the whole surface of the two layers. The delivery layer may also have different ruptures or openings in different areas of the surface in order to dose different amounts of the product.

The valve layer is essentially non-absorbent (manufactured from a plastic film or the like) and has properties that make it a barrier to the product contained in the storage layer below it.

The delivery layer can further be two- or three-dimensional.

The contact layer, which is the layer that is in contact with the surface on which the product is to be applied, can be a film or a fabric (e.g. non-woven) and has a suit- able surface that is selected according to the application for which it is to be used. If the device is used as a shoe cream applicator, then the contact layer will have a surface that is suited for spreading out and polishing the shoe when the shoe cream is applied. If for instance the device is used to cleanse skin with sterile cleansing liquid, the contact layer must have a surface that is soft against the skin and preferably have a desired degree of roughness to enable it to remove dirt etc. from the user's skin. In such cases the material must often be sterile during use and may therefore be protected by the top layer that is torn off before use of the device.

A top layer will "seal off the disposable pad, and further prevent that the product is supplied unintentionally, as the top layer is spot welded to the delivery layer. This will result in that the delivery layer unless the top layer is removed will be a impervious layer and together with the backing layer form a fluid tight closure around the storage layer, thereby ensuring that the stored product is not delivered unintended.

On the other hand, when the pad is to be used, the top layer is ripped off, this ripping off resulting in that the welded spots will rupture and thereby perforating or opening the delivery layer.

The different layers in the device are in appropriate ways connected together. In one embodiment of the present invention the backing layer, the storage layer and the de-

livery layer together with the top layer may be attached to each other along their edges.

In one other embodiment only the backing layer and the delivery layer are connected to each other, while the storage layer may be loosely arranged between these layers.

In yet another embodiment the backing layer and the delivery layer may be connected to each other, thereby forming a storage receptacle between them. In this case the storage layer may be omitted.

In yet another embodiment also the contact layer can be part of the sealed construc- tion, which is to be connected with the backing layer, the storage layer and the valve layer, thereby forming a sealed construction.

In an alternative embodiment the contact layer may be glued or melted to the valve layer.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred non-limiting embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 shows the construction of a disposable pad according to the present invention, where the different layers of the pad are divided apart;

Figure 2 shows the different layers placed together, where the principles for connecting the different layers according to the present invention are shown; and

Figure 3 shows how a top layer is ripped off an underlying delivery layer, thereby bringing forward perforations in the delivery layer.

It should in this application be appreciated that the term "pad" is used to describe an article of at least three layers including a cavity filled with a product that is dispensed through a perforated delivery layer. The dispensed amounts are controlled by the size and number of perforations within a given area on the delivery layer, the substance of the product to be delivered and the pressure applied on the pad when it is to be used. The pad is further intended to be disposable.

A principal construction of disposable pad according to the present invention is shown in figure 1. Here is shown that the disposable pad comprises five different layers of material. Each layer has it own function

The first layer in the shown disposable pad is a backing layer 1. The backing layer 1 is made from any synthetic or natural material that does not allow the product to be

applied to permeate during use, transport or storage of the pad. The backing layer 1 can be in form of a film, a non-woven material, or a combination thereof, where the material further has good welding properties.

On its backside, that is the side turning away from a storing layer 2 arranged on top of the backing layer 1, the backing layer 1 may have a holding device (not shown).

Above the backing layer is arranged a three-dimensional storage layer 2. The storage layer 2 contains the product that is to be applied onto a surface, where the prod- uct can either be supplied to the storage layer before the different layers of the pad are connected together or it can be supplied after that the different layers have been connected. This latter may for instance be the case if the storage layer 2 is omitted and a storage cavity 6 for the product instead is formed by the backing layer 1 and a adjacent valve layer 3 being connected in a fluid tight manner. The product may then be supplied into the cavity 6 for instance by different nozzles.

The storage layer 2 is preferably a three-dimensional structure from any synthetic or natural fibers that are flexible and elastic under pressure they are exposed to when the pad is in use. The storage layer 2 material must also be stable (that is not to re- act with the stored product) and to keep the moisture and/or vapour of the product.

Further, a delivery layer 3 is arranged on top of the storage layer 2. The delivery layer 3 is preferably manufactured as an impervious film provided with a number of closed "perforations", the perforations being closed as the delivery layer 3 is spot welded to a top layer 5. This will be explained in detail in the following.

Above the delivery layer is arranged a contact layer 4, where this layer will allow a pass through for the product from the delivery layer 3 and to the surface on which the product is to be applied. The contact layer 4 must therefore be of a material suf- ficiently porous not to block or significantly impair the ability of the product to be dispensed from the delivery layer 3 onto the surface, against which the contact layer 4 will be placed in use. The upper side of the contact layer 4, that is the side facing the surface which is to be applied a product, will then disperse the product evenly onto the surface. The upper side of the contact layer 4 may also have properties that provides additional benefits such as mild abrasion, softness etc.

On the top of the disposable pad is arranged a top layer 5, where this layer is spot welded to the delivery layer 3 as mentioned above.

The purpose of this top layer 5 is on one hand to "seal off the disposable pad in such a way that the disposable pad is prevented from supplying the product accidentally and on the other hand to form a connection with the delivery layer 3 through

spot connection, where the closed ruptures will open when the top layer 5 is ripped off before the disposable pad is used.

In figure 2 is shown how the different layers in the disposable pad is connected to- gether, where it can be seen that the backing layer 1, the storage layer 2, the delivery layer 3 and the top layer 5 in a appropriate way are connected together along their edges.

Although the contact layer 4 in the shown embodiment is not a part of the construc- tion, it should be understood that it could be integrated in the construction.

As can be seen, the top layer 5 and the delivery layer 3 also form an own connection through a spot welding 7.

In this embodiment is also shown that the storage layer 2 is manufactured with a multiple-chamber, this being achieved by welding the two sides of the storage layer 2 together along a line or a curve, thereby forming a breakable barrier between the chambers This can for instance be advantageous when the product is a two component substance and is not to be brought together before the pad is to be used.

This will give a disposable pad where the product to be applied to a surface cannot be supplied even if a predetermined pressure is applied to the pad, since the product cannot manage to get through the backing layer 1 and the delivery layer 3, since they form a fluid tight connection.

In the embodiment where the storage layer 2 are multi-chambered, a pressure has to be applied to the storage layer 2 in order to break the barrier between the chambers thereby mixing the different products together. However, the product cannot be applied yet as the delivery layer 3 together with the backing layer 1 form a fluid tight connection. Thus the top layer 5 must be removed whereby this removing will result in rupturing the delivery layer 3. When a pressure now is applied on the storage layer 2, the product will be able to pass through the delivery layer 3.

In order to activate the pad in the embodiment where the storage layer 2 only com- prises one chamber, the top layer 5 is removed whereby the storage layer 2 is exposed to a pressure. As the delivery layer 3 now has been ruptured, the product is allowed to pass through the delivery layer and further through the contact layer 4.

It is also possible to first remove the top layer 5, thereby rupturing the delivery layer 3, whereby a pressure is applied to the storage layer 2. This will allow the product to pass through the delivery layer 3 and the contact layer 4.

In figure 3 is shown an "activation" of the disposable pad as the top layer 5 partly is ripped off and thereby revealing the contact layer 4. The pad in this embodiment is a glove, where a user can place his or hers hand in the glove. The product is released from the storage layer 2 when the pad is exposed to contact with the surface and a pressure is applied to the pad.