Claims
- 1. An applicator article comprising:a) a paper tubular member having an exterior surface, said tubular member capable of holding a substance to be inserted into a body cavity; and b) an exterior surface coating applied to said exterior surface, said coating comprising a plurality of layers, wherein at least a top layer of said plurality of layers comprises a compostable material composed of at least 85 percent by weight of a polylactide polymeric blend material of a polylactide and a water-soluble polymer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl alcohol, and a combination of polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl alcohol.
- 2. The applicator article of claim 1, wherein said exterior surface coating has a coating thickness dimension at an insertion end greater than a coating thickness at an opposite external base end.
- 3. The applicator article of claim 1, wherein said plurality of layers comprise an inner coating layer of at least 85% by weight polylactide.
- 4. The applicator article of claim 1, wherein said plurality of layers comprises at least three layers.
- 5. The applicator article of claim 1, wherein said polylactide polymeric blend material comprises between about 30% to 70% by weight of said water-soluble polymer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl alcohol, and a combination of polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl alcohol.
- 6. The applicator article of claim 1, wherein said plurality of layers provides said tubular member with a dry coefficient of kinetic friction value ranging from between 0.62 to 0.86.
- 7. The applicator article of claim 2, wherein said coating thickness dimension at said insertion end is in the range of about 0.3 mils to 1 mil.
- 8. The applicator article of claim 5, wherein said compostable material further comprises 10 percent by weight of additives comprising a nucleating agent of adipic acid, an anti-oxidant or stabilizer, a plasticizer, an anti-blocking agent, a slip agent, and a water scavenger.
- 9. The applicator article of claim 5, wherein said tubular member has flexible petals on said insertion end.
- 10. The applicator article of claim 5, wherein said tubular member has pleats on said insertion end.
- 11. The applicator article of claim 5, wherein said tubular member has an open insertion end.
- 12. The applicator article of claim 7, wherein said coating thickness dimension at said opposite external base end is in the range of about 0 to 0.3 mils.
- 13. A method of forming an applicator for insertion of a substance into a body cavity, comprising:a) forming a paper tubular member having an exterior surface, said tubular member capable of holding a substance to be inserted into a body cavity; and b) applying to said exterior surface a coating comprising a plurality of layers, wherein at least a top layer of said plurality of layers comprises a compostable material composed of at least 85 percent by weight of a polylactide polymeric blend material comprising polylactide and a water-soluble polymer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl alcohol, and a combination of polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl alcohol.
- 14. The method of forming an applicator for insertion of a substance into a body cavity as set forth in claim 13, further comprising forming said coating to have a coating thickness dimension at an insertion end greater than a coating thickness at an opposite external base end.
- 15. The method of forming an applicator for insertion of a substance into a body cavity as set forth in claim 13, wherein said polylactide polymeric blend material comprises between about 30% to 70% by weight of said water-soluble polymer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl alcohol, and a combination of polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl.
- 16. The method of forming an applicator for insertion of a substance into a body cavity as set forth in claim 13, wherein said plurality of layers comprises at least three compostable layers.
- 17. The method of forming an applicator for insertion of a substance into a body cavity as set forth in claim 14, wherein said coating thickness dimension at said insertion end is in the range of about 0.3 mils to 1 mil.
- 18. The method of forming an applicator for insertion of a substance into a body cavity as set forth in claim 17, wherein said coating thickness dimension at said opposite external base end is in the range of about 0 to 0.3 mils.
- 19. An applicator article, comprising:a) a tubular member formed from a paper and having an exterior surface, said tubular member capable of holding a substance which is to be inserted into a body cavity; and b) an exterior surface coating applied to said exterior surface, said coating comprising a plurality of layers, wherein an inner coating layer comprises at least about 85% by weight of a compostable polylactide, and wherein at least a top layer of said plurality of layers comprises a compostable material composed of at least 85 percent by weight of a polylactide polymeric blend material comprising polylactide and 30% to 70% by weight of a water-soluble polymer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl alcohol, and a combination of polyethylene oxide and polyvinyl alcohol.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 09/134,649, filed Aug. 14, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,888, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/476,481, filed Jun. 7, 1995 now abandoned, and Ser. No. 09/134,649 is also a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/696,642, filed Aug. 12, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,320.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4412833 |
Wiegner et al. |
Nov 1983 |
A |
5547701 |
Nielsen et al. |
Aug 1996 |
A |
5601530 |
Nielsen et al. |
Feb 1997 |
A |
5738646 |
Fox et al. |
Apr 1998 |
A |
5795320 |
Nielsen et al. |
Aug 1998 |
A |
5800377 |
Campion et al. |
Sep 1998 |
A |
5984888 |
Nielsen et al. |
Nov 1999 |
A |
6183814 |
Nangeroni et al. |
Feb 2001 |
B1 |
Continuation in Parts (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/134649 |
Aug 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/441174 |
|
US |
Parent |
08/476481 |
Jun 1995 |
US |
Child |
09/134649 |
|
US |
Parent |
08/696642 |
Aug 1996 |
US |
Child |
08/476481 |
|
US |