Claims
- 1. An applicator comprising:
- a) a tubular member formed from a single layer of 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) a coating applied to said exterior surface, said coating being a single layer of a compostable material and comprising at least 85 percent by weight of a polylactide polymeric material, at least 10 percent by weight of additives, and up to about 5 percent by weight of a residual monomer, wherein said coating provides said tubular member with a dry coefficient of kinetic friction value ranging from between 0.62 to 0.86.
- 2. The applicator of claim 1 wherein said single layer comprising at least 85 percent by weight of polylactide polymeric material has a thin uniform thickness formed by slot coating.
- 3. The applicator of claim 2, wherein said tubular member has an insertion end and has flexible petals on said insertion end.
- 4. The tampon applicator of claim 1 wherein said additives include a nucleating agent comprising adipic acid, an anti-oxidant or stabilizer, a plasticizer, an anti-blocking agent, a slip agent and a water scavenger.
- 5. The tampon applicator of claim 4 wherein said nucleation agent is present in said coating in an amount ranging from between about 1 to about 5 percent by weight.
- 6. A tampon applicator comprising:
- a) at least one elongated tubular member formed from at least one layer of paper and having an exterior surface; and
- b) a coating applied to said exterior surface of said tubular member, said coating being a single layer of a compostable material and said coating comprising at least 85 percent by weight of polylactide, at least 10 percent by weight of additives, and up to about 5 percent by weight of a residual monomer, said coating providing said tubular member with a dry coefficient of kinetic friction ranging from between 0.62 to 0.86, wherein said coating has a uniform thickness.
- 7. The tampon applicator of claim 6 wherein said coating has a uniform thickness which does not vary over plus or minus 15 per cent over said exterior surface.
- 8. The tampon applicator of claim 6 wherein said coating has a thickness of from between about 0.3 to about 1.0 mils.
- 9. The tampon applicator of claim 6 wherein said additive includes a plasticizer in an amount of from between about 6 to about 15 percent by weight.
- 10. The tampon applicator of claim 6 wherein said additive includes an anti-oxidant in an amount of from between about 1 to about 5 percent by weight.
- 11. A tampon applicator comprising:
- a) an elongated tubular member formed from at least two layers of paper, said tubular member having an exterior surface; and
- b) means for providing a specific dry coefficient of kinetic friction and a specific wet coefficient of kinetic friction to said tubular member and for facilitating insertion of said tubular member into said body cavity, said specific dry coefficient of kinetic friction having a value ranging from between 0.62 to 0.86 and said specific wet coefficient of kinetic friction having a value ranging from between 0.69 to 1.12, said means being applied to said exterior surface of said tubular member, said means forming a single layer of a compostable material and said means comprising at least 85 percent by weight of polylactide, at least 10 percent by weight of additives, and up to about 5 percent of a residual monomer, said additives including a nucleating agent, an anti-oxidant or stabilizer, a plasticizer, an anti-blocking agent, a slip agent and a water scavenger.
- 12. The tampon applicator of claim 11 wherein said means for providing a specific dry coefficient of kinetic friction and a specific wet coefficient of kinetic friction to said tubular member and for facilitating insertion has a thickness of less than about 1 mil.
- 13. The tampon applicator of claim 11 wherein said means for providina a specific dry coefficient of kinetic friction and a specific wet coefficient of kinetic friction to said tubular member and for facilitating insertion provides a dry coefficient of kinetic friction value of less than 0.80.
- 14. The tampon applicator of claim 11 wherein said means for providing a specific dry coefficient of kinetic friction and a specific wet coefficient of kinetic friction to said tubular member and for facilitating insertion provides a wet coefficient of kinetic friction value of less than 1.0.
- 15. The tampon applicator of claim 11 wherein said additive includes a nucleating agent of adipic acid in an amount of from between about 1 to about 5 percent by weight.
- 16. The tampon applicator of claim 11 wherein said additive includes an anti-oxidant in an amount of from between about 1 to about 5 percent by weight.
- 17. The tampon applicator of claim 11 wherein said additive includes a plasticizer in an amount of from between about 6 to about 15 percent by weight.
- 18. The tampon applicator of claim 11 wherein said additive includes an anti-blocking agent in an amount of from between about 0.5 to about 10 percent by weight.
- 19. The tampon applicator of claim 11 wherein said additive includes a slip agent in an amount of from between about 1 to about 5 percent by weight.
- 20. The tampon applicator of claim 11 wherein said additive includes a water scavenger in an amount of from between about 0.5 to about 5 percent by weight.
- 21. An applicator comprising:
- a) a tubular member formed from a single layer of paper and having an interior surface and an exterior surface, said tubular member capable of holding a substance which is to be inserted into a body cavity; and
- b) a coating applied to said interior surface and said exterior surface of said tubular member, said coating being a single layer of a compostable material and said coating comprising at least 85 percent by weight of a polylactide polymeric material, at least 10 percent by weight of additives, and from about 0.1 to about 5 percent by weight of a residual monomer, said additives including a nucleating agent, an anti-oxidant or stabilizer, a plasticizer, an anti-blocking agent, a slip agent and a water scavenger.
- 22. The applicator of claim 21 wherein said coating applied to said exterior surface provides said tubular member with a dry coefficient of kinetic friction value ranging from between 0.62 to 0.86.
- 23. A tampon applicator comprising:
- a) at least one elongated tubular member formed from at least one layer of paper and having an interior surface; and
- b) a coating applied to said interior surface of said tubular member, said coating being a single layer of a compostable material and said coating comprising at least 85 percent by weight of polylactide, at least 10 percent by weight of additives, and from about 0.1 to about 5 percent by weight of a residual monomer, said coating providing said tubular member with a dry coefficient of kinetic friction ranging from between 0.62 to 0.86 and a wet coefficient of kinetic friction ranging from between 0.69 to 1.12, and said low dry and wet coefficient of kinetic friction values facilitating insertion of said applicator into said body cavity.
- 24. A tampon applicator comprising:
- a) an elongated tubular member formed from at least two layers of paper, said tubular member having an interior surface; and
- b) a coating applied to said interior surface of said tubular member, said coating being a single layer of a compostable material and said coating comprising at least 85 percent by weight of polylactide, at least 10 percent by weight of additives, and from about 0.1 to about 5 percent by weight of a residual monomer, said coating having a thickness of less than about 0.7 mils and said coating providing said tubular member with a dry coefficient of kinetic friction ranging from between 0.62 to 0.86 and a wet coefficient of kinetic friction ranging from between 0.69 to 1.12, and said low dry and wet coefficient of kinetic friction values facilitating insertion of said applicator into said body cavity.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/476,481, entitled "Paper Applicator Containing a Compostable Coating" and filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jun. 7, 1995, now abandoned. The entirety of this application is hereby incorporated by reference.
US Referenced Citations (46)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
860 911 |
Jan 1971 |
CAX |
0 220 091 A1 |
Apr 1987 |
EPX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
476481 |
Jun 1995 |
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