Personal Hygiene wipe

Abstract

A personal hygiene wipe device that includes a contained and controlled exothermic chemical reaction to provide warmth for the wipe. The device includes an outer pouch containing a heat generating agent and an inner pouch inside the outer pouch and having an activating element. Upon application of pressure to the device, the spread of the activating agent into contact with the chemicals an the exothermic reaction. A heat sink is provided between the wipes and the outer pouch to absorb the initial production of heat and transfer that heat to the wipes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is hereby made to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 3 a, 3b and 3c illustrate the preferred embodiment of this invention forming the inner portion of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIG. 1, the device of this invention, 10 generally, comprises a package 11 containing one or more personal hygiene wipes 13 of conventional design, shown in FIG. 2 after the peal back closure 15 has been opened. Preferred are those wipes made of spun lace fabric, such as those from rayon and polyester fibers. The number of wipes is a matter of choice. If five or less wipes are in the package, only one peal back closure 15 is needed. If more, such as eight or ten wipes are in the package, a peal back closure 15 can be placed on both sides of the package 11.

Also enclosed in package 11 is an outer pouch 17 made of a fluid impervious material such as a plastic. Pouch 17 contains the heat generating materials 19 that exotherm when contacted by an actuating agent as described below. Heat generating materials 19 are preferably in crystal or granular form so that they can be spread throughout the inside of pouch 17, thus, when activated, providing exotherm heat over the whole wipes 13.

Preferred is an outer pouch 17 made from Aclar®, which is a polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) material manufactured and sold by Honeywell International Inc. Aclar film is crystal clear, biochemically inert, chemical-resistant, nonflammable, and plasticizer- and stabilizer-free. Aclar laminates provide a wide range of gauges and thus barrier levels to allow flexibility in selecting the optimum barrier level for the chemical system chosen. Other similar pouch materials may be used as well. All that is required is that the material have a functional moisture and vapor barrier for the other components of the invention.

As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the package includes an inner pouch 21 positioned inside the outer pouch 17. The inner pouch 21 contains an activation agent 23 that combines with the heat generating materials 19 when the seal 25 in pouch 21 is opened. Preferably, seal 25 is a frangible seal that can be broken by flexing it. Preferred is an inner pouch 21 made from a heat stamp foil.

Inner pouch 21 is wrapped with a heat sink element 31, shown in FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c being wrapped before it is inserted over outer pouch 17. Heat sink element 31 is preferably a fabric or cloth, and most preferably is made from a material known as spunlace. The fibers are subjected to hydroentanglement, but impacting a fiber web with high pressure fine streams of water to tangle the fibers into an interlocked web. Many fibers can be used to make spunlace fabric, such as polypropylene and other polyolefins, rayon, nylon and others, Heat sink element 31 serves as a heat sink and a safety net against possible breaking of the heater once activated. Although the heater is wrapped for protection, it is not dangerous to the touch and is environmentally friendly. Wrapping the heater with a heat sink protects the product of the wipes since the end user is not exposed to the heater pouch itself.

Pouch 21 has a frangible seal 25 that is preferably broken at the appropriate time by flexing or bending the package 11 to cause the activating agent 23 to mix with the heat generating material 19 and exotherm at the many locations inside outer pouch 17.

There are a number of combinations of heat generating materials and activating agents that are suitable for use in the present invention. The selection of specific components is to be based upon cost, compatibility, ease of control of the exotherm, and other factors.

The preferred activating material of this invention is water. This is plentiful and safe, and reacts with a number of materials to produce an exothermic reaction.

The preferred heat generating material is a crystal formed from several components that, when free from moisture, are stable for up to three to five years or more, and which react when moisture is present to generate heat. The preferred crystal is made from a crystalline mixture of calcium oxide and citric acid. The weight of the heat generating material to the volume of actuation agent ranges from about 1:2 to about 1:1, and preferably about 3:4. In the most preferred mixture of the heat generating material is a mixture of calcium oxide and citric acid with the further addition of a zeolite powder. Preferred is a ratio of calcium oxide to citric acid to powdered zeolite is from about 14 to 20 for calcium oxide, from about 1 to 2 for citric acid, and from about 7 to 10 for powdered zeolite. Most preferred is a ratio of calcium oxide to citric acid to powdered zeolite is 17:1.5:8.5 and the ratio of the solids to the volume of water is about 3:4.

More than 150 zeolite types have been synthesized and 48 naturally occurring zeolites are known. They are basically hydrated alumino-silicate minerals with an “open” structure that can accommodate a wide variety of positive ions, such as Na+, K+, Ca₂+, Mg₂+ and others. These positive ions are rather loosely held and can readily be exchanged for others in a contact solution. Some of the more common mineral zeolites are: analcime, chabazite, heulandite, natrolite, phillipsite, and stilbite. An example mineral formula is: Na₂Al₂Si₃O₁₀-16H₂O.

The heat generation material most preferred, using the above components includes a calcined calcium oxide. This material is available as a small article size, with a diameter less than about 0.2 mm, and as a particle of somewhere between 0.2 and 0.8 mm. Larger particles are ground and smaller ones sieved, and the calcium oxide is then calcined. It has been found to be effective to calcine for at least 60 to 120 minutes, and preferably about 90 minutes, at temperatures above 500° C., and most preferably at about 550° C. for that period of time. The calcined calcium oxide is, of course, desiccated to prevent any contamination by moisture. Laboratory grade citric acid and powdered zeolite are mixed with the calcium oxide in moisture free conditions, in an appropriate reaction ratio to provide the exothermic reaction upon contact by the activating agent water.

In a preferred embodiment, the heat generating mixture 19 is spread throughout the inside of outer pouch 17 and covers parts of inner pouch 21, obviously separated from the activating agent 23 inside pouch 21. The vacuum is then pulled inside pouch 17 to assist in dispersing the activating agent. This combination of pouches is placed with the desired quantity of personal hygiene wipes 15 inside package 11 and sealed for distribution and sale.

In a series of tests of the preferred embodiment as described above, 100% of the activations by bending the packages resulted in warm personal hygiene wipes. Then a similar set of packages were prepared, with the only change being no vacuum inside the outer pouch, only 30% of the wipes achieved the desired temperature, In both cases, heat sink element 31 maintained a uniform dispersion of the generated heat without allowing the tissue wipes to be exposed to excessive heat.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended to limit the invention to any specific embodiment. The description of the invention is not intended to limit the invention.

Claims

1. A heatable personal hygiene wipe device, comprising: an outer package having a sealed opening for removing contents;a plurality of hygiene wipes contained in said outer package;an actuatable heat source in said outer package in contact with said plurality of hygiene wipes, said heat source including an inner pouch and an outer pouch;said inner pouch having an actuation agent therein and a seal keeping said actuation agent in said inner pouch; andsaid outer pouch having heat generating materials therein, said heat generating materials being adapted to generate heat upon activation by said actuation agent upon breaking said seal keeping said actuation agent in said inner pouch, said outer pouch having a heat sink element between said outer pouch and said plurality of hygiene wipes in said outer package for receiving heat generated by said heat source upon actuation.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said sealed opening is re-sealable.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of hygiene wipes is from about 3 to about 20.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein said actuation agent is a liquid and said heat generating material is a solid adapted to react with said actuation agent to cause an exothermic reaction.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein said actuation agent is water and said heat generating material is a crystalline mixture of calcium oxide and citric acid, and the weight of the heat generating material to the volume of actuation agent ranges from about 1:2 to about 1:1.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein said calcium oxide is calcined prior to admixing with said citric acid and said heat generating material further includes powdered zeolite admixed therein and wherein the ratio of calcium oxide to citric acid to powdered zeolite is from about 14 to 20 for calcium oxide, from about 1 to 2 for citric acid, and from about 7 to 10 for powdered zeolite.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein said heat sink element is a fabric,

8. The device of claim 7, wherein said fabric is a nonwoven fabric.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein said fabric is a polyolefin fiber fabric.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein said outer pouch has an internal vacuum sufficient to pull said activation agent into said outer pouch upon opening said seal.

11. A heatable personal hygiene wipe device, comprising: an outer package having a sealed means for removing contents;a plurality of hygiene wipes contained in said outer package;an actuatable heat source means for heating said plurality of hygiene wipes in said outer package in contact with said plurality of hygiene wipes, said heat source means including an inner pouch and an outer pouch;said inner pouch having an actuation agent therein and a seal keeping said actuation agent in said inner pouch; andsaid outer pouch having heat generating materials therein, said heat generating materials being adapted to generate heat upon activation by said actuation agent upon breaking said seal keeping said actuation agent in said inner pouch, said outer pouch having a heat sink means between said outer pouch and said plurality of hygiene wipes in said outer package for receiving heat generated by said heat source means upon actuation.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein said sealed opening means is re-sealable.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein said plurality of hygiene wipes is from about 3 to about 20.

14. The device of claim 11, wherein said actuation agent is a liquid and said heat generating material is a solid adapted to react with said actuation agent to cause an exothermic reaction.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein said actuation agent is water and said heat generating material is a crystalline mixture of calcium oxide and citric acid, and the weight of the heat generating material to the volume of actuation agent ranges from about 1:2 to about 1:1.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein said calcium oxide is calcined prior to admixing with said citric acid and said heat generating material further includes powdered zeolite admixed therein and wherein the ratio of calcium oxide to citric acid to powdered zeolite is from about 14 to 20 for calcium oxide, from about 1 to 2 for citric acid, and from about 7 to 10 for powdered zeolite.

17. The device of claim 11, wherein said heat sink means is a fabric,

18. The device of claim 17, wherein said fabric is a nonwoven fabric.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein said fabric is a polyolefin fiber fabric.

20. The device of claim 11, wherein said outer pouch has an internal vacuum sufficient to pull said activation agent into said outer pouch upon opening said seal.