WO2005045118A1

WO2005045118A1 - A cleansing fabrics, and a process of preparing the same

Info

Publication number: WO2005045118A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/002900
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yang-Soo Park
Original assignee: Kolon Industries, Inc
Priority date: 2003-11-11
Filing date: 2004-11-10
Publication date: 2005-05-19
Also published as: KR20040077598A; KR20050045806A; KR100500746B1; KR100813891B1

Abstract

The present invention discloses a cleansing and a process of preparing the same. The cleansing fabric comprises a synthetic fiber multifilament consisting of ultra fine yarns (monofilamant fibrils) of 0.001 to 0.2 deniers or its false twist yarn as warp and weft, the fabric having embossed patterns formed on the front and/or back surface thereof by embossing. The cleansing fabric of the present invention is useful as a makeup cleaning fabric or as a wiping fabric for precision products and optical devices since it exhibits excellent cleansing performance, is soft to the touch and does not damage the surface of a products to be cleansed.

Description

A CLEANSING FABRIC, AND A PROCESS OF PREPARING THE SAME

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cleansing fabric and a process of preparing the same, and more particularly, to a cleansing fabric which is useful as a makeup cleansing cloth for removing cosmetics from the skin

or as a wiping fabric for optical devices and optical storage media since it shows an excellent cleansing performance, is soft to the touch and is able to prevent surface damage of an object to be cleansed, and a process of preparing the same.

BACKGROUND ART As the prior art for a cleansing fabric, Korean Patent Laid Open No. 1994- 14987 proposes a process of preparing a cleaning polyester fabric by using a yarn made by air- texturing a high shrinkage polyester yarn and a two-component polyester composite yarn as weft. However, the polyester fabric prepared by the above process has a problem that the

cleansing performance and feel are deteriorated because the yarn fineness of a monofilament of warp and weft is larger than 0.3 deniers. Meanwhile Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2003-95868 proposes a makeup wiper which is a non-woven fabric containing more than 20% ultra-fine fiber having a monofilament fineness of 0.5 dtex or less relative to surface area. However, the above mentioned wiper is not a woven fabric but a non-woven fabric and thus is deformed when used for a long time, that is, its fiber density becomes non-uniform, thereby sharply deteriorating

cleansing performance. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the problems in the prior art and to provide a cleansing fabric that is useful as a cleaning fabric for precision products, optical devices, etc. or a makeup cleansing fabric.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a cleansing fabric which is useful as a makeup cleansing fabric or as a wiping fabric for precision products, optical devices, etc. since it shows an excellent cleansing performance, is soft to the touch and does not damage the surface of an object to be cleansed. To achieve the above objects, there is provided a cleansing fabric according to the present invention, which comprises a synthetic fiber

multifilament consisting of ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibril) of 0.001 to 0.2 deniers or its false twist yarn as warp and weft, the fabric having embossed patterns formed on either or both of the front surface and back surface thereof by embossing. Furthermore, there is provided a process of preparing a cleansing fabric according to the present invention, wherein a fabric is woven by using a synthetic fiber multifilament consisting of two-component

conjugated yarns, which are ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) having

a monofilament fineness of 0.001 to 0.2 deniers after extracting a sea

component or extraction component as warp and weft, the woven fabric

being scoured in an aqueous alkaline solution simultaneously with the

extraction of the sea component or extraction component and then dyed,

or the woven fabric being scoured and dyed and then the sea component

or extraction component being extracted in an aqueous alkaline solution,

the dyed fabric being embossed with patterns by an embossing machine. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

The warp and weft yarns of the cleansing fabric (hereinafter,

abbreviated as the 'fabric of this invention') of the present invention are a

synthetic fiber multifilament consisting of ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) of 0.001 to 0.2 denier or its false twist yarn. More preferably, the fineness of the ultra fine yarns (monofilament

fibrils) is 0.005 to 0.05 deniers.

The density toward warp of the ultra fine yarns is 100,000 to

1 ,000,000 yarns/inch, and the density toward weft of the ultra fine yarns

is 50,000 to 500,000 yarns/ inch. If the density toward warp and density toward weft are below this range, the shape stability of the fabric is deteriorated, which may bring

about a problem that the fabric is worn out when used for a long time, or

if the density toward warp and density toward weft are above this range, this may bring about a problem that a manufacturing process, such as weaving, becomes difficult, thus increasing manufacturing costs. The ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) have a high degree of freedom due to their very low density, such that they are woven into a

dense weave in order to maintain the pattern of the yarns well. Thus the fabric weave of this invention is a plain weave, satin weave or twill weave, or a weave that is made of a ground weave, such as a plain weave, satin

weave or twill weave, and partially a pattern forming weave of a figured fabric. More preferably, a plain weave is used, although a twill weave with a short repeat interval is also possible. While a cleaning fabric of prior art is mainly woven into a twill weave in order to improve the cleansing performance, more preferably, the fabric of this invention is made of a plain weave or of a twill weave with a short repeat interval. Although a synthetic fiber multifilament consisting of the aforementioned ultra fine yarns, i.e., a yarn which is not false-twisted after spinning and drawing can be used as the warp and/ or weft, it is more preferred to use as the warp and/ or weft a false twist yarn made by false-twisting the synthetic fiber multifilament in order to prevent the warp and weft from slipping on the textile fabric and to enhance the cleansing performance. Concretely, it is preferred that the false twist yarn is used as the warp and the synthetic fiber multifilament which is not false-twisted is used as the weft, or the false twist yarn is used as both warp and weft.

The false twist yarn can be manufactured by processing a

two-component composite yarn in a process as shown in Fig. 14.

It is most preferable that the two-component conjugated yarn is a

sea-island type conjugated yarn or a split type conjugated yarn and the

synthetic fiber multifilament is a polyester multifilament, but the present

invention is not specifically limited to these materials. Meanwhile the fabric of this invention has embossed patterns

formed on the front and/ or back surface thereof. Embossing forms the embossed patterns.

In the case that the embossed patterns are repeated at the spacing

as shown in Fig. 9, more preferably, the interval between adjacent

embossed patterns is 2 to 20ιmn in order to provide structural stability

and an aesthetically pleasing appearance. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 8, if the embossed patterns are

repeated in contact with one another, the maximum interval between

lines forming one embossed pattern, that is, the maximum width of an

embossed pattern is 2 to 20nιm in order to provide structural stability and

an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The fabric of this invention has an improved appearance since embossed patterns are formed on the front and/ or back surface thereof, as described above, and at the same time has good weave stability since it

firmly holds weave points of the fabric. More preferably, the fabric of the present invention is surface-treated by a friction material to enhance its appearance and touch.

The aforementioned surface treatment can be conducted by rubbing the surface of the fabric with a roller or a disc or an apron

comprised of woven fabric, knit fabric, non-woven fabric, leather, sandpaper, card clothing, ceramic material, metal, paper, wood, etc. attached thereto. By the surface treatment using a friction material, the ultra fine

yarns (monofilament fibrils) of the fabric of the invention receive an external force perpendicular to the warp as well as an external force parallel to the warp, thus the ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) distributed in a biased manner as a set of warp and weft yarns within the fabric are dispersed/ spread/ reassembled to thus be uniformly distributed over the entire space of the fabric. After dispersion, spreading and reassembling of a series of ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils), the space having no ultra fine yarns

(monofilament fibrils) in the fabric before surface treatment is filled with ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils), and thus the average size of the

space in the fabric is increased even further, making the fabric softer to the touch. Due to this, the feel is further improved and the space for collecting contaminants is also enlarged. Also, the ultra fine yarns

(monofilament fibrils) are cross-linked with one another while they are dispersed/ spread/ reassembled, thereby having sufficient structural stability to withstand external forces applied to the fabric.

This fact becomes clearer by comparison between Fig. 10 and Fig. 12 or between Fig. 11 and Fig. 13. Fig. 10 is an electron micrograph showing the surface state of an embossed part of the fabric not surface-treated after embossing with the pattern of Fig. 8. Fig. 1 1 is an electron micrograph showing the surface state of a

non-embossed part of the fabric not surface-treated. Meanwhile Fig. 12 is an electron micrograph showing the surface-treated state of the part of the fabric of Fig. 10, and Fig. 13 is an electron micrograph showing the surface-treated state of the part of the

fabric of Fig. 1 1. The above-described cleansing fabric of this invention comprises ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) of 0.001 to 0.2 denier as warp and weft, thus it is able to effectively collect fine contaminants by fine pores

formed between the ultra fine yarns, has a soft feel and an excellent

appearance, and does not damage the surface of an object to be cleansed. Moreover, the cleansing fabric of this invention has an excellent appearance and structural stability since embossed patterns are formed on the front and/ or surface thereof by embossing. In the event that the cleansing fabric is surface-treated with a friction material, the feel and structural stability are further improved. Next, a process of preparing a fabric of the present invention will be described in detail. In the present invention, the fabric is woven by using a synthetic

fiber multifilament consisting of two-component conjugated yarns in

which ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) having a monofilament fineness of 0.001 to 0.2 deniers after extracting a sea component or extraction component. The woven fabric is scoured in an aqueous

alkaline solution simultaneously with the extraction of the sea component or extraction component and then dyed, or the woven fabric is scoured and dyed and then the sea component or extraction component

is extracted in an aqueous alkaline solution. Next, patterns are embossed on the dyed fabric using an embossing machine to thus obtain the cleansing fabric of this invention. The two-component conjugated yarn is a sea-island type conjugated yarn or a split type conjugated yarn. The sea-island type conjugated yarn comprises an island component and a sea component. As a preferred example, the island component of the sea-island

type conjugated yarn is polyethyleneterephthalate and the sea component thereof is copolymer polyester having 1 to 10 mol% of

dimethylene sulfoisophthalate sodium copolymerized therein. The split type conjugated yarn is a structure having a extraction component and a fiber forming component conjugated in a wedge shape or the like, in which it is preferred to use polyamide as the extraction component and polyester as the fiber forming component. In such a split type composite yarn, as polyamide used as the extraction component is extracted by aqueous alkaline solution treatment, polyester used as the fiber-forming component is separated and becomes ultra fine yarns. In the weaving, the weave is preferably a plain weave, satin weave or twill weave.

In the present invention, the woven fabric is scoured in an aqueous alkaline solution simultaneously with the dissolution of the sea component or extraction component and then dyed, or the woven fabric is

scoured and dyed, and then the sea component or extraction component

is extracted. Generally, when preparing suede-like woven and knit fabrics using a two-component conjugated yarn, a high shrinkage yarn is used along

with the two-component conjugated yarn in order to give the fabric a

thick feeling. In the present invention, however, since the fabric is made using a two-component conjugated yarn without using a high shrinkage yarn in combination, it is preferable that the fabric is preheated and post-heated at 120 to 160°C before and after dyeing in order to give the fabric a thick feeling, thereby producing crimps on the fabric by shrinkage and performing an alkali weight reduction (extraction a sea component or extraction component) of 28 to 38% by weight with respect to the total

weight. Fig. 1 is a photograph showing the surface state of a fabric right after a weight reduction according to the present invention. Next, the fabric having undergone a dyeing and weight reduction

(weight reduction and dyeing) process is embossed using an embossing machine which forms embossed patterns on the front and /or back surface thereof, thereby improving the structural stability and feel of the fabric.

By the above embossing treatment, weave points on the fabric are firmly fixed to one another by meting bond or the like, thereby improving the structural stability of the fabric.

Figs. 8 and 9 are photographs showing examples of patterns used for an embossing process of the fabric of the present invention. Fig. 10 is an electron micrograph of an embossed part of the fabric embossed with the design of Fig. 8. Fig. 1 1 is an electron micrograph showing the surface state of a non-embossed part of the fabric embossed with the design of Fig. 8. Next, the embossed surface of the fabric is surface -treated by

rubbing the same with a roller of Fig. 5 with a friction material attached thereto, a disc of Fig. 6 with a friction material attached thereto or an apron of Fig. 7 with a friction material attached thereto, thereby further improving the appearance and feel of the fabric. The friction material may include woven fabric, knit fabric, non-woven fabric, leather, sandpaper, card clothing, ceramic material, metal, paper, wood, etc. Figs. 5 to 7 are, respectively, perspective views of a roller type surface treatment machine, disc type surface treatment machine and

apron type surface treatment machine each used for surface treatment. Fig. 2 is an electron micrograph showing the surface state of the fabric surface-treated according to the present invention. Fig. 4 is an electron micrograph showing the cross sectional state of the fabric surface-treated according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is an electron

micrograph showing the cross sectional state of the fabric not surface-treated after embossing.

Although the surface treatment is optionally performed, it is more preferable to perform the surface treatment for improving appearance and feel. Additionally, it is more preferable to treat the fabric for 20 to 60 minutes at a temperature of 80 to 120^°C in a tumbler before or after the embossing treatment process or the surface treatment process.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFECTS The cleansing fabric of the present invention prepared by the aforementioned process is very useful as a makeup cleansing fabric, a semiconductor product wiper, etc. since it shows an excellent cleansing performance, is soft to the touch and does not damage the surface of an

object to be cleansed. Fig. 15 is a schematic view showing an optical disc being

surface-washed using the fabric of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is an electron micrograph showing the surface state of a

fabric of the present invention right after a weight reduction and extraction (extraction component removal) process;

Fig. 2 is an electron micrograph showing the surface state of the

fabric of the present invention right after a surface treatment process; Fig. 3 is an electron micrograph showing the cross sectional state

of the fabric of the present invention right before the surface treatment

process;

Fig. 4 is an electron micrograph showing the cross sectional state

of the fabric of the present invention right after the surface treatment

process; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a roller type surface treatment

machine used for surface treatment of the fabric of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a disc type surface treatment

machine used for surface treatment of the fabric of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an apron type surface treatment machine used for surface treatment of the fabric of the present invention;

Figs. 8 and 9 are photographs showing examples of patterns used

for an embossing process of the fabric of the present invention; Fig. 10 is an electron micrograph showing the surface state of an

embossed part of the fabric not surface-treated after being embossed with the design of Fig. 8; Fig. 1 1 is an electron micrograph showing the surface state of a non-embossed part of the fabric not surface-treated after being embossed with the design of Fig. 7. Fig. 12 is an electron micrograph showing the surface-treated state

of the part of the fabric of Fig. 10; Fig. 13 is an electron micrograph showing the surface-treated state of the part of the fabric of Fig. 11 ; Fig. 14 is a schematic view of a process of preparing a false twist yarn according to the present invention; and Fig. 15 is a schematic view showing an optical disc being surface- washed using the fabric of the present invention.

* Explanation of Reference Numerals for Main Parts in the Drawings

A: two-component conjugated yarn feed roller B: false twist yarn take-up roller 1 : first feed roller 2: first heater 3: twisting section (pin or disc) 4: second feed roller

5: thermosetting heater (second heater) 6: third feed roller BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The present invention is now understood more concretely by way of

examples of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to such examples. Example 1

A plain weave fabric was prepared by using, as warp and weft

yarns, a polyester multifilament of 75 deniers/ 16 filaments consisting of

a sea-island type conjugated yarn comprising (I) polyethylene

terephthalate as an island component and (II) polyester copolymer as a

sea component having 7mol% of dimethylene sulfoisophhalate sodium

copolymerized therein and thus being excellent in alkali hydrolyzabilty,

the island component (monofilament fibrils) having a yarn fineness of

0.01 denier after extracting the sea component.

Next, the prepared fabric was added to an aqueous alkaline

solution and the sea component was extracted (alkali weight reduction)

simultaneously with scouring.

At this time, the sea component was extracted at 32% by weight

with respect to the total weight. Next, the scoured and extracted fabric was preheated at 130^°C before dyeing and then dyed. Next, the fabric was

treated in a tumbler for 40 minutes at a temperature of 100 ^°C , and then

post-heated at 120^°C . Embossed patterns were formed on the surface of

the fabric by embossing the fabric with an embossing machine with the

design of Fig. 7. At this time, the pattern spacing of the embossed patterns was adjusted to lOuim. Next, the surface of the embossed fabric was surface-treated by

rubbing it with a roller with a card clothing made of thermoplastic resin having hard inorganic particles distributed and dispersed therein, then post-heated at 120^°C , and then treated in a tumbler for 40 minutes at a

temperature of 100^°C , to thus obtain a cleansing fabric having a

thickness of 0.15mm. The results of evaluating the structural stability, cleaning performance (cleansing performance), appearance, feel when washing

ones face and property of preventing a surface flaw when cleaning a compact disc are shown in Table 2. Examples 2 to 5 A cleansing fabric was prepared under the same process and

conditions as in Example 1 except that the types of warp and weft of the fabric, the thickness of the fabric and whether to emboss the fabric or not were changed as in Table 1. The results of evaluating the structural stability, cleaning performance (cleansing performance), appearance, feel when washing ones face and property of preventing a surface flaw when cleaning a

compact disc are shown in Table 2. Table 1 Preparation Conditions

Table 2 Result of Physical Properties

In Table 2, the structural stability, feel when washing ones face and appearance were observed with the eye and tested by five panelists: Excellent: Four or more panelists found that the fabric was excellent Good: Three panelists found that the fabric was excellent Average: Two panelists found that the fabric was excellent Poor: One or no panelists found that the fabric was excellent The cleansing performance was evaluated as follows. After opening a blank CD-ROM disc, a spray type lubricating agent was sprayed thereon for one second from a distance of lm, then baby powder was scattered evenly thereon from a distance of 0.1m and then blown out by spraying compressed air, then a cotton cloth having a thickness of lmiii

was covered on a 250g cylindrical weight and then wrapped in the fabrics

of Examples 1 to 5, the upper sides were tied with a rubber band, and the surface of the disc was wiped 10 times from the center to the outer periphery using the fabrics. Afterwards, the performance of cleansing the

surface of the disc was observed with the eye and tested by five panelists: Excellent: Four or more panelists found that the fabric was excellent Good: Three panelists found that the fabric was excellent Average: Two panelists found that the fabric was excellent Poor: One or less panelist found that the fabric was excellent The property of preventing a surface flaw when cleaning a compact disc was evaluated as follows. After opening a blank CD-ROM, a cotton cloth having a lniui thickness was covered on a 250g cylindrical weight

and then wrapped in the fabrics of Examples 1 to 5, the upper sides were tied with a rubber band, and then the surface of the disc was wiped 10 times from the center to the outer periphery using the fabrics. Afterwards, the property of preventing a flaw on the surface of the disc was observed with the eye and tested by five panelists:

Excellent: Four or more panelists found that the fabric was excellent

Good: Three panelists found that the fabric was excellent Average: Two panelists found that the fabric was excellent Poor: One or less panelist found that the fabric was excellent

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention shows an excellent cleansing performance,

is soft to the touch and does not damage the surface of an object to be

cleansed. Due to this, the present invention is especially useful as a makeup cleansing fabric or as a wiping fabric for precision products, optical

devices, etc.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A cleansing fabric, which comprises a synthetic fiber multifilament consisting of ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) of 0.001

to 0.2 deniers or its false twist yarn as warp and weft, the fabric having embossed patterns formed on either or both of the front surface and back surface thereof by embossing.

2. The cleansing fabric of claim 1 , wherein embossed patterns are repeated at even intervals from one another and the interval between adjacent embossed patterns is 2 to 20mm.

3. The cleansing fabric of claim 1, wherein embossed patterns are repeated in contact with one another and the maximum interval between

lines forming one embossed pattern (the maximum width of an embossed pattern) is 2 to 20mm.

4. The cleansing fabric of claim 1 , wherein the fabric weave is a

plain weave, satin weave or twill weave.

5. The cleansing fabric of claim 1 , wherein the fabric consists (I) a ground weave, such as a plain weave, satin weave or twill weave, and (II)

a pattern forming weave of a figured fabric.

6. The cleansing fabric of claim 1 , wherein the ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) of the warp and weft are cross-linked to one another, being distributed and spread, as the surface of the fabric is

treated by a friction material.

7. The cleansing fabric of claim 1, wherein weave points of the fabric are firmly fixed to one another by melt bonding.

8. A process of preparing a cleansing fabric, wherein a fabric is woven by using a synthetic fiber multifilament consisting of

two-component conjugated yarns in which ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) having a monofilament fineness of 0.001 to 0.2 deniers after extracting a sea component or extraction component as warp and weft, the woven fabric being scoured in an aqueous alkaline solution simultaneously with the extraction of the sea component or extraction component and then dyed, or the woven fabric being scoured and dyed and then the sea component or extraction component being

extracted in an aqueous alkaline solution, the dyed fabric being embossed by an embossing machine with embossed patterns.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein the two-component conjugated-yarn is a sea-island type conjugated yarn or a split type conjugated yarn.

10. The process of claim 8, wherein the warp and weft are woven into a plain weave, satin weave or twill weave.

1 1. The process of claim 8, wherein the density toward warp of the ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) is adjusted between 100,000 and 1 ,000,000 yarns/inch.

12. The process of claim 8, wherein the density toward weft of the ultra fine yarns (monofilament fibrils) is 50,000 to 500,000 yarns/inch.

13. The process of claim 8, wherein the embossed surface of the fabric is surface-treated by rubbing the same with a roller, a disc or an apron with a friction material attached thereto.

14. The process of claim 8, wherein the fabric is preheated and post-heated at 120 to 160 °C before and after dyeing.

15. The process of claim 8, wherein the fabric is treated for 20 to 60 minutes at a temperature of 80 to 120^°C in a tumbler before or after the embossing treatment process.

16. The process of claim 13, wherein the fabric is treated for 20 to 60 minutes at a temperature of 80 to 120^°C in a tumbler before or after

the surface treatment.