The Procter Gamble Company

Richard G Bausch

Richard M Girardot

Eric J Grosgogeat

Charles G Yeazell

Lyle B Tuthill

H Norman Reiboldt

William P Dirksing

John P Grooms

A personal cleansing implement comprises a tubular piece of hydrophobic diamond-mesh scrim, which is stretched to expand the diamond mesh, gathered along a longitudinal axis of the tubular piece of scrim to form circumferential pleats, and heat set in an expanded and pleated condition to form a substantially rectangular resilient batt. Top and bottom surfaces of the batt are bonded together adjacent the perimeter of the batt by a bonding means. Thread stitching or intermittent thermobonding are the preferred bonding means. Ultrasonic bonding is most preferred. A tether loop is connected to the implement for hanging it from a support during drying.

Implement for personal cleansing and method of construction

An extruded scrim having a diamond-mesh pattern is used to construct a personal cleansing implement. The diamond-mesh material is produced from a hydrophobic flexible polymer. The implement comprises a piece of tubular scrim having a longitudinal axis. The tubular scrim is stretched transversely to the longitudinal axis and is gathered parallel to the longitudinal axis to form circumferential pleats. In one embodiment the stretched and gathered tubular scrim is heat set in its expanded and pleated condition. A second piece of tubular scrim is placed inside the pleated and expanded scrim tubing. One end of the second piece is inverted over the outside of the pleats and connected to the other end to envelop the pleated and expanded scrim tubing. In another embodiment the pleats are not heat set and remain resilient. This embodiment has a means for confining the circumferential pleats from axial expansion. A band of material is looped through the scrim tubing and around its outer surface. Pleats are then evenly distributed around the loop to form a toroidal shaped implement. The personal cleansing implement of the present invention has a high open area, without a dense center core to inhibit rinsing and drying.

Implement for personal cleansing made from extruded plastic scrim

A personal cleansing implement comprises a tubular piece of diamond-mesh scrim, which is stretched to expand the diamond mesh, gathered to form circumferential pleats, heat set in an expanded and pleated condition, and folded into a stack of layers to form a resilient batt. A softer layer of hydrophobic knitted material lies against the top surface of the batt with its outer edge wrapped around the perimeter of the batt and against the bottom surface of the batt. The softer knitted layer is connected to the batt by a connecting means at the outer edge to form a dual textured cleansing implement made of hydrophobic materials and having high open area to enhance rinsing and drying. Thread stitching or thermobonding are the preferred connecting means. A tether loop is connected to the implement for hanging it from a support during drying. The softer knitted layer preferably has at least one aperture therethrough.

Dual textured implement for personal cleansing and method of construction

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Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Richard G Bausch