US5221726A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Hydrophilic materials useful in preparing fluid-absorbent products
Assignee: Kenvue Brands LLC
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Filing: 1992-02-03
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Granted: 1993-06-22
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Expires: 2012-02-03
Abstract
Abstract Improved hydrophilic materials, such as foams and films, are provided. These material find use in a wide variety of fluid absorbent products, especially those relating to the absorption of bodily fluids. The soft, absorbent, and resilient foams of this invention exhibit greater wet and dry mechanical strength when compared with those known in the art, as well as improved fluid wicking capacity and lower density. These improved properties are believed attributable to the incorporation into the foams of at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine. The provided hydrophilic materials comprise the polymeric reaction product of a mixture which comprises at least one epoxy resin, at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide), and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine. Methods for preparing foams and other hydrophilic materials are also provided. In general, hydrophilic materials are prepared by providing at least one epoxy resin, forming a reaction mixture by contacting the epoxy resin with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine, and curing the reaction mixture.
Inventors
- 👤 Shmuel Dabi
- 👤 Ram L. Kataria
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 16:43
CPC Classifications
C; C08; C08J; C08J9/00; C08J9/04; C08J9/06; A; A61; A61L; A61L15/00; A61L15/16; A61L15/22; A61L15/26; A61L15/42; A61L15/425; C08G; C08G59/00; C08G59/18; C08G59/40; C08G59/50; C08G59/5006; C08L; C08L63/00; C08J2363/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
31 words
A hydrophilic material comprising the reaction product of a reaction mixture which comprises at least one epoxy resin, at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide), and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
31 words
A hydrophilic material comprising the reaction product of a reaction mixture which comprises at least one epoxy resin, at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide), and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the epoxy resin has an average of at least 1.7 epoxy groups per resin molecule.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the epoxy resin has an average of between about 1.7 and about 4.0 epoxy groups per resin molecule.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the epoxy resin comprises a polyglycidyl ester of a polycarboxylic acid.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the epoxy resin comprises a glycidyl ether resin.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
51 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the epoxy resin comprises an alkanediol glycidyl ether having the formula: ##STR3## wherein X is selected from the group consisting of alkylene and alkylidene groups containing from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms, and n has a value of from 1 to about 25.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
53 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the epoxy resin is selected from the group consisting of di- and polyglycidyl ethers of bisphenols, the bisphenols having the formula: ##STR4## wherein R is a bivalent radical comprising from 1 to about 8 atoms selected from the group consisting of C, O, S, or N.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 7 wherein R is selected from the group consisting of alkylene and alkylidene radicals containing from 1 to about 8 carbon atoms.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
13 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the epoxy resin comprises isopropylidene bisphenol.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
36 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) is selected from the group consisting of amine-terminated poly(propylene oxide), amine- terminated poly(ethylene oxide), amine-terminated copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, and mixtures thereof.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 10 wherein the ratio of ethylene oxide groups to propylene oxide groups in the amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) is between about 1 and about 15.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 10 wherein the ratio of ethylene oxide groups to propylene oxide groups in the amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) is between about 3 and about 10.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
22 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture comprises from about 1 to about 3 epoxy groups per amine group.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture comprises from about 1.5 to about 2.0 epoxy groups per amine group.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
47 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) comprises a compound having the formula: ##STR5## wherein b has a value of from about 8 to about 50 and the sum of a and c has a value of from about 1 to about 5.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
34 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) comprises a compound having the formula: ##STR6## wherein the sum of x and y and z is between about 5 and about 10.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
34 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the polyfunctional aliphatic amine comprises a compound selected from the group consisting of ethylene diamine, butylene diamine, hexamethylene diamine, 2-methyl pentamethylene diamine, diethylene triamine, and dihexamethylene triamine.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
31 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the polyfunctional aliphatic amine comprises a compound having the formula: H.sub.2 N--(CH.sub.2).sub.x --NH.sub.2 wherein x has a value of from 1 to about 15.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
44 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the polyfunctional aliphatic amine comprises a compound having the formula: H.sub.2 N--(CH.sub.2).sub.x --NH--(CH.sub.2).sub.y --NH.sub.2 wherein x and y are independently selected to be the same or different and have a value of from 1 to about 15.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
73 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the polyfunctional aliphatic amine comprises a compound having the formula: H.sub.2 N--(CH.sub.2).sub.w --[NH--(CH.sub.2).sub.x ].sub.n --[NH--(CH2).sub.y ].sub.i --(CH.sub.2).sub.z --NH.sub.2 wherein w, x, y and z are independently selected to be the same or different and have a value of from 2 to about 15, and n and i are independently selected to be the same or different and have a value of from zero to about 6.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
22 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture comprises from about 1% to about 12% polyfunctional aliphatic amine by weight.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture comprises from about 3% to about 8% polyfunctional aliphatic amine by weight.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
15 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture further comprises a blowing agent.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
13 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 23 wherein the blowing agent is sodium borohydride.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
14 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture further comprises a surfactant.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
16 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the material is in the form of a foam.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
16 words
The hydrophilic material of claim 1 wherein the material is in the form of a film.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
42 words
A product which is useful in absorbing bodily fluids, comprising a hydrophilic foam which comprises the reaction product of a reaction mixture which comprises at least one epoxy resin, at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide), and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
42 words
A product which is useful in absorbing bodily fluids, comprising a hydrophilic foam which comprises the reaction product of a reaction mixture which comprises at least one epoxy resin, at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide), and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
36 words
A sanitary napkin comprising a hydrophilic foam which comprises the reaction product of a reaction mixture which comprises at least one epoxy resin, at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide), and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
36 words
A sanitary napkin comprising a hydrophilic foam which comprises the reaction product of a reaction mixture which comprises at least one epoxy resin, at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide), and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
44 words
A method for preparing hydrophilic materials comprising the steps of: providing at least one epoxy resin; forming a reaction mixture by contacting the epoxy resin with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine; and curing the reaction mixture.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
44 words
A method for preparing hydrophilic materials comprising the steps of: providing at least one epoxy resin; forming a reaction mixture by contacting the epoxy resin with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine; and curing the reaction mixture.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
57 words
A method for preparing hydrophilic materials comprising the steps of: providing at least one epoxy resin; forming a prepolymer by contacting excess epoxy resin with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide); forming a reaction mixture by contacting the prepolymer with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine; curing the reaction mixture.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
57 words
A method for preparing hydrophilic materials comprising the steps of: providing at least one epoxy resin; forming a prepolymer by contacting excess epoxy resin with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide); forming a reaction mixture by contacting the prepolymer with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide) and at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine; curing the reaction mixture.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
60 words
A method for preparing hydrophilic foam comprising the steps of: providing at least one epoxy resin; forming a prepolymer by contacting excess epoxy resin with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide); forming a foaming mixture by contacting the prepolymer with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide), at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine, and a blowing agent; curing the foaming mixture.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
60 words
A method for preparing hydrophilic foam comprising the steps of: providing at least one epoxy resin; forming a prepolymer by contacting excess epoxy resin with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide); forming a foaming mixture by contacting the prepolymer with at least one amine-terminated poly(alkylene oxide), at least one polyfunctional aliphatic amine, and a blowing agent; curing the foaming mixture.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-06-21 | 1996-12-21 | 1997-06-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-06-21 | 2000-12-21 | 2001-06-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-06-21 | 2004-12-21 | 2005-06-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |