具体实施方式：
[0018]FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a scrubbing article 10 in accordance with the present disclosure. Scrubbing article 10 may be described as a consumer cleaning or scrubbing article 10. As used throughout this Specification, the term “consumer” is in reference to any household, cosmetic, industrial, hospital or food industry applications and the like of the article 10. Further as used throughout this Specification, the term “scrubbing” is used to describe surface treating and may include cleaning, abrading and/or scouring, including various levels or degrees of abrading and/or scouring action (e.g., heavy duty, non-scratch, etc.). The article 10 comprises a substrate 12 and a texture layer 14 (referenced generally in FIG. 1). The substrate 12 and the texture layer 14 can comprise a variety of different materials as described further below. Regardless, the texture layer 14 is characterized as including an abrasive composition that is formed on the substrate 12 and is exposed to UV light (UV treated) to form a UV treated (UV crosslinked and/or UV polymerized) texture layer 14, as will be described more fully below. It is to be understood that where an “UV crosslinkable or UV crosslinked” material or composition is disclosed throughout this Specification, likewise an “UV polymerizable or UV polymerized” material or composition may be included (added) or substituted. In other words, the present disclosure encompasses texture layer 14 compositions that may include UV polymerized/polymerizable materials (e.g., monomers) or UV crosslinked/crosslinkable materials (e.g., multifunctional monomers, polymers), or may include both, whether or not indication is specifically made to these alternative texture layer composition possibilities. With additional reference to FIG. 2, the substrate 12 defines first and second opposing surfaces 16, 18. The thickness of the substrate 12 (denoted by reference “t”) and of the texture layer 14 may be exaggerated or understated in FIGS. 2 and 4. The texture layer 14 is formed on one or more surfaces of the substrate (e.g., surface 16). The texture layer 14 can also penetrate the surfaces 16, 18 to some degree. In some embodiments, the scrubbing article 10 further includes a chemical solution (not shown) loaded into, or absorbed by, the substrate 12 and/or provided as part of the texture layer composition. Applicable chemical solutions are likewise described in greater detail below. The texture layer 14 may be configured to accommodate a wide variety of chemical solutions including those that are neutral, cationic, or anionic. Further, the scrubbing article 10 is equally useful without a chemical solution.
[0019]Compositions of the substrate 12 and the texture layer 14, as well as processing thereof, are provided below. The scrubbing article 10 may be described as providing a “scrubbiness” attribute. The term “scrubbiness” is in reference to an ability to abrade or remove a relatively small, undesirable item otherwise affixed to a surface as the article is moved back and forth over the item. A substrate can be given a scrubbiness characteristic not only by forming a hardened scrubbing material on the substrate's surface (i.e., harder than the substrate itself), but also and perhaps more prominently via the extent to which the so-formed material extends from or beyond the substrate surface in conjunction with side-to-side spacing between individual sections of the scrubbing material. The texture layer of the present disclosure provides and uniquely satisfies both of these scrubbiness requirements.
[0020]By way of further explanation, the texture layer 14 defines a plurality of discrete portions (e.g., the various dot-like portions shown in FIG. 1 and referenced generally at 20a, 20b). Discrete portions 20a, 20b may form a randomly textured surface or may form a pattern on the substrate surface 16. Further, discrete portions (e.g., 20a, 20b) may comprise varying relative sizes or may be substantially uniform in size. For instance, and as illustrated in FIG. 1A, dots 20a are relatively larger than dots 20b. Further, discrete portions (e.g., 20a, 20b) may extend or project outwardly from the surface 16 at substantially uniform distances or, alternatively, may extend or project outwardly from the surface 16 at varying distances (i.e. the discrete portions 20a, 20b can have similar or varying heights with respect to the surface 16). In some embodiments, discrete portions (e.g., 20a, 20b) may extend to any distance in a range of about 10 to about 200 microns outwardly from the surface 16. In other embodiments, discrete portions (e.g., 20a, 20b) may extend to any distance in a range of about 10 to about 20 microns outwardly from the surface 16. In still further embodiments, discrete portions (e.g., 20a, 20b) may extend to a distance of about 10 to about 15 microns outwardly from the surface 16. Regardless, a variety of texturings and/or patterns can be provided on the substrate 12. Alternative exemplary embodiments of patterns useful with the present disclosure are shown in FIGS. 5A-5B.
[0021]Regardless of the pattern design and/or extension distance of portions (e.g., 20a, 20b) from the surface 16, during a scrubbing application, a user (not shown) will normally hold the article 10 by grasping the article for example along a side or edge 15. The thickness “t” of article 10 allows for easy grasping or holding of the article 10 as described more fully below. The user will then position the scrubbing article 10 such that the texture layer 14 is facing the surface to be scrubbed. An example of this orientation is provided in FIG. 3 whereby the scrubbing article 10 is positioned to clean or otherwise treat a surface 30. As should be understood, the surface 30 to be cleaned is application specific, and can be relatively hard (e.g., a table top or cooking pan) or relatively soft (e.g., human skin, polymeric baking vessels, etc.). Regardless, in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3, the surface 30 to be scrubbed may have a mass 32 that is undesirably affixed thereto. Again, the mass 32 will be unique to the particular scrubbing application, but includes matters such as dirt, dried food, dried blood, etc. The scrubbing article 10 of the present disclosure facilitates scrubbing removal of the mass 32 as a user repeatedly forces the texture layer 14 (or a portion or section thereof) back and forth across the mass 32. Each section (for example, the portions 20a, 20b) of the texture layer 14 must be sufficiently hard to either abrade or entirely remove the mass 32 during the scrubbing motion. In addition, the texture layer 14 must extend an appreciable distance from the substrate surface 16 to ensure intimate surface interaction with the mass 32 along not only an outer most surface 40, but along sides 42 as well. Portions 20a, 20b, while depicted as having uniform, sharp corners or edges (at the intersection of surface 40 and sides 42), may likewise or instead have rounded edges or corners or may be non-uniform in cross-section. What is important is that the extension of the texture layer is such that the desired scrubbiness is achieved. Notably, many cleaning wipes incorporating a blown fiber “scrubbing” or texture layer provide only a minimal thickness or extension relative to the substrate surface, likely giving rise to a less than desirable scrubbiness characteristic. Further, it is preferred that the discrete portions (for example, the portions 20a, 20b) provided by the texture layer 14 of the present disclosure be sufficiently spaced from one another to ensure intimate contact between the mass 32 and the sidewall 42 of the particular texture layer portion 20a, 20b during a cleaning operation. Further still, it is desirable that the texture layer 14 has abrasion resistance such that the composition forming the texture layer 14 remains substantially intact on the substrate 12 during and after the article 10 is used to scrub a surface 30. If both surfaces 16, 18 have a texture layer 14, then each side can be used in the manner described above. However, if one side is not textured, the non-textured side may be used for milder scrubbing or wiping functions. In this manner, the scrubbing article can be used as a multifunctional or multipurpose cleaning article.
[0022]Importantly, the UV treated texture layer 14 of the present disclosure may be configured to have a relative hardness at least equal to or greater than the hardness of the substrate 12 to which the layer is imparted, as briefly referred to above. Stated otherwise, the local hardness of the texture layer portions (e.g., 20a, 20b) or overall texture layer 14 is equal to or greater than the hardness of the entire article 10, or the “global hardness”. Article 10 may thus be defined as having global flexibility, since the substrate 12 is softer or more flexible in relation to the harder, less flexible abrasive/texture layer 14. Hardness of a texture composition 14 after having been formed on a substrate as well as hardness of a substrate (for comparison) can be achieved in a number of ways. For example, hardness of a material can be established by determining the Rockwell indentation hardness, such as described in ASTM E18-14a: Standard Test Methods for Rockwell Hardness of Metallic Materials; by determining Knoop and Vickers hardness, such as described in ASTM E384-10: Standard Test Method for Knoop and Vickers Hardness of Materials; by determining the durometer hardness, such as described in ASTM D2240-05: Standard Test Method for Rubber Property-Durometer Hardness, or by determining the Brinell hardness, such as described in ASTM E10-14: Standard Test Method for Brinell Hardness of Metallic Materials. An article having these characteristics is uniquely useful as a scrubbing article in that the article 10 is sufficiently flexible to allow a user to make contact in, on and about a variety of objects to be scrubbed, while the hardness of the abrasive layer 14 provides the desired scrubbing performance. The above features are readily achieved via the textured layer and UV treatments of the present disclosure as described below.
Substrates
[0023]The substrate 12 can be formed from a variety of cloth, foam and sponge materials and may take a variety of forms. Any cloth, foam or sponge material or combination of materials suitable for use as a consumer scrubbing article can be used including, without limitation, polyurethane foams such as the polyurethane foam commercially available under the trade designation, TEXTURED SURFACE FOAM, POLYETHER, M-100SF from AERO TECHNOLOGIES LLC, Newark, Del., USA, cellulose sponges such as the sponge commercially available under the trade designation of SCOTCH-BRITE STAY CLEAN NON-SCRATCH, cat. No. 20202-12 from 3M COMPANY, St. Paul, Minn., USA, and biodegradable L200, N250, S100 sponge cloths from Kalle GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany.
[0024]As used herein, the term “foam” refers to a colloidal dispersion made of two distinct phases formed by two dissimilar materials. Thus, a foam may also be referred to as a solidified colloidal dispersion. For polyurethane (PU) foams, for example, a gas (most commonly carbon dioxide gas formed during foaming reactions) is dispersed within the PU liquid to form a distinct dispersed phase. This dispersion is subsequently solidified to obtain solid PU foam. The term “sponge” as used herein is likewise used to describe a solidified colloidal dispersion. For example, in forming a cellulose sponge, a salt is dispersed in the cellulose mixture (viscose) to form a distinct dispersed phase. The dispersion is subsequently solidified and the salt is eliminated to obtain solid cellulose sponge. Definitions of sponge and foam materials as used herein may be consistent with those defined in, “Foundations of Colloid Science”, Vol. 1, Robert J. Hunter, Oxford University Press, New York, 1987, incorporated by reference here in its entirety.
[0025]The materials and forms of the substrate 12 can be selected to provide varying ranges of desired properties, such as extensibility, elasticity, durability, flexibility etc., that are particularly suited to a given scrubbing task and/or are particularly suited to forming a texture composition thereon. As indicated, materials useful for substrate 12 may be selected to have durability properties in a wide range. For example, the durability of materials suitable for use in scrubbing articles is often categorized as “disposable” (meaning that an article formed from the material is intended to be discarded immediately after use), “semi-disposable” (meaning that an article formed from the material can be washed and re-used a limited number of times), or “reusable” (meaning that an article formed from the material is intended to be washed and re-used). Scrubbing articles 10 of the present disclosure can be selected or formed to have any of these durability properties. Also as indicated above, materials may be selected based upon their flexibility.
[0026]According the present disclosure, consumers may prefer a relatively more rigid article that still maintains some degree of flexibility. A rigid article may be one that is formed of a composition and into a form that substantially holds its shape both when held by a user or when placed on an irregular surface. Notably, a more rigid cleaning article may still have some degree of flexibility so as to conform to contours of a surface to be scrubbed. However, the articles contemplated by the present disclosure may be of the type that return to an original form after having been bent, compressed or otherwise manipulated during a cleaning action.
[0027]The substrate 12 may be selected or formed to have a surface (e.g., 16) that readily accepts the formation of a texture layer 14 thereon. In particular, the surface of the substrate may be formed to have a skinned layer to obtain a “smoother”, more uniform, less porous or finer-pore surface. By smoother or more uniform is meant that the surface (or surfaces) of the substrate has characteristics that differ from the body 13 (FIG. 2) of the substrate 12 or from a majority of the substrate material not comprising the surface. Even where the surface or surfaces (16, 18) may be formed as described above to have smoother surface characteristics, the entire substrate remains of the same chemical composition.
[0028]The substrate 12 has a thickness “t” (FIG. 2) that advantageously allows a user to hold the article 10 by grasping the article along a side or edge 15. A user may, however, grasp the article at surfaces 16, 18 as well. What is important is that the thickness “t” of article 10 allows for easy grasping or holding of the article 10 generally since a “handle” is created by the thick nature of the substrate 12. The thickness “t” of the substrate 12 may be for example in a range of 2-5 cm. The thickness “t” can be about 2 cm, about 3 cm, or about 4 cm. As a point of reference, the term “thick” as used herein may be in relation to household cleaning cloths or wipes or commonly available dish cloths that are drapable or have thicknesses on the order of 0.5 cm or less. These types of relatively thinner articles/substrates have ergonomic disadvantages in handling and may become unwieldy to use to scour a surface. Conversely, thicker substrates 12 as described herein, provide a handle by virtue of their thickness. The handle allows for more comfortable holding and ease of use during a scouring or abrading function.
[0029]The substrate 12 as depicted in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 is a single layer structure. The article 10 is configured such that the texture layer 14 can be formed directly onto a surface (e.g., surface formed by and indicated at side 15, surfaces 16, 18, etc.) of the single layer substrate 12 and form a useful scrubbing article, without the need for lamination, bonding, or otherwise joining etc. of the article 10 to another substrate layer. In other words, the substrate 12 as well as the article 10 are non-laminate structures. The substrate 12 can, however, include additional layers such as an adhesion promoter layer or tie layer, for example.
[0030]Other sponges and foams are likewise contemplated and these examples are not meant to be limiting. Regardless of the exact construction, however, the substrate 12 is highly conducive to handling by a user otherwise using the article 10 for scrubbing purposes and is selected having regard to the intended use of the scrubbing article 10.
Texture Layer Compositions
[0031]As discussed above, the texture layer 14 is an abrasive composition that is formed on substrate 12 and subsequently UV crosslinked or UV polymerized or both as will be described below. The exact composition of the texture layer 14 can vary depending upon desired end performance characteristics. To this end, a texture layer composition is initially formulated and then formed on the substrate 12. This composition will include a selected resin and may include additional constituents such as mineral(s), filler(s), colorant(s), thickener(s), defoaming agent(s), surfactant(s) etc. Regardless of the exact composition, however, the selected composition is UV treatable (i.e., polymerizable, crosslinkable) and imparts the desired features (e.g., manufacturability, scrubbiness, durability, hardness and abrasion resistance) to the scrubbing article 10. As a point of reference, the texture layer composition 14 may be described as “UV crosslinkable” or “UV polymerizable”, or both, prior to UV treatment (e.g., crosslinking, polymerization) of the texture layer 14 and as “UV crosslinked” or “UV polymerized”, or both, after the texture layer 14 has undergone UV treatment. The processes of printing and UV treating the texture layer compositions of the present disclosure are further discussed below. In addition, as defined herein, an interim scrubbing article 17 is formed after the texture layer composition 14 is formed on substrate 12 but prior to UV treatment of the composition 14 and will likewise be discussed in further detail below.
[0032]Various materials are suitable for forming the texture layer 14. As described above, texture layer 14 comprises a resin composition and may comprise various polymers and/or monomers. Some acceptable resins include those resins selected from the group consisting of styrene-butadiene resin, acrylic resin, phenolic resin, nitrile resin, ethylene vinyl acetate resin, polyurethane resin, styrene-acrylic resin, vinyl acrylic resin and combinations thereof. Other non-limiting examples of binder resins useful with the present disclosure include amino resins, alkylated urea-formaldehyde resins, melamine-formaldehyde resins, acrylic resins (including acrylates and methacrylates) such as vinyl acrylates, acrylated epoxies, acrylated urethanes, acrylated polyesters, acrylated acrylics, acrylated polyethers, vinyl ethers, acrylated oils, and acrylated silicones, alkyd resins such as urethane alkyd resins, polyester resins, reactive urethane resins, phenolic resins such as resole and nonvolac resins, phenolic/latex resins, epoxy resins, and the like. The resins may be provided as monomers, oligomers, polymers, or combination thereof. Monomers may include multifunctional monomers capable of forming a crosslinked structure, such as epoxy monomers, olefins, styrene, butadiene, acrylic monomers, phenolic monomers, substituted phenolic monomers, nitrile monomers, ethylene vinyl acetate monomer, isocyanates, acrylic monomers, vinyl acrylic monomer and combinations thereof. Other non-limiting examples of binder resins useful with the present disclosure include amino acids, alkylated urea monomers, melamines, acrylic monomers (including acrylates and methacrylates) such as vinyl acrylates, acrylated epoxies, acrylated urethanes, acrylated polyesters, acrylated acrylics, acrylated ethers, vinyl ethers, acrylated oils, and acrylated silicones, alkyd monomers such as urethane alkyd monomers, and esters.
[0033]Other desirable features of texture layer 14 compositions include compositions having a molecular weight that allows for the formed UV treatable texture layer 14 to have sufficient (e.g., minimum level of) adhesion to the substrate 12 to which it is applied such that it does not readily wipe off of or shift along the substrate surface 16 (i.e., such that the texture layer 14 formed on the substrate stays on the substrate surface 16 after transfer of the texture layer 14 to the substrate 16 and prior and/or subsequent to UV treatment). Specifically, materials may be selected to have molecular weights or viscosities allowing the texture layer 14 composition to be flowable in a manner that will fill the holes or voids of a stencil pattern during transfer to or forming of the composition on a substrate 12, sufficiently to adhere to the substrate 12 and to hold the desired pattern shape upon removal of the stencil from the substrate.
[0034]The composition of the texture layer includes a photoinitiator and can optionally include a promoter or a retardant as part of the formulation or composition of texture layer 14, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, as described in detail in textbooks such as Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (section “Radiation Chemistry”). Exemplary photoinitiators are those provided in TABLE 1A, herein below. Some initiators and promoters that can assist UV crosslinking or UV polymerization, or both, include alpha-hydroxy and alpha-aminoacetophenones or phosphine oxides, commercially available under the trade designations of Darocur 1173, Irgacure 651, Irgacure 369, Irgacure 819, Lucirin TPO, all commercially available from BASF CORP., Florham Park, N.J., USA; those based on aromatic ketones, such as benzophenones, thioxanthones, methylphenylglyoxylate, and camphorquinone; co-initiators, such as N-phenylglycine, ethyl p-dimethylaminobenzoate, and 2-mercaptobenzoxazole; onium salts, such as iodonium or sulfonium salts, commercially available under the trade designations, such as Irgacure 250 (from BASF CORP., Florham Park, N.J., USA), Cyracure UVI 6976 (from DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY, Midland, Mich., USA), and Esacure 1187 (from LEHMANN & VOSS & CO., Hamburg, Germany).
[0035]In some embodiments, the texture layer 14 optionally further includes a particulate additive for enhanced hardness. To this end, and as described in greater detail below, the scrubbing article 10 of the present disclosure is useful in a wide variety of potential applications having different scrubbing requirements. For some applications, it is desirable that the scrubbing article 10, and in particular the texture layer 14, be more or less abrasive than others. While the above-described resin component of the texture layer 14 independently imparts a scrubbiness feature to the article 10 greater than other available scrubbing articles, this scrubbiness characteristic can be further enhanced via the addition of a particulate component. With this in mind, a wide variety of minerals or fillers as known in the art can be employed. Useful minerals include Al2O3, “Minex” (available from The Cary Co. of Addison, Ill.), SiO2, TiO2, etc. Exemplary fillers include CaCO3, talc, etc. Where employed, the particulate component additive comprises less than 70% by weight of the texture layer 14, more preferably less than 50% by weight, most preferably less than 30% by weight. Further, the particulate component may consist of inorganic, hard, and small particles. For example, the “Minex” mineral particulate component has a median particle size of 2 microns and a Knoop hardness of about 560. Of course, other particle size and hardness values may also be useful. The inorganic nature of the particulate component, in conjunction with the non-ionic resin component, renders the resulting texture layer 14 amenable for use with any type of chemical solution.
[0036]The texture layer 14 can further include a colorant or pigment additive to provide a desired aesthetic appeal to the wiping article 10. Appropriate pigments are well known in the art, and include, for example, products sold under the trade name SUNSPERSE, available from Sun Chemical Corp. of Amelia, Ohio. Other coloring agents as known in the art are equally acceptable and in some embodiments comprise less than 10% of the texture layer composition by weight.
[0037]Additionally, the texture layer composition can include a thickening agent or agents to achieve a viscosity most desirable for the particular printing technique employed and speed of the manufacturing line. In this regard, appropriate thickening agents are known in the art and include, for example, methylcellulose and a material available under the trade name “RHEOLATE 255” from Rheox, Inc. of Hightstown, N.J. Another acceptable thickening agent is available from Huntsman International LLC, High Point, N.C., USA under the trade designation of LYOPRINT PT-XN. A thickening agent may be unnecessary depending upon the selected resin and processing technique; however, where employed, the thickening agent preferably comprises less than approximately 40% by weight of the texture layer composition. In other embodiments, a salt component may be provided in the composition to aid in causing an ionic reaction between components of an emulsion and thereby likewise generate an increase in the viscosity of the composition, as is known in the art. Notwithstanding the above, the composition of texture layer 14 may be non-ionic, according to some embodiments.
[0038]As indicated above, anti-foaming agents may be included in the composition to provide defoaming or emulsification of the composition. As described in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (section “Foams and Foam Control”), some anti-foaming materials are carrier oils; such as water-insoluble paraffinic and naphthenic mineral oils, vegetable oils, tall oil, castor oil, soybean oil, peanut oil; silicone oils, such as dimethylpolysiloxanes; hydrophobic silica; Hydrophobic fat derivatives and waxes, such as fatty acid esters of monofunctional and polyfunctional alcohols, fatty acid amides and sulfonamides, paraffinic hydrocarbon waxes, ozokerite, and montan wax, phosphoric acid mono-, di-, and triesters of short- and long-chain fatty alcohols, short- and long-chain natural or synthetic fatty alcohols, water-insoluble soaps of long-chain fatty acids, including aluminum stearate, calcium stearate, and calcium behenate, perfluorinated fatty alcohols; water-insoluble polymers, such as low molecular mass, fatty acid modified alkyd resins, low molecular mass novolaks, copolymers of vinyl acetate and long-chain maleic and fumaric acid diesters, and methyl methacrylate-vinylpyrrolidone copolymers, poly(propyleneglycols) and high molecular mass propylene oxide adducts to glycerol, trimethylol, propane (1,1,1-tris(hydroxymethyl)propane), pentaerythritol, triethanolamine, dipentaerythritol, polyglycerol, addition products of butylene oxide or long-chain a-epoxides with polyvalent alcohols. An example anti-foaming agent is a silicone emulsion commercially available under the trade designation of XIAMETER AFE-1520, manufactured by Dow Corning Corporation of Midland, Mich., USA.
[0039]In some embodiments, the composition of the texture layer 14 may include binder resins, ceramic microparticles or processing agents as described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/121,644, entitled, “Consumer Scrubbing Article with Ceramic Microparticles and Method of Making Same” filed on Feb. 27, 2015 and incorporated by referenced herein in its entirety.
[0040]Finally, and as previously described, the scrubbing article 10 of the present disclosure can be used “dry” or can be loaded with a chemical (solution or solid) for disinfecting, sanitizing or cleaning (e.g., a soap). The term “loaded” is in reference to a chemical solution being absorbed by the substrate 12 prior to being delivered to a user. In addition or alternatively, the chemical may be sprayed onto a surface of the cloth. In still further embodiments, a chemical may be provided in or as part of the texture layer composition 14. Thus, deposited (e.g., printed) texture layer 14 may comprise printed soap scrubbing dots (e.g., 20a, 20b, FIG. 1). With these various constructions, during use, the chemical solution is released from the substrate 12 as the user wipes the scrubbing article 10 across a surface. Thus, in embodiments where the chemical is provided as part of the texture layer 14, the texture layer (i.e., scrubbing portions 20a, 20b) may gradually decrease in size as the chemical is consumed during a scrubbing application. Due to the preferred non-ionic nature of the texture layer 14, virtually any desired chemical (solution or solid) can be used including water, soap, quaternary ammonium salt solutions, Lauricidin™-based anti-microbials, alcohol-based anti-microbials, citrus-based cleaners, solvent-based cleaners, cream polishes, anionic cleaners, amine oxides, etc. That is to say, where employed, the chemical solution can be anionic, cationic, or neutral.
Formation of the Scrubbing Article
[0041]Manufacture or formation of the scrubbing article 10 of the present disclosure is depicted in the simplified block form of FIG. 4 and generally includes formulating the appropriate texture layer composition, imparting the composition to the substrate 12 (e.g., via printing, coating, etching, embossing, molding, micro-replication, etc.), and then UV treating the deposited or formed composition, thereby resulting in a UV crosslinked or UV polymerized (or both) texture layer 14. Various techniques for actual depositing or imparting of the composition 14 to the substrate 12 are described below. Importantly, however, and as noted above, the texture layer composition is formulated such that constituents may be UV crosslinked and/or UV polymerized as part of the UV treating step.
[0042]This, along with the disclosed substrate constructions, represents distinct advantages over other techniques used to form a scrubbing article having a textured surface.
[0043]Prior to forming a texture layer 14 on a substrate 12, depending upon the type of substrate, the surface 16 of the substrate 12 may be primed or treated. Priming may involve mechanical, chemical, physical and material application methods. For example, some surface priming methods that may be especially useful with the present disclosure include heating, applying pressure, consolidating, flame treating, melting, cutting or removing substrate material. Alternatively, priming may include application of a chemical primer such as an adhesive. Notably, however, in some embodiments, no primer is necessary prior to transfer of the texture layer 14 composition onto the substrate 12 and achieve adequate adhesion.
[0044]The texture layer 14 composition can be formed on one or more surfaces of the substrate 12 using a variety of known techniques such as printing, (e.g., screen printing, gravure printing, flexographic printing, etc.), coating (e.g., roll, spray, electrostatic), etching, laser etching, injection molding, micro-replicating, and embossing. In general terms, and with reference to FIG. 4, texture former (of various types) 58 deposits or imparts a UV treatable (i.e., crosslinkable and/or UV polymerizable) texture layer 14 onto substrate 12 in any desired pattern, such as any of the various patterns described above. The texture former 58 can include, for example, a printer, roll coater, spray coater, etching device, laser, embossing equipment, microreplication machine, etc. As one specific, non-limiting example, use of a printing method for imparting the texture layer 14 to the substrate 12 may be advantageous in that printing techniques can provide a relatively high-definition (e.g., sharp) printed composition 14. Some printing techniques may also afford relative ease of manufacture and lower cost as compared to other texture forming techniques described above. Regardless of the texture forming technique, as previously described, the texture layer 14 covers less than an entirety of the substrate surface to which it is transferred (i.e., the surface 16 of FIG. 2), and is preferably formed in a pattern including two or more discrete sections. In this regard, a wide variety of patterns can be provided. For example, the pattern can consist of a plurality of dots as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the lines can be connected to one another. In yet alternative embodiments, and with additional reference to FIGS. 5A-5B, the texture layer