Method of making a multilayered elastomeric article

Inventors

Modha, Shantilal H. • Robert, Patrick H. • Issara, Sopha • Zakaria, Zamsari

Assignees

Owens and Minor International Ltd • Rutherford Holdings CV • Owens and Minor Jersey Holdings Ltd • Owens and Minor Ireland ULC • Owens and Minor Distribution Inc • O&M Halyard Inc • Owens and Minor Inc • O&M Worldwide LLC • Owens and Minor International Logistics Inc

Abstract

Elastomeric articles, such as gloves, made from more than one layer, are provided. The gloves can include a first (grip side) layer in which a first colorant is compounded or integrated and a second (donning side) layer in which a second colorant is compounded or integrated. Alternatively, the gloves can include a translucent first layer and a second layer in which a colorant is compounded or integrated. Either arrangement can enable a breach of the first layer to be more easily detected, either due to the high level of contrast between the first layer and the second when a first colorant and a second colorant are utilized, or due to the translucence of the first layer as compared to the donning side layer, where the intensity of the second layer is increased upon a breach of the translucent first layer.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a method of making a multilayered elastomeric article by sequentially dipping a mold into a first solution comprising a first powder free coagulant, where the first powder free coagulant includes a first metallic salt. The method then dips the mold into a first elastomeric formulation comprising a first elastomeric material to form a first layer, followed by dipping the mold into a second elastomeric formulation to form a second layer. The first elastomeric formulation and the second elastomeric formulation are cured to form the multilayered elastomeric article.

The second layer includes a second elastomeric material compounded with a second colored pigment and titanium dioxide. The ratio of the parts of titanium dioxide to the parts of the second colored pigment ranges from about 0.25 to about 3. The resulting multilayered elastomeric article has sufficient level of contrast between the first layer and the second layer to detect a breach of the first layer.

The disclosure is directed to multilayered elastomeric gloves/articles having distinct layer appearance so that breaches in one layer are visually detectable with high contrast. The document indicates that standardized color-contrast metrics can be used to establish breach-detection performance, including CIE 1976 ΔE* color difference.

Claims Coverage

The document provides one independent method claim describing the formation of a multilayered elastomeric article with a defined contrast relationship between layers, using sequential mold dipping with powder free coagulant and metallic salt, and a second layer compounded with colored pigment and titanium dioxide at a specified ratio.

Overall, the claim coverage centers on creating a two-layer elastomeric structure by sequential dipping and curing, while engineering the second layer with a defined titanium dioxide to colored pigment ratio to achieve sufficient visual contrast between the first and second layers to detect a breach of the first layer.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications