CH620485A5 - Product for the treatment of textiles in a tumble drier - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a product for treating textiles with conditioning agents. The products are particularly suitable for use in tumble dryers or tumble dryers, i.e. H. in machines in which damp textiles are tumbled while warm air is circulated around them so that the moisture is removed.

It has been found that the practice of washing clothes and textiles has an effect of hardening or becoming hard on the handle of the textiles during subsequent wear or use, particularly in the case of cotton textiles and towels. It has therefore already been proposed to soften the textiles by treating them with textile softeners in tumble dryers or tumble dryers. For example, it has already been proposed to spray a fabric softening agent on the inside of the drum of a tumble dryer before inserting the textiles into the tumble dryer, so that the fabric softening agent from the drum onto the

Textiles are rubbed off in the tumble dryer during the drying process. However, this can cause a sticky residue to build up on the drum. Furthermore, it has already been proposed to impregnate a textile piece with a fabric softener and then add it to the tumble dryer with the clothes or textiles to be softened, so that the softening agent is transferred from the textile piece to the clothes or other textiles during the drying process in the tumbler. However, this is not convenient since a newly impregnated piece of textile usually has to be used every time and is relatively expensive.

The inventive product for the treatment of textiles in a tumble dryer is defined in claim 1.

By using a product according to the invention it is possible to achieve a substantially uniform distribution of the textile conditioning agent over the textiles to be treated and by adjusting the amount of the textile conditioning agent in the products it is possible to use it for more than one operation in a tumble dryer.

The products according to the invention can take a variety of physical forms, although each embodiment has the essential feature that it is formed from at least one piece of elastically flexible substrate. The preferred substrate or the preferred carrier is a film or strip made of foamed plastic or rubber, these preferably being highly porous and very flexible. A suitable foam is a product of open cell structure, since closed cell foams are not sufficiently porous, and preferably such a foam has a density of about 20 to 30 kg / m3 and a pore count of 10 to 30 cells per cm. Such foils or sheets or strips of foam preferably have a thickness of not more than about 2.5 cm, e.g. B. from about 0.25 cm to about 2 cm.

Specifically preferred supports or supports which are mentioned are polyurethane foams which are available in sheet form with a thickness of about 0.5 to 1 cm and a number of pores of about 15 to 25 cells per cm. It has been found that polyether type polyurethane foams are better than polyester type foams in terms of shape retention at the elevated temperatures that occur in tumble drying. The foam plastic material used can optionally be a mesh-like foam, i. H. a foam in which the cell walls are torn open, but leaving the cell network intact overall. Alternatively, laminated foam sheets can be used, i.e. H. Foams with large pore sizes laminated to one or two layers of foam with fine pore structures. This can result in a product that is more resistant to surface damage and the finer structure of the outer pores makes it easier to apply the textile conditioning agent evenly to the textiles to be treated.

Alternatively, the carrier or the underlay can be a textile material, either a woven or knitted material or a non-woven material, but such a textile material should be treated in order to make it elastically flexible, e.g. B. by coating or laminating with a rubber or similar material. If normal textile material, e.g. H. With no tendency to maintain its shape, the products tend to curl up in the tumble drying process and be relatively ineffective. Furthermore, if only individual, open plates of such substrates are used for textile treatment, they can be caught more easily between the rotating drum and the body of the tumble dryer or the s

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Block the hot air outlet from the tumble dryer when in use.

The product as a whole should have a certain three-dimensional shape so that the contact of its outer surfaces with the textiles during the drying process in the tumbler is facilitated and thus a uniform application of the textile conditioning agent to the textiles is improved. Specific forms of the product, which may be mentioned by way of example, include those which were formed from individual plates of the carrier or substrate, these being folded or wrapped and then tied together in a special multi-layer form, in particular in the region of the lacing. If necessary, the panels can be cut before or after tying. Specific shapes of products made from single panels are folded fan shapes and rolled, cylindrical shapes. Instead of tying the plates or strips can be attached to each other in other ways, for. B. by treatment with adhesive or heat treatment, but in such cases this is better done before impregnating the support or the base with the conditioning agent.

Alternatively, the product may be made from more than one sheet or strip of the substrate, which in turn may be folded or wrapped and then tied together in a bundle or bundle or otherwise secured, the overall shape of which may vary from the shape of each Piece and the way they are linked. For example, strips of flexible support may be tied together at their ends to form an octopus-like shape with two to about twelve or even more arms. Alternatively, bundles of strips can be tied together in the middle to form a mop-like structure with two ends. Instead of strips, which can be rectangular, round or of another cross-section, plates made of flexible support can be tied together in a variety of ways, a particularly preferred form being

bundle a number of about two to twelve pieces of foam sheets together in such a way that they have an overall ball-like appearance. For example, oval shaped pieces of foam sheet can be used to form "leaves" or "petals" of the wearer, which protrude from a common center, which may have the appearance of a flower, e.g. B. a rose.

Various forms of the product according to the invention are described in more detail below with reference to the drawing. The preferred forms are those which are suitable for free tumbling or tumbling with textiles in tumble dryers, but it is also also possible to attach the products according to the invention to the inner surfaces of the tumble dryers, either by pressure-sensitive adhesives or by other means or devices, e.g. B. to be brought into engagement with each other, woven hook and eye attachment, z. B. of the "Velcro type", or by straps or hooks. The products can also wear bows or ribbons to suitably carry the products or to hang them up between uses.

It should be pointed out that the products according to the invention can be colored, or that they can carry patterns or labels, e.g. B. Instructions for use for the product. Furthermore, the products are particularly suitable for attractive packaging, e.g. B. in transparent containers or by wrapping under compression, so that the voluminous nature of the products is controlled in a suitable manner for transport and storage.

After the products have been used for textile treatment, they can e.g. B. can be used as bath or cleaning rags.

As previously described, the product contains a fabric conditioning agent that is impregnated into the flexible support or substrate either before or after the plates or strips of the support or substrate have been formed into the finished product. Preferably, the conditioning agent is solid at room temperature, but melts or softens at a temperature that is reached during the treatment of textiles, usually in the range from about 38 ° C. to about 80 ° C. during normal drying processes in the tumbler. The conditioning agent can then be more easily transferred to the textiles during use and the progressive migration of the conditioning agent from the inner parts of the product to its outer surface is facilitated. Alternatively, the conditioner may be a viscous liquid or pasty material, but this is not desirable because of the sticky nature of the product and the relatively low levels of conditioner that can be used as a result.

As described above, the product according to the invention is used to treat textiles with conditioning agents while drying in a tumbler. The preferred conditioning agents are so-called softening agents which give the treated textiles a softer feel when touched. Numerous textile softening agents are quaternary ammonium compounds of the following general formula:

[N (RiR2R3R4)] n, X- (I)

wherein Ri is a Ci6-C22 alkyl group, R2 is a Ci-Gt alkyl group, and R3 and R4 are the same groups as Ri or R2, and any of Ri, R2, R3 and R4 are saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched alkyl groups can, or these can contain substituting groups, e.g. B. hydroxyl groups, or Ri, R2, R3 and R <v can be connected to the nitrogen atom via binding groups, for. B. amide, ester or ether linkages, or two or three of the radicals R 1, R 3 and R 4 can be connected to the N atom to form a heterocyclic ring and a morpholinyl ring, X is an anion and n is the valence of X. Suitable anions (X-) are Cl-, HSO4, S07, C2H5S07, CH3SO7, HCOO-, CHsCOO ", Br ~, J ~ and H2POJ; the chloride, sulfate, bromide and acetate ions are preferred. Typical, commercially available products of this type are di-tallow-dimethylammonium chloride, di-coconut-dimethyl-ammonium chloride, di- (stearoyloxyethyl) dimethylammonium chloride and 3-behenoyloxy-2-hydroxypropyl-trimethyl-ammonium chloride.

Other preferred plasticizing agents are the reaction products of about 2 moles of a fatty acid of the formula R4COOH and a hydroxyalkyldiamine of the following general formula:

NH2-R5-NHR6 (II)

wherein R4 is a Ci5-Ci9-alkyl group, Rs is a divalent Ci-C3-hydrocarbon group and R «represents a hydroxyalkyl group containing 1 to 3 carbon atoms. A typical, commercially available product of this type is the reaction product of 2 moles of stearic acid with 1 mole of hydroxyethyl-ethylenediamine, which has a chemical mixed structure due to the multifunctional nature of the diamine. Similar products include quaternized products of about 2 moles

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Oleic acid, reacted with 1 mole of hydroxyethylethylenediamine, and the product of about 2 moles of a mixture of oleic acid and stearic acid, reacted with 1 mole of hydroxyethylethylenediamine. The softening agents are preferably used in admixture with a non-ionic surfactant.

Other types of fabric softening agents that can be used in the invention are known per se in the art and are described in the literature, e.g. B. in: "Proceedings of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists", American Dyestuff Reporter,

January 28, 1957, pp. P42 / P43.

Other textile conditioning agents which can be used in the products according to the invention either alone or in a mixture, in particular mixed with the textile softening agents described above, include:

(1) optical brighteners, e.g. B. fluorescent brighteners such as substituted, disulfonated diaminostilbene compounds such. Described, for example, in US Pat. No. 2,612,501, furthermore triazole compounds of the type described in US Pat. No. 2,784,183;

(2) essential oils and fragrances;

(3) antistatic agents, which in many cases are compounds with the same general structures as previously discussed with respect to fabric softening compounds. Specific antistatic agents that can be cited by way of example are ethoxylated compounds and ethoxylated amines, ethoxylated, quaternary ammonium compounds, ethoxylated aliphatic alcohols and alkyl phenols, ethoxylated carbohydrates such as sorbity hoxylates, ethoxylated aliphatic mono- and poly-carboxylic acids and amine carboxylic acids and amine carboxylic acids and the carboxylic acids thereof and amcarboxylic acids and the carboxylic acids thereof and amine carboxylic acids and their carboxylic acids . The antistatic properties of the preferred quaternary ammonium compounds and also of other textile softening agents can be improved in particular by combining these materials with ethoxylated amides in tallow ethanol amides or ethoxylated aliphatic alcohols;

(4) Germicides such as halogenated salicylanilides, e.g. Tri-bromosalicylanilide, hexachlorophene, neomycin sulfate, quaternary benzalkonium compounds and the like;

(5) Personalizing agents such as carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, starch, polyvinyl acetate and the like. Polyvinyl acetate also makes ironing easier and can be used for this purpose;

(6) dirt-releasing agents such as e.g. B. Polyacryl-polyvinylalcohol compositions described in US Pat. No. 3,377,249, and also fluorocarbons or copolymers of ethylene glycol with terephthalic acid, which are advantageous for the treatment of polyester textiles for this purpose;

(7) ironing aids, e.g. B. silicones such as dimethyl silicone;

(8) surfactants used in admixture with other conditioning agents, e.g. B. non-ionic surfactants used with plasticizers in the form of quaternary ammonium compounds. In this case, it is preferred to have a ratio of the cationic quaternary ammonium compound to the nonionic compound of from about 2: 1 to about 20: 1, and especially from about 3: 1 to about 10: 1, in parts by weight.

It should be noted that several of the conditioning agents described above are normally solid, non-meltable materials, i. H. both at elevated and room temperatures, in which case they should be used either in aqueous solution or dispersion or together with other conditioning agents that are liquids or fusible solids. When the conditioning agents are impregnated into the carrier or substrate, they should be in liquid form, either as a result of melting or as a result of the presence of a solvent which can subsequently be evaporated.

The amount of textile conditioning agent used in a product according to the invention naturally depends on the type of agent and the type of product, in particular whether the product is to be used several times, and the optimum values or amounts can be determined in a simple manner by experiment. For example, in the case of a fabric softening agent, it is normally preferred to have about 1 g to about 5 g, and preferably about 2 to 4 g, of the softening agent for application to a typical home laundry load in a tumble dryer. Products intended for multiple use should proportionally contain more textile softening agents. Because not all of the fabric softening agent is dispensed from the article, it is generally preferred to have a total of about 25 g to about 50 g of the fabric conditioning agent in an article intended for multiple uses, usually for 5 to 10 dryer cycles. In general, an amount of about 0.1 g of textile conditioning agent per cm 3 of the plastic foam has been found to be suitable for optimal release from the product.

It is possible to have more than one product in a tumble dryer at the same time, so that a sequential release of textile conditioning agents is ensured during the drying cycle, e.g. B. by using softening agents that melt at different temperatures, or for a simultaneous treatment of different types of textiles. For example, it can be particularly advantageous to ensure the release of certain conditioning agents such as germicides and perfumes towards the end of the textile treatment, in particular if they interfere with other conditioning agents or are inhibited by other textile conditioning agents.

The products according to the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the drawing; in the drawing are:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a generally spherical product.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a flower-shaped product.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of another product which is in the form of a bundle of substrate strips tied together;

Fig. 4 is a top view of another generally spherical product;

Figure 5 is an elevation of the product of Figure 4; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another ball-shaped product.

In Fig. 1 are twelve pieces of soft, open-celled polyurethane foam, each piece having a thickness of about 0.5 cm and a generally oval shape with a maximum length of about 12.5 cm and a minimum width of about 10 cm has, with an alcoholic solution of a mixture of a fabric softening agent in the form of a quaternary ammonium compound, in this case di-hardened tallow alkyldimethylammonium chloride, recrystallized from acetone, and a non-ionic ethylene oxide propylene oxide condensate (trade name ethylene PB) in the ratio 90: 10, further impregnated with a fragrance. The mixed conditioners become flowable at about 43 ° C and the amount deposited on the plates processed into each product was about 20 g. The impregnated pieces 1 were dried and then washed with a nylon

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lace tied around the middle of the pieces tied together, d. H. perpendicular to and about half way along the maximum dimensions, in such a way that the whole product 2 took on a ball-like appearance, the edges of the pieces 1 protruding from a denser packed and more folded center 3. It should be noted that the foam pieces can be impregnated with the fabric softening agent in sheet form before they can be cut into their shape, if desired, or soaked after constriction to form the finished product. All pieces 1 can optionally be tied together to form a single bundle,

however, it is preferred to tie them together in two bundles of six each with a generally hemispherical shape, the bundles then being tied back to back to give a better shape to the finished product.

In a practical test, the product shown in Fig. 1 was compared in terms of its softening properties of textiles and its antistatic properties with a conventional, commercially available liquid fabric softener of the type which was hand-washed in the final rinse water in a spin dryer given the normal washing of textiles, and compared with a commercially available textile softening product of the type of impregnated nonwoven material for use in tumble dryers. In this test, the conventional fabric softener product and the other commercially available fabric softening product were used under the specified conditions in a household washing machine with a clothes dryer or in a tumble dryer. The product of the invention was used in the same tumble dryer for 45 minutes with the outlet temperature ranging from 24 ° C to 78 ° C at the end of the drying cycle, both for the treatment of cotton towels and nylon garments. It was found that the product according to the invention released 2.7 g of the fabric softening agent in the first drying process in the tumbler and that smaller amounts of the softening agent were gradually released in the subsequent tests until the product was no longer sufficiently effective after five cycles of use . The other two products had to be changed each time they were used.

The fabric softening properties were examined by an arbitration panel by experienced professionals regarding the feel of textiles, and the antistatic properties after a standard antistatic adhesion test in which a 6 kV charge of static electricity was applied to the treated textiles and the time was measured which they then needed to fall off a grounded metal plate.

In these investigations it turned out that the softening and antistatic properties of the product according to the invention were approximately the same as those using a conventional fabric softener, but there were noticeable advantages over the untreated textiles. The product according to the invention achieved this without the disadvantage of special rinsing before drying in the centrifuge when using the conventional product. Both the product according to the invention and the liquid product used for comparison were far superior to the known product in the form of impregnated nonwoven material with regard to the softening of the textiles. The antistatic properties were particularly good, the time to release the adhesion being reduced from about 50 seconds to only 3 seconds when the 6 kV charge was initially applied by treatment with the product according to the invention.

Further advantageous results were achieved when the product according to FIG. 1 with an 80:20 mixture of the same softening agent, namely di-hardened tallow dimethylammonium chloride, with another, non-ionic, surface-active agent, namely a condensate product of a secondary, linear Cn-Cis alcohol was impregnated with 12 moles of ethylene oxide (trade name Tergitol 15-S-12). Good results were also achieved when 1% perfume was added to this fabric softening composition, giving the treated fabrics an attractive, persistent, fresh fragrance with multiple drying cycles.

Further tests were also carried out with other fabric softeners, namely 80 parts by weight of 3-alkyloxy-2-hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride (the alkyl group was derived from rapeseed oil and contained about 64% C22 alkyl groups, about 22% cis alkyl groups and about 12% C2o-alkyl groups) or a condensation product of 2 moles of stearic acid with 1 mole of N-hydroxyethylenediamine, and 20 parts by weight of sec-linear-Cn-Ci2-alcohol-12ÄO-Konden-sat. (ÄO = ethylene oxide unit) 35 g of these mixtures were used in the product constructed according to FIG. 1, which consist of sheets of laminated foam with a 6 mm inner layer with large pore dimensions and two outer layers of 1 mm of a foam with a small pore size was made. These products were used to tumble dry textiles in five consecutive cycles, and in each case the softening effect was readily apparent when compared to untreated textiles.

2 has the shape of a flower, u. U. one of a rose-like appearance, and consists of ten "petals" 4, each of which have an oval shape and which are fastened together by binding with nylon cord to form a style section 5, the stem section 5 optionally from a plastic foam cap, not shown, to promote its Appearance can be covered. The petals 4 (and, if present, the cap) each consist of soft, open-celled polyurethane foam of approximately 0.5 cm thick, impregnated with the same second mixture of textile conditioning agents as was described for the product of FIG Except that the ratio was varied from 80:20 to 70:30.

In Fig. 3, a bundle of seven strips 6 of soft polyurethane foam, each of which is about 5 cm wide and about 0.5 cm thick, is held together by a wrapping strip 7 made of the same foam material, which is wrapped around the central portions of the strips and through ( not shown) is attached. The article was impregnated with the same fabric conditioning agent as previously described for Figure 2 by treating the foam in sheet form prior to building the shown form of the article.

Both products of Figures 2 and 3 gave satisfactory fabric softening and antistatic properties in use.

4 and 5, eight hexagonal pieces of thick synthetic foam sheets 8 are placed one on top of the other, two larger pieces 8 a being adjacent and the progressively smaller pieces 8b, 8c and 8d being located towards the outer ends of the products, so that overall a spherical shape Appearance is preserved. The eight pieces of plastic foam are held together by an elastic cord that passes through their centers and are held at each end by a thin sheet of plastic 10.

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Before being arranged in the form shown, the plastic foam pieces were impregnated with a textile conditioning agent.

During use of the article, the conditioning agent melts at the elevated temperatures that occur during drying in the tumbler, and a small portion of the conditioning agent on the surface of the article is removed by contact with the textiles to be treated. Both the interfacial tension and the pressure exerted by the elastic cord through the article then promote the movement of the remaining fabric conditioner to the surface of the article for more effective and multiple use of the article.

In a practical test of the product, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, a polyurethane foam with a thickness of 12 mm per plate was used, the diameter of the product being about 15 cm at the widest point. The total amount of textile softener used was 45.5 g of a mixture of 58% di-hardened tallow dimethylammonium chloride, 22% sec-linear Cn-Ci5-alcohol-12ÄO condensate and 20% water. This product was used to treat textiles in a tumble dryer using the recommended procedure, and it was found that the product was about 5 g of fabric softener on the first drying cycle, about 2 g during the next cycle, and then gradually decreasing amounts between about 1 and 2 g for each of the next ten cycles. It was found that the treated textiles were noticeably softer than the untreated textiles used for comparison.

Further investigations were carried out using different textile conditioning agents. In one test, a 15% aqueous dispersion of a copolymer of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid was prepared by reacting 2 moles of ethylene glycol with 1 mole of terephthalic acid and then reacting the product with additional polyethylene glycol (commercially available with the trade name Permalose T) to impregnate the foam sheets used, these were then dried. The product obtained, containing 30 g of the anti-soiling aid, was used to treat polyester fabrics in a tumble dryer, and it was found that satisfactory, improved, anti-static and anti-soiling properties were imparted to the treated fabrics during five consecutive drying cycles.

In a further test, the product was treated with 20 g of a 24: 1 weight mixture of tallow alcohol 50ÄO condensate and disodium 4,4'-di- (2 "-anilino-4" -diethanolaminotriazine-6 "-ylamino) stilbene -2,2'-disulfonate (trade name Photine C.) Cotton sheets were dried in a tumble dryer using this product and the apparent whiteness was found to be improved under artificial lighting for several cycles in the tumble dryer.

With a variation in the shape of the product of Figures 4 and 5 it is possible to produce a hollow center which can optionally be filled with fabric softening agent.

The product shown in Fig. 6 is somewhat similar to the product of Fig. 3 except for the shape of the piece of plastic foam. In this product, six pieces 11 of plastic foam sheets are used, each of which has the shape of a rectangle, of which two triangular parts have been cut off from the two longer sides, so that hexagonal pieces have been formed, each of which has a “waist” in the middle area having. The six pieces were tied together in the middle 12 with nylon cord so that an overall ball-like appearance was obtained. The plastic foam sheets were impregnated with a fabric conditioning agent as described in FIGS. 4 and 5 prior to cutting. The textile conditioner can be either in molten, liquid form or as a solution in a solvent, e.g. B. in isopropyl alcohol, which is then evaporated, applied.

In a practical embodiment of a product according to Figure 6, 6 mm thick polyurethane sheet material was used and the maximum total length of the product was 12.5 cm, the maximum width (i.e. at the end of each piece of foam plastic sheet) was 10 cm. The foam plastic pieces were impregnated with about 43 grams of the same fabric softener blend used for the product of FIGS. 4 and 5. When this product was used in a tumble dryer, it was found that textiles were satisfactorily softened for at least five drying cycles.

When a comparative test was carried out using a single sheet of the same plastic foam impregnated with the same textile conditioning agent, it was found that although a satisfactory amount of the textile conditioning agent was dispensed in the first drying cycle, insufficient textile conditioning agent was subsequently available for satisfactory properties when used multiple times were. Another comparative test was carried out using a commercially available product with a single sheet of this foam of about 20 cm X 7.5 cm which carried about 2.5 g of fabric softener. It was found that only about 0.5 g of the fabric softening agent was transferred to the drying fabrics during a normal tumble dryer operation, which is insufficient to obtain a satisfactory fabric softening effect or any significant antistatic properties. Furthermore, there was no advantage in trying to reuse the product.

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Claims (12)

620485 1. Product for the treatment of textiles in a tumble dryer, characterized in that it is in the form of at least one piece made of elastically flexible, impregnated substrate or carrier in several layers attached to one another. 2. Product according to claim 1, characterized in that that the elastically flexible substrate or the elastically flexible carrier is a foam plastic plate which has a thickness of 0.25 to 2 cm and in particular 0.5 to 1 cm. 2nd PATENT CLAIMS 3. Product according to claim 2, characterized in that that the foam plate has a pore count of 10 to 30 cells per centimeter and in particular 15 to 25 cells per centimeter. 4. Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elastically flexible substrate or the elastically flexible carrier is a cross-linked plastic foam. 5. Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elastically flexible substrate or the elastically flexible carrier is formed from laminated plastic foam sheets. 6. Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elastically flexible substrate or the elastically flexible carrier is formed from sheets of polyurethane plastic foam. 7. Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is formed from 2 to 12 pieces of substrate or carrier, which are fastened together to form an overall ball-like shape. 8. Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the textile conditioning agent contains a fabric softening agent. 9. Product according to claim 8, characterized in that that the fabric softening agent is a quaternary ammonium compound. 10. Product according to claim 9, characterized in that the quaternary ammonium compound is mixed together with a nonionic, surfactant in a ratio of 2: 1 to 10: 1 parts by weight. 11. Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fabric softening agent contains an antistatic agent. 12. Product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fabric softening agent is a normally solid material which melts at elevated temperatures during drying in the tumbler.