EP0249439B2 - Beutel zur Aufnahme eines Produktes - Google Patents

Beutel zur Aufnahme eines Produktes Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0249439B2
EP0249439B2 EP87305072A EP87305072A EP0249439B2 EP 0249439 B2 EP0249439 B2 EP 0249439B2 EP 87305072 A EP87305072 A EP 87305072A EP 87305072 A EP87305072 A EP 87305072A EP 0249439 B2 EP0249439 B2 EP 0249439B2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
sachet
water
treatment composition
thickness
sachets
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP87305072A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0249439B1 (de
EP0249439A3 (en
EP0249439A2 (de
Inventor
Roger Foret
Adrian William Walker
Raymond Jean Wallaert
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Unilever PLC
Unilever NV
Original Assignee
Unilever PLC
Unilever NV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Family has litigation
First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=10599310&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=EP0249439(B2) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Application filed by Unilever PLC, Unilever NV filed Critical Unilever PLC
Publication of EP0249439A2 publication Critical patent/EP0249439A2/de
Publication of EP0249439A3 publication Critical patent/EP0249439A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0249439B1 publication Critical patent/EP0249439B1/de
Publication of EP0249439B2 publication Critical patent/EP0249439B2/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
    • C11D—DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
    • C11D17/00—Detergent materials or soaps characterised by their shape or physical properties
    • C11D17/04—Detergent materials or soaps characterised by their shape or physical properties combined with or containing other objects
    • C11D17/041—Compositions releasably affixed on a substrate or incorporated into a dispensing means
    • C11D17/046—Insoluble free body dispenser
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C11—ANIMAL OR VEGETABLE OILS, FATS, FATTY SUBSTANCES OR WAXES; FATTY ACIDS THEREFROM; DETERGENTS; CANDLES
    • C11D—DETERGENT COMPOSITIONS; USE OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES AS DETERGENTS; SOAP OR SOAP-MAKING; RESIN SOAPS; RECOVERY OF GLYCEROL
    • C11D17/00—Detergent materials or soaps characterised by their shape or physical properties
    • C11D17/06—Powder; Flakes; Free-flowing mixtures; Sheets
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F39/00—Details of washing machines not specific to a single type of machines covered by groups D06F9/00 - D06F27/00 
    • D06F39/02—Devices for adding soap or other washing agents
    • D06F39/024—Devices for adding soap or other washing agents mounted on the agitator or the rotating drum; Free body dispensers

Definitions

  • This invention relates to sachets containing materials for treating fabrics in a washing machine.
  • Sachets containing detergents and other treatment materials are well known in the washing art, for example, from EP 11 5008 and EP 163 417A (Unilever). These sachets of flexible sheet material may be water-permeable and deliver their contents by leaching out, or they may be designed so as to open during the wash cycle.
  • US-A-4259373 discloses a pouch for a fabric softener composition, which pouch is made from four layers of nonwoven material having a total thickness of 1.66 cm.
  • EP-A-99197 discloses laundry additive products in which a composition is combined with a water-insoluble carrier which may take the form of a sheet or a pouch. It is stated that a sheet should not be so small in area as to become trapped in crevices of the washing machine or clothes being washed nor so large as to be awkward to package and dispense.
  • posting can be eiiminated or at least substantially reduced by making sure that, throughout the entire wash cycle, at least part of the sachet is sufficiently large that it cannot pass through the gap between the drums.
  • the present invention provides a sachet of flexible sheet material for a treatment composition, which sachet is a non-opening sachet consisting at least partially of water-permeable material characterised in that the sachet contains a water-insoluble ball so dimensioned that when the sachet is immersed in water in the absence of the treatment composition, the sachet has a thickness at at least one point which is at least 1 cm, whereby passage of the sachet between inner and outer drums of a drum-type automatic washing machine is prevented, or substantially reduced.
  • the present invention provides a sachet of flexible sheet material for a treatment composition, which sachet is a non-opening sachet which in the dry state has a thickness smaller than 1 cm, consisting at least partially of water-permeable material characterised in that the sachet contains water-insoluble, water-swellable material which on immersion in water increases in bulk whereby the sachet then is so shaped and dimensioned that when immersed in water in the absence of the treatment composition the thickness of the sachet at at least one point is at least 1 cm, whereby passage of the sachet between inner and outer drums of a drum-type automatic washing machine is prevented, or substantially reduced.
  • Sachets of the present invention fall into two classes: sachets which in the dry state and in the absence of the treatment composition have a thickness at at least one point of at least 1 cm (the first embodiment) and those which are thinner than 1 cm in the dry state in the absence of the treatment composition but acquire such a minimum dimension on immersion in water (the second embodiment).
  • Sachets according to both embodiments are of the non-opening type, which deliver their contents by leaching out through a water-permeable wall.
  • the insoluble ball prevents the sachet from being 'posted' by increasing its thickness.
  • Sachets of the first embodiment although very satisfactory as non-posting sachets, do suffer from the minor disadvantage that they are somewhat more bulky than other sachets, leading to increased storage space requirements and packaging costs.
  • This problem is avoided with the second embodiment of the invention according to which the sachet in the dry state has, in the absence of the treatment material, a thickness smaller than 1 cm but on immersion in water increases in bulk whereby the thickness of the wet sachet at at least one point is at least 1 cm.
  • This is conveniently achieved by including in the sachet a water swellable material which increases in bulk whereby the sachet then has a thickness at at least one point of at least 1 cm after immersion in water.
  • This material is conveniently in the form of a small object or "insert".
  • the insert may simply be loose, while if the sachet is of the opening variety it will, of course, be necessary to secure the insert and the sachet together, for example, by glueing. If secured, the insert could if desired be on the outside of the sachet.
  • a preferred insert is a small piece of the compressed sponge material sold under the Trade Mark 'Spontex'.
  • This material is especially useful in that it can be compressed to a state in which, on wetting, it expands rapidly in one dimension to at least five times the compressed size while remaining substantially unchanged in the other two dimensions.
  • a 2 cm square of this material having a thickness of 0.2 cm will expand rapidly on wetting to a thickness of 1.5-2 cm to give a cuboid of approximate dimensions 2 ⁇ 2 ⁇ (1.5-2) cm, i.e. the thickness increases dramatically while the other dimensions are unchanged.
  • Such an insert can be packed flat in a sachet which is thus conveniently thin in the dry state, but will swell up quickly when the sachet encounters the water of the washing machine.
  • the insert can be of any shape: square, rectangular, or especially triangular inserts are preferred as they may be cut from the bulk material with minimal wastage.
  • water-swellable materials may, of course, also be used to impart water-swellability to the sachet.
  • the material need not be a discrete insert but may take the form of balls, beads, granules or powder.
  • Certain water-swellable polymers for example, the starch and cellulose derivatives used as "superabsorbents", may be suitable provided that the swelling is not too sensitive to temperature. It is preferred that the water-swellable material should swell before all the sachet contents have been delivered: in practice most sponge materials will swell almost instantarieously.
  • the sachet walls which are of flexible sheet material, comprise paper, woven fabric, non-woven fabric, or plastics film, or laminates of these materials.
  • the sachet walls must of course be compatible with the treatment composition to be contained in the sachet.
  • the seams or seals of the sachet may be formed by any method, heat-sealing or glueing being preferred.
  • the sachet is intended to contain any treatment composition useful for treating fabrics in the washing machine.
  • treatment compositions include fully formulated detergents, bleaches, bleach activators, fabric conditioners, and other detergent ingredients or combinations thereof.
  • the sachet may contain materials useful for treating the washing machine itself.
  • An example of such a treatment would by the removal of a accumulated calcium- or phosphate-containing scale.
  • the machine treatment material is neutral or alkaline, for example, a salt of EDTA, then the treatment may be carried out at the same time as the fabric washing.
  • the machine treatment material is acidic, for example, citric acid or adipic acid, then it is preferred that the machine treatment be carried out as a separate operation.
  • the sachet is intended as a bleach adjunct for use in conjunction with a detergent powder, and contains sodium perborate and an activator therefor: a closed sachet of this type is described and claimed in EP 163 417A (Unilever). It is especially preferred that the sodium perborate be in monohydrate form and that the activator be tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED).
  • TAED tetraacetylethylenediamine
  • the sachet may also be employed in other aqueous environments, for example in swimming pools.
  • Sachet products in accordance with the invention were prepared from a porous nonwoven fabric, of average pore size 70 ⁇ m, consisting of 40% polyester fibres and 60% viscose fibres, coated on one side (the inside of the sachet) with a polyamide heat-seal finish. Each sachet was square and had dimensions of 10 cm ⁇ 10 cm.
  • each sachet Three sides of the each sachet were sealed together by heat-sealing, and it was filled with the following bleaching composition: Sodium perborate monohydrate (ex Degussa, particle size substantially 100-700 ⁇ m) 9.7 g TAED granules (300-200 ⁇ m) (65.3% TAED, 32% phosphates, 2.7% water) 13.9 g Perfume 0.3 g Fluorescer (CBSX ex CIBA-Geigy) 0.12 g
  • a sachet similar to that described in Example 1 was prepared by the same method. However, the sachet contained a piece of 'Spontex' 1.5 cm square which is capable of expanding to a height of 1.6 cm on wetting.
  • Example 2 but containing a 'Spontex' insert of 1 ⁇ 2 cm.
  • Example 2 but containing a 'Spontex' insert of 2 cm square, which was capable of expanding to a height of 2.1 cm on wetting.
  • Example 5 As Example 5 but containing a drcular 'Spontex' insert of 2 cm diameter.
  • Example 2 A similar sachet to that described in Example 1 was prepared by the same method.
  • the sachet contained a cube of uncompressed sponge material having a 1.5 cm side instead of 'Spontex'.
  • Example 2 A similar sachet to that described in Example 1 was prepared by the same method.
  • the sachet contained a hollow polyethylene ball of 2 cm diameter instead of 'Spontex'.
  • Example 2 A similar sachet to that described in Example 1 was prepared by the same method. The sachet did not contain an insert or an external protrusion.
  • Example A (comparative) 30 4 - - - 200 104
  • Example 1 36 0 9 0 32 0 14 0 - - Example 2 20 0 - - - Example 3 15 0 - - - - Example 4
  • Example 5 36 0 9 0 32 0 14 0
  • Example 6 - - - - 10 0
  • Gap between inner and outer drums the difference in the gaps between the drums is due to manufacturing tolerances 5-13 mm* 8-11 mm 5-10 mm 5-12 mm * Trade Mark

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
  • Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Detergent Compositions (AREA)
  • Chemical Or Physical Treatment Of Fibers (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)
  • Bag Frames (AREA)
  • Wrappers (AREA)
  • Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)

Claims (3)

  1. Beutel aus flexiblem, dünnem Material für eine Behandlungszusammensetzung, wobei der Beutel ein nichtöffnender Beutel ist, der, wenigstens teilweise, aus wasserdurchlässigem Material besteht, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß er eine wasser-unlösliche Kugel enthält, die so dimensioniert ist, daß der Beutel, wenn er ohne die Behandlungszusammensetzung in Wasser eingetaucht ist, an wenigstens einem Punkt eine Dicke von mindestens 1 cm aufweist, wodurch der Durchgang des Beutels zwischen innerer und äußerer Trommel einer automatischen Trommelwaschmaschine verhindert oder im wesentlichen verringert wird.
  2. Beutel aus flexiblem, dünnem Material für eine Behandlungszusammensetzung, wobei der Beutel ein nichtöffnender Beutel ist, der in trockenem Zustand eine Dicke von weniger als 1 cm aufweist und zumindest teilweise aus wasserdurchlässigem Material besteht, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Beutel ein wasserunlösliches, in Wasser anschwellendes Material enthält, welches beim Eintauchen in Wasser an Volumen zunimmt, wobei der Beutel dann so geformt und dimensioniert ist, daß er, wenn er ohne eine Behandlungszusammensetzung in Wasser eingetaucht wird, an wenigstens einem Punkt eine Dicke von mindestens 1 cm aufweist, wodurch der Durchgang des Beutels zwischen innerer und äußerer Trommel einer automatischen Trommelwaschmaschine verhindert oder im wesentlichen verringert wird.
  3. Beutel gemäß Anspruch 2, bei dem das in Wasser anschwellende Material in Form eines Stücks zusammengepreßten Schwammaterials vorliegt.
EP87305072A 1986-06-11 1987-06-09 Beutel zur Aufnahme eines Produktes Expired - Lifetime EP0249439B2 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB868614233A GB8614233D0 (en) 1986-06-11 1986-06-11 Sachet product
GB8614233 1986-06-11

Publications (4)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0249439A2 EP0249439A2 (de) 1987-12-16
EP0249439A3 EP0249439A3 (en) 1988-07-06
EP0249439B1 EP0249439B1 (de) 1990-06-20
EP0249439B2 true EP0249439B2 (de) 1997-07-02

Family

ID=10599310

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP87305072A Expired - Lifetime EP0249439B2 (de) 1986-06-11 1987-06-09 Beutel zur Aufnahme eines Produktes

Country Status (8)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0249439B2 (de)
JP (1) JPS62299581A (de)
AU (1) AU587129B2 (de)
DE (1) DE3763320D1 (de)
ES (1) ES2016360T5 (de)
FR (1) FR2600075B1 (de)
GB (1) GB8614233D0 (de)
ZA (1) ZA874170B (de)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4886615A (en) * 1985-08-05 1989-12-12 Colgate-Palmolive Company Hydroxy polycarboxylic acid built non-aqueous liquid cleaning composition and method for use, and package therefor
GB8909777D0 (en) * 1989-04-28 1989-06-14 Procter & Gamble Fabric-treatment sachets with reusable handling device
ES2036448B1 (es) * 1991-06-05 1994-03-01 Bilore Sa Mejoras introducidas en contenedores monodosis de detergente para lavado.
GB0609857D0 (en) * 2006-05-18 2006-06-28 Reckitt Benckiser Nv Water softening product and process for its preparation and use thereof
GB0621650D0 (en) * 2006-10-31 2006-12-06 Reckitt Benckiser Nv Product and process

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB302416A (en) * 1927-09-22 1928-12-20 James Beattie Copland Improvements in and relating to domestic washing appliances
US4105813A (en) * 1974-11-25 1978-08-08 Economics Laboratory, Inc. Treatment of fabrics in machine dryers
DE2635256A1 (de) * 1976-08-05 1978-02-09 Henkel Kgaa Folienbeutel
US4082678A (en) * 1976-11-10 1978-04-04 The Procter & Gamble Company Fabric conditioning articles and process
JPS56101969A (en) * 1980-01-17 1981-08-14 Yoshio Doi Antielectrostatic sponge
NZ206331A (en) * 1982-11-26 1986-05-09 Unilever Plc Liquid-permeable,flexible,sheet-like articles
IT206091Z2 (it) * 1983-09-20 1987-05-21 Salem Novopac Snc Confezioni piane per prodotti incoerenti con dispositivo antischiacciamento.

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES2016360B3 (es) 1990-11-01
AU7406187A (en) 1987-12-17
EP0249439B1 (de) 1990-06-20
FR2600075B1 (fr) 1990-03-09
DE3763320D1 (de) 1990-07-26
ZA874170B (en) 1989-02-22
JPS62299581A (ja) 1987-12-26
FR2600075A1 (fr) 1987-12-18
EP0249439A3 (en) 1988-07-06
ES2016360T5 (es) 1997-10-16
AU587129B2 (en) 1989-08-03
EP0249439A2 (de) 1987-12-16
GB8614233D0 (en) 1986-07-16

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