GB2157717A - Process for washing clothes in a machine with a liquid detergent and device for applying the process - Google Patents

Abstract

Process for washing clothes in a washing machine, which comprises using a liquid detergent which is released gradually into the washing medium from a special device placed in the drum of the machine at the same time as the clothes instead of being released from the dispenser provided for the detergent on the washing machine. The rechargeable device is a container provided with a filling orifice and with vents for the liquid. The container may be a flat-bottomed sphere or a ring. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Reusable washing machine dispenser The present invention relates to a process for washing asnd cleaning clothes in a washing machine with a liquid detergent which is introduced gradually into the washing medium from a rechargeable device placed in the drum of the machine together with the clothes to be washed; the invention also relates to the device for carrying out this process.

Liquid detergent compositions for washing clothes are commercially available. They have a variety of advantageous properties compared with the numerous granular detergent compositions, but they have not become as widely used as might have been expected in view of their properties, because they are to some extent unsuitable for use in the majority of washing machines currently on the market.

In fact, whether these machines are front loaders with a horizontal rotary drum, or top loaders, the dispensers for the measure of detergent used for each washing cycle are generally rather unsuitable for holding liquid detergents and subsequently dispersing them in the washing bath, the majority of the machines currently used by housewives in fact having been designed at a time when only powdered or granular detergents were on the market.

The Applicant Company has found that part of the liquid detergent composition placed in the dispenser of the machine before it is switched on is often unable to be used for the wash.

In fact, the whole of the washing product is carried away with the first few ml of water introduced into the machine, and, in most cases, this water goes directly into filling the emptying circuits of the machine, in which the previous washing operation had only left a very small quantity of water.

When the washing product has entered this circuit, virtually none of it will migrate into the washing bath with which the clothes are impregnated, either during the filling of the machine or during the actual wash, and it will be eliminated with the first emptying operation. The losses, i.e. the unutilized washing product, can be substantial, particularly in certain types of washing machine. A considerable proportion of the liquid composition placed in the dispenser provided for a solid washing product is not utilized. The magnitude of this loss depends especially on the volume of the emptying circuit upstream of the pump, the water inlet speed and the position of the water inlet point. One can understand that, in a number of cases, a method for washing in a machine using a liquid detergent is more costly than it ought to be, and it is not surprising that the housewife, unaware of the losses incurred, prefers not to use a liquid detergent despite its advantageous properties.

Thus, by making it possible to overcome these unavoidable losses, the present invention is particularly useful.

It relates to an improved process for washing and cleaning clothes in a washing machine of a common type, which comprises using a detergent in the liquid state, the viscosity of which is such that it can flow freely, even at room temperature. In this improved process, the said detergent is released progressively into the washing bath from a device placed in the drum of the machine together with the clothes to be washed, instead of being introduced from the dispenser provided by the washing machine manufacturer for holding the washing product.

The process consists in pouring into an appropriate device a predetermined qua ntity -- depending especially on the quantity of clothes to be washed, the degree of soiling and the capacity of the machine - of a liquid detergent, then placing the device in the drum of the machine together with the clothes to be washed, and then switching on and allowing the usual washing cycle of the machine to proceed; the device containing the washing product will preferably be placed towards the top of the tank, in the drum. Thus, as the drum in the majority of present-day washing machines does not start to rotate until the tank has filled, the device will only start to empty when it is in the presence of a sufficient quantity of water to prevent prolonged contact of the dry or just damp clothes with the concentrated detergent. However, it is also possible to place the device at the bottom of the drum, especially in the case where the drum starts to rotate as soon as the water is admitted, or even in the middle of the clothes. The housewife will have no difficulty in choosing the position best suited to the particular circumstances of her wash.

When spinning has ended, the device is removed from the washing machine together with the clean clothes and put aside for subsequent use.

This device, which is another subject of the invention, possesses at least one filling orifice, the dimensions of which are sufficient to enable the washing agent to be introduced easily, irrespective of its viscosity and the shape and mouth of the washing agent container. This orifice is provided with adapted closure means which can be movable and may or may not be fixed to the body of the device, including plugs, caps and the like, or can be a permanent fixture like funnels fixed around the neck of the orifice and entering the device, of which the length and diameter at the inner end are such that a liquid which has entered the device is practically unable to come out again. It can be seen that, in the latter case, the filling orifice can be identical to one of the liquid vents with which the device must be provided. The number and shape of these liquid vents are not critical; it is possible to have a single vent, two to ten vents or a multitude of very small vents up to about 100; preference is given to devices provided with two to four vents through which the liquid will be released gradually. The diameter of the vents is generally between 2 mm and 10 mm in the case of the devices which have from 2 to 8 of these.

It is obvious that, as not all the liquid vents are generally provided with closure systems, they must be located above the maximum filling level of the device; on the other hand, their respective positions are arbitrary. Those skilled in the art will be capable of determining, by means of routine experiments, the number of these vents as a function of their shape, their position and the viscosity of the liquid washing agent used, so that the whole of the said agent is discharged into the washing bath in about 1 to 10 minutes, preferably in about 3 minutes. It is obviously necessary to make allowances for the fact that, for a given device filled with a given washing agent, the emptying time will depend on the diameter of the drum of the machine in which it is used, its speed of rotation and even how full of clothes the drum is.

The device can be made of a variety of materials, which must be unbreakable and withstand temperatures up to about 100"C. A large number of synthetic polymers will be suitable, for example low density polyethylene, polypropylene or other elastomers.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the walls of the device will be made of a transparent material or will have a transparent window so that the housewife can see the level which the liquid has reached in the device during the filling operation, in order to avoid any inadvertent overflow.

In a preferred embodiment, the device carries reference marks indicating the volume of liquid introduced when the reference mark is reached; it will then be possible to use the same device for washing machines of different capacities or to adapt the quantity of washing agent to the operation which is to be carried out.

Furthermore, to eliminate any risk of premature wear on the clothes by rubbing, the device has a smooth outer surface and no sharp corners; its walls are relatively stiff, however, so that the device is not made difficult to handle when full by the deformation of the walls resulting from the pressure exerted by the fingers gripping the device.

In a preferred embodiment, the device will have a sufficiently wide base for it to be perfectly stable and for it not to be knocked over by a clumsy movement, especially while it is being filled with the washing agent.

Means for fixing the device to the drum of the machine, such as suction discs or hooks, are provided in a variant of the device of the invention. They make it possible to restrict the noise caused by the device rolling in the drum during the washing cycle and the rubbing of the device against the clothes during spinning; in any case, the device is held against the walls of the drum with the clothes.

In the clothes washing and cleaning process according to the invention, the device described above is filled with a liquid detergent with a viscosity which is generally between 0.1 and 0.4 Pa s. This comprises the usual components, i.e. at least one surface-active agent with a liquid vehicle, and, if appropriate, detergency adjuvants (builders), foam regulators, enzymes and enzyme stabilizers, bleaching agents, soil suspending agents and textile conditioners.

The liquid detergent compositions used in the washing process of the invention can also contain fluorescent brighteners, perfumes, colourants, opacifiers, antioxidants, bactericides, bulking agents and the like.

The surface-active agents present in the compositions used in the process of the invention can be anionic, non-ionic, ampholytic or zwitterionic; mixtures of these can also be used. Examples of these surface-active agents are given in Patent Application EP-A-0,028,865; a cationic surface-active agent can also be added, as in the said patent application, page 5, line 32 to page 7, line 21. The quantity of surface-active agents present in the liquid compositions is generally between 5% and 70% by weight of the whole, and it generally depends on whether or not detergency adjuvants are present; if the latter are present, the quantity is smaller.

Among the well-known adjuvants, there may be mentioned the alkali metal salts of phosphates and polyphosphates, of nitrilotriacetic acid and of citric acid, or alternatively the synthetic zeolites.

The liquid vehicle of the composition can be water, an organic solvent such as aliphatic monoalcohols and polyalcohols having up to 6 carbon atoms and their ethers, or mixtures thereof.

Among the optional compounds in the liquid washing composition, there may be mentioned the well-known sequestering agents such as polyacrylates, polymaleates and copolymers of unsaturated acids and methyl vinyl ether, and also soil suspending agents such as polyvinylpyrrolidone and the sodium salt of carboxymethylcellulose, hydrotropic agents such as salts of alkylarylsulphonic acids, and foam regulators such as Cie to C22 fatty acids and polysiloxanes. All these compounds can be introduced into liquid washing compositions which can be used in the process according to the invention, in variable quantities well known to the specialist.

Poiydialkylsiloxanes can also be introduced into the liquid washing compositions for their softening properties.

The quantity of liquid washing agent used in the process according to the invention obviously depends on the composition of the agent, the nature and state of the clothes to be washed and the capacity of the washing machine. The devices according to the invention can contain from approximately 100 to 400 ml of liquid and their total internal volume will be from about 150 ml to about 500 ml, but it is perfectly possible to design smaller devices for very effective washing agents or larger devices for washing machines used in service enterprises.

Different devices according to the invention are described below, by way of examples, with reference to the attached drawings: Figure 1-1 is a plan view and Figure 1-2 is a sectional view along the line A-A of a device according to the invention, with its plug.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a device according to the invention in the form of a flat-bottomed sphere, with a hinged lid and two liquid vents.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of a device according to the invention in the form of a ring, with four liquid vents.

The device in Figure 1 hass a maximum diameter of 105 mm and a height of 65 mm without the screw plug. The assembly 1 is made of transparent polyethylene. The walls have a thickness of 0.6 mm. The diameter of the filling orifice 2 is 40 mm and the diameter of the two liquid vents 3 is 5 mm; the vents are 45 mm from the bottom of the container (distance measured vertically). The body of the device carries two level marks 4 corresponding to volumes of 130 ml and 180 ml respectively. A wire ending in hooks, which can fit into the holes made in the surface of the drums, may optionally be clamped around the neck of the device.

The device in Figure 2 is a hollow sphere of diameter 80 mm, which is truncated so that the container rests on a flat bottom, and of which the lockable lid 1 with a hinge 2 is in the shape of a spherical portion matching the shape of the sphere and the liquid introduction orifice 3 which has been made therein by cutting along a plane. The device, made of opaque polypropylene, has a transparent window 4 in which two volume marks 5 are drawn. The liquid vents 6, of which there are three, are located above the upper filling level.

The device in Figure 3 is a hollow ring of external diameter 6 cm and internal diameter 3 cm, in which a 2 cm circular hole has been made in order to serve as the filling orifice 1. This orifice 1 is provided with a lid 2 having a hinge 3 and a locking device 4. Four orifices of diameter 3 mm are made in the upper part of the ring.

Example 1 In a specific example of how the process according to the invention is carried out, the device of the invention shown in Figure 1 is filled with 220 ml of a liquid washing agent consisting of: Percentage (by weight) sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate (linear dodecyl) 11.3 triethanolamine alkyl(copra)-sulphate 4.0 ethoxylated alcohol (C13-17; 7C2H4O) 12.0 fatty acid (C12 to C14) 10.0 oleicacid 5.0 diethylenetriaminepentamethylphosphonic acid 0.6 ethanol 8.6 loading washing machine, on top of the clothes to be washed, and the washing and spinning cycle is allowed to proceed normally. At the end of the operation, the clothes and the device are removed from the machine.

The device contains only a few drops of water and can be put away for subsequent use.

Example 2 3.2 kg of clothes are introduced into a BRANDT top-loading washing machine of 5 kg capacity, the drum of which starts to rotate while the tank is filling with water. before the machine is closed, a device according to Figure 1, filled wit 180 ml of a liquid washing agent of viscosity 0.12 Pa.S, is placed on the clothes. It is found that all the washing agent passes into the washing bath in 1 minute 30 seconds after the drum has started rotating, the complete machine cycle lasting about 50 minutes.

Example 3 A wash is carried out under the same conditions as in Example 2, but with a PHILIPS washing machine; in this case, the device releases the washing agent in 3 minutes.

Claims (14)

1. A process for washing and cleaning clothes in a washing machine with a liquid detergent, characterized in that the said detergent is released gradually into the washing medium from a device placed in the drum of the machine at the same time as the clothes to be washed.

2. The process according to Claim 1, which consists in: a) pouring into the device a predetermined quantity of a liquid detergent and, if necessary, closing the filling orifice.

b) placing the said device in the drum of the machine together with the clothes to be washed, and c) switching on and allowing the usual washing cycle of the machine to proceed.

3. The process according to Claim 2, characterized in that the device is placed in such a way that the liquid detergent which it contains does not flow out onto the clothes before the drum starts rotating.

4. The process according to one of Claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the device is placed towards the top of the drum filled with clothes.

5. The process according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the device is fixed to the inner wall of the drum by a suitable means.

6. The process according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the liquid detergent with which the device is filled is composed of: a) 5 to 70% by weight of a surface-active agent chosen from anionic, non-ionic, amphoteric and zwitterionic surface-active agents or mixtures thereof, b) a liquid vehicle and, if appropriate, c) conventional additives for detergents, including detergency adjuvants, enzymes and foam regulators, fabric conditioners, including fabric softeners, and secondary components chosen from fluorescent brighteners, perfumes, colourants, opacifiers, bactericides and the like.

7. A device for carrying out a washing process according to any one of the preceding claims, which is composed of a container characterized in that it possesses: - a filling orifice provided with a closure means, and - vents for releasing a liquid gradually.

8. The device according to Claim 7, characterized in that it consists of a smooth, natural or synthetic impermeable material stable up to about 100"C.

9. The device according to one of Claims 7 and 8, characterized in that a transparent window is made in the body of the device.

10. The device according to one of Claims 7 and 8, characterized in that it is made of a transparent material.

11. The device according to any one of Claims 7 to 10, characterized in that it possesses from 2 to 8 liquid vents with a diameter of between 2 and 10 mm.

12. The device according to any one of Claims 7 to 11, characterized in that its capacity is between 100 and 400 ml.

13. The device according to any one of Claims 7 to 12, characterized in that the liquid vents are such that 100 to 400 ml of a liquid detergent having a viscosity of between 0.1 and 0.4 Pa.s are released into the washing bath after the drum has been rotating for 1 to 10 minutes.

14. The device according to claim 7 substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in any one of figures 1 to 3.