IE850986L

IE850986L - Process for washing clothes in a machine

Info

Publication number: IE850986L
Application number: IE850986A
Authority: IE
Original assignee: Procter & Gamble
Priority date: 1984-04-18
Filing date: 1985-04-17
Publication date: 1985-10-18
Also published as: EP0151549B1; CA1243855A; IT1184370B; IT8520202A0; JPS6133695A; ATE44987T1; GB2157717A; GB2157717B; ES285826U; BE902094A; ES285826Y; GB8508600D0; EP0151549A2; DE8509911U1; EP0151549A3; AT392096B; ATA98885A; JP2564263B2; IE56617B1; CH653718A5

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

588 1 7 The present invention relates to a process for Mashing and cleaning clothes in a washing machine with a liquid detergent which is introduced (gradually into th« cashing rsediufa iroa a r® chargeable device placed in the 5 drum of the oachine together with the clothes to be uisshed; the invention also relates to the device for carrying out this process.

Liquid detergent compositions for Mashing clothes are commercially available,. They have a variety of advan-10 tageous properties compared with the numerous granular detergent compositions,? but they have not become as widely used as might have been expected in viem of their properties, because they are to some extent unsuitable for use in the majority of cashing machines currently on the 15 market.

In fact, whether these machines are front loaders tilth 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 20 detergents and subsequently dispersing theia in the wnshinc bath, the majority of the machines currently used by houseuives in fact having been designed at a tiae when only poudcred or granular detergents Mere on the rsarkst,, The applicant Company has found that part of the 25 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 uhole of the Mashing product is carried auay with the first feu ml of water Introduced 30 into the machine, and, in most cases, this u>at»r goes directly into filling the emptying circuits of the machine, in which the previous Meshing operation had only left a very small quantity of water* When the cashing product has entered this circuit, 35 virtually none of it will migrate into the Mashing bath Hith which the clothes are impregnated, either during the filling of the aachine or during the actual wash, 1? will be eliminated with she first emptying operation. The losses, i.e. the unutilized washing product, can be substantial, particularly in certain types of cashing eachine. Pi considerable proportion of the liquid composition placed 5 in the dispenser provided for e solid mashing 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 Mater inlet point. One can understand that, in a number of cases, a 10 method for Mashing 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, 20 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 25 with the clothes to be washed, instead of being introduced from the dispenser provided by the washing machine manufacturer for holding the stashing product.

According to the invention there is provided a process for treating laundry in a washing machine with 30 a liquid product contained in a device which is placed in the drum of the machine,with the laundry to be washed, it being possible for the said device to move freely inside the drum, after which the machine is started and the washing cycle is allowed to run, the 3 5 treatment being the washing of the laundry, and this washing being performed with e liquid detergent contained in the said davica, which has unclosed orifices, the detergent passing progressively into the laundry and the washing liquor as soon as the drvua 40 begins to rotate.

The process consists in pouring into an appropriate device a predetermined quantity - 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 Mashed, and then switching on and allowing the usual uashing cycle of the machine to proceed; the device containing the Mashing product will preferably be placed towards the top of the tank, in the drum. Thus, as the drum in the majority of present-day Mashing 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 concen-trated detergent. Houessr, it is also possible to place the device at the bottoa of the drum, especially in the 5 case uhere the drua starts to rotate as soon as the water is admitted, or even in the diddle of the clothes. The housewife will have no difficulty in choosing the position best suited to the particular circumstances of her uash„ When spinning has ended, the device is removed 10 frota the Mashing machine together ulth the clean clothes and put it side 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 uashing 15 agent to be introduced easily, irrespective of its viscosity and the shape and mouth of the Hashing agent container. This orifice is provided with adapted closure means which can be movable and may or laay not be fixed to the body of the device, including plugs, caps and the like, 20 or can be a permanent fixture like funnels fi>ied around the neck of the orifice and entering the device, of which the length and diaeeter et the Inner end ere such that a liquid Mhich has entered the device is practically unable to cose out again. It cen be seen that, in the latter case, 25 the filling orifice can be Identical to one of the liquid vents with uhich the device must be provided*, The number and shape of these liquid vents are not critical; it Is possible to have a single vent, tao to ten vents or a Multitude of very small vents up to about 100; preference 1s 30 given to devices provided aith two to four vents through uhich the liquid will be released gradually. The diameter of the vents is generally between 2 hm and 10 bo in the case of the devices Mhlch have from 2 to 8 of these. it is obvious that, as not all the liquid vents 35 are generally provided uith closure systems, they must be located above the aexiraua filling level of thg device; on the other hand, their respective positions are arbitrary. Those skilled in the art Mill be capable of determining, by means of routine experiments, the number of these vents 3 as e function of ?Mir shepig, their position and the vis~ cosity of the liquid Mashing agent used, so that the sahole of the said agent is discharged into the washing bath in about 1 to 10 minutes, preferably in about 3 sinuses. It 5 1s obviously necessary to rnske 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 druss of the machine in uhich it is used, its speed of rotation and even how full of clothes the drum is,, The device can be sade of a variety of raateriaIs, ^ which must be unbreakable and withstand temperatures up to about 100°C. A large number of synthetic polymers will be suitable, for exataple low density polyethylene, poly propylene or other elastomers.

Xn a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ualls of the device t-iill be made of a transparent material or Mill have a transparent uindou so that the houseuife can see the level uhich the liquid has reached in the device during the filling operation, in order to avoid any in-20 advertent overflow.

In a preferred erabodiwent, the device carries reference marks Indicating the volueie of liquid introduced when the reference mark is reached; it uill then be possible to use the sarae device for mashing rib chines of 25 different capacities or to adapt the quantity of cashing agent to the operation uhich is to be cerried 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 rels-30 tively stiff, however, so that the device is not made difficult to handle uhen full by the deformation of the Halls resulting from the pressure eiterted by the fingers gripping the device* In a preferred embodiment, the device uill have a > sufficiently wide base for It to be perfectly stable and for it not to be knocked over by a clumsy movement, especially ahile it is being filled with the Mashing agent. % Cleans for fixing the devicc to the drum of the machine, such as suction discs or hooks, are provided in a 7 variant of the device of the Invention. They sasSi® It possible to restrict the noise caused by the device rolling in the druss during the Mashing cycle end the rubbing of the device against the clothes during spinning; in any 5 case., the device is held against the walls of the drum with the clothes.

In the clothes Mashing and cleaning process according to the invention,, the device described above is filled with a liquid detergent with a viscosity uhich is gen-10 erally between 0.1 end 0.4 Pa s. This comprises the usual components, i.e. at least one surface~actiwe agent with e liquid vehicle, end, if appropriate, detergency adjuvants (builders), foais regulators, ensynes and ensyme stabilisers, bleaching agents, soil suspending agents end textile con-15 ditioners.

The liquid detergent compositions used in the washing process of the invention can also contain fluores" cent brighteners, perfumes, colourants, opacifiers, antioxidants, bactericides, bulking agents and the like. 20 The surface-active agents present in the composi tions used in the process of the invention can be anionic, non-ionic, aiapholytic or sui11erionic; 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 25 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 70S, by Height of the t-ihole, and it generally depends on t-ihether or not deter-30 gency adjuvants are present; if the latter are present, the quantity is siaaller. Among the Me I l=knoun adjuvants, there day be mentioned the alkali enetsl salts of phosphates and polyphosphates, of nitrilotriacetic acid and of citric acid, or alternatively the synthetic zeolites. 35 The liquid vehicle of the composition can be water, an organic solvent such as aliphatic sonoalcohols and polyalcohols having up to 6 carbon atoias and their ethers, or olxtures thereof.

Among the optional compounds in the liquid Mashing s composition, there nay be mentioned the uell-knotin sequestering agents such as polyacrylates, polysialsates end copolymers of unsaturated acids and hothy I vinyl ether, and also soil suspending agents such as polyvinylpyrrolidon# and the sodium salt of carborcyraethy Icellulose,, hydrotropic agents such as salts of alkylary Isulphonic acids<. and foaia regulators such as to fatty acids and poly" siloxanes. all these compounds can be introduced into * liquid mashing compositions which can be used in the pro" cess according to the invention* In variable quantities (. well known to the specialist* Polydiallcylsi loitanss can also be introduced into the liquid washing compositions for their softening properties.

The quantity of liquid washing agent used in the 15 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 Mashing machine.

The devices according to the Invention can contain from approximately 100 to 400 ral of liquid and their total in-20 ternal volume will be from about 150 sal to about 500 ml*, but it is perfectly possible to design smaller devices for very effective washing agents or larger devices for mashing machines used in service enterprises.

Different devices according to the invention are 25 described belou, by May of enaraples, with reference to the attached drawings: - Figure 1-1 is a plan visa and Figure 1-2 is a sectional view along the line of a device according to the invention,, with Its plug.

™ Figure 2 Is a sectional view of a device accor ding to the invention in the torn of a flat-bottomed sphere, aith a hinged lid and two liquid vents.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a device according to the invention in the forei of c ring,, with four ( 35 liquid vents.

The device In Figure 1 has a taattimura diaraeter of 105 mm and a height of 65 «R> without the screw plug. The ^ assembly 1 is eiade of transparent polyethylene. The walls have a thickness of 0.6 em. The diameter of the filling s orifice 2 is 40 as and the diaoeter of the two liquid vents 3 is 5 [am; the vents are 45 go from the botton of the container (distance measured verti caI ly) „ The body of the device carries two level marks 4 corresponding to volusaes of 130 nil and 180 taL respectively. A wire ending in hoofes, uhich can fit into the holes taads in the surface of the druras, say optionally be clapped around the neck of the device.

The device in Figure 2 is a hollou sphere of diameter SO raw, Hhich is truncated so that the container rests on a flat botton, and of uhich the locttsbls lid 1 with a hinge 2 is in the shape of & spherical portion matching the shape of the sphere and the liquid introduction orifice 3 uhich has been made therein by cutting along a plane* The device, made of opaque polypropylene, has a transparent uindou 4 in uhich two vol use Marks 5 are drawn. The liquid vents 6, of uhich there are three, are located above the upper filling level* The device In figure 3 is a hollou ring of enter-nal diameter 6 era and internal diaraeter 3 cia, in uhich a 2 en circular hole has been raade in order to serve as the filling orifice 1* This orifice 1 is provided with s lid 2 having a hinge 3 and a locking device 4. Four orifices of diameter 3 rasa are raade in the upper part of the ring* EK*HPL£ 1 In a specific e it ample of hou the process according to the invention is carried out, the device of the inven-tion shown in Moure 1 1s filled uith 220 sal of a liquid washing agent consisting of: Percentage (by Height) sodiura dodecyIbenzenesulphonate (linear dodecyl) 11*3 t ri ethanolaoi nc a Iky I (copra)-su Iphate 4*0 ethoiiylated alcohol TC^H/.O) 12*0 fatty ecid (C12 10*0 oleic ecid 5*0 diethylenetrieesinepentaiaisthylphosphonic acid 0*6 ethanol 8„6 i 0 propanediol 3.0 tflaOH for a final pH of 7.7 secondary components the filled device is placed in a commercial front-9 5 loading washing machine? on top of the clothes to be washed, snd the usshing and spinning cycle is allomsd to proceed normally. St the end of the operation? the clothes and the device are removed froei the machine. The device contains only a feu drops of Mater and can be put away for 10 subsequent use.

EKAMPLE Z 3.2 Stg of clothes are Introduced into a BRANDT top-loading usshing machine of 5 teg capacity, the druia of uhich starts to rotate uhile the tank is fillin0 with 15 Hater. Before the machine is closed, a device according to Figure filled uit 180 ml of a liquid uashing agent of viscosity 0.13 Pa„S, is placed on the clothes. It is found that all the Hashing agent passes into the mashing bath in 1 rainute 30 seconds after the drum has started 20 rotating, the complete machine cycle lasting about SO oi nutes.

EXAMPLE 3 h wash is carried out under the setae conditions es in Example 2, but with a PHILIPS mashing machine; in this 25 ccse, the device releases the Mashing agent in 3 minutes. t

Claims

11 GIjSuIMSJL

1. A process for treating laundry in a washing machine with a liquid product contained in a device which is placed in the drum of the machine, with the laundry to be washed, it being possible for the said device to move freely inside the drum, after which the machine is started and the washing cycle is allowed to run, the treatment being the washing of the laundry, and this washing being performed with a liquid detergent contained in the said device, which has unclosed orifices, the detergent passing progressively into the laundry and the washing liquor as soon as the drum begins to rotate.

2. A process according to Claim 1, wherein a predetermined amount of liquid detergent is poured into the device, which has a filling orifice for this purpose, and whsrein, at the end of washing the device is recovered and can be reused.

3. A process according to one of Claims 1 or 2, wherein the device is placed towards the top of the drum filled with laundry.

4. & process according to Claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described. P. R. K3LLY 6 CO., AGENTS FOR THE APPLICANTS.