JP2002509846A - Packaged products, including tablets - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a packaged product (1) including a combination of a detergent tablet (20) and a packaging system (3) containing the detergent tablet (20). The tablet (20) has a diametral fracture stress of 15 kPa to 65 kPa, and the packaging system (3) is at least partially formed from a material having a flat crushability of 50 kPa to 800 kPa.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to packaged products including tablets. Tablets include pharmaceutical tablets and detergent tablets, especially for use in laundry or clothes washing and in automatic dishwashers.

[0002]

[Prior art]

Some tablets are designed to dissolve or disintegrate in a liquid, such as water, before use, to provide a solution or suspension of the active ingredient. If such tablets need to be dissolved or disintegrated, problems may arise depending on the dissolution or disintegration rate of the tablets. These problems are particularly acute in the field of detergent tablets where it is desirable to have a rapid release of the active ingredient, in particular a surfactant. Furthermore,
These problems are particularly acute when detergent tablets are used for hand washing rather than machine washing. This is because very little agitation is provided by hand.

On page 340 of Marshall Sittig's "Manufacture of Detergents" published by Neues Data in 1976, "[Manufacture of [detergent] tablets involves the selection of the components of the tablets and the processing of these components. Very special measures are required to make the final detergent tablet, and the manufacture of the detergent tablet is complicated, simply by selecting the ingredients or compressing the specific detergent ingredients into the tablet. Not only does it mean that the tablet must be able to withstand the impact of packaging, handling, and sales without being ragged, in other words, the tablet must be robust. Moreover, tablets must disintegrate fast enough when they are immersed in water. If strength is selected, disintegration time is long, and if disintegration time is selected, strength is very small.
It is described. Such tablets are described, for example, in the applicant's currently pending European Patent Application No. 962033471.6, European Patent Application No. 96203346.
5, European Patent Application No. 962033473.2, European Patent Application No. 9620346
4.1 and European Patent Application No. 97877074.8.

There are packaging systems known in the art that are more particularly suitable for tablets of this type. Such a packaging system is described in more detail, for example, in the co-pending European Patent Application No. 97202674.4, where if the tablet contains bleach, the packaging system will It has a moisture vapor transfer rate of less than 20 g / m ² / day measured at% equilibrium relative humidity and is provided with micro-holes.

[0005] The present invention is directed to a packaged product comprising a combination of a tablet and a packaging system containing the tablet.

[0006] The advantages of such known packaged products include the uncontrolled chemical evolution during storage because the tablet is shielded from the environment by a packaging system with specific transmission properties. Include the advantage of not joining the tablet. Further, microholes are provided to enable normal chemical evolution.

While such packaged products have these and other advantages, they have drawbacks. In particular, detergent tablets or pharmaceutical tablets must be easy to handle, which means that these tablets must be mechanically strong, and they must be sufficiently rigid. Means Tablets, if not sufficiently rigid, break easily and are thus impractical to handle and use. Although tablets can be hardened by compression, such compression creates dissolution problems during use.

[0008]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaged product of the kind described above, which allows the use of tablets with sufficient mechanical properties to facilitate handling, but without the problem of dissolution during use. It is.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

According to the invention, the purpose is to achieve a diametral fracture stress of between 15 kPa and 65 kPa.
And a packaged product of the type described above, comprising a tableting system and a packaging system at least partially formed from a material having a flat crushability of 50 kPa to 800 kPa.

[0010] Packaged products formed in accordance with the present invention have many advantages. surely,
The combination of tablet hardness and flat crushability of the material forming the packaging system results in good mechanical properties for the packaged product and good tablet dissolution. Indeed, mechanical properties can be considered for the entire package, and thus the hardness of the tablet can be set to allow sufficient dissolution. Examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 The packaged product according to the invention relates to tablets. Tablet with vertical axis
A cross-section in a plane perpendicular to this longitudinal axis
It is a material block having a predetermined height along the direction axis. Sections are, for example, circles, ellipses
It can take a variety of shapes, including circles, squares, rectangles, or other polygons. this
Such tablets are rounded to prevent the edges from becoming mechanically weak
It should be noted that it is better to have chamfered edges. representative
Typically, the cross section of the tablet is 50mm^Two ~ 5000mm^Two , Preferably 10
0mm^Two ~ 4900mm^Two , More preferably 1000 mm^Two ~ 3000mm ^Two , More preferably 1200mm^Two ~ 2700mm^Two , Most preferably 19
00mm^Two ~ 2100mm^Two It is. Indeed, in the preferred embodiment, the tablet
The unit has a circular cross section with a diameter of 50 mm. The cross-sectional area depends on the specific application of the tablet
Can be changed according to For example, if it is desired to reduce the dosage unit,
You can choose a relatively small tablet. In addition, the size of the tub in a solvent such as water
Affects dissolution of let. This is because the dissolution is the contact surface between the tablet and the solvent
This is because it is affected by the ratio between the product and the volume of the tablet. For example, if the radius is R
For a circular tablet having a height of h and a cross section, this ratio is given by the following equation:
Is estimated.

(2πR ² + 2πRh) / (πR ² h) Maximizing this ratio with a constant volume is advantageous for dissolution. Of course, there are other restrictions such as the three-dimensionality of the tablet. This means that R must not be too large compared to h. Another way to improve the ratio of surface area to volume is to provide the tablet with, for example, a cylindrical central hole about the tablet axis. Yet another approach is to use a larger number of tablets per unit dose while at the same time reducing the size of the tablets proportionately, while retaining the advantages in the manufacture of cylindrical dose tablets. Indeed, it is an object of the present invention to enhance the dissolution of tablets in solvents, and more particularly, to enhance the dissolution of detergent tablets or pharmaceutical tablets in water.

[0013] Typically, the height of the tablet along the longitudinal axis is between 5 mm and 30 mm, preferably between 15 mm and 25 mm, most preferably between 20 mm and 2 mm.
3 mm.

For example, tablets having a circular cross section with a radius of 25 mm and a height of 21 mm have been found to be particularly suitable as detergent tablets for washing machines, such tablets being dispensing dispensing parts of washing machines. The dispenser can be dispensed directly from the drawer and can be placed directly in the rotating tub of the washing machine or in a dispensing device, which can be arranged in the washing machine. Such a distribution device consists for example of a water-permeable net. Tablets can be inserted into the net, and dissolution is further enhanced by friction from contact with the net, tablet, and clothing.

[0015] Indeed, the present invention more particularly relates to detergent tablets. The detergent tablet is characterized by containing a surfactant. Such tablets can be used, for example, for automatic dishwashing or washing. Preferably, the tablet according to the present invention contains 5% by weight or more of a surfactant, more preferably 7% to 30% by weight of a surfactant, and more preferably 8% to 20% by weight of a surfactant. %, Most preferably from 10% to 20% by weight of the surfactant. Tablets with 15% by weight surfactant have been found to be particularly suitable for washing. Higher surfactant levels increase surface activity and thus make cleaning more efficient, but higher surfactant levels make tablet dissolution more difficult and as surfactant levels increase. Tablets tend to gel,
Thus, sufficient dissolution is prevented, especially when water is present. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to prevent the surfactant from becoming difficult to dissolve due to exposure to a humid environment.

The tablets must not be too dense to maintain good dissolution while maintaining a relatively high level of surfactant, eg, 15% by weight. However, if the density is low, it becomes brittle. This is because further compression of the tablet results in a stronger bond within the tablet. It has been found that this can be solved by providing the tablet with a specific packaging system that can lower the requirements for the stereoscopicity of the tablet itself. Suitable packaging systems have a flat crush-ability of 50 kPa to 800 kP.
a, preferably from 50 kPa to 400 kPa, more preferably from 250 kPa to 350 kPa, most preferably from 270 kPa to 310 kPa. Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide
The purpose is to enable the use of tablets that promote dissolution while maintaining good levels of mechanical properties of the packaged product.

Flat crushability corresponds to the maximum force per unit area that the material can withstand without being completely crushed, this force being applied along a direction perpendicular to the surface of the material. This is measured using the flat crush test or FCT.

Combinations of such packaging systems and tablets with a breaking stress or diametral tensile strength of 15 kPa to 65 kPa obtain both adequate mechanical resistance and sufficient solubility for the packaged product I know I can do it. Certainly, if the tensile strength of the tablet is too low, it will be very brittle and difficult to handle, so it should not be too low.If it is too high, it will be too hard and difficult to dissolve. No. In addition, packaging systems with poor flat crushability cannot absorb the energy of impact sufficiently to prevent tablet breakage, but high flat crushability results in too high a stiffness of the packaging material resulting in high impact crush. Energy is transmitted to the tablet without being absorbed.

The tensile strength or diametral fracture stress of a tablet is measured by applying a force on the side of the tablet in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tablet until the tablet cracks. Such a test can be applied to various cross sections of the tablet, including for example, a circle. The tensile strength or diametral breaking stress of a tablet is related to the compressive strength used to form the tablet. Indeed, when a tablet is highly compressed, it becomes stiffer, and thus has a higher diametral fracture stress. It is preferable to use a tablet having a diametral breaking stress of 18 kPa to 45 kPa, more preferably 20 kPa to 25 kPa. Tablets having a diametral fracture stress of 22 kPa have been found to be particularly suitable for having good solubility. When included in a packaged product according to the present invention, the tablet is adequately protected from mechanical shock. Tablets have been found to be more brittle when impacted from the side, resulting in a flat crush of 50%.
Preferably, the components of the packaging system made of kPa to 800 kPa material lie in a plane containing the longitudinal axis of the tablet, so that the more brittle tablet sides are preferentially protected from impact. Flat crushability of 50 kPa to 800
By choosing the location of the kPa material in this way, the remainder of the packaging system can be made of different types of materials, thus saving material. Indeed, another object of the present invention is to produce a packaged product that reduces the amount of waste associated with the environment.

Another advantage of the tablet according to the invention is that it has a diametral fracture stress of 15 kPa to 7 kPa.
Since the dissolution is promoted by setting the pressure to 5 kPa, the amount of the phosphate or polyphosphate used in the tablet can be set more freely. Indeed, phosphate compounds or polyphosphate compounds facilitate dissolution. Thus, as is possible when using the packaging system according to the invention, the amount of such compounds used when dissolution is promoted by other means, such as by using a tablet with a diametral breaking stress according to the invention. Can be reduced. 45% by weight or less, more preferably 30% by weight or less, more preferably 1% by weight or less of a phosphate compound or a polyphosphate compound.
It is preferred to use up to 5% by weight, most preferably 0%, of tablets. A tablet having a circular cross section having a diameter of 50 mm, a height of 21 mm, a surfactant content of 15% by weight, a diametral breaking stress of 22 kPa, and a phosphate compound or polyphosphate compound of 0% by weight is a drawer for dispensing. It has been found that it can be easily dissolved in a washing machine, even when placed directly in the washing machine. The packaging system according to the invention has a flat crushability of 50 kPa to 800 kPa, depending in whole or in part on the amount of protection desired.
It can be manufactured with the following materials. Further, it is preferred that the packaging system be formed of only one material, for example, to simplify manufacturing. Further, manufacturing can be simplified, for example, by using low compressive strength to form tablets. Indeed, another object of the present invention is to reduce manufacturing costs and energy consumption during manufacturing.

In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the tablet has a circular cross section and a diameter of 50
mm, height of 21 mm, surfactant content of 15% by weight, diametral fracture stress of 22 kPa, 0% by weight of phosphate or polyphosphate compound, including core and coating .

Indeed, by using a tablet with a core and a coating at the level of the packaged product, not just at the level of the tablet itself, the limitation on dissolution can be further separated from the limitation on mechanical brittleness. . Indeed, the core may be a soft core, whereas the coating may be a hard coating, thus maintaining the overall diametral fracture resistance of the entire tablet,
Further, a soft core that can be easily dissolved can be provided. Typically, such soft cores will comprise from 80% to 99%, more preferably from 90% to 99%, more preferably from 95% to 98.5% of the weight of the tablet. The diametral fracture stress of the core is preferably between 5 kPa and 30 kPa, and is specifically lower than the total diametral fracture stress of the entire tablet, including the core and the coating. One example of a coating used is dicarboxylic acid and disintegrar
ant), so that once the cracks in the coating come into contact with water, the soft core can be easily released. The coating is related to the tablet stiffness and stericity such that the overall diametral fracture stress of the tablet is maintained at a sufficiently high level. In the example, the diametral fracture stress of the soft core is 10 kPa. Certainly, it is preferable to use a tablet having a soft core having a diametral fracture stress of 8 kPa to 14 kPa.

In the example, the packaging system 3 is made of a combination of a paperboard box and a plastic bag, wherein at least a part of the paperboard forming the box has a flat crushability of 50 to 80.
0 kPa. In this example, the paperboard forming the box has a flute 310 and a liner 311 and a second flute 320, with two liners 321 and 322 on each side of the second flute 320. This particular packaged product 1
A single tablet 20 may be accommodated, or in a preferred embodiment at least two tablets 20, 21 are accommodated. More specifically, the example packaged product 1 contains 32 tablets. These tablets are first placed in a plastic bag such that the pairs 20, 21 are such that the longitudinal axes 200 of the tablets are parallel. The two tablets 20 and 21 forming a pair are arranged side by side. This is partially shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In these figures, only eight of the 32 tablets are shown. These eight tablets form one layer of the packaging system 3, and the whole carton includes four layers, each containing eight tablets,
The four tablets thus overlap along the longitudinal axis to form a stack 8
Columns are formed. Note that the configuration of the stack contributes to the stiffness of the entire packaged product, as described in currently pending European Patent Application No. 97202673.6. For example, if the packaging system contains a stack of solids of rectangular cross-section and each side of the packaging system is in contact with the edge of the solid stack, or the edges of a plurality of solid stacks, the stiffness of the solid stack may increase. Co-operates with the stiffness, thus making the entire structure more stiff. The packaging system holds the solid stack, which improves the stiffness of the packaging system, so that the structure of the packaging system and the structure of the solid stack work together to improve stiffness and three-dimensionality To form the entire structure.
This synergy is particularly useful where the structure is further weakened by the provision of windows and where the contents of the packaging system are particularly brittle, such as in the case of detergent tablets. Indeed, the packaging system of the present invention is particularly suitable for storing, protecting, and selling solid stacks of such detergent tablets.
In the example, the tablet is packaged in pairs in 16 plastic bags,
These 16 plastic bags are preferably of the type described, for example, in the pending European Patent Application No. 97202674.4, the bags being 40 bags.
It has a moisture vapor transmission rate of less than 20 g / m ² / day, measured at 75 ° C. and 75% equilibrium relative humidity, is perforated and reclosable. Such a bag,
The rest of the packaging system formed of paperboard boxes can adjust the chemical evolution of the tablet while allowing for mechanical stericity. In the example, the packaging system is
It includes a partial layer 330 made of flutes 310 having a liner 311 on one side, this particular flute being made of a B flute and further having liners 321, 3 on each side.
22 includes the entire layer of glued second flutes 320. This flute is
For example, it is made of F-type flute or E-type flute. The first layer 330 with one side is only inserted into the second double-sided flute and the first layer 330 with one side
Layer 330 is, in this example, U-shaped, so that each of the three planes forming the U-shape includes the longitudinal axis 200 of the tablet. Indeed, this first layer 330 with only one side gives the packaging system 3 a flat crush of 297 kPa in a U-shaped part. This corresponds best with the diametral fracture stress of the tablet. In this way, the tablet is protected. Indeed, 5
From a height of 0 cm, a drop test is performed on the entire box with the tablet side facing the ground, that is, with the tablet's longitudinal axis extending horizontally as shown,
Only 10% of the tablets were cracked. This is evidence of good mechanical protection, taking into account the softness of the tablet, which allows good dissolution. It should be noted that the same drop test was performed on the same box where the longitudinal axis of the tablet was aligned with gravity and that the tablet did not crack. This proves that it is most useful for a U-shaped flute with only one side to be on the side of the tablet. Another advantage of this is that less material is used, thus reducing the amount of material released to the environment. Furthermore, if there is no first liner with only one side, the entire box is dropped from a height of 50 cm with the side of the tablet facing the ground, ie with the longitudinal axis of the tablet horizontal as shown. It should be noted that 50% of the tablets crack when tested.

It should be noted that the plastic bag is not shown for clarity of other components.

In the accompanying drawings, the reclosable lid of the package is not shown, but the powder-locking features of snap-lock devices, tear strips, spring means to facilitate opening, fresh seals, etc. -Proofness, with various features known to those skilled in the art to facilitate reclosability and / or openability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a packaged product according to the present invention, with parts removed to show structure.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a packaged product according to the present invention with different components separated to further clarify the structure.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (71) Applicant ONE PROCTER & GANBLE PLAZA, CINCINNATI, OHIO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (72) Inventor: Jackie, Pierre, Duque, Elbville, Schman, de, Cro, France 1 72) Inventor Francis, Bambanscapelle Bruneau, Ryu, Michelet, 15 bis F term (reference) 3E060 AA03 AB02 CC12 CC19 CC50 CC70 DA30 EA09 3E066 AA08 AA35 BA05 CA03 DA04 FA01 JA02 NA60

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A packaged product (1) comprising a combination of a tablet (20) and a packaging system (3) containing the tablet (20), wherein the tablet (20) has a diameter in the range from 15 kPa to 65 kPa. Having a breaking stress, the packaging system (3) has a flat crushability of at least partially 50 kPa
A packaged product, formed from a material of ~ 800 kPa. 2. The packaged product (1) according to claim 1, wherein the packaging system (3) comprises a combination of a paperboard box (30) and a plastic bag. 3. The packaged product (1) according to claim 2, wherein the flat crushability of at least a part (31) of the paperboard forming the box (30) is between 50 kPa and 800 kPa.
. 4. The paperboard forming the box (30) has a flat crushability of 50 kPa to 800 k.
The packaged product (1) according to claim 3, wherein at least a portion (31) of the Pa comprises a flute (310) and a liner (311). 5. The box (30) comprises at least two tablets (20, 21), the two tablets (20, 21) being connected to the longitudinal axis (20) of these tablets.
0) are packaged in a bag so that they are parallel, and these two tablets (2
The packaged product (1) according to claim 2, wherein the (0, 21) are side-to-side. 6. A packaging system material having a flat crushability of 50 kPa to 800 kPa.
31. The packaged product (1) according to claim 1, wherein 31) lies in a plane containing the longitudinal axis (200) of the tablet (20). 7. The packaged product (1) according to claim 1, wherein the tablet (20) is a detergent tablet comprising a surfactant. 8. The tablet (20) has a core and a coating, the core occupying 80% to 99% of the weight of the tablet, and the diametral fracture stress of the core is 5 kP
The packaged product (1) according to claim 1, which is between a and 30 kPa. 9. The tablet (20) has a phosphate compound or polyphosphate compound content of 45.
The packaged product (1) according to claim 1, wherein the content is less than% by weight. Wherein said tablet (20), the area of 50 mm ² to 5000 mm ² surface (2
01), and a length of 5 mm to 30 mm (202) along the longitudinal axis (200).
A packaged product (1) according to claim 1, comprising: