Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D85/00—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials
  • B65D85/70—Containers, packaging elements or packages, specially adapted for particular articles or materials for materials not otherwise provided for
  • B65D85/804—Disposable containers or packages with contents which are mixed, infused or dissolved in situ, i.e. without having been previously removed from the package
  • B65D85/808—Disposable containers or packages with contents which are mixed, infused or dissolved in situ, i.e. without having been previously removed from the package for immersion in the liquid to release part or all of their contents, e.g. tea bags
• • 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

Definitions

• the invention relates to detergent products which are suitable for treating fabric in a washing machine and which contain detergent compositions in particulate form.
• the marketing of powdered detergent compositions packaged in cartons is. common practice, this imposes constraints both on their formulation and methods of production.
• the powders must be free flowing and have an attractive appearance to the comsumer, and the ingredients should not segregate during transport and storage.
• the products must also be safe, both for contact with the skin and in the event of accidental ingestion; in particular, the compositions should not contain too high a level of alkaline, materials although alkalinity is beneficial for detergent properties when using washing machines which have a rotating drum in which the fabrics are placed, there can also be substantial losses of conventionally dosed detergent powder by retention in the dispenser and by its accumulation in the dead spaces beneath the drum, such as the drain hose.
• Canadian Patent Specification No 901 244 described a water-soluble bag for insecticides, the bag being reinforced with a polypropylene net. We have now found that improved bags can be made by using polypropylene fibres. DISCLOSURE OP THE INDENTION
• the present invention provides a detergent product which comprises a particulate detergent composition contained within a water-insoluble, but water-permeable bag which is constructed of sheet material containing at least a minor proportion of polypropylene, fibres.
• a major advantage of the use of a proportion of polypropylene fibres is that they facilitate making the bags by heat-sealing methods, which are convenient for large scale manufacture, and yet the polypropylene is relatively cheap to use, compared with other heat-sealing methods and the fibres are strong and can be made in fine denier sizes to make suitable porous sheet materials.
• the polypropylene fibres have a major advantage in being chemically stable and, by using a relatively high proportion of such fibres in the material from which the bags are formed, it is possible to include in the detergent compositions ingredients which could not be packed in conventional bags of cellulosic fibres, for example bleaching agents such as sodium perborate or trichlorocyanuric acid.
• the bags are constructed substantially only from polypropylene fibres or at least from a major proportion of polypropylene fibres together with other conventional fibres.
• the minimum amount of polypropylene fibres which can be used to achieve any significant benefit is about 10% by weight of the total fibre mix.
• the polypropylene fibres may contain a minor content of copolymerisable monomers, or additives for disperse dyeability such as styrene-vinylpyridine copolymer and may optionally be surface modified with mineral additives.
• the bag material may alternatively include bicomponent fibres such as polypropylene/polyethylene fibres available from Chisso E.S., Japan.
• the polypropylene-containing sheet material used to form the bags in the products of the invention may be paper or woven, knitted or non-woven fabric, which can be made by conventional techniques. Such sheet material should be water-insoluble and water-permeable.
• the material used to form the bags advantageously has a high wet strength, so as not to disintegrate during the washing process. Although the polypropylene content can improve wet strength, treatment with polymeric wet strength agents may also be used.
• the polypropylene-containing sheet material used for forming the bags normally weighs about 5 to 100, preferably about 10 to 60 g/m 2 , especially about 15 to
• fibres may be of natural or synthetic origin, for example polyamide, polyester, polyacrylic, PVC, PVdC (polyvinylidene chloride), cellulose acetate, polyethylene or cellulosic fibres. If a significant porportion of natural, e.g. cellulosic, fibres are used, it may be desirable to include a proportion of long fibres as Manila hemp, in order to improve the strength of the sheet material and pliability, and reducing stiffness, thereby giving the material a fabric-like appearance, and a binder may also be necessary for increasing wet strength
• the bag material should have a pore size such that there is no excessive dusting of the detergent composition through the material of the bags in the dry state but yet that water can pass readily through the material forming the bags to disperse and dissolve the contents when the product is used.
• the pore size distribution of the polypropylener-containing sheet material should be selected in relation to the particle size distribution of the detergent composition so that no more than about 5% by weight, preferably not more than about 1%, of the particles can pass through the sheet material, and hence cause dusting.
• the maximum pore size of the sheet material must be very small, preferably so as to retain only detergent particles greater than about 20 microns.
• the maximum pore size of the sheet material may be larger so as to retain detergent particles greater than about 100 microns, e.g. about 500 up to about 1000 microns, as appropriate.
• the polypropylene-containing sheet material may be treated to protect the detergent compositions from atmospheric moisture or the non-polypropylene fibres from chemical attack by the detergent composition, for example by coating the sheet material with a water-soluble substance, e.g. gelatine, salts .or. esters of alginic acid, salts and esters of methyl cellulose or carboxymethyl cellulose, soap or a water-soluble cationic detergent active material, or by providing an extra protective layer of a water-soluble sheet material such as soluble polyvinyl alcohol.
• a water-soluble substance e.g. gelatine, salts .or. esters of alginic acid, salts and esters of methyl cellulose or carboxymethyl cellulose, soap or a water-soluble cationic detergent active material, or by providing an extra protective layer of a water-soluble sheet material such as soluble polyvinyl alcohol.
• the sheet material of the bag may be treated with a removable water-insoluble protective agent such as a water-insoluble cationic fabric softener, a silicone, a fatty acid, wax or clay.
• a removable water-insoluble protective agent such as a water-insoluble cationic fabric softener, a silicone, a fatty acid, wax or clay.
• the bags are to be used for detergent powder which consists of, or contains, a bleaching agent such as sodium perborate or sodium percarbonate, it is desirable to treat the sheet material before of after forming the bags with a coating to improve oxidation resistance or to form the bags from polypropylene fibres alone or from a mixture of polypropylene and other oxidation resistant fibres.
• a bleaching agent such as sodium perborate or sodium percarbonate
• the bags can be formed from a single folded sheet formed into a tubular section, or from two sheets of the material bonded together at the edges.
• the bags can be sachets formed from single folded sheets and sealed on three sides or from two sheets sealed, on four sides for the preferred rectangular shape.
• the sheets can be folded like envelopes with overlapping flaps to be sealed.
• the seals may be formed in a variety of ways including heat sealing, cold pressure sealing or with an adhesive.
• the bag is formed of two sheet materials heat-sealed together, one of said sheet materials containing at least a minor proportion of polypropylene fibres and heat-sealing at a relatively low temperature, the other sheet material heat-sealing at a relatively high temperature or being a non-heat-sealable sheet material, such as paper.
• bicomponent fibres such as polypropylene/ polyethylene fibres in the bag material enables the bag to be heat-sealed at a lower temperature than if polypropylene fibres were used alone.
• the bags used to form the products of the invention can either be of the type which open in the washing machine, for example by using a water-sensitive seal or which are closed and constructed so that the detergent composition escapes through the walls of the bag by dissolution and dispersion in the wash liquor.
• An opening bag may be formed by sealing the bag with a water sensitive adhesive as described in our Belgian patent No. 867039 (United States application S/N 905680) or by forming the bag of a material that will/disintegrate in the wash. This may be achieved by using a fibrous bag material, particularly a cellulosic fibrous bag material, which includes little or no binder or includes a water-sensitive (e.g. water-soluble) binder such as starch, dextrin or soluble PVA latex. However, it is preferred to form an opening bag by closing the bag with at least one weak seal.
• a water sensitive adhesive as described in our Belgian patent No. 867039 (United States application S/N 905680) or by forming the bag of a material that will/disintegrate in the wash. This may be achieved by using a fibrous bag material, particularly a cellulosic fibrous bag material, which includes little or no binder or includes a water-sensitive (e.g. water-soluble
• the weak seal may be formed by heat sealing at a lower temperature, lower pressure or for less time than the remaining seals.
• a particular embodiment of the invention therefore comprises a heatsealed bag formed of polypropylene, one or more seals being formed with apaper insert strip.
• the paper .strip may be provided on one face of the polypropylene sheet before the bags are made and filled, or may be inserted during heatsealing.
• the bag may also be formed of a material comprising or consisting of polypropylene and a second component which heat-seals at a different temperature, such as polyacetate.
• the weak seal or seals are formed-by selecting a sealing temperature at which only one of these components will heat - seal, the remaining seals being formed by selecting a sealing temperature at which both these components will heat-seal.
• a still further method of enabling the bag to open and discharge its contents in use is to form the side walls of the bag with weakened areas, e.g. in the form of linear slit perforations with a removable protective strip positioned thereover. Opening of the bag then occurs by bursting at the weakened areas.
• the bag is generally rectangular being sealed on either three or four edges.
• the fourth edge is formed by a. fold in the bag material.
• Any detergent composition in particulate form can be packaged to advantage in the products of the invention.
• the bags may contain any one or more of the following fabric treatment materials: bleaches such as sodium perborate; bleach precursors such as tetraacetylethylene diamine (TAED), fabric softeners such as quaternary ammonium compounds; starch, perfumes, antibacterial agents; anti-static agents; whitening or blueing agents; stain removing agents and the like.
• bleaches such as sodium perborate
• bleach precursors such as tetraacetylethylene diamine (TAED), fabric softeners such as quaternary ammonium compounds
• starch perfumes, antibacterial agents; anti-static agents; whitening or blueing agents; stain removing agents and the like.
• compositions which can be packaged to advantage in the products of the invention are amply described in the literature, for example in "Surface Active Agents ana Detergents", Volumes I and II, by Schwartz, Perry and Berch.
• the products of the invention are advantageously used for detergent powders containing insoluble ingredients, especially when the bags are constructed so as to open and liberate the detergent composition during the wash.
• Specific examples of such ingredients include finely divided calcium carbonate, the-use of which is described in UK patent No. 1 437 950, and aluminosllicate ion exchange materials as described in UK patent specifications Nos. 1 429 143, 1 473 201 and 1 473 202. It is also advantageous to use the products of this invention with detergent compositions containing bleach systems, particularly containing TAED snd sodium-perborate.
• the detergent products of the invention are particularly suited for containing detergent compositions of relatively high bulk density, i.e. over about..0.5 g/cc, preferably about 0.6 to 0.8 g/cc. Bulk densities over about 1 g/cc are not recommended as this normally gives a reduced rate of water-solubility or dispersibility.
• the use of high bulk density makes it possible to decrease the size of the detergent bags whilst still containing enough particulate detergent . composition, to be fully effective during use. This also enables the use of simple processing techniques for the production of the detergent compositions themselves, for .example granulation or dry mixing, instead of 'traditional spray techniques.
• the bags can be formed with more than one separate compartment for different detergent ingredients, or the bags may be formed in a conjoined manner, for example in a strip to facilitate dosing of different numbers of the bags as appropriate for the wash conditions.
• the use of multi-compartment bags facilitates the use of detergent ingredients which interact with other ingredients in detergent compositions, whilst avoiding encapsulation or other treatment to prevent contact between such ingredients in a single composition.
• one opening comp-artment may contain a fully formulated detergent free of bleach while a non- opening second compartment may contain the bleach.
• a non-opening third compartment may contain a fabric softener.
• bags may also be reinforced to decrease the risk of leakage during handling, for example by adding an extra thickness of the sheet material where the bags . are expected to be held or passing completely round the bags to help support the weight of detergent powder.
• the sheet material used to form the bag can be marked, or tagged so that it can be easily recognised amongst the washed fabrics, for example the material- may be printed with a. simulated fabric pattern such as check or gingham. It can then either be discarded,, or, if desired, it may be constructed of a suitable material to provide it with a secondary use, for example as a cleaning cloth.
• the invention is illustrated by reference to the following Examples in which parts and percentages areby weight except where otherwise indicated.
• EXAMPLE 1 Detergent bags in sachet form were made from spunbonded non-woven sheet material constructed wholly from thermoplastic polypropylene filaments, and weighing 20 g/m 2 .
• Pieces of the sheet material measuring approximately
• Nonionic detergent surfactant 14.0 Sodium carbonate 34.0 Calcium carbonate (80 m 2 /g) 18.0
• EXAMPLE 2 Detergent bags were made from water-permeable paper formed from mixed cellulosic fibres (Manila hemp) 70% and polypropylene thermoplastic fibres 30%, treated with acrylic latex wet strength agent. The bags were formedby folding in half sheets of 9" ⁇ 41 ⁇ 2" and heat sealingthe two opposing sides, then filling the bags with 84 g each of the detergent powder used in Example 1, and finally heat-sealing the bags to give rectangular filled sachets of about 41 ⁇ 2" ⁇ 41 ⁇ 2".
• the bags were then used to wash fabrics in front loading automatic washing machines by placing the bags inside the drums with the fabrics. It was found that all the bags opened early in the wash cycle by bursting along one of the seams, and good detergency results were achieved.
• EXAMPLE 5 The following Example demonstrates the benefit of a polypropylene bag over a cellulosic bag.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Detergent Compositions (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

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Citations (3)

• 1979
  • 1979-11-16 JP JP50192279A patent/JPS55500903A/ja active Pending
  • 1979-11-16 ZA ZA00796188A patent/ZA796188B/xx unknown
  • 1979-11-16 ES ES486068A patent/ES486068A0/es active Granted
  • 1979-11-16 WO PCT/GB1979/000193 patent/WO1980001079A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1979-11-16 AU AU52924/79A patent/AU5292479A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1979-11-16 EP EP79302603A patent/EP0011968A1/en not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (3)

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