WO2012032312A1

WO2012032312A1 - Refill cartridge for a multi - dosing detergent delivery device and method manufacture thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2012032312A1
Application number: PCT/GB2011/051418
Authority: WO
Inventors: Axel Halbherr; Rainer Link; Dietmar Van Loyen
Original assignee: Reckitt Benckiser N.V.; Reckitt & Colman (Overseas) Limited
Priority date: 2010-09-06
Filing date: 2011-07-26
Publication date: 2012-03-15
Also published as: GB201014766D0

Abstract

The invention is a refill device and method of manufacture of the same for use in a cylindrical type of multi-dosing detergent delivery device wherein, said refill device comprises a unitary block of material having a external, configuration adapted to match an internal configuration of the multi-dosing detergent delivery device. The unitary block comprises a stem member (24' ) from which a plurality "x" of arms (22') extend, each arm (22') being configured to fit into a dosing chamber of the delivery device. Each arm (22') comprises a dose of detergent. The refill device is formed in the shape of an inverted crown.

Description

REFIL CARTRIDGE FOR A MULTI - DOSING DETERGENT DELIVERY DEVICE AND METHOD MANUFACTURE THEREOF

The invention relates to a refill device for a detergent delivery device. In particular, it concerns improvements to refill cartridges for use in multi-dosing detergent delivery devices of the type used, for instance, within dishwashing machines where a detergent is dispensed automatically over a plurality of washing cycles without the requirement for a user to refill the device.

A number of devices are known for holding unit doses of a detergent composition or additive, such as detergent tablets, and for dispensing of such unit doses into a machine.

One particular device of great utility, which is the subject of PCT application WO/2008/053178 comprises a multi-dosing detergent delivery device, the device comprising a housing for receiving therein a cartridge having a plurality X of chambers each accommodating a detergent composition, a directing means to direct, in use, wash liquor selectively into a chamber of the cartridge to contact the detergent composition therein and an outlet to allow the detergent loaded wash liquor to exit the device, wherein the device further comprises indexing means for automatic movement of said cartridge, in use, relative to said directing means during and subsequent to a wash cycle so as to cause a neighbouring chamber to be in an exposed, ready to be used, position prior to a next washing cycle.

The above-mentioned device has a refill cartridge which consists of a cylinder of refill chambers.

To understand the operation of this prior art device in a little more detail, that device will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figures 1 (a), 1 (b) and 1 (c) are perspective assembled, perspective exploded and internal perspective views of a housing part and lid of the device of WO/2008/053178;

Figures 2(a) and (b) are schematic perspective views from above and from below showing a refill holder for use with the device of WO/2008/053178; and Figures 3(a) and 3(b) show a refill cartridge for use with the refill holder of figures 2(a) and (b), whilst figure 3(c) shows a single chamber of a refill cartridge.

Figures 1 (a), 1 (b) and 1 (c) show respectively perspective assembled, perspective exploded and internal perspective views of detergent dispensing device 1 comprising a housing 2 and a lid 3. The housing 2 has an indexing mechanism 100 housed within it and described later. The lid 3 has a window 32 to allow a user to see by means of a visual indicator a number of washes used or remaining for use with the device and also has directing means comprising an aperture 34 for directing wash liquor/water to the interior of the housing. The lid 3 has a general funnel like appearance to facilitate the collection of wash liquor/water available to the directing means.

The housing 2 is arranged to receive a refill holder 4 as shown in figures 2(a) which shows a refill holder in front perspective view and figure 2 (b) which shows the holder in bottom perspective view. The refill holder 4 comprises a plurality of dividing fins 5 emanating from a central hub 6 and has a base 7 featuring a number of apertures 8 and lower location slots 9. Internally of the hub 6, there are formed one or more upper locating tabs 10 (four shown in the figure), whilst externally and at a central portion thereof there is provided numbering from 1 to 12 representing the number of washing cycles that an associated refill may have undergone or have remaining. The window 32 of the lid has a transparent portion that is, in use, aligned with the relevant sector of the numbered area.

The refill holder 4 is, in use, positionable within the housing 2 and the hub 6 has a hollow formation to co-operate with, and fit over, a central shaft 120 of the indexing mechanism 100 as will be described later.

The fins 5 are arranged to co-operate with and register with internal spaces formed between parts of a disposable refill package 200 such as the one shown in figures 3(a) and 3(b) and having individual chambers 210 as shown in figure 3(c). The refill package 200 is a cartridge that comprises a plurality of like chambers 210, and has a roll formation. The chambers 210 are separate from each other and comprise plastic sleeve or blister packages. The chambers 210 are spaced apart upon a common backing substrate 230, having gaps between them that are apt to be engaged by the fins 5 of the refill holder 4. Each chamber has an upper opening 220 and a lower opening 240 that is, in use, in register with one of the apertures 8 of the refill holder. Each chamber 210 is filled with sufficient cleaning composition for the completion of one dishwasher cycle. The contents of the chambers 210 are preferably in solid form and, therefore there is no problem with inadvertent spillage. There is also a central gap 250 in a central hub area that facilitates the placement of the refill 200 onto the refill holder 4.

While the above described device is of great utility, there is still a relatively large amount of packaging involved in providing the refill package - the detergent is in plastic chambers on a backing substrate and then also has outer packaging.

Accordingly, it is an aim of embodiments of the present invention to provide a refill device for a cylindrical type of multi-dosing detergent delivery device which requires less packaging.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a refill device for a cylindrical type of multi-dosing detergent delivery device wherein, said refill device comprises a unitary block of material having a external configuration adapted to match an internal configuration of the multi-dosing detergent delivery device.

Preferably, said unitary block comprises a stem member from which a plurality of arms extend, each arm being configured, in use, to co-operate with a refill holder of the delivery device wherein the refill holder is of a type having upstanding fins for separating refill doses from one another.

Preferably, the refill device has x arms extending from the stem member, each arm comprising a detergent dose.

Preferably, the stem member comprises a ring shape of material having a central hole and each arm extends from said stem.

Preferably, the refill device comprises an inverted crown shape. Optionally the "crown shape" may leave one or more channels for water flow between the detergent block and the detergent delivery device, so the wash water can flow easily from the lid to the bottom of the dispenser, while dissolving part of the detergent block.

Preferably, the refill device further comprises an adapter piece for converting a refill holder to extend fins of the holder to a uniform height.

Preferably, the adapter piece comprises a plurality of vanes extending circumferentially inward from an outer ring.

The device preferably further comprises a support piece comprising a plurality of fingers extending from a ring member said fingers being arranged, in use, to fit within the block extending through holes formed in the arms of the detergent block.

Said fingers are preferably split and extend into holes formed in the device and act to channel water through the device.

Said support piece is preferably fitted prior to supplying the device to consumers and acts to both support the device through transportation and deployment.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a refill device for a multi-dosing detergent delivery device, the method comprising:

forming a unitary block of detergent in a "hollow cylinder" type ; and

removing parts of the hollow cylinder to match an internal configuration of a cylindrical multi-dosing detergent delivery device.

Preferably, said method comprises removing said parts to form a stem member from which a plurality of arms extend, each arm being configured to fit into a dosing chamber of the delivery device.

Preferably, said step of forming the unitary block as a hollow cylinder shape comprises compression moulding, extrusion or injection moulding process. Preferably, the step of removing parts of the hollow cylinder comprises punching, cutting or milling.

The method preferably further comprises the step of packaging the refill device by wrapping the refill device within a cylindrical consumer pack comprising dividers that fit into gaps between the arms.

The method preferably further comprises the step of associating the refill device with a support piece comprising a plurality of fingers extending from a ring member said fingers being arranged, in use, to fit within the block extending through holes formed in the arms (22') of the detergent block.

The method may further comprise the step of packaging the refill device by wrapping the refill device within a cylindrical consumer pack comprising dividers that fit into gaps between the arms.

The device is preferably packaged into a consumer pack comprising a tub and a peelable lid.

Examples of embodiments of the present invention will now be described with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 4 shows a refill holder of a detergent delivery device;

Figure 5 shows a refill holder adapter piece;

Figure 6 shows a solid detergent block in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 is an exploded view showing the co-operation of refill holder, adapter piece and solid block of detergent for use in a detergent delivery device;

Figure 8 is an exploded view of a support piece and detergent block;

Figure 9 is a view showing support piece and block united; and Figure 10 shows a consumer pack.

Before going on to describe specific aspects of a detergent block in accordance with the present invention, there will now be described a refill holder and an adapter for use with the holder.

Whilst the refill holder as discussed in relation to Figure 2(a) and 2(b) has upstanding fins 5 which all extend upwardly by a uniform amount, a refill holder currently in use in the marketplace as illustrated in figure 4 has a slightly different construction.

Referring to Figure 4, it can be seen that, in common with the refill holder 4 of Figures 2(a) and (b), the refill holder 4' comprises a plurality of dividing fins 5' emanating from a central hub 6' and has a base 7' featuring a number of apertures 8'. The main difference however between the refill holder of Figures 2(a) and (b) and the holder of Figure 4 however is that the dividing fins 5' have unequal heights - some being taller than others. The purpose of these unequal height fins is mainly to aid customers in being able to bring a refill pack easily into the multi-dosing delivery device as these fins 5' serve mainly as guides/supports for the refill.

However, if it is desired to devise a device for which there is to be used a single solid block of detergent, it is necessary to actually ensure that there is a controlled flow of water to a single dose of detergent at a time - so some means for ensuring the division of a single solid block of detergent into a plurality x of doses is required.

Accordingly, an adapter piece as shown in figure 5 is proposed.

The adapter piece 10' comprises a plurality of wall extenders 11 A" - 1 1 H" for extending the effective heights of the fins 5' of the refill holder. The purpose of this is to effectively divide the interior of a detergent delivery device into x separate compartments, where x is a number of doses of detergent to be delivered by the device. The extenders 1 1 A'- 11 H' are all joined at their apex by a surrounding ring member 12' which acts to hold them all in position. Referring now to Figure 6, there is shown the design of a solid block of detergent in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention.

The solid block 20' has an inverted crown type formation

The "crown" shape of the block 20' is made up of x detergent arms 22' which depend downwardly from a ring stem 24' which has a central hole 26'. The arms 22' are shaped to match the x internal chambers of a multi-dosing dispenser, whilst the hole 26' allows the block 20' to fit around the central hub 6, 6' of a refill holder.

Optionally the "crown shape" may leave one or more channels for water flow between the detergent block and the dispenser itself, so the wash water can flow easily from the lid to the bottom of the dispenser, while dissolving part of the detergent block.

The ring stem 24' need only be strong enough to ensure sufficient robustness to keep the detergent block integrity prior to deployment by a user as, once the individual arms 22' of the block are in place within a multi-dosing dispenser, there is no need for rigidity and in fact it is absolutely fine for the individual arms 22' to lose their interconnection. Essentially, the unifying ring stem is means for easing consumer handling.

The detergent block may conveniently be manufactured by first making a "hollow cylinder" type of construction which may be produced by a compression moulding, extrusion or injection moulding process. Thereafter, this process is followed by part of the detergent being removed from this cylinder by punching, cutting or milling to produce the shape shown. The flakes and "cut outs" from the "detergent removal" operations undergone during manufacture of the crown shape are recycled.

Figure 7 shows an exploded view of a refill holder 4', adapter piece 10' and detergent block 20' illustrating how these may be used together.

The adapter piece comprises a plurality of vanes 11 A' to 11 H' extending circumferentially inwardly from an outer ring 12'.

As will be noted, the adapter piece 10' is optional and is installed on the refill holder 4' of a multi-dosing dispenser and the vanes 11 A' to 1 1 H' act to "complete" the existing fins 5' of the refill holder 4' to a uniform height. This extension of fin height limits the dissolution of the neighbouring "crown points" / detergent doses.

Some space is left at the top of dispenser for the ring of stem 24' that keeps the x doses together during transport and refilling.

It will be appreciated that once thus assembled into a multi-dosing detergent delivery device, the consumer would then close the lid of the device and put it into the dishwasher to function. During a typical dishwasher cycle, water entering into the device will first come into contact with the ring stem portion below it, which will quickly breakdown/dissolve, and thereafter further flow of water/wash liquor into the device will go directly into the particular chamber of the device that the wash liquor inlet is aligned with. Each chamber is delimited by the fins 5, 5' of a refill holder and (in the case where an adapter piece is used) by the wall extenders 11 A'-11 H'.

It should be noted that the use of a detergent block of the type described may occur without the need for use of an adapter piece 10'. However, in such cases where this happens, it will be appreciated that when using a refill holder of uneven height inner dividers, uneven detergent usage may occur during different wash cycles. This uneven-ness may be mitigated to an extent by providing channels which run through the individual arms - e.g. by having a through hole formed in the arms from top to bottom - so that during major parts of the wash cycle water is directed internally of the arms 22'.

Figure 8 shows an optional support piece 30' that may be supplied at point of sale with the detergent block 20'. The support block comprises an element which may be formed of a plastics material that is arranged to have fingers 32' extending from a ring member 34' which further has vane members 36' which radiate from the ring member 34' towards the centre. The fingers 32' fit within the block 20' through holes formed in the arms 22' of the detergent block 20'.

The purpose of the support piece 30' is to firstly strengthen the block 20' both during transportation and storage. The support piece 30' fits onto a bottom part of the detergent block 20' so that the block integrity is less likely to be compromised during handling. The support piece 30' remains on the block 20' through deployment, as shown in Figure 9, and fits over the refill holder 4, 4' to sit on the base 7, 7' of the holder. In deployment, the fingers 32' of the support piece 30', which are split, act to funnel the flow of water into each section of the detergent block.

Typically a consumer pack for the "crown - shaped" solid block of detergent is also cylindrical and contains (cardboard or plastic) dividers that fit in the gaps between the detergent arms 22' and may function as a hat / cover to ensures that the detergent arms 24' are not damaged during transport or on shelf.

Where the support piece 30' is employed, the support piece itself forms part of a consumer pack and may be presented as shown in Figure 10, by providing the ensemble as a tub 40' with a peelable lid 42' which, when removed, allows access by the consumer to enable the assembled support 30' and detergent block 20' to be removed.

In the above, there has been described how a solid block of detergent may be used with a detergent delivery device that was originally designed for use with individually packaged doses of detergent. It will be appreciated by the skilled man that in replacing the multiple doses with a solid block, there are gains in reduced packaging costs and less waste to dispose of.

It has also been described how in certain cases a support piece may be provided for use with the block. Whilst this support piece may be made of plastics, it may alternatively be made of a soluble material and could be used to administer additives.

The skilled man will realise that by appropriate variation other block design variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

Claims.

1. A refill device for a cylindrical type of multi-dosing detergent delivery device wherein, said refill device comprises a unitary block of material having a external configuration adapted to match an internal configuration of the multi-dosing detergent delivery device.

2. The refill device of claim 1 , wherein said unitary block comprises a stem member (24') from which a plurality of arms (22') extend, each arm (22') being configured, in use, to co-operate with a refill holder of the delivery device.

3. The refill device of claim 2, wherein the device comprises x arms (22') extending from the stem member (24'), each arm (22') comprising a detergent dose.

4. The refill device of claim 3, wherein the stem member (24') comprises a ring shape of material having a central hole (26') and each arm (22') extends from said stem (24').

5. The refill device of claim 4, wherein the device comprises an inverted crown shape.

6. The device of any of claims 2 to 5, further comprising an adapter piece for converting a refill holder by extending fins of the holder to a uniform height.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the adapter piece comprises a plurality of vanes extending circumferentially inward from an outer ring.

8. The refill device of any of claims 2 to 7, wherein each arm includes a channel for water flow to facilitate water flow between the detergent block and the detergent delivery device.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein said channels enable wash water to flow easily, in use, from a lid part of a multi-dosing dispenser to a bottom part of the dispenser, while dissolving part of the unitary block.

10. The device of claim 9, further comprising a support piece (30') comprising a plurality of fingers (32') extending from a ring member (34') said fingers being arranged, in use, to fit within the block (20') extending through holes formed in the arms (22') of the detergent block (20').

1 1. The device of claim 10, wherein said support piece (30') is fitted prior to supplying the device to consumers.

12. The device of claim 10 or 11 , wherein said fingers (32') are split and extend into holes formed in the device and act to channel water through the device.

13. The device of claim 10, 1 1 or 12, wherein the support piece further comprises vane members (36') which radiate from the ring member (34') towards the centre.

14. A method of manufacturing a refill device for a multi-dosing detergent delivery device, the method comprising:

forming a unitary block of detergent into a "hollow cylinder' type shape ; and removing parts of the hollow cylinder to match an internal configuration of a cylindrical multi-dosing detergent delivery device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the method comprises removing said parts to form a stem member (24') from which a plurality of arms (22') extend.

16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein said step of forming the unitary block as a hollow cylinder shape comprises compression moulding, extrusion or injection moulding process.

17. The method of claim 14, 15 or 16, wherein the step of removing parts of the hollow cylinder comprises punching, cutting or milling.

18. The method of claim 14, 15, 16 or 17, wherein the method further comprises the step of associating the refill device with a support piece comprising a plurality of fingers (32') extending from a ring member (34') said fingers being arranged, in use, to fit within the block (20') extending through holes formed in the arms (22') of the detergent block (20').

19. The method of any of claims 14 to 17, further comprising the step of packaging the refill device by wrapping the refill device within a cylindrical consumer pack comprising dividers that fit into gaps between the arms.

20. The method of claim 18 or 19, wherein said device is packaged into a consumer pack comprising a tub and a peelable lid.

21. A refill device substantially as herein described with reference to figure 6.

22. A method of manufacturing a refill device substantially as herein described with reference to figure 6.