Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing – With halogen – nitrogen – oxygen – or phosphorus containing...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-11
2002-10-01
Gupta, Yogendra N. (Department: 1751)
Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions
Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing
With halogen, nitrogen, oxygen, or phosphorus containing...
C510S386000, C510S387000, C510S391000, C510S397000, C510S399000, C510S421000, C510S435000, C510S471000, C510S473000, C510S478000, C510S504000, C510S509000, C510S395000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06458753
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to cleaning compositions, and in particular to cleaning compositions containing abrasive particles.
Cleaning compositions containing abrasive particles are well known and may generally be classified into two types. The first type contain water-insoluble abrasive particles. These particles are often difficult to rinse away from the cleaned surface and can leave an undesirable gritty residue on the surface. In order to overcome these disadvantages, the second type of composition has been proposed in which the abrasive particles are water soluble. These compositions contain the water-soluble abrasive particles in an amount greater than that required to achieve a saturated solution. Thus, undissolved abrasive particles are always present in the composition. Because the abrasive particles are water soluble, particles remaining on the surface after cleaning tend to be dissolved on rinsing the surface and are thus removed from the surface. Cleaning compositions containing water soluble abrasive particles are described in EP 0 193 375 and WO 91/08282.
Cleaning compositions of this general type are particularly suitable for cleaning hard surfaces especially in kitchens and bathrooms such as sinks, washbasins, baths, shower trays and stalls, lavatories, work surfaces and the like. In these uses, the concept of good hygiene is particularly important to consumers and to meet this need, abrasive cleaning compositions having soluble or insoluble abrasive particles and further including a chlorine containing, in particular a hypochlorite containing bleach, have been proposed. The hypochlorite bleach is included in the compositions to provide, inter alia, an antibacterial effect. U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,347 describes a composition consisting of anionic and non-ionic detergents, a chlorine bleaching compound and more than 50% by weight of a water soluble abrasive salt having less than six molecules of water of hydration and selected from alkali and alkaline earth metal salts. As is well known, the inclusion of chlorine containing bleaches in cleaning compositions causes significant formulation problems with regard, in particular, to the stability of the composition and the thickening of the composition. Furthermore, chlorine containing bleaches are often perceived by the consumer as “aggressive” or “harsh” and may easily damage clothes, soft furnishings and the like.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to overcome the above disadvantages and to provide a cleaning composition containing an abrasive, especially a water-soluble abrasive which composition also has antibacterial properties, without requiring the incorporation of bleaching agents.
Two further relevant prior art documents are as follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,460 describes a surface adherent abrasive liquid cleaner including a mineral acid to aid in dissolving stains and an abrasive suspended in the cleaner to aid in mechanically scrubbing off stains.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,993 describes a thixotropic cleaner comprising about 6 to 12% of precipitated silica, about 0.05 to 2.5 of a cationic, nonionic, zwitteronic or amphoteric surfactant or mixtures thereof that has the ability to hydrogen bond, an acid and an abrasive.
One known method of providing antibacterial properties in a cleaning composition is to include in the composition a quaternary ammonium type antibacterial agent. Such quaternary ammonium compounds are included in known (non-abrasive) antibacterial hard surface cleaners. However, the inclusion of quaternary ammonium antibacterial agents presents disadvantages in formulating cleaning compositions. For example, due to the cationic nature of the quaternary ammonium compounds, conventional anionic surfactants or surfactant mixtures containing anionic surfactants cannot be used. Also, the inclusion of quaternary ammonium compounds often presents formulations difficulties with thickening media such as polyacrylates and synthetic or natural clays such as Laponite (TM) and some Bentonite types. Furthermore, it has commonly been supposed that the cationic quaternary ammonium compounds would become absorbed on anionic sites of the abrasive particles, thereby significantly reducing or rendering ineffective the antibacterial properties of these compounds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However it has now been shown that useful antibacterial properties can be obtained from hard surface cleaning compositions containing both quaternary ammonium compounds and abrasive particles, in particular particles of a soluble abrasive material. Accordingly, the present invention provides an aqueous antibacterial abrasive cleaning composition comprising, in addition to water,
8% to 80% of abrasive particles,
0.5% to 25% of a cationic or non-ionic surfactant,
0.1% to 10% of a quaternary ammonium antibacterial agent,
0% to 15% of a solvent, and a functional amount of a thickening agent,
wherein the abrasive particles are soluble in the composition and are present in an amount in excess of their saturation solubility.
Preferably the abrasive particles are water-soluble abrasive particles is selected from inorganic or organic water soluble salts of alkali or alkaline earth metals. They are present in the composition in an amount such that at least 5% of the particles (by weight of the composition)remain undissolved.
DETAILED DISCLOSURE
Preferred abrasive particles include sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium sesquicarbonate sodium tripolyphosphate pentahydrate, sodium tetraborate decahydrate, potassium sulphate and sodium citrate. Additionally or alternatively, other water soluble salts may be included, such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride and other inorganic or organic water soluble salts of lithium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and calcium, of which sodium oxalate, sodium succinate, sodium adipate and sodium glutarate are examples.
As indicated above, the soluble abrasive particles must be present in an amount in excess of the saturation solubility, so that in the composition the soluble salt comprising the abrasive particles is present in both the dissolved and the undissolved state. Preferably, the salt is present in total in an amount of 15% to 60%, particularly 30% to 50%, and especially about 40% by weight of the composition.
One of the criteria used in selecting the abrasive particles is the hardness of the particles. The particles should have a hardness less than that of the surfaces to be cleaned, in order to avoid scratching the surfaces. Thus, the particles will usually have a hardness less than that of plastic, for example acrylic, baths and like materials. A Mohs hardness of at least 2 and less than 4, preferably less than 3 will in general be suitable.
In order to provide the necessary abrasive properties, the abrasive particles will usually have a mean particle diameter of from 5 mm to 500 mm, and preferably from 10 mm to 300 mm. The mean particle diameter may also have an effect on the ability of compositions to maintain the abrasive particles in suspension, and also on the cleaning efficacy.
It is important that the compositions of the invention are stable in use and storage so that the abrasive particles remain in suspension. It may usually be expected that the compositions will be stored and used at temperatures generally within the range of 0° C. to 40° C. It is therefore preferable to choose salts for the abrasive particles whose saturation solubility changes to the minimum extent over this temperature range. Particularly, it is preferable that the saturation solubility of the salt in water at 40° C. is less than 10 times, most preferably less than 8 times, and especially less than 2 times that at 10° C. Suitable salts will typically have a solubility in the range of from about 2 g to about 70 g per 100ml of water and 0° C. and from about 4 g to about 150 g per 100ml of water at 40° C. More preferably the salts will have a solubility in the range of from about 3 g to about 70 g per 100 ml of water at 0° C. and from about 4 g to a
Gupta Yogendra N.
Mruk Brian P.
Reckitt Benckiser (UK) Limited
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