Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification – Cleaning or laundering – Dry cleaning
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-29
2001-01-30
Diamond, Alan (Department: 1753)
Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification
Cleaning or laundering
Dry cleaning
C008S137000, C510S285000, C510S287000, C510S289000, C510S290000, C510S291000, C510S295000, C510S297000, C510S283000, C442S059000, C383S116000, C383S042000, C383S063000, C383S095000, C383S097000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179880
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to anhydrous dry-cleaning systems utilizing polysulfonic acid, by which delicate fabric articles can be freshened or dry-cleaned in a dryer, such as a rotary clothes dryer. The invention includes such dry-cleaning compositions and bags having an opening with a fastening system that enables closure of the bag in a vapor impermeable manner. The invention also contemplates kits containing the dry-cleaning compositions and the bags, as well as methods for using the dry-cleaning systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Methods for dry-cleaning fabrics commonly employ organic solvents which can readily dissolve or disperse soils such as water-insoluble substances, including greases, oily dirts and the like, and which exhibit low solvent boiling points, enabling easy recovery of the solvents.
The use of solvent-based dry-cleaning methods has, however, been primarily limited to commercial cleaning operations which employ expensive specialized equipment. Such equipment includes stills with condensers to contain vapors from the cleaning solvents, which are often toxic. As a result, to utilize such dry-cleaning processes, particularly to remove water-insoluble spots and/or stains from clothes, the user must bring the clothes to a specialized dry-cleaning establishment and pick up the cleaned clothes at a later date. This results in inconvenient expenditures of time in going to the dry-cleaner, waiting for the clothes to be properly cleaned, picking up the clothes, and dealing with damaged and lost articles of clothing. Moreover, articles of clothing from many different people are dry-cleaned with the same batch of solvent, which can result in malodorous residues.
A process for home dry-cleaning clothing is disclosed by S. Denissenko et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,024, wherein the soiled areas are pre-treated with a liquid cleaning composition. The clothing is then attached to an absorbent sheet and spun using the spin cycle of a washing machine, so that the cleaning composition and the soil are driven through the clothing and into the absorbent sheet. It is also disclosed that the absorbent sheet can be integrally sealed onto a plastic sheet, so that the clothing can be enclosed by the sheet while it is spun in a washing machine. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,587 issued to J. Smith et al., discloses a method for cleaning soiled fabric via the enclosure of the desired clothing in a bag with an added sheet impregnated with a gelled liquid cleaning composition. (The entire contents of U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,024 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,587 are incorporated herein by reference.)
However, these conventional methods for dry-cleaning contain high amounts of water as a component. High water level formulations tend to leave “water marks” after the spot or stain is removed from soiled fabrics, especially delicate fabrics such as 100% acetate, silk, rayon and blends of these fabrics. In fact, these delicate fabrics (especially acetate and rayon) will simply water stain from exposure to rain. To combat this problem, current professional dry cleaning methods use essentially anhydrous solvent systems based on perchloroethylene or hydrocarbon solvents, which are undesirable from an environmental standpoint. Such professional systems also contain detergents (usually about 1-3%) and a small amount of water (about 5%) to help the detergents work.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a dry-cleaning composition that contains no or only small amounts of water when compared to conventional dry-cleaning compositions.
It is an object of the invention to provide a dry-cleaning composition that contains polysulfonic acid as an essential ingredient.
It is an object of the invention to provide a dry-cleaning composition suitable for use in dry-cleaning delicate fabrics such as 100% acetate, silk, rayon and blends of these fabrics.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a dry-cleaning composition that does not include solvents like perchloroethylene or other undesirable hydrocarbon solvents, such as those used commercially.
It is an object of the invention to provide methods of use therefor which can be conducted at home without having to take soiled or stale-smelling clothes to commercial cleaning establishments and incurring such inconveniences and disadvantages mentioned above.
Additional objects of the present invention will become readily apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following discussion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides anhydrous dry-cleaning or fabric-freshening systems adapted for dry-cleaning and/or freshening all types of fabric articles, but especially for delicate fabric articles (such as, for instance, 100% acetate, 100% silk, 100% rayon and blends of these fabrics).
In a first embodiment, the system uses an effective amount of a dry-cleaning composition consisting essentially of
at least 1 water-miscible or partially water-miscible organic solvent;
polysulfonic acid; and
water. The amount of water should not exceed about 10 weight percent of the total dry-cleaning composition, and preferably does not exceed about 6 weight percent (although the amount of water can be as low as about 0 weight percent)
Preferably the organic solvent is non-polar, and is preferably selected from the group consisting of dipropylene glycol n-propyl ether, dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether, tripropylene glycol methyl ether, 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol and &ggr;-butyrolactone. Preferably the organic solvent is present between about 85 and about 98.5 total weight percent based on the total weight percent of the composition, although total amounts may vary as desired and depending on the presence of other components, as described below, as would be understood by someone of ordinary skill in this art. Preferably the polysulfonic acid is present in an amount effective to stabilize the organic solvent in the dry-cleaning composition and to promote the distribution of the dry-cleaning composition on delicate fabric articles while leaving no significant undesirable visible residue on the delicate fabric article (preferably between about 0.5 and about 5 total weight percent based on the total weight percent of the composition). Preferably, the water is present in an effective amount to disperse the polysulfonic acid (preferably between about 1 and about 6 weight percent water, based on the total weight percent of the composition).
In a preferred composition of this embodiment, the dry-cleaning composition consists essentially of about 95% of the at least 1 organic solvent, about 2.5% of polysulfonic acid, and about 2.5% water.
In a second embodiment, the dry-cleaning system uses an effective amount of a dry-cleaning composition consisting essentially of at least 1 organic solvent (preferably non-polar); and
polysulfonic acid. In this embodiment, the amount of water present should be as close to 0 weight percent as possible. The organic solvent should be present in an effective amount to disperse the polysulfonic acid in the absence of sufficient water to do so (preferably between about 90 and about 99.9 weight percent organic solvent, based on the total weight percent of the composition). Suitable organic solvents for this purpose include tripropylene glycol methyl ether, (2-(2-ethoxy)ethoxy)ethanol, and other functional equivalents, especially those in the glycol ether family.
Preferably the polysulfonic acid is present in an amount effective to stabilize the organic solvent in the dry-cleaning composition and to promote the distribution of the dry-cleaning composition on fabric articles while leaving no significant undesirable visible residue on the fabric article (preferably between about 0.1 and about 10 total weight percent, based on the total weight percent of the composition).
In a preferred composition of this second embodiment, the dry-cleaning composition consists essentially of about 97.5% of the at least 1 organic solvent, and about 2.5% of polysulfonic acid.
The above-described first and second embodiments of
Custom Cleaner, Inc.
Diamond Alan
Nash & Titus LLC
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