Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing – For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-01
2004-01-27
Boyer, Charles (Department: 1751)
Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions
Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing
For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...
C510S285000, C510S297000, C510S304000, C510S332000, C510S338000, C510S341000, C510S371000, C510S407000, C510S413000, C510S423000, C510S499000, C510S501000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06683038
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to Great Britain Application Serial No. 0019345.8, filed Aug. 8, 2000 (Attorney Docket No. CM2408F).—
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a pouched liquid compositions which comprises an alkoxylated compound having at least two alkoxylated amine, imine, amide or imide groups, small amount of water and specific levels high ionic strength chelating agents.
BACKGROUND TO INVENTION
The laundry industry has been trying to develop ways to make dosing of the detergent products easier. One of method for this is to enclose the detergent in a pouch, such as pouches made from a water-soluble film. Both liquid and solid detergents are known to be delivered to the wash in a easy, safe way. Typically pouch materials are water-soluble films of water-soluble polymers such as derived form polyvinyl alcohol and cellulose.
It is known to incorporate water and other solvents in the compositions in these pouches. One problem associated herewith is that the water-soluble material tends to dissolve in the water in the pouch which weakens the pouch. To address this, the prior art describes that such pouched compositions are to be formulated without any water present. However, the inventors found that one of the problems associated with such compositions in pouches is that these pouches become brittle upon storage. They found that therefor the pouched composition preferably comprises some amount of water and preferably other solvents, to avoid both dissolution and drying out of the water-soluble material of the pouch and thus to avoid the pouches to become either weak or brittle.
However, the problem with liquid compositions comprising such small amounts of water is phase separation of the ingredients.
Separately, the inventors found also that dissolution of the pouch material can negatively impact the cleaning performance of the ingredients in the composition, resulting in poorer performance in the wash, for example poor clay stain removal.
To address the problem of poor stain removal, the inventors found that it is advantages to incorporate alkoxylated compounds, having one or more alkoxylated amine, imine, amide or imide groups, preferably polyalkoxylated polyamine or polyimine in the compositions. However, the use of these compounds can result in an even greater phase separation.
The inventors now found surprisingly that when one or more high ionic strength chelating agent are introduced in the composition, the phase separation can be reduced or even avoided, including phase separation of the specific alkoxylated compounds. This thus allows at the same time the use of low amounts of water, resulting in stable pouches and phase stable compositions, and it allows use of the specific alkoxylated compounds without phase separation, resulting in efficient (clay) stain removal.
This is in particular surprisingly because in isotropic liquid compositions comprising high levels of water, high ionic strength chelating agents can not easily be used, because they tend to crystallise out and cause phase separation. Also, it is generally believed that high ionic strength chelating agents are not compatible with water-soluble material used for the pouches, such as polyvinyl alcohol films.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention provides a liquid cleaning composition in a pouch made from a water-soluble material, comprising
a) a compound having two or more alkoxylated amine, imine, amide or imide groups;
b) water, present at a level up to 9% by weight of the composition;
c) at least 1.0% by weight of the composition of a chelating agent.
The water-soluble pouch is preferably made of a film comprising PVA.
The water levels in the composition are preferably from 2% to 7.5%; the composition is preferably a laundry composition comprising at least anionic surfactant and fatty acid builder.
The inventors also found that it is in particular beneficial to incorporate in the composition a plasticiser for the water-soluble material of the pouch. They also found that preferably a solvent mixture comprising two or more free hydroxy groups is used
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
Pouch and Material Thereof
The pouch of the invention, herein referred to as “pouch”, is typically a closed structure, made of a water-soluble film described herein, enclosing a volume space which comprises a composition. Said composition is described in more detail hereinafter. The pouch can be of any form, shape and material which is suitable to hold the composition, e.g. without allowing the release of the composition from the pouch prior to contact of the pouch to water. The exact execution will depend on for example, the type and amount of the composition in the pouch, the number of compartments in the pouch, the characteristics required from the pouch to hold, protect and deliver or release the compositions.
The pouch may have one compartment, holding the liquid composition, or it may have a number of compartment, attached to one another or non-attached to one another, thus having one compartment enclosing (but not attaching) another compartment.
The pouch may be of such a size that it conveniently contains either a unit dose amount of the composition herein, suitable for the required operation, for example one wash, or only a partial dose, to allow the consumer greater flexibility to vary the amount used, for example depending on the size and/or degree of soiling of the wash load.
It may be preferred that the water soluble film and preferably the pouch as a whole is stretched during formation and/or closing of the pouch, such that the resulting pouch is at least partially stretched. This is to reduce the amount of film required to enclose the volume space of the pouch. When the film is stretched the film thickness decreases. The degree of stretching indicates the amount of stretching of the film by the reduction in the thickness of the film. For example, if by stretching the film, the thickness of the film is exactly halved then the stretch degree of the stretched film is 100%. Also, if the film is stretched so that the film thickness of the stretched film is exactly a quarter of the thickness of the unstretched film then the stretch degree is exactly 200%. Typically and preferably, the thickness and hence the degree of stretching is non-uniform over the pouch, due to the formation and closing process.
Another advantage of using stretching the pouch, is that the stretching action, when forming the shape of the pouch and/or when closing the pouch, stretches the pouch non-uniformly, which results in a pouch which has a non-uniform thickness. This allows control of the dissolution of water-soluble pouches herein, and for example sequential release of the components of the detergent composition enclosed by the pouch to the water.
Preferably, the pouch is stretched such that the thickness variation in the pouch formed of the stretched water-soluble film is from 10 to 1000%, preferably 20% to 600%, or even 40% to 500% or even 60% to 400%. This can be measured by any method, for example by use of an appropriate micrometer. Preferably the pouch is made from a water-soluble film that is stretched, said film has a stretch degree of from 40% to 500%, preferably from 40% to 200%.
The pouch is typically made from a water-soluble film. It is preferred that the pouch as a whole comprises material which is water-dispersible or more preferably water-soluble. Preferred water-soluble films are polymeric materials, preferably polymers which are formed into a film. The material in the form of a film can for example be obtained by casting, blow-molding, extrusion or blow extrusion of the polymer material, as known in the art.
Preferably the material is water-soluble and has a solubility of at least 50%, preferably at least 75% or even at least 95%, as measured by the method set out hereinafter using a glass-filter with a maximum pore size of 50 microns, namely:
Gravimetric method for determining water-solubility or water-dispersability of the material of t
Aelbrecht Hilde Christina Jozef
Forth Peter Jens
Jeuniaux Etinne Maria Betty Andre
Boyer Charles
Dressman Marianna
Matthews Armina E.
The Procter & Gamble & Company
William Zerby Kim
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