Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces – auxiliary compositions – Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing – For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-19
2004-12-28
Kornakov, M. (Department: 1746)
Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions
Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing
For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...
C510S108000, C510S280000, C510S291000, C510S405000, C510S434000, C510S435000, C252S384000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06835704
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of cleaning compositions and to processes for utilizing such compositions to clean carpets, upholstery and other fiber surfaces. More particularly, the present invention is directed to surfactant-free cleaning compositions for use in removing soil and stains from carpets, upholstery and the like as well as for preventing redeposition of soil and stains on such surfaces and to processes for cleaning such soiled and/or stained surfaces utilizing surfactant-free cleaning compositions.
2. Description of Related Art
Commercial carpets, upholstery and other fiber surfaces are routinely treated with soil repellant finishes that form low energy hydrophobic barriers intended to prevent staining caused by various household soils. In this regard, common household soils may be either hydrophilic or hydrophobic in nature and generally have an intrinsic surface energy above that of normal carpet and upholstery soil repellant finishes.
Heretofore, it has been common practice to supply cleaning compositions for treatment of carpets, upholstery and such fiber surfaces in the form of solutions containing micelle-forming surfactants and polymer-micelle-forming surfactant complexes therein. The use of these micelle-forming surfactant ingredients have been demonstrated to provide certain advantageous properties to cleaning composition in terms of emulsification and dispersion of soils. However, the micelle-forming surfactants also have been found to exhibit certain disadvantageous properties which tend to outweigh their generally recognized benefits.
Specifically, the micelle-forming surfactants which have been utilized in prior art cleaning compositions have functioned to reduce the water/oil interfacial tension at the surface of the fiber substrate for purposes of encapsulating oil particles for removal in much the same manner as is typical for most consumer cleaning products such as hard surface cleaners, fabric cleaners, personal care products and the like. This lowering of the surface tension (i.e., the force per unit length on the surface that opposes the expansion of the surface area) when prior art aqueous cleaning solutions has been utilized have been found to be counterproductive in practice resulting in the cleaning solution causing many soils and/or stains to penetrate into and “wet” the fiber surface, thereby, to cause the soiled section or stain in the fiber surface to spread over a larger area rather than to be removed. Additionally, this “wetting” tends to cause fibers to untwist, particularly under mechanical force, thereby causing increased fiber damage and wear.
Thus, it has been recognized previously that cleaning compositions are needed to apply to a soiled area or stain in a fiber surface that will not “wet” the fiber when applied and will provide adequate soil suspending properties in order to solve the problems which have been encountered with the prior art surfactant containing cleaning compositions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the problems which have been encountered with prior art surfactant containing cleaning compositions and, particularly, the above-noted wetting and soil spreading problems which have been encountered employing previous cleaning compositions containing micelle forming surfactants.
It is another object of the present invention to provide surfactant-free cleaning compositions for use in removing soils and stains from fiber surfaces such as carpets and upholstery, as well as a variety of other fiber surfaces, particularly stain resistant surfaces.
Another object of the present invention is to provide processes for cleaning fiber surfaces, particularly, stain resistant carpet and upholstery surfaces, utilizing a surfactant-free cleaning composition.
A further object is to provide processes for treating carpets and upholstery having soil repellant and/or stain resistant finishes applied thereto with surfactant-free cleaning compositions to enhance the removal of stains and soil from the carpets and upholstery and to prevent subsequent redeposition of soil thereon without interfering with the operation of the soil repellant and/or stain resistant finishes. In this regard, it is a particular object of the present invention to provide surfactant-free cleaning compositions which promote higher surface tension characteristics than prior art cleaning compositions when applied to fiber surfaces treated with standard soil repellant and stain resistant finishes so that the resistant finishes are able to perform effectively in providing soil and stain repellant/resistant properties by keeping any soil and/or stains contained on the surface of the fiber and available for subsequent removal by absorption or extraction.
These and other objects will become apparent hereinafter to those skilled in the art.
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Clean Control Corporation
Kornakov M.
Troutman Sanders LLP
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