CA1307123C - Process for washing linen and container for implementing it - Google Patents
Process for washing linen and container for implementing itInfo
- Publication number
- CA1307123C CA1307123C CA000562353A CA562353A CA1307123C CA 1307123 C CA1307123 C CA 1307123C CA 000562353 A CA000562353 A CA 000562353A CA 562353 A CA562353 A CA 562353A CA 1307123 C CA1307123 C CA 1307123C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- container
- compartments
- washing
- constituents
- substances
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
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Classifications
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F39/00—Details of washing machines not specific to a single type of machines covered by groups D06F9/00 - D06F27/00
- D06F39/02—Devices for adding soap or other washing agents
- D06F39/024—Devices for adding soap or other washing agents mounted on the agitator or the rotating drum; Free body dispensers
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Textile Engineering (AREA)
- Detergent Compositions (AREA)
- Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)
- Accessory Of Washing/Drying Machine, Commercial Washing/Drying Machine, Other Washing/Drying Machine (AREA)
- Sanitary Device For Flush Toilet (AREA)
- Cleaning In General (AREA)
- Control Of Washing Machine And Dryer (AREA)
- Cleaning By Liquid Or Steam (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Process for washing linen and container for implementing it Inventors: José ARNAU-MUNOZ
Henri CORNETTE
A container containing a predetermined quantity of detergent composition is introduced into the drum of a machine for washing linen. The container comprises com-partments which separately receive the constituents of the composition, which do not have a satisfactory mutual compatibility, for example the constituents which release active oxygen or chlorine and the remainder of the deter-gent composition. Each of the said compartments has openings for permitting its contents to diffuse during the dashing process.
NO DRAWING
Process for washing linen and container for implementing it Inventors: José ARNAU-MUNOZ
Henri CORNETTE
A container containing a predetermined quantity of detergent composition is introduced into the drum of a machine for washing linen. The container comprises com-partments which separately receive the constituents of the composition, which do not have a satisfactory mutual compatibility, for example the constituents which release active oxygen or chlorine and the remainder of the deter-gent composition. Each of the said compartments has openings for permitting its contents to diffuse during the dashing process.
NO DRAWING
Description
~3a37~2~
The present invention belongs to the field of technology of washing by machine. Its subject is a new washing process making it possible to employ substances which do not exhibit satisfactory compatibility when brought together. Another subject of the invention is a container for implementing a process of this kind.
It will be recalled, first of all, that, in the field of machine washing of linen, the Applicant Company is already the owner or titleholder of a number of patent applications, which may be mentioned by way of references to illustrate the state of the art.
Canadian Patent No. 1,243,855, issued February 9, 1988 for "Process for washing linen in a machine with a liquid detergent and device for its application" relates particularly to a device, generally reloadable, which is firstly filled with liquid detergent and is then placed in the drum of the machine with the linen to be washed. The detergent contained in the devica diffuses gradually into the washing medium and into the linen placed in the machine. In one embodiment, the device comprises a filling orifice and vents for the gradual release of the liquid within the linen during the washing operation.
Canadian Patent 1,234,296, issued March 22, 1988 for ~5 "Device for washing in machine with a detergent liquid and process employing the said device" relates to a device of the above type, which is more particularly characterized in that it is of a substantially spherical shape. A certain number of orifices permit the liquid to diffuse.
It is known, furthermore, that the use of liquid washing aids gives rise to individual difficulties because of the risks of incompatibility of some of their constituents.
Thus, although it is possible to package the constituents o~ a powdered washing aid in the same container, it ls not permissible in practice to formulate liquid washing aids in advance when their formulations contain, .i~
The present invention belongs to the field of technology of washing by machine. Its subject is a new washing process making it possible to employ substances which do not exhibit satisfactory compatibility when brought together. Another subject of the invention is a container for implementing a process of this kind.
It will be recalled, first of all, that, in the field of machine washing of linen, the Applicant Company is already the owner or titleholder of a number of patent applications, which may be mentioned by way of references to illustrate the state of the art.
Canadian Patent No. 1,243,855, issued February 9, 1988 for "Process for washing linen in a machine with a liquid detergent and device for its application" relates particularly to a device, generally reloadable, which is firstly filled with liquid detergent and is then placed in the drum of the machine with the linen to be washed. The detergent contained in the devica diffuses gradually into the washing medium and into the linen placed in the machine. In one embodiment, the device comprises a filling orifice and vents for the gradual release of the liquid within the linen during the washing operation.
Canadian Patent 1,234,296, issued March 22, 1988 for ~5 "Device for washing in machine with a detergent liquid and process employing the said device" relates to a device of the above type, which is more particularly characterized in that it is of a substantially spherical shape. A certain number of orifices permit the liquid to diffuse.
It is known, furthermore, that the use of liquid washing aids gives rise to individual difficulties because of the risks of incompatibility of some of their constituents.
Thus, although it is possible to package the constituents o~ a powdered washing aid in the same container, it ls not permissible in practice to formulate liquid washing aids in advance when their formulations contain, .i~
- 2 - ~3~7~23 at the same time as the other active constituents, con-stituents capable of releasing active o~ygen or chlorine~
for example pero~idic constituents of ehe type of per-borates or other inorganic or organic peroxidic calts~
It i~ known, howeYer, that the presence of active oxygen or chlorine is qui~e desirable if opti~um effectiveness is to be obtainedO In the case of Liquid ~ashing aids attempts a~e being ~ade, therefore, to produce formula-tions containing the same basic combinations as those in ~0 the granular or powdered detergents, but practical impos-sibilities then stand in the uay, because it is known that when traditional active components and perchlorinated or peroxidic components are incorporated together ~ithin a liquid washing aidO these compounds rapidly lose their effectiveness. Thus, it has been found that after storage periods of the order of t~o weeks, the active oxygen of these pero~idic compounds is practically completely releasedr thus becoming unavailable at the time of use in the ~ash bath.
By way of reference which illustrates the state of the art, there may be mentioned the European Patent Appli-cation published under No. 0,132,726, ~h;ch describes the use of 3 package in the form of a sachet containing a sub-stance as well as another sachet of smaller si~e contain-ing another substance ~hich is not compatible with the first. The material of which the outer sachet is made is ~ater-permeable, as is that of the inner sachet, but the naterials are chosen so as to permit the diffusion of the substances which they contain at different temperatures, which enables the packaging to be adapted to practica~
needs, for e~ample of washing. The teaching of this prior document consists therefore in presenting in the same packaging individual sachets capable of containing Liquid substances, choosing the sachets so that they release the substances which they contain at different temperatures.
Such packaging containers are single-use and conprise a plurality of compartments, the basic concept resulting in an application of the substances held in each of the individual sachets which is necessarily offset in time.
~ 3 _ ~3~7~
Furthermore, it is essential that the latter be soluble in uater or have particular properties in order to allo~ ~ater to pass at a specif;c temperature. This is ~hy the outer sachet is made from a sheet of open-Pore polyurethane foam, S bhile the inner sachet consists of polyvinyl alcohol.
The subiect of the inveneion is a process for the machine ~ashing of linen ~hich is of the general tyPe ac-cording to ~hich a container containing a predetermined ~uantity of detergent, advan~ageously liquid, composition is inserted into the drum of the washing machine, the said container being designed to permit the gradual dif-fusion of this composition during the ~ashing operation.
The invention provides an improvemene to this ~ethod by virtue of the use of a packaging container comprising several compartments and Permitting the contents of each of these compart~ents to be delivered simultaneously at the time of use~ this being done independently Qf ehe temperature of the medium. In a process of this kind, the materials of which the walls of the compartments are made are of no critical importance and~ in contras~ to the teaching of the abovementioned European Patent Ap-pl;cat;on 0,132,726, these ~alls are impervious to ~ater, the contents of each of the compart~ents being emptied through or;fices provided beforehand.
~he process according to the invention is there-fore more particular~y characterized in that the constitu-ents of the detergent composition uhich do not have a satisfactory mutual co~patibility are packaged separately in individual compartments of the container ~hich is in-serted into the drum of the ~ashing machine~ each of the said compartments having openings such that, uhen the container is placed in the drum, the constituents of the detergent composition diffuse si~ultaneously and separately during the ~ashing operation.
The process of the invention thus provides a solu-tion to the technical problem Posed by the use of ~ashing aid formulations, above all those ~hich are liquid, especially those wh;ch contain constituents intended to release active oxygen or chlorine during the ~ashing 130~ 3 operation. Thus, it is possible to employ in the process of the invention substances which are wholly compatible or mutually incompatible and which are to be delivered simultaneously into a washing operation.
The process may be employed at the time of use, that is to say of washing, with a contalner in which the substance or the mixture of substances which cannot coexist during storage is introduced into each of the compartments. However, in a fair number of cases, a process of this kind gives rise to many handling operations with different sources of substances, and this can complicate its use in practice.
It is preferable by far in the process of the invention to apply a container of the single-use type containing beforehand in each of the compartments a predetermined quantity of substance or of a combination of substances. For example, in the case of a container with two compartments, which is to function as a dispensing and distributing device, in accordance wit~l the general teaching of the abovementioned Canadian Paten~s 1,243,855 and 1,234,296 an inner compartment contains the constituent intended to release active chlorine or oxygen, while the other compartment contains the remainder of the detergent formulation. Once the hood crowning the container has been taken off, the container is placed in the drum of the machine with the linen to be washed. The detergent and the active constituent which are held therein diffuse gradually into the washing medium and into the linen placed in the machine, and this takes place simultaneously, by virtue of the gradual outflow of the detergent and of this constituent. The best results for washing linen are thus obtained.
A single-use container capable of being used in an optimum manner in the washing process according to the invention, forms the subject of Canadian Patent Application Serial No. 562,358, filed March 24, 1988 for ~Single-use multicompartment container, production and application, especially for washing linen". In the present description it will be sufficient to recall that :
~ - .
- . .-- s - ~ 3(~ 3 this single-use container is des;gned for pack3glng sub-stances ~h;ch do not exh;bit satisfactory compatib;l;ty ~hen brought together, and, to this end, comprises several compartments ~hich are allocated respectively t~ these substances. The sa;d container comprises:
~ a) an outer enclosure of over3ll spher;cal shaPe and ~;th a flat botton with a circular oPening diametri-cally opposed to the bottom;
~ b~ at least one inner co~partment bounded by a wall extending completely inside the outer enclosure, the said inner comPartment also having a circular orifice of smaller diameter than ~he opening of the enclosure (a) and arranged eoncentrically hith the said opening, the ~alls of the enclosure (a) and of ~he compart-ment tb) being joined at the level of their respective opening and orifices, for~ing an annular region ~hich com-Prises a certain number of holes, and (c) a removable hood cro~ning and shutting off the inner orifice and the holes in the annular region, so that the container has, overall, at least one inner compartment (b~ capable of receiving a first substance - or a mixture of mutually co~patible substances - and at least one other compartment extending between the outer enclosure (a) and the wall of the inner co~part-ment (b) and capable of receiving a second substance (or ~ixture of substances) ~hich is relat;vely ;ncompatible ~ith the first, the contents of ehese two compartments be;ng iqolated from each other when the hood is placed in position~ ~hile, ~hen the hood is removed, the substance ;n the inner compartment can flo~ freely through the orifice in the latter and the substance in the other compartnent can flo~ freely through the hoLes in the annular r~gion, so that all the substances held in the container are then available together.
~ithin the ~eaning of the present description, the expression "of overall spherical shape", which is em-ployed to define the outer enclosure of the container, should not be ~nderstood as characterizing solely a sphere or a virtual sphere. This expression includes other - 6 - ~3~ 3 surfaces of revolut;on of the ovoid type, ~hose curvatures ~re such that the container does not cause any da~age to the linen in a machine washing operation during which the container is placed in the drum.
The inner compartment, for its part, may be bounded by a ~all of any shaPe but, bearing in nind the preferred technology employed in its manufacture and described here-inafter~ it is generally a surface of revolution, of the spherical or ovoid type.
The other supplementary and advantageous charac-teristics of the container are described and illustrated in detail in the abovementioned parallel French Appli-cation~ ~hich is introduced into the present sPecification by way of reference.
The parallel application also describes a process for producing the containers such as defined above, by the general technology of blo~ing or of injection blo~-mould-ing of Plastics, characterized in that it comprlses the follo~ing series of steps:
(1) the body of the outer enclosure uith its circular oPening and its flat bottom is fabricated, (2) the said enclosure is filled with the desired quantity of the first substance, (3) an insert equipped ~ith a plastic sheath is inserted through the said opening until the upper part of the shea~h, of annular shape, comes to bear substan-tially on the edges of the opening in the enclosure, (4) the sheath is used to fabricate the inner compartment of the container, 3û (5) holes are pierced in the annular region for~ed in the upper part of the inner compartment, (6) the inner compartment is filled ~ith the desired quantity of the second substance, and (7) the upper part of the container is cro~ned Yith the hood.
As descr;bed in detail in the parallel application, the process described above may comprise numerous alter-native forms ~hich differ in some of their steps or in the sequence of the said stePs~
~` - 7 - ~30~1~3 In the present description, an 3lternat;ve for~
~ill be indicated~ which corresponds to a particularly advantageous way of practical implementation, accorciing eo ~hich the process compr;ses the follo~;ng steps:
(1b) the body of the outer enclosure uith its circular oPening and its flat bottom ;s fabricated, (2b) an insert ectuipped with a plast;c sheath ~hose upper part of annular shape has holes made before-hand is inserted through the said oPening unt;l ~he said upper part comes to bear substantially on the edges of the opening in the enclosure, (3b) the sheath is used to fabricate the inner compartment of the container, (4b) and (5b) the body of the enclosure and the inner compartment are filled ~ith the respective desired ~uantities of the first and second substance, and (6b) the uPPer part of the container is crowned with the hood.
In this alternative form, steps (4b) and (5b) may ZO be in any order.
~ hatever the ~ay of implementing the process, inner compartment ~ay be formed in a number of ~ays.
The supplementary and aclvantageous characteristics of the process for manufacturing the container are descri-bed in the aboveaentioned parallel application, uhich isintroduced by ~ay of reference into the present description.
A container of the abovementioned type, or produced by the process just described, makes it possible to package substances ~hich are not suff;ciently compatible with each other to permit storage conditions ~hich correspond to practical needs. As an examPle, a sensitive csnstituent for a licluid Yashing aid, especially a constituent caPable of releas;ng active chlorine or oxygen, for exanple an additive based on peroxidic compounds, uay be introduced into the inner compartment, the remainder of the ~ashing aid foraulation, preferably liquid, being placed outside this inner compartment, and in the outer enclo~ure.
~ he descript;on given above is essentially that of the construction of a container having two compartments, but, - 8 - ~307æ3 needless to say, the same fabrication technology may be employed to pruduce successive inner compartments~ It suffices to provide the appropriate number of inserts with plastic sheaths, ;n order to produce each compart-ment. The characteristic ~hich is common to all thesecompartments is that they have holes, or vents~
organized so that when the hood covering the whole is removed, the respec~ive contents of these comPartments can flow freely.
flearing in mind the single-use purpose of the container according to the invention, the latter is generally incapable of being reused and, in particular, at the end of a machine washing cycle, once the proclucts ~detergent composition and additive) have completely left their respective compartments, the whole container is generally deformed, but its constituent parts nevertheless remain integrally attached to each other, and th;s makes it possible, on the one hand, not to damage the linen and, on the other hand, not to give rise to bits capable of blocking the piPework. ~hus, once the ~ashing of the linen is finished, the container is recovered from the drum of the machine, generally in a collapsed form.
As already said, the ~ashing process according to the invention is thus preferably employed with a single-use, multicompartment container forming the subject ofthe a~ovementioned parallel patent application. However, the process may also employ containers of different d~sign, comprising compartnents separated by walls ~hich are impervious to the aqueous meclium and to the liquid products which are usually emPloyed in the technology of ~ash;ng. In fact, the Process according to the invention is based on a directed diffusion through the openings ~ith ~hich the compartments are respectively provided.
The inv~ntion will be illustrated further, without being limited in any manner, by the description which follo~s and which is given with an example of use of a single-use multicompartment container, with reference to the attached drawings, in dhich:
Fig. 1 shows a cùntainer capable o~ being employed , .
~3~ 3 in the process ot the ;nvent;on, seen from the front and partially stct;oned;
Fig, 2 is an axial sect;on of the conta;ner of Figure 1;
S Fig~ 3 is a toP plan vie~ of the container of Figure 1;
Fig. 4 is a sec~ion of the container of Figure 1, along the plane of the line IV-IV, aith the protective hood removed;
Fig. 5 sho~s the protective hood in axial section;
Fig. 6 is a top plan vie~ of the inner compartment of the container of figure 1; and Figs. 7 to 12 illustrate the production of ~ single-use container capable of being employed in the process of the invention.
for ease of description, the container has first of all been shovn in f;gures 1 to 6 ~ithout reference being made to the substances which it contains. The production of a co~plete container is illustrated in Figures 7 to 12, ~ith Figure 12 in particular sho~ing a single-use con-tainer ~i~h t~o compart~ents, ~hose protective hood has been removed.
As illustrated in figures 1 to 6, the container comprises an outer enclosure (1) of overall spherical shape and with a flat bottom (3) ~ith a circular opening t2) diametrically opposed to the bottom (3). This circular opening (2) is bounded by an annular surface (2a) lying in a plane substantially paralleL to that of the bottom (3). This enclosure may have a th;ckness of, for example, 0.5 mm and may be made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate and a combination of such polymers, with or ~ithout adjuvants. To make the ~all (1)sufficiently rigid, its outer psriphery is provided ~ith corrugations (la) ~hich can be seen in the left half of Figure 1 and in Figure 3.
The container also comprises an inner compartment ind;cated generally by reference (4) and situated ~holly inside the outer enclosure ~1). This compartment is illustrated in the right-hand side of Figure 1, and ;n , ~3~
figures 2 to 4 and 6. It has a wall for~;ng bellows (12) (Figure 6)~ In the upper part of the inner compartment (4), as seen in the f;gures, a cyl;nclr;cal ~all ~5) ;s ~rranged and th;s extends firstly vertically and then S horizontally to come to bear ~flange tSa)) on the annular edge (2a) of the opening (2) of the outer enclosure (1).
The inner compart~ent (4) is ~hus open near the top via an orifice ~11) of circular cross-section. Similarl~, holes (7) (these holes are six in number in the example sho~n~ are distributed uniformly around the central orifice (11).
The container is closed by a protective stopper which is illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 and 5. This stoP
per has a cylindrical projection (10) ~hich fits into the orifice (11) of the inner compartment (4). This projection (10) is connected to a wall (8) ~hich is applied c,nto the annular flange (5a), in order to close the holes (7) ~ade in the latter. Lastly, the stopper ends in a s~all tongue (9) enabling it to be manipulated.
The materials of ~hich the inner compartment (4) is made are chosen from the same polymers as those of the outer enclosure (1) b~t it is preferable that they should have different rigidity characteristics when compared ~ith these~
~hen the container is empty, its average ~eight is of the order of 8 to 15 9.
The production of a single-use tontainer capable of being used in the process of the invention ~ill now be described, with reference to Figures 7 to 12.
To avoid increasing the number of f;gures, not all of the stages of the process have been illustrated in the dra~ings. For exanple, figure 7 shows the body (1) of the outer enclosure which i5 produced by blo~ing or ;njection blo~-~oulding uith its top opening S2) bounded by the annular ri~ ~2a) and its flat bottom (3). The same Figure 7 sho~s 2 liquid product (15) ~hich has been ;ntroduced into the enclosure (1) once the latter has been produced.
The product (15) is, for example, a liquid detergent formu-lation not containing an additive of the type of peroxidic compounds. The volume of the enclosure (1) and the quantity of l;quid product (15) are calculated ~elative to each other, bearing in ~ind that the container is des;gned to receive a single dose ~ith a vie~ to a sub-S sequent operation of ~ashing linen. 7he quant;ty ofli~uid (15) must therefore be sufficient to ensure this fùnction, the volume of the enclosure (1) being sized so as to enable the o~her steps to take place in successisn.
Figure 8 iLlustrates the bsginning of installation of an insert bearing a plastic sheath (13). The cross-sertion of the sheath (13) is smaller than the diameter of the opening (2); in order to make the insertion possible, a vacuum or a suction may be applied or not applied to the interior of the sheath (13), through the upper opening (11). The sheath (13) preferably includes a bellows structure (12). In its upper part, ~he sheath (13) is joined to a cylindrical portion (5) to ~hich is attached a wall (5a) in the form of a flange, in the middle of which is the orifice (11).
figure 9 illustrates the progress of insertion of the sheath (13) into the enclosure (1). It can be seen that the flange (Sa) i5 sized so as to cover virtually the ~hole of the opening (2) until the arrangement shown in Figure 10 is reached, where it can be seen that the flange ~5a) comes to bear on the annular rim (2a) of the enclosure (1). ~hen this situation is reached, the vacuum uhich ~ay have been applied to the interior of the sheath (13) is broken. This interruption of suction may take place uhen the flange (5a) is actually bearing on the annular edge (2a), but it is also possible, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, for the suc~ion to be cut off as soon as the cylindrical part (5) has moved past the opening (2) in the outer enclosure t1), so that the blowing operation may commence inside the sheath (13) as soon as the situation illustrated in Figure 10 is reached.
This leads to the situation shown in Figure 11, ~here the sheath (13) has given rise to the inner com-partment (4) in its final form. This same Figure 11 shows the consecutive oPeration which consists in filling the ., ` - 12 - ~30~3 inner compartment (4) with a l;qu;d (16) wh;ch is intro-duced through the orifice (11). In the case of a liquid de~ergent for mach;ne washing of linen, this product (16) may be an additive of the peroxid;c type.
The operation illustrated in figure 12 is that of piercing the holes ~7) in the flange (5a) si~uated in the upper part of the inner compartment (4). Six holes (7) for example, are pierced to produce an inner compartment such as illustrated in figure 6.
Lastly, the upper part of the container is crowne~
~ith a hood of the type sho~n in Figure 5.
Thus, the final product is a single-use container, ~ith a double compartment, an inner compartment (4) in which there is an additive of the peroxidic type, and a second compartment, outside the compartment (4), ~hich is held in the outer enclosure (1) and contains t~e liquid detergent formulation.
8efore ~ashing linen in a machine, the hood is removed, so that the container is then available in the form illustrated in Figure 12. The container as such is then placed in the drum of a machine for washing linen.
The Liqu;d detergent (15) diffuses through the holes (7), while the contents (16) of the inner compartment t4) simul-taneously pass through the ori~ice (11). The technical problem vhirh is posed is thus solved by a ~ashing process in which si~ultaneous use is made of two products which have been packaged separately in order to avoid any detrimental interaction if the products ;nvolved are not sufficiently compatible, as is the case ~ith peroxidic additives and liquid ~ashing aids.
The above description has been given merely by ~ay of illustration. It is obvious th~t containers compris-ing compartmen~s ~hich are more than two in number may be employed for the process of the present invention. It then suffices to insert other co0partments inside the inner compartment (4), using the same method as that il-lustrated in Figures 7 to 12.
Similarly, contair,ers of overall spherical shape have beén shown in the drawings since the latter is the most .
~ 13 _ 130712~
su;table for use in the drums of machines for washing linen. Nevertheless, ;t ~ould be compl0tely possible for the containers to have a different, for e~ample ovoid, shape, this shape being one of revolution, bearing in mind S the use of a blo~ing process. In all cases, the ~alls bounding the various compartments of the container are ;~pervious to the aqueous med;um and to the l;quid pro-ducts usually employed in ~ashing, cleaning or rinsing processes. ~n fact, the concept of the container for ~aking use of the process according to the invention is based, on a directed distribution through the openings with which the compartmen~s are respectively provided.
It will also be noted that the manufacture of the container, ~hich is illustrated in Figures 7 to 12, may be modified in accordance uith the teaching of the above-mentioned parallel patent application. For examPle, the filling of the container nay be performed once the inner compartment has been fabricated. Furthermore, the holes (7) may be made beforehand in the upper flange (Sa) of the plastic sheath (13).
The invention also relates to a container for ~aking use of the ~ashing process, the said container comprising a plurality of compartments, each of which is intended to receive a substance - or mixture of substances - ~hich can be used in ~ashing, but ~hich do not exhibit a satisfactory compatibility with the substances in the other compartments, each of the latter hav;ng openings.
~ ith a vie~ to the use in a washing process ac-cording to the invention, the individual compartments of the container may be advantageously filled with selected constituents - or combinations of such constituents - of detergent compositions. This gets rid of the disadvan-tageous effects resulting from an inadequate compatibility of the ingredients and, furthermore, a set of effects which are advantageous for the cleaning and processing of textile fibres is obtained.
The process of the invention permits, separately and practically ~;thout any limitation, the packag;ng and the use of constituents ûr of combinations of constituents ~ L~0~ 3 of detergent comPosi~ions. From a practical standpoint, it is frequently desirable to restrict the number of com-partments in the container to t~o. In such cases, these compartments ~ay, for example, contain various combinations of constituents, such as granules/granules, granules/
liquid and liquid/liquid.
In a preferred e~bodiment, the process of the in-vention provides for ~he use of a container in ~hich one of the compartments contains a liquid detergent composition and the other a bleaching compound.
All types of liquid de~ergent co~positions may be employed, including highly concentrated compositions con-tain;ng no phosphate-based detergent adjuvant, as can liquid detergent compositions containing the customary quantities of surface-active agents and of customary phosphate and/or inorganic adjuvants. The liquid deter-gent compos;tions in question frequently contain from 5 to 60X of a synthetic organic surface-active agent (or surfactant); and from 0 to 40Z, preferably 5 to 35X of a Z0 detergence adjuvant. Nonlimiting examples of surface-active agents and of detergence adjuvants are given in European Patent Application EP-A-0,075,988. In addition to the surfactant and to the adjuvant constituent, such liquid compositions may contain nu~erous auxiliary in-gredients ~h;ch are employed in conventional quantitiesbecause of their known spec;fic propert;es. Examples of additives of this type include enzymes, espec;ally pro-teases, amylases, l;pases and~or cellulases; enzyme sta-b;lizers such as short-chain carboxyl;c ac;ds such as formic acid; heavy-metal sequestrants such as aminopoly-phosphonates, such as ethylenediamine tetramethylenePhos-phonate or diethylenetriamine pentamethylenePhosPhonate or aminocarboxylates such as ethylenedia~ine tetracar-boxylate in quanties of 0.3 to 1.2Z; aminosilanes in pro-portions of up to 1~ by ~eight, such as those describedin Application EP-A-0,075,988; solvents; toam regulators, preferably silicones; opacifiers; antioxidants;
bactericides; dyes; perfumes; brightening agents and the like. Similar liquid detergent compositions are ~ellkno~n ", ." ., j . . ~ ~
~3~ %3 and have found very ~idespread commerciaL applications.
The second conpartment may be filled with a bleaching detergent agent. Examples of such bleaching agents are those containing o~ygen or chlorine. ~ell-kno~n bleaching agents containg oxygen are perborates,percarbonates, persilicates and perphosphates. The bleaching constituent may also be represented by a com-bination of a bleaching precursor such as tetraacetyl^
ethylenediamine (TAED) and a bleaching agent containing oxygen such as a perborate tetrahydrate or monohydrate.
The bleaching constituent containing oxygen, expressed as available oxygen, may rePresent from 0.1~ to 3X by ~eight based on the detergent composition. The bleaching precursor (activator) is generally employed in a molar ratio of bleaching 2gent containing o~ygen to the acti-vator in the range from 15:1 to 2:1. Bleach;ng agents containing chlorine, ~hich include bleaching agents con-taining hypochlorite or solid bleaching agents containing chlorine may be employed in such quantities that they pro-vide from 0.05~ to ZX of active chlorine, based on thedetergent composition.
The process of the invention ~ill be illustrated further, without being limited in any ~ay, by the follo~-ing description, ~hich relates to a concrete embodiment and demonstrates the advantages obtained in washing linen.
The outer compartment of a dispensing and distri-buting container of the type shown in Figures 1 to 3 is filled ~ith 180 g of a l;quid detergent ~or ordinary ~ash;ng, having the composition shown belo~.
~L~0~3 Ingr~dient X by weigh~
Dodecenylsuccinic ac;d 15 Dodecyl (straight-chain) bentenesulphon;c ac;d 13 S C12_14 fatty alcohol with 7 ethylene ox;de units per mole of alcohol 8 Alkyl (coconut)sulphonic acid 3 Ethanol 8 Protease (MaxataseR) (1.5 AU/gr) 0.65 Anylases (MaxamylR) (300~000 K.n.u/gr) 0.17 Diethylenetriaminepentamethylenephosphonic acid 0-7 Citric acid 0.8 Oleic acid 4.0 15 formic acid 1.0 Calcium chloride 150 (ppm) Sodium hydroxide to adjust the pH to 7~6 (as measured at ZOC) Minor constituents such as optical brighteners, 20 silicone-based foam reguLator, dye, perfume, opacifier, ~ater Remainder to The inner compartment is f;lled ~ith 32 9 of per-borate tetrahydrate and 4 9 of pellets of a peroxidicbleaching agent activator. These pellets contain 88% by ueight of TAED ~tetraacetylethylenediamine) and 12~ by ~e;ght of a granulating agent, namely the product of condensat;on of tallo~ alcohol ~ith 25 ~oles of ethylene oxide.
The t~o-compart~ent container, containing the detergent formulation and the peroxygenated combination, is placed in the drum of an automatir linen-~ashing sachine at the same t;me as the text;le articles to be washed. The uashing cycle consists of a principal wash-ing stage and consecutive rinses.
It was found that the washing and the whiteness of the textile articles ~ere clearly superior to those ob-tained by us;ng a reloadable dispens;ng and distributing 1~07~23 container containing the same quantity of liqu;d deter-gent but without the bleaching comb;nation ;n the ;nner compartment. It is interesting to note that the super-iority of cleaning is observed over a wide range of soils S and stains as ~ell as over a great variety of specific articles.
In a very general manner, the second compartment may be employed for dispensing any detergent ingredient which, for all sorts of reasons, cannot be incorporated in~o the other detergent ingredients.
Examples of detergent ingredients which may be introduced into the second compartment are, in particular:
bactericides, antio~idants, polycarboxylates such as polyarrylates, peroxidic bleaching agents such as diper-oxydodecanedioic acid and magnesium monoperoxyPhthalate,sodium hypochlorite, KDCC, enzymes, storage-sensitive species, if appropriate, including oxydo-reductases, cellulases and lipases, appropriate textile softeners such as bentonites, smectites, hectorites, tallo~ diamines, fatty acids, detergence adjuvants such as sodium tri-polyphosphate and sodium silicates, and soil-coagulating polymers.
for example pero~idic constituents of ehe type of per-borates or other inorganic or organic peroxidic calts~
It i~ known, howeYer, that the presence of active oxygen or chlorine is qui~e desirable if opti~um effectiveness is to be obtainedO In the case of Liquid ~ashing aids attempts a~e being ~ade, therefore, to produce formula-tions containing the same basic combinations as those in ~0 the granular or powdered detergents, but practical impos-sibilities then stand in the uay, because it is known that when traditional active components and perchlorinated or peroxidic components are incorporated together ~ithin a liquid washing aidO these compounds rapidly lose their effectiveness. Thus, it has been found that after storage periods of the order of t~o weeks, the active oxygen of these pero~idic compounds is practically completely releasedr thus becoming unavailable at the time of use in the ~ash bath.
By way of reference which illustrates the state of the art, there may be mentioned the European Patent Appli-cation published under No. 0,132,726, ~h;ch describes the use of 3 package in the form of a sachet containing a sub-stance as well as another sachet of smaller si~e contain-ing another substance ~hich is not compatible with the first. The material of which the outer sachet is made is ~ater-permeable, as is that of the inner sachet, but the naterials are chosen so as to permit the diffusion of the substances which they contain at different temperatures, which enables the packaging to be adapted to practica~
needs, for e~ample of washing. The teaching of this prior document consists therefore in presenting in the same packaging individual sachets capable of containing Liquid substances, choosing the sachets so that they release the substances which they contain at different temperatures.
Such packaging containers are single-use and conprise a plurality of compartments, the basic concept resulting in an application of the substances held in each of the individual sachets which is necessarily offset in time.
~ 3 _ ~3~7~
Furthermore, it is essential that the latter be soluble in uater or have particular properties in order to allo~ ~ater to pass at a specif;c temperature. This is ~hy the outer sachet is made from a sheet of open-Pore polyurethane foam, S bhile the inner sachet consists of polyvinyl alcohol.
The subiect of the inveneion is a process for the machine ~ashing of linen ~hich is of the general tyPe ac-cording to ~hich a container containing a predetermined ~uantity of detergent, advan~ageously liquid, composition is inserted into the drum of the washing machine, the said container being designed to permit the gradual dif-fusion of this composition during the ~ashing operation.
The invention provides an improvemene to this ~ethod by virtue of the use of a packaging container comprising several compartments and Permitting the contents of each of these compart~ents to be delivered simultaneously at the time of use~ this being done independently Qf ehe temperature of the medium. In a process of this kind, the materials of which the walls of the compartments are made are of no critical importance and~ in contras~ to the teaching of the abovementioned European Patent Ap-pl;cat;on 0,132,726, these ~alls are impervious to ~ater, the contents of each of the compart~ents being emptied through or;fices provided beforehand.
~he process according to the invention is there-fore more particular~y characterized in that the constitu-ents of the detergent composition uhich do not have a satisfactory mutual co~patibility are packaged separately in individual compartments of the container ~hich is in-serted into the drum of the ~ashing machine~ each of the said compartments having openings such that, uhen the container is placed in the drum, the constituents of the detergent composition diffuse si~ultaneously and separately during the ~ashing operation.
The process of the invention thus provides a solu-tion to the technical problem Posed by the use of ~ashing aid formulations, above all those ~hich are liquid, especially those wh;ch contain constituents intended to release active oxygen or chlorine during the ~ashing 130~ 3 operation. Thus, it is possible to employ in the process of the invention substances which are wholly compatible or mutually incompatible and which are to be delivered simultaneously into a washing operation.
The process may be employed at the time of use, that is to say of washing, with a contalner in which the substance or the mixture of substances which cannot coexist during storage is introduced into each of the compartments. However, in a fair number of cases, a process of this kind gives rise to many handling operations with different sources of substances, and this can complicate its use in practice.
It is preferable by far in the process of the invention to apply a container of the single-use type containing beforehand in each of the compartments a predetermined quantity of substance or of a combination of substances. For example, in the case of a container with two compartments, which is to function as a dispensing and distributing device, in accordance wit~l the general teaching of the abovementioned Canadian Paten~s 1,243,855 and 1,234,296 an inner compartment contains the constituent intended to release active chlorine or oxygen, while the other compartment contains the remainder of the detergent formulation. Once the hood crowning the container has been taken off, the container is placed in the drum of the machine with the linen to be washed. The detergent and the active constituent which are held therein diffuse gradually into the washing medium and into the linen placed in the machine, and this takes place simultaneously, by virtue of the gradual outflow of the detergent and of this constituent. The best results for washing linen are thus obtained.
A single-use container capable of being used in an optimum manner in the washing process according to the invention, forms the subject of Canadian Patent Application Serial No. 562,358, filed March 24, 1988 for ~Single-use multicompartment container, production and application, especially for washing linen". In the present description it will be sufficient to recall that :
~ - .
- . .-- s - ~ 3(~ 3 this single-use container is des;gned for pack3glng sub-stances ~h;ch do not exh;bit satisfactory compatib;l;ty ~hen brought together, and, to this end, comprises several compartments ~hich are allocated respectively t~ these substances. The sa;d container comprises:
~ a) an outer enclosure of over3ll spher;cal shaPe and ~;th a flat botton with a circular oPening diametri-cally opposed to the bottom;
~ b~ at least one inner co~partment bounded by a wall extending completely inside the outer enclosure, the said inner comPartment also having a circular orifice of smaller diameter than ~he opening of the enclosure (a) and arranged eoncentrically hith the said opening, the ~alls of the enclosure (a) and of ~he compart-ment tb) being joined at the level of their respective opening and orifices, for~ing an annular region ~hich com-Prises a certain number of holes, and (c) a removable hood cro~ning and shutting off the inner orifice and the holes in the annular region, so that the container has, overall, at least one inner compartment (b~ capable of receiving a first substance - or a mixture of mutually co~patible substances - and at least one other compartment extending between the outer enclosure (a) and the wall of the inner co~part-ment (b) and capable of receiving a second substance (or ~ixture of substances) ~hich is relat;vely ;ncompatible ~ith the first, the contents of ehese two compartments be;ng iqolated from each other when the hood is placed in position~ ~hile, ~hen the hood is removed, the substance ;n the inner compartment can flo~ freely through the orifice in the latter and the substance in the other compartnent can flo~ freely through the hoLes in the annular r~gion, so that all the substances held in the container are then available together.
~ithin the ~eaning of the present description, the expression "of overall spherical shape", which is em-ployed to define the outer enclosure of the container, should not be ~nderstood as characterizing solely a sphere or a virtual sphere. This expression includes other - 6 - ~3~ 3 surfaces of revolut;on of the ovoid type, ~hose curvatures ~re such that the container does not cause any da~age to the linen in a machine washing operation during which the container is placed in the drum.
The inner compartment, for its part, may be bounded by a ~all of any shaPe but, bearing in nind the preferred technology employed in its manufacture and described here-inafter~ it is generally a surface of revolution, of the spherical or ovoid type.
The other supplementary and advantageous charac-teristics of the container are described and illustrated in detail in the abovementioned parallel French Appli-cation~ ~hich is introduced into the present sPecification by way of reference.
The parallel application also describes a process for producing the containers such as defined above, by the general technology of blo~ing or of injection blo~-mould-ing of Plastics, characterized in that it comprlses the follo~ing series of steps:
(1) the body of the outer enclosure uith its circular oPening and its flat bottom is fabricated, (2) the said enclosure is filled with the desired quantity of the first substance, (3) an insert equipped ~ith a plastic sheath is inserted through the said opening until the upper part of the shea~h, of annular shape, comes to bear substan-tially on the edges of the opening in the enclosure, (4) the sheath is used to fabricate the inner compartment of the container, 3û (5) holes are pierced in the annular region for~ed in the upper part of the inner compartment, (6) the inner compartment is filled ~ith the desired quantity of the second substance, and (7) the upper part of the container is cro~ned Yith the hood.
As descr;bed in detail in the parallel application, the process described above may comprise numerous alter-native forms ~hich differ in some of their steps or in the sequence of the said stePs~
~` - 7 - ~30~1~3 In the present description, an 3lternat;ve for~
~ill be indicated~ which corresponds to a particularly advantageous way of practical implementation, accorciing eo ~hich the process compr;ses the follo~;ng steps:
(1b) the body of the outer enclosure uith its circular oPening and its flat bottom ;s fabricated, (2b) an insert ectuipped with a plast;c sheath ~hose upper part of annular shape has holes made before-hand is inserted through the said oPening unt;l ~he said upper part comes to bear substantially on the edges of the opening in the enclosure, (3b) the sheath is used to fabricate the inner compartment of the container, (4b) and (5b) the body of the enclosure and the inner compartment are filled ~ith the respective desired ~uantities of the first and second substance, and (6b) the uPPer part of the container is crowned with the hood.
In this alternative form, steps (4b) and (5b) may ZO be in any order.
~ hatever the ~ay of implementing the process, inner compartment ~ay be formed in a number of ~ays.
The supplementary and aclvantageous characteristics of the process for manufacturing the container are descri-bed in the aboveaentioned parallel application, uhich isintroduced by ~ay of reference into the present description.
A container of the abovementioned type, or produced by the process just described, makes it possible to package substances ~hich are not suff;ciently compatible with each other to permit storage conditions ~hich correspond to practical needs. As an examPle, a sensitive csnstituent for a licluid Yashing aid, especially a constituent caPable of releas;ng active chlorine or oxygen, for exanple an additive based on peroxidic compounds, uay be introduced into the inner compartment, the remainder of the ~ashing aid foraulation, preferably liquid, being placed outside this inner compartment, and in the outer enclo~ure.
~ he descript;on given above is essentially that of the construction of a container having two compartments, but, - 8 - ~307æ3 needless to say, the same fabrication technology may be employed to pruduce successive inner compartments~ It suffices to provide the appropriate number of inserts with plastic sheaths, ;n order to produce each compart-ment. The characteristic ~hich is common to all thesecompartments is that they have holes, or vents~
organized so that when the hood covering the whole is removed, the respec~ive contents of these comPartments can flow freely.
flearing in mind the single-use purpose of the container according to the invention, the latter is generally incapable of being reused and, in particular, at the end of a machine washing cycle, once the proclucts ~detergent composition and additive) have completely left their respective compartments, the whole container is generally deformed, but its constituent parts nevertheless remain integrally attached to each other, and th;s makes it possible, on the one hand, not to damage the linen and, on the other hand, not to give rise to bits capable of blocking the piPework. ~hus, once the ~ashing of the linen is finished, the container is recovered from the drum of the machine, generally in a collapsed form.
As already said, the ~ashing process according to the invention is thus preferably employed with a single-use, multicompartment container forming the subject ofthe a~ovementioned parallel patent application. However, the process may also employ containers of different d~sign, comprising compartnents separated by walls ~hich are impervious to the aqueous meclium and to the liquid products which are usually emPloyed in the technology of ~ash;ng. In fact, the Process according to the invention is based on a directed diffusion through the openings ~ith ~hich the compartments are respectively provided.
The inv~ntion will be illustrated further, without being limited in any manner, by the description which follo~s and which is given with an example of use of a single-use multicompartment container, with reference to the attached drawings, in dhich:
Fig. 1 shows a cùntainer capable o~ being employed , .
~3~ 3 in the process ot the ;nvent;on, seen from the front and partially stct;oned;
Fig, 2 is an axial sect;on of the conta;ner of Figure 1;
S Fig~ 3 is a toP plan vie~ of the container of Figure 1;
Fig. 4 is a sec~ion of the container of Figure 1, along the plane of the line IV-IV, aith the protective hood removed;
Fig. 5 sho~s the protective hood in axial section;
Fig. 6 is a top plan vie~ of the inner compartment of the container of figure 1; and Figs. 7 to 12 illustrate the production of ~ single-use container capable of being employed in the process of the invention.
for ease of description, the container has first of all been shovn in f;gures 1 to 6 ~ithout reference being made to the substances which it contains. The production of a co~plete container is illustrated in Figures 7 to 12, ~ith Figure 12 in particular sho~ing a single-use con-tainer ~i~h t~o compart~ents, ~hose protective hood has been removed.
As illustrated in figures 1 to 6, the container comprises an outer enclosure (1) of overall spherical shape and with a flat bottom (3) ~ith a circular opening t2) diametrically opposed to the bottom (3). This circular opening (2) is bounded by an annular surface (2a) lying in a plane substantially paralleL to that of the bottom (3). This enclosure may have a th;ckness of, for example, 0.5 mm and may be made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate and a combination of such polymers, with or ~ithout adjuvants. To make the ~all (1)sufficiently rigid, its outer psriphery is provided ~ith corrugations (la) ~hich can be seen in the left half of Figure 1 and in Figure 3.
The container also comprises an inner compartment ind;cated generally by reference (4) and situated ~holly inside the outer enclosure ~1). This compartment is illustrated in the right-hand side of Figure 1, and ;n , ~3~
figures 2 to 4 and 6. It has a wall for~;ng bellows (12) (Figure 6)~ In the upper part of the inner compartment (4), as seen in the f;gures, a cyl;nclr;cal ~all ~5) ;s ~rranged and th;s extends firstly vertically and then S horizontally to come to bear ~flange tSa)) on the annular edge (2a) of the opening (2) of the outer enclosure (1).
The inner compart~ent (4) is ~hus open near the top via an orifice ~11) of circular cross-section. Similarl~, holes (7) (these holes are six in number in the example sho~n~ are distributed uniformly around the central orifice (11).
The container is closed by a protective stopper which is illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 and 5. This stoP
per has a cylindrical projection (10) ~hich fits into the orifice (11) of the inner compartment (4). This projection (10) is connected to a wall (8) ~hich is applied c,nto the annular flange (5a), in order to close the holes (7) ~ade in the latter. Lastly, the stopper ends in a s~all tongue (9) enabling it to be manipulated.
The materials of ~hich the inner compartment (4) is made are chosen from the same polymers as those of the outer enclosure (1) b~t it is preferable that they should have different rigidity characteristics when compared ~ith these~
~hen the container is empty, its average ~eight is of the order of 8 to 15 9.
The production of a single-use tontainer capable of being used in the process of the invention ~ill now be described, with reference to Figures 7 to 12.
To avoid increasing the number of f;gures, not all of the stages of the process have been illustrated in the dra~ings. For exanple, figure 7 shows the body (1) of the outer enclosure which i5 produced by blo~ing or ;njection blo~-~oulding uith its top opening S2) bounded by the annular ri~ ~2a) and its flat bottom (3). The same Figure 7 sho~s 2 liquid product (15) ~hich has been ;ntroduced into the enclosure (1) once the latter has been produced.
The product (15) is, for example, a liquid detergent formu-lation not containing an additive of the type of peroxidic compounds. The volume of the enclosure (1) and the quantity of l;quid product (15) are calculated ~elative to each other, bearing in ~ind that the container is des;gned to receive a single dose ~ith a vie~ to a sub-S sequent operation of ~ashing linen. 7he quant;ty ofli~uid (15) must therefore be sufficient to ensure this fùnction, the volume of the enclosure (1) being sized so as to enable the o~her steps to take place in successisn.
Figure 8 iLlustrates the bsginning of installation of an insert bearing a plastic sheath (13). The cross-sertion of the sheath (13) is smaller than the diameter of the opening (2); in order to make the insertion possible, a vacuum or a suction may be applied or not applied to the interior of the sheath (13), through the upper opening (11). The sheath (13) preferably includes a bellows structure (12). In its upper part, ~he sheath (13) is joined to a cylindrical portion (5) to ~hich is attached a wall (5a) in the form of a flange, in the middle of which is the orifice (11).
figure 9 illustrates the progress of insertion of the sheath (13) into the enclosure (1). It can be seen that the flange (Sa) i5 sized so as to cover virtually the ~hole of the opening (2) until the arrangement shown in Figure 10 is reached, where it can be seen that the flange ~5a) comes to bear on the annular rim (2a) of the enclosure (1). ~hen this situation is reached, the vacuum uhich ~ay have been applied to the interior of the sheath (13) is broken. This interruption of suction may take place uhen the flange (5a) is actually bearing on the annular edge (2a), but it is also possible, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, for the suc~ion to be cut off as soon as the cylindrical part (5) has moved past the opening (2) in the outer enclosure t1), so that the blowing operation may commence inside the sheath (13) as soon as the situation illustrated in Figure 10 is reached.
This leads to the situation shown in Figure 11, ~here the sheath (13) has given rise to the inner com-partment (4) in its final form. This same Figure 11 shows the consecutive oPeration which consists in filling the ., ` - 12 - ~30~3 inner compartment (4) with a l;qu;d (16) wh;ch is intro-duced through the orifice (11). In the case of a liquid de~ergent for mach;ne washing of linen, this product (16) may be an additive of the peroxid;c type.
The operation illustrated in figure 12 is that of piercing the holes ~7) in the flange (5a) si~uated in the upper part of the inner compartment (4). Six holes (7) for example, are pierced to produce an inner compartment such as illustrated in figure 6.
Lastly, the upper part of the container is crowne~
~ith a hood of the type sho~n in Figure 5.
Thus, the final product is a single-use container, ~ith a double compartment, an inner compartment (4) in which there is an additive of the peroxidic type, and a second compartment, outside the compartment (4), ~hich is held in the outer enclosure (1) and contains t~e liquid detergent formulation.
8efore ~ashing linen in a machine, the hood is removed, so that the container is then available in the form illustrated in Figure 12. The container as such is then placed in the drum of a machine for washing linen.
The Liqu;d detergent (15) diffuses through the holes (7), while the contents (16) of the inner compartment t4) simul-taneously pass through the ori~ice (11). The technical problem vhirh is posed is thus solved by a ~ashing process in which si~ultaneous use is made of two products which have been packaged separately in order to avoid any detrimental interaction if the products ;nvolved are not sufficiently compatible, as is the case ~ith peroxidic additives and liquid ~ashing aids.
The above description has been given merely by ~ay of illustration. It is obvious th~t containers compris-ing compartmen~s ~hich are more than two in number may be employed for the process of the present invention. It then suffices to insert other co0partments inside the inner compartment (4), using the same method as that il-lustrated in Figures 7 to 12.
Similarly, contair,ers of overall spherical shape have beén shown in the drawings since the latter is the most .
~ 13 _ 130712~
su;table for use in the drums of machines for washing linen. Nevertheless, ;t ~ould be compl0tely possible for the containers to have a different, for e~ample ovoid, shape, this shape being one of revolution, bearing in mind S the use of a blo~ing process. In all cases, the ~alls bounding the various compartments of the container are ;~pervious to the aqueous med;um and to the l;quid pro-ducts usually employed in ~ashing, cleaning or rinsing processes. ~n fact, the concept of the container for ~aking use of the process according to the invention is based, on a directed distribution through the openings with which the compartmen~s are respectively provided.
It will also be noted that the manufacture of the container, ~hich is illustrated in Figures 7 to 12, may be modified in accordance uith the teaching of the above-mentioned parallel patent application. For examPle, the filling of the container nay be performed once the inner compartment has been fabricated. Furthermore, the holes (7) may be made beforehand in the upper flange (Sa) of the plastic sheath (13).
The invention also relates to a container for ~aking use of the ~ashing process, the said container comprising a plurality of compartments, each of which is intended to receive a substance - or mixture of substances - ~hich can be used in ~ashing, but ~hich do not exhibit a satisfactory compatibility with the substances in the other compartments, each of the latter hav;ng openings.
~ ith a vie~ to the use in a washing process ac-cording to the invention, the individual compartments of the container may be advantageously filled with selected constituents - or combinations of such constituents - of detergent compositions. This gets rid of the disadvan-tageous effects resulting from an inadequate compatibility of the ingredients and, furthermore, a set of effects which are advantageous for the cleaning and processing of textile fibres is obtained.
The process of the invention permits, separately and practically ~;thout any limitation, the packag;ng and the use of constituents ûr of combinations of constituents ~ L~0~ 3 of detergent comPosi~ions. From a practical standpoint, it is frequently desirable to restrict the number of com-partments in the container to t~o. In such cases, these compartments ~ay, for example, contain various combinations of constituents, such as granules/granules, granules/
liquid and liquid/liquid.
In a preferred e~bodiment, the process of the in-vention provides for ~he use of a container in ~hich one of the compartments contains a liquid detergent composition and the other a bleaching compound.
All types of liquid de~ergent co~positions may be employed, including highly concentrated compositions con-tain;ng no phosphate-based detergent adjuvant, as can liquid detergent compositions containing the customary quantities of surface-active agents and of customary phosphate and/or inorganic adjuvants. The liquid deter-gent compos;tions in question frequently contain from 5 to 60X of a synthetic organic surface-active agent (or surfactant); and from 0 to 40Z, preferably 5 to 35X of a Z0 detergence adjuvant. Nonlimiting examples of surface-active agents and of detergence adjuvants are given in European Patent Application EP-A-0,075,988. In addition to the surfactant and to the adjuvant constituent, such liquid compositions may contain nu~erous auxiliary in-gredients ~h;ch are employed in conventional quantitiesbecause of their known spec;fic propert;es. Examples of additives of this type include enzymes, espec;ally pro-teases, amylases, l;pases and~or cellulases; enzyme sta-b;lizers such as short-chain carboxyl;c ac;ds such as formic acid; heavy-metal sequestrants such as aminopoly-phosphonates, such as ethylenediamine tetramethylenePhos-phonate or diethylenetriamine pentamethylenePhosPhonate or aminocarboxylates such as ethylenedia~ine tetracar-boxylate in quanties of 0.3 to 1.2Z; aminosilanes in pro-portions of up to 1~ by ~eight, such as those describedin Application EP-A-0,075,988; solvents; toam regulators, preferably silicones; opacifiers; antioxidants;
bactericides; dyes; perfumes; brightening agents and the like. Similar liquid detergent compositions are ~ellkno~n ", ." ., j . . ~ ~
~3~ %3 and have found very ~idespread commerciaL applications.
The second conpartment may be filled with a bleaching detergent agent. Examples of such bleaching agents are those containing o~ygen or chlorine. ~ell-kno~n bleaching agents containg oxygen are perborates,percarbonates, persilicates and perphosphates. The bleaching constituent may also be represented by a com-bination of a bleaching precursor such as tetraacetyl^
ethylenediamine (TAED) and a bleaching agent containing oxygen such as a perborate tetrahydrate or monohydrate.
The bleaching constituent containing oxygen, expressed as available oxygen, may rePresent from 0.1~ to 3X by ~eight based on the detergent composition. The bleaching precursor (activator) is generally employed in a molar ratio of bleaching 2gent containing o~ygen to the acti-vator in the range from 15:1 to 2:1. Bleach;ng agents containing chlorine, ~hich include bleaching agents con-taining hypochlorite or solid bleaching agents containing chlorine may be employed in such quantities that they pro-vide from 0.05~ to ZX of active chlorine, based on thedetergent composition.
The process of the invention ~ill be illustrated further, without being limited in any ~ay, by the follo~-ing description, ~hich relates to a concrete embodiment and demonstrates the advantages obtained in washing linen.
The outer compartment of a dispensing and distri-buting container of the type shown in Figures 1 to 3 is filled ~ith 180 g of a l;quid detergent ~or ordinary ~ash;ng, having the composition shown belo~.
~L~0~3 Ingr~dient X by weigh~
Dodecenylsuccinic ac;d 15 Dodecyl (straight-chain) bentenesulphon;c ac;d 13 S C12_14 fatty alcohol with 7 ethylene ox;de units per mole of alcohol 8 Alkyl (coconut)sulphonic acid 3 Ethanol 8 Protease (MaxataseR) (1.5 AU/gr) 0.65 Anylases (MaxamylR) (300~000 K.n.u/gr) 0.17 Diethylenetriaminepentamethylenephosphonic acid 0-7 Citric acid 0.8 Oleic acid 4.0 15 formic acid 1.0 Calcium chloride 150 (ppm) Sodium hydroxide to adjust the pH to 7~6 (as measured at ZOC) Minor constituents such as optical brighteners, 20 silicone-based foam reguLator, dye, perfume, opacifier, ~ater Remainder to The inner compartment is f;lled ~ith 32 9 of per-borate tetrahydrate and 4 9 of pellets of a peroxidicbleaching agent activator. These pellets contain 88% by ueight of TAED ~tetraacetylethylenediamine) and 12~ by ~e;ght of a granulating agent, namely the product of condensat;on of tallo~ alcohol ~ith 25 ~oles of ethylene oxide.
The t~o-compart~ent container, containing the detergent formulation and the peroxygenated combination, is placed in the drum of an automatir linen-~ashing sachine at the same t;me as the text;le articles to be washed. The uashing cycle consists of a principal wash-ing stage and consecutive rinses.
It was found that the washing and the whiteness of the textile articles ~ere clearly superior to those ob-tained by us;ng a reloadable dispens;ng and distributing 1~07~23 container containing the same quantity of liqu;d deter-gent but without the bleaching comb;nation ;n the ;nner compartment. It is interesting to note that the super-iority of cleaning is observed over a wide range of soils S and stains as ~ell as over a great variety of specific articles.
In a very general manner, the second compartment may be employed for dispensing any detergent ingredient which, for all sorts of reasons, cannot be incorporated in~o the other detergent ingredients.
Examples of detergent ingredients which may be introduced into the second compartment are, in particular:
bactericides, antio~idants, polycarboxylates such as polyarrylates, peroxidic bleaching agents such as diper-oxydodecanedioic acid and magnesium monoperoxyPhthalate,sodium hypochlorite, KDCC, enzymes, storage-sensitive species, if appropriate, including oxydo-reductases, cellulases and lipases, appropriate textile softeners such as bentonites, smectites, hectorites, tallo~ diamines, fatty acids, detergence adjuvants such as sodium tri-polyphosphate and sodium silicates, and soil-coagulating polymers.
Claims (6)
1. Process for the machine washing of laundry in which there is introduced into the drum of a washing machine a container containing a predetermined quantity of a detergent composition and adapted to permit the gradual diffusion of the latter during the washing operation, said process being characterized in that the constituents of the detergent composition which do not have a satisfactory mutual compati-bility are packaged separately in individual compartments of said container, each of the said compartments having openings such that, when the container is placed in the drum, the constituents of the detergent composition diffuse simultaneously and separately during the washing operation.
2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that a two-compartment container is employed.
3. Process according to claim 2, characterized in that one of the compartments contains bleaching constituents intended to release active oxygen or chlorine during the washing operation, while the other compartment contains the remainder of the detergent composition.
4. Process according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that a container is used into which, in each of the compartments which it comprises, there is introduced, at the time of use, the corresponding substance or the mixture of substances.
5. Process according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that a container of the single-use type is used, containing beforehand, in each of the compartments, a predetermined quantity of substances - or of a mixture of substances - which are of help in the washing operation.
6. Process according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that a container is employed in which the walls bounding the various compartments are impervious to the aqueous medium and to a liquid detergent employed for the washing operation.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR87-04167 | 1987-03-25 | ||
| FR8704167A FR2612955B1 (en) | 1987-03-25 | 1987-03-25 | METHOD FOR WASHING LAUNDRY AND CONTAINER FOR IMPLEMENTING SAME |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1307123C true CA1307123C (en) | 1992-09-08 |
Family
ID=9349424
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000562353A Expired - Fee Related CA1307123C (en) | 1987-03-25 | 1988-03-24 | Process for washing linen and container for implementing it |
Country Status (10)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0288346B1 (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE68537T1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU619737B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1307123C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3865505D1 (en) |
| DK (1) | DK164226C (en) |
| ES (1) | ES2025299B3 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2612955B1 (en) |
| GR (1) | GR3003025T3 (en) |
| TR (1) | TR23362A (en) |
Families Citing this family (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0331542B1 (en) * | 1988-02-03 | 1996-05-08 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Method and device for washing laundry in a washing machine |
| FR2627199B1 (en) * | 1988-02-11 | 1990-08-03 | Procter & Gamble | DEVICE FOR WASHING LAUNDRY IN A MACHINE |
| DE8801920U1 (en) * | 1988-02-15 | 1989-07-27 | Henkel KGaA, 4000 Düsseldorf | Dosing reservoir for collecting and dispensing laundry treatment agents |
| DE3844035A1 (en) * | 1988-12-27 | 1990-07-05 | Eickmann Karl | Detergent (washing-agent) container |
| US5918487A (en) * | 1996-09-26 | 1999-07-06 | North American Plastic Technologies, Inc. | Sealed container for the laundry solution |
| EP0872544A1 (en) | 1997-04-14 | 1998-10-21 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Dry effervescent granules and granular compositions comprising the same |
| EP0905030A1 (en) | 1997-09-29 | 1999-03-31 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Container having a frangible and reclosable closure, used as a measuring cup |
| US20190234002A1 (en) * | 2016-10-11 | 2019-08-01 | Conopco, Inc., D/B/A Unilever | Laundry dosing device |
| CN110273264A (en) * | 2018-03-15 | 2019-09-24 | 青岛海尔洗衣机有限公司 | A kind of detergent throwing device and washing machine |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2321998A (en) * | 1942-04-04 | 1943-06-15 | Eastman Kodak Co | Two-compartment container |
| US2412833A (en) * | 1945-03-10 | 1946-12-17 | Prager Martin | Bottle closure device |
| US3289887A (en) * | 1962-07-31 | 1966-12-06 | Colgate Palmolive Co | Dispensing of reactive cleansing materials |
| DE3326249A1 (en) * | 1983-07-21 | 1985-01-31 | Henkel Kgaa | WASHING, DISHWASHER OR DETERGENT PACKAGING |
| FR2563250B1 (en) * | 1984-04-18 | 1986-12-26 | Procter & Gamble France | METHOD FOR WASHING LAUNDRY IN A MACHINE WITH A LIQUID DETERGENT, AND DEVICE FOR ITS APPLICATION |
| DE8509898U1 (en) * | 1984-04-18 | 1985-07-04 | The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio | Device for washing laundry in the washing machine using liquid detergents |
-
1987
- 1987-03-25 FR FR8704167A patent/FR2612955B1/en not_active Expired
-
1988
- 1988-03-21 TR TR213/88A patent/TR23362A/en unknown
- 1988-03-24 AT AT88400725T patent/ATE68537T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1988-03-24 DE DE8888400725T patent/DE3865505D1/en not_active Revoked
- 1988-03-24 AU AU13550/88A patent/AU619737B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1988-03-24 CA CA000562353A patent/CA1307123C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1988-03-24 ES ES88400725T patent/ES2025299B3/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1988-03-24 EP EP88400725A patent/EP0288346B1/en not_active Revoked
- 1988-03-25 DK DK165788A patent/DK164226C/en not_active IP Right Cessation
-
1991
- 1991-10-29 GR GR91401436T patent/GR3003025T3/en unknown
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| FR2612955B1 (en) | 1989-07-28 |
| EP0288346A1 (en) | 1988-10-26 |
| FR2612955A1 (en) | 1988-09-30 |
| DK165788D0 (en) | 1988-03-25 |
| DK164226B (en) | 1992-05-25 |
| AU619737B2 (en) | 1992-02-06 |
| TR23362A (en) | 1989-12-28 |
| ES2025299B3 (en) | 1992-03-16 |
| GR3003025T3 (en) | 1993-02-17 |
| DE3865505D1 (en) | 1991-11-21 |
| DK165788A (en) | 1989-09-26 |
| ATE68537T1 (en) | 1991-11-15 |
| AU1355088A (en) | 1988-09-29 |
| EP0288346B1 (en) | 1991-10-16 |
| DK164226C (en) | 1992-11-02 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKLA | Lapsed |