Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L15/00—Washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware
  • A47L15/42—Details
  • A47L15/44—Devices for adding cleaning agents; Devices for dispensing cleaning agents, rinsing aids or deodorants
  • A47L15/4445—Detachable devices
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L15/00—Washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware
  • A47L15/42—Details
  • A47L15/44—Devices for adding cleaning agents; Devices for dispensing cleaning agents, rinsing aids or deodorants
  • A47L15/4463—Multi-dose dispensing arrangements
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L—DOMESTIC WASHING OR CLEANING; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47L15/00—Washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware
  • A47L15/42—Details
  • A47L15/44—Devices for adding cleaning agents; Devices for dispensing cleaning agents, rinsing aids or deodorants
  • A47L15/4472—Blister packaging or refill cartridges

Definitions

• This invention relates to a multi-dosing detergent delivery device containing a plurality of dosage elements of cleaning composition, for use in a ware washing machine, for example a dishwashing machine or a laundry washing machine .
• a multi-dosing detergent delivery device removably insertable into an automatic dishwashing machine, the device comprising a cartridge capable of receiving therein a rack of dosage elements of a cleaning composition, a collection area formed in a lid area of said device suitable to collect water/wash liquor in a main wash cycle of a dishwasher, a directing means to direct water or wash liquor from said collection area selectively to an interior part of said device, wherein the device further includes a sieve to prevent or impede particles from blocking water/wash liquor flow into said interior part of the device .
• said sieve is located in a lid area of said device . and, most preferably, extends across substantially a full available water collection area of said lid.
• said sieve comprises a non-hydrophobic material .
• said sieve comprises a non-plastics material.
• the dosage elements are of substantially the' same cross-section along their length; in particular, they preferably do not taper.
• the device has means to deliver water to the rack of dosage elements in sequence, one in ' each wash.
• Such means may operate automatically or be operated by the user, before a wash is commenced.
• Fig. 1 shows a rack of dosage elements for use with a multi-dosing detergent delivery device of the present invention in a nested form, in a perspective view, generally from above;
• Fig. 3 shows the article of Fig. 1 in flat form
• Fig. 4 shows the dosage element of Fig. 3 in plan view
• Fig. 5a shows the article of Fig. 1 being introduced into a multi-dosing detergent delivery device of Fig. 5b, the cap, containing the dosage element selecting device, being shown removed, as Fig. 5c;
• Fig. 6 shows the article of Fig. 1 having been located within the holder of Fig. 5b;
• the rack of dosage elements of Fig. 1 is manufactured as a flat plastics tray of elongated blister pockets 2, shown in Fig. 3, comprising ' a thermoformed plastics tray.
• the open end of each blister pocket 2 is formed all around its perimeter with an endless flange 4 (which can be seen in Fig. 2) .
• Solid rods or sticks of a cleaning composition 6 (intended in this embodiment to be different ways.
• the cleaning composition can be injected or cast into the pockets.
• the rods or sticks are pre-formed by injection moulding or extrusion, then cut to length, then introduced into the pockets. It may be noted that they are introduced into the pockets to fill each pocket to the bottom end 8, but to leave a space 10 at the top end.
• This space 10 is left so that water can enter the pocket, via opening 12 in the upper end wall of the pocket and, as is discussed later, may also help in providing complete dissolution of cleaning composition within a reduced time period.
• each such opening 12 is circular, and 8mm in diameter.
• An identical opening (not shown) is formed in the lower end wall of the article, to allow water and entrained or dissolved cleaning composition to exit the pocket .
• a backing sheet 14 is laid over the open ends, and secured to the flanges 4.
• the backing may be adhered thereto by any convenient means, for example by heat or adhesive .
• the flat article now in the form of a rack or linear array of rods or sticks, may be curled into its nested form shown in Fig. 1.
• the nested form is a generally cylindrical array. It may be retained in its nested form by a piece of adhesive tape 16.
• the backing may be printed on its outwards-facing side with information, for example a trade mark, with product get-up, and/or with usage information.
• each rod or stick - and • correspondingly each blister has a flat base wall 18 abutting the backing sheet 14. From the base wall 18, each rod or stick, and each blister, generally tapers to a narrower- distal end wall 20.
• the side walls initially taper gradually, as at 22, 24, then undergo a somewhat abrupt inward dislocation 26, then taper at an intermediate rate (between that of the side wall portion 22 and the dislocation 26) at 27, until the distal end wall 20 is reached.
• rods or sticks have a separation 30 between them, at their distal end region, when in their nested form.
• dissolving dosage elements of the cleaning composition by directing water to one end of them in an axial or lengthwise direction might be an inefficient method.
• dissolution or dispersion is excellent and the arrangement is very space-efficient, in not taking up very much of the "footprint area" available within the dishwashing machine.
• a dosage element should contain between 15 and 25g of cleaning composition.
• an average density of the composition is set within the range of 1.0 to 1.5g/cm 3 and the preferred hardness of the composition is between 100N-400N.
• the device of the present invention utilises a cleaning composition having a standard dissolution time of 5 minutes.
• the device It is desirable for the device to function when placed anywhere within a the dishwasher in which a. minimum amount of water is available to it, and so it has been assumed that perhaps only Ig water per minute per square cm is available. With this in mind, to assure that said water collection area is sufficient to provide 5Og of water per minute, a water collection area of 50cm2 is desirable, meaning ' a cylindrical device will require a diameter of approximately 8cm2.
• the present invention may be seen to cover a range of devices with differing dimensions with, for instance, water collection areas in the range of 30cm2 to 80cm2 and that where high flow rates of water/wash liquor are known to be present a device, having reduced dimensions may be utilised.
• the ratio of said water collection area to cleaning composition standard dissolution time is within the range of 5 to 50 and, particularly in the range of 10 to 30. to be substantially completely disintegrated in a given test environment.
• dosage elements are provided in separate metal cages and mechanically agitated in 40 0 C water.
• the dosage elements are, in fact, not completely dissolved as such as they contain some water insoluble ingredients, therefore we can not speak about complete dissolution but "standard dissolution" which equates here to complete disintegration.
• dissolution of cleaning composition within the device is aided when each dosage element is housed within a chamber having a larger volume than the cleaning composition stored within it - hence the spacing 10 above the rod or stick - and it may also be desirable to provide a spacing between a lowermost part of the cleaning composition stick and the ⁇ bottom of its respective outer sleeve. Dissolution is particularly improved when the volume of the chamber does not exceed the volume of the dosage element by more than 40% and most preferably when the volume of the chamber exceeds the volume of the dosage element by between 15 and 20%.

Landscapes

• Washing And Drying Of Tableware (AREA)
• Detergent Compositions (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=37964713

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (20)

Family Cites Families (51)

• 2007
  • 2007-01-19 WO PCT/GB2007/000183 patent/WO2007083142A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2007-01-19 AU AU2007206711A patent/AU2007206711A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2007-01-19 US US12/160,921 patent/US20100065084A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2007-01-19 EP EP07704962A patent/EP1976422A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2007-01-19 CA CA002633117A patent/CA2633117A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2007-01-19 BR BRPI0707886-2A patent/BRPI0707886A2/pt not_active IP Right Cessation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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