GB2244722A

GB2244722A - Reusable in-wash powder dispensing device

Info

Publication number: GB2244722A
Application number: GB9005434A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keith Roscoe
Original assignee: Cussons International Ltd; Paterson Zochonis and Co Ltd
Current assignee: Cussons International Ltd; Paterson Zochonis and Co Ltd
Priority date: 1990-03-10
Filing date: 1990-03-10
Publication date: 1991-12-11
Also published as: GB9005434D0

Abstract

A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device (10) comprises a body (12) for holding the washing powder and a lid (16) for the body (12). The lid (16) comprises a mesh like arrangement (20) of perforations (22). The perforations (22) are wider at their base than at the exterior of the device (10) in order to ensure that all of the washing powder is dissolved before coming into contact with the clothes to be washed. The body (12) is also provided with an interior screw thread (32) in order that it may act as the cap for a bottle (38) of washing powder when the device (10) is not in use. <IMAGE>

Description

REUSABLE IN-WASH POWDER DISPENSING DEVICE The present invention relates to a reusable in-wash powder dispensing device.

The term "washing powder" used herein refers to all washing particulates and includes both powders and granules.

Known devices of this kind generally suffer from the problem that there is a large release of undissolved detergent powder therefrom during the first few operations of the washing machine agitator.

This premature accidental release of the washing powder is undesirable for the following reasons: Firstly the undissolved washing powder comes into contact with the clothing and adheres to the surface of the clothing fabric.

High concentrations of agglomerated material may be formed which can either stain, locally stiffen or harden the fabric.

It is therefore desirable to ensure that the washing powder is completely solubilized prior to it leaving the dispensing device.

Secondly the balance of the undissolved powder not adhering to the clothing will gravitate, or by forced circulation pass through the drain holes in the base of the wash drum. There the detergent granules will either lie until dissolved or be carried by the washing machine's recirculatory pump (when fitted) or drum round the outer water containment before being reintroduced to the clothes to be laundered.

The latter problem is associated with a lower washing efficiency as either:a) Not all of the detergent reaches the clothing to be laundered, requiring an excess of powder over that necessary to achieve the cleanliness required; or b) The loss of powder causes a theoretically prolonged wash cycle owing to an insufficient real wash time, unless an excess powder dose has been used. Longer wash cycles are not advisable with certain delicate fabrics.

The need for more powder or wash time could be viewed detrimental to the brand of powder being used as these physical reasons often go un-detected by the user.

We have found that the efficiency and speed of solubilization of the washing powder depends predominantely on the physical agitation forces and cycles applied to the washing powder.

In the case of freely flowing granules in the wash drum, the forces on the granules are relatively small when compared with those achieved by the mixing effect due to greater flow forces generated within the device of the present invention.

Devices such as that described in European Patent Application Number 0343070 comprise a plastics head and a flexible perforated bag in which the detergent powder is received. This device is not an efficient mixer as the bag is of variable volume and the forces on the granules within the bag are similar to those on freely flowing granules in the wash drum.

The present invention has been made from a consideration of the problems referred to above.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a reusable in-wash powder dispensing device comprising a rigid body having an opening therein and a lid adapted to be releasably secured to the body so as to cover the opening, a mesh or perforations being provided in at least one face of said body or said lid, the mesh or said perforations being adapted to provide a controlled release of the wash powder from the device. By controlled release we mean that the flow of at least some of the non-solubilised wash powder through the perforations or mesh is restricted at least for an initial period of time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a reusable in-wash powder dispensing device comprising a rigid body having an opening therein and a lid adapted to be releasably secured to the body so as to cover the opening, a mesh or perforations provided in at least one face of said body or said lid, the mesh or perforations being adapted to allow water to flow into the body and allow a solution or fine suspension of the powder to flow out of the body, said mesh or perforations also being adapted to restrict the flow of at least some of the non solubilized powder therethrough In a preferred embodiment of first and second aspects of the invention the perforations or mesh are provided in a single face of the body or said lid. The body may be adapted to be releasably secured to a container for the powder so as to act as a cap for the container.The lid is preferably not used as a cover for the opening while the body is secured to the container.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a reusable in-wash powder dispensing device comprising a rigid body having an opening therein, and a lid adapted to be releasably secured to the body so as to cover the opening, the said body also being adapted to be releasably secured to a container, so as to act as a cap for the container.

In a preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the invention the lid does not cover the opening while the body is secured to the container. The lid or body may comprise a mesh or perforated region, said mesh or perforations being adapted to allow water to flow into the body and allow a solution or fine suspension of the powder to flow out of the body, said mesh or perforations being adapted to restrict the flow of at least some of the non solubilized powder therethrough.

In a preferred embodiment of both aspects of the invention either releasable securing means may comprise a screw thread such as a quick-mounting multi-start thread.

The lid when not in use may be adapted to be stored at the end of the body which acts as the top of the cap for the container.

An additional cover may be provided to seal the container when the device is in use in the wash.

The mesh or perforations are preferably contained in one face of the device and more preferably in the lid or the base of the body. The perforations or perforations within the mesh may be circular, triangular or square pitched having a range of width from 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm. The chosen width will preferably be less than the mean width of the wash powder granules to be used in the device.

The body is preferably cylindrical and is preferably made from plastics such as transparent, translucent or pigmented plastics or combinations thereof.

The device of this present invention provides efficient distribution of the powdered detergent. This is achieved by dissolving or achieving a fine suspension of the powder grains in the device and direct feeding these into the wash. The maximum size of any powder grains released from the device as a fine suspension is restricted by the width of the perforations. Once released from the device these finely suspended powder grains rapidly dissolve in the wash. Therefore almost all of the detergent powder should be in solution before coming into contact with the clothes to be washed.

The device ensures that any pigments or active detergent ingredients are delivered to the wash clothing without risk of un-dissolved grains clinging to fabrics before dissolving, which is likely to occur with designs of similar devices possessing larger holes or perforations in place of or in addition to the perforation design included in the device of this invention.

The afore-mentioned feature of this device delivering only dissolved detergent powder to the clothing to be washed avoids the likelihood or local staining or hardness in those fabrics which will occur if detergent powder particles agglomerate and come into contact and adhere to them before eventually dissolving.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood a specific embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the device of the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the device of figure 1 in which the lid is detached from the device body and is shown in two positions; that is approaching both the use and the storage position; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the neck of the detergent container; and Figure 4 is a part cross section of the meshed region of the lid of figures 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings a plastics reusable in-wash powder dispensing device 10 comprises a hollow cylindrical body 12 at the top of which an opening 14 is provided. A lid 16 is releasably received over the opening 14 by way of a corresponding screw means 18 provided on the inside of the lid 16 and the upper part of the body 12. This screw means 18 is preferably a multi-start thread and with means for preventing accidental detachment during the laundering process in the washing machine.

The major face of lid 16 comprises a mesh structure 20 having a series of perforations 22 which are best illustrated in figure 4.

The perforations 22 are frustro conical with the width of the perforations provided at the interior of the device being larger than the width of the perforations provided at the exterior of the device.

This shape of perforation is particularly advantageous in that large powder grains may become trapped in the perforation as wash water flows through the perforation dissolving the grain. Once the powder grain is of sufficiently small dimensions it will pass through the perforation into the wash as a fine suspension. Once outside the device the freely suspended powder grains rapidly dissolve. The preferred range of width of the perforations lies in the range from 0.1 mm to 1 .0mum. It can readily be seen from figure 4 that the apertures are of varying width. The above range refers to the smallest width marked 23 in figure 4.

A series of vertically extending parallel ribs 24 are provided around the side wall 26 of body 12. Similarly a series of vertically extending projections 28 are provided around the side wall of lid 16. These ribs 24 and projections 28 are used to aid gripping of the body 12 and lid 16 respectively when attaching or removing the lid 16 from the body 12.

Horizontally extending markers 30 are provided on the side wall 24 of the body 12. The markers 30 indicate the correct dose of washing powder to suit different wash loads and water quality.

A second screw thread 32 is provided on the interior of the side wall 24 of body 12. This second screw thread 32 is adapted to engage a corresponding screw thread 34 provided on the neck 36 of a bottle container 38 for the detergent powder. Once the lid 16 is removed from body 12, the body 12 can be inverted and screwed onto the neck 36 of the container 38. In this way the body 12 acts as a cap for the container 38. The lid 16 is affixed to the part of the body 12 which is remote from the screw thread 18 by way of a snap-fit or by threaded engagement on a further screw thread provided on said part.

When the body 12 and lid 16 are in use in the washing machine a cover 40 is used to cover the opening 42 at the top of the neck 36 of the container 38.

All of the parts referred to above may be made for example from plastics material.

In use the washing powder is filled to the marker 30 indicated for the particular wash conditions. The device 10 is then placed in the washing machine with the clothes to be washed.

Water enters in the washing machine through the perforations 22 in the meshed area 20, soaking into the powder mass and filling the cavities between the powder granules.

After soaking the commencement of the washing machine agitator creates mixing within the device which in turn causes flow forces bringing in fresh supplies of water to replace the outgoing solubilized powder concentrate giving complete distribution of the powder until exhausted. As the device has a single inlet/outlet for the water or solubilized powder through the mesh 20 or perforations 22 this causes the lid 16 to flex resulting in a pumping action for the incoming and outgoing fluids. This is generated by the movement of the washing machine agitator. The mixing and dissolving of the powder granules is made more efficient due to the internal cylindrical shape of the device 10 and the degree of containment achieved by the perforated surface of the lid 16 producing a soluble detergent.

Following the solubilizing of the powder the action of pumping or flow forces through the mesh 20 or perforated surface provides the complete dispersion of the powdered soap/detergent from the device, within the early part of the washing cycle.

This action provides dispersion via the perforated mesh 20 which is specially designed to give consistent distribution of solubilized powder into the wash water and clothing in a balanced manner achieving the most efficient concentration and rate of transfer of the detergent to the clothes being cleaned.

The washing powder concentrate thus solubilized by the device gives gradual and complete feeding via the wash water directly into the clothing before the need for entering other non-washing areas external to the inner wash drum component of the washing machine.

The main advantage of the manner in which this device operates compared to other similar devices is that, all the washing powder is converted into soluble form before coming into contact with the clothes to be washed, thus obviating problems associated with local hardening or tainting of clothes. This makes for the best possible washing efficiency and washing consistency for the following reasons.

All of the powdered detergent reaches the clothes in the fluidized form thus providing an improved quality wash.

The transfer of the dissolved detergent powder is by the most direct route giving faster transfer to the clothes and thus making the wash time cycle more effective; and The need for excess detergent is eliminated, thus making savings in the quantity of detergent required to achieve the proper cleaning of the clothes.

After the wash cycle and the completion dispersion of the powder the remaining water in the device is expelled during the spin cycles.

Preliminary experimental results have shown that the device of the present invention achieves almost 100% dissolution of the wash powder contained therein over a twenty five minute wash cycle.

This may be favourably compared with a maximum 72% dissolution of wash powder is achieved by known in-wash devices and a maximum 42% dissolution of wash powder not contained in any in-wash device over the same wash cycle.

It is to be understood that the above described embodiment is by way of illustration only. Many modifications and variations are possible.

For example the perforations or mesh region may be provided in the body of the device rather than or in addition to the lid. In this instance means may be provided for sealing this mesh region whilst the body is to be used as a cap for a detergent container.

Claims

1. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device comprising a rigid body having an opening therein and a lid adapted to be releasably secured to the body so as to cover the opening, a mesh or perforations being provided in at least one face of said body or said lid, the mesh or said perforations being adapted to provide a controlled release of the wash powder from the device.

2. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device comprising a rigid body having an opening therein and a lid adapted to be releasably secured to the body so as to cover the opening, a mesh or perforations provided in at least one face of said body or said lid, the mesh or peforations being adapted to allow water to flow into the body and allow a solution or fine suspension of the powder to flow out of the body, said mesh or perforations also being adapted to restrict the flow of at least some of the non solubilized powder therethrough.

3. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body is adapted to be releasably secured to a container for the powder so as to act as a cap for the container.

4. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the lid is not used as a cover for the opening while the body is secured to the container.

5. A reusable-in wash powder dispensing device comprising a rigid body having an opening therein, and a lid adapted to be releasably secured to a body so as to cover the opening, the said body also being adapted to be releasably secured to the container, so as to act as a cap for the container

6. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the lid does not cover the opening while the body is secured to the container.

7. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the lid or body comprises a mesh or perforated region, said mesh or perforations being adapted to allow water to flow into the body and allow a solution of fine suspensions of the powder to flow out of the body, said mesh or perforations being adapted to restrict the flow of at least some of the non solubilised powder therethrough.

8. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one releasable securing means comprises a screw thread such as a quick-mounting multi-start thread.

9. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the lid is adapted to be stored when not in use at the end of the body which acts as the top of the cap for the container.

10. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein, an additional cover is provided to seal the container when the device is in use in the wash.

11. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the mesh or perforations are provided in a single face of the body or said lid.

12. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the mesh or perforations are provided in the lid or the base of the body.

13. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the perforations or perforations within the mesh are circular, triangular or square pitched.

14. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the perforations or perforations within the mesh have a range of width from 0.1 mum to 1 . Omm

15. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body is cylindrical.

16. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the body comprises plastics.

17. A reusable in-wash powder dispensing device as substantially hereinbefore defined with reference to the accompanying drawings.