Patent Application
20100235976
This invention relates to a dispenser for releasing a liquid treatment composition into a toilet bowl and for releasing a fragrance into the surrounding air.
Treatment compositions for treating the water in a toilet bowl, for example for cleaning the bowl, disinfecting it, colouring the water, perfuming the water and/or controlling lime-scale, are well known, and may be dispensed from a solid block held in a cage under the rim of the toilet bowl or from a container of liquid held by the toilet rim. Further, gels for fragrance compositions are used in lavatories to provide continuous dispensing of a fragrance into the room, over a protracted period.
We consider that lavatory cleansing devices should preferably provide two functions. Firstly, the device should dispense a treatment composition into the bowl which will clean or disinfect the bowl after each use, to neutralise and/or remove any undesirable deposits which are introduced into the bowl during normal use; and secondly the device should deliver a fragrance to the air to provide a generally pleasant smell to the lavatory and also to counter any unpleasant odours which are released into the air while the toilet is being used.
EP-A-1469132 describes a liquid rim device having a container holding a liquid, perfume-containing composition, and a dispensing means for dispensing the composition from under the rim of a lavatory bowl into the flush water. A separate fragrance delivery component is provided to deliver the fragrance into the ambient over a prolonged period of time. Thus, the device delivers fragrance from two sources, firstly, from the liquid treatment composition and secondly from a separate fragrance delivery component. It is intended that the device provides a combination of ongoing fragrance delivery into the bathroom or toilet atmosphere with a perfume boost upon flushing.
The device described in EP-A-1469132 releases a fragrance both on an ongoing basis and also on flushing, incorporating fragrance into the cleansing composition, to boost the amount of fragrance in the room. However, incorporating fragrance into the cleansing composition has a number of drawbacks. Firstly, the fragrance is dispatched into the flush water, the majority of which passes through the bowl. Hence the majority of perfume does not remain in the bowl to beneficially fragrance the proximal air. Secondly, the perfume which remains in the bowl is highly diluted so that the water becomes only mildly scented. This is an inefficient use of the perfume, which should be fragrancing the air and not the water. Also, when a fragrance is incorporated in a solid rim block or a liquid composition for dispensing into the toilet bowl and the surrounding atmosphere during the toilet flush, it places a limitation on the make up of the fragrance and/or the other constituents. For example, in a device for delivering a bleach or an acidic substance to the toilet bowl it would be necessary to use a bleach or acid resistant fragrance.
We have found that it is not necessary to provide any fragrance boost on flushing the toilet.
The effectiveness of the fragrance will depend on the odour which it is trying to overcome. We have discovered that, in general, when a toilet has been used, either a mild odour is released into the surrounding air, or a very strong odour. If the former, then such odours are adequately overcome by the on-going release of fragrance, and if the latter then releasing a boost of fragrance on flushing is likely to be ineffectual unless a very strong fragrance is used. Hence, it can be seen that, surprisingly, incorporating a fragrance into the cleansing composition as well as dispensing fragrance on an ongoing basis provides no advantages over only dispensing fragrance on an ongoing basis.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a dispenser for releasing a liquid treatment composition into flush water of a toilet bowl and releasing a fragrance into the surrounding air, comprising:
A second aspect of the invention provides a replaceable container for a dispenser for releasing a liquid treatment composition into a toilet and a fragrance into the surrounding air, the container comprising:
Preferred features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying claims.
The invention will be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
In
Container opening 7 is closed before use by a cap 21 having a frangible seal 23 which is displaced by a spigot 25 on the distributor plate 15 as the inverted container 3 is inserted into the cage 5.
The device is sold with the container 3 and cage 5 separated, and replacement containers 3 may be supplied.
The hanger 13 is shaped in the form of a coil and uncoiled to be fitted over the rim 29 of a toilet bowl 31 (see
The container 3 contains liquid treatment formulation 33 which is in communication with the upper surface 19 of the distributor plate 15 via the opening 7. The container 3 is preferably made of a translucent plastic so that the level of liquid 33 in the container 3 can be observed. In use, liquid 33 from the container 3 seeps out between the bottom wall 11 and the upper surface 19 of the plate 15 into the grooves 17 and is ducted into the path of flush water by the grooves 17 in the upper surface 31 of the plate 15. This construction thus far described is well known in the art, and such devices are on sale under the brand name DOMESTOS in the United Kingdom, for example, and also seen in EP 1141493.
The invention is not limited to a liquid dispensing device having the construction shown in
The liquid composition 33 in the container 3 may comprise one or more of a surfactant, a dye, a bleach, an odour neutraliser, a disinfectant and a lime-scale controller. EP-A-775 741 and the documents mentioned above describe in general terms examples of such formulations and the formulation of specific liquids which do not include fragrances are within the knowledge of one skilled in the art. Although some of the constituents may have an odour, they are not fragrances per se. They are not formulated to provide a pleasant smell as their primary function. Thus, the liquid composition does not contain any fragrance or perfume.
One liquid formulation for use in the container 3 is shown in Table 1 below:
In accordance with a particular feature of the invention, there is a recess 35 in a side wall 37 of the container which holds a block of gel 39, the gel 39 being impregnated with fragrance.
The required rigidity of the gel 39 will depend in part on the size of the recess 35 in the wall 37 of the container 3. The recess 35 may incorporate supporting ribs which may be encased within the gel 39 or be exposed, to provide a part of a decorative effect. A honeycomb or grid type structure may also be provided for gels which are less self supporting. In another embodiment, the gel 39 may be attached to, and project from, a generally flat wall of the container 3. In yet another embodiment the container may be annular or doughnut shaped to have a through aperture and the gel is formed in the aperture.
The container 3 filled with the liquid 33 and gel 39 may be sold separately to the cage 5, as a refill product.
For manufacture, the container 3 is filled with liquid 33 and cap 21 fitted over opening 7. The container 3 is then laid on its rear surface 41 and gel and perfume mixture is poured into the recess 35. The mixture is typically heated to about 95° C. to become molten. The heat of the gel does not affect the filled bottle as the bottle and liquid form an effective heat sink. The gel is preferably about 3 to 8 mm deep in the recess 35, more preferably about 4 to 7 mm:
A typical gel impregnated with fragrance, forming the fragrance block 39, will shrink slightly, as the fragrance evaporates during use, by about 1 mm around its perimeter, in the radial direction. By way of comparison, the shrinkage from front to back of the gel block 39 may typically be less than 2 mm for a block which is 6 to 8 mm. thick. The degree of shrinkage will depend on the polymer matrix forming the gel, the perfume composition and the volume percentage of perfume in the gel. It is preferred that the gel cover substantially the full area of the back wall 43 of the recess 35 when the available perfume in the gel 39 has evaporated.
As shown in
For more rigid gels, the gel may be formed with apertures in the gel, thus increasing the exposed surface area of the gel for more enhanced fragrance release.
Suitable fragrance containing gel formulations are described in WO 02/066084, particularly at examples 1 to 7.
Other example formulations for the gel, using a polyamide polymer are as follows, in wt %
Preferred formulations have a range of 10% to 70% by weight fragrance dispersed in a polyamide polymer to form a gel. More preferably 20% to 60%, and yet more preferably 25% to 50%. The amount of fragrance includes any carrier for the fragrance constituents. An example of a suitable polyamide is an ETPA (ester terminated polyamide) as in WO 98/17243 or ATPA.
About 30% to 90% by weight polyamide polymer and the balance formed substantially by a fragrance oil, with minor additives such as a colourant, is particularly preferred. More preferably the polyamide polymer is used in an amount of about 40% to 80%, and yet more preferably about 50% to 75% by weight of the finished composition.
It is preferred to maximise the fragrance content while maintaining a gel structure which adheres to the recess the gel occupies and does not shrink substantially away from the sides of the recess. A gel having about 40% to 50% fragrance component and about 50% to 60% polymer is particularly suitable.
The dispenser 1 may be packaged in a blister pack of the type known for such toilet products. After unpacking, the bottle 3 is inserted in the cage 5 to displace the seal 23 and the dispenser 1 is clipped over the rim of the toilet, so that it hangs vertically, with the protruding portion 27 of the plate 15 in the path of water during flushing, as in
The surface 45 of the gel fragrance block 39 is continuously exposed to the air in the toilet bowl, which allows fragrance vapour to continuously disperse into the room surrounding the toilet.
In this example, the container 3 is intended to be replaced at end of life, i.e., when either or both of the liquid composition 29 and fragrance block 39 are finished. Preferably both the liquid composition 29 and fragrance block 39 will be exhausted substantially simultaneously, typically after about four weeks.
As the container 3 holding the gel 39 sits above the level at which flush water is dispensed into the toilet bowl, the chance that water splashes onto the gel 39 is reduced. This means that it is not necessary to use gel which is water resistant, and so a greater choice of gel that can be used. Furthermore, the container 3 holding the gel 39 and liquid composition 29 is a single compact unit. This has the advantage that it is only necessary to replace a single component of the dispenser 1 when replenishing the device, and not the entire unit.
Various modifications will be apparent to those in the art and it is desired to include all such modifications as fall within the scope of the accompanying claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0504105.8 | Feb 2005 | GB | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB06/00698 | 2/28/2006 | WO | 00 | 7/17/2009 |
