Patent Grant
7503127
The present invention relates to methods and compositions useful for delivering volatile materials to a fabric article.
Volatile materials, such as certain perfume materials, are required to produce certain highly desired scents or provide certain fabric benefits. Unfortunately the benefit of such volatile materials is not obtained when applied during the operation of application devices such as clothing dryers, as such materials and compositions are unevenly deposited, and/or vaporized and expelled from the dryer before the end of the drying cycle.
Accordingly, there is a need for a convenient and effective method of delivering such materials and compositions comprising such materials.
The present invention relates to a method of delivering a material, during the operation of an application device, to a fabric article contained in said device, said method comprising the step of applying said material to said fabric article during the operation of said application device.
The present invention also relates to treatment compositions comprising a perfume material.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description and claims serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
Definitions
As used herein, “fabric article” means an article that comprises a fabric. Such articles include, but are not limited to, clothing, shoes, curtains, towels, linens, upholstery coverings and cleaning implements.
As used herein, “during a dryer cycle” means while the dryer is operating.
As used herein, “treatment material” means a material or combination of materials that can deliver one or more of the following benefits to a fabric article; softening, crispness, water and/or stain repellency, refreshing, antistatic, anti-shrinkage, anti-microbial, durable press, wrinkle resistance, odor resistance, abrasion resistance, anti-felting, anti-pilling, appearance enhancement, and mixtures thereof.
As used herein, “fabric treatment composition” means a composition that comprises one or more treatment materials, or one or more perfume materials, or combinations thereof. Suitable forms of treatment compositions include, but are not limited to, fluidic substances, such as liquids or gases, and solid compounds, such particles or powders.
As used herein, the terms “treatment composition”, “fabric treatment composition” and “benefit composition” are synonymous.
As used herein, “perfume” means a mixture of perfume materials.
As used herein, the articles “a” and “an”, when used in a claim, are understood to mean one or more of the material that is claimed or described.
For the purposes of the surfactants described herein, it should be understood that the terms “alkyl” or “alkenyl” include mixtures of radicals that can contain one or more intermediate linkages such as ether or polyether linkages or non-functional substituents such as hydroxyl or halogen radicals wherein the radical remains of hydrophobic character.
Unless otherwise noted, all component or composition levels are in reference to the active level of that component or composition, and are exclusive of impurities, for example, residual solvents or by-products, which may be present in commercially available sources.
Unless otherwise indicated, all percentages and ratios are calculated based on weight of the total composition.
It should be understood that every maximum numerical limitation given throughout this specification includes every lower numerical limitation, as if such lower numerical limitations were expressly written herein. Every minimum numerical limitation given throughout this specification will include every higher numerical limitation, as if such higher numerical limitations were expressly written herein. Every numerical range given throughout this specification will include every narrower numerical range that falls within such broader numerical range, as if such narrower numerical ranges were all expressly written herein.
All documents cited are, in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not to be construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention.
Delivery Method
Applicants' delivery method comprises the steps of monitoring an operating temperature of a drying apparatus during a drying cycle of said drying apparatus and applying a fabric treatment composition to a fabric article during said drying cycle of said drying apparatus, said application occurring after said drying apparatus has reached a first control operating temperature. For example, said first control operating temperature may be a predetermined temperature that is entered by a user, or is set by a computing device in the system controller. In that instance, the predetermined temperature (as the first control operating temperature) could be set equal to or higher than 60° C., or even equal to or higher than 70° C.
Alternatively, the first control operating temperature may be a maximum operating temperature, in which the system controller repetitively or continuously samples or measures the actual operating temperature until it determines that a maximum operating temperature has been achieved; typically, this determination would be made by observing that the actual temperature has begun falling during operation of the drying apparatus. Said maximum operating temperature (as a physical temperature in degrees C. or F.) need not be specified or predetermined by the system controller, but can be virtually any suitable temperature that the drying apparatus is capable of producing in its normal operation. As such, the maximum operating temperature may typically fall within a range such that it is equal to or higher than 60° C, or perhaps equal to or higher than 70° C.
In another aspect of Applicants' invention, said invention comprises the steps of monitoring an operating temperature of a drying apparatus during a drying cycle of said drying apparatus; and applying a fabric treatment composition to a fabric article after said drying apparatus has reached a first maximum operating temperature (e.g., as a control operating temperature) and then returned to a second, lower operating temperature. Said first maximum operating temperature may be about 60° C. or higher and said second operating temperature may be less than about 60° C. Alternatively, said first maximum operating temperature may be about 70° C. or higher and said second operating temperature may be less than about 70° C.
In another aspect of Applicants' invention, said invention comprises the steps of monitoring an operating temperature of a drying apparatus during a drying cycle of said drying apparatus; and applying a fabric treatment composition to a fabric article after said drying apparatus has reached a first maximum operating temperature (e.g., as a control operating temperature) and then returned to a second operating temperature, but before a third operating temperature is reached. Said first maximum operating temperature may be about 70° C. or higher, said second operating temperature may be less than about 70° C. and said third operating temperature may be greater than about 20° C. Alternatively, said first maximum operating temperature may be 60° C. or higher, said second operating temperature may be less than about 60° C., and said third operating temperature may be greater than about 25° C. Alternatively, said first maximum operating temperature may be 60° C. or higher, said second operating temperature may be less than about 50° C., and said third operating temperature may be greater than about 30° C.
In yet another aspect of Applicants' invention, said invention comprises the steps of monitoring an operating temperature of a drying apparatus during a drying cycle of said drying apparatus; and applying a fabric treatment composition to a fabric article after said drying apparatus has reached a first maximum operating temperature (e.g., as a control operating temperature) and then returned to a second operating temperature, but not before a third operating temperature is reached. In this operating scenario, the application of the fabric treatment composition could be allowed to commence as soon as the second operating temperature has been reached, however, the system controller can prevent that application until after the actual operating temperature has fallen below the third operating temperature, essentially as a maximum threshold temperature. In general, the actual temperature of the drying apparatus should be less than this third (threshold) operating temperature once the second operating temperature is reached, but that may not always be the case if the first and second operating temperatures work together as a differential temperature, without reference to a physical temperature in degrees C. or F. In other words, if the drying apparatus operates at temperatures somewhat greater than expected, then the second operating temperature may be reached, however, that second operating temperature may nevertheless be greater than desired with regard to dispensing or applying the fabric treatment composition. The above logic of preventing the application of the fabric treatment composition until the actual temperature has fallen below the third (threshold) operating temperature thus would achieve a desired result. In another aspect of Applicants' invention, said invention comprises the steps of monitoring an operating time of a drying apparatus during an operation cycle of said drying apparatus; and applying a fabric treatment composition to a fabric article during said operation cycle of said drying apparatus, said application occurring during a final portion of said operation cycle. Said final portion of said operation cycle may be 25%, 18%, 12% or 8% of an entire operation cycle. 25% of an entire operation cycle may be equal to or less than about 15 minutes, 18% of an entire operation cycle may be equal to or less than about 12 minutes, 12% of an entire operation cycle may be equal to or less than about 8 minutes, and 8% of an entire operation cycle may be equal to or less than about 6 minutes.
In another aspect of Applicants' invention, said invention comprises the steps of monitoring an operating time of a drying apparatus during an operation cycle of said drying apparatus; and applying a fabric treatment composition to a fabric article between about the last 18% of said operation cycle and about the last 0.75% of said operation cycle. Alternatively, said fabric treatment composition may be applied between about the last 12% of said operation cycle and about the last 1.7% of said operation cycle. Alternatively, said fabric treatment composition may be applied between about the last 8% of said operation cycle and about the last 2.5% of said operation cycle. 18% of an entire operation cycle may be equal to or less than about 12 minutes, 12% of an entire operation cycle may be equal to or less than about 8 minutes, and 8% of an entire operation cycle may be equal to or less than about 6 minutes.
In one aspect of Applicants' invention, the treatment composition is sprayed, in accordance with one of the aforementioned temperature or time profiles, on to said fabric article.
In one aspect of Applicants invention the treatment composition that is applied, in accordance with one of the aforementioned temperature or time profiles and by a processes including, but not limited to, spraying, to the fabric article comprises one or more perfume materials having a boiling point of less than or equal to 250° C. at 1 atmosphere. Suitable perfume materials and sources for obtaining such materials are described in the present specification under the heading “Fabric Treatment Composition”.
In one aspect of Applicants' invention the treatment composition that is applied, in accordance with one of the aforementioned temperature or time profiles and by a processes including, but not limited to, spraying, to the fabric article comprises, a perfume that comprises at least about 30% by weight of a perfume material with a boiling point of less than or equal to 250° C. at 1 atmosphere.
In one aspect of Applicants' invention the treatment composition that is applied, in accordance with one of the aforementioned temperature or time profiles and by processes including, but not limited to, spraying, to the fabric article is a treatment composition that can comprise at least 0.005 wt. %, 0.005 wt. % to 10 wt. %, or 0.01 wt. % to 2 wt. %, 0.1 wt.% to 0.95 wt.%, of a material such as a perfume, said perfume comprising at least 30 wt. %, 30 wt. % to 90 wt. %, or 30 wt. % to 70 wt. %, or 30 wt. % to 50 wt. % of a perfume material having a boiling point of less than or equal to 250° C. at 1 atmosphere; optionally an additional fabric treatment material; an optional carrier, an optional moiety that is capable of acquiring an electric charge and optionally, capable of retaining an electric charge for a time period sufficient for the electrically charged liquid to contact a fabric article being treated, and the balance of one or more adjunct ingredients.
In one aspect of Applicants' invention the material that is applied, in accordance with one of the aforementioned temperature or time profiles and by processes including, but not limited to, spraying, to the article comprising a fabric, comprises a material that has a flash point, as measured according to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) method D93-02a, of about 30° C. or higher, about 60° C. or higher, about 90° C. or higher, about 30° C. to about 400° C., about 60° C. to about 300° C., or about 90° C. to about 232° C.
Suitable delivery systems for delivering a fabric treatment composition in accordance with the above temperature profiles or time profiles include, but are not limited to, a fabric article treating system that sprays or otherwise releases a fabric treatment composition into a receiving volume, which could be the drum (or other chamber) of a clothes drying appliance, within which a fabric article is treated. The treating system would typically comprise: a housing or enclosure that contains a source of the fabric treatment composition, such as a reservoir or is in communication with an external source of the fabric treatment composition; an output device, such as a nozzle; a controller, such as an electronic control device with a processing circuit and input and output circuits; one or more sensors, such as a temperature sensor; one or more input devices, such as a start switch and/or a keypad; one or more indicating devices, such as color lights or LED's; and a charging system if the fabric treatment composition is to be electrostatically charged before (or while) being delivered.
Reference will now be made in detail to suitable embodiments of devices for delivering a fabric treatment composition in accordance with one of the aforementioned temperature or time profiles, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals indicate the same elements throughout the views.
Enclosure 50 may be permanently mounted to the exterior surface, or preferably releasably attached to the exterior surface. Likewise, enclosure 20 may be permanently mounted to the interior surface, or releasably attached to the interior surface. One configuration for such an attachment is illustrated in
When mounted on the interior surface of the door, for example, the enclosure 20 may be constructed so as to have the appearance of being “permanently” mounted, such that it seems to be “built into” the door of a dryer unit (or other type of fabric article drying appliance), without it actually being truly constructed as part of the fabric article drying appliance. On the other hand, enclosure 20 perhaps may be more loosely mounted near the door, or along side the interior surface of the door, much like one of the embodiments 10 as depicted in
It should be noted that the treating apparatus 10 may be grounded by way of being in contact with a grounded part of the fabric article drying appliance such as by a spring, patch, magnet, screw, or other attaching means, and/or by arc corona discharge, or by way of dissipating residual charge. One non-limiting way of dissipating the charge is by using an ionizing feature, for example a set of metallic wires extending away from the source. In many instances fabric article drying appliances such as clothes dryers have an enameled surface. One method of grounding would be to ground to the enameled surface of the fabric article drying appliance by utilizing a pin that penetrates the non-conductive enamel paint for grounding thereto. Another method of grounding to the non-conductive surface of a fabric article drying appliance comprises the usage of a thin metal plate that is positioned between the fabric article drying appliance and the fabric article treating device which serves to provide a capacitive discharge. Typical thickness of such a plate is from about 5 microns to about 5000 microns.
In
The inner housing 20 and outer housing 50 are typically in electrical communication. In the embodiment of
Referring now to
Referring now to
The flat cable 40 will bring certain command signals and electrical power into the inner housing 20, and will also receive electrical signals from sensors mounted in the inner housing 20 and communicate those sensor signals back to the outer housing 50. A power supply control signal follows a wire 70 through the quick disconnect switch 34 to the high voltage power supply 28. This signal can comprise a constant DC voltage, a constant AC voltage, a variable DC voltage, a variable AC voltage, or some type of pulse voltage, depending on the type of control methodology selected by the designer of the fabric article treating apparatus 10.
In one embodiment, the signal at 70 is a variable DC voltage, and as this voltage increases, the output of the high voltage power supply 28 will also increase in voltage magnitude, along a conductor 39 (e.g., a wire) that is attached to an electrode 38 that carries the high voltage to the nozzle 24, or into the reservoir 26. The voltage impressed onto the electrode 38 will then be transferred into the benefit composition. A constant output voltage DC high voltage power supply could optionally be used instead of the variable output voltage power supply 28 of the exemplary embodiment.
Once the benefit composition is charged within the reservoir 26 it will travel through a tube or channel 42 to the inlet of the pump 30, after which the composition will be pressurized and travel through the outlet of the pump along another tube (or channel) 44 to the discharge nozzle 24. For use in the present invention, the actual details of the type of tubing used, the type of pump 30, and the type of electric motor 32 that drives the pump, can be readily configured for almost any type of pressure and flow requirements. The electrical voltage and current requirements of the electric motor 32 to provide the desired pressure and flow on the outlet of the pump 30 can also be readily configured for use in the present invention. Virtually any type of pump and electric motor combination can be utilized in some form or another to create a useful device that falls within the teachings of the present invention, or a stand-alone pump can be used (i.e., without an associated electric motor), as discussed below.
It should be noted that some types of pumps do not require separate input and output lines or tubes to be connected thereto, such as peristaltic pumps, in which the pump acts upon a continuous tube that extends through an inlet opening and continues through a discharge opening of the pump. This arrangement is particularly beneficial for use with electrostatically charged fluids or particles that are being pumped toward the discharge nozzle 24, because the tubing can electrically insulate the pump from the charged benefit composition. It should also be noted that an alternative pumping device could be used, if desired, such as a spring-actuated pumping mechanism. A non-limiting example of a suitable peristaltic pump is the Model 10/30 peristaltic pump, which may be obtained from Thomas Industries of Louisville, Ky.
The types of control signals used to control the electric motor 32 can vary according to the design requirements of the apparatus 10, and such signals will travel along an electrical conductor 72 to control motor 32, via the flat cable 40. If the motor 32 is a DC variable-speed motor, then a variable “steady” DC voltage can be applied, in which the greater the voltage magnitude, the greater the rotational speed of the motor. In one embodiment, the electrical signal traveling along conductor 72 can be a pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal, that is controlled by a microprocessor or a microcontroller. Of course, such a pulse-width modulated signal can also be controlled by discrete logic, including analog electronic components.
The fabric article treating apparatus 10 can be enhanced by use of certain sensors, examples of which include but are not limited to a door (or lid) sensor 22, a motion sensor 36, a humidity sensor 46, and/or a temperature sensor 48. An analog output temperature sensor can be used to provide an analog signal along the electrical conductor 86 that leads back to the controller in the outer housing 50. (It should be noted that some temperature sensors have a serial bus to carry a digital output signal, rather than outputting an analog voltage.) The temperature sensor 48 may not be necessary for many of the control features of the treating apparatus 10, however, the interior temperature of the drying appliance could be used to determine the proper environmental conditions for certain spraying events to occur, particularly if a spraying event of the benefit composition in reservoir 26 is to take place during a “cool down” cycle of the drying appliance. This configuration will be discussed in greater detail below. In addition, the temperature sensor 48 can also be used as an indicator that the drying appliance is operating properly—if the drying appliance has not warmed up to a predetermined minimum temperature, then its heating element (or burner) may not be working correctly, and it may or may not be better if the benefit composition was not being sprayed in that circumstance.
The major components of the exterior housing 50 typically comprise the electronics 54 and the power source 52. For example, if power source 52 comprises four D-cell batteries connected in series, a +6 volt DC voltage will be provided to a set of DC power supplies generally designated by the reference numeral 58. The schematic drawings provided in
Part of the external housing 50 includes inputs to the microcontroller 60. One important element that could be used as a user interface to the microcontroller 60 would be a keypad 66, such as a set of bubble or membrane switches that have the numbers 0-9, as well as an “ENTER” key. Other keys could be included as part of keypad 66, including a “CANCEL” key, or perhaps a decimal point key.
Referring now to
It will be understood that the microcontroller 60 could be virtually any type of microprocessor or microcontroller circuit commercially available, either with or without on-board RAM, ROM, or digital and analog I/O, without departing from the principles of the present invention. Moreover, a sequential processor is not necessarily required to control the treating apparatus 10, but instead a parallel processor architecture could be used, or perhaps a logic state machine architecture could be used. Furthermore, the microcontroller 60 could be integrated into an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) that could contain many other logic elements that can be used for various functions, such functions being optional depending upon the model number of the treating apparatus 10 that will be sold to a consumer. To change model number features, the manufacturer need only program the ASIC (or the on-board ROM of a microcontroller) according to the special parameters of that particular model, while using the same hardware for each of the units.
It will also be understood that discrete digital logic could be used instead of any type of microprocessor or microcontroller unit, or even analog control circuitry could be used along with voltage comparators and analog timers, to control the timing events and to make decisions based on elapsed time, or based upon the input levels of the various sensors that are provided with the treating apparatus 10.
Microcontroller 60 also controls certain outputs, including a pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal along conductor 72 that drives a transistor Q3, which converts the signal to a higher voltage and greater current that drives the motor 32. Other digital outputs from the microcontroller 60 run through a voltage shifting circuit of transistors Q4 and Q5, which shifts the signals from 3.3 volt logic levels to +5 volt logic levels to control the DAC 62. Depending upon the states of these signals, the output of DAC 62 will be an analog voltage along the conductive pathway 70 that controls the high voltage DC power supply's output voltage magnitude, as discussed above. As also discussed above, this DAC 62 may not be required for full production units, particularly if it is determined that a constant DC output voltage is preferred as supplied by the high voltage DC power supply 28 (see
On
As a non-limiting example of how the bi-color LED 64 could be used, a steady green color could represent an “ON” signal for the fabric article treating apparatus 10. If the motion sensor 36 is discerning movement in the dryer that sets up a sufficient vibration to actuate the motion sensor 36 itself, then the green light could be flashing, for example. This could be a normal state for using the treating apparatus 10. During “spraying events” both the red and green LEDs could be energized, thereby showing a yellow color. This may inform the user that the spray droplets are actually being dispersed by the nozzle 24. If the door is opened, then the bi-color LED 64 could show a red color. If the battery voltage falls below a predetermined threshold, then the bi-color LED 64 could emit a flashing red light discernible by the user. These are just examples of possible indications for various operating modes. The colors of steady or flashing lights in various colors is completely up to the system designer and has much flexibility while falling within the teachings of the present invention. There are also many other methods of presenting operational information to the user, including an LCD display, or multiple individual lamps or LED's, and such alternative methodologies fall within the scope of the present invention.
Referring now to
Contained within the inner housing 20 are the reservoir 26, pump 30, electric motor 32, high voltage power supply 28, discharge nozzle 24, and various sensors that may or may not be included for a particular version of the treating apparatus 10. The electrical conductor 39 is depicted, which carries the high voltage to the nozzle 24, and this is one configuration that could be alternatively used instead of carrying the high voltage to the reservoir 26. The tubing 42 to the inlet of the pump is illustrated, as well as the tubing 44 from the outlet of the pump that provides the benefit composition to the nozzle 24. It should be noted that the high voltage power supply 28 is strictly optional within the teachings of the present invention; if spray droplets/particles emitted from the nozzle 24 are not to be electrostatically charged, then there is no need for a high voltage power supply within the inner housing 20.
It will be understood that the source of electrical energy used by the present invention may be provided in many different forms. For example, a battery (or set of batteries) can be used, such as the set of batteries 52, described above. However, standard line voltage could instead be used, such as 120 VAC, single phase power, at 60 Hz; or in Europe, the line voltage would likely be at 220 VAC at 50 Hz. For some installations, a more exotic source of electrical energy could be provided, such as a solar panel comprising photovoltaic cells or photoconductive cells.
The “single-housing” stand-alone unit 150 of
Referring now to
The next step is a decision step 214 that determines whether or not the dryer's temperature has decreased since the previous reading at step 212. If the answer is NO, then the logic flow is directed back to step 212 where the dryer's temperature TP1 is again measured. During the beginning of a drying cycle in which a heating element (or burner) is actuated, it would be quite typical for the temperature to continually increase for a particular time period, and during that period, the logic flow will continually travel out the NO output back to the top of step 212. Only after the heating element has turned off would the temperature tend to begin decreasing for any significant amount. Once this occurs, the result from decision step 214 will eventually be YES, and the logic flow will be then directed to a step 216.
At step 216, the most previous sampled temperature value would not be the “maximum” value for this portion of the drying cycle. Instead, the second most previous sampled temperature value would be that “maximum” temperature value, and this value is referred to as “TP2”. At step 216, the maximum temperature TP2 is stored in a memory element (or register) of the controller, or in a separate memory device. This could include the on-board memory of the microcontroller 60 (see
The logic flow now travels to a step 220 where the dryer's temperature is again measured, and the measurement in this circumstance results in a variable named “TP3”. TP3 is the same physical parameter as the dryer's temperature TP1, but the temperature is sampled and stored under this variable name TP3 only after the “maximum” temperature TP2 has been stored in step 216. (Note, this convention for naming the temperature variables is used merely for this description, and the actual software code may use the same variable name throughout the entire process.)
In most conventional dryers, whether for home use or commercial use, the heating element will be a binary device, such that it is always ON at full power or is completely OFF at zero power. A more expensive dryer apparatus could use a proportional controller to control an electrical heating element, for example, although the typical result of proportional control would nevertheless exhibit undershoots and overshoots about the setpoint temperature. The principles of the present invention could be used in such a proportional controller.
Assuming for this example that the heating element is a binary device, then while it is energized, the temperature will tend to continually increase within the drying chamber. Once the heating element is turned off, then the temperature will begin to decrease (although there could be some overshoot). During a single drying cycle, the heating element may be turned on and off several times, in which case a temperature versus time graph would have the appearance of a sawtooth waveform, in which an increasing slope (assuming temperature is the Y-axis and time is the X-axis) would occur when the heating element is turned on, and a decreasing slope when the heating element is turned off. During this sawtooth waveform interval, the overall temperature versus time chart will have the appearance of a plateau, in which the chart exhibits a relatively long increasing slope during the beginning of the drying cycle, then it reaches the plateau region (exhibiting the sawtooth waveform), and at the end of the drying cycle the slope will continually decrease on the “far” side of the plateau.
If the fabric treatment composition is a volatile material (such as certain perfumes), then it normally would be better to not release such volatile materials into the drying chamber until the temperature of that drying chamber is below a certain level, which might not occur until after the heating cycle has been completed. One way to detect this is to know when the heating element is actually energized or not, and an integral control device that is mated into the dryer's heating element controller would have knowledge of that status for the heating element, and thus could easily prevent any dispensing or application of the fabric treatment composition until after the heating element had been de-energized at the end of a heating cycle (as opposed to during the plateau region of the heating cycle, when the heating element could turn off, but also could later turn back on).
Assuming, however, that the heating element control status is not known to the fabric treatment composition dispensing controller, which would be the case if the dispensing apparatus was a self-contained unit that is not in communication with the dryer's controller, then another means of determining the end of the heating cycle would be required. One way of determining the end of a heating cycle (or “heating event”) would be to determine the maximum and minimum temperatures that occur during the sawtooth waveform portion of the heating cycle, also referred to above as the “plateau region.” If, for example, the internal temperature of the dryer's chamber will rise to a maximum temperature TP2, and then fall to a momentary “minimum” temperature that is about 10-15° C. lower than TP2, then the controller for the dispensing apparatus could determine when to begin applying the fabric treatment composition, which is after the dryer's internal temperature falls below maximum TP2 temperature, less the 10-15° C. “minimum” temperature. These sawtooth minimum and maximum temperature values can be considered a single differential temperature value, and that type of differential temperature will be referred to herein by a variable “TDIFF1”. Some extra tolerance could be built in to the TDIFF1 value, so that, for example, if most home dryers rise and fall by approximately 15° C. during the plateau region of the drying cycle, then the value for TDIFF1 could be set to 20° C.
After a step 220 measures the dryer's actual temperature TP3, then a decision step 222 determines if the maximum temperature TP2 less the real time temperature TP3 is greater than the TDIFF1 value. If so, then the controller for the dispensing apparatus 10 can feel safe in coming to the conclusion that the heating cycle has ended. In this manner, the temperature sensor 48 could be used to determine when the fabric article drying appliance has entered into its cool-down cycle. In many circumstances, it is beneficial to wait until the dryer's cool-down cycle has commenced before beginning a spraying event. If the result in step 222 is NO, then the logic flow cycles back to measuring the actual dryer temperature at step 220. However, if the result is YES, then the logic flow is directed to a step 224, and the fabric treatment composition is now applied in the dryer's chamber. In flow chart 200, that is the end of this routine.
In general, the dryer's internal temperature will also be referred to as its “operating temperature” herein, which can be determined by a temperature sensor, such as the temperature sensor 48 on
The temperature sensor can be of any typical type, such as a thermistor, a thermocouple, or perhaps a platinum RTD. Moreover, the temperature sensor could also be more of an “on-off” device in some of the applications of the present invention. For example, a thermostat could be used to determine when a predetermined operating temperature has been achieved. In some applications of the present invention, the thermostat could be designed with a certain amount of hysteresis, so that it will change state (e.g., open) at a first temperature (e.g., at “TP2” on
It will be understood that the dryer's operating temperature is essentially being “continuously” monitored by the controller of the present invention, for example, the microcontroller 60 on
On the other hand, if the temperature sensor has a digital output (such as a thermostat with an electromechanical switching contact), then the effect of that type of sensor would literally be one of “continuously” monitoring the operating temperature of the dryer. (It would change state precisely when it determined that it should do so, and would not be “waiting” for a software instruction to first be executed.) Of course, the controller would not necessarily be continuously monitoring the digital input signal produced by the thermostat, since a sequential processing device would have many other tasks to perform. In essence, the controller typically would be sampling both digital and analog input data in some type of looping action, all under the control of the software instructions. However, if portions of the controller of the present invention are primarily made of discrete logic elements, using voltage comparators or parallel digital input gates (e.g., without a microprocessor), then the temperature in essence could be monitored in a continuous fashion, if desired.
As noted above, the controller of the present invention could be constructed as a sequential processing device, a parallel processing device, or perhaps as a logic state machine. If a sequential device is used (such as the microcontroller 60), it will be understood that its software instructions could be arranged in a manner so that it acts as a multi-tasking device. In that manner, it would be executing multiple routines virtually in real time by “jumping” from one routine to another in short time segments, even though perhaps none of those routines had been completed. An example of this would occur during the looping action around steps 212 and 214 of flow chart 200, while the system controller is “waiting” for the dryer's temperature to decrease. If the microcontroller 60 were performing only that task, then it would not be able to do anything else; that type of “real time programming” would not be efficient.
Referring again to
The logic flow now travels to a decision step 264 which determines if the temperature has decreased since a previous temperature sample, and if the answer is NO, the logic flow travels back to step 262 to once again sample the dryer's internal temperature TP11. However, if the temperature has decreased, the logic flow will travel out the YES output from step 264, and the second most previous value of the temperature TP11 will be stored at a step 266 as the “maximum temperature” TP12. So far in flow chart 250, these steps duplicate the logic of the flow chart 200.
A step 270 now measures the temperature in the dryer again, and this time it is stored as a variable TP13. A decision step 272 now determines if the difference between the maximum temperature TP12 and the current real time temperature TP13 is greater than the differential temperature TDIFF2, and if the answer is NO, the logic flow travels back to step 270 to take another temperature sample TP13. If the result is YES, then the logic flow travels to a new decision step 274.
At decision step 274, the current dryer temperature TP13 is compared to a threshold temperature, referred to herein as TMAX. In flow chart 250, TMAX represents the maximum actual dryer temperature that would be allowable before the fabric treatment composition should be dispensed. In the previous flow chart steps 260 through 272, all of the temperature readings TP11, TP12, and TP13 could be well above the maximum temperature TMAX. If that is the case, then the volatile material that is to be dispensed may not have the desired effect if it is applied onto the fabric immediately upon receiving the YES result at decision step 272. Instead, it would probably be better to wait until the temperature inside the dryer has cooled off some more, until it falls below the TMAX temperature threshold. Step 274 makes this determination, and if the result is NO, the logic flow travels back to measuring the temperature TP13 at step 270. However, if the result at step 274 is YES, then the logic flow travels to a step 276 and the fabric treatment composition is now applied to the dryer's chamber. This is the end of this routine.
A variation on the theme for flow chart 250 would be to allow the maximum temperature (TMAX) to be adjustable by a user, for example, using the keypad 66 (see
In another variation of the flow charts 200 and 250, the maximum temperature (TP2 or TP12) could itself have minimum or maximum values before being accepted as the “true” maximum temperature for a particular drying cycle. For example, if the fabric article treating system 10 is manufactured to work with a certain series of dryers that would typically heat their chambers to at least 80° C., and if the maximum temperature achieved during an operation is only about 50° C., then the controller may come to the conclusion that the dryer is not operating properly. In that circumstance, the controller could attempt to signal an error to the user by turning on an LED, for example. In addition, the controller can be programmed so as to prevent the fabric treatment composition from being applied at all in this circumstance (if that is the desired result). This type of decision can be left to the system designer, because it might also be desired to allow the fabric treatment composition to be dispensed, even though the fabric articles may not have been completely dried at the end of the drying cycle (since the “correct” maximum temperature was never achieved).
Referring now to
Once the drying cycle timer value TM1 has been set, the drying cycle can start at a step 312. A decision step 320 now determines if the elapsed time for the drying cycle itself has exceeded a predetermined time interval. In step 320, the time threshold is referred to as K times TM1, in which the coefficient K represents a percentage of the entire drying cycle time TM1. In one mode of the invention, it is desirable to prevent the fabric treatment composition from being applied until the final 25% of the drying cycle time TM1. In that situation, the coefficient K would be set to 75%. This could be an internal default setting, or the system designer could also allow the user to set the coefficient K by use of the keypad 66 (although the next flow chart 330 may be somewhat more “user-friendly,” since it allows the user to enter numbers in units of time, rather than as a percentage).
If the elapsed time has not exceeded K×TM1, then the logic flow travels back to the top of decision step 320 where it continues to take time samples until the elapsed time actually does exceed that value K×TM1. Once that occurs, then the logic flow travels out the YES result to a step 322. At that point, the fabric treatment composition begins being applied into the dryer's chamber, and this routine ends.
The logic of flow chart 300 could be used to either supplement or replace the logic discussed above in reference to
Furthermore, the drying cycle flow chart 300 could also supplement the flow chart 200 in situations where the dryer is supposed to increase its internal temperature, but for some reason became “short-cycled” such that its normal maximum temperature was never reached, or was used in a mode that did not energize the heating element to its normal extent (which might prevent the normal maximum temperature from being reached within a certain time limit). In that situation, the logic of flow chart 300 could be used to supplement the logic of flow chart 200, such that the elapsed time threshold K×TM1 would occur before the temperature specifications have been achieved for either decision step 222 or 274 on flow chart 200 or 250. In that situation, the fabric treatment composition could be applied according to the logic of decision step 320 on flow chart 300, regardless of the actual temperatures inside the dryer. If the maximum temperatures normally expected do not actually occur, then the actual temperature might be sufficiently low to allow the volatile material to be dispensed without being wasted in a “high temperature” chamber that otherwise might exist.
A flow chart 330 begins with a step 340 in which the drying cycle timer is set by the user, and is referred to as the variable TM11. In step 340, the user also sets a “dispensing time” timer, which is given the variable name TM12 on flow chart 300. The logic in this flow chart 330 allows the user to set an actual time in engineering units (e.g., minutes or seconds) that will determine the beginning of the application for the fabric treatment composition into the dryer's chamber. For example, if the drying cycle timer is set to sixty minutes (for TM11), and if the dispensing time timer is set to twenty minutes (for TM12), then the dryer will operate for forty minutes without any fabric treatment composition being applied, then with twenty minutes remaining in the drying cycle time, the composition will begin being applied.
The logic of flow chart 300 is as follows: at a step 342 the drying cycle starts. A decision step 344 now determines if the elapsed time has exceeded the difference between the times TM11 and TM12. If the answer is NO, the logic flow travels back to the beginning of step 344, which keeps “looping” until a sufficient elapsed time occurs so that the result finally becomes YES.
The logic flow now travels to a step 346 that begins applying the fabric treatment composition into the dryer's chamber, and that is the end of this routine. The logic of flow chart 330 could be determined by the system designer to be either user-enterable (via keypad 66, for example), or the dispensing timer value for variable TM12 could have a default value that will always be used in certain applications. For example, it may be desirable to always allow the fabric treatment composition to be dispensed for at least eight minutes at the end of a drying cycle, regardless of the total drying cycle time TM1. In that situation, then the dispensing time timer value TM12 could be set to eight minutes as a default value, and the system designer could make the software that executes on the microcontroller 60 such that this default value will always be observed regardless of other modes of operation. This will not necessarily be desirable for all applications of the fabric article treating system 10, but it at least is an option.
In general, the elapsed time during a drying cycle will also be referred to as the dryer's “operating time” herein, and can be determined by a virtually any type of time-keeping device. If a digital processing device is used (such as microcontroller 60 on
It will be understood that the dryer's operating time is essentially being “continuously” monitored by the controller of the present invention (for example, the microcontroller 60 on
However, if knowledge of the passing time to make device-operating decisions is considered critical, then the software could be written, for example, to generate a non-maskable interrupt upon the occurrence of each incremental increase in the real time clock (at each new clock pulse, or at each counter-clock change of state, for example), and the timing routines could be executed as part of the interrupt routine. Of course, if portions of the controller of the present invention are made of discrete logic elements, perhaps using pulse generators with digital counters and digital comparators (e.g., without a microprocessor), then the time in essence could be monitored in a continuous fashion, if desired.
Another example of using elapsed time is illustrated in a flow chart 350, in which the first step at 360 is to set the drying cycle timer, which has a value loaded into a variable TM21 in flow chart 350. The next step 362 starts the drying cycle.
A decision step 370 now determines if the elapsed time has exceeded a preset value as a time threshold that is related to the total drying cycle time TM21. This preset time uses a coefficient, much like the logic in step 320 of flow chart 300. In this flow chart 350, the coefficient is referred to as “K1”, and the time threshold is referred to as K1 times TM21. K1 would normally be set as a percentage, and it is used for the final amount of the drying cycle. For example, if K1 is set to 75%, then the fabric treatment composition would be dispensed or applied during the final 25% of the drying cycle time interval TM21.
If the elapsed time has not exceeded this threshold K1×TM21, then the logic flow is directed back to the top of this decision step 370, where it continues to “loop” until a sufficient elapsed time has occurred to finally achieve the YES result. The logic flow now travels to a step 372 that begins applying the fabric treatment composition to the dryer's chamber.
The logic flow now travels to a decision step 380 that determines if the elapsed time has exceeded a different time threshold, referred to on flow chart 350 as the coefficient K2 times the drying cycle time TM21. This coefficient K2 would be a smaller number than the coefficient K1. If the result is NO, then the logic flow travels back to the top of decision step 380 where the logic continues to “loop” until a sufficient elapsed time occurs so that the YES result is finally achieved. Once that occurs, a step 382 stops the application of the fabric treatment composition into the dryer's chamber, which is the end of this routine.
Flow chart 350 thereby allows a user (or the system designer) to set both start and stop points during the drying cycle, and moreover, these starting and stopping coefficients can be pre-loaded into the software as default values. For example, if K1 equals 25% and K2 equals 0.75%, then the fabric treatment composition will start being applied at a point 75% into the elapsed time of the drying cycle, and the fabric treatment composition will stop being applied at an elapsed time of 99.25% of the entire drying cycle time TM21. This allows the fabric material inside the drying chamber to have a final tactile quality of being “dry” as opposed to feeling somewhat damp or wet. In other words, if the fabric treatment composition is dispensed completely to the end of the drying cycle, and if the user immediately opens the dryer door and grasps the fabric articles, there may be a somewhat wet or damp tactile quality to these articles. The logic of flow chart 350 would likely prevent that type of result. It may be desirable to limit the value of K2 so that it can never be set all the way to 100%.
It should be obvious that the logic of flow chart 350 could be combined with any of the previous flow chart examples on
It will be understood that the logical operations of the flow charts of
One optional aspect of the present invention is to provide the fabric treatment composition at two different time intervals during the drying cycle. For example, the fabric treatment composition could be applied fairly early during the drying cycle as a fabric softener; then at a later time (e.g., during the “cool-down” phase) the fabric treatment composition could be applied as a perfume, or perhaps to provide some other type of beneficial property or result. Such a dispensing program can be referred to as a “split cycle” of applying (e.g., spraying) the fabric treatment composition, since there typically may be a time interval during which no dispensing at all occurs during the drying cycle, after the first portion of spraying/dispensing has terminated.
The principles of the present invention nevertheless apply to a split cycle of dispensing, in which the volatile characteristics of the fabric treatment composition are best utilized near the “end” of the entire drying cycle of the drying apparatus. If that is a desired result, then the logical operations described in the flow charts of
It should be noted that there may be circumstances in which there would be no elapsed time interval between the two “split” dispensing cycles. This could occur, for example, if a very short drying cycle time has been selected by the user of the drying apparatus, or if a very small load of fabric articles has been placed into the drying chamber of the drying apparatus. In one of those circumstances, it may be possible for the first spraying event and the second spraying event to overlap, such that there would be no “true” split interval spraying procedure, because the first spraying event would not have terminated before it became time to begin the second spraying event. Thus there might not be an elapsed time interval during which no spraying at all would be occurring. However, with regard to the processing logic which determines “when” to apply the fabric treatment composition near the “end” of the drying cycle (such as the logic of the flow charts on
Fabric Treatment Composition
One aspect of Applicants' invention is a fabric treatment composition that can comprise at least 0.005 wt. %, 0.005 wt. % to 10 wt % or 0.1 wt. % to 2 wt. % of a material such as a perfume, that comprises at least 30 wt. %, 35 wt % to 100 wt. %, 40 wt % to 100 wt. % or 40 wt % to 70 wt. % of a perfume material having a boiling point of less than or equal to 250° C. at 1 atmosphere; a fabric treatment material; an optional carrier and the balance one or more adjunct ingredients.
Examples of suitable perfume materials that have a boiling point of less than or equal to 250° C. at 1 atmosphere, include but are not limited, to: Allyl cyclohexanepropionate, Allyl heptanoate, Allyl caproate, Allo-ocimene, Amyl acetate (n-pentyl acetate), Amyl propionate, Acetanisole, p-Anisaldehyde, Anisole, trans-Anethole, Benzaldehyde (Benezenecarboxaldehyde), Benzylacetate, Benzyl butyrate, Benzyl acetone, Benzyl alcohol, Benzyl formate, Benzyl propionate, Beta-gamma-hexanol (2-hexen-1-ol), (+)-Camphor, Cadinene, Camphene, Carvacrol, Cis-3-hexenyl tiglate, (+)-Carvone, Citronellol, Citronellyl acetate, Citronellyl nitrile, Citronellyl propionate, Cyclohexylethyl acetate, L-Carvone, Cinnamic alcohol, Cinnamyl formate, cis-Jasmone, Cis-3-hexenyl acetate, Citral, Cumic alcohol, Cuminaldehyde, 2,4-dimethyl-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde, Dimethyl benzyl carbinol, Dimethyl benzyl carbinyl acetate, Decyl Aldehyde (Capraldehyde), Dihydromyrcenol, Dihydromyrcenyl acetate, 3,7-Dimethyl- -octanol, Diphenyloxide, Ethyl acetate, Ethyl acetoacetate, Ethyl amyl ketone, Ethyl benzoate, Ethyl butanoate, 3-Nonanone (ethyl hexyl ketone), Ethyl phenylacetate, Eucalyptol, Eugenol, Fenchyl alcohol, Fenchyl Acetate (1,3,3-trimethyl-2-norbornanyl acetate), tricyclodecenyl acetate, tricyclodecenyl propionate, Gamma-nonalactone, Geranyl acetate, Geranyl formate, Geranyl nitrile, Trans-Geraniol, cis-3-Hexenyl isobutyrate, Hexyl neopentanoate, Hexyl tiglate, Cis-3-Hexen-1-ol/Leaf alcohol, Hexyl acetate, Hexyl formate, Hydratopic alcohol, Hydroxycitronellal, Alpha-Ionone, Isobornyl acetate, Isobutyl benzoate, Isononyl acetate, Isononyl alcohol (3,5,5-trimethyl-1-hexanol), Isopulegyl acetate, Indole (2,3-benzopyrrole), Isoamyl alcohol, Isopropyl phenylacetate, Isopulegol, Isoquinoline (Benzopyridine), Lauraldehyde, d-Limonene, Linalyl acetate, 2,3-dimethyl-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde, Linalool, Linalool oxide, Linalyl formate, Menthone, (−)-L-Menthyl acetate, Methyl Chavicol (Estragole), Methyl n-nonyl acetaldehyde, Methyl octyl acetaldehyde, Beta-Myrcene, 4-Methylacetophenone, Methyl pentyl ketone, Methyl anthranilate, Methyl benzoate, Methyl Phenyl Carbinyl Acetate (alpha-methylbenzyl acetate), Methyl eugenol (eugenol methyl ether), Methyl Heptenone (6-Methyl-5-hepten-2-one), Methyl Heptine Carbonate (methyl 2-octynoate), Methyl heptyl ketone, Methyl hexyl ketone, Methyl salicylate, Dimethyl anthranilate, Neryl acetate, Nonyl acetate, Nonaldehyde, Nerol, Delta-Nonalactone, Gamma-Octalactone, 2-octanol, Octyl aldehyde (caprylic aldehyde), p-Cresol, p-Cymene, Alpha-Pinene, Beta-Pinene, p-Cresyl methyl ether, 2-phenoxyethanol, Phenylacetaldehyde, 2-Phenylethyl acetate, Phenylethyl alcohol, Phenyl ethyl dimethyl carbinol (benzyl-tert-butanol), Prenyl acetate, Propyl butanoate, (+)-Pulegone, methyl iso butenyl tetrahydro pyran, Safrole, 4-terpinenol, Alpha-Terpinene, Gamma-Terpinene, Alpha-Terpinyl acetate, Tetrahydrolinalool, Tetrahydromyrcenol, Terpinolene (alpha-Terpineol), 2-Undecenal, 1,2-dimethoxybenzene, phenylacetaldehyde dimethyl acetal, o-t-butylcyclohexyl acetate, 4-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate.
In another aspect of Applicants' invention examples of suitable perfume materials that have a boiling point of less than or equal to 250° C. at 1 atmosphere, include but are not limited, to: Allyl caproate, Amyl acetate (n-pentyl acetate), Amyl propionate, p-Anisaldehyde, Anisole, Benzaldehyde (Benezenecarboxaldehyde), Benzylacetate, Benzyl acetone, Benzyl alcohol, Benzyl formate, (+)-Camphor, (+)-Carvone, L-Carvone, Cinnamic alcohol, Cis-3-hexenyl acetate, Citral (Neral), 2,4-dimethyl-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde, Dimethyl benzyl carbinol, Dimethyl benzyl carbinyl acetate, Ethyl acetate, Ethyl acetoacetate, Ethyl amyl ketone, Ethyl benzoate, Eucalyptol, Eugenol, Fenchyl alcohol, tricyclodecenyl acetate, tricyclodecenyl propionate, Gamma-nonalactone, Trans-Geraniol, Cis-3-Hexen-1-ol/Leaf alcohol, Hexyl acetate, Hydroxycitronellal, Ligustral (2,3-dimethyl-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde), Linalool, Linalool oxide, Linalyl formate, Menthone, 4-Methylacetophenone, Methyl anthranilate, Methyl benzoate, Methyl Phenyl Carbinyl Acetate (alpha-methylbenzyl acetate), Methyl eugenol (eugenol methyl ether), Methyl Heptine Carbonate (methyl 2-octynoate), Methyl heptyl ketone, Methyl hexyl ketone, Methyl salicylate, Dimethyl anthranilate, Nerol, Delta-Nonalactone, Gamma-Octalactone, Octyl aldehyde (caprylic aldehyde), p-Cresyl methyl ether, Phenylacetaldehyde, Phenylethyl alcohol, Phenyl ethyl dimethyl carbinol (benzyl-tert-butanol), Prenyl acetate, methyl iso butenyl tetrahydro pyran, Terpinolene (alpha-Terpineol), Allo-ocimene, Allyl cyclohexanepropionate, Allyl heptanoate, trans-Anethole, Benzyl butyrate, Camphene, Citronellol, Citronellyl acetate, Citronellyl nitrile, Decyl Aldehyde (Capraldehyde), Dihydromyrcenol, Dihydromyrcenyl acetate, 3,7-Dimethyl-1-octanol, Diphenyloxide, Fenchyl Acetate (1,3,3-trimethyl-2-norbornanyl acetate), Geranyl acetate, Geranyl formate, Geranyl nitrile, cis-3-Hexenyl isobutyrate, Alpha-Ionone, Isobornyl acetate, Lauraldehyde, d-Limonene, Linalyl acetate, Methyl Chavicol (Estragole), Methyl n-nonyl acetaldehyde, Methyl octyl acetaldehyde, Beta-Myrcene, Nonaldehyde, p-Cymene, Alpha-Pinene, Beta-Pinene, Alpha-Terpinene, Gamma-Terpinene, Alpha-Terpinyl acetate, Tetrahydrolinalool, Tetrahydromyrcenol, 2-Undecenal, o-t-butylcyclohexyl acetate, 4-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate.
In another aspect of Applicants' invention examples of suitable perfume materials that have a boiling point of less than or equal to 250° C. at 1 atmosphere, include but are not limited, to: Allyl caproate, Amyl acetate (n-pentyl acetate), Amyl propionate, p-Anisaldehyde, Benzaldehyde (Benezenecarboxaldehyde), Benzylacetate, Benzyl acetone, (+)-Camphor, L-Carvone, Cinnamic alcohol, Cis-3-hexenyl acetate, Citral (Neral), 2,4-dimethyl-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde, Dimethyl benzyl carbinyl acetate, Ethyl acetoacetate, Ethyl amyl ketone, Eucalyptol, Eugenol, Fenchyl alcohol, tricyclodecenyl acetate, tricyclodecenyl propionate, Cis-3-Hexen-1-ol/Leaf alcohol, Hexyl acetate, Hydroxycitronellal, 2,3-dimethyl-3-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde, Linalool, Linalool oxide, Linalyl formate, Menthone, Methyl anthranilate, Methyl benzoate, Methyl Phenyl Carbinyl Acetate (alpha-methylbenzyl acetate), Methyl eugenol (eugenol methyl ether), Methyl Heptine Carbonate (methyl 2-ctynoate), Methyl heptyl ketone, Methyl hexyl ketone, Methyl salicylate, Delta-Nonalactone, Octyl aldehyde (caprylic aldehyde), p-Cresyl methyl ether, Phenylethyl alcohol, Prenyl acetate, methyl isao butenyl tetrahydro pyran, Terpinolene (alpha-Terpineol), Allo-ocimene, Allyl cyclohexanepropionate, Camphene, Citronellol, Citronellyl acetate, Citronellyl nitrile, Decyl Aldehyde (Capraldehyde), Dihydromyrcenol, Dihydromyrcenyl acetate, Fenchyl Acetate (1,3,3-trimethyl-2-norbornanyl acetate), Geranyl acetate, Geranyl formate, Geranyl nitrile, Alpha-Ionone, Isobornyl acetate, Lauraldehyde, d-Limonene, Linalyl acetate, Methyl Chavicol (Estragole), Methyl n-nonyl acetaldehyde, Methyl octyl acetaldehyde, Beta-Myrcene, Nonaldehyde, p-Cymene, Alpha-Pinene, Beta-Pinene, Alpha-Terpinene, Gamma-Terpinene, Tetrahydrolinalool, Tetrahydromyrcenol, 2-Undecenal, o-t-butylcyclohexyl acetate, 4-tert-butylcyclohexyl acetate.
The aforementioned perfume materials may be obtained from one or more of the following perfume material suppliers Firmenich (Geneva, Switzerland), Givaudan (Argenteuil, France), IFF (Hazlet, N.J.), Quest (Mount Olive, N.J.), Bedoukian (Danbury, Conn.), Sigma Aldrich (St.Louis, Mo.), Millennium Specialty Chemicals (Olympia Fields, Ill.), Polarone International (Jersey City, N.J.), Fragrance Resources (Keyport, N.J.), and Aroma & Flavor Specialties (Danbury, Conn.).
A treatment material provides one or more fabric benefits including, but not limited to, softness, anti-soil re-deposition, stain or water repellency, color or whiteness enhancement, enhanced absorbency, anti-static, anti-bacterial, or fabric abrasion resistance. Classes of materials that contain materials that can provide such benefits include, but are not limited to, cationic materials, nonionic materials, other polymeric materials, and particulate materials. The compositions of the present invention comprise a treatment material. Typically, said treatment material is present, based on total composition weight, at one of the following levels, at least about 0.5 wt %, at least about 2 wt %, from about 4 wt % to about 90 wt %, from about 4 wt % to about 50 wt %, or from about 4 wt % to about 10 wt %.
Suitable cationic materials include but are not limited to protonatable amines, alkyl quaternary ammonium compounds, cationic silicones, and cationic polymers. Suitable protonatable amines include, protonatable amines having Formula I below:
wherein the index m=0, 1, 2 or 3; the index n=1, 2, 3 or 4, preferably n is 2 or 3, more preferably n is 2, each R is independently selected from C1-C22 alkyl, C1-C22 hydroxyalkyl or a benzyl group; each R1 is independently selected from C11-C22 linear alkyl, C11-C22 branched alkyl, C11-C22 linear alkenyl, or C11-C22 branched alkenyl; and each Q may comprise a carbonyl, carboxyl, or amide moiety.
Suitable alkylated quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), include mono-alkyl quats, di-alkyl, tri-alkyl quats and tetra-alkyl quats and certain cationic surfactants. Suitable mono-alkyl quats, di-alkyl, tri-alkyl quats and tetra-alkyl quats typically have Formula II below:
wherein the index m=0, 1, 2, 3 or 4; the index n=1, 2, 3 or 4, preferably n is 2 or 3, more preferably n is 2, each R is independently selected from C1-C22 alkyl, C1-C22 hydroxyalkyl, or a benzyl group; each R1 is independently selected from C11-C22 linear alkyl, C11-C22 branched alkyl, C11-C22 linear alkenyl, or C11-C22 branched alkenyl; X− is a water soluble anionic species such as chloride, bromide or methyl sulfate, and Q may comprise a carbonyl, carboxyl, or amide moiety.
Suitable cationic surfactants include quaternary ammonium surfactants selected from the group consisting of mono C6-C16, preferably C6-C10 N-alkyl or alkenyl ammonium surfactants, wherein the remaining N positions are substituted by methyl, hydroxyehthyl or hydroxypropyl groups. Another preferred cationic surfactant is C6-C18 alkyl or alkenyl ester of an quaternary ammonium alcohol, such as quaternary choline esters. More preferably, the cationic surfactants have Formula III below:
wherein R1 is a C8-C18 hydrocarbyl, preferably C8-14 alkyl, more preferably C8, C10 or C12 alkyl, and X− is a water soluble anionic species such as chloride, bromide or methyl sulfate.
Suitable cationic silicones include silicones functionalized by amine derived compounds and cationic silicone polymers. Suitable silicones functionalized by amine derived compounds include amino silicones having Formula IV below:
(R1R2R3SiO1/2)p(R4R4SiO2/2)m[R4Si(L—NR5R6)O2/2]a[Si(K—NR7R8)O3/2]b[R4SiO3/2]c Formula IV
wherein m, a, b, and c are independently selected from integers between 0 and 6000; p=2+b+c; R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7R8, L, K are various side chains attached to the silicone or nitrogen atoms within the molecule. In Formula IV above, R1, R2, R3, R4 are independently selected from:
Suitable cationic silicone polymers include cationic silicone polymers having Formula V below:
[CAP]-Zm-[CAP] Formula V
wherein [CAP] is a backbone termination or truncation unit; m is an integer from 1 to 50 and each Z unit has Formula VI below:
—(R)x—W—(R)x— Formula VI
Suitable cationic polymers, include copolymers comprising at least one unit, or mixture of units, selected from the group consisting of linear polymer units having Formula X below:
Suitable nonionic materials include certain surfactants produced by the condensation of alkylene oxide groups with an organic hydrophobic moiety, said moiety can be aliphatic or alkyl aromatic in nature; silicone copolyols; and mixtures thereof. Examples of suitable nonionic surfactants include, but are not limited to alkyl phenol ethoxylates, polyethylene glycol/polypropylene glycol block copolymers, fatty alcohol and fatty acid ethoxylates, long chain tertiary amine oxides, alkyl polysaccharide, polyethylene glycol (PEG) glyceryl fatty esters and mixtures thereof.
Non-limiting examples of suitable silicone copolyols are silicone copolyols having Formula XII below:
R1—(CH3)2SiO—[(CH3)2SiO]a—[(CH3)(R1)SiO]b—Si(CH3)2—R1 Formula XII
Suitable polymeric materials include, but are not limited to, polyacrylates, polyvinylalcohols, polyethyleneimines, polysaccharides, polyethyleneglycols, and derivatives or copolymers of the aforementioned materials are suitable for use in the present invention.
Suitable particulate materials include inorganic or organic particulates such as polymeric particles, clays, talcs, zeolites and mixtures thereof Suitable polymeric particles typically have an average particle size less than about 10 microns, preferably less than 5 microns, more preferably less than about 1 micron. Such particles my comprise polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene and mixtures thereof. Suitable clay materials include phyllosilicate clays with a 2:1 layer structure, such as smectite clays for example pyrophyllite, montmorillonite, hectorite, saponite and vermiculite, and micas. Particularly suitable clay materials include smectite clays described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,647. Other disclosures of suitable clay materials for fabric softening purposes include European patent specification EP 26528-A1, U.S. Pat. No. 3,959,155 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,537.
Additional suitable materials include certain synthetic or naturally-derived oils, such as certain triglycerides, mineral oils, and mixtures thereof.
Specific examples of suitable treatment materials include but are not limited to; triglycerides from beef tallow, palm oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, and soybean oil, all with varying levels of hydrogenation; paraffin oils, and mixtures thereof.
Suitable treatment materials are commercially available from Mazer Chemicals (Gurnee, Ill., USA), Clariant Corporation (Glattbrugg, Switzerland), Rhodia Incorporated (Cranbury, N. J., USA), Scher Chemicals, Inc. (Clifton, N.J., USA), Dow Corning Corporation (Midland, Mich., USA) and General Electric Company (Fairfield, Conn., USA), Witco Corporation (Middlebury, Conn., USA), Degussa-Huls (Marl, Germany), BASF (Mount Olive, N.J., USA), Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Mo., USA), 20 Microns Ltd. (Baroda, India), and Twin Rivers Technologies (Quincy, Mass., USA).
The fabric treatment materials of the present invention may optionally comprise a carrier material. Suitable carrier materials include but are not limited to, water, silicones typically having weight average molecular weights of less than 300 daltons, mono or dialkyl esters, polyols such as glycerine, polyethylene glycols, alcohols, and mixtures thereof.
When the carrier is water, the treatment composition may comprise, based on weight percent of the treatment composition, from about 40 wt. % to about 98 wt. %, from about 50 wt. % to about 95 wt. %, or from about 60 wt. % to about 90 wt. % water. When fabric treatment composition comprises water, the pH of said composition may be in the range of from about 2 to about 10, from about 3 to about 9, from about 4 to about 8, or from about 5.5 to about 7.5.
While not essential for the purposes of the present invention, the non-limiting adjuncts described herein may be desirably incorporated in embodiments of such compositions. The precise nature of such adjunct components, and levels of incorporation thereof, will depend on the physical form of the fabric treatment composition and the nature of the operation for which it is to be used.
Suitable adjunct ingredients include, but are not limited to, salts such as sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, etc.; preservatives such as benzyl alcohol, methyl paraben, propyl paraben and imidazolidinyl urea; certain thickeners and viscosity modifiers; pH adjusting agents such as citric acid, succinic acid, phosphoric acid, sodium hydroxide, etc.; suspending agents such as magnesium/aluminum silicate; and sequestering agents such as disodium ethylenediamine tetraacetate. Addition examples of suitable adjuncts and levels of use are found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,275.
Processes of Making Fabric Treatment Compositions
The fabric treatment compositions of the present invention can be formulated into any suitable form and prepared by any process chosen by the formulator, non-limiting examples of which are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,275.
The following compositions are examples of fabric treatment compositions useful in the present invention:
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/697,735, filed Oct. 29, 2003, U.S. Ser. No. 10/697,685, filed Oct. 29, 2003, U.S. Ser. No. 10/697,734 filed Oct. 29, 2003, and U.S. Ser. No. 10/697,736 filed Oct. 29, 2003; each of which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/418,595, filed Apr. 17, 2003; which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/374,601, filed Apr. 22, 2002; and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/426,438, filed Nov. 14, 2002.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2079280 | Couch | May 1937 | A |
| 2807893 | Morey | Oct 1957 | A |
| 2812593 | Olthuis | Nov 1957 | A |
| 2846776 | Clark | Aug 1958 | A |
| 2851791 | Olthuis | Sep 1958 | A |
| 2873539 | Morey | Feb 1959 | A |
| 2941309 | Cobb | Jun 1960 | A |
| 2958954 | Longenecker | Nov 1960 | A |
| 3002288 | Conlee | Oct 1961 | A |
| 3022580 | Doty | Feb 1962 | A |
| 3103450 | Janson | Sep 1963 | A |
| 3114653 | Kruzan | Dec 1963 | A |
| 3172604 | Brock | Mar 1965 | A |
| 3180037 | Etal | Apr 1965 | A |
| 3239947 | Etal | Mar 1966 | A |
| 3267701 | Mandarino | Aug 1966 | A |
| 3364585 | Etal | Jan 1968 | A |
| 3583180 | Arbogast | Jun 1971 | A |
| 3595036 | Laddle | Jul 1971 | A |
| 3634947 | Furgal | Jan 1972 | A |
| 3816070 | Candor et al. | Jun 1974 | A |
| 3872604 | Keller | Mar 1975 | A |
| 4009598 | Bernard et al. | Mar 1977 | A |
| 4014105 | Furgal et al. | Mar 1977 | A |
| 4022938 | Zaki et al. | May 1977 | A |
| 4098937 | Mizuno et al. | Jul 1978 | A |
| 4207683 | Horton | Jun 1980 | A |
| 4236320 | Schwadike et al. | Dec 1980 | A |
| 4242377 | Roberts et al. | Dec 1980 | A |
| 4341347 | DeVittorio | Jul 1982 | A |
| 4501682 | Goodman et al. | Feb 1985 | A |
| 4511495 | Melville | Apr 1985 | A |
| 4532722 | Sax | Aug 1985 | A |
| 4567675 | Rennie | Feb 1986 | A |
| 4579279 | Marchant | Apr 1986 | A |
| 4618099 | Nagao et al. | Oct 1986 | A |
| 4642908 | Brenner | Feb 1987 | A |
| 4806254 | Church | Feb 1989 | A |
| 4891890 | Church | Jan 1990 | A |
| 5040311 | Roy | Aug 1991 | A |
| 5234610 | Gardlik et al. | Aug 1993 | A |
| 5438773 | Chaffee | Aug 1995 | A |
| 5442938 | Kislyuk | Aug 1995 | A |
| 5445747 | Kvietok et al. | Aug 1995 | A |
| 5461742 | Pasad et al. | Oct 1995 | A |
| 5595071 | Pasad et al. | Jan 1997 | A |
| 5749163 | Staub et al. | May 1998 | A |
| 5771604 | Wunderlich et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5789368 | You et al. | Aug 1998 | A |
| 5810265 | Cornelius et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5884418 | McNally | Mar 1999 | A |
| 5912408 | Trinh et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
| 5930909 | McNally | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5945111 | Esser | Aug 1999 | A |
| 5965517 | Mooney | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5966831 | Anderson | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5968404 | Trinh et al. | Oct 1999 | A |
| 5980583 | Staub et al. | Nov 1999 | A |
| 5997759 | Trinh et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6001343 | Trinh et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
| 6067723 | Lafrenz | May 2000 | A |
| 6103678 | Masschelein et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6160110 | Thomaides et al. | Dec 2000 | A |
| 6190420 | Reynolds | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6220267 | Joshi | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 6277810 | Baines et al. | Aug 2001 | B2 |
| 6279834 | Fox et al. | Aug 2001 | B1 |
| 6315800 | Gomes et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 6376455 | Friedli et al. | Apr 2002 | B1 |
| 6474563 | Pletcher et al. | Nov 2002 | B2 |
| 6491840 | Frankenbach et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6503413 | Uchiyama et al. | Jan 2003 | B2 |
| 6571993 | Rodd et al. | Jun 2003 | B2 |
| 6574883 | Giblin et al. | Jun 2003 | B2 |
| 6604297 | Hagemann et al. | Aug 2003 | B2 |
| 6609311 | Hagemann et al. | Aug 2003 | B2 |
| 6696405 | Mooney | Feb 2004 | B2 |
| 6792695 | Fry et al. | Sep 2004 | B2 |
| 6840069 | France et al. | Jan 2005 | B2 |
| 6883723 | Griese et al. | Apr 2005 | B2 |
| 6889399 | Steiner et al. | May 2005 | B2 |
| 20010036909 | Levinson | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010044399 | Keppie et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
| 20010052551 | Pletcher et al. | Dec 2001 | A1 |
| 20010052552 | Hamaguchi et al. | Dec 2001 | A1 |
| 20020050073 | Hagemann et al. | May 2002 | A1 |
| 20020069465 | Chute et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020078589 | Hagemann et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20020083615 | Giblin et al. | Jul 2002 | A1 |
| 20020100122 | Rodrigues et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20020112293 | Trinh et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
| 20030035748 | Trinh et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
| 20030196348 | Hagemann et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030199416 | Fry et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030199417 | Fry et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030200674 | Fry et al. | Oct 2003 | A1 |
| 20030213145 | Hagemann et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
| 20030224965 | Conley et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20040064970 | Hagemann et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20040118014 | Burgess et al. | Jun 2004 | A1 |
| 20040134094 | Hahn et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20040221476 | Jones et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20040253376 | Parker | Dec 2004 | A1 |
| 20050020478 | Cooke et al. | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 23 18 596 | Apr 1980 | DE |
| 0 130 682 | Jan 1985 | EP |
| 0 118 313 | May 1987 | EP |
| 0 315 879 | May 1989 | EP |
| 0 204 484 | Mar 1992 | EP |
| 0 594 154 | Apr 1994 | EP |
| 0 848 999 | Jun 1998 | EP |
| 0 676 497 | Sep 1999 | EP |
| 0 953 669 | Nov 1999 | EP |
| 1 479 757 | Nov 2004 | EP |
| 2 066 309 | Jul 1981 | GB |
| 2 231 944 | Nov 1990 | GB |
| 2 354 006 | Mar 2001 | GB |
| 2 366 568 | Mar 2002 | GB |
| 2 346 678 | Oct 2002 | GB |
| 02-302300 | Dec 1990 | JP |
| 06-015090 | Jan 1994 | JP |
| 1995068094 | Mar 1995 | JP |
| 08-150293 | Jun 1996 | JP |
| 1996215488 | Aug 1996 | JP |
| 09-267000 | Oct 1997 | JP |
| 10-290898 | Nov 1998 | JP |
| 2002069832 | Mar 2002 | JP |
| 2002115182 | Apr 2002 | JP |
| WO 9609430 | Mar 1996 | WO |
| WO 9955952 | Nov 1999 | WO |
| WO 9955953 | Nov 1999 | WO |
| WO 0001421 | Jan 2000 | WO |
| WO 0001422 | Jan 2000 | WO |
| WO 0001493 | Jan 2000 | WO |
| WO 0011133 | Mar 2000 | WO |
| WO 0024851 | May 2000 | WO |
| WO 0024856 | May 2000 | WO |
| WO 0024858 | May 2000 | WO |
| WO 0038512 | Jul 2000 | WO |
| WO 0055292 | Sep 2000 | WO |
| WO 0058428 | Oct 2000 | WO |
| WO 0107710 | Feb 2001 | WO |
| WO 0118145 | Mar 2001 | WO |
| WO 0166264 | Sep 2001 | WO |
| WO 0208510 | Jan 2002 | WO |
| WO 0212423 | Feb 2002 | WO |
| WO 0233161 | Apr 2002 | WO |
| WO 0240623 | May 2002 | WO |
| WO 03004170 | Jan 2003 | WO |
| WO 03008528 | Jan 2003 | WO |
| WO 03087286 | Oct 2003 | WO |
| WO 03087461 | Oct 2003 | WO |
| WO 03102289 | Dec 2003 | WO |
| WO 2004099489 | Nov 2004 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050091879 A1 | May 2005 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60374601 | Apr 2002 | US | |
| 60426438 | Nov 2002 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10697735 | Oct 2003 | US |
| Child | 10762152 | US | |
| Parent | 10697685 | Oct 2003 | US |
| Child | 10697735 | US | |
| Parent | 10697734 | Oct 2003 | US |
| Child | 10697685 | US | |
| Parent | 10697736 | Oct 2003 | US |
| Child | 10697734 | US | |
| Parent | 10418595 | Apr 2003 | US |
| Child | 10697736 | US |
