Claims
- 1. A liquid rinse-added fabric care composition, the composition characterized by at least two visually distinct phases when the composition is at rest and wherein at least one of the phases contains a fabric care agent, the composition forming a temporary mixture when shaken, the temporary mixture allowing a consumer to dose a representative sample of the composition, the composition re-forming at least two visually distinct phases when at rest.
- 2. The composition of claim 1, wherein at least two phases are present in the form of visually distinct layers when the composition is at rest.
- 3. The composition of claim 1, wherein a first phase is suspended in a second phase when the composition is at rest, the second phase being a continuous phase.
- 4. The composition of claim 3, wherein the length of the first phase when measured along its shortest axis is larger than about 1 mm.
- 5. The composition of claim 1, wherein at least two phases are at least about 1% by volume of the composition when the composition is at rest.
- 6. The composition of claim 1, wherein at least two phases contain more than about 1% of water.
- 7. The composition of claim 1, wherein at least two phases contain more than about 0.1% of electrolyte.
- 8. The composition of claim 1, wherein the fabric care agent is a fabric softener active, color care agent, perfume, antibacterial agent, malodor control agent, ultraviolet protection agent, anti-abrasion, anti-wear or fabric integrity agent, wrinkle control agent, or a mixture thereof.
- 9. The composition of claim 1, wherein there are first and second phases and the volumetric ratio of the first phase to the second phase is between about 3:1 and about 1:3.
- 10. The composition of claim 1, further comprising a dye in at least one of the phases.
- 11. The composition of claim 1, wherein the fabric care agent is a fabric softener active having a transition temperature below about 30° C. in water.
- 12. The composition of claim 11, further comprising a solvent.
- 13. The composition of claim 11, further comprising an electrolyte.
- 14. The composition of claim 11, further comprising a phase modifier.
- 15. The composition of claim 11, further comprising a phase separation inducing polymer.
- 16. The composition of claim 12, wherein the solvent has a ClogP of from about −2.0 to about 3.
- 17. The composition of claim 13, wherein the electrolyte is present at a level such that the ratio of fabric softener active to electrolyte is less than about 50:1.
- 18. The composition of claim 14, wherein the phase modifier is present at a level such that the ratio of fabric softener active to phase modifier is between about 2:1 and about 30:1.
- 19. The composition of claim 15, wherein the polymer has a molecular weight above about 2000 and wherein the ratio fabric softener active to polymer is less than about 50:1.
- 20. The composition of claim 12, wherein the ratio of fabric softener to solvent is between about 2:1 and about 10:1.
- 21. The composition of claim 11, further comprising a dye.
- 22. The composition of claim 1, wherein the temporary mixture formed after shaking is sufficiently fluid and uniform to allow the sampling of a representative dose of the composition, said representative dose having a viscosity less than about 10 Pa.sec. when said viscosity is measured within about 1 minute after forming the temporary mixture.
- 23. The composition of claim 1, wherein the temporary mixture formed after shaking is sufficiently fluid and uniform to allow the sampling of a representative dose of the composition, said representative dose having an amount of active that varies less than about 5% from the average amount of active present in the total volume of the composition when said dose is sampled within 5 seconds after forming the temporary mixture.
- 24. The composition of claim 1, wherein the temporary mixture formed after shaking is sufficiently fluid and uniform to allow the sampling of a representative dose of the composition, said representative dose having an amount of active that varies less than about 10% from the average value of active present in the total volume of the composition when said active is sampled about 15 seconds after forming the temporary mixture.
- 25. The composition of claim 1, wherein the temporary mixture formed after shaking will spontaneously form at least two visually distinct phases within about 24 hours when kept at rest.
- 26. A method of imparting a fabric care benefit to a fabric during a laundering operation, the method comprising the steps of:
shaking a liquid fabric care composition that has at least two visually distinct phases when the composition is at rest to form a uniform temporary mixture, at least one of the phases containing a fabric care agent; and dispensing a representative dose of the uniform temporary mixture to a laundry solution containing the fabric to impart the fabric care benefit to the fabric.
- 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the liquid fabric care composition is shaken by hand to form the temporary mixture.
- 28. The method of claim 26, wherein the laundry solution is a solution for pre-treating the fabrics prior to the application of a detergent or a rinse solution for use in removing residual detergent and soil from the fabrics after the application of a detergent.
- 29. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of instructing the consumer to shake the composition in order to form the uniform temporary mixture and thereby activate the composition for delivering the representative dose.
- 30. A method of imparting a fabric care benefit to a fabric during a laundering operation, the method comprising the steps of:
shaking a liquid fabric care composition as defined by claim 1 to form a uniform temporary mixture; and dispensing a representative dose of the uniform temporary mixture to a laundry solution containing the fabric to impart the fabric care benefit to the fabric.
- 31. A method of providing color maintenance to a colored or dyed fabric during a laundering operation, the method comprising the steps of:
applying to a colored fabric a first fabric care composition comprising one or more color control agents prior to applying a detergent composition to the colored fabric; shaking a second fabric care composition as defined by claim 1 to form a uniform temporary mixture and dispensing a representative dose of the uniform temporary mixture to a rinse solution; and contacting the colored fabric with the rinse solution to maintain the color of the colored fabric.
- 32. A method for conveying information to a consumer concerning a liquid rinse-added fabric care composition that is capable of delivering multiple fabric care benefits, the method comprising the step of:
providing a liquid rinse-added fabric care composition that has at least two visually distinct phases.
- 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the composition is provided in a container that enables the consumer to view the visually distinct phases of the composition.
- 34. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of instructing the consumer to activate the composition by shaking it to form a temporary mixture.
- 35. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of associating a color with one or more fabric care benefits that may be delivered by the composition.
- 36. An article of manufacture comprising:
a composition of claim 1; and a container for the composition, said container having means that enables a consumer to view the visually distinct phases of the composition.
- 37. The article of claim 36, further comprising a set of associated instructions instructing a consumer how to activate the composition by forming the temporary mixture.
- 38. An article of manufacture comprising:
a composition of claim 1; and a container having a cap and an opening for receiving the cap, said container also having removing means adjacent the opening for removing excess composition from the cap.
- 39. The article of claim 38, wherein the removing means is an insert affixed to the container that has an inwardly extending wiper.
- 40. The article of claim 38, wherein the removing means is a wiper inwardly extending from the container walls.
- 41. The container according to claim 38, wherein the cap is a double-walled cap.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/212,565 filed Jun. 20, 2000 by M. J. Declercq, et al.; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/263,973 filed Jan. 24, 2001 by M. J. Declercq, et al.; and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/285,314 filed Apr. 20, 2001 by M. J. Declercq, et al.
Provisional Applications (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60212565 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
|
60263973 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
|
60285314 |
Apr 2001 |
US |