JPH0931488A - Packaged synthetic product for cleaning - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a package capable of overcoming defect of a well-known packaged product for cleaning or at least improving the defect.

SOLUTION: A package releases spray in the forward direction when a trigger (18) is pulled by an user. The package contains a spray pump (16) having an operating plunger (40) and releases spray by moving the operating plunger (40) to the lower direction. Operation force to backward direction is applied to the trigger (18) in front of the plunger (40) and the trigger (18) is rotated around the shaft behind the plunger (40) and spray is distributed through a spray opening (50) in the trigger (18). In the preferable embodiment, spray having 0.3-0.35ml product amount is released in conical state having an angle of 25-75°.

COPYRIGHT: (C)1997,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a package for liquid products which allows the product to be dispensed as a spray.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is well known, many liquid cleaning products are supplied in packages which allow them to be dispensed for use as sprays.
In this case, there is a special problem that the product becomes expensive. For such products, it is important that the user be able to accurately target the spray to minimize product waste. Another problem is that the product is highly active, which is not desirable to contact the user's skin. For such products, it is preferred that the spray be emitted from a portion of the container away from what the user must touch to perform the spraying operation.

European patent application A-0475094 describes
Disclosed is a container for a liquid product having a cap for operating a product dispensing valve that dispenses a product spray in a forward direction when activated. The cap has one lever, which, near one of its ends, pivots around an axis located on the first side of the valve below the upper range of the valve, which is It extends generally parallel to the forward direction. The lever arches over the valve and extends to the opposite side of the valve such that one end of the lever projects from the cap. Therefore, the downward lateral movement of this end portion will actuate the valve.

This arrangement allows the user to avoid contact with the product. However, it has been found that some users find it difficult to accurately target the splay while performing the required lateral movement of the lever.

Another known package provides a cap in which the lever is pivoted forward of the actuator and extends rearwardly past the actuator. However, in practice, the range of movement that must be performed by the user is especially repetitive, which is typically the case in cleaning operations, especially when the stroke at which the pump should be displaced operates the pressure distribution valve. It is somewhat awkward and inconvenient with pump dispensers (as opposed to pressurized vessels), which are much larger than the strokes needed to do so.

[0006]

It is an object of the present invention to provide a package which overcomes, or at least ameliorates, the disadvantages of known packaged cleaning products.

[0007]

According to a first embodiment of the invention, the invention provides a pH of 1 in a package suitable for generating a forward spray when a user pulls a trigger.
A packaged product containing a non-ionic cleaning compound containing an aqueous or solvent greater than 0, said package comprising a spray actuator having a variable vertical height for generating a spray. Wherein the actuating force is applied to the trigger in front of the actuating member, the trigger is pivoted about the axis behind the actuating member and the spray is expelled through a spray opening in the trigger. To provide products.

This arrangement of triggers is almost always when the required displacement is relatively large, as well as when the package is a pump dispenser which allows the cleaning compound to be dispensed conveniently and effectively. It was found that the user can operate the moving operation efficiently without any difficulty.

It is generally preferred that the axis is transverse to the spray direction. This can be understood later,
It has been found to cause a particularly advantageous trigger movement which generally moves backwards.

The spray actuator is a pump,
Most preferably, the operating member is the pump chamber or a component connected thereto. Alternatively, the operating member may typically be a spray head and the spray actuator may be a valve for emitting spray from the pressurized container. In either case, the spray is typically emitted from the spray outlet of the spray actuator. As a suitable pump, Perfect-Valo
A model PZ2 of is and a model M300 of Colmar are included.

In one preferred arrangement, the trigger has an opening that directs through the spray from the actuator. This arrangement helps ensure a free and unobstructed path for spraying.

In order to resist the rotational movement of the actuating member relative to the trigger, it is preferable to provide a structure in contact with the trigger and the actuating member, in the region of their mutual engagement. This makes it possible to reliably predict the direction of the spray, especially when the spray is emitted from the operating member. Alternatively, the spray actuator may have internal means for preventing rotation of the operating member.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, a trigger extends rearward from the pivot of the actuating member across the actuating member,
The front bends downwards to form a generally vertical section.
The actuation of the spray by the user is generally achieved by a rearward movement of this vertical part, which movement proves to be convenient and simple in practice.

Most commonly, the package comprises a container containing the product and having a spray actuator mounted thereon, and a cap mounted on a bottle surrounding the actuator, the trigger being carried on the cap. There is. In the embodiment according to the last-mentioned paragraph, the trigger may form a hood for the cap, which may be opened upwards.

The product package is suitable for releasing the compound onto the surface in the form of a droplet spray, the average droplet size being 3
0-300 microns, spray angle and application amount,
Although 20% or more of the surface is covered in the central portion of the spray pattern, it is preferable to minimize the area where a continuous liquid film is formed. Such packages have been found to be particularly well suited for use with cleaning compounds.

Spray actuators are generally suitable for dispensing a predetermined quantity of product upon activation.
The dispensed volume is preferably in the range of 0.15 ml to 0.5 ml, more preferably in the range of 0.2 ml to 0.4 ml. An application volume of 0.3 ml to 0.35 ml is particularly preferred (conventional sprays for hard surface cleaners generally have a maximum of 0.7 ml per spray operation).
Will be distributed).

The preferred spray cone angle is 0.15 ml.
~ 0.5ml of product is 7 ~ from the spray distance of 15cm
The angle is such that it is emitted over a circular area with a diameter of 17 cm. The preferred splash pattern on the surface is such that for each pump cycle, 10-150 ml of product is released on each square meter. The most preferred application level during the cleaning operation is 10-20
ml / m ² . A typical prior art spray can release up to three times more product in a given area than the package of the present invention.

Typical cone angles in embodiments of the present invention are 25-75 degrees.

A preferred droplet size distribution is such that, for a discharge of 10 g, no more than 350 mg of product is present in a droplet having a particle size of less than 7 microns. 70
It is preferred that 0 mg or less of the product be present in a droplet having a particle size of 30 microns or less.

Generally, the average particle size is in the range of 50 to 100 microns. This is believed to avoid the problem of respirable particles and at the same time ensure that the product is released to the surface rather than remaining suspended in the air. The typical commercially available product (CIF multiuso trigger pack) currently has a droplet size range of 30-700 microns with a peak at about 250 microns.

It has been found advantageous to provide the spray actuator with an extension post. That is,
This is a short annular passage having an inlet end for receiving product and an outlet end in which the spray outlet is located. A vortex chamber is placed in front of the spray outflow hole, in which the product dispensed is subjected to intense turbulence. Extension posts are 3-10 in length
It is suitable that the diameter is in the range of mm and the diameter is in the range of 7 to 7.5 mm. Lengths in the range of 4-7 mm have proven to be particularly advantageous. A particular advantage of such an arrangement is that it is effective in reducing the amount of respirable particles generated during spraying.

The use of extension posts in a spray can also be combined with one or more of the features discussed herein to optionally form an independent invention.

In another embodiment, the present invention provides a packaged product comprising a non-ionic cleaning composition containing an aqueous or solvent in a package according to the first aspect of the invention.

The product must have a viscosity such that it can be released in the form of a spray. It is also considered essential that the composition comprises at least one nonionic surfactant. The composition of such products may be simple solutions or more complex forms such as microemulsions.

A particularly preferred product composition comprises 2 to 30% nonionic surfactant, more preferably 3 to 13% nonionic surfactant. Anionic surfactants are optional. Preferred nonionic surfactants are alkoxylated alcohols, especially ethoxylated C8-C with 3 to 8 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alcohol.
Contains 18 alcohols. Other nonionic surfactants may also be employed, and these multiple surfactants are disclosed in "Nonionic Surfactants" by Schick (Arno
ld: surfactant science serie s, volume 1).

The preferred concentration of surfactant is in the range of 5 to 15% by weight of total surfactant, with a level of about 10% being particularly preferred.

Hydrophobic oils are an optional component of the composition according to the invention. Suitable oils include oils that rapidly dissolve triglycerides. When oil is present, preferred oils include limonene, paracimene, dibutyl ether, and butyl butyrate.

The solvent is preferably present at a level of 3 to 20% by weight, a level of 5 to 10% by weight being particularly preferred. The use of short alkyl chain esters including ethyl acetate is also contemplated, but glycol ethers or lower alcohols having 1 to 5 carbons, or both are preferred as solvents.

The solvent is propylene glycol mono-n-
Butyl ether, dipropylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether, propylene glycol mono-t-butyl ether, dipropylene glycol mono-t-butyl ether, diethylene glycol hexyl ether, methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, and these It is preferred to be selected from a mixture of

Particularly preferred solvents are ethanol (preferably industrial methylated spirits), propylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether (commercially available as Dowanol PnB®), and diethylene glycol monobutyl ether (Butyl Digol®). ) Is included in the group. These solvents are preferable in terms of cost, availability, and safety factor. It has been determined that this solvent selection provides enhanced cleaning performance for inks and dyes.

The composition of the present invention can be alkaline, acidic or neutral, but it is preferred that the composition is alkaline with a pH preferably greater than 10.

It is preferred that the composition comprises 1-10% alkanolamine, with levels of 2-6% by weight being particularly preferred.

Particularly suitable alkanolamines include 2-
Included are amino-2-methyl-1-propanol, monoethanolamine, and diethanolamine.

It can be said to be particularly advantageous to include a polymer in the composition for use in the second embodiment of the invention. This helps reduce the level of very small droplet formation in the spray sprayed from the package.
Suitable polymers include the polymer PVP K-9 on the market.
PVP marketed as 0 is included. Suitable levels of PVP in this example are in the range of 200 ppm and above. Levels of 300 to 700 ppm are particularly preferred.

A particularly preferred composition has a pH of greater than 10.
And includes the following as a mixed additive with water.

A. 3-13% nonionic surfactant (preferably C10-EO5 nonionic surfactant) b. 5-10% solvent (preferably diethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether) c. 2-6% alkanolamine (preferably 2-
Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) d. 1-5% buffer / alkali (preferably sodium carbonate) e. 300-700ppm PVP The above composition is 0.15-0.5ml per spraying operation
When packaged in a container according to the first embodiment of the invention suitable for producing a spray of the product according to the invention, it constitutes a particularly preferred product according to the second embodiment of the invention, the spray comprising 30-300 microns. Has an average droplet size in the range.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0038]

1 and 2, a liquid dispensing package embodying the present invention includes a container body 10 for containing a liquid product. The container body 10 has a neck portion 14 at the top, on which a pump assembly 16 is mounted, which pump assembly 16 constitutes a spray actuator. A cap 12 is mounted on the container body 10 and surrounds the neck portion 14 and pump 16. A trigger 18 is mounted on the cap 12. All of these components will be detailed later.

The container body 10 is formed as a hollow plastic molding. The container body has a generally flat base 20 which can be erected upright.
References to "upper" and "lower" and related terms should be understood with respect to the container in this upright configuration.

The base 20 generally has a triangular cross section with rounded corners and has a major axis and a minor axis oriented in the longitudinal and transverse directions, respectively, the longitudinal dimension being about twice the lateral dimension. The first direction of the long axis indicated by arrow A in FIGS. 1 and 2 is defined as the forward direction.

From the base 20, the container body 10 extends upwards and has a rear wall 22 and two end rounded side walls 24, 26 connected thereto. The side walls 24, 26 extend from the rear wall,
Front regions 2 that are generally tapered and convexly curved
Get together at 7.

The handling area, shown generally at 28, is defined by the curved recesses in the sides and the front area 27. Therefore, the container body is
It is convenient to be able to grab with 8.

The neck portion 14 is formed on the uppermost portion of the container body 10. The neck portion 14 is usually mediocre, having a vertically extending cylindrical opening in the container and an external thread. The pump 16 is mounted by screwing its retaining ring 17 onto the neck portion 14,
Further, it has a dip tube 30 extending into the container body, and the liquid in the container body 10 can be taken out through this dip tube. This arrangement is also well known,
It will be understood later.

The pump 16 has a plunger 40 extending upward.
And this plunger constitutes the operating member of the pump. As the plunger 40 moves downward, liquid is pumped from the container body.

The plunger has an extension post 41. The extension post 41 consists of a tube extending forward from the plunger 40 and having a length of about 4 mm, into which the liquid is pumped. The extension post 41 is closed by a plate at its front end, a spray outlet 42 is formed in the plate, and when the plunger 40 moves downward, a spray spray is generated from the outlet 42. The spray outlet 42 is generally oriented to be sprayed forward.

The cap 12 includes a rear wall 32 and two side walls 3
It consists of a plastic molding with 4,36. Each of these walls extends from the lower edge 38 to the side facing the rear of the neck portion 14. The rear wall has a lower portion extending from a lower edge 38 having a cross-section of approximately one quarter circle such that the region 33 of the rear wall faces generally downward. In use, this area 33 can be placed on the user's hand so that it can easily support the weight of the package and its contents. The remaining portion of the rear wall 32 is vertical and extends upward to just below the height of the pump plunger 40 in the released condition.
The side walls 34, 36 are shaped complementary to the rear wall 32 and extend forwardly from the rear wall and join together at the curved front region. The upper boundary of the side walls 34, 36 is curved downward from the rear wall 32 in a substantially quarter circle shape.

The cap is a holding ring 17 of the pump 16.
Having a retention formation 31 shaped and dimensioned to lie beneath. This retaining formation 31 comprises an elastically upwardly bent plastic projection which can be flexed so that the cap 12 can be pushed into place and then to secure the cap 12 in place. In addition, it can rebound to the natural state of the protrusion. It may be said that this type of retention formation constitutes another embodiment of the invention, optionally in combination with other features described herein.

Additionally or optionally,
Retaining formations may be provided on the lower edge portion of the wall of the cap 18 shaped and dimensioned to interlock with complementary formations provided in adjacent areas of the container body 10.

The trigger 18 is formed as a plastic molding. In this embodiment, the trigger 18 is the cap 12
Is formed entirely together with and is connected to the cap 12 by a living hinge 44. However, it is also conceivable to form the cap as a separate molding and attach it to the cap 12 by means of conventional hinges. For example, pins can be passed through holes in the sides of the cap to pivotally interconnect these components within the trigger.

The trigger 18 has an upper wall 43 extending forward from the hinge 44. The top wall 43 has an arcuate cross section and is therefore almost vertical in the immediate vicinity of the hinge and almost horizontal in its front area. The side surfaces 45 and 46 of the trigger 18 extend downward from the upper wall 43. Under normal conditions, the lower edges of the side surfaces 45, 46 will be the side surfaces 34, 36 of the cap 12.
The side edges 34, 36 of the cap 12 overlap the side edge 4 of the trigger 18 by a small distance.
Pass between 5 and 46. The front wall 47 of the trigger is the side surface 34,
It extends between the front edges of 36 and extends upwards together with the top wall 43. The front wall has a curved cross section. Thus, the trigger 18 forms a hood for the cap which is pivoted about a horizontal axis.

In the case of use, the user has to use the front wall 47 of the trigger.
Apply finger pressure to. Therefore, the front wall 47 is formed with a curved concave portion, into which the user's finger can be comfortably received.

A passage hole 50 is formed in the front wall 47 in front of the spray outflow hole 42. The hole is oval and the major axis extends vertically.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the top wall 43 of the trigger 18 has a pair of protrusions 80 on its underside having a generally semi-circular lower portion. Each protrusion 80 is received in a respective flute 82 formed in the uppermost surface of the plunger 40. Thus, the plunger 40 does not rotate with respect to the trigger 18.

To use the container, the user grasps the front wall 47 of the trigger 18 and pulls it generally rearward, which causes the trigger 18 to pivot about its axis. This makes the projection 80
Pushes the plunger 40 and moves it downwards, resulting in the product spray being dispensed. The range of movement thus caused is shown in FIG. 1, where the initial (normal) position of the trigger 18 is shown as a solid line and the final (after the product spray has been emitted) position of the trigger 18 '. It is shown with a dotted line.

It will be appreciated that the passage holes 50 should be shaped and dimensioned to allow for clear spray passage. In particular, the relative vertical positions of the spray outflow holes 42 and holes 50 change during movement of the trigger 18. Thus, the holes 50 must have sufficient vertical extent to accommodate this change. Spray outflow hole 42 and hole 5
The relative movement occurring between 0 and 50 'can be clearly seen from FIG.

An example of a cleaning compound that is particularly suitable for dispensing in a container as described above will now be described. Such a composition in the container described above constitutes an example of an exemplary second embodiment of the present invention.

As for the cleaning performance, the DECA
It was measured with a MEL (for example, FORMICA®) sheet. 0.5 mg / cm2 of dirt (non-volatile base) was sprayed onto a DECAMEL test surface of A4 size area. As filth, glycerol tripalmitate 1%, glycerol trioleate 0.5%, kaolin 0.5%, liquid paraffin 0.2
%, Palmitic acid 0.1%, and carbon black 0.02% mixed with methylated spirit. This filth
It was left at room temperature for 24 hours before cleaning.

The effort to remove dirt from the test surface using a cellulose sponge cloth was measured.

Example 1 A composition was prepared by mixing the components shown in Table 1 below.

[0060]

[Table 1]

From Table 1, this composition is compared (in terms of surfactant) to a conventional spray cleaning composition containing about 4% by weight surfactant and about 5% by weight solvent.
It can be seen that it is a concentrate.

Table 2 and FIG. 4 use the above composition 6
Shows the result of street spraying. The composition was prepared as described above using various pumps, unfired, fouled D
Sprayed onto the ECAMEL tile.

In the tables and figures, DS is the average particle concentration over 5 minutes from spray in air, expressed as the number of particles per cc with a diameter of 7 microns or less. The higher the DS, the smaller the average droplet size in the spray.

Wider data were obtained for various pumps and those reproduced in Table 3 below. From this data,
There is a correlation between the droplet size DS as measured above expressed in microns and the average particle size produced by the spray, ie, as the DS value decreases, more often in the larger particle size bands. It turns out that there are particles. Therefore, low average particle size during spraying results in high DS
Related to value.

[0065]

[Table 2]

Returning to Table 2, the cone diameter is measured at 15 cm, which is the diameter of the spray pattern at 15 cm from the spray head.

The dose is the dose applied over the area sprayed by the tile product. In all cases, multiple cycles of spray equipment were used.

Work is the total effort required to completely clean a tile, measured in the sense of all effort made by a human operator.

[0069]

[Table 3]

From the numerical values in Table 2, the applied amount per unit area,
It is therefore possible to calculate the cleaning efficiency, which is expressed as the effort required per unit area of product sprayed. Figure 4 shows the droplet size (D
It is a graph showing the relationship between S) and this efficiency. From this figure it is clear that the higher the value of DS, the higher the efficiency, ie the same amount of product distributed in smaller droplets allows cleaning of the surface with less effort.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a liquid distribution package embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional top view of the liquid distribution package of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed side view of a part where the trigger and the operating member engage with each other in the mutual engaging region of the trigger and the operating member of the package.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between droplet size and cleaning efficiency of a cleaning compound dispensed from a package embodying the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Container Main Body 12 Cap 14 Neck Part 16 Pump Assembly 17 Holding Ring 18 Trigger 20 Base 22 Rear Wall 24 Side Wall 26 Side Wall 27 Front Area 28 Handling Area 30 Dip Tube 31 Retaining Formation 32 Rear Wall 34 Side Wall 36 Side Wall 38 Lower Edge Part 40 Plunger 41 Extension Post 42 Spray Outlet 43 Trigger Upper Wall 44 Living Hinge 45 Trigger Side Side 46 Trigger Side 47 47 Trigger Front Wall 50 Hole, Opening 80 Protrusion 82 Vertical Groove

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. A package containing an aqueous or solvent containing non-ionic cleaning composition having a pH greater than 10 suitable for causing a forward spray when a user pulls the package. A product that has been
The package includes a spray actuator having an actuating member whose vertical height is varied to generate a spray, an actuating force is applied to a trigger in front of the actuating member, the trigger being behind the actuating member. A packaged product that is swiveled around an axis and the spray is expelled through a spray opening in the trigger. 2. The packaged product of claim 1, wherein the axis is generally transverse to the spray direction. 3. The packaged product according to claim 1, wherein the spray actuator is a pump, and the operating member is a pump chamber or a component connected to the pump chamber. 4. Packaged product according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the spray is emitted from the spray outlet of the operating member. 5. The packaged product of claim 4, wherein the spray outlet is located on the extension post. 6. The packaged product of claim 5, wherein the length of the extension post is in the range of 3-10 mm. 7. The packaged product of claim 5, wherein the extension posts have a length in the range of 4-7 mm. 8. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the trigger and the operating member are contacted with each other and a structure is provided in an interlocking region between the trigger and the operating member in order to resist rotational movement of the operating member with respect to the trigger. Packaged products listed. 9. A trigger generally extends backwards from the pivot of the actuating member, transversely across the actuating member, and bends downward at the front to form a generally vertical portion, the actuation of the spray by the user being generally 9. Packaged product according to any one of claims 1 to 8 achieved by rearward movement of this vertical portion. 10. The container of claim 1 including a container containing a product and having a spray actuator mounted thereon, and a cap mounted on a bottle surrounding the actuator, wherein the trigger is supported on the cap. Packaged product according to any one of the preceding items. 11. A spray actuator is suitable for ejecting a compound onto a surface in the form of a spray spray, the average size of the spray is 30 to 300 microns, and the spray angle and the coating amount are the surface at the center of the spray pattern. 20. The packaged product according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein 20% or more of the film is covered, but the area where a continuous liquid film is formed is minimized. 12. The spray actuator is suitable for dispensing a predetermined quantity of product upon activation.
12. The packaged product according to any one of 1 to 11. 13. The dispensed volume is 0.2 ml to 0.4 m.
13. Packaged product according to claim 12 in the range of l. 14. The dispensed volume is 0.3 ml to 0.35.
13. Packaged product according to claim 12 in the ml range. 15. The spray produced is 0.15 ml.
15. A cone angle such that .about.0.5 ml of product is released over a circular area with a diameter of 7 to 17 cm.
A packaged product according to any one of. 16. 10-1 for each pump cycle
16. Packaged product according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the spray creates a pattern of splashes, such that 50 ml of product is released on each square meter. 17. A packaged product according to any one of claims 1 to 16 wherein the spray produced has a cone angle of 25 to 75 degrees. 18. The spray as produced has a droplet distribution such that for a discharge of 10 g no more than 350 mg of product is present in a droplet having a particle size of less than 7 microns. Packaged product as described in Section. 19. The spray as produced has a droplet distribution such that for a discharge of 10 g 700 mg or less of the product are present in a droplet having a particle size of 30 microns or less. Packaged product as described in Section. 20. The generated spray is 50-100.
20. A packaged product according to any one of claims 1 to 19 having an average droplet size in the micron range. 21. The packaged product of any one of claims 1-20, wherein the cleaning composition comprises 2-30% nonionic surfactant. 22. The packaged product of any one of claims 1-20, wherein the cleaning composition comprises 3-30% solvent. 23. The packaged product of any one of claims 1-22, wherein the cleaning composition further comprises 10% alkanolamine.