LAUNDRY DETERGENT GEL WITH SUSPENDED PARTICLES

• US 20050176610A1
• Filed: 02/05/2004
• Published: 08/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unilever Home & Personal Care USA (Unilever PLC)
• Original Assignee: Unilever Home & Personal Care USA (Unilever PLC)
• Inventors: Hines, John David, Hsu, Feng-Lung Gordon, Vogel, Ronald Frederick, Zhu, Yun Peng
• Granted Patent: US 6,972,278 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 510/280
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 1/143 Sulfonic acid esters
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 1/146 Sulfuric acid esters
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 1/22 derived from aromatic compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 1/29 Sulfates of polyoxyalkylene ethers
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 1/72 Ethers of polyoxyalkylene glycols
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 17/003 Colloidal solutions, e.g. gels; Thixotropic solutions or pastes
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/14 Fillers; Abrasives ; Abrasive compositions; Suspending or absorbing agents not provided for in one single group of C11D3/12; Specific features concerning abrasives, e.g. granulometry or mixtures dyes, pigments C11D3/40
• CPC Class Codes: C11D 3/2079 Monocarboxylic acids-salts thereof

Abstract

A shear-thinning lamellar gel detergent composition containing suspended particles, employing a non-neutralized fatty acid as a structuring agent, in a specific amount, depending on the total surfactant level. The weight % ratio of non-neutralized fatty acid to the total surfactant within a specific range, defined by the Gelling Index equation, results in gels with the desired properties. The inventive product offers an advantage of laundry pre-treater and a detergent in a single product and also provides a visual cue of suspended particles.

Claims

1. A gel laundry detergent and/or pre-treater composition comprising:

(a) from about 8% to about 35%, by weight of the composition, of a surfactant, A, selected from the group consisting of anionic, nonionic and cationic, and amphoteric surfactants and mixtures thereof;

(b) from about 0.1% to about 5%, by weight of the composition of a non-neutralized fatty acid;

(c) from about 50 to about 90% of water;

(d) additional laundry composition ingredient selected from enzyme, builder, fluorescent dye, soil-release polymer, buffering agent, and mixtures thereof;

(e) from about 0.1% to about 10%, by weight of the composition of suspended particles having a size from about 300 to about 5000 microns;

(f) wherein the weight % ratio of the structuring agent to the surfactant is less than about 1 but greater than or equal to the gelling index value, g, defined by equation (I)

$\begin{array}{cc}G=\frac{0.75}{1+{\left(0.11\times <br><br>A\right)}^{8.3}}-\left(0.0062\times <br><br>A-0.25\right).& \left(I\right)\end{array}$

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the particles in the composition are suspended or dispersed without any sedimentation.

3. The composition of claim 1 wherein the yield stress of the composition is in the range of from about 0.01 Pa to about 10 kPa.

4. The composition of claim 1, wherein the P_yA_p≧

(P_p−

P_g)gV_p where A_p is the surface area of a particle,

P_p is the density of particle,

P_g is the density of gel,

g is the gravitational acceleration,

V_p is the volume of a particle.

5. The composition of claim 1 wherein the total surfactant amount is less than about 25%, by weight of the composition.

6. The composition of claim 1, wherein the composition is substantially free of conventional structuring agents.

7. The composition of claim 1, wherein the composition is transparent/translusent.

8. The composition of claim 1 wherein the composition is packaged in a transparent container.

9. The composition of claim 1 wherein the pH of the composition is within the range of from about 6 to about 8.

10. The composition of claim 1 wherein the surfactant comprises an anionic surfactant.

11. The composition of claim 9 wherein the anionic surfactant comprises a mixture of a synthetic anionic surfactant and soap.

12. The composition of claim 1 wherein the surfactant comprises a mixture of an anionic surfactant and a nonionic surfactant.

13. The composition of claim 11 wherein the non-neutralized fatty acid in the composition is an unsaturated fatty acid.

14. The composition of claim 12 wherein the composition comprises from about 0.01% to about 5.0%, by weight of the composition, of an antioxidant.

15. The composition of claim 1 wherein the composition further comprises a pH jump system.