Soft tissue paper having a softening composition containing an extensional viscosity modifier deposited thereon

• US 6,547,928 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2001
• Issued: 04/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: Wu, Yenchun, Frankenbach, Gayle Marie, Coffaro, Paul Joseph, Mackey, Larry Neil, Barnholtz, Steven Lee, Vinson, Kenneth Douglas, Wahl, Errol Hoffman, Hamilton, Amy Jo
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Peter
• Application Number:
  US09/997,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20020112831A1
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• Field of Search: 162/111, 162/112, 162/109, 162/113, 162/135, 162/127, 162/158, 162/179, 162/134, 162/181.1, 162/181.2, 162/168.2, 162/168.1, 162/168.3
• US Class Current: 162/127
• CPC Class Codes: D21H 17/07 Nitrogen-containing compounds
• CPC Class Codes: D21H 17/53 Polyethers; Polyesters
• CPC Class Codes: D21H 21/22 Agents rendering paper porous, absorbent or bulky

Abstract

Disclosed is a composition for softening an absorbent tissue and tissue structures softened using the composition. The composition includes an effective amount of a softening active ingredient; a vehicle in which the softening active ingredient is dispersed; an electrolyte dissolved in the vehicle; a bilayer disrupter and a high polymer. The electrolyte and the bilayer disrupter cooperate to cause the viscosity of the composition to be less than the viscosity of a dispersion of the softening active ingredient in the vehicle alone. The high polymer adds “stringiness” to the composition opening the air pressure operating window for spray application of the softening composition. Preferably, the softening active ingredient is a quaternary ammonium compound with the formula:

(R₁)_4−m—N⁺—[(CH₂)_n—Y—R₃]_mX⁻

the vehicle is water, the electrolyte is calcium chloride, the bilayer disrupter is a nonionic surfactant, and the high molecular weight polymer is a nonionic polyacrylamide.

Claims

1. A soft tissue paper product, said soft tissue paper product comprising:

one or more plies of a tissue paper; and

a chemical softening composition deposited on at least one outer surface of said tissue, said chemical softening composition comprising;

a softening active ingredient, wherein said softening active ingredient comprises a quaternary ammonium compound;

an electrolyte; and

a bilayer disrupter

and having an extensional viscosity of at least about 5 pascal •

seconds.

2. The tissue paper of claim 1 wherein said chemical softening composition is deposited as uniform, discrete surface deposits, spaced apart at a frequency between about 5 areas per lineal inch and about 100 areas per lineal inch.

3. The tissue paper of claim 1 wherein said quaternary ammonium compound has the formula:

4. The tissue paper of claim 3 wherein m is 2, n is 2, R₁ is methyl, R₃ is C₁₅-C₁₇ alkyl or alkenyl, and Y is —

O—

(O)C—

, or —

C(O)—

O—

.

5. The tissue paper of claim 4 wherein X⁻

is selected from the group consisting of chloride or methyl sulfate.

6. The tissue paper of claim 1 wherein said chemical softening composition further comprises a high polymer.

7. The tissue paper of claim 1 wherein said high polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyacrylamide and its derivatives, acrylic polymers and copolymers, water soluble vinyl polymers, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyethyleneimine, polyalkylene oxides, and mixtures thereof.

8. The tissue paper of claim 7 wherein said high polymer has a weight-average molecular weight of at least 500,000.

9. The tissue paper of claim 1 wherein said electrolyte comprises a salt having an anion selected from the group consisting of halides and simple organic acids and having a cation selected from the group consisting of the organic acid salts of sodium, calcium, and magnesium.

10. The tissue paper of claim 9 wherein said electrolyte comprises a sodium formate and said electrolyte is used at a level between about 1% and about 2% of said softening composition.

11. The tissue paper of claim 1 wherein said bilayer disrupter is used at a level of between about 2% and about 15% of the level of said softening active ingredient.

12. The tissue paper of claim 1 wherein said bilayer disrupter is selected from the group consisting of:

1. nonionic surfactants derived from saturated and/or unsaturated primary and/or secondary, amine, amide, amine-oxide fatty alcohol, fatty acid, alkyl phenol, and/or alkyl aryl carboxylic acid compounds having from about 6 to about 22 carbon atoms in a hydrophobic chain, wherein at least one active hydrogen of said compounds is ethoxylated with ≦

50 ethylene oxide moieties to provide an HLB of from about 6 to about 20;

2. nonionic surfactants with bulky head groups selected from;

a. surfactants having the formulas;

wherein Y″

=N or O; and

each R⁵ is selected independently from the following;

—

H, —

OH, —

(CH₂)xCH₃, —

O(OR²)_z—

H, —

OR¹, —

OC(O)R¹, and —

CH(CH₂—

(OR²)_z″

H)—

CH₂—

(OR²)_z′

—

C(O) R¹, x and R¹ are as defined above and 5≦

z, z′

, and z″

≦

20; and

b. polyhydroxy fatty acid amide surfactants of the formula;