PACKAGED FABRIC CLEANING COMPOSITIONS
The present invention relates to packaged fabric clearing and conditioning liquid/gel compositions.
Concentrated liquid/gel laundry formulations offer huge environmental and cost savings. However lower dose size poses the problem of accurate dosing. Even small errors in estimating the volume and minor spillages can lead to huge wastage, especially when viewed in terms of wastage by large numbers of consumers doing a chore at least once a week. Metered pumps can overcome this problem by controlling the dosage however at the same time, many consumers distrust automatic dosing "black box" dispensers, and prefer to retain some feeling of control even if it is simply an ability to visually check the process. Unfortunately, if the pump components are visible, this reduces the appeal of the product. The packaging engineer is thus faced with a difficult challenge of appeasing the conflicting desirata of the consumer.
An object of the invention is therefore to provide a packaged laundry composition which can dose concentrated liquid/gel formulations accurately and effectively but which also provides some reassure to the consumer.
Accordingly in a first aspect, the invention provides a packaged fabric cleaning or
conditioning product comprising the combination of a fabric cleaning or
conditioning composition and a package containing the composition, the package
comprising:
(i) a reservoir in which the composition is contained with ullage space;
(ii) a metered pump dispenser for dispensing a metered dose of the
composition, said pump comprising a pump chamber located toward a top of the package within the ullage space, and a pump actuator by which said metered dose is dispensed from the reservoir via the pump chamber,

(iii) the reservoir containing one or more translucent regions adjacent at least the pump dispenser and at least a portion of the reservoir below this region, wherein said one or more translucent regions comprise a polyolefin comprising a contact clarifier, such that visibility of the composition is enhanced relative to the visibility of the pump.
The term "contact clarifier" is intended to mean a clarifying agent or agents which improve/s the clarity of a translucent material of polyolefins such that further improvement in clarity is visible when a liquid contacts the material surface.
The "top" of the package is intended to mean that part of the package which is distal to the base, such that, when orientated on the base, fluid drains, under gravity away from the top portion toward the base portion.
The term "translucent" is intended to exclude transparent. Transparency would allow full view of the pump mechanism which would be undesirable.
Translucent packages according to the invention has a transmittance of more than 25%, more preferably more than 30%, more preferably more than 40%, more preferably more than 50% in the visible part of the spectrum (41 0-800 nm) but not more than 90% and preferably not more than 80%, more preferably not more than 70%.
Alternatively, absorbency of bottle may be measured as less than 0.6 (approximately equivalent to 25% transmitting) or by having transmittance greater than 25% wherein % transmittance equals: 1 1 oabsorbancy x 100% and corresponding absorbency levels for the remaining preferred levels above.
The invention is advantageous as the formulation is dispensed by a pump without the consumer having to measure the dosage against a fill level, and reassures the consumer by allowing visible monitoring of the process by translucent portions,

but, the less attractive pump chamber mechanism/components are less visible due to translucent portions adjacent at least the pump, and the liquid contents are more visible due to contact clarity.
In a further aspect the invention provides a process for cleaning or conditioning a fabric using the packaged product of the first aspect, the process comprising the step of:
1. pumping the composition into a fabric washing receptacle
2. washing the fabric in said receptacle.
The contact clarifier may be any clarifier which improve/s the clarity of a translucent material of polyolefins such that further improvement in clarity is visible when a liquid contacts the material surface.
The contact clarifying agents are preferably present at levels 100-2000 ppm.
Suitable clarifying agents include sorbitol, e.g. RIKA International's RIKACLEAR® PC1 , a non acetal sorbitol clarifying agent. Sorbitol levels are preferably greater than 1500 ppm for improved clarity. Another sorbital based clarifier is Irgaclear XT386 ® by Ciba Speciality Chemicals. Further clarifying agents include NX8000® by Milliken chemicals and IP1 8 10® by Ingenia Polymers.
Preferably the at least one translucent portion extends in the direction of the base of the package. Advantageously, this provides a fill level view portion. The at least one translucent portion or portions may extend longitudinally to the base of the pack. There may be a single elongate strip of translucency, or multiple portions extending longitudinally.
The package may comprise a partially or fully translucent package, and may comprise a transparent pack e.g. bottle or tub with an opaque wrapper e.g. shrink

sleeve, the wrapper having transparent sections or apertures to view the translucent regions of the bottle.
The package may comprise any suitable polyolefin, but preferably polyester (PE) or polypropylene (PP) or blends thereof. High density PE (HDPE) is particularly preferred due to its rigidity in a pump package. Medium density is also preferred, but structural features (increased wall thickness) might be needed to increase rigidity. Pump components will preferably comprise PP and are typically injection moulded. The pump components may be translucent or transparent, so as to reduce visual impact..
The package is preferably made by extrusion blow moulding, however portions of the pump dispenser may be injection moulded.
The step of pumping the composition into a fabric washing receptacle may comprise pumping the composition into a shuttle or the drawer of a front loading washing machine.
The composition may be opaque or translucent or transparent. Preferably, the composition is transparent/translucent.
Preferably the composition is coloured. Colouring allows visibility of the metered dose during dispensing into a dosing shuttle orwashing machine drawer. Measuring is not needed but it is still desirable to see the liquid within the shuttle/drawer. Colouring of the composition may be achieved by any suitable colourant and is preferably present at a level from 0.0001 % - 0.1 % but preferably greater than 0.8 %.
Suitable colourants include organic/inorganic pigments, interference pigments, lakes, natural colourants, dyes, carmines, and mixtures thereof.

The invention is most advantageous for a concentrated fabric cleaning composition.
Cleaning compositions may be highly viscous e.g. due to sequestrant levels driving viscosity higher. Hence cleaning compositions may comprise at least one sequestrant which is preferably a heavy metal ion sequestrant. By heavy metal ion sequestrant it is meant herein components which act to sequester (or chelate) heavy metal ions. These components may also have calcium and magnesium chelation capacity, but preferentially they show selectivity to binding heavy metal ions such as iron, manganese and copper.
Preferred levels of sequestrants in cleaning compositions are from 0-5 %, more preferably 0.5 -3 %, more preferably 1-2%.
Preferred examples of sequestrants further include, S,S-ethylenediamine disuccinic acid (EDDS), Tiron (otherwise know as Catechol-2,5-disulfonate as the acid or water soluble salt), ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), Diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA), 1-Hydroxyethylidene 1,1 diphosphonic acid (HEDP), Diethylenetriamine-penta-methylene phosphonic acid (DTPMP), dipicolinic acid and salts and/or acids thereof and mixtures thereof. Further examples of suitable chelating agents and levels of use are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,812,044; 4,704,233; 5,292,446; 5,445,747; 5,531 ,91 5; 5,545,352; 5,576,282; 5,641 ,739; 5,703,031 ; 5,705,464; 5,71 0,1 15; 5,71 0,1 15; 5,712,242; 5,721 ,205; 5,728,671 ; 5,747,440; 5,780,41 9; 5,879,409; 5,929,010; 5,929,01 8; 5,958,866; 5,965,514; 5,972,038; 6,1 72,021 ; and 6,503,876.
Other sequestrants which can be used are water-soluble polyphosphonates, including specifically sodium, potassium and lithium salts of methylene diphosphonic acid; sodium, potassium and lithium salts of ethylene diphosphonic acid; and sodium, potassium and lithium salts of ethane-l,l,2-triphosphonic acid. Other examples include the alkali metal salts of ethane-2-carboxy-l, I-

diphosphonic acid hydroxynnethanediphosphonic acid, carboxyldiphosphonic acid, ethane-1 -hydroxy-l,l,2-triphosphonic acid, ethane-2-hydroxy-1 ,1,2-triphosphonic acid, propane-1 ,1,3,3-tetraphosphonic acid, propane-1 ,1,2,3-tetraphosphonic acid, and propane-1 ,2,2,3-tetra-phosphonic acid.
Compositions will preferably also contain various functional ingredients: surfactants, builders, structurants, various adjuncts, hyrdrotropes, perfumes, softeners etc.
Preferably the pump dispenser is a non-aerosol device. Preferably the pump dispenser comprises a manually operated unidirectional reciprocated pump dispenser.
The pump dispenser device need not be enclosed by a closure device with any measuring capacity since the pump meters out measured doses without needed to measure any further.
In this application, all percentages, unless indicated otherwise, are intended to be percentages by weight.
Figure 1 shows an enlarged schematic view of a package according to the invention.
Referring to the drawings, a packaged fabric laundry (here a cleaning) product 1 comprises a package 2 and composition 3 according to the example hereinbelow is shown, the composition stored with head space or ullage 4.
The package 2 comprises a closed reservoir 6 and a manually operated vertically reciprocated pump dispenser 5 which is located toward the top of the package and in the ullage space 4.

The reservoir contains an elongate translucent region 50 adjacent at least the pump dispenser and extending to the base of the package. The package comprises a stretch blow moulded high density polypropylene with a contact clarifier Millad® NX8000 or IP1 810 by Ingenia Polymers (3% by weight of masterbatch which is added to the base polymer : here HDPE, clarifier level is 1000 ppm but may be 100-2000 ppm depending on level of clarity required). The exemplary liquid contains colourant but this is not essential. The liquid is more visible through the strip due the presence of the contact clarifier, but visibility above the liquid level is reduced relatively. This means that visibility of the pump is not improved to the extent that liquid visibility levels are improved.
Pump dispenser 5 comprises a pump housing 10 attached to an upper part of the closed reservoir 6 and extending into the interior thereof, together with a manually operated pump actuator 8 extending vertically downwardly into the pump housing 10 and at an opposed end, terminating in a dispensing head 30 with dispensing outlet 20.
The pump housing 10 includes a pump chamber 12 and a dip tube 14 extending downwardly into the pump chamber into the liquid. A one-way valve 16 is positioned between the pump chamber 12 and the dip tube 14 to control the unidirectional flow of liquid into the pump chamber 12 from the dip tube14. The pump actuator 8 is mounted in the pump chamber 12 for vertical reciprocating movement. The pump actuator 8 has a bore extending there through and terminating at directional dispensing outlet 20.
A pump piston 34 is positioned inside the pump chamber, and at the base of the actuator. Coiled spring 18 longitudinally retained in the pump chamber engages against the bottom end of the pump actuator 8, biasing actuator and the piston 34 upwardly. A second one-way valve 36 is located in the pump plunger discharge passage adjacent the pump piston. The second valve permits only unidirectional

flow of liquid in the direction from the pump chamber to the dispenser head 30 and outlet 20.
The pump is calibrated to dispense a predetermined dose.
The pump dispenser 5 is actuated by manually depressing the pump actuator 8 downwardly which forces it into the pump housing 10, consequently the pump piston 34 moves downwardly through the pump chamber and compresses the fluid in the pump chamber 12. This causes the first one-way valve 16 to close and the second one-way valve 36 to open. The fluid in the pump chamber moves upwardly past the second one-way valve 36, along the actuator bore and dispensing passage 22 is dispensed from the dispensing outlet 20.
Releasing the actuator releases spring 18 to push the actuator upwardly relative to the pump housing 10. This moves the piston 34 upwardly through the pump chamber 12 so creating a vacuum which closes the second one-way valve 36 and opens the first one-way valve 16. This draws liquid from the container into the pump chamber 12, and the system is ready for actuation once again.

Non-Limiting Example of Fabric cleaning According To Embodiments of the Invention As Described Above.
INGREDIENTS
Alkybenzenesulfonic acid 17.2
C 12-1 4 alcohol 7-ethoxolate 8.6
C 12-14 alcohol 3-ethoxolate
Sulphate Na sulphate 8.6
Citric acid 2.9
C12-1 8 fatty acid 12.7
Enzymes 3.5
Ethoxolated polyamine 1.4
Ethoxolated polyamine polymer
Quarternized and sulphated 3.7
Hydroxyethane diphosphonic acids
HEDP 1.4
Catechol 2, 5 disulphonate 0.9
Na salt
Fluorescor 0.3
1,2 propandiol 3.5
1-ethoxypentanol 0.9
MEA (Monoethanolamine) 10.2
MEA borate 0.5
Perfume 1.6
Water 22.1
Perfume, dyes, miscellaneous minors balance.
The viscosity of the above exemplary composition is 2700 cps at 20 s~1. However, lower viscosity formulations are possible.

Unless stated otherwise, all proportions are given in weight percent by weight of the total composition.
It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only.

CLAIMS
1. A packaged fabric cleaning or conditioning product comprising the
combination of a fabric cleaning or conditioning composition and a package
containing the composition, the package comprising:
(i) a reservoir in which the composition is contained with ullage space;
(ii) a metered pump dispenser for dispensing a metered dose of the
composition, said pump comprising a pump chamber located toward a top of the package within the ullage space, and a pump actuator by which said metered dose is dispensed from the reservoir via the pump chamber,
(iii) the reservoir containing one or more translucent regions adjacent at least the pump dispenser and at least a portion of the reservoir below this region, wherein said one or more translucent regions comprise a polyolefin comprising a contact clarifier, such that visibility of the composition is enhanced relative to the visibility of the pump.
2. A packaged product according to claim 1 wherein the at least one translucent portion extends in the direction of the base of the package.
3. A packaged product according to any preceding claim wherein the composition is translucent or transparent.
4. A packaged product according to any preceding claim wherein the package has a transmittance of more than 25%, and less than 90 % in the visible part of the spectrum (41 0-800 nm).
5. A packaged product according to any preceding claim wherein contact clarifying agents are present at levels 100-2000 ppm.

6. A method of cleaning a fabric using the packaged product of any preceding
claim the method comprising the step of:
1. pumping the composition into a fabric washing receptacle
2. washing the fabric in said receptacle.
7. A packaged fabric cleaning product and/or method substantially as
hereinbefore described with reference to and/or as illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.