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Surfactant Compositions Comprising Lamellar Elements As A Visual Cue

Abstract: A packaged, liquid or gel, preferably surfactant-containing formulation, comprising a visual cue, wherein the visual cue comprises a plurality of water-soluble sheet-like elements of dispersed material, preferably formed from modified poly vinyl alcohol.

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Notices, Deadlines & Correspondence

Patent Information

Application #
Filing Date
10 October 2011
Publication Number
42/2012
Publication Type
INA
Invention Field
CHEMICAL
Status
Email
Parent Application

Applicants

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED
HINDUSTAN LEVER HOUSE, 165-166 BACKBAY RECLAMATION, MUMBAI, 400 020, INDIA

Inventors

1. BARNETT STAURT ANTHONY
UNILEVER R&D PORT SUNLIGHT, QUARRY ROAD EAST, BEBINGTON, WIRRAL, MERSEYSIDE CH63 3JW, UNITED KINGDOM
2. DIXON SARAH
UNILEVER R&D PORT SUNLIGHT, QUARRY ROAD EAST, BEBINGTON, WIRRAL, MERSEYSIDE CH63 3JW, UNITED KINGDOM
3. FORD GARY JAMES PETER
UNILEVER R&D PORT SUNLIGHT, QUARRY ROAD EAST, BEBINGTON, WIRRAL, MERSEYSIDE CH63 3JW, UNITED KINGDOM
4. HAMER ANGELA EILEEN
UNILEVER R&D PORT SUNLIGHT, QUARRY ROAD EAST, BEBINGTON, WIRRAL, MERSEYSIDE CH63 3JW, UNITED KINGDOM
5. JONES CRAIG WARREN
UNILEVER R&D PORT SUNLIGHT, QUARRY ROAD EAST, BEBINGTON, WIRRAL, MERSEYSIDE CH63 3JW, UNITED KINGDOM
6. PARKER ANDREW PHILIP
UNILEVER R&D PORT SUNLIGHT, QUARRY ROAD EAST, BEBINGTON, WIRRAL, MERSEYSIDE CH63 3JW, UNITED KINGDOM

Specification

FORM - 2 THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 (39 of 1970) & The Patents Rules, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See Section 10 and Rule 13) SURFFACTANT COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING LAMELLAR ELELMENTS AS A VISUAL CUE HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED, a company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and having its registered office at 165/166, Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai -400 020, Maharashtra, India The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed SURFACTANT COMPOSITIONS COMPRISING LAMELLAR ELEMENTS AS A VISUAL CUE HELD OF INVENT/ON The present invention relates to liquid or geJ surfactant compositions comprising lamellar elements as a visual cue, in particular liquid laundry detergent compositions, processes for making the elements which comprise the visual cue, the elements perse, and to the use of said elements to deliver a benefit agent to fabric or to a wash and/or rinse medium during a wash process. BACKGROUND Laundry treatment compositions generally contain, in addition to surfactants and optional builders, ingredients which provide a benefit to laundered clothes. Examples of such ingredients include, but are not limited to, perfumes, enzymes, bleaches, shading pigments and dyes and fabric conditioning agents. These materials are also often the most expensive components of the laundry composition and are known as "benefit agents". It can be advantageous to protect (for example by encapsulation) benefit agents when they are included in formulations due to potential incompatibility with other ingredients in the formulation. This incompatibility can cause the formulation to be unstable, or involve unwanted reactivity of the benefit agent with other formulation components and so cause the efficacy of the benefit agent, or other product properties, to be adversely effected. It has been proposed, for powders, to incorporate these benefit agents in a so-called "Visual cue", and/or, where the benefit agent is stable in the composition, to include in the formulation visual cues to indicate that the benefit agent is present. The elements comprising the cue are delivered as part of the product dose and are soluble at some stage of the wash. One such visual cue is the coloured "speckle" which is often incorporated in enzyme containing laundry powders. This is often a particle of sodium carbonate coloured with a suitable dye and does not itself contain the enzyme. US 2003/144161 A discloses particulate laundry detergent compositions especially high bulk density powders and tablets which contain low levels of aloe vera or another herbal extract beneficial to the skin, The herbal extract is preferably present in the form of coloured (preferably green) speckles. Other visual cues that have been proposed or used have included beads, lamellar shapes such as flat rings and various "flower" shapes. GB 2358403 A discloses a particulate laundry detergent composition which comprises a major proportion of white or light-coloured particles and a minor proportion of visually contrasting bodies of significantly larger average particle size in at least one dimension than the average particle size of the white or light-coloured particles. Preferably the bodies are of regular shape and uniform size and formed of brightly-coloured material which is preferably highly reflective and/or fluorescent. The visually contrasting bodies provide strong cues to the consumer for example to demonstrate the presence of a beneficial ingredient even if present in very small amounts. GB 2358404 A discloses a particulate laundry detergent composition which comprises a major proportion of white or light-coloured particles and a minor proportion of visually contrasting particles of material capable of imparting a coiour to the resulting solution when the composition is dissolved in water. The visually contrasting particles may contain a fluorescent material yielding fluorescent wash liquor or may contain a pH indicator which gives a coloured solution at high pH but a colourless or differently coloured solution at lower pH values. The visually contrasting particles and the visual effects in the wash fiquor provide cues to the consumer for example to demonstrate the presence of a beneficial ingredient or to indicate that more product should be added. WO 09/047125 A discloses a granular laundry detergent composition comprising at least 5 wt percent surfactant optional builder optional further cleaning ingredients a perfume and 0.01 to 10 wt percent of visual cues wherein the visual cue is shaped like a flower with petals, is coloured to have a naturally occurring petal colour and wherein the perfume is floral in essence. WO 09/047126 A discloses granular detergent composition comprising 0.1 to 10 wt percent soluble coloured lamellar visual cues made from a soluble film each soluble coloured lamellar visual cue having a planar cross-sectional area of from 5mm2 to 100 mm2 the relative density of the film being from 0.2 to 0.8 kg/l and the film comprising 10 to 90 wt percent surfactant. Known lamellar elements for use as a cue are typically manufactured by cutting a shape out of a flat sheet of a suitable material. WO 09/047124 A discloses a laundry treatment composition comprising a laundry treatment base and from 0.01 to 10 wt percent of contrastingly coloured concave lamellar film particles which have a planar surface and a planar periphery and wherein: a) the periphery is shaped so that at least one straight line drawn through the planar surface intersects the periphery at more than two places; b) the concave lamellar film particles may be tiled; c) the concave lamellar film particles contrast in colour with the laundry treatment base whereby the concave lamellar film particles function as a visual cue. In this citation "concave" refers to the edge of the cue. With laundry liquids, and with other liquid or gel products for personal and household care, the problem of incorporating "sensitive" benefit agents is more serious than that with powder and granular products. For example, bleaches and enzymes may interact, as may enzymes and some thickening or structuring agents. Perfumes, being volatile, may be lost, and where benefit agents, such as perfumes, are encapsulated and provided with a polymeric deposition aid, the deposition aid may be degraded by other components present. SUMMARY OF INVENTION We have determined that water-soluble lamellar elements can form a useful visual cue in liquid and gel products, and can optionally be used to protect and/or deliver benefit agents. Accordingly, the present invention provides a packaged liquid or gel formulation comprising a water-soluble visual cue, wherein the visual cue comprises a plurality of sheet-like elements of dispersed material, and wherein the cue comprises an optional benefit agent. "Water-soluble", in the content of the present invention, means that the elements forming the cue will dissolve in demineralised water at 25 degrees Celcius. "Packaged", in the context of the present invention, means that the liquid or gel formulation is stably enclosed within a container for sale and/or transport. Packaged does not include the transient wash-liquors that are formed when the known powder products containing a visual cue are placed in a washing machine. Preferably, the formulation comprises a pourable liquid or a gel. "Pourable liquid" as defined herein refers to a liquid having a viscosity of less than about 2000 mPa.s at 25°C and a shear rate of 20 sec-1. In some embodiments, the viscosity of the pourable liquid may be in the range of from about 200 to about 1000 mPa.s at 25°C at a shear rate of 20 sec-1. In some embodiments, the viscosity of the pourable liquid may be in the range of from about 200 to about 500 mPa.s at 25 °C at a shear rate of 20 sec-1. "Gel" as defined herein refers to a transparent or translucent liquid having a viscosity of greater than about 2000 mPa.s at 25 °C and at a shear rate of 20 sec-1. In some embodiments, the viscosity of the gel may be in the range of from about 3000 to about 10,000 mPa.s at 25"C at a shear rate of 20 sec-1 and greater than about 5000 mPa.s at 25°C at a shear rate of 0.1 sec-1. Typically, a low viscosity liquid will contain a structuring agent to assist in keeping the cues in suspension. One type of structuring agent which is especially useful in the compositions of the present invention comprises non-pofymeric (except for conventional alkoxylation), crystalline hydroxy-functional materials which can form thread-like structuring systems throughout the liquid matrix when they are crystallized within the matrix in situ. Such materials can be generally characterized as crystalline, hydroxyl-containing fatty acids, fatty esters or fatty waxes. Specific examples of preferred crystalline, hydroxyl-containing structurants include castor oil and its derivatives. Examples include mixtures of hydrogenated castor oil and its hydrolysis products, e.g. hydroxy stearic acid. Especially preferred are hydrogenated castor oil derivatives such as hydrogenated castor oil and hydrogenated castor wax. Commercially available, castor oil-based, crystalline, hydroxyl-containing structurants include THIXCiN® from Rheox, Inc. {now Elementis). In the alternative, cellulosic materials can be used. Preferably, the packaging is at feast in part transparent. Transparent" as used herein means that a formulation, or a package according to the invention preferably has a transmittance of more than 25%, more preferably more than 30%, most preferably more than 40%, optimally more than 50% in the visible part of the spectrum (approx. 410-800 nm). Packaging materials with which this invention may be used include, but are not limited to: polypropylene

Documents

Application Documents

# Name Date
1 2124-MUMNP-2011- AFR.pdf 2023-04-12
1 2124-MUMNP-2011- FORM 1- (08-11-2011).pdf 2011-11-08
2 2124-MUMNP-2011-AbandonedLetter.pdf 2018-08-10
2 2124-MUMNP-2011- CORRESPONDENCE- (08-11-2011).pdf 2011-11-08
3 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3 (10-12-2013).pdf 2013-12-10
3 2124-MUMNP-2011-CLAIMS.pdf 2018-08-10
4 2124-MUMNP-2011-CORRESPONDENCE(23-1-2013).pdf 2018-08-10
5 2124-MUMNP-2011-WO INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION REPORT A1.pdf 2018-08-10
5 2124-MUMNP-2011-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf 2018-08-10
6 2124-MUMNP-2011-DESCRIPTION(COMPLETE).pdf 2018-08-10
7 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM PCT-ISA-237.pdf 2018-08-10
7 2124-MUMNP-2011-DRAWING.pdf 2018-08-10
8 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM PCT-IPEA-416.pdf 2018-08-10
8 2124-MUMNP-2011-FER.pdf 2018-08-10
9 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM PCT-IPEA-409.pdf 2018-08-10
9 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 1.pdf 2018-08-10
10 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 13(7-2-2012).pdf 2018-08-10
10 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 5.pdf 2018-08-10
11 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 18(23-1-2013).pdf 2018-08-10
11 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3.pdf 2018-08-10
12 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 2(TITLE PAGE).pdf 2018-08-10
12 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3(8-8-2012).pdf 2018-08-10
13 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 2.pdf 2018-08-10
13 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3(23-1-2013).pdf 2018-08-10
14 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3(13-2-2012).pdf 2018-08-10
14 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3(22-6-2013).pdf 2018-08-10
15 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3(21-5-2014).pdf 2018-08-10
16 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3(22-6-2013).pdf 2018-08-10
16 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3(13-2-2012).pdf 2018-08-10
17 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3(23-1-2013).pdf 2018-08-10
17 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 2.pdf 2018-08-10
18 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 2(TITLE PAGE).pdf 2018-08-10
18 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3(8-8-2012).pdf 2018-08-10
19 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 18(23-1-2013).pdf 2018-08-10
19 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3.pdf 2018-08-10
20 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 13(7-2-2012).pdf 2018-08-10
20 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 5.pdf 2018-08-10
21 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 1.pdf 2018-08-10
21 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM PCT-IPEA-409.pdf 2018-08-10
22 2124-MUMNP-2011-FER.pdf 2018-08-10
22 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM PCT-IPEA-416.pdf 2018-08-10
23 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM PCT-ISA-237.pdf 2018-08-10
23 2124-MUMNP-2011-DRAWING.pdf 2018-08-10
24 2124-MUMNP-2011-DESCRIPTION(COMPLETE).pdf 2018-08-10
25 2124-MUMNP-2011-WO INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION REPORT A1.pdf 2018-08-10
25 2124-MUMNP-2011-CORRESPONDENCE.pdf 2018-08-10
26 2124-MUMNP-2011-CORRESPONDENCE(23-1-2013).pdf 2018-08-10
27 2124-MUMNP-2011-FORM 3 (10-12-2013).pdf 2013-12-10
27 2124-MUMNP-2011-CLAIMS.pdf 2018-08-10
28 2124-MUMNP-2011-AbandonedLetter.pdf 2018-08-10
28 2124-MUMNP-2011- CORRESPONDENCE- (08-11-2011).pdf 2011-11-08
29 2124-MUMNP-2011- FORM 1- (08-11-2011).pdf 2011-11-08
29 2124-MUMNP-2011- AFR.pdf 2023-04-12

Search Strategy

1 priorart_08-09-2017.pdf