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EP-3663384-B1 - PARTICULATE LAUNDRY SOFTENING WASH ADDITIVE

EP3663384B1EP 3663384 B1EP3663384 B1EP 3663384B1EP-3663384-B1

Inventors

  • CORONA III, ALESSANDRO
  • FONTAINE, MICHAEL PAUL
  • JOHNSON, LENAE VIRGINIA
  • PANANDIKER, RAJAN KESHAV
  • SCHMITT, CHARLES L.
  • ZERHUSEN, JADEN SCOTT

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20181204

Claims (10)

  1. A composition comprising particles, said particles comprising: 25% to 94% by weight a water soluble carrier; wherein said carrier comprises polyethylene glycol having a weight average molecular weight from 2000 to 13000; 5% to 45% by weight a quaternary ammonium compound; and 0.5% to 10% by weight a cationic polymer; wherein said particles comprise individual particles, each individual particle having a mass from 1 mg to 1 g; wherein said individual particles each have a density less than 0.98 g/cm 3 ; and wherein said individual particles have a volume fraction of occlusions of gas within the individual particles between 0.5% to 50% by volume of the individual particles.
  2. The composition according to Claim 1, wherein said water soluble carrier is polyethylene glycol and a material selected from the group consisting of a polyalkylene polymer of formula H-(C 2 H 4 O) x -(CH(CH 3 )CH 2 O) y -(C 2 H 4 O) z -OH wherein x is from 50 to 300, y is from 20 to 100, and z is from 10 to 200; a polyethylene glycol fatty acid ester of formula (C 2 H 4 O) q -C(O)O-(CH 2 ) r -CH 3 wherein q is from 20 to 200 and r is from 10 to 30; a polyethylene glycol fatty alcohol ether of formula HO-(C 2 H 4 O) s -(CH 2 ) t )-CH 3 wherein s is from 30 to 250 and t is from 10 to 30; C8-C22 alkyl polyalkoxylate comprising more than 40 alkoxylate units; and mixtures thereof.
  3. The composition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said quaternary ammonium compound is formed from a parent fatty acid compound having an Iodine Value from 18 to 60, optionally from 20 to 60, preferably from 20 to 56, more preferably from 20 to 42, more preferably from 20 to 35.
  4. The composition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said quaternary ammonium compound is an ester quaternary ammonium compound.
  5. The composition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said particles comprise 1% to 5% by weight said cationic polymer.
  6. The composition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said cationic polymer is a cationic polysaccharide.
  7. The composition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said particles further comprise from 1% to 40% by weight fatty acid.
  8. The composition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said quaternary ammonium compound is di-(tallowoyloxyethl)-N,N-methylhydroxyethylammonium methyl sulfate.
  9. The composition according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said cationic polymer is a cationic polysaccharide, wherein said cationic polysaccharide is polymeric quaternary ammonium salt of hydroxyethylcellulose which has been reacted with an epoxide substituted with a trimethylammonium group.
  10. The composition according to any preceding claim, wherein said particles further comprise a material selected from the group consisting of unencapsulated perfume, dipropylene glycol, fatty acid, and mixtures thereof.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION Through the wash laundry softening additive. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Consumers continually express interest is products that can simplify the processes they use to launder clothes, help them reduce the amount of time they spend dealing with dirty laundry, and help them achieve high levels of cleanliness and softness for their family's clothing. Cleaning and softening of laundry presently requires consumers to dose two products to either different compartments of the washing machine or to dose one product to the washing machine and one product to the dyer. The process of laundering fabric can be broken up into three basic steps: washing, rinsing, and drying. The washing step typically employs water and detergent composition comprising anionic surfactant, along with other active agents that are compatible with anionic surfactants in the unused product form and in the wash liquor formed during the washing step. After washing, the laundry is rinsed one or more times as part of the rinsing step. Presently, laundry softening is most often and practically accomplished during the rinsing step with a liquid softening composition that is separate from the detergent composition or during the drying step. To apply liquid softening composition to the laundry in the washing machine, the liquid softening composition is introduced to the laundry during the rinsing step. The liquid softening composition may be automatically introduced into the rinse from a compartment that keeps the liquid softening composition separate from the washing composition. The compartment may be part of the agitator, if present, or another part of the washing machine that can be opened to dispense the liquid softening composition into the drum. This is often referred to as softening through the rinse. Softening through the rinse requires the consumer to dose the detergent composition and the softening composition to different locations of the washing machine, which is inconvenient. Laundry softening can also be accomplished during the drying step using fabric softening sheets. With either of these approaches to cleaning and softening, cleaning is performed separately from softening. Consumers find it inconvenient to have to dispense multiple products to different locations, whether the locations are part of the washing machine or the locations are distributed between the washing machine and the dryer. What the consumer would like is to be able to dose the detergent composition and the softening composition to a single location. Unfortunately, liquid detergent compositions tend to be incompatible with softening compositions. Liquid detergent compositions comprise anionic surfactants to help clean the clothing. Softening compositions typically comprise cationic surfactants to soften the clothing. When combined in a single package, the anionic surfactant and cationic surfactant can combine and form a solid precipitate. This results in problem with stability of the combination when packaged together in a liquid form or together in a wash liquor and a decrease in cleaning performance as compared to the detergent composition in absence of the softening composition. This incompatibility problem is among the reasons that detergent compositions and fabric softening compositions are dosed and applied separate from one another. Liquid fabric softening compositions packaged separately from detergent compositions may not be preferred by some consumers due to the inconvenience of dosing the composition to the washing machine, perceived messiness, and the texture of the product. With these limitations in mind, there is a continuing unaddressed need for a solid form through the wash fabric softening composition that can be dispensed by the consumer together with the laundry detergent to providing softening through the wash during the washing step. Additives for softening through the wash in the form of particles are known from EP1201741A1 or EP0385529 A2 or EP2145944 A1. WO 20109/108714, which corresponds to a citation under Article 54.3 EPC also discloses additives for softening through the wash in the form of particles. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is as defined in the claims. A composition comprising particles, said particles comprising: about 25% to about 94% by weight of a water soluble carrier; wherein said carrier comprises polyethylene glycol having a weight average molecular weight from 2000 to 13000; 5% to 45% by weight of a quaternary ammonium compound; and 0.5% to 10% by weight of a cationic polymer; wherein said particles comprises individual particles; wherein each individual particle has a mass from about 1 mg to about 1 g; wherein said individual particles each have a density less than about 0.98 g/cm3; and wherein said individual particles have a volume fraction of occlusions of gas within the individual particles between about 0.5% to about 50% by volume of the individual particles. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TH