Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Stain-removing materials in paste form have become -
more and mGre accepted at the expense of liquid stain-removing
materials because such materials in paste form guarantee
re val of stains or spots from articles without leaving
any visible mark around the cleaned area of the article.
Stain-removing materials in paste form are filled into tubes
and removed from them portion-by-portion. In this respect
care must be taken to see that after each removal the tube
is completely sealed again as otherwise liquid solvent com-
pr~sed in the stain-removing material will evaporate so that
the paste dries out. However, stain-removing pastes packed
in tubes dry out even if care is taken in this respect,
because on rolling up the tube as it is emptied portion-by-
portion it is impossible to prevent the production of hair
cracks in the tube casing and the solvent evaporates
through such ha~r cracks.
For removing a stain-removing paste portion from a
supply container without the danger of evaporation of the
solvent, the stain-removing paste may be filled in*o an aerosol
container. Aerosol containers are, however, not generally
popular because the propellants contained in them exert a
substantial pressure and it is necessary to avoid raised
temperatures at all costs and furthermore precise instructions
as regards keeping a specific distance between the aerosol con-
tainer and the article of clothing to be cleaned on spraying
on for example must be rigorously adhered to.
The problem of dispensing small portions of a stain-
removing material in a liquid form appears to have been solved
already. Liquid stain-removing material can be placed in
glass ampoules representing specific portions, the glass being
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surrounded by a plasticæ casing, which at one end carries a
wick The glass ampoule is broken within the plastics
casing so that the content can soak into the wick and from
the latter it can be applied to the stains to be removed.
However, the plastics casing is not always quite reliable so
that there is a danger of small splinters of glass emerging
which could lead to injury.
In our Canadian Patent No. 1,040,151, dated October
10, 1978, there is described and claimed a package containing
a plurality of pressure-deformable capsules each holding a
stain-re ving agent in paste form, said capsules being held
in at least one trough in a receiving member by a covering
foil secured to the receiving member and extending over the
trough or troughs.
Preferably, as a material for the capsules, use is
made of a plastics material which can easily be deformed.
- The capsules are preferably shaped like bottles. At the
bottle neck it is advantageous to provide a zone of weakness
which makes it possible to twist off the bottle neck or to
separate it in some other manner.
Plastics foils as available for the production of cap-
sules are generally not ~uitable for the packaging of stain-
removing pastes, for the latter must comprise solvents for
the stains to be removed which usually contain grease. If the
stain-removing material is to be of universal applicaiion, use
is made of hydrocarbons or chlorinated hydrocarbons as sol-
vents, which constitute up to 64% of the paste. These sol-
vents however attack plastics which are available for the pro-
duction of capsules since they cause swelling and diffuse.
While it is true that plastics are available which can
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withstand the attack of such hydrocarbons or chlorinated
hydrocarbons, such plastics are much too expensive in pro-
duction and further processing is required for them to be
employed for a mass produ oed product as for example stain~
removing capsules.
Gelatine is already well known as a capsule material for
packaging chemical products, more particularly pharmaceutical
products and medicaments. However, gelatine itself is not
generally suitable for capsule packaging of staîn-rem~ving
pastes. Since stain-removing pastes comprise low molecular
weight alcohols (by which we mean alcohols containing up to
five carbon atoms), gelatine is dissolved by ~uch pastes and
in any ca3e such alcohols can escape by diffusion through
the gelatine capsule so thatthe composition of the stain-
removing paste is modified in an undesired manner.
Naturally stain-removing materials have been proposed
which do not comprise any alcohols but, however, the field
of use of such stain-removing materials is so extraordinarily
limited that they have only found restricted use in practice.
In our British Patent Specification No. 1,508,297 there
is described and claimed a pressure-deformable cap~ule con-
taining a stain-removing agent in paste form, which is
characterised in that the material of the capsule is gelatine
and in that the composition of the stain-removing agent i8
substantially water-free and is substantially free of alcohols
containing up to five carbon atoms.
For attaining the aim forming the basis of British
Specification No. 1,508,297, it was necessary to make a selec-
tion of the capsule material on the one hand and the composition
of the stain-removing material on the other hand in such a
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manner that the capsule material was not attacked by the
stain-removing material or its components respectively and
so that, furthermore, components of the stain-removing
material could not diffuse through the capsule material.
- It is only on fulfilling these requirements that it is
possible to ensure the efficacy of the stain-removing paste
even if it is packed in capsules which can be deformed by the
action of pressure.
Preferably the composition of the stain-removing paste
is selected as follows when gelati~e is used as the capsule
material:
Cyclohexanol5 % to 7 %
isopropanol 0 % to 3 %
toluene 15 ~ to 25 %
1,2-dichloroethane 0 % to 20 %
1,1,l-trichloroethane 40 % to 65 %
perfume 0 % to 0.5 %
pulverulent solids 6 % to 10 %
The solids have a particle side between 5 millimicrons
20 and 150 microns.
The problem forming the basis of the present invention
is related to construct$ng the capsules with the use of gela-
tine as a capsule material in such a manner that the capsules
can be stored as they are, that is to say without enclosing
them in outer packaging means adapted to prevent the capsule~
from expanding even in humid air or at raised temperatures.
This requirement arises in our latitudes for example
when such capsules are packed in the glove locker of a motor
vehicle which is then parked in the sun.
Owing to the effect of high atmospheric humidity and/or
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high temperatures the capsules become softened to such an
extent that it is no longer possible to ensure proper squeez-
ing out of the stain-removing material from the capsule and
instead of the intended re val of stains and spots the
result of the use of such a capsule may only be further soil~
ing of the article to be cleaned.
In accordance with the present invention, a method of
packaging a stain-removing material in paste form in capsules
for use in portions making use of gelatine as the encapsu-
lating material which can be deformed under the action of
pressure, wherein the stain-removing material comprises an
essentially anhydrous composition of the stain-removing mat-
erial wi~h substantial exclusion of low molecular weight
alcohols, as ~rei~before defined, is characterised in that
the encapsulating material is treated with a solution of a
water-insoluble plastics material on the side which lies to
the outside of the finished capsules to form, after removal
of the solvent, a coating thereupon. `
The application of the coating remaining on the capsule
material after evaporation of the solvent and which endows
the capsules with a high resistance to humidity and/or temper-
ature effects, can be carried out in a number of different ways.
Thus, for example, the gelatine capsules filled with the
stain-removing material, or gelatine strips or sheets to be
processed to produce the gelatine capsules (in this case
preferably only on the side which lies to the outside of
the finished capsules) can be sprayed with a solution of the
water-insoluble plastics material in a chlorinated hydrocarbon.
The hydrocarbon evaporates and the water-insoluble plastics
coating remains on the capsule material as required.
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It is, however, also possible to apply a solution
of the water-insoluble plastics material in a chlorinated
hydrocarbon tothe finished f~ed capsules in a dragee-making pan
and in this respect it is possible to spray the capsules with
the solution and by regulation of the temperature and/or of
the supply and removal of air the evaporation of the chlorin-
ated hydrocarbon can be so regulated that an even application
of the water-insoluble plastics material on the water-soluble
gelatine capsules is guaranteed.
As the water-insoluble plastics material it is possible
; to use polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene and/or a polycarbonate,which can be dissolved individually or mixed with each other
in one or re chlorinated hydrocarbons as for example
chloroform, carbon tetrachloride or methylene chloride.
In this respect it is advantageous to use from 10 to
30 parts by weight of the plastics material or materials
per 100 parts by weight of finished solution.
In the case of treatment in a dragee-making pan care
should be taken to see that the temper~re of 40C is not
exceeded. Preferably the operation is carried out at room
temperature.
Although a previous proposal has already been made to
coat gelatine capsules with acrylic synthetic resins, in this
respect it was a question of gelatine capsules which were
filled with medicaments and the problem to be solved was
that of making the capsules resistant to the stomach so that
the content of the capsule only became effective in part of
the digestive tract following the stomach. The problem of the
present invention, that is to say making gelatine capsules
filled with stain-removing materials more resistant to heat and
humidity, does not arise in that case however.
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