IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO GARMENT REFRESHMENT

Abstract

A garment refresh product (1) comprising: a garment refreshing composition (12); and a hand-held spray device which is manually operable to produce a spray of said composition in the form of a fine aerosol (29); said composition (12) comprising at least one of: an anti-malodour agent, an anti-wrinkle agent, and a perfume; and said spray device comprising a reservoir (2) containing said composition (12) and a spray mechanism (15) housed within a shroud (3) which is substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis (8) of said reservoir (2); said spray mechanism (15) being manually operable to discharge a dose of said composition (12) from the product (1) in the form of a fine aerosol (29) and in a spray-direction (5) which is substantially orthogonal to said longitudinal axis (8) of the reservoir (2). A method of creating a garment refresh spray.

Claims

1. A garment refresh product (1) comprising: a garment refreshing composition (12); and a hand-held spray device which is manually operable to produce a spray of said composition in the form of a fine aerosol (29); said composition (12) comprising at least one of: an anti-malodour agent, an anti-wrinkle agent, and a perfume; and said spray device comprising a reservoir (2) containing said composition (12) and a spray mechanism (15) housed within a shroud (3) which is substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis (8) of said reservoir (2); said spray mechanism (15) being manually operable to discharge a dose of said composition (12) from the product (1) in the form of a fine aerosol (29) and in a spray-direction (5) which is substantially orthogonal to said longitudinal axis (8) of the reservoir (2).

2. A garment refresh product according to claim 1, wherein said spray mechanism (15) comprises a nozzle (23) located within said shroud (3), the nozzle (23) having a discharge orifice (25) which is configured to produce said fine aerosol (29) in a spray having a cone angle (A) in the range of 55 to 80 degrees and/or a spray which comprises droplets having an average diameter in the range of 20 to 200 m.

3. A garment refresh product according to claim 2, wherein said garment refreshing composition (12) is selected from (A) a garment refreshing composition comprising an anti-malodour agent, an anti-wrinkle agent, and a perfume; and (B) a garment refreshing composition comprising an anti-malodour agent, an anti-wrinkle agent, and an encapsulated perfume.

4. A garment refresh product according to claim 1, wherein the anti-wrinkle agent comprises a silicone.

5. A garment refresh product according to claim 1, wherein the silicone comprises one or more dimethicone copolyols

6. A garment refresh product according to claim 1 wherein the anti-malodour agent comprises zinc ricinoleate or a solution thereof and a substituted monocyclic organic compound.

7. A method of creating a garment refresh spray involving the provision and operation of a product (1) according to claim 1.

Description

[0194] So that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0195] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing a fabric refresh product according to one possible embodiment of the present invention;

[0196] FIG. 2 is a side elevational view showing a liquid reservoir of the product illustrated in FIG. 1, with a shroud and associated spray mechanism of the product removed;

[0197] FIG. 3 is a schematic part-sectional view showing a shroud and associated spray mechanism of the product;

[0198] FIG. 4 is a schematic part-sectional view, generally similar to that of FIG. 3, but which shows an alternative configuration of shroud and spray mechanism; and

[0199] FIG. 5 is a side elevational view showing an exemplary fine mist spray, which may be produced by the product.

[0200] FIG. 6A is a schematic illustration of a garment sample imaging apparatus, comprising a camera, enclosure, garment sample and incident light.

[0201] FIG. 6B shows images of garment samples and their associated creasing scores derived from sensory panel evaluation.

[0202] FIG. 6C shows images of garment samples before and after application of anti-wrinkle (crease removal) garment refreshing composition, and associated creasing scores.

[0203] FIG. 7 shows droplet size distribution plots acquired from measurements on a Malvern Spraytec instrument, with the peak maximum corresponding to the average droplet size.

[0204] Turning now to consider the figures in more detail, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a fabric refresh product in accordance with the invention, which it is envisaged will be provided in the form of a hand-held spray device. In general terms, the product 1 comprises a container 2, on top of which there is provided a shroud 3. The container 2 may be provided in the form of a bottle, and defines a reservoir for the receipt of a volume of a garment refreshing composition, as will be described in more detail below. It is proposed that the shroud 3 will house a spray mechanism which is configured to draw a dose of the garment refreshing composition from the container 2, atomise the dose, and discharge the atomised dose through a side outlet aperture 4 provided in the shroud 3, the atomised dose being discharged in the form of a fine aerosol and in a spray direction indicated generally at 5.

[0205] Whilst in its broadest sense, the present invention should be understood as relating to the production of a fine aerosol in the form of a colloid of either dry particles or liquid droplets of the garment refreshing composition suspended in air, embodiments of the invention will be described which are specifically configured for the production of a fine aerosol in form of a mist of liquid droplets in air, such that the garment refreshing composition 12 will be provided in the form of a liquid rather than, for example, a dry powder.

[0206] Reservoir/Container

[0207] Turning now to consider FIG. 2, an exemplary reservoir-defining container 2 is illustrated in more detail, with the shroud 3 removed. As will be noted, the particular configuration of container 2 illustrated is shown provided in the form of an elongate and generally straight-sided cylindrical bottle, having an inwardly tapered upper shoulder region 6 which narrows to define an upstanding annular lip 7 at the uppermost end of the container and which is centred on the longitudinal axis 8 of the container. The lip 7 is shown to have an external screw thread 9 to facilitate releasable engagement between the container 2 and the shroud 3. As will become apparent, however, other forms of releasable engagement between the container 2 and the shroud 3 are possible.

[0208] As will be appreciated, the reservoir-defining container 2 defines an internal volume 10 for the receipt of a garment refreshing composition 12. It is proposed that the product 1 will be provided to an end user in an initial pre-filled condition, in which the reservoir will already be substantially filled with an appropriate volume of the garment refreshing composition 12.

[0209] It is envisaged that in some embodiments the container 2 will be moulded from a suitable plastic material of a type known for use in the consumer products field. However, it is also possible for the container 2 to be formed from, or at least to comprise, glass.

[0210] It is also to be appreciated that whilst the garment refreshing composition-containing reservoir of the embodiments disclosed herein is defined by the container 2 itself, other variants are envisaged in which the reservoir might be provided as a separate vessel containing the garment refreshing composition 12, the vessel simply being housed and supported within the container 2.

[0211] Garment Refreshing Composition

[0212] Illustrative aqueous garment refreshing compositions suitable for use in the spray devices of FIGS. 1 to 4 include one or more of the following.

[0213] 0.01 to 5wt % anti-malodour compound (e.g. zinc ricinoleate)

[0214] 0.01 to 2% surfactant

[0215] 0.001 to 0.8% antimicrobial

[0216] 0.01 to 3% low molecular weight polyol

[0217] 0.001 to 0.3% aminocarboxylate chelator

[0218] 0.1 to 10% metallic salt

[0219] 0.0001 to 0.5% enzyme

[0220] 0.0001 to 0.5% antimicrobial preservative

[0221] 0.1 to 2.5wt % anti-wrinkle compound (e.g. a silicone anti-wrinkle compound)

[0222] 0.001 to 5wt % perfume (especially encapsulated perfume such as PMCs)

[0223] Balance Water

[0224] Shroud

[0225] Aspects of the shroud 3 are illustrated schematically in more detail in FIG. 3.

[0226] The particular configuration of the shroud 3 illustrated is somewhat elongate and is cylindrical in form, having a longitudinal axis 12. It is envisaged that in some embodiments the shroud 3 will be moulded from a suitable plastic material. More particularly, the particular shroud 3 illustrated is configured so as to have a diameter which is substantially equal to that of the container 2, such that when mounted to the container 2 as illustrated in FIG. 1, the shroud 3 and the container 1 combine to form a generally straight-sided and elongate product 1.

[0227] The lowermost end of the shroud 3 is provided with a re-entrant formation 13 which is configured to receive and engage the uppermost end of the container 2. In particular, the re-entrant region 13 comprises an internally threaded recess 14 which is sized and configured to threadedly engage the correspondingly threaded lip 7 of the container 2 in a conventional manner, thereby providing a convenient means to releasably interengage the shroud 3 and the container 2. As will be appreciated, having regard to FIG. 1 in particular, when the shroud 3 and the container 2 are interengaged in this manner, the shroud will be mounted to the container 2 so as to extend upwardly therefrom and will be aligned with the longitudinal axis 8 of the container 2. Indeed the longitudinal axis 13 of the shroud 3 will be coincident with the longitudinal axis 8 of the container 2.

[0228] It is to be noted, however, that whilst the shroud 3 and the container 2 described above are configured for releasable engagement via a threaded connection, other forms of connection may be used instead. For example, variants are envisaged in which the shroud 3 and the container 2 may be configured for releasable engagement as an interference fit. Such an arrangement could be achieved by sizing an un-threaded recess 14 of the shroud such that it receives and engages an un-threaded lip 7 of the container as a close sliding fit, such that the recess 14 and/or the lip 7 will resiliently deform as they are slidingly interengaged to provide a secure, but releasable, interconnection.

[0229] Because the container 2 and the shroud 3 are releasable from one another as described above, the container 2 may be removed from the shroud 3 and its associated spray mechanism when its initial supply of the garment refreshing composition 12 has become depleted, thereby facilitating replenishment of the product 1. This may be achieved either by replacing the initial container 2 with a replacement one filled with the garment refreshing composition 12, or simply by refilling the original container 2.

[0230] Spray Mechanism

[0231] With reference again to FIG. 3, it is to be noted that the shroud 3 houses a spray mechanism, indicated generally at 15. As will become apparent, the spray mechanism 15 is configured for manual operation, by hand, by a user of the product 1, and comprises a spray mechanism such that it is operable without the use of a pressurized propellant of the sort used in so-called aerosol sprays.

[0232] The spray mechanism 15 may thus comprise a hand-operable pump 16, which may take any convenient form such as, for example, a positive displacement pump, a self-priming pump, or a reciprocating pump. The pump 16 is mechanically connected to an actuator, which in the particular arrangement illustrated in FIG. 3 takes the form of a push-button 17 which is accommodated within an aperture 18 provided through the upper end of the shroud 3, for convenient actuation by a user's finger whilst holding the product 1. The push-button 17 is shown mounted to the end of a plunger 19 which extends into an internal housing of the pump 16 and which actuates the pump 16 when driven downwardly via operation of the push-button 17.

[0233] An inlet 20 of the pump 16 is shown connected to an inlet pipe 21, which may take the form of a length of flexible tubing. As will be appreciated, when the shroud 3 and its associated spray mechanism 15 are mounted to the container 2 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1, the inlet pipe (dip tube) 21 will extend downwardly from the mechanism and will terminate with its open end 22 located at the bottom of the garment refreshing composition reservoir defined by the container 2. The inlet pipe 21 thus facilitates the draw-up of garment refreshing composition 12 from the reservoir upon operation of the spray mechanism 15.

[0234] The spray mechanism 15 also comprises a nozzle 23 which is fluidly connected to an outlet of the pump 16, and which is substantially completely enclosed within the shroud 3 so as to terminate at a discharge end 24 which located adjacent, and is substantially aligned with, the outlet aperture 4 of the shroud 3. A small discharge orifice 25 is formed in the nozzle 23 and is configured to direct an aerosol in the form of a fine mist of the garment refreshing composition 12 outwardly through the outlet aperture 4 in the spray direction 5, upon operation of the spray mechanism 15. As will be noted, the spray direction 5 is preferably substantially orthogonal to the respective longitudinal axes 8, 12 of the container 2 and the shroud 3, so as to be easily directed towards a fabric garment or the like by a user of the product 1.

[0235] In order to ensure the creation of an appropriately fine mist of the garment refreshing composition 12, the spray mechanism 15 may comprise an atomiser. As will be appreciated, in embodiments in which the garment refreshing composition 12 is provided as a liquid, the atomiser will be configured to break up a dose of the liquid drawn through the inlet tube 21, into a large number of small droplets and will thereby create the desired fine mist of the garment refreshing composition 12 for discharge from the product 1. It is envisaged that in some embodiments the atomiser will be provided as an integral feature of the nozzle 23. The atomiser may comprise a swirl chamber and/or a lateral dispersion chamber.

[0236] FIG. 4 illustrates a slightly modified version of the shroud 3 and associated spray mechanism 15 illustrated in FIG. 3. The version illustrated in FIG. 4 shares many aspects of the version illustrated in FIG. 3, and so identical or equivalent components are identified by the same reference numbers and will not be described in detail again. However, the alternative configuration illustrated in FIG. 4 does not have a spray mechanism actuator in the form of a push-button, but instead has an actuator in the form of a finger-operable trigger or lever 26. As will be noted, the trigger or lever 26 is mounted relative to the pump 16 via a pivotal connection 27, such that the trigger or lever is operable via pivotal movement to actuate the pump 16. The trigger or lever 26 protrudes from the spray mechanism 15, passes through an elongate slot 28 formed in the sidewall of the shroud 3 (and optionally below the outlet aperture 4), and terminates in a free end 29 which is spaced from the shroud 3. The slot 28 is sized so as to accommodate the pivotal range of movement of the trigger or lever 26 when actuated.

[0237] As will be appreciated, upon actuation of the pump 16, either via the push-button 17 in the case of the FIG. 3 arrangement, or via the trigger or lever 26 of the FIG. 4 arrangement, the pump 16 will draw a dose of the garment refreshing composition 12 from the reservoir, whereupon the atomiser will atomise the dose. The atomised dose will then be discharged through the discharge orifice 25 as an aerosol in the form of a fine mist 29, as illustrated in FIG. 5. As already indicated, the mist 29 will be discharged in a spray-direction 5 which is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis 8 of the container 2.

[0238] It is considered advantageous for the discharge orifice 25 of the nozzle 23 to be configured to produce the fine mist 29 in a substantially circular cone pattern, and in a spray having a cone angle A in the range of 55 to 80 degrees. A spray pattern of this type has been found to provide very good coverage when the product 1 is used to spray the garment refreshing composition 12 onto a garment or the like, without the creation of localised areas of excessive wetness. More particularly, nozzle 23 and its associated atomiser may be configured in some embodiments to generate droplets within the mist 29 having an average diameter of in the range of 20 to 200 m.

[0239] In some embodiments, it is envisaged that the spray mechanism 15 will be configured to draw a dose of the garment refreshing composition 12 having a volume of between 0.25 and 1.5 ml upon each actuation, for atomisation and discharge in the form of the fine mist 29. Accordingly, each spray of the fine mist 29 produced by the product 1 will thus contain between 0.25 and 1.5 ml of the garment refreshing composition. In other embodiments, the spray mechanism 15 may be configured to draw a dose of between 0.5 and 1.2 ml upon each actuation.

[0240] Average Droplet Size

[0241] Average droplet size and droplet size distribution is measured using a Malvern Spraytec particle and spray droplet size measurement device (ex Malvern Instruments Ltd, UK). The size of spray droplets and spray particles are measured using laser diffraction. The intensity of light scattered as a laser beam passes through a spray is measured. This data is then analyzed by the measurement device to calculate the size of the droplets that created the scattering pattern. The spray device is positioned in the device holder so that the laser beam (1 cm diameter) crosses the centre of the spray plume about 15 cm from the nozzle discharge orifice.

[0242] Measurements are made for a period of 5 seconds while repeatedly firing (actuating) the spray. This process is repeated 3 times.

[0243] The average droplet size is taken to be the value of the peak/maximum of the plot of droplet diameter versus volume fraction. An example distribution plot is shown in FIG. 7.

[0244] Spray Cone Angle

[0245] Spray cone angle measurements are made by positioning a camera to the side of a spray device. The spray device is operated (e.g. the actuator is depressed) and an image is captured shortly after so as to record an image of the spray plume. The image is then analysed so as to identify the upper and lower boundaries of the spray plume and the image annotated with lines corresponding to these boundaries, the lines extending from the discharge orifice of the nozzle outwards along the boundaries. The cone angle is measured as the angle between the upper and lower lines, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0246] Regarding FIGS. 6A to 6C, a crease removal experiment was carried out to assess the effectiveness of a spray device configured to deliver a spray having the characteristics described herein.

[0247] The garment fabric sample was plain woven cotton washed with Persil Non-Bio. The sample was creased using an industry standard wrinkle recovery tester. The sample was dampened, put in the wrinkle tester with a 1 kg weight on top and left for 10 minutes. The sample was hung at 20 C./65% RH for 2-3 hours prior to imaging for before level of creasing.

[0248] The sample was sprayed and 1 lb weight hung from bottom of fabric for 5 seconds. The sample was hung at 20 C./65% RH and re-imaged after 2 hours and after 24+ hours.

[0249] Imaging was carried out as follows, using the imaging apparatus illustrated schematically in FIG. 6A. The sample was placed flat in a box with side illumination. An image was taken from directly above the fabric. Creases show up in the image as highlights and shadows due to the side illumination. The level of creasing in the images was determined by on-screen sensory panel scoring.

[0250] Images are given a creasing score by comparison against a reference scale. The scales are created following extensive JND (Just Noticeable Difference) testing to determine significant differences and size of differences. Scores are on 0-10 continuous linear scale.

[0251] The garment refreshing composition comprised a silicone anti-wrinkle agent.

[0252] Significant crease removal was achieved, with creasing scores reduces by several integers.

[0253] FIG. 6C shows illustrative images acquired from samples before and after treatment.

[0254] Droplet Size

[0255] An example of droplet size measurement results is shown in FIG. 7. The data was acquired using a Malvern Spraytec instrument as discussed herein. The average droplet size is the peak maximum on the droplet diameter-volume fraction plot, in this case being about 75 m.

[0256] Composition

[0257] A series of experiments were conducted to test whether the above mentioned droplet and cone angle characteristics could be achieved for a range of different garment refreshing compositions, including garment refreshing compositions having different viscosity/rheology behaviours.

[0258] The results of the tests showed that a range of viscosity/rheology behaviours could be accommodated whilst preserving sprayability.

[0259] When used in this specification and claims, the terms comprises and comprising and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or integers.

[0260] The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or in the following claims, or in the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for obtaining the disclosed results, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

[0261] While the invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.