US2635400A - Method of making detergent packages - Google Patents

Description

Aprii 21, 1953 J. A. ABBOTT, JR, ETAL METHOD OF MAKING DETERGENT PACKAGES Filed Oct. 19, 1950 I SUPPLYING DETERGENT SUPPLYING BINDER MIXING FUSIBLE BINDER WITH DETERGENT v WRAPPING HOT KNIFE currms FILM APPLYING FILM DRYING INVENTOR JOHN A. ABBOTT JR DELBERT F. JURGENSEN JR.

Patented Apr. 21, 1953 METHOD OF MAKING DETERGENT PACKAGES John A. Abbott, Jr., Ridgefleld, N. J and Delbert F. Jurgensen, Jr., Tuckahoe, N. Y., assignors to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application October 19, 1950, Serial No. 190,989

10 Claims.

This invention relates to packages containing finely divided or granular material, particularly to detergent or soap packages suitable for use in a single washing operation, and comprising the particles of a suitable detergent enclosed in a tubular wrapper or rod that is readily disintegratable in water during the washing operation, and also to the method of making such packages.

This invention is also an improvement or alternative to the article and method disclosed in our and Charles Arelts co-pending application, S. N. 114,042, filed September 3, 1949. It is also an improvement or alternative to the invention disclosed in our application, S. N. 48,233, filed September 8, 1948.

The principal object of this invention is a single use soap package that may be easily and cheaply manufactured.

A further object of this invention is to secure in a soap package a quantity of soap consisting of finely divided particles ready for rapid dispersion during washing.

The invention includes a method of sealing the open ends of an individual tubular package, particularly one containing a granular or shredded material such as soap powder or talc.

This is accomplished by an article and method of making the same which does not require the entire mass of the soap or other particles contained therein to be fused, as by binder. In manufacturing articles of this type containing a powdered or floecular soap or detergent one of the main difiiculties has been to retain the particles of soap or detergent within rod while the ends are sealed. With the present invention, we accomplished this by means of a hot knife which seals the binder along the path of the out only. This seal is sufficient to retain the particles while the end film is applied.

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a view of a single package or soaparette with the skin partly torn away to illustrate the particular nature of the contents; and

Fig. 2 is a flow sheet illustrating the steps in manufacturing our novel package.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows an article made in accordance with our invention. In this instance, it is a. single use soap package in which I is a cigarette paper wrapper con- 2 taining soap or detergent particles II. The ends of this tubular package are sealed by the film It. The soap or detergent particles may be either in bead or flake form. The detergent powder may be composed of any suitable detergent, such as granulated soap, soap flakes, soap powder or a synthetic detergent. We prefer to use soap granules of the type sold by Procter and Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio, under the trade name of Ivory Snow, although any other suitable types may be used, such as Ivory Flakes," Oxydol, Rinso, and Duz." Examples of suitable synthetics are Nacconal NR" (retailed as Swerl) and Dreft." Synthetic detergents are marketed in bead or flake form. For our purposes, the bead form of synthetic detergent is regarded as preferable because it packs more easily and is generally more readily dispersible than the flake form. It might be noted that Brett and "SwerP are manufactured in bead form. I

For a binder a fusible material having a melting point between and 400 F. is desirable since the binder must not fuse at temperatures which may be encountered in normal storage and must fuse or set at temperatures below the charring point of the various materials present in the package. Suitable binders for this purpose are described in the above referred to co-pending application and further description herein is therefore deemed unnecessary except to state that we prefer stearic acid as binder.

Our novel package is made by mixing the .binder withthe detergent in proportions of 2-20% concentration by weight of binder and detergent. This mixture is then wrapped to form a cigarette rod in any conventional manner by which such rods may be formed. The rod is then severed into individual packages by a hot knife which fuses the binder along the line of cut, thereby forming a temporary seal to retain the loose particles within the rod until the permanent seal is applied.

The function of the binder ends with this hot knife seal which forms a firm base whereon the permanent seal may be formed and which prevents loss of detergent after the knife has severed the rod into individual packages. Such loss impairs the application of a secure film end closure and renders said end closure uneven, unattractive and unappealing to the eye.

Binder, of course, may be omitted provided the contents of the package is either sufficiently thermoplastic to form a seal during a hot knife cutting, as with a high moisture content (low melting point) granulated soap, or where the contents are sufficiently interlocking to prevent dusting as, for example, with shredded material.

The permanent seal is composed of a plastic film which we apply with a thin jet nozzle to the end of the package. The film is then spread thinly and evenly across the end surface of the package by a thin jet of air and finally dried, preferably by radiant heat. This film adsorbs to the edges of the wrapper.

We have also found that a thin film may be applied to the ends of the package by paste wheels or discs wherein half of a rotating disc travels in the plastic film, while the other half applies it to the package end.

For film forming material we prefer to use polyvinyl alcohol, plasticized in ethyl alcohol and water, to which a rust preventative should be added to protect the apparatus. There are, of course, other suitable materials, such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, or sodium carboxymethyl-hydroxyethyl cellulose.

While this invention is primarily designed to produce a novel soap package, it may be used to form any package containing a granular material, such as condiments, medicines, or other ingredients, and particularly when such packages are designed to contain a single application or dosage in a friable or water dispersible or soluble container. In the appended claims, the word granular is used in its broadest sense, and includes powdered, beaded r fioccular materials.

Having described our invention, what we claim 1. The method of manufacturing a detergent package suitable for a single washing operation comprising mixing a granular detergent with sufficient fusibl binder to form a coherent mass when fused forming a longitudinally sealed rod comprising a tubular wrapper and said mixture of detergent and binder, severing said formed rod into individual packages with a hot knife whereby said binder will be fused along the line of cut to prevent sprinkling of said detergent particles, applying a film to permanently seal said end closure by applying a water dispersible film forming plastic thereto, spreading said plastic across said end and drying said plastic until solid.

2. The process of manufacturing a water disintegratable Package suitable for a single washing operation comprising forming an elongated longitudinally sealed rod comprising a wrapper enclosing a mixture of a comminuted detergent and suflicient fusible binder to form a coherent mass when fused, severing said rod into individual packages with a hot knife to fuse the binder along the line of cut and applying a film forming water dispersible plastic material to the ends of said package.

3. The method of sealing the ends of a tubular package containing a granulated material comprising first mixing said granulated material with sufficient fusible binder to form a coherent mass when fused, forming an elongated longitudinally sealed rod comprising a wrapper enclosing said mixed material, cutting said rod into individual packages with a hot knife to fuse the binder along the line of cut to form a temporary seal and then applying a permanent seal.

4. The method of forming a detergent package suitable for a single washing operation comprising mixing a powdered detergent with sufficient fusible binder to form a coherent mass when fused, forming an elongated longitudinally sealed rod comprising a wrapper and said mixture, severing said rod into individual packagm with a hot knife whereby said binder is fused along the line of cut and applying a plastic water dispersible film forming material and drying said film to permanently seal said cut.

5. The method of forming a tubular package containing a heat fusible granulated material comprising forming an elongated longitudinally sealed rod comprising a wrapper enclosing said material, cutting said rod transversely with a hot knife to form a seal along the line of cut to form individual packages and applying a completely dust-proof water dispersible sealing material to the ends of said individual packages, said sealing material forming a tight seal with said wrapper.

6. The method of forming a detergent package suitable for a single washing operation comprising mixing a powdered detergent with sufficient fusible binder to form a coherent mass when fused, forming an elongated longitudinally sealed rod comprising a wrapper and said mixture, severing said rod into individual packages with a hot knife, whereby said binder is fused along the line of cut and applying a film of plasticized polyvinyl alcohol along the line of cut and drying said film to permanently seal said out.

7. The method of forming a detergent package suitable for a single washing operation comprising mixing a powdered detergent with sufficient fusible binder to form a coherent mass when fused, forming an elongated longitudinally sealed rod comprising a wrapper and said mixture, severing said rod into individual packages with a. hot knife to fuse said binder along the line of out only to form a thin layer and applying a film of sodium carboxymethylcellulose on said thin layer and drying said film to permanently seal said cut.

8. The method of forming a detergent package suitable for a single washing operation comprising, forming an elongated longitudinally sealed rod comprising a tubular wrapper and a powdered fusible detergent, severing said rod into individual packages with a hot knife to fuse said detergent along the line of cut only to form a thin layer to prevent sprinkling of said detergent particles, applying a water dispersible film to permanently seal said end closure by applying film-forming plastic thereto, spreading said plastic across said end and solidifying said plastic.

9. The process of manufacturing detergent packages suitable for a single washing operation comprising forming a rod comprising a tubular wrapper, and a mixture of detergent particles and suflicient fusible binder to form a coherent friable mass with said detergent particles when fused enclosed within said wrapper, and cutting detergent packages of a predetermined length from said rod with a hot knife whereby the binder in the ends of the package will be fused and the detergent particles sealed therein upon cooling thereof.

10. Th process of manufacturing detergent packages comprising mixing sufficient binder to form a coherent friable mass with said detergent particles when fused with a supply of detergent particles, heating the mixture so formed to fuse the binder, enclosing the heated mixture in a tubular wrapper, which is readily disintegratable during washing, to form a rod from which deter- References Cited in the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Banks Jan. 30, 1951 Number 6 OTHER REFERENCES PVA-Polyvinyl Alcohol-Properties, Uses and App1icationan R 8: H Technical Bulletin-p. 2-1940.

Chem. Trade Jom'nal and Chemical Engineer-- Cellulose Gum in Industry"-HollabaughJannary 4, 1946-p. 7.

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