Fabric article treating system

Abstract

A fabric article treating system, including the apparatus and the process, to provide improved fabric cleaning, fabric appearance and/or fabric care benefits. More particularly, the present system provides an effective delivery of detergent actives and rinse actives by depositing the actives directly upon a fabric article being treated. The detergent composition and fabric care composition suitable for use in such apparatus and process are also provided. The system is water-saving and energy efficient, compared to conventional immersive aqueous laundry system.

1 . A process for cleaning fabric articles in a laundering apparatus comprising: 
 a. placing fabric articles comprising soils inside a treatment chamber of the laundering apparatus;    b. dispensing into the treatment chamber a wash liquor such that the fabric articles are substantially uniformly contacted by the wash liquor, wherein the wash liquor comprises water and a detergent active;    c. allowing the wash liquor to remain in contact with the fabric articles for a period of time while the fabric article is in motion, continuously or intermittently;    d. dispensing into the laundering apparatus a first rinse liquor comprising water such that the first rinse liquor directly or indirectly contacts the fabric articles, wherein quantity of the first rinse liquor is sufficient to produce enough free water to adequately suspend the detergent active and soils, and the first rinse liquor is thereby converted into a first rinse liquor mixture comprising water, detergent active and soils;    e. removing at least part of the first rinse liquor mixture from the treatment chamber; and    f. optionally, steps (d) and (e) are repeated such that one or more subsequent rinse liquors are applied to the fabric articles, converted to subsequent rinse liquor mixtures, which are at least partially removed from the treatment chamber;    g. optionally, dispensing into the treatment chamber a finishing liquor such that the fabric articles are substantially uniformly contacted by the finishing liquor;    wherein the first rinse liquor comprises a rinse active and a subsequent rinse liquor or the finishing liquor comprises a fabric care active.    
   
   
       2 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the rinse liquor contacts the fabric articles by an indirect method comprising the steps of: 
 a. introducing the rinse liquor to outside of the treatment chamber; and    b. tumbling the chamber such that the rinse liquor passes through perforations in the treatment chamber to contact the fabric articles.    
   
   
       3 . The process of  claim 1  wherein quantity of the first rinse liquor in step (d) is from about 5 to about 20 times of the dry weight of the fabric articles.  
   
   
       4 . The process of  claim 1  wherein quantity of each subsequent-rinse liquor in step (f) is from about 1 to about 10 times of the dry weight of the fabric articles.  
   
   
       5 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the rinse liquor mixture in step (d) or step (f) is removed from the treatment chamber by a non-centrifugal method.  
   
   
       6 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the first rinse liquor in step (d) comprises a rinse active selected from the group consisting of soil suspending agents, hydrotropes, rinse activators, dye transfer inhibition polymers, pH modifiers, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       7 . The process of  claim 6  wherein the soil suspending agent is selected from the group consisting of ethoxylated amines, zwitterionic polymers, polycarboxylates, polyalkyleneglycols, polyaminoacids, and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       8 . The process of  claim 7  wherein the soil suspending agent is an ethoxylated amine selected from the group consisting of 
 (a) a polyethyleneimine having an average molecular weight of about 189 to about 1800 daltons, each nitrogen in the backbone has a substituent (EO) x  wherein x is an integer from 7 to 30, and some or all of the terminal OH groups have been substituted with sulfate groups and/or some or all of the amine groups have been quaternized with methyl, ethyl, or benzyl groups;    (b) a polyhexamethyleneimine having an average molecular weight of about 116 to about 550 daltons, each nitrogen in the backbone has a substituent (EO) x  wherein x is an integer from 7 to 30, and some or all of the terminal OH groups have been substituted with sulfate groups and/or some or all of the amine groups have been quaternized with methyl, ethyl, or benzyl groups; and    (c) mixtures thereof.    
   
   
       9 . The process of  claim 7  wherein the soil suspending agent is a polycarboxylate selected from the group consisting of water-soluble salts of polyacrylic acid, water soluble salts of poly(maleic acid)-co-poly(acrylic acid), carboxymethylcellulose, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       10 . The process of  claim 6  wherein the hydrotrope is selected from the group consisting of metal salts of cumene sufonic acids, toluene sulfonic acid, or xylene sulfonic acid, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       11 . The process of  claim 6  wherein the rinse activator is selected from the group consisting of fatty mono- or oligo- amines, wherein one or more of the nitrogen in the backbone has backbone has a substituent (EO) x  wherein x is an integer from 7 to 30, and some or all of the ternminal OH groups have been substituted with sulfate groups and/or some or all of the amine groups have been quaternized with methyl, ethyl, or benzyl groups; analogs of the ethoxylated fatty amines or quaternized fatty ethoxylated; and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       12 . A process of  claim 6  wherein the dye transfer inhibition polymers are selected from the group consisting of polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinylpyridine-N-oxide, poly(vinylpyrrolidone)-co-poly(vinylimidazole), manganese phthalocyanine, peroxidases, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       13 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the subsequent rinse liquor and/or the finishing liquor comprises fabric care actives selected from the group consisting of dye transfer inhibition polymers, anti-abrasion agents, fabric enhancement agents, crystal growth inhibitors, dye fixative agents, fabric softening agents, fabric rejuvenating agents, fiber/water protection agents, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       14 . A process of  claim 13  wherein the anti-abrasion agents are selected from the group consisting of homo or copolymers containing one or more of the following monomers: acrylamide, vinylamine, 3-trimethylammoniopropyl acrylate, N-alkylvinylpyridine, N-oxide-vinylpyridine, vinylalcohol, dialkyldiallylammonium chloride, N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylate, N,N-dialkylaminoalkylacrylate, N,N-dialkylaminoalkylacrylamide, N,N-dialkylaminoalkyl(meth)acrylamide, and the quaternized derivatives thereof.  
   
   
       15 . A process of  claim 13  wherein the dye fixative agents are selected from the group consisting of the amines; quaternized amines; polydiallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride; copolymers of epichlorohydrin and amines such as imidazole, dimethylaminopropylamine; polyvinylamine; 
 water soluble salts of magnesium(II) and zinc(II), and aluminum (III); the hydrochloride, acetate, metosulphate and benzyl hydrochloride salts of diamine esters, the N-oxides of tertiary amines;    derivatives of polymeric alkyldiamines, polyamine-cyanuric chloride condensates, and aminated glycerol dichlorohydrins.    
   
   
       16 . A process pf  claim 13  wherein the fabric enhancement agents are selected from the group consisting of triethanolamine; monoethanolamine; N,N′-bis(3-aminopropyl)-1,3 -propylenediamine (TPTA), dipropylenetriamine ( 5 -N′-methyl dipropylenetriamine), 1,4-piperazines, their N-alkylated and N-hydroxyalylated derivatives, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       17 . A process of  claim 13  wherein the fabric rejuvenating agents are selected from the group consisting of aminopropylated polydimethylsiloxane, aminopropyl-aminoethylated polydimethylsiloxane, aminosilicones, cationic aminosilicones, polydimethylsiloxanes; 
 polydimethylsiloxanes or trisiloxanes with pendant polyethylene or polyethylene/polypropylene sidechains, alkylated or hydroxyalkylated celluloses.    
   
   
       18 . A process of  claim 13  wherein the crystal growth inhibitors are selected from the group consisting of glycolic acid, phytic acid, polycarboxylic acids, polymers and co-polymers of carboxylic acids and polycarboxylic acids, ether hydroxypolycarboxylates, polyacrylate polymers, copolymers of maleic anhydride and the ethylene ether or vinyl methyl ethers of acrylic acid, citric acid and soluble salts thereof, 3,3-dicarboxy-4-oxa-1,6-hexanedioates, alkyl and alkenyl succinic acid and salts thereof, organo-diphosphonic acids or salts such as ethylene diphosphonic acid, alpha-hydroxy-2 phenyl ethyl diphosphonic acid, methylene diphosphonic acid, vinylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid, 1,2-dihydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonic acid, hydroxy-ethane 1,1 diphosphonic acid, the salts thereof, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       19 . A process of  claim 13  wherein the fiber-water protecting agents are selected from the group consisting of low molecular weight aliphatic or aromatic alcohols, low molecular weight alkylene glycols, low molecular weight alkylene glycol ethers, low molecular weight esters, or low molecular weight alkylene amines or alkanolamines.  
   
   
       20 . A process of  claim 13  wherein the fabric softening agents are cationic dialkyl or diester quaternary ammonium salts.