GB2221389A

GB2221389A - A cleaning package

Info

Publication number: GB2221389A
Application number: GB8917491A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Arthur Charles Chown
Original assignee: Irish Wire Products PLC
Current assignee: Irish Wire Products PLC
Priority date: 1988-08-04
Filing date: 1989-07-31
Publication date: 1990-02-07
Also published as: GB8818516D0; GB8917491D0

Abstract

A cleaning package (2) comprises at least one scouring member (4, 6), soap (8) and a tray (10), the soap (8) being provided as a pliable layer at the bottom of the tray (10), and the scouring member (4, 6) being located in the tray (10). <IMAGE>

Description

A CLEANING PACKAGE This invention relates to a cleaning package.

Scouring members such for example as scouring sponges, scouring pads and soap filled pads are well know, Where the scouring members do not have their own soap, it is necessary to provide the cleaning members with soap or other cleaning material. Where the scouring members do have their own soap, there may be occasions when more soap is required. The soap may be provided from a bar or from a liquid soap dispenser. Alternatively, the scouring member may be provided with a liquid kitchen cleaning material which will usually be dispensed from a bottle, The kitchen cleaning material may be, for example, a dish washing liquid. The provision of the various types of cleaning materials on the scouring member is not always convenient.Furthermore, once the scouring member has been used, problems may then be encountered in storing the scouring member until such time as it needs to be re-used. After any use, the scouring member will usually be wet and it may contain residual cleaning material such for example as residual soap. Such a cleaning member may stain or otherwise mark a surface on which it is placed and water may also drip from the scouring member.

It is an aim of the present invention to obviate or reduce the above mentioned problems.

Accordingly, this invention provides a cleaning package comprising at least one scouring member, soap and a tray, the soap being provided as a pliable layer at the bottom of the tray, and the scouring member being located in the tray.

The scouring member can thus be wiped across the surface of the layer of soap in order to pick up the required amount of soap prior to use. After use, the scouring member can be placed back in the tray so that the scouring member will not mark a surface and so that the scouring member will not drip water everywhere.

Although the soap and the scouring member could be located side by side, the cleaning package is advantageously produced in a compact form if the scouring member is located in the tray and on top of the soap. After use, the soap tends to form a film and the used scouring member can satisfactorily be placed on top on the layer of soap in the tray.

As indicated above, the scouring member may be a scouring sponge, a scouring pad or a soap filled pad.

Such scouring members are already known and in use. The scouring pad may be made of plastics filaments. The soap filled pad may be made of wire wool or similar material.

The scouring sponge may be a sponge block having a fibre scouring layer provided on one face of the sponge block. The sponge block will usually be made of a foamed plastics material and a presently preferred foam is polyethylene foam. Other foamed plastics materials may however be used. The fibre scouring layer is preferably made of a plastics fibre material.

Preferably, the cleaning package is such that it has two scouring members in the form of scouring sponges. If desired however the cleaning package may be one which contains scouring members in the form of one scouring sponge and two or more scouring pads or soap filled pads.

With such a cleaning package, there is preferably one scouring sponge and a stack of four of the scouring pads or the soap filled pads.

The soap in the tray may form a pliable layer which is flexible and semi-solid. The soap may be soft to touch but not in a liquid form so that it will not run.

Peferably, the soap includes a reagent which causes the soap to be pliable. The soap should be arranged to stay pliable for the normal life of the cleaning package.

A presently preferred reagent is soda ash.

Preferably, the soap is manufactured from at least one fatty acid, coconut oil and the soda ash.

The tray will usually be made of a plastics material.

Preferably the plastics material is a transparent plastics material. If desired however the plastics material may be opaque.

Preferably, the plastics material is polyvinyl chloride.

Advantageously, the tray has a bottom wall which is provided with keying means for keying the soap in position.

The keying means is effective to stop the layer of soap tending to skid off the bottom wall of the tray if the soap is rubbed too hard with the scouring member.

Preferably, the keying means is a plurality of depressions formed in the bottom wall. The depressions may easily be formed as the tray is manufactured, for example by vacuum forming.

The tray may have side walls which terminate in an outwardly directed lip. The outwardly directed lip may give rigidity to the tray.

The side walls of the tray may have corrugations to increase the rigidity of the side walls.

The cleaning package may include a wrapping which holds the scouring member, the soap and the tray together.

Usually, the wrapping will be a wrapping of a plastics material. Preferably the wrapping is transparent so that the scouring member, the soap and the tray can be seen.

If desired however the wrapping could be opaque.

Preferably, the wrapping is a sealed wrapping. The sealed wrapping can then form an oxygen barrier to seal in the scouring member, the soap and the tray. The sealing is especially advantageous in helping to keep the soap pliable and supple. In cases where the soap has been provided with a perfume, then the sealed wrapping helps to keep in the perfume and avoids premature loss of the perfume in the soap, for example during a prolonged storage period.

The soap may be provided with any type of perfume, for example a lemon perfumelscent for freshness.

The wrapping is preferably effected on a flow wrapping machine. The plastics material of the wrapping may be cellophane.

The wrapping may be printed with appropriate commercial information such for example as a trade mark and/or instructions on how to use the cleaning package. Alternatively, a separate leaflet may be provided on top of the scouring member and then held in position with the wrapping.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning package; Figure 2 is a side view of the cleaning package; and Figure 3 is a top plan view of part of a bottom wall of a tray forming part of the cleaning package.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a cleaning package 2 comprising two scouring members in the form of scouring sponges 4, 6, a layer of soap 8 and a tray 10.

The scouring sponges 4, 6 sit on top of the soap 8 as can be seen from Figures 1 and 2.

The scouring sponges 4, 6 each comprise a polyethylene foamed plastics sponge block 12 with a plastics fibre scouring layer 14 provided on one face of each sponge block 12.

The soap 8 is a pliable layer which is flexible and semi-solid. The soap is soft to touch but the soap is not liquid. Thus the soap does not run like liquid soap. The soap is made from a fatty acid, coconut oil and soda ash.

The soda ash is a reagent which causes the soap to be pliable.

The tray 10 has a bottom wall 16 and upstanding side walls 18. The side walls 18 slope slightly outwardly from the bottom wall 16. The side walls 18 extend approximately one third of the height of the scouring sponges 4, 6 as best can be seen from Figure 2. The tray 10 is made of a transparent plastics material, with transparent polyvinyl chloride being a preferred transparent plastics material.

The bottom wall 16 is provided with keying means in the form of a plurality of depressions 20. The soap 8 enters into the depressions 20 and thus becomes keyed to the bottom wall 16. The depressions 20 thus help to prevent the soap 8 from skidding as a complete layer off the bottom wall 16 if the soap 8 is pressed too hard with a wiping action in order to transfer the soap 8 from the layer in the tray 10 on to the scouring sponges 4, 6.

The side walls 18 terminate in an outwardly directed lip 22. The side walls also have corrugations 24. The lip 22 and the corrugations 24 help to rigidify the tray 10.

A wrapping 26 is provided as shown for holding the scouring sponges 4, 6, the soap 8 and the tray 10 together.

The wrapping 26 is a transparent plastics material and it is preferably made of cellophane. The wrapping 26 is a sealed wrapping so that air cannot normally get to the soap 8 until such time as the wrapping 26 is opened. The sealed wrapping 26 helps to keep the soap 8 in a pliable and supple condition. Furthermore, the seabdwrapping 26 helps to keep the smell of any perfume added to the soap inside the soap during storage. For example, the soap could be provided with a lemon perfume smell for freshness and it is not desirable for this lemon smell to dissipate into the air prior to use.

The wrapping 26 is placed in position and sealed on a flow wrapping machine (not shown). The wrapping 26 is sealed at its ends 28, 30 and over a central portion 32.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiment of the invention described above with reference to the accompanying drawings has been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the cleaning package 2 could be bigger to have four scouring sponges 4, 6. Also, if desired, the scouring sponges 4, 6 could be replaced wholly or partly by soap filled pads or scouring pads. If desired, the tray 1C could be provided with a lid. A product leaflet (not shown) could be provided on top of the scouring layers 14 of the scouring sponges 4, 6.

The cleaning package 2 may be sold under the trade mark SHINEAWAY.

Claims

CLAIT#

CLAIIM 1. A cleaning package comprising at least one scouring member, soap and a tray, the soap being provided as a pliable layer at the bottom of the tray, and the scouring member being located in the tray.
2. A cleaning package according to claim 1 in which the scouring member is located in the tray and on top of the soap.
3. A cleaning package according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the scouring member is a scouring sponge, a scouring pad or a soap filled pad.
4. A cleaning package according to any one of the preceding claims and which has two scouring members in the form of scouring sponges.
5. A cleaning package according to any one of the preceding claims in which the soap in the tray forms a pliable layer which is flexible and semi-solid.
6. A cleaning package according to claim 5 in which the soap includes a reagent which causes the soap to be pliable.
7. A cleaning package according to any one of the preceding claims in which the tray is made of a plastics material.
8. A cleaning package according to claim 7 in which the plastics material is a transparent plastics material.
9. A cleaning package according to any one of the preceding claims in which the tray has a bottom wall which is provided with keying means for keying the soap in position.
10. A cleaning package according to claim 9 in which the keying means is a plurality of depressions formed in the bottom wall.
11. A cleaning package according to any one of the preceding claims in which the tray has side walls which terminate in an outwardly directed lip.
12. A cleaning package according to claim 11 in which the side walls have corrugations to increase the rigidity of the side walls.
13. A cleaning package according to any one of the preceding claims and including a wrapping which holds the scouring member, the soap and the tray together.
14. A cleaning package according to claim 13 in which the wrapping is a wrapping of a plastics material.
15. A cleaning package according to claim 13 or claim 14 in which the wrapping is transparent so that the scouring member, the soap and the tray can be seen.
16. A cleaning package according to any one of claims 13 to 15 in which the wrapping is a sealed wrapping.
17. A cleaning package substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.