Water-Soluble Cleanser Refills for Low-Weight Foamed Dispensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid cleansers face challenges in formulation and delivery due to high water content, leading to increased manufacturing, packaging, and shipping costs, as well as difficulties in refilling and messy handling, while maintaining desirable viscosity and foamability in a concentrated form.
Innovation Solution
Encapsulating a concentrated cleanser composition in a water-soluble film that dissolves in water to form a liquid cleanser with a viscosity range of 1 cps to 1000 cps, using a 1:1 to 1:20 refill dose article:water ratio, and a dispenser with a pump for foamed cleanser delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If liquid cleansers are formulated with high water content for ease of use and dispensing, then the cleanser is easy to dispense and foam, but the weight and volume of the product increase, leading to higher manufacturing, packaging, and shipping costs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts water from the final cleanser formulation and provides it separately as a refill resource. The dispenser contains only the concentrated cleanser formulation (without water), which is then diluted with water from the refill bottle during use. This separation eliminates the need to ship and store large amounts of water in the dispenser, significantly reducing product weight and volume while maintaining ease of dispensing through the pump mechanism.
2Weight of moving object
If liquid cleansers are concentrated to reduce weight and volume, then shipping and packaging costs decrease, but the viscosity and foamability may become unacceptable for pump dispensers
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary formulation of the cleanser concentration and viscosity optimization before the final dispensing step. The concentrated cleanser is formulated with specific surfactant blends and solvents that maintain stable viscosity and foamability characteristics in the concentrated state. When water is added during refilling, the pre-formulated composition automatically dilutes to the optimal viscosity range for pump dispensing and foam generation, eliminating the need for additional adjustment steps.
3Ease of manufacture
If water-soluble film is used to encapsulate concentrated cleanser, then refilling becomes simpler and packaging weight reduces, but the concentrated cleanser must not prematurely dissolve the film while maintaining shelf stability
Solution Approach 1:
The invention modifies the chemical parameters of the concentrated cleanser formulation, specifically adjusting pH levels, ionic strength, and surfactant composition, to ensure compatibility with the water-soluble film material. These parameter changes create a formulation that remains stable and does not degrade the film during storage, yet dissolves appropriately when water is added during the refilling process. This allows simple refilling through film dissolution while maintaining reliable shelf stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces packaging and shipping weights, simplifies refilling, and maintains desired viscosity and foamability, providing a convenient and efficient delivery system for liquid cleansers.
Implementation Method 1
a water-soluble refill dose article dissolvable in water to form a liquid cleanser
Implementation Method 2
a pump that forms a foam when activated
Data Source
AI summary
Water-soluble refill dose articles have a water-soluble film defining a first compartment enclosing a concentrated cleanser composition. The concentrated liquid cleanser composition comprises an anionic surfactant, 0.1% by weight to 10% by weight water, and 20% or less by weight glycol. The anionic surfactant contributes to the % by weight water, and adding the article to water at a 1:1 to 1:20 ratio defines a cleanser volume and produces a liquid cleanser that is dispensable through a pump that forms foamed cleanser and has a viscosity within a range of 1 cps to 1000 cps. Kits having a dispenser and the water soluble refill dose article are disclosed that have a pump that can foam the liquid cleanser.