Detergent products, methods and manufacture Number:7,386,971 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent A water-soluble pouch suitable for use in machine dishwashing and which comprises a plurality of compartments in generally superposed or superposable relationship, each containing one or more detergent active or auxiliary components, and wherein the pouch has a volume of from about 5 to about 70 ml and a longitudinal/transverse aspect ratio in the range from about 2:1 to about 1:8, preferably from about 1:1 to about 1:4. The water-soluble pouch allows for optimum delivery of dishwashing detergent. A process for the manufacture of multi-compartment pouches and a pack to contain the pouches are also disclosed.<H manufacture, Detergent, Detergent, produ, 7386971.html, Patent, pto, 7386971

Title: Detergent products, methods and manufacture

Abstract: A water-soluble pouch suitable for use in machine dishwashing and which comprises a plurality of compartments in generally superposed or superposable relationship, each containing one or more detergent active or auxiliary components, and wherein the pouch has a volume of from about 5 to about 70 ml and a longitudinal/transverse aspect ratio in the range from about 2:1 to about 1:8, preferably from about 1:1 to about 1:4. The water-soluble pouch allows for optimum delivery of dishwashing detergent. A process for the manufacture of multi-compartment pouches and a pack to contain the pouches are also disclosed.

Patent Number: 7,386,971 Issued on 06/17/2008 to Catlin, et al.

Inventors: Catlin; Tanguy Marie Louis Alexandre (Brussels, BE), Moussa; Rachid Ben (Montesilvan Colle, IT), Kroese; Timothy Bernard William (Brussels, BE), Gillham; Charles Rupert (Newcastle upon Tyne, GB), Kinloch; James Iain (Cramlington, GB), Smith; David John (Durham, GB), Main; Alison Lesley (Cincinnati, OH), Varley; Helen (Newcastle upon Tyne, GB)
Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company (Cincinnati, OH)

Appl. No.: 10/978,941

Filed: November 1, 2004

Related U.S. Patent Documents


Application Number	Filing Date	Patent Number	Issue Date
09994533	Nov., 2001	7125828
60265462	Jan., 2001

Foreign Application Priority Data


Nov 27, 2000 [GB]			0028821.7
Nov 27, 2000 [GB]			0028823.3
May 05, 2001 [GB]			0111131.9
Nov 14, 2001 [GB]			0127279.8

Current U.S. Class: 53/537 ; 53/150; 53/453; 53/474; 53/538; 53/574

Current International Class: B65B 29/10 (20060101)

Field of Search: 53/453,559,474,456,452,147,150,158,537,538,574

References Cited [Referenced By]

U.S. Patent Documents


2420983	May 1947	Salfisberg
2541387	February 1951	Salfisberg
3218776	November 1965	Cloud
3502487	March 1970	Byrd
3528921	September 1970	Gray
3705102	December 1972	Mast
3766702	October 1973	Meissner et al.
D234751	April 1975	Brodsky
4115292	September 1978	Richardson et al.
4154636	May 1979	Motoyama et al.
4162987	July 1979	Maguire, Jr. et al.
4176079	November 1979	Guerry et al.
4416791	November 1983	Haq
4622161	November 1986	Cornelissens et al.
4638907	January 1987	Bedenk et al.
4747976	May 1988	Yang et al.
4776455	October 1988	Anderson et al.
4818427	April 1989	Altenschoepfer et al.
4828744	May 1989	Kaufmann et al.
4840271	June 1989	Garwood
4885105	December 1989	Yang et al.
4929380	May 1990	Schulz et al.
4973416	November 1990	Kennedy
5015513	May 1991	Newbold et al.
5016425	May 1991	Weick
5081819	January 1992	Cloud
5110641	May 1992	Kean
5132036	July 1992	Falou et al.
5141664	August 1992	Corring et al.
5146730	September 1992	Sadek et al.
5160654	November 1992	Falou
5224601	July 1993	Gouge et al.
5248038	September 1993	Hodakowski et al.
5272191	December 1993	Ibrahim et al.
D343573	January 1994	Shadrach et al.
5280835	January 1994	Edwards et al.
5328025	July 1994	Hodakowski et al.
5330047	July 1994	Gouge et al.
5336430	August 1994	Bahary et al.
5351831	October 1994	Gouge et al.
5362532	November 1994	Famili et al.
5384364	January 1995	Besse et al.
5394990	March 1995	Edwards et al.
5395616	March 1995	Edwards et al.
5395617	March 1995	Edwards et al.
5403589	April 1995	Edwards et al.
5407680	April 1995	Edwards et al.
5419909	May 1995	Edwards et al.
5422113	June 1995	Edwards et al.
RE34988	July 1995	Yang et al.
5429242	July 1995	Edwards et al.
5429874	July 1995	VanPutte
5464097	November 1995	Edwards et al.
5516562	May 1996	Edwards et al.
5540989	July 1996	Maul et al.
5624034	April 1997	Edwards et al.
5629060	May 1997	Garwood
5682726	November 1997	Green et al.
5724789	March 1998	Corella
5783541	July 1998	Tack et al.
5806285	September 1998	Rizzieri
5827586	October 1998	Yamashita et al.
5830543	November 1998	Miyake et al.
5863885	January 1999	Ruggieri et al.
5914368	June 1999	Haschke et al.
5929007	July 1999	Feng
5944709	August 1999	Barney et al.
6037319	March 2000	Dickler et al.
6089374	July 2000	Edwards et al.
6090771	July 2000	Burt et al.
6096153	August 2000	Nowaczyk
6124036	September 2000	Brown et al.
6133214	October 2000	Jung et al.
6136776	October 2000	Dickler et al.
6193058	February 2001	Yacko et al.
6228825	May 2001	Gorlin et al.
6244746	June 2001	Tokita et al.
D445673	July 2001	Richardson
D445675	July 2001	Richardson
6281183	August 2001	Harbour
6303553	October 2001	Gorlin
D451795	December 2001	Ghatlia et al.
D452143	December 2001	Ghatlia et al.
6363693	April 2002	Edwards et al.
6371187	April 2002	Nowaczyk
6378274	April 2002	Harbour
6387862	May 2002	Bush et al.
6387873	May 2002	Carter et al.
6451750	September 2002	Hewitt et al.
6465408	October 2002	Lee et al.
6465413	October 2002	Hinton
6475975	November 2002	Kinscherf et al.
6475977	November 2002	Pfeiffer et al.
6479448	November 2002	Cropper et al.
6479449	November 2002	Mondin
6482785	November 2002	Mondin
6486109	November 2002	Mondin
6486116	November 2002	Hinton
6492312	December 2002	Pfeiffer et al.
6495503	December 2002	Zappone et al.
6495504	December 2002	Schramm, Jr. et al.
6495505	December 2002	Reul et al.
6670314	December 2003	Smith et al.
6683038	January 2004	Forth et al.
6740628	May 2004	Bennie et al.
6846795	January 2005	Lant et al.
6883295	April 2005	Negri et al.
2001/0026792	October 2001	Farrell et al.
2001/0031714	October 2001	Gassenmeier et al.
2002/0004472	January 2002	Holderbaum et al.
2002/0013232	January 2002	Kinoshita et al.
2002/0013242	January 2002	Baillely et al
2002/0013243	January 2002	Hewitt et al.
2002/0026771	March 2002	Brown
2002/0033004	March 2002	Edwards et al.
2002/0055449	May 2002	Porta et al.
2002/0086806	July 2002	Giblin et al.
2002/0094942	July 2002	Danneels et al.
2002/0115583	August 2002	Lant et al.
2002/0123444	September 2002	Fisher et al.
2002/0137648	September 2002	Sharma et al.
2002/0142931	October 2002	DeNome et al.
2002/0166779	November 2002	Etesse et al.
2002/0169092	November 2002	Catlin et al.
2002/0169095	November 2002	Forth et al.
2002/0198125	December 2002	Jones
2003/0170357	September 2003	Garwood
2005/0065051	March 2005	Catlin et al.

Foreign Patent Documents


1112534	Nov., 1981	CA
100 03 429	Sep., 2000	DE
0 132 726	Feb., 1985	EP
0 261 754	Mar., 1988	EP
0 414 462	Feb., 1991	EP
0 261 754	Sep., 1991	EP
0593952	Apr., 1994	EP
0 608 910	Jun., 1997	EP
0846 757	Jun., 1998	EP
0 879 874	Nov., 1998	EP
0 879 874	Jun., 1999	EP
1 126 070	Aug., 2001	EP
0889 710	Feb., 2002	EP
2 361 687	Oct., 2001	GB
WO 92/17382	Oct., 1992	WO
WO 94/14841	Jul., 1994	WO
WO 96/24328	Aug., 1996	WO
WO 97/35537	Oct., 1997	WO
WO 98/30670	Jul., 1998	WO
WO 00/02980	Jan., 2000	WO
WO 00/02980	Jan., 2000	WO
WO 00/55068	Sep., 2000	WO
WO 01/79417	Oct., 2001	WO
WO 02/08371	Jan., 2002	WO
WO 02/08376	Jan., 2002	WO
WO 02/14460	Feb., 2002	WO
WO 02/16205	Feb., 2002	WO
WO 02/16206	Feb., 2002	WO
WO 02/16207	Feb., 2002	WO
WO 02/16222	Feb., 2002	WO
WO 02/16541	Feb., 2002	WO
WO 02/060757	Aug., 2002	WO
WO 02/060758	Aug., 2002	WO
WO 02/074891	Sep., 2002	WO
WO 02/074891	Sep., 2002	WO
WO 02/074892	Sep., 2002	WO
WO 02/085707	Oct., 2002	WO
WO 02/085736	Oct., 2002	WO
WO 02/085737	Oct., 2002	WO
WO 02/085738	Oct., 2002	WO

Primary Examiner: Harmon; Christopher
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Bamber; Jeffrey V. Grunzinger; Laura R.

Parent Case Text

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 09/994,533, filed Nov. 27, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,125,828.

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for making a water-soluble pouch which comprises a plurality of compartments in generally superposed or superposable relationship, each comprising a detergent active or auxiliary component, the process comprising the steps of: a) forming and partially filling, with a first detergent active or auxiliary component comprising a powder or densified powder, a moving web of open pouches releasably mounted on a moving endless surface having a continuous horizontal rectilinear motion with a constant speed; wherein the moving web of open pouches at least partially comprises a water-soluble film; b) closing and sealing said moving web with a first web closure means moving in synchronism therewith whereby the first web closure means is introduced into the partially filled pouches so as to form a plurality of closed and superposed open compartments; c) filling, with a second detergent active or auxiliary component comprising a liquid, gel, paste or wax, closing and sealing the superposed open compartments by means of a second web closure means moving in synchronism with said moving web; and d) separating said web into a plurality of water-soluble multi-compartment pouches.

2. A process according to claim 1 wherein said sealing steps are undertaken by means of solvent sealing.

3. A process according to claim 1 wherein said web of open pouches in step (a) is filled with a first composition comprising a detergent active or auxiliary component and the composition is densified before closing said moving web in step (b).

4. A process according to claim 3 wherein the densified composition has a bulk density after being densified which is between about 5% and about 30% greater than the bulk density of the composition before being densified.

5. A process according to claim 1 wherein the steps of filling are accomplished using a product filling station moving in synchronism with the endless surface.

6. A process according to claim 5 wherein said product filling station comprises a means for supplying a plurality of product feed streams into each of said compartments.

7. A process according to claim 1 wherein said moving web of open pouches is at least partially formed by feeding said water-soluble film to a die having a series of moulds.

8. A process according to claim 7 wherein said moving endless surface is part of a rotating platen conveyor belt comprising said series of moulds.

9. A process according to claim 7 wherein at least portions of said water-soluble film are drawn into said moulds by vacuum.

10. A process according to claim 9 wherein portions of said water-soluble film are at least partially elastically deformed.

11. A process according to claim 9 wherein the die having a series of moulds further comprises holes which are connected to a device which can provide a vacuum, the series of moulds further comprising a series of mould edges, at least some of the holes being close to the series of mould edges.

12. A process according to claim 1 wherein step (a) is performed before step (b), and the pouches are enlarged before closing said moving web in step (b).

13. A process for making a water-soluble pouch which comprises a plurality of compartments in generally superposed or superposable relationship, each comprising a detergent active or auxiliary component, the process comprising the steps of: a) forming and partially filling with a first detergent active or auxiliary component comprising a powder or densified powder, a moving web of open pouches releasably mounted on a moving endless surface having a continuous horizontal rectilinear motion with a constant speed; wherein the moving web of open pouches at least partially comprises a water-soluble film; b) closing said moving web with a first,web closure means moving in synchronism therewith whereby the first web closure means is introduced into the partially filled pouches so as to form a plurality of closed and superposed open compartments; c) filling with a second detergent active or auxiliary component comprising a liquid, gel, paste or wax, and closing the superposed open compartments by means of a second web closure means moving in synchronism with said moving web; d) sealing said web and said first and second web closure means; and e) separating said web into a plurality of water-soluble multi-compartment pouches.

14. A process according to claim 13 wherein said sealing step is undertaken by means of ultrasonic sealing.

15. A process according to claim 13 wherein the moving endless surface comprises a surface with a plurality of moulds having edges into which the moving web is drawn to form said open pouches, wherein the surface with the plurality of moulds further comprises holes which are connected to a device which can provide a vacuum, at least same of the holes being close to the plurality of would edges.

16. A process for making a water-soluble pouch which comprises a plurality of compartments in generally superposed or superposable relationship, each comprising a detergent active or auxiliary component, the process comprising the steps of: a) forming and filling with a first detergent active or auxiliary component comprising a powder or densified powder, a moving web of open pouches releasably mounted on a moving endless surface having a continuous horizontal rectilinear motion with a constant speed; wherein the moving web of open pouches at least partially comprises a water-soluble film, b) closing and sealing said moving web with a first web closure means moving In synchronism therewith so as to form a plurality of closed compartments; c) forming a recess within some or all of the closed compartments formed in step (b) so as to generate a plurality of open compartments superposed above the closed compartments; d) filling with a second detergent active or auxiliary component comprising a liquid, gel, paste or wax, closing and sealing the superposed open compartments by means of a second web closure means moving in synchronism with said moving web; and e) separating said web into a plurality of water-soluble multi-compartment pouches.

17. A process according to claim 16 wherein the moving endless surface comprises a surface with a plurality of moulds having edges into which the moving web is drawn to form said open pouches, wherein the surface with the plurality of moulds further comprises holes which are connected to a device which can provide a vacuum, at least some of the holes being close to the plurality of mould edges.

18. A process for making a water-soluble pouch which comprises a plurality of compartments in generally superposed or superposable relationship, each comprising a detergent active or auxiliary component, the process comprising the steps of: a) forming and filling with a first detergent active or auxiliary component comprising a powder or densified powder, a moving web of open pouches releasably mounted on a moving endless surface having a continuous horizontal rectilinear motion with a constant speed; wherein the moving web of open pouches at least partially comprises a water-soluble film; b) closing said moving web with a first web closure means moving in synchronism therewith so as to form a plurality of closed compartments and superposed open compartments; c) forming a recess within some or all of the closed compartments formed in step (b) so as to generate a plurality of open compartments superposed above the closed compartments; d) filling the superposed open compartments with a second detergent active or auxiliary component comprising a liquid, gel, paste or wax and closing the superposed open compartments by means of a second web closure means moving in synchronism with said moving web; e) sealing said web and said first and second web closure means; and f) separating said web into a plurality of water-soluble multi-compartment pouches.

19. A process according to claim 18 wherein the moving endless surface comprises a surface with a plurality of moulds having edges into which the moving web is drawn to form said open pouches, wherein the surface with the plurality of moulds further comprises holes which are connected to a device which can provide a vacuum, at least some of the holes being close to the plurality of mould edges.

20. A process for making a water-soluble pouch which comprises a plurality of compartments in generally superposed or superposable relationship, each comprising a detergent active or auxiliary component, the process comprising the steps of: a) forming and partially filling, with a first detergent active or auxiliary component consisting of a powder or densified powder, a moving web of open pouches releasably mounted on a horizontal or substantially horizontal portion of an endless surface moving at a constant speed; wherein the moving web of open pouches at least partially comprises a water-soluble film; b) closing and sealing said moving web with a first web closure means moving in synchronism therewith whereby the first web closure means is introduced into the partially filled pouches so as to form a plurality of closed and superposed open compartments; c) filling, with a second detergent active or auxiliary component comprising a liquid, gel, paste or wax, closing and sealing the superposed open compartments by means of a second web closure means moving in synchronism with said moving web; and d) separating said web into a plurality of water-soluble multi-compartment pouches.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is in the field of dishwashing, in particular it relates to a water soluble multi-compartment pouch adapted to fit the dishwasher dispenser and to deliver product into the pre-wash, main wash and/or post-rinse cycles of the dishwashing machine. The pouch contains a cleaning composition for release on dissolution of the pouch. The invention also relates to a process for the manufacture of the pouches and to a pack for the storage, distribution and display of the pouches.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Unitised doses of dishwashing detergents are found to be more attractive and convenient to some consumers because they avoid the need of the consumer to measure the product thereby giving rise to a more precise dosing and avoiding wasteful overdosing or underdosing. For this reason automatic dishwashing detergent products in tablet form have become very popular. Detergent products in pouch form are also known in the art, they have the advantage over tablets of avoiding the contact of the consumer fingers with the dishwashing composition which may contain bleach and/or other irritant substances.

The automatic dishwashing process usually involves a initial pre-wash cycle, main-wash cycle and several hot rinse cycles. Better performance is obtained when the detergent is delivered at the beginning of the main-wash cycle than when the detergent is delivered in the pre-wash cycle since it can be lost with the initial water. In laundry washing machines the detergent can be placed in the drum or in the dispenser, however, in dishwashers the detergent is generally delivered into the main wash via the dispenser to avoid premature dissolution in the pre-wash. The amount of detergent is therefore limited by the volume of the dispenser. Dispensers vary in volume and shape from manufacturer to manufacturer. In the case of detergent in loose form (i.e., powders, paste and liquids), the volume of the dispenser is a decisive factor. In the case of unit dose forms, such as tablet, the geometry and shape of the dispenser plays also a very important role.

Tablets can be designed to have a size and shape which fit all machines. One of the drawbacks of detergent tablets is the fact that their manufacturing process requires the additional step of powder compaction. This decreases enzyme activity and slows down the dissolution rate of the ingredients forming the tablet, or requires the use of complex and expensive disintegrant systems, or makes it difficult to achieve differential dissolution of the detergent active ingredients.

Some detergent ingredients used in dishwashing detergent compositions are liquids. These liquid ingredients can be difficult or costly to include in a solid detergent composition. Also, certain ingredients are preferably transported and supplied to detergent manufacturers in a liquid form and require additional, and sometimes costly, process steps to enable them to be included in a solid detergent composition. An example of these detergent ingredients is surfactant, especially nonionic surfactant which are typically liquid at room temperature or are typically transported and supplied to detergent manufacturers in liquid form. Another example is organic solvents.

Current methods of incorporating liquid ingredients into solid detergent compositions include absorbing the liquid ingredient onto a solid carrier, for example by mixing, agglomeration or spray-on techniques. Typically, solid detergent compositions comprise only low amounts of these liquid detergent ingredients due to the difficulty and expense of incorporating these liquid ingredients into a solid detergent. Furthermore, the incorporation of liquid ingredients into solid detergent compositions can impact on the dissolution characteristics of the composition (for example as the result of forming surfactant gel phases), can increase the moisture pick-up by water sensitive ingredients and can also lead to problems of flowability. It would be advantageous to have a detergent composition which allows the different ingredients to be in their natural state i.e., liquid or solid. This would facilitate the manufacturing process, increase the component stability and furthermore allow the delivery of liquid ingredients prior or post to the delivery of solid ingredients. For example differential dissolution of active ingredients would be beneficial in the case of enzyme/bleach compositions to avoid oxidation of enzymes by the bleach in the dishwashing liquor. It would also be advantageous to separate bleach from perfume.

Another factor that can contribute to the inefficient delivery of actives to the wash, in the case of tablets, is the need for adding carrier materials, as for example porous materials able to bind active liquid materials, binders and disintegrants. In particular, the incorporation of liquid surfactants to powder form detergent compositions can raise considerable processing difficulties and also the problem of poor dissolution through the formation of surfactant gel phases.

There is still the need for a multi-compartment unitised dose form capable of fitting the dispensers of different dishwashing machine types and which allows for the simultaneous delivery of incompatible ingredients and ingredients in different physical forms. There is also need for a simplified manufacturing process for multi-compartment pouch production and for multi-compartment pouches with improved strength, handling and dissolution characteristics as well as excellent aesthetics.

The most common process for making water-soluble pouches with products such as cleaning products is the so-called vertical form-fill-sealing process. Hereby, a vertical tube is formed by folding a film. The bottom end of the tube is sealed to give rise to an open pouch. This pouch is partially filled allowing a head space whereby the top part of the open pouch is then subsequently sealed together to close the pouch, and to give rise to the next open pouch. The first pouch is subsequently cut and the process is repeated. The pouches formed in such a way usually have pillow shape.

A second known process for making pouches is by use of a die having a series of moulds and forming from a film, open pouches in these moulds, which can then be filled and sealed. This method uses the pouch film material more efficiently and the process has more flexibility in terms of pouch shapes and ingredients used. However, the process has limited suitability for industrial application, because it cannot produce large quantities of pouches (per time unit), in an easy and efficient manner.

A third process proposed is the formation of pouches in moulds present on the surface of a circular drum. Hereby, a film is circulated over the drum and pockets are formed, which pass under a filling machine to fill the open pockets. The filling and sealing needs to take place at the highest point (top) of the circle described by the drum, e.g. typically, filling is done just before the rotating drum starts the downwards circular motion, and sealing just after the drum starts its downwards motion.

One problem associated with the vertical filling machine is that the process is not very efficient: the process is intermittent and very slow, for example due to process speed changes from one step to the next step, and each pouch formation step result typically only in one string of pouches in one dimension; thus, only a limited amount of pouches per minute can be formed. Moreover, large quantities of film are used per product dose, because the method does not allow complete filling of the pouches, there is a substantial seal along the vertical dimension of each pouch, and the method does not allow stretching of the film. Also, there is not much flexibility in shapes of pouches formed.

Problems associated with the second process using a die with moulds include also the fact that the process is intermittent (or an indexing process), and that the process is slow and involves acceleration and deceleration, which reduces the overall speed and moreover, causes product spillage out of the open pouches. Also, the output of this process is not very high (per time unit).

The circular drum process overcomes some of the disadvantages of these processes because it does not entail speed changes (no acceleration/deceleration), it can readily provide pouches arranged in two dimensions and the shape of the pouches can be varied to some extent. However, spillage from the pouches can be quite substantial, due to the circular movement, which causes product to spill onto the sealing area, and this can cause problems with sealing (leaking seals). Also, the process does not allow the pouches to be filled completely, because the spillage is then even more of a problem. Also, this process has even more significant problems when used for liquid products, which are more likely to cause large spillage, due to the circular motion. Moreover, the filling and sealing has to be done around the highest point of the circular path of the drum, thereby hugely reducing the overall speed and the output of the pouch formation process.

All the known processes, moreover are designed primarily for making single compartment pouches. There is still need for a process to make multi-compartment water-soluble pouches which overcome the above issues, namely a continuous process, with a fast production rate and which minimize the amount of film used for each pouch. There is also a need for a process of making multi-compartment water-soluble pouches having improved strength and adapted for use in machine dishwashing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a machine dishwashing product in the form of water-soluble pouch. The pouch comprises a plurality of compartments in generally superposed or superposable relationship, for example, the plurality of compartments can be symmetrically arranged one above another, side by side (such that they can be folded into a superposed relationship) or any other convenient disposition provided that the compartments are superposable in use. Each compartment contains one or more detergent active components or detergent auxiliaries. Water-soluble pouches comprising a plurality of compartments are herein referred to as multi-compartment pouches. Multi-compartment pouches in which the compartments are in a superposed relationship are especially advantageous when one or more of the compartments comprise a moisture sensitive ingredient, because the compartment comprising a moisture sensitive ingredient can be placed in intermediate or bottom layers and thus they have less surface area exposed to the surrounding environment, therefore reducing the possibility of picking up moisture from the surroundings.

The pouch preferably has a volume of from about 5 to about 70 ml, preferably from about 15 to about 60 ml, more preferably from about 18 to 57 ml, and a longitudinal/transverse aspect ratio in the range from about 2:1 to about 1:8, preferably from about 1:1 to about 1:4. The longitudinal dimension is defined as the maximum height of the pouch when the pouch is lying on one of the bases which has the maximum footprint with the pouch compartments superposed in a longitudinal direction, i.e. one over another, and under a static load of about 2 Kg. The transverse dimension is defined as the maximum width of the pouch in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction under the same con