Manufacture of detergent tablets

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING A DETERGENT TABLET WHICH COMPRISES PRODUCING A PARTICULATE DETERGENT COMPOSITION COMPRISING 2 TO 20% OF A WATER-SOLUBLE SYNTHETIC ORGANIC DETERGENT SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF SULFATED AND SULFONATED ANIONIC DETERGENTS AND WATER-SOLUBLE NONIONIC DETERGENTS CONTAINING BOTH HYDROPHILIC AND HYDROPHOBIC PORTIONS IN THE MOLECULE OF WHICH AT LEAST THE HYDROPHILIC PORTION INCLUDES A PLURALITY OF LOWER JOINED ALKYLENE OXIDE GROUPS OR MIXTURES THEREOF, 20 TO 50% OF A WATER-SOLUBLE ALKALI METAL POLYPHOSPHATE, 20 TO 50% OF A WATER-SOLUBLE ALKALI METAL SILICATE HAVING A METAL OXIDE TO SILICA RATIO BETWEEN ABOUT 0.3 AND 1, MOVING AND CIRCULATING A MASS OF SAID PARTICULATE DETERGENT, ADDING 2 TO 35% WATER TO THE MOVING AND CIRCULATING PARTICULATE DETERGENT TO RAISE THE MOISTURE CONTENT THEREOF TO 15 TO 35% WHEREBY THE MOISTURE IS SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE MASS OF SAID PARTICLES AND LIGHTLY COMPACTING THE RESULTING PARTICLES AT A PRESSURE OF 3 TO 100 P.S.I. INTO FORM RETAINING TABLETS WHICH ARE READILY DISINTEGRABLE IN WASH WATER, SOLUBLE THEREIN AND RESISTANT TO BREAKAGE WHEN SUBJECTED TO SHIPPING SHOCKS.