Patent Application
20050133544
The present invention is in the field of consumer products and packaging. More specifically, the invention is directed to a dip tube for micropump dispensers which dip tube interacts with a cosmetic product.
Cosmetic products are sometimes packaged in consumer use containers in such a way that one or more ingredients within the container are isolated from the rest of the formulation. By “isolated”, it is meant that one or more ingredients are not freely mixed, dispersed, dissolved or suspended in the usual manner of incorporating ingredients into a cosmetic formulation. Rather, these ingredients are confined to a specific area within the consumer package and may or may not have continual physical and chemical contact with the remainder of the formulation. “Chemical contact” means that some chemical reaction, bonding or other influence has occurred between the isolated ingredients and the remainder of the formulation. For example, the influence that a magnetic field might have on a cosmetic formulation is covered by this definition of chemical contact. This type of system may be used when it is desirable to dispense product that has been acted upon by the isolated ingredient, but which does not itself contain any of the isolated ingredient. The reasons for doing this may be regulatory, mechanical or aesthetic. Certain ingredients may be legally permitted in cosmetic products as long as they do not come into contact with the consumer. Or perhaps, certain ingredients, because of their size or other characteristics are not suitable for dispensing through some of the commonly used cosmetic dispensers, for example the micropump sprayer. On the other hand, the presence of certain ingredients in the dispensed product may produce an unpleasant response in the consumer, such as a skin irritation. Examples of the types of ingredients that may be isolated from the main part of the formulation include but are not limited to: absorbents, anti-foaming agents, antifungals, antimicrobials, antioxidants, antistatics, chelating agents, corrosion inhibitors, biocides, deodorant agents, ion exchange agents, oxidizing agents, pH adjusters, preservatives, reducing agents, minerals, gem stones, magnets, metals, glass beads and biological products.
Dispensing containers which have a confinement area for one or more isolated ingredients are known. The isolated ingredient is completely retained within the confinement area, however, chemical contact is permitted to occur between the isolated ingredients and the remainder of the formulation. Examples of this include chambers that confine the isolated ingredients but which are porous to the rest of the product. These chambers may be fixedly located on the bottom of the container or may be fixed in the neck of a pour bottle (U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,712) or may be fixed in the nozzle of a squeeze bottle (U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,689; U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,800; U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,471; U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,361; U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,378) or they may be loose in the formulation. The effectiveness of this system is limited to the type of formulation involved. In order to achieve a uniform distribution of the effect of the isolated ingredient, the rest of the formulation must be able to freely move in and out of the confinement area so that chemical contact between the isolated ingredient and the rest of the formulation can take place. For this reason, non-viscous liquids are more suited for this system because thermal or kinetic agitation will increase the chances that all of the formulation will achieve chemical contact with the isolated ingredients. Use of this system with viscous products may result in incomplete chemical contact between the isolated ingredient and the rest of the formulation and non-uniform distribution of the effect of the isolated ingredient. Consider a heavy, viscous cream, for example. Portions of the heavy cream near a confinement area that contains a preservative, may be well preserved, while mold begins to appear in a portion removed from the confinement area. To counter this, one may use an isolated ingredient that is significantly more potent than would otherwise be used if the isolated ingredient was incorporated directly into the formulation. Problems here include the fact that such an isolated ingredient may not exist or the use of such potent ingredients may be legally or commercially unacceptable.
Other problems arise depending on the exact location of the chamber. If the chamber is located near the bottom of the container, then the ratio of formulation to isolated ingredients changes as product is removed from the container. This may result in an inconsistent product experience for the consumer. On the other hand, if the chamber is located near the top of the container then the formulation may not have chemical contact with the isolated ingredients, in general. Only upon shaking the container which the consumer may not do, will any chemical contact be achieved and those results may be highly variable. In the case of the chamber being located in the dispensing nozzle each portion of the formulation generally does not have chemical contact with the isolated ingredients until each portion moves through the confinement chamber on its way out of the nozzle. Drawbacks of this system include the fact that different portions of formulation have very different contact times with the isolated ingredients. Those portions which pass quickly through the dispensing system have only brief chemical contact with the isolated ingredients while a portion which, in between dispensing operations, remains in and near the nozzle confinement chamber may have a much longer contact with the isolated ingredients. Again, the result may be a non-uniform product experience for the consumer. This same problem may be encountered anytime the chamber is located anywhere in the flow path of the product, not just in a nozzle.
Dispensing containers that use a chemical or mechanical filter to isolate one or more ingredients from the remainder of the formulation just prior to being dispensed, are also known. Again, the reasons for doing so may be regulatory, mechanical or aesthetic. These systems have less of a problem with non-uniformity, but the limitations of these systems include the associated costs of the additional filter components and the fact that suitable filters which can be conveniently incorporated into the small space of cosmetic dispenser may not exist. Also, this system is only appropriate if the effect of the isolated ingredient remains even after the isolated ingredient has been removed from the formulation. This may not always be the case. Also, if the trapped ingredients clog the filter, the dispensing mechanism may become inoperable.
Mechanical pump dispensers wherein the dip tube is surrounded by an outer tube are known. U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,897 discloses an outer tube that is purely an esthetic enhancement for the dip tube. The outer tube is not porous and does not define a confinement space that is adapted or capable of confining one ore more isolated ingredients. U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,667 discloses a outer tube that is really a second dip tube that allows for inverted spraying. The outer tube is not porous and does not define a confinement space that is adapted to or capable of confining one ore more isolated ingredients. U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,043 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,412 disclose mechanical filters attached to the end of dip tubes, but it is only the very end of the dip tube that is surrounded by the filter housing. The filter housings does not confine any isolated ingredients and even if they did they would not achieve the results of the present invention because only a minimal portion of the dip tube is surrounded. U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,711 describes a dip tube, a portion of which is surrounded by a spherical casing that confines an isolated ingredient, i.e. a magnet. Here, however, the casing is relatively small compared to the dip tube. The reasons for this are several. Firstly, the casing must be light enough to float on the surface of the product. When the container is full, there may be insufficient space at the top of the container to fit a large casing. Also, a purpose of the small casing is to concentrate the magnetic energy inwardly over a small portion of the dip tube so as to have a significant effect on the product as it passes through that portion of the dip tube. This design is not trying to have a uniform effect over the product in the container, only the product as it passes through a small portion of the dip tube. Also, there is no disclosure of a porous outer tube.
Dip tubes with pores are known, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,846 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,450. The porous dip tube disclosed in each patent facilitates the dispensing of a liquefied propellant phase of a three phase aerosol product. U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,463 discloses a dip tube with a plurality of apertures that allow dispensing while the container is inverted. None of these discloses an outer porous tube that defines a confinement space for one ore more isolated ingredients.
Generally, the focus of the prior art is to prevent the degradation of the appearance and performance of a very standard looking product. None of the prior art to which this invention pertains describe or suggest the ability to create sophisticated visual effects and/or improved performance of an active ingredient through the controlled distribution of one or more isolated ingredients in a consumer package.
Objects
Aims of the present invention include:
All of the above are achieved in a package with a cosmetic pump by taking advantage of the fact that the pump dip tube is already uniformly distributed in the package container, at least in the direction of the dip tube axis. By associating one or more isolated ingredients with the dip tube and controlling the particle distribution of the isolated ingredients along the length of the dip tube, the present invention achieves controlled effects. These effects may be to impart uniform chemical properties to the formulation or to create sophisticated visual effects.
a is an elevation of the dip tube of the present invention wherein the outer tube and stop means are shown in cross section.
b is an enlargement and cross section of a portion of the dip tube of
a is an alternate embodiment of
b is a cross section along line A-A of
a and 7b depict the collette-plug stop means useful on the embodiment of
A first embodiment of the functional dip tube according to the present invention is shown in
When attached to a container (6), the outside of the outer tube is the inside of the container that holds the formulation (not shown in
The outer tube 3 may be substantially the same length as the dip tube proper 2 or the outer tube may be shorter than the dip tube proper. In the preferred embodiment, the dip tube proper extends downward, beyond the bottom (3b) of the outer tube, however, the bottom of the outer tube may be substantially at the same depth as the lower end of the dip tube proper. The confinement space 5 may be continuous or it may be partitioned into sections 8 forming any number of patterns along the length of the dip tube (see
In one variation of the present invention (see
In another variation of the present invention, the wall of the outer tube may be impregnated with the isolate ingredient. In this embodiment pores need not be provided if the natural porosity of the outer tube is sufficient to allow fluid communication between the isolated ingredient and the rest of the formulation. The isolated ingredient may be impregnated into the outer tube simply by incorporating the isolated material into the plastic slurry prior to molding or extruding the outer tube.
In still another variation of this, the isolated material is impregnated in the outer tube, but no fluid communication occurs between the isolated material and the rest of the formulation. In this case, the isolated material can exert its influence through the outer tube. An example of this would be when the isolated ingredient is magnetic. An outwardly directed magnetic field would arise within the formulation even without said fluid communication. Carrying this one step further, the outer tube may be eliminated and the isolated material can be impregnated into the dip tube proper.
In another variation of the present invention the outer tube is formed of a mesh 300 (see
Functional dip tubes according to the present invention may be manufactured and assembled using well known molding, extruding and assembling technology. However, the present invention is further directed to a method of retrofitting ordinary non-functional dip tubes to produce functional dip tubes according to the present invention. The method comprises the step of positioning a confinement space that is adapted to contain within itself, one or more isolated ingredients, around a dip tube proper, over a substantial portion of the height of the dip tube proper.
It should be understood that the invention as thus described may be practiced in ways that are equivalent to the invention as circumscribed by the appended claims. A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily comprehend such insubstantial variations and these are also covered by the claims.
