Method for Loading Cosmetic Material Into a Container and Solidifying Said Cosmetic Material

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for loading a viscous cosmetic material into an inner cup of a compact or other container and for solidifying the cosmetic material loaded therein.

Method and apparatus of this kind is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-60004. The method disclosed therein comprises the steps of mixing powder cosmetic material with a solvent to form viscous cosmetic material, injecting the viscous cosmetic material under pressure into an inner cup of a compact or the like, and at the same time having the solvent in the cosmetic material absorbed into an absorbent material in order to solidify the cosmetic material. This improves operation efficiency and the external appearance of the products considerably, when compared with the conventional method wherein powder cosmetic material added with adhesive but not with a solvent is loaded into a container and is compressed by pressing means, or with the method wherein cosmetic material dissolved in a solvent is poured into a container and left to solidify by evaporation of the solvent. Specifically, the method and apparatus of Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-60004 is as follows. A container having a filling hole at the bottom is placed in a recess of a supporting block. An injection nozzle on the supporting block is then tightly fitted to the filling hole, and a porous absorbent block is pressed against the upper open end of the container with a mesh fabric interposed therebetween. With the apparatus thus arranged, viscous cosmetic material is injected under pressure through the nozzle into the container. During this injection operation, the solvent in the cosmetic material is absorbed through the mesh fabric into the porous absorbent block, thereby solidifying the cosmetic material.

In the above prior art arrangement, however, the inside space of the container is always communicated to the injection nozzle during the injection operation, resulting in solvent continuously being supplied from the viscous material in the nozzle as the porous block absorbs the solvent in the container. Therefore, a considerable amount of the solvent necessarily remains in the cosmetic material even after the above operation, which solvent often causes, when evaporating, a nonsmooth surface such as cracks of the cosmetic material. Further, during the absorbing and solidifying process, even the cosmetic material in the nozzle is partly solidified, which tends to close the nozzle and to develop, after the cosmetic material is completely solidified, unevenness of color or luster of the cosmetic products.

In addition, loading the cosmetic material under pressure requires that the filling hole of the container should be formed at a precise position with accurate dimensions and exactly fitted to the nozzle. Otherwise, the cosmetic material injected under pressure from the nozzle would leak out of the hole and thereby cause waste of the material.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for loading a cosmetic material into a container and solidifying the same, wherein solvent in the viscous cosmetic material may be efficiently absorbed so as to prevent cracks and unevenness of color and of luster of the final products.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of the above type which will prevent any leakage of the cosmetic material when loaded and solidified.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is adapted to carry out the above method.

According to the present invention, a method for loading a cosmetic material into a container and solidifying the same starts with the step of providing a container having an upper open end and comprising a frame forming a side wall and a bottom plate slidably fitted in the frame. A viscous cosmetic material is prepared by mixing a powder cosmetic material with a solvent, and a predetermined amount thereof is dripped or supplied into the container from its upper open end. The container is then disposed in compression means including a supporting block and a presser, at least one of which has a porous absorbent element adjacent the container. After the upper open end of the container is tightly closed by the lower surface of the presser, the cosmetic material is compressed by pressing the bottom plate upwardly relative to the frame of the container. During this compression, the solvent is squeezed out from the cosmetic material through the porous absorbent element.

Preferably, a liquid absorbent membrane is interposed between the upper open end of the container and the lower surface of the presser.

In one embodiment of the invention, the porous absorbent element is secured to the presser and faces the liquid absorbent membrane so that the solvent is soaked into the porous absorbent element through the liquid absorbent membrane.

In another embodiment of the invention, the bottom plate of the container is formed to be permeable to the solvent. The porous absorbent element is secured to the supporting block in contact with the lower surface of the bottom plate so that the solvent is soaked into the porous absorbent element through the bottom plate.

The method may further comprise the step of subjecting the porous absorbent element to a vacuum during the compression of the cosmetic material.

Also provided according to the invention is an apparatus to be used in combination with a container for loading a cosmetic material therein and solidifying the cosmetic material. The container has an upper open end and comprises a frame forming a side wall and a bottom plate slidably fitted in the frame. The apparatus includes means for preparing a viscous cosmetic material and for dripping or supplying a predetermined amount thereof into the container. A supporting block has a recess formed therein to hold the container in place and drive means for pressing the bottom plate upwardly relative to the frame of the container. A presser has a lower surface of a dimension to close the upper open end of the container whereby the upward movement of the bottom plate compresses the cosmetic material between the bottom plate and the lower surface of the presser. At least one of the supporting block and the presser has formed therein a hollow space connected to vacuum means for maintaining sub-atmospheric pressure in the hollow space. The apparatus further comprises a porous absorbent element secured in the hollow sapce at a position adjacent the container for soaking the solvent thereinto upon compression of the cosmetic material.

The bottom plate of the container is preferably in the form of a dish having the lower surface normally positioned below a level of the lower end of the frame.

In one embodiment of the invention, the bottom plate is permeable to the solvent so that the solvent is soaked through the bottom plate into the porous absorbent element which is disposed in the supporting block below the container.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a dispensing device and a supporting block in an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a filling process of cosmetic material into a container;

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the supporting block shown in FIG. 1, combined with a presser, showing a solidifying process of the cosmetic material;

FIGS. 3 (A) to (D) are sectional views showing another example of the container;

FIGS. 4 (A) to (D) are sectional views showing still other examples of the container;

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 illustrating an apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 7 (A) and (B) are sectional views showing a manner of mounting the containers in a compact.

FIG. 1 shows a process of filling a predetermined amount of viscous cosmetic material into a container. Powder cosmetic material is dissolved in a solvent to make a viscous cosmetic material 10 which is stored in a tank 12 and is mixed therein by a mixing rod 14 with a valve 16 closed. By opening the valve 16, the viscous cosmetic material 10 flows out to a valve 18 located at a discharge opening 20. Next, a piston rod 22a of an air cylinder 22 is extended to stop the viscous cosmetic material 10 from flowing out from the tank 12. In this state, extending a piston rod 24a of an air cylinder 24 with the valve 18 open extrudes a predetermined amount of viscous cosmetic material from the discharge opening 20 into a container 26. Further, with the valve 18 of the discharge opening 20 closed and with a valve 28 open, the viscous cosmetic material 10 can be circulated through a pipe 30 to render uniform the viscosity of the cosmetic material 10.

The container 26, which is for example an inner cup of a compact, comprises a frame 34 forming a side wall and a bottom plate 36 slidably fitted in the frame 34. The frame 34 has a collar 38 at the lower end to hold the bottom plate 36 in place. The upper edge of the frame 34 defines the open end of the container 26.

A supporting block 40 has a recess 42 into which the container 26 fits. A cylindrical space 44 extends through the supporting block 40 from the center of the bottom of the recess 42 to the bottom of the supporting block 40, and a press rod 46 is received in the space 44. The press rod 46 is connected to an air cylinder 48 through a piston rod 50. The supporting block 40 is adapted to be moved by, for example, a rotating arm (not shown) which grips the supporting block 40. After the container 26 is placed in the recess 42 and positioned directly under the discharge opening 20, a predetermined amount of the viscous cosmetic material 10 is filled into the container 26 as shown in FIG. 1. Thereafter, the supporting block 40 with the container 26 fitted in the recess 42 is moved for a subsequent solidification step and is combined with a presser 52 as shown in FIG. 2.

The presser 52 has defined therein a hollow space 54 and a vacuum suction passage 56 connected to the hollow space 54. A porous absorbent block 58 formed of sintered metals, ceramics or the like is secured in the hollow space 54 by means of a bolt 59 and has a lower flat surface of an area sufficient to cover the upper open end of the container 26. The presser 52, connected to an air cylinder 60 through a piston rod 62, is slidable in the vertical direction.

The solidifying process is performed as follows. The container 26 filled with the predetermined amount of the viscous cosmetic material 10 is covered with a liquid absorbent membrane 64 which is intermittently fed from a supply roller 65, and the presser 52 including the porous absorbent block 58 is lowered by the air cylinder 60 until the lower surface thereof is in press-contact with the upper edge of the frame 34 through the liquid absorbent membrane 64. Then, the bottom plate 36 of the container 26 is raised relative to the frame 34 by the press rod 46 connected to the air cylinder 48, so that the viscous cosmetic material 10 is compressed between the liquid absorbent membrane 64 and the bottom plate 36. Simultaneously, the hollow space 54 in the presser 52 is subjected to vacuum through the passage 56 connected to a vacuum pump 66.

During the compression of the viscous cosmetic material 10, the solvent contained therein is squeezed out and immediately absorbed by capillary action into the membrane 64 and the porous block 58. The hollow space 54, to which the porous block 58 is faced, is maintained at sub-atmospheric pressure by the vacuum pump 66 and the squeezed-out solvent is discharged outwardly through the passage 56, so that the solvent absorption, i.e. the solidification of the cosmetic material, is promoted. Accordingly, the compression force applied to the viscous cosmetic material 10 may be smaller than a pressure under which the material is injected into the container in accordance with the prior art method as discussed hereinabove.

After the solidifying process, the press rod 46 is lowered and the presser 52 is raised such that the container 26 may be removed from the supporting block 40. Thereafter, the absorbent membrane is wound by winding means (not shown) for a predetermined length so that an unused part of the membrane will be ready for the next cycle.

The membrane may be formed of absorbent paper, cloth and the like and is intended to serve as a packing to prevent the cosmetic material from leaking over the upper end of the container 26 during the compressing process, and to serve as a parting agent, thereby preventing the cosmetic material from sticking to the lower surface of presser 52 after the solidifying process. The membrane 64, when in a wet state, easily comes off from the cosmetic material without injuring a smooth surface thereof.

Another example of a container suitable for use in the present method is illustrated in FIGS. 3(A)-3(D). The container 70 of this example may be an inner cup of a compact and comprises a frame 72 forming a side wall and a bottom plate 74 slidably fitted in the frame 72. The frame 72 has at the lower end thereof an inwardly projecting collar 76 for holding the bottom plate 74 in place. The bottom plate 74 is in the form of a dish defining an inner space 78 with the lower surface of the plate being normally positioned below the level of the lower edge of the frame 72, as seen in FIG. 3 (A). Thus, the container 70 has a depth larger than that of the container 26 in FIG. 2.

After the viscous cosmetic material 10 is supplied into the container 70 (FIG. 3 (B)), the bottom plate 74 is moved upward relative to the frame 72 (FIG. 3 (C)) whereby the cosmetic material is compressed and solidified with use of the devices 40 and 52 of FIG. 2. During this operation the volume of the cosmetic material is reduced due to removal of the solvent, and the elevated bottom plate 74 compensates for such reduction by decreasing the space within the container 70. In FIG. 3 (C) the lower surface of the bottom plate 74 is at the same level as the lower edge of the frame 72, which can be ensured by adjusting the volume of the viscous cosmetic material 10 supplied from the device of FIG. 1. Thus, when the container 70 is fitted in a compact 80 as shown in FIG. 3 (D), the bottom plate 74 is maintained at this particular position where the cosmetic material entirely fills the container 70.

The compact 80 is illustrated to have formed at the bottom thereof a slot 82 which permits a press member (not shown) to be inserted therethrough for pressing the bottom plate 74 upwardly. This makes it possible to keep the upper surface of the cosmetic material at the level substantially as shown in FIG. 3 (D) for convenience in use even when a considerable amount of the material has been consumed.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the solidifying apparatus according to the invention, in which may be used containers as shown in FIGS. 4 (A)-4 (D). A container 84 of FIG. 4 (A) includes an annular frame 86 and a bottom plate 88 slidably fitted in the frame 86. The bottom plate 88 comprises ring-shaped beams 90, 92 and 94 which are arranged concentrically to form annular spaces 96 therebetween, and radial beams 98 integrally connecting the ring beams. Adhered to the lower surfaces of these beams is a liquid absorbent sheet 100 made, for example, of mesh fabric, woven cloth, unwoven or blotting paper. The sheet may be adhered to the upper surfaces of beams, as shown in FIG. 4 (B). A container 102 of FIG. 4 (C) is similar to the above container 84 except that an outermost ring-shaped beam 104 of a bottom plate 103 has a flange 106 which is inclined upwardly toward the frame to thereby position the beams at a level below the lower edge of the frame. In FIG. 4 (D) a bottom plate 110 is formed of a porous absorbent material such as porous plastics, sintered metals and ceramics, with the sheet 100 being adhered to the upper surface thereof. A frame 112 is provided at the lower edge with a collar 114 for holding the slidable bottom plate 110 in place.

Turning to FIG. 5, the apparatus generally comprises a supporting block 140 and a presser 152 movable in the vertical direction by an air cylinder 60 or other suitable device. The supporting block 140 has on its upper surface a recess 142 into which the container is tightly fitted. In the illustrated embodiment the container 102 of FIG. 4 (C) is used. Slidably received in a hollow space, which is a smaller-diametered section of the recess 142, is a porous absorbent member 158 threadedly engaged with a press rod 146 which extends through a bore 147 and is connected to a drive such as an air cylinder 148 for vertical movement. The press rod 146 has an O-ring 149 fitted on the outer periphery thereof in such a manner as to permit sliding of the rod while preventing flow of air through the bore 147 into the hollow space 142. A passage 156 is provided in the block 140 to connect the hollow space 142 to a vacuum pump 166, so that the space 142 may be maintained at sub-atmospheric pressure.

The presser 152 is in the form of a solid mass having a lower surface of an area sufficient to close the upper open end of the container 102. A liquid absorbent membrane 164 is supplied from a roller 165 and extends between the supporting block 140 and the presser 152, as in the above embodiment.

For performing a solidifying operation, after the presser 152 is lowered until its lower surface is in press-contact with the upper edge of container 102 for closing the opening through the membrane 164, the press rod 146 presses the porous member 158 upward which in turn elevates the bottom plate 103 relative to the frame while compressing the viscous cosmetic material 10. A part of the solvent squeezed from the material is absorbed by the membrane 164, but most of the solvent is soaked into the porous member 158 through the annular spaces of the bottom plate 103 and the sheet 100. The porous member 158 is subjected to the vacuum during the compressing operation, which promotes the solidification of the cosmetic material.

An apparatus as shown in FIG. 6 substantially is a combination of the presser unit 52 of FIG. 2 and the supporting block unit 140 of FIG. 5. In this embodiment, however, a porous absorbent block 258 secured in the space 54 of the presser 52 slightly protrudes from the lower surface of the presser 52 so that during the solidifying operation, the porous block 258 fits into the container 102 and slightly compresses the cosmetic material 10. Accordingly, the solvent is sucked and squeezed out through both the upper and lower ends of the container much more efficiently than the above embodiments, and efficiency is further increased through the slight compression by the porous block 258.

The container 102, after being removed from the solidifying apparatus, can be mounted in the compact 80 having the slot 82 as shown in FIG. 7 (A), with the bottom plate 103 being in the elevated position. Thus, the same advantage as discussed in connection with the container 70 in FIG. 3 may be achieved. A similar arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 7 (B) in which a container 116 has a flanged bottom plate 118 formed of porous material like the example of FIG. 4 (D).

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there is no leakage nor waste of the cosmetic material when loading the same according to the present invention because the proper amount of the viscous cosmetic material can be extruded or dripped into the container. Further, since the viscous cosmetic material is compressed between the presser and the bottom plate which is slidable within the frame of the container in the vertical direction so that the solvent is readily squeezed out from the viscous cosmetic material, and since the squeezed out solvent is immediately subjected to vacuum through the liquid absorbent membrane and the porous block, the solidifying efficiency of the cosmetic material is remarkably increased. A relatively low compression force is sufficient to squeeze the solvent out and to solidify the cosmetic material. Further, the cosmetic material, after being compressed, contains substantially no solvent which would otherwise cause cracks, unevenness of color and/or luster when evaporating. Therefore, the final products may present excellent appearance.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications and alterations may be made within the spirit of the invention.