Abstract:
Generally, the present invention is a mold and a process for preparing a ready-to-use hot pour material, such as a cosmetic article and the like, in a mold. The process comprises the steps of providing a mold for casting hot pour material, the mold having a top part with a pour space and a base part, applying hot pour material into the mold through the pour space and allowing the hot pour material to cool, removing the top part of the mold, wherein the hot pour material remains in the bottom part of the mold, placing a first receptacle in contact with the hot pour material, and introducing fluid pressure through the base part to release the hot pour material in the first receptacle. The mold may be customized by including projections, recesses, and combinations thereof, to provide for a hot pour material that is embossed, debossed, or both.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to improvements in hot pour technology, particularly for cosmetic articles, that provides ready to use customized materials and products and a method of hot pouring such materials and products.  
         [0002]     Prior art hot pour technology requires hot pour materials and products (such as for cosmetics made available in compact form) to be poured into a first receptacle and then transferred by gravity of pressure pour into another receptacle, such as a cosmetic receptacle. As such, the poured material or product for use in a compact generally has a concave (recessed) viewing surface without any distinctive or customized features, such as embossed or debossed surfaces. In addition, such surfaces are often uneven and inconsistent. Any customization of such materials or products, such as the creation of designs on the viewing surface of the material or product requires additional and complicated steps that rely on computers, lasers, and other equipment. Such customization techniques are not only complicated and costly (e.g., requiring costly equipment), they often produce inconsistent results. Clearly, then, there remains a need to provide a more economical and efficient method of producing hot pour cosmetic materials and products with consistent and even surfaces as well as providing hot pour cosmetic materials and products that may be customized with ease and efficiency and ready for use.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The present invention solves the current problem associated with current costly and inefficient methods of producing and customizing hot pour cosmetic materials and products. For example, the present invention provides improved hot poured materials, such as cosmetic articles and the like, and a method of providing the same.  
         [0004]     In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a process for preparing a ready-to-use hot pour material, such as a hot pour cosmetic article or the like, comprising the steps of providing at least one mold for casting the hot pour material in a fluid state, the mold having a top and a base with at least one pressure fluid passage in the base and at least one pour space in the top, applying hot pour material into a cavity or interior chamber of the mold through the pour space and allowing hot pour material to cool in the mold, removing the top of the mold, wherein hot pour material remains in contact with the base of the mold, placing a first receptacle in direct contact with the hot pour material, and introducing pressure fluid through the base part of the mold to release the hot pour material in contact with the first receptacle from the base part of the mold, thereby producing a read-to-use hot pour material. The introduction of pressure fluid to release the hot pour material may take advantage of any of a number of pressure fluid techniques known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Preferably, the pressure is applied evenly through the base part of the mold to provide for an even ejection force.  
         [0005]     The process of the present invention includes the provision of a two part mold with a top part and a base part. The top part generally comprising all or some of the following, including a perimeter wall, a planar surface, one or more pressure fluid passages, and/or one or more customized mold portions that may be raised as projections, sunken as recesses or combinations thereof to provide for material or product that is embossed, debossed, or both. The base part generally comprise all or some of the following, including an outer rim, inner rim, base surface, interior base chamber or cavity, bottom wall, one or more pressure fluid passages and one or more customized mold portions that may be raised as projections, sunken as recesses or combinations thereof to provide for material or product that is embossed, debossed, or both.  
         [0006]     The process of the present invention may use, for example, a first receptacle to house the article upon its removal from the mold. The first receptacle may be any receptacle capable of receiving a hot pour cosmetic article or the like. Here, the hot pour cosmetic article is any material or product capable of being formed in a hot pour process. The process may also include a further step of placing the first receptacle in a second receptacle. Importantly, the process provides for a ready-to-use hot pour material or product, such as a cosmetic article or the like, that may have a substantially planar surface which extends above the side edge of the first receptacle, is coplanar with the side edge of the first receptacle, or is disposed below the first receptacle side edge. As such, the formed hot pour material or product surface (e.g., cosmetic article) is either contiguous with a cooperative surface of a first receptacle, above the surface of a first receptacle or below the surface of a first receptacle. Similarly, such material or product after being placed in a second receptacle, may have a surface coplanar with a second receptacle, above the top edge of a second receptacle or below the top edge of a second receptacle. First and second receptacles include any case, compact, godet, or other such container capable of holding a hot pour material or product, such as a cosmetic article or the like. First and second receptacles are made of any material capable of holding a cooled hot pour product, such as plastic, a hardened polymer or polymer blend, glass, fibrous material, and metal as examples and may be transparent or opaque.  
         [0007]     The present invention also provides a mold for preparing a customized hot pour material or product, the mold being capable of receiving a hot pour material such as a cosmetic article or the like and comprising a top part with a pour space and a bottom or base part with at least one pressure fluid passage and at least one customized mold portion. The bottom or base part further comprises some or all of the following, including an outer rim, inner rim, bottom wall, base surface, and an interior base chamber. The mold top (i.e., top part) may include similar customized mold portions and/or pressure fluid passages, as well as a perimeter wall, a planar surface, and one or more pour spaces as needed. In one embodiment, the pour space is the large enough to encompass a predominant portion of the top part.  
         [0008]     The customized mold portion is selected from the group consisting of one or more projections (e.g., raised portions), one or more recesses (e.g., sunken portions), or combinations thereof to provide for material or product that is embossed, debossed, or both. The mold portion may be of any shape with recesses, projections, or both to provide for an overall design (uniform or nonuniform), letter(s), or word(s), as examples. Other shapes include a cylinder, sphere, polygon, palette, as examples. The shaped material, upon removal from the mold, is transferred to a receptacle of a similar shape or one that is different than the hot pour material, itself.  
         [0009]     The present invention may be used with any number of hot pour materials or products, in particular cosmetic articles for lips, eyes, face, etc., that include lipsticks, lip glosses, pomades and their packaging. In the cosmetic industry, examples of receptacles include pans, godets, tubes, bottles, jars, flasks, boxes, and compacts. In addition, the cosmetic article may be placed in one or more sampling devices and may even be used for product promotion or as handouts. Examples of promotional means or handouts include magazine inserts, postcards, department store catalogs, and customer mailings.  
         [0010]     An advantage of the present invention includes its availability and use with applied technology processes, such as dispensing and dosing systems and devices. As such, it may be used with automated or semi-automated systems and/or with multiprocessing equipment (e.g., equipment for feeding, preheating, filling, post heating, refrigerating, and collating). The present invention enables such hot pour material or product to be produced in a consistent and less costly fashion, and is readily customizable as needed.  
         [0011]     Those skilled in the art will further appreciate the above-noted features and advantages of the invention together with other important aspects thereof upon reading the detailed description that follows in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     For more complete understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention, reference is now made to the detailed description of the invention along with the accompanying figures, wherein:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  depicts a top plan view of the bottom or base part of a mold of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  depicts a bottom plan view of the top part of a mold of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  depicts a side elevation view of the top and base parts of a mold of the present invention, wherein the top and base parts of the mold are separated from each other;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a section view of the top and base parts of a mold of the present invention, shown separated from each other;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a section view of the top and base parts of a mold of the present invention, wherein the top and base parts are connected to show the mold in its closed position and shown with cutout views showing some of the interior features;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a section view of a mold of the present invention showing the step of pouring a hot pour material or product through the top part of the mold;  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a section view showing the step of removing the top part from the base part of a mold of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  depict section views showing placement of a first receptacle on the hot pour material or product while the material is still in the mold base or bottom part;  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  is a section showing the step of introducing a fluid stream through the base part of a mold of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  is a section view showing the step of removing an hot pour material or product from a base part of the mold of the present invention;  
         [0023]      FIG. 11  is a side elevation view of an hot pour material or product in a first receptacle following its transfer from a mold of the present invention, wherein the hot pour material extends above the side edge of the first receptacle;  
         [0024]      FIG. 12  is a side elevation view of an hot pour material or product in a first receptacle following its transfer from a mold of the present invention, wherein the hot pour material is disposed below the side edge of the first receptacle; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 13  is a side elevation view of an hot pour material or product in a first receptacle following its transfer from a mold of the present invention, wherein the hot pour material is substantially planar with the side edge of the first receptacle.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0026]     Although making and using various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many inventive concepts that may be embodied in a wide variety of contexts. The specific aspects and embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of ways to make and use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention.  
         [0027]     In the description which follows like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawing with the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be shown exaggerated in scale or in a somewhat generalized or schematic form in the interest of clarity and conciseness.  
         [0028]     Now referring to  FIGS. 1 and 4 , an example of a mold  2  in accordance with the invention is illustrated with respect to a base part  4 . Generally, the exemplary base part  4  is a shaped block having a bottom wall  6 , an upward facing continuous, planar outer rim  8 , an inner rim  10 , at least one interior base chamber or cavity  12  delimited by a base surface  14 . (See  FIG. 4 ) The outer rim  8  is of a different, often lower, elevation than the inner rim  10 . Likewise, the inner rim  10  is generally of a different elevation than the base surface  14  and delimits the top of the base part  4 . The base surface  14  will generally include one or more projections  16  (e.g., raised or debossed portions) as well as one or more recesses  18  (e.g., sunken or embossed portions) with respect to a baseline  20 . (See  FIG. 4 ) Baseline  20  may be coplanar with outer rim  8 . The base surface  14  may include only projections  16  or only recesses  18 . The projections  16  and/or recesses  18  may be of various configurations or combinations of configurations, and generally provides for a material that is shaped, such as in a uniform design, nonuniform design, letter(s), and/or word(s) with viewing surfaces that are embossed, debossed or both. One or more pressure fluid passages  22  are located at various positions in bottom wall  6  and extend between bottom wall  6 , opening into one or more interior base chambers or cavities  12 . Pressure fluid passages  22  open generally into the interior base chamber or cavity  12  at projections  16  and recesses  18 ; however, the pressure fluid passages may be disposed in other locations opening into interior base chamber  12 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 1  shows a base part  4  that is square in shape. Similarly, the figure shows a square-shaped outer rim  8 , square-shaped inner rim  10 , and square-shaped base surface  14 . Any alternative shape may be used for the base part  4 , outer rim  8 , inner rim  10 , and base surface  14 . In one embodiment of the base part  4 , the outer rim  8 , inner rim  10 , and base surface  14  are the same shape. Alternatively, the outer rim  8 , inner rim  10 , and base surface  14  may be of different shapes. Shapes include but are not limited to a rectangle, triangle, sphere, polygon, and combinations thereof. In addition, the shape may be a design that is uniform or nonuniform, and may include letters and/or words.  
         [0030]     Now referring to  FIG. 2 , there is illustrated an example of a top part  30  of a mold of the present invention. Generally, the top part  30  comprises a perimeter wall  32  delimited by a planar surface  34 , and at least one pour space  40 . A recess  36 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , is formed in top part  30  between surface  34  and a perimeter ledge or shoulder  38  and opens to the pour space  40 . Optionally, the top part  30  may also include pressure fluid passages as needed (not shown). While  FIG. 2  shows the top part  30 , perimeter wall  32 , and surface  34  to be rectangular in shape, any alternative shape may be used. Shapes include one or more of the shapes described above (e.g., rectangle, triangle, sphere, polygon, uniform design, nonuniform design, letter, word, and combinations thereof). In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the perimeter wall  32 , planar surface  34 , and pour space  40  are the same shape. Alternatively, the perimeter wall  32 , planar surface  34 , and pour space  40  may be of different shapes. The perimeter wall  32  of the top part  30  is often the same shape as the outer rim  8  of the base part  4 ; however, the perimeter wall  32  (of the top part  30 ) and the outer rim  8  (of the base part  4 ) may be of different shapes. Likewise, the planar surface  34  of the top part  30  are often the same shape as the inner rim  10  of the base part  4 , but may be of different shapes.  
         [0031]     When referring to the top part  30 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , the perimeter wall  32  and surface  34  may or may not be continuous. When not continuous, they comprise separate parts that are in close contact with one another. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the perimeter wall  32  and surface  34  are of different elevations. Generally, the perimeter wall  32  of top part  30  fits the outer rim  8  of base part  4 . Similarly, surface  34  of top part  30  fits inner rim  10  of the base part  4 . Surface  34  may, however, include a larger surface than shown (e.g., wider). In such a case, pour space  40  of top part  30  will be dimensionally smaller. In addition, top part  30  may have more than one pour space  40 . Top part  30  may also comprise one or more recesses, projections and/or pressure fluid passages. The shape and design of such projections and/or recesses will determine the number and location of pour spaces.  
         [0032]      FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate how top part  30  and base part  4  of a mold engage each other. Arrows  70  in  FIGS. 3 and 4  show how the top part  30  is positioned in order to engage it to base part  4 . Cutout views of  FIG. 4  show pour space  40  of top part  30  as well as projection  16 , recess  18 , and pressure fluid passages  22  of base part  4 . Top part  30  also shows a shoulder or perimeter ledge  38  that contacts base part  4  of the mold of the present invention, dimensions of which will vary depending on, for example, the shape of the mold and on the number and extent of projections and/or recesses. Consequently, pour space  40  may be narrower or wider than shown, depending on the dimensions of shoulder or perimeter ledge  38 .  
         [0033]     Generally, the method of introducing a hot pour material or product  50  (HPM  50 ), such as a cosmetic article or the like, to a mold of the present invention comprises the steps of setting up a mold  2  with top part  30  and base part  4  tightly engaged, adding HPM  50  to the mold  2  through one or more pour spaces  40  to a fill level  60 , and allowing the HPM  50  to cool to a hot pour consistency using cooling techniques known to one of ordinary skill in the art. (See  FIGS. 5 and 6 ). As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , fill level  60  is coplanar with perimeter wall  32  of top part  30 . Other alternatives may be equally advantageous depending on the desired end product. Upon cooling of HPM  50 , top part  30  of mold  2  is removed carefully, generally by moving upward relative to base part  4  (as shown in  FIG. 7 ). A first receptacle  70  replaces top part  30  of mold  2  (as shown in  FIGS. 8A and 8B ). HPM  50  in contact with first receptacle  70  is released from base part  4  by introducing pressure fluid, such as compressed air, through one or more pressure fluid passages  22  (as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 ) providing for HPM  50  in contact with first receptacle  70 , wherein HPM  50  displays one or more projections  16  and/or one or more recesses  18  (as shown in  FIG. 11 ).  
         [0034]     As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the highest elevation for baseline  20  of base part  4  is higher than projections  16  and recesses  18  of mold  2 . Other embodiments may provide for one or more projections  16  and/or one or more recesses  18  of base part  4  to be higher than the highest elevation of the baseline  20 . In addition, peak portions of projection  16  may be near or coplanar with fill level  60 . Furthermore, fill level  60  may be coplanar with the uppermost surface of top part  30 , as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . An alternative embodiment includes a fill level that is not coplanar with the uppermost surface of top part  30 .  
         [0035]     Removal of top part  30  of mold  2  from base part  4  after HPM  50  has cooled, as shown in  FIG. 7 , may be performed mechanically or by hand. In some instances, pressure fluid, such as air, introduced through pressure fluid passages  22  may used to remove the top part  30  from base part  4 . The addition of a first receptacle  70  to the cooled HPM  50 , as shown in  FIG. 8 , may also be performed mechanically or by hand. Similarly, the first receptacle  70  may be introduced into a second receptacle  72 . Mechanical techniques, as used herein and throughout the specification are those known to one of ordinary skill in the art and may be automated.  
         [0036]     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the surface of formed HPM  50  is above the surface of a first receptacle  70 . Alternate embodiments include a surface of formed HPM  50  that is either contiguous with a cooperative surface of first receptacle  70 , as shown in  FIG. 12 , or below the surface of first receptacle  70 , as shown in  FIG. 13 .  
         [0037]     While specific alternatives to steps of the invention have been described herein, additional alternatives not specifically disclosed but known in the art are intended to fall within the scope of the invention. Thus, it is understood that other applications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the described embodiment and after consideration of the appended claims and drawing.