Patent Publication Number: US-2005118213-A1

Title: Method for reproducing images on cosmetic compositions

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
      The present invention relates to a method for the reproduction of images on a substrate consisting of a cosmetic composition in the form of powder, paste or a solid, such as the compositions used, for example, for making face powder, foundation cream, eye shadow, or other products for makeup.  
      In what follows, the term “cosmetic compositions in powder form” will basically be taken to mean those compositions in compacted powder form that can be contained in a container or case—such as a powder compact or, to use the French term, “godet”—for example eye shadow, face powder or rouge; the term “compositions in the form of paste” will be taken to mean those compositions in the form of a “waxy” paste, such as lipstick, eye powder, foundation cream (but also some types of eye shadow and rouge); whilst the term “solid compositions” will be taken to mean new-concept products for makeup devised by the present applicant and described in the Italian patent application IT MI 2001 A 002841.  
     PRIOR ART  
      It constitutes prior art to reproduce, on the top surface of a cosmetic composition, or starting therefrom, an image which, by being rendered visible from outside thanks to containers that are at least partially transparent, enables the possible buyer to recognize the product and/or to be induced into purchasing the said product. The shape or aesthetic appearance of cosmetic compositions contributes to the success of the product on the market.  
      In particular, it constitutes known art to set cosmetic compositions for makeup consisting of porous surfaces, such as compacted powder or materials in the form of “waxy” paste or solid materials, inside containers or “godets” which have an open top surface. The outer surface, or the superficial layers, of the cosmetic composition set facing the open side of the godet may constitute a substrate on which a desired image may be made, such as an ornamental pattern.  
      The Italian patent IT 1 237 771 teaches how to make a cosmetic product consisting of stacked layers of powder of different colours. By engraving the said cosmetic product to different depths it is possible to make coloured figures or compositions that can be perceived when the outer surface of the product is viewed. Engraving of the product can be carried out by a “digging” operation, prior to the possible compression of the powder.  
      Although the above method for making patterns of aesthetic interest on the cosmetic product enables pleasant chromatic compositions to be obtained, it is not suitable for reproducing figures and proves particularly complex and difficult to implement. In fact, for the reproduction of other than elementary figures, given also the consistency of the cosmetic product, which may for instance be porous or viscous, it would be necessary to perform extremely precise “digging” operations which would entail sophisticated mechanisms of regulation and control of the tool designed for carrying out the said operation.  
      In the French patent FR 2 759 941 it has likewise been proposed to decorate a cosmetic composition made of compacted powder or paste by depositing ink on its outermost surface. By using an appropriately modified inkjet printer and inks with non-toxic pigments or dyes that are acceptable for cosmetic use, it is possible to reproduce any figure on the substrate consisting of the outer surface of the composition.  
      The process proposed in the above-mentioned published patent FR 2 759 941 is simple to use and extremely versatile. However, the non-homogeneous absorption and the unforseeable diffusion of the ink within many cosmetic compositions frequently leads to results that are far from satisfactory, on account of the presence of smudges, as well as on account of the poor clarity of the reproduction of the image. Furthermore, the addition to the aforesaid cosmetic compositions of extraneous pigments contained in the ink renders this technique applicable only to a limited number of products and may lead to the degradation of the physical and/or chromatic characteristics of the cosmetic composition itself.  
      A purpose of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for making an image on a substrate consisting of a cosmetic composition in the form of powder, paste or a solid that will not present the drawbacks of the prior art.  
      A further purpose of the present invention is to provide a method that will enable reproduction of complex images on the surface or on the superficial layers of a powder, paste or solid cosmetic product in a fast and precise way.  
      Yet another purpose of the present invention is to propose the use of an apparatus for engraving or marking objects as a tool for reproducing images on cosmetic products.  
      Yet a further purpose of the present invention is to provide a new cosmetic product that presents at least one outer surface on which there is reproduced, in an extremely accurate way, an image chosen by the manufacturer.  
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The above and other purposes are achieved by the method for making an image on a substrate consisting of a cosmetic composition in the form of powder, paste or a solid, according to the first independent claim and the subsequent dependent claims, by the use of an apparatus for making figures on a substrate for representing, on said substrate, an image consisting of a cosmetic composition in the form of powder, paste or a solid, according to Claim  12  and the subsequent dependent claims, and by the cosmetic composition according to the independent Claim  19  and the subsequent dependent claims.  
      The method for making an image on a substrate consisting of a cosmetic composition in the form of powder, paste or a solid, according to the present invention, comprises the steps of: 
          subjecting at least parts of the aforesaid substrate to irradiation by a laser beam; and     displacing the laser beam with respect to the substrate, or vice versa, in order to trace the desired image on the substrate.        

      This method enables, basically according to the characteristics of the cosmetic composition and of the laser beam used, to bring about chromatic variations on the outer surface of the cosmetic composition and/or engravings of said composition in order to reproduce any image that the manufacturer may intend to create.  
      Furthermore, according to a preferential aspect of the present invention, the method also involves the steps of: 
          storing an image to be reproduced on the cosmetic product in digital form;     generating, in an automatic way, the commands for operating the laser beam and/or commands for displacement of the laser with respect to the substrate according to the image stored, in order to enable tracing of the image on the substrate; and     executing said commands.        

      Furthermore, preferably, these steps are preceded by a step of scanning and digitization of an image placed on a plate-like or film-like support, such as a photograph or slide. This enables reproduction, basically on any surface of a cosmetic composition, of a pre-chosen image, in an automated and simple way.  
      According to another aspect of the present invention, for implementation of the aforesaid method the use is envisaged of an apparatus for the formation of images on a substrate by means of a laser beam, in which said substrate is a cosmetic composition made of powder, paste or a solid. The laser apparatus may be equipped with means for scanning images from photographs or slides (transparencies) and then enabling immediate transfer of images onto the surface of the cosmetic product.  
      The present invention likewise regards a cosmetic product, preferably for makeup, that presents a visible surface on which an image is traced by means of a laser beam. The said image may be created by chromatic variation of the surface of the cosmetic composition or by engraving of the superficial layers of the latter, according to the type of cosmetic composition and the type of laser used. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In what follows, some embodiments of the present invention will be described, purely by way of non-limiting examples, with the aid of the following figures, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a method according to a preferential aspect of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating another method according to a particularly advantageous aspect of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a functional diagram of apparatus for implementation of the method according to a preferred aspect of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic plan view, partially cut-away, of apparatus for implementation of a method according to the present invention; and  
       FIG. 5  is a plan-view image of an embodiment of a product for makeup according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION  
      The method according to the present invention basically consists in applying a coherent beam of monochromatic light generated by a laser apparatus on a substrate consisting of a cosmetic composition. The precise displacement of the laser beam with respect to the substrate, given the extremely reduced diameter of the beam (which may be of a few tenths of a millimetre) and the possibility of accurate adjustment of the operating parameters of the laser make it possible to trace lines or to highlight particular areas of the substrate so as to reproduce thereon one or more pre-defined images.  
      The action of the laser beam on the surface of a cosmetic product may basically produce two effects according to the characteristics of operation of the laser (power supplied, exposure time, etc.) and according to the physical state and state of aggregation of the cosmetic: inducing a chromatic surface variation of the product and/or engraving the superficial layers of the product. In either case, the action of the laser on the surface of a cosmetic product enables reproduction of images that may be seen by the user.  
      Application of the above method, which is known as laser marking, to cosmetic products is new and has proved capable of producing surprising results, as will be clarified in what follows.  
       FIG. 1  illustrates a particular embodiment of the method according to the present invention which presupposes the use of an automatic apparatus for laser marking. The method envisages the steps of:  
      1. creation of an image  1 , for example by means of a computer medium;  
      2. storage  2  of the image, preferably in a digital format, in processing means;  
      3. automatic generation  3 , by means of algorithms known to the art, of commands for driving a laser beam; and  
      4. operation  6  of the laser beam with respect to a surface of a cosmetic product, to execute the commands generated in step  3 , for reproducing the image  1 .  
      In particular, the commands for operating the laser beam, which are distinctive of the laser apparatus used, usually consist of instructions containing geometrical parameters regarding the displacement paths of the laser beam with respect to the substrate or vice versa and instructions with process parameters, such as speed of displacement of the laser beam and/or of the substrate, the power supplied, the stay time of the laser beam on a given surface, etc.  
      The set of instructions generated in step  3  of the method illustrated enables reproduction of the image  1  on the surface of the cosmetic product.  
       FIG. 2  illustrates another preferred method for the reproduction of images on cosmetic products according to the present invention. This method envisages that the creation of the image to be reproduced takes place by acquisition, via a scanner, of figures from a plate-like medium (photographs) or film-like medium (slides), and that, following upon acquisition of the image and its digitization and storage on processing media, there may be envisaged a step of “touching-up” of the image by means of software tools.  
      In greater detail, the method illustrated presupposes the use of processing means and comprises the steps of: 
          scanning  102  of images and their digitization starting from a photograph  101 , or other material medium (drawings on paper, slides, etc.);     storage  102  of the digitized image, preferably reproduced in 256 shades of grey, and its possible modification by means of software tools;     generation  105  of the commands for operation of a laser beam;     preparation of a cosmetic product  106  of the type made of powder, paste or a solid; and     processing  107  by means of laser beam of the external surface of the cosmetic product  106 , for reproduction of the image  108  on the worked surface of the cosmetic product.        

      The cosmetic product  106 , which may, for example, be a product for makeup made of compacted powder, such as a face powder, or of paste, such as a foundation cream, is then placed under the laser beam so that the latter will induce chromatic modifications and/or engrave the surface of the product  106  in such a way as to reproduce the image  108 . In the case of cosmetic products  106  made of powder or paste, these are set directly in the final container (“godet”) prior to their processing under the laser beam.  
      As an alternative to step  102  of scanning and digitization of the image  108  on a material medium  101  it is possible envisage a step (not illustrated) of creation of the image  108  by means of computer tools for design.  
      According to a preferred aspect of the method according to the present invention, as already described, by exploiting the presence of light-sensitive and/or heat-sensitive pigments in the cosmetic product  106 , the laser beam is operated in such a way as to induce a chromatic variation on the most superficial layer of the cosmetic product  106 . The process parameters to which the laser beam is subjected during processing determine the intensity of the chromatic variation of the surface of the cosmetic product (i.e., it is possible to form shadows and areas of light and dark on the product itself) and determine the degree of penetration of the chromatic variation within the cosmetic product. It has surprisingly been found that the said laser-marking technique applied to cosmetic products enables reproduction of images with great accuracy, in various shades, on the surface of said cosmetic products, without the innermost layers of the product being affected and hence without any substantial modifications to the colouring of the product, except for its most superficial layer (having a depth estimated at a few microns).  
      Consequently, this enables reproduction of any image on the external surface of a cosmetic product in a faithful way, for instance set on a photograph, without thereby modifying the characteristics of the cosmetic product itself. In addition, the use of laser makes it possible to subject basically any cosmetic product to the said process without incurring in poor results due to the particular nature of the cosmetic product.  
      With reference now to  FIG. 3 , an apparatus is described for creating figures on a substrate by means of laser (laser marking), suitable for implementation of the method according to the present invention. Falling within the intents of the present invention is likewise the protection of the use of an apparatus for laser marking on substrates consisting of cosmetic products made of powder, paste or solids.  
      The apparatus, according to a particular aspect of the present invention, comprises a processing control unit  201 , which is operatively connected to a device  203  for marking a substrate  204  by means of a laser beam, and a device  202  for the scanning of images.  
      For implementation of the method described with reference to  FIG. 2 , the image present on a photograph  101  scanned and digitized (step  102 ) by the device  202 , consisting for example of a commercial scanner, is stored (step  104 ) on the mass-storage device of the computer  201 , such as a hard disk. The image stored can then be modified (step  103 ) by means of a program for graphical re-touching which runs on the computer  201 —the said program, for example, reproducing the image in shades of grey—and then sending it on for reading to a special program (driver) designed for converting the graphical information of the stored image into geometrical and process commands for the device  203  (step  105 ). The process of conversion of the graphical information into commands for driving a device equipped with a laser beam forms part of the known art and is altogether similar to the processes commonly used, for instance, for driving the printing head of commercial laser printers.  
      Execution of the above commands (step  107 ) by the processing device  203  enables formation of the image  108  on a substrate  106  consisting of a cosmetic composition made of powder, paste or a solid.  
       FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration, partially in cut-away view, of a workstation equipped with an apparatus for reproduction of a pre-defined image on a makeup product by means of a laser beam.  
      In particular, this is an apparatus that comprises processing means  301  designed for the storage of the image to be reproduced and for control of a device  303  for laser marking, represented in  FIG. 4  partially in cutaway view.  
      The processing means  301 , consisting of any commercial computer, can be connected to a scanner for digitizing images present on photographs or slides.  
      The device  303  comprises a worktable  304  and a processing head  305  which carries the output lens for the laser beam (not represented) and which is mounted in a translatable way along at least one axis with respect to the worktable  304 . The processing head  305  is driven in translation by actuators  306 , for instance ones comprising electric stepper motors.  
      Alternatively, in an embodiment not illustrated herein, it is possible to envisage the presence of actuators for displacing the table  304  with respect to the processing head  305 .  
      Advantageously, in the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the worktable  304  is circular and is rendered rotatable with respect to an axis that passes through its centre by actuator means (not illustrated). The products  309  that are to be set beneath the head  305  are arranged radially around the circumference of the table, in such a way that rotation of the table  304  carries the products  309  in a sequential way underneath the processing head  305 .  
      For processing, the operator  302  has available a tray  307 , on which it is possible to arrange the cosmetic products that have not yet undergone processing by the laser beam of the head  305 , for instance rouge contained in the “godets”, and a tray  308  for the products  309  on which the image has been formed by the laser. During the production cycle, the operator  302  can mount the products that are to undergo processing on the circular worktable  305  and can remove the products  309  that have already been processed, whilst a product is simultaneously undergoing processing beneath the head  305 . This enables minimization of dead time during production and ensures high productivity.  
      The products  309  obtained by laser processing, such as the product represented in  FIG. 5 , present clear images thanks to the chromatic nuances produced by the laser beam, also in the case of cosmetic compositions with dark colouring. In addition, the precision with which the laser traces the images that are to be reproduced on the makeup product makes it possible to subject also cosmetic products of extremely small dimensions to the method according to present invention.  
     EXAMPLE  
      Various cosmetic compositions, of the type made of compacted powder and paste, were subjected to a commercial apparatus for the marking of objects.  
      After an image to be reproduced underwent scanning, by means of a commercial scanner with a scanning resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch), the said image was stored in 256 shades of grey on a computer.  
      The computer was operatively connected to a commercially available marking device and was equipped with software for driving a laser-marking head. The marking device comprised a gas laser of the CO 2  type, capable of supplying up to 300 W of power with a wavelength of 10.6 micron.  
      After various specimens had undergone processing, they revealed a substantial lack of effect of laser marking on the physical and chromatic characteristics of the cosmetic composition, as well as a clear reproduction of the image only on the most superficial layer of the specimen.  
      It has moreover been proposed to use a marking device equipped with a Nd:YAG or Er:YAG laser.  
       FIG. 5  illustrates a specimen consisting of face powder  401  obtained by means of powder compacted inside a powder compact (or “godet”)  402  and then subjected to processing with a CO 2  laser. The 256 shades of grey with which a photograph representing a woman&#39;s face was stored were reproduced thanks to the action of the laser, which, according to the power supplied and/or the time of exposure which were variable from point to point on the surface of the face powder  401 , rendered different areas of the superficial portion of the product more or less dark, without these chromatic variations reaching any great depth and thus altering the characteristics of the face powder  401  itself.