Abstract:
The present invention relates to a device for mixing at least two components, the device comprising a bowl for receiving the components; and a measuring member including at least one mark useful for measuring purposes, the measuring member being releasably fastenable to the bowl.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This non-provisional application claims the benefit of French Application No. 04 51033 filed on May 26, 2004 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/577,170 filed on Jun. 7, 2004. 
     
    
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a device for mixing at least two components, for example, two components of a hair treatment composition, for example, a dye or permanent-wave composition for the hair.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     A device for extemporaneously mixing together two substances is described in EP 0 918 023. The device described thereby comprises a bowl and separator means inside the bowl, which means may be retracted into the stand of the bowl by a helical drive mechanism. That device is of relatively complex structure.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]     The invention seeks to provide a device of relatively simple structure that is practical to use, enabling components to be mixed together in a bowl that may be placed, for example, in a support on a stand that enables the bowl to be held at hand-height for a hairdresser.  
         [0005]     Exemplary embodiments of the invention may provide a device for mixing at least two components, the device comprising: a bowl for receiving the components; and a measuring member including at least one measuring mark, for example, graduations, the measuring member being releasably fastenable to the bowl.  
         [0006]     In exemplary embodiments, the measuring member may comprise a partition that, when removably fastened to the bowl, may be arranged to form at least two compartments inside the bowl. The partition may advantageously be graduated. For example, the partition may include graduations associated with each of the compartments. The graduations may comprise numerals. The numerals may increase in a regular manner, for example, being multiples of a base figure. The graduations may be continuous.  
         [0007]     According to exemplary embodiments, a hairdresser may use the bowl to measure directly various compositions that are to be mixed together, while remaining standing and without any need to extract the bowl from its support on the stand to observe any lateral graduations of the kind to be found in measuring flasks.  
         [0008]     In exemplary embodiments in which the measuring member includes a partition, the compartments formed thereby may each be of a section smaller than that of the bowl without the partition, thus increasing the accuracy with which the components are measured.  
         [0009]     Exemplary embodiments also make it possible to avoid soiling intermediate receptacles for use in measuring substances that are to be mixed together, and may make it simpler to package said substances, for example, the bowl being reusable.  
         [0010]     In exemplary embodiments the partition may advantageously be transparent, thus making it easier to read a level of a substance in one of the compartments.  
         [0011]     In exemplary embodiments, the device may usefully further include a spoon, which may be transparent. The bowl may include a tongue suitable for wiping the spoon. The tongue may point upward, and may preferably also point inward so as to reduce any risk of substance being splashed away from the bowl.  
         [0012]     A cross-section of an inside profile of the spoon may preferably match a shape of the tongue.  
         [0013]     For example, the tongue may be secured to an inside surface of the bowl, at a top thereof. The tongue may include a face that faces the partition.  
         [0014]     In exemplary embodiments, the two compartments defined by the partition may preferably be unequal. For example, a volume of one of the compartments may lie in a range of about 1.5 to about 2.5 times a volume of the other compartment. For example, the volume of one of the compartments may be about twice the volume of the other compartment.  
         [0015]     In embodiments with unequal compartments, the tongue may be advantageously situated in a larger one of the compartments, thus making it easier to handle the spoon.  
         [0016]     In exemplary embodiments, the bowl and the measuring member may include portions in relief that co-operate. For example, the bowl may include two notches and the measuring member may include two corresponding lugs arranged to engage in the notches.  
         [0017]     In exemplary embodiments, the measuring member may advantageously include keying means, for example, formed by a portion of extra thickness, such as a portion of the partition that is of extra thickness when the measuring member includes such a partition.  
         [0018]     In exemplary embodiments, the notches may extend over a portion of an inside surface of the bowl. In embodiment embodiments, a top of the bowl may include an annular rib and the notches may pass through said rib.  
         [0019]     In exemplary embodiments, the bowl may include a portion in relief on a bottom thereof, with the measuring member, for example, the partition, coming to bear thereagainst. For example, such portion in relief may be formed by a stud that projects into a larger one of the compartments.  
         [0020]     In exemplary embodiments, a region of the bottom of the bowl against which the partition comes to bear may preferably be planar.  
         [0021]     In exemplary embodiments, the bowl may include a flat bottom.  
         [0022]     Advantageously, the bowl may include an outwardly-directed collar suitable for resting on a support on a stand, for example.  
         [0023]     Apart from its bottom, the inside surface of the bowl may be substantially spherical in shape.  
         [0024]     In exemplary embodiments, the bowl may have a cross-section that is substantially circular. A ratio of a diameter of an opening of the bowl to a diameter of the bottom thereof may be greater than or equal to 1.5, for example.  
         [0025]     Advantageously, a depth of the bowl may be, for example, greater than or equal to 0.5 times a width of a compartment measured perpendicularly to the partition in a midplane of the bowl. In exemplary embodiments, the depth may be 0.8 times, or even equal to the width. A relatively deep bowl may help minimize errors when reading graduations on the partition, thus making it possible to improve measurement accuracy.  
         [0026]     In exemplary embodiments, the bowl may be made of a material that is not opaque, for example, a translucent material. The bowl may include at least one graduation, for example, on the inside surface thereof.  
         [0027]     In exemplary embodiments, a top portion of the partition may include at least one setback.  
         [0028]     In exemplary embodiments, the partition may preferably be configured to match substantially a shape of the inside surface of the bowl. This makes it possible to ensure that when a substance is poured into one of the compartments, flow of the substance into the other compartment is retarded sufficiently to enable the hairdresser to measure the substance.  
         [0029]     In exemplary embodiments, the bowl, the partition, and/or the spoon may be advantageously made out of one or more materials that are inert relative to the components included in the formulation of hair dying and/or bleaching substances, and, for example, relative to polydecene oil or mono- or poly-esters of carboxylic acids, for example, a C 8 -C 30  saturated or unsaturated monoester of carboxylic acid, and a C 3 -C 6  alcohol, such as isopropyl myristate.  
         [0030]     In exemplary embodiments, the hair care substance may have a ratio of bleaching paste to oxidizing cream lying in a range of about 1/1 to about 1/3.  
         [0031]     Polydecenes are compounds of formula C 10n H [(20n)+2]  where n may lie in a range of 3 to 9, and preferably in a range of 3 to 7. Such compounds are known under the name “polydecene” in the 1997, 7th edition of the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA) Dictionary, USA, and also by the same INCI name, both in the USA and in Europe. They are the products of hydrogenizing poly-1-decenes.  
         [0032]     For example, mention may be made of the substance sold under the name Silkflo® 366 NF polydecene by Amoco Chemical, and the products sold under the names Nexbase® 2002 FG, 2004 FG, 2006 FG, and 2008 FG by Fortum.  
         [0033]     Concerning mono- or poly-esters of carboxylic acids, whether linear or branching, saturated or non-saturated, such compounds may advantageously comprise at least one C 8 -C 30  hydrocarbon chain, more particularly a C 8 -C 24  and preferably a C 12 -C 24  chain, coming from the acid or alcohol portion, and at least one C 1 -C 8  chain, preferably a C 1 -C 6  chain. In addition, if the carboxylic acid has a plurality of carboxylic functions, they may preferably all be esterified. Finally, it should be observed that the alcohols are preferably monofunctional alcohols.  
         [0034]     For example, mention may be made of the esters of the following acids: oleic; lauric; palmitic; myristic; behenic; stearic; linoleic; linolenic; capric; and arachidonic; or mixtures thereof such as, in particular: oleo-palmitic; oleo-stearic; palmito-stearic, mixtures, and the like. Mention may also be made of the isopropyl diester of sebacic acid (diisopropyl sebacate), di-octyl adipate, and di-caprylyl maleate.  
         [0035]     Preferably, the esters may be selected from those obtained from fatty acids, which may be saturated or unsaturated, preferably being saturated, having C 12 -C 24  chains, and, for example, including a carboxylic group and a saturated C 3 -C 6  monoalcohol that is linear or branching.  
         [0036]     In exemplary embodiments, the bleaching substance may comprise isopropyl palmitate and/or isopropyl myristate, singly or in a mixture.  
         [0037]     In exemplary embodiments, the inert material may be constituted by polyethylene, for example.  
         [0038]     Exemplary embodiments of the invention may provide a kit comprising a device as defined above, together with at least two components for mixing together extemporaneously.  
         [0039]     In exemplary embodiments, at least one of the components may be sufficiently viscous to make it possible, when poured into one of the compartments defined by the partition, for the user to measure a volume that has been poured into the compartment without any substantial quantity of the substance flowing into the other compartment by passing between the partition and the bowl.  
         [0040]     In exemplary embodiments, one of the components may comprise one of the foregoing chemical compounds.  
         [0041]     Exemplary embodiments of the invention may provide a method of preparing a cosmetic or dermatological preparation, the method comprising: providing a bowl as defined above, pouring a component into a compartment of the bowl, and measuring said component by reading at least one mark on the partition.  
         [0042]     Thereafter, another component may be measured, for example, by being placed into the other compartment of the bowl, and similarly reading at least one mark on the partition.  
         [0043]     After the components have been measured, the partition may be withdrawn and the components may be mixed together, for example, with a spoon. The spoon may be scraped, where necessary or desired, by being wiped against an edge of the tongue. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0044]     The invention may be better understood on reading the following detailed description of a non-limiting embodiment thereof, and on examining the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0045]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic perspective view of an exemplary device;  
         [0046]      FIG. 2  shows the exemplary removable partition in isolation;  
         [0047]      FIG. 3  shows the bowl and the spoon of the device of  FIG. 1 , each in cross-section on a midplane; and  
         [0048]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view through the spoon taken along IV-IV of  FIG. 3 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS  
       [0049]     The exemplary device shown in  FIG. 1  for extemporaneously mixing a plurality of components may comprise firstly an assembly  1  comprising a bowl  2  of axis X and a measuring member comprising a partition  3  secured in removable manner to the bowl  2 , and secondly a spoon  4  for stirring the components to mix them together, and where appropriate or desired, for taking the resulting mixture from the bowl.  
         [0050]     In the exemplary embodiment shown, the bowl  2  may be made of a translucent plastics material and may include a substantially flat bottom  5  and a side wall  6  that is substantially in the form of a portion of a sphere. The wall  6  may be extended radially outward at a top end thereof by a collar  7  and upward by an annular rib  8 .  
         [0051]     In the exemplary embodiment shown, the partition  3  may be generally planar and may extend substantially perpendicularly to the bottom  5 , that is, vertically when the bowl  2  is held with its axis X vertical. The partition  3  may form two unequal compartments in the bowl  2 , namely a relatively large compartment  10  and a relatively small compartment  11 , with a volume of the large compartment  10  representing about twice a volume of the small compartment  11 .  
         [0052]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the partition  3  may have in its bottom portion a profile  13  that matches substantially a shape of an inside surface  14  of the bowl, such that when the partition  3  is in place, a clearance between the partition  3  and the inside surface  14  of the bowl  2  is relatively small. The partition  3  thus may have a rectilinear bottom edge  28  and two side edges  29  that are substantially circular.  
         [0053]     At side ends thereof, the partition  3  may include two lugs  15  and  16  arranged so as to engage in respective notches  17  and  18  of the bowl  2 .  
         [0054]     Such notches  17  and  18  may include first portions passing through the rib  8  and second portions extending over the inside surface  14  of the bowl  2  to receive respective steps  20  and  21  on the partition  3 , formed under the lugs  15  and  16 .  
         [0055]     In the exemplary embodiment shown, the partition  3  may include keying means formed by the lug  16  and the associated step  21  being of extra thickness, for example, the notch  18  being substantially twice as wide as the notch  17 . This may ensure that the partition  3  may be put into position in the bowl  2  only in a predefined orientation.  
         [0056]     On each of its faces, the partition  3  may include graduations  23 , for example, advantageously associated with number markings  23   a  providing information about the corresponding volume. The markings  23   a  may comprise numerals that are multiple of a base figure. The numerals may be integers that increase in a continuous manner. The graduations  23  carried by a face  31  of the partition  3  adjacent to the large compartment  10  may be used for measuring a substance put into the large compartment, and the graduations  23  carried on the other face of the partition  3  may be used for measuring a substance put into the small compartment  11 .  
         [0057]     The inside surface  14  of the bowl  2  may also include graduations  24  that likewise may be associated with number markings (not shown). The graduations  24  on the bowl  2  may serve, for example, to determine the total quantity of the mixture.  
         [0058]     In the exemplary embodiment shown, the partition  3  may include a setback  26  in a top portion thereof to make it easier to grasp.  
         [0059]     On the bottom thereof, the bowl  2  may include a projecting stud  30  against which the face  31  of the partition  3  may be engaged, as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0060]     In the exemplary embodiment shown, the bowl  2  may include a tongue  35  that extends upward and slightly inward, as shown in  FIG. 3 , said tongue  35  being connected to the inside surface  14  of the bowl in the large compartment  10  opposite from the partition  3 , and extending symmetrically on either side of a midplane that corresponds to the section plane of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0061]     In the exemplary embodiment shown, the tongue  35  may be secured to the wall  6  of the bowl by rivets  37 . However, the tongue  35  may be fastened to the wall  6  in some other way. For example, the tongue  35  may be made as a single piece together with the bowl by molding a plastics material, or may be secured to a remainder of the bowl by heat-sealing, adhesive bonding, or snap-fastening.  
         [0062]     A top portion of the tongue  35  may include an edge  38  that is adapted to a cross-sectional shape of an inside surface  39  of the spoon  4 .  
         [0063]     Thus, the user may make use of the tongue  35  for scraping the inside of the spoon  4 , and the substance that is picked up by the tongue  35  may then flow back into the bowl  2 .  
         [0064]     The exemplary device may be used as follows.  
         [0065]     With the bowl  2  being held substantially at hand-height by a support on a stand (not shown), with the collar  7  bearing thereagainst, the user, for example, a hairdresser, may insert a first component into one of the compartments defined by the partition  3  inside the bowl  2 , for example, the small compartment  11 , and may measure the substance that is put therein by using the corresponding graduations  23  on the partition  3 , without requiring removal of the bowl  2  from its support on the stand.  
         [0066]     Thereafter, the user may proceed to measure a second component placed into the large compartment  10 , making use in a similar manner of the corresponding graduations  23  on the partition  3 .  
         [0067]     In the case when the components are relatively viscous, a component introduced into one of the compartments remains in that compartment for a sufficient length of time prior to flowing into the other compartment to allow the user time to use the other compartment for measuring purposes with an acceptable degree of accuracy.  
         [0068]     After the components have been introduced into the bowl, the user may withdraw the removable partition  3  and proceed to mix the components by using the spoon  4 . The spoon may be scraped against the edge of the tongue  35  whenever necessary or desired.  
         [0069]     Naturally, the invention is not limited to the example described above.  
         [0070]     For example, various modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiment shown, for example, concerning the shape of the spoon, the shape of the removable partition, or the shape of the bowl, the disposition of the tongue, or indeed the respective volumes of the large and the small compartments.  
         [0071]     In this respect, it should be observed that it may be preferable, as shown in  FIG. 3 , for the depth d of the bowl  2  to be relatively large compared with the width  1  of each of the compartments  10  and  11  as measured perpendicularly to the partition  3  in the section plane of  FIG. 3 , at the level of the opening to the bowl. Such a configuration may improve measurement accuracy.  
         [0072]     For example, the large compartment may have l≈6.5 centimeters (cm) and the small compartment  11  may have l≈4.5 cm, d may be approximately equal to 5.5 cm for an inside diameter of the bottom  5  of about 6 cm and an opening with a diameter of about 12 cm.  
         [0073]     Throughout the description, including in the claims, the term “comprising a” should be understood as being synonymous with “comprising at least one” unless specified to the contrary.  
         [0074]     Although the present invention herein has been described with reference to a particular exemplary embodiment, it is to be understood that such an embodiment is merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.