CH711857B1 - Bracelet. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a bracelet, in particular a bracelet for a watch, comprising at least one part based on an organic material and intended to be brought into contact with the skin of a user, said organic material containing at least one functional agent, such as an antibacterial agent. According to the invention, said organic material also contains a cosmetic agent for the skin designed to be able to come into contact with the skin of the user when wearing the bracelet. The invention also relates to methods of making such a bracelet.

Description

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a bracelet, in particular a bracelet for a watch, comprising at least a part based on an organic material and intended to be brought into contact with the skin of a user, said organic material containing at least one functional agent, for example an antibacterial agent.

The present invention also relates to methods of manufacturing said bracelet.

Background of the invention

[0003] Such bracelets comprising an antibacterial agent are known and are for example described in document DE 20315119. According to this document, the leather watch bracelet comprises an inner band in contact with the wearer's skin made of a leather treated for exhibit antibacterial properties. This bracelet has the advantage of not developing bad odors, especially in case of perspiration.

[0004] Bracelets made of plastics and comprising active ingredients used in the form of microcapsules coated in the material of the bracelet are also known. In publication KR 20080003342, the functional agent is a vitamin. In publication FR 2 842 107, the functional agent can be a perfume, or a medicinal dose. The vitamin or medication is released by rubbing the bracelet against the skin and will diffuse throughout the body to treat the bracelet wearer.

[0005] However, certain active ingredients incorporated into the bracelet, such as antibacterial agents or perfumes, can become irritating to the skin, especially in the event of prolonged contact of the bracelet on the skin, and more particularly in hot and humid conditions. . Indeed, such conditions promote maceration at the interface of the skin and the bracelet, which creates a very uncomfortable sensation for the wearer of the watch. Combined with the friction of the bracelet against the skin, wearing a bracelet in which active ingredients are incorporated can cause skin irritation in the longer or shorter term. Wearing the bracelet then becomes uncomfortable or even impossible in the event of significant skin lesions.

Summary of the invention

[0006] The object of the invention is in particular to overcome the various drawbacks of known bracelets.

[0007] More precisely, an objective of the invention is to provide a bracelet which, although incorporating at least one functional agent, makes it possible to eliminate the risks of irritation of the skin in order to provide greater comfort when wearing. .

To this end, the present invention relates to a bracelet, in particular a bracelet for a watch, comprising at least a part based on an organic material and intended to be brought into contact with the skin of a user, said material organic containing at least one functional agent.

[0009] According to the invention, said organic material also contains at least one cosmetic agent for the skin designed to be able to come into contact with the skin of the user when wearing the bracelet.

Thus, when the bracelet according to the invention is worn, the bracelet diffuses into the skin of the user at least one cosmetic agent for the skin, acting on the skin at the level of the bracelet so as to prevent any irritation of the skin. skin. The wearing comfort is therefore greatly improved.

The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a bracelet as defined above, in particular a bracelet for a watch, comprising at least a part based on an organic material and intended to be brought into contact with the skin of a user, said organic material containing at least one functional agent and at least one cosmetic agent for the skin designed to be able to come into contact with the skin of the user when wearing the bracelet, said method comprising the steps to: a) prepare at least one cosmetic agent for the skin in an encapsulated form designed to release said cosmetic agent by rubbing on the skin b) produce a formulation based on said organic material c) add to the formulation obtained in step b ) at least one cosmetic agent for the skin in the encapsulated form obtained in step a) and at least one functional agent d) making the bracelet from the formulation obtained in step c).

The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a bracelet as defined above, in particular a bracelet for a watch, comprising at least a part based on an organic material and intended to be brought into contact with the skin of a user, said organic material containing at least one functional agent and at least one cosmetic agent for the skin designed to be able to come into contact with the skin of the user when wearing the bracelet, said method comprising the steps to: a ') provide an element intended to form the part based on the organic material of the bracelet, said organic material being without cosmetic agent for the skin, and optionally without functional agent b') incorporate at least one cosmetic agent for the skin, and optionally at least one functional agent if the latter is not already present, in the part based on the organic material of the bracelet according to step a ') by an impregnation process c') carry out the b racelet, said step c ′) being able to be carried out between step a ′) and step b ′) or after step b ′).

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

The present invention relates to a bracelet, in particular a bracelet for a watch. This bracelet comprises at least one part based on an organic material and intended to be brought into contact with the skin of a user. This part can constitute only one or more zones of the bracelet or the whole of the bracelet.

In the present description, the term "organic material" preferably denotes leather, elastomers, thermoplastic elastomers, or any other organic material used to make a bracelet, and in particular a watch bracelet.

As regards the elastomers, these are advantageously vulcanizable elastomers of the rubber type. They can be made, for example, from a fluoro-carbon elastomer, known to have a pleasant feel, or a mixture of fluoro-carbon elastomers of the tetrafluoroethylene / propylene copolymer type with a molecular weight of 70,000 to 250. 000 or tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoromethyl vinyl ether with a molecular weight of 100,000 to 300,000 or else tetrafluoroethylene / propylene / vinylidene fluoride terpolymers with a molecular weight of 100,000 to 250,000. Such elastomers are available on the market. Marlet. The rubber-type elastomer can be mixed with other elastomers of the nitrile (NBR), hydrogenated nitrile (HNBR), or silicone (VMQ, FMVQ, ...) type.

The thermoplastic elastomer can be a thermoplastic elastomer of the polyurethane type or an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, or an amide block copolymer. Such thermoplastic elastomers are available on the market.

The organic material contains at least one functional agent.

In the present description, the term "functional agent" denotes a substance incorporated into the bracelet to exert a certain function therein which can be both therapeutic and non-therapeutic. Thus, the functional agent present in the bracelet can be, for example, a drug, a perfume, an antibacterial agent, an agent with a cold effect such as menthyl lactate, and their mixtures, or any other functional agent suitable for giving the bracelet the sought-after property. Depending on its function, the functional agent can be arranged to be able to come into contact with the skin of the user when wearing the bracelet. Preferably, the functional agent present in the bracelet is an antibacterial agent which can be chosen, for example, from the group comprising zinc pyrithione, silver phosphate, aluminum salts, such as aluminum hydrochloride, and absorbent microspherites. Such an antibacterial agent makes it possible to prevent the development of bad odors due essentially to the perspiration of the wearer of the bracelet. Aluminum hydrochloride has the advantage of also being an antiperspirant. It is of course possible to combine different functional agents, such as a perfume and an antibacterial agent.

When the bracelet is made of leather, all the components of the bracelet can be treated with a functional agent, such as an antibacterial agent. Thus, the top of the bracelet, the lining, the sewing threads, the interior elements such as the padding or the tear-proof ones can also be treated with an antibacterial agent.

According to the present invention, the organic material of the part of the bracelet intended to be brought into contact with the skin of the user also contains at least one cosmetic agent for the skin designed to be able to be in contact with the skin. of the user when wearing the bracelet. In the present description, the term “cosmetic agent for the skin” designates a cosmetic skin care agent, that is to say an active principle acting on the skin to protect it, maintain it and / or repair it in order to preserve its integrity. Preferably, the cosmetic agent for the skin is different from the functional agent.

Advantageously, the cosmetic agent for the skin can be a repairing agent which aims to act on the skin in the long term. Such a repairing agent can be a ceramide or hyaluronic acid.

According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the cosmetic agent for the skin can be an anti-irritant agent, the aim of which is to act on the skin instantly by calming any irritation. The anti-irritant can be acetyl tetrapeptide-15 dispersed in mannitol and sodium citrate or an oat extract in a dispersion of water and glycerin.

Preferably, a repairing agent is used in combination with an anti-irritant agent.

In a particularly advantageous manner, the cosmetic agent for the skin can be in an encapsulated form designed to release said cosmetic agent by friction on the skin when the bracelet is worn by the user. The techniques for encapsulating the active principle are known to those skilled in the art and do not require a detailed description. It is, however, useful to specify that the cosmetic agent for the skin is encapsulated in a resin sufficiently resistant to withstand the shaping process. Such a resin is, for example, melamine.

The bracelet according to the invention can be obtained according to different methods.

According to a first variant, the method of the invention comprises the steps of: a) preparing at least one cosmetic agent for the skin in an encapsulated form designed to release said cosmetic agent by rubbing on the skin b) producing a formulation based on said organic material c) add to the formulation obtained in step b) at least one cosmetic agent for the skin in the encapsulated form obtained in step a) and at least one functional agent d) make the bracelet from of the formulation obtained in step c).

This first variant applies more particularly when the organic material is chosen from vulcanizable elastomers of rubber type and thermoplastic elastomers.

At least one cosmetic agent for the skin is prepared according to known active principle encapsulation techniques. The size of the microcapsules is for example 50 μm.

The formulation based on said organic material is a formulation traditionally used for making bracelets, and in particular watch bracelets, made of elastomers of the rubber type or of the thermoplastic type.

For example, for vulcanizable elastomers of rubber type, this formulation can comprise in a known manner: the elastomer or a mixture of elastomers, introduced for 100 parts of the formulation, a filler for 20 to 40 parts, said filler being for example silica, kaolin, TiO2 if the strap is light in color, or carbon black if the strap is dark or black, a vulcanization accelerator, such as a manganese oxide, for 2 to 4 parts, a vulcanizing agent, such as peroxides, for 4 to 6 parts, additives such as carnauba wax, for 3 to 7 parts additives for the coloring system, for 0.5 to 2 parts. It is obvious that any other suitable formulation can be used.

Once the formulation has been prepared, at least one cosmetic agent for the skin in microencapsulated form and at least one functional agent are added to said formulation during a mixing step. For example, the cosmetic agent content is between 1% and 40% by weight, preferably between 2% and 20% by weight, relative to the total weight of the formulation, and the functional agent content is between 0.1% and 1% by weight, and preferably between 0.2% and 0.4% by weight, relative to the total weight of the formulation.

The bracelet is then produced by injection or compression of the formulation obtained comprising the cosmetic agent for the skin and at least one functional agent. These manufacturing techniques are known per se and do not require a detailed description. The advantage of this process is that it allows better integration of the cosmetic agent for the skin and of the functional agent in the organic material, and in particular for vulcanizable elastomers due to the vulcanization which will make it possible to limit the phenomena. migration.

According to a second variant, the method of the invention comprises the steps of: a ') providing an element intended to form the part based on the organic material of the bracelet, said organic material being without cosmetic agent for the skin, and optionally without functional agent b ') incorporate at least one cosmetic agent for the skin, and optionally at least one functional agent if the latter is not already present, in the part based on the organic material of the bracelet according to step a ′) by an impregnation process c ′) making the bracelet, said step c ′) being able to be carried out between step a ′) and step b ′) or after step b ′).

According to a first embodiment, the impregnation process is carried out by simple impregnation. This embodiment can be applied most particularly when the element intended to form the part based on the organic material is made of leather. Preferably, this element is the lining of the bracelet which has advantageously already been treated with at least one functional agent, such as an antibacterial agent.

According to this first embodiment, step a ') is a step of dyeing or a step of nourishing the leather, and more particularly the lining of the bracelet already containing the antibacterial agent, and the step of impregnation b ′) is carried out together with step a ′), at least one cosmetic agent for the skin having been prepared beforehand in an encapsulated form or an emulsion. Preferably, the cosmetic agent for the skin is encapsulated in a polymer in order to resist the temperature and pH conditions imposed by the step of dyeing or nourishing the leather. Melamine can be used for example.

According to a second embodiment, the impregnation process is a supercritical fluid impregnation process. Such an impregnation process can comprise the following steps: dissolving at least one cosmetic agent for the skin and at least one functional agent if the latter is not already present in the bracelet, in a carrier liquid to form a solution; the functional agent is used in amounts of 0.5% to 10% by weight, and preferably in a content of 2.5% by weight if the functional agent is an antibacterial agent, and the cosmetic agent for the skin is preferably prepared in the form of an emulsion (glycerin-water) preferably comprising between 4% and 10% by weight of cosmetic agent. placing at ambient pressure the element intended to form the part based on the organic material in a chamber which can be pressurized; hermetically close the enclosure; impregnate the element intended to form the part based on the organic material of the solution by means of a fluid under supercritical conditions or close to supercritical conditions in the enclosure at a pressure of between 3 MPa and 6 MPa, at a temperature between 25 ° C and 65 ° C, preferably equal to 35 ° C, for a period of between 1 min and 12 min, preferably equal to 10 min; release the pressure in the chamber so that the carrier liquid diffuses outside the element intended to form the part based on the organic material and to trap the cosmetic agent for the skin and possibly the functional agent for the skin. interior of the element intended to form the part based on the organic material.

Advantageously, the supercritical fluid is carbon dioxide and the support liquid is chosen from hexane, isopropanol or d-limonene. Preferably, the impregnation is carried out under constant flow.

Advantageously, there is then provided a residue removal step which can be carried out by washing with clean water or by wiping the element intended to form the part based on the impregnated organic material.

When the element intended to form the part based on the organic material of the bracelet is chosen from leather, elastomers and thermoplastic elastomers, step b ') of impregnation with supercritical fluid can be carried out after 'step c'), that is to say on a bracelet already made. More particularly, when the organic material is an elastomer or a thermoplastic elastomer, the process of impregnation with a cosmetic agent for the skin and with a functional agent by supercritical fluid is implemented on the bracelet already produced by injection or by compression from an elastomeric formulation without cosmetic agent for the skin or functional agent. When the organic material is leather, the process of impregnation with a cosmetic agent for the skin by supercritical fluid is carried out on the leather strap in the finished state and already treated with a functional agent such as an antibacterial agent.

[0040] According to another possibility, when the element intended to form the part based on the organic material is leather, step a ') is a step of cutting the leather, step b') of impregnation by supercritical fluid being carried out near step a ′) and before step c ′). More specifically, step b ′) of impregnation with supercritical fluid is carried out after the step of cutting the leather. Then the leather strap is finished.

The bracelet according to the invention makes it possible to present the properties provided by at least one functional agent, in particular the antibacterial agent, while preserving the skin of the user, thanks to the diffusion of at least one cosmetic agent for the skin at the level of contact between the bracelet and the skin of the wearer of the bracelet. Thus, the wearing comfort is greatly improved.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the examples illustrated and is susceptible of various variants and modifications which will be evident to those skilled in the art.

Claims (21)

1. Bracelet, in particular bracelet for a watch, comprising at least one part based on an organic material and intended to be brought into contact with the skin of a user, said organic material containing at least one functional agent, characterized in that that said organic material also contains at least one cosmetic agent for the skin designed to be able to come into contact with the skin of the user when wearing the bracelet. 2. Bracelet according to claim 1, characterized in that the organic material is chosen from leather, elastomers and thermoplastic elastomers. 3. Bracelet according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the functional agent is chosen from the group comprising antibacterial agents, perfumes, cold-effect agents, and mixtures thereof. 4. Bracelet according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the antibacterial agent is chosen from the group comprising zinc pyrithione, silver phosphate, and aluminum salts. 5. Bracelet according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cosmetic agent for the skin is chosen from the group comprising a repairing agent, an anti-irritant agent, and mixtures thereof. 6. Bracelet according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the repairing agent is chosen from the group comprising ceramides and hyaluronic acid. 7. Bracelet according to claim 5, characterized in that the anti-irritant agent is chosen from the group comprising acetyl tetrapeptide-15 and oat extract. 8. Bracelet according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cosmetic agent for the skin is in an encapsulated form arranged to release said cosmetic agent by friction on the skin. 9. A method of manufacturing a bracelet according to one of claims 1 to 8, in particular a bracelet for a watch, comprising at least one part based on an organic material and intended to be brought into contact with the skin of a user, said organic material containing at least one functional agent and at least one cosmetic agent for the skin designed to be able to come into contact with the user's skin when wearing the bracelet, characterized in that said method comprises the steps from: a) preparing at least one cosmetic agent for the skin in an encapsulated form designed to release said cosmetic agent by rubbing on the skin b) carrying out a formulation based on said organic material c) adding to the formulation obtained in step b) at least one cosmetic agent for the skin in the encapsulated form obtained in step a) and at least one functional agent d) making the bracelet from the formulation obtained in step c). 10. The method of claim 9, characterized in that the organic material is chosen from elastomers and thermoplastic elastomers. 11. A method of manufacturing a bracelet according to one of claims 1 to 8, in particular a bracelet for a watch, comprising at least one part based on an organic material and intended to be brought into contact with the skin of a user, said organic material containing at least one functional agent and at least one cosmetic agent for the skin designed to be able to come into contact with the user's skin when wearing the bracelet, characterized in that said method comprises the steps from: a ') provide an element intended to form the part based on the organic material of the bracelet, said organic material being without cosmetic agent for the skin, and optionally without functional agent b ') incorporate at least one cosmetic agent for the skin, and optionally at least one functional agent if the latter is not already present, in the part based on the organic material of the bracelet according to step a ′) by a process impregnation c ′) making the bracelet, said step c ′) being able to be carried out between step a ′) and step b ′) or after step b ′). 12. The method of claim 11, characterized in that the impregnation process is a supercritical fluid impregnation process. 13. The method of claim 12, characterized in that step b ′) of impregnation with supercritical fluid is carried out after step c ′). 14. Method according to one of claims 12 or 13, characterized in that the element intended to form the part based on the organic material of the bracelet is chosen from leather, elastomers and thermoplastic elastomers. 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the element intended to form the part based on the organic material is leather, characterized in that step a ') is a step of cutting the leather, step b' ) impregnation with supercritical fluid being carried out near step a ′) and before step c ′). 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the element intended to form the part based on the organic material is leather, characterized in that step a ′) is a step of dyeing or a step of nourishing the leather, and in that the impregnation step b ′) is carried out together with step a ′), the cosmetic agent for the skin having been prepared beforehand in an encapsulated form. 17. Method according to one of claims 9 to 16, characterized in that the functional agent is chosen from the group comprising antibacterial agents, perfumes, cold-effect agents, and mixtures thereof. 18. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the antibacterial agent is chosen from the group comprising zinc pyrithione, silver phosphate and aluminum salts. 19. Method according to one of claims 9 to 18, characterized in that the cosmetic agent for the skin is chosen from the group comprising a repairing agent, an anti-irritant agent, and mixtures thereof. 20. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the repairing agent is chosen from the group comprising ceramides and hyaluronic acid. 21. The method of claim 19, characterized in that the anti-irritant agent is chosen from the group comprising acetyl tetrapeptide-15 and oat extract.