EP1324925A1

EP1324925A1 - Container comprising a massaging device

Info

Publication number: EP1324925A1
Application number: EP01976255A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lorenz Eckers; Bernhard Felten; Holger Pries
Original assignee: Beiersdorf AG
Current assignee: Beiersdorf AG
Priority date: 2000-09-29
Filing date: 2001-09-26
Publication date: 2003-07-09
Anticipated expiration: 2021-09-26
Also published as: DE10048757A1; JP2004509812A; DE50107221D1; US20030225352A1; ATE302721T1; WO2002026576A1; EP1324925B1; ES2247171T3

Abstract

A container for storing a product, such as a liquid, flowable formulation, paste, or powder. The container comprises a container body that includes an integrated massage device. The massage device comprises at least one rotatable device that is partially disposed within a seating in the exterior surface of the container body. This rotatable device is mounted so that at least a portion of the rotatable device protrudes from the container body, and so that the rotatable device may rotate (e.g., about an axis of rotation) relative to the container body. The rotatable devices may be used to massage a product into a a user's skin after the product has been dispensed from the container onto the user's skin.

Description

description

Container with a massage device

The invention relates to a container for liquids, flowable formulations, pastes, powders and the like, consisting of a container body with a massage device comprising at least one rotatable device held in the body, and the use of the container.

Containers - such as bottles or crucibles - serve u. a. as a storage place for liquids in the cosmetic and dermatological area. The bottles are in particular made of a flexible plastic, so that a slight pressure on the bottle body is sufficient to drive the liquid in the bottle out of the opening.

For example, the well-known plastic bottles for shower preparations, liquid soaps and shampoo are mentioned here, without this list being complete. Bottles that can be closed with a screw cap are preferred.

The bottles or containers are often manufactured using the extrusion blow molding process.

From US 3,892,829 a method and a device for producing flat bottles from an extruded tube are known, which are pre-blown in an intermediate mold and only then transferred into a final blow mold, the mold cavity of which has the contour of the flat bottle to be produced. From DE 37 02 844 A1, a method following this principle and an extrusion blow molding machine operating according to it are known. A plastic tube is freely extruded, transferred to an intermediate mold and blown into a rotationally symmetrical intermediate molded part. This intermediate form, which therefore has a circular cross-section at any height, already has approximately the length (height) of the flat bottle to be produced and has a circumference in its main sections (bottom, body, neck) that more or less approximates the corresponding dimensions of the flat bottle is. The latter is formed by transferring the intermediate molding into a final blow mold, as is known for example from DE 2720448 C2.

This technique of producing flat bottles with essentially uniform wall thickness, which is largely free of waste and accordingly free of pinch seams, has proven itself.

In EP 0 688 658 A1 the intermediate molding is supported (mechanically) at least during the transfer from the intermediate mold into the final blow mold.

The intermediate form is at least during the transfer from the intermediate form into the

Final blow mold supported by an additional, movable molded part.

This molded part can advantageously be adapted to the bottom contour of the intermediate molding.

As a rule, the molded part must be displaceable in the vertical direction so that the closing of the final blow mold is not hindered.

The object of the invention is to provide a container which offers an optimal connection between a storage location and a massage device, so that a separation of the two functions into two separate devices is no longer necessary.

This object is surprisingly achieved by a container as described in the main claim. The subclaims relate to advantageous embodiments of this container. The use of such a container is also claimed.

Accordingly, the invention relates to a container for liquids, flowable formulations, pastes, powders and the like, consisting of a container body with a Massage device comprising at least one rotatable device held in the body, which is held in the body such that the device protrudes from the body with at least part of its surface.

In a first advantageous embodiment, the device is held in a bearing which is formed from a holder seat which is adapted to the shape of the rotatable device in such a way that the rotatable device is fitted into the holder seat so that it partially protrudes from the holder seat ,

More preferably, the device is additionally mounted on at least one axis of rotation.

Another preferred container has several devices, which are arranged in particular in a geometric pattern. The patterns can consist of a regular arrangement of the devices on the container, for example the distances between the individual devices can be regular. The type of sample to be selected can depend on the type of application of the container and its content.

In a first embodiment of such a device, it consists of a body capable of rotation, in particular a rotationally symmetrical geometric body.

The device can consist of metal, glass, ceramic, porcelain or a suitable plastic. It is very cheap to use polypropylene as the material. Thermoplastics, elastomers or combinations of plastics from these groups are generally particularly suitable. Their properties can be varied widely by adding plasticizers, fillers, stabilizers and other additives, as well as fiber reinforcement. Examples of thermoplastic and elastic plastics are: all plastics consisting of linear or thermolabily crosslinked polymer molecules, for example polyolefins, vinyl polymers, polyamides, polyesters, polyacetals, polycarbonates, and in some cases also polyurethanes and the like. ionomers; TPE-S (styrene oligoblock copolymers), TPE-O (thermoplastic polyolefins), TPE-U (thermoplastic polyurethanes), TPE-E (corresponding copolyesters), TPE-A (corresponding copolyamides), natural and synthetic rubbers. Devices which have a structured surface are very particularly preferred.

In a very advantageous further embodiment, the structuring forms depressions in the surface, in particular depressions in a symmetrical arrangement. In a further variant, the device is structured in that elevations are located on the surface.

The depressions in the surface are very preferably in the form of troughs, channels, notches, channels and the like. Here, however, all the recesses can be used to increase functionality without any restrictions, for example recesses in the form of ornaments, figures or characters and the like.

For the device, the two variants described below are very favorable in the inventive sense:

On the one hand, the depressions can be arranged and dimensioned in such a way that the depressions are present separately from one another, for example in the above-mentioned depressions if they have no contact with one another (“closed-pore”).

On the other hand, the depressions can communicate with each other so that there is a "channel system" in the macroscopic surface of the sphere ("open-pore; in an alternative view, this is equivalent to the above-mentioned elevations on the sphere surface if the" bottom "the channels are regarded as the macroscopic surface of the sphere).

In a further improved embodiment of the device, this is a ball, an ellipsoid or a roller, unstructured with macroscopically smooth surfaces or with the structures mentioned.

Other well-suited shapes are, for example, cones, hyperboloids, rotating paraboloids, and in each case sections or cutouts or stumps of these geometric bodies and irregular geometric bodies. The bearing preferably consists of a recess, the shape of which essentially takes up the shape of the device and the inside diameter of which is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the device (in the case of elliptical bodies, the two semiaxes are correspondingly somewhat larger than those of the device). i

This recess is explained below with the aid of a spherical device (ball), the shape for differently shaped devices being adapted to the shape of the device and the description being able to be transferred accordingly.

The recess in the body of the bottle tapers slightly outwards in the form of a ring, so that the diameter of the remaining opening is somewhat smaller than the diameter of the ball. The ball can now be inserted into the recess with slight pressure, whereby it "snaps" into it and does not fall out of its own accord. It protrudes with a part of its surface out of the device and can be freely rotated in all directions, so that when A massage effect occurs over the skin with the devices forming a massage device in the bottle by means of a rolling movement.

In a variant of this recess, there is no complete ring, but there are at least two, preferably at least three, ring cutouts to hold the ball. These are shaped so that the ball does not fall out after snapping.

In the case of a roller-shaped device, the bearing consists of two opposite walls, which are terminated with a taper towards the other wall. In a preferred embodiment, the two side walls are sections of a tube, the diameter of which is somewhat larger than the diameter of the roller. This tube section can be closed at the front and back by two plane-parallel walls.

If you choose the dimensions of the surface-structured sphere, the ellipsoid or the roller accordingly, the structured systems can be used in the known bearing systems. In the usual embodiments of the device, it is freely rotatably fitted in the bearing in all spatial directions, in particular this applies to the rotationally symmetrical application body.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the device is additionally mounted on at least one axis of rotation. This gives the storage additional stability and further prevents the device from falling out of the container. It is also possible to specify the direction of rotation of the body, which enables additional options in the design of the surface geometry.

Both the axle in its axle bearing and the device on the axle can be made rotatable.

With the container according to the invention, liquid and flowable substances as well as easily distributable solid substances and mixtures of two or more components can be stored, the massage device at the same time making it easier to massage the substances released into the skin.

The container is excellently suitable for emulsions, suspensions, dispersions, solutions (gaseous, liquid and solid substances), colloids and the like, very preferably for applying cosmetic or dermatological agents to the skin, in particular gels, emulsions, Pickering emulsions, hydrodispersions , Lipodispersions.

The flowable formulations are preferably emulsions, suspensions, colloids, dispersions, gels or solutions.

In the technical sense, gels are understood to mean: Relatively dimensionally stable, easily deformable disperse systems composed of at least two components, which as a rule consist of a - usually solid - colloidally divided substance made up of long-chain molecular groups (e.g. gelatin, silica, polysaccharides) as a scaffold and a liquid dispersant (e.g. water) exist. The colloidally divided substance is often referred to as a thickening or gelling agent. It forms a spatial network in the dispersion medium, whereby individual colloidal particles can be more or less firmly linked to one another via electrostatic interaction. The dispersing agent which surrounds the network is distinguished by electrostatic affinity for the gelling agent, ie a predominantly polar (in particular: hydrophilic) gelling agent preferably gels a polar dispersing agent (in particular: water), whereas a predominantly non-polar gelling agent preferably gels non-polar dispersing agent.

Strong electrostatic interactions, which are realized, for example, in hydrogen bonds between the gelling agent and the dispersing agent, but also between the dispersing agent molecules with one another, can also lead to strong crosslinking of the dispersing agent. Hydrogels can consist of almost 100% water (in addition, for example, about 0.2-1.0% of a gelling agent) and have a firm consistency. The water content is in ice-like structural elements.

Lipogels and oleols (from waxes, fats and fatty oils) and carbogels (from paraffin or petroleum) are also common in cosmetic and pharmaceutical galenics. In practice, a distinction is made between oleogels, which are practically anhydrous, and hydrogels, which are practically fat-free. Most of the time, gels are transparent. In cosmetic or pharmaceutical galenics, gels are usually characterized by a semi-solid, often flowable consistency.

So-called surfactant gels are also common preparations of the prior art. This is understood to mean systems which, in addition to water, have a high concentration of emulsifiers, typically more than about 25% by weight, based on the overall composition. If one solubilizes oil components in these surfactant gels, also called “sur factant gels” in technical terms, microemulsion gels are obtained, which are also referred to as “ringing gels”. By adding nonionic emulsifiers, for example alkyl polyglycosides, it is possible to obtain cosmetically more elegant microemulsion gels.

Emulsions are metastable two or multi-phase systems in which the individual phases are in the liquid state. The most common emulsions are O / V and W / O emulsions. More rare forms of administration are multiple emulsions, that is to say those which contain droplets of a further dispersed phase in the droplets of the dispersed (or discontinuous) phase, for example W / O / W emulsions and O / W / O emulsions. In simple emulsions there are finely dispersed droplets of the second phase (water droplets in W / O or lipid vesicles in O / W emulsions) enclosed in an emulsifier shell. The droplet diameter of the ordinary Emulsions range from approx. 1 μm to approx. 50 μm. Such "macroemulsions", without further coloring additives, are colored milky white and opaque. Finer "macroemulsions" whose droplet diameters are in the range from approx. 10 ^'1 μm to approx. 1 μm are, again without coloring additives, bluish white colored and opaque ,

Micellar and molecular solutions with particle diameters smaller than approx. 10 ^"2 μm appear clear and transparent.

The droplet diameter of transparent or translucent micro-emulsions, on the other hand, is in the range from about 10 ^"2 μm to about 10 ^'1 μm. Such micro-emulsions are usually of low viscosity. The viscosity of many O / W-type microemulsions is comparable to that of water ,

Emulsions are by far the most important product type in the field of skin care products or in the field of cosmetic and / or dermatological preparations. Emulsions are disperse two- or multi-phase systems, whereby cosmetic emulsions consist of at least one fat phase (fats and mineral oils, fatty acid esters, fatty alcohols etc.) and At least one water phase (water, glycerin, glycols, etc.) exist, which are distributed in the form of very fine droplets with the help of emulsifiers. If the two liquids are water and oil and there are oil droplets dispersed in water, it is an oil-in-water emulsion (O / W emulsion, for example milk). The basic character of an O / W emulsion is characterized by the water. A water-in-oil emulsion (W / O emulsion, for example butter) is the opposite principle, the basic character being determined here by the oil.

The oil phase is advantageously selected from the group of esters from saturated and / or unsaturated, branched and / or unbranched alkane carboxylic acids and saturated and / or unsaturated, branched and / or unbranched alcohols, from the group of esters from aromatic carboxylic acids and saturated and / or unsaturated, branched and / or unsaturated alcohols, from the group of branched and unbranched hydrocarbons and waxes, silicone oils, dialkyl ethers, the group of saturated or unsaturated, branched or unbranched alcohols, and also fatty acid triglycerides. Any mixtures of such oil and wax components can also be used advantageously for the purposes of the present invention. There may also be It may also be advantageous to use waxes, for example cetyl palmitate, as the sole lipid component of the oil phase.

The oil phase can advantageously have a content of cyclic or linear silicone oils, for example cyclomethicone (octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane), or consist entirely of such oils, although it is preferred to use an additional content of other oil phase components in addition to the silicone oil or the silicone oils. The emulsions described here and in the following can therefore be prepared accordingly with partial or complete use of silicone oils as silicone emulsions. The same applies to the other oil-containing preparations.

A multitude of possibilities is known to the person skilled in the art for formulating stable OW preparations for cosmetic or dermatological use, for example in the form of creams and ointments which are spreadable in the range from room temperature to skin temperature, or as lotions and milks which are contained therein Temperature range are more fluid and can be stored particularly cheap with the container according to the invention.

The stability of emulsions depends, among other things, on their viscosity, in particular on the viscosity of the outer phase. An emulsion becomes unstable when the finely dispersed particles aggregate again into larger aggregates and the touching droplets flow together. This process is called coalescence. The process of coalescence is slower the more viscous the outer phase of the emulsion is.

Accordingly, O / V emulsions are generally stabilized by thickeners, before the viscosity of the aqueous phase increases. Polyacrylates (carbomer) and other organic thickeners are suitable for this. A disadvantage of this method of improving stability is the sensitivity of these formulations to electrolytes. In addition, naturally higher viscosity formulations (such as creams or ointments) are naturally to be produced in this way.

Emulsions of "liquid" (= flowable) consistency are used in cosmetics, for example, as a care, cleaning, face or hand lotion. They generally have a viscosity of about 2000 mPa-s up to about 10,000 mPa-s. Particular attention should be paid to the stability of flowable emulsions, since the significantly greater mobility of the particles promotes faster coalescence. Conventional emulsifiers can be subdivided into ionic (anionic, cationic and amphoteric) and nonionic according to their hydrophilic part of the molecule: The best known example of an anionic emulsifier is the soap, which is commonly referred to as the water-soluble sodium or potassium salts of saturated and unsaturated higher fatty acids.

The quaternary ammonium compounds are important representatives of the cationic emulsifiers. The hydrophilic part of the molecule of nonionic emulsifiers often consists of glycerol, polyglycerol, sorbitan, carbohydrates or polyoxyethylene glycols and is usually linked to the lipophilic part of the molecule via ester and ether linkages. This usually consists of fatty alcohols, fatty acids or isofatty acids. By varying the structure and size of the polar and non-polar part of the molecule, lipophilicity and hydrophilicity of emulsifiers can be changed within wide limits.

The correct choice of emulsifiers is decisive for the stability of an emulsion. The characteristics of all substances contained in the system must be taken into account. Looking at skin care emulsions, for example, polar oil components and UV filters, for example, lead to instabilities. In addition to the emulsifiers, other stabilizers are therefore used which, for example, increase the viscosity of the emulsion and / or act as a protective colloid.

As such, the use of the customary emulsifiers in cosmetic or dermatological preparations is harmless. Nevertheless, emulsifiers, like any chemical substance, can cause allergic or hypersensitive reactions in individual cases. There has been no shortage of attempts to reduce the amount of conventional emulsifiers to a minimum, ideally even completely.

A reduction in the amount of emulsifier required can be achieved, for example, if it is used that finely divided solid particles have an additional stabilizing effect. This leads to an accumulation of the solid substance at the phase boundary oil / water in the form of a layer, which prevents the disperse phases from converging. It is not the chemical properties of the solid particles that are essential, but the surface properties. A relatively new technical development is to stabilize cosmetic or dermatological preparations only with finely divided solid particles. According to their inventor, such “emulsifier-free” emulsions are also called Pickering emulsions. According to May-Alert (Pharmacy in Our Time, Year 15, 1986, one way to stabilize solids in a cosmetic or dermatological preparation is No. 1, 1-7), for example, to use emulsifier mixtures which contain both anionic and cationic surfactants Since, when anion and cationic surfactants are combined, insoluble, electroneutral compounds always fail, oil can be selectively precipitated in the interface by precipitating these neutral surfactants / Water achieve additional solid stabilization in the sense of a Pickering emulsion.

Furthermore, WO 98/42301 A1 describes emulsifier-free finely dispersed systems of the water-in-oil type, which are stabilized by the addition of micronized, inorganic pigments which are selected from the group of metal oxides, in particular titanium dioxide.

Emulsifier-free preparations based on so-called hydrodispersions have been accessible to the consumer for some time. Hydrodispersions are dispersions of a liquid, semi-solid or solid inner (discontinuous) lipid phase in an outer aqueous (continuous) phase.

In contrast to O / W emulsions, which are characterized by a similar phase arrangement, hydrodispersions are essentially free of emulsifiers. Like emulsions, hydrodispersions represent metastable systems and are inclined to transition into a state of two interrelated discrete phases. In emulsions, the choice of a suitable emulsifier prevents phase separation.

In the case of hydrodispersions of a liquid lipid phase in an outer aqueous phase, the stability of such a system can be ensured, for example, by building a gel structure in the aqueous phase in which the lipid droplets are stably suspended. In reverse analogy, W / O lipodispersions are emulsifier-free finely dispersed preparations of the water-in-oil type.

Part of the invention is also the use of a container in conjunction with cosmetic or dermatological preparations in the form of gels, emulsions, microemulsions, suspensions, dispersions, colloids, powders, powders and / or pastes.

The combination of the container according to the invention with liquid cosmetic cleaning agents, which can be used for massaging cleaning by the special container, is particularly advantageous.

Liquid cosmetic cleaning agents are known per se. The invention thus relates to the combination of such agents with packaging that allows the detergent to be massaged.

Liquid formulations include all formulations with anionic, cationic, nonionic and amphoteric or zwitterionic surfactants. In addition, skin care substances can be contained in these formulations.

Moisturizers, conditioners, peeling bodies or active ingredients can be used as skin care substances.

A particular advantage of this packaging is that the massage bodies are easy to clean, since the special construction ensures that water can pass through the guide bodies unhindered. This means that there is no need for a high concentration of preservative in the cleaning agent. This also ensures the microbiological safety of the product.

The special construction of the massage body enables pure pressure massage, so skin irritation due to excessive friction on the skin surface is prevented. In this way, the cleaning agents are used very gently. The skin is less irritated by the use of a detergent during a massage. Some examples of cosmetic cleaning agents, for which the inventive container can be used excellently, are compiled in the following five examples.

Examples of cosmetic cleaning products:

example 1

Wt .-%

Sodium Laureth Sulfate 9.00

Cocamidopropyl betaine 4.00

Decyl glucoside 1.00

Glycol Distearate 2.00

Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate 0.30

Perfume 0.80

Prunus ducis 0.20

Water ad 100.00

Example 2

Wt .-%

Sodium Laureth Sulfate 9.00

Cocamidopropyl betaine 4.00

Decyl glucoside 1.00

Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate 0.30

Perfume 1.00

Vitis vinifera 1.00

Aloe barbensis 1.00

Polyquatium-10 0.30

Water ad 100.00 Example 3

Wt .-%

Sodium Laureth Sulfate 12.00 Cocamidopropyl Betaine 3.00 Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate 2.00 PEG-4 Rapeseedamide 5.00 PEG-9 Cocoglycerides 2.00 Perfume 1.00

Hydroxypropyl guar 0.30 hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride water ad 100.00

Example 4

% By weight MIPA-Laureth Sulfate (+) Laureth-4 41.00 Cocamide DEA

Soybean Oil 40.00 Castor Oil 14.00 Polxamer 10 1 4.00 Perfume 2.00 Panthenol 1.00 Water ad 100.00

Example 5

Wt .-%

Sodium Laureth Sulfate 10.00 Polyethylene 5.00

Sodium Cocoamphoacetate 4.00 Magnesium Aluminum Silicate 3.00 Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate 1.00 Perfume 0.80 Water ad 100.00 In addition to the advantages already described, the containers according to the invention have an additional advantage for the user in the field of personal care due to the massage effect caused by the changed surface. While applying cosmetic or dermatological preparations, a positive effect, for example for skin tightening or against cellulite, can be achieved at the same time.

The inventive container is to be illustrated in the following by means of a few illustrations, without wishing to be restricted unnecessarily by the choice of the illustrated examples. Show it:

FIG. 1 shows a particularly advantageous bottle-shaped container with several devices, which together form the massage device, in the front view,

FIG. 2 shows the particularly advantageous bottle-shaped container with several devices in a side view,

FIG. 3 shows the particularly advantageous container in bottle form with several devices in a top view,

Figures 4 to 7 different embodiments of the device.

In FIG. 1, a particularly advantageous container 10 in bottle form is shown in the frontal view. The bottle 10, manufactured by the extrusion blow molding process, is essentially rectangular in shape, the edges of the bottle 10 being rounded. On the body of the bottle 10 there is a neck-like extension 12 which is used to dispense the content. A cap 11 is placed on the bottle 10 and at the same time closes the extension 12. In one of the wider side walls of the bottle 10 there are several devices 20 which together form a massage device. The devices 20 are spherical here and are mounted in the wall in recesses so that they can rotate.

The devices 20 form a regular pattern of a total of nine balls. The pattern or the number of balls in the pattern is freely selectable, depending on the application or content of the bottle 10. The same also applies to the size of the devices that are in the container.

The user of the content of the bottle 10 can remove a portion of the content by applying slight pressure to the bottle 10 and can apply it to his skin, for example. By means of the massage device, he can now massage the applied content comfortably into the skin without having to grab or search for an additional device.

Figures 2 and 3 show the bottle in the side view and in the top view.

In FIGS. 4 to 7, four different embodiments of the device are shown by way of example, each here in the form of a sphere. The spherical plane 1, which can be regarded as the macroscopic surface of the sphere, and the depressions 2 in this plane are shown in each case.

In FIGS. 4 to 6, these depressions 2 are present separately from one another, specifically in the form of circular troughs [FIGS. 4 and 5, different arrangements of the depressions 2] or in the form of square depressions [FIG. 6]. In Figure 6, the seam line 3 is also shown, which is formed by injection molding in a two-part mold or when building the ball from two ball halves. FIG. 7 shows a spherical device with a system of channel-like, connected depressions 2 in the surface 1 ["open-pore system"]. This system can also be viewed in such a way that the (in this example triangular) regions 1 elevations on the by the " Channel level "2 represent the ball formed.

Claims

claims

1. Containers for liquids, flowable formulations, pastes, powders and the like, consisting of a container body with a massage device comprising at least one rotatable device held in the body, which is held in the body in such a way that the device has at least one part its surface protrudes from the body.

2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the device is held in a storage which is formed from a mounting seat, which the

Shape of the rotatable device is adapted such that the rotatable device is fitted into the holder seat so that it partially protrudes from the holder seat.

3. Container according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the device is additionally mounted on at least one axis of rotation.

4. Container according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that several devices are present, which are arranged in particular in a geometric pattern.

5. Container according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotatable geometric device has a structured surface.

6. Container according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotatable body is a rotationally symmetrical geometric body.

7. Container according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that depressions are formed in the surface of the rotatable body by the structuring, in particular depressions in a symmetrical arrangement and / or in particular depressions in the form of troughs, grooves, notches and the like.

8. Use of a container according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cosmetic or dermatological preparations are in the form of gels, emulsions, microemulsions, suspensions, dispersions, colloids, powders, powders and / or pastes.

9. Use of a container according to at least one of the preceding claims in combination with liquid cosmetic cleaning agents, in particular those with anionic, cationic, nonionic and amphoteric or zwitterionic surfactants.