FR2916430A1 - Satchel assembly for shampoo bottle, has satchel defining housing containing flexible body e.g. flower or leaf, and degrading when satchel is in contact with liquid product to release flexible body in liquid product - Google Patents

Abstract

The assembly (10) has a satchel (11) defining a housing containing a flexible body (12) e.g. flower or leaf, and degrading when the satchel is in contact with a liquid product (L) such as cosmetic product, to release the flexible body in the liquid product . The flexible body is restrained inside the housing of the satchel such that the flexible body is deployed when the flexible body is released in the liquid. The satchel is made of a polyvinyl alcohol polymer, and is formed from a closed tube by soldering or binding. An independent claim is also included for a method for introducing a flexible body in a container.

Description

ASSEMBLY FOR INTRODUCING IN A CONTAINER AND METHOD

  INTRODUCING THIS SET INTO THE CONTAINER

  The present invention relates to an assembly intended to be introduced into a container capable of containing a liquid product, in particular a cosmetic product. The invention also relates to the method of introducing this assembly into the container.

  It is known to dispose bodies such as vegetable substances in flasks containing liquids, for example perfume bottles.

  Document FR 2 646 762 describes in particular a perfume bottle containing a flower or a sheet impregnated with a base which releases active substances into the perfume and over time. To prevent the plants from being rapidly degraded in the perfume, this document provides to cover them with a protective film which gradually degrades over time to gradually release the base in the perfume.

  DE 35 32 160 also describes a perfume bottle containing a flower.

  A disadvantage associated with this type of bottle is that it is relatively difficult to introduce the plants into bottles at high speed without damaging them. Plants occupy indeed a volume greater than the diameter of the neck of the bottle which is generally small. In addition, plants are fragile bodies that can easily tear.

  In addition, the shape and dimensions of the plant elements are very variable from one plant element to another so that it is difficult to automate their introduction into a bottle at a high rate.

  This is why there is a need to make a set intended to be introduced into a bottle that allows to introduce a flexible body, such as a plant, in the bottle, at a relatively high rate, limiting the risk of damaging the flexible body.

  The invention meets this need with an assembly intended to be introduced into a container adapted to contain a liquid, the assembly comprising a bag delimiting a housing containing a flexible body, the bag being made of material that can degrade when it is in contact with the liquid so as to release the flexible body into the liquid.

  By flexible, it is necessary to understand a body that can be compressed or flex without breaking. A flexible body may for example be folded on itself at least once without breaking into two pieces.

  By wrapping the flexible body in a bag that is easily manipulated, it facilitates its introduction into a bottle with a neck of reduced diameter since the bag containing the flexible body is substantially stiffer than the flexible body alone, and therefore easier to handle. In addition, the bag being intended to disappear, it can be handled with less precaution than the flexible element which is it intended to remain in the bottle, and in particular apparent. It can therefore be handled at a high speed.

  The bag furthermore makes it possible to protect the flexible body, which may be fragile, from the external environment before it is introduced into the bottle.

  The bag may be closed on at least three of its sides, and in particular on all sides so as to delimit a closed housing.

  The bag is made of a material which can degrade when it is brought into contact with the liquid for a certain period of time means that it can dissolve or disperse in the liquid at a temperature below 30 C with the aid of agitation manual or not, in a period of time typically less than 5 minutes, preferably less than 1 min, preferably less than 30 seconds.

  The sachet may be made of a water-soluble material or else a material soluble in any other solvent, for example in an alcohol or an alcoholic solution. The bag may in particular be made of polyvinyl alcohol polymer. This polymer has the advantage of having a good film-forming power and the film made of PVA has a high tensile strength.

  Such bags are in particular known from GB 2 318 778 for forming detergent refills in the form of powder to be mixed with water in a bottle, in order to reduce the amount of solid waste produced by the consumer.

  The bag may alternatively be made of a material that can disperse in the liquid. Instead of being completely degraded in the liquid, the bag partially degrades as particles that disperse in the liquid.

  The bag may be made from a film thickness of from 15 to 75 m, preferably from 20 to 40 m, for example equal to 30 m.

  The body can be constrained inside the bag so that it is able to deploy when it is no longer constrained in the bag, especially when it is released into the liquid. The body may for example comprise at least one folded and / or rolled part inside the bag. It may also include several parts, for example two branches, which are close to one another inside the bag. The body can return to its original shape, namely the shape it had before being wrapped in the bag, once the bag is degraded.

  It is thus possible to introduce a flexible body occupying, without constraint, a relatively large volume, the dimensions of which do not allow it to be introduced into a bottle whose neck has a reduced diameter, without having to reduce its volume before its introduction into the bottle. .

  The body may be a plant element, especially a leaf or a flower, and may be natural or artificial. But one can also provide any other flexible body in the bag, including a flexible decorative element plastic or metal, for example a thin film or filaments.

  Even if the plant elements have very variable shapes or sizes from one plant element to another, they can easily be introduced into the high-speed bottles since they are contained in a sachet, which may have a standard size. , of constant dimensions.

  The bag may have an elongate shape along an axis X. The bag may be formed from a folded sheet and fixed on itself, in particular welded or glued, along its periphery. The bag can also be formed from a tube closed at both ends, in particular by welding or gluing. The invention also relates to a method for introducing a flexible body into a container provided with a neck adapted to contain a product in liquid form, which comprises the following steps: - enclosing a flexible body in a bag suitable for degrade in the liquid; - introduce the bag into the container through the neck.

  The flexible body can be folded and / or rolled before being enclosed in the bag.

  The bag used may be elongated along an X axis and have a cross section at the X axis less than the diameter of the neck of the bottle.

  The bag can also be bent before being introduced into the neck of the bottle. The liquid product can be introduced into the vial before or after the sachet.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the following detailed description, nonlimiting exemplary embodiments thereof, and on examining the appended drawing, in which: FIG. a perspective view of an assembly according to the invention and a bottle in which the assembly is intended to be introduced; - FIG. 2 represents a perspective view of the bottle in which the assembly of FIG. 1 has been introduced. ; - Figure 3 is a sectional view of the bag of Figure 1, according to the arrow III; and - Figures 4 to 8 show alternative embodiments of the bag.

  Referring to Figure 1 can be seen an assembly 10 to be introduced into a container 20 adapted to contain a liquid product L, including a cosmetic product.

  The container 20 is in the form of a bottle and has a neck 21 of internal diameter, for example equal to 17 mm. The bottle is for example made of transparent or translucent material that can see through its walls. The bottle may optionally be surmounted by a liquid distribution member, such as a pump, not shown.

  The bottle 20 contains a liquid product L, in particular a cosmetic product. This is for example a shampoo. The liquid product may be more or less viscous and may be in the form of a lotion or a gel.

  The assembly 10 intended to be introduced into the bottle comprises a bag 11 defining a closed housing containing a flexible body 12.

  The body 12 is intended to form a decorative element in the bottle since it can be seen through the transparent walls. The flexible body may also release substances in the liquid, for example odorous substances or an active ingredient in the cosmetic effect of the liquid. Alternatively, the flexible body 12 may not participate in the aesthetic effect of the bottle but only release substances in the liquid. In the latter case, it is not necessary that the bottle is made of transparent material.

  According to the illustrated example, the body 12 is a plant element, natural or artificial. This is in particular one or more leaves of a plant, for example of the medicinal type. The body may alternatively be a flower, a herb or any other plant element. The flexible body could alternatively be in the form of a film or filaments of plastic or metal material for decorating the bottle.

  To facilitate the introduction of the plant element into the vial, it is placed in a bag which can degrade once it is in the liquid. The bag 11 is in fact made of material that can dissolve when in contact with the liquid L so as to release the plant element in the liquid. The bag is for example made from a sheet of polyvinyl alcohol polymer (PVA). Other polymers could also be used to make the bag that allow the bag to degrade completely in the liquid, or to partially degrade as particles that disperse in the liquid. It is possible, for example, to use natural polymers such as vegetable gums, in particular karaya, sterculia, tragacanth, arabic or acacia gums, seed endosperm, in particular locust bean flour, guar gum, starches and derivatives, shell of fruits such as pectin, extracts of algae such as agar, algin, carrageenan, polysaccharides such as xanthan gums, alginate, dextran, pullulan, gellan, casein, gelatin, albumin, galactomannan, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, gluten, zein and their natural or synthetic derivatives) soluble or dispersible in water and capable of forming a film in the dry state, caprolactam, acrylic phophoryl choline copolymers (lipid), anion complexes cation type gum arabic / gelatin or gum arabic / chitosan, or the combination of collagen / glycosaminoglycan, modified natural polymers such as cellulose derivatives, synthetic polymers such as s that polyacrylamide and its graft copolymers or acid block acrylic, starch, dextran, cellulose ethers, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, cellulose; polyacrylic acid, methacrylic polyacid used in polymers or copolymers; polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyethylene oxide (PEOX), poly (N-vinylpyrrolidone), polyelectrolytes such as polyanion, polycations and polyampholytes.

  Of course, the material will be chosen to produce the bag according to the liquid in which it is intended to be introduced so that the bag can degrade therein.

  To easily introduce the sachet into the vial 20, the sachet 11 is elongate along an X axis with a larger cross-sectional area X preferably smaller than the neck diameter of the vial.

  The bag is in particular made from a rectangular PVA sheet folded in two and welded at its periphery 13 on three sides so as to form a substantially flat member with two rectangular faces.

  The bag has for example a width of about 13 mm and a length of about 11 cm. The sheet forming the bag has for example a thickness of 30 m. To condition the plant element in the bag, the plant element 12 is placed on the PVA sheet for forming the bag. The PVA sheet is then cut to the desired size and folded in half to cover the plant element. The sheet is heat-sealed at its periphery 13 so as to close the bag. The plant element is folded on itself to reduce its overall size. It is therefore substantially constrained inside the bag. It is in particular compressed by the larger inner edges of the bag as seen in Figure 1. Of course, the dimensions of the bag will be chosen according to the size of the plant element, so that it can hold inside the bag while being folded without breaking.

  The sachet containing the plant element is then automatically introduced into the vial at a rate ranging from 30 to 400 counts per minute.

  The liquid L is then introduced into the bottle in a conventional manner. A closure cap is then attached to the neck of the bottle. A dispensing member such as a pump may be attached to the neck of the bottle, if appropriate. Alternatively, it can be provided that the liquid is first introduced into the bottle, and then the bag.

  The pouch will then dissolve on contact with the liquid after a period of time, i.e. about 1 min, at room temperature, and release the plant element that unfolds inside the vial as can be seen in Figure 2.

  According to a variant illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the bag 11 is formed from a tubular sheet closed at both ends 14 by heat sealing. According to another variant illustrated in FIG. 8, the bag 12 may be formed from two rectangular sheets assembled at their periphery by heat sealing.

  According to another variant illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bag 11 is a little wider than the diameter of the neck of the bottle 20. Such a bag is for example designed to introduce a more bulky plant.

  To introduce the bag inside the bottle, the bag is slightly bent so that the diameter of the circle circumscribing its cross section, once curved, is smaller than the diameter of the neck of the bottle, as it is see Figure 7. Industrial tools can easily achieve such bending at a high rate. It is thus possible to introduce flexible bodies that are even more cumbersome initially without constraining them too much inside the bag for a long time.

  According to the invention, it will be possible to use sachets with a width of between 7 and 17 mm, preferably between 10 and 15 mm, which may make it possible to introduce flexible elements into bottles having a neck of internal diameter ranging from 8 mm to 30 mm, preferably 12 mm to 19 mm. In the foregoing detailed description, reference has been made to preferred embodiments of the invention. It is obvious that variations can be made without departing from the invention as claimed hereinafter.

Claims (15)

  1. - Set (10) intended to be introduced into a container (20) adapted to contain a liquid product (L), comprising a bag (11) defining a housing containing at least one flexible body (12), the bag being suitable to degrade when in contact with the liquid so as to release the flexible body (12) into the liquid.   2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the body (12) is constrained inside the housing of the bag (11) so that it is able to deploy when no longer constrained in the bag especially when released into the liquid.   3. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body (12) comprises at least one folded and / or rolled part inside the bag (11).   4. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bag is closed on at least three of its sides.   5. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the bag is closed on all sides so as to delimit a closed housing.   6. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body (12) is a plant element, especially a leaf or a flower.   7. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bag is able to dissolve when in contact with the liquid. 30   8. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bag (11) is made from a polyvinyl alcohol polymer.   9. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bag (11) has an elongated shape along an axis X. 1020   10. Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bag (11) is formed from a folded sheet and fixed on itself, in particular welded or glued, along its periphery (13).   11. An assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the bag (11) is formed from a closed tube at both ends (14), in particular by welding or gluing. 10   12. A method for introducing a flexible body into a container provided with a neck the container being intended to contain a liquid product, which comprises the following steps: - enclose a flexible body in a bag capable of degrading in the liquid; 15 - introduce the bag into the container by the neck.   13. The method of claim 12, wherein the flexible body is folded and / or rolled before being enclosed in the bag. 20   14. - A method according to any one of claims 12 or 13, wherein the bag has an elongated shape along an axis X, the largest cross section of the X axis of the bag being smaller than the diameter of the neck of the bottle.   15. Process according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the bag is bent before being introduced into the neck of the bottle.