Lotions and gels with active ingredients in beads

• US 6,045,813 A
• Filed: 03/30/1998
• Issued: 04/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: beautyAvenues LLC (L Brands, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bath & Body Works Incorporated (L Brands, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ferguson, John, Ziets, George
• Primary Examiner(s): Spear, James M.
• Application Number:
  US09/050,536
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• Field of Search: 424/451, 424/455, 424/456, 424/401, 424/489, 424/63, 424/452, 428/402.2
• US Class Current: 424/401
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 2800/56 Compounds, absorbed onto or entrapped into a solid carrier, e.g. encapsulated perfumes, inclusion compounds, sustained release forms
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 8/025 Explicitly spheroidal or spherical shape
• CPC Class Codes: A61Q 13/00 Formulations or additives for perfume preparations essential oils or perfumes per se C11B9/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61Q 17/005 Antimicrobial preparations
• CPC Class Codes: A61Q 19/10 Washing or bathing preparations

Abstract

A flowable personal care or cleaning composition, comprising a carrier and friable beads disbursed in the carrier, the beads containing an active ingredient and enclosing the active ingredient in a wall of bead material, the active ingredient amounting to approximately 0.5-5.0% by weight of the bead including its wall material and the active ingredient.

Claims

1. A flowable composition, comprising:

a carrier; and

visible friable beads disbursed in the carrier, the beads containing an active ingredient and enclosing the active ingredient in a wall of bead material, the active ingredient amounting to approximately 0.5-5.0% by weight of the bead including its wall material and the active ingredient and including colorant in the wall material of the beads, the wall material being selected to be non-friable when exposed to a process for mixing the beads with the carrier.

2. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the active ingredient comprises bactericidal liquid.

3. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the active ingredient comprises at least one essential fragrance oil.

4. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the friable beads are maintained in the carrier for at least about 24 to 48 hours before the composition is used.

5. A composition according to claim 4 wherein the beads are from about 500 to about 1,500 microns in diameter and the wall thickness of the beads is between about 210 and 740 microns.

6. A composition according to claim 5 wherein the active ingredient comprises antibacterial liquid.

7. A composition according to claim 5 wherein the active ingredient comprises essential fragrance oils.

8. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the carrier contains one fragrance and the active ingredient comprises a different fragrance.

9. A composition according to claim 8 wherein the different fragrance in the beads is a skin activated essential fragrance oil, the fragrance in the carrier being a bulk fragrance.

10. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the active ingredient is selected from the group consisting of fragrance, bactericidal liquid, a pharmaceutical, a skin moisturizer and a cleanser, the carrier having a different color from the colorant in the wall material of the beads and the beads amounting to between 0.5 and 10% by weight of the composition.

11. A composition according to claim 10 wherein beads are from about 500 to about 1,500 microns in diameter and the wall thickness of the beads is between about 210 and 740 microns.

12. A method of treating a surface with an active ingredient comprising:

providing a carrier liquid;

dispersing in the carrier liquid a multiplicity of visible friable beads, each containing from about 0.5 to about 5.0% by weight active ingredients for treating the surface; and

massaging the carrier with beads onto the surface for rupturing the beads and discharging the active ingredient to mark the surface with ruptured beads.

13. A method according to claim 12 including providing colorant in the beads for smearing the colorant during rupturing of the beads.

14. A method according to claim 13 including providing essential fragrant oils in the beads as the active ingredient.

15. A method according to claim 13 including providing anti-bacterial liquid as the active ingredient in the beads.

16. A method according to claim 12 including providing the beads to have a diameter of about 500 to about 1,500 microns in diameter and the wall thickness of the beads is between about 210 and 740 microns.

17. A method according to claim 12 including maintaining the beads in the carrier liquid before massaging the carrier with beads to allow the beads to soften in the carrier.

18. A method according to claim 17 including maintaining the beads in the carrier before the massaging step for at least 24 hours.

19. A method of treating a surface with an active ingredient comprising:

providing a carrier liquid;

disbursing in the carrier liquid a multiplicity of visible friable beads, each containing from about 0.5 to about 5.0% by weight active ingredient for treating the surface;

dispensing the carrier with beads through a dispenser pump onto a surface; and

using the carrier with beads on the surface, at least one of the steps of dispensing or the step of using the beads on the surface, causing fracturing of the beads to spill their contents and mix it with the carrier liquid, the beads having a different color from the carrier liquid to act as an indicator that the beads have ruptured.

20. A method according to claim 19 including dispensing the carrier liquid with beads through a pump having passages and geometry for rupturing the beads and mixing the active ingredients with the carrier liquid before the carrier liquid leaves the pump.