EP3985088A1 - Method for manufacturing small bars of soap comprising inclusions of geometric patterns of different colours in the mass - Google Patents

Abstract

Cylindrical or prismatic vertical counterforms (14) are placed in a vertical tank (10, 12), and a mass of cold saponifiable soap of a first color is poured into the empty spaces remaining between these vertical counterforms. Then the counterforms are removed and a mass of cold-saponifiable soap of a second color is poured into the empty spaces created by the removal of the counterforms. The bar of soap, dissociated from the tank, is then cut along horizontal and vertical cutting planes so as to detail the bars of soap. In another implementation, the counterforms are replaced by cylindrical or prismatic pre-molded soap blocks, of the second color.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention

The invention relates to the soap industry.

It relates more particularly to the manufacture of soaps by a process of cold saponification, that is to say in which the synthesis of the soap is carried out at a temperature of the order of 40 to 50° - unlike the saponification at hot which implies much higher temperatures, around 120°.

Cold saponification has the advantage of keeping the glycerol in the soap.

On the other hand, it is more difficult to implement because of the rapid solidification of the fatty substance/alkali mixture, which does not remain liquid for long after its preparation and must be quickly moulded. In addition, the dough can take on texture more or less quickly depending on several parameters: the fragrance used, the temperature of the ingredients and the nature of the ingredients themselves, in particular the fatty substances chosen.

Cold saponified soaps are easily found in the form of uniformly colored bars. It is also possible to make marbling in the fresh dough when it is fluid, but this represents an additional difficulty.

If you want to make soaps with predetermined patterns of several colors, implying the preparation of several different pastes, the setting speed sometimes does not allow time to pour the paste into all the molds, nor into all the cavities. which constitute the pattern. Finally, not all shapes of molds are commercially available; it is therefore necessary to create them or find devious means to achieve them.

The object of the invention is, beyond these commonly available products, to be able to produce cold saponified soap bars comprising a inclusion, created in the mass and over the entire thickness of the bar of soap, of one or more predetermined geometric patterns of a color different from the color of the rest of the bar of soap. The predetermined geometric pattern must in particular be able to be a rectangular or triangular, circular or fractional round pattern, in the shape of a scale, a diamond, a star, etc.

It is also a question of being able to manufacture such bars of soap in a rational way, in large quantities and on a semi-industrial scale, unlike artisanal techniques where the bars of soap are produced on a small scale, with a high manufacturing cost and a low production rate.

Description of the Prior Art

There are various proposals in the state of the art for manufacturing processes for two-colored or multi-colored soaps.

So the FR 2 613 724 A1 proposes, after molding and hardening of soap bars of a first color, to cut out the center of these soap bars right through using a cookie cutter to form a hole there, then to cut in soap bars of a second color , also after molding and hardening, a piece of soap of the same size as the hole, to insert this piece of soap into the hole of the first soap, and finally to compress everything to homogenize the final product. This technique, although presented in an industrialized form, is not very profitable given the large quantities to be scrapped (cutting offcuts, not recoverable). It also does not allow a very wide variety of patterns, because of the mechanical stresses of resistance to cutting and to the insertion of the insert.

the WO 2006/063691 A1 describes a technique for molding a log-shaped "multi-phase" cylindrical soap block, with a core of a different color or composition than the rest of the log. The technique uses an installation with two coaxial molds, with a central mold removed after pouring the core material to allow the pouring of the peripheral material, the latter being confined by the mold. external. The two coaxial molds are moreover each provided with a hollow lining allowing the circulation of a fluid for cooling the cast materials, since these are hot saponifiable soaps. The composite cylindrical log thus obtained is then detailed into individual round and flat bars, by cutting the log into successive slices along planes radial with respect to the axis of the cylindrical log.

the US 6,147,040A describes a comparable technique for a individually produced disc-shaped soap bar with a "rainbow" pattern of several different colors arranged concentrically. The technique consists of molding a piece of soap in the shape of a flat disk in a mold of reduced diameter, then placing the piece of soap obtained after hardening in the center of a mold of larger diameter and pouring around it a mass of soap of a different color. , place the two-tone piece obtained in another mold of greater diameter, etc., and so on until the final product.

With the techniques described by these documents WO 2006/063691 A1 and US 6,147,040A , it is only possible to make soap bars with concentric patterns or, at the very least, in which an outer filling material completely surrounds an inner core material.

the US 2001/040312 A1 illustrates another technique for making multicolored soaps, by successive casting of masses of soap of different colors in the same mould. At each casting the mold is only partially filled, until the last casting which gives the soap its final shape. The patterns produced are not, however, predefined geometric patterns, identical for all the bars of soap as in the case of the various processes described above, but more or less random patterns, in the form of marbling or colored spots. Thus, the patterns that make it possible to achieve the known prior processes are all very limited in their variety, and in particular none makes it possible to produce bars of soap with materials of different color or composition which would simply be joined or juxtaposed, in a non-concentric manner. .

In addition, the productivity of all these techniques remains quite mediocre, with a low production rate which limits them to artisanal production. In fact, they only make it possible to produce individual soap bars or, in the best of cases, by cutting a bar or log of soap into individual slices.

In particular, it would in no case be possible to obtain with these processes shapes and patterns as varied as those which will be presented as an example of the present invention (cf. in particular the Figure 9 of the present application), with "scale", "window", "petal", "triangle" or "cross" patterns, and this on a semi-industrial scale: in the example described below, it will be seen that for example, it is possible to produce up to 176 individual bars of soap in a single pass from one and the same solid block of soap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

• l'utilisation comme moule d'une cuve comprenant un fond et des côtés démontables, de manière à pouvoir couler en une seule passe un pain de savon de volume important, et le dissocier ensuite d'avec la cuve par démontage des parois latérales, le pain de savon reposant alors simplement sur le fond ; et
• à partir de ce pain de savon reposant sur le fond qui fait office de support, individualiser les savonnettes par des découpes multiples comprenant à la fois i) des découpes horizontales du pain de savon, ii) des premières découpes verticales de ce même pain de savon, et iii) des secondes découpes verticales, croisées par rapport aux premières découpes.

To remedy these various limitations and achieve the aims indicated above, the basic idea of the invention resides, essentially, in:

• the use as a mold of a tank comprising a removable bottom and sides, so as to be able to pour a bar of soap of large volume in a single pass, and then separate it from the tank by dismantling the side walls, the bar of soap then simply resting on the bottom; and
• from this bar of soap resting on the bottom which acts as a support, individualize the bars of soap by multiple cutouts comprising both i) horizontal cutouts of the bar of soap, ii) first vertical cutouts of this same bar of soap , and iii) second vertical cutouts, crossed with respect to the first cutouts.

In particular, these horizontal and/or vertical cutouts can easily be made collectively by means of a lyre or racket of thin stretched steel wires capable of sinking into the mass of hardened soap.

The method of the invention is more specifically set out in either of independent claims 1 or 3.

Sub-claims 2 and 4-6 are directed to advantageous, subsidiary implementations of this method of manufacture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• La Figure 1 illustre en vue perspective éclatée de la cuve de préparation selon un premier mode de mise en œuvre du procédé de l'invention, au stade d'une phase initiale avant tout coulage d'une masse de savon.
• Les Figures 2 à 6 illustrent, en vue de dessus, les phases successives de ce premier mode de mise en œuvre du procédé de l'invention.
• Les Figures 7 et 8 illustrent un deuxième mode de mise en œuvre du procédé de l'invention, respectivement pour les deux phases qui diffèrent du mode de réalisation illustré aux Figures 2 à 6 précédentes.
• La Figure 9 illustre divers exemples de savonnettes à inclusion de deux ou plus couleurs qu'il est possible de réaliser grâce aux enseignements de l'invention.

An exemplary implementation of the invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings in which the same references designate identical or functionally similar elements from one figure to another.

• The Figure 1 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the preparation tank according to a first mode of implementation of the method of the invention, at the stage of an initial phase before any casting of a mass of soap.
• The Figures 2 to 6 illustrate, in top view, the successive phases of this first embodiment of the method of the invention.
• The Figures 7 and 8 illustrate a second embodiment of the method of the invention, respectively for the two phases which differ from the embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 to 6 previous ones.
• The Figure 9 illustrates various examples of soap bars with the inclusion of two or more colors which it is possible to produce thanks to the teachings of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERENTIAL EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

On the Figure 1 , there is illustrated in perspective a tank for the manufacture of soaps according to the method of the invention, this tank comprising a bottom 10 and sides 12. These various elements are removable so as to allow easy demolding once the mass of soap solidified. By way of example, of course not limiting, it is possible to use a tank of 28 × 28 × 30 cm, making it possible to mold cubic bars of soap with a side of 28 cm, for a weight of the order of 20 kg. In a first embodiment of the method of the invention, vertical counterforms 14 are placed inside the mold, so as to leave empty spaces 16 between them. counterforms and the internal walls of the tank are preferably wrapped in a non-stick film 18 to allow easy demolding once the mass of liquid soap which will be poured into the mold has hardened.

Counterforms 14 are for example wooden or plastic counterforms. Characteristically of the invention, they have the shape of a right prism or a right cylinder (in the most general sense of the term, that is to say the volume described by a vertical line resting on a polygon or on a circular curve or not).

The counterforms are placed vertically in the mould, as can be seen in the Figure 1 , according to a regular layout (cf. plan view of the Figure 2 ) which will depend on the final pattern of the soap bars that one wishes to produce after the last step of the process (cf. Figure 6 ). The profile, in plan, of these counterforms will be chosen according to the different soap patterns that one wishes to achieve, and examples of which are illustrated in Figure 9 .

Advantageously, the bottom 10 of the tank has markings forming benchmarks to facilitate the placement of the base of the counterforms according to their predetermined arrangement, for example in the form of a pattern placed under the bottom 10, the latter being made of a transparent material. (rigid plastic material such as PMMA or the like).

The next step of the process, after having placed the counterforms, consists in preparing a first mass of cold-saponifiable soap of a first color A, and in pouring this first mass into the tank, in the empty spaces 16 remaining between the counterforms 14. The result of this step, after taking the mass of the soap of the first color A, is shown Figure 3 .

An important characteristic of the invention resides in the choice of a cold-saponifiable soap, with the characteristics set out above in the introduction. In fact, the caking of the soap occurs quickly, a few minutes after the mixing of the basic constituents.

Once the mass of soap of the first color A has completely set, the counterforms 14 are removed, thus leaving empty spaces 20 ( Figure 4 ) within the mass of the soap of the first color A.

The next step consists in preparing a second mass of cold-saponifiable soap of a second color B, different from color A, and in pouring this second mass into the tank in the empty spaces 20 provided by the removal of the counterforms. The result of this step, after taking the mass of the soap of the second color B, is shown Figure 5 .

At the end of this step, there is a solid bar of soap 22, of dimensions 28×28×28 cm in the nonlimiting example indicated.

• découpes verticales croisées, selon des plans dont la trace est représentée en X et Y sur la Figure 6, de manière à diviser le bloc cubique du pain de savon massif en pains verticaux de dimension 7 × 7 cm, puis
• découpes horizontales, de manière à détailler chaque pain vertical en un empilement de savonnettes carrées de 7 × 7 cm et d'épaisseur 2,5 cm (par exemple).

After dismantling the side walls 12 of the tank, this solid bar of soap 22 simply rests on the bottom 10. It is then broken down into individual soap bars by:

• crossed vertical cutouts, according to planes whose trace is represented in X and Y on the Figure 6 , so as to divide the cubic block of the solid bar of soap into vertical bars of dimension 7 × 7 cm, then
• horizontal cutouts, so as to detail each vertical loaf into a stack of square bars of 7 × 7 cm and 2.5 cm thick (for example).

As can be seen on the Figure 6 , for each slice of the bar of soap 22 of dimension 28×28 cm, it is possible to individualize sixteen bars of soap 24 of 7×7 cm, each with a pattern comprising, in the example illustrated, a region of a first color A in inclusion between two regions of a second color B, and this over the entire thickness of the soap.

With a single block of solid soap of 28 × 28 × 28 cm it is thus possible to produce, in a single process pass, 176 individual soap bars of 7 × 7 × 2.5 cm.

The respective horizontal and vertical cutouts are advantageously made collectively by means of a "lyre" or "racket" of thin stretched steel wires, capable of sinking into the hardened soap mass.

In a second form of implementation of the invention, the counterforms 14 are replaced by blocks of soap molded to the desired shape, that is to say that the cylindrical vertical shapes or Prismatics are not made of wooden pieces, but of previously molded and/or cut blocks of soap.

• dans une première variante, les blocs sont coulés dans des moules individuels verticaux (ou éventuellement horizontaux) de forme correspondante, les blocs étant ensuite démoulés et placés dans le moule collectif 10, 12 selon l'agencement de la Figure 1 ; et/ou
• dans une deuxième variante, les blocs sont coulés dans un moule collectif, par exemple le même moule 10, 12 que celui qui sera utilisé plus tard pour la fabrication des savonnettes à inclusions mais en remplissant totalement ce moule d'une masse de savon unique, puis en découpant dans le pain de savon cubique obtenu les formes verticales droites prismatiques ou cylindriques voulues, selon le procédé de découpe verticale décrit plus haut (mais sans découpe horizontale, de manière à pouvoir disposer de blocs prismatiques ou cylindriques entiers, sur toute la hauteur du moule).

This preliminary molding of the prismatic or cylindrical soap blocks can be carried out in several ways:

• in a first variant, the blocks are cast in individual vertical (or possibly horizontal) molds of corresponding shape, the blocks then being unmolded and placed in the collective mold 10, 12 according to the layout of the Figure 1 ; and or
• in a second variant, the blocks are cast in a collective mould, for example the same mold 10, 12 as that which will be used later for the manufacture of the soap bars with inclusions but by completely filling this mold with a single mass of soap, then by cutting out of the cubic soap bar obtained the straight vertical prismatic or cylindrical shapes desired, according to the vertical cutting process described above (but without horizontal cutting, so as to be able to have prismatic or cylindrical blocks as a whole, over the entire height of the mould).

Once the pre-moulding and the possible cutting of these blocks of color B have been carried out, they are placed in the mold with the desired arrangement. The configuration is then the one illustrated Picture 7 , with empty spaces 16 remaining between the blocks of soap of color B. The next step is to pour the soap of color A into these spaces 16. The configuration is then that illustrated Figure 8 , identical to that of the Figure 5 .

The following operations for cutting and individualizing the soap bars are the same as those which have been described above.

It will be noted that, in this second form of implementation, it is the soap of color B which is poured before that of color A, unlike the first implementation where, due to the use of wooden counterforms, the soaps were poured in the reverse order.

It should be noted that, in one or the other implementation, the work is always carried out vertically, making it possible to produce a very large number of individual soap bars in a single process.

This method of manufacture differs in this respect from the current, artisanal processes, implementing horizontal flat trays in which the soap is poured into bars which are then detailed into individual soap bars. This artisanal production, horizontally, not only has the disadvantage of a low production rate, but in addition it does not make it possible to produce, as in the invention, bars of soap with inclusions in the mass, and over the entire thickness, of predetermined geometric patterns based on regions of different colors.

The Figure 9 illustrates various other examples of soap bars which it is possible to produce thanks to the teachings of the invention, with geometric patterns consisting of straight line segments and arcs of circles delimiting on the same soap bar the regions of different colors, with at least two colors A, B, possibly with a third color C.

These "scale" (a), "window" (b), "facet" (c), "petal" (d), "triangle" (e) or "cross" (f) patterns are obtained by the process described above. high, with appropriate profiles of prismatic or cylindrical wooden counterforms and/or prismatic or cylindrical pre-molded soap blocks.

Claims (6)

A method of manufacturing bars of soap (24) comprising the inclusion, in the mass and over the entire thickness of the bar, of at least one predetermined geometric pattern consisting of first regions of a first color (A) combined with at least second regions of a second color (B), different from the first color, the second regions being included in the first regions,
in which the soap is a cold-saponifiable soap, and in which the soap bars (24) are obtained by cutting a bar of cold-saponified soap (22),
characterized in that it comprises the following successive steps: a) placement, in a vertical tank (10, 12) comprising a removable bottom (10) and sides (12), of a plurality of straight prismatic or cylindrical vertical counterforms (14) positioned at the location of the second regions, leaving empty spaces (16) between the vertical counterforms (14); b) preparing a first mass of cold-saponifiable soap of the first color (A) and pouring this first mass into the empty spaces (16) remaining between the vertical counterforms (14); c) taking the first mass of soap by cold saponification; d) removal of the vertical counterforms (14), to give a bar of soap (22) leaving empty spaces (16) created by the removal of the vertical counterforms; e) preparing a second mass of cold-saponifiable soap of the second color (B) and pouring this second mass into the empty spaces (20) created by the removal of the vertical counterforms (14); f) taking the second mass of soap by cold saponification, to give a solid bar of soap (22) comprising the second regions embedded in the first regions; g) dissociation of the bar of soap (22) from the tank (10, 12) by dismantling the side walls (12), the bar of soap resting on the bottom (10); and h) individualization of the bars of soap (24) by i) horizontal cuts of the bar of soap (22) along horizontal cutting planes and ii) vertical cuts crossed along vertical cutting planes (X, Y). The method of claim 1, further comprising pre-applying a thin flexible non-stick film (18) for lining the vertical counterforms (14) and the walls of the vertical vessel (10, 12). A method of manufacturing bars of soap (24) comprising the inclusion, in the mass and over the entire thickness of the bar, of at least one predetermined geometric pattern consisting of first regions of a first color (A) combined with at least second regions of a second color (B), different from the first color, the second regions being included in the first regions,
in which the soap is a cold-saponifiable soap, and in which the soap bars (24) are obtained by cutting a bar of cold-saponified soap (22),
characterized in that it comprises the following successive steps: a) preparation of a second cold saponifiable soap mass of the second color (B); b1) casting this second mass in individual molds of prismatic or cylindrical straight vertical shape; c1) taking the second mass of soap by cold saponification; and d1) demoulding of the vertical blocks molded in steps b1) and c1), or b2) casting the second mass in a collective mould; c2) taking the second mass of soap by cold saponification; and d2) individualization, by cutting out the second mass molded in steps b2) and c2), of prismatic or cylindrical straight vertical blocks; e) placement, in a vertical tank (10, 12) comprising a removable bottom (10) and sides (12), of a plurality of vertical blocks positioned at the location of the second regions, leaving empty spaces ( 16) between the vertical blocks; f) preparing a first mass of cold-saponifiable soap of the first color (A) and pouring this first mass into the empty spaces (16) remaining between the vertical blocks; g) taking the first mass of soap by cold saponification; h) dissociation of the bar of soap (22) from the tank (10, 12) by dismantling the side walls (12), the bar of soap resting on the bottom (10); and i) individualization of the bars of soap (24) by i) horizontal cuts of the bar of soap (22) along horizontal cutting planes and ii) vertical cuts crossed along vertical cutting planes (X, Y). The method of claim 3, further comprising pre-applying a thin flexible release film (18) to line the walls of the vertical vessel (10, 12). The method of claim 1 or claim 3, in which the bottom (10) of the vertical tank (10, 12) comprises markings forming reference marks for the placement of the base of the vertical counterforms (14) or of the vertical blocks at the place of the second regions. The method of claim 1 or claim 3, wherein the horizontal or vertical cutouts of the bar of soap (22) of the step of individualizing the bars of soap are made collectively by means of a lyre or racket of thin wires of steel stretched clean to sink into the hardened mass of soap.

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