| Title of Invention | A DEVICE INCLUDING A LENS ARRAY |
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| Abstract | The present invention relates to a device comprising: • more than three images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials, each of the images including an identifier; and • an optical system that is configured to make the different images appear in succession as a result of a change in the angle of observation of the device. |
| Full Text | The present invention relates to a novel device making it easier to provide an evaluation and/or advice in the field of cosmetics, and possibly relates to the use of certain compositions. European patent application EP 1 216 658 A1 discloses a method of evaluating a characteristic of the typology of the body. The method is adapted to be implemented using computer means, thereby implying, at the very least, the availability of a terminal on which the images can be displayed. US patent application No. 2005/0152041 describes a method of manufacturing images that are visible through a lens array, and that are suitable for appearing on different products such as a receptacle, a cup, a label, or a package, for example. US patent application No. 5 695 346 also describes a method of manufacturing images that are visible through a lens array. US patent No. 4 561 850 describes a device that enables a user to select the colors of different cosmetics as a function of the color of the user's skin and eyes. The invention seeks to make available to consumers and professionals, novel tools for making it easier to evaluate a characteristic of body typology and/or for making it easier to select a makeup effect or a treatment, or else to make it easier to use a composition or a device, inter alia. In one of its aspects, the invention provides a device comprising: • at least two images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials, each of the images including an identifier; and • an optical system that is configured to make the different images appear in succession as a result of a change in the angle of observation of the device. The invention makes it possible to provide a tool that is relatively inexpensive and simple to use for multiple applications in cosmetics. The expression "keratinous materials" covers the skin of the body or of the face, keratinous fibers such as the hair, eyelashes, or eyebrows, the nails, and the lips. An image can correspond to the local or overall appearance, possibly enlarged or reduced, of a large or small region of the body or of the face, the image being suitable for showing only a portion of the face, the entire face, and/or a portion of the body, indeed the entire individual, for example. The images need not all be to the same scale, e.g. could be at different magnifications. In another of its aspects, the invention also provides a device comprising: • at least two images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials and each including an identifier; and • means enabling the different images to appear in succession at the same location on the device. The means may be an optical system or any mechanical system that makes it possible to substitute one image for another. The change in the appearance of the keratinous materials from one image to another, when the angle of observation changes, may be progressive, e.g. displaying at least one intermediate image that does not have an identifier between two images that include identifiers. The optical system advantageously includes a lens array. Printed or photographic image data corresponding to the images to be observed through the lens array, are disposed behind the lens array. The image data may include interleaved strips of images, with interleaving being selected as a function of the optical characteristics of the lens array. The lenses of the lens array concentrate the view on different portions of the image data, thereby enabling the images to appear selectively as a function of the angle of observation. The images may show at least two different degrees of a characteristic of the keratinous materials. By way of example, this characteristic may be selected from: • characteristics relating to aging such as: number and depth of wrinkles; sagging of the skin, in particular of the neck; number and depth of folds, in particular of the neck; creasing of the skin; depth of dark rings; level of cellulite; ptosis; and age spots on the skin; • physical or morphological characteristics such as: number and size of corneoparticles of the skin; sebum secretion level; sweat secretion level; dryness of the skin or the lips; length, curvature, or density of the eyelashes or the hair; blood supply of the skin; pigmentation defect; density of blackheads; acne; blotches; moles; outline of the lips; and • color of the skin or of the hair; typology of the eyelashes or of other portions of the face or of the body; color of the teeth; or color of eye lenses, this list not being limiting. The images of the device can make it possible to identify at least one image that corresponds to a degree that is real or that is desired by the subject, with the retained image then serving, for example, as an objective to be achieved as a result of a treatment, or in assessing the effectiveness of a treatment. The different images may show different makeup effects for the body or for the face, e.g. different makeup effects for the lips, or the eyelashes, or they may show different associations of makeup effects for various portions of the face and/or of the body. The different images may also show various hair styles or different hair colorings. The device may include more than three images, indeed more than ten images, e.g. ten to thirty images. The identifier present on at least one image may include at least one alphanumeric character, e.g. a score, when it is for evaluating some degree of a body-typology characteristic; an age, in particular an apparent age; a reference to a composition when the images that appear correspond, for example, to applying different compositions, or to a duration, e.g. so as to show the effect of a treatment over time. The identifier may also comprise a marker, e.g. an arrow, the marker being associated with a scale that may be situated outside the optical system. The scale may include a plurality of score, age, or duration values, or references to different compositions or conditions of use for the compositions. The device may possibly include an opening making it possible to juxtapose keratinous materials and the image that is observed on the device. By way of example, such an opening may be useful for evaluating the appearance of the skin by making it possible to observe the skin and an image to be compared with the portion of skin that is visible through the opening. The device may possibly be associated with at least one composition, and the identifier may give information about the use of the composition. The device may be present on a package of a cosmetic composition or of a food supplement, e.g. so as to make it possible to evaluate the subject prior to using the composition or food supplement, with the conditions of application and/or the directions for use possibly depending on the prior evaluation, for example. In a variant, the presence of the device on the package may inform the user about the effects of the treatment over time. The invention also provides a method of evaluating a body-typology characteristic, in which method at least one image of a device as defined above is identified following a comparison with a subject being evaluated. In another of its aspects, the invention also provides a cosmetic treatment in which at least one image of a device as defined above is identified, and a treatment is performed as a function of the image thus identified. In another of its aspects, the invention also provides a method of demonstrating an effect of a cosmetic treatment, in which method at least one image of a device as defined above is identified prior to the treatment, the treatment is performed, then at least one other image of the device is identified, and, by comparing the images identified both before and after treatment, information is deduced about the effectiveness of said treatment. In another of its aspects, the invention also provides a method of manufacturing a device as defined above, in which method: • at least one image of keratinous materials of a subject is received from said subject, or at least one image of keratinous materials of said subject is acquired; • at least one additional image, in which the appearance of the keratinous materials is modified, is generated at least on the basis of the image thus received or acquired; and • a device as defined above, or a similar device, is produced, the images optionally being suitable for including identifiers in this aspect of the invention, the device including at least the additional image thus generated. The additional image(s) may be generated by image synthesis, e.g. by morphing, so as to make a treatment effect or a makeup effect appear, inter alia. Thus, in an implementation of the invention, from an image of the face of a subject, a plurality of images are generated that correspond to different makeup effects or to different treatments, or indeed to different stages of a treatment, thereby helping the subject to select a makeup effect or to decide for or against a treatment. The initial image that is received from or taken of the subject, and from which the additional image(s) are generated, may optionally be included in the images of the device and may possibly be disposed outside the optical system. In another of its aspects, the invention also provides a method that makes it possible to treat, in particular to treat cosmetically, an external portion of the body of an individual, the method comprising the following steps: • generating, by means of a lens array, a sequence of images that simulate various degrees of at least one typological characteristic of an external portion of the body; • enabling at least one image to be identified within the sequence that substantially corresponds to some degree of said characteristic; and • determining a treatment for the external portion as a function of said at least one identified image. In another of its aspects, the invention also provides a method that makes it possible to evaluate a treatment for an external portion of the body of an individual, the method comprising the following steps: • generating, by means of a lens array, a sequence of images that simulate various degrees of at least one characteristic of an external portion of the body; • enabling at least one image to be identified within the sequence that substantially corresponds to some degree of said at least one characteristic before treatment; • treating said external portion of the body of the individual; • enabling a further identification and evaluation to be performed after the treatment; and • enabling the before and after treatment evaluations to be compared. The invention can be better understood on reading the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments thereof, and on examining the accompanying drawings, in which: • Figure 1 shows various images being displayed with the corresponding identifiers, in an example of a device constituting an embodiment of the invention; • Figure 2 is a diagrammatic and fragmentary cross-section of a lens array that is suitable for being used as an optical system in the Figure 1 device; • Figure 3 shows the use of the device associated with a package; • Figure 4 shows another example of identifiers; • Figure 5 shows a production line enabling a personalized device to be made; • Figures 6 and 7 show examples of devices for making it easier to choose a composition or conditions of application; • Figure 8 shows an example of a packaging and applicator device that is suitable for being associated with a device as shown in Figure 7; • Figures 9 and 10 show examples of images with which examples of devices constituting embodiments of the invention can be made; and • Figure 11 shows another example of a device. The device 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 includes a lens array, of structure known per se. comprising juxtaposed lenses 3 of small size, each of which is constituted by a cylindrical lens, for example. The lens array 2 can thus present an outer surface that is fluted, the number of lenses 3 per inch being greater than or equal to 50, for example. The lenses 3 of the lens array 2 are made out of a layer 8 of a thermoplastic material, for example. The layer 8 made of transparent plastics material can present a smooth rear face 4, and can be fastened on a substrate 5, e.g. a sheet of paper, on which there has been printed image data in the form of interleaved strips, said interleaving being selected as a function of the optical characteristics of the lens array, such that, for a first direction of observation, only the image data corresponding to one of the images to be restored appears to the observer, and for other directions of observation, it is different image data, associated with other images to be displayed, that appears. Lens arrays as such are widely known and varied, and reference could be made to US publications Nos. 6 751 024, 6 414 794, 6 781 761, 6 984 425, and 6 795 250, all of which disclose other configuration examples. In a variant not shown, the image data is printed directly onto the rear face of the layer made of transparent plastics material of the lens array. The device 1 can be made in such a manner that, for example, three to thirty images can appear in succession when the angle of observation of the device is changed, as shown in Figure 1. Each image can include an identifier that enables the observer to identify the image being observed. In a variant, only some of the images include an identifier, the other images not having an identifier and serving to provide transitions that are agreeable to the eye between those images that have identifiers. By way of example, each identifier is a marker 10 that, when the angle of observation of the device changes, moves along a scale 11 of the device including other mentions, as shown in Figure 1. The identifier 10 can also be at least one alphanumeric character e.g. a score, as shown in Figure 4. A device made in accordance with the invention can be used on a package 20, as shown in Figure 3, e.g. a package made of cardboard. Where appropriate, the transparent plastics material layer of the lens array can be made integrally with a receptacle or a box containing the composition. The images that can be observed on the device can be made in various ways, e.g. being real photographs, synthesized images, drawings, or a mixture thereof. For example, at least some images can be generated by morphing in order to simulate the change, with age, in one or more body-typology characteristics. An example of simulating the appearance of the face with age is described in the French patent application filed under No. 04 10323. Figure 9 shows an image sequence 30 simulating the aging process of the face of a woman, with, on each of the images, an identifier constituted by the age that is taken to correspond to the appearance of the woman on the image. It is possible to decompose only the images shown in Figure 9 to constitute image data in such a manner as to cause only those images to appear in succession, through the lens array, when the angle of observation of the device varies. In a variant, other images are interposed between the images shown in Figure 9, which other images do not have identifiers, but present features of the subject that are intermediate between the features of the closest images that are provided with identifiers. Figure 6 shows the possibility of using the device 1 to make a plurality of makeup results appear, e.g. eye makeup, the identifier indicating the commercial reference of the mascara to be used to obtain the displayed result, for example. Figure 7 shows the possibility of making a plurality of makeup results appear, by means of the device 1, as a function of a particular adjustment of a packaging device, as shown in Figure 8, for example. The packaging device 50 includes an adjustment member 51 that makes it possible to vary the relative proportions of two components of a cosmetic used to create a makeup effect, thereby changing the appearance. The device 1 can indicate to the user the appearance that is likely to be obtained for different settings of the device 50, e.g. marked by identifiers 52 that are the same as the identifiers 10 incorporated in the images that are likely to be seen by means of the device 1. Figure 10 shows different degrees of aging of the skin, with the appearance of blemishes on the skin as a function of age. The images can be useful in enabling the observer to evaluate the degree of aging of the observer's skin, or to understand better the appearance of signs of ageing, and to decide, for example, on the application of a care product for delaying or alleviating the effects of ageing. In the embodiment in Figure 11, the device includes an opening 60 that makes it possible to see an underlying area of skin. The different images that appear as a function of the angle of observation can thus be compared with the area of skin appearing through the opening 60. By way of example, the different images may be different skin colors, the images being produced with inks selected to minimize the phenomenon of metamerism, for example. The invention is not limited to the various examples described above. In particular, it is possible to make the device 1 with means other than an optical system for making a plurality of images appear at the same location, e.g. a mechanical system that makes it possible to move the images relative to one another. Where appropriate, the device of the invention could be proposed to the consumer with a diagnostic tool that makes it possible to stress the skin mechanically, biologically, or chemically, or that makes it possible to observe the skin under special lighting or with a given magnification, for example. The device 1 could be packaged within a single package with at least one composition for application to the skin or the hair, or with at least one food supplement. In an embodiment of the invention, the device is made with at least one image received from a subject or taken of said subject. For example, a consumer can transmit an image of the consumer's face to an internet site by means of a terminal 40, and the site can transmit the image to a manufacturing unit 60, as shown in Figure 5. By way of example, the terminal 40 is a phone camera, a webcam, a digital camera, or a video camera. In a variant embodiment of the invention, an image of the individual is sent to the manufacturing unit by post. In another variant of the invention, an image of the individual is acquired at a point of sale or on the premises of a professional, and the image can be transmitted to the manufacturing unit. The image can also be present at the point of sale. The manufacturing unit 60 is configured to generate at least one additional image from the received image, e.g. by morphing, so as to end up with a device 1 on which the user can perceive the effects of a treatment or the appearance of modifications resulting from different types of makeup effects, hair styles, or hair colorings, for example. The received image can optionally be integrated in the device 1. The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The expression "comprising a" should be understood as being synonymous with "comprising at least one" unless specified to the contrary. WE CLAIM; 1. A device comprising: • more than three images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials, each of the images including an identifier; and • an optical system that is configured to make the different images appear in succession as a result of a change in the angle of observation of the device. 2. A device comprising: • at least two images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials, each of the images including an identifier; and • an optical system that is configured to make the different images appear in succession as a result of a change in the angle of observation of the device, the identifier comprising a marker that is associated with a scale that is situated outside the optical system. 3. A device comprising: • at least two images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials, each of the images including an identifier; • an optical system that is configured to make the different images appear in succession as a result of a change in the angle of observation of the device; and • an opening making it possible to juxtapose keratinous materials and at least one image that is observed on the device. 4. A device comprising: • at least two images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials, each of the images including an identifier; and • an optical system that is configured to make the different images appear in succession as a result of a change in the angle of observation of the device; the device being associated with at least one composition, and the identifier giving information about the use of the composition. 5. A device according to claim 1, the optical system including a lens array. 6. A device according to claim 1, the images showing at least two different degrees of a characteristic of the keratinous materials. 7. A device according to claim 6, the characteristic being selected from: • characteristics relating to aging such as: number and depth of wrinkles; sagging of the skin, in particular of the neck; number and depth of folds, in particular of the neck; creasing of the skin; depth of dark rings; level of cellulite; ptosis; and blemishes on the skin; • physical or morphological characteristics such as: number and size of corneoparticles of the skin; sebum secretion level; sweat secretion level; dryness of the skin or the lips; length, curvature, or density of the eyelashes or the hair; blood supply of the skin; pigmentation defect; density of blackheads; acne; blotches; moles; outline of the lips; and • color of the skin or of the hair; typology of the eyelashes or of another region of the face or of the body; color of the teeth; or color of eye lenses. 8. A device according to claim 1, the different images showing different makeup effects for the body or for the face. 9. A device according to claim 2, including more than three images. 10. A device according to claim 1, including more than ten images. 11. A device according to claim 1, the identifier including at least one alphanumeric character. 12. A device according to claim 1, the identifier comprising a marker that is associated with a scale that is situated outside the optical system. 13. A device according to claim 1, including an opening making it possible to juxtapose keratinous materials and at least one image that is observed on the device. 14. A device according to claim 1, being associated with at least one composition, and the identifier giving information about the use of the composition. 15. A package for packaging a cosmetic composition or a food supplement, the package including a device comprising: • at least two images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials, each of the images including an identifier; and • an optical system that is configured to make the different images appear in succession as a result of a change in the angle of observation of the device. 16. A method of manufacturing a device comprising: • at least two images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials, each of the images including an identifier; and • an optical system that is configured to make the different images appear in succession as a result of a change in the angle of observation of the device; in which method: • at least one image of keratinous materials of a subject is received from said subject, or at least one image of keratinous materials of said subject is acquired; • at least one additional image is generated at least on the basis of the image thus received or acquired; and • the device is produced including at least the additional image thus generated. 17. A method according to claim 16, the additional image(s) being generated by image synthesis. 18. A method according to claim 16, in which a plurality of images are generated that correspond to different makeup effects or to different treatments or stages of a treatment. Dated this 17th day of April 2008. The present invention relates to a device comprising: • more than three images showing at least two different appearances of keratinous materials, each of the images including an identifier; and • an optical system that is configured to make the different images appear in succession as a result of a change in the angle of observation of the device. |
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| Patent Number | 269004 | ||||||||
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| Indian Patent Application Number | 729/KOL/2008 | ||||||||
| PG Journal Number | 40/2015 | ||||||||
| Publication Date | 02-Oct-2015 | ||||||||
| Grant Date | 28-Sep-2015 | ||||||||
| Date of Filing | 17-Apr-2008 | ||||||||
| Name of Patentee | L'OREAL | ||||||||
| Applicant Address | 14 RUE ROYALE, 75008 PARIS | ||||||||
Inventors:
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| PCT International Classification Number | A61B5/107; A61B5/107 | ||||||||
| PCT International Application Number | N/A | ||||||||
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PCT Conventions:
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