BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The size of the market for consumer soap is extraordinarily large. In the United States, large companies have grown to impressive size from a foundation based on the consumer soap market. The aesthetics of soap is plays a large role in the buying decisions of the consumer and consequently is assuming a more important role in manufacturing. Bar soap constitutes a substantial portion of the consumer market.

Considering the size of the market, and the volume of continuing sales, a marketing advantage which not only distinguishes one brand from another but also makes the brand more appealing to the consumer's senses is desired by industry to extract even small competitive advantages in a voluminous market.

The aesthetics of soap has proven to be of particular importance to the consumer. The soap industry has tried to capture the attention of the consumer by improving the aesthetic characteristics of soap. In the past, bar soaps have consisted of white rectangular bars which were of plain appearance and inexpensive to make.

Colored bars of soap were then developed through the injection of dyes into the soap to produce a distinctly colored soap that attracted the consumer's attention. Soap has further been molded into shapes, perfumed, and colored all in an attempt to render it more appealing to the consumer. Various soap brands have attracted the consumer with marbled colorations. However these designs are old in the art and fail to attract the attention of the consumer as they did upon their introduction to the market and now command a smaller portion of the consumer market than when they were introduced. Consequently, methods of making a visually attractive soap bar that would attract the consumer's attention are highly desirable.

One method of making soap more visually appealing involves the addition of stripes. A primary soap bar extruded through an aperture plate. The extruded primary soap logs are then contacted with a liquid dye before the logs are pressed together into a bar in the compression cone of the soap extruder. With this method, liquid dye is difficult to control and may produce a marbled pattern instead of an intended visually attractive stripe. Additionally, the dye liquid only colors the exterior surface of the soap logs and is easily worn away after a few uses.

Another method of forming patterns has been proposed which forms patterned soap bars through the use of a coaxial extruder. Patterns on the soap are formed through the use of cross sectional channels positioned between the discharge of the extruder and the compression cone of the outlet. The nature of the coaxial extruder, however, results in the production of a coaxial product, meaning the different color patterns are formed one inside of the other. Because of this characteristic, the patterns are restricted to coaxial type patterns or patterns that radiate from the central axis of the extruder.

An alternative method of forming stripe patterns has also been proposed using a soap striator of the type illustrated in Fig. 1. A first aperture plate has a plurality of

primary apertures connected by tubes to corresponding apertures in a second aperture plate. The second aperture plate also has a plurality of secondary apertures. The striator is fed from two extruders, one feeding against the primary plate and the other to the space between the primary and secondary plates. Soaps of different colors fed by the two extruders form stripes, colored throughout, as the materials pass through the primary and secondary apertures in a predetermined pattern. To achieve a different pattern. The striator is replaced with one having different aperture arrangements. Thus, different patterns result in the need for an inventory of striators and involve downtime when striators are changed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the present invention relates to a soap striator system having a pair of aperture plates. The aperture plates have primary apertures connected by tubes extending there between, spacing the plates and providing a flow path for one soap flow. One of the aperture plates also has secondary apertures for a flow path therethrough for a second soap flow visually distinct from the first flow. The system includes a plurality of plugs for selected ones of the apertures, the plugs being removably connectable to the plate or plates containing the selected apertures.

In particular embodiments, the plugs and the apertures into which they are inserted are threaded. Alternatively, the plugs may be sized for frictional engagement in the apertures. In particular embodiments the primary apertures are unthreaded and the secondary apertures are threaded. Certain plugs may also have longitudally extending channels therethrough so that they only partially block an aperture and provide a reduced flow path relative to that of the aperture.

In another aspect, the invention relates to the method of producing a striation pattern in soap extruded through a striator. The method comprises wholly or partially blocking selected apertures in a striator while maintaining at least some of the primary

and secondary apertures of the striator unblocked or only partially blocked. Flows of visually distinctive soap are respectively extruded through the primary and secondary apertures which are unblocked or partially blocked. The soap flows are next combined as they are extruded from the striator. In particular embodiments the selected apertures which are blocked or partially blocked may be either primary or secondary apertures. In either case, the number of apertures which are partially blocked is in the range of none to all.

Advantageously, soap extruded with the foregoing system and method will produce striations which are colored throughout. The pattern of striations can be readily controlled by appropriate placement of plugs, with or without through channels, in selected ones of the various apertures. If a change in pattern is desired, it is merely necessary to add or to remove some or all of the plugs and rearrange them for the new patterns. It is not necessary to maintain an inventory of striators for different patterns nor to remove and replace striators when a different pattern is desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference is next made to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a prior art soap striator utilized in the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a preferred second aperture plate of the soap striator; Figure 3a is an enlarged exploded view of a secondary aperture plug, and an associated secondary aperture of the second aperture plate; Figure 3b is an enlarged exploded view of an alternate secondary aperture plug and an associated secondary aperture of the second aperture plate;

Figure 4a shows an enlarged exploded view of a primary aperture plug and an associated primary aperture of the first aperture plate; Figure 4b shows an enlarged exploded view of an alternate primary aperture plug and an associated primary aperture of the first aperture plate; and Figure 5 schematically shows the position of the soap striator in relation to soap extruders, the striator shown with exemplary primary and secondary aperture plugs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to Figure 1, a soap striator 10 is schematically shown. The soap striator 10 comprises a first aperture plate 11 containing a plurality of primary apertures 12. The number of primary apertures will vary according to the desired flow rate of the primary soap mass (not shown). A second aperture plate 14 contains the same number of primary apertures 12 as the first aperture plate 11. The arrangement of the primary apertures 12 on the second aperture plate 14 is preferably in alignment with the corresponding primary apertures 12 on the first aperture plate 11. Tubes 15 connect the primary apertures 12 of the first and second aperture plates 11,14 and space the plates apart. In addition to the primary apertures 12, secondary apertures 16 are also provided in the second aperture plate 14. For the purposes of this disclosure, plate means any support means for the tubes of any desired thickness or shape and is not limited to a flat thin support means described herein as a preferred embodiment. Because the pattern and size of the secondary apertures dictates the pattern of the stripe on the soap bar, the pattern and size of the secondary apertures should vary according to the desired pattern. The secondary soap mass (not shown) is extruded into the space between the first aperture plate 11 and the second aperture plate 14 and is then forced to flow out through the secondary apertures 16. The arrangement of the secondary apertures 16 should correspond to the desired

arrangement of striations on the soap bar. For example, if surface striations are desired, then secondary apertures 16 should be arranged near an edge 17 of the second aperture plate 14. The internal striations of the soap bar may also be controlled as desired by arranging the secondary apertures 16 in a desired pattern toward the center 18 of the second aperture plate 14. A preferred diameter of the secondary apertures 16 is preferably about 8 mm, but will vary depending on the width of the striation desired.

The primary apertures 12 of the first aperture plate 11 and the primary apertures 12 of the second aperture plate are connected by the respective ends of a plurality of tubes 15. The tubes 15 form channels through which the primary soap (not shown) may be extruded into rods (not shown) before being contacted with the secondary soap (not shown). The outer diameter of tubes 15 of the soap striator 10 preferably corresponds to the primary apertures 12 and are fixedly attached to the primary apertures 12. It is preferred that the tubes 15 be welded to the primary apertures 12, but other methods of attaching the tubes 15 to the primary apertures 12 are equally satisfactory.

In Figure 2, a preferred detailed embodiment of the second aperture plate 14 for use in the present invention is shown. The primary apertures 12 are arranged in a circular pattern which includes both an inner group 20 and an outer group 21 of different diameters. Both the inner group 20 and the outer group 21 are arranged in a concentric circular pattern around the axis of the flow of the primary soap mass (not shown). The diameter of the circular pattern of the inner group 20 and outer group 21 apertures will vary according to the individual needs of the process and desired, pattern of the striations. The most preferred diameters for the primary apertures of the inner group 20 is 24 mm and for the primary apertures of the outer group 21 is 28 mm. The inner group 20 and outer group 21 of apertures 12 may be arranged in any

pattern, however the present pattern has been found to be advantageous in that it provides for a high flow rate of primary soap. The primary apertures of the first aperture plate used with second aperture plate 14 will correspond in number and location to the inner and outer groups shown in Fig. 2.

Now referring to Figures 3a and 3b, an exploded view of two embodiments of secondary aperture plugs is shown. For the purposes of this disclosure, plugs means any apparatus or method of blocking, partially or wholly, flow through an aperture.

Figure 3a shows a solid secondary plug 22 which may be threaded into a secondary aperture 16. Figure 3b shows a secondary aperture plug 23, which likewise may be threaded into a secondary aperture 16. Secondary aperture plug 23 further contains a longitudinally extending inner passage or channel 24 of reduced diameter relative to secondary aperture 16. The diameter of the inner passage 24 will vary depending upon the desired flow rate of the secondary soap and the size of the striation desired.

Preferably, the secondary aperture plugs are fitted into the secondary aperture 16 by a suitable method which maintains both fixedly in place. In a preferred embodiment, the secondary aperture 16 is tapped to receive a threaded plug. For convenience, plugs normally are inserted into secondary apertures 16 from the bottom of plate 14 to avoid interference from tubes 15.

Figure 4a shows an exploded view of a primary aperture plug 30. The primary aperture plugs 30 are preferably formed of a rigid material comprised of two sections, an insert section 31 which is of sufficient diameter to be inserted in a removable frictional fit into the tubes 15, and a flange section 32 which is of sufficient diameter to cover the primary aperture 12 completely. The insert section 31 of the primary aperture plug 30 is preferably not threaded and maintains its position in the tubes 15 by pressure from the primary soap mass (not shown) when inserted on the upper side of the first aperture plate 11 which first contacts the

primary soap. Alternatively, the insert section 31 of the primary soap plugs may be threaded (not shown). As illustrated in Figure 4b, the primary aperture plugs 30 may also be provided with a longitudinally extending inner passage or channel 33 of reduced diameter relative to primary aperture 12.

Figure 5 schematically shows the position of the soap striator 10 in an embodiment of a process of the present invention. A primary soap extruder 40 is positioned in axial alignment with the tubes 15 of the soap striator 10 such that the discharge 41 of the primary extruder 40 is forced through the primary apertures 12 of the first aperture plate 11 and through the tubes 15. One primary aperture is shown blocked by a primary plug 30. A secondary soap extruder 45 is positioned to extrude the secondary soap into the space between the first aperture plate 11 and the second aperture plate 14 such that the secondary soap is forced through the secondary apertures 16. One secondary aperture is shown blocked by a secondary plug 22. In the process, some of the primary and/or secondary apertures are wholly or partially blocked by plugs, but at least some of the primary and some of the secondary apertures remain unblocked or only partially blocked, for example by plugs having channels therethrough. The number of primary and secondary apertures which are partially blocked may range from none to all. The primary and secondary soap masses (not shown) are combined after flowing out of the second aperture plate 14 and compressed into a homogeneous mass (not shown) in the compression cone 43.

EXAMPLES Examples of formulations useful for making striated soap are now described.

In a process for making striated soap through the use of the soap striator as previously disclosed, the following three preferred soap compositions were used for the primary and secondary soap, in each instance the same formulation, except the

selection of a particular color, being utilized for both the primary and secondary soaps: Soap Base 98.75% (80/20 Tallow/coconut soap) Fragrance 1.0% Color sufficient quantity Titanium Dioxide 0.25% Soap Base 97.67% (80/20 Palm/Palm Kernelate soap) Fragrance 1.50% Color 0. 033% Titanium Dioxide 0.50% Soap Base 96.35% (80/20 Palm/Coconut Oil soap) Fragrance 1.25% Petroleum 2.00% Color sufficient quantity All three soap compositions produced soap bars with distinct striations which could be extruded through the soap striator without developing significant backpressure which disturbs the line of the stripe.

Dyes may be preferentially added to either the primary or secondary soap for aesthetic purposes and to differentiate the striation material from the background soap. In addition to dyes, other ingredients which enhance the other ingredients with desired properties (emollient, exfoliate, etc.) may also be included as desired.

Synthetic detergents may be combined with or substituted for the soap.

The preferred soaps are made of alkali metal salts of fatty acids and/or triglycerides. Sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide are the most preferred alkali metals used. Beef tallow, Palm Oil, Coconut oil and Palm Kernel oil are the preferred fatty acid materials. Additionally, the soap base may be optionally combined with other additives such as fragrances, colorants, skin conditioning additives, exfoliants, and active pharmaceutical ingredients to achieve the desired functional and aesthetic benefits.

These examples are offered to illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and not by way of limitation. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that other variations of this apparatus and method are possible which fall within the scope of the appended claims.