Rotary cosmetic applicator system

Abstract

The rotary cosmetic applicator system features a unique stem / wiper relationship that causes the stem to rotate as it passes through the wiper. The applicator head rotates in one direction as the user inserts the applicator through the wiper, and rotates in the opposite direction as the user removes the applicator through the wiper. The result is a more even loading of product onto the applicator head than with conventional mascara systems. A more even loading of product onto the brush will provide a more consistent experience for the user.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention is in the field of cosmetic applicators, in particular applicators that rotate as they are inserted into and removed from a product reservoir. Background Art

[0002] Cosmetic brushes that rotate during application are known. The rotation occurs around the longitudinal axis of the applicator stem. US 4,056,111 describes a motor-driven, rotatable mascara brush. The motor may include a rewindable coil spring (i.e., a clockwork motor), or a battery-powered motor may be used. US 6,565,276 discloses a battery-powered motor, a rotating mascara brush head. In either case, the brush can be rotated in either direction to accommodate left-handed and right-handed operation of either eye. The advantages described are convenience and require less user action. US 4,397,326 describes a non-motorized mascara brush, the brush head of which can rotate freely and can rotate freely when the brush head contacts the eyelashes during application, but cannot rotate when the applicator is inserted into and removed from the product reservoir. It is the act of brushing that causes the rotation. It is said that the rotation of the brush head allows mascara to be deposited on the eyelashes in a single application in greater amounts than would otherwise be possible. US 4,632,136 describes a rotating brush applicator for mascara having a viscosity ranging from 1500 to 25000 poise at ambient temperature. A motor housed in the handle of the applicator rotates the brush, however, the application explicitly discloses that the brush is not rotated until after it has been removed from a reservoir. No shearing of the product occurs in the reservoir, as the purpose of rotating the brush is not to shear the product, but to separate and comb the eyelashes. JP 2005-095531 discloses an electric motor operating a gear that rotates the brush head at a fixed speed. The rotation occurs about the long axis of the applicator stem. None of these references disclose a mascara brush of simple design that rotates only when inserted into and removed from a product reservoir.

[0003] Although the present invention has been described from the perspective of an applicator and wiper for mascara, the present invention is not so limited. The structures and principles described herein are applicable to a variety of relatively viscous products, such as creams and gels.

[0004] Mascara applicators must perform two broad functions, which we call loading and combing. Loading means that the applicator carries a dose of product to be deposited onto the lashes. The act of combing the lashes involves depositing the product and spreading it evenly across the lashes, as well as separating and / or curling individual lashes. A single applicator must perform both functions. However, mascara is a heavy, sticky, viscous product that does not flow easily when creating, filling, or applying. Summary of the invention

[0005] The rotary cosmetic applicator system of the present invention includes a cosmetic applicator (10) and a customized wiper (11). The applicator (10) includes a handle (1), a guide rod (2) fixedly attached to the handle, a rod (3) rotatably attached to the guide rod at the proximal end, and an applicator head (4) fixedly attached to the distal end of the rod. The rod is formed as a spiral portion and has a square cross-section. The rod and the applicator head can rotate when inserted into and removed from a product reservoir, but cannot rotate at other times. The wiper includes a square orifice. Compared with conventional mascara systems, the rotation of the applicator head enables the product to be loaded onto the applicator head more evenly. The more even loading of the product on the brush provides the user with a more even and consistent application experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 One embodiment of a cosmetic applicator according to the present invention is depicted.

[0007] Figure 2 The connection of the screw shaft to the guide rod is shown.

[0008] Figure 3 is a cross section showing the connection of the screw shaft portion to the guide rod.

[0009] Figure 4-6 A wiper with a square orifice is depicted.

[0010] Figure 7 A wiper is depicted positioned within a cosmetic container. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] The rotary cosmetic applicator system of the present invention comprises a cosmetic applicator (10) and a customized wiper (11). Figure 1 The cosmetic applicator (10) according to the present invention comprises a handle (1), a guide rod (2), a spiral rod portion (3), and an applicator head (4). The applicator is intended to be used with a custom wiper (11) as described herein. As a directional reference, a longitudinal axis A extends through the center of the applicator from the handle to the applicator head.

[0012] handle

[0013] Reference Figure 1-3The handle (1) comprises one or more side walls (1a) defining an interior space, a proximal end (1b), a distal end (1c), an inner surface (1d), and a transverse wall (1e) extending across the interior space. In this context, transverse means perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A. The handle allows the user to grasp and manipulate the applicator. It is common that the handle also serves as a closure for a container of a cosmetic product. For this reason, the handle may have threads (1f) on the inner surface (1d) for fitting to a threaded container (12).

[0014] Guide rod

[0015] The guide rod (2) is a short extension that extends longitudinally downward from the transverse wall (1e) of the handle (1). The guide rod includes a wall (2a), and its proximal end (2b) is fixedly connected to the transverse wall so that there can be no relative movement between the handle and the guide rod. The guide rod extends longitudinally for a distance to its distal end (2c). The height of the wall is such that when the applicator is mounted on the container (12), the distal end of the wall will not extend into the lower (square) orifice (11c) of the wiper (11, see below). The guide rod includes a hollow space (2g) with a circular cross section, which is bounded by an inner surface (2d) having a characteristic diameter. The distal end (2c) of the guide rod wall is open to receive the spiral rod portion (3). The attachment of the guide rod to the spiral rod portion must allow the spiral rod portion to rotate relative to the guide rod. Various ways of achieving this are possible. For example, the guide rod can be provided with an annular groove (2f) on its inner surface (2d). Optionally, the guide rod can also include a stabilizing pin (2e). The stabilizing pin can then extend further than the wall (2a) of the guide rod. The purpose of this is described below.

[0016] Screw rod

[0017] The spiral shaft (3) comprises a cylindrical proximal portion (3b) and a distal end (3c). Between the proximal portion and the distal end is a spiral section (3a) in which the shaft is twisted into a spiral shape with a square cross-section. The spiral shaft is connected to a guide rod so that the shaft can rotate freely relative to the guide rod while preventing any longitudinal movement relative to the guide rod.

[0018] The cylindrical proximal portion (3b) is connected to the guide rod (2) and extends downwardly from the guide rod (2). Specifically, the proximal portion of the spiral rod portion (3) passes through the open distal end (2c) of the guide rod and is positioned in the hollow space (2g). If the guide rod is provided with an annular groove (2f), as described above, the cylindrical proximal portion (3b) of the spiral rod portion is provided with a raised annular ring (3f) having a diameter greater than the diameter of the hollow space but smaller than the diameter of the annular groove, and the raised annular ring is seated in the annular groove (see Figure 3). During assembly, the raised annular ring is forcibly pushed into the hollow space of the guide rod until it is seated in the annular groove (2f). Thereafter, during normal use of the applicator (10), the spiral rod portion will not fall off the guide rod. Of course, the guide rod can be provided with a raised annular ring, and the annular groove is positioned on the cylindrical proximal portion of the spiral rod portion. In addition, the articulation between the rod portion and the guide rod can be achieved in other ways, the essential feature being that the spiral rod portion can rotate freely relative to the guide rod while preventing any longitudinal movement. However, in use, the relatively long rod portion extending from the shorter guide rod (2) may experience a certain amount of shaking. Therefore, as described above, the guide rod can be provided with a stabilizing pin (2e). If so, the cylindrical proximal portion (3b) of the spiral rod portion is provided with a slot (3e) for receiving the stabilizing pin. In general, the longer the stabilizing pin, the more stable the spiral rod portion will be. Therefore, the stabilizing pin and the slot can extend further than the wall (2a) of the guide rod. The guide rod, the spiral rod portion and the stabilizing pin are concentric. Ideally, the diameter of the cylindrical portion (3b) of the spiral rod portion is only slightly smaller than the diameter of the hollow space (2g) of the guide rod. Similarly, the diameter of the stabilizing pin (2e) is only slightly smaller than the diameter of the narrow groove of the spiral rod portion. By "slightly smaller" in this context, the inventors mean no more than 1 mm, preferably no more than 0.8 mm, and more preferably no more than 0.4 mm. This will allow the spiral rod portion to rotate relative to the guide rod while giving the rod portion maximum lateral stability.

[0019] The cylindrical proximal portion (3b) of the spiral shaft (3) transitions to a spiral section (3a) having a square cross-section. The transition (3g) occurs outside the guide rod (2). The properties of a spiral are well known. A spiral is a three-dimensional curve having a central longitudinal axis. At any point on the spiral, the angle between the tangent and the axis is constant. The pitch of the spiral is the height of a complete spiral coil measured parallel to the axis of the spiral. The spiral section comprises a number of turns over its length. For example, the number of turns may be from 0.5 to 5 turns over the length of the spiral section; preferably 0.5 to 3 turns, more preferably 1 to 2 turns. The pitch of the spiral will be determined by the length of the spiral section and the number of turns. Preferably, the pitch is constant over the length of the spiral section. Preferably, the spiral shaft is molded plastic.

[0020] The spiral section (3a) of the spiral shank (3) comprises four twisted faces (3w, 3x, 3y, 3z) which result in a square cross section of the spiral shank. These faces have a shortest width W, which is measured approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A. Preferably, these faces are flat or very close to flat when moving along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A. That is, these faces do not bend inwards or outwards.

[0021] Applicator head

[0022] Reference Figure 1 , the applicator head (4) is fixedly attached to the distal end of the spiral shaft (3). There is no relative movement between the shaft and the applicator head, which means that the applicator head will rotate with the spiral shaft. The most common mascara applicator head is a bristle brush, although other types may also be useful. A typical mascara brush head includes a core and bristles extending from the core. The applicator head can be implemented as a plastic molded or non-molded component.

[0023] The non-molded applicator head typically includes a twisted wire core that supports a large number of fiber bristles in a predetermined arrangement. Typically, the wire core can be made of stainless steel and have a diameter of from 0.5 to 1 mm. The bristles can be nylon, hollow or solid, and are typically from 0.1 to 0.5 mm. The number of fiber bristles can vary, but will typically be between 250 and 500. The proximal portion of the wire core is free of bristles and is used to attach to the distal end of the spiral shaft (3). For example, the proximal portion of the wire core can be inserted into a channel extending longitudinally inside the spiral shaft and retained there by friction and / or an adhesive.

[0024] The plastic molded applicator head includes a core and integrally molded bristles extending from the core. The proximal portion of the molded core is made to be attached to the distal end of the spiral rod. For example, the proximal portion can be implemented as a cylindrical rod, which is inserted into a channel extending longitudinally inside the spiral rod and retained there by friction and / or adhesive. Alternatively, the proximal portion of the molded core can be made into a sleeve, which is assembled on the distal end of the spiral rod and retained there by friction and / or adhesive. In this case, it is preferred, but not necessary, if the distal portion of the spiral rod transitions to a cylindrical shape so that it can slide more easily into the sleeve of the molded applicator head. Exemplary materials that can be used to manufacture the molded applicator head in the present invention include, but are not limited to: silicone elastomers, thermoplastic elastomers (such as, for example, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymer-SEBS), vinyl elastomers (EVA), thermoplastic polyester elastomers (from DuPont ), thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (from Dow Plastics ), nitrile and EPDM. The hardness of the selected material is preferably from about 35 MPa (35 Shore D hardness from DuPont Company) ) to about 1180MPa (82 Shore D hardness ). Generally, a harder, less flexible material will be more suitable for the molded brush portion (14), which is intended to spread and break up heavy mascara products and separate and lengthen eyelashes.

[0025] Wiper

[0026] The rotary applicator according to the present invention works with a custom-made wiper (11) that is intended to be positioned in the neck (12a) of a container (12) for a cosmetic product, such as mascara. The wiper performs all the functions of a conventional wiper; for example, the wiper cleans the stem when the applicator is withdrawn from the container, removes excess mascara from the brush, and smoothes the mascara on the brush before application to the eyelashes. However, in addition to this, the custom-made wiper of the present invention rotates the applicator head, both when the spiral stem (3) is raised and lowered through the wiper.

[0027] The wiper (11) according to the invention comprises a generally cylindrical hollow body (11a) having an upper orifice (11b) at its proximal end and a tapered section (11e) terminating in a lower orifice (11c) at its distal end. A flange (11d) surrounds the upper orifice so that when the wiper is fully seated in the container neck (12a), the flange rests on the top of the neck. As described so far, the wiper is similar to known wipers. However, in the wiper according to the invention, the lower orifice is not circular but square. If each side of the square orifice has a length S, then the invention requires that the following conditions are met.

[0028] S / √2 <W<S

[0029] Wherein W is the width of each side of the spiral rod. When this condition is met, when the spiral rod is raised or lowered through the wiper orifice, the four sides of the wiper orifice will apply force to the four sides (3w, 3x, 3y, 3z) of the spiral rod. The result is that the spiral rod (3) is subjected to a twisting or rotational motion relative to the wiper. Since the applicator head (4) is rigidly attached to the spiral rod, it also rotates. When the user inserts the applicator through the wiper, the applicator head rotates in one direction, and when the user removes the applicator through the wiper, it rotates in the opposite direction. As a result, the product is more evenly loaded on the applicator head than in conventional mascara systems. A more even loading of the product on the brush will provide the user with a more even and consistent application experience.

[0030] The spiral rod (3) also exerts an opposing force on the wiper (11) when it is raised and lowered, however, the wiper is held stationary in the neck (12a) of the container (12) by the friction between the wiper and the container neck. Optionally, the wiper may be formed with a retaining bead (11f). When the wiper is fully seated on the container, the bead cooperates with a complementary groove (12b) located on the inner wall of the container neck. The bead and groove stabilize the wiper in the container neck by hindering any movement of the wiper, such as twisting forces imparted to the wiper when the applicator is inserted into and withdrawn from the container.

[0031] The container (12) need not be specialized in any way.The applicator and wiper described herein form a rotary cosmetic applicator system that can be used with any container that would normally employ a wiper.

[0032] The area around the lower orifice (11c) of the wiper (11) will have to be sufficiently rigid to resist deformation caused by the pressure exerted on it by the spiral rod portion (3). This portion should have the necessary rigidity. Generally speaking, thermoplastic elastomers may not be suitable materials for the area around the lower orifice. Instead, LDPE and / or The entire wiper may be made of one material, or a combination may be used to provide a less rigid, more flexible upper portion for sealing in the container neck (12a), and a more rigid lower portion for withstanding the forces applied by the spiral stem.

[0033] As mentioned above, it is preferred if the four faces (3w, 3x, 3y, 3z) of the spiral section (3a) of the spiral shaft (3) are flat when moving perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A. That is, these faces do not bend inwards or outwards. This is important because each face of the spiral shaft is cleaned by one side of the square aperture (11c) of the wiper (11). Flat faces will allow for more effective cleaning because the faces of the spiral shaft will be able to slide against the sides of the wiper aperture.

[0034] Depending on the mascara product, it may be necessary to ensure that the hinge between the spiral shaft and the wiper orifice does not become overly clogged with product, so that excessive force is required to raise and lower the applicator. Such clogging can be avoided by reducing the width W of each face of the spiral shaft, but then the wiper may be less effective in cleaning the spiral shaft. Another solution is to maintain a significant interference fit between each face of the spiral shaft and the wiper orifice (i.e. W≈S), but to round the corners of the spiral shaft (3) (i.e. where the two faces meet) and / or the corners of the wiper orifice.

[0035] Once the applicator head (4) has been removed from the product reservoir by the wiper (11), the applicator head will be evenly loaded with product all around. The user will apply the product in the usual manner and the applicator will not rotate significantly relative to the handle (1) because the force applied to the applicator by the eyelashes will not be sufficient to cause the applicator head to rotate significantly.

[0036] Although the above invention has been described from the perspective of an applicator and wiper for mascara, the invention is not so limited. The structures and principles described herein are applicable to relatively viscous products, such as creams and gels.

Claims

1. A rotary cosmetic applicator system comprising: handle; a guide rod extending longitudinally downward from the handle; The spiral rod portion comprises: A helical section and a distal end having a square cross-section, wherein: Each side of the helical segment has a width W; and The spiral shaft portion is connected to the guide rod so that the spiral shaft portion can rotate freely relative to the guide rod while being prevented from any longitudinal movement relative to the guide rod; an applicator head attached to the distal end of the helical shaft such that there is no relative movement between the helical shaft and the applicator head; and A wiper comprising a hollow body having a square lower aperture, wherein: Each side of the square lower aperture has a length S such that: S / √2 <W<S。 2. The rotary cosmetic applicator system of claim 1, wherein: The handle has one or more side walls, an interior surface, and a transverse wall extending across the interior space; The guide rod extends longitudinally downward from the transverse wall of the handle and includes a hollow space defined by an inner surface having a circular cross-section, the inner surface having an annular groove; as well as The helical shaft also includes a cylindrical proximal portion positioned in the hollow space of the guide rod and having a raised annular ring seated in the annular groove of the guide rod.

3. The rotary cosmetic applicator system of claim 2, wherein: The guide rod includes a stabilizing pin; and The cylindrical proximal portion of the helical shaft is provided with a slot for receiving the stabilizing pin.

4. The rotary cosmetic applicator system of claim 2, wherein: The helical segment comprises from 0.5 to 5 turns over its length; and The pitch of the helix is ​​constant over the length of the helical section.

5. The rotary cosmetic applicator system of claim 2, wherein: The handle has threads on an inner surface; and The applicator head is a molded applicator head comprising a core and integrally molded bristles extending from the core.

6. The rotary cosmetic applicator system of claim 2, wherein: The wiper includes an upper portion and a lower portion, wherein the lower portion is harder than the upper portion.

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