Magnetic Cosmetics Applicator With Flexible Plastic Core
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cosmetics applicators with magnetic cores are either too rigid, leading to breakage and hygienic issues due to microcrack formation, and fail to provide adequate mass storage and application of viscous cosmetics without dipping and wiping.
Innovation Solution
A cosmetics applicator with a bristle carrier made of a flexible plastic core filled with magnetic particles, encased in a softer, non-magnetic plastic layer, allowing for increased flexibility and improved haptic application while preventing microcrack formation and enhancing cosmetic substance retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If bar-shaped magnets made of standard materials are embedded in the bristle carrier, then the magnetic core provides sufficient magnetic strength to store cosmetic substance, but the bristle carrier becomes completely rigid and prone to breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the magnetic core from solid bar-shaped magnets to magnetic particles suspended in plastic. This parameter change transforms the rigid structure into a flexible one while maintaining magnetic functionality, as the particles can move and distribute within the plastic matrix rather than being fixed in a rigid bar form.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite material by combining magnetic particles with plastic to form the bristle carrier. This composite structure integrates the magnetic properties of the particles with the flexibility and structural integrity of the plastic, achieving both magnetic strength and breakage resistance simultaneously.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the bristle carrier is made rigid to maintain structural integrity, then the applicator can hold its shape, but microcrack formation occurs at the interface between flexible plastic and rigid magnetic particles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite material consisting of magnetic particles distributed within a continuous plastic matrix. This composite structure eliminates the interface between separate rigid magnetic components and flexible plastic, as the particles are embedded within the plastic continuum, preventing microcrack formation at interfaces while maintaining both structural integrity and hygienic compliance.
3Ease of manufacture
If standard bar-shaped magnets are used in the bristle carrier, then the magnetic core is simple to manufacture, but the applicator lacks flexibility and has degraded application behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the form factor of the magnetic core from fixed bar-shaped magnets to freely distributed magnetic particles within the plastic matrix. This parameter change allows the bristle carrier to flex and adapt during application while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through injection molding processes that can easily incorporate particles into the plastic during fabrication.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a flexible, break-proof applicator that effectively stores and applies viscous cosmetics without excessive rigidity, ensuring hygienic standards and improved application behavior by maintaining cosmetic substance on the bristle roots.
Implementation Method 1
The core is typically a permanent magnet and attracts the cosmetic or mascara substance filled with magnetically attracted particles
Data Source
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AI summary
A cosmetics applicator made of plastic and having a bristle carrier and having bristles integrally bonded therewith as a single part, whereas the bristle carrier being a permanent magnet while the bristles as such are non-magnetic, characterized in that the bristle carrier comprises a core made of a first plastic filled with magnetic particles and forming an interface at least at the outer circumference thereof, said interface being enclosed by a layer of a second, non-magnetic plastic, wherein the first and the second plastic are preferably welded to each other and the second plastic is preferably harder than the first plastic, and wherein the second plastic is integrally connected to the bristles as a single piece.