Retractable Cosmetic Container With Decoupled Sealing And Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cosmetic product containers for liquid or pasty products face challenges in dissociating the functions of axial linking and sealing, often requiring complex structures and dimensional constraints to maintain effective sealing without risking inadvertent opening.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring an elongate body with a movable reservoir, an elastically compressible device, and complementary members that allow axial linking and sealing to be decoupled, enabling locking and sealing functions to be performed independently within the body, without the need for the reservoir to leave the body, using a peripheral part and an inside part with a flexible skirt and cam-forming surface for friction engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the reservoir is made movable between high and low positions using an elastically compressible device, then the application member can be fully retracted into the reservoir for sleek aesthetics, but the structure becomes more complex and dimensional constraints are imposed
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into complementary sealing members: a first sealing member on the shaft and a second sealing member on the reservoir neck. This segmentation allows independent optimization of sealing and locking functions, reducing overall structural complexity while maintaining aesthetic retraction
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is extracted from the main reservoir-body interface and relocated to the application member-reservoir interface. This extraction allows the reservoir to retract fully into the body for sleek aesthetics while the sealing occurs at a different location, simplifying the overall structure
2Reliability
If the cap is made to form a substantial part of the outside surface for effective sealing, then sealing is improved, but combined movements or significant forces are necessary to open the container
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into multiple complementary sealing members distributed on the shaft and reservoir neck. This segmentation allows sealing to be achieved through distributed contact rather than a single large cap interface, reducing the force needed to open while maintaining sealing reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is extracted from the cap-reservoir interface and relocated to the application member-reservoir interface. This allows the cap to be smaller and easier to manipulate while sealing is performed by the complementary sealing members at the application member interface
3Shape
If the travel of the elastically compressible device is made equal to the axial dimension of the cap, then the application member can be fully retracted, but the device complexity and dimensional constraints increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is segmented and relocated to the application member-reservoir interface, allowing the reservoir to retract fully into the body without requiring the elastically compressible device to travel the full axial dimension of a large cap. This reduces dimensional constraints on the compressible device
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is extracted from the cap interface and placed at the application member interface. This extraction allows the reservoir to be fully retracted into the body for sleek aesthetics while the sealing occurs at a different location, reducing the travel requirements of the elastically compressible device
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
This design provides reliable sealing and easy user access while maintaining aesthetics, allowing the locking and sealing functions to be performed with moderate forces, independent of the reservoir's position, and minimizes the number of parts required.
Implementation Method 1
an elastically compressible device with two stable withdrawal positions that is disposed between the body and the reservoir and of which the two stable axial withdrawal positions define the two stable positions, low and high, of the reservoir
Implementation Method 2
a wiper provided at the exit of the reservoir so as to be traversed by the applicator when it enters the reservoir or when it is extracted out of it
Data Source
AI summary
A container for a liquid or pasty cosmetic product has an elongate body, a reservoir that contains the product and is movable in translation in the body between a top working position and a maximum depressed position under the action of an elastically compressible device, and an application element secured to a cap that is retractable into the body and including a shaft that is secured to the cap and is terminated by an applicator suitable for being loaded with product when it is dipped into the reservoir; a peripheral part provided with a locking finger that is movable transversely and a more flexible internal part that are attached to the reservoir close to its edge in order to engage in terms of sealing with a widened portion of the shaft and to lock the latter to the reservoir over only a part of the travel of the reservoir.