Abstract:
Fluid material, including medication, dermatological fluids, cream eye shadow and lip-coloring material such as lip gloss, is stored in a reservoir. Rotating a collar with respect to the reservoir advances a piston therein to deliver lip coloring or other material through a valve to a roller mounted on a dispensing head.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Lipstick is utilized by many women as an important part of their makeup to enhance their appearance. The conventional lipstick is in the form of a hard paste which is sufficiently firm to be self-supporting. The most commonly employed lipstick is mounted on a base in a lipstick tube. The base can be advanced so that the portion of the lipstick extending from the tube can be applied to the lips. Many colors are available. 
   It appears that the glossiness of the applied lipstick is limited by the hard paste structure of the lipstick. When the lip coloring material is of a lower viscosity so that it is not self-supporting, greater glossiness can be achieved. Fluid lip coloring is available and is applied by brush. Brush application is difficult and is very different than the application of the hard lipstick. Thus, it is a different experience and requires different manual skills. 
   Applying lip coloring by means of a roller permits the utilization of lip coloring material which is of lower viscosity than the hard paste. Roller-applied lip coloring can be a gel. With the proper applicator device, the lip coloring can enjoy the gloss which is possible with lower viscosity, but can also be dispensed with a roller so that it utilizes most of the physical dexterity learned by applying the usual hard paste lipstick. In addition to lip coloring, various other fluids need to be carefully placed. These include medicines, dermatological products, medicines for inside of the mouth, cream eye shadow and similar products. Thus, there is a need for a roller dispenser particularly configured for the application of viscous gel lip coloring material. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   To aid in the understanding of this invention, it can be stated in essentially summary form that it is directed to a lip-coloring dispenser. The dispenser has a cylindrical reservoir with a piston therein. The piston is driven to deliver viscous gel lip coloring, preferably through a valve, to a roller-dispensing head. The roller is rotatably mounted in the head and receives the lip-coloring material from the head. The roller is rotated by motion along the lips to which the coloring is to be applied. Other similar products, like medicines, dermatological products, medicines for inside and around the mouth or cream eye shadow can be applied. In this way, coloring is applied utilizing the same dexterity as the conventional lipstick. 
   It is a purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a lip-coloring and coating dispenser which has a reservoir in which the viscous gel lip coloring is stored, together with structure to deliver the lip-coloring material to a roller on the dispenser. Rolling the roller along the lips applies the lip coloring thereto. 
   It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a lip-coloring dispenser which is configured so that it can apply a viscous gel lip-coloring material using the dexterity which is utilized in applying hard liquid material. 
   It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a lip-coloring dispenser which is easy to use and which has a valve therein so that the lip coloring can be conserved. 
   It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a double-ended lip-coloring dispenser wherein two reservoirs are secured together, with dispensers on opposite ends so that two lip-coloring materials can be handled at the same time. 
   Other purposes and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following portion of the specification, the claims and the attached drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a side-elevational view of the first preferred embodiment of the lip-coloring dispenser of this invention, with parts broken away and parts taken in section. 
       FIG. 2  is a downward looking sectional view through the lip-coloring dispenser showing one configuration of the base in plan view. 
       FIG. 3  is a similar view, showing another configuration of the base in plan view. 
       FIG. 4  is a longitudinal section through the lip-coloring dispenser of  FIG. 1 , showing the cap in phantom lines. 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the lip-coloring dispenser of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 6  is a front view of the lip-coloring dispenser of  FIG. 1 , with parts broken away, and showing the roller in projected position. 
       FIG. 7  is a side elevational view of a second preferred embodiment of the lip-coloring dispenser, which is the same as the lip-coloring dispenser of  FIG. 1 , with the axis of the roller at a right angle to the axis of the dispenser. 
       FIG. 8  is a side-elevational view, with parts broken away, showing a third preferred embodiment wherein two of the lip-coloring dispensers of  FIG. 1  are joined together, base to base, with one dispenser operator. 
       FIG. 9  is a longitudinal section through a fourth preferred embodiment of the lip-coloring dispenser of this invention, showing two of the dispensers fixed together base to base with separate dispenser operators. 
       FIG. 10  is a side-elevational of the dispenser which includes a brush and a pad so that the applied material, lip-coloring material or other, can be brushed on and wiped smooth. 
       FIG. 11  is an enlarged section taken generally along the line  11 — 11  of  FIG. 10 . 
       FIG. 12  is a sectional view taken generally along the line  12 — 12  of  FIG. 5 , with parts broken away, showing the valving structure. 
       FIG. 13  is a side-elevational view of another embodiment of the lip-coloring dispenser of this invention. 
       FIG. 14  is a top view thereof. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The first preferred embodiment of the lip-coloring dispenser of this invention is generally indicated at  10  and is seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  and  5 . The dispenser  10  has a reservoir  12  and a dispensing head  14 . First considering the reservoir, it is in the configuration of a right circular tube having an inside wall  16  and an outside wall  18 . Piston  20  lies within the reservoir tube and is generally in the configuration of an upwardly facing cup. It has a screw-threaded opening  22  in its center. Lead screw  24  is threaded into the opening of the piston. 
   The reservoir has a bottom wall  26  through which the lead screw extends. The lead screw carries a shoulder  28  on the inside of the bottom wall  26 . Dial  30  is attached or is integrally formed with the lead screw below the shoulder  28 . The lead screw is thus permitted to rotate, but cannot move axially within the reservoir. Dial  30  is cup-shaped and has a circular wall  32  which extends upward a portion of the way up the outside wall  18 . 
   The lip-coloring dispenser  10  is quite small. In order to aid in its standing upright, base  34  is provided. The base has an interior opening  36  which is sized to releasably receive the wall  32  of the dial  30 . The plan outline of the base may be circular; it may be octagonal, as seen in  FIG. 2 ; or it may be triangular, as seen in  FIG. 3 . The dispenser can be removed from the base for use and can be reinstalled in the base after use to maintain the dispenser in the upright position. Any convenient configuration or size of the base will provide this function. 
   The dispensing head  14  is rotatably mounted on the reservoir to control a valve. The valve controls the flow of gel lip coloring material from the reservoir into the dispensing head. Tubular valve body  38  is inserted into the top of the reservoir tube and engages against the shoulder  40  therein. The valve body  38  is in the form of an inverted cup. The top wall  42  of the inverted cup has two fluid passage openings  44  and  46 . It also has arcuate slot  48 . The valve body is fixed into the top of the reservoir. Lying on top of the valve body is valve disc  50 . The valve disc  50  has two openings  52  and  54  which are also eccentric. The holes  52  and  54  are in alignment with the holes  44  and  46  when the valve is in the open position shown in  FIG. 4  and are out of alignment in the closed position shown in  FIG. 5 . Pin  56  is formed on the bottom of valve disc  50  and engages in slot  48  to limit rotation of the disc  50  with respect to the valve body  38 . 
   Dispensing head  14  has a housing  58  which includes a collar  60 . The collar  60  has a ridge  62 , see  FIG. 4 , which snaps into a corresponding groove in the valve body  38 . This permits rotation of the dispensing head on the valve body. The valve disc  50  is fixed into the collar  60  against the shoulder in the housing  58 . The housing  58  has an interior passage  64  which receives lip coloring fluid material when the valve is open and the piston  20  is moved upward. 
   The housing  58  extends upward as a narrow finger  66 . It has top end wall  68  and bottom end wall  70 , see  FIGS. 4 and 6 . These end walls and low sidewalls  72  and  74 , see  FIG. 6 , define a basket  76 . The basket receives roller  78 , which is in the form of an oblate spheroid with truncated ends. The truncated ends carry pivot pins  80  and  82 , see  FIG. 6 , which engage in pivot sockets  84  and  86 , see  FIG. 4 . The pivot pins are preferably pointed conical structures, and the pivot sockets are preferably conical sockets with a larger conical angle to limit contact to near the points. In this way, the roller can roll within the basket. 
   The basket has passages  88 ,  90  and  92  through the bottom basket wall into the interior passage  64 . The lip-coloring material dispenser  10  is normally used in the upright position. In order to deliver equal amounts of lip-coloring material over the height of the roller, the dispensing passages  88 ,  90  and  92  are progressively larger, as seen in  FIG. 6 . The size of these passages and the progression of larger sizes from bottom to top is a function of the spacing between the passages and the viscosity of the lip-coloring material. The lip-coloring fluid material is delivered onto the back of the roller in the basket. Cap  94  is preferably a clear polymer cap and can be installed over the dispensing head when not in use. This protects the material on the roller from inadvertently contacting the wrong surface and reduces drying out of the material. Of course, in the storage position, the valve disc  50  is in the closed position. 
     FIG. 7  is a side-elevational view, with the lower end broken away, of the lip-coloring dispenser  96 . The dispenser  96  is very similar to the dispenser  10 . It has the same reservoir structure with a piston therein. It has the same piston advance mechanism. The housing  98  has the same collar  80  with a valve therein. The housing  98  is configured so that the roller  78  rotates on an axis which is at a right angle with respect to the axis of the reservoir. This illustrates that the roller is useful at any angle between the angle of  FIG. 6  and the angle of  FIG. 7 . 
     FIG. 8  illustrates the lip-coloring dispenser  100 , which is formed of two reservoirs  12 , each carrying a dispensing structure including a shutoff valve and a dispensing head with dispensing roller. In this case, the dispensing dial  102  extends in cuplike configuration to embrace the screw end of each reservoir. The screws are each attached to the dispensing ring so that when either the upper or the lower reservoir is turned with respect to the dispensing ring, that piston is advanced. In this way, two different lip-coloring materials can be carried together. They can be different colors for stylized appearance or they can be a basic lip-coloring gloss material and a clear super-gloss covering material. The dispenser  100  places both receptacles conveniently at hand. 
     FIG. 9  illustrates a lip-coloring dispenser  104  which is a double dispenser similar to the one disclosed in  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 9  is a substantially central longitudinal section, except that the dispensing fingers  106  and  108  are in side-elevation. The dispensing fingers respectively carry rollers  110  and  112 , which are mounted the same way as the roller  78  in  FIG. 6 . The fingers are mounted on housings which include collars  114  and  116 . The reservoirs  118  and  120  are the same right circular cylindrical tubes separated by wall  122 . The wall  122  maintains the lip-coloring material separate in the two reservoirs. The reservoirs respectively have pistons  126  and  128  mounted on piston drive screws  130  and  132 . The piston drive screws are respectively attached to the collars  114  and  116 . Thus, when the collar  114  is rotated with respect to the reservoir tube, the piston  126  is driven upward to push lip-coloring material up through the openings in the collar and into the dispensing finger  106 . From there, it is delivered through the openings in the finger to the roller from which it is applied to the lips. When the collar  116  is rotated with respect to the reservoir tube, the piston  128  forces the lip-coloring material into reservoir  120  out through finger  108  to the roller  112 . Thus, the two lip coloring materials are conveniently at hand and can be individually dispensed. 
   Dispenser  134  is shown in side-elevational view in  FIG. 10 . Enlarged details thereof are shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 . The dispenser  134  has a reservoir  136 . Collar  138  which is rotatable on the lower end of the reservoir drives a screw which drives the piston upward in the reservoir the same as the structure shown in  FIG. 4 . The dispensing head  140  has an inwardly-facing ring  142  which snaps over a corresponding ring  144  on the reservoir, see  FIG. 12 . These rings provide rotatability of the dispensing head on the reservoir. This rotatability provides dial valving action by means of eccentric holes  146 . The holes are in alignment in  FIG. 12 . Rotation of the dispensing head  140  on the reservoir  146  moves the holes out of alignment to result in closure of the reservoir. The dispensing head  140  has a lip coloring material space  148  therein. Material in the reservoir is delivered into the space in the dispensing head when the valve dial is opened and the collar  138  is turned. 
   The dispensing head has two flats on it, see  FIG. 11 . Flat  150  carries a brush base  152  which carries brush bristles  154  thereon. Dispensing openings  156  extend through the flat  150  and brush base so that lip coloring material in the space in the dispensing head can flow out adjacent the brush. Material is dispensed out of the openings  156  and is spread with the bristles of the brush. 
   In addition, the head has a flat  158  in which is formed as a female dovetail  160 . Opening  162  permits material in the space  148  to move out into the dovetail. Pad  164 , see  FIG. 10 , is shaped to be inserted into the dovetail from the top. The pad is a felted or woven pad. It also receives the fluid from the space  148 . When the pad is not densely formed, the interstices therein are sufficient to permit the fluid to flow out through the pad. If the pad material is dense, openings  166 , in line with the openings  162 , may be necessary to permit the delivery of the material. 
   Dispenser  168  is illustrated in  FIGS. 13 and 14 . Reservoir  170  is a flexible thin wall reservoir made of polymer material. It has a cap  172  at its lower end to permit filling of the reservoir. The material filled therein is a beauty aid such as lip gloss. Lip gloss is fluid with a viscosity between water and thick cream. The upper end of the reservoir is bifurcated to form two yoke arms  174  and  176 . The yoke arms extend toward each other and form a pintle  176  upon which roller  178  is mounted. The pintle, shown in dashed lines in  FIG. 14 , has openings  180  therein which permit delivery of the fluid material from the reservoir into the roller  178 . The roller  178  is made of porous material such as open-cell foam rubberlike material. Thus, when the reservoir is squeezed, the fluid material is delivered to the inside of the roller. Manual rolling of the roller across the surface to which the material is to be applied delivers the material through the roller onto the surface. The material is preferably lip gloss material which is rolled onto the lips. 
   This invention has been described in its presently preferred embodiment, and it is clear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications, modes and embodiments within the ability of those skilled in the art and without the exercise of the inventive faculty. Accordingly, the scope of this invention is defined by the scope of the following claims.