Abstract:
A cosmetics brush and a method for manufacturing the same. The cosmetics brush includes a rod; a ferrule formed at an end of the rod; a bundle of fibers folded in the middle and inserted in the ferrule; and a fixing piece inserted in the folding of the fiber bundle with both ends engaged with the inner side of the ferrule. The method includes the steps of: feeding raw fiber; cutting the raw fiber; placing the cut raw fiber on a guide; feeding and fixing a rod formed with a ferrule contacting the guide; feeding a fixing piece; inserting the fixing piece with a pushing piece into the middle portion of the fiber bundle to fold and insert the bundle into the ferrule; and cutting and finishing the fibers of the bundle exposed out of the ferrule.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority of Korean Application No. 10-2013-0120788 filed Oct. 10, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a cosmetics brush and the manufacturing method therefore. The method for manufacturing the cosmetic brush in accordance with the present invention provides a cosmetics brush which can apply cosmetics uniformly over a wide area by a bundle of fibers folded in the middle by a fixing piece that is inserted in the ferrule provided at the end of a brush handle, in addition to improved productivity of the brush. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
       [0003]    A general form of cosmetics brushes used for applying such cosmetics as rouge, lip gloss, mascara, eye liner, and manicure comprises a brush handle holding a bundle of fibers and a cap at an end of the handle, screw-coupled to a cosmetics container, so that the fiber bundle is stored inside of the cosmetics container for good portability, being dipped in the cosmetics, and can be used to apply cosmetics adhered to the bristles by simply detaching the cap. 
         [0004]    Since a cosmetics brush of this formation has a bundle of fibers, inserted in an end of the handle, formed in a cylindrical shape, and a cap screw-coupled to the cosmetics container, the fiber bundle is twisted in the cosmetics when rotated together with the cap by the resistance of the liquid cosmetics usually having a higher viscosity. Further, if the fiber bundle is formed in a cylindrical shape, it has a weak force of restitution and difficult to return to its proper shape and apply the cosmetics uniformly, resulting in inconvenience of the user. 
         [0005]    In addition, it is important for making-ups using cosmetics brushes to apply cosmetics at a constant thickness and width, however, the fiber bundles having a cylindrical shape are disadvantageous for applying cosmetics at a constant thickness and width even though they are not twisted. 
         [0006]    In a cosmetics brush devised to solve the above mentioned problems, a fiber bundle is cut and formed into a flat shape and the cut portion is fixed to a brush handle by thermal fusion. However, this type of cosmetics brush is manufactured by manual processes resulting in relatively lower productivity and irregularity in the shape due to higher deviation in the number of the fibers in the bundle. 
         [0007]    Further disadvantage includes detachment of the fiber bundle from the handle while in use. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Object of the Invention 
       [0008]    An aspect of the present invention is to improve durability and productivity of cosmetics brushes by preventing the bristles folded and inserted in the handles from being separated. Another aspect of the present invention is to form the bristles in a constant, flat shape by reducing the deviation in the number of the bristles so that the brushes can apply cosmetics by a constant thickness and width. 
       Means for Achieving the Technical Object 
       [0009]    The cosmetics brush A in accordance with the present invention is characterized by being comprised of: a rod  10  of the brush A; a ferrule  11  provided at an end of the rod  10 ; a bundle of fibers  20  folded at the middle and inserted in the ferrule  11 ; and a fixing piece  30  inserted in the middle of the folded fiber bundle  20  with both side ends are latched on the inner side of the ferrule  11 . 
         [0010]    In addition, the ferrule  11  is characterized by compressing the fiber bundle  20  folded and inserted in the ferrule by being formed with a compressing protrusion  12 . 
         [0011]    In addition, the rod  10  is engaged with a container cap  40  formed with a coupling guide  41 , and the ferrule  11  is provided with a bundle insertion groove  111  formed from an end towards the inside of the ferrule, wherein the bundle insertion groove  111  is characterized by being formed in a rectangular shape whose transverse width W is greater than the longitudinal width W′. 
         [0012]    In addition, the fixing piece  30  is characterized by being formed with a length longer than the transverse with W of the ferrule  11  and inclined insertion guides  31  at its both ends. 
         [0013]    In addition, the manufacturing method for a cosmetics brush A in accordance with the present invention is characterized by being comprised of the steps of: feeding raw fibers unwound from a roll to a cutting device (S 100 ); cutting the raw fibers fed into the cutting device with a cutting blade or blades to form the raw fibers into a bundle and place the bundle on a guide (S 200 ); feeding and fixing a rod with a ferrule near the guide at the middle of the cut raw fibers approaching the rod fixing portion (S 300 ); feeding a fixing piece to the guide on the side corresponding with the ferrule of the rod (S 400 ); inserting the fixing piece by compressing the fixing piece with a pushing member so that the fixing piece folds the bundle of the raw fibers at the middle portion and inserts the bundle into the ferrule of the rod (S 500 ); and finishing the raw fibers, when the pushing member has returned to its original position, exposed out of the ferrule on the rod using a finish cutting device (S 600 ). 
         [0014]    In addition, the method for manufacturing a cosmetic brush is characterized by being further comprised of a step (S 700 ) of compressing, after the finishing step (S 600 ) of the fiber bundle, the ferrule  11  by pressure punching so that a portion of the ferrule  11  is formed into a compressing protrusion  12  which compresses the bundle of raw fibers  20 . 
         [0015]    In addition, the step S 100  of feeding raw fibers is further characterized by employing a plurality of raw fiber rolls, the step S 300  of feeding and fixing the rod is further characterized by the ferrule provided at an end of the rod being formed with an injection molding process into a rectangular shape, and the step S 400  of feeding the fixing piece is further characterized by the fixing piece being cut from a steel sheet into a pin-shape and formed with inclined insertion guides at the cut ends. 
       Effects of the Invention 
       [0016]    An aspect of the present invention can improve the productivity of cosmetic brushes by folding a bundle of raw fibers in the middle and inserting the folded bundle into a ferrule provided at an end of a rod. 
         [0017]    In addition, another aspect of the present invention can extend the life cycle of the cosmetics brushes by preventing the bundle of fibers from being separated from the ferrule with the fixing piece inserted in the ferrule and the compression protrusion formed inwards with a portion of the ferrule. 
         [0018]    Still another aspect of the present invention can provide cosmetic brushes having flat, broadened, rectangular-shaped fiber bundles so that the brushes can apply cosmetics uniformly over a wide area. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cosmetics brush in accordance with the present invention coupled with a cosmetics container, 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a cosmetics brush in accordance with the present invention separated from a cosmetics container, 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a perspective, bottom view of a cosmetics brush in accordance with the present invention separated from a cosmetics container, 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken from line A-A of  FIG. 2 , 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken from line B-B of  FIG. 2 , 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart depicting the process of manufacturing the cosmetics brushes in accordance with the present invention, and 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram explaining the process of manufacturing the cosmetics brushes in accordance with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]    An embodiment of the present invention is described hereinbelow by referring to the accompanying drawings. 
         [0027]    The cosmetics brush A in accordance with the present invention can prevent loss of brush fibers and apply cosmetics uniformly over a wide area. As shown in  FIGS. 1 to 5 , the cosmetics brush in accordance with the present invention comprises a rod  10 , a ferrule  11  for fibers, a fiber bundle  20 , and a fixing piece  30 . The cosmetics brush is engaged with a cosmetics container R with screw threads with the rod  10  and the fiber bundle  20  stored inside of the cosmetics container R to improve portability and enable application of cosmetics simply by separating the container cap  40 , because the fiber bundle is dipped in and coated with the cosmetics. 
         [0028]    According to the present invention, the rod  10  is formed with a plastic resin by injection molding at a length fit to be stored inside of a cosmetics container R and coated with cosmetics in the container. The head portion of the rod is wider to be press-fitted inside of the container cap  40  and the lower portion of the rod is provided with the ferrule  11  which is formed in integration. 
         [0029]    The ferrule  11  maintains the fiber bundle  20  in a spread formation, preferably formed in integration with the rod  10  by injection molding and with a fiber bundle insertion groove  111  from the tip of the rod  10  inwardly by a certain depth. 
         [0030]    The fiber bundle insertion groove  111  is formed in a rectangular shape whose transverse width W is longer than the longitudinal width W′ so that the shape of the fiber bundle  20  is maintained in a flat, broad form enabling uniform application and reduced consumption of cosmetics. 
         [0031]    While the shape of the fiber bundle insertion groove  111  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is a rectangle, the shape is not limited to a rectangle but also can be a polygonal, a circle, or any other form as appropriate. 
         [0032]    The fiber bundle  20 , which is coated with the cosmetics in the cosmetics container R, comprises approximately 1000 filaments of raw fiber  21 , maintained in a spread form, made of polyamide and formed with a diameter of between from about 0.05 to 0.09 mm. More preferably, the number of the raw fibers  21  should be between from about 980 to 1020. This range of raw fibers provides good adhesive property of cosmetics in liquid status, without separation and excellent result or response in make-up tests. 
         [0033]    The fiber bundle  20  is folded by the fixing piece  30  at its middle portion, inserted in the ferrule  11  and fixed or bound to the ferrule to prevent the fibers from being separated from the bundle. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , to produce the fiber bundle  20 , raw fiber  21  wound on a roll  110  is unwound from the roll, cut at a predetermined length by a cutting blade  220  on the cutting device  210 , and bundled in hundreds of filaments. The steel sheet  430  wound on another steel sheet roll  420  is unwound and cut by a steel sheet cutting device  440  into fixing pieces  30 . A pushing piece  510  pushes the fixing piece to the middle portion of the raw fiber bundle  20  so that the bundle is folded at the middle and inserted into the ferrule  11  of the rod  10 . Then, the ends of the fibers of the bundle  20  exposed out of the ferrule  11  of the rod  10  is finished with a finish cutting device  610 . 
         [0035]    The fixing piece  30  folds the fiber bundle  20  at the middle portion and inserts it into the insertion groove  111  of the ferrule  11  of the rod  10  and prevents the bundle  20  from being separated from the ferrule. To this end, both sides of the bundle is latched on the inner side of the groove  111  when inserted in the groove  111 . 
         [0036]    The fixing piece  30 , which is made by cutting steel sheet  430  wound on a roll  420  with steel sheet cutting device  440 , is preferably fed automatically in the forward direction of the pushing piece  510  with a feeder which is not shown. 
         [0037]    The fixing piece  30  is formed with a length longer than the transverse with W of the ferrule  11  so that the fixing piece  30  cannot be separated from the ferrule  11  by itself. For this, the fixing piece  30  is formed with inclined insertion guides  31  on its both side ends. 
         [0038]    The insertion guides  31  of the fixing piece  30  facilitates insertion into the bundle insertion groove  111  and prevents the fiber bundle from being separated in reverse direction because the end of the insertion guide  31  is caught in the inner wall of the bundle insertion groove  111  when engaged in the groove. 
         [0039]    While the fixing piece  30  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention has inclined insertion guides  31  on both side ends, the shape of both ends of the fixing piece  30  is not limited to an inclined surface but also can be a rectangular or flat surface. 
         [0040]    In this case, both side ends of the fixing piece  30  is engaged in both sides of the bundle insertion groove  111  by nearly a force fitting. 
         [0041]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the fiber bundle  20  is folded by a fixing piece  30  at the middle portion and inserted in the ferrule to be prevented from being separated in reverse direction, the constitution does not limit the scope of the present invention, and more preferably, the ferrule is compressed by punching  710  so that an inner part of the ferrule  11  is formed inwardly into a compressing protrusion  12  which compresses the fiber bundle  20  to prevent separation. Here, the compressing protrusion  12  can be formed on one or both sides of the ferrule  11  to be engaged in a zigzag arrangement. 
         [0042]    The rod  10  in accordance with the present invention is, in normal condition, coupled with a cosmetics container R containing liquid cosmetics with a container  40  cap formed with screw-threaded coupling guide  41 . 
         [0043]    As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the raw fiber  21  wound on a roll  110  is unwound and fed to a cutting device  210  in the feeding step S 100 , and the raw fiber  21  fed to the cutting device  210  is cut with a cutting blade  220 , formed into a bundle of fibers  20  and placed on the guide  410  in the raw fiber cutting step S 200 . In the raw fiber feeding step S 100 , the roll  110  on which the raw fiber is wound can be provided in a plural number to allow a plurality of raw fibers cut to form fiber bundles  20  at a high speed. 
         [0044]    In the raw fiber cutting step S 200 , the diameter and the number of the raw fibers  21  constituting a fiber bundle  20  are preferably between from about 0.05 mm to 0.09 mm and from 980 to 1020. If the diameter of the raw fiber is less than 0.05 mm, the elasticity of the fiber bundle  20  is insufficient and can be deflected when impregnated with cosmetics, causing difficulty in application of cosmetics. On the other hand, if the diameter of the raw fiber is greater than 0.09 mm, the elasticity of the fiber bundle  20  is sufficient. But the fibers become difficult to be coated with cosmetics and the cosmetics brush cannot apply cosmetics uniformly over a wide area, that is, loss of adhesive property. 
         [0045]    In the rod feeding and fixing step S 300 , the ferrule  11  of the rod  10  is fed close to the rod fixing portion  310 , at the middle portion of the guide  410  on which the bundle  20  of the cut war fibers is placed, and the fixing piece  30  is fed to the guide  410  in the direction corresponding with the ferrule  11  of the rod  10 , in the fixing piece feeding step S 400 . In the rod feeding and fixing step S 300 , the rod  10  is preferably formed at an end in integration with the fiber insertion groove  111 , preferably in a rectangular shape, in an injection molding process. 
         [0046]    In the fixing piece feeding step S 400 , it is more preferable to cut the fixing piece  30  from steel sheet with a cutting device into a pin-shape formed with inclined, sharp ends on both sides, and the cut ends each are formed with an inclined insertion guide  31 . 
         [0047]    In the fixing piece insertion step S 500 , the fixing piece  30  is compressed with a pushing piece  510  so that the fixing piece  30  folds the middle portion of the fiber bundle  20  and inserts the folded bundle into the ferrule  11  of the rod  10 . 
         [0048]    In the fiber finishing step  600 , when the pushing piece  510  has returned to its original position, the tips of the bundle of fibers  20  exposed out from the ferrule  11  of the rod  10  are finish cut with a finish cutting device  610  to obtain a cosmetics brush. 
         [0049]    In addition, the method for manufacturing a cosmetic brush A is further comprised of a step S 700  of compressing the fiber bundle  20 , after the finishing step S 600  of the raw fibers, wherein a part of the ferrule  11  is formed into a compressing protrusion  12  by punching  710  the ferrule  11 , so that the compressing protrusion  12  can compress the fiber bundle  20  to prevent from being separated from the ferrule. Here, the compressing protrusion  12  can be formed inwardly on one or both sides of the ferrule  11  and can be formed in a plurality.