Abstract:
A cosmetic brush for applying make-up which includes a brush member, a main body located at the lower portion of the brush member and a movable bar connected to an intermediate coupler and reciprocally disposed to generate air pressure and to discharge cosmetic powder from the main body to the brush member by pushing up the main body when applying the make-up, wherein the movable bar includes vertical grooves and a press-ring and can move up and down by pushing the main body combined with the intermediate coupler containing the movable bar, so that the cosmetic powder housed in the body is conveyed through a powder transport duct positioned at the top portion of an upper movable body through the vertical grooves in the movable bar formed on top portion of the intermediate coupler and then distributes the cosmetic to the brush member side in a desirable distribution, resulting in improved convenience for the make-up user with an easier and simpler operation.

Description:
This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) based on Patent Application No. 2004-0013344 filed in Korea on Feb. 27, 2004, the subject matter of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a cosmetics brush, more particularly, a cosmetics brush for applying make-up including a brush member, a main body located at lower portion of the brush member and a movable bar connected to an intermediate coupler and for moving reciprocally to generate air pressure and to discharge cosmetic powder out of the main body to the brush member by pushing up the main body for applying the make-up The movable bar which includes vertical grooves, can be moved up and down by pushing the main body combined with the intermediate coupler having the movable bar, so that the cosmetic powder, housed in the main body, passes a powder transport duct positioned on the top portion of an upper, movable body through the vertical grooves in the movable bar formed at top portion of the intermediate coupler  20  and then sprays the cosmetic powder out to the brush member side in a desirable distribution, resulting in improved convenience for applying the make-up by the user. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Generally, cosmetic products are classified into liquid status, solid status and a mixture of the liquid and the solid cosmetics. In recent years, liquid cosmetics in the form of lipstick or foundation for convenient use of consumers has been developed, which usually comprises cosmetics charged in a housing in the form of a pencil and discharged toward an upper brush member of the housing when turning a part of the housing in the right or left direction. Various constructional forms of such pencil type cosmetics have been proposed and used in many applications. 
   Representative cosmetics brushes frequently used have been manufactured as a combination of a brush and a main body, wherein the brush is covered with cosmetic powder at the time of make-up. Because both the brush and the powder are separately held, it is inconvenient to both carry and hold these items and, in turn, it is a difficult to use the cosmetics brush. 
   A variety of cosmetics brushes have been recently proposed which have the desirable construction of storing cosmetic powder in the main body, formed as a housing, and discharging the cosmetics powder from the main body using air pressure, as illustrated in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , taken from Korean Utility Model Reg. No. 253672. 
   The cosmetic brush comprises a first body  102  in the form of a tube with open top and bottom ends for receiving cosmetics power  103 ; a second body  106  connected to lower circumferential side and having outlet hole  107  among central portion of the top side, and a brush member  108  communicating the outlet hole  107  at the front end; an up/down transfer shaft  109  comprising a spring  110  connected to the outer circumferential side of front end, the front end portion being connected to the outlet hole  107  of the second body  106  and the spring  110  supported on the outer circumference of the top end; and a top cap  113  connected to the top end of the first body  102  to extend the top end portion of the up/down transfer shaft  109  and support it. 
   With such a construction, the cosmetics brush  100  is used by pushing a button  102  which protrudes upward from the top end of the up/down transfer shaft  109  during make-up. The spring  110  provided at top end of the up/down transfer shaft  109  permits the shaft  109  to move up and down and, in turn, the cosmetics powder  103  received in the body  102  passes through the outlet hole  107  having a front end portion formed in the second body  106  and moves to the outside, that is, is easily supplied to the brush member  108 , whereby the cosmetics brush can conveniently use the cosmetics powder. 
   Herein, the cosmetics powder  103  is provided to the brush member  108  through the outlet hole  107  by directly passing the top end of the up/down transfer shaft  109  through the outlet hole  107 . 
   However, since such a conventional cosmetic brush mentioned above discharges the cosmetics powder  103  to the brush member  108  by the top end of the up/down transfer shaft  109 , it difficult to achieve an even and/or uniform distribution of the powder  103  due to the inherent constructional limitations of the up/down transfer shaft  109 . In addition, swaying of the cosmetics brush itself  100  which allows discharge of the powder  103  to the brush member side  108  also causes an inconvenience in the use thereof. 
   Moreover, a button  112  formed on a top cap side  113  always protrudes outside due to the repulsing force of the spring  110  and, in the case where it strikes any personal articles while being carried where an outer force is applied to the brush, the button  112  may move and cause undesirable discharge of the powder  103  to the brush member side  108 , thereby resulting in spoilage and/or damage of the articles. Still further, when the cosmetics brush is carried in humid places or in a wet atmosphere or has not been used for a long period of time, the powder  103  contained in the body  102  and remaining in the outlet hole  107  becomes hardened due to moisture, creating difficulty in discharging and/or distribution of the cosmetics powder  103 . 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is, therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, in particular, to provide a cosmetics brush including a brush member, a main body located at a lower portion of the brush member and a movable bar connected to an intermediate coupler for moving reciprocally to generate air pressure and to transfer cosmetic powder discharged from the main body to the brush member by pushing up the main body when applying the make-up. The movable bar includes vertical grooves and is adapted to move up and down by pushing the main body combined with the intermediate coupler containing the movable bar. The cosmetic powder stored in the main body passes a powder transport duct positioned on the top portion of an upper movable body through the vertical grooves in the movable bar formed on top portion of the intermediate coupler  20 , and then sprays out to the brush member side in desirable distribution, thereby resulting in an improvement in convenience for applying the make-up by providing an easier and more simple operation. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above object, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the related art from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an example of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the example of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view of  FIG. 1  taken along Line A—A; 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view of  FIG. 1  showing the example of the present invention wherein the main body thereof is pushed up; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating a further example of the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the example of  FIG. 5  of the present invention; 
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view of  FIG. 6  taken along Line B—B; 
       FIG. 8  is a sectional view of  FIG. 6  showing a still further example of the present invention wherein the main body thereof is pushed up; 
       FIG. 9  is a sectional view of  FIG. 6  showing the present invention with the brush cover thereof pushed up; 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing a conventional cosmetics brush; and 
       FIG. 11  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the conventional cosmetics brush. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and following embodiments which are presented for purpose of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an example of the present invention.  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the example of the present invention.  FIG. 3  is a sectional view of  FIG. 1  taken along Line A—A, and  FIG. 4  is a sectional view of  FIG. 1  showing the present invention with the main body thereof pushed up. 
   With regard to a cosmetics brush  1  of the present invention, cosmetics powder is discharging in a certain amount to a brush member  50  through vertical grooves  25  formed around a movable bar  24  by following the steps of: gripping an upper movable body  40  located at bottom portion of the brusher member  50  with one hand while pushing up a main body  10  by the other hand to enable the main body  10  to screw-coupled to the top portion thereof; moving up and down an intermediate coupler  20  built-in to the bottom portion of the upper movable body  40  along a guide groove  43  formed in the bottom portion of the upper movable body  40 ; and applying pressure to a powder transport duct  41  with a press-ring  26  located in the movable bar  24  connected to top portion of the intermediate coupler  20 . 
   Briefly, by pushing up the Main body  10 , the press-ring  26  formed around the movable bar  24  moves into the powder transport duct  41  and applies pressure thereto to discharge the cosmetics powder out of the duct  41 , while the intermediate coupler  20  falls down and returns to its original position by the repulsive force of the spring  32  provided at the top portion of the intermediate coupler  20  so that the body is closed by an opening/closing element  27  formed on top portion of the movable bar  24  to prevent the discharge of the cosmetic powder. Accordingly, the present inventive cosmetics brush  1  can freely and semi-automatically control discharging/blocking of the cosmetics powder using the movable bar  24  integrated with the intermediate coupler  20  as well as the spring  32  through its construction as described below. 
   The cosmetics brush  1  according to the present invention comprises the main body  10  which is formed with a screw part coupled to another screw part in the bottom portion of the intermediate coupler  20 . 
   The intermediate coupler  20  which is joined with the main body  10  at the top portion thereof has a pass-through opening  21  and two protrusions  22  on both sides around the intermediate coupler  20 . On the middle of the opening  21 , vertical grooves  25  supported by a supporter  23  are provided. In addition, the movable bar  24  is longitudinally located on the middle of the opening  21  and is provided with the press-ring  26  and the opening/closing part  27 . 
   Alternative closing member  30  is fitted into the top portion of the intermediate coupler  20 . 
   The intermediate coupler  20  having the specified construction described above, is inserted and coupled inside the powder transport duct  41  provided at the top portion of the upper movable body  40  with the spring  32  being disposed around the movable bar  20 . 
   The protrusions  22  formed around the intermediate coupler  20  are fitted into the guide groove  43  existing on the lower inside of the upper movable body  40 , possible to vertically move within the guide groove  43 , while the opening/closing part  27  formed with a threshold at the top portion of the movable bar  24  is coupled across the top portion of a threshold  42  in the inner top portion of the powder transport duct  41 . 
   As a result, the intermediate coupler  20  coupled to the main body  10  and the upper movable body  40  are engaged not only in the opening/closing part  27  on the top portion of the movable bar  24  fitted into the powder transport duct  41  but also with the threshold  42  in the powder transport duct  41 , thereby resulting in a solid and stable connection without the danger of a release thereof. 
   By pushing up the main body  10  to extend the movable bar  24  out of the top portion of the powder transport duct  41  when the intermediate coupler  20  and the upper movable body  40  are connected to each other, fitting an auxiliary brush with vertical grooves  29  to distribute and discharge the powder into a slit  28  formed on the top portion of the movable bar  41 , and fitting a clip  52  corresponding to the brush member  50  into a slit portion  44  formed in the upper movable body  40 , the present inventive cosmetics brush  1  is completed. 
   The functional effect of the present invention having such construction described above will be more understood with reference to the following description. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4 , the cosmetics powder is charged in the main body  10 . The top portion of the main body  10  is spaced from the bottom end part of the upper movable body  40  in a desirable interval by the repulsive force of the spring  32 . The threshold  42  is formed on the top portion of the upper movable body  40  and inside the powder transport duct  41 . 
   The opening/closing part  27  formed on top end part of the movable bar  24  of the intermediate coupler  20  is coupled and engaged to the above threshold  42  to close the same. 
   In this construction to receive the cosmetics powder, the user needs to only push the main body  10  upward with one hand while gripping the upper movable body  40  with the other hand so that the threshold  42  formed in the powder transport duct  41  and closed by the opening/closing part  27  can discharge the powder to the brush member  50  at the time of making-up. When the main body  10  is pushed up, the movable bar  24  above the intermediate coupler  20  is raised and allows the press-ring  26  around the movable bar  24  to apply pressure to inner part of the powder transport duct  41  inside the upper movable body  40 , thereby transporting the cosmetics powder to the powder transport duct side  41  through the vertical grooves  25  arranged around the movable bar  24  and discharging the same to the auxiliary blush  29  in the desired amount, as shown in  FIG. 4 . The auxiliary brush  29  has the role of distributing the powder uniformly around the brush member  50 . 
   Subsequently, when the force pushing up the main body  10  is removed, both of the intermediate coupler  20  mounted with the movable bar  24  and the main body  10  return to their original positions by the repulsive force of the spring  32  supporting the intermediate coupler  20 . 
   As described above, the repetition of pushing and releasing the main body  10  discharges the powder from the main body  10  to the brush member side  50  to be used for make-up. 
   Although the brush member  50  is illustrated in the drawings in a turned-up position for convenience, when in use it is frequently facing in the downward direction. 
     FIGS. 5 to 9  illustrate an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a cosmetics brush  1   a  comprises a main body  10   a  to receive the cosmetics powder, an upper movable body  40   a  and a movable member  12  formed with a moving groove  12   a  and an engaging groove  12   b  at both desirable positions around the main body  10   a . The upper movable body  40   a  has a protrusion  45   a  and another engaging groove  45  on inner side and on the outer side of the bottom end part of the upper movable body  40   a . The protrusion  45   a  fits into the moving groove  12   a  around the movable member  12  to move upward/downward, while being controlled in its movement when it is fitted into the engaging groove  12   b.    
   The movable member  12  formed above the main body  10   a  has a pass-through opening  21   a  with a supporter  23   a  in the middle of the opening and the movable bar  24   a  is set up perpendicular to the supporter  23   a  as a base. 
   Around the movable bar  24   a , vertical grooves  25  are formed while a press-ring  26   a  is located on lower desirable position of the movable bar  24   a.    
   Further, alternative sealing member  30   a  is fitted into and coupled at the top end part of the movable member  12 . 
   This movable member  12  with the construction described above is fitted into and coupled with the upper movable body  40   a . More particularly, a filter  34  is first inserted into the upper movable body  30   a  then a spring  32  is mounted around the movable bar  24   a . Then, the movable bar  24   a  is forced to enter through a powder transport duct  41   a  formed on the inner, upper portion of the upper movable body  40   a . On the top portion of the movable bar  24   a  is fitted a push-cap  27   a  having an auxiliary brush  29   a  for distributing powder to the movable bar  24   a  to be placed across a threshold  42   a  provided inside the powder transport duct  41   a.    
   The movable member  12  formed at the top portion of the main body  10   a  has a specific construction with the push-cap  27   a  which is located at the top portion of the movable bar  24   a , fitted into and coupled with the powder transport duct  41   a  and engaged in the threshold  42   a  so as not to be released. 
   In the above construction, the main body  10   a  is forcedly pushed upward so that top end part of the movable bar  24   a  passes through the top portion of the powder transport duct  41   a  and protrudes out of the same. On the protruded movable bar  24   a  is fitted the push-cap  27   a  having the auxiliary brush  29   a . When the removing force from the main body  10   a  is forced upward, the main body  10   a  naturally falls down by the repulsive force of the spring  32 , and at the same time, the auxiliary brush  29   a  enters into the powder transport duct  41   a . As a result, a brush member  50   a  in a bundle form by a clip  52   a  is fitted and coupled around the powder transport duct  41   a.    
   On the other hand, around the upper movable body  40   a  there is provided a brush cover  46  having slidable protrusion  46   a  at the inner bottom portion thereof. The protrusion  46   a  is adapted to engage with or disengage from the engaging groove  45 . By covering the top portion of the brush member  50   a  with a cap  60 , the present inventive cosmetics brush  1   a  is completed. 
   The functional effect of the above embodiments of the present invention, will be described in more detail as follows. 
   The cosmetics brush  1   a  according to the alternative embodiment of the present invention as shown in  FIGS. 5 to 8  acts in substantially the same manner as the cosmetics brush  1  illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 4 . More specifically, the cosmetics powder is charged into the main body  10   a . The movable member  12 , as the top portion of the main body  10   a , is spaced from the upper movable body  40   a  and from bottom end part of the brush cover  46  at a desirable interval by the repulsive force of the spring  32 . The push-cap  27   a  blocks the top portion of the threshold  42   a  formed inside the powder transport duct  41   a  of the upper movable body  40   a.    
   In order to receive the powder and discharge the powder into the brush member  50  in the condition where the powder transport duct  41   a  is closed by the push-cap  27   a  at the time of make-up, the user needs to only push the main body  10   a  upward with one hand while gripping the brush cover  46  integrated with the upper movable body  40   a  with the other hand. When the main body  10   a  is pushed up, the movable bar  24   a  above the movable member  12  is raised and allows the press-ring  26   a  around the movable bar  24   a  to apply pressure to the inner space  42   b  as the inner part of the upper movable body  40   a , thereby discharging the cosmetics powder to the auxiliary brush side  29   a  and the brush side  50   a  through the vertical grooves  25   a  arranged around the movable bar  24   a  in the desired amount, as shown in  FIG. 8 . The auxiliary brush  29   a  has the role of distributing the powder uniformly around the brush member  50   a.    
   Moreover, the powder to be delivered into the powder transport duct  41   a  predominantly passes through a filter  34  built in the upper movable body  40   a  to remove aggregates and/or impurities and to introduce only fine powder into the powder transport duct  41   a.    
   On the other hand, the brush cover  46  coupled around the upper movable body  40   a  has another protrusion  46   a  at the inner lower portion thereof to be engaged with the engaging groove  45  at bottom end part of the upper movable body  40   a  and acts together with the upper movable body  40   a.    
   When the force pushing up the main body  10   a  is removed, both the movable member  12  having the movable bar  24   a  and the main body  10  return to their original positions by the repulsive force of the spring  32  supporting the movable member  12 . 
   As described above, repetition of the upward/downward movement is carried out by forcing the main body  10   a . If not used, the main body  10   a  is pushed upward until it reaches the upper movable body  40   a  where the movement of the main body  10   a  is restricted by the engagement of the protrusion  45   a  on the inner lower portion of the upper movable body  40   a  in the groove  12   b  extending around the movable member  12 . After locking the main body  10   a  as described above, the cosmetics brush  1  can be appropriately contained. 
   As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , in the case where the protrusion  46   a  of the brush cover  46  enclosing the upper movable body  40   a  is released from the groove  45  of the upper movable body  40   a  then the brush cover  46  is pushed upward to join the brush member  50   a , thereby conveniently connecting the brush member  50   a  with the cap  60  when the cosmetics brush is not in use. 
   By the repetitive pushing/releasing of the main body  10   a , the cosmetics powder received in the main body  10   a  can pass through the powder transport duct  41   a  and move to the brush member  50 , whereby it accomplishes the purpose of the present invention. 
   As described above, the cosmetics brush of the present invention is conveniently useable and effective to use with a simple operation wherein it can generate air pressure inside the main body by repeatedly moving the main body up and down whereby the powder inside the main body passes through the vertical grooves on the movable bar and the powder transport duct on the upper movable body to discharge the make-up to the brush member. 
   The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.