Cosmetics brush

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.

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 coupler20and 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 inFIGS. 10 and 11, taken from Korean Utility Model Reg. No. 253672.

The cosmetic brush comprises a first body102in the form of a tube with open top and bottom ends for receiving cosmetics power103; a second body106connected to lower circumferential side and having outlet hole107among central portion of the top side, and a brush member108communicating the outlet hole107at the front end; an up/down transfer shaft109comprising a spring110connected to the outer circumferential side of front end, the front end portion being connected to the outlet hole107of the second body106and the spring110supported on the outer circumference of the top end; and a top cap113connected to the top end of the first body102to extend the top end portion of the up/down transfer shaft109and support it.

With such a construction, the cosmetics brush100is used by pushing a button102which protrudes upward from the top end of the up/down transfer shaft109during make-up. The spring110provided at top end of the up/down transfer shaft109permits the shaft109to move up and down and, in turn, the cosmetics powder103received in the body102passes through the outlet hole107having a front end portion formed in the second body106and moves to the outside, that is, is easily supplied to the brush member108, whereby the cosmetics brush can conveniently use the cosmetics powder.

Herein, the cosmetics powder103is provided to the brush member108through the outlet hole107by directly passing the top end of the up/down transfer shaft109through the outlet hole107.

However, since such a conventional cosmetic brush mentioned above discharges the cosmetics powder103to the brush member108by the top end of the up/down transfer shaft109, it difficult to achieve an even and/or uniform distribution of the powder103due to the inherent constructional limitations of the up/down transfer shaft109. In addition, swaying of the cosmetics brush itself100which allows discharge of the powder103to the brush member side108also causes an inconvenience in the use thereof.

Moreover, a button112formed on a top cap side113always protrudes outside due to the repulsing force of the spring110and, in the case where it strikes any personal articles while being carried where an outer force is applied to the brush, the button112may move and cause undesirable discharge of the powder103to the brush member side108, 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 powder103contained in the body102and remaining in the outlet hole107becomes hardened due to moisture, creating difficulty in discharging and/or distribution of the cosmetics powder103.

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 coupler20, 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.

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. 1is a perspective view illustrating an example of the present invention.FIG. 2is an exploded perspective view illustrating the example of the present invention.FIG. 3is a sectional view ofFIG. 1taken along Line A—A, andFIG. 4is a sectional view ofFIG. 1showing the present invention with the main body thereof pushed up.

With regard to a cosmetics brush1of the present invention, cosmetics powder is discharging in a certain amount to a brush member50through vertical grooves25formed around a movable bar24by following the steps of: gripping an upper movable body40located at bottom portion of the brusher member50with one hand while pushing up a main body10by the other hand to enable the main body10to screw-coupled to the top portion thereof; moving up and down an intermediate coupler20built-in to the bottom portion of the upper movable body40along a guide groove43formed in the bottom portion of the upper movable body40; and applying pressure to a powder transport duct41with a press-ring26located in the movable bar24connected to top portion of the intermediate coupler20.

Briefly, by pushing up the Main body10, the press-ring26formed around the movable bar24moves into the powder transport duct41and applies pressure thereto to discharge the cosmetics powder out of the duct41, while the intermediate coupler20falls down and returns to its original position by the repulsive force of the spring32provided at the top portion of the intermediate coupler20so that the body is closed by an opening/closing element27formed on top portion of the movable bar24to prevent the discharge of the cosmetic powder. Accordingly, the present inventive cosmetics brush1can freely and semi-automatically control discharging/blocking of the cosmetics powder using the movable bar24integrated with the intermediate coupler20as well as the spring32through its construction as described below.

The cosmetics brush1according to the present invention comprises the main body10which is formed with a screw part coupled to another screw part in the bottom portion of the intermediate coupler20.

The intermediate coupler20which is joined with the main body10at the top portion thereof has a pass-through opening21and two protrusions22on both sides around the intermediate coupler20. On the middle of the opening21, vertical grooves25supported by a supporter23are provided. In addition, the movable bar24is longitudinally located on the middle of the opening21and is provided with the press-ring26and the opening/closing part27.

Alternative closing member30is fitted into the top portion of the intermediate coupler20.

The intermediate coupler20having the specified construction described above, is inserted and coupled inside the powder transport duct41provided at the top portion of the upper movable body40with the spring32being disposed around the movable bar20.

The protrusions22formed around the intermediate coupler20are fitted into the guide groove43existing on the lower inside of the upper movable body40, possible to vertically move within the guide groove43, while the opening/closing part27formed with a threshold at the top portion of the movable bar24is coupled across the top portion of a threshold42in the inner top portion of the powder transport duct41.

As a result, the intermediate coupler20coupled to the main body10and the upper movable body40are engaged not only in the opening/closing part27on the top portion of the movable bar24fitted into the powder transport duct41but also with the threshold42in the powder transport duct41, thereby resulting in a solid and stable connection without the danger of a release thereof.

By pushing up the main body10to extend the movable bar24out of the top portion of the powder transport duct41when the intermediate coupler20and the upper movable body40are connected to each other, fitting an auxiliary brush with vertical grooves29to distribute and discharge the powder into a slit28formed on the top portion of the movable bar41, and fitting a clip52corresponding to the brush member50into a slit portion44formed in the upper movable body40, the present inventive cosmetics brush1is 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 inFIGS. 1 to 4, the cosmetics powder is charged in the main body10. The top portion of the main body10is spaced from the bottom end part of the upper movable body40in a desirable interval by the repulsive force of the spring32. The threshold42is formed on the top portion of the upper movable body40and inside the powder transport duct41.

The opening/closing part27formed on top end part of the movable bar24of the intermediate coupler20is coupled and engaged to the above threshold42to close the same.

In this construction to receive the cosmetics powder, the user needs to only push the main body10upward with one hand while gripping the upper movable body40with the other hand so that the threshold42formed in the powder transport duct41and closed by the opening/closing part27can discharge the powder to the brush member50at the time of making-up. When the main body10is pushed up, the movable bar24above the intermediate coupler20is raised and allows the press-ring26around the movable bar24to apply pressure to inner part of the powder transport duct41inside the upper movable body40, thereby transporting the cosmetics powder to the powder transport duct side41through the vertical grooves25arranged around the movable bar24and discharging the same to the auxiliary blush29in the desired amount, as shown inFIG. 4. The auxiliary brush29has the role of distributing the powder uniformly around the brush member50.

Subsequently, when the force pushing up the main body10is removed, both of the intermediate coupler20mounted with the movable bar24and the main body10return to their original positions by the repulsive force of the spring32supporting the intermediate coupler20.

As described above, the repetition of pushing and releasing the main body10discharges the powder from the main body10to the brush member side50to be used for make-up.

Although the brush member50is 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 9illustrate an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

As shown inFIGS. 5 and 6, a cosmetics brush1acomprises a main body10ato receive the cosmetics powder, an upper movable body40aand a movable member12formed with a moving groove12aand an engaging groove12bat both desirable positions around the main body10a. The upper movable body40ahas a protrusion45aand another engaging groove45on inner side and on the outer side of the bottom end part of the upper movable body40a. The protrusion45afits into the moving groove12aaround the movable member12to move upward/downward, while being controlled in its movement when it is fitted into the engaging groove12b.

The movable member12formed above the main body10ahas a pass-through opening21awith a supporter23ain the middle of the opening and the movable bar24ais set up perpendicular to the supporter23aas a base.

Around the movable bar24a, vertical grooves25are formed while a press-ring26ais located on lower desirable position of the movable bar24a.

Further, alternative sealing member30ais fitted into and coupled at the top end part of the movable member12.

This movable member12with the construction described above is fitted into and coupled with the upper movable body40a. More particularly, a filter34is first inserted into the upper movable body30athen a spring32is mounted around the movable bar24a. Then, the movable bar24ais forced to enter through a powder transport duct41aformed on the inner, upper portion of the upper movable body40a. On the top portion of the movable bar24ais fitted a push-cap27ahaving an auxiliary brush29afor distributing powder to the movable bar24ato be placed across a threshold42aprovided inside the powder transport duct41a.

The movable member12formed at the top portion of the main body10ahas a specific construction with the push-cap27awhich is located at the top portion of the movable bar24a, fitted into and coupled with the powder transport duct41aand engaged in the threshold42aso as not to be released.

In the above construction, the main body10ais forcedly pushed upward so that top end part of the movable bar24apasses through the top portion of the powder transport duct41aand protrudes out of the same. On the protruded movable bar24ais fitted the push-cap27ahaving the auxiliary brush29a. When the removing force from the main body10ais forced upward, the main body10anaturally falls down by the repulsive force of the spring32, and at the same time, the auxiliary brush29aenters into the powder transport duct41a. As a result, a brush member50ain a bundle form by a clip52ais fitted and coupled around the powder transport duct41a.

On the other hand, around the upper movable body40athere is provided a brush cover46having slidable protrusion46aat the inner bottom portion thereof. The protrusion46ais adapted to engage with or disengage from the engaging groove45. By covering the top portion of the brush member50awith a cap60, the present inventive cosmetics brush1ais completed.

The functional effect of the above embodiments of the present invention, will be described in more detail as follows.

The cosmetics brush1aaccording to the alternative embodiment of the present invention as shown inFIGS. 5 to 8acts in substantially the same manner as the cosmetics brush1illustrated inFIGS. 1 to 4. More specifically, the cosmetics powder is charged into the main body10a. The movable member12, as the top portion of the main body10a, is spaced from the upper movable body40aand from bottom end part of the brush cover46at a desirable interval by the repulsive force of the spring32. The push-cap27ablocks the top portion of the threshold42aformed inside the powder transport duct41aof the upper movable body40a.

In order to receive the powder and discharge the powder into the brush member50in the condition where the powder transport duct41ais closed by the push-cap27aat the time of make-up, the user needs to only push the main body10aupward with one hand while gripping the brush cover46integrated with the upper movable body40awith the other hand. When the main body10ais pushed up, the movable bar24aabove the movable member12is raised and allows the press-ring26aaround the movable bar24ato apply pressure to the inner space42bas the inner part of the upper movable body40a, thereby discharging the cosmetics powder to the auxiliary brush side29aand the brush side50athrough the vertical grooves25aarranged around the movable bar24ain the desired amount, as shown inFIG. 8. The auxiliary brush29ahas the role of distributing the powder uniformly around the brush member50a.

Moreover, the powder to be delivered into the powder transport duct41apredominantly passes through a filter34built in the upper movable body40ato remove aggregates and/or impurities and to introduce only fine powder into the powder transport duct41a.

On the other hand, the brush cover46coupled around the upper movable body40ahas another protrusion46aat the inner lower portion thereof to be engaged with the engaging groove45at bottom end part of the upper movable body40aand acts together with the upper movable body40a.

When the force pushing up the main body10ais removed, both the movable member12having the movable bar24aand the main body10return to their original positions by the repulsive force of the spring32supporting the movable member12.

As described above, repetition of the upward/downward movement is carried out by forcing the main body10a. If not used, the main body10ais pushed upward until it reaches the upper movable body40awhere the movement of the main body10ais restricted by the engagement of the protrusion45aon the inner lower portion of the upper movable body40ain the groove12bextending around the movable member12. After locking the main body10aas described above, the cosmetics brush1can be appropriately contained.

As illustrated inFIG. 9, in the case where the protrusion46aof the brush cover46enclosing the upper movable body40ais released from the groove45of the upper movable body40athen the brush cover46is pushed upward to join the brush member50a, thereby conveniently connecting the brush member50awith the cap60when the cosmetics brush is not in use.

By the repetitive pushing/releasing of the main body10a, the cosmetics powder received in the main body10acan pass through the powder transport duct41aand move to the brush member50, 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.