Abstract:
An apparatus for distributing and safely housing lipstick, the apparatus comprises a lipstick casing and an assembled refilling cartridge. The lipstick casing has a top cap, an O-ring connected to the attachment of the top cap, a hollow body including a retainer lip formed inside the body, and an end cap. The assemble refilled cartridge has a plastic cup, a s-cut sheath, a spiral cut sheath, and a cartridge end cap. The lipstick casing provides the slip free grip and housing protection for the assembled refilled cartridge and allow the user to use the fully assembled refill cartridge without removing the refill cartridge from the lipstick casing.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of application Ser. No. 60/415,567 filed Oct. 3, 2002. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to lipstick cases and, more particularly, to lipstick cases that have a refillable cartridge, refill via breech loading, are extremely durable and rigid and are attached to keyrings via a swivel o-ring. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   For decades cosmetics have been an essential part of most women&#39;s daily beauty regimine. The problem however lies in cheaply made cases that crush, allow lipstick to melt, feel cheap, look cheap, don&#39;t protect the lipsticks sufficiently, open unexpectedly in a woman&#39;s purse, and may actually get lost in the bottom of a woman&#39;s handbag. Because lipstick cases are relatively inexpensive plastic, tin, or low grade aluminum, most consumers have little choice on a quality brand of lipstick that not only feels good, but looks good as well. 
   Cosmetics are traditionally a throw away product. There are many different shapes, sizes, etc. The materials used to construct the cases are typically plastic, tin, and aluminum. Some companies have come up with innovative items such as a ring on the top of the cap so the consumer can wear it on a rope or their keys. 
   These other cases still don&#39;t address the other problems, such as cheaply made plastick components, opening in a purse, or getting lost in a handbag. They are often cheaply made work-arounds that don&#39;t really get the job done. A woman with more refined tastes, that can afford the best is still usually stuck with cheaply made cosmetic components simply because there is nothing better available. Also, because of the cheap materials used to make other lipstick componentry, screw down caps are usually impractical or impossible due to the extreme forces acting on the material itself, causing stress fractures in the components or breakage. This leads to leaks, and non functional components. 
   It is therefore an object of the invention to house and protect cosmetic products. 
   It is another object of the invention to prevent such product from being damaged or damaging other property. 
   It is another object of the invention to use high end materials on a product that is typically not done. 
   It is another object of the invention to allow the user to attach product to their keyrings, etc. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a lipstick case and it&#39;s refill compontent that allows for the protection and housing of cosmetic products. The lipstick case comprises an o-ring that is used to attach lipstick case to a keyring, purse, etc. This case and it&#39;s respective refill cartridge are comprised of a total of 7 sub-components but maybe comprised from as little as six to as many as 10. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a Lipstick case and refill component expanded view of all items that comprise lipstick and refill cartridge; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a view showing assembled cartridge being inserted into body of lipstick case; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an expanded ¾ view of lipstick case and cartridge; 
       FIG. 4  is a front view of a fully assembled lipstick and cartridge; and 
       FIG. 5  is a front view of a fully assembled lipstick case and cartridge. 
   

   For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the FIGURES. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1  is an expanded front view of a fully assembled lipstick case and cartridge  44  (shown fully assembled in  FIG. 4 ) in accordance with this invention. An o-ring  12 , shown in  FIG. 1  is attached to a removable or non removable o-ring  12  divot or attachment  42  shown in FIG.  4 . This attachment is then secured to the top cap  14 . This o-ring  12  can be fashioned out of any suitable material by any means and is rigid but is also able so swivel on a limited axis. It can be any shape, round, oval, square or angular and serves to secure the lipstick case to a key ring, purse strap, etc. It has a space in the bottom with two tapered ends  56 . This feature prevents the o-ring  12  from cutting material away from the o-ring  12  divot or attachment  42 . 
   The o-ring  12  divot or attachment  42  can be removable or non removable and rigid, durable, and can be fabricated by any means, from any suitable material. It can have a hole drilled all the way through so a rope, chain, or any other instrument can be strung through. This particular iteration of the design has a small indention  50  drilled on each side with a retainer wall in the middle. The wall serves to stop an o-ring  12  from spinning, there by exposing a seam. The tapered ends  56  shown in  FIG. 4  are securely clamped into these two indentations. 
   The top cap  14  shown in  FIG. 1  is where the divot or attachment  42  secures into or is on top of. This top cap  14  is the first of 3 main pieces that comprise a fully assembled lipstick case  46 . This cap is rigid, durable, and can be fabricated by any means, from any suitable material and serves to not only to protect and cover a fully assembled refill cartridge  48  inside, but also to have a means by which to secure the o-ring  12  which then secures to the o-ring  12  divot or attachment  42 , which then secures to the top cap  14 . This top cap  14  is secured by topcap threading  34 , a pressure fit, or a friction fit. This top cap  14  is then fitted and or screwed onto a body  16 . 
   The body  16  shown in  FIG. 1  is the second piece that comprises the fully assembled lipstick case  46 . It is rigid, durable, and can be fabricated by any means, from any suitable material. The body has an front opening  5  and a back opening  4 , this body  16  has 3 main features on it. The first feature a threading_upper  36  shown in  FIG. 3 , the second feature, threading_lower  38  also shown in  FIG. 3 , and a third feature, a retainer lip  32  also shown in FIG.  3 . The threading upper  36  is the place where the top cap  14  docks onto the body  16 . The threading_lower  38  is where an end cap  24  docks onto the body  16 . These threadings can be changed to a pressure fit, or a friction fit as needed. The retainer lip  32  that stops a cartridge endcap  28  from sliding further up the inside of the body  16 . This retainer lip  32  includes a larger inner diameter  8  at said back opening, a step portion  15  and an inner smaller diameter  9  extending from said step portion toward the front opening. Whereby the hollow body by which the fully assembled cartridge slides through, becomes increasingly smaller at the top, thereby trapping a cartridge endcap  28  partially inside the retainer lip. This body  16  serves to house the fully assembled refill cartridge  48 , while allowing a spiral cut sheath  26  to rotate freely on a vertical axis inside of it. 
   The end cap  24  shown in  FIG. 1  is the 3rd piece of the fully assembled lipstick case  46 . It is rigid, durable, and can be fabricated by any means, from any suitable material. This end cap  24  is a critical piece of engineering to the fully assembled lipstick case  46 . It has one main feature, the endcap threading  50 , shown in FIG.  1 . This end cap  24  docks onto the threading_lower  38  body  16  and is screwed on or can also be fabricated to have a friction fit or a pressure fit. As the end cap  24  is twisted up the threading-lower body  16 , it puts increasing more pressure against a cartridge endcap  28 , this in conjunction with the body  16  counterbore  32  serves to lock the cartridge endcap  28  into a locked position while still allowing the components from the fully assembled refill cartridge  48 -such as the standard 0.477 plastic cup  20 , s-cut sheath  22 , and spiral cut sheath  26  to move rotationally or on a vertical axis. 
   A lipstick slug  18  shown in  FIG. 1  is the overall end product that this fully assembled lipstick case and cartridge  44  is made to house, protect, and distribute. However, since it is not claimed, no more will be written on this. 
   A standard 0.477 plastic cup  20  shown in  FIG. 1  is a critical part used in this invention, and holds the lipstick product  18  in place. But since it comes in many different forms, and is available to any manufacturer that wants to buy it, it is not claimed in the document. 
   The s-cut sheath  22  shown in  FIG. 1 , is a critical part for the operation of the fully assembled refill cartridge  48  shown in FIG.  5 . It is rigid, durable, and can be fabricated by any means, from any suitable material. This s-cut sheath  22  gets it&#39;s name due to the s-cut down both sides parallel to each other. The s-cuts provides a means by which the 0.477 cup divots  60  shown in  FIG. 3 , slide up and down on a locked axis. This lip  40  then slides through the spiral cut sheath  26  and then clamps into the cartridge end cap  28 , shown in FIG.  1 . What makes this particular s-cut sheath  22  special is the s-cut sheath retainer lip  58 , shown in FIG.  5 . This lip  58  serves to block the spiral cut sheath  26  from advancing further up the outside of the s-cut sheathe  22  and unlike other lipsticks, it is actually above and outside the spiral cut sheath  26  as opposed to inside of it along a groove near the top. This allows stronger, non-flexing materials to be used in the construction of the lipstick case. 
   The spiral cut sheath  26 , shown in  FIG. 1 , is another critical piece of the fully assembled refill cartridge  48 . It is rigid, durable, and can be fabricated by any means, from any suitable material. This spiral cut sheath  26  is a hollow tube that slide over the s-cut sheath  22  and stops at the top of the s-cut sheath by the s-cut sheath retainer lip  58 . It can be rotated in a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion. Spiral vertical grooves are cut inside the sheath roughly the same diameter as the 0.477 cup divots  60 . As this spiral cut sheath  26  is spun, it pushes the 0.447 cup divots up the grooves but due to the s-cut sheath  22 , these 0.477 cup divots  60  can only push the standard 0.477 plastic cup  20  up and down on a vertical axis. The spiral cut sheath  26  is held from advancing further on its vertical axis by the s-cut sheath  22  retainer lip  58  and the cartridge endcap  28  lip  40  to fit against the retainer lip  32  of the hollow body  16 . What makes this spiral cut sheath  26  special is that it&#39;s held in place the reverse of all other products on the market. Other lipstick containers work on this principle: The spiral cut sheath is bent over, at the top, the s-cut sheath  22  to prevent the s-cut sheath  22  from advancing upward. My invention works by using the s-cut sheath  22  and the s-cut sheath retainer lip  58  to stop the spiral cut sheath  26  from advancing further. 
   The cartridge endcap  28 , shown in  FIG. 1 , is the final piece in the fully assembled refill cartridge  48 . It is rigid, durable, and can be fabricated by any means, from any suitable material. This cartridge endcap  28  can and does use a pressure fit and a friction fit. It can also be held in place by any suitable means. The s-cut sheath  22  snaps into the cartridge endcap  28  and restricts horizontal, rotational, and vertical movement to the s-cut sheath  22 . The spiral cut sheath is then allowed to spin around the stationary s-cut sheath  22 . This cartridge endcap  28  has a lip  40  on it that locks against the counterbore  32  in the back of the body  16 , which prevents if from moving further forward. The endcap is then screwed up the threading_bottom, pushing the cartridge endcap  28  into a snug and secure fit against the counterbore  32 . 
     FIG. 2 , which is a perspective view of cartridge insertion  30  of a fully assembled refill cartridge  48  into a fully assembled lipstick case  46 , with the top cap  14  and the end cap  24  removed. The top cap  14  does not have to be removed to perform cartridge insertion  30 , however, the end cap  24  does have to be removed, and the screwed back on once the fully assembled refill cartridge  48  is in place. 
   Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention. 
   Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.