Abstract:
A container for storing and dispensing colored cosmetic stick products comprising an external base having a portion for housing the cosmetic stick, a rotational assembly enabling extension and retraction of said stick, and a bottom portion which is hollowed out to form a cavity; a cap which telescopically fits onto the base for covering the stick; an insert containing a color indicator, said insert fitted into the cavity in the bottom of the base and forming the bottom of the base, said insert indicating the color of the cosmetic stick product found within the container.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention is in the field of containers for storing and dispensing cosmetic products in stick form, particularly colored cosmetic sticks such as lipstick, eyeshadow, blush, foundation, and the like. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     One long standing problem with cosmetic containers used to store and dispense colored cosmetic sticks is that they do not enable the consumer to see the color of the cosmetic material within. Most often the consumer is forced to rely on printed color indicators attached to in store cosmetic displays to reflect the color of the product they wish to purchase. Consumers are generally dissatisfied with this approach and wish to see the color of the actual product prior to purchase. When cosmetic containers do not readily lend themselves to such inspection, consumers tend to tamper with the containers by removing lids, opening blister packs, and so on. Consumers will then not purchase cosmetics that have been tampered with, and the products are returned to cosmetic companies as damaged goods. This results in considerable expense for cosmetics companies. 
     A number of solutions to this problem have been proposed throughout the years. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,704 teaches a tamperproof lipstick case where the rotational assembly is shrink wrapped so that the consumer can remove the cap of the lipstick to view the color but cannot turn the rotational assembly to eject the stick without removing the shrink wrap. While this type of design reduces breakage, the consumer is able to view only the top of the lipstick within the case and may not get a true sense of the actual color. In addition, nothing prevents consumers from removing the shrink wrap. 
     Another tamperproof lipstick component is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,113, which teaches a clear protective under cap designed to fit on top of the lipstick bullet when it is partly e)tended. The cap of the lipstick fits over the protective under cap. The under cap is secured to the lipstick such that the rotational assembly that causes ejection of the stick is secured and cannot be turned by the consumer. Yet, the consumer is able to view the stick through the clear under cap. One problem with this design is that it works only with lipstick dispensers that have a certain type of design only, in particular a square cross-sectional shape. Second, it involves manufacture of an additional item which adds expense and takes time to assemble. 
     The ideal cosmetic stick container would enable consumers to accurately view the color of the cosmetic without the risk of undue breakage, and would not require any additional componentry that would add to expense and assembly time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention comprises a container for storing and dispensing colored cosmetic stick products comprising: 
     (a) an external base having a portion for housing the cosmetic stick, a rotational assembly enabling extension and retraction of said stick, and a bottom portion which is hollowed out to form a cavity, 
     (b) a cap which telescopically fits onto the base for covering the stick, 
     (c) an insert containing a color indicator, said insert fitted into the cavity in the bottom of the base and forming the bottom of the base, said insert indicating the color of the cosmetic stick product found within the container. 
     The container for storing and dispensing cosmetic stick products according to the invention enables the consumer to accurately assess the color of the cosmetic product found within without opening the container or associated packaging. The dispenser can be sold in a blister pack or it can be shrink wrapped in the closed position. This, in turn, substantially reduces unit damage and/or breakage, which is a costly problem for cosmetics companies. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG.  1 : is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of container in accordance with the invention, which container is in the closed position. 
     FIG.  2 : is the container of FIG. 1 in the open position with the cap removed and the cosmetic stick in view. 
     FIG.  3 : is a top plan view of the container of FIG. 2 with the cap removed and the cosmetic stick in view. 
     FIG.  3 A: is a top plan view of the insert with color indicator. 
     FIG.  4 : is a cross sectional view of the container taken across  4 — 4  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG.  5 : is a cross sectional view of the container of FIG. 4 where the cosmetic stick is in the extended position. 
     FIG.  6 A-D: is an exploded view of the container showing the various pieces that comprise the base. 
     FIG.  7 : is a cross sectional view of the components of FIGS.  8 , 9 , 10 , and  11  in nested relation. 
     FIG.  8 : is a cross sectional view of the component of FIG. 6A, which is the cup into which the base of the cosmetic stick is fitted. 
     FIG.  9 : is a cross sectional view of FIG.  6 B. 
     FIG.  10 : is a cross sectional view of FIG.  6 C. 
     FIG.  11 : is a cross sectional view of FIG.  6 D. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of the container  1  according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. The container  1  may be used to contain and dispense all manner of stick shaped cosmetic products including lipstick, eyeshadow, foundation makeup, sunscreen, fragrance, and the like. The only requirement for the cosmetic is that it must be sufficiently self-supporting to enable it to be housed in the container  1  and dispensed therefrom. Preferably the container is used to store and dispense lipstick  2  as depicted in FIG.  2 . The container  1  comprises a external base  3  with a housing  4  for the cosmetic stick  2 . The external base  3  comprises a rotational assembly  5  enabling extension and retraction of the stick  2 , and a bottom portion on the external base  3  which contains a cavity  6 . A cap  7  telescopically fits onto the external base  3  and covers the stick  2  when the container  1  is in the closed position. An insert  8  containing a color indicator  9  is fitted into the cavity  6 . The color indicator  9  exactly matches the color of the cosmetic stick  2  found within the container  1 . 
     More specifically, the external base  3  comprises a housing  4  for the cosmetic stick which comprises a cup  8 A as depicted in FIG. 6A which depicts the cup  8 A with the broken lines illustrating how a cosmetic stick  2  is placed therein. The cosmetic stick  2  is generally prepared in the usual manner by pouring into cosmetic stick molds and cooling. The resulting cosmetic stick “bullets” are removed from the molds when hardened and fitted into the cup  8 A. Preferably, the cup  8 A has barbs  9  which assist in anchoring the stick  2  in the cup  8 A, as well as longitudinally extending ribs  10 . In the most preferred embodiment of the invention, the cup  8 A is as depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,801, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. While the cup  8 A is preferably circular in cross section, it is possible that the cup may be oval, square, or other shapes. The cup  8 A has an inner surface  24  and an outer surface  25  (see FIG.  8 ). On the outer surface  25  of the cup  8 A are a pair of cam followers  26  which are generally cylindrical members spaced apart 180°. 
     The external base  3  contains a dispenser base  11 , which is formed from a hollow tubular member which has segments of varying diameter  12 , 13 , and  14  but with longitudinal axes in alignment. Segment  14  is formed with a pair of elongated openings  15  terminating at either end by a lateral opening  16 . The openings  15  are generally spaced 180° apart with only one such opening being shown. There is a surrounding rib  17  which contains an underlying lip  18  which circumscribes the dispenser base  11 . 
     Referring to FIG. 6C the outer shell  19  is constructed as a hollow tubular member having an inside diameter slightly larger than the external diameter of dispenser base  11 . The outer shell  19  contains an external spiral shaped groove  20  formed in the interior surface  21  thereof The spiral groove communicates between open ends  22  and  23  of the outer shell  19 . Outer shell  19  is positioned over dispenser base  11  as best depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5. Due to the slight dimensional differences between outer shell  19  and dispenser base  11 , the outer shell  19  is rotatable about its longitudinal axis. In this arrangement, the groove  20  is arranged such that it overlies openings  15  and  16  at various positions therealong as the outer shell  19  is rotated. The outer shell  19  is retained in its position by the rib  17  and with underlying lip  18  which fits over open end  22  of outer shell  19  the underlying lip  18  fitting over the edges  23 A of outer shell  19 . 
     The cup  8 A containing the cosmetic stick  2  is inserted into the dispenser base  11  such that the cam. followers  26  register with openings  15  and  16  in the dispenser base  11  and at the same time are received within the groove  20  in outer shell  19 . As such, the outside diameter of the cup  8 A is slightly less than the inside diameter of the dispenser base  11  thereby enabling the cup  8 A to slide longitudinally therethrough during operation of the dispenser base  11 . Together the dispenser base  11 , outer shell  19 , cup  8 A, external base  3 , and outer sleeve comprise the rotational assembly. 
     FIG. 6D illustrates an external sleeve  27  which has an inner diameter  28  slightly larger than the external diameter of outer shell  19 . The external sleeve  27  is positioned in nested relationship with cup  8 A, dispenser base  11 , and outer shell  19 . In particular, external sleeve  27  has a bottom edge  28 A which fits snugly against a circumferential shelf  29  found on the lower portion  30  of the outer shell  19 . The consumer grips external sleeve  27  with the fingers of one hand and the external base  3  with the fingers of the other hand. When external base  3  is rotated in one direction the cosmetic stick  2  is extended from the container. When the consumer is done applying the stick to the desired surface, the stick is retracted by rotating the external base  3  in the opposite direction. 
     The external base  3  comprises a bottom portion comprising a hollowed out cavity  6  (best illustrated in FIGS.  4  and  5 ). The hollowed out cavity  6  has side walls  31  and a central projection  32 . Preferably the sidewalls  31  of the cavity have varying lengths in a sinusoidal shape of varying short and long length portions such that at any one point on a sidewall, the sidewall 180° opposite will be of the same length all though the sinusoidal sidewall lengths do not necessarily have to have this variation in length. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a long sidewall  32  and a short sidewall  33 . The sidewall that is 180° opposite long sidewall  32  is also a long sidewall. Similarly, the sidewall that is 180° opposite short sidewall  33  is also a short sidewall. The short sidewalls enable the consumer to see the insert with color chip and assess the color of the cosmetic found within the container  1 . 
     The color indicator  9  comprises an insert  34  which has sidewalls  35 , a base  36 , and a cavity  37 . The insert is made from a clear thermoplastic material that has the same or very similar index of refraction as glass such that color is visible through it. The sidewalls  35  have an outer surface  38  and the diameter of the outer surface  38  sidewalls is slightly less than the diameter of hollow cavity  6  such that the insert  34  fits snugly into the hollow cavity  6 . A color chip  39  fits snugly into the insert  34 . The color chip  39  approximates the color of the cosmetic stick  2  product found within the container, and is viewed through the insert  34 . The color indicator  9 , comprised of the insert  34  and color chip  39  forms a single piece that can be snapped into the hollow cavity  6 . The color chip has a base  40  and sidewalls  41  which are designed to snap onto the central projection  32 . The single piece formed by the insert and color chip can be pre assembled and snapped onto the central projection of the base  32  during the manufacturing operation. Preferably the color chip is made out of a thermoplastic polymeric material that is combined with the same colorants used in the cosmetic stick composition dispensed in the container. The thermoplastic material may be combined in the molten state with the actual cosmetic material or the pigments used to color the cosmetic material may be used to color the thermoplastic material. Generally, about 1 part of the molten thermoplastic material is mixed with 1 part of colorant and poured into the appropriate molds to cool. After the color chip has hardened, it is removed from the mold and snapped into the insert. 
     The container  1  of the invention also comprises a cap  42  which telescopically fits onto the external base  3  and covers the cosmetic stick  2 . Preferably, the cap  42  is shaped like a lipstick bullet and has a top angled portion  43  that approximates the top of a standard lipstick bullet. The cap  42  has a lower edge  44  that abuts a circumferential ridge  45  that is found on the external base  3 . Preferably, the cap friction fits with the peripheral skirt  46  that depends from the circumferential ridge  45 . 
     The container according to the invention provides an aesthetic cosmetic dispenser and carrying case and also enables the consumer to accurate assess the shade of the cosmetic without opening the lipstick.