Patent Publication Number: US-6334729-B1

Title: Cosmetic container and cartridge for cosmetic container

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a cartridge of make-up container and make-up material container. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     With regard to a cosmetic container which feeds out a stick type cosmetic material housed in a cartridge, such as eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, eye shadow, or lipstick, through an opening provided at an upper end of the cartridge due to rotations of the cartridge and a container body, there are proposals, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 60-48706, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 4-30961, and the like. 
     Further, with regard to a cosmetic container, among the cosmetic containers described above, in which if a cartridge is removed from a container body, a stick type cosmetic material fed out of the cartridge will automatically be housed in the cartridge, there are proposals, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 3-50814 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 6-21390 which have been applied by the applicant of the present invention. 
     In a cosmetic container disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 3-50814 among them, a feeding mechanism is installed at a container body. As a cartridge fitted to the container body rotates, the feeding mechanism actuates and feeds out an extrusion beam which is installed at the container body in such a manner that the extrusion beam can slide in an axial direction. Pressed out by the extrusion beam, a stick type cosmetic material in the cartridge is fed out. Further, a return spring is provided at the extrusion beam and a support member for the stick type cosmetic material, respectively, and when the cartridge is removed from the container body, these return springs automatically return. 
     Further, in a cosmetic container disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 6-21390, a feeding mechanism is provided on the side of a cartridge, and a shaft is installed at the container body in a standing position. The shaft is a guide shaft for a push rod which is fed out by the feeding mechanism and the shaft is engaged with the push rod in such a manner that the shaft cannot rotate, but can slide in an axial direction. Thus, when the container body and the cartridge rotate, the push rod rotates to the cartridge, the push rod is fed out by the feeding mechanism, and a stick type cosmetic material retained at an upper end of the push rod is fed out. Further, a return spring for pushing back the push rod to an initial position is provided on the cartridge side, and it is arranged such that when the cartridge is removed from the container body, the stick type cosmetic material is drawn back to an initial position. 
     However, in the cosmetic container disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 3-50814 described above, when the cartridge is removed from the container body, the extrusion beam on the container body side and the support member for the stick type cosmetic material on the cartridge side are returned, respectively. Thus, separate return springs are required and a cost of the entire cosmetic container increases. Further, overall length of the cosmetic container has to be approximately the sum total of the length of the cartridge and the length of the extrusion beam, whereby the cosmetic container becomes huge. 
     On the other hand, the cosmetic container disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 6-21390 has the advantages that only a single return spring is required and the overall length of the cosmetic container can relatively be short. However, in the cosmetic container, the shaft having a length at least equivalent to a stroke of the push rod has to be installed at the container body in a standing position, whereby constitution of the container body becomes complicated. Further, it is necessary that a hole in which the shaft is engaged is formed at the push rod, whereby a certain thickness is required. Therefore, the cosmetic container has to be thick by a portion equivalent to a thickness of the push rod, whereby it is difficult to be applicable to a cosmetic material having a thin diameter. Further, the push rod and the container body synchronously rotate during operation of the feeding mechanism. Therefore, in order to prevent the stick type cosmetic material fed out from rotating to the front cylinder of the cartridge, it has to be constituted such that the support member for the stick type cosmetic material is separated from the push rod, whereby constitution of the cartridge becomes complicated. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a cartridge for a cosmetic container or the cosmetic container in which a stick type cosmetic material automatically returns by removing the cartridge, constitution of a container body can be simplified, it is possible to apply to a various kinds of stick type cosmetic materials, and operation of automatic return is stabilized. 
     In order to achieve the object described above, the present invention provides a cartridge for a cosmetic container or the container having the following constitution. 
     In a cartridge for a cosmetic container which is installed at a container body in such a manner that the cartridge can easily be attached and removed, houses and retains a stick type cosmetic material therein, and moves the stick type cosmetic material forward and backward through an opening provided at an upper end by a rotation together with the container body, there are provided a front cylinder having the upper end opening and a cylindrical body at least a part of which is housed in the front cylinder in such a manner that the cylindrical body can rotate, but cannot slide. A cartridge body is composed of the front cylinder and the cylindrical body. A beam is housed in the cartridge body and a cosmetic material retaining section for retaining the stick type cosmetic material is formed on the side of an upper end of the beam. There are provided a sliding mechanism for retaining the beam in the front cylinder in such a manner that the beam cannot rotate, but can slide, a feeding mechanism for feeding out the beam in an axial direction by relative rotations of the beam and the cylindrical body, and a spring for always urging the beam backward. A synchronous engagement means which is synchronously engaged with the container body is installed at a lower end part of the cylindrical body. 
     The stick type cosmetic material does not rotate to the front cylinder and therefore the stick type cosmetic material makes a stroke in a smooth and stable manner. Thus, for example, even in the case that the stick type cosmetic material automatically returns, it is hard for the stick type cosmetic material to break. 
     Further, since the container body is connected with the cylindrical body via the synchronous engagement means, when the cartridge is drawn out of the container body, the stick type cosmetic material automatically returns. Therefore, feed-down operation can be facilitated and also constitution of the container body can be simplified with a function to prevent the stick type cosmetic material from breaking being held. 
     Further, the beam can have a thin diameter because it is not necessary to provide a hole to be used for connecting the beam with the container body, whereby a diameter of the cartridge body can sufficiently be small. Therefore, it is possible to easily constitute the cosmetic container which is applicable to a stick type cosmetic material having a thin diameter. 
     When the cylindrical body is entirely housed in the front cylinder, an outer frame of the cartridge is composed of the front cylinder which is a single member. Thus, when the cartridge is removed from the container body, if the cartridge is kept to be a single unit, a user cannot rotate the front cylinder and the cylindrical body while holding them. In other words, unless the cartridge is installed at the container body, operation of feeding out the stick type cosmetic material from the cartridge will not be carried out. Thus, it is possible to prevent the stick type cosmetic material from breaking or being damaged which may occur resulting from feeding it out by an operational error at the time of removing the cartridge from the container body. 
     It is arranged such that a lower end part of the cylindrical body and a lower end part of the front cylinder are of almost same height, the synchronous engagement means is composed of spline grooves formed on an inner circumferential surface on the lower end side of the cylindrical body, and a synchronous engagement shaft formed at a bottom of the container body is engaged with the spline grooves by spline connection. Thus, the cylindrical body and the container body are synchronously engaged, whereby it will be sufficient if the container body is merely provided with a small synchronous engagement shaft. Therefore, constitution of the container body can extremely be simplified, for example, it is possible to easily manufacture the container body as a single member by die forming, whereby the manufacturing costs can remarkably be reduced. Further, since it is also possible to easily set the length of the container body, the cosmetic container having a length which is easy to handle can easily be constituted. 
     The feeding mechanism described above is composed of a spiral section formed at an outer circumference of the beam and a spiral groove which is formed on an inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical body and with which a part of the spiral section is spirally engaged. 
     It is arranged such that a non-projection section in which the spiral section does not exist is formed on the base end side of the beam and a stroke limit of the beam is defined when the beam makes a stroke to a position where the non-projection section faces the spiral groove. Thus, when a guide projection escapes from the spiral groove, the stroke of the beam reaches an uppermost limit where the stick type cosmetic material cannot be fed out. Further, since the beam is urged downward by the spring, if the container body and the cartridge which has reached the uppermost limit are raced, a noise will arise resulting from the contact of a spiral groove end section of the beam and the guide projection of a guide rod, thereby notifying a user that the stroke has reached the uppermost limit. Therefore, the cosmetic container will never be handled in such a manner that a strain is put on mechanisms in the cartridge (for example, operation of compressing the spring beyond a compression limit), whereby it is possible to prevent the mechanisms in the cartridge from being damaged. 
     The sliding mechanism is composed of an engagement section formed at an outer circumference of the beam and a sliding section which is formed at an inner circumference of the front cylinder and engaged with the engagement section. 
     The engagement section of the sliding mechanism is a plurality of claws which retain the stick type cosmetic material in such a manner that the claws surround the stick type cosmetic material. Also, the stick type cosmetic material is supported between these claws by an inner circumferential surface of the front cylinder from the side. Thus, the stick type cosmetic material can securely be retained with a diameter of the cartridge being minimum, whereby it is possible to prevent the stick type cosmetic material from breaking at the time of the stroke even though the stick type cosmetic material has a thin diameter. 
     On the other hand, if a small diameter section is formed at the front cylinder so that the small diameter section is positioned right above the cylindrical body and also the sliding section is formed on an inner circumferential surface of the small diameter section, it will not be necessary to form the sliding section on an inner circumferential section on the upper part side of the front cylinder. Thus, it is also possible to adopt a type which is formed by filling a liquid cosmetic raw material as a stick type cosmetic material through an opening provided at an upper end of the front cylinder. Further, since the small diameter section is provided above the cylindrical body in this case, it is hard for the cosmetic raw material to flow to the cylindrical body side, whereby productive efficiency of the cosmetic container can be enhanced. Further, unlike the case that the sliding mechanism is constituted by unrotatably engaging the inner circumferential surface on the upper part side of the front cylinder and the cosmetic material retaining section which are not circular, a cross section of the inner circumference on the upper part side of the front cylinder can be round. 
     Further, the spiral section is a plurality of engagement projections arranged below the engagement section and on a straight line which extends in an axial direction and also the spiral section can be an engagement section which is engaged with the sliding section formed on the upper part side of the front cylinder when fed out to the upper part side of the front cylinder. In this case, since the engagement projections are engaged with the sliding section of the sliding mechanism one after another when the beam makes a stroke, the engagement projections operate as a component of the feeding mechanism which is spirally engaged with the spiral groove and also operate as the engagement section of the sliding mechanism. Therefore, the stroke of the beam can be more stable and also the cartridge can bear a load in a direction of torsion. Further, the diameter of the cartridge can extremely be thin. 
     The spring is a coil spring wound around an outer circumference of the beam, an upper end of the coil spring is in contact with a downward step section formed at the cylindrical body, and a lower end of the coil spring is in contact with an upward step section provided at the beam. Thus, structure of the spring installed can be simplified and also installation work of the spring can easily be done, whereby manufacturing costs of the cosmetic container can be reduced. 
     An O-ring is provided between an outer circumference of the front cylinder and an inner circumference of the container body, and it is arranged such that frictional force which arises due to the O-ring is greater than resiliency of the spring to cause a reverse rotation of the front cylinder and the container body. Thus, a mechanism for maintaining a rotary position of the cartridge against spring force can simply be constituted at a low cost. Further, the frictional force of the O-ring gives appropriate weight (resistance) to rotating operation of the cartridge, thereby giving an operator the sensation of solidity in the rotating operation. Further, due to the O-ring, it is possible to restrain the cartridge from wobbling. 
     Further, there are provided the cartridge in which an entire body of the cylindrical body is housed in the front cylinder and the container body in which the cartridge is housed in such a manner that the cartridge can easily be attached or detached. When the cartridge is housed in the container body, the front cylinder is rotatable to the container body and the feeding mechanism is unrotatably connected with the container body via the synchronous engagement section. 
     There is provided a cylindrical body which is rotatably installed on the base end side of the front cylinder. Thus, even when the cartridge is a single unit, an operator can feed out the stick type cosmetic material by rotating the cylindrical body and the front cylinder and can confirm the type (color) or the residual amount of the stick type cosmetic material. Consequently, even in the case that a plurality of cartridges are prepared for a single container body, it is not necessary to install the cartridges at the container body in order to confirm the stick type cosmetic material, whereby it is convenient. Further, after the confirmation, the stick type cosmetic material is automatically returned into the cartridge due to operation of an urging means. Thus, the stick type cosmetic material will never be left as it is fed out to the outside of the cartridge, thereby decreasing a fear that the stick type cosmetic material may break or become dirty. 
     The engagement section of the sliding mechanism is formed at an outer circumference of the cosmetic material retaining section. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A—A of FIG. 1 similarly. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a container body similarly. 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a cartridge which has reached a feeding uppermost limit similarly. 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a cartridge according to a second embodiment. 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B—B of FIG. 5 similarly. 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a cartridge according to a third embodiment. 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a fourth embodiment. 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a cartridge showing a fifth embodiment. 
     FIG. 10 is a front view showing a part of a beam similarly. 
     FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a cartridge showing a state that the beam makes a stroke similarly. 
     FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a cartridge showing a sixth embodiment. 
    
    
     BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention will subsequently be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 shows a cartridge  1  for a cosmetic container according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A—A of FIG.  1  and FIG. 3 shows a container body  2  in which the cartridge  1  of FIG. 1 is installed in such a manner that the cartridge  1  can easily be attached or detached, respectively. The cosmetic container is composed of the cartridge  1  of FIG.  1  and the container body  2  of FIG.  3 . 
     The cartridge  1  in which a stick type cosmetic material  4  is housed in such a manner that the stick type cosmetic material  4  can be fed out is composed of a front cylinder  10 , a cylindrical body  20 , a beam (push rod)  30 , and a return spring  6 . 
     The front cylinder  10  is a cylindrical member which constitutes an outer frame of the cartridge  1 , and it is composed of an exposed section  10 A which is closer to the upper end than a difference in level  10 C is and a storage section  10 B which is closer to the lower end than the difference in level  10 C is. When the cartridge  1  is fitted to the container body  2 , the exposed section  10 A is exposed at the outside of the container body  2  and the storage section  10 B is housed in the container body  2 . 
     The inside of the front cylinder  10  on the side of the exposed section  10 A is a cosmetic material storage hole  11  in which the stick type cosmetic material  4  is stored. The cosmetic material storage hole  11  has a cross section in the form of an ellipse, and a cosmetic material retaining section  31  of the beam  30  which is not circular is unrotatably fitted therein as will be described later. Further, the stick type cosmetic material  4  which is retained by the cosmetic material retaining section  31  and stored in the cosmetic material storage hole  11  is fed out through an opening  12  provided at an upper end of the front cylinder  10  in such a manner that the stick type cosmetic material can freely go in and out. 
     The storage section  10 B of the front cylinder  10  has an outer diameter almost same as an inner diameter of the container body  2 . Further, an annular fitting convex section  14  is formed at an outer circumference of the storage section  10 B. When the storage section  10 B is housed in the container body  2 , the fitting convex section  14  fits in an annular fitting concave section  41  formed on an inner circumferential surface of the container body  2 . Thus, the front cylinder  10  and the container body  2  are positioned so that they cannot move (come out) in an axial direction and can easily rotate in a rotary direction. 
     A cross section of the inside of the front cylinder  10  on the side of the storage section  10 B is circular, and the cylindrical body  20  having an outer diameter almost same as an inner diameter of the front cylinder  10  is housed therein. The front cylinder  10  and the cylindrical body  20  constitute a cartridge body. 
     In this case, a fitting convex section  21  formed on an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body  20  fits in an fitting concave section  15  formed on an inner circumferential surface of the front cylinder  10 . Thus, the cylindrical body  20  is positioned so that it cannot move (come out) in an axial direction of the front cylinder  10  and can freely rotate in a rotary direction of the front cylinder  10 . 
     Further, a lower end of the front cylinder  10  and a lower end of the cylindrical body  20  are aligned at almost same height, whereby the cylindrical body  20  is entirely housed in the front cylinder  10 . 
     Further, on an inner circumferential surface of a lower end part of the cylindrical body  20 , a synchronous engagement section  26  composed of a plurality of vertical grooves (spline grooves) extending in an axial direction is formed. On the other hand, a synchronous engagement shaft  43  is fixed at a bottom  42  of the container body  2 , and a plurality of line sections (spline projections) extending in an axial direction are formed at an outer circumference of the synchronous engagement shaft  43 . Thus, when the cartridge  1  is housed in the container body  2 , the synchronous engagement section  26  is unrotatably engaged (spline connection) with the synchronous engagement shaft  43  and the cylindrical body  20  and the container body  2  are unrotatably connected. Therefore, when the cartridge  1  is fitted to the container body  2 , if the front cylinder  10  is rotated to the container body  2 , the front cylinder  10  and the cylindrical body will be rotated. 
     Further, a spiral cylinder section  22  having a small inside diameter occupies a prescribed length of the upper end side of the cylindrical body  20 . A spiral groove  23  is cut on an inner circumferential surface of the spiral cylinder section  22 . A plurality of engagement projections  35  (spiral section) provided at an outer circumference of the beam  30  which will be described later are spirally engaged with the spiral groove  23 . 
     The beam  30  is coaxially housed in the cartridge body (the front cylinder  10  and the cylindrical body  20 ). The cosmetic material retaining section  31  is provided on the side of an upper end (on the side of the opening  12 ) of the beam  30 . The cosmetic material retaining section  31  is a cup having an ellipse cross section which can just fit in the cosmetic material storage hole  11  being not circular, and a lower end part of the stick type cosmetic material  4  is retained in the cup. 
     Incidentally, a sliding mechanism is not restricted to the unrotatable engagement of the cosmetic material retaining section  31  and the cosmetic material storage hole  11  which are elliptic. For example, unrotatable engagement of polygonal components is also preferable. Further, the sliding mechanism may be constituted by engagement of sliding projections (engagement section) formed at the beam  30  (for example, an outer circumferential surface of the cosmetic material retaining section  31 ) with slide grooves (sliding section) formed on an inner circumferential surface of the front cylinder  10  (for example, an inner circumferential surface of the cosmetic material storage hole  11 ). Various types of embodiments can be applied (for example, refer to a second embodiment which will be described later). 
     Further, the beam  30  can make a stroke in an axial direction in the cartridge body. Thus, the stick type cosmetic material  4  coaxially retained by the cosmetic material retaining section  31  advances or retreats through the opening  12  of the front cylinder  10  with the progress of the stroke of the beam  30 . 
     The plurality of engagement projections  35  are formed at an outer circumference of the beam  30  in a straight line which extends in an axial direction. The area extends from right below the cosmetic material retaining section  31  over a length equivalent to the stroke of the beam  30 . A group of these engagement projections  35  are arranged (arranged along a spiral track) in a manner suitable for the spiral groove  23  of the spiral cylinder section  22  described above, and a part of the engagement projections  35  is spirally engaged with the spiral groove  23  according to a stroke position of the beam  30 . 
     The spiral groove  23  and the plurality of engagement projections  35  constitute the feeding mechanism of the cosmetic container. More specifically, when the front cylinder  10  (beam  30 ) and the container body  2  (cylindrical body  20 ) are rotated, the plurality of engagement projections  35  are spirally engaged with the spiral groove one after another and the beam  30  is fed out to the cylindrical body  20 . 
     Incidentally, the lowermost limit of a stroke of the beam  30  is a stroke position where a cosmetic material retaining section base section  32  comes into contact with a cylindrical body upper end  20 A. 
     In this embodiment, it is arranged such that the beam  30  is fed out by spirally disposing the plurality of engagement projections  35  at the beam  30  and spirally engaging them with the spiral groove  23  on after another. However, needles to say, those to be spirally engaged with the spiral groove  23  are not restricted to the engagement projections  35 . For example, ordinary male screws which are spirally engaged with the spiral groove  23  may also be used. 
     Further, a non-projection section  36  at which no engagement projections  35  are formed is provided below the files of the engagement projections  35  of the beam  30 . As shown in FIG. 4, when the beam  30  makes a stroke and the non-projection section  36  rises to a position where the non-projection section  36  faces the spiral cylinder section  22 , all the engagement projections  35  escape from the spiral groove  23 . Thus, even though the front cylinder  10  is rotated, the feeding mechanism does not function and the beam  30  does not make any stroke. In other words, the stroke position becomes an uppermost limit of the stroke of the beam  30 . Incidentally, the uppermost limit of the stroke is set so that the return spring  6  which will be described later does not shrink beyond the shrinkage limit. 
     The return spring  6  which is a coiled compression spring is provided at an outer circumference of the beam  30 . An upper end of the return spring  6  comes into contact with a lower end surface  22 A (downward step section) of the spiral cylinder section  22 , whereas its lower end comes into contact with a top surface  34 A (upward step section) of a fastening member  34  of the beam  30 . Thus, the beam  30  is always urged in an axial and downward direction by the return spring  6 . Incidentally, the fastening member  34  is a spring seat member which is installed at an outer circumference of the beam  30  near its lower end (below the non-projection section  36 ). 
     A ring groove  18  is formed at a prescribed position of an outer circumferential surface of the storage section  10 B of the front cylinder  10 . An O-ring  5  is fitted into the ring groove  18  as a means for giving resistance. 
     It is set so that frictional power (torque resulting from the frictional power) which arises between the O-ring  5  and the container body  2  is always greater than resiliency (reverse torque resulting from the resiliency) of the return spring  6  which will cause reverse rotations of the front cylinder  10  and the cylindrical body  20 . Thus, it never happens that when the cartridge  1  and the container body  2  are rotated, the cartridge  1  and the container body  2  make reverse rotations due to the return spring  6  which pushes back the beam  30  downward. Therefore, the rotary position is maintained. 
     On the other hand, if the cartridge  1  is removed from the container body  2  in such a state that the cartridge  1  is rotated (in a state that the stick type cosmetic material  4  is fed out), there will be no frictional resistance of the O-ring  5 . Thus, the beam  30  will be brought back to the lowermost limit of a stroke due to spring tension of the return spring  6  and the stick type cosmetic material  4  will automatically be housed in the cartridge. 
     Further, the frictional resistance of the O-ring  5  gives proper weight (resistance) to the rotations of the cartridge  1 , thereby giving a user of the cosmetic container the sensation of solidity in the operation. Further, due to the O-ring  5 , it is possible to restrain the cartridge  1  from wobbling in the container body  2 . 
     Next, a procedure of assembling the cosmetic container will be described. 
     In assembling, first the beam  30  is inserted into an opening on the upper end side of the cylindrical body  20  from the lower end side in a state that the fastening member  34  has not been installed. By spirally engaging the engagement projections  35  and the spiral groove  23 , the beam  30  is then embedded in the cylindrical body  20 . Subsequently, the return spring  6  is inserted from the lower end side of the cylindrical body  20  and wound around an outer circumference of the beam  30 . Further, the fastening member  34  is fitted to the beam  30  and the return spring  6  is sandwiched between the lower end surface  22 A of the spiral cylinder section and the top surface  34 A of the fastening member  34 . 
     The beam  30  which is embedded in the cylindrical body  20  is inserted through a lower end opening of the front cylinder  10  positioning the cosmetic material retaining section  31  provided at an upper part of the beam  30  in order for the cosmetic material retaining section  31  to be housed in the cosmetic material storage hole  11 . By pressing the fitting convex section  21  provided at an outer circumference of the cylindrical body  20  until the fitting convex section  21  fits into the fitting concavity section  15  provided at an inner circumference of the front cylinder  10 , assembly is carried out so that the cylindrical body  20  is entirely housed in the front cylinder  10 . Further, the O-ring  5  is put into the ring groove  18  provided at an outer circumference of the front cylinder  10  so as to complete the cartridge  1 . 
     By fitting the cartridge  1  to the container body  2 , the cosmetic container is completed. To be more precise, the cartridge  1  is housed in an upper part opening of the container body  2  from the lower end side, the synchronous engagement shaft  43  of the container body  2  is engaged with the synchronous engagement section  26  of the cylindrical body  20 , and the fitting convex section  14  provided at an outer circumferential surface of the front cylinder  10  is put into the fitting concavity section  41  provided at an inner circumferential surface of the container body  2 . Thus, the front cylinder  10  and the cylindrical body  20  are fitted to the container body  2  in such a manner that the front cylinder  10  can rotate to the container body  2 , but the cylindrical body  20  cannot rotate to the container body  2 . In this case, since positioning is easy when the synchronous engagement section  26  and the synchronous engagement shaft  43  are assembled, it is easy to fit the cartridge  1  to the container body  2 . 
     A method of application of the cosmetic container according to this embodiment will subsequently be described. 
     When the stick type cosmetic material  4  is fed out from the cartridge  1 , the cartridge  1  is first fitted into the container body  2 . The cartridge  1  and the container body  2  are rotated in a direction of prescribed normal rotation holding the container body  2  and the exposed section  10 A of the cartridge  1  which is exposed from the container body  2 . In this case, since the beam  30  synchronously rotates with the front cylinder  10  due to the engagement with the front cylinder via the sliding mechanism (unrotatable engagement of the cosmetic material retaining section  31  and the cosmetic material storage hole  11  which are not circular), the beam  30  rotates to the cylindrical body  20  which is synchronously engaged with the container body  2 . Thus, the plurality of engagement projections  35  provided at an outer circumference of the beam  30  are spirally engaged with the spiral groove  23  provided at an inner circumference of the spiral cylinder section  22  one after another, whereby the feeding mechanism functions. As a result, the beam  30  is fed out from the upper end side of the cylindrical body  20 , and the stick type cosmetic material  4  retained by the cosmetic material retaining section  31  provided at an upper end of the beam  30  is fed out through the opening  12  provided at an upper end of the front cylinder  10 . 
     Further, when the stick type cosmetic material  4  is pulled into the cartridge  1 , if the cartridge  1  and the container body  2  are reversely rotated, each component of the cosmetic container will operate in a direction opposite to the above and the stick type cosmetic material  4  will retreat to the inside of the cartridge  1 . 
     Or, in a state that the stick type cosmetic material  4  is left fed out, the cartridge  1  is removed from the container body  2 . Thus, due to spring tension of the spring  6  which always urges the beam  30  downward, the beam  30  is brought back downward while rotating the beam  30 , and the stick type cosmetic material  4  automatically retreats to the inside of the cartridge  1  (automatically returns). As described above, a user of the cosmetic container can bring back the stick type cosmetic material  4  merely by drawing out the cartridge  1  in a state that the stick type cosmetic material  4  is projected, whereby feed-down operation in the cosmetic container is facilitated and also it is possible to prevent the stick type cosmetic material  4  from breaking when the cartridge  1  is a single unit. 
     When such a cosmetic container is used, each component of this embodiment operates as follows. 
     Since the beam  30  and the front cylinder  10  are engaged via the sliding mechanism (unrotatable engagement of the cosmetic material retaining section  31  and the cosmetic material storage hole  11  which are not circular), the beam  30  does not rotate to the front cylinder  10  at the time of making a stroke. Thus, the stick type cosmetic material  4  retained by the cosmetic material retaining section  31  provided at a tip of the beam  30  is fed out through the opening  12  provided at a tip of the front cylinder  10  without rotating to the front cylinder  10 . Therefore, there is no fear of the stick type cosmetic material  4  being damaged or breaking at the time of advance or retreat. 
     The O-ring  5  wound around the storage section  10 B of the front cylinder  10  gives frictional resistance between the container body  2  and the front cylinder  10 , and operation of the return spring  6  is controlled by the frictional resistance. More specifically, frictional force which arises between the O-ring  5  and the container body  2  is greater than the torque of the return spring  6  to reversely rotate the front cylinder  10  and the cylindrical body  20  and therefore the cartridge  1  and the container body  2  are retained in such a manner that they can be stationary, whereby the cartridge  1  is maintained at the rotary position. Further, frictional resistance of the O-ring  5  gives appropriate weight to the rotation of the cartridge  1 , thereby giving a user of the cosmetic container the sensation of solidity in the operation. Further, due to the O-ring  5 , it is possible to restrain the cartridge  1  from wobbling. 
     A feeding stroke of the beam  30  reaches the uppermost limit when spiral engagement of the engagement projections  35  of the beam  30  with the spiral groove  23  of the spiral cylinder section  22  is completed (when all the engagement projections  35  come out of the spiral groove  23 ) as shown in FIG.  4 . Further, if the operation of rotating the cartridge  1  and the container body  2  is continued after reaching the feeding uppermost limit as described above, the cylindrical body  20  and the beam  30  will be raced. However, since the beam  30  is urged downward by the return spring  6  even in this case, a noise (click-clack) of contact of the engagement projection at the lowest row  35   a  with an upper end part of the spiral groove  23  arises, whereby a user who has listened to the noise can recognize that the feed-up has reached the limit. Therefore, the cosmetic container is not operated in such a manner that a strain is put on mechanisms in the cartridge and it is possible to prevent the mechanisms in the cartridge from being damaged (for example, the return spring  6  is compressed beyond a compression limit and damaged). Incidentally, if the cartridge  1  and the container body  2  are reversely rotated after reaching the feeding uppermost limit, the engagement projections  35  will return to the inside of the spiral groove  23  due to force of the return spring  6  and it will be possible to feed down the beam  30  by a reverse rotation. 
     Since the cylindrical body  20  is entirely housed in the front cylinder  10 , an outer frame of the cartridge  1  is composed of the front cylinder  10  which is a single member. Thus, in the case that the cartridge  1  is removed from the container body  2  and left to be a single unit, the front cylinder  10  and the cylindrical body  20  cannot be rotated by the user with them being held. In other words, unless the cartridge  1  is fitted to the container body  2 , operation of feeding out the stick type cosmetic material  4  from the cartridge  1  will not be carried out. Thus, it is possible to prevent the stick type cosmetic material  4  from being damaged or breaking which may occur resulting from feeding out the cosmetic material  4  by mistake when handling the cartridge  1  after detaching it from the container body  2 . 
     FIG.  5  and FIG. 6 show a cartridge  101  according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     This embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in that a cosmetic material retaining section  131  is composed of four pieces of claws  132  and a sliding mechanism is composed of these claws  132  and slide grooves  112  provided in a cosmetic material storage hole  111 . 
     To be precise, the cosmetic material retaining section  131  of a beam  130  is composed of four pieces of claws  132  which are arranged at an outer circumference of an upper end part of the beam  130  at intervals of approximately 90 degrees. These claws  132  extend upward and retain a stick type cosmetic material  104  (omitted in FIG. 5) in such a manner that the claws  132  surround a lower end part of the stick type cosmetic material  104 . 
     Further, correspondingly to these claws  132 , the four slide grooves  112  extending in an axial direction are formed on an inner circumferential surface of the cosmetic material storage hole  111  at intervals of approximately 90 degrees. The four claws  132  are engaged with the corresponding slide grooves  112 , respectively. Thus, each of the claws  132  is guided in an axial direction along the slide grooves  112 . In other words, the four claws  132  and the slide grooves  112  function as the engagement section and the sliding section of the sliding mechanism, respectively, and the cosmetic material retaining section  131  (beam  130 ) makes a stroke in an axial direction without rotating to the front cylinder  10 . 
     Further, four areas of an inner circumferential surface of the cosmetic material storage hole  111  which are sandwiched by each of the slide grooves  112  become slide surfaces  113 . The stick type cosmetic material  104  retained by the cosmetic material retaining section  131  is supported among the four claws  132  from the side by these slide surfaces  113 . 
     Further, in this embodiment, an outer diameter of the beam  130  is almost as large as an inner diameter of the cosmetic material storage hole  111 . Engagement projections  135  provided at an outer circumference of the beam  130  are arranged in four columns below and in an axial direction of the claws  132 . Thus, when the beam  130  is fed out to the side of the cosmetic material storage hole  111 , the engagement projections  135  fed out to the side of the cosmetic material storage hole  111  are engaged in the slide grooves  112  one after another. 
     As described above, the engagement projections  135  operate as components of a feeding mechanism by spirally engaging with a spiral groove  123  and also operate as an engagement section of a sliding mechanism by engaging with the slide grooves  112 . Therefore, the stroke of the beam  130  can be more stable. Further, even though a load in a direction of torsion is on the cartridge  101 , a burden on the claws  132  can be eased by a portion equivalent to the support of the engagement projections  135 , whereby the cartridge  101  which can carry the load in a direction of torsion can be constituted. 
     As described above, in the cosmetic container according to this embodiment, the stick type cosmetic material  104  is supported from the side by the slide surfaces  113  and also an overload is not on the claws  132 . Thus, the stick type cosmetic material  104  can stably be fed out with little wobble, and the cosmetic container is suitable for the soft stick type cosmetic material  104  having a thin diameter which requires for example a thin and delicate outline, such as eyeliner, eyebrow, lip liner, or the like. 
     FIG. 7 shows a cartridge  201  according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     This embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in that a small diameter section  250  having an inner diameter almost same as an outer diameter of a beam  230  is formed between a cosmetic material storage hole  211  of a front cylinder  210  and a spiral cylinder section  222 . 
     Due to the constitution, at the lowermost limit of a stroke of the beam  230 , a lower end of a cosmetic material retaining section  231  comes into contact with an upper end surface  250 A of the small diameter section  250 . Further, four slide grooves  251  are formed on an inner circumferential surface of the small diameter section  250  at locations which are corresponding to four straight lines of the beam  230  where engagement projections  235  are formed, and a part of the plurality of engagement projections  235  came out of a spiral groove  223  is supposed to be engaged with these slide grooves  251 . Thus, the slide grooves  251  and the engagement projections  235  engaged with the slide grooves  251  operate as the sliding mechanism, and the beam  230  cannot rotate to the front cylinder  210 , but can slide in an axial direction. 
     In the cartridge  201  according to this embodiment as described above, the slide grooves  251  are formed on an inner circumferential surface of the small diameter section  250  and it is not necessary to form a sliding section at the cosmetic material storage hole  211 . Thus, it is possible to adopt as a stick type cosmetic material a type which is formed by filling up a liquid cosmetic raw material through an upper end opening  212  of the front cylinder  210 . Further, in this case, since the small diameter section  250  is provided above a cylindrical body  220 , the cosmetic raw material is hard to flow to the side of the cylindrical body  220 , whereby productive efficiency of the cosmetic container can be enhanced. Further, it is not necessary to constitute the sliding mechanism by unrotatably engaging the cosmetic material storage hole  211  with the cosmetic material retaining section  231  which are not circular unlike the first embodiment described above, and therefore a cross section of the cosmetic material storage hole  211  can be a circle. 
     FIG. 8 shows a cartridge according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
     The cartridge  301  is housed in the container body  2  (refer to FIG. 1) according to an embodiment similar to the first embodiment described above and it constitutes a cosmetic container. Further, the cartridge  301  and the cartridge  1  (refer to FIG. 1) according to the first embodiment described above have fundamental constitution in common and the fourth embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in the constitution of a container body  302 , a front cylinder  310 , and a cylindrical body  320 . Therefore, in FIG. 8, identical numerals are attached to the components having the same functions as those of the components according to the first embodiment, and also characteristic constitution of this embodiment is mainly shown. 
     The front cylinder  310  is a cylindrical member which constitutes a tip side of the cartridge  301 . A base end side of the front cylinder  310  is a base end section  313  which has an outer diameter slightly smaller than that of the tip end side. When the cartridge  301  and the container body  302  are connected, the base end section  313  is housed in the container body  302  from an upper opening of the container body  302  together with the cylindrical body  320  in such a manner that the base end section  313  can freely be attached and detached. In this case, when the annular fitting convex section  14  provided at an outer circumference of the base end section  313  of the front cylinder  310  fits in the annular fitting concavity section  41  formed on an inner circumferential surface of the container body  302 , the front cylinder  310  and the container body  302  are positioned so that they cannot move (come out) in an axial direction, but can freely rotate in a rotary direction along the fitting convex section  14  and the fitting concavity section  41 . 
     An upper end side of the cylindrical body  320  is housed in the base end section  313  of the front cylinder  310 , and the cylindrical body  320  and the front cylinder  310  constitute a cartridge body. In this case, a fitting convex section  321  formed at a prescribed location of an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body  320  fits in a fitting concavity section  315  formed on an inner circumferential surface of the front cylinder  310 . Thus, the cylindrical body  320  is positioned so that it cannot move (come out) in an axial direction, but can freely rotate in a rotary direction to the front cylinder  310 . 
     Further, a part extending from the lower end part  22 A of the spiral cylinder section  22  to a lower end of the cylindrical body  320  is an extending section  324  which has an inner diameter larger than that of the spiral cylinder section  22 . 
     A synchronous engagement section  326  which is composed of a plurality of male splines extending in an axial direction is formed on an outer circumferential surface of a lower end part of the cylindrical body  320 . When the cartridge  301  is fitted to the container body  302 , the synchronous engagement section  326  is connected by spline connection to a spline section  345  which is composed of male splines formed on an inner circumferential surface on the side of a bottom  342  of the container body  2 . Thus, the cylindrical body  320  and the container body  302  are unrotatably connected. Therefore, it is arranged such that if the front cylinder  310  is rotated to the container body  302  when the cartridge  301  is fitted to the container body  302 , the front cylinder  310  and the cylindrical body  320  will rotate. 
     The cartridge  301  is constituted in the manner described above and in assembling the cartridge  301 , for example, a base end side of the beam  30  is first inserted in an opening on the tip side of the cylindrical body  320  in such a manner that the base end side of the beam  30  is spirally engaged with the opening so as to embed the beam  30  in the cylindrical body  320 . The return spring  6  is then inserted from the base end side of the cylindrical body  30  and arranged at an outer circumference of the beam  30 , a fastening member  34  is fitted to a fastening section  37  of the beam  30 , and the return spring  6  is sandwiched between the lower end part  22 A of the spiral cylinder section  22  and the fastening member  34 . Further, the cylindrical body  320  in which the beam  30  is embedded is inserted from an opening on the side of a base end of the front cylinder  310  in order for the cosmetic material retaining section  31  to be housed in the cosmetic material storage hole  11  and when the fitting convex section  321  provided at an outer circumference of cylindrical body  320  is then pressed until the fitting convex section  321  fits in the fitting concavity section  315  provided at an inner circumference of the front cylinder  310 , the cylindrical body  320  and the beam  30  are embedded in the front cylinder  310 . Further, when the O-ring  5  is put in the ring groove  18  provided at an outer circumference of the front cylinder  310 , the cartridge  301  is completed. 
     Further, when the cartridge  301  is fitted to the container body  302 , the cartridge  301  is inserted from the side of the cylindrical body  320  into the upper opening of the container body  302 . Thus, the spline section  345  of the container body  302  is engaged with the synchronous engagement section  326  provided at a base end of the cylindrical body  320 , and the fitting convex section  14  provided on an outer circumferential surface of the front cylinder  310  fits in the fitting concavity section  41  provided on an inner circumferential surface of the container body  302 . Thus, the front cylinder  310  is easily installed so that the front cylinder  310  can rotate to the container body  302 , and the cylindrical body  320  is installed so that the cylindrical body  320  cannot rotate to the container body  302 . 
     Next, operation will be described. 
     When the stick type cosmetic material  4  is fed out from the cartridge  301 , the front cylinder  310  of the cartridge  301  is rotated in a direction of prescribed normal rotation to the container body  302 . Then, the beam  30  engaged with the front cylinder  310  via the sliding mechanism (unrotatable engagement of the cosmetic material retaining section  31  with the cosmetic material storage hole  11  which are not circular) rotates synchronously with the front cylinder  310 . On the other hand, since the cylindrical body  320  which is made a spline connection with the container body  302  does not rotate, the cylindrical body  320  and the beam  30  make relative rotations after all. Thus, the plurality of engagement projections  35  of the beam  30  are spirally engaged with the spiral groove  23  of the spiral cylinder section  22  one after another and therefore the beam  30  is fed out of the tip side of the cylindrical body  320 . 
     FIG. 9 shows a cartridge  400  according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
     The cartridge  400  is housed in the container body  302  (refer to FIG. 8) according to an embodiment similar to the fourth embodiment described above and constitutes the cosmetic container. Further, the cartridge  400  and the cartridge  301  (refer to FIG. 8) according to the fourth embodiment described above have fundamental constitution in common and these cartridges differ from each other only in the constitution of the beam  30  and the cosmetic material storage hole  11  of the front cylinder  310 . Therefore, in FIG. 9, identical numerals are attached to the components having the same functions as those of the components according to the fourth embodiment, and also characteristic constitution of this embodiment is mainly shown. 
     As shown in the drawing, the cosmetic material retaining section  31  of the beam  30  is composed of the base section  32  and four pieces of claws  401  which are provided upward in a standing position from the side of the base section  32 . These claws  401  are arranged at intervals of approximately 90 degrees, and the stick type cosmetic material is retained almost coaxially with the front cylinder  310  in such a manner that the stick type cosmetic material is surrounded by these claws  401 . 
     Correspondingly to these claws  401 , four engagement grooves  402  extending in an axial direction are formed on an inner circumferential surface of the cosmetic material storage hole  11  at intervals of approximately 90 degrees. The four claws  401  are engaged with the corresponding engagement grooves  402 , respectively, and the cosmetic material retaining section  31  is guided in an axial direction along the engagement grooves  402 . Thus, the cosmetic material retaining section  31  makes a stroke in an axial direction without rotating to the front cylinder  310 . In other words, in this embodiment, the sliding mechanism is composed of the engagement grooves  402  and the claws  401 , and the engagement grooves  402  serve as a sliding section of the sliding mechanism and the claws  401  serve as an engagement section of the sliding mechanism. 
     Incidentally, it is preferable that a width of projection in a direction of the cartridge&#39;s diameter of a part of the claws  401  which retains the stick type cosmetic material is equal to or smaller than a width of projection in a direction of the cartridge&#39;s diameter of the base section  32  of the claws  401  as shown in the drawing. Thus, a large load will never be on the part of the claws  401  which retains the stick type cosmetic material. As a result, it is possible to prevent the stick type cosmetic material from being damaged or coming off the claws  401 . 
     Further, four areas of an inner circumferential surface of the cosmetic material storage hole  11  which are sandwiched by each of the engagement grooves  402  become slide surfaces  403 . The stick type cosmetic material  4  retained by the cosmetic material retaining section  31  is sufficiently supported between the claws  401  from the side by these slide surfaces  403 . 
     A plurality of engagement projections  405  are formed on four straight lines of the beam  30  which are below the respective four claws  401  and extend in an axial direction. These engagement projections  405  are along a spiral track (a track which can be spirally engaged with the spiral groove  23 ) as a whole as shown in FIG.  10 . 
     Further, it is set such that a shape of an inner circumferential surface of the cosmetic material storage hole  11  is almost same as that of an outer diameter of the respective engagement projections  405  of the beam  30 . Further, the engagement projections  405  are spread in a direction of width so that they have almost same width as that of the engagement grooves  402 , and the engagement projections  405  are elliptical so as to be along the spiral track described above. 
     Due to the constitution described above, as shown in FIG. 11, when the beam  30  makes a stroke to the side of the cosmetic material storage hole  11 , the engagement projections  405  are successively engaged in a rotary direction with the corresponding engagement grooves  402  leaving no space between them. In other words, when fed out in the cosmetic material storage hole  11 , the engagement projections  405  operate as an engagement section of the sliding mechanism. 
     Thus, in the cartridge  400  according to this embodiment, the stroke of the beam  30  can be more stable, and when a load in a direction of torsion is on the cartridge  400 , the beam  30  is supported also by the engagement projections  405 . Therefore, it is possible to constitute the cosmetic container which can bear a load in a direction of torsion, and also a burden on the claws  401  can be eased. Thus, the cartridge  400  according to this embodiment has a diameter thinner than that of the cartridge  301  according to the fourth embodiment, and the cartridge  400  is more suitable for the soft stick type cosmetic material  4  than the cartridge  301  is. Further, it will be sufficient if a width of the respective claws  401  is widen as occasion demands in order to retain the stick type cosmetic material  4  more stably. 
     Incidentally, in this embodiment, a C-ring  407  is fastened to a base end section of the beam  30  as a spring seat member. It is arranged such that the return spring  6  is installed between an upward step section of a flange section  407 A of the C-ring  407  and the lower end part  22 A of the spiral cylinder section  22 . 
     FIG. 12 shows a cartridge  500  according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. 
     Also, the cartridge  500  is housed in the container body  302  according to an embodiment similar to the embodiment shown in FIG.  8  and it constitutes the cosmetic container. The cartridge  500  differs from the cartridge  301  (refer to FIG. 8) according to the fourth embodiment described above only in the constitution of the front cylinder  310 . Therefore, in FIG. 12, identical numerals are attached to the components having the similar functions as those of the components according to the fourth embodiment, and in the following description, the constitution which differs from that of the fourth embodiment described above is mainly shown. 
     In this embodiment, a small diameter section  501  which has an inner diameter almost same as an outer diameter of the beam  30  is formed on this side of the base end section of the front cylinder  310 , and the base section  32  of the cosmetic material retaining section  31  comes into contact with an upper end surface  501 B of the small diameter section  501  at the lowermost limit of a stroke of the beam  30 . 
     Further, four slide grooves  502  are formed on an inner circumferential surface of the small diameter section  501  at locations which are corresponding to four straight lines of the beam  30  where the engagement projections  35  are formed, and a part of the plurality of engagement projections  35  is supposed to be engaged with these slide grooves  502 . Thus, the slide grooves  502  and the engagement projections  35  which are engaged with the slide grooves  502  operate as the sliding mechanism, and they guide the beam  30  in an axial direction so that the beam  30  will not rotate to the front cylinder  310 . 
     Further, according to this embodiment, since the cosmetic material storage hole  11  is partitioned by the small diameter section  501 , when a liquid cosmetic raw material is filled up in the cosmetic material storage hole  11  so as to form the stick type cosmetic material  4 , the cosmetic raw material will not easily flow to the side of the cylindrical body  320 . Therefore, productive efficiency of the cosmetic container can be enhanced.