Patent Publication Number: US-2009226238-A1

Title: Applicator

Description:
This invention relates to an applicator, particularly for applying mascara to the eyelashes. The applicator is not however restricted to this particular use but may find uses in other contexts. 
     Mascara is a viscous substance which is conventionally applied to the lashes using a specially shaped brush with a relatively long shaft and relatively short bristles. The mascara is usually contained in a tube and, when not in use, the brush is housed in the tube with the bristles in contact with the mascara. Moving the brush around in the tube coats the brush with mascara so that when the brush is withdrawn from the tube, it is loaded with mascara which can then be applied to the lashes. 
     To ensure good loading of the brush with mascara, many users pump the brush up and down in the tube before withdrawing it, with the aim of loading the brush more heavily than would be the case without this pumping action. However the pumping action has two major disadvantages. Firstly, it causes air to be drawn into and to circulate in the tube which hastens drying out of the mascara in the tube. Secondly there is a danger with vigorous pumping that the brush is accidentally wholly withdrawn from the tube and the user then ends up with mascara on the hands. 
     According to the invention, there is provided an applicator comprising 
     a tubular container for a viscous material, 
     a brush mounted to the cap so as to be located within the container, and 
     a cap for the container, the cap incorporating a spring-loaded push-button linked to a finger running in a helical track so that as the button is pressed, the brush is both rotated in the tube and moved axially along the tube to load the brush with viscous material. 
     The applicator is preferably for applying mascara to the eyelashes, and in this case, the viscous material will be mascara, and the brush will be designed for this purpose. Conventionally, such brushes have a relatively long shaft and relatively short bristles extending radially from the shaft, at one end of the shaft. 
     The brush may have separate bristles, or the shaft may be a plastics moulding with bristle-like fingers moulded onto the shaft. 
     The cap is preferably a screw-fit onto the container and will be unscrewed from the container to remove the brush from the container. 
     In a first embodiment, the cap incorporates a spring-loaded push-button linked to a helical track passing through a stationary surface or surfaces so that as the button is pressed, the brush is both rotated in the tube and moved axially along the tube to load the brush with mascara. 
     The helical track may be a groove formed on an end of a brush shaft extending within the cap, and the stationary surfaces can be formed on a neck of the tube so that as the button is pressed, the brush shaft moves relative to the tube neck to cause the brush to rotate as it is being moved axially in the tube. 
     The spring-loading will cause the brush to be moved in rotation and axially, in the opposite direction, when the button is released. 
     The button may be mounted in the cap, so that it can be pressed into the body of the cap, or may be formed by the body of the cap sliding over an inner neck of the cap. 
     In a second embodiment, the brush can be housed in a cylinder attached to the cap, and the mascara can be contained in an outer housing which can be moved up and down along the cylinder, the cylinder having openings through its wall over that part where the brush is positioned so that the mascara is moved past the cylinder openings and onto the brush. 
     In a third embodiment, the cap may have a rotatable portion, separate from the attachment of the cap to the tube, with a finger running in a helical track so that as the button is pressed, the brush is rotated in the tube and moves axially along the tube. 
     One problem arising with existing mascara containing tubes is that the volume of mascara in the tube is less than the volume of the tube. Typically a mascara tube container contains about 5 ml of product. This product is spread over the length of the tube, and this makes it difficult for the brush to reach all the mascara, and the container may, for practical purposes, appear empty because the brush cannot access any more product when in fact there is still a significant quantity of the product in the tube. 
     To overcome this problem, it is proposed, in accordance with a second aspect of the invention, to form a mascara containing tube with a narrow neck which divides the main length of the tube from a product containing portion at the end of the tube remote from the cap, with the brush being arranged so that it is located within the product containing portion when the cap is in place on the container. 
     By confining the product to one small area of the tube, more of the product can be accessed by the brush because less will be spread over the walls of the tube. 
     The neck may be of a diameter such as to remove excess mascara from the brush as the brush is drawn through the neck, so that excess mascara stays in the end portion of the tube and is not spread along the whole length of the tube. 
    
    
     
       The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a view of a first embodiment of a mascara applicator according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-section through the applicator of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a view of a second embodiment of a mascara applicator according to the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-section through the applicator of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-section through a third embodiment of a mascara applicator according to the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-section through the applicator of  FIG. 5 , in a different position of use; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-section through a fourth embodiment of a mascara applicator according to the invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-section through a fifth embodiment of a mascara applicator according to the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-section through a sixth embodiment of a mascara applicator according to the invention; 
         FIG. 10  is an external view of the applicator of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a detail exploded view of part of the embodiment of  FIGS. 3 and 4 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a view corresponding to  FIG. 11 , but on a larger scale; 
         FIG. 13  is a detail of another part of the embodiment of  FIGS. 3 and 4 ; and 
         FIG. 14  is a view of a container insert “as moulded”. 
     
    
    
     Mascara applicators are typically long thin tubes with a cap which unscrews or pulls off, and a brush at the end of a shaft or wand which dips into the mascara at the bottom of the tube when the cap is in place and which can be removed with mascara on the bristles of the brush, so that the mascara can be applied to the eyelashes. 
       FIG. 1  shows an applicator according to the invention which has a mascara container  10  and a removable cap  12 . In this case the cap is designed to screw off from the container. In this  FIG. 1  embodiment, the cap has a push-button top  14 . 
       FIG. 2  shows the interior of the applicator of  FIG. 1 . The container  10  contains a volume of mascara  16  at the bottom of the container. Mascara is a thick, viscous composition which, initially, is placed in the bottom of the container  10 . The cap  12  has an internally threaded portion at  18  which screws onto a threaded neck  20  of the container  10 . 
     The other main component of the applicator is a brush  22  at the end of an elongate shaft or wand  24 . In  FIG. 2 , the container  10  has an insert  26 . The insert  26  has a narrow neck  28  through which the brush  22  must pass when it is removed from the tube. The neck  28  scrapes off excess mascara from the brush before the brush travels up the tube. 
     The insert  26  is fitted into the mouth of the container  10  and also carries the screw threaded rim  20  onto which the cap  12  is screwed. 
     Within the cap  12  is a mechanism which allows the push-button  14  to be pushed in and released to move the brush  22  up and down and in rotation within the body of mascara  16 , to ensure that the bristles of the brush  22  are properly coated. 
     At its top end, the shaft  24  has a portion  30  moulded in the form of a helix (see also  FIGS. 11 and 12 ). The helix engages with a neck  32  which is part of the cap  12 . A compression spring  34  acts between a shelf  36  which is part of the cap  12  and the underside of the helix portion  30 . 
     When the cap  14  is depressed, the helix portion  30  passes through the neck  32 , and in doing so the helix portion and the shaft  24  are all caused to rotate. The spring  34  is compressed when the button  14  is pushed and when the button is released the spring  34  will return the button and the brush  22 ,  24  to their starting positions. 
     It will be seen also from  FIG. 12  that the top end of the shaft  24  has a pair of flexible wings  38  which, on assembly of the applicator, snap into a recess  40  in the button  14 , but allow relative rotation between the button and the shaft so that as the shaft rotates, the button  14  does not have to rotate. Any suitable snap-fit connector can be used provided it allows relative rotation between the connected components but prevents axial disengagement. 
       FIG. 2  also shows that the cap  12  has an annular groove  42 , and a skirt of the button  14  slides in and out of this groove as the button is pressed. 
     Also in  FIG. 2 , it would be seen that there is an O-ring  44  just above the shelf  36 . This O-ring makes a seal with the shaft  24  to prevent air being drawn into the container when the button  14  is pressed. 
     In use, the user will hold the applicator in one hand and press the button  14  with the thumb (much like extending and retracting the tip of a ball-point pen). This will cause the brush  22  to be moved up and down in the mascara  16 , and rotated within the mascara. This will ensure mixing of the mascara and thorough coating of the bristles. The cap  12  can then be unscrewed from the container  10  and withdrawn with the brush; the brush passing through the neck  28  so that excess mascara is scraped of the brush before the brush is removed from the container. The mascara can then be applied to the eyelashes. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  show a largely similar embodiment with the exception that in this case the button  114  is external and moves up and down over the cap  112 . As can be seen in  FIG. 11 , the button  114  has internal splines  116  which mate with splines  118  on the cap  112  so that the button does not rotate as it is pushed up and down. 
     Other parts of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4  are the same as the equivalent parts in  FIG. 2  and the same reference numerals are used. 
     In  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the cap  214  has no internal moving parts. The container  210  has an internal tube  250  which contains the mascara  16 , and the bottom end of the internal tube  250  is connected to a pump base  252  which can be moved up and down between the positions shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The base  252  can have a soft-feel rotating grip which is able to rotate relative to the tube  250 . The tube  250  has an external helical groove  254 , and a feature on the interior of the container  210  ensures that the tube  250  rotates as the tube  250  is pulled in and out of the outer container  210 . The base  252  has a projection  256  which locates in an annular groove  258  on the outside of the tube  250 , so that the base does not rotate when the tube  250  is pulled in and out. The tube may pull in and out against a spring action (spring  260  is shown in  FIG. 5 ), or without a spring as shown in  FIG. 6 . In both cases, as the tube  250  is moved in and out of the outer container  210 , the brush is moved through the mascara to coat the bristles of the brush with mascara. The container  210  has a neck  261  to wipe off excess mascara as the brush is removed from the container after unscrewing the cap  214 . 
       FIG. 7  shows another embodiment. In this case the cap  314  again has no moving parts and the brush  322 ,  324  is attached to the cap. In this case the brush  322  is stationary within an inner tube  354 . An outer sleeve  362  surrounds the tube  34  and has agitation fingers  363  which project through slots (not shown) in the inner tube so that when the outer sleeve  362  is moved up and down on the tube  354 , the fingers  363  agitate the mascara to move it away from the walls of the tube so that it can be loaded onto the brush. Some mascara may escape into the outer tube, but O-ring seals  365  prevent leakage to the outside. 
       FIG. 8  shows a simpler embodiment where the cap  414  has an internal feature which engages in a helical groove  464  in an upper part  430  of the brush shaft. 
     The upper part  430  can move backwards and forwards into a socket  466  in a lower cap portion  414   a.  In this embodiment there is no return spring, and the movement of the brush  422  in the mascara just takes place as the lid is rotated in one or other direction. The helical groove  464  combined with the internal feature in the upper cap portion  414  produces a linear movement (but in this case no rotational movement) of the brush in the mascara. 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  show an embodiment in which the container  510  is divided by a neck  568  into a container base  510   a  and an upper portion  510   b.  The mascara is held and retained in the base  510   a,  and the brush can be moved in and out and rotated within this portion  510   a  by any of the mechanisms previously described. 
     In  FIG. 9 , a mechanism similar to that shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  is illustrated. The neck  568  may incorporate an insert  570  with a throat which scrapes off excess mascara as the brush is withdrawn from the container. This ensures that excess mascara is not removed from the base portion  510   a  but remains in that portion, so that it is accessible to the brush. 
     Blow moulding may be a suitable technique for manufacturing the container  510 . 
       FIG. 10  shows a detail which would enable the cap to be locked down onto the container  510 , when the applicator is not in use. This is by way of a bayonet type fitting  572  at the top of the container  510 . In this case the cap  514  will have an internal projection which will engage in the bayonet slot when the cap is pushed down and rotated. This can help to prevent the cap becoming inadvertently unscrewed or to prevent other objects in, for example, a handbag becoming entangled between the cap and the container. 
       FIG. 12  shows more detail of the manner in which rotation can be produced between the components, for example, in  FIG. 2 . The helical portion  30  is a plastics moulding with a helical land running around the moulding which is substantially square when taken in cross-section at any point along its length. The helical portion  30  engages with four surfaces  33  in the neck  32  which is part of the cap  12 . The edges of the neck in the cap  32  between the engagement surfaces  33  are relieved at  74  so that the corners of the helical lands do not have to make contact with any part of the cap. The materials of the helical portion  30  and the cap  12  will be chosen to minimise friction between them so that as the helical portion  30  is pressed down between the surfaces  32  and into the cap  12 , there is as little resistance as possible to rotation of the shaft  24 . 
       FIG. 13  is a cut-away view of part of the embodiment of  FIG. 2  showing in particular a tapered projection  25  extending radially from the shaft  24 . The projection is resilient so that it can be pushed through the shoulder  36  when the applicator is being assembled, but will prevent the shaft from being drawn back through the shoulder. The top of the projection  25  is brought into abutment with the underside of the shoulder  36  when the spring  34  urges the shaft upwards. 
     Finally,  FIG. 14  shows the insert  26  prior to assembly. This insert is a one-piece clam-shell moulding which is moulded in the condition shown in  FIG. 15 , with a plastics hinge  602  which is closed after moulding to make the lower half of the moulding a complete cylinder. 
     The components of the applicator described here are designed to be moulded in plastics, and suitable plastics will be chosen both for aesthetic and functional considerations.