Patent Publication Number: US-2012027497-A1

Title: Cosmetic container

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to containers, and more particularly, to a cosmetic container with improved airtightness that prevents an article contained therein from drying or deteriorating due to oxidation, which cosmetic container is also structurally improved in combination between components thereof. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     With the rapid change of modern fashion and aesthetic perception, painting with cosmetic products on skin and nails to manifest personal style has become a trend. In particular, traditional cosmetic applicators or brushes are no more satisfying for modern cosmetic applications which involve drawing patterns or designs on skins or nails. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,474 issued to the applicant of the present application has disclosed a multi-purpose nail enamel applicator that incorporates a pen head for drawing and a brush member for painting. The cosmetic container is provided with multiple airtight structures around the pen head and the upper cap member, so as to prevent air from invading via any interval between the components and preventing the components from loosening after repeated opening and closing. Thus, the patent exactly improves traditional cosmetic containers in airtightness, thereby protecting liquid contained therein from deteriorating or hardening. 
     However, the traditional cosmetic container has weakness in addition to the inferior airtightness that may cause its content to deteriorate. That is, its body wherein a cosmetic product is received is typically made of Nylon (polyamide resin) through injection molding. The body made of Nylon is inherently inferior in airtightness and fails to properly isolate the content from external air. Consequently, the content tends to soon deteriorate, and this causes inconvenience and diseconomy to users. For overcoming the defect, an improvement has been made about making the body with Nylon and PP (polypropylene). However, the admixture material has poor ductility and transparency while the airtightness is nevertheless not perfect because the admixture material, when made into a container, possesses pores. As the resultant container is very rigid due to its poor ductility, a relatively large force is required to squeeze it and apply its content, thereby inconveniencing its users. 
     Referring to the foregoing patented cosmetic container, it has a lower end formed as a diameter-reduced connecting end for coupling a lower cap that facilitates standing stably. Alternatively, two said cosmetic containers are connected at the connecting ends thereof with a connecting ring, so that cosmetic products for different purposes or of different colors can be carried conveniently. Conventionally, the cosmetic container is formed by blowing a preform under high pressure and high temperature. The preform is to be provided with a threaded end for coupling the pen head and an opposite end as the closed bottom end. However, conventionally, for smooth bottle-blowing process and mold-releasing process, it is difficult to provide the bottom end with threads, and thus the bottom end can only engage the decorative cap or the connecting ring by means of a close-fit or wedge mechanism. As the close-fit or wedge mechanism is limited in providing firm combination, when an external force is applied between the cosmetic containers or between its bottom end and the combined decorative cap or the connecting ring, the close-fit or wedge mechanism tends to be broken and cause uncoupling of the components. In addition, also because of the problem of shaping in the bottle-blowing process and mold-releasing process, the container typically has all its coroners and edges formed as chamfered. This can even highlight the weakness of the close-fit or wedge mechanism because when the bottom end combines with the decorative cap or the connecting ring, the chamfered edge is more likely to slide along and eventually disengage from the decorative cap or the connecting ring under external force, and is less effective in positioning the bottom end as compared with a non-chamfered, square edge. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a cosmetic container, which is structurally improved to enhance its overall airtightness and to strengthen combination between its components. 
     According to the present invention, the cosmetic container comprises: 
     a PET tube being a hollow container with an open end and a close end, the open end having an outer periphery formed with at least one external thread, the close end having a connecting section and an outer periphery formed with at least one thread, and the connecting section having a bottom; 
     a painting assembly including a pen segment screwed with the external thread of the open end, a brush segment wedged in the pen segment and an upper cap mounted around the pen segment; and 
     an attached member having a threaded hole for receiving the connecting section therein and being screwed with the connecting section at the thread. 
     The primary objective of the present invention is to make the tube with PET, which is a material featuring excellent airtightness, so as to effectively prevent air from invading the tube and thereby protecting a content contained in the tube from deteriorating or hardening. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to combine the connecting section of the tube and the attached member with the thread and the threaded hole so as to improve the traditional approach where only a close-fit or wedge mechanism is implemented and incurs the problems of weak combination and easy disengagement. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to provide the right-angle or acute-angle connecting rim between the bottom and the thread, so that the tube can be combined with the attached member with improved firmness and security as compared with the prior-art device wherein the chamfered edge is likely to make the tube disengaged from the attached member. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cosmetic container of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a partially exposed view of the cosmetic container; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a painting assembly of the cosmetic container; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of an upper cap of the cosmetic container; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic drawing showing assembly of a pen head of the cosmetic container; 
         FIG. 6  is an applied view of the cosmetic container; 
         FIGS. 7 and 8  illustrate formation of a tube of the cosmetic container; 
         FIG. 9  is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of a lower end of the cosmetic container; and 
         FIG. 10  is another aspect of the cosmetic container of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 4 , a cosmetic container of the present invention comprises primarily a tube  10 , a painting assembly  20  and an attached member  60 , which will be described in detail below. 
     The tube  10  is in nature a container with an open end  11  and a close end  12 , and is made of PET. The open end  11  has its outer periphery formed with at least one external thread  111 . The close end  12  has a connecting section  121 , whose outer periphery is also formed with at least one thread  122 . The connecting section  121  has a bottom  123  with a flat surface or a concave surface, so that a right-angle or acute-angle connecting rim  124  is formed between the connecting section  121  and the bottom  123 . 
     The painting assembly  20  includes a pen segment  30  screwed with the external thread  111  of the open end  11 , a brush segment  40  wedged in the pen segment  30  and an upper cap  50  mounted around the pen segment  30 . 
     The pen segment  30  has a pen head cover  31  and a pen head seat  32 . 
     The pen head cover  31  is screwed with the external thread  111  and has a mounted end  311  at an end opposite to the open end  11 . The mounted end  311  is formed with a through opening  312 , and there is an arched guiding portion  314  formed at an inner periphery of the pen head cover  31  near the through opening  312 . 
     The pen head seat  32  is covered inside the pen head cover  31  and has a pen head  321  that is allowed to pierce through the through opening  312 . The pen head seat  32  and the pen head  321  are centrally hollow and intercommunicated, and the pen head  321  is terminated by a hemispherical end. 
     The brush segment  40  has a fastening seat  41  wedged into and thereby connected with the pen head seat  32 . The fastening seat  41  is hollow and extended with a hollow shaft  42  at an end opposite to the pen head seat  32 . The shaft  42  is terminally attached with a brush  421  and is formed laterally with at least one leading hole  422  near the fastening seat  41  so that the shaft  42  is centrally, partially or entirely, hollow from the leading hole  422  to the fastening seat  41 . The fastening seat  41  is further provided with a flange  43  while the pen head cover  31  has its inner periphery formed with a circular groove  313 , so that the flange  43  can be fittingly received in the circular groove  313 . The fastening seat  41  further has a raised portion  44  that matches an inner periphery of the open end  11  in shape, so that the fastening seat  41  and the open end  11  can be combined in an airtight manner. 
     The upper cap  50  includes therein a mounting sleeve  51  corresponding to the mounted end  311 . The mounting sleeve  51  has a diameter-reduced opening so that when capping the pen head cover  31 , the upper cap  50  fittingly embraces the mounted end  311  in an airtight manner (as shown in  FIG. 4 ). Therein, the mounting sleeve  51  has a close end formed with a recess  52  for receiving the pen head  321 . 
     The attached member  60  has a threaded hole  61  for receiving the connecting section  121  and fixing the connecting section  121  at the thread  122 . The attached member  60  may be a base or a connecting ring. 
     Basing on the configuration of the disclosed cosmetic container as described above, its operation will be explained in details below. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , for smoothly inserting the tiny pen head  321  into the tiny through opening  312 , when the pen head seat  32  is assembled into the pen head cover  31 , the arched guiding portion  314  inside the pen head cover  31  near the through opening  312  serves to lead the pen head seat  32  and the pen head  321  toward the through opening  312 . In addition, also because of the minuteness of the through opening  312  and the pen head  321 , if it is intended to achieve the close fit between the minuteness of the through opening  312  and the pen head  321 , the required precise processing would be costly. For coping with the need of airtightness, the present invention adopts a closed film  315  at the through opening  312  during manufacturing of the pen head cover  31 , so that when the pen head  321  pierces through the film  315  for the first time, an opening is formed and the film  315 , with its elastic nature, provides an airtight edge between the through opening  312  and the pen head  321 , so as to block external air from invading without the concerns about precise processing and costs raised thereby. 
     The present invention functions for dual content-applying purposes. The first usage is as shown in  FIG. 3 , wherein the pen head cover  31  together with the upper cap  50  is unscrewed from the external thread  111  of the open end  11 , and the brush segment  40  is drawn out from the tube  10 . The brush  421  attached to the shaft  42  is configured to soak in a liquid content of the tube  10  so that a user can directly use the brush segment  40  to paint. 
     In the second use, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the upper cap  50  is detached from the pen head cover  31 , and the tube  10  is upside-down to make the pen head  321  point downward. At this time, the liquid content in the tube  10  flows toward the fastening seat  41  at the open end  11  due to the gravity. Since the fastening seat  41 , the shaft  42 , the pen head seat  32  and the pen head  321  are all hollow and intercommunicated, the liquid content slows into the shaft  42  through the leading hole  422 , and then passes the fastening seat  41  and the pen head seat  32  to be finally dispatched at the pen head  321  for the user to paint with the pen head  321 . As mentioned above, the pen head  321  is provided with the hemispherical end, so it can directly touch or draw on the user&#39;s skin or nail without the risk of hurting or scratching the touched skin or nail. 
     The tube  10  made of PET is superior in airtightness and transparency while being light yet tough, so as to appropriately prevent substance in the container from having moisture escaping and hardening while blocking external air from invading and causing the substance in the container to deteriorate, thus being a suitable container for cosmetic products. In addition, the PET tube  10  has good resilience, so the dispatching rate and amount of the content delivered at the pen head  321  can be easily controlled by adjusting a squeezing force a user exerts to the tube  10 , thereby varying the thickness of strokes made by the pen head  321 . 
     The tube  10  is made of a PET preform through high-temperature and high-pressure bottle blowing. Since the only threaded portion at the open end of the preform available in the traditional process is occupied by the external thread  111  of the tube  10 , and the lower end of the bottle tends to have the problem of defective or even absent threads in the traditional process, the tube  10  of the present invention may have to be made by device and method given below instead of the traditional process. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7  for a mold assembly applicable to making the tube  10  of the present invention, the mold assembly has a pair of mold halves  70  that can be drawn together or separated so as to, when drawn together, define a mold cavity  71  for forming the tube  10 . A lower end of the cavity  71  corresponding to the connecting section  121  is an open end, and a movable block  72  is configured to move vertically while the cavity  71  is provided with threading grooves  73  for forming the connecting section  121 . Thereby, in the bottle-blowing process for the tube  10 , a preform is heated to become plastic and a high-pressure gas is introduced into the preform to inflate and shape the preform with the cavity  71 . Afterward, the movable block  72  is driven to push the semi-finished container inward the cavity  71  (as shown in  FIG. 8 ). As the movable block  72  and the high-pressure gas both work on the lower edge of the semi-finished container in vertical directions, the material of the semi-finished container is pushed to fill the threading grooves  73 , so as to form even and precise threads  122 . Meantime, the movable block  72  pushing inward the cavity makes the connecting section  121  have a bottom  123  together with the right-angle or acute-angle connecting rim  124  between the connecting section  121  and the bottom  123 . 
     In  FIG. 9 , the attached member  60  is a base. The connecting section  121  of the tube  10  and the attached member  60  are screwed together with the threads  122  and the threaded hole  61 , so as to be combined with improved security as compared with the traditional approach where only a close-fit or wedge mechanism is implemented. When an external force other than an unscrewing force is exerted to the tube  10  and the attached member  60 , since there is no chamfered edge between the periphery of the threaded hole  61  of the attached member  60  and the connecting section  121 , the attached member  60  is secured from disengaging the connecting section  121 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , when the attached member  60  is a connecting ring, the threaded hole  61  passes through the attached member  60 , and two said tubes  10  can be combined through the attached member  60  settled therebetween. The connecting sections  121  of the two tubes  10  are combined at two ends of the attached member  60  so that the bottoms  123  of the two tubes  10  abut against each other in the threaded hole  61  of the attached member  60 , to thereby be more capable of resisting external force that to be disengaging the tubes  10  and the attached member  60 . 
     The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment and it is understood that the embodiment is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Moreover, as the contents disclosed herein should be readily understood and can be implemented by a person skilled in the art, all equivalent changes or modifications which do not depart from the concept of the present invention should be encompassed by the appended claims.