Patent Publication Number: US-6905277-B2

Title: Liquid applicator

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a liquid applicator for cosmetics, chemicals or the like, and in particular to a liquid applicator having an application member fitted to a mouth portion of a container, for applying contents in the container. 
     2. Prior Art 
     A liquid applicator for applying contents in a tube container is known and disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Mode Laid-Open Publication No. 02-50226, wherein an application member in the form of a brush is fitted to a mouth portion of a tube container and the contents in the container is applied by the brush while pressing the container. This type of liquid applicator suffers from a problem that, should the container be accidentally pressed, either the contents is discharged into and accumulated in an over-cap for covering the application brush when it is not in use, or the contents push up the over-cap so as to be discharged outside. 
     A liquid application container is also known and disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 51-159665, wherein an inner plug having a valve hole is fitted into a mouth portion of the container. The inner plug serves to support a movable member provided with a valve element at its lower end and holding, in its upper part, a porous application member, through the intermediary of a spring. Further, a cap is engaged with the movable member and screwed onto the outer periphery of the mouth portion of the container. In this liquid application container, the cap is opened or closed so as to establish or shut off a passage between the inner plug and the application member, and it would be desirable to solve various problems as follows. First, should the cap be left opened, depending upon the kind of the contents, a volatile component of the contents, if any, evaporates so as to cause solidification of the contents. Second, should the container be accidentally grasped, the contents are readily discharged. Furthermore, since the inner plug prevents withdrawal of the movable member, the application member cannot be readily removed, with the result that contamination to the application member or solidified liquid cannot be washed away with water or washing liquid. Moreover, a spring is arranged at the outer periphery of the valve element, so that this type of arrangement can hardly be applied to a small-sized container. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention intends to eliminate the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. 
     The present invention is based on a novel concept that there can be realized an improved liquid applicator in which a passage between an inner plug and an application member can be opened or closed by rotating an attachment cap fitted therein with the application member in a predetermined angular range, and the application member can be removed by further rotating the attachment cap. 
     To this end, according to the present invention, there is provided a liquid applicator comprising a container including a mouth portion having a barrel part formed with threads, an inner plug having a peripheral wall fitted in the mouth portion of the container, and a bottom wall, and formed with a passage hole communicated with the inside of the container, a discharge barrel for opening and closing the passage hole of the inner plug, an application member holder fitted with the discharge barrel, and holding an application element, and an application member including an attachment cap formed with threads adapted to be threadedly engaged with the threads on the barrel part. 
     According to the present invention, with the configuration in which the inner plug is formed therein with the passage hole, and the application member is provided with the discharge barrel for opening and closing the passage hole, the passage between the inner plug and the application member can be opened or closed by rotating the attachment cap in a predetermined range. Moreover, the application member can be removed by further rotating the attachment cap, and the attachment cap can thus be easily washed after removal thereof. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the liquid applicator, the mouth portion of the container is formed at its upper end part with a locking ring which is projected therefrom while the attachment cap is formed at the inner surface thereof with a bead ring adapted to be engaged with the locking ring, so that the rising position of the attachment cap is limited by the locking ring of the mouth portion, but the locking ring is allowed to ride over the bead ring through further rotation of the attachment cap. 
     The application element in the application member is preferably formed of bristle or a porous application element, wherein the porous application element may be made of suitable synthetic resin, synthetic rubber or the like. 
     The passage hole in the inner plug is formed in either or both of the peripheral wall and the bottom wall, and may be formed, being extended between the peripheral wall and the bottom wall. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be further described below with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying the drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is an elevation view, partly in section, of a liquid applicator according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a half-cut elevation view illustrating a mouth portion of the container. 
         FIG. 3   a  is a half-cut elevation view illustrating an inner plug, and 
         FIG. 3   b  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  3   b - 3   b  in  FIG. 3   a.    
         FIG. 4  is a half-cut elevation view illustrating a discharge barrel. 
         FIG. 5   a  is a plan view illustrating a bristle holder, and  FIG. 5   b  is a half-cut elevation view taken along the line  5   b - 5   b  in  FIG. 5   a.    
         FIG. 6  is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating an attachment cap. 
         FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b  are a plan view and a longitudinal sectional view, respectively, illustrating an application member. 
         FIG. 8  is an elevation view, similar to  FIG. 1 , illustrating the liquid applicator when the application member is raised. 
         FIG. 9   a  is a longitudinal view illustrating the inner plug and the discharge barrel according to a first variant, and  FIG. 9   b  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  9   b - 9   b  in  FIG. 9   a.    
         FIG. 10   a  is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the inner plug and the discharge barrel according to a second variant, and  FIG. 10   b  is a cross-sectional taken view along the line  10   b - 10   b  in  FIG. 10   a.    
         FIG. 11   a  is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the inner plug and the discharge barrel according to a third variant, and  FIG. 11   b  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  11   b - 11   b  in  FIG. 11   a.    
         FIG. 12  is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating an application element in another embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a liquid applicator according to the present invention has a container  11  which stores therein, as contents, cosmetics such as lip cream, lip color, chemicals or the like, and is used as a tool for application of cosmetics, chemicals or the like, and incorporates, in addition to the container  11 , an inner plug  12 , an application member  13  and a cover cap  14  which will be explained later. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the container  11  is a tube container having a mouth portion  21  and a barrel  22  which can be deformed by being pressed. The mouth portion  21  is composed of a top wall  23  and a barrel part  24 , the top wall  23  being formed therein with a step part  26  having an opening  25  in its center part. The barrel part  24  is formed at its upper end with a locking ring  27  projected outward, and has an upper reduced diameter part  28  and a thread part formed therein with threads  29  below the locking ring  27 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b , the inner plug  12  comprises a peripheral wall  31  formed at its upper end with a flange  30  and a bottom wall  32 . The peripheral wall  31  is formed below the flange  30  with a locking ring  33  which is engaged with the lower end edge of the opening  25 , and is formed further therebelow with a plurality of passage holes  34  at equal intervals. The bottom wall  32  is provided inside of the peripheral wall  31  with a locking ring  35 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , the application member  13  is composed of a discharge barrel  40 , a bristle holder  41  and an attachment cap  42 . With further reference to  FIG. 4 , the discharge barrel  40  is composed of a barrel body  44  formed therein with a discharge hole  43 , and a flange  45  projected from the intermediate part thereof. The lower end of the barrel body  44  is adapted to be fitted between the lower part of the peripheral wall  31  and the locking ring  35  of the inner plug  12 , and the flange  45  is formed at the peripheral edge thereof with a projecting ring  46  which is projected therefrom, and at its lower surface with a bead ring  47 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b , the bristle holder  41  comprises a bristle holding part  48 , and a discharge barrel holding part  49  suspended along the peripheral edge of the bristle holding part  48 . The bristle holding part  48  is formed in the center part thereof with an insertion hole  50  fitted therein with the discharge barrel  40 , and at the upper surface of the periphery thereof with a plurality of bristle holding holes  51  in which bristle  52  is planted. The discharge barrel holding part  49  is formed at the inner periphery of the lower end thereof with a bead ring  53  adapted to be engaged with the projecting ring  46  of at the peripheral edge of the flange  45 , and at the outer periphery of the lower end with a projecting ring  54 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the attachment cap  42  comprises an upper peripheral wall  56  formed with an upper wall  55  and a lower peripheral wall  58  connected to the upper peripheral wall  56  through the intermediary of a stepped part  57 . The upper wall  55  is provided with a bristle bundling barrel  59  having a circular lower end and an elliptic upper end having an area smaller than that of the lower end, for bundling bristle  52 , the bristle bundling barrel  59  standing upward along the inner peripheral edge of the upper wall  55 . The upper peripheral wall  56  is formed at the lower end of the inner periphery thereof with a bead ring  60 , and at a predetermined position in lower end part of the outer periphery thereof with a projecting ring  61  projected outward. The lower peripheral wall  58  has at its inner surface an upper reduced diameter part  62  and a lower thread barrel part  63 . Further, the reduced diameter part  62  is formed at its inner barrel end with a bead ring  44  which is adapted to be engaged with the locking ring  27  of the barrel part  24  when it is raised, and thread  65  are spirally formed in the thread barrel part  63 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , the cover cap  14  is composed of a top wall  70  and a peripheral wall  71  which is formed in its lower part with a bear ring  72  adapted to be coupled with the projecting ring  61  when the lower end thereof abuts against the stepper part  57  of the attachment cap  13 . 
     Explanation will be made of a method of assembling the liquid applicator in the above-mentioned embodiment, the using mode and the technical effects and advantages thereof. 
     First, upon the assembly of the application member  13 , the discharge barrel  40  is fitted into the bristle holding part  41  planted thereon with the bristle  52  so as to cause the lower surface of the discharge barrel holding part  49  to abut against the upper surface of the flange  45 , and to cause the bead ring  53  at the lower surface of the inner periphery of the discharge barrel holding part  49  to engage with the lower end edge of the projecting ring  46  at the peripheral edge of the flange  45  in order to couple the discharge barrel  40  with the bristle holder  41 . 
     Next, the bristle holder  41  is fitted in the attachment cap  42  from therebelow, and the bristle  52  is bundled in the bristle bundling barrel  59  in a predetermined shape, and is raised so as to cause the projecting ring  54  at the lower end of the bristle holder  41  to clime riding over the bead ring  60  of the upper peripheral wall  56 . As a result, the bead ring  60  is engaged with the lower side of the projecting ring  54 , and accordingly, the discharge barrel  40 , the bristle holder  41  and the attachment cap  42  are integrally incorporated with one another, as shown in  FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b.    
     Upon the attachment of the application member  13  to the container  11 , when the attachment cap  42  is rotated so as to be screwed onto the barrel part  24 , the attachment cap  42  is lowered, and accordingly, the bead ring  64  is engaged with the locking ring  27  so as to cause click action. When the attachment cap  42  is further rotated, the bead ring  64  rides over the locking ring  27  so that the attachment cap  22  is further lowered down to a lowermost position. In this condition, the lower end of the discharge barrel  40  abuts against the bottom wall  32  of the inner plug  12 , and accordingly, the barrel body  44  of the discharge barrel  40  closes the passage holes  34  which are therefore blocked. 
     Upon use of the liquid applicator, as shown in  FIG. 8 , after the cover cap  14  is removed, when the attachment cap  42  is rotated so as to be raised, the bead ring  64  at the inner periphery of the attachment cap  42  is engaged with the locking ring  27  projected from the mouth portion  21 , and accordingly, it is inhibited from being raised any further, and clicking action is transmitted to the operator&#39;s hand. Until then, the discharge barrel  40  of the applicator member  13  rises up so as to open the passage holes  34  in the peripheral wall  21  of the inner plug  12 , that is, the inside of the container  11  is communicated with the discharge hole  43  of the discharge barrel  40 , and accordingly, when the barrel  22  is pressed, the liquid contents can be discharged into the bristle  52 . 
     The bristle  52  is pushed against a desired surface to be applied and is then moved, the contents can be applied over a desired area to be applied. After the application is completed, when the attachment cap  42  is closed, the passage holes  34  in the inner plug  12  are closed, and accordingly, the liquid contents can be prevented from accidentally flowing out from the container even though the container barrel  22  is pressed. 
     In the case of contamination to the application member  13 , the attachment cap  42  is raised until the bead ring  64  abuts against the locking ring  27  of the mouth portion  21  of the container, and then by further rotating the attachment cap  42 , the bead ring  64  rises up, riding over the locking ring  27 . As a result, the thread engagement of the attachment cap  42  is released, and accordingly, the application member  13  can be removed from the container  11 . The application member  13  thus removed is soaked and washed in water or washing liquid, thereby it is possible to remove dirt, dust or useless liquid sticking to the bristle. 
     Next, explanation will be made of variant forms of the inner plug and the discharge barrel with reference to the drawings. 
     At first, with reference to  FIGS. 9   a  and  9   b , explanation will be made of a first variant. In these figures, there are shown an inner plug  12 A and a discharge barrel  40 A. The inner plug  12 A has a peripheral wall  31 A and a bottom wall  32 A which is formed therein a valve hole  80  as a passage hole. A barrel body  44 A in the discharge barrel  40 A is provided at its lower end with a valve element  81 , and is formed therein with a plurality of passages  82  extending up to a predetermined height measured from the valve element  81  while frame elements  83  separating the passages  82  from one another serve as support bars for the valve element  81 . Upon discharge of the contents, the application member is raised while the valve element  81  at the lower end of the discharge barrel  40 A is raised so as to open the valve hole  80 , and accordingly, the contents flow from the valve hole  80  into the discharge hole  43 A by way of the peripheral edges of the valve element  81  in the discharge barrel  40 A and the passages  82 , and are then discharged from the upper end of the discharge barrel  40 A into the bristle. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 10   a  and  10   b , explanation will be made of a second variant. In these figures, there are shown an inner plug  12 B, the discharge barrel  40 B. The inner plug  12 B has a peripheral wall  31 B and a bottom wall  32 B which is formed with passage holes  85  extending from positions near to the lower end of the peripheral wall  31 B to the peripheral edge part of the bottom wall  32 B. A barrel body  44 B of the discharge barrel  40 B is formed at the lower end thereof with a projecting ring  86  extending into a discharge hole  43 B, and the projecting ring  86  is adapted to completely block the passage holes  85  in the bottom wall  32 B. Upon discharge of the contents, the discharge barrel  40 B is raised so as to open the passage holes  85 , and accordingly, the contents flow into the discharge hole  43 B by way of the passage holes  85 , and are then discharged into the bristle from the upper end of the discharge barrel  40 B. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 11   a  and  11   b , explanation will be made of a third variant. In these figures, there are shown an inner plug  12 C and a discharge barrel  40 C. The inner plug  12 C has a peripheral wall  31 C and a bottom wall  32 C. The peripheral wall  31 C is formed with passage holes  87 A having a large diameter, and the bottom wall  32 C is formed with passage holes  87 B having a small diameter. A barrel body  44 C of the discharge barrel  40 C is formed at the lower end thereof with a projecting ring  88  extending into a discharge hole  43 C, and accordingly, the passage holes  87 A are blocked by the barrel body  44 C while the passage holes  87 B in the bottom wall  32 C are blocked by the projecting ring  88 . Upon discharge of the contents, when the discharge barrel  40 C is raised, the passage holes  87 A,  87 B are opened so that the contents flow into the discharge hole  43 C by way of the passage holes  87 A,  87 B, and accordingly, they can be discharged into the bristle from the upper end of the discharge barrel  40 C. 
     Next, explanation will be made of another embodiment as to an applicator member as shown in  FIG. 12 . In this embodiment, a porous application element formed of sponge, felt or the like is used as the application element, instead of the bristle. With reference to  FIG. 12 , there are shown an application member  13 A, a discharge barrel  90 , an application element holder  91 , an application element  92  formed of sponge or felt made of synthetic resin, synthetic rubber or the like, and an attachment cap  93 . Although the embodiment shown in  FIG. 12  is different from the above-mentioned embodiment in view of such a fact that the porous application element  92  is used, the other components including the discharge barrel  90  are substantially similar to those explained in the above-mentioned embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 to 8 . Upon discharge of the contents, there may be obtained working which is substantially similar to that obtained by the liquid applicator in the above-mentioned embodiment. 
     In the embodiments as stated above, although container is in the form of a tube container, it is also possible to use a usual squeeze container or the like, instead of the tube container. 
     Furthermore, according to the present invention, cosmetics such as lip cream or lip color, chemicals or the like are stored in the container which is therefore used as an applicator, though it may be used as an applicator for viscous liquid such as paste, adhesive, paint or the like.