Patent Publication Number: US-11641927-B1

Title: Combination deodorant and body spray disperser unit

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/075,915 filed Sep. 9, 2020, and entitled “Body Spray and Deodorant Combo”, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates, in general, to personal hygiene, and more particularly to a combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit for use in personal hygiene. 
     2. Brief Description of the Prior Art 
     The human skin is naturally populated with numerous micro-organisms. These organisms are nourished by various skin secreted substances, skin cell debris, breakdown products of the skin and the organisms themselves. The “skin secretions” are eccrine and apocrine sweat, and lipid-soluble sebum. Eccrine sweat is normally odorless and remains odorless after secretion, although odoriferous food and drug substances may be excreted with it. Apocrine glands are normally associated with hair follicles and are confined mainly to the groin, perianal, areola and armpits. Apocrine glands produce a scanty, milky substance that is odorless upon secretion, but becomes odoriferous upon bacterial decomposition. Apocrine glands are considered to be a primary contributor for malodor. 
     The sebaceous glands are distributed over the skin surface, except for the palms and dorsae. These glands are most numerous on the scalp, forehead, face, back, and chest. The secretion, which is known as “sebum”, consists mainly of fatty materials, wax esters, cholesterol, and its esters and squalene. Sebum is typically associated with acne. 
     Specifically, body odor is most commonly caused by fatty acids on the skin and from malodors from bacterial sources. The unpleasant odors are mainly organic molecules which have different structures and functional groups; such as amines, acids, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, phenolics, polycyclics, indoles, aromatics, polyaromatics, etc. These unpleasant odors may also be made up of sulfur-containing functional groups; such as thiol, mercaptan, sulfide and/or disulfide groups. 
     Numerous attempts have been made to conceal body odors through the use of perfumes. Not only are these perfumes often inadequate at fully concealing body odors, but oftentimes they are irritating to the user&#39;s skin. Additionally, the perfume odor itself may be irritating and/or offensive to the user&#39;s respiratory system and/or olfactory senses, as well as to nearby individuals. 
     Other attempts have been made to control odor through moisture absorption. Odor-causing bacteria and fungi often flourish in warm, moist conditions; particularly where they have easy access to nourishment, such as skin secretions and/or skin cell debris. Therefore, attempts have been made to deprive the bacteria which are responsible for body odor of the moist/humid environment which they need to proliferate and grow. Such efforts include the use of powders and/or antiperspirants. 
     Powders and powder-based compositions may be difficult to apply. They may rub or even fall off onto clothing; thereby leaving visible residue on clothing which can be quite embarrassing and inconvenient to the user. Therefore, daily use of the body powders of the prior art may be undesirable and/or ineffective for day-to-day body odor control of the entire body. 
     Antiperspirants are generally not useful in a body odor control product for use over the entire body as they may tend to interfere with the body&#39;s thermal regulatory process by inhibiting perspiration through the action of astringent salts. Additionally, such salts may be irritating to a large number of users; particularly, when applying them to sensitive areas, such as the pelvic region. 
     Numerous other deodorant compositions aimed at combating odor associated with the skin secretions have been described in the chemical and cosmetic literature. These generally are emulsion sticks or suspensoid sticks; but they may also be aerosols, roll-ons, pads, pump sprays, and even soap bars. 
     The cosmetic industry has searched many years for ways to enhance the performance of consumer and cosmetic products to make them more aesthetically pleasing to the consumers. Consumer acceptance of cosmetic products is determined not only by the performance achieved with these products, but also the aesthetics associated therewith. 
     Fragrances are also an important aspect of a successful product, and fragrances are being utilized, in addition to imparting an aesthetically pleasing odor, as sensory markers to convey to the consumer the performance and effectiveness of the product. 
     Consumers are becoming increasingly educated and they now tend to expect a high level of sophistication in their products, and the market has become extremely competitive. Many consumers prefer that the fragrance in these products last longer or be released only upon need (i.e., during the wash cycle for laundry detergent, upon perspiration for underarm products, and the like). Also, there is a need for controlled-release systems that convey to the consumer the product performance, or signal that the product is activated. A major challenge in designing such systems is ensuring that the consumer easily perceives the signal. 
     Spray dispensers containing personal care products that are applied topically are often referred to as “body sprays.” These body sprays may be used to spray individual selected areas of the body, such as the underarm or foot, or may be used to spray large areas of the body. Such body sprays are generally portable, and include an aerosol canister fitted with an actuator mechanism and spray nozzle at the top of the canister which the user operates to apply the product to the user&#39;s skin. The personal care product may include a wide variety of cosmetic and/or skin care ingredients including, for example, fragrances, deodorant agents, antiperspirant agents, botanicals, and moisturizers. 
     However, the inventor is not aware of any unit which combines both a dispenser for deodorant on one end and a dispenser for a body spray on the opposite end of the unit. 
     There is, therefore, a need in the art to provide a unit which combines both a dispenser for deodorant and a dispenser for a body spray. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention meets this need. More particularly, the present invention provides a combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit, comprising: a container having a body portion and a cap portion, the body portion being hollow and having a side wall with an outer surface; a roll-on deodorant stick having a stick body and an applicator tip and being movably mounted in the body portion of the container for movement into and out of the body portion of the container; a spray system located in the body portion of the container and comprising: a spray nozzle located on the side wall of the body portion; a fluid reservoir located inside the body portion of the container; a control button located on an outer surface of the body portion of the container, the spray nozzle being fluidically connected to the fluid reservoir by the control button; and a locking element located on the side wall of the body portion and functionally connected to the control button; and a deodorant stick moving system comprising: a ring gear movably mounted on the body portion of the container to move around the outer surface of the sidewall of the body portion of the container, the ring gear being annular and having an outer surface and an inner surface; a screw thread on an inner surface of the ring gear; a screw thread affixed to the deodorant stick and having a screw thread threadably engaged with the screw thread on the ring gear to move the deodorant stick into and out of the body portion of the container under the influence of the screw thread on the ring gear when the ring gear is rotated on the body portion. 
     The combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit of the invention has a deodorant function on one end thereof and a body spray dispenser function on its opposite end. 
     These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better appreciated and understood when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views. 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit of the present invention in a spraying configuration and positioning for a body spray dispenser. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view of the combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit of  FIG.  1    in a roll-on deodorant configuration and positioning. 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of a fluid circuit associated with the spraying function of the body spray dispenser of the invention. 
         FIG.  4    is a perspective view of the combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit of the invention of  FIG.  2   , which is partially broken away to show a moving system for the roll-on deodorant stick. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1 ,  2  and  4   , the present invention relates to a combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit  10 . Unit  10  comprises a container  20  having a cylindrical shape and having a body portion  30  and a cap portion  40 . Body portion  30 , in general, is hollow and has a side wall  50  and an outer surface  60 . 
       FIG.  1    shows a cap portion  40  being positioned below body portion  30 ; whereas  FIGS.  2  and  4    show cap portion  40  being positioned above body portion  30 . That is, it is to be appreciated that container  20  has been rotated 180 degrees in  FIGS.  2  and  4    to present a deodorant configuration of unit  10 ; whereas  FIG.  1    presents a body spray dispenser configuration for unit  10 . That is, the combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit  10  of the invention has a body spray dispenser function at one end and a deodorant function at its other end. 
     Referring particularly to  FIGS.  2  and  4   , the combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit  10  of the invention further comprises a roll-on deodorant stick  70 . With particular reference to  FIG.  2   , roll-on deodorant stick  70  has a body  72  located inside container  20  and shown in  FIG.  2    by the broken lines and an applicator tip  74  which extends out of container  20 . In a conventional manner, roll-on deodorant stick  70  is constructed and arranged to be movably mounted in container  20  to move upwardly and downwardly therein so as to extend into and out of container  20  of unit  10 , as indicated by the double-headed arrow  80  in  FIG.  2   . 
     Even though not shown in  FIGS.  1 ,  2  and  4   , it is to be appreciated that the combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit  10  of the invention also comprises a spray system  100 , which is located in the body portion  30  of container  20 . As shown in the schematic diagram of  FIG.  3   , spray system  100  comprises a spray nozzle  110 , a fluid reservoir  120 , a control button  130  and a locking element  140 . As shown in  FIG.  1   , spray nozzle  110  and locking element  140  are located on the sidewall  50  of body portion  30  of container  20 , and control button  130  is located on the outer surface  60  of container  20 . It is to be appreciated that fluid reservoir  120 , as indicated by the broken lines in  FIG.  2   , is located inside body portion  30  of container  20  and is associated through suitable means well-known to those skilled in the art with control button  130 . 
     Fluid reservoir  120  is similar to the fluid reservoirs associated with aerosol spray containers, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,184,118 and 8,191,801, the disclosures of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. Those skilled in the art will understand the details of the fluid circuit associated with spray system  100  of the invention. The spray nozzle  110  is fluidically connected to the fluid reservoir  120  by control button  130  in a manner well-known to those skilled in the art. Also, locking element  140 , located on the sidewall  50  of container  20  is functionally connected to the control button  130  in a manner well-known to those skilled in the art. With reference particularly to  FIG.  2   , fluid reservoir  120  is located in container  20  between deodorant stick  70  and the outer surface  60  of container  20 . 
     With particular reference to  FIG.  4   , unit  10  of the invention further comprises a deodorant stick moving system  160 . Deodorant stick moving system  160  comprises a ring gear  162  which is movably mounted on the body portion  30  of container  20  to move around the sidewall  50  of body portion  30 . Ring gear  162  has an annular configuration and an outer surface and an inner surface  162   a . The deodorant stick moving system  160  further comprises a screw thread  170  on the inner surface  162   a  of the ring gear  162  and a screw thread  180  affixed to the deodorant stick  70  for moving deodorant stick  70  into and out of container  20  under the influence of the screw thread  170  on the ring gear  162  when ring gear  162  is rotated on the body portion  30  of container  20 . The frictional engagement between screw thread  170  on the inner surface  162   a  of the ring gear  162  and the screw thread  180  on the roll-on deodorant stick  70  is sufficient so that the roll-on deodorant stick  70  is not forced back into body portion  30  of container  20  when used. 
     It is to be appreciated that when the combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit  10  of the invention is to perform a body spray operation, container  20  is in the positioning shown in  FIG.  1    wherein cap  40  is located below container  20 ; and when unit  10  is to perform a deodorant operation, container  20  is in the positioning shown in  FIGS.  2  and  4    wherein cap  40  is removed from and located above container  20 ; thus, container  20  is rotated 180 degrees for the desired operation. From the above teachings of the invention, the combination deodorant and body spray dispenser unit  10  of the invention has a deodorant functioning on one end and a body spray functioning on its other end. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the figures, it is to be appreciated and understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating therefrom. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the invention.