Patent Publication Number: US-2019174898-A1

Title: Cosmetic container

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Taiwanese Utility Model Patent Application No. 106218169, filed on Dec. 7, 2017. 
     FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to a container, more particularly to a cosmetic container. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional cosmetic container  11  includes a base  112  having a cylindrical shape and defining an accommodating space  111  for containing a cosmetic material  12 , and a top cover  113  removably covering the base  112 . The cosmetic material  12  is in the form of a paste, such as a lip rouge, an eyeliner, a moisturizer, etc. 
     In use, a brush, such as a lip brush, or a user&#39;s finger is used to rub directly and repeatedly the cosmetic material  12 , or is lightly dug into the cosmetic material  12  to take a small amount thereof for use. Whichever way is used, the problem of taking an excessive amount of the cosmetic material  12  often exists, so that the user is forced to smear the excessive cosmetic material  12  back onto the base  112  to avoid wastage. However, the cosmetic material  12  not only adhere to the base  112 , but also to the top cover  113 , so that use of the conventional cosmetic container  11  is messy. Further, external dust easily attaches to a top surface of the cosmetic material  12 , so that a hygiene problem exists. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a cosmetic container that is capable of alleviating at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art. 
     Accordingly, a cosmetic container of this disclosure includes a base, a top cover unit and a gasket unit. The base includes a bottom wall, and a surrounding wall extending upwardly from and cooperating with the bottom wall to define an accommodating space for containing a cosmetic material. The top cover unit removably covers the base. The gasket unit is disposed on the surrounding wall opposite to the bottom wall and includes a silicone piece extending across and covering the accommodating space. The silicone piece is formed with a through hole group communicating with the accommodating space, and is depressible to contact the cosmetic material and to permit access of the cosmetic material through the through hole group. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a conventional cosmetic container; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of a cosmetic container according to the embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is an assembled sectional view of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 3 , but illustrating how to access a cosmetic material contained in the cosmetic container of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a view similar to  FIG. 4 , but illustrating how a silicone piece of the embodiment can be used as a palette; 
         FIG. 7  is a view similar to  FIG. 5 , but illustrating how the cosmetic material can be completely taken up; and 
         FIG. 8  illustrates how a through hole group in the silicone piece of the embodiment is deformed when a central portion of the silicone piece is depressed. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 to 4 , a cosmetic container  100  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is configured to contain a cosmetic material  21 , and includes a base  3 , a top cover unit  4  removably covering the base  3 , and a gasket unit  5  disposed between the base  3  and the top cover unit  4 . The cosmetic material  21  is in the form of a paste, such as a lip rouge, an eyeliner, a moisturizer, etc. 
     The base  3  includes a bottom wall  31  having a disc shape, and a surrounding wall  32  extending upwardly from and cooperating with the bottom wall  31  to define an accommodating space  6  for containing the cosmetic material  21 . The surrounding wall  32  is located in proximity to an outer periphery of the bottom wall  31 , and includes a first surrounding wall portion  321  extending upwardly from the bottom wall  31  and having a ring shape, a second surrounding wall portion  322  extending upwardly from the first surrounding wall portion  321  and having a thickness thinner than that of the first surrounding wall portion  322 , and an annular shoulder  323  between an inner peripheral surface of the first surrounding wall portion  321  and an inner peripheral surface of the second surrounding wall portion  322 . The second surrounding wall portion  322  further has a height smaller than that of the first surrounding wall portion  321 , and an outer peripheral surface thereof is formed with an external thread. 
     The top cover unit  4  includes a transparent outer cover  41 , a non-transparent inner cover  42  disposed into the outer cover  41 , and a washer  43  disposed in the inner cover  42 . The inner cover  42  has an inner peripheral surface formed with an internal thread for engagement with the external thread of the second surrounding wall portion  322 , so that the top cover unit  4  can be rotated relative to the base  3  so as to be removed from or to cover the base  3 . The washer  43  can be pressed by the surrounding wall  32  to slightly deform for enhancing the sealing effect of this embodiment. Since the design and technique of the top cover unit  4  is well known in the art and is not an important aspect of this disclosure, a detailed description thereof is omitted herein. 
     The gasket unit  5  is disposed on the second surrounding wall portion  322  opposite to the bottom wall  31 , and includes an outer ring member  51  pressfitted into the inner peripheral surface of the second surrounding wall portion  322  and having a bottom periphery abutting against the shoulder  323 , an inner ring member  52  pressfitted into the outer ring member  51 , and a silicone piece  53  sandwiched between the outer and inner ring members  51 ,  52 . The outer ring member  51  has an inverted L-shaped cross section, and includes an annular vertical wall  511  having two spaced-apart annular ribs, and an annular horizontal wall  512  extending radially and inwardly from a top periphery of the vertical wall  511 . The inner ring member  52  has an annular rib cooperating with the two annular ribs of the vertical wall  511  to press therebetween the silicone piece  53 . 
     The silicone piece  53  has a durometer Shore A hardness of 45 (45±5 Shore A), and includes a circular deformable portion  531  extending across and covering the accommodating space  6 , and a positioning portion  532  extending downwardly from an outer periphery of the deformable portion  531  and sandwiched between the outer and inner ring members  51 ,  52 . The deformable portion  531  has a thickness of 0.3 mm, and is formed with a through hole group  54  communicating with the accommodating space  6 . In this embodiment, the through hole group  54  includes six first through holes  541  equiangularly spaced apart from each other along a first circular direction (D 1 ) proximate to the center of the deformable portion  531 , and six second through holes  542  equiangularly spaced apart from each other along a second circular direction (D 2 ) surrounding the first circular direction (D 1 ). 
     The first and second through holes  541 ,  542  are arranged staggered in relation to one another. Each of the first and second through holes  541 ,  542  extends in a radial direction. Each first through hole  541  extends radially between two adjacent ones of the second through holes  542 , while each second through hole  542  extends radially between two adjacent ones of the first through holes  541 . Each first through hole  541  has radially opposite inner and outer ends  543 ,  544 , and tapers from the inner end  543  to the outer end  544 . In this embodiment, the inner end  543  has a radius of curvature of 0.35 mm, while the outer end  544  has a radius of curvature of 0.2 mm. Each first through hole  541  has a length (L 1 ) of 4.55 mm, and a largest width (W 1 ) of 0.7 mm. Thus, the length (L 1 ) is 6.5 times the width (W 1 ). Further, the first through holes  541  are spaced apart from each other by an angle of 60 degrees. Each second through hole  542  has two opposite ends  545 , each of which has a radius of curvature of 0.3 mm. Each second through hole  542  has a length (L 2 ) of 3.5 mm, and a width (W 2 ) of 0.5 mm. Thus, the length (L 2 ) is 7 times the width (W 2 ). 
     The positioning portion  532  has a ring shape and a thickness of 0.6 mm. The positioning portion  532  can be completely sandwiched and positioned by the outer and inner ring members  51 ,  52 . 
     In other embodiments of this disclosure, the thickness of the silicone piece  53  may range from 0.2 to 0.7 mm, the radius of curvature of the inner end  543  may range from 0.3 to 0.4 mm, the radius of curvature of the outer end  544  may range from 0.15 to 0.2 mm, the length (L 1 ) may be 6 to 8 times the width (W 1 ), the length (L 2 ) may be 6 to 8 times the width (W 2 ), and the radius of curvature of each end  545  may range from 0.25 to 0.35 mm. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 5 , to use the cosmetic material  21  contained in the accommodating space  6  of the cosmetic container  100 , a user can use a brush  22  or his/her finger (not shown) to depress the deformable portion  531  of the silicone piece  53  so as to contact the cosmetic material  21 . If the cosmetic material  21  is a solid paste material, the brush  22  or the finger can take up an appropriate amount of the cosmetic material  21  through the first through holes  541  and/or the second through holes  542 . If the cosmetic material  21  is a liquid paste material, an appropriate amount of the liquid paste material is squeezed out through the first through holes  541  and/or the second through holes  542  so as to be taken up by the brush  22  or the finger. During operation, the user can adjust the pressing time and the pressing force to control the amount of the cosmetic material  21  to be taken. Hence, operation of this disclosure is very easy. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 to 8 , after the cosmetic material  21  are taken up or squeezed out of the accommodating space  6 , the deformable portion  531  of the silicone piece  53  is restored to its original shape, and can serve as a palette for the brush  22  or the finger to wipe evenly the cosmetic material  21 , so that a uniform make-up can be conducted subsequently. 
     The advantage of using the silicone piece  53  in this embodiment is that silicone has good elasticity and large degree of deformation, such that, even if the amount of the cosmetic material  21  in the accommodating space  6  is small, it can be ensured that the cosmetic material  21  can be completely taken up by the user, as shown in  FIG. 7 . Further, because the silicone piece  53  is disposed above and covers the cosmetic material  21 , apart from preventing leakage of the cosmetic material  21 , the chances of the cosmetic material  21  being directly exposed to outside environment and be contaminated can also be simultaneously reduced. 
     Referring back to  FIGS. 4 and 8 , the advantage of arranging the first through holes  541  and the second through holes  542  along the first circular direction (D 1 ) and the second circular direction (D 2 ), respectively, and in staggered relation to one another such that each first through hole  541  extends radially between two adjacent second through holes  542  and each second through hole  542  extends radially between two adjacent first through holes  541 , is that it can provide channels for the cosmetic material  21  to be taken up or squeezed out when the deformable portion  531  of the silicone piece  53  is depressed in different directions. Further, the first and second through holes  541 ,  542  are elongated to improve clogging problems associated with small holes. Moreover, through the tapered structure of each first through hole  541  and in coordination with each second through hole  542 , apart from presenting an aesthetic appearance simulating a blooming flower when they are deformed, as shown in  FIG. 8 , they also has an advantage of not easily breaking when stretched. The design of the deformable portion  531  of the silicone piece  53  is circular so that it can have an average tension when extended and deformed and cannot easily break. The extending direction of the positioning portion  532  is different from the extending direction of the deformable portion  531 , so that the positioning portion  532  can be sandwiched between the outer and inner ring members  51 ,  52  and cannot be easily removed from the same. Furthermore, the positioning portion  532  is circular to increase its contact area with the outer and inner ring members  51 ,  52 , and with the friction between the positioning portion  532  and the outer and inner ring members  51 ,  52  increased, the positioning effect of the positioning portion  532  can be enhanced. 
     In sum, the advantages of the cosmetic container  100  of this disclosure reside in that: the gasket unit  5  can prevent the brush  22  or the finger to directly contact the cosmetic material  21 , and can only permit the cosmetic material  21  to be taken up through the through hole group  54 . Apart from preventing the user from taking excessive amount of the cosmetic material  21 , the gasket unit  5  can also serve as a palette for uniform wiping of the cosmetic material  21  by the brush  22  or the finger to facilitate subsequent make-up. Additionally, the gasket unit  5  can lower the chance of the cosmetic material  21  to be in direct contact with the outside environment, so that the cosmetic container  100  of this disclosure is hygienic. 
     While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.