Patent Publication Number: US-2010129132-A1

Title: Wiper member for a container for packaging and dispensing products

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a wiper member for a container for packaging and dispensing cosmetics or care products. More particularly the invention relates to a wiper member that provides for an anti-pumping action to take place when the container is put to use and also provides for a product with a longer life. The present invention also relates to the wiper member being able to provide varying amounts of product to be retained on the applicator as per user&#39;s convenience for application of a cosmetic or a care product. 
     Wiper member of the present invention can be employed in application of various products, such as for viscous cosmetics, mascara, eye liner, lip gloss, coloring strands of hair and like products. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Numerous kinds of cosmetic and care products are available in the market today. Some such products include mascara, lip gloss, eye liner or like products. 
     Generally, the aforementioned fluidic cosmetic and/or care products are provided in a device comprising of a tubular container having a cap and in the cap is integrated a stem containing the applicator at its distal end thereby allowing the cap to serve as a handle to hold the applicator as well. Such devices generally also include a wiping means situated at the neck of the container that helps in removing the excess product on the applicator and/or stem when the applicator is withdrawn from the interior reservoir of the container. Further, these wiping means are made to be elastic in nature. The users naturally tend to pump the mascara and lip-gloss packages in an attempt to mix the bulk before getting the applicator out of the container. It is generally suggested by the experts not to pump the packages as it carries the air down the bulk which in turn acts as a catalyst in causing drying out of the product. Furthermore, the addition of air in the bulk causes the product to become lumpy and may also lead to infection by bacteria. However, this has not stopped the users from continuing with the pumping actions which is a more natural and psychologically satisfying response when trying to churn or mix the bulk. Although, the pumped air causes the applicator stem to have a tendency to jump out of the container as soon as the cap is unscrewed. 
     There exist some packages which have tried to solve this problem of pumping of air while the package is used. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,535 discloses a wiper having a plurality of L-shaped walls provided by predetermined intervals at a lower portion thereof, a plurality of vent holes formed between the L-shaped walls, and a passage hole with a predetermined diameter and extended to L-shaped walls to allow a brush-ended shaft of the cap to be placed into or removed from the vessel body. However, this wiper might not be able to fit onto narrow necked containers as the extended holes would need a certain area to be able to function as vent creating holes. 
     Therefore, there exists a need for a package that is user-friendly and lets the user mix the bulk without causing pumping of air into the container. The solution provided by the present invention is that of a wiper that prevents this pumping of air inside the container. 
     Furthermore, the users often like to apply different amounts of the product for different looks. For example, while applying mascara, the user would like that a lesser amount of product is retained on the applicator for application on lower lashes while for application on upper lashes, the user may wish to apply a higher amount of product and accordingly would want the product to be retained on the applicator. However, most of the conventional devices available let a relatively constant amount of product to be retained on the applicator. This is because a normal conventional wiper is designed to be of a fixed diameter which wipes of a constant amount of product every time the stem is withdrawn from the container. Additional factors which may determine the user&#39;s wish for a variable product retention on the applicator upon each extraction of the stem from the container include, inter alia, the nature of the lashes to be made up (i.e., the length of the lashes, the thickness of the lashes and/or the spacing between the lashes) as well as the look desired for the lashes (i.e., a thick, dark, clustered look or a thin, light, softened look). 
     There have been attempts at manufacturing such devices which provide user-controlled delivery of product on the applicator. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,928, there is disclosed a wiper in which the size of its orifice is adjustable. The disclosed wiper is a truncated cone having a single slit forming portions which overlap over each other. However, the disclosed wiper has a problem that there are gaps created in the wiping zone which results in appearance of product streaks on the applicator rod even after being wiped. Further, the slits in the wiper may lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the wiper with regular usage. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,053, there is disclosed a cosmetic container providing variable product take up. The device contains a wiper element that has a wiping zone defining a passage whose cross section is smaller than that of the brush in its state of rest. The wiper element is formed by a lip whose internal edge defines the brush-receiving passage and is joined at its periphery to a ring of a greater thickness, which can sustain, by an axial compression exerted on it, an elastic deformation leading to a variation of the cross-section of the passage. An adjuster ring controls the compression and a reservoir of mascara is accommodated in a barrel. Thus the degree of compression of the wiper element can be adjusted and, as a result, the force of the wiping action will be adjusted. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,974,271 discloses a device for dispensing mascara which includes a container assembly for holding the supply of mascara and an applicator for dispensing an amount of mascara, the applicator being sized and shaped to penetrate into the container assembly. The container assembly includes a tubular container which is shaped to define an interior cavity into which the supply of mascara is stored. A funnel is disposed within an open neck in the container and includes a rigid member and a flexible member which together define an orifice. A button slidably disposed in the container can be manually depressed so as to urge against the flexible member of the funnel. Accordingly, depression of the button regulates the size of the funnel orifice through which the applicator passes and, in turn, the amount of mascara which is retained onto the applicator upon removal from the container assembly. 
     Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,273 discloses a liquid cosmetic container which has a secure mechanism for defining the limit of the aperture regulation of a wiper. There is provided an aperture-regulating ring in the container that engages with an upper outer face of a container main body. A neck which has an aperture regulating section on the rear end moves in an axial direction in response to rotations of the aperture-regulating ring, thereby varying the diameter of a central aperture of the wiper. 
     However, in aforementioned volume control wipers, there is an external body being used to cause constriction or relaxation of wiper to control the aperture diameter. Further, the as the wiper makes physical contact with the rigid external body, there are chances that the product might get clogged at such spaces. Therefore, there is a need for a wiper that provides for effective control of volume with no contact of any external body with the wiper, thereby providing a clean and longer life product to the consumer. Also, most of the existing devices are typically complex in construction and costly to manufacture. Further, such devices are often ineffective in removing excess mascara from the applicator. As a result, the consumer is still often required, in an additional step, to manually remove excess mascara from the applicator using a tissue or other similar item. As can be appreciated, this additional step renders the entire mascara application process more time consuming and results in a greater waste of mascara. 
     Most of the existing wipers use an additional component to cause changes in the wiper aperture. Further, these wipers are not able to provide a simultaneous anti-pumping action. Therefore, there exists a need for wiper that provides anti-pumping action as well as is modifiable to provide varying quantities of product on the applicator as per the requirement of the user. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention generally is a wiper for a container for packaging and dispensing cosmetic or care products. More particularly, the invention relates to a wiper member that is novel and inventive by way of its construction such that it prevents air from getting pumped/ entrapped inside the container during usage. There is provided a wiper member that helps in increasing the life of the product by allowing it to remain in its original fluid state and prevents drying out of the product. Further, the wiper member by virtue of its internal configuration results in efficient wiping of the applicator element and at the same time provides an anti-pumping action by allowing the air to pass through the air vents in it. 
     In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the wiper member of the present invention is cylindrical and is adjusted onto the neck of the container. The wiper member comprises of at least a side wall wherein the inner diameter of the wiper has at least one flange-like projection. This flange-like projection may be present as a continuous flange covering the entire diameter of the wiper member. 
     According to another embodiment of the invention, there may be present a plurality of the flange-like projections on the inner diameter of the wiper. Further, these flange-like projections may be present at varying heights inside the wiper i.e. in multi-levels on the inside of the wiper. Further, they may occupy any proportion of the inner diameter of the wiper so as to cover the entire diameter of the wiper. Provision of flange-like projections at multiple levels helps in efficient wiping action and the air passage thus formed allows for smoother retrieval of the applicator element from the reservoir thereby avoiding the jumping out of the applicator stem from inside of the container. Whereas these flange-like projections when present as one continuous flange in a wiper made of flexible material is able to regulate the amount of product retained on the applicator when a force is either applied or removed from the central axis of the wiper. 
     According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the placement of these flange-like projections may vary, for example the projections may be present near the distal end of the wiper or in the middle of the wiper or an y other suitable position. 
     In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention, such a wiper may be produced from an elastomer or any other deformable material allowing compression and expansion of the wiper. 
     Independently or in combination with the above, exemplary embodiments of the invention provide a container for packaging and dispensing a substance, for example, a cosmetic, comprising a wiper as defined above. The container may comprise a gripping member and a receptacle. The gripping member may further comprise a stem and an applicator element wherein the stem may be connected to the applicator element at its distal end and to the gripping member at its proximal end. The said container further comprises a wiper member as described above fitted onto the neck of the container. The gripping member may comprise a cap for closing the receptacle. Further, the wiper member has a plurality of flange-like projections covering its inner diameter. These flange-like projections may be placed at varying heights or in multiple levels i.e. one above the another thereby providing an efficient anti-pumping action when the applicator stem is removed from the container for application. Further, the flange-like projections may occupy any proportion of the inner diameter of the wiper member. For example, there may be present two flange-like projections such that one of the projections covers three-quarter of diameter of the wiper member and the other flange-like projections being present slightly above it covering the rest of the proportion of the inner diameter so as to form a discontinuous ring on the inside of the wiper. 
     Independently or in combination with the above, there is provided a wiper member that helps in regulating the amount of product which is retained onto the applicator upon its withdrawal from the container. The wiper member may contain at least one continuous flange-like projection on its inner diameter, thereby providing a single wiping zone in the wiper. Alternatively, the flange-like projections may cover the inner diameter by being present at different levels, thereby providing different wiping zones in the wiper and also, thereby acting both as an anti-pumping agent as well as controlling the retention of volume on the applicator when it is removed from the container. 
     In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a container comprising the wiper as described above. The container thus provided has a limited number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and is easy to use. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the flanges in the wiper are so arranged as to cause progressive modification in the amount of product being retained onto the applicator element. The flange-like projections when present in middle portion of a wiper made from a flexible material help in controlling the amount of product retained on the applicator. The wiper is fixed inside the neck of the container and when a force is applied or removed from its central axis, the wiper gets either constricted thereby causing the flange-like projections to come close together and cause maximum interference with the applicator element which in turn results in close wiping of the applicator and lesser product is available for application. Alternatively, when the wiper is in relaxed position the flange-like projections are spaced apart and therefore cause lesser interference with the applicator and hence a higher quantity on the applicator for application would be available. 
     Independently or in combination with the above, exemplary embodiments of the invention provide a container for packaging and dispensing a substance, for example, a cosmetic, comprising a wiper as defined above for controlling the volume of retention of product on the applicator. The container may comprise a gripping member and a receptacle. The gripping member may further comprise a stem and an applicator element wherein the stem may be connected to the applicator element at its distal end and to the gripping member at its proximal end. The said container further comprises a wiper member. The gripping member may comprise a cap for closing the receptacle. Further, the receptacle may further comprise a manipulating means for adjusting the deformation of the wiper member. The said manipulating means could be connected to the neck of the container such that actuation of the manipulating means causes a force to be applied/removed from the wiper member thereby causing a deformation in the wiper member. Also, the manipulating means may be connected with the receptacle in any other suitable arrangement as well. 
     According to yet another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a wiper wherein the user has control over the amount of the product retained on the applicator. Further, there is no additional component inserted or withdrawn to achieve the deformation in the wiper. 
     These and further aspects which will be apparent to the expert of the art are attained by an adjustable applicator in accordance with the main claim. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an isometric view of the wiping member according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the wiping member shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective bottom view of the wiping member of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an align section view of the wiping member of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the wiping member according to another embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective bottom view of the wiping member of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is an align section view of the wiping member of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a cross section view of the container comprising the wiping member according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a cross section view of the container as shown in  FIG. 8  showing the wiping action of the wiping member; 
         FIG. 10  is an isometric view of the wiping member according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a cross sectional view of the wiping member shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 12  illustrates the isometric view of the container comprising the wiping member shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 13  is a cross sectional view of the container showing the wiping member of  FIG. 12  in a relaxed position; 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional view of the container showing the wiping action of the wiper member of  FIG. 13  on the applicator being withdrawn from the container; 
         FIG. 15  is a cross sectional view of the container showing the wiping member of  FIG. 12  in a constricted position; 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional view of the container showing the wiping action of the wiper member of  FIG. 15  on the applicator being withdrawn from the container; 
     
    
    
     To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The wiper member of a container according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4 . 
       FIG. 1  is one embodiment of the present invention showing the wiper member  100 . As represented by  FIGS. 2 and 3 , there are present flange-like projections  101  on the inner diameter of the wiper member  100 .  FIG. 4  illustrates an align section view of the wiper member  100  wherein it is visible that the flange-like projections  101  are placed at varying heights inside the wiper. Further, there are more than one flange-like projections  101  present in the wiper member  100 . 
       FIGS. 5 to 7  represent the wiper member  200  according to yet another embodiment of the invention. As can be seen from these figures, there are present two flange-like projections  201  and  202  inside the wiper member  200  and one of the projections  201  occupies a larger proportion than the other flange-like projection  202 . Further, these projections are placed at varying heights inside the wiper. However, these are placed so as to cover the entire inner surface of the wiper member  200 . 
       FIGS. 8 and 9  illustrate a container  300  comprising the wiper member  200  of the present invention. The container  300  comprises a gripping member  301 and a receptacle  302 . The gripping member  301  further comprises of a stem  303  and an applicator element  304  wherein the stem  303  is connected to the applicator element  304  at its distal end and to the gripping member  301  at its proximal end. The said container  300  further comprises a wiper member  200  as described above which is fitted onto the neck  305  of the container  300 . The gripping member  301  may comprise a cap for closing the receptacle  302 . Further, the wiper member  200  has a plurality of flange-like projections  201  and  202  covering its inner diameter. These flange-like projections  201 ,  202  may be placed at varying heights or multiple levels i.e. one above the another thereby providing an efficient anti-pumping action when the stem  303  is removed from the container  300  for application. Further, the flange-like projections may occupy any proportion of the inner diameter of the wiper member. For example, there may be present two flange-like projections such that one of the projections covers three-quarter of diameter of the wiper member and the other flange-like projections being present slightly above it covering the rest of the proportion of the inner diameter so as to form a discontinuous ring on the inside of the wiper member  200 . 
       FIG. 9  represents the action of the wiper member  200  when the stem  303  is being withdrawn from the container  300 . The flange-like projections interfere with the stem  303  as well as the applicator element  304  thereby providing efficient wiping as well as the vents formed because of the flange-like projections  201 ,  202  being placed at varying heights allow the air to escape and thereby prevent the occurrence of pumping action in the container. 
     As per  FIGS. 10 and 11 , there is illustrated a wiper member  400  according to yet another embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 11  clearly shows the presence of flange-like projections  401  on the inner diameter of the wiper member  400 . Further, these flange-like projections  401  are shown to be placed at the middle area of the wiper member  400 . This kind of a wiper member  400  is useful in providing control over the amount of product retained/wiped from the applicator element during usage. Further  FIG. 12  through to  FIG. 16  illustrate a container comprising this wiper  400 .  FIG. 13  shows the wiper member  400  in a relaxed state inside a container  500 . The container  500  comprises of a gripping member  501 , a receptacle  502  and a manipulating means  503 . The gripping member  501  further comprises of a stem  507  and an applicator element  508  wherein the stem  507  is connected to the applicator element  508  at its distal end and to the gripping member  501  at its proximal end. The said container  500  further comprises the wiper member  400  as described above. The container  500  may optionally comprise a conventional wiper  509  for wiping of the stem  507 . The gripping member  501  may comprise a cap for closing the receptacle  502 . Further, the wiper member  400  has at least one flange-like projection  401  covering its inner diameter. The manipulating means further comprises of an outer body  504  which is connected to the receptacle  502 . The outer body  504  of the manipulating means  503  engages a first housing body  505  inside its shoulder proximal to the gripping member  501  whereas a second housing  506  is threadedly engaged with it at its distal end and the wiper member  400  is encased in between the first and the second housing  505  and  506  respectively. Further, the outer body  504  may have certain indicia to indicate to the user the amount of product retained on the applicator element. The flange-like projections when present in middle portion of the wiper member made from a flexible material help in controlling the amount of product retained on the applicator. The said manipulating means  503  could be connected to the neck of the container such that actuation of the manipulating means causes a force to be applied/removed from the wiper member thereby causing a deformation in the wiper member. Further, the manipulating means may be in any suitable form such as a dialer or a rotor or any other suitable arrangement is possible. During operation, as the outer body  504  is rotated by a user to a desired amount of retention, the wiper member  400  is either constricted or relaxed depending on the force application or removal that happens due to the movement of the first housing  505  with respect to the second housing  506 .  FIG. 14  shows the stem  507  being taken out of the container  500  wherein the flange-like projections  401  have minimal interference with the applicator element  508  and thereby provide a higher amount of product to be retained onto the applicator element  508 .  FIG. 15  shows the wiper member  400  in a constricted state inside a container  500 . whereas  FIG. 16  shows the stem  507  being withdrawn from the container  500  wherein the flange-like projections  401  have higher interference with the applicator element  508  and thereby provide a lesser amount of product to be retained onto the applicator element  508 . 
     It is contemplated that there may be possible further variations in the arrangement of the flange-like projections without deviating from the essence of the invention. For example, the flange-like projections may be present at varying heights inside the wiper member i.e. one above the other or in multi-levels. Further, the projections may occupy varying proportions of the inner diameter of the wiper member so as to cover the entire diameter of the wiper. Furthermore, the placement of these flange-like projections may vary, for example the projections may be present near the distal end of the wiper or in the middle of the wiper or in any other suitable wiping position. 
     The wiper members  100 ,  200  and  400  may be made from an elastically deformable material. Further, they may be produced from an elastomer or any other elastic material allowing their compression and expansion. 
     The containers  300  and  500  thus provided have a limited number of parts, are inexpensive to manufacture and are easy to use. 
     The materials suitable for forming the receptacle of the container may be any suitable polymeric material such as polyprolpylene while the gripping member and the manipulating member may be formed of any suitable polymeric member such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. The material of applicator element may be any suitable polymeric material as nylon or could be a suitable metal. The stem may be formed of polyacetal or any other suitable material. The material for forming wiper may be low-density polyethylene or any suitable deformable material such as HYTREL. The aforementioned materials for forming various parts of the container of the present invention are provided as an example, however other suitable materials may also be used. 
     Depending upon the substance being used in the receptacle, a variety of sizes and shapes of the applicator element can be utilized. The applicator element may be constructed of a porous or non-porous rubber, fabric mesh, felt material, foamed polymers, sponge material, HYDREL™, TPE or any other suitable material. Also, the applicator could have any suitable shape depending on the kind of application required. It could have a shape other than cylindrical such as ovular, tapered or any other suitable shape. 
     Although the above description and drawings show the container being cylindrical, the shapes and profile cross section thereof are not limited to the same. 
     These and further aspects which will be apparent to the expert of the art are attained by an adjustable applicator in accordance with the main claim. 
     While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.