Abstract:
A liquid container has a cap that has a brush mounted thereon. The brush is spring-biased to move into liquid-contacting position and can move so the bristles of the brush will be in contact with the liquid in the container whenever the cap is associated with the container.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the general art of bottles and jars, and to the particular field of closures for bottles and jars. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     Many products, such as nail polish, adhesive, and the like, require a brush for use. These products are often marketed in containers which include a brush attached to a cap for the container. A user dips the brush into the product, removes the product-laden brush from the container, and applies the product using-the brush. Accordingly, the art contains many examples of containers having caps with brushes attached thereto. 
     Many such containers are cumbersome to use. The container must be balanced and oriented so the cap-mounted brush can be placed in contact with the liquid contained in the container. This can be especially difficult and onerous when nail polish is being applied as a user may not be able to use both hands to orient and balance the container. Often, a user may wish to attend to other tasks during the application process. In such cases, the user must place the brush on a suitable support. However, the brush is generally covered with liquid and thus the support must be suitable. For example, during the application of nail polish, a user may want to place the brush back into the bottle. It would be very helpful if the brush so placed could be placed in contact with the liquid in the container between uses. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a cap-type liquid container which uses a brush applicator mounted on the cap that will maintain the brush in contact with the liquid whenever the cap of the container is associated with the container. 
     Often, when the liquid in a container is nearly depleted, the brush on the cap will not reach the liquid so a user must tilt the container to place the brush in contact with the liquid. This is generally cumbersome and can be even more cumbersome if the user cannot fully use his or her hands to balance the container and move the brush. This situation may occur when a user is applying nail polish. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a cap-type liquid container which uses a brush applicator mounted on the cap that will maintain the brush-in contact with the liquid whenever the cap of the container is associated with the container, even when the liquid in the container is nearly all used up. 
     PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a main object of the present invention to provide a cap-type liquid container which uses a brush applicator mounted on the cap that will maintain the brush in contact with the liquid whenever the cap of the container is associated with the container. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a cap-type liquid container which uses a brush applicator mounted on the cap that will maintain the brush in contact with the liquid whenever the cap of the container is associated with the container, even when the liquid in the container is nearly all used up. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     These, and other, objects are achieved by a liquid container which comprises a bottle unit which includes a tubular side wall having an inner surface and an outer surface, an external thread on the outer surface of the side wall, and an annular shoulder on the inner surface of the side wall; a brush unit which includes a brush unit body having a proximal end and a distal end, a bristle unit on the distal end of the body of the brush unit, a spring-accommodating cup on the proximal end of the body of the brush unit, and a detent element on the spring-accommodating cup; a cap unit which includes a tubular wall having an internal surface and an external surface and an external screw thread on the outer surface of the tubular wall of the cap unit, and a stem having a detent element-accommodating notch defined therein; the spring-accommodating cup being in abutting contact with the annular shoulder when the brush unit is associated with the bottle unit; and a spring interposed between the stem and the spring-accommodating cup and biasing the brush unit away from the bottle unit, the detent element being received in the detent element-accommodating notch to prevent separation of the cap unit from the brush unit. 
     The liquid container is suitable for use with nail polish, adhesive, or any other liquid product that can be applied using a brush. Therefore, while nail polish is specifically mentioned in this disclosure, it is understood that the liquid container embodying the present invention can be used for other such uses as well and no limitation as to nail polish is intended. 
     The liquid container embodying the present invention biases the brush into a position that maintains the bristles thereof in contact with the liquid in the bottle whenever the brush is associated with the bottle. When the cap is screwed onto the bottle, the spring is compressed so the bristles of the brush remain in contact with the liquid in the bottle but are not overly-compressed. However, as the cap is unscrewed, the spring forces the brush out so even if the cap simply rests on top of the bottle, the brush will be in an extended position so the bristles will remain in contact with the liquid in the bottle. This will occur even if there is very little liquid left in the bottle. The notch/detent combination will permit the brush to move into the cap as the cap is screwed onto the bottle, yet will also prevent the separation of the brush from the cap. The spring bias exerted on the brush will hold the brush stable during use. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the liquid container embodying the present invention with the cap unit spaced apart from the bottle unit. 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged and fragmentary view taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG.  1  and which shows the cap unit partially mounted on the bottle unit. 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged view similar to FIG. 2, but with the cap unit fully mounted on the bottle unit. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to the Figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a liquid container  10 . Liquid container  10  comprises a bottle unit  12  that can contain liquid, such as nail polish, or the like. Bottle unit  12  includes a base end  14 , a cylindrical side wall  16  which has a first end  18  which is unitary with the base end  14 , a second end  20 , and a longitudinal axis  22  which extends between the base end  14  and the second end  20 . A blind-ended bore  24  extends between the base end  14  and the second end  20 , and an inner surface  26  of the bottle unit  12  is located on the side wall  16  adjacent to the blind-ended bore  24 . The inner surface  26  on the side wall  16  has an internal dimension  28 . The bottle unit  12  further includes a rim  30  on the second end  20 . 
     The bottle unit  12  further includes an outer surface  32  on the cylindrical side wall  16 , with the outer surface  32  of the cylindrical side wall  16  having an external dimension 
     An external screw thread  36  is located on the outer surface  32  of the cylindrical side wall  16 . The external screw thread  36  extends from adjacent to the rim  30  toward the base end  14 . 
     An annular shoulder  40  is located on the inner surface  26  of the cylindrical side wall  16  adjacent to and spaced apart from the rim  30 . The annular shoulder  40  extends from the inner surface  26  of the cylindrical side wall  16  toward the longitudinal axis  22  and has an opening  42  which is centered on the longitudinal axis  22 . The annular shoulder  40  further includes a first surface  44  and a second surface  46 . The first surface  44  is located closer to the rim  30  than the second surface  46  and the second surface  46  is located closer to the base end  14  than the first surface  44 . The opening  42  of the annular shoulder  40  has a diametric dimension  48 . 
     The bottle unit  12  has an internal lengthwise dimension  50  which is measured between the first surface  44  of the annular shoulder  40  and the base end  14  of the bottle unit  12 . 
     A brush unit  60  is located inside the blind-ended bore  24  when in use. The brush unit  60  includes a brush unit body  62  which has a distal end  64 , a proximal end  66 , and a longitudinal axis  68  which extends between the distal end  64  of the brush unit body  62  and the proximal end  66  of the brush unit body  62 . The longitudinal axis  68  of the brush unit body  62  is co-incident with the longitudinal axis  22  of the bottle unit  12  when the brush unit body  62  is accommodated in the blind-ended bore  24  of the bottle unit  12 . The brush unit body  62  has a length dimension  70  measured along the longitudinal axis  68  of the brush unit body  62  between the distal end  64  of the brush unit body  62  and the proximal end  66  of the brush unit body  62 . 
     A bristle unit  80  is located on the distal end  64  of the brush unit body  62 . The bristle unit  80  has a proximal end  82  fixed to the distal end  64  of the brush unit body  62  and a distal end  84  spaced apart from the distal end  64  of the brush unit body  62 . The bristle unit  80  further includes a longitudinal axis  86  which extends between the distal end  84  of the bristle unit  80  and the proximal end  82  of the bristle unit  80 . The bristle unit  80  has a length dimension.  88  which is measured along the longitudinal axis  86  of the bristle unit. 80  between the proximal end  82  of the bristle unit  80  and the distal end  84  of the bristle unit  80 . 
     A spring-accommodating cup  90  is located on the proximal end  66  of the brush unit body  62 . The spring-accommodating cup  90  includes a base end  92  that is unitary with the proximal end  66  of the brush unit body  62  and which extends transversely to the longitudinal axis  68  of the brush unit body  62 . The base end  92  has an outer periphery  94  and an outer peripheral dimension  96 . The outer peripheral dimension  96  of the base end  92  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  is larger than the diametric dimension  48  of the annular shoulder  40  of the bottle unit  12 . 
     Cup  90  further includes cylindrical side wall  100  which has an inner surface  102  and an outer surface  104 . The outer surface  104  of the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  has an outer dimension  106 . The outer dimension  106  of the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  is smaller than the internal dimension  28  of the inner surface  26  of the side wall  16  of the bottle unit  12 . The inner surface  102  of the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  has an inner dimension  108 . 
     Cup  90  further includes a rim  110  on the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  spaced apart from the base end  92  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . 
     A longitudinal axis  112  of cup  90  extends between the rim  110  on the-cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  and the base end  92  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . The longitudinal axis  112  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  is co-linear with the longitudinal axis  68  of the brush unit body  62 . 
     A blind-ended bore  120  is defined between the inner surface  102  of the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  and the base end  92  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . 
     An annular detent element  130  is located on the inner surface  102  of the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . The detent element  130  is located adjacent to and spaced from the rim  110  of the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . The detent element  130  includes a shoulder  132  which extends radially from the inner surface  102  of the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  toward the longitudinal axis  112  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . The shoulder  132  of the detent element  130  has a proximal end  134  unitary with the inner surface  102  of the side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  and a distal end  136  which is spaced apart from the inner surface  102  of the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . The distal end  136  of the detent element  130  defines an annular opening  138  which is centered on the longitudinal axis  112  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . The annular opening  138  of the detent element  130  has an internal dimension  140 . 
     The brush unit body  62  has an overall length dimension  144  which is equal to the length dimension  70  of the brush unit body  62  plus the length dimension  88  of the bristle unit  80 . The overall length dimension of the brush unit body  62  is greater than the internal lengthwise dimension  50  of the bottle unit  12 . 
     As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the spring-accommodating cup  90  is in abutting contact with the annular shoulder  40  when the brush unit  60  is associated with the bottle unit  12 . 
     As can also be understood from FIGS. 2 and 3, the brush unit  60  is movably accommodated by the bottle unit  12  to be movable between a stored position shown in FIG. 3 and a use position shown in FIG.  2 . As can be seen in FIG. 3, the bristle unit  80  is in contact with the base end  14  of the bottle unit  12  when the brush unit  60  is in the stored position. 
     Container  10  further includes a cap unit  150  which includes a distal end wall  152  and a cylindrical side wall  154 . The cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150  includes a first end  156  which is unitary with the distal end wall  152  of the cap unit  150 , a rim  158  which is spaced apart from the first end  156  of the cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150 , and a longitudinal axis  160  which extends between the distal end wall  152  of the cap unit  150  and the rim  158  of the cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150 . The cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150  has an inner surface  162 , an outer surface  164 , and an internal dimension  166 . The internal dimension  166  of the cap unit  150  is greater than the external dimension  34  of the outer surface  32  of the cylindrical side wall  16  of the bottle unit  12 . The cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150  has a length dimension  170  which is measured between the distal end wall  152  of the cap unit  150  and the rim  158  of the cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150 . 
     The cap unit  150  further includes a length dimension  172  which is measured along the longitudinal axis  160  of the cap unit  150  between the distal end wall  152  of the cap unit  150  and the rim  158  of the cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150 . 
     The cap unit  150  further includes an internal screw thread  176  on the inner surface  162  of the cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150 . The internal screw thread  176  of the cap unit  150  extends from adjacent to the rim  158  of the cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150  toward the distal end wall  152  of the cap unit  150 . The internal screw thread  176  of the cap unit  150  is sized and configured to threadably engage the external screw thread  36  of the bottle unit  12  to releasably couple the cap unit  150  to the bottle unit  12 . 
     Container  10  further includes a stem element  180  which has a proximal end  182  fixed to the distal end wall  152  of the cap unit  150 , a distal end  184  which is spaced apart from the distal end wall  152  of the cap unit  150 , and a longitudinal axis  186  which extends between the proximal end  182  of the stem element  180  and the distal end  184  of the stem element  180 . The longitudinal axis  186  of the stem element  180  is co-linear with the longitudinal axis  160  of the cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150 . The stem element  180  further includes an outer surface  190  which is spaced apart from the inner surface  162  of the cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150 . The outer surface  190  of the stem element  180  has an outer dimension  192  which is smaller than the inner dimension  108 of the cylindrical side wall  100  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . The stem element  180  further including a length dimension  194  which is measured between the proximal end  182  of the stem element  180  and the distal end  184  of the stem element  180 . The length dimension  194  of the stem element  180  is less than the length dimension  170  of the cylindrical side wall  154  of the cap unit  150 . 
     A detent element-accommodating notch  200  is defined in the outer surface  190  of the stem element  180  adjacent to the distal end  184  of the stem element  180 . The detent element-accommodating notch  200  includes a shoulder  202  having an outer end  204  on the outer surface  190  of the stem element  180  and an inner end  206  spaced apart from the outer end  204  of the shoulder  202  of the detent element-accommodating notch  200  toward the longitudinal axis  186  of the stem  180 . The detent element-accommodating notch  200  further includes a sloping surface  208  which extends between the inner end  206  of the shoulder  202  of the detent element-accommodating notch  200  to the outer surface  190  of the stem  180 . 
     The distal end  184  of the stem element  180  is located in the blind-ended bore  120  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . 
     Container  10  further includes a spring element  210  located in the spring-accommodating cup  90 . The spring element  210  has a first end  212  in abutting contact with the distal end  184  of the stem element  180  and a second end  214  in abutting contact with the base end  92  of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . The spring element  210  is interposed between the stem element  180  and the base end  92  of the spring-accommodating cup  90  and biases the brush unit  60  away from the distal end wall  152  of the cap unit  150 . The detent element  130  of the brush unit  60  engages the detent element-accommodating notch  200  of the cap unit  150  to prevent separation of the brush unit  60  from the cap unit  150 . As can be understood from FIGS. 2 and 3, the notch  200  of the cap unit  150  and the detent element  130  of the brush unit  60  are shaped and oriented with respect to each other to permit the brush unit  60  to move toward the distal end wall  152  of the cap unit  150  against the bias of the spring element  210  when the cap unit  150  is screwed onto the bottle unit  12 . 
     To use liquid container  10 , a user simply unscrews the cap  150  from the bottle  12  whereupon the spring  210  forces the brush unit  60  and bristle unit  80  downwardly until the detent element  130  snaps into the notch  200  thereby locking the spring-accommodating cup  90  in place. The cap  150  can then be placed on top of the bottle  12  and the bristle unit  80  can reach the entire contents of the bottle  12 . When needed, the user simply picks up the cap  150  and uses the bristle unit  80  to apply the contents of the bottle  12  as desired. After completion of the task, the cap  150  is then replaced on the bottle  12  for further use. As the cap  150  is replaced on the bottle  12 , the turning of the cap  150  causes the detent element  130  to be disengaged from the notch  200  thereby deactivating the lock function of the spring-accommodating cup  90 . As a result, the cup  90  slides upwardly along the stem  180 . In so doing, the position of the bristle unit  80  relative to the bottle  12  remains effectively unchanged thereby allowing the bristle unit  80  to remain in contact with the base end  14  of the bottle  12  at all times that the cap  150  is resting or, or is connected to, or is otherwise associated with the bottle  12 . As mentioned above, the liquid container  10  embodying the present invention has many applications. For example, liquid container  10  can be used for products such as nail polish, contact cement, and small paint containers intended for “touch up” jobs. 
     It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.