COSMETIC APPLICATOR

APPLICATEUR DE COSMETIQUE

English Abstract

A cosmetic applicator includes a dispensing member including a space, perforations on one surface, an opening on the other opposite surface, and an externally extending rim formed around the opening; a sponge in the space; a central shaft seat including an annular base in the opening, an annular lip formed on the base and supported by the rim, and a hollow cylinder having an axial channel; first and second half housings each including a curved trough adjacent to a bottom; a check valve in the channel; and a cap including a hollow stem partially disposed in the channel. The lip is fastened in the troughs of the first and second half housings. The first and second half housings are complementarily secured together. The central shaft seat is fastened in the first and second half housings.

French Abstract

Un applicateur de cosmétique comprend un élément distributeur comportant un espace, des perforations sur une surface, une ouverture sur lautre surface opposée, et une bordure se prolongeant de manière externe autour de louverture; une éponge dans lespace; un siège de tige centrale comportant une base annulaire dans louverture, une lèvre annulaire formée sur la base et soutenue par la bordure, et un cylindre creux ayant un canal axial; un premier et un deuxième demi-logements comprenant chacun un canal courbé adjacent à un fond; un clapet antiretour dans le canal; et un capuchon comportant une tige creuse partiellement disposée dans le canal. La lèvre est fixée dans les canaux du premier et du deuxième demi-logements. Le premier et le deuxième demi-logements sont fixés ensemble dune manière complémentaire. Le siège de tige centrale est fixé au premier et au deuxième demi-logements.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A cosmetic applicator comprising:
a dispensing member including a space, a plurality of perforations on a first
surface, an opening on a second surface communicating with the space, the
second
surface being opposite to the first surface, and an externally extending rim
formed
around the opening;
a sponge disposed in the space;
a central shaft seat including an annular base disposed in the opening, an
annular lip formed on the annular base and supported by the externally
extending rim,
and a hollow cylinder spaced from the annular lip, the hollow cylinder having
an axial
channel extending from a first end to a second end adjacent to the annular
base;
a first half housing including a curved trough adjacent to a bottom of the
first half
housing;
a second half housing including a curved trough adjacent to a bottom of the
second half housing wherein the annular lip is fastened in the curved troughs
of the
first and second half housings, the first and second half housings are
complementarily
secured together, and the central shaft seat is fastened in the first and
second half
housings;
a check valve including an extension disposed in the axial channel; and
a cap including a hollow stem fastened on the extension of the check valve,
the
hollow stem partially disposed in the axial channel.
2. The cosmetic applicator of claim 1, wherein the first half housing further
comprises a positioning member formed on an inner surface of the first half
housing
and spaced from the curved trough of the first half housing, and a curved
member of
the first half housing on an edge of the positioning member; the second half
housing
further comprises a positioning member formed on an inner surface of the
second half
housing and spaced from the curved trough of the second half housing, and a
curved
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member of the second half housing on an edge of the positioning member of the
second half housing; the hollow cylinder includes a neck on a top of the
hollow
cylinder, the neck having an outer diameter less than that of the hollow
cylinder, the
neck being fastened by the curved members of the first and second half
housings;
and the curved members of the first and second half housings are supported by
the
top of the hollow cylinder.
3. The cosmetic applicator of claim 2, wherein the first half housing further
comprises a protrusion above the positioning member of the first half housing;
the
second half housing further comprises a protrusion above the positioning
member of
the second half housing; and the cap further comprises an annular latch on a
bottom
edge of the cap, the latch being secured to the protrusions of the first and
second half
housings to fasten the cap and the first and second half housings together.
4. The cosmetic applicator of claim 1, wherein the check valve includes a
smaller
lower end disposed in a lower end of the axial channel and being in close
proximity to
the annular base.
5. The cosmetic applicator of claim 1, wherein the hollow cylinder, the
annular lip,
and the annular base are formed integrally.
6. The cosmetic applicator of claim 1, further comprising a flexible cover
put on the
dispensing member to enclose the dispensing member.
7. The cosmetic applicator of claim 1, wherein the first half housing further
comprises two recesses along two opposite ends of a surface of the first half
housing
respectively, the second half housing further comprises two projections along
two
opposite ends of a surface of the second half housing respectively, and the
projections of the second half housing are fitted in the recesses of the first
half
housing to fasten the first and second half housings together.
8. The cosmetic applicator of claim 1, wherein the first and second half
housings are
formed integrally.
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9. The cosmetic
applicator of claim 1, wherein the central shaft seat and the first and
second half housings are formed integrally.
10. The cosmetic applicator of claim 1, wherein the check valve and the cap
are
formed integrally.
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Description

CA 02950474 2016-12-02
COSMETIC APPLICATOR
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to cosmetic applicators and more particularly to a
cosmetic
applicator including a hollow cylinder for allowing lotion to fill in a sponge
of a
dispensing member, and a check valve in the cylinder to prevent the lotion
from
flowing back, the dispensing member having a plurality of perforations for
applying the
lotion to the body of an individual in which the hand of the individual may
not contact
the sticky lotion in the application operation.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, an individual may squeeze some lotion out of a flexible
cosmetic
container on one hand, apply the same on the body with the other hand, and
uniformly
rub the body with the lotion by using finger(s).
However, the appropriate volume of the squeezed out lotion can be only
controlled by experience. It is often that excess lotion is squeezed out to
cause waste
or less lotion is squeezed out, i.e., multiple squeezing operations being
required.
Thus, the need for improvement still exists.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore one aspect of the invention to provide a cosmetic applicator
comprising a dispensing member including a space, a plurality of perforations
on a
first surface, an opening on a second surface communicating with the space,
the
second surface being opposite to the first surface, and an externally
extending rim
formed around the opening; a sponge disposed in the space; a central shaft
seat
including an annular base disposed in the opening, an annular lip formed on
the base
and supported by the rim, and a hollow cylinder spaced from the lip, the
cylinder
having an axial channel extending from a first end to a second end adjacent to
the
base; a first half housing including a curved trough adjacent to a bottom; a
second half

CA 02950474 2016-12-02
housing including a curved trough adjacent to a bottom wherein the lip is
fastened in
the troughs of the first and second half housings, the first and second half
housings
complementarily secured together, and the central shaft seat is fastened in
the first
and second half housings; a check valve disposed in the channel; and a cap
including
a hollow stem partially disposed in the channel. The hollow stem is fastened
on an
extension of the check valve and the hollow stem is partially disposed in the
channel.
The invention has the following advantages and benefits in comparison with the
conventional art: lotion can be filled in the sponge via the hollow cylinder.
The lotion
may permeate in the sponge. In use, an individual may repeatedly press the
perforations of the dispensing member onto the body of the individual to apply
the
lotion thereonto for rubbing purpose. The hand of the individual may not
contact the
sticky lotion in the application operation, thereby solving the conventional
problem of
squeezing lotion out of a flexible cosmetic container with one hand, applying
same on
the body with the other hand, and uniformly rubbing the body with the lotion
by using
finger(s). The base of the central shaft seat is disposed in the opening of
the
dispensing member. The lip is disposed on the base. The rim of the dispensing
member is disposed in the troughs of the first and second half housings. Thus,
the
dispensing member, the central shaft seat and the first and second half
housings are
fastened together. The lotion in the sponge is prevented from a joining
portion of the
dispensing member and the central shaft seat. The dispensing member is made of
thermoplastic material. The dispensing member may return to its original shape
after
repeatedly pressing same in the application operation.
The above and other features and advantages of the invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cosmetic applicator according to the
invention;
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FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the cosmetic applicator;
FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the dispensing member showing its
perforations;
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cosmetic applicator;
FIG. 3A is a sectional view taken along Eine A-A of FIG. 3;
FIG. 36 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 3;
FIG. 4 schematically depicts a content filling operation of the cosmetic
applicator;
and
FIG. 5 is a partially broken away view of the cosmetic applicator.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a cosmetic applicator in accordance with the
invention
comprises the following components as discussed in detail below.
A dispensing member 10 includes a plurality of perforations 16 on one surface,
an
internal space 14, an opening 12 on the other surface communicating with the
space
14, and an externally extending rim 11 formed around the opening 12, the
bottom of
the rim 11 being spaced from the other surface.
A sponge 18 is provided in the space 14.
A central shaft seat 20 includes an annular base 26 disposed in the opening
12,
an annular lip 24 formed on the top of the base 26 and supported by the rim
11, and a
central hollow cylinder 22 spaced from the lip 24 and having a neck 222 on the
top
and a channel 221 extending from the neck 222 to the bottom adjacent to the
base 26.
Preferably, the cylinder 22, the lip 24, and the base 26 are formed
integrally.
A first half housing 31 is a curved member and has a smaller intermediate
portion
and two larger upper and lower portions in which the lower portion is larger
than the
upper portion. The first half housing 31 includes a positioning member 34
formed on
an inner surface, a curved member 38 on an edge of the positioning member 34,
a
protrusion 39 above the positioning member 34, a curved trough 36 adjacent to
the
bottom, and two recesses 312 along two opposite ends of the surface
respectively. A
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second half housing 32 is complementary to the first half housing 31. In
detail, the
second half housing 32 is a curved member and has a smaller intermediate
portion
and two larger upper and lower portions in which the lower portion is larger
than the
upper portion. The second half housing 32 includes a positioning member 34
formed
on an inner surface, a curved member 38 on an edge of the positioning member
34, a
protrusion 39 above the positioning member 34, a curved trough 36 adjacent to
the
bottom, and two projections 322 along two opposite ends of the surface
respectively.
After being assembled, the projections 322 are fitted in the recesses 312 to
fasten the
first and second half housings 31 and 32 together. Further, the rim 11 is
fastened in
the troughs 36. Furthermore, the neck 222 is fastened by the curved members
38.
Additionally, the lip 24 is fastened by the tops of the troughs 36.
A check valve 40 is provided in the channel 221 and includes a smaller lower
end
401 disposed in a smaller lower end of the channel 221 and being in close
proximity to
the base 26, and an extension 402 on a top portion thereof.
in one embodiment, a cap 50 includes an annular latch 59 on the bottom edge,
the latch 59 being secured to the protrusions 39 to fasten the cap 50 and the
first and
second half housings 31 and 32 together, and a hollow stem 52 on a central
portion of
the bottom, the hollow stem 52 disposed in an upper half portion of the
channel 221
and fastened on the extension 402 of the check valve. The hollow stem 52
together
with the extension 402 and the check valve 40 are disposed in the channel 221.
That
is, the hollow stem 52 is disposed between the extension 402 and the check
valve 40.
Preferably, the neck 222 has an outer diameter less than that of the cylinder
22.
Preferably, the first and second half housing 31 and 32 are formed integrally.
More preferably, the first and second half housing 31 and 32 are formed
integrally by
means of ultrasonic welding.
Preferably, the central shaft seat 20 and the first and second half housing 31
and
32 are formed integrally.
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Preferably, the check valve 40 and the cap 50 are formed integrally.
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 3A and 3B specifically, an outer diameter of the lip
24 is
greater than that of the base 26. An outer diameter of the base 26 is less
than a
diameter of the opening 12. Thus, the base 26 can be fitted in the opening 12
when
the central shaft seat 20 and the dispensing member 10 are assembled. The
bottom
of the lip 24 is disposed upon the rim 11. The bottom of the hollow stem 52 is
disposed
on a shoulder between the extension 402 and the check valve 40 so that the
inner
annular surface of the hollow stem 52 abuts against the outer annular surface
of the
extension 402.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 specifically, after the first and second half
housing 31
and 32, the central shaft seat 20, and the dispensing member 10 are assembled,
in a
filling operation an individual may squeeze a flexible cosmetic container (not
numbered) to dispense contents (e.g., lotion) 62 of the cosmetic container
into the
space 14 to be absorbed by the sponge 18 via the channel 221 and the opening
12.
The lotion 62 may permeate in the sponge 18. After the filling, the individual
may
install the check valve 40 in the channel 221 to block the cylinder 22 with
the lower
end 401 disposed in the smaller lower end of the channel 221 and being in
close
proximity to the sponge 18. Finally, the individual may close the top of the
cosmetic
applicator by disposing the cap 50 onto the first and second half housing 31
and 32
with the hollow stem 52 partially inserted into the channel 201 to dispose
between the
cylinder 22 and the extension 402, thereby causing the hollow stem 52 and the
check
valve 40 to block the channel 201, i.e., closing the cosmetic applicator.
It is noted that the dispensing member 10 is made of thermoplastic material or
the
like. Thus, the dispensing member 10 is flexible in nature. In use, the
individual may
hold the curved portions of the first and second half housing 31 and 32 and
repeatedly
press the surface of the dispensing member 10 having the perforations 16 onto
the
body of the individual to squeeze the lotion 62 out of the sponge 18. Finally,
the lotion
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62 flows through the perforations 16 to apply to the body of the individual to
be
rubbed.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 specifically, a flexible cover 60 is put on the
dispensing member 10 to enclose the dispensing member 10 including the
perforations 16. Thus, the lotion 62 can be uniformly spread out through the
perforations 16. The flexible cover 60 is usually made of powder puff.
The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set
forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation
consistent with
the description as a whole.
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Representative Drawing