Wiper having hinged wiper arms

• US 10,470,549 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2015
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GEKA GmbH (Sulzer AG)
• Original Assignee: GEKA GmbH (Sulzer AG)
• Inventors: Weigel, Friedrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Walczak, David J
• Application Number:
  US15/502,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20170303659A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,560 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 34/046 comprising a wiper
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 40/267 comprising a wiper

Abstract

A wiper for wiping a cosmetic applicator, having a first component, in particular a holding section, for fastening the wiper to a cosmetic reservoir, and at least two wiper arms arranged thereon and exhibiting wiping action. The invention aims to provide a wiper, in which the intensity of the wiping and the resistance with which the wiper opposes the withdrawal of the applicator and the actual applicator section are in a favourable ratio to one another, and an actuation from outside in order to achieve a change to the distal diameter of the wiper inside the applicator container is not necessary. This aim is achieved in that at least one of the wiper arms is fastened by means of at least one hinge to the first component, in particular the holding section.

Claims

1. A wiper for wiping off a cosmetics applicator, comprising:

a retaining portion for fixing the wiper to a cosmetics storage container;

at least two wiper arms that are disposed on the retaining portion and exert a wiping action, wherein at least one of the wiper arms is attached to the retaining portion by at least one hinge, and at least one of the wiper arms has a stem portion with a ring portion molded onto a distal end of the at least one wiper arm, with an extent of the ring portion in a circumferential direction greater than an extent of the stem portion; and

at least one spring, member, which presses a respective one of the at least two wiper arms in a direction of a closed position of the respective one of the at least two wiper arms, is associated with the at least one hinge.

2. The wiper according to claim 1, wherein the at least one hinge is a local thin portion.

3. The wiper according to claim 1, wherein the at least one hinge is a film hinge.

4. The wiper according to claim 1, wherein the at least one spring member is an elastic strip, which, relative to a longitudinal wiper axis and in a direction towards a distal end of the wiper, is linked to the retaining portion in front of the at least one hinge and, behind the respective hinge, to the wiper arm.

5. The wiper according to claim 4, wherein the at least one spring member has a curvature whose center of curvature is situated between the at least one spring member and the longitudinal wiper axis.

6. The wiper according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the wiper arms is configured to be folded outwards over an angle of at least 90°

relative to a longitudinal wiper axis.

7. The wiper according to claim 1, wherein the wiper is produced by injection molding or by a 3D printing method.

8. A method for producing the wiper according to claim 1, the method comprising:

injection molding the wiper in such a way that the at least two wiper arms exerting a wiping action and the retaining portion are injection-molded in a folded-out position relative to each other, which does not correspond to a position that the retaining portion and the at least two wiper arms exerting a wiping action assume relative to each other during an intended use of the wiper, wherein the at least two wiper arms exerting a wiping action are each connected to the retaining portion by the at least one hinge, and the at least two wiper arms exerting a wiping action, after demolding the wiper from an injection-molding tool, pivot relative to each other and to the retaining portion, into the position that, they assume relative to each other during the intended use of the wiper when free from load.

9. A method for producing the wiper according to claim 1, the method comprising:

injection molding the wiper in such a way that the at least two wiper arms exerting a wiping action and the retaining portion are injection-molded in a position relative to each other which at least substantially corresponds to a position that the retaining portion and the at least two wiper arms exerting a wiping action assume relative to each other during an intended use of the wiper, wherein the at least two wiper arms exerting a wiping action are each connected to the retaining portion by the at least one hinge, and the at least one hinge enables at least a slight pivoting of the respectively hinge-connected wiper arm during a demolding of the wiper from an injection-molding tool.

10. A cosmetics unit comprising a cosmetics storage container, an applicator, a closure cap and a wiper, which is mounted in a neck or a removal opening of the cosmetics storage container, for wiping off cosmetic mass from the applicator, the wiper being configured in accordance with claim 1.

11. A wiper for wiping off a cosmetics applicator, comprising:

a retaining portion for fixing the wiper to a cosmetics storage container;

at least two wiper arms that are disposed on the retaining portion and exert a wiping action, wherein at least one of the wiper arms is attached to the retaining portion by at least one hinge, and each of the wiper arms is joint-connected to the retaining portion by only a single one of the at least one hinge, wherein the single hinge, relative to an extent of a respectively associated wiper arm in a circumferential direction, is disposed centrally on the respectively associated wiper arm; and

at least one spring member, which presses a respective one of the at least two wiper arms in a direction of a closed position of the respective one of the at least two wiper arms, is associated with the at least one hinge.

12. A wiper for wiping off a cosmetics applicator, comprising:

a retaining portion for fixing the wiper to a cosmetics storage container;

at least two wiper arms that are disposed on the retaining portion and exert a wiping action, wherein at least one of the wiper arms is attached to the retaining portion by at least one hinge, and each of the wiper arms is joint-connected to the retaining portion by a single one of the at least one hinge, wherein the single hinge, relative to an extent of a respectively associated wiper arm in a circumferential direction, is disposed centrally on the respectively associated wiper arm, and wherein a single one of the at least one hinge, viewed in the circumferential direction, is centrally situated on each wiper arm, and, viewed in the circumferential direction, one spring member, respectively, is disposed on each side of the single respective hinge on each wiper arm.