Cosmetic applicator

• US 4,748,990 A
• Filed: 05/28/1986
• Issued: 06/07/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Avon Products Incorporated (Natura &Co Holding SA)
• Original Assignee: Avon Products Incorporated (Natura &Co Holding SA)
• Inventors: Brown, Jeffrey M., Scancarella, Neil D., Lepore, George S.
• Primary Examiner(s): McNeil, Gregory E.
• Application Number:
  US06/867,857
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 132/79 A, 132/85, 132/88.5, 132/88.7, 401/183, 401/288, 401/286, 401/281
• US Class Current: 132/320
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 34/042 using a brush or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 47/242 moving helically

Abstract

A cosmetic applicator having a squeezable, flexible walled container for storing a liquid cosmetic, and bottle cap means threadedly engaged on the neck portion of the container. The cap means has integrally associated therewith a bristle brush assembly and removable overcap means for covering the brush and sealing it against outside air when it is not in use. Sealing plug means fixedly secured in the opening of the container neck between the bottle cap means and the interior of the squeezable container cooperates with the bottle cap means to provide a valve means adapted to open or close in varying extends a central axial passage disposed commonly with respect to the bottle cap means and brush assembly whereby relative angular rotation of the bottle cap means relative to the container acts to vary precisely the amount of liquid cosmetic material flowing through the aforementioned central passage common to said bottle cap means and said brush assembly upon squeezing of the flexible walls of the container.

Claims

1. Apparatus for applying a liquid to a surface comprising

a container for storing a liquid, said container having at least one flexible portion adapted to be squeezably displaced,

brush means for applying liquid in said container to said surface,

passageway means between said container and said brush means in which liquid is caused to flow from said container to said brush means for application to said surface when said at least one portion of said container is squeezably displaced, and

adjustable means interposed in said passageway means to control the amount of liquid flowing therethrough.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising cap means on said container, said brush means being disposed on said cap means, said passageway means extending at least in part through said cap means, wherein said ajustable means is responsive to displacement of said cap means relative to said container to control the amount of liquid flowing therethrough.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said adjustable means comprises sealing means affixed to said container between said container and said cup means, said passageway means extending at least in other part through said sealing means, and wherein said sealing means includes means for cooperating with said cap means to adjust the cross-sectional area of said at least part of said passageway means extending through said cap means in response to displacement of said cap means.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising indicia associated with said container for indicating the extent of adjustment of said adjustable means.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said cap means has disposed thereon indicia for indicating the extent of adjustment of said cross-sectional area of said at least part of said passageway means.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 further including first means for defining a first limit position for displacement of said cap means, and second means for defining a second limit position for displacement of said cap means wherein said at least part of said passageway means is closed in said first limit position and is open to a maximum extent in said second limit position.

7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said cap means further comprises socket means communicating with said passageway at one end thereof;

said brush means comprising a tubular body having a central bore communicating with openings in opposite ends thereof, nozzle means disposed interiorly of said bore, and a circumferential array of brush bristles disposed between said nozzle and said tubular body, said brush bristles extending from said tubular body and said nozzle through one of said openings in one end of said tubular body;

wherein said other end of said tubular body is receivably supported within said socket such that said other of said openings communicates with said passageway whereby liquid from said storage container is capable of flowing through said other openings, said nozzle and into the center of said circumferential array of said brush bristles.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said cap means further includes removable enclosure means for enclosing said brush means in an air-tight manner.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said cap means further includes removable enclosure means for enclosing said brush means in an air-tight manner, said enclosure means adapted to be removably engageable with said socket means such that the interior volume defined by said enclosure means completely surrounds said tubular body and said brush bristle extending therefrom when said enclosure means engages said socket means as aforesaid.

10. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said means for cooperating with said cap means comprises valve stem means, said at least part of said passageway means extending through said cap means being engaged by said valve stem means in response to displacement of said cap means whereby the cross-sectional area of the flow path defined by said at least part of said passageway means can be continuously adjusted between zero and a predetermined maximum.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said cap means further comprises socket means communicating with said passageway at one end thereof;

said brush means comprising a tubular body having a central bore communicating with openings in opposite ends thereof, and brush bristles extending from said tubular body central bore through one of said openings in one end of said tubular body;

wherein said other end of said tubular body being receivably supported in said socket means such that said other of said openings communicates with said passageway whereby in the absence of said valve stem means engaging said at least part of said passageway sufficiently to reduce the cross-sectional area thereof to zero, liquid from said storage container is urged to flow upon deformation of said container'"'"'s flexible walls through said other part of said passageway in said sealing means, said at least part of said passageway in said cap means, said central bore in said tubular body, and said brush bristles.

12. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said sealing means further includes means for confining flow of said liquid through said at least other part of said passageway and said at least part of said passageway, said means for confining flow of said liquid sealingly engaging said cap means during displacement thereof relative to said container.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said predetermined maximum adjustment is determined by maximum displacement of said cap means relative to said valve stem means, and said cap means includes means for cooperatively engaging stop means on said container to define said maximum displacement.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said container means comprises a neck portion at one end thereof having an opening therethrough communicating with the interior of said container, and said cap means comprises a substantially cylindrical body member having a opening at one end defining a recess therein, said recess having disposed therein helical thread engagement means for cooperating with complimentary helical thread engagement on the outside surface of said container neck portion whereby said cap means may be rotationally threadedly engaged on said neck portion and caused to axially displace relative to said neck portion opening;

and wherein said cap means means for cooperatively engaging stop means on said container comprises a first shoulder on the inside surface of said cylindrical body recess, and wherein said stop means on said container comprises a second shoulder on the outside surface of said container neck portion, said second shoulder adapted to abuttingly engage said first shoulder in response to predetermined displacement of said cap means relative to said container neck portion.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said flexible container is fabricated of a molded acrylic thermoplastic resin.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said container comprises at least a pair of opposed front and rear walls and at least a pair of opposed side walls, at least one of said pair of front and rear walls having a wall thickness varying along the height thereof, the upper portion of said wall being approximately 25% thinner in transverse cross-sectional thickness than the lower portion of said wall.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said container is fabricated from a first material and said cap means is fabricated from a second material being more resiliently deformable than said first material.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said first material is an acrylic thermoplastic resin and said second material is polypropylene.

19. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said removable enclosure means comprises means interiorly thereof for maintaining any liquid or said brush means in a softened condition.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said last mentioned means comprises means for storing a solvent interiorly of said removable enclosure means.