EP1943922B1

EP1943922B1 - Cosmetics dispenser

Info

Publication number: EP1943922B1
Application number: EP08005785A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jae Woo Lee; Yoon Seong On; Doug Williams
Original assignee: Bao Sheng Corp
Current assignee: Bao Sheng Corp
Priority date: 2004-05-13
Filing date: 2005-05-11
Publication date: 2009-10-28
Anticipated expiration: 2025-05-11
Also published as: EP1943922A2; EP1943922A3

Description

Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to containers for cosmetics, and in particular to a fitment for preventing leakage of cosmetics from such containers.

Description of the Prior Art

Liquid makeup and other viscous cosmetics are often stored in specialized cosmetics containers. These containers typically include a reservoir for storing the cosmetics and an applicator, for example a brush, for allowing a user to apply the cosmetics. In certain containers, the applicator is affixed to the cap of the container, whereby the user grasps the cap, dips the applicator into the reservoir until a sufficient amount of makeup is on the applicator, and then removes the applicator and applies the makeup. Alternatively, the applicator can be affixed to the container body itself, whereby, for example, the user squeezes the container to force makeup out of the reservoir and directly into or onto the applicator.
In the case where the applicator is affixed directly to the container body, it is not uncommon for leakage to occur at or near the location where the makeup passes from the storage reservoir into the applicator. This leakage can occur either during use of the device, when the cap has been removed from the container, or when the device is not in use and the cap is affixed to the container. When the cap is affixed to the container, leaking makeup can accumulate under the cap, such that once the cap is removed from the container, the accumulated makeup will spill out.
Various types of cosmetics containers have been proposed to prevent or reduce this leakage. Certain of these containers utilized both a cap and a sealing mechanism, for example, a stopper, to prevent leakage. The sealing mechanism was designed to prevent potential leakage, and any makeup that did leak past the sealing mechanism was subsequently caught in the cap. However, a user had to perform multiple steps in order to access the makeup in these containers. For example, the user had to first remove the cap, and then disengage the stopper, in order to initiate flow of makeup from the device. Multiple steps were also needed to close and store the container, in that the user had to first engage the stopper, and then place the cap on the container, in order to provide maximum leakage protection when the device was not in use. Further, the sealing mechanisms were not effective to prevent leakage at the location between the storage reservoir and the applicator, and the sealing mechanisms were often easily removable from the container, which increased the likelihood of leakage.
WO 8804148 discloses a device for storing, dispensing and applying nail enamel and like fluids. A container adapted to store the fluid is provided with a valve, the inner member of which has an applicator (e.g. bristles) mounted on its outer end. A closure cap has an interior adapted to receive the applicator and serves to hold the valve in the closed position, and to open the valve as the cap is removed. One or more channels traverse the length of the valve stem. When the valve is in the open position, fluid is made to flow through the channels and on to the applicator from which it can be transferred to fingernails and like substrate to be treated. Interacting stops on the valve stem and housing limit the distance which the valve stem can travel when the closure cap is removed.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention provides a cosmetic dispensing assembly according to claim 1 In one embodiment, the assembly includes a container body for storing a cosmetic material, the body having a dispensing opening, a set of bristles protruding from the dispensing opening for receiving cosmetic material from the container and applying the cosmetic material, a cap matingly engagable with the container body, and a fitment in the dispensing opening matingly engagable with and moveable with respect to the container body between an open position and a closed position in response to engagement with the cap, the fitment having an aperture formed therein for allowing cosmetic material to exit the container body in the open position disengaged from the cap, the aperture at least partially closing when the cap engages the fitment and moves the fitment with respect to the container body.
An additional feature of the assembly is that the fitment has a base with the aperture formed therein, and whereby the base is formed of an elastic material. The base of the fitment is stretched when the cap contacts the fitment and moves the fitment with respect to the container body to the closed position. The fitment includes an insert and a dispenser, the insert and the dispenser each having a base with an aperture formed therein, a set of bristles being mounted to the dispenser. The insert has a hollow interior, and the dispenser is at least partially disposed within the hollow interior of the insert. The dispensing opening of the container body has a downward facing shoulder surface, the fitment has an upward facing shoulder surface, and the downward facing shoulder surface contacts the upward facing shoulder surface.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides cosmetic dispenser assembly having a container body for storing a cosmetic material, the body having a dispensing opening, a generally cup-shaped insert having a hollow interior and a base with an aperture formed therein, the insert being secured with the dispensing opening of the container, a generally cup-shaped dispenser having a base with an aperture formed therein, the set of bristles being mounted to the dispenser, the dispenser being at least partially disposed within the hollow interior of the insert and moveable with respect to the insert from an open position in which the aperture in the base of the insert is open and a closed position in which the aperture in the base is closed, and a removable cap that engages the dispenser to move the dispenser to the closed position.
An additional feature is that the base of the insert is deformable, and the dispenser deforms the base of the insert to close the aperture. A spring is disposed between the insert and the dispenser, and the base of the dispenser is biased away from the base of the insert. The container has a neck that contains the dispenser opening. The dispenser has a tube mounted to the base and extending into the set of bristles, the set of bristles protruding past the tube.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The various aspects of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a front cross-section view of an embodiment of this invention with a spring surrounding an extension of the applicator dispenser.
FIG. 2 is a front cross-section view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with its cap removed.
FIG. 3 is a front cross-section view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with its cap affixed thereon.
An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1-3. Dispenser 34 has an extension 52 that extends downward therefrom. The extension 52 fits within a cavity 56 formed within the base of insert 24. Preferably, the extension 52 has two holes 58 formed therewithin to allow cosmetic to flow from the neck 14 of the vessel 11 through the holes 58 into the interior of the extension 52, and then into the tube 42. A stopper 50 surrounds the lower portion of the tube 42 to prevent leakage. A spring 54 surrounds some or all of the extension 52. When the cap 16 is closed, as shown in FIG. 3, the dispenser 34 is forced downward, the spring 54 is compressed and the two holes 58 are brought into engagement with the surface of insert 24 and sealed closed so that cosmetic does not pass through. When the cap 16 is opened, as shown in FIG. 2, the spring 54 expands and the dispenser 34 moves upward, which opens the two holes 58 and allows fluid to pass through into the interior of the extension 52. The spring 54 may be disposed within the cavity 56 or alternatively, the spring 54 may be wider than the diameter of the cavity 56 and brace against the bottom floor of the insert 24 without entering the cavity 56.
The present invention has several advantages. For example, the insert 24 and dispenser 34 are prevented from being easily pulled out of or removed from the vessel 11. With the cap 16 is fully engaged with the vessel 11, the closed hole 32 in the base 30 of the insert 24 and the seal between the base 30 of the insert 24 and the base of the dispenser 34 together prevent or significantly reduce the amount of cosmetic leakage from the assembly 10. When the cap 16 is removed from the vessel 11, the seal between the base of the insert 24 and the base of the dispenser 34 significantly reduces the amount of cosmetic leakage from the assembly 10.
While the invention has been described herein with respect to two embodiments, it should be understood by those that are skilled in the art that it is not so limited. The invention is susceptible of various modifications and changes in the limits of the claims.

Claims

A cosmetic dispenser assembly (10) having a container body (11) for storing a cosmetic material (12), the body (11) having a reservoir and a dispensing opening (14) with an axis, a cup-shaped insert (24) stationarily installed within the dispensing opening (14), the insert (24) having an interior and a passage (56) leading to the interior for communication with the reservoir of the container body (11), a dispenser (34) in the dispensing opening (14) and having a lower portion (52) that extends into the interior of the insert (24), the dispenser (34) being axially moveable with respect to the container body (11) and the insert (24) between an open position opening the passage (56) in the insert (24) and a closed position wherein the lower portion (52) of the dispenser (34) blocks the passage (56) in the insert (24), the dispenser (34) having an aperture (58) formed therein for allowing cosmetic material (12) in the container (11) to flow from the passage (56) in the insert (24) into the dispenser (34) while in the open position, a cap (16) releasably secured to the container body (11), the cap (16) causing the dispenser (34) to move to the closed position when closing the cap (16) on the container body, the dispenser (34) having an applicator (43) mounted to and protruding from the dispenser (34) for receiving liquid material (12) flowing through the aperture (58) in the dispenser (34) and for applying the cosmetic material to an object, the applicator (43) being enclosed by the cap (16) while the cap is closed on the container
characterized in that the cosmetic dispenser assembly comprises or spring (54) between the insert (24) and the dispenser (34) that may the dispenser toward the open position and that
the spring (54) is located within the interior of the insert (24) and surrounds the lower portion (52) of the dispenser (34), the lower portion (52) of the dispenser (34) being cylindrical and extending downward from the spring (54) into engagement with a cylindrical portion of the insert member (24) during the open and the closed positions.
The assembly of claim 1, wherein the spring (54) is a coiled member.
The assembly of claim 1, wherein the insert member (24) has a cylindrical side wall, an open upper end and a bottom.