EP2123187A1 - Applicateur de vernis à ongles - Google Patents

Applicateur de vernis à ongles Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2123187A1
EP2123187A1 EP08009268A EP08009268A EP2123187A1 EP 2123187 A1 EP2123187 A1 EP 2123187A1 EP 08009268 A EP08009268 A EP 08009268A EP 08009268 A EP08009268 A EP 08009268A EP 2123187 A1 EP2123187 A1 EP 2123187A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
applicator
brush
nail varnish
nail
varnish
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP08009268A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Shara Louise Marzuoli
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to EP08009268A priority Critical patent/EP2123187A1/fr
Publication of EP2123187A1 publication Critical patent/EP2123187A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A45—HAND OR TRAVELLING ARTICLES
    • A45D—HAIRDRESSING OR SHAVING EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT FOR COSMETICS OR COSMETIC TREATMENTS, e.g. FOR MANICURING OR PEDICURING
    • A45D34/00—Containers or accessories specially adapted for handling liquid toiletry or cosmetic substances, e.g. perfumes
    • A45D34/04—Appliances specially adapted for applying liquid, e.g. using roller or ball
    • A45D34/042—Appliances specially adapted for applying liquid, e.g. using roller or ball using a brush or the like
    • A45D34/045—Appliances specially adapted for applying liquid, e.g. using roller or ball using a brush or the like connected to the cap of the container

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an applicator for liquid compositions applied by means of a brush, such as nail varnish and the like. More particularly but not exclusively, it relates to an applicator having a reservoir for the liquid composition, to a container for the liquid composition provided with said applicator, and to a method for applying said composition.
  • Nail varnish is normally applied using a short generally cylindrical brush mounted at a distal end of an elongate stem, held at a proximal end by the user.
  • the brush is dipped into ajar or vial of nail varnish to pick up a charge of liquid varnish, which is then painted on to a finger or toe nail.
  • Nail varnish conventionally contains highly volatile solvents so that it dries rapidly after application to form a hard, glossy film on the nail. Unfortunately, this results in the varnish tending to dry out on the brush, clogging its bristles. Thus, when the charge of liquid varnish is used up, and the user returns the brush to the container to refresh it, there is a risk that some bristles will have become stuck together and/or become contaminated with dried blobs of varnish, which may not redissolve in the fresh charge of liquid varnish. This can lead to an unattractive lumpy or streaky finish on subsequently-coated nails.
  • a conventional brush sufficiently large to hold enough liquid varnish to complete a set of nails in a single operation would probably either be too broad for accurate application, or too long in the bristle, in which case varnish may dry out near the bristles' roots, and the brush may not be sufficiently controllable.
  • each charge of varnish will be enough for no more than one nail. This necessitates frequent dipping of the brush into the container, which is inconvenient and may risk upsetting the container. There is hence a need for an applicator for nail varnish which can hold sufficient varnish to coat several nails in sequence without drying out.
  • an applicator for nail varnish as herein defined, comprising reservoir means, brush means, passage means extending adjacent said brush means and connected to the reservoir means, and suction means manually operable to draw liquid nail varnish into the reservoir means through the passage means and to deliver it back to the brush means for subsequent application to a substrate such as a nail.
  • the passage means extends adjacent root means of the brush means.
  • the passage means comprises delivery aperture means adjacent the root means of the brush means.
  • the applicator means preferably comprises recess means adjacent the root means of the brush means, into which nail varnish is deliverable from the passage means.
  • the brush means may then define one face of said recess means.
  • the brush means comprises a plurality of generally parallelly extending elongate bristle means arranged in a curve, a concave face of said curve being aligned towards the passage means or the delivery aperture means thereof.
  • said bristle means are rooted generally in an arc of a circle centred on the delivery aperture means of the passage means.
  • the brush means comprises a plurality of generally parallelly extending elongate bristle means defining a hollow shape surrounding the passage means.
  • the bristle means are then arranged in a hollow cylinder around the passage means.
  • the brush means may comprise mounting means to which the bristle means are attached and through which the passage means also extends.
  • the reservoir means is preferably at least partially transparent or translucent so as to make visible a level of nail varnish contained therein.
  • the reservoir means comprises a substantially rigid elongate tubular vessel.
  • Said elongate vessel may be aligned substantially parallelly to the bristle means.
  • the suction means comprises bulb means compressable manually, for example between thumb and finger of a hand of a user.
  • the suction means may be connected directly to the reservoir means.
  • the suction means may connected to the reservoir means through flexible connector means.
  • the suction means may comprise handle means for the applicator.
  • the suction means is provided with protective enclosure means.
  • said protective enclosure means comprises rigid shell means provided with window means adapted for the suction means to be squeezed therethrough, optionally digitally.
  • the applicator may comprise closure means adapted selectably to seal an opening of a container for nail varnish.
  • said closure means comprises cap means so threaded as to be engageable with a corresponding thread adjacent the opening of the container.
  • the brush means of the applicator may be disposed within said container when the closure means is in position sealing said opening, and the suction means may then be disposed externally of the container.
  • the reservoir means may then extend through the closure means.
  • a container for nail varnish as herein defined comprising an applicator as described in the first aspect above, adapted to seal removably an opening of the container.
  • said applicator is provided with threaded cap means, engageable with corresponding thread means adjacent the opening of the container.
  • the applicator is adapted to seal the opening with its brush means disposed within the container and its suction means disposed externally thereof.
  • the reservoir means may then extend through the cap means.
  • a method of applying nail varnish to a nail comprising the steps of providing an applicator as described in the first aspect above, operating the suction means thereof so as to draw nail varnish into the reservoir means thereof, applying the brush means thereof to a nail to be varnished, and operating the suction means so as to deliver nail varnish to the brush means.
  • the nail varnish is delivered to the brush means as the brush means is drawn across a surface of the nail.
  • the method comprises the step of providing a container of liquid nail varnish comprising an applicator, as described in the second aspect above.
  • the method may comprise the steps of applying nail varnish sequentially to a plurality of nails without repeating the step of drawing nail varnish into the reservoir means.
  • an elongate tube 1 of thin, malleable aluminium or the like has a plurality of natural or synthetic bristles 2 inserted into an open end thereof so as to project therefrom generally parallelly to a longitudinal axis of the tube 1.
  • the tube 1 is then crimped flat, as shown in Figure 1B , holding the bristles 2 securely in place as a generally planar brush.
  • the flattened tube 1 is next curled around an axis parallel to the bristles 2 (as shown in Figure 1 C) , for example by being formed around a cylindrical mandrel.
  • the flattened tube 1 is rolled into a cylinder, as shown in Figure 1D , to produce a hollow brush element 3.
  • the brush element 3 thus comprises a plurality of bristles 2 arranged in the form of a hollow cylinder, a central bore of which is linked to a bore extending from end to end of the rolled tube 1.
  • the brush element 3 is inserted into an open end of an elongate reservoir tube 4 as shown in Figure 2A .
  • the reservoir tube 4 comprises a clear plastics material, or optionally glass, to allow viewing of its contents.
  • the rolled tube 1 of the brush element 3 may be a friction fit within a bore of the reservoir tube 4, or may be sealed in place with adhesive.
  • the bristles 2 thus project from the reservoir tube 4 generally parallelly to a longitudinal axis thereof, and the bores of the brush clement 3 and the reservoir tube 4 are linked.
  • a first end of a clear flexible plastics connector tube 5 is mounted to an end of the reservoir tube 4 remote from the brush element 3, and a squeezable bulb 6, typically of latex rubber or other elastomer, is mounted to a second end of the connector tube 5 remote from the first.
  • the connector tube 5 is glued sealingly to the reservoir tube 4, and the bulb 6 is glued sealingly to the connector tube 5.
  • a second applicator 9 as shown in Figures 4A and 4B , the end of the reservoir tube 4 remote from the brush element 3 is surrounded by a sleeve 8.
  • the squeezable bulb 6 is then mounted around both the sleeve 8 and the respective end of the reservoir tube 4 and is glued sealingly in place.
  • a third applicator 11, shown in Figure 5 is generally similar to the second applicator 9, with the addition of a generally cylindrical hollow cap element 10 mounted to the sleeve 8 coaxially around the reservoir tube 4.
  • the third applicator 11 is intended to form a closure for ajar 12 or other container of nail varnish, as shown in Figure 6 .
  • the cap element 10 is provided with an internal thread engageable with an externally-threaded neck 13 of the jar 12, so as to seal the jar 12.
  • the bulb 6 is squeezed between thumb and forefinger, expelling air from its interior through the bore between the bristles 2 of the brush element 3.
  • the brush element 3 is then dipped into the jar 12 and submerged in a supply 14 of liquid nail varnish contained therein.
  • the bulb 6 is slowly released, creating suction which draws liquid varnish up through the bore of the brush element 3 into the reservoir tube 4. Since the reservoir tube 4 is clear, the user may draw up a charge 15 of liquid varnish of a desired volume.
  • the bristles 2 of the applicator 11 are then brought into contact with a nail 16 to be varnished.
  • the bulb 6 is squeezed gently to deliver liquid varnish 15 to the bristles 2, to replace that transferred to the nail 16 as the applicator 11 is stroked thereacross.
  • the applicator 11 shown easily holds a sufficient charge 15 of the liquid varnish at least to coat each nail 16 on a hand or a foot in turn, before needing to be returned to the jar 12 to be refilled.
  • the roots of the bristles 2 could be embedded in one annular end-face of a hollow cylindrical collar of plastics material.
  • hollow cylindrical brush elements 3 are shown are probably the most generally useful shape, it is envisaged that other shapes could be produced, optimised for particular uses.
  • Figure 8 shows a fourth applicator 17 embodying the present invention, having a (currently preferred) form which differs in several respects to that of the applicators 7, 9, 11 described above.
  • a plurality of nylon bristles 2 are inserted into a socket 18 formed in a first end of an elongate plastics tube 19, adjacent an opening 20 of the tube 19.
  • the reservoir tube 19 is connected at a second end remote from the first to a compressible bulb 21.
  • the bulb 21 is located within a rigid plastics cap element 22, which is provided with a resiliently deformable elastomer insert 23 (shown more clearly in Figures 9A to 9F ) surrounding the bulb 21. Part of the insert 23 is accessible through a gap or window in the rigid element 22.
  • the applicator 17 also comprises a thread element 24, which is engageable with a co-operating thread on a neck of a container 25.
  • the applicator 17 thus acts as a sealing lid or cap for the container 25, with the bristles 2 and most of the reservoir tube 19 extending into an interior 26 of the container 25.
  • the container 25 may hold nail varnish (or any other volatile material requiring controlled application to a surface, such as correction fluid).
  • the insert 23 is squeezed and released, compressing and releasing the bulb 21. As in the case of the applicators 7, 9, 11 above, this draws a charge of nail varnish or the like from the interior 26 of the container 25 into the reservoir tube 19.
  • the applicator 17 is then unscrewed from the container 25, and the bristles 2 are applied to a nail to be varnished.
  • the insert 23 is gently squeezed, compressing the bulb 21 slightly and displacing varnish out of the opening 20 of the reservoir tube 19. Since the opening 20 is adjacent the roots of the bristles 2, the varnish will flow on to and between the bristles 2 towards their tips.
  • the first end of the tube 19 around the opening 20 has an angled profile, as shown, which defines a notch 27 between the first end of the tube 19 and the roots of the bristles 2. Varnish displaced out of the opening 20 will tend to collect in the notch 27, ensuring that it contacts the roots of the bristles 2 as intended. It will then be drawn along the bristles 2 by capillary forces.
  • varnish on the bristles 2 will be laid down as an even layer and continually replaced, as long as the user squeezes the insert 23 sufficiently to deliver fresh varnish into the notch 27.
  • the reservoir tube 19 shown can hold sufficient varnish for several nails to be treated using a single charge, before the applicator 17 need be returned to the container 25 to be refilled.
  • Figures 9A to 9F show various features of the fourth applicator 17 more clearly.
  • Figures 9A to 9D show a preferred configuration of the rigid cap element 22 and the deformable insert 23.
  • the rigid cap element 22 has a gap or window extending across its top and part-way down opposite sides, which allows fingertip access to the deformable insert 23 within. This configuration permits a user to squeeze the insert 23 (and hence the enclosed bulb 21) controllably between fingertip and thumbtip, for example. Meanwhile, the configuration of the remainder of the rigid cap element 22 protects the insert 23 and bulb 21 from being crushed or squeezed accidentally (e.g. if dropped).
  • the exploded view of the applicator 17 in Figure 9E shows this window 28 in the cap element 22 more clearly.
  • the insert 23 has an expanded portion 29 having a shape corresponding to that of the window 28. This locates the insert 23 positively within the cap element 22, and produces a substantially smooth and continuous profile for the outside of the applicator 17.
  • FIG. 9E Other structural features visible in Figure 9E include a threaded portion 30 of the bulb 21, by which it is connected to the threaded element 24 (the threaded element 24 thus has a thread to receive the bulb 21 and a thread, not visible in Figure 9E , to engage with the threaded neck of the container 25).
  • the threaded element 24 is also provided with a plurality of external longitudinal ribs 31, which help it to grip an inner face of the cap element 22 when the applicator 17 is assembled,
  • the reservoir tube 19 is in this embodiment press-fitted into a corresponding socket in the threaded element 24 (compare Figure 9A and Figure 8 ).
  • FIG. 9D , 9E and 9F also shows the preferred configuration of the bristles 2.
  • the socket 18 ( Figure 8 ) is arcuate, generally concentrically with the opening 20 of the reservoir tube 19.
  • the roots of the bristles 2 thus form an arc partially encircling the opening 20 and further enclosing the notch 27 formed between the first end of the reservoir tube 19 and the roots of the bristles 2.
  • the bristles 2 splay slightly outwardly towards their tips, which form a broader but shallower arc than their roots.
  • the tips of the bristles 2 are thus configured to conform generally to a profile of a finger or toe-nail, further improving the ease and effectiveness of application of the varnish.
  • a fifth, simplified applicator 32 is shown in Figures 10A and 10B . This does not have the rigid cap element 22 and resiliently deformable insert 23, leaving the bulb 21 exposed. There may well be applications in which the risk of accidental squeezing or damage to the bulb 21 is outweighed by the greater simplicity of this form of the applicator 32.
  • the other difference between the fourth and fifth applicators 17, 32 is that the fifth applicator 32 has a reservoir tube 19 with a wider bore. This appears to be a design choice that can be made based on the volume of the charge of fluid required to be held in the reservoir tube 19, the viscosity of the fluid, and so forth.
  • the reservoir tube 19 of the fifth applicator 32 is still so profiled that there is a notch 27 between its end and the roots of the bristles 2, into which nail varnish or other fluid is delivered from the tube 19.
  • applicators 7, 9, 11, 17, 32 described are optimised for applying nail varnish, it is envisaged that applicators embodying the present invention might also be useful for applying other compositions containing volatile solvents, such as correcting fluid.
  • Nail varnish and other liquid media containing volatile solvents lead to particular problems that the applicators of the present invention are well-adapted to address.
  • a user wishes to apply the varnish evenly across a nail in a single stroke, without needing to re-coat or touch up gaps.
  • the varnish should be applied only to the nail, and not to the adjacent skin, so control of the application is important, and not every shape of brush will be usable.
  • a brush caked with dried varnish will not apply liquid varnish in an adequate manner, however one delivers varnish to the brush. It is also essential that any varnish delivery systems are not prone to blockage by dried varnish.
  • the applicators shown above, particularly when used in conjunction with the containers described, will ensure that the brush remains wetted with liquid varnish when stored, as will sufficient of the reservoir tube to ensure that it will not become blocked with dried varnish.

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  • Coating Apparatus (AREA)
  • Closures For Containers (AREA)
EP08009268A 2008-05-20 2008-05-20 Applicateur de vernis à ongles Withdrawn EP2123187A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP08009268A EP2123187A1 (fr) 2008-05-20 2008-05-20 Applicateur de vernis à ongles

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP08009268A EP2123187A1 (fr) 2008-05-20 2008-05-20 Applicateur de vernis à ongles

Publications (1)

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EP2123187A1 true EP2123187A1 (fr) 2009-11-25

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EP08009268A Withdrawn EP2123187A1 (fr) 2008-05-20 2008-05-20 Applicateur de vernis à ongles

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Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2013118158A1 (fr) 2012-02-09 2013-08-15 Bisio Progetti S.P.A. Système de raccordement pour des couvercles
WO2013118157A1 (fr) 2012-02-09 2013-08-15 Bisio Progetti S.P.A. Brosse à ongles perfectionnée
CN106572732A (zh) * 2014-03-19 2017-04-19 陈文胜 滴管及具备该滴管的化妆品容器

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2791789A (en) * 1952-11-21 1957-05-14 Delbert C Smith Brush having bristles serving as a valve
GB847187A (en) * 1957-09-12 1960-09-07 Fritz Breuhan Improvements in or relating to liquid containers of the kind having a stopper fittedwith a brush
US3411853A (en) * 1967-06-27 1968-11-19 Harry H. Hoff Disposable nail polish applicator
JPH02116204U (fr) * 1989-03-02 1990-09-18

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2791789A (en) * 1952-11-21 1957-05-14 Delbert C Smith Brush having bristles serving as a valve
GB847187A (en) * 1957-09-12 1960-09-07 Fritz Breuhan Improvements in or relating to liquid containers of the kind having a stopper fittedwith a brush
US3411853A (en) * 1967-06-27 1968-11-19 Harry H. Hoff Disposable nail polish applicator
JPH02116204U (fr) * 1989-03-02 1990-09-18

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2013118158A1 (fr) 2012-02-09 2013-08-15 Bisio Progetti S.P.A. Système de raccordement pour des couvercles
WO2013118157A1 (fr) 2012-02-09 2013-08-15 Bisio Progetti S.P.A. Brosse à ongles perfectionnée
CN106572732A (zh) * 2014-03-19 2017-04-19 陈文胜 滴管及具备该滴管的化妆品容器

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