FR2720237A1 - Applicator for depilatory wax - Google Patents

Abstract

The applicator consists of a housing (1) with a hand grip and an inner reservoir (2) of aluminium for the product, which is in thermal contact with a heater (4). An applicator roller (15) is situated adjacent to the reservoir outlet. The roller is made with a core of heat-conducting material, and a plastics outer applicator layer (18). The two ends of the roller have journals (17) which are made in one piece with its inner core. These enable it to rotate relative to the applicator housing by means of slots in the open end of the reservoir and spring-loaded retaining clips (21), allowing the roller to be detached when necessary.

Description

HAIR REMOVAL WAX APPLICATOR WITH RETRACTABLE ROLLER
The present invention relates to a depilatory wax applicator, comprising a housing associated with a gripping means, a reservoir of the product to be applied in thermal relation with heating means, and at least one applicator roller disposed in the vicinity of an orifice of tank outlet.

Whatever type of depilatory wax applicator is considered, the hair removal technique by applying a depilatory wax consists in melting a certain amount of wax, then in applying a layer of this wax in the molten state. on the area to be epilated. After hardening, that is to say after cooling, the cold wax film is removed using any suitable means, the hairs then being extracted from the skin due to their joining with the molten wax.

To implement this widely used technique, ready-to-use hot wax dispensers are already known, consisting of a wax reservoir heated by any means, for example by a device similar to a bottle warmer. These devices are completed by a simple wax distributor roller independent of the reservoir, and which the user introduces into the mass of wax in order to coat it with a mass of wax. These devices, which are very rustic, turn out to no longer correspond to the needs of users of depilatory wax, in particular because of numerous drawbacks of use. Thus the temperature of application of the wax is practically uncontrollable, as well as the thickness of application of the layer of wax.

These devices are also considered bulky and give rise to a long, tedious, often messy hair removal operation and also involving an over-consumption of wax.

To improve the prior devices mentioned above, it has already been proposed, in particular in patent application FR-A-2520601, an applicator assembly comprising a housing provided with heating housings in which are housed manual applicators intended to be implemented by the user. The applicators are provided with an internal depilatory wax reservoir and a wax applicator roller. Such an applicator obviously constitutes a significant improvement over previous devices, but it does not however completely solve the essential problem of controlling the temperature of application of the wax. In fact, the heating of the wax only takes place discontinuously over time when the applicator is in the heating housing.

It therefore turns out that after a certain time of application the temperature of the wax decreases rapidly and is consequently no longer at a favorable temperature level. This causes an increasing difficulty in the application, and in particular the appearance of a phenomenon of spinning of the wax negatively influencing the quality of the epilation. This drawback is accompanied by an overconsumption of wax and a heterogeneous application, which ultimately leads to an unsatisfactory depilatory result. To partially alleviate this problem, the user is then obliged to frequently put the applicator back into the heated accommodation, which thoughtlessly lengthens the time spent on the epilation operation, without however ensuring better control of the temperature of the wax nor, moreover, a better final result.

It has thus been proposed, to partially remedy the defect of the applicator assemblies separating the wax heating reservoir from the application unit, to produce, for example as described in patent application EP-A-0368698 a manual applicator comprising in one housing a wax reservoir, a heating resistor and an applicator roller. To improve the ease of application of the wax, but also to try to control the temperature of the wax as well as possible, it is planned to provide the applicator roller with an independent heating means. Such a device ensures a certain control over the temperature of application of the wax and in a certain way reduces the risk of the appearance of the spinning phenomenon mentioned above. The presence of a heating means directly in the applicator roller can be at the origin of a risk of overheating of the wax or of burns of the skin of the user. In addition, such a device turns out to be a delicate embodiment insofar as it requires the mounting of two separate heating means in a housing. Ultimately, the reliability of such a device is not guaranteed and its cost is high.

The object of the present invention therefore aims to remedy the drawbacks mentioned above, and to provide a depilatory wax applicator whose design and production are particularly simplified, while allowing optimal control and control of the temperature. application of wax.

Another object of the invention is to provide a depilatory wax applicator, the various parts of which are particularly simple to produce and to assemble.

Another object of the invention is to provide a depilatory wax applicator of easy use during its loading with wax and during its disassembly and cleaning.

The objects assigned to the invention are achieved using a depilatory wax applicator, comprising a housing associated with a gripping means, a reservoir of wax to be applied made of a material which is a good conductor of heat, preferably made of aluminum, and which is in thermal relation with heating means, and at least one applicator roller disposed in the vicinity of a reservoir outlet orifice, characterized in that the applicator roller is mounted so that it can be moved on the housing between a working position in the outlet of the reservoir, and a position for releasing said orifice to allow filling of said reservoir.

 Various other characteristics will emerge more clearly from the description given below with reference to the appended drawings which show, by way of nonlimiting examples, embodiments of the subject of the invention.

- Figure 1 shows in a cross-sectional view
longitudinal a conforming depilatory wax applicator
to the invention.

- Figure 2 shows in a cross section
performed along the line Il-Il of Figure 1,
implementation details of the applicator in accordance with
the invention.

- Figure 2a shows in a side view a detail of
realization of the upper part of the applicator
according to the invention.

- Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a
extraction pliers according to the invention.

- Figure 4 shows in a partial sectional view of a
arm of the extraction forceps, a detail of realization
extraction pliers.

- Figure 5 shows in a cross-sectional view
partial view of an applicator according to 1 invention, a
second alternative embodiment of an extraction clamp
according to the invention.

- Figure 6 shows an extraction clamp conforming to
the invention in an inverted holding position on a
support of an applicator roller.

- Figure 7 shows a perspective view of a
support slide of an applicator roller according to
the invention.

- Figure 8 shows the mounting of the support slide of the
applicator roller in the housing of an applicator
according to the invention.

The applicator shown in Figure 1, for the application of depilatory wax, comprises a housing 1 made for example of a plastic material, said housing having a generally elongated shape with a longitudinal axis x-x '. The housing 1 is of any cross section and for example substantially circular, and advantageously constitutes a gripping means capable of allowing the user to grasp it manually. Inside the housing 1 is housed a reservoir 2, made of a material which is a good conductor of heat, and intended to ensure the storage of the wax to be applied. Advantageously, the reservoir 2 is made of aluminum, extends substantially over the entire central part of the housing 1 along the axis xx 'and has a bottom 2a and an upper opening 2b. Advantageously, the reservoir 2 is provided in its central zone with a fin 3 for the diffusion of heat extending in the internal volume of said reservoir from the bottom 2a. The tank 2 is in thermal relation with heating means 4, consisting for example of an electrical resistance or a PTC at least partially surrounding the tank 2 or, as shown in
Figure 1, mounted integral with a wall of said tank 2.

The heating means 4 is conventionally associated with thermal regulation means such as a thermostat 5 and a fuse 6. Advantageously, the applicator according to the invention is provided with an indicator light 7 for controlling the power supply. visible from the outside via a light provided through the wall of the housing 1. The entire electrical system including the electrical connections and the means for locking the power cord (not shown in the figures) is preferably mounted on a support flange 8 housed in the lower part of the housing 1, under the bottom 2a of the tank 2.

The upper zone of the housing 1 is advantageously constituted by a head 11, for example screwed onto the upper part of the reservoir 2 and coming to overcome said upper part as well as the upper opening 2b of the reservoir 2.

The upper end 11b of the head 11 thus delimits a geometric envelope constituting the actual outlet orifice of the wax.

The depilatory wax applicator according to the invention also comprises an applicator roller 15 with a longitudinal axis of revolution yy 'arranged in the outlet orifice of the reservoir 2 so as to allow the liquid wax to flow over its periphery , and between the latter and the internal face of the head 11. The applicator roller 15 consists of a core 16 made of a material which is a good conductor of heat, and for example of aluminum. The core 16 is advantageously cylindrical and of circular section and is provided on each of its two opposite ends constituting the lateral faces of the roller 15, with a pin 17. These latter are produced, for example by turning the core 16 itself in the mass , the pins 17 extending along the axis y-y ', and forming the axes of rotation of the roller 15.

The core 16 is surrounded, preferably over its entire peripheral surface by a coating of plastic material, advantageously overmolded, forming the application layer 18 of the wax.

The applicator roller 15 is mounted on the head 11 and supported on the latter by means of the pins 17 which form the connection means with the body of the applicator.

Advantageously, the roller 15 is removably mounted on the head 11 by means of slots 20 open at their upper end and formed in the thickness of each of the opposite faces of the head 11. The slots 20 are open at their upper end and thus allow the passage of the pins 17 which then come to rest in the bottom of each of the slots 20. (Figure 2a).

Maintaining the pins 17 at the bottom of each slot 20 is ensured by means of a locking means capable of being erased to allow the removable and extraction of the roller 15. For this purpose the locking means are advantageously constituted by a clip 21, generally U-shaped, fixedly mounted along and against each slot 20, the open part of the U being in correspondence with the opening of each slot 20. Each clip 21 has two lateral arms extending substantially in the same direction as the slots 20, said arms forming between them a narrowing 22 in the upper part of the clip 21, so as to lock each pin 17 in the bottom of each slot 20. The clip 21 is made of a metallic material having sufficient elasticity to allow the lateral arms to deform elastically during the insertion or extraction of the pins 17 in and out of the slots 20, and through the narrowing 22.

The production of a bi-material applicator roller 15, and having a core 16 based on a material which is a good conductor of heat makes it possible to avoid excessive heat loss of the wax during the application operation by storage. of part of the thermal energy of the liquid wax in the core 16. The thermal losses are thus limited as far as the thermal conduction between the walls of the reservoir 2 and the roller 15 is significantly improved by means of the bridges thermal that constitute the pins 17 which in addition to their mechanical support function therefore also assume a thermal conductor function. Optimizing the temperature of application of the wax, however, requires not risking burning the skin of the user, and at the same time avoiding the phenomenon of appearance of the spinning of the wax. To this end, it turns out to be necessary to comply with specific thickness ratios between the thickness 'e' of the application layer 18 and the thickness or the radius 'R' of the core 16. It has been found that an e / R ratio of between 0.3 and 0.5, and preferably substantially equal to 0.4, was satisfactory on the basis of a representative sample of the different depilatory waxes available.

The applicator according to the invention advantageously comprises a head cover 12 intended to be applied to the head 11 and to extend the housing 1. A closing cap 13, removable is attached over the entire upper part of the applicator .

The positioning or extraction of the applicator roller 15 can obviously be obtained by direct gripping of the roller 15, but this operation is advantageously carried out using an extraction pliers 30 (Figure 3). The latter comprises two substantially parallel arms 31 connected together by an opening / closing system 32 advantageously constituted in this case by an elastic half-crown 33. The elastic stress exerted by the half-crown 33 is such that the arms 31 adopt a stable position as shown in Figures 3 and 6 in which the distance between each of the arms is slightly less than the length of the applicator roller. Each arm 31 is provided on each of these internal faces and substantially towards one end, with a gripping lug 34, each lug being arranged in opposition. The ends of the arms 31 opposite the lugs 34 each have a support leg 35 shaped so as to allow the clamp 30 to rest in stable equilibrium on said support legs 35 (Figure 6).

The gripping lugs 34 are intended to cooperate with gripping sculptures 40 (FIG. 4) formed on and in the side walls of the roller 15. Advantageously, the gripping sculptures are made up of circular lips forming an extra thickness with respect to the surface of the side walls of the roller 15. Advantageously, the circular lips are formed in the thickness of the application layer 18. As a variant, the gripping sculptures 40 may consist of grooves made in the mass of the core 16.

The extraction clamp 30 also comprises at least one and preferably two support pieces 36 disposed between the arms 31 and capable of coming into contact with the application layer 18, when on the one hand the extraction clamp 30 is placed on the applicator, and on the other hand the gripping sculptures 40 cooperate with the lugs 34 (Figure 6). In the example shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the support pieces 36 are formed by the ends of the elastic circular half-crown 33.

Figures 7 and 8 show a preferred embodiment of the invention according to which the applicator roller 15 is movably mounted on the housing 1 and relative to the latter between a working position and application of a wax film in which it extends into the outlet orifice llb of the reservoir 2 and a position for releasing said orifice to allow filling of the reservoir 2. The applicator roller 15 is integral with a slide 50 mounted movable by longitudinal sliding along the axis xx 'on the housing 1 and preferably on the head 11 forming the upper part of the housing 1. The slide 50 has two legs 51 extending substantially parallel, rigidly connected in the opposite position by a spacer 52. Each leg is provided with its upper end of axially aligned holes 53 for supporting the pins 17 of the applicator roller 15. The slide 50 is intended to be be inserted into the body of the housing 1, the legs 51 sliding against the internal faces of the head 11 (FIG. 8). Each leg 51 includes a central locking tab 53 cut in the thickness of the leg 51. The tabs 53 terminate at their upper end by a flange 54 folded in the direction of the axis x-x ', each flange 54 being intended to come to engage, when the slider 50 is in the low working position, as mounted in FIG. 8, an inclined face 55 formed at the lower part of the head 11 for locking the slider 50 in position. The locking tabs 53 have sufficient elasticity to deform in the direction of the axis xx 'and allow, by gripping the applicator roller 15, the erasing of the flanges 54 out of the inclined faces 55 and the sliding along the arrow F1 of the slide out of the orifice outlet outlet llb to its upper release position. Advantageously, the slide 50 is provided, towards the lower end of each leg 51, with external stops 56 capable of coming to engage the inclined faces 55 when the slide 50 is in the high release position to oppose its total extraction.

Such an arrangement does not reduce the transmission of thermal energy to the core 16, because in the working position, the pins 17 are supported by columns 57 formed in the head 11.

 The depilatory wax applicator according to the invention operates in the following manner.

The user first of all extracts the applicator roller 15 in order to free access to the reservoir 2 to ensure its loading of depilatory wax through the upper opening 2b. To do this, the extraction can take place manually or using the forceps 30. In the latter case, the user grasps the arms 31 between two fingers and spreads them slightly against the restoring force exerted by the circular half-crown 33. The clamp 30 is then placed on the applicator roller 15 so that each arm 31 encloses the lateral faces of the applicator roller 15 (Figure 4). Each lug 34 thus cooperates with the circular lip 40 which is associated with it. By releasing the pressure on the arms 31, the latter then firmly grip the gripping sculptures 40 by means of each lug 34. The user can slide the pins 17 into the slots 20 and extract the applicator roller 15 by developing a force greater than the elasticity of the lateral arms of the clip 21. After filling the reservoir 2, the applicator roller 15 is replaced using the same operations as those described above, the support pieces 36 allowing the force 17 to be transmitted to the trunnions to spread the lateral arms of the clip 21 at the level of the constriction 22.

After connecting the applicator to an electrical power source, the wax becomes progressively liquid and the user can then bring the applicator roller 15 into contact on the surface to be depilated in order to allow the flow of the wax onto the layer d application 18. At the end of the application, the user can again, for cleaning purposes for example, extract the applicator roller 15 using the forceps 30 according to the steps described above. The use of the extraction pliers 30 avoids having to directly grasp the applicator roller 15 still coated with a certain amount of depilatory wax, and also makes it possible to pose without risk of soiling for the environment surrounding the roller 15 by making rest the extraction clamp 30 on the support legs 35.

Claims (6)

1. Depilatory wax applicator, comprising a housing (1)  associated with a gripping means, a reservoir (2) of  application wax made of a good conductive material  heat, preferably aluminum, which is  thermal relationship with heating means (4), and  at least one applicator roller (15) disposed in the vicinity  a tank outlet (2) characterized by  the applicator roller (15) is mounted displaceable  on the housing (1) between a working position in  the outlet (lob) of the tank (2), and a  release position of said orifice to allow the  filling said tank (2). 2. Applicator according to claim 1 characterized in that  that the applicator roller (15) is integral with a  slide (50) mounted movable by sliding  longitudinal on the housing (1), preferably on the  upper part of the tank (2). 3. Applicator according to one of claims 1 or 2  characterized in that the slide (50) has two  legs (51) extending substantially parallel,  rigidly connected in the opposing position by a  spacer (52), each leg being provided with its  upper end of axially aligned bores (53)  for the support of the pins (17) of the roller  applicator (15). 4. Applicator according to claim 3 characterized in that  that each leg (51) comprises in the central part a  locking tab (53) cut in the thickness of the  jamb (51), the tabs (53) ending at their  upper end by a rim (54), each rim  (54) being intended to come to engage, when the  slide (50) is in the low working position, a pan  inclined (55) formed at the lower part of the head  (11) to lock the slide (50) in position. 5. Applicator according to claim 4 characterized in that  that the locking tabs (53) have a  sufficient elasticity to deform towards the center and  allow, by gripping the applicator roller (15),  the erasure of the edges (54) outside the inclined faces  (55) and the sliding of the slide out of the hole  outlet (lob) to its high release position. 6. Applicator according to claim 5 characterized in that  that the slide (50) is provided, towards the end  lower of each leg (51), of external stops  (56) suitable for engaging the inclined faces (55)  when the slide (50) is in the up position of  clearance to oppose its total extraction.