FR2978906A1 - Device for conditioning and applying product e.g. lipstick on body part, has wiper lip extending along cone converging toward bottom of container for generating specific angle with X-axis of applicator unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The device (1) has a container (2) for containing a product e.g. lipstick, and an applicator unit (4) e.g. brush. A wiper unit (7) is fixed to the container for wiping the applicator unit. The wiper unit has an undulating wiper lip (17) comprising a free edge. A set of undulations of the wiper lip undulates to non-zero distance from the free edge. The lip extends along a cone converging toward bottom of the container for generating an angle with an X-axis of the applicator unit, where the angle is less than or equal to 45 degrees.

Description

The present invention relates to devices for packaging and applying a product, in particular a cosmetic product, for example makeup or care, comprising an applicator and a wiper member for wringing an applicator member.

Many known devices have relatively rigid wiper members which are likely in the long term to damage the applicator member, especially when it comprises bristles or flocking. The patent application EP-A1-050 231 and the international application WO 93/01736 discloses wringing devices comprising flaps that can be folded down to facilitate the introduction of the applicator member into the receptacle containing the product. US Pat. No. 6,026,824, US Pat. No. 5,888,005 and US Pat. No. 4,470,425 also disclose wiper members comprising raised portions. Patent applications EP-A1-0 627 182, EP-A-1-1481 607 and US 2003/0196672 also disclose wringing devices comprising slits which promote the deformation of the wiper member during introducing and / or extracting the applicator member from the container containing the product. Such devices may not lead to a fully satisfactory spin. The patent application FR 2 753 058 discloses a wringing member comprising a sleeve configured to retain, by a surface tension effect, a stock of product. The section of the sleeve is constant over its entire length extending along the longitudinal axis. US Patent 4,433,928 teaches the use of an adjustable wiper member, in particular adjustable to the height of the neck of the container containing the product to be applied. In addition, patent application EP-A1-0 728 426 discloses a wiper member capable of deforming elastically during the passage of the applicator member. Finally, EP 1 903 904 discloses a wiper member comprising a wiping lip that is wavy and at a slight angle to the longitudinal axis of the device, which does not make it possible to obtain a sufficient product load of the organ. application.

There is a need to further improve the packaging and application devices of a product and in particular to benefit from a wiper capable of satisfactorily squeezing a wide variety of application members, including organs application having a relatively large cross section relative to the cross section of the rod and / or relatively fragile, for example because having bristles or flocking, while retaining the adequate amount of product on the applicator member after passing through the wiper member.

There is also a need to leave a more homogeneous product load on application members that can have very diverse cross-sections. There is still a need to have a wiper member that can be easily mounted on the corresponding container. There is also a need to avoid the piston effect when the applicator member is removed from the container. According to one of its aspects, the subject of the invention is a device for packaging and applying a product, in particular a cosmetic product, comprising: a container for containing the product, an application member, a body for squeezing device fixed to the container for squeezing the applicator member at its outlet from the container, the wiper member comprising at least one corrugated wringing lip having a radially inner free edge defining the X-axis passage orifice of the applicator member, the corrugations of the wiper lip waving at least at a non-zero distance from the free edge.

According to the invention, the wiper lip extends generally along a cone converging towards the bottom of the container, with a generator W forming an angle α with the axis X, the angle α being less than or equal to 45 °. Advantageously, the angle a is between 30 and 45 °. This device thus makes it possible to obtain a better load of product from the applicator member. The corrugations allow the spin lip to unfold under the force of passage of the applicator member. The spin lip ripples at least at a non-zero distance from its free edge. The device may comprise an applicator comprising a rod at one end of which is fixed the applicator member. The presence of the corrugations allows the wiper lip to deform more easily to the passage of the applicator member, when it is inserted into the container and / or extracted from it, without losing its capacity to wring the applicator member satisfactorily, and may reduce the piston effect. The invention may also make it possible to more easily produce a wiper member capable of adapting to an applicator member having a relatively large variation in its cross section while ensuring the wiping of the rod supporting this member. application. The applicator member may have, for example, a greater transverse dimension greater than the diameter of the rod portion which is dewatered when it has a circular section.

Depending on the general orientation of the wiper lip relative to the direction of introduction and withdrawal of the applicator member, the wiper member can deform more easily, for example during the introduction or when removing the application member. It is thus possible, for example, to arrange the wiping lip so that it deforms more easily during the retraction of the applicator member into the container than when it is released. For example, by having a more or less convergent wringing lip towards the bottom of the container, it is possible to obtain a more or less thorough wringing of the applicator member at each use while reducing its risk of damage when returning to the bottom of the container. the recipient.

The wiper lip may be softer than at least a portion of the applicator member coming into contact with it. The wiper member may have at rest a diameter close to that of the rod and when the applicator member is introduced through the wiper member, the corrugations of the wiper lip facilitate unfolding widening the orifice defined by the wiper lip to let the applicator member, without causing excessive pressure likely to damage it. By "corrugations" is meant a succession of depressions and / or projections formed by the wiper lip when moving in the circumferential direction. It may be curvatures or alternately concave and convex folds in the circumferential direction. Each waving of the wiper lip may extend, when the wiper lip is observed from above, along a radially oriented axis. All the axes of the corrugations can be cut substantially in the center of the orifice defined by the wiper lip, in particular the axes of the corrugations can be located substantially on a cone towards the bottom of the container. At least one corrugation of the wiper lip may be oriented along a curvilinear or rectilinear line, non-concentric with the longitudinal axis of the device, in particular radial. The wiper lip may be devoid of ribs and / or slots, for example slots extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the device or slots extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the device, or slots inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the device. The wiper member may in particular be devoid of substantially closed slots at rest and extending longitudinally, unlike some known wiping members. The corrugations of the wiper member may vary in amplitude and in number. The wiper member may for example comprise between 2 and 12, between 4 and 10 or between 5 and 9. They may be regularly or irregularly distributed. They can all have the same amplitude, or alternatively be different. Two adjacent corrugations may have different profiles. Advantageously, the free edge of the spin lip does not extend entirely in a plane, in the absence of constraints. The wiper lip may have a constant thickness, or alternatively, a variable thickness. For example, it may be thinner at a point near its free edge and thicker at a point farther from its free edge. The wiper lip may have, in the circumferential direction, at a given distance from the longitudinal axis of the device, a substantially constant thickness, for example less than 10% over a complete revolution. On the other hand, this thickness may vary as one approaches the longitudinal axis. The thickness of the wiper lip may for example be between 0.1 and 0.8 mm. It may for example be about 0.2 mm at the free edge and about 0.5 mm at a point of the wiper lip further from the free edge, for example at the periphery of the spin lip . The wiper lip may be deployed under the thrust of the applicator member before possibly stretching elastically. During deployment of the wiper lip, the corrugations may tend to flatten, the wiper lip being observed from the center of the orifice defined by it. The orifice of the wiper member may be configured to have an ability to pass from a reduced diameter allowing the spinning of the rod to a larger diameter allowing the spinning of the application member, without doing necessarily require a significant elongation of the material of the spin lip. The opening of the wiper lip may be circular or alternatively non-circular, for example oval, elliptical, reniform, polygonal, for example square or rectangular. The shape of the orifice may be chosen according to the shape of the rod in cross section and the manner in which the applicator is extracted from the container, for example with a rotational movement on itself or not. The wiper lip may deform more than the applicator member during the passage of the applicator member through the orifice. The total height of the wiper member, measured along the longitudinal axis of the device, may be greater than that of the wiper lip and remain substantially constant during use, especially when the wiper member application is removed or introduced into the container. The wiper lip may be applied on the rod at at least two distinct levels of the longitudinal axis of the device, for example discontinuously in the circumferential direction at the extrema of the corrugations. The cross section of the rod of the applicator may be substantially constant over at least a major part of the length of its portion coming into contact with the wiper lip during removal of the applicator. In this case, the section of the orifice defined by the squeezing lip may correspond substantially to the outer cross section of this portion of the shank. The latter may have a distal portion tapering near the applicator member, including a distal conical portion, which can improve the quality of the spin. The applicator member may comprise at least one brush, with a twisted core or not, a comb, a tuft of bristles implanted in the stem to form a brush, a spatula, flocking, foam, or felt. The applicator member may for example comprise a brush, which may have any shape appropriate to the makeup to be performed. In an exemplary implementation of the invention, the brush has in the vicinity of its proximal end an envelope surface whose cross section decreases away from the distal end of the brush. The brush may have an envelope surface whose cross section passes through a maximum between its two longitudinal ends.

The brush may also have an envelope surface whose cross section passes through a minimum between its two longitudinal ends. The brush may be twisted with a left-hand pitch, as described in EP 0 611 170, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. A wiper member according to the invention can be used in various conditioning devices. The wiper member may be made of at least one of the following materials: elastomer, for example vulcanized, silicone, nitrile, butyl, EPDM, thermoplastic elastomer, SIS (styrene-isoprene-styrene), SEAS, Hytrel®, PebaX, PE, PET, PA, PVC, PS.

The wiper member may be mounted on a neck of the container. The container may comprise a neck and the wiper member may comprise a mounting skirt for fixing the wiper member in the neck. Where appropriate, the wiper member may comprise an annular flange abutting against the upper surface of the neck of the container.

Alternatively, the wiper member may for example be overmolded on the container or on a support piece, or alternatively be fixed on the neck of the container by clamping between the container and a support piece. The wiper member may for example be attached to a ring mounted on the neck of the container. The device may comprise means for sealing the closure of the container. The seal may for example be provided by the wiper member or another piece bearing on the neck of the container. The wiper member may be mounted in an adjustable wiper device having a movable portion. Such a configuration may allow the wiper member to be subjected to larger diameter changes by moving the moving part.

The container may contain a cosmetic product, makeup or care, for example at least one mascara, lipstick, for example liquid, lip gloss, foundation, nail polish, eye shadow, eyeliner or blush. The wiper member may comprise a flocking on all or part of its inner surface, in particular on the wiper lip. The product may be intended for application to keratinous fibers, eyelashes and / or eyebrows, superficial body growths, nails of the hands or feet, for example, skin, mucous membranes, lips, eyelids, cheeks . The present invention also relates to the wiper member as such.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following detailed description, nonlimiting examples of implementation thereof, and on examining the appended drawing in which: FIG. 1 is a view schematic, in partial axial section, of a packaging device and application according to a first embodiment of the invention, - Figure 2 is a schematic view, in axial section, of the body of FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the wiper member of the device of FIG. 1, shown in isolation; FIG. 4 is a developed view of the lip of the device of FIG. FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of an alternative embodiment of the invention, FIG. 8 represents, in schematic and partial cross section, an embodiment variant of an embodiment Figure 9 is a view according to the arrow XI of Figure 8, - Figures 10 to 14 are views similar to Figure 4 of alternative embodiments, - Figures 15 to 23 illustrate alternative embodiments of the application member.

FIG. 1 shows a packaging and application device 1 comprising a container 2 filled with a product P containing a cosmetic, makeup or care product, for example a mascara. The device 1 further comprises an applicator 3 comprising an applicator member 4 at a first end of a rod 5, the latter being connected by its second end to a cap 6 for closing the container 2, which can be screwed onto the latter. this. The rod 5 is in the example described of constant circular section, but the rod of the applicator may have a different section. In the example illustrated in Figure 1, the application member 4 is constituted by a brush having a metal core twisted right or left, the bristles being clamped between the turns of the core. The brush 4 may have at its proximal end a chamfer 4a. Of course, it is not beyond the scope of the present invention if the brush is non-twisted core or if the applicator is other, as will be described later. In the example considered, the longitudinal axis of the applicator member 4 coincides with the longitudinal axis of the rod 5 and with that of the device 1, but the longitudinal axis of the applicator member 4 could be oriented otherwise, for example substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rod, in the case for example of use of a flat shaft. The applicator member 4 could still have a non-rectilinear longitudinal axis. The application member 4 may comprise bristles of different types and / or lengths. The device 1 comprises a wiper member 7, shown in isolation in FIGS. 2 and 3, of longitudinal axis X, fixed on the neck 8 of the container 2 by snap-fastening, for example. For this purpose, the wiper member 7 may comprise a gripping collar 9 arranged to snap under the neck 8. In a variant not shown, this flange 9 is replaced by a shoulder of the outer surface of the wringing member. The wiper member 7 comprises a mounting skirt 14 of longitudinal axis X, terminated by a flange 12 which bears on the edge 13 of the neck 8 of the container 2, and which advantageously allows the sealing of the closure of the container 2 being compressed by the cap 6 when the latter is completely screwed on the neck 8. Of course, the cap 6 could be fixed otherwise than by screwing on the container, for example by snapping or friction.

The wiper member may alternatively comprise an annular flange defining a downwardly open groove in which the upper end of the neck 8 engages. A wiper lip 17 is connected to the inner surface of a lower portion of the mounting skirt 14 extending under the attachment flange 9.

The wiper lip 7 internally defines an orifice 22 which is traversed by the applicator member 4 when the latter is removed from the receptacle 2. According to the invention, the wiper lip extends generally in a conical cone towards the bottom of the container, generator W making an angle with the axis X. The angle is less than or equal to 45 °. Advantageously, the angle a is between 30 and 45 °, for example equal to 30 ° as shown in FIG. 7, or equal to 45 ° as shown in FIG. 2. Such an angle makes it possible to obtain a load in product of the application member after spin significantly higher compared to a similar wring member whose angle is greater than 45 ° for example a wiper member in a plane that is to say which angle a is substantially equal to 90 °.

In the example of Figures 1 to 3, the thickness of the wiper lip decreases towards the free edge 23 radially inner. The thickness of the wiper lip at the free edge 23 may for example be about 0.2 mm, being about 0.5 mm at the connection of the wiper lip 17 with the mounting skirt 14 Thinning of the squeezing lip 17 towards its free edge 23 may facilitate its deformation during the introduction and removal of the applicator member from the container 2. In a variant, the thickness of the lip spin 17 may be constant. The wiper lip 17 has corrugations 20 extending around the orifice 22.

In the example of FIGS. 1 to 3, the squeezing lip 17 comprises all identical corrugations 20, in particular four corrugations 20 uniformly distributed around the orifice 22, two successive corrugations being angularly separated by 90 °, substantially having a profile. sinusoidal as shown in Figure 4 in developed view. The wiper member 17 may comprise a different number of corrugations 20, for example between 3 and 12, or between 4 and 10 or between 5 and 9.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a wiper member 7 comprising a wiper lip 17 having nine corrugations 20 uniformly distributed around the orifice 22. The corrugations may form angular folds, as shown in FIG. 10, or slots, as shown in Figure 11. They may be non-concentric around the longitudinal axis of the applicator. The undulations can be constituted by a periodic pattern which is repeated. It is not beyond the scope of the present invention when the corrugations are irregularly distributed. At least one corrugation may be different from the others, for example in its shape or amplitude. By way of example, FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a spin lip comprising a mixture of curved and angular corrugations. The undulations can extend on either side of a median line, in a balanced manner or not. In FIG. 13, it can be seen that the corrugations extend only on one side of the spin lip, and in FIG. 14 random ripples are seen. The wiper member may be made of at least one of the following materials: elastomer, vulcanized or otherwise, silicone, nitrile, butyl, EPDM, thermoplastic elastomer, SIS, SEAS, Hytrel®, PebaX, PE, PET, PA, PVC, PS. The device which has just been described is used in the following manner, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. When introducing the applicator member 4 into the receptacle 2, as illustrated in FIG. 5, or from its withdrawal, as shown in Figure 6, the undulations 20 unfold, which facilitates the passage of the applicator member. The wringing lip 17 may furthermore be elastically deformed by stretching material. Alternatively the wiper member may comprise a wiper lip directly overmolded on the neck of the container. The wiper member can also be fixed in the neck of the container not by snapping or overmolding but by any other means, for example by gluing, welding or friction and can be achieved without the attachment flange. The wiper member 7 can receive any appropriate surface treatment or coating, for example a flocking.

The bristles of the brush 4 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 extend in the example described all around the core, but it is not beyond the scope of the present invention if the bristles extend over an angular sector. weaker. The brush may comprise at least one concave facet or a notch.

The brush may also optionally have an envelope surface S of non-constant cross section, for example passing through a single maximum, as illustrated in FIG. 15 or by a minimum and a maximum, as illustrated in FIG. 16. The brush 4 may especially be as described in US Patent 5,876,138, the minimum section may for example be less than the smallest section of the orifice of the wiper member. It can be seen in FIGS. 15 and 16 that the rod 5 may comprise at its distal end a thinner portion 5a, for example of conical shape. The presence of such a portion 5a may contribute to further improving the spin. The rod 5 comprises in a variant not shown a thinned portion being positioned at the level of the spin lip 17 when the container is closed, the applicator in place. The thinned portion avoids compressing the spin lip at rest, and thus reduce the risk of permanent deformation of the latter. The invention is not limited to a particular type of application member, and the application member is for example other than a mascara brush, being for example a comb, as illustrated in FIG. 17, a brush as shown in FIG. 18, a tip-shaped felt as illustrated in FIG. 19, a foam as illustrated in FIG. 20, a tip flocked or not, extending along an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rod as shown in Figure 21, or at an angle with it, as shown in Figure 22. The applicator member may be of greater transverse dimension greater than the diameter of the rod 5. The body of application may have a circular cross section, or non-circular. By way of example, FIG. 23 illustrates an applicator member having a substantially square cross section, with elements projecting in the corners. Of course, the characteristics of the various embodiments described can be combined with each other within the variants that are not illustrated.

The expression "having one" shall be understood as being synonymous with "having at least one", unless the opposite is specified.

Claims (9)

REVENDICATIONS1. Apparatus for packaging and applying a product, in particular a cosmetic, make-up or care product, comprising: a container (2) for containing the product, an applicator member (4), a wiper member (7) attached to the container for squeezing the applicator member at its outlet from the container, the wiper member comprising at least one wavy wringing lip (17) having a radially inner free edge (23) defining the orifice (22). ) X-axis passage of the applicator member, the corrugations of the wringing lip waving at least at a non-zero distance from the free edge, the device being characterized in that the wringing lip (17) generally extends along a cone converging towards the bottom of the container, with a generator W making an angle α with the axis X, the angle a being less than or equal to 45 °. 2. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the angle a is between 30 ° and 45 °. 3. Device according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the wiper member comprises between 2 and 12 corrugations, or between 4 and 10, or between 5 and 9 corrugations. 4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the corrugations (20) are regularly distributed. 5. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wiper lip (17) has a variable thickness, being thinner near its free edge (23). 30 6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the opening of the wiper lip (17) is circular. 1325 7. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wiper member (7) is made in at least one of the following materials: elastomer, vulcanized or not, silicone, nitrite, butyl, EPDM, thermoplastic elastomer, SIS (styrene-isoprene-styrene), SEAS, thermoplastic elastomer polyester, especially Hytrel®, PebaX, PE, PET, PA, PVC, PS. 8. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the applicator member comprises at least one brush, twisted or not twisted, a comb, a tuft of bristles, a brush, a spatula, flocking, foam, or felt. 9. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container (2) contains at least one mascara, lipstick, lip gloss, foundation, nail polish, eye shadow, eyeliner or blush.15