FR2990110A1 - Applicator for applying cosmetic product i.e. mascara on e.g. eyebrows, has permanent magnet connected to rod, and another permanent magnet connected to motor, where permanent magnets are coaxially arranged and coupled magnetically - Google Patents

Abstract

The applicator (2) has a grip portion (4), and a rod (5) including a brush (50) at a distal end. A motor (8) rotates the rod, where the motor is housed within the grip portion. A permanent magnet (13) is connected to the rod, and another permanent magnet (14) is connected to the motor, where the permanent magnets are coaxially arranged and coupled magnetically. The motor drives a guide shaft (12) supporting the latter permanent magnet, where the guide shaft includes a distal portion (12a) intended to engage in a housing of the rod. An independent claim is also included for a device for packaging and distributing a cosmetic product.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a rotary applicator of a product, in particular a cosmetic product, in particular intended for application to eyelashes or eyebrows, and to a packaging and application device comprising such an applicator.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Application DE 199 50 665 A1 discloses a rotary mascara applicator whose rod carrying the applicator member is obliquely inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the p. grasping. Patent applications FR 2 884 122, US2008 / 0236607, GB 2 452 495 and US2007 / 0186948 disclose rotary applicators for cosmetic products manually controlled by the user, typically by a push button, in which the pushbutton activates a motor, which rotates the rod of the applicator. Such applicators are relatively easy to use but product may get into the engine, damage it or put it out of use. In addition, all these applicators have the disadvantage of having the applicator member permanently mechanically coupled to the output shaft of the motor. However, the application member may be blocked even as the motor continues to rotate. Such a blockage can take place under different circumstances of use. This may result for example because of contact of the applicator member with the hair 20 or part of the face of the latter, such as eyelids or cheeks, or because of contact with the organ in the case of introduction of the application member still rotating in the product reservoir. When the applicator is intended to apply a product on the eyelashes or eyebrows, there may be a mechanical coupling between the eyelashes and the applicator member. The rotational movement may continue, and the applicator may then begin to pull on the eyelashes or even on the eyelid. Because of the reaction time specific to each user and the time required for manual shutdown of the motor, the coupling effect between eyelashes and applicator can be really harmful or unacceptable. Furthermore, the permanent mechanical coupling can be troublesome even when the engine is stopped, because it exposes the device to a risk of breakage of mechanical part, when screwing or unscrewing the applicator of the tank containing the product to apply.

The patent application US 2008/0196735 discloses a cosmetic product applicator also motor driven by a push button and whose output shaft is connected by a magnetic coupling to the rod carrying the applicator member. More specifically, as illustrated in FIGS. 14 to 18, the magnetic coupling is made by two magnets arranged facing each other, one of which is connected to the output shaft of the motor and the other is connected to the rod. If such a magnetic coupling limits the torque between the motor and the rod, mounting with magnets arranged face to face may be difficult to achieve. In addition, the rod may tend to deviate from its nominal position aligned along the longitudinal axis of the gripping portion.

There is a need to further improve rotary applicators in which a torque limiting coupling is made between the motor and the rod supporting the applicator member, in particular to facilitate assembly and to avoid the risk of misalignment. of the stem. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In order to meet this need, the invention aims to propose an applicator of a product, in particular a cosmetic product, comprising a gripping part; a stem whose distal end carries a product application member; motor for rotating the rod about an axis of rotation, the motor being housed inside the gripping portion; a first magnetized portion connected to the rod; a second magnetized portion connected to the motor: the first and second magnetized portions being disposed coaxially relative to the axis of rotation and magnetically coupled.

The magnetic coupling allows transmission of the motor torque to the application member. An effective and reliable torque limiter is obtained which makes it possible to decouple the application member from the motor when necessary. In addition, the coaxial arrangement of the magnetized parts according to the invention reduces the risk of misalignment of the rod relative to the longitudinal axis of the gripping portion, even after several uses of the device. Finally, the mounting of the rod in the gripping portion can be performed easily.

The applicator according to the invention is more particularly adapted to the application of a product on the eyelashes or the eyebrows, in particular mascara, even if the invention is not reduced for this purpose. Preferably, the magnetized portions each comprise a single permanent magnet, of generally annular shape. Each permanent magnet is advantageously a hollow cylinder. This magnet may comprise one or more N poles and as many S poles, the magnetization being radial. The magnetic field between the magnets can be oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rod. According to a variant, the magnetized parts each comprise a plurality of separate permanent magnets regularly distributed angularly about the longitudinal axis of the rod. These magnets can each be in the general shape of parallelepiped, disk or tile. According to an advantageous embodiment, the motor drives a guide shaft supporting the second magnetized portion. The guide shaft has a distal portion adapted to engage a housing of the stem and of sufficient length to engage before there is a strong magnetic interaction between the magnetized portions. The distal portion can thus mechanically guide the rod during assembly thereof with the rest of the applicator and prevent any deviation of the rod under the effect of the magnetic interaction between the magnets. The assembly is facilitated. The length of the distal portion is preferably greater than the axial dimension of the first magnetized portion. The distal portion is received with clearance in the housing, so as not to oppose a rotation of the guide shaft relative to the rod. Thus, the magnetic interaction between the magnetized parts transmits the motor torque to the applicator member. The first and second magnetized parts overlap axially, at least partially, that is to say they overlap at least partially when observed perpendicularly to the axis of rotation. The axial dimensions of the first and second magnetized portions may be equal.

Preferably, the gripping portion houses a support piece supporting at least the motor and its power source, such as a button-cell. This support piece may be removably disposed in a housing of the grip portion which defines the grip surface on which the user's fingers are applied to hold the applicator. The support piece is for example fixed by snapping into the housing. The support member may receive an internally threaded insert which serves to mount the grip portion on the container. The rod can be guided in rotation by this insert, which may include reliefs for axially retaining the rod without preventing it from rotating. The support piece can be used to hold electrical contacts of a switch to reverse the direction of rotation of the motor. The invention also relates to a device for packaging and application, comprising a reservoir containing the product to be applied, in particular a product to be applied to the eyelashes and eyebrows, such as mascara, and an applicator according to the invention, as defined above. The device advantageously comprises a wiper member. Preferably, the reservoir comprises a neck and the wiper member is housed in the neck, the rod coming into axial abutment along the longitudinal axis of the reservoir against the wiper member in the closed position of the reservoir. This can help seal the tank closure. The subject of the invention is also a process for making up human keratin materials, in particular eyelashes, in which a product is applied to said materials by means of a device according to the invention. Independently or in combination with the foregoing, another subject of the invention is a product applicator, in particular a cosmetic applicator, comprising: a gripping part, a rod whose distal end carries an applicator member, a motor for driving the rod around an axis of rotation, this motor being housed inside the gripping portion, a first magnetized portion connected to the rod, a second magnetized portion connected to the motor, the pediers and second magnetized parts being magnetically coupled so as to allow the motor to drive the rod in rotation, a guide shaft rotated by the motor, having a distal portion engaged with play in a housing of the rod, so as to rotate in the housing while contributing to keep the rod aligned along the axis of rotation. All the above-mentioned features can be applied to the invention thus defined. However according to this aspect of the invention based on the presence of the distal portion, the magnets may be arranged otherwise than coaxially.

The advantage of the distal portion engaged in the rod is to facilitate the mounting of the rod on the mechanism that will drive it and its guidance in rotation. Preferably, the distal portion of the guide shaft is sufficiently long to engage the housing before the magnets interact too strongly to deflect the rod and interfere with insertion of the distal portion into the housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention will be better understood on reading the following detailed description of an example of non-continuous implementation thereof, and on examining the following figures, among which: 1A is a longitudinal section of a device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1B is a longitudinal section along BB of the device of FIG. 1A, FIGS. 2A and 213 represent details of FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively. ; Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of a portion only of the applicator, Figure 4 is a perspective view of a subset of the device according to the invention, and Figure 5 is an exploded view of the device. With reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the device 1 for packaging and applying a cosmetic product comprises an applicator 2 and a reservoir 3 containing the product.

The applicator 2 can be removably attached to the reservoir 3 in order to be extracted for the application of the product it carries, then reintroduced into the reservoir to be recharged product. In the example under consideration, the product is to be applied to the eyelashes or the eyebrows, being for example a mascara. In general, according to the invention, the product to be applied may be liquid or viscous, in particular pasty. Preferably, in the case of makeup eyelashes in particular, it contains pigments, for example iron oxides. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the applicator 2 comprises a gripping portion 4 of generally elongated shape along a longitudinal axis X. In the example illustrated, the gripping portion 4 comprises a housing 40 open to the one of its ends, and defining the gripping surface. The gripping portion 4 is intended to be fixed on the reservoir 3 in the absence of use, this fixing taking place for example by screwing, the reservoir may comprise, in the upper part, as illustrated, a threaded neck and the gripping portion 4 15 an insert 41 threaded internally. Fixing the applicator on the reservoir can still be done differently, for example by snapping or fixing type bayonet. The insert 41 is fixed for example by snapping inside a support piece 10 housed in the housing 40, as shown in Figure 3. The applicator 2 has a rod 5 which extends out of the part 20 and the end member is terminated at its distal end by an applicator member 50. The applicator member 50 is for example a brush comprising a core bearing bristles allowing the application of the product on the eyelashes or the eyebrows. The brush may be twisted core, the hairs being distributed around the core and taken between the turns of the core, the latter being for example conventionally formed by twisting two strands of a metal wire folded U. L application member 50 may also be a brush made by plastic injection, the core and the bristles being for example molded in the same material or in different materials. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the reservoir 3 has an elongated shape 30 along a longitudinal axis coinciding with that of the gripping portion 4 in their assembled configuration.

A wiper member 6 is fixed inside the neck 30 of the reservoir 3. The wiper member 6 is for example of the type conventionally used in the mascara packaging and application devices, arranged to wipe a rod of circular section, and may be made of an elastomeric material. The wiper member 6 may thus comprise a lip 60 defining a wiping orifice of circular contour, of diameter for example between 4 and 8 mm. The rod 5 may comprise, as illustrated in FIG. 2A more particularly, a shoulder 51 arranged such that in the closed configuration of the device, the shoulder 51 comes into abutment along the axis X against the wiper member 6. .

The applicator 2 according to the invention is rotatable and manually controlled by the user, by means of a control button 7 which activates a motor 8, which rotates the rod 5 about its longitudinal axis. The button 7 acts for example on a slide switch that can take three positions, one in one direction, one stop and the other to walk in the opposite direction. The motor 8 is provided with a reduction gear so as to drive the rod 5 of the applicator 2 at a suitable rotational speed, the output shaft 80 of the gearbox extending along the longitudinal axis X of the gripping portion 4. The autonomous power supply of the motor 8 is provided by an electric source 9 also housed and held fixed inside the gripping portion 4 by the support piece 10. In the illustrated example, the electrical source 9 is arranged at the above the motor end 8 near the closed longitudinal end of the housing 40. The electrical source 9 is for example a button-cell, for example 1.5 V. The support part 10 supports both the motor 8 , the battery 9 and a printed circuit 11, which carries the contacts 11a, 11b of the switch and connects the electrical source 9 to the motor 8. These electrical contacts make it possible to modify the direction of rotation of the motor when the control knob is actuated. The support member 10 has a central opening through which the output shaft 80 of the reducer extends. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the output shaft 80 of the gearbox drives a guide shaft 12. These two shafts can be linked together, for example by force-fitting, barbed fitting or the like. The output shaft 80 of the reducer is preferably metallic and comprises for example flat. The guide shaft 12 is preferably made of thermoplastic material. A first magnetized portion 13, of annular shape, is secured to the proximal end of the rod 5. A second magnetized portion 14, also of annular shape, is integral with the output shaft 80 of the reducer. In the example under consideration, the first magnetized portion 13 has an inside diameter greater than the outside diameter of the second magnetized portion 14. The first and second magnetized portions 13, 14 are arranged coaxially to achieve a magnetic coupling between the rod 5 and the output shaft 80 of the reducer. Thus, the motor 8 rotates the magnetized portion 14, which under the effect of the magnetic interaction with the magnetized portion 13, transmits its rotational movement to the rod 5.

The torque to which the magnetic coupling can withstand being relatively low, is an efficient and reliable torque limiter which allows decoupling the applicator 2 from the rotary motor 8 in case of harmful mechanical coupling between a physical element, such as the eyelashes, and the applicator 2. Finally, thanks to the magnetic coupling made between the magnetized parts 13 and 14, there is no risk of axial misalignment of the rod 5 relative to the applicator 2, even after several uses of the device 1 according to the invention. As illustrated in Figures 1A to 4, the magnetized portion 13 is mounted on the inner surface of a cylindrical recess of the stem 5 opening at its proximal end. It can be inserted by force or glued or fixed by overmolding inside this recess.

The magnetized portion 14 is carried in the example illustrated by the guide shaft 12, being for example fixed thereon by clamping, snapping or gluing. The output shaft may also be overmolded on the magnetized portion 14. The magnetized portions 13, 14 may each be constituted pax a permanent magnet of generally annular shape. In the example shown, the magnetized portions 13, 14 each consist of a permanent magnet in the form of a hollow cylinder of circular section, of axis coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the device. Each magnetized portion may have a single pole N and a single pole S, or alternatively, several N poles and several poles S. Alternatively, the magnetized portions 13, 14 may comprise OR several separate permanent magnets, preferably regularly distributed angularly on the rod 5 and on the guide shaft 12. The permanent magnets constituting the magnetized parts 13 and 14 in the example in question may be monolithic and consist of agglomerated ferrites, rare earths, or be based on a thermoplastic material or a resin including ferrites.

The permanent magnet or magnets of the magnetized portions 13, 14 are of intensity magnetization chosen to define a torque limiter for decoupling the motor application member in case of harmful mechanical coupling. Advantageously, the dimensioning is such that the maximum magnetic torque that can be transmitted by the motor to the applicator member is less than or equal to 0.5 cNm, better still 0.35 cNm. above such a value, the magnetized portions 13, 14 decouple. The guide shaft 12 has a distal portion 12a which in the illustrated example is cylindrical of revolution and received with a radial clearance in a housing 5a of the rod 5, opening on the recess in which is fixed the magnetized portion 13. The distal portion 12a of the guide shaft 12 has a reduced diameter D 20 over a length L sufficiently large to allow the guide of the magnetized portion 13 substantially along the axis of the rod 5 inside thereof. During assembly, a guide in translation substantially along the axis of the rod 5 is formed until the magnetized portion 13 is positioned around the magnetized portion 14. The internal diameter of the housing 5a and outer D of the portion respectively Distal 12a of the guide shaft 12 are chosen to allow sufficient clearance between them so that the rod 5 can freely rotate about the guide shaft 12. As illustrated in FIG. 41 may be fixed around the rod 5 for example by elastically deformable holding tabs 410 which are applied to an annular groove of the rod 5 to retain it axially while allowing it to rotate when driven by the motor. The insert 41 may comprise means 411 snap on the housing 40, such as teeth.

Although described in detail with a coaxial arrangement such that the magnetized portion 13 surrounds the magnetized portion 14, the invention can also be implemented in a non-illustrated variant with an inverted arrangement where the magnetized portion 14 surrounds the magnetized portion 13 .

The invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described; in particular, the annular magnetized parts may be replaced by separate magnets mounted on a support having, for example, a form of revolution. Although the invention is particularly suitable for applying a product to the eyelashes and / or eyebrows, the applicator member may be other than a brush, for example a flocked tip, the product being example to apply on the skin or lips. The expression "having one" shall be understood as being synonymous with "having at least one", unless the opposite is specified.

Claims (13)

REVENDICATIONS1. Applicator (2) of a product, in particular a cosmetic product, CLAIMS1. Applicator (2) of a product, in particular a cosmetic product, comprising a gripping part (4); a rod (5) whose distal end carries an applicator member (50) of the product; a motor (8) for rotating the rod (5), the motor being housed inside the gripping portion (4); a first magnetized portion (13) connected to the rod (5); a second magnetized portion (14) connected to the motor (8); the first and second magnetized portions being arranged coaxially and magnetically coupled. 2. Applicator (2) according to claim 1, the magnetized portions each comprising a single permanent magnet (13, 14) of general annular foune. 3. Applicator (2) according to claim 2, each permanent magnet (13, 14) being a hollow cylinder whose magnetization is radial. 4. Applicator (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, the motor (8) driving guide shaft (12) supporting the second magnetized portion (14). 5. Applicator (2) according to claim 4, the guide shaft (12) 20 having a distal portion (12a) adapted to engage in a housing of the rod (5) and whose length (L) is sufficient for this commitment to take place before there is a strong magnetic interaction between the magnetized parts (13, 14). 6. Applicator (2) according to claim 5, the length (L) of distal portion (12a) being greater than the axial dimension of the second magnetized portion (14). 25 7. Applicator (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, the axial dimensions of the first (13) and second (14) magnetized portions being equal. 8. Applicator (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, the gripping portion (4) housing a support member (10) carrying at least the motor (8) and its power source (9). 9. Applicator (2) according to claim 8, the support piece (10) being removably disposed in a housing (40) of the gripping portion (4) which defines the gripping surface. 10. A device for packaging and dispensing a product, especially a cosmetic product, comprising: a reservoir (3) containing the product (P), and an applicator (2) according to any one of the preceding claims. 11. Device according to the preceding claim, further comprising a wiper member (6). 10 12. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the reservoir (3) comprises a neck (30) and the wiper member (6) is housed in the neck, the rod (5) being in axial abutment (51) according to the longitudinal axis of the reservoir against the wiper member in the closed position of the reservoir (3). 13. A process for making up human keratin materials, according to which a product (P) is applied to said materials by means of a device (1) according to one of claims 10 to 12.