GB2036696A - Case for lipstick - Google Patents

Abstract

A lipstick case comprises a base (12) having slots (15) receiving lugs (21) of a member (18) containing the lipstick (19), a member (22) bearing helical grooves (23) into which the lugs (21) project and a clear plastics cover (25) which is so dimensioned internally with respect to the external dimensions of the member (22) and the base (12) that when the cover is placed on the base (12), the member (22) and base (12) are locked against relative rotation, which causes raising or lowering of the lipstick (19) by means of the grooves (23), enabling the case to be transported with the lipstick (19) held in a position in which it is visible through the cover (25) without the risk of inadvertant movement that could damage the tip. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Case for lipstick and like products The present invention relates to cases for lipstick and similar stick-moulded products including blushers, solid make-ups and deodorants.

During the past two decades there has been a marked change in the distribution pattern of cosmetic products away from conventional druggist, pharmacist, perfumery and departmental retail outlets and towards self-service outlets, particularly of the food and grocery 'supermarket' type. Even within specialist stores, such as pharmacies and the cosmetic department of departmental stores, there has been a move towards 'self-service' arrangements of the goods. This change has meant that personal, specialist advice, regarding, for example, choice of formulation for a particular skin type, recommended method of application and, in the case of decorative cosmetics, selection of a particular shade of colour is frequently not available to the purchaser of cosmetics.

The manufacturers of cosmetics have, therefore, attempted to make their advertising, promotion and product packaging increasingly informative to compensate for the increasing absence of personal advice. In the case of decorative cosmetics, the information most required by the consumer, outweighing formula suitability, or correct application technique, is the shade or colour of the product.

Considerable emphasis has been put on facilitating consumer shade selection and, in particular, attempts have been made to enable the purchaser to know the colour or shade of the product by some indication visible on the displayed product, or its packaging.

The most common method involves the use of labels intended to be of the same colour as the cosmetic product. However, the difficulty in achieving accurate colour matching between different media e.g., the lipstick itself and the paper label, is great and frequently, despite the manufacturers best efforts, only an approximate idea of the colour or shade is given by this method.

A better way of achieving the desired result is to expose part of the cosmetic product itself to view.

Because of considerations of transit damage, handling damage and hygiene it has generally been considered that the cosmetic should be exposed only through a transparent part of a container while capped, covered, or closed.

Turning now to stick-moulded products, such as lipstick, the conventional lipstick case comprises a godet which contains the lipstick bullet and which is mounted for longitudinal movement within a body.

The godet is provided with externally directed lugs which travel in and extend through slots in the body.

On the body is mounted a spiral which is a cylindrical sleeve having one or more internally directed helical grooves in which the ends of the godet lugs engage. Relative rotation of the spiral and the body causes movement of the godet. The spiral is usually fixedly mounted inside an opaque sleeve that serves to hide the working components of the case. For convenience, the term "spiral" is used in this specification to refer either to the member that has the helical grooves or to that member together with its opaque sleeve. The case also includes a cover which normally fits over the sleeve to prevent dirt reaching the lipstick bullet.

The conventional lipstick case of the abovedescribed type is so constructed that when the godet is fully retracted into the base, the tip of a full bullet of lipstick is below the open end of the body. This arrangement is thought desirable to avoid damage to the bullet when the cover is placed on the case either during a final step of the manufacturing process, or during use.

This conventional case does not permit a portion of the bullet to be exposed when the lipstick is displayed for sale because of the occlusive nature of the sleeve and spiral and the absence of any means for securing the godet in an intermediate position along its track.

Various proposals have been made for simple modifications of the conventional case to allow a portion of the bullet to be visible in the fully retracted position of the godet, but these have been unsatisfactory because they lead to damage to the tip. Initial attempts to produce cases which allowed lipstick bullet exposure usually consisted of the adoption of a clear cover and expedient modifications to the detail of established mechanisms designed to restrict full-bullet retraction so that, in the base's fully wound down position, a portion of the bullet tip remained exposed.

Unfortunately this form of construction, in which at least part of an unused bullet tip is always exposed, lead to a relatively high level of rejects due to bullet damage during the final stage of the production (placing the cover on the base) and subsequent damage during recapping by the consumer in use, with consequent production difficulty, consumer irritation and complaint.

An alternative proposal included a body in which the slots comprised two axially extending portions connected near the mid-point of the track by a circumferentially extending portion. This enabled the godet to be "locked" in a position intermediate its fully extended or fully retracted position and in which the tip of the bullet could be viewed through the cover. However, this construction requires that there should be a positive "locking" at the mid-point to enable the godet to be placed in that position at the end of the manufacturing process and be held there during subsequent transportation and display.

This, however, means that during normal use of the case, there is a distinct stiffness, or hesitation as the lipstick is moved in and out of the body, which is disliked bytheconsumer.

According to the present invention there is provided a case for a lipstick or a like product comprising a hollow body in which is mounted a godet, which is movable towards and away from an open end of the body and which has externally directed lugs which extend through longitudinal slots in the body, a substantially cylindrical spiral mounted on the body and having inwardlyfacing helical grooves in which the end of the godet lugs engage and a transparent cover which closes the open end of the body, the internal cross-section of the cover being such with respect to the external cross-sections of the spiral and the body that when the cover is positioned over the spiral and the body it frictionally engages both the body and the spiral to restrict relative movement therebetween.

As will be appreciated, the construction is so arranged that the frictional engagement prevents accidental relative movement between the body and the spiral, so that the godet and bullet are held against inadvertent movement, e.g., during transit, but removal of the cover allows normal retraction and extension. Moreover, manual force can overcome the frictional engagement and permit relative rotation of the body and spiral to enable the godet to be wound from its fully retracted position to a "tip-exposed" intermediate position after the cover has been placed on. Thus the case can initially be assembled with the godetwithdrawn the maximum distance into the body and then, after the cover is in position, the godet can be advanced to enable the tip of the bullet to become visible.The godet will be held at this "tip-visible" position during transit because of the friction lock provided by the cover between the body and the sleeve.

The frictional fit may be achieved in several ways, e.g., by providing raised pips or splines on either the external surface of the spiral or on the internal surface of the cover. However, this arrangement marks or scratches the cover and is not, therefore, ideal from an aesthetic point of view. An alternative is to make the cover such that at some point along its length its cross-section, though circular, is of reduced diameter and frictionally engages the spiral.

However, manufacturing tolerances are such that, in practice, the two parts could not be manufactured with sufficient accuracy for this to be a feasible design.

In a preferred form of the invention, the internal cross-sectional shape of the cover is such that it makes two or more point or line contacts against the external surface of the spiral. Advantageously, the cover has an internal cross-section consisting of four equal radiused, equal chorded arcs which intersect to form a four-sided figure, which gives four point or line contact against the circular spiral. Alternatives for the internal cross-section range between an elipse and a shaped defined by n-radiused, chorded arcs forming an n-sided figure.

It will be appreciated that the cover need not have the special cross-section over its entire length: it is sufficient for it to have the special cross-section only overthe part of its length normally in contact with the spiral, while for the remainder of its length, including the part of the cover beyond the end of the spiral, is of normal circular cross-section, thus virtually eliminating optical distortion of the bullet tip when it is viewed through the cover.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view, with parts broken away to reveal interior detail, of a iipstick case embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a radial cross-section through the cover of the case shown in Figure 1 and Figure 3 is a further side view of the lipstick case taken at 90" from Figure 1.

The case comprises a body 11, of essentially conventional design, having a closed end 12 by which the case is held when in use, a stepped portion 13, which provides a seat for the cover of the case, and a cylindrical portion 14 that has two axially extending, diametrically opposite slots 15 having upper and lower circumferentially extending end portions 16 and 17. A godet 18 containing a bullet 19 of lipstick is mounted for sliding axial movement within the cylindrical portion 14 of the body 11 and lugs 21 of the godet 18 extend through the slots 15.

Rotatably mounted on the cylindrical portion 14 is a cylindrical member, or spiral 22, which has helical grooves 23 on its inner surface, in which grooves 23 the ends of the lugs 21 engage. The spiral 22 is fitted tightly within a cylindrical metal sleeve 24 so as to be rotatable therewith.

In conventional manner, the lipstick is advanced and retracted by relative rotation of the body and the spiral, which causes the helical grooves 23 to move relative to the axial slots 15 causing the godet to move axially along the cylindrical portion 14 of the body 11.

A cover 25 for the case is of clear plastics material and is of a size to fit over the sleeve 24 and to engage the body 11 when the margin of its open end is resting on the stepped portion 13 of the body. A tight engagement between the cover 25 and the body is ensured by three longitudinal ribs (not shown) spaced equidistant around the periphery of the body, between the stepped portion 13 and the cylindrical portion 14.

The cover 25 is of generally circular, tapering cross-section and is truly circular at its upper and lower ends, but the middle part is formed with a cross-sectional shape consisting of two sets of equally spaced opposing radiuses such that a frictional fit against the outer surface of the sleeve 24 is achieved.

When the cover 25 is in position, frictional forces between it and the sleeve 24 and between it and the body 11 generally prevent relative rotation of the sleeve 24 and body 11 so that the godet 18 remains in position. However, if the cover 25 is held, the body 11 can be manually or mechanically rotated relative to it so that the frictional forces are overcome, while the sleeve 24 and spiral 22 are held stationary by the cover 25, thus achieving movement of the godet 18.

Claims (4)

1. A case for a lipstick or a like product comprising a hollow body in which is mounted a godet, which is movable towards and away from an open end of the body and which has externally directed lugs which extend through longitudinal slots in the body, a substantially cylindrical spiral mounted on the body and having inwardly facing helical grooves in which the end of the godet lugs engage and a transparent cover which closes the open end of the body, the internal cross-section of the cover being such with respect to the external cross-sections of the spiral and the body that when the cover is positioned over the spiral and the body it frictionally engages both the body and the spiral to restrict relative movementtherebetween.

2. A case according to Claim 1 wherein the internal cross-sectional shape of the cover is such that it makes two or more point or line contacts against the external surface of the spiral.

3. A case according to Claim 2 wherein the cover has an internal cross-section consisting of four equal radiused, equal chorded arcs which intersect to form a four-sided figure, which gives four point or line contact against the circular spiral.

4. A case for lipstick or a like product substantially as herein before described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.