GB2158348A - Cosmetic applicator - Google Patents

Abstract

A cosmetic applicator comprises a reservoir and a capillary fibre tip 1, the tip being formed from a length cut from a continuous bundle of fibres bonded together, with the fibres in a peripheral layer 5 being more firmly and closely bonded together to form a relatively stiff, but relatively impermeable casing. In order to avoid the disadvantages which would follow if the point of the fibre tip were formed in the region of the impermeable layer 5, the operative end of the tip is trimmed to the form of a paraboloid intersected by an inclined flat cut surface 4. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Cosmetic applicator THIS INVENTION relates to a cosmetic applicator comprising a reservoir and a capillary profiled fibre tip adapted to be impregnated with a liquid such as a solvent or a solution of a colorant or colorants in a solvent, the fibre tip projecting from a reservoir opening formed as a guide bore, and having a cap which fits tightly on the reservoir and is removable for use.

When coloured cosmetics are applied, surfaces of the skin or finger nails or toe nails are often unintentionally coloured as well. Unskilled persons, particularly, frequently want to remove the colour from these parts of the skin or nails. For this purpose, use was hitherto usually made of solvent-impregnated pads or cotton-wool buds, or "Q-tips". However, it is not possible to wipe away stains as required with these.

German Patent Application P3202435 (GB 2115276) already proposes a cosmetic cleaning device with a capillary tip intended for the controlled application of a solvent, for the removal of an already applied cosmetic material. For ease of description, the term "cosmetic applicator" is used herein both for a device intended to apply a cosmetic colourant and for a device such as that of GB 2115276 intended to apply a clear solvent to a surface to which a cosmetic has previously been applied, e.g. for the purpose of localised removal of the cosmetic to correct the outline of the cosmetic coated area. In the preferred embodiment described in GB 2115276, the capillary tip in the form of a fibre wick of circular cross-section is cut at an angle at its end.Known capillary tips are formed by manufacturing an elongate bundle of fibres extending substantially parallel with the longitudinal direction of the bundle, the fibres being compressed together transversely, and bonded together adhesively in manufacture, so that the bundle takes the form of a relatively stiff elongate rod of uniform cross-section.

Individual fibre tips are then formed by cutting appropriate lengths from that rod or bundle. The strands are compressed together more densely in the zone of the periphery of the bundle during manufacture, and are interconnected more intimately in that zone by adhesive. This compression gives high strength in the zone of the periphery of the bundle to give the individual tip some support; a disadvantage, however, is that there is, in this peripheral zone, practically no throughflow of the liquid to be applied by the capillary tip. As a result, in the case of a tip cut at an angle to form a point, there is little solvent available, if at all, in the point of the fibre tip itself. This has a particularly unfavourable effect if the user so turns the tip that only the compressed edge zone comes into contact with the receiving surface.

An object of the invention is to provide a cosmetic applicator, as herein defined, having a fibre tip so formed as to allow controlled application of liquid to a limited area as required, which fibre tip can be formed from a fibre bundle so made that there can be no through-flow, or only a reduced through-flow, of liquid in the zone of the periphery of the bundle.

According to the invention, there is provided a cosmetic applicator comprising a reservoir and a capillary profiled fibre bundle adapted to be impregnated with a liquid and projecting from a reservoir opening formed as a guide passage, and having a cap which fits tightly on the reservoir and is removable for use, wherein the profiled fibre bundle, which is of circular cross-section, consists of a plurality of fibres aligned in the longitudinal direction and adhesively bonded together, the fibres being bonded together more densely at the peripheral zones of the cross-section of the profiled fibre bundle than in the interior thereof, and wherein one end of the profiled strand is in the form of a paraboloid intersected by a plane defined by an inclined flat cut surface.

By trimming the end of the length of the compressed fibre bundle forming the tip so that the end of said length has the form of a paraboloid, and cutting off part of the paraboloid by an oblique flat cut surface, it is ensured that the region of the point formed where the flat cut surface and the paraboloid surface meet will no longer contain any compacted parts of the peripheral zone of the original fibre bundle. These unfavourable edge zones are removed as a result of the trimming of the tip end to said paraboloid shape. The point formed by the trimming and transverse cutting operations is formed solely of the part of the fibre bundle in which the capillary action is fully effective.

Handling is improved if the natural hold of the applicator in the user's hand is maintained as a result of the shape of the inclined cut surface. This is achieved if the angle of the cut surface to the axis of the fibre bundle forming the tip and of the applicator is in the range of between 15 and 30'. Such a configuration of the tip makes it possible in the case where the applicator is intended to apply a solvent for localised removal of unwanted nail varnish, to introduce the point of the fibre tip beneath the nails, if nail varnish has unintentionally been applied there, and to dissolve and remove the same.

Handling and viewing when moving the tip over a surface are improved if the inclined cut surface extends from the apex of the paraboloid to the outer surface of the fibre bundle.

This advantage is also maintained if the inclined cut surface extends beyond the centre line of the fibre bundle but does not reach the compacted edge zone on the opposite side.

One exemplified embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and is described in detail below. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation view of the tip of an applicator embodying the invention showing the side opposite from the flat cut surface, Figure 2 is a view of the tip of Fig. 1 in axial section, Figure 3 is a side elevation view from the opposite side to Fig. 1 and showing the flat cut surface, Figure 4 is a plan view of the tip from above, and Figure 5 is a perspective view of the tip showing the inclined cut surface.

The tip shown in the drawings is part of an applicator, for example of the general form described in GB 2115276, comprising a body including a reservoir and a tip mount providing a passage extending to said reservoir to the exterior of said body, the reservoir containing a solvent-impregnated wad and the tip mount supporting, in said passage, a capillary fibre tip projecting from the tip mount. The capillary fibre tip may or may not be removable and replaceable as described in GB 2115276. Referring to Fig. 2, the tip 1 is formed, as such fibre tips commonly are, from a length cut from an elongate bundle of fibres extending substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the bundle, the bundle, in the particular embodiment shown, being of circular cross-section perpendicular to said axis.

The bundle has, in known manner, a denser structure in a peripheral layer 5 where the fibres are more intimately bonded together, for example by an appropriate plastics adhesive, and where the fibres are more tightly compressed together transversely to the axis.

The layer 5 thus forms a relatively rigid casing supporting and surrounding a more porous core where the fibres are less intimately bonded, or possibly not adhesively bonded at all, and through which liquid can flow relatively readily by capillary action.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the tip 1, has a blunt end 2 formed by cutting the fibre bundle diametrally across at right angles to its axis and an opposite end in the form of a paraboloid 3 from which a portion has been cut off by a cut along a plane intersecting the paraboloid and inclined with respect to the tip axis, thereby affording a flat inclined surface 4. That is to say, the upper end of the tip in Figs. 1 to 3 has the form of a body of revolution formed by rotating a parabola about its own axis, coinciding with the axis of the tip, with part of the body being cut away along said plane inclined to the axis. The upper end of the tip is formed by trimming the length of the fibre bundle by appropriate means, and clearly the flat inclined surface 4 corresponding to said oblique cut, may be formed at the ame time as, after, or before the parabolic surface is formed.

The parabolic surface is indicated at 3 in the drawings and the flat inclined surface at 4. As will be seen from Fig. 4, the inclined cut surface 4 in the embodiment illustrated extends beyond the axis of the tip at its upper end. The angle OL between the plane of surface 4 and the tip axis is in the range of between 15" and 30'.

The inclined cut surface 4 may just reach the axis of the tip at the extreme upper end, in which case, of course, the parabola from which the paraboloid may be regarded as generated would correspond with the outline of the upper end of the tip as viewed in a side elevation view corresponding to Fig. 1.

The applicator can be used in various ways for applying liquids, for example, a cosmetic in the form of a solution of a colorant or colorants in a solvent, or, as in the preferred embodiments, a clear solvent applied to a surface to dissolve an already applied cosmetic and soak the resultant solution up into the tip thereby to remove the cosmetic locally from said surface.

To obtain a wide-area application, the cut surface 4 is moved over the receiving surface in full contact therewith. Narrow-area applications can be obtained by using the remaining convexly curved surface of the paraboloid 3, while spot applicaitons are possible by the direct use of the point afforded by the extreme upper of the tip as shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

Claims (6)

1. A cosmetic applicator comprising a reservoir and a capillary profiled fibre bundle adapted to be impregnated with a liquid and projecting from a reservoir opening formed as a guide passage, and having a cap which fits tightly on the reservoir and is removable for use, wherein the profiled fibre bundle, which is of circular cross-section, consists of a plurality of fibres aligned in the longitudinal direction and adhesively bonded together, the fibres being bonded together more densely at the peripheral zones of the cross-section of the profiled fibre bundle than in the interior thereof, and wherein one end of the profiled strand is in the form of a parabaloid intersected by a plane defined by an inclined flat cut surface.

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2. A cosmetic applicator according to claim 1, in which the inclined cut surface extends at an acute angle to the centre-line of the profiled fibre bundle, at an angle in the range between 15 and 30'.

3. A cosmetic applicator acording to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the inclined cut surface extends from the apex of the parabaloid to the outer surface of the fibre bundle.

4. A cosmetic applicator according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the inclined cut surface extends from the outer surface of the fibre bundle, through and beyond the centreline of the profiled fibre bundle.

5. A cosmetic applicator substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

6. Any novel feature or combination of features described herein.