GB2179330A - Container for beauty care agents - Google Patents

Abstract

A container (10) for beauty care agents (14), which are accommodated in separate compartments (16) of the container (10), contains at least one brush (18, 18', 20) for removing the beauty care agents (14) from the compartments (16) of the container (10). The space for each brush (18, 18', 20), has a single or double rib-shaped holding device (22, 24) which conforms to the shape of a slot in the handle of the brush to hold the handle. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A container for beauty care agents The invention relates to a container for beauty care agents.

One form of such container has the beauty care agents accommodated in one or more compartments provided in the container. A separate compartment is provided in the containerand includes at least on brush, having a handle, in order to remove the beauty care agents from the compartment(s) ofthecon- tainer.

Such a container can be made, for example, as aflat base, with an upstanding peripheral wall and cooperating lid. In such a containerofany base area configuration, several compartments may be provided, which are separated from one another and in which are accommodated various beauty care agents. Such a container may hold a variety of beauty care agents. Such a container may hold a variety of beauty care agents, the variation being in the material ofthe beauty care agents and, when the material is the same, in the colour ofthe latter. The beauty care agents can be present,forexample, in a pastyform or as powder. In such containers, a brush having a handle is accommodated and may be used for removing and applying the beauty care agents.However, this results in the drawbackthatthe brush accommodated in freely movable manner in the container can strike againsttheinnerwall of the container and be damaged. With a damaged brush, in particularwith a brush whose application bristles are bent and frayed, accurate application ofthe beauty care agents, for example on eyelids, eyebrows, or the like, is not possible.

According to the present invention there is provided a container for beauty care agents which are accommodated in a compartment or separate com partments provided in the container, at least one brush having a handle being provided in the contain er nextto the compartment orcompartments and at least one elongate holding device for holding the handle of the or each brush, the holding device being adapted dimensionally to the handle of the or each brush, the holding device being made in the form of at least one rib.

With such a construction not only are the compart- ments containing the beauty care agents accommodated immovably in the container butalsothe or each brush can be secured in the container. It has been found that, even after a comparatively long period of use, an old container can still be used just as accurate ly as a new container. This is therefore of particular importance, because the compartments forthe beauty care agents, which compartments are accommodated in a jewellery container, can be replaced or renewed, so that it is advantageous if the or each brush provided in the container also has a very long period of use, because the possibility of damage to its bristles is greatly reduced.

Preferably the holding device is made as a narrow rib, and the brush held by the holding device has a slot shaped recess in its handle, the shape ofwhich recess is adapted to the shape ofthe rib. This design is especially suitable for containers with narrow brushes. At the same time, the recess in the handle of the brush can be made as a longitudinal groove or as a longitudinal slot extending through the handle.

In such a design of the container according to the invention,the rib can be arranged at the base of the container, the oppositely located longitudinal side faces of the rib can be made such that they widen towards the base, and the two longitudinal side faces of the rib can have, in the proximity of the base, projections which project away from the longitudinal side faces in the opposite directions and against which the brush handle abuts. As a result of the rib longitudinal side faces widening towards the base, the handle can be securely clamped on the rib, sothat the free movement of the brush in the container and therefore damage to the brush are reliably prevented.

The projections provided in the proximity of the base at the two longitudinal side faces of the rib have the advantage that the brush handle clamped to the rib is at a defined distance from the base ofthe container, so thatthe brush bristles are protected from damage.

Moreover, the projections act as a fulcra, about which the handle of the brush can be pivoted for removing the brush from the container, as a result ofwhich the clamped connection between the handle of the brush and the rib provided on the container is cancelled.

In another design of the container according to the invention,the holding device has two ribs arranged in parallel spaced relation, and the brush handle, is provided with a recess, the shape of which is adapted to the area defined by the shape ofthetwo ribs together.

Such a design is especially of importance if a larger brush having a larger handle is to be reliably and firmly accommodated in the container. Moreover, the two ribs arranged in parallel spaced relation have the advantagethatthey can be elastically resilient with respect to one another, so thatthe handle of the brush, with its recess, can be pushed simply onto the two ribs in order to fix the brush in the container.

Atthesametime,eachribcan be arranged atthe base of the container, the oppositelyfacing outer longitudinal side faces of the two ribs, can be made such that they widen towards the base, and the outer longitudinal side faces of the two ribs can have projections adjacent the base, which project away from the outer longitudinal side faces in opposite directions and against which the brush handle abuts. As a result ofthis design ofthe two ribs, the handle ofthe brush can be resiliently clamped on the two ribs by its recess. The projections provided on the outer longitu dinal side faces of the two ribs adjacent the base also serve asfulcra about which the handle of the brush can be pivoted to release the brush from the ribs.It goes without saying that the recess in the handle of the brush is made somewhat longerthan the rib provided in the container or the ribs provided in the container to allow the handle ofthe brush to pivot aboutthe projections.

It has proved expedientforthe recess in the handle ofthe brush to be a through slot, the inner wall of which is made such that it widens outwards from the centre at an acute angle. As a result of such a design of the recess, the handle of the brush can be made of plastic in simple manner in an injection moulding operation and demoulded simply from the injection mould. Afurther advantage of this design ofthe recess in the handle ofthe brush is that the brush can be mechanically fixed firm ly to the rib or ribs.

In orderthatthe invention will more readily be understood, the following description is given, merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure lisa side elevation, in section of one embo diment of a container for beauty care agents and brushes, according to the invention, with the lid lifted and shown in partial section; Figure2 is a plan view of a portion ofthe container in the direction of arrow I in Figure 1, butwithoutthe brush handle shown; Figure 3 is a view showing, in the direction of arrow Ill of Figure 2, the holding device, a rib, with the outline of the handle of the brush being indicated in chain-dotted lines; Figure 4 is a view in the direction of the arrow IV with a base of the container in section;; Figure 5shows a brush in half section in the direction of narrow I of Figure 1; Figure 6shows another embodiment of a brush, firmly held in a container and in half section, in the direction ofarrowl of Figure 1; Figure 7is a section taken along the line VIl-VIl of Figure 5 or Figure 6; Figure 8 is a view in the direction of arrow VIII of Figure 1 showing two brush holding devices having two ribs, butwithout brushes; Figure 9 is a view ofthe ribs in the direction of view of arrow IX of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a view ofthe ribs in the direction ofview of arrow X of Figure 8; Figure 11 is a view half section of a brush in the direction ofarrowVlll of Figure 1; Figure 12 is a side view of the brush in the direction ofarrowXll of Figure 11; and Figure 13 is a section taken along the section line Xlil-Xlilthrough the handle ofthe brush shown in Figure 11.

Figure 1 shows a section through a container lOfor beauty care agents, which container 10 can be closed with a lid 12. In this figure, the lid 12 is lifted from the container 10 and shown in partial cross-section. The beauty care agents 14, in a pasty consistency or in powder form, are accommodated in compartments 16 provided in the container 10 and separated from one another. In this figure, only one compartment 16 is shown in section. The other compartments are arranged nextto one anotherandata distance from one another perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing.

In the container 10 shown, nextto the compartment 16 are provided two brushes 18 and 20, which are described in greater detail below with reference to Figures5to 7 and 11 to 13. The brushes 18and 20are provided for removing the beauty care agents 14 from the compartments 16. The container 10 has, for each brush 18 and 20, a holding device 22 and 24, which is adapted dimensionally to their handles. The holding device 22 is made as a rib, integrallyformed on the base 26 ofthe container 10, as is apparentfrom the Figures 2 to 4. The oppositely located longitudinal side faces 28 of the rib 22 are made such thatthey widen towards the base, as is clearly apparent in particular from Figure 3.The two longitudinal side faces 28 ofthe rib 22 have, adjacentthe base 26, projections which project away from the longitudinal side faces 28 in opposite directions. As seen in Figure 1, the handle of brush 18 sits againstthese projec tions30,which act as abutments aboutwhich the brush 18 can be pivoted on one side towards the base 26 of the container 10in order to detach the brush 18 from the holding rib 22. An enlarged head 32 (Figures 2to 4) retains the brush handle securely on the hold ing rib 22. It is also apparent from Figure 3 thatthe handle ofthe brush 18, which in this figure is indi- cated in chain-dotted lines, sits againstthe projections 30.

Figure 5 shows a brush with a handle 34 which has a recess 36 in the form of an elongate slot, the shape of which is adapted to the shape of the rib 22, (see Figure 2), so thatthe brush 18 can be fixed to the rib 22. The reference numeral 38 identifies the head part of the brush 18 which can consist of bristles or afoam material and which is fixed in a blind-bore 40 of a handle 34.

Figure 6 shows another design of a brush 18' having, at each ofthe two opposite ends ofthe handle 34', a head part 38'. Also in this design of the brush 18', the handle 34' has a recess 36', the shape of which is adapted to that of the rib 22.

Figure 7 shows a cross-section through a handle 34 or 34'. It is apparent from this figure that the slot 36 or 36' extends right through the handle 34 and 34', the inner walk 40 of which widens outwards on each side atan acute angle.

Figures 8to 10 show a holding device 24for a brush 20, as shown in Figures 11 and 12. The holding device 24 has two ribs 42 arranged in spaced parallel relation, and the brush handle 34" is provided with a slot 36", the shape of which is apparentfrom Figure 11 and is adapted to the shape (see Figure 8) defined by the two ribs 42 together. Each rib 42 is integrallyformed on the base 26 of the container 10. The two outer longitudinal side faces 28' of the two ribs 42, are made such thattheywiden towardsthe base 26 and have outwardly extending projections 30' adjacent the base 26. The brush handle 34", which is described in greater detail below with reference to Figures 11 to 13, sits against these extensions 30'. Again the projections 30 act as abutments aboutwhich the brush 20 can be pivoted for releasing from the holding device 24. An enlarged head 32', ofthe rib 42 is also shown in these figures.

Figures 11 and 12 show a brush 20 which hasthe slot 36" in its handle 34". A sleeve 44 is pushed onto the handle 34" of the brush 20, to secure the brush bristles 38" on the handle 34".

Figure 13 shows that the slot 36" in the handle 34" extends rightthrough the handle and thatthe inner wall 40" ofthe slot widens outwards from the centre on both sides at an acute angle. As a result ofthis design ofthe slot in the handle ofthe brush and as a result of the corresponding design ofthe or each rib of the holding device 22 of the container 10, the brush is reliably fixed to the holding device, so thatthe brush is protected from damage.

The term "brush", apart from referring to a brush, also refersto an applicator known per se, for example having a fibre application member, orto a combination of an applicator and a brush.

Afurther advantage ofthe container of the invention is that a used brush can be firmly held in the container, so that beauty care agents adhering to the brush are prevented from depositing in their accommodation spaceforthe brush. In this way, dirtying of the fingers is avoided when subsequently removing the brush from the container.

Claims (7)

1. A container for beauty care agents which are accommodated in a compartment or separate compartments provided in the container, at least one brush having a handle being provided inthecontain- ernexttothecompartmentorcompartments and at least one elongate holding device for holding the handle of the or each brush the holding device being adapteddimensionallytothehandleoftheoreach brush being made in the form of at least one rib.

2. A container according to claim 1, wherein said at least one holding device is in theform of a single rib, and the associated brush has a recess in its hand le,the shape of which is adapted to the shape ofthe rib.

3. A container according to claim 2, wherein the rib is arranged at the base ofthe container, the oppositely facing longitudinal side faces of the rib being made such that they widen towards the base, and have projections in the adjacent base, which projections project away from the longitudinal side faces in opposite directions and against which the brush handle abuts.

4. Acontaineraccording to claim 1,2or3,where- in said at least one holding device is in the form oftwo ribs arranged in parallel spaced relation, and the brush is provided with a recess, the shape of which is adapted to the shape defined by the two ribs together.

5. A container according to claim 4, wherein each rib is arranged at the base of the container, the oppositely facing outer longitudinal side faces ofthe two ribs, are formed such that they widen towards the base, and the outer longitudinal side faces ofthetwo ribs have projections adjacent the base, which projections project away from the outer longitudinal side faces in opposite directions and against which the brush abuts.

6. A container according to any one of the preced- ing claims, wherein the recess in the handle of the or each brush is a slot extending through the handle, the innerwall of the slot widening outwards from the center on both sides at an acute angle.

7. A container for beauty care agents substantial iy as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.