GB2198038A

GB2198038A - Liquid applicator

Info

Publication number: GB2198038A
Application number: GB08726835A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Masaru Kimura; Masaki Uchida
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Pencil Co Ltd
Current assignee: Mitsubishi Pencil Co Ltd
Priority date: 1986-11-17
Filing date: 1987-11-17
Publication date: 1988-06-08
Anticipated expiration: 2007-11-17
Also published as: KR880009263U; IT1223144B; GB8726835D0; KR900006221Y1; JPS6382481U; GB2198038B; IT8722668A0; DE3739044A1; FR2606677B1; FR2606677A1

Description

- 1 LIQUID APPLICATOR The present invention relates to a liquid applicator

such as cosmetic instruments employing cosmetic liquid such as eyeliner, mascara, nail polish and the like; writing instruments employing ink such as a marking pen, felt-tipped pen and the like; and other applicators for applying other application liquids, and more particularly to a liquid applicator in which a valve unit is interposed between an application-licruid reservoir portion and a front-end liquid-application portion of the applicator, which valve unit controls the feeding rate of the application liquid.

Hitherto, in such a type of a conventional liquid applicator, a valve unit of the applicator is operated by the use of a so-called push-out means which is generally mounted in a rear-end portion of the applicator and pushed by a user's finger to open the valve unit. In some conventional applicators, a front- end liquid-application portion of the applicator serves also as such push-out means. When the operation of the push-out means of the applicator is required in the applicator in which the push-out means is mounted in the rearend portion of the applicator, it is necessary for the user to move his fingers having held the front portion of the applicator in writing operation to the rear-end portion or the push-out means of the applicator. Consequently, in this case, the writing position of the user's finger is drastically changed to make the operation of such applicator cumbersome. On the other hand, in the applicator in which the front-end liquid-application portion of the applicator serves also as the push-out means, it is difficult to employ a resilient material, 21-98038 i for example such as easily-deformable fiber, sponge and like materials, as material of such push-out means. Namely, in the latter applicator, the pushout means thereof is considerably limited in its material. These are defects inherent in the conventional liquid applicators.

Viewed from one broad aspect the present invention provides a liquid applicator comprising a valve unit interposed between a liquid reservoir portion and a liquid-application portion of said applicator, said valve unit controlling the feeding of the liquid from the reservoir to the licruidapplication portion, wherein a means for operating said valve unit is is located in the region between said valve unit and said liquid application portion of said applicator, which means can be operated through an exterior operation thereof.

In a particularly preferred embodiment such means for operating the valve unit of the liquid applicator comprises: a pair of members one of which is movable in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the other of the members moves; and a spring element for forcing one of the members to move away from a valve stem of the valve unit of the applicator. Each of the pair of members is provided with an oblique surface through which the members are brought into slidable contact with each other. One of such members is movable in an axial direction of the applicator and abuts on a valve stem of the valve unit, while the other of such members is movably mounted in a hole formed in a shaft sleeve of the applicator and extends outward to serve as a so-called push-out member. A pushing force applied on the other of the members or push-out member by the user causes a radial movement of the other of the members in the shaft sleeve of the applicator, which radial movement is transferred into an axial movement of the one of the members in the shaft sleeve of the applicator through the oblique surfaces of the members.

An embodiment of the invenion will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a nail-polish applicator according to an embodiment of the present invention in a condition in which the valve unit is closed; Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view of the nail-polish applicator of Fig. 1 taken along the line II-II of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the nail-polish applicator of Fig.1 in a condition in which the valve unit is opened.

A nail-polish applicator, which is an emodiment of the present invention, will be hereinbelow described in detail with reference to the drawings. It is natural that the present invention is not limited to only this embodiment.

In the drawings: the reference character "A" denotes a shaft sleeve of a nail-polish applicator. The shaft sleeve "A" comprises a front shaft 1 and a rear shaft 2 which is provided with a nail- polish reservoir portion 3 in its front-half portion. In a rear-half portion of the rear shaft 2 of the applicator, there is mounted a coil spring 9 for urging a piston or float 5 forward to compress the nail polish received in the reservoir portion 3, which float 5 is slidably received in the nailpolish reservoir portion 3 of the shaft sleeve "A" while brouqht into a hermetic contact with the nail-polish reservoir portion 3.

It is possible to replace the coil.spring 8 with compressed air received in the rear-half portion of the rear shaft 2. In this case, the float 5 is urged forward under the influence of such compressed air.

4 - A front-end of the reservoir portion 3 of the rear shaft 2 is formed into a joint-sleeve portion 7 in an outer peripheral surface of which is formed a male screw 6. Inside the joint-sleeve 7 are disposed a valve stem 8, a valve spring 9 and a valve seat 10 which is press-fit to a front end of the joint-sleeve portion 7 of the rear shaft 2, to form a valve unit of the applicator. The valve spring 9 is interposed between an inner wall 11 and a shoulder portion of the valve stem 8, which inner wall 11 is provided in the rear shaft at a position between the joint-sleeve portion 7 and the nail-polish reservoir portion 3 of the applicator, so that the valve stem 8 is urged forward under the influence of the valve spring 9 to abut on the valve seat 10, whereby the valve unit of the applicator is normally closed.

A spring support or tail plug 12 is fixedly mounted in a rear-end portion of the rear shaft 2 to support the coil spring 9.

In an inner surface of a rear-end portion of the front shaft 1 is formed a female screw 13 which is threadably engaged with the male screw 6 of the joint-sleeve portion 7 of the rear shaft 2.

Inside the front shaft 1, there is provided a slider element 17 which is provided with: an oblique surface 14 at its front end, which surface 14 obliques from a longitudinal axis of the shaft sleeve 1 at an angle of 450; a through-hole 15 at its axially-central portion; and a sleeve portion 16 at its rear end, which sleeve portion opens at its rear end. In order to facilitate an axial sliding movement of the slider element 17, it is preferable that the oblique surface 14 of the slider element 17 obliques from the longitudinal axis of the shaft sleeve "A" at an angle of more than or equal to 45. The slider element 17 is brought a into a slidable contact with a push-out element 23 which will be described later.

A front-end portion of the valve seat 10 having been fixedly mounted in the rear shaft 2 is inserted into the sleeve portion 16 of the slider element 17. Between an inner peripheral surface of the sleeve portion 16 of the slider element 17 and an outer peripheral surface of the valve seat 10 is interposed an O-ring 18 for sealing a portion therebetween. A coil spring 19 for urging the slider element 17 forward is interposed between an outer shoulder portion of the slider element 17 and the valve seat 10.

In a position in front of the slider element 17 is disposed the push-out element 23 which is provided with: an oblique surface'20 at its rear end portion, which oblique surface 20'obliques from the longitudinal axis of the shaft sleeve "A" at an angle of 45; a longitudinal through- groove 21 at its lower-half portion; and a projection 22 at its upper portion. The oblicrue surface 20 of the push-out element 23 abuts on the oblique surface 14 of the slider element 17. A head portion of the projection 22 of the push-out element 23 enters a window 24 formed in a front-end portion of the front shaft 1 of the shaft sleeve "All as shown in Fig. 1, which window 24 opens outward.

In order to ensure that the slider element 17 and the push-out element 23 are capable of a smooth sliding movement relative to each other, each of these elements 17, 23 are made of a suitable material having a low friction coefficient; alternatively each of the oblique surfaces 14, 20 of these elements 17, 23 is treated to show a low friction coefficient.

A guide member 27 for guiding the push-out element 23 is fixedly mounted in the shaft sleeve "A" at a position in front of the push-out element 23. The guide member 27 is provided with a radial groove 25 at its rear-end surface; and a throughhole 26 at its axially central portion. A frontend portion of the push-out element 23 is inserted into the radial groove 25 of the guide member 27 5 while brought into a slidable contact therewith.

A brush tip 29, which serves as a liquidapplication member of the applicator, is fixedly mounted in a front-end portion of the shaft sleeve "A" through a sealing ring 28 at a position in front of the guide member 27. The brush tip 29 is provided with a flange at its rear end, which flange is clamped between the sealing ring 28 and an inner shoulder portion of the front shaft 1 so that the brush tip 29 is fixedly mounted in the front-end portion of the shaft sleeve "A".

A nail-polish conduit 30 is inserted into the through-hole 15 of a central portion of the slider element 17 and fixedly mounted therein. The conduit 30 passes through each of the through- groove 21 of the push-out element 23, the thoughhole 26 of the guide member 27, and the sealing ring 28, and inserted into a rear-end portion of the brush tip 29 of the applicator.

Any component of the nail-polish applicator of the present invention may be made of conventional materials.

In operation, the nail-polish applicator operates as follows. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in a condition in which the push-out member or push-out element 23 is not operated by the user so that the valve unit is closed, the slider element 17 is urged forward by the coil spring 19 so that the slider element 17 is separated from the valve stem 8 and moves the push-out element 23 outward due to the slidable contact established between the oblique surface 14 of the slider element 17 and the oblique surface 20 of the push-out element 23, whereby the projection 22 of the push-out element k 23 is moved upward (as viewed in the Figures) in the window 24 of the front shaft 1 to become flush with a level of the outer peripheral surface of the front shaft 1. The window 24 is positioned in a place in which the user's fingers hold the applicator in its writing or painting operation. Consequently, it is possible for the user to easily push the push-out element 23 during the painting operation of the applicator, since the user can hold the applicator by his thumb and middle finger while he can push the push-out element 23 of the applicator with the use of his forefinger.

In a condition of the applicator as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, when the pushout element 23 is pushed or depressed by the user so as to enter the shaft sleeve "A", such depressing force is converted into an axial force causing the slider element 17 to move rearward against the resilient force exerted by the coil spring 19 due to the slidable contact established between the oblique surface 14 of the slider element 17 and that 20 of the push-out element 23, so that the slider element 17 is brought into contact with the valve stem 8 to move the same 8 rearward so that the valve unit of the applicator is opened as shown in Fig. 3, to allow the nail polish to flow out of the reservoir portion 3 into the conduit 30 through the valve unit. Thus, the nail polish is fed to the brush tip 29 of the aplicator through the conduit 30.

When the push-out element 23 is released from the pushing force, the coil spring pushes the slider element 17 forward so that the slider element 17 returns to its initial position. As is clear from the above, the brush tip 29 of the applicator of the present invention is not subjected to the pushing force at all.

Consecruently, even when the push-out operation of the applicator is recruired, it is possible for the user to keep his finger's Position of the painting operation, which enhances the painting or writing operation of the applicator. In addition, in the applicator the brush tip 29 thereof can be made of material, for example such as resilient or deformable material.

- 9 il

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A liquid applicator comprising a valve unit interposed between a liquid reservoir portion and a liquid-application portion of said applicator, said valve unit controlling the feeding of the liquid from the reservoir to the liquid-application portion, wherein a means for operating said valve unit is located in the region between said valve unit and said liquid application portion of said applicator, which means can be operated through an exterior operation thereof.

2. An applicator as claimed in claim 1 wherein said valve unit operating means comprises a first member movable in an axial direction.and a second member movable in a radial direction, the arrangement being such that radial movement of said second member causes axial movement of said first member.

3. An applicator as claimed in claim 2 wherein said first and second members comprise mutually engaging oblique surfaces.

4. An applicator as claimed in claim 3 wherein said oblique surfaces extend at substantially 45' to the axis of the applicator.

5. An applicator as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4 wherein axial movement of said first member causes said first member to abut an end of a valve stem and further such axial movement causes said valve stem to move axially so as to open the valve.

6. An applicator as claimed in claim 5 wherein said first member and said valve stem are normally spring biassed so as to close the valve.

- 10

7. A liquid applicator comprising a valve unit interposed between a liquid reservoir portion and a liquid-application portion of said applicator, said valve unit controlling the feeding of liquid from the reservoir to the liquid-application portion, wherein a valve unit actuating element is located toward said liquid-application portion, said actuating element being responsive to radial pressure exerted 10 by a user to open said valve unit.

1

8. A liquid applicator substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Published 1988 at The Patent Office, State House 66 71 High Holborn. London WClR 4TP. Further copies Tnay be obtained from The Patoent Office, Sales Branch. St MarT Cray Orpington Kent BRC 3RD PrIl-ted by Multiplex techiuques ltd. St Mary Cray. Kent. Con. 1187