US2818973A

US2818973A - Cosmetic containers

Info

Publication number: US2818973A
Application number: US513138A
Authority: US
Inventors: Santy M Croce; John W Solomon
Original assignee: Coty Inc
Current assignee: Coty Inc
Priority date: 1955-06-03
Filing date: 1955-06-03
Publication date: 1958-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 1975-01-07

Description

Jan. 7, 1958 s. M. CROCE ETAL cosMETxc coNT'AINERs Filed June 3, 1.955

United States Patent @fi COSMETICLCONTANIERS SantyfM. Croce; Hauppauge, andiJohniWSolomon, New York, N. Y., lassignors` toCotyf-InegNew York; N. Y. .sa `corporation .of Delaware Application June 3; 1955,*Serial No. 513,138

21 Claims. i (Cl. 206-56) "This im/entionrelatesl to cosmetic containers and method `of-filling the same-and isidescribed in connection with a lipstick case although other `cosmetic substancesu may be involved.

Conventional Vlipsticks 4employ a plurality of inner sleeves and include a followerwhich is'airially actuated in response to rotative .movement of. a base. `lt has been suggested,'from time to time, to simplify this arrange ment and variousrexpedients have been .devised but, as far as We are aware, without particular-success.

With the foregoing in mind, it is the object of the present invention to provide a cosmetic container ofthe `above type which .assumes extremely simplified form `although completelyreliable in operation. This case employs a minimum -ofyfparts as will hereinafter-bershown :and` may advantageously be formed of plastic with no metallic parts if so desired.

An important feature of the instant invention is the fact thatthe improvedflipsti'ck case can. befilled directly with the lipstick substance instead of being ^'molded 4in `:a `mold and then transferred to aholder'which is part of the conventional lipstick case. This is a most important feature as economizing on expense of production as will be recognized. In the form shown, the object is realized by introducing the cosmetic material through the open bottom of the cylinder as well as of the holder and employing a liner or the like to insulate or space the injected substance from the walls of the cylinder while imparting to it the desired oval shape at its top end. Thereafter a closure is applied to said open bottom.

The invention will be further understood from the following description and drawings in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal cross-sectional View of a lipstick case constructed according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary View similar to Figure l and illustrating the action of the eXtensible motion transmission element;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the extensible motion transmission element per se; and

Figure 4 is a view illustrating the method of filling the case.

The cosmetic case comprises an outer cylinder which may be formed of any suitable plastic material although it may be metal if desired. The inner wall thereof is rifled with conventional spiral grooves 11 although a single groove may be employed. Rotatably and axially movable within the cylinder 10 is the follower holder 12 which is concentric with the cylinder and formed with pins or projections 13 engaged by the grooves 11. As will be well understood, rotation of the holder 12 causes it to move axially within the cylinder 10 for the purpose of advancing or retracting the cosmetic substance.

A rotatable base 14 is provided and such base has an upper inturned flange 15 which engages the lower out ward flange 16 at the base of cylinder 10. The engagement is such as yto permit relative rotation between the two elements as will be well understood.

ll7 may befformed of a resilient plastic, i. e., nylon.

2,818,973 `Patented Jan. 7, 1958 A motion transmission element' 17 which isextensible is connected to both the base 14 and the holder 12. Element It will be found that such material when in the form `of a series of folded plates as illustrated, is capable'of transmitting rotary movement from the-base 14 to the holder i2 even while extending itself since it maintainsitself rigid in respect to torque transmission.

Extensible element`17 comprisesan'integral topplate or section 1S which is planar and which is formed with inwardly bevelled sides 19 constituting `a dovetail joint. Integrally connected with the top section 18 `is aseries of fiat folds 2G each of which, like top section 18, is rectangular, being shown las substantially square. The thickness of such folds is in the order `of .050 inch. The last fold is connected to the bottom section 21ewhich is shown as being circular. Integral with the sides of section'21 are a pair of lateral wings or nbevels"22 constituting a dovetail joint.

Element 17 Ais connected into the `structure Vby dovetailing its bevelled `sides 19 into complementary inwardly side bevels 23 at the base of holder l2. Thus, `it is merely necessary to slide top sectionslfinto-the bevels 23 yso that the resulting engagementisfricticnal. Thereafter, the wings 22 arefrictio-nally `engaged by inward* bevels 24 of the base ifs, such `bevelsf2li resting `upon the bottom element 21 lbetween the bevels 22asillustratedin FigurefZ.

in actual practice,` me baseil-iJmayfirst be assembled with the extensible element17 `a-ndithen lthey may `both be applied. together to the holder"'12and `cylinderlihby sliding me top section lit-'intobevelf23 and vfinally snapping the inturned flange l over `externalflange 16, thus completirln the assembly.

:When basel is rotated fini one `direction.,itnwillrotate theextcnsible `element17,:the. folds resisting;:any twisting action but transmitting;the:torques'directlyxto:thei'holder f2 through top element 18. As the holder rotates'zit must necessarily rise and it will pull the element 17 upwardly, the folds Zit extending accordingly as they become longitudinally unfolded. The resilient, lbendable nature of the nylon material forms natural hinges between the plate-like sections or folds 2G so as to permit such eX- treme simplification of the eXtensible element while the flat nature of the folds results in satisfactory torque transmission qualities.

As an additional feature of great importance, we have devised means to fill the lipstick case directly instead of first filling the holder and thereafter assembling it in the case as is conventional practice. Thus, referring to Figure 4 we show a hopper 25 through which the cosmetic substance is injected for filling the case. The hopper itself is conventional as is the lipstick substance which is thermoplastic and maintained in liquid form while it is injected.

The cylinder lu and holder 12 are both deposited in inverted form in a suitable receptacle formed in base 26. However, a spacer or liner 2'7 of concave-convex form is interposed between the cylinder l@ and base 26, the open mouth of the liner 27 being disposed within the cylinder lit while the closed oval-shaped end 2t; rests within the receptacle. At this time, the cosmetic substance is applied through the bottom central opening 29 of the holder 12 and, of course, the bottom opening of cylinder l0. Such substance fills up the holder as well as the liner 27 so as to produce a lipstick of the desired oval shape at its end. It will be observed that the lipstick will be shielded from and will not make contact with the inner walls of cylinder i9 so as to avoid either becoming marred by the rifling, or sticking to such inner walls.

After filling, the base element 14 may be assembled with the extensible element 17 and they may be applied 3 as a unit to the bottom end of the cylinder as above set forth so as to complete the assembly thereof.

After the case has been assembled, a cover 2S may be applied as is conventional, such cover having leading edges which rest upon the inturned flange l5 as illustrated in Figure l. lt is optional whether the cup-like liner 27 is thereafter retained in place between the lipstick substance 29 and the inner walls of cylinder 1th. Should it be retained in place, the user, after purchasing the lipstick, will simply remove the liner 27 which may a vantageously take the form of a transparent plastic .member of cup or thimble form. She may then prefer to discard the liner. On the other hand, the manufacturer may remove the liner after the case has been lled and the cosmetic substance set, whereupon the cover 2@ will be applied to complete the entire assembly.

There has been shown what is now considered a preferred embodiment of the invention but it is obvious that numerous changes and omissions may be made without departing from its spirit.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cosmetic case including a cylinder, a follower holder adapted for simultaneous rotative and axial movement on said cylinder and a rotatable base on said cylinder, the provision of means'for actuating said holder, said means comprising an extensible element connected at one end thereof to said base and at the other end to said holder, said extensible element including a series of flat folded sections normally overlying each other and being mutually extensible by unfolding said sections longitudinally, said extensible element being fabricated of a resilient, bendable plastic material whereby the folds between the sections constitute hinges, said sections being substantially square, the top section thereof being planar and being frictionally engaged with the bottom of said holder and the bottom section thereof being likewise planar and frictionally engaged with said rotatable base, both of said frictional engagements comprising slidable dovetail connections.

2. A cosmetic case comprising an outer cylinder, a follower holder adapted for simultaneous rotative and axial movement in said cylinder to advance or retract a stick of cosmetic substance therein, a base rotatably connected to the bottom end of said cylinder, an extensible element con nected at the top end thereof to said holder and at the bottom end thereof to said base, said extensible element comprising a folded resilient plastic member having a connected series of at, folded plate sections each normally overlying each other whereby the resilience of the material thereof forms natural hinges between the folded plate sections, said cylinder being formed with an internal, spi-ral groove, a projection on said holder engaging said groove, the top plate section of said series of sections being planar and dovetailed into the bottom of said holder, and the bottom plate section thereof being likewise planar and dovetailed into said rotatable base so as to be movable therewith, and mutually engaging flanges respectively on the top of said base and on the bottom of said cylinder, said cylinder and said base being formed of resilient plastic material whereby saidanges may be snap-fitted to each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,565,798 Dillehay Dec. l5, 1925 1,986,259 Fischer Ian. 1, 1935 2,103,237 Deckert Dec. 28, 1937 2,498,042 Kolber Feb. 2l, 1950 2,655,261 C1ark Oct. 13, 1953 2,720,966 Davis Oct. 18, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 35,269 France Iuly 16, 1929 (2nd addition of 632,125) 249,508 Switzerland Apr. 16, 1948