US3203024A

US3203024A - Soap holder and applicator

Info

Publication number: US3203024A
Application number: US278655A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert E Hawkins; Robert J Van Zile
Original assignee: LATHER STIK Inc
Current assignee: LATHER STIK Inc
Priority date: 1963-05-07
Filing date: 1963-05-07
Publication date: 1965-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 1982-08-31

Description

Aug. 31, 1965 R. E. HAWKINS ETAL SOAP HOLDER AND APPLICATOR Filed May 7, 1963 IIIIIIII INVENTOR. E. HAWKINS J. VAN Z LE ROBERT ROBER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,203,024 SOAP HOLDER AND APPLICATQR Robert E. Hawkins and Robert J. Van Zile, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignors to Lather-Stilt, Inc, Fort Wayne, Ind. Filed May 7, 1963, Ser. No. 278,655 Claims. (Cl. -555) This invention relates generally to devices for applying soap, and more specifically to a combination soap holder and applicator particularly suited for shaving.

It has in the past been recognized that there is a need for an improved brush-type device that contains therein an amount of suitably latherable soap which can easily be be fed onto the brush thereby eliminating the necessity for a separate soap container and for constant brush daubing. Various types of brushes with hollow handles containing soap have been proposed; however, those known to the present applicants have been defective either in construction or operation. Common defects of such prior devices have included poor feeding mechanisms, poor soap-to-brush contact, and poor control over the amount of soap used. Furthermore, soap in stick form inserted into a hollow handle of a brush has been especially troublesome in feeding the soap to the applicator due to a tendency for the soap to swell when moist thus forcing the soap into tight contact with the surface of its container and impairing its slidability. In contrast is the tendency of the soap to shrink and thus stick when it dries after moistening permitting the stick easily to fall out of its container. Also inherently defective in prior devices is the lack of control over the feeding of the soap to the applicator frequently resulting in an extreme waste of soap. In addition, prior devices generally have provided a relatively large area of intimate contact between the applicator and the soap, either having them adjacent or by having the applicator impregnated with soap. Both of these methods of applying soap to the applicator usually resulted in an excess of lather being created and in no way permitted the user to control how much lather he wanted.

Prior combination soap holders and applicators primarily used bristle type brushes for the application of the soap to the surface to be cleaned or shaved and such applicators had all of the disadvantages of the well known shaving brush or scrub brush. Where the applicator must be repeatedly cleaned or sterilized, a brush-type applicator leaves much to be desired; a thickly bristled brush is cleaned only with difficulty as it is impossible to achieve solvent-to-surface contact throughout. Further complications arise on repeated cleanings as natural bristles are known to soften, loosen, an/or break off. If bristles of synthetic materials are employed, e.g. ny- 1011, some of the difiiculties encountered with natural bristles are solved but as these bristles are stiffer and more brittle, bristle breakage is more prevelant. A further difficulty with synthetic bristles is the harshness of the bristles if they are used on tender or easily irritated portions of the body. To the best of the present applicants knowledge, no way has been developed to make a very soft and pliable brush of synthetic bristles without having a serious bristle breakage problem.

A further difiiculty with bristled brushes is the absence of a means of inexpensively duplicating the texture and the pliability of the brushes. Duplicating the feel of a brush on sensitive portions of the human body is extremely difiicult and may involve choosing the right bristle for the right position in the brush, an expensive manufacturing operation.

A few prior applicators have employed foam rubber sponges to overcome the inherent difficulties of bristled brushes. Sponges are superior to bristled brushes in that their consistency can easily be controlled, and they can be made and duplicated inexpensively and readily attached to other materials. These prior devices were unsatisfactory; however, as they were not able to produce a quick lather because of their poor soap-to-applicator contact; lather is produced not only by the wetting of a soap stick, but necessarily must include some agitation. The bristled brush was ideally adapted for lathering soap since by moving the brush over a surface to be lathered each bristle rubbed against its adjacent bristles supplying this necessary agitation. However, a sponge being more rigid in construction must have a very high porosity and must be compressible when moved over a surface to produce the desired agitation within its pores. The pliability of a sponge is extremely important as it is only when the pores of a sponge are deformed that agitation between the pore surfaces may take place. The pliability of a sponge, however is limited by the structure, the material, and the shape of the sponge. Large sponges at most can be depressed and moved so as to achieve agitation only in a portion of the sponge at one time.

Another difliculty with sponge material is its cleaning; the porous structure is more difiicult to wet with solvent uniformly than the bristles of a brush and similarly more difiicult to completely dry. Prior applicators using sponges did not cope with this problem but actually presented the problem at its worst by using sponges of considerable thickness. In addition to the foregoing, prior combination soap holder and applicator devices known to the present applicants have been relatively costly and have not been adapted for quantity production.

It is therefore desirable to provide a combination soap holder and applicator that efliciently consumes soap, is easily cleaned or sterilized, which incorporates an applicator of selectively variable stiffness, and which is inexpensively manufactured.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide an improved soap holder and applicator combination.

Another object of our invention is to provide an improved soap holder and applicator employing an efficient method of feeding soap to an applicator of a selective consistency.

A further object of our invention is to provide an inexpensive soap holder and applicator that can be cleaned or sterilized and repeatedly used.

It is still a further object of our invention to provide a simple, inexpensive and disposable soap holder and applicator which can be economically employed for single-use applications.

Further objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawing, and the features of novelty which characterize our invention will be pointed out with particularly in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of our invention, a tubular soap stick holder open at both ends is provided, having a cylindrical soap stick inserted at one end and having a plurality of teeth protruding from the inside surface of the tube and generally flush with the other end. As the soap stick is moved toward the exit end of the tube, grooves are cut in the soap by the teeth thereby preventing the soap from sliding out of the exit end of the tube when dry and thus subject to the aforementioned shrinkage, and further providing the friction necessary for a positive displacement feeding mechanism. I A follower element frictionally engaged with the interior wall of the soap holder is provided for insertion from the entrance end of the tube after the soap. This follower element for conjunctively supporting and feeding the soap to the applicator is pushed into contact and thereafter always remains in contact with the soap. By manually pushing on the follower element, the soap is selectively fed through the exit end of the soap holder, the teeth cutting grooves in the soap stick thereby holding the soap in place at all times. As the feeding of the soap when wet may be difiicult because of its expansion against the inside walls of the holder, openings are provided in the molded follower element; these openings allow moisture to drain out of the soap stick and air to circulate to the soap stick for drying the same.

An annular shaped, high porosity sponge applicator made of suitable material, such as very pliable sponge rubber, is provided. This applicator has an inside diameter less than the outside diameter of the tubular handle and is thereby compressively and adhesively mounted on the exterior surface of the tubular handle at the exit end. Such a cylindrical applicator possesses the best combination of the advantages of prior brush and sponge applicators; it is highly porous and can be easily compressed and moved. Thus, dense lather is easily and quickly made. A sponge of this shape can easily be repeatedly cleaned or sterilized as its effective transverse thickness is relatively small and the rubber is not effected by the cleaning treatment. In addition, sponges can be selectively manufactured with various degrees of stiffness,- porosity, rigidity and pliability without presenting any duplication problem. To provide additional pliability and lather production, the annular sponge may be slit at various positions thereby allowing each section of the sponge to be moved further out of its normal position than the connected adjoining sections would permit.

A sponge also has the inherent advantage of being able to be attached to surfaces by adhesive and thereby eliminating the expensive manufacturing of bristled brushes. Bristles have, since their inception, been mounted in small holes in tufts requiring at times, a selective placing of the bristles chosen for their specific properties in a pre-drilled hole before adhesively attaching them. This process requires many more machining and assembly steps, time, and expense than the simple operation of adhesively attaching a sponge without any necessary preparation of either the sponge or the surface.

In accordance with a further aspect of our invention, a very inexpensive, disposable, single-use, soap applicator, having the same lathering properties as the refillable applicator herein disclosed, is provided by eliminating the soap stick and substituting therefor a sponge impregnated with liquid soap. Upon moistening the impregnated sponge, it operates in the same manner as the soap stick in that soap is fed to the sponge applicator by means of pressure applied by the follower element. By varying the amount of soap impregnated on the sponge, the disposability of the applicator can be controlled. Such a disposable soap applicator is extremely desirable in applications where, for health reasons, the use of a sterile applicator is prescribed.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the soap holder and applicator of the invention employing a soap stick;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the soap holder and applicator of the invention employing a soap-impregnated sponge;

FIG. 3 is an exit end View of the cylindrical soap holder used in both embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the molded follower element used in both embodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a view of the working end of the applicator used in both embodiments of the invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5 of the drawing, there is shown an elongated tubular handle member 1, preferably molded from suitable plastic material such as polystyrene. A conventional elongated solid soap stick 2 is inserted in handle 1 from entrance end 3 thereof and is adapted for longitudinal movement toward and out of the exit end 4 of the handle 1 in the direction shown by the arrow 5. Y

A follower element 6 is provided preferably molded from suitable plastic material, such as polyethylene, and having a central disc portion 7 and a peripheral flange portion 8. A plurality of holes 9 are provided in the disc portion 7, shown here as four in number, to allow moisture to drain out of the soap stick 2 and for air to circulate for drying the same. Follower element 6 is positioned in handle member 1 with its disc portion 7 engaging end 10 of the soap stick 2 and its flange portion 8 friotionally engaging the inner wall 11 of the handle member 1. Follower element 6 is employed manually to advance end 12 of the soap stick 2 out of exit end 4 of the handle member 1 in the direction shown by arrow Sas the soap stick is expeneded by use.

A plurality of pointed teeth 13, shown here as four in number, are integrally formed from inner wall 11 of handle member 1, flush with exit end 4 thereof, and extending radially inwardly, as shown. Teeth 13 are respectively pyramidal in configuration defining cutting edges 14 facing entrance end 3 of handle member 1. As the soap stick 2 is manually advanced by follower element 6 in the direction shown by arrow 5,.teeth 13 cut axially extending grooves 15 in ,the peripheral surface of the soap stick 2, thusproviding the necessary friction for controlling the feeding of the soap stick to the sponge applicator and preventing the soap stick, when dried, from falling out of the handle member 1.

An annular projeetion16 is integrally formed on the outer surface 17 of the handle member 1 adjacent but spaced from the exit end 4 thereof, and forming an annular shoulder 18 facing the exit end 4.

A tubular sponge applicator member 19 is provided having an initial un-compressed inside diameter somewhat smaller than the outside diameter of the handle member 1. Applicator 19 is assembled over the exit end 4 of the handle member 1 with its inner end 20 seated against shoulder 18 of the projection 16, as shown. Applicator 19 may be retained in assembled position by suitable adhesive applied to the outer surface 17 and shoulder 18. It will be seen that the compressive assembly of the applicator 19 over the exit end 4 causes distortion of the lathering portion 21 of the applicator19 to the configuration shown' in FIG. 1.

The end 12 of the soap stick 2 preferably extends somewhat beyond exit end 4 of handle member 1 and just into engagement with the inner surface 22 of the lathering portion 21 of the applicator 19, as shown.

The use of an applicator 19 with high lathering properties makes it possible to keep the soap stick 2 out of any substantial intimate contact with the applicator 19. This provides for the maximum control over the amount of soap used and for the highest soap efficiency. Ideally, it is desirable to apply a small amount of soap to the applicator 19 at its inner surface 22 and to begin lathering with that soap, adding further soap only as needed. By not having the soap contacting a large area of the applicator 19, a substantial compressive force must be applied to the applicators working surface 23 to add more soap, thereby giving the user close control over the amount of soap used. As the protrusion of the soap stick 2 from the exit end 4 of the handle member 1 is increased, the soap etficiency decreases. As the soap is consumed, the follower element 6 is manually pushed thereby forcing the soap stick 2 in the direction of the arrow 5 to maintain the optimum lathering and soap efliciency position of the soap stick 2, as shown in FIG. 1.

The outer end 23 of the lathering portion 21 of the applicator 19 has a plurality of axially and radially extending slits 24 formed therein, shown here as four in number. These slits 24 divide the lathering portion 21 into four radial segments extending axially toward the exit end 4 of the handle member 1 to generally the plane of the end 12 of the soap stick 2.

In a specific embodiment of our invention, handle member 1 has a length of 2 inches, an inside diameter of one inch, and an outside diameter of 1 /8 inches. Lip 21 is axially displaced from exit end 12 by Vs inch and teeth 13 protrude inwardly from the surface 11 of the handle member 1 by inch. Applicator 19 has an initial length of 1 inch, an inside diameter of inch, an outside diameter of 1 /2 inches, and slits 24 extend /2 inch axially into the applicator from surface 23. Soap stick 2 has an initial length of approximately 2 inches and a diameter of approximately inch.

Now referring to FIG. 2 in which like elements are indicated by like reference numerals, there is shown another embodiment of our invention particularly suited for a single use application, being modified from the embodiment of FIG. 1 only by the substitution of a relatively short soap-impregnated sponge 25 for the soap stick 2. This soap-impregnated sponge 25 is secured in the same position as the soap stick 2 by identical pyramidal teeth 13 and follower element 6. Upon moistening the impregnated sponge 25, it operates in the same manner as the soap stick 2 in that soap is fed to the applicator 19 by means of pressure applied to the follower element 6.

The particular length and position of the soap stick 2 or soap-impregnated sponge 25 in relation to the handle member 1 and the applicator 19, the number of drying holes 9 in the follower element 6 and the number of slits 24 in the applicator 19 shown in the drawing should not be taken as limiting as they are only examples of our invention. As this soap holder and applicator is applied to cleaning or shaving applications differing from those dis closed, these exemplary structures may be modified.

Our invention possesses all of the desirable features of prior soap holders and applicators and, in addition, has an optimum type applicator and soap feeding mechanism. The applicator is easily and inexpensively manufactured and attached to any surface by adhesive. Additionally, the applicator is easily cleaned or sterilized and is inexpensively reproduced with the same texture and lather producing capabilities. The feeding system is so constructed that the soap stick is supported at both ends and provides an eflicient, positive displacement feed of the soap to the applicator.

While we have illustrated and described a specific embodiment of our invention, further modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art and we desire therefore in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of our invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A soap holder and applicator comprising: a tubular handle member having interior dimensions and being open at at least one end thereof; a soap stick supported in said handle member and projecting axially beyond said one end thereof, said soap stick having exterior dimensions less than said interior dimensions, a plurality of inwardly projecting teeth formed on the inner surface of said handle member adjacent, said one end respectively to engage said soap stick for retaining the same in said handle member, said soap stick being advanceable toward said one end against the resistance of said projecting teeth; and an annular applicator member formed of sponge material mounted on the exterior surface of said handle member at said one end thereof extending axially outwardly therefrom and having a first portion adjacent said one end in contact with said soap stick and a second portion axially displaced from said soap stick.

2. A soap holder and applicator comprising: a tubular handle member having interior dimensions and being open at at least one end thereof; a cylindrical sponge member impregnated with soap supported in said handle member and projecting axially beyond said one end thereof, said cylindrical sponge member having exterior dimensions less than said interior dimensions, frictional means within said handle member for securing said cylindrical sponge member within said handle member in spacedapart relationship from said handle member, said frictional means constricting the interior of said handle member; and an annular applicator member formed of sponge material mounted on the exterior surface of said handle member at said one end thereof extending axially outwardly therefrom and having a first portion adjacent said one end in contact with said cylindrical sponge member and a second portion axially displaced from said cylindrical sponge member.

3. A soap holder and applicator comprising: an elongated tubular handle member open at both ends; an elongated cylindrical stick of solid soap supported in said handle member for axial movement toward one end thereof, said stick having one end thereof projecting axially beyond said one end of said handle member, said stick and said handle member having exterior and interior diameters, respectively, said exterior diameter being less than said interior diameter when said stick is moist and expanded, frictional means for opposing said axial movement of said stick mounted within said handle member, securing said stick in said handle member in spacedapart relationship from said handle member and partially constricting the interior of said handle member; said handle member having an annular projection integrally formed on its exterior surface spaced from said one end thereof and defining an annular shoulder; an annular ap plicator sleeve member formed of sponge material having an initial inside diameter less than the outside diameter of said handle member, said applicator member having one end thereof mounted over and adhered to said exterior surface of said one end of said handle member and seated against said shoulder, the other end of said applicator member extending axially outwardly beyond said one end of said handle member to define a first portion in contact with said stick and extending axially outwardly beyond said one end of said stick to define a lathering second portion said second portion having an axial length greater than said first portion, the inside diameter of said lathering portion being smaller than the outside diameter of said stick; and a follower member engaging the other end of said stick and frictionally engaging the inner surface of said handle member for feeding one end of said stick toward said lathering portion as said stick is consumed.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said frictional means comprises a plurality of teeth elements integrally formed on said inner surface adjacent said one end thereof, said teeth elements biting into said stick thereby to prevent the same from falling out of said handle member and cutting axial grooves in said stick as the same is fed toward said lathering portion.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said teeth are formed substantially flush with said one end of said handle member, said teeth being respectively pyramidal in configuration defining cutting edges facing the other end of said handle member.

6. A disposable soap holder and applicator comprising: an elongated tubular handle member open at both ends; a relatively short generally cylindrical soap-dispensing member formed of sponge material positioned in said handle member, said dispensing member being impregnated with soap and having one end projecting axially beyond said one end of said handle member; said handle member having an annular projection integrally formed on its exterior surface spaced from said one end thereof and defining an annular shoulder; an annular applicator sleeve member formed of sponge material having an initial inside diameter less than the outside diameter of said handle member, said applicator member having one end thereof mounted over and adhered to said exterior surface of said one end of said handle member and seated against said shoulder, the other end of said applicator member extending axially outwardly beyond said one end of said handle member and said one end of said dispensing member to define a lathering portion, the inside diameter of said lathering portion being smaller than the outside diameter of said dispensing member; and a member engaging the other end of said dispensing member and frictionally engaging the inner surface of said handle member for retaining said dispensing member in said handle member.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said handle member has a plurality of teeth elements integrally formed on said inner surface adjacent said one end thereof and engaging said dispensing member thereby cooperating with said engaging member to retain said dispensing member in said handle member.

8. The combination of claim 6 wherein a second portion of said applicator member is contiguous to said dispensing member, said portion being shorter in axial length than said lathering portion.

9. A soap holder and applicator comprising: an elongated tubular handle member open at both ends; an elongated cylindrical stick of solid soap supported in said handle member for axial movement toward one end thereof, said stick having one end thereof projecting axially beyond said one end of said handle member, said stick and said handle member having exterior and interior diameters, respectively, said exterior diameter being less than said interior diameter when said stick is moist and expanded, frictional means for opposing said axial movemerit of said stick mounted within said handle member, securing said stick in said handle member in spaced-apart relationship from said handle member and partially constricting the interior of said handle member; an annular applicator sleeve member formed of sponge material having an initial inside diameter less than the outside diameter of said handle member, said applicator member having one end thereof mounted over and adhered to said exterior surface of said one end of said handle member, the other end of said applicator member extending axially outwardly beyond said one end of said handle member to define a first portion in contact with said stick and extending axially outwardly beyond said one end of said stick to define a laithering second portion, said second portion having an axial length greater than said first portion, the inside diameter of said lathering portion being smaller than the outside diameter of said stick; and a follower member engaging the other end of said stick and frictionally engaging the inner surface of said handle member for feeding one end of said stick toward said lathering portion as said stick is consumed.

10. A disposable soap holder and applicator comprising: an elongated tubular handle member open at both ends; a relatively short generally cylindrical soap-dispensing member formed of sponge material secured in said handle member, said dispensing member being impregnated with soap and having one end projecting axially beyond said one end of said handle member; an annular applicator sleeve member formed of sponge material having an initial inside diameter less than the outside diameter of said handle member, said applicator member having one end thereof secured to said one end of said handle member, the other end of said applicator member extending axially outwardly beyond said one end of said handle member to define a lathering portion, theinside diameter of said latherting portion being smaller than the outside diameter of said dispensing member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

Claims

3. A SOAP HOLDER AND APPLICATOR COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED TUBULAR HANDLE MEMBER OPEN AT BOTH ENDS; AN ELONGATED CYLINDRICAL STICK OF SOLID SOAP SUPPORTED IN SAID HANDLE MEMBER FOR AXIAL MOVEMENT TOWARD ONE END THEREOF, SAID STICK HAVING ONE END THEREOF PROJECTING AXIALLY BEYOND SAID ONE END OF SAID HANDLE MEMBER, SAID STICK AND SAID HANDLE MEMBER HAVING EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR DIAMETERS, RESPECTIVELY, SAID EXTERIOR DIAMETER BEING LESS THAN SAID INTERIOR DIAMETER WHEN SAID STICK IS MOIST AND EXPANDED, FRICTIONAL MEANS FOR OPPOSING SAID AXIAL MOVEMENT OF SAID STICK MOUNTED WITHIN SAID HANDLE MEMBER, SECURING SAID STICK IN SAID HANDLE MEMBER IN SPACEDAPART RELATIONSHIP FROM SAID HANDLE MEMBER AND PARTIALLY CONSTRICTING THE INTERIOR OF SAID HANDLE MEMBER; SAID HANDLE MEMBER HAVING AN ANNULAR PROJECTION INTEGRALLY FORMED ON ITS EXTERIOR SURFACE SPACED FROM SAID ONE END THEREOF AND DEFINING AN ANNULAR SHOULDER; AN ANNULR APPLICATOR SLEEVE MEMBER FORMED OF SPONGE MATERIAL HAVING AN INITIAL INSIDE DIAMETER LESS THAN THE OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF SAID HANDLE MEMBER, SAID APPLICATOR MEMBER HAVING ONE END THEREOF MOUNTED OVER AND ADHERED TO SAID EXTERIOR SURFACE OF SAID ONE END OF SAID HANDLE MEMBER AND SEATED AGAINST SAID SHOULDER, THE OTHER END OF SAID APPLICATOR MEMBER EXTENDING AXIALLY OUTWARDLY BEYOND SAID ONE END OF SAID HANDLE MEMBER TO DEFINE A FIRST PORTION IN CONTACT WITH SAID STICK AND EXTENDING AXIALLY OUTWARDLY BEYOND SAID ONE END OF SAID STICK TO DEFINE A LATHERING SECOND PORTION SAID SECOND PORTION HAVING AN AXIAL LENGTH GREATER THAN SAID FIRST PORTION, THE INSIDE DIAMETER OF SAID LATHERING PORTION BEING SMALLER THAN THE OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF SAID STICK; AND A FOLLOWER MEMBER ENGAGING THE OTHER END OF SAID STICK AND FRICTIONALLY ENGAGING THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID HANDLE MEMBER FOR FEEDING ONE END OF SAID STICK TOWARD SAID LATHERING PORTION AS SAID STICK IS CONSUMED.