WO2002036079A2

WO2002036079A2 - Apparatus and method for organizing assorted cosmetic items and the like

Info

Publication number: WO2002036079A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/048555
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul Peic
Original assignee: Darian Corp.
Priority date: 2000-10-30
Filing date: 2001-10-30
Publication date: 2002-05-10
Also published as: WO2002036079A3; AU2002226096A1

Abstract

A portable apparatus with several ring-like collars (520) tangential to each other to form a substantially flat one-piece gripping structure (500) through which cosmetic items such as tubes of lipstick (540) may be inserted and a method for organizing the cosmetic items within the apparatus. The apparatus is preferably formed from an elastomeric material to grip cosmetic items that may vary in size and shape. The apparatus provides a simple and compact way to organize cosmetic items inside a purse or other carrying case.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ORGANIZING ASSORTED COSMETIC ITEMS AND THE LIKE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of cosmetics. In particular, the invention relates to portable devices that store a variety of cosmetic items or a variety of shades of a single type of cosmetic item.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When cosmetic items, e.g., tubes of lipstick, are placed loosely into a purse, the desired item may be difficult to find. The result is wasted time spent searching for the desired cosmetic item. When the items have similar shapes and sizes, a user often resorts to distinguishing them by their labels upon removing the items from the purse one at a time, wasting additional time and effort.

The prior art includes portable devices that allow a user to carry multiple cosmetic items in a more organized and accessible fashion. It is generally desirable for these devices to be small and lightweight so a user may carry them easily. Many such devices are opaque, preventing their user from viewing the cosmetic items without first removing the device from a purse and then opening the device. It would thus be desirable for a device to allow a user to view the cosmetic items inside it without first opening the device. Also, a user generally must first remove the desired cosmetic item from the device before then opening the item to apply it. It would instead be desirable for a user to be able to remove and open the item in a single step.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing background, the apparatus of the present invention has several features. It is small, lightweight, and portable. It groups multiple cosmetic items together in a compact and accessible fashion. It holds the items in a manner that permits a user to view them ~ and typically their labels as well — immediately upon removing the apparatus from a purse, without opening the apparatus. It eliminates the need for two steps of first removing the desired cosmetic item from the apparatus and then opening the item itself before applying the item. It forms an assembly of cosmetic items that has a distinctive shape, allowing a user to locate the assembly quickly without looking inside a purse. It holds the items securely so they do not fall out. It is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

In accordance with the features mentioned above, the present invention is a portable apparatus with several ring-like collars, preferably four, proximate to each other to form a one-piece gripping structure through which cosmetic items such as lipstick may be inserted. The gripping structure holds the items securely in relation to each other. With cosmetic items inserted therein, the gripping structure forms a distinctive shape that is easily located inside a purse. The individual items remain visible when they are inside the structure, and their bases (where labels are typically placed) are easily viewed once the apparatus is removed from a purse, without opening the apparatus. Therefore a user can remove the single structure from a purse and quickly select which one of the cosmetic items inside it to apply.

The apparatus is preferably integrally formed of an elastic material, such as rubber, so that each collar can securely grip a cosmetic item that has a cylindrical or similar shape. Because the collars are elastically expandable, they can accommodate cosmetic items whose cross sections differ in size and shape. The elastic collars provide an additional advantage when gripping a cosmetic item with a separate base and cap, such as a tube of lipstick. Namely, if the cap of the item is being gripped by one of the collars but the base is not being gripped, then the collar can continue to grip the cap as a user removes the base. Where the base of the cosmetic item has an applicator therein, the user can then apply the cosmetic as the cap remains inside the collar. In this manner the two steps of removing the desired cosmetic item from the apparatus and then opening the item itself are combined into one.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view of a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a front view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with tubes of lipstick inside it.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing an open tube of lipstick removed from the apparatus, while its cap remains inside the apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 9.9 in FIG. 8, showing one possible construction of the apparatus of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is a portable cosmetic item organizer having a one-piece gripping structure 10 comprising multiple collars 20 with generally circular inner edges 30, forming multiple apertures 40. The preferred range of diameters for the apertures is roughly ³/₈ inch - ⁷/₈ inch. The inner edges 30 need not be circular as long as the cosmetic items for which they are intended can fit inside them. Each collar is tangential to two other collars along its circumference 50. The outside edge 60 of the gripping structure 10 forms curved sides 65 that together form a square-like configuration. The gripping structure 10 is preferably substantially flat and has a substantially uniform thickness 70 sufficiently large to hold cosmetic items securely, yet small enough to be compact. The preferred range of thickness is roughly ^ll_X6 inch - ^lA inch. Each collar 20 further has a top surface 80 and a bottom surface 90 (hidden) that are coplanar with the respective top and bottom surfaces of the other collars, making the invention less expensive and more efficient to manufacture. Each collar 20 has a longitudinal axis 95 (shown in phantom), which is substantially parallel to the other longitudinal axes. In this embodiment, the entire gripping structure 10 has a top surface 100 and a bottom surface 110 (hidden) that are flat and parallel to each other.

As shown in FIG. 2, a second embodiment of the present invention has a gripping structure 200 having five collars 210 forming five apertures 220. Each collar is again tangential to other collars along its circumference 230. The outside edge 240 of the gripping structure 200 forms curved sides 250 that together form a silhouette roughly similar to a polygon with a number of sides equal to the number of apertures 220.

As shown in FIG. 3, a third embodiment of the invention has a gripping structure

300 with collars 310 forming apertures 320, where each collar is tangential to two others along its circumference 330. The outside edge 340 of the gripping structure 300 forms curved sides 350 that together form a silhouette roughly similar to a polygon with a number of sides equal to the number of apertures 320. However, the area 360 in the center of the polygon is hollow.

As shown in FIG. 4, a fourth embodiment of the invention has a gripping structure 400 with an outside edge 410 that forms a circular shape.

As shown in FIG. 5, the gripping structure 500 can hold cosmetic items 510 that have been inserted through any or all of the four collars 520. Here, the cosmetic items 510 are all tubes of lipstick, generally cylindrical, tubular or semi-tubular in shape, each with a cap 530 and a base 540 containing the cosmetic product, e.g., lipstick. Each base 540 has a bottom 550 typically with a label 560 that identifies the brand, type, and/or color of the cosmetic item. The apparatus is preferably composed of an elastic material, such as rubber, forming the collars 520. Each collar can securely grip and releasably retain a cosmetic item that has a cylindrical or similar shape. Because each collar is elastic, it can accommodate cosmetic items whose cross sections differ in size and shape.

FIG. 6 shows the gripping structure 500 with one of the collars 520 holding only a cap 530 while the base 540 containing the lipstick is disengaged from the cap. If a cosmetic item, such as a tube of lipstick, is inserted so that the collar 520 surrounds the cap 530 of the item but not its base 540, the collar can continue to grip the cap 530 as a user removes the base 540 of the item. Where the base of the cosmetic item has the applicator therein, the user can apply the cosmetic as the cap remains inside the collar. Also, the top surface and bottom surface of the gripping structure 500 need not be perfectly flat but may protrude (not shown), e.g., along the circumference of each collar 520.

As shown in FIG. 7, a fifth embodiment of the invention comprises an elastic gripping structure 700 that has four collars 710 with generally circular inner edges 720, forming four apertures 730. In this embodiment, a notch 740 along each inner edge gives each collar 710 added flexibility for accommodating cosmetic items with varying shapes and sizes. Also, the inner edge 720 of one or more collars 710 can have one or more protrusions 750, or teeth, for gripping the cosmetic items more securely.

A sixth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. As shown in FIG. 8, the gripping structure 800 looks substantially the same on the outside as the apparatus of FIG. 1. However, the gripping structure has a different construction. As shown in FIG. 9, instead of having a homogeneous construction, the gripping structure has an inner layer 810 made from a rigid material, such as plastic, with an outer coating 820 made from an elastic material, such as rubber.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those who are skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A portable apparatus for organizing assorted cosmetic items and the like comprising two collars, each collar providing an aperture suitable for releasably retaining a cosmetic item therein.

2. The portable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the collars have longitudinal axes substantially parallel to each other.

3. The portable apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least part of each collar has an elastic material for securing a cosmetic item.

4. The portable apparatus of claim 3, wherein each collar has an inner edge that is generally circular.

5. The portable apparatus of claim 4, wherein one inner edge has a notch.

6. The portable apparatus of claim 4, wherein one inner edge has an outward protrusion.

7. The portable apparatus of claim 1, said apparatus having exactly four collars with longitudinal axes parallel to each other, wherein at least part of each collar has an elastic material for securing a cosmetic item.

8. A portable apparatus for storing assorted cosmetic items and the like comprising a gripping structure having top and bottom surfaces, the top and bottom surfaces being substantially planar and substantially parallel to each other, the gripping structure having two collars, each collar providing an aperture suitable for releasably retaining a cosmetic item therein.

9. The portable apparatus of claim 8, wherein the collars have longitudinal axes substantially parallel to each other.

10. The portable apparatus of claim 9, wherein said apparatus has four collars.

11. The portable apparatus of claim 10, wherein at least part of each collar has an elastic material for securing a cosmetic item.

12. The portable apparatus of claim 11, wherein each collar has an inner edge that is generally circular.

13. The portable apparatus of claim 12, wherein each of the four collars is substantially tangential to two other collars.

14. The portable apparatus of claim 13, wherein one inner edge has a notch.

15. The portable apparatus of claim 13, wherein one inner edge has an outward protrusion.

16. An apparatus for organizing assorted cosmetic items and the like, comprising a body portion defining a plurality of apertures, wherein each of said apertures is suitable to releasably retain a cosmetic item therein, wherein said organizing apparatus can be used to form a portable cluster of cosmetic items for convenient storage and access in a purse or the like.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said body portion has a plurality of collars defining said apertures, and said collars are comprised of an elastomeric material, said apertures being elastically expandable upon the insertion of a cosmetic item therethrough.

18. A cosmetic item organizer assembly, comprising:

(a) a cosmetic item having a tubular or semi-tubular housing; and

(b) a cosmetic item organizer having a body portion defining a plurality of apertures; wherein said apertures are elastically expandable upon the insertion of said cosmetic item therethough and are suitable to releasably retain said cosmetic item within said organizer, wherein said cosmetic item is in an aperture of said organizer and is releasably retained therein.

19. The assembly of claim 18, wherein said cosmetic item has a base portion containing a cosmetic product and has a releasable cap portion, said cosmetic item organizer releasably retaining said cap portion of said cosmetic item by an outside surface thereof, whereby said base portion of said cosmetic item containing said cosmetic product can be conveniently removed from said organizer by disengaging said base portion from said cap portion.

20. A method for organizing cosmetic items comprising the step of inserting a cosmetic item through a collar of a portable gripping structure, wherein the gripping structure comprises two collars, each collar providing an aperture suitable for releasably retaining a cosmetic item therein.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein at least part of each collar has an elastic material for securing a cosmetic item.

22. The method of claim 21, the cosmetic item having a base section and a cap section, wherein the cosmetic item is inserted through the collar to a position where the collar grips the cap but not the base.

23. The method of claim 22, comprising the second step of removing the base of the cosmetic item from the cap while the collar continues to grip the cap.