CN1237924C - Apparatus for applying liquid on nail - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an applicator for applying substances to nails, the applicator comprising a stick, and bristles fixed in a cavity (15) at one end of the stick, the cavity (15) having a Open in cross-section elongated along the major axis (X), the rod has a wall that varies in thickness (e) around the cavity (15). The rod has at the end a cross-section with an outer profile (16) which, when viewed in the cross-section of the rod, does not have any depressions other than a groove (18) or two grooves (18) positioned opposite , said groove extends along at least a portion of the rod and is substantially midway along the long axis (X) of the cavity (15).

Description

an applicator for applying the substance to the nail

technical field

The present invention relates to an applicator for applying substances such as nail polish to nails.

Background technique

Known from European patent EP0651955 is a nail polish applicator comprising a rod and bristles disposed in a cavity of the rod, the cavity having a rectangular/oblong cross-section. In the disclosed embodiment of the patent, the opening of the cavity presents a profile in cross-section matching that of the rod, the shape of a kidney or its two major sides being slightly concave in appearance so that the The wall thickness does not change.

Also known from document JP-4-28812 is a nail polish applicator comprising a stick having a plurality of longitudinal grooves distributed in a substantially uniform manner over the entire outer surface of the stick.

Contents of the invention

There is a need to facilitate the application of a substance to the nail and to provide a more precise application of the substance to the nail. The Applicant has observed that with known applicators, the substance flows along the wand to the side of the brush and is relatively difficult to apply precisely.

The applicator of the present invention comprises a rod, and bristles fixed in a cavity at one end of the rod, the cavity having an opening with a cross-section elongated along the major axis X, the rod having a thickness around the cavity changing walls.

In one aspect, the applicator according to the invention is characterized in that the rod comprises, at the end, cavities for receiving the bristles of a brush, having a cross-section with an outer contour, when the rod cross-section is viewed, except for a groove or There is no recess outside two oppositely positioned grooves, said grooves extending along at least a part of the rod and being substantially midway along the major axis X of the cavity.

The outer profile without any recesses may be convex and, where appropriate, may include at least one straight side.

In the present invention, the thickness or depth of the substance for application around the rod is greater in the grooves than on the sides. When the applicator is removed from the container, the substance flows along the rod and then onto the bristle tufts and preferentially to the substantially central area of said bristle tufts, so that the substance can be applied in good condition. The amount of material reaching the sides of the brushes is minimal.

As mentioned above, the stick may include a second groove opposite the first groove, and the applicator may be symmetrical about the median plane.

The two grooves may thus be symmetrical about a median plane parallel to the major axis X, but the grooves may be of different shapes without going beyond the scope of the invention.

Advantageously, the cavity opening may have a substantially rectangular cross-section, so as to obtain a substantially uniform distribution of bristles, but may also have other shapes without departing from the scope of the invention, such as an elliptical cross-section.

The end of the rod may have, in cross-section, two opposite sides that are outwardly convex, for example in the shape of a circular arc, each side connecting one of the sides comprising a groove up to the opposite side. The or each groove may have, for example, a circular arc-shaped profile in cross-section.

The cavity may have a cross-section that tapers towards the end wall of the cavity, the tapering being matched to the desired degree of bristle divergence. The end wall of the cavity may include a groove in which the bristles are secured, and the groove opens to a portion of the cavity that expands outwardly towards the opening of the cavity, said portion allowing the bristles to expand. The openings are separated from each other to make the shape of the brush wider.

In particular, the cavity may be arranged such that the bristles extend out of the cavity to a width which, measured parallel to the major axis X, is greater than the width of the rod at the cavity. A relatively wide brush is thus obtained.

The length of the portion of the bristles protruding from the cavity of the rod may, for example, be in the range of 5mm to 20mm. The free ends of the bristles may substantially form a circular arc with a radius of curvature in the range, for example, 2 mm to 15 mm, and in particular in the range 4 mm to 10 mm.

The width of the opening of the cavity measured in a direction perpendicular to the long axis X may be no greater than 2 mm.

Near the longitudinal ends along the long axis X of the cavity, the walls of the rod may be relatively thin.

Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, the rod has a wall thickness around the cavity measured at the longitudinal ends of the cavity that is smaller than the wall thickness measured along the middle of the cavity.

Also in a particular embodiment, the wall thickness surrounding the cavity experiences a minimum in a portion adjacent to the longitudinal end of the cavity's major axis.

At its widest point, when the applicator is in place on said container, the portion of the stick immersed in the substance in the container is not greater than 5 mm.

The rod is arranged to be fixed to the closure of a container; in an alternative embodiment, the rod can be made as an integral part of the closure of the container by casting plastic material.

Description of drawings

The present invention can be better understood by reading the following detailed description, which is not limited to the embodiments, and by examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic axial cross-sectional view of a device for applying a substance to a nail;

Figure 2 is a partial schematic view of the applicator in the device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows a separate axial cross-sectional view of the rod in the applicator of Figure 1;

Figure 4 shows a detailed view of the cavity receiving the bristles of the brush;

Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of V-V in Fig. 4;

Figures 6 to 12 are schematic cross-sectional views along V-V of different embodiments of the end of the rod;

Figures 13 to 14 show two configurations of the cavity, and the bristles outside the rod have correspondingly different distribution states;

Figure 15 shows the ends of the brush bristles in isolation;

Figure 16 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the rod integrally formed with the closure.

Detailed ways

Figure 1 shows a device 1 for applying a substance to a nail, such as a nail polish V, said device comprising a container 2 containing the nail polish V, and a stick 4 made of plastic material The applicator 3 is provided with a flat brush 5 at one end and a handle 10 at the other end, which also constitutes the cover of the container 2 .

The container 2 also includes a bead 6, such as a metal roller, which can be used to homogenize the nail polish V by shaking the device 1 before use.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 3 , the top of the stick 4 has a side edge 8 which enables it to be secured in a cavity in a lid 10 designed to be screwed onto the neck 11 of the container 2 superior.

A flange 12 is formed at the base of the side edge 8 so as to abut against the upper edge of the neck 11 when the applicator is in place on the container 2 .

Below the flange 12, the stick 4 also includes a tapered portion 13 which helps to seal the container 2 when the applicator 3 is in place on said container. The seal may also be achieved by co-action between the surface of the lid 10 and the surface of the container neck.

The stick 4 also comprises a bottom end portion 14 provided with a cavity 15 inside which the bristles of the brush 5 are fixed, for example by stapling, gluing, heat sealing or overmolding.

As can be seen from Fig. 4, the free end of the rod 4 can be made into a bevel at 20 places.

In the illustrated embodiment, the rod 4 comprises two opposed longitudinal grooves 18 which extend along the main body portion of the rod to the end 17 of the rod.

The cavity 15 has an opening of rectangular cross-section, elongate in shape, with its major axis X perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rod 4 .

In an embodiment under this concept, the outer contour of the rod 4 and the cavity 15 are symmetrical about the X-axis and the central axis Y perpendicular to the X-axis.

It can be seen from FIG. 5 that the wall thickness of the material surrounding the cavity 15 does not remain constant.

The outer profile 16 of the rod 4 is convex, apart from the grooves 18, when looking at the cross-section of the rod. More specifically, in an embodiment under this concept, the profile of the rod 4 is defined at the groove 18 by a circular arc-like portion 16a at its end by an outwardly projecting circular arc The arc-shaped portion 16b is connected together, and the radius of curvature of the arc-shaped portion 16b is smaller than that of the arc-shaped portion 16a.

It can be seen from FIG. 4 that the cavity 15 can have a cross section that tapers toward the end wall 19 of the cavity.

When applying the nail with the brush, the bristles of the brush 5 are opened.

Depending on the shape of the cavities 15, thinner or wider tufts of bristles can be obtained, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 .

As can be seen from Figure 13, if a cavity 15 in which the cross-section remains substantially constant is provided, the bristles of the resulting brush are relatively gathered together; however, if a flared cavity 15 is provided on the outside, the bristles can further Flares separate from each other to form relatively wide bundles.

A groove 15a may be provided in the end wall of the cavity 15, in which the bristles are fixed to the rod; Expansion, so that the bristles can be opened and separated from each other.

Thus, as can be seen from FIG. 14 , the cavity 15 can be made such that the maximum transverse dimension l ₂ of the brush, measured in a direction parallel to the long axis X, is greater than the transverse dimension l ₁ of the rod at the cavity 15 .

As can be seen from FIG. 15 , the free ends of the bristles of the brush 5 can be positioned along a curve C substantially like a circular arc. As a difference, the free ends of the bristles can also be positioned substantially along, for example, a straight line.

The length 1 of the portion of the bristles protruding from the cavity 15 is, for example, in the range of 5 mm to 20 mm.

Use device 1 as follows.

The user first shakes the container 2 so that the beads homogenize the nail polish V, then the user unscrews the cap 10 and applies the nail polish with the brush 5 .

When the applicator 3 is removed from the container 2, the stick 4 will have the substance on it and the substance will flow towards the brush 5 by gravity. The thickness or depth of the material in the grooves 18 is greater so that more material is retained by capillary action. The substance preferably flows into the central area of the brush, thereby enabling easier and more precise application of the substance.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments.

In particular, the shape of the cavity and/or the shape of the end of the rod provided with the cavity can be varied.

By way of example, Figures 6 to 12 illustrate various possible cavity shapes, where:

As can be seen from FIG. 6 , the rod may comprise only one groove 18 .

It can be seen from FIG. 7 that the cross section of the opening of the cavity may not be a rectangle, but an oblong shape, such as an ellipse.

As can be seen from FIG. 8 , the cross-section of the cavity opening has two small depressions 15 c on its long sides, which are however less pronounced than the depressions formed by the grooves 18 .

As can be seen from Figure 9, for example, the grooves 18 may be relatively narrow in order to further increase the retention of wicking species.

As can be seen from FIG. 10 , the cross-section of the trench 18 may present a triangular profile.

FIG. 11 shows that the wall thickness e ₁ near the longitudinal ends of the cavity 15 may be smaller than the wall thickness e ₂ substantially along the middle of the cavity 15 . If necessary, the thickness e ₁ may correspond to a minimum value. The smaller wall thickness e ₁ allows the cavity 15 to be made longer in the direction of the major axis X, so that the resulting brush is very wide or can be easily widened. That is, the wall thickness surrounding the cavity 15 experiences a minimum in the portion adjacent to the longitudinal end of the cavity's major axis X.

Figure 12 shows that the grooves can have two different shapes.

The rod 4 can also be made into a part integrally formed with the cover of the container, as shown in FIG. 16 .

Throughout the specification, the term "comprising a" should be understood as being synonymous with "comprising at least one", unless defined to the contrary.

Claims (19)

1. An applicator for applying substances to nails, the applicator comprising a stick (4), and bristles (5) fixed in cavities (15) at one end (14) of the stick, The cavity (15) has an opening whose cross-section is elongated along the major axis X, characterized in that the rod (4) has a wall that varies around the thickness e of the cavity (15), the rod (4) at The end (14) has a cross-section with an outer profile (16) which, when viewed in cross-section of the rod, is free of any depressions other than a groove (18) or two opposite grooves (18) , said groove (18) extends along at least a portion of the rod (4) and is substantially midway along the long axis X of the cavity (15). 2. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the stick comprises two grooves (18) positioned opposite each other. 3. Applicator according to claim 2, characterized in that said groove is symmetrical about a median plane parallel to the major axis X. 4. The applicator of claim 2, wherein the grooves are of different shapes. 5. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the opening of the cavity (15) has a substantially rectangular cross-section. 6. The applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the end (14) of the stick has two protruding opposite sides (16b) in cross-section, each side being connected to include the One side (16a) of the trench (18) to the opposite side (16a). 7. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the cavity (15) has a cross-section which tapers towards the end wall (19) of the cavity. 8. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the end wall of the cavity comprises a groove (15a) in which the bristles can be fixed, and the groove opens to a part (15b) of the cavity ), which expands outward toward the opening of the cavity. 9. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the length of the part of the bristles protruding from the cavity (15) is in the range of 5 mm to 20 mm. 10. The applicator according to claim 1, wherein the free ends of the bristles substantially form an arc C with a radius of curvature ranging from 2 mm to 15 mm. 11. The applicator according to claim 1, wherein the free ends of the bristles substantially form an arc C with a radius of curvature ranging from 4 mm to 10 mm. 12. The applicator according to claim 1, wherein the width of the opening of the cavity measured along the direction perpendicular to the long axis X is no greater than 2 mm. 13. The applicator of claim 1 wherein, at its widest point, when the applicator is in place on said container, the portion of the stick immersed in the substance in the container is no greater than 5mm . 14. The applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the rod has a wall thickness e around the cavity at the longitudinal ends of the cavity (15) _that is smaller than the wall thickness along the middle of the cavity e ₂ . 15. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the thickness of the wall extending around the cavity experiences a minimum at a portion adjacent the longitudinal end of the long axis X of the cavity. 16. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the stick is arranged to be fixed to a closure (10) of a container. 17. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the stick is made as an integral part with the closure of the container by casting plastic material. 18. Applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the width _l2 of the bristles, measured parallel to the long axis X, extending outside the cavity is greater than the width l of the rod at the cavity (15) ₁ . 19. A device for applying a substance to a nail, characterized in that it comprises a container containing the substance to be applied and an applicator as defined in claim 1.

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