GB2219769A

GB2219769A - An applicator for shoe polish or lipstick

Info

Publication number: GB2219769A
Application number: GB8814346A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Yee Lap Leung
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-06-16
Filing date: 1988-06-16
Publication date: 1989-12-20
Also published as: GB8814346D0

Abstract

The applicator comprises two separable body parts 10a, 10b, one 10a of which supports an extendible/retractable stick 11 of material and the other 10b of which houses a flexible sheet 12 in an annular cavity (28 figure 2). The flexible sheet 12 is wound on a drum 22 and can be extended from the cavity (28) by pulling on an end (27) and retracted into the cavity (28) by rotating the drum 22. The stick 11 may be shoe polish and the flexible sheet may be a polishing cloth. Alternatively, the stick may be lipstick and the cloth may be a face cloth or powder puff. <IMAGE>

Description

An applicator This invention relates to an applicator.

According to the present invention there is provided an applicator comprising a body, a stick of material supported by said body, and a flexible sheet housed in an annular cavity in said body, said flexible sheet being extendible from and retractable into said annular cavity.

In a preferred embodiment the applicator is a shoe polisher, the stick of material being shoe polish and the flexible sheet being a polishing cloth.

Other preferred and/or optional features of the invention are set forth in claims 2 to 7, inclusive.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of an applicator according to the invention, and Figure 2 is an exploded sectional view of the applicator shown in Figure 1, with the cloth omitted.

Referring to the drawings, the applicator shown therein is in the form of a portable shoe polisher and comprises a stick of shoe polish 11 supported by a first body part 10a and a polishing cloth 12 housed in a second body part 10b.

The body part 10a comprises a tubular housing 13 having a pair of large pitch helical grooves 14 formed in an inner surface, a rotatable part 15 including an end cap 16 and an integral sleeve 17 disposed within the tubular housing 13, and stick holder 18. The sleeve 17 has a pair of diametrically opposite longitudinally extending slots 19. The stick holder 18 has two diametrically opposite radially outwardly extending projections 20 which are located in respective grooves 14 and respective slots 19.

As shown in Figure 2 the stick 11 is housed in the tubular housing 13. The stick 11 can be extended from the housing 13 to the position shown in Figure 1 by turning the end cap 16 and hence also sleeve 17 relative to the housing 13. This will cause the projections 20 on stick holder 18 to move along the slots 19 due to co-operation between the projections 20 and the helical grooves 14.

The stick 11 can be retracted into the housing 13 by turning the end cap in an opposite direction relative to the housing 13.

The body part 10b comprises a housing 21 and a rotatable drum 22. The housing 21 has inner and outer spaced cylindrical walls 21a and 21b, respectively, joined at one end by an integral radically extending flange 21c. The other end of the inner wall 21a is closed by an integral end wall 21d having an integral bearing sleeve 21e on the outer side thereof. The drum 22 is mounted for rotation relative to the housing 21 and comprises a cylindrical wall 22a disposed in the space between walls 21a and 21b of the housing 21 and an end wall 22b at one end only, the end wall 22b having a knurled knob 22c on an outer side and a hollow boss 22d on an inner side.The boss 22d is mounted for rotation in the bearing sleeve 21e and the drum 22 is held in the housing 21 by a collar 24 secured in the open end of the outer wall 21b of the housing 21.

The polishing cloth 12 is in the form of a strip and is attached at one end to the wall 22a of the drum.

The outer wall 21b of the housing 21 has an opening 25 surrounded by an outwardly projecting rim 26 and the other end of the strip of cloth 12 is attached to a box-like closure 27 which fits over the rim 26 when the cloth 12 is wound round the wall 22a of the drum 22 and disposed in an annular cavity 28 between the drum 22 and the outer wall 21b of the housing.

The cloth can be extended from the cavity 28 by pulling on the closure 27 and can be retracted into the cavity 28 by rotating the knob 22c and hence the drum 22.

The two body parts 10a and 10b fit together when the stick 11 is retracted into the housing 13, the housing 13 and stick 11 being received in recess 29 defined by the walls 21a and 21d of the housing 21.

The cloth 12 may, as shown in Figure 1, have one or more transverse ribs 30 for polishing along, for example, the stitching line of shoes.

The invention is not limited to a shoe polisher. For example, the stick 11 could be lipstick and the cloth 12 could be a face cloth or powder puff.

The above embodiments are given by way of example only and various other modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An applicator comprising a body, a stick of material supported by said body, and a flexible sheet housed in an annular cavity in said body, said flexible sheet being extendible from and retractable into said annular cavity.

2. An applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said body is in two separable parts, the annular cavity being formed in one of said body parts and the stick of material being supported by the other body part.

3. An applicator as claimed in claim 2, wherein said other body part comprises a housing for said stick of material and means for extending the stick of material from and retracting the stick of material into said housing.

4. An applicator as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the stick of material is received in a recess provided in said one body part when the two body parts are joined together.

5. An applicator as claimed in claim 4, wherein said annular cavity surrounds said recess.

6. An applicator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inner wall of said annular cavity is defined by a drum rotatable relative to said body.

7. An applicator as claimed in claim 6, wherein a knob is provided at one end of the drum for rotating the drum relative to the body.

8. An applicator as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in the form of a shoe polisher, the stick of material being shoe polish and the flexible sheet being a polishing cloth.

9. An applicator substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.