JP2815321B2 - Applicator unit for substances such as fluids - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an applicator unit for applying a liquid, solid or pasty substance to a surface to be treated.

[0002] Substances which can be applied using such units include, for example, cosmetic or dermatological agents such as deodorants, blushers and insect repellents. Furthermore, the applicator unit is especially for body deodorants.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of cosmetics, an applicator for a deodorant has already been proposed. The applicator has a hemispherical portion (dome portion) formed of a solid porous material. A storage unit in which a liquid composition is stored in a storage unit having a fixed distribution head is used. Such an applicator is described, for example, in French Patent Publication No. 2647034. However, this device has the following disadvantages.

[0004] It is the user's feeling of a certain bump on the skin during application.

[0005] In addition, a relatively complicated dispensing head must be used to ensure that the reservoir is closed when no material is used, which has affected the cost.

Further, in order to use a liquid substance, a preparatory operation of pouring a liquid into a porous hemispherical portion serving as an applicator member is required.

[0007] Generally, the applicator is formed from several parts, resulting in a complex assembly process in manufacturing and necessarily high cost.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a novel applicator unit (dispensing unit) which avoids the disadvantages described above by using a single block dispensing system. The connecting member is connected to the fixed portion by a flexible connecting piece (tongue piece), and the entire unit is formed as a single component. In particular, this unit can be manufactured inexpensively. In addition, users highly value the easy operability and flexible operability of this unit, especially its smooth applicability. In fact, the applicator unit according to the invention makes it possible to gently apply a substance such as a liquid deodorant or depilatory, especially to sensitive areas of the skin, for example the axilla.

Thus, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an axis of symmetry; a movable portion having a substance applicator member; a hollow fixed portion; Connecting means, the movable part is movable along the axis, the connecting means is disposed on a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis,
It is constituted by at least one connecting piece, a first end of the connecting piece is joined to the movable part, a second end of the connecting piece is joined to the fixed part, and the application of the substance passes through the movable part. The present invention provides an applicator unit of a substance such as a fluid, wherein the movable portion is configured to support the applicator member.

[0010] An applicator unit is to be understood as meaning a package containing a substance, which is applied directly to the surface to be treated, for example the skin.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the applicator unit includes a plurality of connecting pieces regularly arranged between two members, a movable part and a fixed part.
The number of connecting pieces is preferably between 2 and 12.

By using a plurality of connecting pieces, it is possible to favorably orient the movable portion with respect to the fixed portion.

Preferably, the first end of the first connecting piece is
On the opposite side of the second end of the second connecting piece. In other words, the connecting pieces are arranged in a staggered manner in one plane.

The use of these connecting pieces makes the operation of the applicator unit very flexible or gentle at the start of use of the applicator unit.

[0015] The substance to be applied may be a volatile substance, a liquid, a paste or a solid. The substance may be, for example, an aromatic body lotion, a liquid deodorant, a liquid depilatory composition, or a paste or a solid, brittle makeup product.

In a modification, the first end of the first connecting piece is located close to the first end of the second connecting piece.

As described above, a subassembly composed of a single block constituted by the movable part, the fixed part and the connecting piece is obtained, and the movable part is movable in the axial direction with respect to the fixed part. It is smooth over a relatively long travel distance, the travel distance depending on the length of the connecting piece.

Generally, the moving distance is about 1/3 times the length of the connecting piece. Therefore, this travel distance can be adjusted if special use is considered.

This subassembly comprises a thermoplastic material,
It can be obtained by molding or injection molding. Preferably, the thermoplastic material is polypropylene or polyethylene. However, this subassembly may alternatively be made of metal or soft alloys.

According to another modification of the present invention, the connecting piece is
At least one portion may have a portion protruding from a surface on which the connecting piece exists. This connecting piece may have a bent shape at one location or may have a sinusoidal shape.

During application, the shape described above allows the connecting piece to be considerably extended and the moving distance of the movable part to be maximized.

In the first embodiment, the applicator unit further includes a container for containing the substance to be applied, and the fixing portion is provided on the container. In this case, the container is a container pressurized by the propellant gas,
A dispensing valve is provided for communicating the container with the applicator member when the movable portion moves axially toward the container.

In this embodiment, the applicator member is constituted by a feeder tube connected to a porous coating hemispherical portion connected to the movable portion, and the feeder tube is connected to a support of the hemispherical portion. Has become. When a hemispherical part is applied to the surface to be treated, the pressure on the hemispherical part will actuate the distribution valve to apply and distribute the substance via the hemispherical part. With this structure, French Patent Publication No. 264
It can be more easily used than the structure of the deodorant described in No. 7034.

In this embodiment, if the substance is a liquid substance contained under pressure, this substance is preferably
A composition having a cosmetic and / or dermatological effect.

In the second embodiment, the movable portion serves as a support for a paste-like or solid fragile substance, and the fixed portion serves as a grip portion. Such friable substances include solid blocks of compaction powder for makeup, solid makeup foundations, and the like.

In this way, the makeup product can be applied very softly to the facial skin.

Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a deodorizing agent for a body constituted by a unit for applying the above-described deodorizing agent similar to the first embodiment.

[0028]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to facilitate an understanding of the invention, three embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings are described below, which are not intended to limit the invention but only for illustration.

FIG. 1 shows a coating unit (applicator unit) which is symmetrical with respect to the axis A according to a first embodiment of the body deodorant.

In FIG. 1, a cylindrical can serving as a container 101 for a liquid deodorant product is, for example, Porex (registered trademark).
Porous applicator hemispherical part 10 formed by
9 and the applicator hemispherical part 109 has
It is fixed to the convex disk-shaped support member 108 by an annular fastening skirt member 112. The support 108 is connected to a cylindrical skirt member 110a at a peripheral edge located on the opposite side of the skirt member 112. An assembly including the support 108, the annular skirt member 112, and the cylindrical skirt member 110a constitutes a central portion (movable portion) that can move along the direction of the axis A.

The top of the container 101 has an ogive-shaped curved portion 102 and a peripheral groove 106 formed at a portion between the cylindrical portion and the curved portion 102. In the circumferential groove 106,
An engaging beat 107a extending in the circumferential direction formed at an end of the cylindrical ring (fixed portion) 107 in the container direction is fitted. The ring 107 concentrically surrounds a part of the skirt member 110a. One set of flexible connecting pieces 111
Are arranged in a free space formed between the ring 107 and the skirt member 110a.

The portion of the cylindrical skirt member 110a facing the container is connected to the first end 111a of the connecting piece 111 (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). The second end 111 b of the connecting piece 111 is connected to the ring 107. The connecting piece 111 is orthogonal to the axis A, II-I
It is arranged on a plane P along the line I. Ring 10
7. The connecting piece 111, the skirt member 110a and the support 108 constitute a sub-assembly consisting of a single block molded or injection molded of polypropylene.
The support 108 has a central conduit 103 in which the stem 105 of the distribution valve 104 is located.
Are fitted in a liquid-tight manner, and the valve 104 is disposed at the top 102 of the container 101. On the opposite side of the container 101, a conduit 113 extends to a feeder tube 114 so as to connect the stem 105 to the porous hemispherical portion 109.

A liquid composition, for example, about 0.003 Pa.s
A body deodorant having a viscosity of is stored in the container 101. This liquid is pressurized by a normal propellant gas.

The operation of this device is as follows. The user applies the porous hemisphere 109 directly to the surface to be treated by applying a slight pressure. The connecting piece 111 is flexibly deformed, the stem 105 of the valve 104 is pushed in,
The liquid deodorant product permeates the hemispherical portion 109 via the stem portion 105 and the feeder tube 104. In this way, the user can easily treat very sensitive parts of the body, such as the axilla or parts that are difficult to contact.

After use, the distribution hemispherical portion 109 is protected by a protective cap (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view (on the plane P) along the line II-II in FIG. 1.
It shows a modified example. The coupling piece 111 is
0, one end 111a of the first connecting piece
Are directed in the same direction so as to be on the opposite side of the end 111b of the continuous connection piece connected to the peripheral portion 107 (ring).

FIG. 2B shows a modification of the arrangement of the connecting pieces 111 located on the same plane P, and two ends 111a, 111a of two continuous connecting pieces are arranged in parallel. It is arranged and connected to the central part 110, and the other ends 111 b, 111 b are arranged adjacent to each other and attached to the peripheral part (ring) 107.

The connecting pieces of FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) make the operability of this device very soft and flexible.

The flexibility of the operability of the skirt member 110 is as follows.
It can be adjusted by adjusting the length and thickness of the connecting piece.

In the case of a cylindrical coating unit, the connecting piece 11
1 may be an arc of an angle ranging in size from 20 ° to 180 °. The number of connecting pieces is preferably selected from between 2 and 12.

In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the fixing part 207 has a substantially rectangular cross section with rounded corners, and is a solid makeup applied directly to the skin. It serves as a grip for a lump of product S (for example, makeup foundation). Product S has a bottom 208
Are housed in a central cup-shaped portion 210 having The cup-shaped part and the fixed part are concentric. The base of the cup-shaped portion is connected to an end 211a of the connecting piece 211, and the connecting piece 211... Has its end 211b connected to the peripheral edge 207.

By gripping the peripheral portion 207 of this unit, the user applies the product S to the skin, but the flexibility of the connecting piece 211 allows the user to make accurate and soft makeup as a whole.

FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are modifications of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). In order to further increase the softness of the application, the central part 310 and the peripheral part 30
7 is provided with a corrugated portion Z located outside the plane P (see FIG. 5). This part Z is preferably located approximately halfway between the ends 311a, 311b.

These corrugated connecting pieces 311 extend in the opposite direction of the applied force and allow for a fairly soft application (indicated by arrow F in FIG. 4 (b)). Of course, they can also be used in the embodiment represented in FIG.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial axial sectional view of a liquid applicator unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a diagram on a plane P corresponding to a cross section taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a modification similar to that shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 (a) is a plan view of a second embodiment of the present invention containing a solid or paste-like substance, and FIG. 3 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IIIb-IIIb of (a).

FIG. 4A is a sectional view showing a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, showing an unused state of the device;
(B) is a sectional view showing a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 3 (a), showing an applied state.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a connecting piece in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b).

[Explanation of symbols]

101: container, 102: curved portion, 103: central conduit, 1
04: Valve, 105: Stem, 106: Circumferential groove, 10
7, 207, 307: ring, peripheral portion (fixed portion), 10
8 ... Support, 109 ... Hemispherical part, 110, 210, 31
0: movable part, 111, 211, 311: connecting piece, 11
3 ... conduit, 114 ... feeder tube

Claims (14)

(57) [Claims] 1. A movable part (110, 210, 31) having an axis of symmetry (A) and an applicator member of a substance such as a fluid.
0); a hollow fixing portion (107, 207, 307);
A flexible connecting means for connecting the movable part and the fixed part, wherein the movable part is movable along the axis (A), and the connecting means is provided on a plane (P) substantially orthogonal to the axis (A). ), At least one connecting piece (111, 211, 311), and a first end (111a, 211) of the connecting piece.
a, 311a) is joined to the movable part, the second end (111b, 211b, 311b) of the connecting piece is joined to the fixed part, and the substance is applied via the movable part, An applicator unit for a substance such as a fluid, wherein the movable portion is configured to support the applicator member. 2. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the applicator member is a porous hemispherical portion joined to the movable portion, and is a hemispherical portion capable of penetrating a liquid material. . 3. A pressurized container (10) containing said substance.
The container further comprises a distribution valve (104) for communicating the container with the applicator member (D), and the fixing portion (107).
Is provided in the container, and the movable portion (11
The unit according to claim 1, wherein the communication is generated by the axial movement of (0). 4. The composition according to claim 1, wherein the substance contained in the container is a liquid composition having a cosmetic and / or dermatological effect. Units. 5. A solid substance (S) whose movable part is fragile.
The unit according to claim 1, wherein the unit is supported. 6. A movable part (110, 210, 310), a fixed part (107, 207, 307) and a connecting piece (11).
The unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein (1, 211, 311) form a sub-assembly consisting of a single block. 7. It comprises a plurality of connecting pieces (111, 211, 311) regularly arranged between the movable part (110, 210, 310) and the fixed part (107, 207, 307). The unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: 8. A unit according to claim 1, wherein the number of connecting pieces (111, 211, 311) is between two and twelve. 9. One connecting piece (111, 211, 311)
The first end (111a, 211a, 311a) is located on the opposite side of the second end (111b, 211b, 311b) of the other connecting piece. The unit according to item. 10. A first end (1) of one connecting piece (111).
The unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein 11a, 211a, and 311a) are located near a first end of another connecting piece. 11. The subassembly according to claim 6, wherein the subassembly is formed by molding a thermoplastic material.
A unit as described in. 12. The unit according to claim 11, wherein the thermoplastic is polypropylene. 13. A connecting piece (111, 211, 311).
Has at least one portion (Z) projecting from the plane (P).
3. The unit according to any one of 2. 14. A body deodorizer applicator comprising the distribution unit according to claim 1. Description: