Patent Application
20230189973
The present invention relates to applicators for applying a cosmetic, makeup or care, product to the eyelashes and/or eyebrows, in particular mascara, and to packaging and application devices having a container containing the product to be applied and the applicator.
The container is conventionally provided with a wiping member that wipes the stem of the applicator as it is withdrawn from the container. The behavior of the applicator member on passing through the wiping member depends on numerous factors, such as the shape and nature of the lip of the wiping member, the joining part between the stem and the applicator member, and the arrangement of the application elements on the applicator member.
A compromise needs to be found with regard to the quantity of product that is left on the applicator member for application of makeup. Excessive wiping of the applicator member causes the latter to be insufficiently loaded and obliges the user to frequently dip the applicator back into the container. Insufficient wiping leaves an excess of product that is difficult to manage and may result in clumps of product on poorly separated eyelashes.
The application WO2018/099865 A1 discloses a brush for applying a cosmetic product to the eyelashes and/or eyebrows, having:
The application WO 2010/007588 A2 discloses a brush injection molded from plastics material, with “fanned” orientations of at least a part of the spikes when the brush is viewed from the side.
Injection-molded brushes having a curved core and a radial implantation of the spikes with respect to the core have also been proposed.
There is a need to further improve applicators for applying a product to the eyelashes and/or eyebrows, in order to improve the performance thereof, and more particularly to promote the creation on the applicator member of zones laden with product, which allow easy application of makeup and rapid and abundant loading of the eyelashes and/or eyebrows, to give them volume initially, while retaining a high capacity to separate the eyelashes and/or eyebrows in a second makeup step.
The invention aims in particular to propose a brush that has good makeup performance aspects in terms of loading the eyelashes with product and separating them.
The invention aims to meet this need and the subject thereof, according to a first of its aspects, is a brush for applying a cosmetic composition to the eyelashes and/or eyebrows, having:
A further subject of the invention, independently or in combination with the above, is a brush for applying a cosmetic composition to the eyelashes and/or eyebrows, having:
A further subject of the invention, independently or in combination with the above, is a brush for applying a cosmetic composition to the eyelashes and/or eyebrows, having:
A further subject of the invention is a device for packaging and applying a cosmetic composition to the eyelashes and/or eyebrows, having:
The invention may be understood better from reading the following detailed description of a non-limiting implementation example thereof and from studying the appended drawing, in which:
In this example, the container 3 has a neck 4 that receives a wiping member 6, in a manner known per se.
The applicator 2 has a gripping member 5, which also forms a closure cap for the container 3, and bears a stem 7, provided at its opposite end from the gripping member 5 with a brush 10 according to the invention, which is shown on its own in
The wiping member 6 is for example a wiping member having an elastomer lip, the inside diameter of which corresponds to that of the stem.
The brush 10 is made of thermoplastic material, preferably by injection molding, but the invention is not limited to a particular material for producing the brush.
The brush 10 has a core 11, and spikes 12 that protrude from the core.
The core 11 is extended at one end by an end piece 13 for fixing the brush 10 in the stem 7.
The spikes 12 are organized on the brush 10 in rows 14, of which there are for example sixteen, as can be seen in
All of the spikes 12 in an ith row 14 are oriented substantially on a single radial plane Ri containing the longitudinal axis X of the brush 10, as illustrated in particular in
Within this ith row 14, the spikes 12 are identified by their rank p from the proximal end 15 of the brush 10 and by the abscissa xp,i at their peak from a reference plane, as illustrated in
The angle that the elongation axis Y of a spike 12 of rank p in one row i makes with respect to the longitudinal axis X of the core is denoted ap,i. This angle is measured at the base of the corresponding spike. Preferably, the elongation axis Y of a spike is rectilinear. The elongation axis Y of a spike 12 is the axis that passes through the centers of mass of its cross section, from the base at which the spike 12 is attached to the core to its peak. Where necessary, the angle ap,i is measured in projection in a plane that contains the longitudinal axis X of the core and the axis of the row, a value of 90° meaning that the elongation axis Y of the spike 12 is contained in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X of the core 11, a value less than 90° that the spike is oriented toward the proximal end of the core, that is to say toward the stem 7 that supports the brush 10 (i.e. toward the rear), and a value greater than 90° that the spike is oriented toward the distal end of the core (i.e. toward the front).
The width of a spike 12 of rank p in a row of order i at its base is denoted lp,i This width is measured parallel to the longitudinal axis X of the core.
In the example in question, the spikes 12 each have a semi-conical shape, with a flat face 22. All of the spikes 12 in one and the same ith row 14 have their flat faces contained in a single plane Ri, which is preferably a radially oriented plane, as can be seen in
It can be seen in
The brush 10 for example has the following characteristics: for three successive rows 14 of spikes, x denotes the abscissa of the peak of the spike of rank p, a the inclination of its elongation axis Y with respect to the longitudinal axis X of the core at its base, and l the width at its base, measured in the direction of the longitudinal axis X. Since each spike 12 has a semicircular cross section, with a flat face contained in the corresponding radial plane Ri, the width at the base of the spike also corresponds to the diameter of the spike at its base.
The values a, x and l are only given for three rows by way of example, and the values for the other rows are chosen so as to comply with one or more of the conditions given above, and thus have, in these remaining rows, the same characteristics as for the first three rows.
It will be noted on studying this table that, within one row of spikes 12 of a brush 10 according to the invention, spikes having orientations toward the rear (a<90°) and toward the front (a>90°) are found.
It can be seen that, for the three rows 14 in the above table, at least three successive spikes in each row, of respective ranks p, p+1 and p+2 and with peaks of abscissae xp, xp+1 and xp+2 along the longitudinal axis of the brush, have elongation axes Y that make respective angles ap, ap+1 and ap+2 with the longitudinal axis X at their base, where p is an integer between 1 and n−3, where n denotes the number of spikes in the row, where at least two of the angles ap, ap+1 and ap+2 are different.
In addition, at least one spike 12 of the same rank p has a different orientation ap from one row 14 to the next.
In addition, it can be seen that, for these rows, the number Nf of spikes oriented toward the front and the number Nr of spikes oriented toward the rear satisfy the relationship 0.3<Nf/Nr<2.5.
Thus, for row 1: Nf=10 and Nr=8, i.e. Nf/Nr=1.25, for row 2: Nf=10 and Nr=10, i.e. Nf/Nr=1, for row 3: Nf=9 and Nr=11, i.e. Nf/Nr=0.81.
It can also be seen that, for at least some rows, the number Nf of spikes oriented toward the front and the number Nr of spikes oriented toward the rear satisfy the relationship Nf/Nr>1.1 or Nr/Nf>1.1. In other words, the number of spikes oriented toward the front is different than the number of spikes oriented toward the rear, within one row.
In the example in question, the number of successive spikes 12 that are all oriented either toward the front or toward the rear is less than or equal to 6 for each of the rows. For example, the spikes of ranks 8 to 11 in the first row are all oriented toward the front, while the spikes of ranks 7 and 12 in this same row are oriented toward the rear.
Still in the example in question, the number of spikes oriented toward the front for which there exists a corresponding spike oriented toward the rear with the same angle in terms of absolute value is less than or equal to 1 for at least some rows. For example, this number is zero for the first row.
The number of spikes oriented perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the brush is zero for at least a part of the rows in the example in question, or even for all of the rows.
The number of pairs of consecutive spikes in which the two spikes are both oriented toward the front or are both oriented toward the rear may be less than or equal to 75% of the total number of pairs of consecutive spikes in the row, for at least some rows. Preferably, this proportion is greater than 25% and less than 50%.
For example, for the first row, which has 18 spikes and 17 pairs of consecutive spikes, only seven of them, which are formed by the pairs of spikes (1,2), (3,4), (8,9), (9,10), (10,11), (14,15), (16,17), concern spikes that are both oriented toward the front or toward the rear.
This results in a wide variety of orientations of the spikes on the brush.
The number of pairs of consecutive spikes in which the two spikes are oriented with opposite orientations toward the front and toward the rear, or vice versa, may be less than or equal to 75% of the total number of pairs of consecutive spikes in the row, for at least one row, and preferably each of the rows. Preferably, this proportion is greater than 25%.
For example, for the first row, the following pairs have two consecutive spikes with opposite orientations: (2,3), (4,5), (5,6), (6,7), (11,12), (12,13), (13,14), (15,16), (17,18), i.e. a ratio of 9/17=about 0.52. This is thus different than a fanned disposition of the spikes, which does not have such successions of spikes having opposite orientations.
It can also be seen in
It can be seen that, within at least one row 14, the size of the spikes varies, with, for example, for row 1, successions of three or four spikes with a small size less than or equal to 0.5 mm and a succession of three spikes with a large size greater than 0.5 mm, the spacings between the spikes also varying. For the first row, there are for example eight spikes with a large size, greater than 0.5 mm in diameter at their base, and ten spikes with a small size, less than or equal to 0.5 mm in diameter at their base. The spacing between the centers of the spikes, given by the difference between the abscissae of two consecutive spikes, varies for example from less than 1 mm for some pairs of consecutive spikes to more than 1 mm for others.
The deviations |xi+1−xi| between the abscissae of the peaks of the spikes, for i between 0 and n−1, where n is the number of spikes in the row, may vary around an average value of between 1.2 and 1.5 mm, for at least one row, and better still for all of the rows. This variation may take place around a median value of between 1.1 and 1.45 mm. The distribution of these deviations may have a positive coefficient of asymmetry with respect to the average, in particular greater than 0.5.
An embodiment variant of the brush 10 will now be described with reference to
According to this variant, the brush has two arrangements of rows that repeat identically around the longitudinal axis of the brush, alternately.
In this example, the brush has sixteen rows 14, and there are therefore eight rows R2i, where i is an integer ranging from 1 to 4, which have a first configuration, and eight other rows R2i+1, with integer i ranging from 0 to 3, which have a second configuration, different than the first, the rows R2i alternating with the rows R2i+1 around the longitudinal axis of the brush.
There are for example the following values, for each of these rows.
The abscissa of the spikes corresponds to the distance between their peak and a single reference plane for all of the spikes.
The inclination of a spike corresponds to the angle between the elongation axis of the spike and the longitudinal axis of the core.
The distance from the preceding spike is expressed in mm and corresponds to the minimum gap measured along the longitudinal axis of the core between the spikes in question, at the base of the spikes by which they are attached to the core, as illustrated in
The width at the base of a spike corresponds to the width measured along the longitudinal axis of the core at the base of the spike by which it is attached to the core.
In this example, the spikes 12 have the same shape in section as those of the brush in
On studying the above values, it will be seen that each of these two rows has all or some of the following characteristics:
for each of the rows, more than four consecutive spikes are all oriented either toward the front or toward the rear,
there are at most three spikes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the core,
there are never two consecutive spikes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the core,
the number Nf of spikes oriented toward the front is greater than that Nr of the spikes oriented toward the rear for one of the rows, while the opposite is the case for the other row,
the number of changes in orientation of the spikes from the front to the rear or vice versa within one row is greater than or equal to ¼ of the total number of spikes in the row and less than or equal to ½,
the number of pairs of consecutive spikes within one row that have a width that, for the first spike in the pair, increases with respect to the preceding one and, for the second spike in the pair, decreases with respect to the preceding one (this being the case for example of the pair of spikes of ranks 2 and 3 in the row R2i+1), or, for the first spike in the pair, decreases with respect to the preceding one and, for the second spike in the pair, increases with respect to the preceding one, is greater than or equal to ⅓ of the total number of spikes in the row and less than or equal to ⅘,
the number of spikes at a time where two consecutive spikes are the same width may be less than or equal to 2, and it is possible for at least one of the rows not to have any spike that follows another with the same width,
the ratio between the number of spikes oriented toward the front and the total number of spikes within one row is between ¼ et ⅔, or even between ¼ and ½ or between ½ et ⅔ with respect to the total number of spikes in this row,
the ratio between the number of spikes oriented toward the rear and the total number of spikes within one row is between ⅓ and ⅔,
the orientations of the spikes are between 70° and 110°,
the widths of the spikes are between 0.15 and 0.35 mm, better still between 0.17 and 0.3 mm,
the gaps w between consecutive spikes at their base are between 0.1 and 1.8 mm, with an average of between 0.75 mm and 1.25 mm,
the number of times where one spike of the same rank has an opposite orientation to that of a spike of the same rank in the consecutive row is greater than or equal to ½ with respect to the total number of spikes in this row, and preferably less than or equal to ¾,
the number of times where one spike of the same rank has an orientation in the same direction, toward the front or toward the rear, as that of a spike of the same rank in the consecutive row is greater than or equal to ¼ with respect to the total number of spikes in this row, and preferably less than or equal to ½,
the average of the inclinations of the spikes within one row is between 80 and 100°, in particular between 90° and 100°,
the standard deviation between the orientations of the spikes within one row is between 5 and 15°,
the number Nf of spikes oriented toward the front and the number Nr of spikes oriented toward the rear satisfy the relationship 0.3<Nf/Nr<2.5, where preferably Nf/Nr is other than 1; in particular, for each of the rows, 0.4<Nf/Nr<⅕,
the number Nf of spikes oriented toward the front and the number Nr of spikes oriented toward the rear satisfy the relationship Nf/Nr>1.1 or Nr/Nf>1.1,
the length of the spikes in the row varies,
the number of pairs of consecutive spikes in which the two spikes are both oriented toward the front or are both oriented toward the rear is less than or equal to 50% of the total number of pairs of consecutive spikes in the row, and in particular is between 25 and 35%,
the number of pairs of consecutive spikes in which the two spikes are oriented with opposite orientations toward the front and toward the rear, or vice versa, is less than or equal to 75% of the total number of pairs of consecutive spikes in the row,
the number n of spikes in the row is between 15 and 25,
the distances between peaks of consecutive spikes in a row are different for at least half of the pairs of consecutive spikes in this row,
the distances di and di+1 between the peaks of three consecutive spikes with respective abscissae xi, x1+1 and xi+2 in the row satisfy di< >di+1.
Needless to say, the invention is not limited to the examples that have just been described. For example, the orientations of the spikes and the distribution of the sizes of the spikes, and their disposition, may vary within variants that are not illustrated.
The brush may be manufactured by a technique other than injection molding, and from a material other than a thermoplastic material, if necessary.
The spikes may be given a different shape, for example a conical or cylindrical shape or a shape with irregularities or protuberances.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1913964 | Dec 2019 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2020/085034 | 12/8/2020 | WO |
