The field of the invention relates to the area of containers which dispense pain relieving material such as pain relieving gel or lubricant and the containers which retain such material. An applicator is frequency found on the top or front end of the container. The present invention relates to the field of apparatus which help to cause the pain relieving gel or lubricant to be better absorbed after it has been applied to the area of the body from which the source of pain emanates.
The following eight patents and published patent applications are the closest prior art known to the inventor.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,155 issued to William Blinoff, Jr., et al. on Aug. 14, 1973 for “Apparatus for Heating or Cooling a Surface While Simultaneously Dispensing a Liquid Product Thereon” (hereafter the “Blinoff Patent” 0;
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,326 issued to Max J. Ruderian on Feb. 2, 1988 for “Vibratory Therapeutic Device” (hereafter the “Ruderian Patent”);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 6,911,010 issued to Keith Dirks et al. on Jun. 28, 2005 for “Heated Massager with Massaging Liquid Dispenser” (hereafter the “Dirks Patent”);
4. U.S. Pat. No. 7,699,795 issued to Simon Siu Man Nan on Apr. 20, 2010 for “Massager Device with Liquid Applicator” (hereafter the “Nan Patent”);
5. U.S. Pat. No. 7,883,287 issued to Timothy Thorpe on Feb. 8, 2011 for “Dispenser with Thermal Storage Tip” (hereafter the “Thorpe Patent”);
6. United States Published Patent Application No. 2012/0109041 to Jutta Munz on May 3, 2012 for “Applicator Device for Cosmetic and/or Medical Use” (hereafter the “Munz Published Patent Application”);
7. U.S. Pat. No. 8,921,746 issued to David W. Baarman et al. on Dec. 30, 2014 for “Inductively-Heated Applicator System” (hereafter the “Baarman Patent”);
8. PCT Application No. PCT/US86/00216 to Max J. Ruderian on Aug. 28, 1986 for “Vibratory Therapeutic Applicator” (hereafter the Ruderian PCT Application”).
The Blinoff Patent discloses the concept of having a container which contains pain relieving material in it and essentially what is now known as a rollerball where the content is applied to the surface of the skin or affected area by the pain relieving contents in the container being affixed to the rollerball which then applies it to the skin. This patent also discloses the concept of having a heating element so that heat can be applied at the same time that the pain relieving element is placed upon the skin. Specifically, the patent discloses:
This invention discloses the concept of having a heat applicator to heat up the contents.
The Ruderian Patent discloses the concept of a device which contains both a heating and vibrating element within the device to provide heating and vibration when a lubricant or gel is applied to the skin. This patent discloses the concept of having both the heater and the vibrator in the device but this is a separate device and does not contain the contents of the heat or pain relieving liquid or gel within the container. This is simply a device that embodies the concept of applying heat and/or vibration to the lubricant or gel on the affected area. An examination of the figures shows that the heating and vibration element are in the container itself (which does not contain the substance for providing the pain relieving gel or material).
Reference is made to FIG. 1 and in particular, Column 3 Lines 31 through 49 which disclose the following:
Therefore, the concept of having a heating or vibrating element to help facilitate the application of a pain relieving material absorbed on the skin to help treat the affected area is disclosed in this patent. The material for providing heat or cold relief is not within the container but is applied in a separate manner.
The Dirks Patent discloses:
Therefore, this patent discloses the concept of having a container containing pain relieving material in it and material being applied through the device and then having a massager which helps to provide the material being absorbed into the skin.
The Nan Patent discloses:
The Thorpe Patent discloses a dispenser with a thermal storage tip where the container retains the pain relieving material and is applied through the applicator which provides heat to the heat absorbing material after it is applied to the skin.
The Munz Published Patent Application discloses:
The Ruderian PCT Application corresponds to the previously discussed Ruderian Patent which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,326.
The present invention is an accessory cap which is inserted on a container housing a lubricant with an applicator at or adjacent to the front of the container to provide only vibration without heat or heat alone or vibration with heat to facilitate better absorption of the lubricant after it has been applied to a person's skin. In this patent application, pain relieving material includes material selected from the group consisting of oil-based pain reliever, gel-based pain relievers, paste pain relievers, lubricating ointment pain relievers, and selected combinations of lubricants, gels, ointments and pastes used to relieve pain (severally and jointly hereafter referred to as “pain relieving lubricants”). Pain relieving lubricants also include pain absorbing material selected from the group defined as pain relieving lubricants.
In many cases, the pain relieving lubricants are in a container which is made of material selected from the group consisting of rolled laminated plastic and rolled laminated aluminum each having from one (1) to eight (8) layers of rolled laminated plastic or aluminum, plastic, polyurethane, and polyvinyl and combinations thereof, and metal including aluminum and precious metals including gold and silver. The plastic is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl or combinations including one or more of these plastics. It is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention for the container to be made of metal materials, including aluminum and precious metal.
It is within the spirit and scope of the present invention for the container to be elongated with an oval or elliptical exterior shape such as a tube of toothpaste. It is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention for the container to be cylindrical in shape. In each shape of the respective containers, the container has a closed rear end, an exterior wall and a front wall, each having a interior surface surrounding an interior chamber retaining at least one of the pain relieving lubricants, and an open front end extending from an interior location of the front wall. In one embodiment, the open front end extends to a dispensing nozzle having an opening in a front wall and a threaded sidewall. The lubricant is dispensed by squeezing the sidewall and a lubricant is pushed out of the opening. Alternatively, a rollerball applicator extends from the interior surface out of the opening in the front wall.
An applicator is used to apply the pain relieving lubricants onto the skin at the area of the body which is a source of the pain, such as the lower back, knees, ankles, arms, elbows and neck. A preferred applicator for the present invention is a rollerball. Other dispensing applicators such as an open tube or nozzle are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
In conventional containers for pain relieving lubricants, the applicator is covered with a removable cap. The present invention involves replacing the conventional cap with a cap that has a vibrator and a heating element. The cap also includes a selection switch associated with two spaced apart lights which shine through respective spaced apart openings in the cap. One light is blue to indicate no heat. The other light is red to indicate heat is generated from a heater within the cap. A vibrator is also within the cap.
The selection switch is used to turn on a vibrator and to turn on the heating element. Therefore, the present invention cap provides three separate sources to facilitate the skin absorbing at least one of the pain relieving lubricants. The cap is pressed against the area or moved around the area where the at least one of the pain relieving lubricants was applied. The three optional sources provided by the present invention are: (1) only heat, (2) only vibration; or (3) both vibration and heat.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to replace a conventional cap on a lubricant container with the present invention cap which contains the above described features to apply a source of heat and/or vibration to an area of pain on the body.
It is also an object of the present invention to include a child resistant locking assembly to reduce the ability of a child to remove the cap and gain access to at least one of the pain relieving lubricants within the container.
Further novel features and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and discussion.
Referring particularly to the drawings for the purpose of illustration only and not limitation, there is illustrated:
Although specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, it should be understood that such embodiments are by way of example only and merely illustrative of but a small number of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent applications of the principles of the present invention. Various changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and contemplation of the present invention.
An embodiment of the present invention accessory cap is initially presented and used with a cylindrical shaped container. Referring to
Further referring to
The container 10 is made of material selected from the group consisting of rolled laminated plastic and rolled laminated aluminum each having from one (1) to eight (8) layers of rolled laminated plastic or aluminum. The plastic is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl or combinations including one or more of these plastics. It is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention for the container 10 to be made of other metal materials.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
An optional feature of the present invention is a child-resistant locking assembly generally referred to as 100 in
The cap 20 has a first locking member 110 having a transverse bar 112 extending from an interior wall section 113 toward the interior of the cap 20 and locking tooth 114 at the distal end 112D of transverse bar 112. A pair of gaps 20AG1 and 20AG2 are on either end of interior wall section 113. Similarly, cap 20 has a second locking member 120 having a transverse bar 122 extending from an interior wall section 123 extending toward the interior of cap 20 and a locking tooth 124 at the distal; end 122D of transverse bar 122. The pair of gaps 20AG3 and 20AG4 are on either end of interior wall section 123. Gaps 20AG1 and 20AG2 enable the cap 20 to be rotated. Similarly, gaps 20AG3 and 20AG4 enable the cap 20 to be rotated.
In order to lock the cap 20, the cap 20 is pressed inwardly at the exterior wall location 133E corresponding to the location 133T of interior wall 113 where locking tooth 114 is located just in front of the cavity 16A of tube standoff 10AA and is concurrently pressed inwardly at the exterior wall location 133E corresponding to the location 133T of interior wall 133 where locking tooth 124 is located just in front of the cavity 16CC of tube standoff 10CC. Therefore, the tooth 114 is aligned with cavity 16AA of tube standoff 10AA and the tooth 124 is aligned with cavity 16CC of tube standoff 20AA. By rotating the cap 20 in one direction such as counterclockwise, tooth 114 engages and is inserted into cavity 16AA and the tooth 124 engages and is inserted into cavity 26CC to lock the cap 20 onto the cylindrical container 10. As illustrated in
To unlock the cap 20, the cap 20 is pressed inwardly at the exterior wall location 113E corresponding to the location 113T-1 of interior wall 113 where locking tooth 114 is located inside of the cavity 16AA of tube standoff 10AA and is concurrently pressed inwardly at the exterior wall location 133E corresponding to the location 133T-1 of interior wall 133 where locking tooth 124 is inside of the cavity 16CC of tube standoff 10CC and then the cap 20 is rotated in an opposite direction (such as clockwise) to disengage tooth 114 from cavity 16AA and disengage tooth 124 from cavity 26CC and the pull cap 20A off of cylinder 10.
The container 10 has been illustrated as a cylindrical container. The present invention cap 10 with all of the features discussed above is also used with other shaped containers such as oval and elliptical with a dispensing nozzle or rollerball application.
The cap 20 has an exterior indentation member 113P and an oppositely disposed indentation member 123P. The indentation markers 113P and 123P serve as a guide as to where to inwardly press the cap 20 and rotate the cap into the locked or unlocked condition.
Referring to
The container 300 is also made of material selected from the group consisting of rolled laminated plastic and rolled laminated aluminum each having from one (1) to eight (8) layers of rolled laminated plastic or aluminum. The plastic is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl or combinations including one or more of these plastics. It is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention for the container 10 to be made of other metal materials.
All of the features of the present invention cap 20 are the same as previously described.
Referring to
The container 410 is also made of material selected from the group consisting of rolled laminated plastic and rolled laminated aluminum each having from one (1) to eight (8) layers of rolled laminated plastic or aluminum. The plastic is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl or combinations including one or more of these plastics. It is also within the spirit and scope of the present invention for the container 10 to be made of other metal materials.
All of the features of the present invention cap 20 are the same as previously described.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Of course the present invention is not intended to be restricted to any particular form or arrangement, or any specific embodiment, or any specific use, disclosed herein, since the same may be modified in various particulars or relations without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention hereinabove shown and described of which the apparatus or method shown is intended only for illustration and disclosure of an operative embodiment and not to show all of the various forms or modifications in which this invention might be embodied or operated.
This patent application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 62/426,170 filed on Nov. 23, 2016, now pending.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62426170 | Nov 2016 | US |