Patent Application
20120012477
This application claims priority to a currently pending patent application in Spain, namely, Spanish Application No. 2010-30733 filed on Jul. 13, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container for a face mask, such as those used for cosmetic treatments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Basically, a face mask, which is also often referred to as a facial mask, is a cosmetic type of cream or ointment that, when applied over the facial skin, aims to provide some kind of medical and/or cosmetic treatment.
There are different types of facial treatment masks that are available commercially for medical and/or cosmetic uses. One such type of cosmetic mask is based on the mixture of a powder component and a liquid component. Depending on these and/or other selected substances, the mixture is usually prepared just before its being applied onto the skin, due to the fact that certain substances cannot withstand a long period of exposure after being mixed and before use, given that the mixture of the components which formulate many commonly used, professional facial masks tend to spoil quickly.
Traditionally, professional cosmetic masks of this type are used in beauty salons, hair salons and the like, and their preparation is carried out by a trained expert such as a licensed “esthetician,” hairdresser or the like, who mixes in proper quantities two or more products, which are usually provided in bulk or in large containers. Therefore, these masks are generally not used privately by unlicensed individuals due to the fact that in order to prepare them properly, some knowledge is needed as to what are the correct components, where they can be obtained to be reasonably certain as to their quality, and also, the appropriate quantities of the different components involved. Moreover, and as noted above, most of the components used for mixing a professional cosmetic mask are usually marketed in bulk, i.e., in large containers or packages, and sold by specialized companies. It should be understood that many of these components can be difficult to store, not just because they are sold in bulk but also as they typically have a relatively short shelf life, i.e., they tend to have a relatively short expiry date, even before being mixed together with another component or product. Collectively then, it is not practical or economical for an individual to privately attempt to prepare a commercial cosmetic mask.
One effort to avoid problems such as those described above, is a “Unit-dose container” for face and/or cosmetic masks, as shown in ES 2310156 of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM), which describes a “Unit-dose container for a face mask” that comprises two separate cavities, one containing a dry cosmetic product in powder or granules and the other containing a liquid cosmetic product that serves as solvent for the former. Still considering this “Unit-dose container for a face mask,” when the user applies pressure over a push-button structure associated with the cavity where the liquid remains, the cavity gets broken and the liquid is dispensed, so as to enter the other cavity which contains the dry cosmetic product, whereupon, the user must then shake the container to blend the mixture before applying it over the skin. The inventor herein, however, considers this kind of device to have several disadvantages. First, it features a complex configuration since it consists of various independent parts that require separate manufacturing and filling, and subsequent assembly. Second, it seems to be too large to be a unit-dose container. Last, it does not offer the possibility of being readily displayed or hung on a display rack for marketing purposes.
In an effort to present a solution to these problems, a novel container for a face mask has been designed and is disclosed herein.
More specifically, the present invention generally relates to a new type of container comprising two cavities that feature a relatively simple configuration and which can be filled simultaneously in a manufacturing plant, with further, the container being small and easy to display, whether by hanging on a display rack or otherwise.
As will be understood from the drawings which are part of this patent application and from the more detailed description which follows, the present invention comprises a base having two cavities formed therein, and a thin, flexible lidding foil for external sealing of the two cavities. The invention includes a division wall formed between the two cavities which preferably features a strip pointing at an angle from one of the two cavities, preferably the one containing the liquid cosmetic product, to the other containing the solid cosmetic product. The bond between the base and the lidding foil is preferably less resistant than on or in the remaining portions of the base. The lidding foil may also have an overhanging lip or small section that is detached from the base, which serves as a pull-tab thereof when the mixture of the face mask is to be dispensed. The present invention preferably also includes a shearing or piercing area, for purposes of making it easy to display, whether by hanging the container vertically on a display rack or otherwise.
The following will now summarize how the present invention works. When a user applies direct pressure on the lidding foil over the cavity that contains the liquid, such pressure over the liquid causes the lidding foil to detach from the base, just over the angled area having the least resistant bond, so that the liquid is dispensed from its cavity, into the cavity which contains the dry cosmetic product. The user will then preferably gently shake the container to blend the mixture, so that a blended mixture can be applied over the skin. Finally, the lidding foil can be lifted by means of the pull-tab designed for such purpose.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer when the drawings as well as the detailed description are taken into consideration.
For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
It should be noted at the outset that the drawings accompanying this specification describe an illustrative practical embodiment of the present invention and how it can be made, but importantly, the present invention and its principles are capable of being embodied in alternative forms or embodiments, such that the attached drawings should not be considered to limit the present invention to the particular exemplary embodiment shown and described herein.
With initial reference now to
As shown in
Ideally, the base 1 will also be formed to have a substantially oval shape as shown in
In other embodiments, the base 1 can be thermoformed into a variety of shapes including, but not limited to, rectangular, square, hexagonal, elliptical and circular shapes. Also in other embodiments, the lidding foil 2 can be made of an aluminum alloy.
The present inventive container 10 also includes a pull-tab 6 which is best shown in
In some embodiments, the present inventive container 10 also comprises a shearing or piercing area 7, to allow the container to be readily displayed, whether by hanging vertically on a display rack or otherwise.
It should be noted that the object of the present invention does not necessarily include as part of its scope any of the materials used in the manufacturing process for the container 10 or components of the facial mixture, which might be replaced by other technically equivalent ones, providing that they do not affect its nature or depart from the scope defined by the appended claims.
Since many modifications, variations and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiment of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
Now that the invention has been described,
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201030733 | Jul 2010 | ES | national |
