Patent Application
20140370202
This invention relates to a cosmetic applicator configured to apply a cosmetic solution. More specifically, this invention relates to a cosmetic applicator configured to apply a tan line correction solution onto a portion of a human body.
For many people, a sun tan creates a fashionable and desirable appearance. A sun tan can be acquired through prolonged skin exposure to the sun, or through application of one or more sunless tanning solutions.
However, a sun tan is acquired only on portions of the body that were exposed to the sun or tanning solution. Portions of the body that were not exposed to the sun or tanning solution are typically lighter in color relative to exposed portions of the body. This results in the appearance of one or more streaks, spots, lines or other forms of discoloration on the body, also known as ‘tan lines.’
Tan lines are undesirable at least because they create an irregular appearance on the body. Tan lines are also undesirable because they reveal the shape of clothing that was worn during exposure to the sun, such as a bathing suit, shoes, goggles or golfing gloves.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a cosmetic applicator that is configured to precisely apply a solution on the body that conceals unwanted tan lines.
Solution applicators that include tan line correction solution are currently available in the market. The Tanee™ Company, located in Bronx, N.Y., has manufactured a tan line corrector in a tube-like body which a user squeezes to dispense tan line correction solution. The Norvell™ Company, located in Alexandria, Tenn., has manufactured a tan line corrector with a bottom that, when twisted, dispenses tan line correction solution.
However, these solution applicators have failed to provide customers with a precise and reliable delivery of tan line correction solution. The Tanee™ and Norvell™ solution applicators include low-density tip applicator that leaks, is messy, and is difficult to control. Additionally, both the Tanee™ and Norvell™ applicators store the tan line correction solution in an open reservoir included in their applicator. The open reservoir has an isotropic fluid flow—i.e., a fluid flow with no directional preference—and has a tendency to oversaturate the sponge tip. Such oversaturation causes unwanted flow of solution from the applicator.
The tan line correction applicator must be easy to control, and dispense a predictable amount of solution. This is because the application of more or less tan line correction solution than necessary will, at best, result in uneven coloring of the body and, at worst, stain clothing. This renders the applicator unsuitable for its intended purpose of creating a uniform coloring on the body.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a cosmetic applicator that is able to precisely and uniformly apply a tan line correction solution.
Apparatus and methods for a cosmetic pen are provided. The pen may include a nib formed from resin. The pen may also include a tan line correction solution including a bronzer and a sunless tanning agent. The pen may further include a fibrous reservoir. The fibrous reservoir may be saturated with the tan line correction solution. The fibrous reservoir may deliver the tan line correction solution to the nib through capillary action.
The objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
Apparatus for a cosmetic applicator configured to accurately apply tan line correction solution is provided. The cosmetic applicator may include a pen barrel, a reservoir located inside the pen barrel and a nib in fluid communication with the reservoir. The apparatus may additionally include a tan line correction solution. The tan line correction solution may be held in suspension within the reservoir. For example, the reservoir may be a fibrous reservoir. In some of these embodiments, the tan line correction solution may be delivered by capillary action, through the fibers, to the nib. Movement of the nib along a surface may result in the application of a preferably regulated amount of tan line correction solution to the surface. The rate may be regulated at a predetermined rate dependent at least in part on the characteristics of the nib and the reservoir.
The tan line correction solution may include water, a bronzer, a sunless tanner, a preservative, an emulsifier and/or any other suitable ingredient. In some embodiments, the tan line correction solution may be water-based.
The sunless tanner may include dihydroxyacetone (“DHA”). The DHA may be derived from sugar beets, sugar cane, or though any other suitable method.
For the purposes of the application, a bronzer may be anything that creates color on the skin, such as any suitable dye, coloring agent, staining agent, cosmetic coloring, pigment and/or colorant. Exemplary bronzers include one or more of Black Walnut Extract and/or a caramel color. Exemplary bronzers also include one or more of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic (FD&C) colors, such as any suitable combination of Yellow 5 (Colour Index (hereinafter, “CI”) 19140), Yellow 6 (CI 15985), Red 33 (CI 17200), Red 40 (CI 16035), Blue 1 (CI 42090) and/or any other color(s). Each of the FD&C colors may function as a colorant and/or a pigment in the tan line correction solution. In some embodiments, the bronzer may be an all-natural bronzer or an instant bronzer.
For example, in some embodiments, the tan line correction solution may include one or more of water, deionized water, glycerin, DHA, isopentyldiol, Black Walnut Extract, caramel color, phenoxyethanol, citric acid, fragrance and/or any other suitable ingredient. In some embodiments, the tan line correction solution may also include one or more of lycopene, the amino acid Tyrosine, the synthetic melatonin-stimulating hormone analog afamelanotide and/or bronzer(s).
In other embodiments, the tan line correction solution may include one or more of water, glycerin, DHA, propylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, propandiol, disodium edta, a bronzer and/or any other suitable ingredient. The bronzer may include any suitable FD&C color, such as yellow 5, red 40, blue 1, red 33, yellow 6 and/or any other suitable ingredient or color.
An exemplary appearance of the tan line correction solution is a dark brown liquid, a light brown liquid, any other suitable shade of brown or any other suitable color. The tan line correction solution may have an odor such as a Tropical Gold Fragrance or any other suitable fragrance.
Exemplary attributes for a tan line correction solution that may be used in a cosmetic applicator in accordance with the invention are as follows:
The cosmetic applicator may include a pen barrel, a plug, a reservoir, a nib and a cap. In some embodiments, the reservoir may be a fibrous reservoir.
The pen barrel may be formed from glass, aluminum, plastic, or any other suitable material. The pen barrel may include a front end and a back end. The pen barrel may be hollow in the middle and include an open space in one or more of the front end and the back end. In some embodiments, the plug may be inserted in the open space located at the back end of the pen barrel.
The reservoir may be positioned inside the pen barrel. In some embodiments, the reservoir may be inserted into the pen barrel through the open space located at the back end of the pen barrel. For example, a robotic arm may thrust the reservoir into the plastic barrel. A plug may be subsequently inserted into the open space at the back end of the pen barrel, holding the reservoir in place.
The shape of the reservoir may be the same as, or substantially similar to, an elongated cylinder, an elongated rectangle, or any other suitable geometric shape.
The reservoir may comprise a shell filled with a porous, absorbent and/or fibrous filling. The shell may be described herein as having a tubular shape. However, it should be noted that the shell may have any other suitable shape, such as a rectangular shape or any other suitable geometric shape.
Some embodiments may only include a porous, absorbent and/or fibrous reservoir without a shell.
In some embodiments, the tubular shell may be formed from non-rigid material. In other embodiments, the tubular shell may be formed from rigid material.
The tubular shell may be filled with a filling such as a fibrous filler. The filling may be densely packed in the tubular shell. The filling may be made from felt, polyester and/or any other suitable material. Exemplary polyester included in the tubular shell includes a densely packed highly porous polyester fiber. In some embodiments, the filling may include a set of tubes wrapped in plastic.
The filling included in the reservoir may be saturated with tan line correction solution. The filling may retain the tan line correction solution in suspension.
In some embodiments, a vacuum pump may suck the tan line correction solution into needles. Each needle may be then be pushed by a robotic arm into a reservoir and inject tan line correction solution into the filling, saturating the filling with the tan line correction solution.
The flow of tan line correction solution in the reservoir may be anisotropic. In other words, the flow of the tan line correction solution in the reservoir may have a directional preference. The directional preference may be along the longitudinal axis of the pen barrel.
A nib may be inserted through the open space located at the forward end of the pen barrel. For example, in some embodiments, the nib may be pushed into the open space at the forward end of the pen and held in place by a tension fit. This may also bring the nib into physical contact with the reservoir.
In exemplary embodiments, mechanical vibration and/or pressed air may drive a conveyer belt carrying nibs. The nibs may fall into the clutch of a mechanical claw. The mechanical claw may drop the nibs onto a circular pusher. A circular pusher may force each nib into a pen barrel. The force from the pusher may cause the nib and the pen barrel to interlock, and to bring the nib into physical contact with the reservoir.
The impact between the nib and the reservoir resultant from the insertion of the nib into the pen barrel may flood the nib with solution retained in the reservoir. In some embodiments, the reservoir may deliver the tan line correction solution to the nib through capillary action. In some embodiments, the force of gravity may also assist in delivering tan line correction solution from the fibrous reservoir to the nib.
The nib may be porous, oriented and/or include many channels. Exemplary material used to form the nib includes pressed fibers, resin, plastic, polyester, acrylic and/or porous polyethylene. For example, the nib may be formed from highly-porous, oriented, polyester fiber. The physical composition of the nib may assist the nib in absorbing tan line correction solution from the reservoir by capillary action.
In some embodiments, the nib may be relatively dense and retain its shape, or substantially retain its shape, when depressed on a surface. It should be noted that the nib may be substantially more dense than laminated polyester foam.
The viscosity of the tan line correction solution may be matched up with the porosity of the nib and the density of the fibrous filler. This matching may be used to ensure that the tan line correction solution works in an optimal capillary reaction with the nib and the fibrous filler.
The nib may be held in a stationary position on the pen barrel. Alternatively, the nib may be retractable.
Movement of the nib along a surface may result in the nib dispensing tan line correction solution on the surface. The amount of tan line correction solution dispensed by the nib may be substantially constant. In some embodiments, a user may not be able to adjust the amount of solution being dispensed from the nib. In other embodiments, a user may be able to adjust the amount of solution being dispensed from the nib. Such adjustment may be accomplished using methods that are known in the art.
The pen barrel may also include a cap. The cap may be removably secured to the forward end of the pen barrel. The cap may protect the nib from being deformed and/or drying out.
Advantages of the cosmetic applicator in accordance with the principles of the invention include the ability to apply a substantially constant amount of tan line correction solution to a surface. This results in the precise application of tan line correction solution, because of the predictability of the solution flow. Additionally, the nib of the cosmetic applicator in accordance with the invention retains the solution in a manner that eliminates the problem of leaking and dripping. This is in contrast to conventional tan line correctors which produce an uneven flow of tan line correction solution and have an undesirable amount of messy leakage and dripping.
Reservoir 502 may be saturated with tan line correction solution. Reservoir 502 may hold the tan line correction solution in suspension. Reservoir 502 may transmit tan line correction solution to nib 504 by capillary action.
It should be noted that the cosmetic applicators illustrated in
Thus, an apparatus for a cosmetic applicator according to the invention has been provided. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced in embodiments other than the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration rather than of limitation.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/834,006, filed on Jun. 12, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61834006 | Jun 2013 | US |
