This document claims priority to French Application No. 01 13098 filed Oct. 11, 2001, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a device for spraying a substance onto a medium, for example a keratinous medium such as the skin.
The use of a vector gas for spraying paint is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,635,921. This conventional technique has been thoroughly developed and constitutes the subject matter of numerous patent applications, such as European Patent Application No. EP-A1-0 208 247, U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,852 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,519.
Spray devices are presently available on the market under the trademark ECOSPRAY™. These devices are suitable for applying paint to a non-keratinous medium.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,430,506 discloses a spray device which includes a tank on which two nozzles are fixed. The nozzles are connected to a compressed air inlet and can emit air jets which meet in a region situated over a substance feed orifice. This device requires an external source of compressed air and a feed hose.
It is also known to apply makeup by using an airbrush having an applicator stylus connected to a cylinder of compressed vector gas. The applicator stylus includes a vector gas ejection nozzle and a cup containing the makeup to be applied. The makeup is sucked progressively via a duct into the cup by the suction created by the Venturi effect due to the speed of the vector gas leaving the nozzle. This type of airbrush can render the boundary between treated zones and non-treated zones less visible, thus producing blending and shading-off effects or impressions of volume. Hand action is also different since the makeup does not need to be spread out after it has been deposited on the keratinous medium. Makeup is thus applied very hygienically since application may be done without making contact with the fingers or with an applicator.
Such an airbrush is also disclosed in Canadian Patent Application No. CA-A-2 152 406, for example. Similar devices are sold by DINAIR under registered trademarks BEAUTY ART™ and BODY ART™, with the cylinder of compressed vector gas being replaced by an air compressor. In these conventional devices, the applicator stylus and the vector gas source do not constitute a unitary structure but they are interconnected by a hose. As a result, these devices are relatively bulky and are intended mainly for professional use. They cannot easily be carried around in a handbag, as are conventional makeup accessories.
French Patent Application No. FR-A-2 781 208 discloses a device having a unitary structure for spraying a composition onto a medium. The composition is selected from a plurality of compositions of different tones. The composition is sprayed by suction caused by a vector gas jet expanding in the vicinity of a substance feed member. The vector gas jet is emitted through a nozzle whose axis is contained in the same plane as the axis of the feed member.
The present invention provides a novel spray device which is self-contained, and has a structure that is relatively simple and low cost. In particular, the device is suitable for use in the field of cosmetics.
The invention thus provides a device for spraying at least one substance onto a medium. The device includes a supply of vector gas, at least one substance feed configured to be in fluid communication with a supply or reservoir of the substance. The substance is sucked from the supply by suction established in the vicinity of the at least one substance feed by emission of the vector gas.
According to an aspect of the invention, the device further includes at least one shutter configured to interrupt fluid communication between the at least one substance feed and the supply of substance. The substance feed can include at least one orifice. The substance feed can include at least one substance feed member, e.g., a member in which the substance can flow by capillary action or wicking, such as a felt, a foam, or a sintered member.
The invention improves the conditions under which the substance is conserved in the supply of substance. In particular, the invention can help prevent volatile components from escaping. The invention can also lower the risks of the substance leaking out while the device is being carried around in a horizontal or an upside-down position, as may happen, for example, in a handbag.
According to an aspect of the invention, the device can be adapted so as to reestablish fluid communication automatically between the substance feed and the substance supply whenever the vector gas is emitted. The device can also be adapted so that fluid communication is automatically interrupted whenever vector gas emission stops.
According to an aspect of the invention, the device can include a pushbutton configured to act simultaneously, whether directly or indirectly, on a vector gas dispenser valve and on the shutter so that fluid communication between the substance feed and the supply of substance is established when the user presses on the pushbutton to deliver the vector gas.
The supply of substance can be contained, for example, in a first receptacle fixed to a second receptacle containing the vector gas. The two receptacles can also have at least one portion in common, e.g., a partition defining at least two compartments respectively containing the vector gas and the substance to be sprayed.
The receptacle containing the substance and the receptacle containing the vector gas can be in fixed relationship, neither being capable of moving relative to the other in use. By way of example, this embodiment provides an assembly which is relatively compact and easy to carry around, for example, in a handbag.
The receptacle containing the substance can, for example, be annular in shape. The receptacle can define a passage, e.g., a central passage, along which a control member for a valve, which is fitted to the receptacle containing the vector gas, can extend.
The shutter can be operationally connected to at least one element actuated by moving the pushbutton of the device. Such an element can include a hollow rod, for example. The rod can define at least one internal passage enabling the substance contained in the supply of substance to reach the substance feed.
By way of example, the shutter can include at least one gasket suitable for closing at least one orifice through which the substance can flow to reach the substance feed. The gasket can be configured to release or uncover the orifice at least in part while the substance is dispensed.
In a particular embodiment, the shutter includes a gasket mounted on a hollow rod. The rod can be closed at its bottom end. The gasket can bear via its top face against a shoulder of the rod. The rod can be pierced by at least one substance admission orifice. The admission orifice can have a diameter smaller than or equal to the thickness of the gasket. The gasket can be configured to abut via its bottom face against a fixed bearing wall when the hollow rod is pushed down, so that the gasket is then compressed and disengages, or uncovers, the admission orifice at least in part, so as to allow the substance to flow towards the substance feed. By way of example, the gasket can also press via its periphery against the inside surface of a duct in which the hollow rod can move axially. The duct can be adapted to communicate freely with the outside, in which case the gasket provides a leak-tight closure of the gap situated between the hollow rod and the inside surface of the duct. The top end of the duct can connect to a cover closing the top of the substance containing receptacle, for example. The hollow rod can be actuated by moving the pushbutton that controls vector gas emission, for example. The inside space at the bearing wall against which the gasket can come into abutment via its bottom face can communicate with the receptacle containing the substance, e.g., via an annular channel formed in a bottom end wall of the receptacle. The above-mentioned duct can be connected in a leak-tight manner to the above-mentioned tubular bearing wall.
According to an aspect of the invention, the device can include a pushbutton made by assembling together a bottom portion and a top portion. The bottom portion can be made integrally with an actuator rod, for example, and can extend in a passage of the receptacle containing the substance, e.g., a central passage. The control rod for the valve delivering the vector gas can be engaged in the actuator rod of the pushbutton. The vector gas can be emitted via at least one gas outlet orifice.
In a particular embodiment, the vector gas is emitted via at least two gas outlet orifices, of respective positions and orientations such that the vector gas jets emitted by the orifices meet. The application characteristics can thus be improved. The gas outlet orifices can be disposed, for example, symmetrically about the spray axis.
The substance feed can include an orifice having an axis substantially in the same plane as the axes of the gas outlet orifices. The gas outlet orifices can be arranged so that the gas jets emitted by the orifices meet directly without being deflected on any deflector-forming element. Alternatively, at least one deflector-forming element can be provided. The gas outlet orifices need not have any swirl channels.
In a particular embodiment, the gas outlet orifices have axes which make an angle of about 45° with an axis of a substance feed orifice. The axis of this orifice, through which the substance is delivered, can coincide with the spray axis, for example.
The vector gas can be contained in liquefied form in the vector gas receptacle. This enables the device to be compact, or alternatively enables the device to operate for a longer time, e.g., twenty times longer than when using compressed air. The vector gas can also be emitted at constant pressure which improves the reproducibility of makeup performed using the device. The vector gas can be compatible with the spray device being used in cosmetics or dermatology.
At the inlet of the valve body, for example, the device can include an element enabling vector gas in gaseous form to pass, while preventing vector gas in liquefied form from passing. Such an element can include a block of sintered material, for example.
The substance which is sprayed can be a liquid, a liquid containing solid particles in suspension, or a powder that is sufficiently fine. The term “spray” should therefore be understood broadly as covering not only projecting liquid droplets, but also projecting dry particles, more commonly known as “dusting” or “blowing”.
The receptacle containing the substance can be fixed on the receptacle containing the vector gas in removable manner, thus making it possible, for example, to use a common vector gas receptacle to spray a variety of substances. The receptacle containing the substance need not have any air intake duct. In a variant, the receptacle can include a mechanism that enable air to be admitted, such as, for example, a microleak or a valve capable of opening in the event of a drop in pressure in the receptacle. If a microleak is used, it can be configured to prevent substance from passing therethrough when the device is in a prone position.
A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The spray device 100 shown in
In the example described, the receptacle 104 has a cavity 105 that is generally annular in shape about an axis W. The cavity 105 contains the substance P and is defined radially on the outside by a first tubular wall 105a and radially on the inside by a second tubular wall 105b. The walls 105a and 105b are united at the bottom by a bottom end wall 105c which includes an annular channel 107 about the axis W, whose function is explained below.
The top of the cavity 105 is closed by a cover 110 with a duct 111 having its axis parallel to the axis W being connected to the bottom face of the cover. The cover 110 can bear against a shoulder 112 formed at the top end of the wall 105a.
The duct 111 extends over substantially the entire height of the cavity 105 and its bottom end is assembled to a wall 114 which projects upwards from the bottom wall 105c vertically over the channel 107. The duct 111 can be assembled to the wall 114 by engaging one within the other, for example. The above-mentioned wall 114 can be continuous or discontinuous, and for example it can be constituted by studs. The duct 111 and the cover 110 can also be formed integrally, for example.
The pushbutton 103 is made, for example, by assembling together a top portion 103a and a bottom portion 103b. In the example shown, the bottom wall is formed integrally with a hollow rod 120 for actuating a valve of the pressurized receptacle 101, the rod being capable of sliding inside the wall 105b. This valve can itself have a hollow control rod 121 engaged in a leak-tight manner in the bottom end of the rod 120, and bearing via a shoulder against the bottom end face of the rod 120.
The pushbutton 103 can be moved along the axis W to act on the control rod 121, thus causing the vector gas to flow along the duct inside the rod 120 so as to reach a cavity 125 which is in communication, as can be seen in
The pushbutton 103 also has a substance feed orifice 130 having an axis Zc which coincides with the spray direction, for example. The orifice 130 communicates with the inside of a hollow rod 140, for example, which rod is closed at its bottom end by a wall 141, as can be seen in
In the example shown, the gasket 150 bears via its plane top face 151 against an annular rib 142 of the rod 140. The rod 140 has at least one substance admission orifice 145 whose diameter is less than or equal to the nominal thickness of the gasket 150 as measured along the axis of the rod 140. The orifice 145 is positioned in such a manner that the gasket 150, when bearing at rest against the rib 142, covers the orifice 145 completely and prevents the substance P contained in the cavity 105 from penetrating via the orifice 145 into the rod 140.
By way of example, the rod 140 is fixed via its top end in a housing 160 of the pushbutton 103 and can move together with the rod 120 when the user presses on the pushbutton 103. When the rod 140 is pushed down, the gasket 150 is compressed between the wall 114 and the rib 142 with such compression having the effect of reducing its thickness and releasing or uncovering the orifice 145, at least in part, so that the substance contained in the cavity 105 can flow through the orifice 145, up the rod 140, and reach the substance feed orifice 130.
When the pushbutton 103 is released, the rod 140 rises together with the pushbutton so the gasket 150 can return to a thickness which is sufficient for closing the orifice 145 because of the gasket's shape memory.
The device 100 operates as follows. To spray substance P, the user presses on the pushbutton 103, thereby pushing down the rod 121 of the valve on the receptacle and causing vector gas to be emitted into the passage inside the rod 120. The vector gas flows via the duct 126a and 126b so as to leave via the orifices 127a and 127b, thereby establishing suction in front of the substance feed orifice 130 by the Venturi effect. Pushing down the pushbutton 103 also has the effect of moving the rod 140 so as to compress the gasket 150 as explained above. The orifice 145 is then released at least in part and substance P contained in the cavity 105 can rise up the passage inside the rod 140 and reach the orifice 130 due to the effect of the above-mentioned suction. The substance is then sprayed along the direction of the axis Zc so long as the user continues to press on the pushbutton 103. When the pushbutton is released, it can rise back into its rest position because the control rod 121 is returned into its initial position by resilient means specific to the receptacle 101, and also because the gasket 150 has its own elasticity. By returning to its initial shape, the gasket closes the orifice 145 so that when the device 100 is carried about in a horizontal or an upside-down position, the substance P remains contained inside the cavity 105 and does leak out through the substance feed orifice 130.
By way of example, the receptacle 104 can be secured removably to the receptacle containing the vector gas, so as to make it possible, where appropriate, to change receptacle 104 when the supply of substance is used up. This can also enable the receptacle 101 to be replaced, or enable different substances to be sprayed in succession using a single receptacle 101.
In the embodiment corresponding to
It is also possible to use a plurality of supplies of different substances mounted in respective chambers of a rotary cylinder, in a manner similar to that described in French Patent Application No. FR-A-2 781 208, whose content is hereby incorporated by reference.
Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. In general, the above-described shutter can be replaced by any suitable shutter mechanism, e.g., the shutter mechanism shown in
A check valve, e.g., in the form of a ball, configured to open by moving the pushbutton can also be used, as shown in
In variant embodiments, the annular channel 107 can be omitted, e.g., if the substance is allowed to reach the space inside the wall 114, e.g., through openings formed in the wall and in the bottom end of the duct 114.
It would not go beyond the scope of the invention for the suction created by emitting the vector gas to be produced through a single orifice. Nor would it go beyond the ambit of the invention for the substance feed to include a substance feed member such as a felt, a foam, or a sintered member, as shown in
The control rod 121 for the receptacle containing the vector gas can also cause the vector gas to be dispensed by being tilted relative to the axis W, providing the pushbutton is configured accordingly.
The receptacle 104 can be made without an air intake, or with an air intake, in particular if extended use is envisaged. To enable air intake, it is possible, for example, to make a microleak 230, as shown in
As shown in
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically described therein.
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