a and 3b are a side view and cross sectional side view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form showing flocking adhered to a core;
a and 4e are a side view and a front view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having alternating partial transverse rings;
b and 4f are a side view and a front view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having alternating partial oblique rings (wedges);
c and 4g are a side view and a front view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having alternating partial spirals;
d and 4h are a side view and a front view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having multiple holes;
a and 5e are a front view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush core embodying the present invention in a particular form showing multiple longitudinal masks on the bare core;
b and 5f are a front view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush core embodying the present invention in a particular form showing two longitudinal masks on the bare core;
c and 5g are a front view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush core embodying the present invention in a particular form showing multiple transverse masks on the bare core;
d and 5h are a front view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush core embodying the present invention in a particular form showing a helical mask on the bare core;
a and 6c are a side view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having transverse regions of different flocking envelope thicknesses;
b and 6d are a side view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having helical regions of different flocking envelope thicknesses;
a and 7e are a perspective view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having three flat longitudinal regions;
b and 7f are a perspective view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having two flat longitudinal regions;
c and 7g are a perspective view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having one flat longitudinal region;
d and 7h are a perspective view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a tapered partial longitudinal region;
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a tapered longitudinal region;
b is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a tapered transverse region proximate the proximal end;
c is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a tapered transverse region proximate the distal end;
d is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a wide, shallow tapered transverse region;
e is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a wide, deep tapered transverse region;
f is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a tapered tip region;
g is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a wide, tapered transverse region and a longitudinal groove;
a and 9h are a side view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form made without trimming;
b and 9i are a side view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having two longitudinal grooves;
c and 9j are a side view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having four longitudinal grooves;
d and 9k are a side view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having multiple transverse rings;
e and 9l are a side view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having spiral grooves;
f and 9m are a side view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having both multiple transverse rings and crossing longitudinal grooves;
g and 9n are a side view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having crossing spiral grooves and a longitudinal groove;
a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e and 10f are perspective views, and
a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e, 11f, 11g, 11h, 11i, 11j, 11k, 11L and 11m are perspective views of cosmetic brushes embodying the present invention in a particular form having various patterned regions including spiral, multiple transverse rings, multiple longitudinal, single longitudinal, dots, partial spirals, dotted longitudinal, bulls-eye, S-shaped, X-shaped, longitudinal and transverse, wide spiral, and partial longitudinal, respectively;
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a slight hook at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a partial concave tapering region at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having two opposing partial concave tapering regions at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a partial tapering region on one side at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having two opposing partial tapering regions at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a tapering region terminating at a flat distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a tapering region terminating at a flat distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a tapering region terminating at a rounded distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having slight tapering regions at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having an hourglass shape at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a tapering region terminating at a rounded tip at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a pinched cone shape at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having sharp hook at the distal end of the core;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form having a bulb-shaped distal end;
b is a side view of
a is a perspective view of a cosmetic brush core embodying the present invention in a particular form having a partial tapering region terminating in a flat distal end;
b is a side view of
a and 27b are a side view and a cross-sectional side view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form showing a hollow core with flocking attached to a removable connector;
a and 28b are partial sectional side views of a cosmetic brush and container, respectively, embodying the present invention in a particular form showing a hollow core with flocking which can rotate about the longitudinal axis of the core;
c and 28d are a side view and a top view, respectively, of a cosmetic brush in a container embodying the present invention in a particular form;
a and 29b are a partial cut away front view and a cross-sectional side view along section line A, respectively, of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form showing a connector, a core with fiber, and a stem rod, each of the core and stem rod having an orifice for receiving an end of the connector;
a and 35b are a cross-sectional view and a corresponding enlargement, respectively, of an embodiment of the present invention showing a sleeve injection molded over a flocked core;
aI, 39aII, and 39aIII are front views illustrating a process embodying the present invention in a particular form for producing a cosmetic brush having a flocked core enclosed in a sleeve with bristles;
b is an enlargement of a cross-sectional view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in which a sleeve with bristles is placed over a flocked core;
c is an enlargement of a cross-sectional view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in which a sleeve with bristles is injection molded over a flocked core;
aI, 40aII, 40aIII, and 40aIV are front views illustrating a process embodying the present invention in a particular form for producing a cosmetic brush having a sleeve with bristles placed over a flocked core with voids;
b is an enlargement of a cross-sectional view of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention produced by the process shown in
aI, 41aII, 41aIII, 41aIV, and 41aV are front views illustrating a process embodying the present invention in a particular form for producing a cosmetic brush having a sleeve with bristles placed over a flocked core with voids;
b is an enlargement of a cross-sectional view of the cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form produced by the process shown in
a, 48b, 48c, 48d, and 48e are respective front, side, cross-sectional, isometric and top views of a cosmetic brush embodying the present invention in a particular form showing a core having longitudinal bristles and flocking.
Referring to
In accordance with other embodiments of the present invention and as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In an alternative embodiment, as shown in
The sleeves 204 can be detachable or removable, fixed to the core 202 or the flocking 206, or adhered to the core or the flocking. A user may be directed to remove the sleeve 204 before use. Also, as shown in
When the fibers 14 of a conventional brush are initially attached to the core 12, their free ends may project for somewhat randomly unequal distances therefrom, and accordingly the brush can be subjected to a trimming step. To produce brushes of conventional round, that is cylindrical and/or tapering conical, profile, such brushes are rotated through trimmer heads.
While such trimming is common in the manufacture of conventional twisted-in-wire brushes, one embodiment of the present invention employs trimming to create voids 44 in the flocked fiber array 36 such that the voids form patterns. As shown in
While the patterns of
One example of combining masking and trimming is shown in
Once void patterns are created, the voids can be left bare, or a different type of fiber, such as fibers having different densities, lengths, colors, textures, stiffness, composition, etcetera can be attached to the masked regions by applying additional adhesive on such regions and then flocking on the different type of fibers. By applying two or more types of fiber, a cosmetic brush with more diverse application properties can be created. Also, complex patterns, such as corporate logos, can be created in the fiber array 36 using this technique. Complex patterns are beneficial because they can be visually attractive and can be employed to visually identify the characteristics of the brush.
As shown in
However, as shown in
Furthermore, the adhesive or epoxy, which adheres the flocking to the core, can also be colored. With this process, the core, the adhesive, and the flocking can each be different colors. This difference in colors allows for multicolor patterns to be made during the trimming process by selectively trimming through the flocking and/or adhesive to expose the different color or colors of the adhesive and/or the core. This invention contemplates that the diverse patterning processes discussed above can be combined in various combinations to produce complex, multi-color and/or multi-textural patterns for a brush.
In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in
a-28b show a flocked brush 100 that can be rotatably attached to a handle. In this embodiment, a connector 102 has a proximate end 104 which is provided to attach to the handle or a stem rod, and a distal end 106 to attach to a hollow core 108 by insertion into the inner hollow portion of the core, such that the core is free to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the core 102. In one embodiment, the rotation is permitted by a circumferential track 112 in the connector 102 into which a guide 114 on the inside of the core 108 fits. In operation, the guide 114 rotates in the track 112 carrying the rest of the core and the adhered flocking about the longitudinal axis of the core 102.
These rotatable brushes allow a user to utilize all surfaces of the fiber array without requiring the user to manually rotate the brush, since proper rotation of a fixed brush held between a user's thumb and forefinger can be difficult.
A particular advantage of the brush of the present invention is that numerous fiber array patterns can be easily created. Additionally, fiber arrays with two different types of fibers, arranged in diverse patterns can be efficiently produced.
Sleeves 204 with flocking 208 or bristles 210 are not limited to the embodiments discussed above with respect to
An exemplary process for obtaining the embodiments shown in
aI-40aIV and 40b illustrate an alternative process by which voids are created by trimming a flocked core. This process involves, for example, starting with a core 202, applying flocking 206 to the core to create a core without voids, trimming the flocking to create voids 207, and then placing or injection molding a sleeve 204, which is formed with bristles 210, over the flocked core.
While the brushes with sleeves 204 shown in
In another embodiment of the present invention, even if the core 202 is formed with bristles 210, flocking 205 can still be applied. In the embodiment shown in
The numerous new arrays of fibers can also be incorporated into traditional wire and bristle mascara brushes. For example, fibers can also be flocked onto the voids found in traditional wire core mascara brushes or directly onto the bristles of such brushes to provide new functionality and a more pleasant sensation when applying mascara. In a similar manner, stiffer fibers, such as the bristles found in conventional mascara brushes, can be flocked onto regions of previously flocked brushes to provide additional functionality in applying cosmetic materials. Furthermore, while the embodiments described above have been described with a brush having a core 202 with a continuous surface, this invention also applies to twisted wire brushes.
However, because each side 308, 310 of the wire can be separately treated or formed before being twisted together, additional variations are possible with a twisted wire core 312.
For example,
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the features and embodiments hereinabove specifically set forth, but may be carried out in other ways without departure from its spirit.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/843,972 filed Sep. 11, 2006, hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60843972 | Sep 2006 | US |