Patent Application
20220110434
This invention relates generally to personal care and, in particular, to an applicator assembly for dispensing lip balm and other personal care products.
There are many applicators for personal care products such as lip balm, deodorants, salves, and so forth. However, these applicators come in factory-made housings that may be unattractive to the consumer.
While there are many decorative “cases” for personal care products such as Chap-Stick®, the product itself is nevertheless taken from the case and used in the conventional manner.
The need remains, therefore, for a personal care applicator that integrates a product cartridge with an outer shell or housing, enabling a user to refill a more decorative housing with a product of their choosing.
This invention resides in an applicator for various products, including personal care products such as lip balm, deodorant, cosmetics, and so forth. The invention is not limited in this regard so long as the product is a semi-solid such as a waxy or stiff material that generally retains its shape between applications.
The applicator is a multi-part applicator comprising a tubular shell with inner and outer surfaces and open upper and lower ends. A removeable and replaceable product-dispensing cartridge assembly is insertable within the shell, and a separate case covers at least a portion of the outer surface of the shell. A cap closes off the open upper end of the shell.
The cartridge assembly includes a product cartridge, jackscrew and riser. The cartridge has inner and outer surfaces, an open upper end and a lower end with an opening. The elongated, threaded jackscrew is inserted into the lower opening of the cartridge. The threaded riser that engages with the threaded jackscrew and slides up and down within the cartridge as the jackscrew is turned in opposing directions.
The jackscrew includes a lower end with a lever that remains outside of the cartridge when the jackscrew is inserted into the cartridge, and a knob fits onto the lever, such that when the knob is rotated, a product to be administered above the riser is dispensed or retracted.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the cap attaches to the shell through a magnetic connection. The magnetic connection may include a first magnet disposed within the cap and a second magnet disposed on the shell. The first magnet may be coupled to an insert disposed within the cap. The applicator may include a plurality of removeable and replaceable cases to provide different decorative outward appearances.
The shell may include an upper protruding rim with an outer surface and a lower edge, and the case may have an upper edge that abuts against the lower edge of the protruding rim. At least a portion of the inner surface of the cap may slidingly engage with the outer surface of the rim.
The knob may be removeable and replaceable, and the cap, case and knob may have outer side surfaces that are flush, at least when the knob is at particular degrees of rotation. The product to be administered is a preferably a waxy or semi-solid such as a lip balm, deodorant or other cosmetic or personal hygiene or protective product.
Before making reference to the accompanying drawings, the table below provides a list of major components according to numerical references.
In the preferred embodiment, the upper end of the sleeve 108 includes a rim 107. This configuration serves multiple purposes. First, the lower edge 109 of the rim 107 acts as a stop to which the upper edge 111 of the case 110 abuts. The rim 107 also provides an inner edge 105 that assists with placement of a lower portion 106a of a magnetic closure assembly 106. The upper portion 106a of the magnetic closure is coupled to a lid insert 104 that is installed into a cap 102.
When the user wishes to close the lid 102, they simply place it over the top lip of the inner sleeve 108, and the lid 102 remains in place via magnetic retention from the magnet assembly 106. Alternatively, mechanical latches or frictional cooperation may be used to hold the cap in place, with or without hinges, and/or with or without magnets. For example, with larger contents such as deodorants, the cap may simply pull on and off using friction, detents, threads or the like in between uses.
The magnets 106a, b are glued or otherwise bonded to the lid insert 104 and upper inner edge of rim 107 on outer sleeve 108. As perhaps best seen in
The inner sleeve 108 also acts as a housing for a cartridge assembly 200, shown in
Jackscrew 206 is rotated with a knob 112 that slides onto the lever portion 207 of the jackscrew 206, and remains in position via friction and/or nipple/dimple retention. As shown in
The lever 207 is preferably rotated counter-clockwise to lower the riser 202 to the bottom of the cartridge body 204. The empty void that remains inside the cartridge body 204 above the riser 202 may then be filled with a product, preferably a semi-solid or waxy substance such as lip balm, though other products such as deodorants, sun-tanning/protection and other personal hygiene products. The invention is not limited in terms of the product dispensed, though hard solids and fluid materials are discouraged.
The inner sleeve 108, case 110, and cartridge 204 are preferably elongated and have the same cross-sectional shape, such as rectangular with slightly rounded corners, as shown. An outer case with flat sides such as square or rectangular is preferred for a couple reasons. First, such a shape does not roll away if dropped, and secondly, with a conformal knob as described elsewhere herein, such shapes tend to prevent inadvertent turning of the knob. Nevertheless, sleeve 108, case 110, and cartridge may alternatively have other cross-sectional shapes such as circular, oval, polygonal, star-shaped, or irregular as design or manufacturing concerns dictate.
In terms of materials and dimensions, the entire assembly, including the outer shell and cartridge may be made of plastic, though other material such as aluminum, steel, stainless steel, and so forth may be used for some or all of the various components. For dispensing lip balm, lip sticks and the like, the assembly may be 1 to 4 inches tall or thereabouts, with side-to-side dimensions in the range of ⅜ to 1 inch. For deodorants and larger skin application areas, the length may be 2 to 6 inches, more or less, with side-to-side dimensions in the range of ¾ to 2 inches.
While it may be possible to construct the applicator with fewer pieces, the use of an inner shell, outer case and cartridge assembly offers distinct advantages. As one advantage, the preferred assembly facilitates decorative aspects. A separate case enables different outward design elements to be presented without changing the construction of the inner sleeve. A separate inner sleeve with a lip 107 provides mechanical features for improved magnet retention while allowing the cap to be installed and removed by axial pushing and pulling. Further, in the preferred embodiments, the sides of the cap, case and knob have surfaces that are flush for a clean, streamlined appearance, and the use of a separate inner sleeve and outer case assists with this design goal. The use of a separate cartridge assembly allows cartridges pre-filled with product to be loaded directly into an inner sleeve regardless of the case configuration.
Indeed, it is anticipated that the cartridge assembles would be made available in pre-loaded form, with contents ready for use. As such, a user would purchase a cartridge with desired contents and load the same into their applicator on a repetitive basis as the contents are used up. The same shell may be used with different ingredients if the user wishes to try different product formulations over time.
It is also anticipated that multiple different components may be provided for varied, desired decorative effects. For example, different removeable and replaceable cases may be provided, with or without matching caps or knobs. It is further anticipated that a predetermined rotation of the knob advances the product to be administered by a desired amount. For example, in the case of lip balm, a rotation of 90 or 180 degrees might advance the product by ⅛″ to ¼″ or thereabouts so as to be useful without interfering with cap replacement. A rotation of 90 or 180 degrees is desirable since the flush surfaces of the knob would remain flush with the outer surfaces of the case to retain a desired streamlined appearance.
This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/128,019, filed Dec. 19, 2020. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/554,104, filed Aug. 28, 2019. The entire content of all related applications is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63128019 | Dec 2020 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16554104 | Aug 2019 | US |
| Child | 17555337 | US |
