Patent Application
20210059382
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 a 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 solid or semi-solid such as a waxy or stiff material that generally retains its shape between applications.
The applicator is a two-part applicator having an outer shell and a replaceable cartridge filled with the product to be dispensed. This enables different outer shells to be used with different cartridges, including outer shells having a decorative or personalized appearance.
The top portion of the outer shell may include a cap that opens and closes, and the bottom portion includes a manually operable control such as a rotatable knob to advance the product. The rotatable knob may be mechanically coupled to the lower portion of the outer shell such that the rotatable knob forms part of the outer shell.
The cap is preferably hinged to the outer shell, and the assembly may further include one or more magnets to maintain the cap in a closed condition until use. Alternatively, mechanical latches or frictional cooperation may be used to hold the cap in place.
The cartridge assembly fits into the outer shell and includes an internal rotatable shaft with a lower portion that couples to the rotatable knob of the outer shell, and an upper, threaded portion. The upper, threaded portion is coupled to a threaded piston disposed below the product to be administered, such that when the control on the bottom portion of the outer shell is rotated, the piston moves upwardly, causing the product to be administered through the top portion of the outer shell when the cap is opened.
In the preferred embodiment, the lower portion of the rotatable shaft in the cartridge assembly includes a splined portion, and the rotatable knob includes a socket configured to receive the splined portion of the rotatable shaft. The preferred embodiment further includes a coupling mechanism between the outer shell and the cartridge assembly operative to maintain the cartridge assembly within the outer shell until manually released.
In one disclosed example, the coupling mechanism includes one or more retainer clips that extend from the cartridge assembly and engage with corresponding openings in the outer shell. When a user presses on the one or more retainer clips through the corresponding openings in the outer shell, the cartridge assembly is released from the outer shell. The one or more retainer clips may be supported on arms that are spring-biased away from the cartridge assembly.
Now making reference to the accompanying drawings,
The outer shell preferably includes an upper cap 106, which may be hinged to the shell at 108. One or more magnets 109 may be provided in the cap 106, shell body 102, or both, to maintain the cap in a closed position between uses. 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 bottom of the shell includes a user control such as a rotatable knob 110. The knob includes a socket or cavity 120 including vertical features to receive a splined shaft, as described in further detail below. The knob 110 may include an upper flange 116 bent over the bottom wall 118 of the shell, such that the knob rotates but remains with the shell.
In the preferred embodiment, there are two retainer clips disposed on opposing sides of the applicator assembly. The arms 206 may be made of plastic, with hinges 208 being “living hinges.” Alternatively, the arms may be spring steel or other suitable material(s).
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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.
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 outer shell on a repetitive basis as the contents are used up. An advantage of the system is that the same outer shell may be used with different ingredients if the user wishes to try different product formulations over time.
