Coating implements with material supply – Including means to apply material-moving force – Piston-provided reservoir
Reexamination Certificate
1996-03-18
2001-05-22
Walczak, David J. (Department: 3751)
Coating implements with material supply
Including means to apply material-moving force
Piston-provided reservoir
C401S206000, C401S205000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06234698
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an applicator for a creamy, lathering or pasty product, having a rigid porous dispensing dome used as the element for applying the product over the surface intended to receive the product.
More precisely, the present invention relates to an applicator for paste, lather, cream or gel, in particular an applicator intended for topical application to the skin of a user of a product with cosmetic or dermo-pharmaceutical action, such as a deodorant, perfuming, thinning or depilatory cream, a face cream or a gel for treating the scalp.
2. Discussion of the Background
In the particular case of a deodorant or antiperspirant product, it has already been proposed to apply the product by using a solid stick containing the active agent to be applied to the skin of the user; this stick is usually packaged in a case allowing it to be moved on the skin as it is consumed.
The drawbacks of such a form of presentation are, on the one hand, the requirement for special and expensive tools for packaging the product and, on the other hand, the fact that preservation of the stick is generally not perfectly ensured. This is because the solid composition used contains a large percentage of alcohol and the packaging is not generally sufficiently leaktight to prevent the alcohol from evaporating, and therefore to prevent the product from drying. Degradation of the stick therefore ensures, making the product unusable, in particular when only a small part of it remains. Comfort during use is furthermore not perfectly satisfactory because the stick lacks flexibility. Furthermore, in particular on the sensitive body regions such as the armpits, known compositions give a greasy impression on application. In brief, the user desires smooth and non-greasy application of the deodorant product, with a refreshing effect.
It has already been proposed to overcome these drawbacks by proposing an applicator of the bottle type, containing a liquid composition, there being on top of this bottle a dispensing head bearing a dispenser dome made of a rigid porous material for use as the applicator element. This type of applicator is described, for example, in EP-A-0,167,657 and FR-A-2,647,034.
The drawback of this type of packaging is twofold: on the one hand, in order to close the bottle when the product is not being used it is necessary to provide a relatively complicated dispensing head, which significantly increases the cost of the packaging; on the other hand, in order to apply the product to the skin it is necessary to perform a preliminary action of introducing the liquid into the porous dome. In these two related documents, this action consists in the prior inversion of the bottle so that the product falls under gravity into the porous dome (upside down). Furthermore, this type of packaging requires a composition with low viscosity and, in general, with a high alcohol content which firstly limits the use of new starting materials for the formulator. Furthermore, compositions for the body which contain alcohol are not very “cosmetic”, and risk being poorly received by the consumer, in particular consumers who have sensitive skin. Secondly, when this applicator is laid flat, for example when the user is travelling, leaks of the product occur, in particular when the protective cap is incorrectly closed, and this constitutes a problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention makes it possible to overcome the drawbacks mentioned above by providing for a new industrial product which includes an applicator containing a viscous product which is applied very smoothly; this application can be performed with ease at all points on the human body, and more especially in the armpits and on the legs, with uniform and homogeneous spreading of the product. This applicator can even be used with a massaging movement, with a view to promoting penetration of the product into the skin.
Thus, the present invention relates to an applicator for a product of viscous consistency, characterized in that it includes a product reservoir and a rigid application element having pores which communicate with one another in all directions. The product has a viscosity chosen so as to prevent passage of the product through the pores under gravity and/or capillary action. The applicator furthermore comprises means for compressing the product and producing a sufficient pressure on the product to push it through the pores when a dose of the product is dispensed.
Advantageously, the compression means are of mechanical type and include, according to a first alternative embodiment, a piston associated with a means for operating the piston. This operating means may include a rotationally mobile rod provided with a screw thread integral with an actuation element such as a knurled wheel. The screw thread of the rod cooperates with a complementary screw thread made in the piston.
In this case, the element for actuating the applicator assembly of the invention advantageously has a shape which is oval or elongated perpendicularly to the axis of rotation of the rod, so that this element forms a lever arm which facilitates ascent of the piston during use.
The application element is advantageously a dome having a substantially convex or planar continuous application surface which may include a slight depression. This dispenser dome may include a ceramic or plastic indeformable rigid sintered material obtained, in particular, by hot compression of plastic or ceramic particles. This sintered material includes pores which communicate with one another isotropically and has a pore size ranging from 1 &mgr;m to 500 &mgr;m, the preferred pore size range extending from 50 &mgr;m to 300 &mgr;m.
The pore size is generally chosen while taking three parameters into account: first, the desired flow rate for the product to be applied, second, the surface condition of the porous dome, which must be compatible with the surface to be treated, and third the viscosity of the product. In order to define the pore size, in a known fashion, the passage flow rate of a product through a given thickness of the sintered material under a predetermined pressure difference is measured, and the equivalent cross-section of a channel providing the same flow rate under the same conditions is deduced therefrom. This equivalent cross-section thus makes it possible to determine the mean diameter of a pore when the number of pores per unit surface area of the dome is statistically known.
When the dispenser dome is made of a sintered plastic, it may include synthetic resins such as high or low density polyethylenes, polypropylenes or polyvinyl fluorides. As a variant, the dome may also be made of a rigid synthetic foam with open cells.
In order to make it possible to apply the product very smoothly, the dome advantageously has an application surface whose mean roughness is chosen in the range of 0.5 &mgr;m to 100 &mgr;m, and preferably in the range of 6 &mgr;m to 50 &mgr;m.
According to a further embodiment, the compression means may include a propellant gas and a dispensing valve which cooperates with the dispensing head. This valve is actuated by the user when applying the product to the skin. Provision may advantageously be made for this dispensing valve to be a valve which is opened by lateral tilting of its emergent rod. The product may be contained in a pouch arranged inside the reservoir, separating the product and the propellant gas. If the product contains a lathering product, advantageously a lather promoting agent, i.e., isobutane is included.
According to this embodiment, the reservoir is a cylindrical canister with a dispensing valve on its top. A fastening means is provided on the canister in order to fix a ring which supports the dispensing head.
In order to enhance the smoothness of application of the product further, elastic suspension means may be provided, for example arranged between the application element and the product reservoir, and more particularly between the application element and the
L'Oreal
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Walczak David J.
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