Coating implements with material supply – Supply container and independent applicator – Applicator includes container closure or overlies material
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-27
2003-11-18
Walczak, David J. (Department: 3751)
Coating implements with material supply
Supply container and independent applicator
Applicator includes container closure or overlies material
C401S126000, C401S123000, C401S175000, C401S171000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06648538
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a device for dispensing and applying a product, such as, for example, a cosmetic product, and also to a refill device for a dispenser. The devices and methods according to optional aspects of the invention may be particularly suitable for dispensing and/or applying products in the form of a liquid, a gel, a cream, or a paste. By way of example, the devices and methods may be for the dispensing of cosmetic and/or care products, such as make-up products, make-up removers, or hair dye products, for example, for application to the skin, hair, and/or nails.
In many fields, and especially in the field of cosmetics, certain products, for example products in the form of a milk, a cream, a paste, or a gel, are dispensed under pressure using a pump. Because of their instability in the presence of air, these products may be packaged in pump systems of the airless type. That is, they may be packaged under vacuum in containers of variable volume that decrease through use of the product. Often, use is made of a pouch with collapsible walls, a deformable-walled tube, or a bottle in which a follower piston is placed. The pump may be of a piston, diaphragm, or valve type.
To apply the product, the user may place the pumped product on one or more fingers and apply it, perhaps by rubbing it into the surface to be treated. Alternatively, the product may be applied using an applicator. The applicator may be in the form of an open-cell foam, for example.
In the case of an applicator that can be reused a number of times, for example, throughout the life of the product, it may be desirable for the applicator to be stored away from the air between uses, so that its mechanical properties, such as suppleness or absorption, are not adversely affected. Furthermore, in the case of an applicator which is not cleaned after each use, contact of product remaining on the applicator with the ambient air, or with any other element in the environment in which it is kept, carries the risk of dirtying the applicator and of adversely affecting the product. In any event, carrying such an applicator around, such as by the user in a handbag, is associated with some problems.
Finally, for certain applicators whose shape may be tailored to the profile of the surface to be treated, such as to the profile of the lips or the corner of the eye, it may be desirable for the product always to be deposited on the applicator in substantially the same way and in substantially the same quantities, so as to perform an application which is substantially repeatable from one time to the next.
Each of EP-A 0 416 185, EP-A-0 931 476, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,931 describes a unit having two reservoirs communicating with one another. One of the two reservoirs is intended to accommodate an applicator. A closure element is secured to a mechanism capable, in response to rotation with respect to the body of the unit, of allowing the product contained in the first compartment to be pressurized so as to force it into the compartment containing the applicator. For this purpose, the wall separating the two reservoirs is configured in the form of a piston which can move axially and/or rotate inside the unit.
One of the optional objects of the present invention is to provide a dispensing and applicator device that solves all or some of the problems discussed hereinabove with reference to the conventional devices.
Another optional object of the invention is to provide a device suitable for dispensing and applying products of high viscosity, such as those in the form of gels, creams or pastes.
A further optional object of the invention is to allow an application element that may be loaded accurately, repeatably, and predictably with product.
Yet another optional object of the invention is to provide a device that is refillable with the same or differing products.
Yet another optional object of the invention is to provide a device suitable for applying products, such as cosmetic compositions, for example, containing fillers or pigments, that avoids the problem of segregation of the fillers or pigments via the pores or cells of the applicator, a problem that is inherent to certain conventional applicator systems.
Yet another optional object of the invention is to provide a dispensing and application device that is relatively simple to use and economical to produce.
Still other optional objects will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.
According to an aspect of the invention, a device for dispensing a product comprises a first reservoir containing the product that is to be dispensed and a second reservoir in flow communication with the first reservoir via at least one passage having a cross-section that is smaller than a cross-section of the first reservoir. The device further comprises an application element configured to be accommodated in the second reservoir and a closure element configured to removably close an opening defined by an edge of the second reservoir. An actuation mechanism may be disposed on a portion of the device other than the closure element and may be configured to move with respect to the first reservoir. The device further comprises a moveable member associated with the first reservoir, the moveable member being configured, in response to the relative movement of the actuation mechanism with respect to the first reservoir, to exert pressure on the product inside the first reservoir so as to cause at least some of the product to pass via the at least one passage from the first reservoir to the second reservoir for loading at least a portion of the application element.
According to another optional aspect of the invention, a device for dispensing a product comprises a first reservoir having a first end portion and being configured to be supplied with a product to be dispensed, and a second reservoir disposed at a second end portion of the first reservoir substantially opposite to the first end portion. The device further comprises at least one passage configured to place the first reservoir and the second reservoir in flow communication with each other and an actuation mechanism configured to be removably associated with the first end portion of the first reservoir. A moveable member may be associated with the first reservoir and may be configured, in response to relative movement of the actuation mechanism with respect to the first reservoir, to cause at least some of the product to pass via the at least one passage from the first reservoir to the second reservoir. The device may further comprise an application element and at least a portion of the application element may be configured to be loaded with product passed to the second reservoir.
Yet another optional aspect includes a device for dispensing a product comprising a first reservoir configured to contain a product to be dispensed, a second reservoir, and at least one passage configured to place the first reservoir and the second reservoir in flow communication with each other. The device may further comprise a piston configured to sealably slide inside at least a portion of the first reservoir. Actuation of an actuation mechanism, accessible from an exterior of the device, may cause the piston to slide inside at least the portion of the first reservoir so as to exert pressure on the product contained in the first reservoir and cause at least some of the product to pass via the at least one passage from the first reservoir to the second reservoir. The device may further comprise an application element having at least a portion being configured to be loaded with product passed to the second reservoir.
Unlike the configurations described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,931, EP-A-416 185 or EP-A-931 476, the dispensing of the product with a device according to an optional aspect of the invention results from the movement of a member other than the closure element. This may facilitate the design of the closure element. This characteristic also may be advantageous when the closure element forms a handling element to hold the applicat
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
L'Oreal
Walczak David J.
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