EP1070463B1 - Applicator comprising twisted bristles - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a application set according to claim 1.

The assembly targeted by the present invention is of the type comprising a reservoir containing a product and provided with an open end to which is attached, removable manner, a plug acting as a gripping element. The plug is secured to an applicator member, generally via of a rod, so that the application member, in the closed position of the assembly, plunges continuously into said product.

The reservoir is intended to contain a makeup product, and more particularly a mascara. A dose of this product is taken using such an applicator, and applied to the surface to be treated.

Many applicators of this type have been proposed in the past for the purpose to apply mascara on the eyelashes, polish on the nails, powder on the cheeks or dye on the hair.

Thus, it is known from document FR-A-2 607 372, in the name of the applicant, an applicator in the form of a mascara brush, consisting of bristles, each having, on the surface, at least one capillary groove extending from rectilinear way over their entire length. The capillary grooves constitute mascara supply slots, allowing the application, a transfer fast and effective mascara on the eyelashes, for a homogeneous makeup.

By document FR-A-2 759 872, also in the name of the applicant, know a mascara applicator on eyelashes with a profile handle substantially flat, and carrying an application member, said application member being composed of a plurality of bristles, implanted on a first end of handle, in an arrangement perpendicular to a plane passing through the handle. The hairs may have a cross section (or cross section) cruciform, in a semicircle or "S". Thus, the hairs have on the surface a or respectively two straight grooves.

In addition, by document FR-A-2 687 055, also in the name of applicant, we know a nail polish applicator with a tuft composed of two types of hair, which hair may present at less a longitudinal capillary groove.

Furthermore, the document WO 97/10374 describes a process for manufacturing fibers twisted non-circular section, obtained by twisting around their axis central from a monofilament of non-cylindrical section of revolution. This document refers to oval or polygonal section fibers or mono-filaments having a core provided with at least one rib extending parallel to the central axis of the filament. Such fibers are twisted after extrusion. These fibers can be used for different kinds of abrasive brushes or cleaning, or for toothbrushes, hair brushes and cosmetic application brushes.

Although these applicators of the prior art give results globally satisfactory, it appeared desirable to have an applicator to obtain a makeup both very loaded and very homogeneous, whose autonomy is superior to that of known applicators. Indeed, the applicators mentioned above may have the disadvantage of losing a good deal of their product load, in particular when the application body is subject to a spinning operation prior to application. This effect is even more sensitive that the grooves or hair grooves of the hairs are scraped all the way through, when the spinning operation.

Also, the object of the invention is to provide an applicator having, in particular after spin, a large supply of product. In addition, the invention aims to controlled application of the product, whatever the area of the application organ, contacting the support to be treated. Such an applicator is adapted eyelash makeup.

The object of the invention is also to provide an applicator which remains simple and economical manufacturing, and practical use. Otherwise, when the product to be applied is relatively fluid, the object of the invention is to better control the flow velocity of the product during application.

An object of the invention is a mascara applicator on the eyelashes, able to give a very regular makeup eyelashes. In particular, one of the objects of the invention consists of a mascara brush with bristles able to load mascara in a more important way than a brush of classic mascara.

Indeed, the plaintiff has found that the intersection of eyelashes with hair having a helical groove, which is provided with a mascara brush, marries the shape of all the eyelashes of an eyelid. Contrary to brushes of the prior art, such a brush causes a more homogeneous sheathing and complete the entire surface of each eyelash. So when the user applies the brush on the eyelashes, it loads the base of the mascara eyelashes over the entire width of the eyelid. Then, rotating the brush around its central axis successively releases the loaded mascara into the throat (s) of the hair, on the entire surface of each eyelash, while painting them and separating all eyelashes all along their length. Such a brush makes it possible to obtain a make-up at the once loaded, regular, lengthening and curling.

According to one embodiment, the application member comprises at least one tuft consisting of said bristles, the bristles being oriented substantially in parallel, one end of the tuft being attached to the gripping element by through a rod.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, said application member can to be secured to a free end of a support. In this case, the organ application is arranged in a plane of said support and oriented transversely to a longitudinal axis of the support. Such a provision may be adopted, for a mascara applicator on the eyelashes.

According to another embodiment, said bristles are oriented, in a manner substantially radially on the applicator member, with respect to a central core or eccentrically. In this case, the applicator can be used as a brush mascara.

Advantageously, such a core is formed by the winding of two branches of a wire so as to tighten the bristles between the rolled branches of blade. In this case, we obtain a brush type "brush". Preferably, the soul defines an axis coincident with the axis of the applicator.

The applicator may have variable external shapes, so the profile outside the applicator, formed by the ends of the bristles, can be adjusted to needs, depending on the nature of the product to be applied and the morphology of the support. This profile can be obtained, for example by mowing with a mower. The applicator may comprise a mixture of hairs of a first length and hair of a second length, greater than the first.

In addition, all or part of the bristles of the applicators, according to the invention, may be any type: with tapered or rounded ends, in the shape of fork or head pin, or have undergone all kinds of treatment known to those skilled in the art. These hairs may be wavy in a plane or shaped spiral stretched.

Regarding the cross section of the bristles, it can be registered, advantageously, in a circle with a diameter of between about 6/100 ^th of mm and about 30/100 ^th of mm.

Depending on the nature of the application organ and the nature of the product to apply, the length of the bristles can be between about 2 mm and about 25 mm. In the case of a brush type "brush", the length of a hair is defined by the distance between its two free ends. In this case, the length hair and is, for example, of the order of 7 mm to 12 mm.

The bristles may be made, for example, of polyamide, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride, teflon, polyethylene terephthalate or thermoplastic elastomer.

Advantageously, said helical groove has a pitch of between 1 mm and 20 mm, and preferably between 1.5 mm and 10 mm, or between 2 mm and 9 mm.

Advantageously, the groove has a depth such that the ratio of the depth of the groove / diameter of the inscription circle is between 1/10 and 9/10. For information only, the depth of the groove can be between 2/100 ^th of mm and 8/100 ^th of mm.

Preferably, the shape of the cross section of the bristles is chosen from the cruciform sections; trilobe; tetralobe; oval hollow; hollow cylindrical; hollow rectangular; polygonal hollow; in the form of "8", "C", "S", E, F, H, I, L, N, W, V; of star shape or crescent shape.

The invention relates to an application set comprising a container intended to contain the product to be applied, capable of being taken with the aid of a applicator as defined above.

In such an application set, in order to ensure a correct dosage of the product and its homogeneous distribution on the application organ, in some cases a wiper member may be provided, advantageously situated in the vicinity of the open end of the tank. Such a wiper member is intended to dose the quantity of product taken by the applicator, and to distribute it in a regular, on the organ of application. Preferably, such a wiper member is made of an elastomeric material, optionally made of foam, and has at least one passage capable of being traversed by the application member and, where appropriate, by a rod portion connecting the applicator member to the gripping. Said passage of the wiper member may comprise at least one spin lip, open or joined. When the application organ is carried by a flat stem, this passage may be in the form of at least one slot extending over a substantial portion of the section of the wiper member.

The invention consists, apart from the arrangements set out above, in a certain number of other provisions which will be more explicitly discussed below, examples of embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but which are in no way limiting.

• la figure 1 représente une vue en coupe axiale d'un ensemble d'application de mascara, selon un premier mode de réalisation de l'invention ;
• la figure 2 représente une vue en coupe axiale, d'un ensemble d'application de mascara, selon un 2^ème mode de réalisation de l'invention ;
• les figures 3 à 18 illustrent, en vue en perspective, différents types de poils, utilisables pour la réalisation des ensembles d'application des figures 1 à 2.

On these drawings:

• Figure 1 shows an axial sectional view of a mascara application set, according to a first embodiment of the invention;
• Figure 2 shows an axial sectional view of a set of mascara application, according to a ^2nd embodiment of the invention;
• Figures 3 to 18 illustrate, in perspective view, different types of bristles, used for the realization of the application sets of Figures 1 to 2.

With reference to FIG. 1, we can see a set of mascara application 1, of axis central X, for the application of a product M contained in a cylindrical tank 2 and equipped with an applicator 3. The applicator 3 comprises a cap 3a capable of being fixed by screwing on the neck 21 of the reservoir and serving as a gripping element. The collar 21 has an external thread 22, able to cooperate with a thread complementary 3b made on the lower portion of the inner surface of the cap 3a. The plug 3a has a generally elongated cylindrical shape, allowing easy handling. The cap 3a is provided with a central rod 5 emerging from the lower side of the plug 3a. This rod 5 has an end 5a on which is fixed, for example by gluing or casing, a implementing body 4.

The neck 21 of the bottle has a free circular edge 23 defining an opening 10. In this opening is mounted a wring member 8, formed of a material elastically deformable. The wiper member is in the form of a glove finger whose bottom is turned towards the tank 2. The bottom is open, in order to form a circular spin lip, suitable, during the extraction of the applicator 6 out of the tank, first squeeze the stem, then remove all excess of product, on the organ of application. In storage position, the organ spin is crossed by the rod 5.

The applicator member 4 shown in FIG. 1 is a brush for applying mascara to the eyelashes, comprising an elongated core 4a formed by twisting two branches of a wire which has been folded into a U. 4a core is fixed by press fitting, at the end 5a of the rod 5. Bristles 9 are implanted radially between the son of the core 4a. When the branches of the wire are twisted, the bristles 9 are tightened and held between the turns of the core 4a. The magnifying glass A shows a twisted hair of straight section in the shape of "S", S ₁₃ . Soul 4a can be central. In this case, it defines an axis coinciding with the X axis of the brush. It can also be eccentric. The bristles 9, made of synthetic fibers and possibly flocked, are chosen from the hairs previously defined, and illustrated, without limitation, in FIGS. 3 to 18. The brush 4 may comprise a mixture of bristles of different types (different diameters shapes, sections, elasticities, materials).

The brush may have any known shape obtained, for example by cutting the ends of the hairs 9 using a clipper.

The brush according to the invention can be heavily loaded with mascara. To his contact, the base of the eyelashes itself loads strongly with mascara. When the user rotates the brush 4 on itself, the eyelashes continue to be in contact with the brush over their entire length and continue to load while curving. The bristles of the brush begin to comb the lashes. When the user continues to turn the brush on itself, the eyelashes are taken in charge by the hairs in a groove G, of variable orientation depending on the degree interpenetration of the eyelashes in the brush, distributing the product over the entire around and along the length of each eyelash, while painting it. In others terms, during the make-up operation, the micro-reservoirs that constitute the throats change position relative to the eyelash to be treated, ensuring a coating homogeneous eyelash.

Thus, each eyelash is loaded homogeneously as well over its entire length that all around it There is no noticeable difference in makeup between the eyelashes of the end of the eyelid and those of the middle. Eyelashes are perfectly separated from each other, elongated and curved.

In Figure 2 we see a mascara applicator 206, which differs from that represented in FIG. 1 by the fact that its rod 205 is substantially flat. She has at its free end 205a a width close to that of a set 204 of hairs 209, formed in the plane of the rod 205, substantially perpendicular to an axis of the applicator 206. The bristles 209 used are of the same type than those described with reference to FIG. The other end of the stem 205 is fixed in a gripping sleeve 203.

The mascara applicator 206 is part of a makeup set 201 having a reservoir 202 containing a product M, surmounted by an element holder wiper. The wiper element is provided with a neck 210 on which the sleeve 203. The wiper element may further comprise a shoulder 223, on which is mounted a wiper member 208. In the case present, the wiper member is formed by an elastomeric membrane or foam, having a slot 211, able to be crossed, during the withdrawal and the applicator 206, by at least a portion of the rod 205 and the assembly 204 209. The implantation plan of the bristles 209 may also be inclined by relative to the plane passing through the rod 205.

When the applicator 206 is removed from the reservoir, the brush loaded with mascara passes through the wiper 211. This squeezes the outer face of the hair, the helical grooves of the bristles having a large reserve of product.

When the applicators covered by the invention are subjected to an operation before the product is applied, the spin is carried out "Random", that is, the distribution of the product in the helical profiles is such as micro-product reserves are present on each hair at a different level. These micro-reserves are able to ensure a very homogeneous product on the support to be treated. Figures 3 to 18 illustrate particularly preferred hair configurations for producing the applicators 6, 206 described above.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a bristle whose section S ₄ has the shape of an "I", having two recesses E, so as to form, on the bristle, two helical grooves G.

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a hair section S ₅ has the shape of a "C", having a recess E, so as to form on the hair, a helical groove G.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a bristle whose section S ₆ is in the shape of an "L", having a recess E, so as to form a helical groove G.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a bristle whose section S ₇ has the shape of an "H", having two recesses E, so as to form, on the pile, two helical grooves G.

Figure 8 shows a perspective view of a bristle whose section S ₈ has the shape of a "W", having three recesses E, so as to form on the pile three helical grooves G.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a bristle whose section S ₉ is in the shape of an "E", having two recesses E, so as to form two helical grooves G on the pile G.

Figure 9 shows a perspective view of a hair section S ₁₀ has the shape of a crescent, having a recess E, so as to form on the hair a helical groove G.

Figure 11 shows a perspective view of a hair section S ₁₁ has an oval shape, having a central recess E, so as to form, after torsion, on the hair two shallow helical grooves G.

Figure 12 shows a perspective view of a hair section S ₁₂ has a rectangular shape, having a central recess E, so as to form, after torsion, on the surface of the hair two shallow helical grooves G.

Figure 12 shows a perspective view of a bristle whose section S ₁₃ has the shape of an "S", having two recesses E, so as to form, on the pile two helical grooves G.

FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of a bristle whose section S ₁₄ has the shape of a flattened rectangle, presenting two recesses E, so as to form, on the bristle, two helical grooves G.

Figure 14 shows a perspective view of a hair section S ₁₅ has the shape of a square, having a recess E on each of its faces, so as to form on the hair four helical grooves G.

FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of a hair whose section S ₁₆ has a tetralobe shape, having four recesses E, so as to form, on the pile, four helical grooves G.

Figure 16 shows a perspective view of a bristle section S ₁₇ has the shape of a cross, having four recesses E, so as to form on the hair four helical grooves G.

FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of a bristle whose section S ₁₈ has the shape of an "8", having two recesses E, so as to form, on the bristle, two helical grooves G.

FIG. 18 shows a perspective view of a pile whose section S has the shape a star, having a plurality of recesses E, so as to form, on the a plurality of helical grooves G.

The helical groove (s) may be of the "levorotatory" type, which means that when viewed from the axis of the hair, they progress in the opposite direction of clockwise rotation.

The helical groove (s) can also be of the type "Dextrorotatory", which means that when viewed from the axis of the hair, they progress in the direction of clockwise rotation.

Thus, it is possible to produce an applicator formed exclusively of fibers of which the throat (s) turn (s) all in the same direction, or a mixture of fibers some of which turn right, while others turn left. This can be done on the application characteristics of the product, in particular on the eyelashes.

These bristles can be obtained by extrusion of a thermoplastic material at through a nozzle having a suitable profile, then twisted by hot twist around their axis, according to the pitch of the desired helical groove. Hairs used according to the present invention can be obtained by a process similar to that described in WO 97/10374 to which reference has been made previously.

Advantageously, the cross section of the bristles above is in a circle whose diameter is between 6/100 ^th of mm and 30/100 ^th of mm.

They may be made of polyamide (PA6, PA6 / 6, PA11, PA6 / 10, PA6 / 12), polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene / propylene copolymer, polyvinyl chloride, teflon, polyethylene terephthalate or thermoplastic elastomer. Where appropriate, one can incorporate in these materials of agents promoting their sliding, such as graphite, bisulphide molybdenum or teflon.

It is understood that these helical profile bristles may further comprise a quantity of non-twisted hairs of section well known in the prior art. AT As an example, we can mention the circular, polygonal, flat, trilobe, tetralobe, "L", "C", "U", etc. These non-twisted hairs can be full or hollow, for example hollow cylindrical.

In the same applicator, for hairs with helicoidal profile or not, the diameter of the cross-section of the circle in which the bristles are have different diameters. Similarly, they can be made of materials different.

In the above detailed description, reference has been made to several modes preferred embodiment of the invention. It is obvious that variants can to be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter.

Claims (20)

1. Applicator assembly (1, 201) comprising:

   a reservoir (2, 202) intended to contain an eyelash make-up product (M), provided with a wringing-out member (8, 208);

   an applicator (6, 206) configured for applying the eyelash make-up product, which comprises:

   a grasping element (3, 203);

   an eyelash make-up applicator member (4, 204), secured to the said grasping element, the said applicator member comprising an arrangement of bristles (9, 209), at least some of the said bristles have a cross section (S₄-S₂₀) provided with a hollowed portion (E),

   characterized in that the surface of the said bristles has at least one helical groove (G) capable of retaining the product.
2. Applicator assembly according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said applicator member (204) is secured by a free end to a support (205), the said applicator member (204) being arranged in a plane of the said support and oriented transversely with respect to an axis (X) of the support (205).
3. Applicator assembly according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said bristles are oriented, approximately radially, with respect to a core (4a) of the applicator member.
4. Applicator assembly according to Claim 3, characterized in that it constitutes a mascara brush.
5. Applicator assembly according to either of Claims 3 and 4, characterized in that the core (4a) is formed by twisting together two branches of a metal wire (3) and in that the bristles (9) are trapped between the twisted-together branches of the core.
6. Applicator assembly according to Claim 5, characterized in that the core (4a) defines an axis coincident with the central axis (X) of the applicator (4).
7. Applicator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a mixture of bristles of a first length and bristles of a second length, greater than the first.
8. Applicator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that all or some of the bristles of the applicator have rounded, tapered, forked or pinhead ends.
9. Applicator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the helical groove (G) has a pitch ranging between 1 mm and 20 mm, and preferably between 1.5 mm and 10 mm, and more specifically between 2 mm and 9 mm.
10. Applicator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cross section of the bristles is inscribed within a circle of a diameter ranging between about 6/100^ths of a mm and about 30/100^ths of a mm.
11. Applicator assembly according to Claim 10, characterized in that the groove has a depth such that the depth of the groove diameter of the inscribing circle is between 1/10 and 9/10.
12. Applicator assembly according to any one of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the length of the bristles is between about 2 mm and about 25 mm.
13. Applicator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bristles (9, 209) are made of polyamide, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, teflon, polyethylene terephthalate or thermoplastic elastomer.
14. Applicator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the said hollow portion or portions is or are formed on the surface of the said bristles.
15. Applicator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the said hollow portion or portions is or are formed inside the said bristles.
16. Applicator assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bristles have a cross section chosen from the cross sections which are in the shape of a cross (S17); a trefoil; a quatrefoil (S16); a hollow oval (S11); a hollow cylinder; a hollow rectangle (S12); a hollow polygon; a figure 8 (S18); a C (S5); an S (S13); an E (S9); an F; an H (S7); an I (S4); an L (S6); an N; a W (S8); a V; a star (S19) or a crescent (S10).
17. Applicator assembly (1, 201) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wringing-out member (8, 208) is arranged near the opening (10, 210), and is capable of having the said applicator (6, 206) passing through it and of metering out an amount of product (M) withdrawn using the said applicator and/or of wringing out a wand (5, 205) connecting the applicator member (4, 204) to the grasping element (3, 203).
18. Applicator assembly (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wringing-out member (8, 208) is made of an elastomeric material, possibly a foam, and has at least one passage (11, 211) through which the said applicator member (4, 204) can pass.
19. Applicator assembly (1) according to Claim 18, characterized in that the wringing-out member (208) is made of an elastomeric material and has at least one slit (211) extending across a substantial part of the cross section of the wringing-out member.
20. Use of an applicator assembly (1, 201) according to any one of the preceding claims, for applying an eyelash make-up product (M).

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