WIPER FOR COSMETIC APPLICATOR

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of cosmetic applicators, in particular, it relates to an improved wiper for cosmetic applicators.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRIOR ART

As it is widely known, cosmetic formulations for lips and eyes are placed and marketed in a container designed to maintain the separation between the composition and the external environment in the best way and for the longest possible time, in order to reduce any risk of contamination of the product following to the contact with air and heat.

To this end, the container is conventionally composed of a main cylindrical body, closed at the top except for an opening coinciding with a neck of reduced diameter compared to the diameter of the container itself, comprising a mouth, said mouth having an engagement and holding structure, to which a complementary structure on the surface of a cap corresponds. Usually, one end of a rod is held in engagement with the cap, at the opposite end of which is disposed an applicator for cosmetic material, said applicator having different shapes and properties, depending on the surface with which its engagement is intended. For example, a bristled applicator is usually provided for applying mascara to the eyelashes, while a “brush-type” applicator, or more generally a “tip-type” applicator, for example flocked, is used to apply make-up on the lips.

In the resting phase, the applicator is immersed in the liquid, causing the applicator surface to be overloaded with material. In order to reduce the risk of excessive deposition of material on the area of interest, and to reduce the risk that air passes through the cap and it contaminates the cosmetic material provided inside the container, a wiper—typically press-fitted inside said neck is provided—that is, a manufactured article consisting of a cylindrical body flanged at one end and provided at the opposite end with a frustoconical tapering, the bottom surface of which is perforated.

The structure of the wiper has been the subject of various patent applications over the years, aimed at solving different issues, although the problem of loading an adequate amount of cosmetic composition onto the applicator is still particularly felt. In the large literature, some solutions have been identified that are of particular interest.

KR 2020 0 135 235 A1 relates to a container equipped with a wiper. In particular, it discloses a container for cosmetics that includes a wiper able to prevent that a cosmetic remains excessively stuck in a spoid portion of a dropper and of facilitating the withdrawal and retraction of the spoon portion. KR'235 discloses a wiper for dropper applicators, composed of a plurality of vertical ribs, in which each rib portion is separated from the other; furthermore, an annular portion comprising a slit is installed. KR'235 does not solve the problem of loading the correct amount of cosmetic composition onto a bristled or spongy applicator.

KR 2017 0 093 674 A1 discloses a device for cleaning lip gloss and mascara and, more particularly, a device for cleaning lip gloss and mascara that prevents the contents of the lip gloss or mascara from overflowing or becoming contaminated or remaining attached around the opening of the container when a sponge is extracted from or inserted into the container, such as the lip gloss and mascara. KR '674 discloses a wiper member to be installed, in a per se known manner, inside a container for cosmetic compositions. The wiper member is optionally provided with internal perimeter projections art to receive a second wiper member.

KR 10-2 313 212 relates to a cosmetic container comprising, among other things, a wiper having a structure with multiple fins projecting inwards, adapted to clean a rod provided with an applicator by bending at its passage, the fins having a differentiated length to create a double scraping surface, one on the fins, one at the terminal hole.

This solution, however, is not able to guarantee the recovery of the substance that is deposited along the wiper, which risks spoiling the quality of the product to be applied, since it is in fact more subject to air and external agents than the substance that remains in the reservoir.

Furthermore, the need for the applicator to exit with the correct amount of substance is increasingly felt, so as to reduce the risks of waste to a minimum, according to recent trends in the fight against waste.

Finally, over time, different types of applicators have been developed, having different morphologies and materials, to allow for the most effective deposition of the cosmetic material, for example on the face or lips. It is therefore necessary to create a wiper that is able to adapt to the profile of the applicator, regardless of the conventional construction constraints determined by the rigid structure of the container.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a wiper which, on the one hand, is capable of keeping the applicator clean from the excess material deposited on it when it is ready to perform its task and consequently recover the substance deposited on the wiper, which tends to deposit along the internal walls of the wiper itself, and on the other hand, which is made in such a way that it can adapt to the most varied cross-sections and shapes.

This object is achieved through a wiper having the features defined in claim 1, while the subordinate claims describe preferential features of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the invention will in any case become more evident from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, given purely by way of non-limiting example and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the embodiment of the wiper according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the wiper as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom view of the wiper according to the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a section view the wiper according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The wiper 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 consists of a cylindrical crown 2, from one end of which a frusto conical body 3 extends, with reinforcing and retaining ribs 4 being provided on the outer surface of said cylindrical crown 2 and of said frusto conical body 3.

Internally, a cylindrical crown 5 is provided, having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the free surface 2a of said cylindrical crown 2, an oblique surface 6 connecting said free surface 2a of said crown 2 and said inner crown 5. The crown 5 has a limited height, the internal profile of the wiper 1 widening into a cavity 7, from which a hopper 8 extends.

From FIGS. 2 and 3, the conformation of the engagement surface of the wiper with respect to the neck of the container with which the wiper 1 is associated is clear, that is, the particular morphology of the ribs 4 that form the engagement and holding surface of the body to the neck of the container, and the size and type of engagement that the cylindrical crown 2 makes with the opening of the container for the insertion of the applicator into the reservoir.

Furthermore, from FIG. 2, the symmetrical profile of the ribs allows for the identification of zones of engagement with the surface of the neck of the container and zones of lightening, which also allow for the elastic deformation of the body of wiper 1 as the applicator passes through it.

In the same way, in FIG. 3, the relationship between the structure with alternating ribs 4 and the central hole 9, which is adapted for the movement of the applicator, is brought to evidence. The terminal area of the wiper 1 is also clearly recognizable, composed of a frusto conical crown 10 that branches off from the frusto conical body 3 with a more pronounced tapering than that of the body 3, said frusto conical crown 10 being in turn connected at its innermost end to a further, more angled, terminal frusto conical crown 11. Particularly, said innermost crown 11 is substantially horizontal.

Finally, FIG. 4 shows the section of the wiper 1 according to the invention: the elements described so far are here substantially entirety recognizable, namely the frusto conical body 3 which terminates superiorly with a cylindrical crown 2, in turn terminating in the top surface 2a, the cylindrical crown internally providing a thickening constituted by the cylindrical crown 5—which reduces the diameter of the cavity provided in said wiper 1 for receiving the applicator and it is recognizable along the longitudinal axis, albeit according to an irregular profile—and also providing a frusto conical surface 6 which extends from the free surface 2a of said cylindrical crown 2, the cavity 7 being interposed between the cylindrical crown 5 and the hopper 8, from which the central cavity 9 extends until it is confined by the frusto conical crown 11.

Compared to the previous figures, however, the section in FIG. 4 also shows the labyrinth structure, consisting substantially of a vertical succession of at least two radial blades 12 having a substantially horizontal angulation, said radial blades 12 reducing the passage of said central cavity 9, while the same diameter of the central cavity 9 is maintained between one blade and the other at the end of the hopper 8.

In the illustrated embodiment, the wiper is made in two components, to satisfy the different structural requirements: a piece of rigid material (disposed superiorly and not shown in the figures, because it adds nothing compared to conventional wiper solutions) for the engagement and abutment with the neck of the container and a centrally perforated piece of soft material adapted to guarantee the correct elasticity for the elements of engagement with the applicator, namely the blades 12 and the terminal frusto conical crown 11, as well as to favour the correct disposition of the material on the applicator in the exit phase.

It is however possible to provide a wiper composed entirely of a soft material, or entirely of a rigid material.

The wall arranged for engagement with the applicator, comprising a series of blades 12 compared to the conventional smooth and continuous wall, thus allows for regulating the amount of cosmetic on the applicator: the blades 12 interfere with the bristles, or with the surface, of the applicator, removing the excess substance. The particular structure of blades separated by a gap allows for the correct play of the terminal portions of the blades themselves when the applicator engages with them: upon the passage of the applicator, in fact, the terminal portion bends (respectively upwards during extraction and downwards during insertion), thus constituting in fact a wall that adapts to the shape of the applicator itself, thereby obtaining the desired versatility of the shape assumed by the wiper, obtaining on one side a substantially continuous wall, and on the other a realized contrast surface. In this way, a sort of universal wiper is obtained, valid for the most varied forms of applicator.

In the preferred embodiment, the blades 12 are substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. However, in any other embodiments, angled blades may be provided, instead of horizontal ones, with an inclination that can vary from 1° to 80°.

A wiper has therefore been made that satisfies the intended object, that is, capable of on the one hand reducing the amount of excess cosmetic present on the applicator, thereby recovering the substance initially received and not currently necessary for new applications, and on the other hand, that is able to adapt to any shape of applicator tip one intends to make, and to correctly scrape and clean it. In fact, the blades, thanks to their particular morphology, and their elasticity, can wrap, and interfere with, any profile they find themselves working with, with clearly improved performance compared to the conventional wiper portions provided at the terminal end of the wiper body.

It is understood, however, that the invention is not to be considered limited to the particular arrangement illustrated above, which constitutes only an exemplary embodiment thereof, but that different variants are possible, all within the reach of a person skilled in the art, without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the invention itself, as defined by the claims that follow.

In particular, other embodiments are possible, in which the wiper 1 can have different shapes compared to that described so far, providing different profiles for the body 2 in which the scraping proper actually takes place, for example by providing more rounded shapes, or they can have linear shapes. A frusto conical structure has been preferred to obtain greater versatility in the association with the most varied forms of applicator.

From the description, it is understood that the blades 12 have a fundamental function in the structure of the wiper, and in its operation. It should be noted that the device thus constructed—in order to achieve its intended objects—requires the presence of at least two blades 12, but at the same time that there is no maximum limit of blades that can be provided, the number depending on the length of the wiper and the applicator.

Still other variants may exist, not reported here, which have the same inventive scope of the solution defined by the claims reported below.