COSMETIC CONTAINER

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0182363, filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 10, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to a cosmetic container that has an inclined application surface and is thus convenient to use.

2. Description of the Related Art

In existing skin-case or cosmetic sticks, the application surface is typically designed as a flat circular plane that contacts the skin at a perpendicular angle. While this traditional design allows direct application, the area of the stick contacting the skin in one stroke is limited. As a result, the user may have to apply the stick several times for an even application, and there is the possibility that the stick will not be applied evenly, especially around the curved areas of the user's face.

Various solutions have been proposed in the related art to improve the application area, with modifications made to the shapes and sizes of the sticks. Certain designs include larger or irregularly shaped application surfaces so as to provide increased contact areas, while some designs use flexible or deformable materials to better adapt to facial contours. In most cases, however, these designs maintain flat contact surfaces, so that there is a limit to how much the contact area provided in one stroke can be increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the invention, which was conceived to resolve the problem described above, is to provide a cosmetic container that increases user convenience by increasing the application area.

Other objectives of the invention will be more clearly understood from the embodiments set forth below.

One aspect of the invention provides a cosmetic container that can include: a base; a body coupled to the base in a manner that allows relative rotation; a shell coupled to an inside of the base and the body; a piston configured to rotate together with the base and move a content while moving up and down within the shell; and an applicator coupled to an upper portion of the body and having a discharge hole formed therein for discharging the content, where the applicator can have an application surface formed with an incline, and the discharge hole can be formed in the application surface.

A cosmetic container according to an embodiment of the invention can include one or more of the following features. For example, a surface of the application surface can be formed by a double-shot injection of rubber or silicone.

The application surface can have an elliptical shape.

The body can include a cutter, and the cutter can be located under the discharge hole.

The body can include a multiple number of coupling protrusions to which the applicator is coupled, and the coupling protrusions can have heights corresponding respectively to the heights of the application surface.

The base can include a rotary protrusion and a base protrusion, where the rotary protrusion and the base protrusion can be formed on the inner side of the base, while the piston can include a rotary recess and a base groove, where the rotary recess can have the rotary protrusion inserted therein to receive the rotational force of the base, and the base groove can have the base protrusion inserted therein.

The base protrusion can protrude above the piston to be inserted into the content.

An embodiment of the invention having the features above can provide various advantageous effects including the following. However, an embodiment of the invention may not necessarily exhibit all of the effects below.

An embodiment of the invention can provide a cosmetic container that increases user convenience by providing an increased application area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a cosmetic container according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the base.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the shell.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the body.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the piston.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the applicator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the invention to particular modes of practice, and it is to be appreciated that all changes, equivalents, and substitutes that do not depart from the spirit and technical scope of the invention are encompassed by the invention. In the description of the invention, certain detailed explanations of the related art are omitted if it is deemed that they may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the invention.

The terms used in the present specification are merely used to describe particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. An expression used in the singular encompasses the expression of the plural, unless it has a clearly different meaning in the context. In the present specification, it is to be understood that terms such as “including” or “having,” etc., are intended to indicate the existence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof disclosed in the specification and are not intended to preclude the possibility that one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof may exist or may be added.

While such terms as “first” and “second,” etc., can be used to describe various components, such components are not to be limited by the above terms. The above terms are used only to distinguish one component from another.

Various types of content, such as gels, creams, solids, etc., can be used for the content filled in a cosmetic container based on an embodiment of the invention, and the invention is not limited by the type, usage, property, etc., of the content.

Certain embodiments of the invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those components that are the same or are in correspondence are rendered the same reference numeral, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a cosmetic container 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the base 110, and FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the shell 140. FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the body 160, and FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the piston 180. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the applicator 200.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 11, with a cosmetic container 100 based on the present embodiment, rotating the base 110 may raise the content (not shown) that is located inside such that the content is discharged to the outside through a discharge hole 204 of the applicator 200, thereby allowing the user to apply the content that has been discharged to the application surface 202 of the applicator 200 on a desired area. Here, since the application surface 202 of the applicator 200 is formed at an incline with respect to the lengthwise direction and not perpendicularly, the cosmetic container 100 can enable the user to apply the content more easily with an increased area of the application surface 202 and thus can provide greater convenience compared to the case of a perpendicularly formed application surface.

A cosmetic container 100 based on this embodiment may include a base 110, a shell 140, a body 160, a piston 180, an applicator 200, and a cap 220.

The base 110, which may form the exterior of the container 100 together with the body 160, may be rotatably coupled to a lower portion of the body 160. The user can twist the base 110 while holding the body 160 so as to rotate only the base 110 without rotating the body 160.

The base 110 may have a base rim 112, which may be open at the top and partially closed at the bottom. The base rim 112 may have a circular horizontal cross section. A curb 114 may be formed on the outer perimeter of the base rim 112, and the lower end of the cap 220 can be positioned on the curb 114 (see FIG. 1). Also, coupling protrusions 116 may be formed on an upper portion of the curb 114 on the outer perimeter of the base rim 112, and these coupling protrusions 116 may be inserted into indentations (no numeral assigned) formed in the inner perimeter of the cap 220.

Several shell detent protrusions 122 may be formed in the inner perimeter of the base rim 112. The shell detent protrusions 122 can be separated from one another in a certain interval and can all have the same height. The shell detent protrusions 122 may be inserted into a shell detent groove 144 formed in the outer perimeter of the shell 140 to prevent the shell 140 from becoming separated and detached from the base 110 as well as to guide the rotation of the base 110 relative to the shell 140.

On the inner side of the base 110, there may be formed a rotary protrusion 120 and a base protrusion 118.

The base protrusion 118 can have the shape of a quadrilateral plate and can protrude upward to be positioned above the piston 180. The base protrusion 118 protruding above the piston 180 may be inserted into the content to both increase the coupling force between the piston 180 and the content and resolve the problem of the content becoming detached from the piston 180 due to rotation.

The rotary protrusion 120 can be formed across both sides of the base protrusion 118 and can have a polygonal shape. The rotary protrusion 120 may be inserted into a rotary recess 188 formed in the piston 180, whereby the rotational force of the base 110 may be transmitted to the piston 180, and the base 110 and piston 180 may rotate together as an integrated body.

The body 160 may be positioned over the base 110 to form the exterior of the cosmetic container 100, and the applicator 200 may be coupled to an upper portion of the body 160.

The body 160 may include a body rim 162, and the user can rotate the base 110 while holding the body rim 162. Shell detent indentations 164 may be formed in the inner perimeter at the lower end of the body rim 162, and body detent protrusions 146 formed on the outer perimeter of the shell 140 may be inserted into the shell detent indentations 164. A multiple number of shell detent indentations 164 may be formed in a certain interval, and the shell 140 may be prevented from rotating in relation to the body 160, as the body detent protrusions 146 are inserted in the shell detent indentations 164.

The body 160 may include a head part 166, to which the applicator 200 may be coupled. The head part 166 may be formed in an inclined manner in correspondence to the application surface 202 of the applicator 200 and may include a multiple number of coupling protrusions 168 that are formed in oblique shapes. The coupling protrusions 168 may be inserted into coupling groove 206 formed in the lower portion of the applicator 200. Some of the multiple number of coupling protrusions 168 may form the boundaries of a body hole 170. The body hole 170 can be shaped as a slit and may correspond to the channel through which the content is discharged to the upper portion of the application surface 202. Therefore, the body hole 170 may be in communication with the discharge hole 204 of the applicator 200.

A cutter 172 may be formed under the body hole 170. The cutter 172 may correspond to a protrusion formed by a coupling protrusion 168, which forms a boundary of the body hole 170, extending downward and shaping into a sharp edge. The rotation of the piston 180 may cause the content to contact and be grinded by the cutter 172, after which the grinded content may be discharged through the body hole 170 and discharge hole 204 to the outside of the application surface 202.

While it is possible to have the cutter 172 formed in a perpendicular orientation, an embodiment of the invention can have the cutter 172 formed with a slightly inclined angle, as illustrated in FIG. 1. As the cutter 172 is formed with an inclined angle, the content grinded by the cutter 172 can easily move into the body hole 170.

The shell 140 may be located on the inner side of the base 110 and body 160 and may guide the rotation and the upward and downward movement of the piston 180. The shell 140 may be coupled to the body 160, such that the shell 140 and the body 160 do not rotate, and only the base 110 coupled to a lower portion of the shell 140 can rotate. The shell 140 may be shaped as a hollow cylinder and may be structured to be open at both the upper end and the lower end.

The shell 140 may include a shell tube 142. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the shell tube 142 can be in contact with the inner perimeter of the body 160 and the inner perimeter of the base 110. A shell detent groove 144 may be formed in a lower portion of the shell tube 142. As described above, the shell detent protrusions 122 of the base 110 may be inserted into the shell detent groove 144. Also, body detent protrusions 146 may be formed on a middle portion of the shell tube 142. The body detent protrusions 146 may be inserted into the shell detent indentations 164 formed in the inner perimeter at a lower portion of the body 160.

A piston detent protrusion 148 may be formed on the inner perimeter at a middle portion of the shell tube 142. The piston detent protrusion 148 may be coupled to a thread 183 formed on the outer perimeter of the piston 180, whereby the piston 180 can move up and down within the shell 140 while rotating.

The piston 180 may rotate together with the base 110 and undergo upward and downward movements within the shell 140. Since the content is positioned on the piston head 184, which corresponds to an upper portion of the piston 180, the upward movement of the piston 180 causes the content to also move upward in the direction of the body hole 170 of the body 160.

The piston 180 may include a piston sleeve 182, and a thread may be formed on the outer perimeter of the piston sleeve 182. The piston detent protrusion 148 of the shell 140 may be inserted into the thread 183 to guide the rotating piston 180. The thread 183 can be formed over the entire lengthwise direction of the piston sleeve 182.

A piston head 184 may be formed on the upper end of the piston sleeve 182. The piston head 184 may be a portion having a larger diameter than that of the piston sleeve 182, and a multiple number of indentations (no numeral assigned) can be formed in the upper surface of the piston head 184. Having a multiple number of indentations formed in the piston head 184 can increase the contact area with the content and thus resolve the problem of the content easily becoming detached.

A head hole 186 can be formed in a center portion of the piston head 184. The head hole 186 may be in communication with a base groove 190 formed on the inside of the piston 180 and may correspond to a passage through which the base protrusion 118, which has been inserted into the base groove 190, may protrude above the piston head 184.

A rotary recess 188 and a base groove 190 may be formed on the inside of the piston sleeve 182. The rotary recess 188 may be a recess formed in the center on the inside of the piston 180 and may be shaped such that it is open at the lower end and partially closed at the upper end. The rotary recess 188 may have an intagliated shape corresponding to the rotary protrusion 120 of the base 110 and may serve to transfer the rotation of the base 110 to the piston 180 when the rotary protrusion 120 is inserted within the rotary recess 188. The base groove 190 may be formed within the rotary recess 188. The base groove 190 may have the same intagliated shape as the base protrusion 118, and the base protrusion 118 may be inserted into the base groove 190.

The applicator 200 may be coupled to an upper portion of the body 160 and may have an application surface 202 that contacts a target application surface such as the user's skin, etc. A discharge hole 204 for discharging the content may be formed in the application surface 202, where the content discharged through the discharge hole 204 may be supplied onto the application surface 202.

The application surface 202 is characterized by being formed with an incline, instead of being formed perpendicularly to the lengthwise direction of the cosmetic container 100 (i.e., along a horizontal direction). While the inclination angle of the application surface 202 can be within a range greater than or equal to 60 degrees and smaller than 90 degrees with respect to the lengthwise direction of the cosmetic container 100, the invention is not limited by the inclination angle of the application surface 202. As the application surface 202 that contacts the user's skin, etc., is thus formed in an inclined manner, the cosmetic container 100 can be used with greater convenience, as the user does not need to raise the container perpendicularly to the skin but rather may simply raise the container to a slight inclination angle (of 90 degrees of smaller).

The application surface 202 can have an elliptical shape rather than a circular shape, so that the area of the application surface 202 can be increased compared to a case in which the application surface is horizontal. This increase in area of the application surface 202 makes it possible to apply the content over a larger area.

Coupling grooves 206 may be formed in a lower portion of the applicator 200. A multiple number of coupling protrusions 168 can be inserted into the coupling grooves 206, whereby the applicator 200 can be securely coupled to the upper portion of the body 160.

The application surface 202 can be formed from the same plastic resin as that used for the applicator 200 or can be formed by double-shot injection using a material such as silicone or rubber, etc. Fabricating the application surface 202 with a material such as silicone or rubber, etc., that is soft to the touch can provide the user with a more elegant feel.

The cap 220 may be coupled to an upper portion of the base 110 and may serve to protect the body 160 and the applicator 200.

The following provides a description of the operation of a cosmetic container 100 based on this embodiment. For a cosmetic container 100 having the cap 220 coupled on as in FIG. 1, the user may remove the cap 220 and then, while holding the body 160, may rotate the base 110. The rotation of the base 110 may cause the piston 180 to rotate together, and as a result, the piston 180 may move upward while rotating within the shell 140. That is, the rotation of the piston 180 can cause the thread 183 formed on its outer perimeter to rotate and move upward along the piston detent protrusion 148 of the shell 140, which does not rotate. As the piston 180 is rotated and moved upward, the content (not shown) positioned on the top of the piston 180 may be rotated and moved upward together. The content may come into contact with the cutter 172, and the content may consequently be grinded by the cutter 172. Since the cutter 172 can be formed with an inclination angle, the grinded content can easily be moved along the inclined surface and into the body hole 170. The grinded content that has entered the body hole 170 can be discharged through the discharge hole 204 onto the inclined application surface 202 of the applicator 200.

The user can apply the content that has been discharged to the application surface 202 over a desired area, and since the application surface 202 is formed with an inclination angle, the user can apply the content with greater ease.

While the foregoing provides a description with reference to an embodiment of the invention, it should be appreciated that a person having ordinary skill in the relevant field of art would be able to make various modifications and alterations to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the scope of claims below.