GB2162822A

GB2162822A - Package for a solid substance particularly a cosmetic

Info

Publication number: GB2162822A
Application number: GB08511227A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jean-Louis Gueret
Original assignee: LOreal SA
Current assignee: LOreal SA
Priority date: 1984-05-07
Filing date: 1985-05-02
Publication date: 1986-02-12
Also published as: IT1183823B; BE902352A; JPS6133604A; FR2563711B1; IT8567417A0; GB8511227D0; GB2162822B; IT8567417A1; DE3516408A1; FR2563711A1

Abstract

A package for a product such as a cosmetic comprises a cap (4) defining an internal a cavity (5) which forms a mould in which the product is cast when hot, and a pedestal (3) which is intended to carry the solidified block (2) of product and which incorporates an internal attachment device (7) to be embedded in the block (2). The device (7) incorporates a retaining plate (15) for immobilizing the block (2) relative to the pedestal (3) and radial fins (18) preventing the block (2) from rotating relative to the pedestal (3), thereby promoting release of the block from the cavity. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Assembly for the packaging and the application of a substance, particularly a cosmetic, which is in solid form The present invention relates to an assembly for the packaging and the application of a product which is in the form of a solid block and which is obtained by solidifying a formulation which can be cast when hot. A particular application of the device according to the present invention lies in the packaging and the application of cosmetic products such as blusher, lip salve, eye shadow or deodorant.

Traditionally, some cosmetic compositions of this type, and in particular blushers, are packaged in jars with a wide opening, which are closed with removable lids. For the user, this style of packaging has the disadvantage of having to withdraw a quantity of the product from the jar using the fingers, which entails soiling the fingernails. Moreover, withdrawal becomes less and less convenient as the quantity of product in the jar decreases. In addition, the general conditions of cleanliness and hygiene in which the product is used are not wholly satisfactory because the product itself, once opened, runs the risk of being contaminated in use.

There are already known make-up devices, in particular for applying make-up to the lips, in which a block of product (lipstick, lip gloss), is carried by a pedestal on which is fitted a removable cap incorporating internally a cavity in which the block of product is arranged.

U.S. Patent No. 4,235,557 discloses pouring the hot liquid, which is intended to form the block of product and which may have the consistency of a cream or a gel, into a receptacle with a wide opening and then, while the formulation is still in a liquid state, fitting onto the said receptacle a hood carrying internally a device which makes it possible to attach the block when it solidifies. The hood consequently forms a pedestal to carry the block of product and to serve as an applicator device, and the receptacle forms the cap protecting the block.

Compared to make-up products cast in a jar, a make-up assembly of this type has the advantage of greater ease of application and under better conditions of cleanliness.

However, in the assembly described in said U.S.

Patent No. 4,235,557, the solid product is held on its pedestal substantially by virtue of a peripheral groove in the said pedestal. As a result of this the attachment of the solid product to its pedestal is imperfect because there is no means for ensuring immobilization of the block translationally relative to the pedestal.

The present invention aims to provide a make-up assembly in which the above-mentioned disadvantage is removed.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an assembly for the packaging and the application of a product in the form of a block obtained by solidifying a formulation which can be cast when hot, comprising a pedestal fixed to the base of the said block; a removable cap adapted to be assembled on said pedestal and defining internally a cavity to receive the block of product and to form a mould in which the product formulation is cast when hot; an attachment device carried by the pedestal for preventing movement of the block relative to said pedestal after the product has solidified; sealing means carried by said pedestal; and complimentary means carried by the cap for cooperating with said sealing means of the pedestal to seal the cavity with respect to the exterior of said assembly, said block having a zone by means of which the pedestal can rest on a support surface and also having a mean axis substantially perpendicular to said zone, wherein said attachment device comprises at least one retaining plate which immobilizes the block translationally relative to the pedestal, said at least one retaining plate being immersed in the said block and being arranged in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to said mean axis of the said block.

In the case where the pedestal has an axis of symmetry which is substantially coincident with the mean axis of the block, the assembly may comprise a single retaining plate which then advantageously has substantially the same axis as the pedestal and is arranged in the central zone of the base of the block, the attachment device additionally comprising means preventing the block from rotating relative to the pedestal. Preferably, this rotation-preventing means consists of at least one fin immersed in the base of the block and integral with the pedestal, the fin being located generally in a plane which is substantially parallel to the mean axis of the block.

In a preferred embodiment the attachment device has an axis of symmetry which coincides with the mean axis of the block. In this case, and when the means preventing the block from rotating relative to the pedestal consists of at least one fin as defined above, the attachment device for the block then advantageously consists of a retaining plate having at least one orifice therethrough and being folded over at its periphery to form a skirt connected to the pedestal or to a member carried by the said pedestal, the said skirt having a plurality of radial fins.The zone of the pedestal by means of which it can rest on a support surface consists of a stopper added to the pedestal after the cavity has been filled and the product forming the block has solidified, said stopper being substantially opposite the attachment device; alternatively, the said zone by means of which the pedestal can rest on a surface consists of a stopper forming an integral part of the attachment device. Where the block and the cavity have an axis of revolution, the pedestal is assembled by screwing a thread of the said pede:;- tal onto a corresponding thread carried by the cap, the pedestal thread having the same axis as the block. The sealing means of the pedestal is preferably a sealing skirt which frictionally enters the opening of the cap during the assembly of the cao onto the pedestal.The pedestal cavity is advantageously substantially in the shape of a paraboloic of revolution.

In order that the present invention may be better understood, the following description is given, merely way of a purely illustrative and non-restrictive example, of various embodiments of packaging assemblies illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the assembly according to the invention, in closed position and resting on its pedestal; Figure 2 is an axial sectional view of this assembly after packaging of the product; Figure 3 is a section along line 111-Ill of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a sectional exploded view of the set of Figure 1, ready for use; and Figure 5 is an axial section of an alternative embodiment of an assembly according to the invention.

Reference to the drawing which show an assembly 1 in which there is packaged a blusher which is in the form of a solid block 2. The assembly 1 consists of a pedestal 3 having a cap 4 which defines an internal cavity 5 containing the block of blusher 2 carried by the pedestal 3.

The pedestal 3 incorporates a principal member 6 made of a plastic such as polypropylene and incorporating a device 7 for attaching the block of blusher 2. The member 6 is generally cup-shaped and incorporates a substantially flat bottom 8 and a low, flared side wall 9 which ends in a flat annular flange 10. The bottom wall 8 incorporates a central opening 11 bounded internally by a short cylindrical skirt, the axis of which coincides with the axis of symmetry of the principal member 6 and whose edge remote-from the bottom 8 extends radially inwards to form a crank 13. The crank is in its turn edged internally by a discontinuous cylindrical skirt 14 joined to an end plate 15 substantially at the same level as the flange 10 and having a central opening 16.The plate 15 is in the shape of a circle from which four identical uniformly spaced peripheral hollows have been cut along circular arcs to provide four concave edges 15a alternating with four convex edges 15b (Figure 3). The discontinuous skirt 14 has openings 17 over its entire height in register with the concave edges 15a of the end plate 15 and each of the four partcylindrical members forming the discontinuous skirt 14 has an external radially extending fin 18.

The side wall 9 of the principal member 6 has an internal thread 19. Furthermore, in the region of the connection between its bottom 8 and its side wall 9, the principal member 6 has a short cylindrical sealing skirt 20, whose axis of symmetry coincides with that of the principal member 6 and which has a tapered free edge.

The principal member 6 of the pedestal 3 receives externally a closing stopper 21 made of a plastic such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene. The stopper 21 consists of a generally planar circular plate 22 having on one face an annular rib 23 which enters, and is a force-fit in, the orifice 11 and bears with its outer face against the inner wall of the skirt 12. The assembly 1 can thus stand with the stopper 21 resting on a support surface. However, an elongate member forming an applicator sleeve could be provided in place of the plate 22, if required.

The cap 4 is made of glass or plastic and can be either transparent or coloured. It incorporates a bottom 24 whose outer surface is substantially planar, and a side wall 25 which flares outwardly along a direction away from the bottom 24. Its cavity 5 is in the shape of a paraboloid of revolution.

When it rests with its bottom 24 on a planar horizontal support surface, the cap 4 forms the equivalent of a jar with a wide opening. In the vicinity of its rim, the outer surface of the side wall 24 incorporates a flat annular inward crank 26 perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the cap, and beyond this crank the wall 25 has an external thread 27 intended to cooperate with the thread 19 of the pedestal 3.

Packaging of the blusher in the assembly 1 is carried out on an industrial scale in the following manner: The cosmetic formulation of the blusher, which can be cast when hot, is prepared. This formulation, in the liquid state, is cast in the cavity 5 of the cap 4. This operation is carried out automatically and conveniently on an industrial scale; in effect, since the cap 4 forms the equivalent of a pot with a wide opening, the problem of formation of bubbles during filling is avoided.

Immediately afterwards, when the blusher formulation is still in the liquid state, the principal member 6 of the pedestal 3 is screwed onto the cap 4 after having had the stopper 21 fixed onto the member 6. The sealing skirt 20 then enters and frictionally engages the opening of the cap 4. The initial level ofthe liquid formulation has been calculated so that the entry of the attachment device 7 displaces the liquid and causes it to pass through the orifice 16 and the openings 17 until this attachment device 7 is either entirely immersed or nearly so. The liquid formulation is then allowed to solidify, which takes place very quickly, and the resulting block of blusher in the shape of a paraboloid of revolution, becomes integral with the pedestal 3.

When the pedestal 3 is unscrewed from the cap 4, the fins 18 prevent the block 2 from rotating relative to the pedestal 3 and promote the demoulding action i.e. the removal of the blusher block 2 from the cap 4.

The user thus has available a make-up assembly which is very easy to use in that the pedestal 3 serves both as a grip and an applicator device.

Using the device just described, it has been possible to produce blocks of a cosmetic product having a height of the order of 4 cm and a base diameter of the order of 3 cm with very fine tolerances.

Reference to Figure 5 shows an alternative embodiment of an assembly 101 according to the invention. Those members of this assembly which are identical to, or have similar functions to, members already described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 are indicated by the same reference numbers, increased by 100 where appropriate. The description of these members which are identical or have similar functions will not be repeated in detail.

In the alternative embodiment shown in Figure 5, the device 107 for attaching the block of blusher 2 is an integral part of the stopper 121. This stopper thus functions as a base. At the periphery of the stopper is a rib 28 to engage in a groove 29 provided in a circular opening in the principal member 106 after the attachment device 107 has passed through the opening. The cooperation of the rib 28 and the groove 29 is sufficiently leakproof for the envisaged application.

The profile of the attachment device 107 is similar to that described previously for the device 7 in Figures 1 to 4.

Claims

1. An assembly for the packaging and the application of a product in the form of a block obtained by solidifying a formulation which can be cast when hot, comprising a pedestal fixed to the base of the said block; a removable cap adapted to be assembled on said pedestal and defining internally a cavity to receive the block of product and to form a mould in which the product formulation is cast when hot; an attachment device carried by the pedestal for preventing movement of the block relative to said pedestal after the product has solidified; sealing means carried by said pedestal; and complimentary means carried by the cap for cooperating with said sealing means of the pedestal to seal the cavity with respect to the exterior of said assembly, said block having a zone by means of which the pedestal can rest on a support surface and also having a mean axis substantially perpendicular to said zone, wherein said attachment device comprises at least one retaining plate which immobilizes the block translationally relative to the pedestal, said at least one retaining plate being immersed in the said block and being arranged in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to said mean axis of the said block.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal has an axis of symmetry substantially coincident with said mean axis of the block, wherein said assembly incorporates a single retaining plate, and wherein said retaining plate has an axis of symmetry perpendicular to the plate and substantially coincident with said axis of symmetry of the pedestal and is arranged in the central zone of the block, the attachment device additionally incorporating means for preventing the block from rotating relative to the pedestal.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the means preventing the block from pivoting relative to the pedestal consists of at least one fin which is embedded in the block and is integral with the pedestal, said fin being located in a plane which is substantially parallel to said mean axis of the block.

4. An assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the attachment device has an axis of symmetry coinciding with said mean axis of the block.

5. An assembly according to claim 4 when appendant to claim 3, wherein the attachment device consists of said retaining plate which has at least one orifice therethrough, said retaining plate being folded over at its periphery to form a skirt joined to the pedestal or to a member carried by the pedestal, said skirt carrying a plurality of said fins extending radially thereof.

6. An assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said zone of the pedestal by means of which it can rest on a support surface consists of a releasable stopper attached to the pedestal after the cavity has been filled and the product forming the block has solidified, said stopper being substantially opposite said attachment device.

7. An assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the zone of the pedestal by means of which it can rest on a support surface consists of a stopper integral with the attachment device.

8. An assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cavity has an axis of revolution, and wherein the pedestal is assembled by screwing a thread of said pedestal onto a corresponding thread carried by the cap, the thread of the pedestal being centred on the same axis as the block.

9. An assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sealing means carried by the pedestal is a sealing skirt frictionally entering the opening in the cap during connection of the cap to the pedestal.

10. An assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the cavity of the cap is substantially in the shape of a paraboloid of revolution.

11. An assembly for packaging and application of a product, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figures 1 to 4, or Figure 5, of the accompanying drawings.