JP7143380B2 - A cap intended to hold a cosmetic refill - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates generally to refillable devices for packaging cosmetics.

Such a refillable device can be, for example, a makeup case for applying makeup to facial surfaces such as the eyebrows, cheekbones or lips.

Makeup products are, inter alia, foundations, blushes, eye shadows, lipsticks, lip glosses or lip balms.

In the sense of the present invention, "cosmetics" are understood to be cosmetics intended to be applied to humans, for example powders, liquids or solids such as creams. A "cosmetics" is more generally a product as defined in Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetics.

According to the invention, the cosmetic product can be impregnated in a support, for example in a foam or sponge.

Devices for packaging cosmetics having an outer casing and cosmetic refills configured to be received in the outer casing are known. The refill has means for fastening it to the outer casing.

Several types of refills have already been proposed.

US Pat. No. 6,300,001 describes a refill with a lid.

US Pat. No. 6,200,000 discloses a refill for providing a radially inner first wall delimiting a chamber for receiving a cosmetic composition and means for sealing the contents of the refill. A refill with a radially outer second wall is described.

(Patent Document 3) is a refill,
- a hollow body intended to contain cosmetics;
- means for fastening the hollow body to the outer casing;
- a frangible area configured to allow at least partial separation of said fastening means from the hollow body under the influence of a traction force exerted on said fastening means by a user, perpendicular to the axis of the refill, and frangible regions extending discretely or continuously around the circumference of the hollow body.

However, known refills, especially when the refill has a bottom containing the product and a cover connected to the bottom only by a hinge, such as the refill described in US Pat. It does not yet provide a completely perfect seal.

French Patent No. 2755837 French Patent No. 2786076 EP 2308339 International Publication No. 2016/083607 pamphlet

There is a need to improve cosmetic refills, especially for make-up and care products, in order to make them more leak-proof.

It also benefits from tamper-evident refills, i.e., where the first opening of the refill causes an irreversible change in its appearance such that it soon becomes apparent that the refill has already been opened. also need to get

again,
- can be easily opened by the user,
- cheap and easy to manufacture,
- There is also a need to propose refills with small space requirements.

DEFINITION OF THE INVENTION The subject of the present invention is a cap of axis X intended to be fitted onto a cosmetic refill, comprising a hollow body and at least one of axis Z connected to the hollow body by at least one breakable region. and the cap is provided therein with at least one retention undulation engageable in a complementary retention undulation of the refill, the axis Z of the gripping tab extending at least across the height of the side wall of the cap. A cap that extends partially and is designed such that the retention undulations of the cap are at least partially disengaged from the complementary retention undulations of the refill under the influence of traction applied to the gripping tabs during first use.

The main advantage of the cap according to the invention is that it keeps the refill closed so that it is leaktight outside the makeup case. This advantage is particularly advantageous for refills with hinges and elastically deformable side walls as described in WO2016/083607.

For such refills with elastically deformable walls, the cap according to the invention can be clipped onto the refill and keep the side walls compressed to ensure leaktightness. .

The cap according to the invention has the particular feature of keeping the plates "joined" to ensure leaktightness during storage and transport. The cap is disposable after opening.

The cap is easy to manufacture and has a thin breakable area to allow separation from the refill.

Due to the particular position of the axis Z of the tab, the tab is easy for the user to remove while ensuring adequate leaktightness.

The present invention also relates to a leak-proof cosmetic refill comprising a cap as described above for fitting onto a cosmetic refill.

If the tab has not been removed, the user can be sure that the refill has not been used and that it still contains all of the product as packaged by the manufacturer. In contrast, a broken or torn tab means that the cap may have been separated from the refill and it may have been used previously.

The leak-tight refill according to the invention is tamper-proof.

The present invention also provides the following steps:
- providing a leak-proof cosmetic refill as defined above;
- grasping the gripping tab between two fingers;
- applying traction to the gripping tab;
- optionally grasping the cap with one hand and the refill with the other hand in order to move them away from each other to separate them and access the cosmetics.

Main Definitions “Axis A” means the longitudinal axis A;

A "section of a portion of axis A" is a section perpendicular to axis A of the portion.

The expression "longitudinal axis of the gripping tab" refers to the line connecting all of the centers of mass of the cross-section of the tab.

"The axis Z of the gripping tab extends at least partially across the height of the sidewall of the cap" means that the axis Z of the tab extends parallel to or at an angle to the axis X of the cap across at least a portion of the sidewall. means to extend.

The term "tab" should be understood broadly and includes projections, strips, tongues or lamellas.

"The retention undulations of the cap are at least partially disengaged from the complementary retention undulations of the refill" means that the retention undulations of the cap and refill are at least partially movable apart, separated, a deformation means capable of being bent, bendable, or capable of being bent. Therefore, the user can completely disconnect the cap from the refill and have access to the product.

Preferred Embodiments Preferably, the device according to the invention has one or more of the following features, alone or in combination.
- the axis Z of the gripping tab extends the full height of the side wall of the cap; Tabs are also easier to grasp.
- the axis Z of the gripping tab extends at least partially over the top wall of the cap; Opening the cap opens the refill better.
- the breakable region is a region of reduced thickness comprising lines of reduced thickness and/or bridges of material separated from each other by through openings or by regions of reduced thickness; . It is easy to manufacture.
- the gripping tab is separated from the body of the cap by at least one slot; This design limits the force the user needs to apply.
- The hollow body, gripping tab and breakable area are made integral with each other. Manufacturing costs fall.
- the axis Z of the gripping tab lies in the median plane of the cap; The cap opens in two symmetrical parts that are visually appealing.
- the refill comprises a base defining a storage compartment therein and a plate mounted in a rotatable manner on the base about a hinge axis Y, said plate closing the storage compartment; It is movable between a closed configuration and an open configuration in which the storage compartment is accessible. The product can be protected by a plate and by a cap that keeps the refill in the closed position.
- A housing is made in a plate and intended to receive a second cosmetic product, said housing comprising a bottom and side walls, said side walls being elastically deformable. Leak resistance is enhanced by elastic walls that act as seals.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description thereof given below by way of non-limiting indication, with reference to the accompanying schematic and partial drawings.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a packaging device of the present invention including a first refill and a first cap; FIG. Figure 2 shows an axial cross-section of the device of Figure 1 in perspective view; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a second refill without a cap; It is a perspective view of a second cap. Figure 5 is a bottom view of the cap of Figure 4; 6 shows details of the breakable region of FIG. 5; Figure 5 is a top view of the cap of Figure 4; Figure 5 is a side view of the outside of the cap of Figure 4; 9 is a cross section along AA in FIG. 8. FIG. Figure 5 is a side view of the interior of the cap of Figure 4; FIG. 11 is a cross section along BB in FIG. 10 ; Figure 5 is a bottom view of the cap of Figure 4; It is a perspective view of a third cap. Figure 14 is a top view of the cap of Figure 13; Figure 14 is a front view of the cap of Figure 13; FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view along AA of FIG. 14; FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view at BB in FIG. 14; FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view along CC in FIG. 14;

The device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a cap 3 fitted onto a refill 5. The device shown in FIGS.

The cap can be made from a plastic material such as HDPE or ABS.

The cap 3 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a hollow body 44 and gripping tabs 14 on the Z axis. It defines an internal volume 17 bounded by a flat top wall 19 and by axis X cylindrical side walls 21 .

The axis Z of the gripping tab 14 extends parallel to the axis X of the cap over the entire height of the sidewall 19 .

The gripping tab 14 is axially bounded by two longitudinal slots 71 and 72 . It is connected to the hollow body 44 by a reduced thickness area 96 located at the peripheral edge 145 of the top wall 19 .

Gripping tab 14 and reduced thickness region 96 are made integral with body 44 of cap 3 .

The side wall 21 has internally a snap-fit bead 111 extending in a plane perpendicular to the axis X and engageable with a complementary relief on the refill 5 .

The outer surface of the top wall 19 has a peripheral shoulder 75 that connects the top wall 19 to the side walls 21 and forms a peripheral stop on the inner surface of the top wall 19 . This stop is designed to abut complementary undulations on the refill 5 to limit axial movement of the refill 5 .

The refill 5 consists of a base 12 and a plate 16 rotatable relative to the base 12 about the axis Y of the hinge.

The base 12 defines a central cavity 25 defined by a flat bottom 26 and by a cylindrical lower wall 27 and a cylindrical upper wall 31 connected together by a shoulder 30 . Central cavity 25 defines compartment 28 intended to receive a first cosmetic product. The upper cylindrical wall 31 is radially outwardly extended from its upper end by a collar 45 which is extended downwardly by an annular rim 46 of axis X. As shown in FIG.

The plate 16 has a central housing 37 which opens onto a flat portion 36 and is intended to receive a second cosmetic product. Central housing 37 has a flat bottom 38 connected to flat portion 36 by elastically deformable side walls 40 .

The sidewalls 40 are preferably formed from an elastically deformable material, such as a thermoplastic elastomer, such as SEBS, or nitrile rubber (NBR), or silicone. It is for example overmolded to the bottom 38 and then bonded to the flat portion 36 .

Outside the side walls 40, the base and refill can be made of thermoplastic material, especially ABS or PET/PETG.

Sidewall 40 is elastically deformable and increases its diameter under the influence of flat portion 36 and collar 45 being moved together into contact with sidewall 31 of base 12 . It thus acts as a seal to the base 12 in the closed position of the plate 16 .

However, since the refill 5 has no fasteners, the plate 16 tends to lift against the base 12 on the opposite side from the hinge. This is because the elastically deformable sidewalls 40 relax axially and exert pressure on the flattened portion 36 , which at least locally moves the plate 16 away from the base 12 .

The main advantage of cap 3 is that it keeps refill 5 in the closed position by providing contact between flat portion 36 and collar 45 around the entire circumference of refill 5 .

To fit the cap 3 onto the refill 5, the cap 3 is snap fitted along the axis X in the direction of the refill as shown in FIG. The snap-fit bead 111 is compressed against the annular rim 46 at the same time the cap 3 is fitted. Once past the rim 46, the snap-fit bead 111, due to its resilience, returns to its initial configuration as shown in Figure 2, irreversibly locking the cap to the refill.

To remove the cap 3, the user pulls on the free end of the gripping tab 14, as shown in FIG. If the pulling force applied by the user exceeds the tear strength of the reduced thickness region 96, the tab 14 will break. The user can then apply a manual pulling force away from the refill 5 along the axis X of the side wall 21 of the cap 3 to disengage the annular rim 46 completely from the snap fit bead 111 .

For illustration purposes, a second example of a refill is shown in FIG. The figure shows hinge 122 connecting plate 16 to base 12 .

Figures 4-12 show a second example of a cap according to the invention.

Cap 3 includes a top wall 19 connected to cylindrical side wall 21 . Regularly distributed around the axis X are three gripping tabs 14, 141, 142 of axes Z, Z' and Z'' parallel to the axis X of the cap 3.

The diameter of the cap 3 is preferably between 2 cm and 5 cm, more preferably between 3 cm and 4 cm.

The height of the sidewalls 21 is preferably between 1 cm and 3.5 cm, more preferably between 1.5 cm and 2 cm.

Each gripping tab 14, 141, 142 is preferably contained within an angular range of 30° to 60°, more preferably about 45°, about the X axis.

Each gripping tab 14, 141, 142 includes, for example, clip fastening teeth 80, 81 and 82, perpendicular to axes Z, Z' and Z'', respectively, partway through its inner surface.

Each tooth is engaged in a complementary relief of refill 5 before refill 5 is first used.

Each gripping tab 14, 141, 142 respectively:
- two lateral slots 90, 91, 92, 93 parallel to the axis of the gripping tab and preferably contained in an angular range of 2° to 5°, more preferably about 3° around the axis X, 94, 95.
- areas of reduced thickness 96, 97, 98 located at the junction between each gripping tab and the top wall 19;
bounded by

Each thinner region may include two thinner regions 961, 962 and a thicker region 963, as shown in FIG.

To remove the cap 3 from the refill 5 , the user lifts the gripping tabs 14 , 141 , 142 in the direction of the arrows to begin disengaging the clip fastening teeth from the complementary reliefs of the refill 5 . The user then moves the refill 5 away from the cap 3 to fully release the clip fastening teeth and gain access to the refill 5 .

Figures 13-18 show a third example of a cap 3 according to the invention. In this example the cross-section of the cap 3 is square with a width of 7 cm. The cap 3 has a single gripping tab 14 whose axis Z lies in the median plane of the cap 3 . Axis Z extends the full height of side wall 21 and continues the full width of top wall 19 .

The gripping tab 14 is axially bounded by two lines 960 and 961 of reduced thickness parallel to the axis Z and is internally provided with a snap fit tooth 85 located in front of the tab. .

Advantageously, the width of gripping tab 14 is between 0.5 cm and 2.5 cm, preferably between 1 cm and 1.5 cm.

Inside the sidewall 21,
- two snap-fit teeth 81 and 82 formed in the middle of the side surface 210,
- two snap-fit teeth 83 and 84 formed halfway through side 212, opposite side 210;
- one snap-fit tooth 80 formed in the middle of the bottom surface 211, which is thicker than the snap-fit teeth 81, 82, 83 and 84;
is provided.

The position, structure and thickness of the snap-fit teeth are adapted to the configuration of the refill 5 to which the cap 3 is snap-fit.

To remove cap 3 from refill 5, the user lifts gripping tab 14 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. The user tears the two thin lines 960 and 961, preferably along their entire extent. The user first releases snap-fit tooth 85 . The cap 3 remains on the refill 5 and is partially held in axial position by the engagement of the other snap fit teeth and their complementary undulations. To access the refill 5 , the user can pull the cap 3 and refill 5 in opposite directions, then cross the snap-fit teeth of the cap 3 with the undulations of the refill 5 , and then pull out of the refill 5 . Cap 3 can be completely removed.

3 cap 5 refill (leakage resistant cosmetic refill, cosmetic refill)
12 base 14 gripping tab (tab)
16 plate 17 internal volume 19 top wall 21 side wall (cylindrical side wall)
25 central cavity 26 bottom 27 lower wall 28 storage compartment (compartment)
30 shoulder 37 central housing (housing)
38 bottom 40 side wall 42 second cosmetic article 44 hollow main body (main body)
45 collar 46 complementary retention relief (annular rim, rim)
71 longitudinal slot (slot)
72 longitudinal slot (slot)
75 Peripheral shoulder 80 Retaining relief (snap fit teeth, clip fastening teeth)
81 holding undulations (snap fitting teeth, clip fastening teeth)
82 holding undulations (snap fitting teeth, clip fastening teeth)
83 Snap-fit tooth 84 Snap-fit tooth 85 Snap-fit tooth 90 Side slot 91 Side slot 92 Side slot 93 Side slot 94 Side slot 95 Side slot 96 Breakable region (thinned region)
97 thinned area 98 thinned area 111 retention relief (snap fit bead)
122 hinge 141 gripping tab 142 gripping tab 145 peripheral edge

Claims (8)

A cap (3) of axis X intended to fit onto a cosmetic refill (5), comprising a hollow body (44) and connected to said hollow body (44) by at least one breakable region (96). and at least one gripping tab (14) on axis Z, and said cap (3) has at least one gripping tab (14) internally engageable with a complementary retention relief (46) of said cosmetic refill (5). In a cap (3) provided with retention undulations (111, 80, 81, 82),
The axis Z of said grip tab (14) extends at least partially over the height of the side wall (21) of said cap (3) and said retention relief (111, 80, 81, 81, 82) is designed to disengage at least partially from said complementary retention relief (46) of said cosmetic refill (5) under the influence of traction applied to said gripping tab (14) during first use;
The gripping tab (14) has two lateral slots (90, 91) with a space and the breakable area (96) located at the junction between the gripping tab (14) and the top wall (19). , 92, 93, 94, 95) and
said gripping tabs (14) are completely separated from the side walls (21) of said cap (3) by said lateral slots (90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95);
a base (12) in which said cosmetic refill (5) defines a storage compartment (28); and a plate rotatably mounted relative to said base (12) about axis Y of a hinge (122). (16), between a closed configuration in which said plate (16) closes said storage compartment (28) and an open configuration in which said storage compartment (28) is accessible. ) is movable and
A housing (37) formed in said plate (16) is intended to receive a second cosmetic product (42), said housing comprising a bottom (38) and side walls (40), said side walls (40) is elastically deformable,
Cap (3), characterized in that it holds the side walls (40) of the cosmetic refill (5) in compression to ensure leaktightness. Cap (3) according to claim 1, characterized in that said axis Z of said gripping tab (14) extends over the entire height of said side wall (21) of said cap (3). Cap (3) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the axis Z of the gripping tab (14) extends at least partially over the top wall (19) of the cap (3). Said breakable region (96) is a region of reduced thickness comprising lines of reduced thickness and/or a plurality of bridges of material separated from each other by openings through or by regions of reduced thickness. Cap (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is a region. 5. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that the hollow body (44), the gripping tab (14) and the breakable region (96) are made integral with each other. cap (3). Cap ( 3 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the axis Z of the gripping tab (14) lies in the median plane of the cap (3). A leak-proof cosmetic refill (5) comprising a cap (3) according to any one of claims 1 to 6 fitted onto the cosmetic refill (5). A makeup method,
(i) providing a leak-proof cosmetic refill (5) according to claim 7 ;
(ii) grasping the gripping tab (14) between two fingers;
(iii) applying traction to said gripping tabs (14);
(iv) grasping said cap (3) with one hand and said leak-proof cosmetic refill (5) with the other hand in order to move them away from each other to separate them and access the cosmetics; a step;
A makeup method comprising:

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