JP7587247B2 - Slide-type cosmetic container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sliding cosmetic container in which the cosmetic contained in the container body is exposed by sliding the container body relative to the lid.

Conventionally, the mainstream thin cosmetic containers that contain cosmetics such as foundation, eye color, and lip color are so-called compact cosmetic containers, in which the container body containing the cosmetics and the lid are hinged at their rear ends and locked at the front so that they can be opened and closed freely.

In contrast to this, a cosmetic container with a simpler structure, such as the sliding cosmetic container shown in Figure 8, is available. This sliding cosmetic container has a container body 54 with a recess 53 for accommodating an inner tray 52 filled with cosmetic material 51, which is slidably engaged with the inside of a rectangular cylindrical or U-shaped cross-section lid 50, and the cosmetic material 51 is exposed by sliding the container body 54 forward.

Many of the above-mentioned sliding cosmetic containers are used as refill containers or as trial samples at stores, and generally have a simple structure with no decoration on the surface of the lid 50, allowing the cosmetic 51 inside to be seen through. As for size, it is sufficient to only need to be large enough to accommodate a single inner tray 52, and most are small, with an external dimension in a plan view of, for example, 30 mm x 30 mm.

Because these sliding cosmetic containers are so easy to use, there has been a suggestion that they should not only be used as refill containers or test samples, but should also be made larger so that they can hold cosmetics and puffs at the same time, and that the lids should be decorated with a luxurious look, so that they can be used repeatedly as cosmetic containers.

One method of decorating the lid, for example for compact cosmetic containers, is known to involve transferring a decorative film onto the lid (see Patent Document 1, etc.).

JP 2001-292827 A

However, when this type of decoration is performed, the mold is heated to a higher temperature than usual, which makes it easy for the molded product to warp or distort when it cools. Even if the product is not decorated, warping or distortion may occur depending on the shape, material, and molding conditions. It has been found that molded products that are flat and have a thin outer thickness, such as the lids of sliding cosmetic containers, are particularly prone to residual warping and distortion.

In order to keep the cosmetics contained in a cosmetic container hygienic, it is desirable for there to be as little gap as possible between the container body and the lid, and for the container to be constructed so that the interior is sealed. Even in a sliding cosmetic container, it is assumed that there will be a minimum gap between the container body and the lid to allow sliding. For this reason, as mentioned above, if the lid is warped or distorted due to decoration or the like, a creaking noise may be generated between the container body and the lid when sliding, or an uncomfortable feeling that smooth sliding is prevented may be felt, which is an issue that must be resolved for sliding cosmetic containers.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide an excellent sliding cosmetic container that slides smoothly and does not produce abnormal noise or discomfort, even in the case of a thin sliding cosmetic container whose lid is prone to residual warping or distortion.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following [1] to [5].
[1] A cosmetic container comprising a generally plate-shaped container body having a recess on its upper surface for storing cosmetics, and a lid body having a top surface portion covering the top surface of the container body, wherein the container body and the lid body are slidably engaged with each other, and in an initial state, the top surface portion of the lid body covers the top surface of the container body, and when the container body and the lid body are slid relative to each other, the top surface of the container body is exposed, and the narrowest gap between the top surface of the container body and the underside of the top surface portion of the lid body is set to 0.5 mm or less, and fine irregularities are formed on the underside of the top surface portion of the lid body or in parts of the top surface of the container body where no recess is formed.
[2] The sliding type cosmetic container according to [1], wherein the arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of the uneven surface on which the fine irregularities are formed is set to 1 to 70 μm.
[3] A sliding cosmetic container as described in [1] or [2], wherein the fine irregularities are formed on the underside of the top surface of the lid body, at least in an area that faces a portion of the upper surface of the container body that does not have a recess and extends in the sliding direction.
[4] A sliding cosmetic container according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the cosmetic container in the initial state is substantially plate-shaped with a width of 60 mm or more, a depth of 40 mm or more, and a thickness of 15 mm or less.
[5] The sliding cosmetic container according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the top surface of the top portion of the lid is decorated.

In this invention, the above "gap" refers to a value set at the design stage, not an actual measurement value of the completed sliding cosmetic container.

In other words, the sliding cosmetic container of the present invention has fine irregularities formed on the underside of the top surface of the lid or on the top surface of the container body where no recesses are formed. Even if the lid or container body is slightly warped or distorted and rubs against each other when they slide relative to each other, the fine irregularities make the contact area between them very small, and they do not stick together. Therefore, even if the sliding cosmetic container has a shape that is prone to distortion, the lid and container body slide smoothly, and can be used satisfactorily without generating abnormal noises or feeling of discomfort such as sticking when sliding.

As a result, it is possible to make the sliding cosmetic container thinner and more compact, and to increase the horizontal area to accommodate cosmetics and a puff, etc., at the same time, thereby expanding its applications. And since there is no problem with the sliding movement with the container body even if the lid is slightly warped or distorted, various decorations can be applied to the lid without worrying about processing conditions, thereby increasing the commercial value of the cosmetic container.

1 is a plan view showing a state in which a container body is pulled out from a lid body in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a state in which a container body and a lid body are closed together in the above embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a front view of FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment. 5A and 5B are explanatory views for explaining an engagement state between a container body and a lid body in the above embodiment. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the lid in the embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in Figure 2(a). FIG. 4 is a plan view of a container body in the above embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a container body is pulled out from a lid body in an example of a conventional sliding type cosmetic container.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

Figures 1 and 2(a) are both plan views showing one embodiment of a sliding cosmetic container of the present invention, with Figure 1 showing the container body 1 pulled out from the lid body 2, and Figure 2(a) showing the container body 1 and the lid body 2 closed together. Figure 2(b) is a front view of Figure 2(a).

To explain in more detail, as shown in Figure 3, this sliding cosmetic container comprises a thin, generally plate-like container body 1 that is rectangular in shape and long from side to side in plan view, and a lid 2 that covers the top surface of the container body 1. The top surface of the container body 1 is formed with a first recess 4 for accommodating an inner tray 3 filled with cosmetic, and a second recess 5 for accommodating an applicator (such as a puff) 40 (see Figure 1) for applying the cosmetic to the skin, side by side.

Furthermore, a third elongated recess 6 extending in the left-right direction is provided on the rear side of the portion of the container body 1 where the recesses 4 and 5 are provided. This recess 6 is the portion where the container body 1 and the lid body 2 overlap when the container body 1 is pulled forward from the inside of the lid body 2 (see Figure 1), and is provided to reduce the weight of the container body 1.

The lower edges of the left and right side sections 7, 8 of the container body 1 are cut out so that their widths narrow toward the inside, forming steps 9, 10 that extend forward and backward (see Figure 2). These steps 9, 10 engage with rails 15, 16 of the lid 2, which will be described later, so that the container body 1 and the lid 2 are attached so that they can slide freely relative to each other.

The lid 2 has a top surface 11, left and right side surfaces 12, 13, and a back surface 14, and rails 15, 16 are formed on the lower edges of the left and right side surfaces 12, 13, protruding inward and extending forward and backward. The step portions 9, 10 of the container body 1 engage with the rails 15, 16, and the container body 1 and the lid 2 are attached so as to be freely slidable relative to each other, as described above.

In addition, in the stepped portions 9, 10 (see FIG. 3) provided on the left and right side portions 7, 8 of the container body 1, a small protrusion 20 that rises slightly to the side is provided near the front end of the vertical cutout surfaces 9a, 10a, as shown in FIG. 4(a). Also, in the vicinity of the rear end of the vertical cutout surfaces 9a, 10a, a stopper 21 that rises relatively significantly to the side is provided, as shown in FIG. 4(b) [The top surface portion 11 of the lid body 2 is omitted in FIG. 4(a) and (b) for ease of viewing].

The front end portions of the rails 15, 16 provided on the left and right side portions 12, 13 of the lid 2 protrude inward significantly to form locking portions 22. When the container body 1 and the lid 2 are closed together, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the locking portions 22 engage with small protrusions 20 on the container body 1, holding the container body 1 in position so that it does not come out by itself.

In addition, when you place your hands on the bottom surface of the container body 1 and the top surface of the lid body 2 and apply a light force to move them apart, the small protrusions 20 on the left and right front of the container body 1 will climb over the tips of the locking parts 22, so that the container body 1 will be pulled out from directly below the lid body 2 toward you.

When the container body 1 is pulled out far enough to expose the inner tray 3 housed in the first recess 4, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the stoppers 21 at the rear left and right sides of the container body 1 engage with the locking portions 22 on the lid 2 side, preventing the container body 1 from being pulled out any further. This prevents the container body 1 from coming loose.

Of the container body 1 and lid body 2 attached in this manner, the underside of the top surface 11 of the lid body 2, i.e., the surface facing the upper surface of the container body 1, has fine irregularities P formed over its entire surface. The area where the fine irregularities P are formed is shown by diagonal lines slanting upward to the right in Figure 5, which shows the lid body 2 as viewed from below.

The fine irregularities P are provided to prevent the upper surface of the container body 1 and the lower surface of the top surface 11 of the lid body 2 from rubbing against each other when sliding, which could result in an abnormal squeaking noise or an uncomfortable feeling when sliding.

That is, as already mentioned, in order to keep the cosmetics contained therein hygienic, cosmetic containers, not just sliding type, are required to have a structure in which there is as little gap as possible between the container body and the lid, and the inside is sealed. Therefore, even in this sliding type cosmetic container, as shown in Figure 6, which is the A-A' cross-sectional view of Figure 2(a), the gap Q between the top surface of the container body 1 and the bottom surface of the top surface 11 of the lid 2 is set to the minimum gap that allows sliding (usually 0.5 mm or less). Incidentally, in this example, the gap Q is designed to be 0.15 mm.

However, the container body 1 is an injection molded product of polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET), and the lid 2 is an injection molded product of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer resin (ABS), both of which are molded using a metal mold. For this reason, slight warping or distortion may remain in the molded product when it is cooled after heat molding. In particular, the lid 2 has a thin, roughly plate-like outer shape with a large top surface 11, making it particularly susceptible to residual warping and distortion. For this reason, the underside of the top surface 11 of the lid 2 warps and hits the container body 1, and when it is slid in this state, the abutting surfaces stick closely to each other, making it difficult to move and prone to making creaking noises.

Therefore, by providing the underside of the top surface 11 with fine irregularities P, the contact area between the lid 2 and the container body 1 becomes very small when they come into contact with each other, and since the contact area between the two is also small during the sliding motion, a tight adhesion is prevented in advance, effectively preventing the occurrence of abnormal noise and discomfort caused by sliding.

The effect of the fine irregularities P can only be obtained when applied to a sliding cosmetic container with the gap Q of 0.5 mm or less, which takes into consideration the airtightness inside the container, and the present invention is intended for sliding cosmetic containers with the gap Q set to 0.5 mm or less. In other words, application to containers with a gap between the container body 1 and the lid 2 exceeding 0.5 mm and which do not take into consideration airtightness is not taken into consideration.

In the present invention, the degree of unevenness of the fine unevenness P is not particularly limited, but it is preferable in terms of effectiveness that the arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of the uneven surface due to the fine unevenness P defined in JIS B 0601-2001 is set to 1 to 70 μm. In particular, it is more preferable that Ra is 2 to 20 μm. In other words, if the Ra is too small, and if the warping or distortion of the lid body 2 is large, it may not be possible to sufficiently eliminate the generation of abnormal noise and resistance when sliding. Conversely, if Ra is too large, dirt will easily accumulate on the uneven surface, which is undesirable even though it is the inner surface of the lid body 2 and cannot be seen from the outside.

The fine irregularities P can be formed, for example, by subjecting the corresponding shaping surface of a die for molding the lid body 2 to uneven processing and transferring the unevenness to the molding surface. Also, instead of transferring using a die, the fine irregularities P may be formed directly on the top surface 11 of the lid body 2 by laser irradiation.

Methods for providing the above-mentioned mold with unevenness include etching the mold surface to form fine patterns such as geometric patterns, leather grain patterns, matte finish patterns, and hairlines, and sandblasting, which involves spraying sand or glass beads onto the mold surface.

When the top surface 11 of the lid 2 is directly roughened by the above-mentioned laser irradiation, the laser to be used may be a _CO2 laser, a YAG laser, a ruby laser, a _YVO4 laser, or a semiconductor laser.

Among these, the most suitable method is to apply unevenness to the mold by etching or other methods, and among these, forming a grained or matte pattern is particularly suitable in terms of effectiveness.

According to the above-mentioned sliding cosmetic container, fine irregularities P are formed on the underside of the top surface 11 of the lid body 2. Therefore, even if the lid body 2 or the container body 1 is slightly warped or distorted and rubs against each other when they slide relative to each other, the fine irregularities P make the contact area between them very small, and the two do not stick together. Therefore, even if the sliding cosmetic container has a shape that is prone to distortion, the lid body 2 and the container body 1 slide smoothly, and can be used satisfactorily without generating abnormal noises or feeling of discomfort such as catching when sliding.

In addition, it is now possible to adopt a roughly plate-shaped design that is large in the planar direction, for example, 60 mm or more in width, 40 mm or more in depth, and 15 mm or less in thickness, which has traditionally been avoided due to the tendency for warping and distortion to occur, and to create a container that can withstand repeated use by increasing the horizontal area and simultaneously accommodating both the cosmetic and an applicator 40 such as a puff. In addition, the overall thickness can be made thinner, making the container even more compact.

Furthermore, even if the lid body 2 is slightly warped or distorted, there is no problem with the sliding movement with the container body 1, so various decorations can be applied to the lid body 2 without worrying about processing conditions, thereby increasing the commercial value of the cosmetic container.

Methods for decorating the lid 2 include printing, coating, transfer of a colored layer or pattern layer, metal deposition, laser processing, and other various decoration methods. Among these, it is believed that the practical effect is greatest when applied to high-temperature processing such as transfer processing, which is prone to warping and distortion.

In the above example, the fine irregularities P are formed over the entire underside of the top surface 11 of the lid 2, but the fine irregularities P do not necessarily need to be formed over the entire surface. For example, a certain degree of effect can be achieved by forming the fine irregularities P at least on the portion of the underside of the top surface 11 that continuously contacts the upper surface of the container body 1 when it is slid, i.e., on the portion that extends long in the sliding direction. An example of this region is shown in Figure 5 by the diagonal line R slanting downward to the right.

Fine irregularities P may also be formed on the top surface of the container body 1, rather than on the lid 2 side. An example of the formation area in this case is shown by diagonal lines in FIG. 7. Of course, even when fine irregularities P are formed on the top surface of the container body 1, a certain degree of effect can be obtained even if they are formed only on the portion of the top surface that extends long in the sliding direction.

However, as mentioned above, when forming the fine irregularities P on the container body 1 side, there is a problem in that the shaping surface of the mold becomes the bottom surface of the narrow recess, making it difficult to process the irregularities. For this reason, unless there is a particular reason not to, it is preferable to form the fine irregularities P on the lid 2 side.

In addition, in the above example, the inner tray 3 filled with cosmetics is placed in the cosmetic-containing recess (first recess 4) of the container body 1, but the inner tray 3 is not necessarily required, and cosmetics may be directly placed in the recess.

Next, examples of the present invention will be described together with comparative examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[Examples 1 to 5, Comparative Example 1]
First, slide-type cosmetic containers of Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Example 1 were prepared, each having the characteristics shown in Table 1 below. The basic structure of each cosmetic container follows the description of Figures 1 to 7. The materials are PET for the container body 1 and ABS for the lid 2, and the gap Q between the top surface of the container body 1 and the lid 2 is set to 0.15 mm. The characteristic structures are as shown in Table 1 below.

Then, for each slide-type cosmetic container, 11 expert monitors repeatedly inserted and removed the container body 1 30 times each, and evaluated the usability according to the following evaluation criteria. The evaluation given by the largest number of people is also shown in Table 1 below.
<Evaluation criteria for usability>
◎...Absolutely no strange noises or discomfort.
○…A strange noise or slight discomfort was felt once or twice, but there was no problem.
×: An abnormal noise or discomfort occurred three or more times, which was bothersome during operation.

From the above results, it can be seen that in both Examples 1 and 2, there is no problem with the operation of opening and closing the container body 1 by sliding the container body 1 and the lid body 2 relative to one another, and that they provide an excellent usability. In addition, it can be seen that Example 3, in which the arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of the fine irregularities P is relatively large, and Examples 4 and 5, in which the area in which the fine irregularities P are formed is limited, are slightly inferior to Examples 1 and 2, but there are no problems with usability. On the other hand, it can be seen that Comparative Example 1, in which the fine irregularities P are not formed, produces abnormal noises and has problems with usability.

The present invention can be used to create an excellent sliding cosmetic container that slides smoothly and does not produce abnormal noise or discomfort, even in the case of a thin sliding cosmetic container whose lid is prone to residual warping or distortion.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Container body 2 Lid 4 First recess 11 Top surface P Fine irregularities

Claims (3)

A cosmetic container comprising a substantially plate-shaped container body having a recess for accommodating cosmetics on an upper surface thereof, and a lid having a top surface portion for covering the upper surface of the container body,
The container body and the lid are both made of resin molded products,
The side surface of the container body and the inside of the side surface of the lid body are slidably engaged with each other,
The cosmetic container in the initial state is generally plate-shaped with a width of 60 mm or more, a depth of 40 mm or more, and a thickness of 15 mm or less,
In the initial state, the top surface of the lid covers the top surface of the container body, and when the container body and the lid are slid relative to each other, the top surface of the container body is exposed, and the narrowest gap between the top surface of the container body and the bottom surface of the top surface of the lid is set to 0.5 mm or less.
A sliding cosmetic container characterized in that fine irregularities are formed on the underside of the top surface of the lid body or on a portion of the upper surface of the container body where no recesses are formed, and the arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of the uneven surface caused by the fine irregularities is set to 1 to 70 μm. The sliding cosmetic container according to claim 1, wherein the fine irregularities are formed on at least an area of the underside of the top surface of the lid that faces a portion of the upper surface of the container body that does not have a recess and extends in the sliding direction. 3. The slide-type cosmetic container according to claim 1, wherein an upper surface of the top portion of the lid is decorated.

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