JP7657124B2 - Application container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an application container equipped with an application tool for applying the content liquid.

As a container for storing liquid contents such as lip gloss, nail polish, mascara, eyeliner, etc., an applicator container equipped with an applicator having a brush-like or writing-pen-shaped applicator part at the tip of the shaft, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, is known. With this type of applicator container, the liquid contents can be applied to the applicator part by attaching the applicator to the mouth of the container, so the liquid contents can be applied immediately after removing the applicator. In addition, the mouth of the container is provided with a squeezing part that extends downward, so that when the applicator is removed, the squeezing part can be used to scrape off excess liquid that has adhered to the outer periphery of the shaft and applicator part.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59-122812

The wiping part is shaped to be long enough that its tip abuts against the outer periphery of the shaft inserted into the mouth. Therefore, as described above, the contents adhering to the outer periphery of the shaft or applicator can be scraped off with the wiping part, but the contents adhering to the tip of the applicator may accumulate at the tip without being scraped off when the applicator is removed from the container. Therefore, if the contents are applied to the target (e.g. eyelashes) in this state, clumps of the contents may form on the eyelashes or the contents may adhere to the eyelids and stain them. Also, when trying to remove the accumulated contents by rubbing the tip of the applicator against the mouth of the container, the area around the mouth may become stained with the contents.

The present invention aims to solve these problems by providing an applicator container that allows excess liquid to be removed from the tip of the applicator when the applicator is removed from the container.

The present invention provides an application container comprising a container having a mouth part that opens at the top end and an internal storage space for a content liquid, and an application tool having an application part at the tip of a shaft part, the shaft part being inserted into the mouth part and held by the container,
The container includes a squeezing member provided inside the mouth portion,
The squeezing member is
a cylindrical portion extending along the shaft portion inside the mouth portion;
a squeezing portion that extends downward from an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion and abuts against an outer peripheral surface of the applicator portion when the applicator is removed from the mouth portion;
a bent portion that extends locally downward in the circumferential direction of the tubular portion, bent upward when the applicator is removed from the mouth portion, and restored to its original shape after the applicator has passed through;
The bent portion is a single application container connected to the squeezing member below the squeezing portion.

The squeezing member has an engagement portion that engages with the mouth portion and holds the squeezing member relative to the mouth portion so as to prevent it from coming off,
It is preferable that the bent portion is connected to the squeezing member below the engaging portion.

It is preferable that the bent portion has a notch that extends in the vertical direction and divides the bent portion.

The applicator container of the present invention has a bent portion that extends downward, and when the applicator is removed from the container, this bent portion is bent upward by the shaft portion and applicator portion that are pulled up from the opening, but returns to its original state after the applicator portion has passed. In other words, the restoring bent portion returns to its initial state of extending downward, rubbing against the tip of the applicator portion, and at this time, excess liquid content that has adhered to the tip of the applicator portion can be removed.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an application container according to the present invention in an upright position. FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the container shown in FIG. 1 taken along line AA. FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged view of the state in which the shaft portion is pulled up and the application portion approaches the tip of the bent portion. FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view of the state in which the shaft portion is further pulled up from the state in FIG. 3 and the bent portion is bent upward. FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view of the state in which the bent portion has been restored from the state in FIG. 4 and the content liquid that had accumulated at the tip of the application portion has been removed.

One embodiment of an application container according to the present invention (application container 10) will be described below with reference to the drawings. For convenience, the application container 10 will be described in an upright position as shown in FIG. 1. In the following description, the up-down direction is the direction along the axis O shown in the figure. The radial direction is the direction perpendicular to the axis O in a plane perpendicular to the axis O, and the circumferential direction is the direction rotating around the axis O in this plane.

The applicator container 10 of this embodiment comprises a container body 1 and a wiping member 2, which constitute the "container" in this specification. The applicator container 10 also comprises a cap body 3, an axis member 4, and an applicator member 5, which constitute the "applicator tool" in this specification. As shown in FIG. 1, the container body 1, the wiping member 2, the cap body 3, the axis member 4, and the applicator member 5 are basically formed into a shape centered on the axis O.

The container body 1 is shaped to be a cylinder with a bottom. Specifically, it has a disk-shaped bottom 1a, a cylindrical body 1b extending upward from the edge of the bottom 1a, a shoulder 1c extending radially inward from the upper end of the body 1b, a cylindrical mouth 1d connected to the inner edge of the shoulder 1c and opening at the upper end, and a male thread 1e provided on the outer circumferential surface of the mouth 1d. The liquid content (e.g., mascara) is stored in a space (storage space S) provided inside the container body 1.

The squeezing member 2 is made of soft materials such as rubber, elastomer, polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP), and can be elastically deformed. The squeezing member 2 of this embodiment has a flange portion 2a extending horizontally, a cylindrical portion 2b extending downward from the inner edge of the flange portion 2a, and an engagement portion 2c that bulges radially outward from the outer circumferential surface of the lower end of the cylindrical portion 2b. When the squeezing member 2 is inserted inside the mouth portion 1d, the flange portion 2a is supported by the upper end of the mouth portion 1d, and the engagement portion 2c engages with the lower end of the mouth portion 1d (the connection portion between the mouth portion 1d and the shoulder portion 1c), and the squeezing member 2 is held in the mouth portion 1d.

The inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 2b of the squeezing member 2 is provided with a squeezing portion 2d that extends downward while tilting radially inward. The inner diameter of the tip (radially inner end) of the squeezing portion 2d is approximately the same as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the upper shaft portion 4b and the lower shaft portion 5a described below.

The squeezing member 2 also has a bent portion 2e. As shown in FIG. 1, the bent portion 2e in this embodiment is connected to the squeezing member 2 below the engaging portion 2c. The bent portion 2e also extends downward while inclining radially inward. In this specification, the term "extending downward" does not only mean extending downward parallel to the axis O, but also includes extending downward while inclining radially inward (extending downward at an angle relative to the axis O) as described above. The length of the bent portion 2e in this embodiment is such that the tip of the bent portion 2e abuts against the recess 4d of the upper shaft portion 4b, which will be described later, inserted into the mouth portion 1d as shown in FIG. In this specification, the term "abutment" includes not only a state in which two objects are in contact with each other, but also a state in which they are separated by a small gap. The width (circumferential length) of the bent portion 2e is about half the diameter of the cylindrical portion 2b, as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the bent portion 2e has two notches 2f extending in the vertical direction, and the bent portion 2e is divided into three in the width direction. Note that the bent portion 2e does not need to have a notch 2b, and it is sufficient that at least one bent portion 2f is provided (extending) downward, and multiple bent portions may be provided at intervals.

The cap body 3 has a cover portion 3a that is cylindrical and has a lid. The lower outer peripheral surface of the cover portion 3a has a female thread portion 3b that screws into the male thread portion 1e.

The shaft member 4 is a cylindrical member with a bottom, and has a retaining portion 4a that is inserted into the inside of the cover portion 3a and is held therein. The lower surface of the retaining portion 4a is provided with a rod-shaped upper shaft portion 4b. The upper shaft portion 4b has a bulging portion 4c that bulges outward in the radial direction, and a recessed portion 4d that is located below the bulging portion 4c and that is recessed inward in the radial direction. When the cap body 3 is attached to the mouth portion 1d as shown in FIG. 1, the bulging portion 4c abuts against the upper surface of the squeezing portion 2d. In this state, the tip of the bent portion 2e abuts against the outer circumferential surface of the recessed portion 4d.

The applicator 5 has a rod-shaped lower shaft 5a connected to the lower end of the upper shaft 4b. The connected upper shaft 4b and lower shaft 5a correspond to the "shaft" in this specification. The lower end of the lower shaft 5a is provided with an applicator 5b for applying the liquid content. In this embodiment, the applicator 5b is shaped like a brush by a large number of bristles extending radially outward from the lower shaft 5a. The upper and middle parts of the applicator 5b are shaped to have a larger outer shape than the lower shaft 5a, and the lower part of the applicator 5b is shaped to taper. The shape of the applicator 5b is not limited to a brush shape, and may be, for example, a brush shape formed by a large number of bristles extending downward.

When the male threaded portion 1e and the female threaded portion 3b of the application container 10 constructed from such members are screwed together as shown in FIG. 1, the flange portion 2a is clamped between the mouth portion 1d and the holding portion 4a. This prevents the liquid contained in the storage space S from leaking out of the application container 10. In this state, the intrusion of outside air into the storage space S is suppressed, preventing deterioration of the quality of the liquid contained.

When the male threaded portion 1e and the female threaded portion 3b are screwed together, the upper shaft portion 4b extends inside the mouth portion 1d (inside the cylindrical portion 2b), and the application portion 5b provided at the lower end of the lower shaft portion 5a is located near the bottom portion 1a of the storage space S. In other words, even if the amount of the content liquid contained in the storage space S becomes small, the content liquid can be applied to the application portion 5b.

When applying the liquid content contained in the storage space S, the cap body 3 is rotated relative to the container body 1 to release the male thread 1e from the female thread 3b, and the cap body 3 is lifted up as is. Here, when the cap body 3 is attached to the container body 1, the liquid content may be attached to the outer circumferential surfaces of the upper shaft portion 4b and the lower shaft portion 5a, but the tip (diametrically inner end) of the squeezing portion 2d is approximately the same as the outer diameter of the upper shaft portion 4b and the lower shaft portion 5a, or slightly smaller than this outer diameter, and abuts against the outer circumferential surfaces of the upper shaft portion 4b and the lower shaft portion 5a (see Figure 3). Therefore, by lifting up the cap body 3, the liquid content attached to the outer circumferential surfaces of the upper shaft portion 4b and the lower shaft portion 5a can be scraped off by the squeezing portion 2d.

When the cap body 3 is pulled up, the tip of the bent portion 2e comes into contact with the application portion 5b and is lifted up by it, as shown in FIG. 3. As a result, the bent portion 2e is bent upward as if it is inverted, as shown in FIG. 4. When the cap body 3 is pulled up, the application portion 5b passes through the squeezing portion 2d, so that excess liquid content adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the application portion 5b can be scraped off.

As the cap body 3 continues to be pulled up, and the tip of the applicator 5b passes near the tip of the bent bent portion 2e, the bent portion 2e returns to its initial state in which it extended downward and tilted radially inward, as shown in FIG. 5. Here, the restored bent portion 2e rubs against the tip of the applicator 5b, returning it to its initial state, so that excess content liquid N adhering to the tip of the applicator 5b can be removed.

In addition, the bent portion 2e in this embodiment is divided in the width direction by the notch portion 2f as shown in FIG. 2. In other words, each divided bent portion 2e can be individually bent and restored, so even if the applicator portion 5b moves so as to be inclined with respect to the axis O, excess content liquid adhering to the tip of the applicator portion 5b can be more reliably removed.

The bent portion 2e may be provided anywhere on the squeezing member 2 (for example, at the tip of the squeezing portion 2d, on the inner circumferential surface of the tubular portion 2b located above the squeezing portion 2d, or on the inner circumferential surface of the tubular portion 2b located between the squeezing portion 2d and the engagement portion 2c). However, when provided below the engagement portion 2c as in this embodiment, a relatively large space is secured around the bent portion 2e, which more reliably prevents problems such as the bent portion 2e getting caught on other portions when it is bent.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the spirit of the present invention described in the claims unless otherwise specifically limited in the above description. Furthermore, the effects of the above embodiment are merely examples of the effects resulting from the present invention, and do not mean that the effects of the present invention are limited to the above effects.

For example, the shaft member 4 and the applicator member 5 in the above-mentioned embodiment may be connected together to form a single member. Also, the cap body 3 may be attached to the mouth portion 1d by an undercut, instead of using the male thread portion 1e and the female thread portion 3b.

1: Container body 1a: Bottom 1b: Body 1c: Shoulder 1d: Mouth 1e: Male threaded portion 2: Squeezing member 2a: Flange 2b: Cylindrical portion 2c: Engagement portion 2d: Squeezing portion 2e: Bending portion 2f: Notch 3: Cap body 3a: Cover portion 3b: Female threaded portion 4: Shaft member 4a: Holding portion 4b: Upper shaft portion (shaft portion)
4c: Swelling part 4d: Recessed part 5: Application member 5a: Lower shaft part (shaft part)
5b: Application unit 10: Application container N: Content liquid attached to the tip of the application unit O: Axis S: Storage space

Claims (3)

An application container comprising: a container having a mouth part that opens at an upper end and an internal space for accommodating a liquid content; and an application tool having an application part at the tip of a shaft part, the shaft part being inserted into the mouth part and held by the container,
The container includes a squeezing member provided inside the mouth portion,
The squeezing member is
a cylindrical portion extending along the shaft portion inside the mouth portion;
a squeeze portion that extends downward from an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion and comes into contact with an outer peripheral surface of the applicator portion when the applicator is removed from the mouth portion;
a bent portion that extends locally downward in the circumferential direction of the tubular portion, bent upward when the applicator is removed from the mouth portion, and restored to its original shape after the applicator has passed through;
The application container has only one bent portion connected to the squeezing member below the squeezing portion. The squeezing member has an engagement portion that engages with the mouth portion and holds the squeezing member relative to the mouth portion so as to prevent it from coming off,
The applicator container according to claim 1 , wherein the bent portion is connected to the squeezing member below the engaging portion. The applicator container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bent portion has a notch extending in the vertical direction and dividing the bent portion.

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