Skin treatment applicator

Abstract

An applicator and method for the even application of a skin care substance upon the skin; the applicator, designed for multiple applications, includes a finger cover with a closed end and a waisted opening at the opposite end for the insertion of fingers. The waisted opening providing a girdling effect upon the fingers in order to secure the cover and prevent it from slipping free during the application process.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Applicators for treatment substances for the skin, especially applicators for cosmetics and therapeutic skin preparations, are well known in the art and encompass powder puffs, sponges and brushes among others. While these applicators may work adequately for their intended purpose, they tend to waste substance by absorbing a significant amount into the applicator itself, inefficiently and unevenly deposit the substance upon the skin, and allow the substance to stain one's hands or under the fingernails. Sponges in particular, while effective at blotting substance once applied to the skin, operate poorly in spreading it evenly about the surface. Brushes suffer from the opposite flaw; for while they are adequate for the application of substance, they absorb poorly, requiring frequent contact with a reservoir of the substance such as a powder case, making it difficult to obtain an even coating of substance on the skin. Using uncovered fingers is troublesome because this may soil or otherwise contaminate the substance container while having the undesirable consequence of depositing substance under the finger nails. Artificial nails are frequently discolored when applying colored or dyed substances, and once this type of substance gets under finger nails, it is difficult to remove.

An ideal applicator would provide a smooth surface in order to distribute a skin care substance evenly about the face and provide a barrier against staining one's fingers, hands or clothing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an elastic cover for the application of a skin care substance to the skin. The flexible cover is made preferably from latex or another type of rubber-like material such as vinyl, nitrile, or synthetic rubber, and has a closed end and an open end in the form of a waisted opening possessing a mouth sufficient to accommodate at least two fingers. The cover is slid over the fingers, and after loading with a skin care substance, is drawn over the surface of the skin such as a face, to evenly distribute the substance over the skin surface. A slight tapering beginning just above the mouth forms a waist and produces a narrowing of the mouth diameter. Because the width of the mouth is smaller than the greater part of the cover, a girdling effect serves to secure the cover upon the fingers regardless of the direction the cover is being drawn across the skin's surface. The cover may be removed by using the fingers of the opposite hand to peel the waist portion over the greater part of the cover, turning the cover inside out and segregating any unused substance within for disposal, or alternately by simply pulling at the tip end of the cover. Far less substance is consumed than current applicators because none of the substance penetrates into a sponge or brush and becomes unavailable for use. The applicator is designed for multiple applications of a skin care substance.

It is felt that the present invention has several advantageous attributes without the shortcomings of previous applicators.

One object of the present invention is to assist in the even application of a skin care substance upon a body.

Another object of the present invention to provide fingertip control over the application of a substance upon a body.

Another object of the present invention is if desired, to segregate and contain post-application unused skin care substance to prevent the soiling of hands or clothing.

Still another object of the present invention is to save skin care substance by absorbing relatively little substance during an application.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an application tool that may be cleaned readily by wiping with a tissue or cloth.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and charts, wherein by way of illustration and example, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment according to the present invention in a typical use, hidden lines indicating the fingers within the applicator;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment according to the present invention illustrating the placement of two fingers within the applicator;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 12′-12′ of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a typical removal process of turning the applicator inside out;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the molding form;

FIG. 7 is a edge view of the molding form;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring generally to FIGS. 1-5; a preferred embodiment of an applicator for skin care substance is shown including a cover for the fingers with a body that is closed at one end, and open at the other forming a mouth 18 that is sized to permit the insertion of at least two adult fingers. The closed end has a semi-rounded shape and when worn on the fingers, the greater part of the body 14 is capable of releasably retaining a skin care substance such as lotion or a cosmetic substance such as base. Typically, the applicator is worn over the index and middle fingers, loaded with an amount of skin care substance by dipping or patting into a reservoir of the skin care substance, and then moved across the skin surface in order to distribute the substance evenly.

The widest part of the body 14 of the cover is at least 25% wider than the mouth 18 owing to a tapered waist portion 16, that produces a girdling effect at the opening during use, so that the cover is secured to the fingers regardless of the direction the cover is drawn across the skin's surface. The relatively wider body 14 allows the fingers to move freely for fine control over the application process as for example, applying more pressure with one finger as opposed to the other. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken across lines 12′-12′ showing the wall 20 of the cover, a mouth 18 and the cavity 22 within, which stretches to accommodate the fingers of a user.

As shown in FIG. 5; once the skin care substance application process is concluded, one method of removing the applicator is to turn the cover inside out by pulling the waist portion 16 up and over the remainder of the cover thus segregating the unused substance and avoiding any undesired staining of the hands or clothing. Another method of removal is to simply pull the distal end of the cover off of the fingers. The second method may typically be used when one cover is being used for multiple applications of the same skin care substance. The instant invention may be manufactured using substantially the same process as the manufacture of latex gloves in which a plastic, ceramic, stainless-steel or glass form is dipped into a rubber formulation one or more times while rotating the form to promote evenness of rubber application. If latex is used, once the covers are dry upon the forms, they are typically dipped into a water bath or a caustic agent such as sodium hydroxide to remove excess proteins. The rubber products are scored to produce a separation line, and then removed from the form.

The covers may be powdered or non-powdered. The powder is preferably corn starch or any kind of hypoallergenic powder such as one would routinely employ in such a process.

Referring generally to FIGS. 6-7; the form used in the dipping process is paddle shaped with the greatest width 24 and the least width 26, with the least width 26 being preferably between 50%-75% of the greatest width 24 and most preferably between 60%-70% of the greatest width 24. The derived applicator when scored and removed from the form has a mouth 18 preferably between 66%-80% of the width of the body 14, and most preferably between 70%-75% of the width of the body. Average wall 20 thickness is preferably between 3.0 and 6.0 mil, while more preferably between 4.0 and 5.0 mil, and ideally between 3.5 and 4.5 mil.

While the invention has been described by the embodiments given, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An applicator and spreading aid for a skin care substance comprising:

an elastic cover sized to fit over at least two fingers, the elastic cover having a wall, an upper end and a lower end, the upper end being closed, and the lower end being open forming a mouth that opens into a cavity for the insertion of fingers thereinto, and the elastic cover tapering such that the outside width of the mouth is at least twenty percent smaller than the largest outside width of the elastic cover.

2. The applicator and spreading aid according to claim one in which the elastic cover is made of an elastomer.

3. The applicator and spreading aid according to claim one in which the average wall thickness is between 3.0 and 6.0 mil.

4. The applicator and spreading aid according to claim one in which the elastic cover is at least partially made of latex rubber.

5. The applicator and spreading aid according to claim one in which the elastic cover is stored flat with no part of the cavity visible.

6. The applicator and spreading aid according to claim one in which the tapering functions as a girdle to hold the elastic cover securely on the fingers.

7. The applicator and spreading aid according to claim one in which the mouth width is 25% smaller than the largest outside width of the elastic cover.

8. The applicator and spreading aid according to claim one in which the wall thickness is at least 4.0 mil.

9. The applicator and spreading aid according to claim one in which the elastic cover may be turned inside out when removed from the fingers.

10. A method for the application of a skin care substance comprising the steps:

i) using an elastic finger cover closed at one end and having a waisted opening at the opposite end to snuggly encircle the fingers; and,

ii) inserting at least two fingers into the waisted opening; and,

iii) loading the surface of the elastic finger cover with the skin care substance; and,

iv) distributing the substance over a skin surface by rubbing gently so as to obtain an evenness of application; and,

v) in a one-time only use, removing the elastic finger cover from the fingers by grasping the opening of the finger cover and pulling the waisted opening up and over the body of the cover so as to turn the cover inside out; and alternately for multiple uses, removing the elastic finger cover by grasping that section of the cover over the finger tips and pulling the cover free of the fingers.