CONTAINER FOR A FACE MASK

Abstract

The present invention provides a novel container for carrying at least two products to be mixed together for use as a facial mask. The container comprises a base having two cavities formed therein separated by a division wall, an upper platform and a lidding foil that is removably and sealably attached to the upper platform of the base. The base may be formed of a rigid plastic material and so as to be substantially oval in shape with each cavity having a flat bottom surface. The division wall between the two cavities can include a strip pointing at an angle from one of the cavities to the other. The lidding foil can include an overhanging part that is not connect to the upper platform of the base to serve as a pull tab which can be lifted to pull the lidding foil off the upper platform when the mixture of the facial mask is to be dispensed. The base of the container may also include a shearing or piercing area to allow the container to be readily displayed, whether by hanging vertically on a display rack or otherwise.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to a currently pending patent application in Spain, namely, Spanish Application No. 2010-30733 filed on Jul. 13, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a container for a face mask, such as those used for cosmetic treatments.

2. Description of the Related Art

Basically, a face mask, which is also often referred to as a facial mask, is a cosmetic type of cream or ointment that, when applied over the facial skin, aims to provide some kind of medical and/or cosmetic treatment.

There are different types of facial treatment masks that are available commercially for medical and/or cosmetic uses. One such type of cosmetic mask is based on the mixture of a powder component and a liquid component. Depending on these and/or other selected substances, the mixture is usually prepared just before its being applied onto the skin, due to the fact that certain substances cannot withstand a long period of exposure after being mixed and before use, given that the mixture of the components which formulate many commonly used, professional facial masks tend to spoil quickly.

Traditionally, professional cosmetic masks of this type are used in beauty salons, hair salons and the like, and their preparation is carried out by a trained expert such as a licensed “esthetician,” hairdresser or the like, who mixes in proper quantities two or more products, which are usually provided in bulk or in large containers. Therefore, these masks are generally not used privately by unlicensed individuals due to the fact that in order to prepare them properly, some knowledge is needed as to what are the correct components, where they can be obtained to be reasonably certain as to their quality, and also, the appropriate quantities of the different components involved. Moreover, and as noted above, most of the components used for mixing a professional cosmetic mask are usually marketed in bulk, i.e., in large containers or packages, and sold by specialized companies. It should be understood that many of these components can be difficult to store, not just because they are sold in bulk but also as they typically have a relatively short shelf life, i.e., they tend to have a relatively short expiry date, even before being mixed together with another component or product. Collectively then, it is not practical or economical for an individual to privately attempt to prepare a commercial cosmetic mask.

One effort to avoid problems such as those described above, is a “Unit-dose container” for face and/or cosmetic masks, as shown in ES 2310156 of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM), which describes a “Unit-dose container for a face mask” that comprises two separate cavities, one containing a dry cosmetic product in powder or granules and the other containing a liquid cosmetic product that serves as solvent for the former. Still considering this “Unit-dose container for a face mask,” when the user applies pressure over a push-button structure associated with the cavity where the liquid remains, the cavity gets broken and the liquid is dispensed, so as to enter the other cavity which contains the dry cosmetic product, whereupon, the user must then shake the container to blend the mixture before applying it over the skin. The inventor herein, however, considers this kind of device to have several disadvantages. First, it features a complex configuration since it consists of various independent parts that require separate manufacturing and filling, and subsequent assembly. Second, it seems to be too large to be a unit-dose container. Last, it does not offer the possibility of being readily displayed or hung on a display rack for marketing purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an effort to present a solution to these problems, a novel container for a face mask has been designed and is disclosed herein.

More specifically, the present invention generally relates to a new type of container comprising two cavities that feature a relatively simple configuration and which can be filled simultaneously in a manufacturing plant, with further, the container being small and easy to display, whether by hanging on a display rack or otherwise.

As will be understood from the drawings which are part of this patent application and from the more detailed description which follows, the present invention comprises a base having two cavities formed therein, and a thin, flexible lidding foil for external sealing of the two cavities. The invention includes a division wall formed between the two cavities which preferably features a strip pointing at an angle from one of the two cavities, preferably the one containing the liquid cosmetic product, to the other containing the solid cosmetic product. The bond between the base and the lidding foil is preferably less resistant than on or in the remaining portions of the base. The lidding foil may also have an overhanging lip or small section that is detached from the base, which serves as a pull-tab thereof when the mixture of the face mask is to be dispensed. The present invention preferably also includes a shearing or piercing area, for purposes of making it easy to display, whether by hanging the container vertically on a display rack or otherwise.

The following will now summarize how the present invention works. When a user applies direct pressure on the lidding foil over the cavity that contains the liquid, such pressure over the liquid causes the lidding foil to detach from the base, just over the angled area having the least resistant bond, so that the liquid is dispensed from its cavity, into the cavity which contains the dry cosmetic product. The user will then preferably gently shake the container to blend the mixture, so that a blended mixture can be applied over the skin. Finally, the lidding foil can be lifted by means of the pull-tab designed for such purpose.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer when the drawings as well as the detailed description are taken into consideration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of a container according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional view thereof.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

It should be noted at the outset that the drawings accompanying this specification describe an illustrative practical embodiment of the present invention and how it can be made, but importantly, the present invention and its principles are capable of being embodied in alternative forms or embodiments, such that the attached drawings should not be considered to limit the present invention to the particular exemplary embodiment shown and described herein.

With initial reference now to FIG. 1, the present invention relates to a new and novel container 10 for a face mask, and in particular, for carrying and allowing the blending of at least two components typically used to create a mixture suitable for use as a facial mask. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention 10 comprises a base 1 having two cavities 3, 4 separated by a division wall, 5, which is part of an upper platform 8. In some embodiments, the base 1 and cavities 3, 4, are formed of a rigid material, such as a hard plastic, and the cavities 3 and 4 can be formed by thermoforming and so as to have a generally flat bottom surface, as shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the container 10 further comprises a lidding foil 2 for external sealing of the two cavities, 3 and 4, which is preferably attached to the upper platform 8 of the base 1 by thermal sealing. The lidding foil 2 will be made in some embodiments of a plastic material which is preferably thin and flexible in nature.

Ideally, the base 1 will also be formed to have a substantially oval shape as shown in FIG. 1, with the divisional wall 5 between the cavities 3 and 4 pointing at an angle from the cavity which contains a liquid, such as 3, to the other one which contains a solid cosmetic product, such as 4. With further regard to the division wall 5, the bond between the base 1 and the lidding foil 2 will preferably be less resistant in this area than in the remaining upper or binding platform 8. By way of example, the divisional wall 5 can include a top surface having a downwardly sloped angle extending from that adjacent cavity 3 to that adjacent cavity 4, such that when direct pressure is applied to the lidding foil 2 over the cavity 3 that contains the liquid, the lidding foil 2 will detach from the base just over this angled area having the least resistant bond, to allow the liquid to be dispensed from its cavity 3, into the cavity 4 which contains the dry cosmetic product.

In other embodiments, the base 1 can be thermoformed into a variety of shapes including, but not limited to, rectangular, square, hexagonal, elliptical and circular shapes. Also in other embodiments, the lidding foil 2 can be made of an aluminum alloy.

The present inventive container 10 also includes a pull-tab 6 which is best shown in FIG. 1. The pull tab 6 is formed in some embodiments by an overhanging part or lip 6 of the lidding foil 2 that is not attached to the base 1. This pull tab 6 can be readily manipulated by the hand or hands of a user to pull and lift the lidding foil 2 away from and off of the upper platform 8 when the mixture of the facial mask is to be dispensed.

In some embodiments, the present inventive container 10 also comprises a shearing or piercing area 7, to allow the container to be readily displayed, whether by hanging vertically on a display rack or otherwise.

It should be noted that the object of the present invention does not necessarily include as part of its scope any of the materials used in the manufacturing process for the container 10 or components of the facial mixture, which might be replaced by other technically equivalent ones, providing that they do not affect its nature or depart from the scope defined by the appended claims.

Since many modifications, variations and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiment of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Now that the invention has been described,

Claims

1. A container for products to be mixed to create a facial mask, comprising:

(a) a base,

(b) said base having at least two cavities separated by a division wall,

(c) said base including an upper platform, and

(d) a lidding foil removably and sealably attached to said upper platform of said base.

2. A container as recited in claim 1, wherein said base is made of plastic.

3. A container as recited in claim 2, wherein said plastic is a hard plastic and formed by a thermoforming process.

4. A container as recited of claim 1, wherein said base has a substantially oval shape.

5. A container as recited in claim 1, wherein said lidding foil is made of a thin flexible plastic material.

6. A container as recited in claim 1, wherein the bond between said upper platform of said base and said lidding foil in the area around said division wall is less resistant than the bond between the remaining areas of said upper platform.

7. A container as recited in claim 1, wherein said division wall includes a strip pointing at an angle from one of said two cavities to the other of said two cavities.

8. A container as recited in claim 1, wherein said division wall includes a top surface having a downwardly sloping angle starting adjacent one of said two cavities towards the other of said two cavities.

9. A container as recited in claim 1 wherein said lidding foil includes an overhanging part detached from said upper platform of said base.

10. A container as recited in claim 1, wherein said lidding foil is attached to said base by a thermal sealing process.

11. A container as recited in claim 1, further comprising a piercing area.

12. A container as recited in claim 1, further comprising a shearing area.

13. A container as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said two cavities are formed to have a flat bottom surface.

14. A container as recited in claim 13, wherein said container is formed by a thermoforming process.

15. A container for a facial mask, comprising:

(a) a base having two cavities separated by a division wall,

(b) each of said two cavities formed in said base including a generally flat bottom surface,

(c) said division wall separating said cavities including a strip pointing at an angle from one of said two cavities to the other of said two cavities,

(d) said base including an upper platform,

(e) a lidding foil removably and sealably attached to said upper platform of said base,

(f) said lidding foil including an overhanging part detached from said upper platform of said base; and

(g) said base further comprising a piercing area.