Lip Product

Abstract

Disclosed is a lip product comprising an outer receptacle, an inner receptacle comprising a substance that is to be applied to the lips of a user, the inner receptacle disposed within the outer receptacle such that the former moves to and fro within the latter, an applicator stick wherein the substance is applied to the lips about any of the either end thereof, and a closure cap for sealing off the outer receptacle thereby storing the substance and the applicator stick.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to lip products and more particularly to lipstick products with applicators.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventionally, lipsticks are applied directly from the lipstick tubes thereof onto the lips a user. A long-known disadvantage with the direct application of lipstick is that, most of the times, excess lipstick is deposited onto the lips, which needs to be wiped off with a tissue or the like. A lipstick brush is one tool designed to overcome this problem but to no avail. This is mainly because, when excess pressure is applied to the lipstick brush in order to apply the lipstick, the bristles of the lipstick brush become difficult to control as they often go beyond the boundary of the lips leading to lipstick to be deposited on unnecessary part of the skin. On the other hand, not applying enough pressure renders the lipstick brush ineffective. Another setback is that the use of a lipstick brush is not hygienic as the bristles thereof tend to accumulate germs, and the like. Therefore, users, usually, in order to deal with this problem, commonly use their finger, or a handkerchief or a tissue wrapped around the tip of their finger, for applying the lipstick from the lipstick tube. Although, this approach, in terms of convenience, is better than applying the lipstick directly from the tube or from a lipstick brush, it is still undesirable for obvious reasons.

Another disadvantage with conventional lipstick products is that a single lipstick product cannot be shared or sampled by more than one user without the risk of transferring contaminants from one user to another. Yet another disadvantage is that the design of a conventional lipstick product limits a user from extracting all the content (lipstick) therewithin. Undeniably, there is a strong need for a lip product that addresses aforesaid disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses a lipstick product comprising a lipstick tube holding lipstick and a disposable applicator stick intended to act that same way as the finger discussed above. More particularly, in order to use the applicator stick, one end thereof is simply dipped into the lipstick and is applied to the lips of a user. One end of the applicator stick is removably lodged or dipped into the lipstick prior to the lipstick tube being sealed off with a closure cap for storage.

The other objects and advantages of the embodiments herein will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the lip product of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the applicator stick of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an alternate embodiment of the applicator stick of the present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are illustrations of the perspective and side views respectively of an alternate embodiment of the applicator tip of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a case for holding the applicator sticks according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 6 through 8 illustrate the sequential steps of the elevation of the lipstick as the screw-thread mechanism is deployed.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of an alternate embodiment of the lip product of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of another alternate embodiment of the lip product of the present invention.

FIGURES—REFERENCE NUMERALS

• 10 . . . Lip Product
• 12 . . . Outer Receptacle
• 14 . . . Lipstick
• 16 . . . Applicator Stick
• 18 . . . Closure Cap
• 20 . . . Cylindrical Handle
• 22 . . . Elongate Strip Member
• 24 . . . Compartment
• 26 . . . Bottom Section
• 28 . . . Applicator Tip
• 30 . . . Case
• 32 . . . Flap
• 34 . . . Strip
• 36 . . . Flat Surface

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, a reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which the specific embodiments that may be practiced is shown by way of illustration. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and it is to be understood that the logical, mechanical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention is a lip product 10—more particularly a lipstick product—comprising an outer receptacle 12, an inner receptacle (not shown), a lipstick substance 14 (hereinafter “lipstick”), an applicator stick 16, and a snap-fit closure cap 18. The outer receptacle 12 is a hollow elongate member preferably of uniform cross-section with one end thereof being closed. The cross-section of the inner and outer walls of the outer receptacle 12 may be circular or rectangular with the corners thereof rounded-off or a combination thereof, or of any other shape known in the art. The inner receptacle is disposed within the outer receptacle 12 and connected thereto about a screw-thread mechanism whereby, the inner receptacle axially moves to and fro within the outer receptacle 12 when the screw-thread mechanism is operated. More particularly, the lip product further comprises a bottom section 26, which, when rotated, deploys the screw-thread mechanism enabling the inner receptacle to extend and retract within the outer receptacle.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the lipstick 14 is disposed within the inner receptacle whereby, the lipstick 14 too axially reciprocates along with the inner receptacle as the screw-tread mechanism is operated. In one embodiment, the lipstick product 10 is designed such that the lipstick 14 extends upwardly but only up to the brim of the outer receptacle 12. The applicator stick 16, as seen in FIG. 2, comprises a finger-held elongate strip wherein, one end thereof terminates in an applicator tip 28. The applicator tip 28 is smoother compared to the rest of the applicator stick 16 and is substantially bulb-shaped. In one embodiment, both ends of the applicator stick 16 terminate in applicator tips.

Referring to FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the applicator stick 16 comprises an elongate member made of two sections wherein, one section comprises a substantially cylindrical handle 20, which offers a better grip than a strip. The second section comprises an elongate strip member 22 axially extending from one end of the cylindrical handle 20 and terminating in an applicator tip 28. In one embodiment, an oblique portion of the surface of the applicator tip 28 is substantially flat as seen in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The flat surface 36 helps in scooping-out the lipstick 14 as the applicator stick 16 is drawn out. Once the drawn out lipstick 14 is applied over the lips, the rest of the surface of the applicator tip 28 is used for spreading the lipstick 14 over the lips evenly. In another embodiment, a portion of the surface of the applicator tip 28 is substantially concave. The applicator stick 16 is disposable in nature and is made of polyvinyl chloride, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, nylon or any combination thereof. Since the applicator stick is disposable, the lip product 10, when being sold, may be provided with a plurality of applicator sticks 16. For example, referring to FIG. 5, the applicator sticks 16 may be provided in a case 30 comprising a compartment 24 for receiving and holding the applicator sticks 16 about one end thereof, and a flap 32 for covering over the applicator sticks 16 for storage. The case 30 further comprises a strip 34, either end of which is attached to either side of the outer surface of the compartment 24 wherein, the flap 32 is held in place when inserted between the compartment 24 and the strip 34.

In order to use the lip product 10, the screw-thread mechanism is operated by twisting the bottom section 26 so as to extend the lipstick upwards as seen in FIGS. 6 through 8. The applicator tip 28 of the applicator stick 16 dipped within the lipstick 14 is removed and the lipstick 14 adhering thereto is applied onto the lips of a user. One end of the applicator stick 16, preferably, the end where applicator tip 28 is disposed, is lodged or dipped back into lipstick 14 prior to the lipstick product 10 being sealed off with a closure cap 18.

Referring to FIG. 9, in one embodiment, the periphery of the outer receptacle 12 is attached with a compartment 24 for receiving the applicator stick 16 for storage instead of being lodged into the lipstick 14. In one embodiment, the compartment 24 can accommodate more than one applicator stick 16 as seen in FIG. 10. The closure cap 18 is designed such that the same fits over the compartment 24 as well as over the outer receptacle in order to store the applicator stick(s) 16 therewithin.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Although the embodiments herein are described with various specific embodiments, it will be obvious for a person skilled in the art to practice the invention with modifications. However, all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the claims.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the embodiments described herein and all the statements of the scope of the embodiments which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Claims

1. A lip product comprising:

(a) an outer receptacle;

(b) an inner receptacle comprising a substance that is to be applied over the lips of a user, the inner receptacle disposed within the outer receptacle such that the former moves to and fro within the latter;

(c) an applicator stick wherein the substance is applied over the lips about an end thereof; and

(d) a closure cap for sealing off the outer receptacle thereby storing the substance and the applicator stick.

2. The product of claim 1 wherein, the substance comprises lipstick.

3. The product of claim 1 wherein, one end of the applicator stick is removably lodged into the substance for storage prior to the outer receptacle being sealed off with the closure cap.

4. The product of claim 1 wherein, the periphery of the outer receptacle comprises a compartment within which, the applicator stick is received for storage prior to the outer receptacle being sealed off with the closure cap.

5. The product of claim 5 wherein, the compartment accommodates more than one applicator stick.

6. The product of claim 1 wherein, a screw-thread mechanism is employed for enabling the inner receptacle, and thereby the substance therewithin, to move to and fro within the outer receptacle axially.

7. The product of claim 1 wherein, at least one end of the applicator stick terminates in an applicator tip that is substantially bulb-shaped, the substance to be applied to the lips about the at least one applicator tip.

8. The product of claim 7 wherein, one end of the applicator stick terminates in an applicator tip.

9. The product of claim 7 wherein, a portion of the surface of the applicator tip is substantially flat for enabling the lipstick to be scooped-out; the flat surface being oblique.

10. The product of claim 7 wherein, a portion of the surface of the applicator tip is substantially concave for enabling the lipstick to be scooped-out.

11. The product of claim 1 wherein, the applicator stick is disposable.

12. A lip product comprising:

(a) an outer receptacle;

(b) an inner receptacle comprising a substance that is to be applied to the lips of a user, the inner receptacle disposed within the outer receptacle such that the former extends and retracts within the latter as operated by a screw-thread mechanism;

(c) a disposable applicator stick wherein the substance is applied to the lips about any of the either end thereof; and

(d) a closure cap for sealing off the outer receptacle thereby by storing the substance, and the applicator stick dipped into the substance.