BRUSH HAVING MULTIPLE DIFFERENTLY-SHAPED FILAMENTS

Abstract

Brushes may be made by extruding filaments having at least two different cross-sections using a single extrusion mold. The filaments may have different cross sectional shapes and/or sizes. After extrusion, the filaments may be coupled to a brush, such as a cosmetic brush for applying a cosmetic product.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority from Chinese Application No. 201220244616.X, filed May 28, 2012, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

A cosmetic applicator (e.g., a brush with filaments, hairs, bristles, etc., hereinafter “filaments”) can be used for applying powdered, cream, or liquid cosmetic products. Typically such filaments are all circular to avoid the filaments interlocking so that the cosmetic product can be carried in voids between the filaments.

As shown in FIG. 1A, conventionally a bundle 100 of circular filaments 102 are formed via extrusion through a plate. FIG. 1B illustrates such a conventional plate 104 having circular holes 106 such that the desired number of circular filaments are produced from the extrusion and the circular filaments are cut and shaped according to the manufacturer's needs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical items.

FIG. 1A depicts a conventional bundle of circular filaments.

FIG. 1B depicts a plate for producing the conventional bundle of circular filaments shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a mold body for producing multiple differently-shaped filaments from a front plan view.

FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative embodiment of a mold body for producing multiple differently-shaped filaments from an angled perspective.

FIG. 3B depicts a magnified detail view of a portion of the illustrative embodiment of holes of a mold body as shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A depicts an illustrative embodiment of a second mold body for producing multiple differently-shaped filaments from a front plan view.

FIG. 4B depicts an illustrative embodiment of a mold body for producing multiple differently-shaped filaments from a side plan view.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments as can be made from the mold bodies illustrated in FIGS. 2-4B.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example brush having multiple differently-shaped filaments.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for preparing multiple differently-shaped filaments employing a mold body such as that shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for preparing a brush having multiple differently-shaped filaments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

This disclosure describes a cosmetic applicator brush (e.g., a brush with multiple differently-shaped filaments, strands, hairs, bristles, etc., hereinafter “multiple differently-shaped filaments”) that can be used for applying powdered, cream, liquid or other cosmetic products, and a mold body and method for making the same.

As noted above, typically cosmetic brush filaments are all circular to avoid the filaments interlocking so that the cosmetic product can be carried in voids between the filaments. The amount of cosmetic product an applicator brush carries per application primarily depends on the size of void between the filaments and the cosmetic product being applied. Multiple applications may be required in order to apply a desired amount of the cosmetic product. While this application describes multiple differently-shaped filaments for use in a cosmetic brush, multiple differently-shaped filaments according to this application are usable in other applications such as, for example, a mascara applicator brush.

The application further describes a method for manufacturing multiple differently-shaped filaments usable to make brushes employing multiple differently-shaped filaments. Example mold bodies for manufacturing multiple differently-shaped filaments are described as circular or rectangular, but other shaped mold bodies can be employed, including oval, square, pentagonal, hexagonal, octagonal, etc.

Examples of synthetic materials that may be used to form the multiple differently-shaped filaments include, without limitation, Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) and/or Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET).

In one example, multiple differently-shaped filaments of a brush may have a diameter of at least about 0.04 mm and at most about 0.50 mm. In some examples, multiple differently-shaped filaments of a cosmetic brush may have a diameter of at least about 0.04 mm and at most about 0.075 mm. However, in other examples, multiple differently-shaped filaments may have other greater or smaller diameters.

EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a mold body for producing multiple differently-shaped filaments. The mold body 200 includes different shaped holes that provide for extrusion of different shaped filaments. In the illustrated embodiment, mold body 200 will produce filaments having at variety of cross-sections (multiple differently-shaped). Holes 202 will produce filaments having a circular cross-section, holes 204 will produce filaments having a quadrilateral cross-section, and holes 206 will produce filaments having a triangular cross-section. Voids 208 between the holes provide for simultaneous production of individual multiple differently-shaped filaments during one extrusion process. In other embodiments, which will also include voids 208 between the holes a mold body as described herein may have holes of two or more different shapes. For example, in some embodiments, mold body 200 can include holes to produce filaments of other shapes such as cross-shaped filaments, oval-shaped filaments, square-shaped filaments, rectangular-shaped filaments, pentagon-shaped filaments, hexagonal-shaped filaments, octagonal-shaped filaments, etc. While the different shapes are shown in different rings in FIG. 2, in other embodiments, the holes to produce multiple differently-shaped filaments can be arranged in a variety of different regions or zones, (e.g., rings, perimeter distributions, quadrants, zones, regions, in patterns, in random distributions, etc.). In some embodiments, filaments for multiple brushes can be extruded simultaneously from the same mold, e.g., in different regions of a mold body.

FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative embodiment of a mold body for producing multiple differently-shaped filaments from an angled perspective.

A mold body according to the instant disclosure includes holes having at least two cross-sectional shapes. In some embodiments the holes are placed in at least two circles with a first circle having a greater diameter than the second circle. The cross-sectional shape of holes in the first circle being the same as each other, and the cross-sectional shape of holes in the second circle being the same as each other while the cross-sectional shape of the holes in the first circle are different than the cross-sectional shape of the holes in the second circle. In the illustrated embodiment, the mold body 200 has holes 202, 204, and 206. Holes 202 are placed in a first circle, holes 204 are placed in a second circle, and holes 206 are placed in a third circle; each of the circles having a same center point. As shown in FIG. 3A, the circle having holes 202 has a diameter greater than the circle having holes 204, which has a diameter greater than the circle having holes 206.

FIG. 3B depicts a magnified detail view of a portion of the illustrative embodiment of holes of a mold body for producing multiple differently-shaped filaments as shown in FIG. 3A.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the holes 202, 204, and 206 are arranged such that a row or circle of one shape of holes has an adjacent row or circle of a different shape of holes. In addition, in some embodiments, the holes have a larger cross-sectional diameter on end 302 corresponding to one face of the mold body than on the other end 304 corresponding to the other face of the mold body. In other words, the holes 202, 204, and 206 are tapered. For example, holes through the mold body can be a first cross-sectional area on the front face and a second cross-sectional area on the back face. In some embodiments, the first cross-sectional area is larger than the second cross-sectional area.

FIG. 4A depicts an illustrative embodiment of a second mold body for producing multiple differently-shaped filaments from a front perspective.

Second example mold body 400 is illustrated with a rectangular shape and includes a first outside section 402 and a second outside section 404 that is encircled by the first outside section 402. In the second example mold body 400, outside section 404 contains multiple holes having at least two different cross-sectional shapes. Outside section 402 can also contain multiple holes having at least two different cross-sectional shapes that may be the same or different than the at least two different cross-sectional shapes of holes in outside section 404. In some examples, the cross-sectional shapes of two adjacent holes are different.

In some embodiments the shapes in the first outside section 402 are the same as each other and the shapes in the second outside section 404 are the same as each other but the shapes in the first outside section 402 are different than the shapes in the second outside section 404.

FIG. 4B depicts an illustrative embodiment of a mold body for producing multiple differently-shaped filaments from a side perspective. The mold body can represent mold body 200, mold body 400, or another mold body. The mold body has a front face 406 and a back face 408. For example, holes through the mold body can be a first cross-sectional area on the front face 406 and a second cross-sectional area on the back face 408. In some embodiments, the first cross-sectional area is larger than the second cross-sectional area as discussed regarding the ends of holes 302 and 304 of FIG. 3B.

The mold body is configured such that synthetic materials that may be used to form the multiple differently-shaped filaments are extruded through the mold body from the front face 406 to the back face 408. In various embodiments a mold body has a thickness of at least about ten centimeters (10 cm) and at most about fifteen centimeters (15 cm) from the front face 406 to the back face 408. In at least one embodiment a mold body has a thickness of around ten centimeters (10 cm) from the front face 406 to the back face 408.

To produce multiple differently-shaped filaments, the mold body is connected to the production device and the material, from which the filaments will be made, such as plastic pellets, is put into the material entering point of the device. The material from which the filaments will be made can be prepared for extrusion by the device. For example, the material of the plastic pellets can be changed into liquids by heat and/or pressure techniques. From the front face of the mold body, the semi-solid or liquid material can be fed into the multiple holes such that the semi-solid or liquid material flows from the front face of the holes to the back face of the holes. The material cools and at least partially solidifies as it passes through the mold body. Thus, the material becomes the filaments, in some instances after cooling. As the mold has holes with different shapes, the filaments thereby produced are mixed filaments with multiple cross-sectional shapes. Therefore, separate techniques to sort and/or mix the filaments to obtain bundles containing filaments of different cross-sectional shapes are not needed in various embodiments. In this way, production of brushes with multiple differently-shaped filaments of one or more sizes can be accomplished in a simple, cost effective manner at the time the filaments are extracted.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a bundle 500 of multiple differently-shaped filaments 502, 504, and 506 made from a mold body such as that shown in FIGS. 2-4. Formation of filaments using a mold body like mold body 200 or 400 provides for a bundle of filaments 500 having irregular voids 508 between the filaments. Such irregular voids 508 may be larger voids than would be produced by a plate having holes to produce the same shape of filaments such as all holes 202, 204, or 206.

The bundle 500 of multiple differently-shaped filaments has a random arrangement, which, for example, can be obtained by compression about the circumference of a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments extruded from mold body 400 or by a rolling compression of a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments extruded from mold body 200. In some embodiments, a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments may have an organized arrangement, which, for example, can be obtained by an even or uniform compression about the circumference of a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments as extruded from a mold body such as mold body 200.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example brush 600 having multiple differently-shaped filaments 602 such as those described above. The brush 600 includes the multiple differently-shaped filaments 602 attached to a housing/handle 604. The housing/handle 604 may be formed using one or more natural or man-made materials, such as metal, stone, ceramic, plastic (e.g., acrylic, polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), or Polyoxymethylene (POM)), glass, wood, or other suitable material. The multiple differently-shaped filaments 602 may be fixed directly to the brush handle 604 or via a ferrule in a fan-shape, a rectangular-shape, a semi-circular shape, a wedge-shape, another type of geometric-based shape, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the brush 600 may include some individual larger multiple differently-shaped filaments 602 than the other multiple differently-shaped filaments 602 in the brush.

A cross-section 606 of a group of the multiple differently-shaped filaments in the brush can include one or more of filament shapes 502, 504, 506 and/or additional or alternate filament shapes such as cross-shaped, oval-shaped, square-shaped, rectangular-shaped, pentagon-shaped, hexagonal-shaped, octagonal-shaped, etc. The cross-section 606 of a group of the multiple differently-shaped filaments is illustrated as having a random arrangement, which, as discussed above, can be obtained by compression about the circumference of a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments extruded from mold body 400 or by a rolling compression of a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments extruded from mold body 200. In other embodiments, the cross-section 606 of a group of the multiple differently-shaped filaments may have an organized arrangement, which, for example, can be obtained by an even compression about the circumference of a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments as extruded from mold body 200.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for preparing a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments employing a mold body such as the mold body 200 or the mold body 400.

In the process 700, each block represents one or more operations that can be implemented when manufacturing brush filaments, such as for cosmetics brushes. The order in which the blocks are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described operations can be combined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the processes. For discussion purposes, the process 700 is described with reference to the mold body 200 or the mold body 400 and bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments 500 as described above.

At 702, synthetic material from which multiple differently-shaped filaments will be formed is prepared. As discussed above, examples of synthetic materials that may be used to form the multiple differently-shaped filaments include, without limitation, Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) and/or Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), magnetic-resin mixtures such as a resins impregnated or treated with strontium ferrite, barium ferrite, magnetite and/or hematite, or other conductive material, or color-changing mixtures such as resins impregnated or treated with, a color-changing material such as a photo-chromatic substance or thermo-chromic substance.

Multiple differently-shaped filaments formed from resins impregnated or treated with such magnetic-resin mixtures may be used to achieve the benefits of magnetic therapy as part of the user's daily routine. Moreover, users needn't buy products with magnetized ingredients to receive benefits of magnetic therapy. Rather, users may simply use a brush having multiple differently-shaped filaments, at least some of which are magnetic, with the cosmetic products they already have to get the results of magnetic therapy.

Multiple differently-shaped filaments formed from resins impregnated or treated with such color-changing mixtures may change from a first color to a second color in response to occurrence of a condition, such as exposure to electromagnetic radiation (e.g., ultraviolet light or infrared light) or when a temperature of the multiple differently-shaped filaments impregnated or treated with such color-changing mixtures is within a predetermined temperature range. For example, one or more portions of the multiple differently-shaped filaments may be configured to change color in response to the occurrence of the condition.

At 704, multiple differently-shaped filaments are formed by extrusion through a mold body, such as mold body 200 or the mold body 400. In one example, each of the multiple differently-shaped filaments may have a diameter of at least about 0.04 mm and at most about 0.50 mm. In some examples, multiple differently-shaped filaments may have a diameter of at least about 0.04 mm and at most about 0.075 mm. However, in other examples, individual multiple differently-shaped filaments may have other greater or smaller diameters.

At 706, a bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments, such as bundle 500 is formed. In various embodiments the bundle is formed by an even or uniform compression or by a rolling compression of the multiple differently-shaped filaments produced from extrusion through the mold body at 704.

FIG. 8 is an example process 800 of preparing a cosmetic brush using multiple differently-shaped filaments, such as the multiple differently-shaped filaments made by the process 700. As shown in FIG. 8, at block 802, lengths of the bundle of the multiple differently-shaped filaments 500 formed according to block 704 can be cut to an appropriate length for the desired brush type.

At block 804, filament tipping may be performed on tips of the cut bundle of multiple differently-shaped filaments according to conventional “filament tipping” techniques to produce multiple differently-shaped filaments having suitable filament tips.

At block 806, a brush, such as brush 600, is produced by coupling a bundle 500 of the multiple differently-shaped filaments to a brush handle/housing. The bundle 500 of the multiple differently-shaped filaments may be coupled to the handle/housing directly or by, for example, a ferrule.

CONCLUSION

Although embodiments have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the embodiments. For example, in various embodiments, any of the structural features and/or methodological acts described herein may be rearranged, modified, or omitted entirely.

Claims

1. A brush comprising:

a handle; and

a plurality of multiple differently-shaped filaments coupled to the handle, the plurality of multiple differently-shaped filaments comprising filaments having filaments having a first cross-section and filaments having a second cross section, the second cross section being different from the first cross section.

2. A brush according to claim 1, wherein the at least two shapes of the multiple differently-shaped filaments include filaments having at least two of a circular cross-section shape, a quadrilateral cross-section shape, a triangular cross-section shape, a cross-shaped cross-section, an oval-shaped cross-section, a square-shaped cross-section, a rectangular-shaped cross-section, a pentagon-shaped cross section, a hexagonal-shaped cross-section, or an octagonal-shaped cross-section.

3. A brush according to claim 1, the plurality of filaments being spaced apart such that voids are present between the filaments of the plurality of filaments.

4. A brush according to claim 3, wherein the voids between the multiple differently-shaped filaments facilitate product uptake between the multiple differently-shaped filaments.

5. A brush according to claim 1, wherein the multiple differently-shaped filaments comprise a cross-sectional area of at least about 0.05 mm and at most about 0.25 mm.

6. A brush according to claim 1, wherein filaments of the plurality of multiple differently-shaped filaments having a different cross-sectional area include filaments of the plurality of multiple differently-shaped filaments having a same cross-section shape.

7. A brush according to claim 1, wherein at least a first of the at least two shapes of the multiple differently-shaped filaments comprises a cross-sectional area of between about 0.05 mm and about 0.10 mm and at least a second of the at least two shapes of the multiple differently-shaped filaments comprises a cross-sectional area at least about 0.15 mm and at most about 0.25 mm.

8. A brush according to claim 1, wherein the multiple differently-shaped filaments comprise at least one of Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT) and/or Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET).

9. A brush according to claim 1, wherein the multiple differently-shaped filaments comprise magnetic filaments.

10. A brush according to claim 1, wherein the multiple differently-shaped filaments comprise color-changing filaments.

11. A method comprising:

preparing a resin for extrusion; and

extruding the prepared resin through a mold body having holes of multiple different shapes to obtain multiple differently-shaped filaments.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the resin for extrusion comprises Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT).

13. A method according to claim 11, wherein the at least two shapes of the multiple differently-shaped filaments include filaments having a circular cross-section shape, a quadrilateral cross-section shape, a triangular cross-section shape, a cross-shaped cross-section, an oval-shaped cross-section, a square-shaped cross-section, a rectangular-shaped cross-section, a pentagon-shaped cross section, a hexagonal-shaped cross-section, or an octagonal-shaped cross-section.

14. A method according to claim 11, wherein the multiple differently-shaped filaments comprise a cross-sectional area of at least about 0.05 mm and at most about 0.25 mm.

15. A method according to claim 11, wherein the multiple differently-shaped filaments comprise Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET).

16. A method according to claim 11, wherein the multiple differently-shaped filaments include magnetic filaments and/or color-changing filaments.

17. A method according to claim 11, further comprising coupling the multiple differently-shaped filaments to a handle.

18. A mold body comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of holes in the substrate for extrusion of filaments, wherein the plurality of holes include at least two shapes to obtain multiple differently-shaped filaments.

19. A mold body according to claim 18, wherein the at least two shapes of the plurality of holes include a circle, a quadrilateral, a triangle, a cross shape, an oval-shape, a square shape, a rectangular shape, a pentagon shape, a hexagonal shape, or an octagonal shape.

20. A mold body according to claim 18, wherein the plurality of holes on a front side of the mold body are larger than the corresponding holes on a back side of the mold body.

21. A mold body according to claim 18, wherein the plurality of holes are arranged in at least two arrangements having a same center point such that a first arrangement of the at least two arrangements has a first area and a second arrangement of the at least two arrangements has a second area, which differs from the area of the first arrangement.

22. A mold body according to claim 21, wherein at least one of the two arrangements includes a circular arrangement, an oval arrangement, a rectangular arrangement, a pentagon arrangement, a hexagon arrangement, an octagon arrangement, or a perimeter arrangement.

23. A mold body according to claim 21, wherein the first arrangement contains holes having a first shape and a second shape, and the second arrangement contains holes having a third shape.

24. A mold body according to claim 21, wherein the first arrangement contains holes having a first shape and a second shape, and the second arrangement contains holes having the first shape.

25. A mold body according to claim 21, wherein the first arrangement contains holes having a first shape, and the second arrangement contains holes having a second shape.