COSMETIC CONTAINER WITH REPLACEABLE INSERTS
A cosmetic container having a cover, a base, and a base insert is provided. The base is coupled to the cover at a rotatable hinge. The rotatable hinge has a freedom of rotation to configure the cover and the base between a first angle and a second angle and between the second angle and the third angle. The base insert is removably coupled to the base. The base insert is secured to the base when an angle between the cover and the base is between the first angle and the second angle. The base insert begins decoupling from the base when the angle between the cover and the base is greater than the second angle.
The present invention relates generally to a cosmetic container, and more specifically, to a cosmetic container having one or more replaceable inserts.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONCosmetics are products designed for several uses. For example, cosmetics can be designed for skin care, allowing individuals to cleanse, exfoliate, and protect skin using cleansers, toners, serums, moisturizers, balms, etc. Cosmetics can also be designed for beautification or enhancing appearance. For example, cosmetics can be used for concealing blemishes, enhancing natural features such as eyelashes or eyebrows, adding color to an individual's face, etc. Cosmetics are ubiquitous in society regardless of class structure. Cosmetics can be seen commonly used in television and movies by public personalities and also used by any other individual who is not under hyper scrutiny. Due to the widespread use of cosmetics, cosmetics are typically available in portable containers (e.g., compacts).
Some cosmetic containers include more than one type of cosmetics such as powders, creams, mascara, eye shadow, etc. Sometimes cosmetic containers have variations to each type of cosmetic. For example, different shades of powder can be included in each cosmetic container. Since cosmetic containers can include more than one type of cosmetics and also a variety of each type of cosmetics, the cosmetics in the cosmetic containers are typically separated from each other. Inserts are included in the cosmetics containers to separate different variations and/or different types of cosmetics.
Existing cosmetic containers can be made from different materials. For example, the inserts may be made of plastic or some other polymer while the exterior of the cosmetic container may be made of metal or another material. Due to portability of some of the cosmetic containers, some of these cosmetic containers may contain less than a month's supply of cosmetics. After the supply of cosmetics is depleted in the cosmetic container, the cosmetic container is discarded and will likely end up in a landfill. Cosmetic containers made of multiple materials or even a mix of polymers are difficult to recycle. Therefore, when considering the ubiquity of cosmetics in the world, conventional cosmetics containers can end up being major pollutants if they end up, for example, in bodies of water.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe term embodiment and like terms, e.g., implementation, configuration, aspect, example, and option, are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this disclosure and the claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the claims below. Embodiments of the present disclosure covered herein are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the disclosure and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter. This summary is also not intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all drawings, and each claim.
According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a cosmetic container having a cover, a base, and a base insert is provided. The base is coupled to the cover at a rotatable hinge. The rotatable hinge has a freedom of rotation to configure the cover and the base between a first angle and a second angle and between the second angle and a third angle. The base insert is removably coupled to the base. The base insert is secured to the base when an angle between the cover and the base is between the first angle and the second angle. The base insert begins decoupling from the base when the angle between the cover and the base is greater than the second angle.
According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a method for replacing a base insert of a cosmetic container includes pivoting a cover of the cosmetic container about a first end of a base of the cosmetic container. The cover is coupled to the base at a rotatable hinge that is at the first end. The pivoting includes (a) increasing an angle between the cover and the base until a first resistance is met when the angle increases from a first angle to a second angle, and (b) continuing to increase the angle past the second angle to a third angle. The cover is caused to engage with the base insert of the cosmetic container between the second angle and the third angle. The base insert is removably coupled to the base such that the base insert is in (i) a secured position at the second angle and (ii) a detached position at the third angle.
The above summary is not intended to represent each embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary merely provides an example of some of the novel aspects and features set forth herein. The above features and advantages, and other features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of representative embodiments and modes for carrying out the present invention, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. Additional aspects of the disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of various embodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.
The disclosure, and its advantages and drawings, will be better understood from the following description of representative embodiments together with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings depict only representative embodiments, and are therefore not to be considered as limitations on the scope of the various embodiments or claims.
Cosmetic containers can include multiple materials. Some of these materials may be recyclable while others may not. For example, some cosmetic containers can include mixed polymers where some of the polymers are recyclable while others are not. Even in situations where mixed polymers are recyclable, some countries or jurisdictions require separating or categorizing the polymers by type. For example, plastics are labeled by number to guide consumers on which can be recycled. Since the recycling process can be different for different numbered plastics, the jurisdiction may require consumers separate these plastics from each other. A cosmetic container having multiple plastics can thus be rendered un-recyclable even though some part of the cosmetic container could have been recycled. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a sustainable cosmetic container design that promotes recyclability. The sustainable cosmetic container design eases effort of recycling, thus making recycling a cosmetic container more user friendly for consumers. Embodiments of the present disclosure enable recycling a compact or some other case or container that is similar to a compact.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a cosmetic container having a cover, a base, and a base insert. The base is coupled to the cover at a rotatable hinge. The rotatable hinge has a freedom of rotation to configure the cover and the base between a first angle and a second angle and between the second angle and the third angle. The base insert is removable from the base when the cover and the base are configured at the third angle. Thus, by merely pivoting the cover about the base past a certain angle, the base insert can be detached from the base.
Various embodiments are described with reference to the attached figures, where like reference numerals are used throughout the figures to designate similar or equivalent elements. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and are provided merely to illustrate aspects and features of the present disclosure. Numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide a full understanding of certain aspects and features of the present disclosure, although one having ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize that these aspects and features can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, with other relationships, or with other methods. In some instances, well-known structures or operations are not shown in detail for illustrative purposes. The various embodiments disclosed herein are not necessarily limited by the illustrated ordering of acts or events, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts or events are necessarily required to implement certain aspects and features of the present disclosure.
For purposes of the present detailed description, unless specifically disclaimed, and where appropriate, the singular includes the plural and vice versa. The word “including” means “including without limitation.” Moreover, words of approximation, such as “about,” “almost,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and the like, can be used herein to mean “at,” “near,” “nearly at,” “within 3-5% of,” “within acceptable manufacturing tolerances of,” or any logical combination thereof. Similarly, terms “vertical” or “horizontal” are intended to additionally include “within 3-5% of a vertical or horizontal orientation, respectively. Additionally, words of direction, such as “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “above,” and “below” are intended to relate to the equivalent direction as depicted in a reference illustration; as understood contextually from the object(s) or element(s) being referenced, such as from a commonly used position for the object(s) or element(s); or as otherwise described herein.
Referring to
The base 104 has a thickness Bh. In some implementations, the thickness Bh is about 10 mm. In the closed position, the cover 102 is secured to the base 104 such that the front tab 108 of the cover 102 engages with the catch area 110 of the base 104. The base 104 has at least one side edge 115. A pivot axis 106 is provided at the side edge 115 of the base 104 such that when the cover 102 is not secured to the base 104 at the catch area 110 of the base 104, the cover 102 pivots about the base 104 at the pivot axis 106. When the cover 102 is secured to the base 104, the engagement between the front tab 108 of the cover 102 and the catch area 110 of the base 104 prevents the cover 102 from pivoting about the pivot axis 106. At least one hinge pin 107 is provided for rotatably coupling the cover 102 to the base 104. In some implementations, the pivot axis 106 is at the center of the hinge pin 107.
The first base insert 402 is fully locked in the base 104. The first base insert 402 is shown to include a depression 302. The depression 302 is circular. In some implementations, the depression 302 is provided to hold cosmetic products.
Although the cosmetic container 100 disclosed thus far is shaped as a rectangular prism, the present disclosure is not limited to such shapes. In some implementations, the cosmetic container 100 can be cylindrical. In some implementations, the cosmetic container 100 can have other cross sectional shapes besides squares, rectangles, or circles. The cross sectional shapes can include a heptagon, hexagon, or any other polygon.
Inserting another base insert in the base 104 can follow a reversal of the steps provided in
Although the disclosed embodiments have been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur or be known to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein, without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the disclosure should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A cosmetic container comprising:
- a cover having a hinge cam;
- a base having a front base wall and a back base wall, the base being coupled near the back base wall to the cover at a rotatable hinge, the rotatable hinge having a freedom of rotation to configure the cover and the base between a first angle and a second angle and between the second angle and a third angle, the base having one or more interior slots on an interior surface of the front base wall; and
- a base insert having a front insert wall and a back insert wall that extend between a top insert surface and a bottom insert surface, the cover being near the top insert surface and the base being near the bottom insert surface, the base insert being removably coupled to the base, the base insert being in the form of a palette with a depression for receiving a cosmetic product, the base insert having one or more protrusions along the front insert wall, the one or more protrusions being, respectively, removably received within the one or more interior slots of the base, and a contact feature adjacent to the hinge cam and near the back insert wall and the bottom insert surface, the contact feature having a curvature that matches a curvature of at least a portion of the hinge cam;
- wherein in a first position the base insert is secured to the base when an angle between the cover and the base is between the first angle and the second angle, the one or more protrusions being respectively engaged within the one or more interior slots of the base in the first position, the contact feature being free of pressure from the hinge cam in the first position,
- wherein in a second position the base insert begins to decouple from the base at a third angle between the cover and the base that is greater than the second angle, the decoupling being caused by pressure between the contact feature and the hinge cam, the engagement between the one or more protrusions and the one or more interior slots causing flexure of the base insert within the base, and
- wherein in a third position, the base insert is completely decoupled from the base solely in response to continued rotation of the cover at a fourth angle that is greater than the third angle, the one or more protrusions being disengaged from the one or more interior slots and the contact feature being free from contact with the hinge cam.
2. The cosmetic container of claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the cosmetic container includes a square, a rectangle, a circle, or a polygon.
3. The cosmetic container of claim 1, wherein the base includes an overhang of a snap-fitting slot and the base insert includes a snap-fit feature such that when the base insert is secured to the base, the snap-fit feature of the base insert engages the overhang of the snap-fitting slot of the base.
4-8. (canceled)
9. The cosmetic container of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the cover is about 4.6 mm and a thickness of the base is about 10 mm.
10. The cosmetic container of claim 1, wherein the contact feature of the base insert provides a resistance to further rotate the cover past the second angle.
11. The cosmetic container of claim 1, wherein the first angle is about 0 degrees, the second angle is about 135 degrees, and the third angle is about 190 degrees.
12-20. (canceled)
21. A method for replacing a base insert of a cosmetic container, the method comprising:
- providing a base insert that is removably coupled between a base and a cover;
- initially, in a first position, engaging near a front side of the cosmetic container one or more protrusions of the base insert with respective ones of one or more interior slots of the base, a contact feature of the base insert being free of pressure from a hinge cam of the cover, the first position being achieved in response to an angle between the cover and the base is between a first angle and a second angle;
- in response to rotating the cover to a third angle that is greater than the second angle, achieving a second position in which base insert begins to decouple from the base, the decoupling being caused by pressure between the contact feature and the hinge cam, the engagement between the one or more protrusions and the one or more interior slots causing flexure of the base insert within the base; and
- in response to rotating the cover to a fourth angle that is greater than the third angle, achieving a third position in which the base insert is completely decoupled from the base, the one or more protrusions being disengaged from the one or more interior slots in the third position, the contact feature being free from contact with the hinge cam in the third position.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising snapping in another base insert in the base to replace the base insert.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein the first angle is about 0 degrees, the second angle is about 135 degrees, and the third angle is about 190 degrees.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the cosmetic container includes a square, a rectangle, a circle, or a polygon.
25. The method of claim 21, wherein the base insert is in the form of a palette with a depression for receiving a cosmetic product.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein a shape of the depression includes a circle, a square, a polygon, a rectangle, or any combination thereof.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 4, 2022
Publication Date: Sep 7, 2023
Inventor: Archer Lan (Taichung City)
Application Number: 17/686,630