Applicator

May 21, 1935

W. O. HEATON

APPLICATOR

2,002,144

Filed March 8, 1934

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ATTORNEY

Patented May 21, 1935

2,002,144

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,002,144 APPLICATOR Wilma O. Heaton, Oakland, Calif. Application March 8, 1934, Serial No. 714,550

Claims.

The invention relates to an applicator of the nature of a finger stall, and further relates to a package including the applicator.

An object of the invention is to provide an ap0 plicator which is adapted for mounting on a person’s finger for use in the application of a cosmetic substance to the face whereby to keep the finger clean of the applied substance and at the same time protect the face from infection from 10 the finger.

Another object is to provide an applicator which is particularly adapted to accomplish the aforesaid and other desirable objects.

A further object is to provide a compact pack15 age including the applicator and wherein the applicator retains is normal shape and may be fully protected when not in use.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the fore20 going, will be set forth or be apparent in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 illustrates the use of an applicator em25 bodying the invention for smoothing an application of lip rouge in place on a person’s lips.

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the applicator as mounted on a person’s finger.

Figure 3 is an elevation of a protective cap for 30 receiving the applicator.

Figure 4 is an elevation.of the applicator.

Figure 5 shows a closure cap for the applicator cavity, said cap carrying a stick of lip rouge.

Figure 6 is an axial section taken through a 35 package comprising an assembly of the various elements shown in Figures 3 to 5 inclusive.

Figure 7 is a section at the broken line 7—7 in Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a section at 8—8 in Figure 6.

In its present embodiment, the invention is disclosed in an applicator II which is particularly designed for applying and/or smoothing a deposit of rouge on a person’s lips, such a deposit having been derived from a rouge stick 12 which 45 extends from a usual casing 13, or from some other source of the rouge. Essentially, the applicator 11 comprises a finger cot 14 formed of soft rubber or the like and mounted on and extending axially from a ring member 15 in unitary asso- ciation therewith.

Preferably, and as shown, the cot 14 is closed at its tip end, is tapered toward said end, and is of generally elliptical cross-section throughout its length for conformity with the generally elliptical 55 cross-section of the outer portion of a person’s (Cl. 132—1) finger. At its open inner end the cot 14 is formed with a solely inturned bead 18 for engagement in a complementary groove 17 of the ring 15 for mounting the cot on the ring, said ring having a similar cross-section to that of the cot at its 5 base.

Since for properly smoothing and distributing rouge in place, the sense of touch must be used as well as the sense of sight, it is a common practice to use the highly sensitive finger tips for 10 finishing an application of a rouge material to a skin surface. Accordingly, at least the tip portion of the applicator cot 14 is preferably made as thin and close-fitting to a finger, therein as is possible with the material used for the cot whereby 15 the sense of touch at a finger tip in the cot may be used to a maximum amount as the applicator portion thereat is used.

It is further desirable that an applicator cot of the character described shall retain its cup-like 20 form when not in use, and it is therefore preferred that the side walls of the cot shall be so constituted that its normally elliptic cross-section will be maintained. In the present instance, the latter purpose is accomplished in a cot of homo- 25 geneous structure by forming the same to have side walls of requisite thickness to provide the needed stiffness of structure. Accordingly, and as is brought out in Figures 2 and 6 and 7, the cot side wall is somewhat thicker than, and tapers 30 into, the thin end wall portion through which the user must be able to feel the rouge and the surface to which it is applied.

The present applicator cot structure is particularly designed to be made of a soft vulcanized 35 and stretchable rubber composition, and the tapered form of the cot is arranged to provide for the stretched engagement of at least the working tip portion over a person’s finger whereby a skintight fit may be afforded at the end cot portion 40 which is to be applied to the rouge. It will be understood, however, that other materials having the specified qualities might be used for the cot instead of rubber. Furthermore, at least those outer surface portions of the applicator which are 45 to be applied to the rouge would preferably be roughened slightly rather than smooth. The material of the cot would be generally impervious.

Preferably, though not necessarily, the ring 15 is arranged to closely fit the finger portion thereat 50 when the cot 14 is mounted in operative position and condition on a finger. As particularly shown, the ring 15 is shaped as from a piece of tubing formed of relatively inflexible sheet material of a uniform gauge, and the groove 17 is provided ⁵⁵

2,002,144 in a circumferentially depressed ring portion at the extreme outer ring edge. The annular ridge 18 thus provided at the outer end of the ring bore may more or less closely engage a person’s finger 5 for frictionally holding the ring in place when the cot is fully stretched over the finger end. While the cot is of itself of a non-collapsing structure, it will be understood that the ring i5 assists in maintaining it in its normal shape.

The inner cot edge portion at the bead 16 is arranged for stretching into its place in the groove ί 7 whereby the bead is operative to releasably fix the cot to the ring in unitary assocaition therewith, it being noted that solely the ring need be 15 engaged by a person’s fingers while mounting or dismounting the cot with respect to a finger; in this manner, the exterior of the cot need not be . touched by a person’s hand. The cot would normally remain in mounted disposition on the ring 20 whereby the cot and ring constitute an applicator unit; removal of the cot from the ring would generally be effected only for a cleaning or replacement thereof.

A protective enclosure is provided for the cot 25 14 when the applicator unit is not in use, the enclosure elements utilizing the ring 15 as a mounting means therefor. As particularly shown, caps 21 and 22 are provided for mounting at the outer and inner ends respectively of the ring, 30 the cap 21 being shaped to receive the non-collapsing cot 14 therein without any contact with it, and the cap 22 being arranged to extend across the inner ring end to close the space 23 jointly provided within the cot and ring. The cross-sec35 tion of the two caps are each similar to that of the ring 15 whereby the space occupied by the assembly of the caps with the ring may be a minimum. It will be noted that the applicator may be placed on or removed from a finger while the 40 cap 21 is mounted in place on the ring f 5.

As particularly illustrated, the ring 14 is intermediately formed to have an encircling flange 24 thereabout for providing a stop to limit the degree of engagement of the caps 21 and 22 on the 45 ring. The caps are formed of stiff sheet material and are arranged to frictionally embrace the ring at opposite sides of the stop flange 24, it being noted that the outer face of the base portion of the cot 14 preferably lies within the outer sur50 face of the ring portion which is engaged in the base of the cap 21 whereby it may not be injuriously contacted by the cap as the latter is mounted on, or is dismounted from, the ring.

The space 23 which is jointly defined by and 55 within the cot 14 and ring 15 may be utilized as a container, its use as a storage place for the rouge stick 12 being particularly indicated in Figure 6. The casing 13 for the rouge stick is provided with an encircling bead 26 near its open end, such a 60 bead being Usual when a cap (not shown) is to be applied for completing the encasing of the stick of rouge. In the present instance, however, a clip assembly 27'is provided within the cap 22 for receiving and gripping the portion of the casing i 3 65 beyond the bead 26 and nearest to the exposed rouge stick portion, whereby the; stick of rouge may be releasably held and supported within the space 23 and Without contact with the interior of the cot 14 or the cap 22. As shown, the clip 70 assembly 27 comprises a set of spring clips extending from a plate 29 which is suitably fixed to and against the inner end of the cap 22.

The described combination of the applicator unit i I with the caps 21 and 22 and the rouge 7 5 stick 12 is understood to provide a package which may be produced and sold as a unitary article of manufacture. As indicated in Figure 1, the applicator may be mounted on a finger of a hand which holds the rouge stick for the application thereof; in this manner, the applicator and stick 5 may be alternatively applied as required with only one hand in use for the purpose.

While for hygienic reasons It is generally preferable that the cot 14 have a closed outer end for completely enclosing the finger tip and its 1 o nail, it will be understood that a fingernail opening might be provided in the cot end for permitting the protrusion of a long finger nail therethrough and from the cot. The latter arrangement would, of course, prevent the reversible 15 mounting and use of the applicator cot which is hereinbefore particularly shown and described.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the advantages of the construction and method of use 2o will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention appertains. While I have described the features and the principles of operation of a device which I now consider to be a preferred embodiment of my inven- 25 tion, I desire to have it understood that the specific showing is primarily illustrative, and that such changes may be made, when desired, as fall within the scope of the following claims.