Process for the production of containers for cosmetic products

Abstract

Process for the production of containers for cosmetic products, comprising the steps of: providing a first bar made of metal or metal alloy; turning said first bar to obtain an element (2) having a tubular shape and defining internally a housing compartment (3); anodizing said element (2) to obtain a surface finishing processing; and inserting a cylindrical body (9) for containing a cosmetic product inside said housing compartment (3).

Claims

1. Process for the production of containers for cosmetic products, comprising the steps of: providing a first bar made of metal or metal alloy; turning said first bar to obtain an element (2) having a tubular shape and defining internally a housing compartment (3), said turning step comprising sub-steps of turning an inner area of the first bar to define said compartment (3) having a cylindrical shape and defining an opening (4) for access to the compartment (3) and a closed end (5) opposite the access opening, and turning an outer surface (6) of the first bar to define an external silhouette of the element (2); anodizing said element (2) to obtain a surface finishing processing; and inserting a cylindrical body (9) for containing a cosmetic product inside said housing compartment (3) through the access opening (4) to expose a threaded neck (9a) of the cylindrical body (9) outside of the housing compartment (3); and providing a second bar made of metal or metal alloy; turning said second bar to obtain a cap (10) defining internally a housing compartment (11); anodizing said cap (10) to obtain a surface finishing process; and inserting a closure plug (10a) inside said housing compartment (11), said plug (10a) being engageable with the threaded neck (9a) of said cylindrical body (9).

2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said step of anodizing the element (2) comprises the sub-step of conferring predefined colouring and hardness at least to the outer surface (6) of said element.

3. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said turning step of the second bar comprises the sub-steps of: turning an inner area of the second bar to define said compartment (11) shaped complementarily to said plug (10a); turning an outer surface (12) of the second bar to define an outer shape of the cap (10).

4. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said step of anodizing the cap (10) comprises the sub-step of conferring predefined colouring and hardness at least to the outer surface (12) of said cap (10).

5. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that said bar is made of aluminium alloy or other ferrous and non-ferrous material.

6. Container for cosmetic products obtained by the process described in claim 1.

Description

(1) Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of an exemplary, but not exclusive, and therefore non-limiting preferred embodiment of a process for the production of containers for cosmetic products of the type illustrated in the appended figures, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a side elevational view of a container for cosmetic products manufactured with the process according to the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the container of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of the container of FIG. 1 according to a second embodiment shown as an example; and

(5) FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of the container of FIG. 1 according to a third embodiment shown as an example.

(6) With reference to the appended figures, reference numeral 1 refers, as a way of example, to a container for cosmetic products obtained by the process of the present invention.

(7) In particular, the process comprises the step of providing a first bar made of metal or metal alloy and then turning the first bar to obtain an element 2 having a tubular shape and defining internally a housing compartment 3.

(8) In particular, a first bar is prepared, preferably in aluminium alloy or another material having the same structural characteristics.

(9) The manufacturing process involves a turning step of an inner area of the first bar to define said compartment 3 having a cylindrical shape and defining an access opening 4 of the compartment and a closed end 5 opposite to the access opening 4.

(10) The turning operation further involves the step of turning an outer surface 6 of the first bar to define an external silhouette of the tubular element 2.

(11) In particular, as better illustrated in the accompanying FIGS. 1 to 4, for merely exemplary and therefore non-limiting purposes, the outer surface 6 may have any shape according to the desired aesthetic aspect of the container 1.

(12) Note, for example, that in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first bar is turned to define an outer surface 6 having a variable section along the longitudinal development. This variable section defines in particular a central collar 7 protruding with respect to the rest of the surface.

(13) Similarly, the first bar may be turned to provide on the outer surface 6 a configuration determined by end portions 8 bent towards the inside. This configuration is better illustrated in the cut through of FIG. 3, wherein an element 2 is represented according to a different embodiment solution.

(14) Still, the first bar can be turned to define a cylindrical outer surface 6 (FIG. 4) with a circular section, and therefore having a constant section throughout the longitudinal development.

(15) In other words, the turning step is implemented in order to define any external configuration of the element 2, realizing surfaces 6 that can exhibit different aesthetic effects.

(16) After the turning step, the element 2 thus obtained undergoes an anodizing step to achieve a finishing process of the surface.

(17) This anodizing step is carried out to give a specific external ornamental appearance, such as a specific stain of the outer surface 6 of the element 2.

(18) Finally, it is inserted a cylindrical body 9 for containing the cosmetic product inside said housing compartment 3 (FIG. 2).

(19) The cylindrical body 9 is preferably made of a plastic material suitable for containing cosmetic products without altering their chemical characteristics.

(20) In addition, the cylindrical body has dimensions suitable to be contained in the compartment 3 and engaged inside the compartment 3 by mechanical interference.

(21) The step of inserting the cylindrical body 9 into the compartment 3 is accomplished by inserting the body 9 through the access opening 4 so as to project at least a threaded neck 9a of the cylindrical body 9 out of the housing compartment 3.

(22) In this way, a closure cap 10a is advantageously provided to be engaged with the threaded neck 9a of said cylindrical body 9.

(23) The closure cap 10a is produced by providing a second bar made of metal or metal alloy, preferably in aluminium alloy.

(24) Subsequently, the second bar is turned to obtain a cap 10 defining internally a housing compartment 11.

(25) Also in this case, the turning step provides a sub-step of turning an inner zone of the second bar to define the compartment 11 countershaped to the cap 10a and turning an outer surface 12 of the second bar to define an outer shape of the cap 10.

(26) Even in this case, the turning steps allow to obtain any shape and dimension of the outer surface 12 from a full bar.

(27) By way of example, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a cap 10 having a cylindrical shape with a circular section.

(28) In addition, as for the element 2, the cap 10 is also anodized to obtain a finishing process of the surface, such as the colouring of the external surface 12.

(29) Finally, the cap 10a is inserted inside the compartment 11 of the cap.

(30) As illustrated in FIG. 2, wherein a container 1 for mascara is exemplified, the cap 10a may be provided with an applicator 13 of the cosmetic product, such as a brush that is inserted into the body 9 in the closure condition of the cap.

(31) At the end of the above-described steps, or in any case, once the bars are turned to obtain the element 2 and the cap 10, further surface processing steps may be provided for applying writings or other ornamental motifs on the respective outer surfaces 6, 12.

(32) The above-disclosed method and the container 1 thus obtained have important advantages.

(33) First, the turning steps from full bars allow to adapt the production of the single container 1 to different production needs.

(34) In fact, the process does not require the preparation of moulds, but only the programming of appropriate turning steps to produce products having any shape.

(35) In other words, the turning step of bars is simple and very cheap because it does not involve the study, preparation, design and manufacture of moulds, and does not necessarily need to be carried out with metal sheets of a predetermined thickness.

(36) Consequently, this step is very versatile as it allows to easily adapt and modify, therefore in a cheap way, the outer shape of the container 1 even for low quantities.

(37) In addition, the turning step enables the production of tubular elements 2 housing the plastic bodies 9 for containing the cosmetic product with different thicknesses.

(38) In fact, the bar is internally turned in order to produce the compartment 3 and thereby determining a thickness of the tubular element 2 capable of adapting to the different needs. Such thickness can also be high to give a better aesthetic and qualitative value to the completed container 1.

(39) Lastly, the metallic material (aluminium alloy or other) is very durable and, at the same time, has very versatile characteristics in terms of adaptability to the different surface finishes.