COSMETIC APPLICATOR

Abstract

The cosmetic applicator includes an applying portion in which a comb member including comb teeth provided on a lower surface of a semi-cylindrical applicator body open upward, and a brush member including a brush bristle body around a core wire stem, are integrated coaxially. In the applying portion, tip ends of brush bristles of the brush bristle body are flush with and in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the body, a core wire stem front end portion engages with a bearing open downward at a front end side of the body, a core wire stem rear end portion is fixed to a bearing open upward at a rear end side of the body, and accordingly, the brush member is cantilevered on the comb member.

Claims

1-7. (canceled)

8. A cosmetic applicator comprising: an applying portion formed by integrating a comb member having thin-plate-shaped comb teeth extending downward and formed at equal intervals in a longitudinal direction of a substantially semi-cylindrical applicator body open upward and extending in a front-rear direction on a lower surface of the applicator body, and a brush member forming a brush bristle body having brush bristles extending radially from a linear core wire stem and in a columnar form surrounding the core wire stem, wherein the applying portion is configured so that core wire stem front and rear end portions of the brush member are respectively supported on bearings provided coaxially with the applicator body of the comb member on front and rear end portions of the applicator body, and a substantially upper half region of the brush bristle body accommodated in the applicator body is exposed above the applicator body, wherein the brush member is configured so that the brush member is cantilevered on the comb member by fixing a rear end portion of the core wire stem to the rear end side bearing extending to a rear side of the applicator body and having a U-shaped cross section open upward, and the front end portion of the core wire stem is engaged with the front end side bearing extending in an upstanding wall shape at a front upper side of the applicator body and having a U-shaped cross section open downward, and tip ends of respective brush bristles in a substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body accommodated in the applicator body are flush with and in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the applicator body.

9. The cosmetic applicator according to claim 7, wherein the brush member is positioned in an axial direction with respect to the comb member by respectively bringing a front end portion and a rear end portion of the brush bristle body accommodated in the applicator body into contact with an opening rim portion of the front end side bearing leading to the inside of the applicator body and an opening rim portion of the rear end side bearing leading to the inside of the applicator body.

10. The cosmetic applicator according to claim 7, wherein a core wire stem of the brush member is disposed so as to be substantially flush with left and right side edge portions of the applicator body in a cross section of the applying portion.

11. The cosmetic applicator according to claim 7, wherein a rear end portion of the core wire stem of the brush member is swaged and fixed to a hollow shaft tip end portion together with the bearing at the rear end side of the applicator body.

12. The cosmetic applicator according to claim 7, wherein the front end side bearing is formed into a spherical pointed portion in a gate shape in a front view, provided at a position separated forward from a comb tooth at a forefront position, and a comb-tooth-shaped projection portion narrower in width and shorter in extending length than the comb tooth is provided between the comb tooth at the forefront position and the spherical pointed portion.

13. The cosmetic applicator according to claim 12, wherein a front surface of the comb-tooth-shaped projection portion is formed into a shape following a front surface of the spherical pointed portion.

14. The cosmetic applicator according claim 7, wherein the comb teeth are formed into beaked shapes narrower in width than a width of the inside of the applicator body and having an acute angle in a front view, and in a substantially lower half of the applicator body, slits arc-shaped in cross section, having widths equal to gaps between the comb teeth, and crossing the body, are formed, and the gaps between the comb teeth communicate with the inside of the applicator body through the slits.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] FIGS. 1A, 1B, 10, and 1D illustrate an applying portion as an essential portion of a mascara applicator according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the same applying portion, FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view of the same applicator, FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view (sectional view taken along line Ic-Ic in FIG. 1B) of a swaged and fixed portion of the same applicator, and FIG. 1D is an enlarged cross-sectional view (sectional view taken along line Id-Id in FIG. 1B) of a core wire stem front end portion.

[0059] FIG. 2A is a side view of a comb member, FIG. 2B is a plan view of the comb member, FIG. 2C is a bottom view of the comb member, FIG. 2D is a left side view of the comb member (view of the comb member viewed from a front surface side), and FIG. 2E is a right side view of the comb member (view of the comb member viewed from a back side).

[0060] FIG. 3A is a longitudinal sectional view of the comb member, FIG. 3B is an enlarged cross-sectional view (sectional view taken along line IIIb-IIIb in FIG. 2A) of the comb member, and FIG. 3C is an enlarged cross-sectional view (sectional view taken along line IIIc-IIIc in FIG. 2A) of the comb member.

[0061] FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view (enlarged sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 1B) of the applying portion as an essential portion of the mascara applicator.

[0062] FIG. 5 is an explanatory view describing procedures of fitting a brush member to the comb member.

[0063] FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate an applying portion as an essential portion of a mascara applicator according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6A is a side view of a comb member constituting the same applying portion, FIG. 6B is a longitudinal sectional view of the same applying portion, and FIG. 6C is an enlarged cross-sectional view (sectional view taken along line VIc-VIc in FIG. 6A and corresponding to FIG. 4) of the same comb member.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0064] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0065] FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 10 to 5 are views illustrating an applying portion as an essential portion of a mascara applicator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0066] To an opening of a mascara container (not illustrated) storing a mascara liquid as a cosmetic liquid, a cap (not illustrated) is detachably screwed. With this cap, a shaft 50 (refer to FIGS. 1A and 1B) is integrated, and to a hollow tip end portion 52 of the shaft 50, an applying portion 100 formed by integrating a comb member 110 and a brush member 140 coaxially is swaged and fixed. The reference sign 56 in FIG. 1A represents a swaging mark remaining on an outer circumferential surface of the shaft tip end portion 52.

[0067] Inside the opening of the mascara container, a wiper (a rubber-made wiping member provided with a circular hole for insertion of the applying portion, having an opening area much smaller than a cross-sectional area of the applying portion 100) for wiping off excess mascara liquid attaching to the applying portion 100 (refer to FIGS. 1A and 1B) inside the mascara container is provided, and the applying portion 100 to which a mascara liquid is attached inside the mascara container is wiped with the wiper when being pulled out from the mascara container, and accordingly, a mascara liquid holding amount in the applying portion 100 is adjusted.

[0068] In the mascara applicator of the present embodiment, a wiper with a comparatively large inner diameter (wiping diameter) is employed so that sufficient amounts of mascara liquid can be applied to eyelashes not only by the comb teeth 114 of the applying portion 100 but also by brush bristles 145 of the applying portion 100.

[0069] Therefore, when the applying portion 100 is pulled out from the mascara container, large amounts of mascara liquid are held in gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114 of the comb member 110, and comparatively large amounts of mascara liquid are also held on the brush bristles 145 of the brush bristle body 144 of the brush member 140 exposed from an applicator body 112.

[0070] After the large amounts of mascara liquid are applied to eyelashes by using the comb teeth 114 on a lower surface side of the applying portion 100, the mascara liquid can be further applied to eyelashes to be thicker by using the brush bristle body 144 (brush bristles 145) on an upper surface side of the applying portion 100, or comparatively large amounts of mascara liquid can be applied to eyelashes by using only the brush bristle body 144 (brush bristles 145) on the upper surface side of the applying portion 100 without using the comb teeth 114 on the lower surface side of the applying portion 100, and in such a way, the comb teeth 114 and the brush bristle body 144 (brush bristles 145) of the applying portion 100 can be freely used.

[0071] In the brush member 140, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 4, the brush bristle body 144 substantially fan-shaped in cross section is formed around a linear core wire stem 142 so that brush bristles 145 radially extend from the core wire stem 142. The brush member 140 is configured by sandwiching brush bristles with a predetermined length (for example, polyamide synthetic fiber-made bristles with a diameter of 0.1 mm and a length of 8 mm) between metal wire members 141 and 141 formed by half-folding a metal wire member 141 (with a diameter of, for example, 0.75 mm) and twisting the wire members. The brush bristle body 144 substantially fan-shaped in cross section is formed of brush bristles 145 radially dispersed along a spiral groove between the pair of twisted metal wire members 141 and 141, and a front end portion 142a of the core wire stem 142 is configured by a folded-back portion (FIGS. 1B and 1D) of the metal wire member 141. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 1D, a cross section of the core wire stem front end portion 142a as a folded-back portion of the metal wire member 141 is in a flat and horizontally long shape including two circles with a diameter of 0.75 mm laterally adjacent to each other, and on the other hand, a cross section of a region (region in which the metal wire members 141 and 141 are twisted) excluding the front end portion 142a of the core wire stem 142 is a circle with a diameter of approximately 1.5 mm formed by twisting the two metal wire members 141 (with a diameter of 0.75 mm).

[0072] When brush bristles with a predetermined length are sandwiched between the metal wire members 141 and 141 formed by half-folding, and the metal wire members are twisted, a brush bristle body circular in cross section is formed around the core wire stem 142, and by trimming tip ends of the brush bristles 145 constituting this brush bristle body circular in cross section, the brush bristle body is formed so as to have a predetermined desirable substantially fan-shaped cross section, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a substantially upper half region of the brush bristle body 144 (brush bristles 145 higher than the core wire stem 142) is formed to have a mohawk shape in cross section, and a substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body 144 (brush bristles 145 lower than the core wire stem 142) is formed to have a cross-sectional shape that can be made flush with and accommodated in a brush bristle body accommodation space S described later of the applicator body 112.

[0073] Here, based on the flat and horizontally long cross section of the core wire stem front end portion 142a illustrated in FIG. 1D, a brush bristle body 144 formed of brush bristles 145 higher than the core wire stem 142 is referred to as a substantially upper half region of the brush bristle body 144, and a brush bristle body 144 formed of brush bristles 145 lower than the core wire stem 142 is referred to as a substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body 144.

[0074] On the other hand, the comb member 110 includes a substantially semi-cylindrical applicator body 112 open upward and extending in the front-rear direction, and on a lower surface of the applicator body 112, comb teeth 114 having thin plate shapes extending downward are formed at equal intervals in a longitudinal direction of the body 112. An extending length of the comb teeth 114 (a length from an outer circumferential surface of the applicator body 112 to tip ends of the comb teeth 114) is approximately 1.6 mm, a thickness of the comb teeth 114 is 0.40 mm, and intervals of the comb teeth 114 are 0.75 mm, and gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114 are set to 0.35 mm.

[0075] In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 3C, the comb tooth 114 is formed into a beaked shape having a narrower width d at a base side than a width D of the inside of the applicator body 112 and having an acute angle in a front view, so that eyelashes can be easily combed with the comb teeth 114. In addition, in the gaps 114 between the comb teeth 114, large amounts of mascara liquid can be held.

[0076] As illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 3A, and 3C, an inner circumferential surface 112a of a substantially lower half in the up-down direction of the applicator body 112 is arc-shaped, and inner circumferential surfaces 112b and 112b facing each other in a width direction in a substantially upper half in the up-down direction of the applicator body 112 are formed of vertical surfaces, and inside the applicator body 112, a brush bristle body accommodation space S that accommodates the brush bristle body 144 of the brush member 140 is provided.

[0077] At a front end side of the applicator body 112, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, a bearing 116 that supports a tip end portion (core wire stem front end portion) 142a of the brush member 140 is formed, and at a rear end side of the applicator body 112, a bearing 118 that supports a base end portion (core wire stem rear end portion) 142b of the brush member 140 is formed, respectively integrally and coaxially with the applicator body 112.

[0078] The rear end side bearing 118 is formed to extend to a rear side of the applicator body 112 and have a U-shaped cross section open upward as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2A to 2C, 2E, 3A, and 3C, and an opening rim portion 118a of the bearing 118 leading to the inside of the body 112 forms a rear surface of the brush bristle body accommodation space S inside the applicator body 112 as illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 3A, and 3C.

[0079] On the other hand, the front end side bearing 116 is formed to have a wide U-shaped cross section open downward with which the front end portion of the core wire stem 142 (folded-back portion of the metal wire member 141) of the brush member 140 can engage from below at a center of a spherical pointed portion 115 which extends in an upstanding wall shape at a front upper side of the applicator body 112 and has a gate shape open downward in a front view.

[0080] As illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, an opening rim portion 116a of the front end side bearing 116 leading to the inside of the applicator body 112 is a stepped surface formed on a rear surface of the spherical pointed portion 115, and forms a brush bristle body accommodation space S forming surface inside the applicator body 112.

[0081] As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the brush bristle body 144 accommodated in the brush bristle body accommodation space S of the applicator body 112 is configured so that a small-diameter front end portion 144a of the brush bristle body 144 formed of brush bristles 145 having short extending lengths from the core wire stem 142 comes into contact with the opening rim portion 116a (a front surface of the brush bristle body accommodation space S) of the bearing 116 leading to the inside of the applicator body 112, and a rear end portion 144b of the brush bristle body 144 comes into contact with the opening rim portion 118a of the rear end side bearing 118 leading to the inside of the applicator body 112, and accordingly, the comb member 110 and the brush member 140 are positioned in an axial direction.

[0082] In addition, tip ends of the respective brush bristles 145 in the substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body 144 accommodated inside the body 112 become flush with and come into contact with the inner circumferential surfaces (brush bristle body accommodation space S forming surfaces) 112a and 112b of the applicator body 112, and accordingly, the substantially upper half region of the brush bristle body 114 is exposed above the applicator body 112, and the tip end portion (core wire stem front end portion) 142a and the rear end portion (core wire stem rear end portion) 142b of the brush member 140 are positioned so as to be respectively engaged with the bearing 116 at the front end side and the bearing 118 at the rear end side of the comb member 110 (applicator body 112). That is, the comb member 110 and the brush member 140 are positioned coaxially.

[0083] Then, in a state where the comb member 110 and the brush member 140 constituting the applying portion 110 are positioned coaxially and positioned in the axial direction, the comb member 110 and the brush member 140 are swaged and fixed to the hollow tip end portion 52 of the shaft 50 extending from the cap (not illustrated) of the mascara container.

[0084] That is, the applying portion 110 swaged and fixed to the hollow shaft tip end portion 52 is disposed so that the brush member 140 is cantilevered on the comb member 110 by fixing the core wire stem rear end portion 142b of the brush member 140 to the bearing 118 at the rear end side of the comb member 110, the core wire stem front end portion 142a of the brush member 140 engages with the bearing 116 at the front end side of the comb member 110, the brush bristle body 144 of the brush member 140 engages with the applicator body 112, and tip ends of the respective brush bristles 145 in the substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body 144 become flush with and come into contact with the inner circumferential surfaces 112a and 112b of the applicator body 112, and the substantially upper half region of the brush bristle body 144 is exposed above the applicator body 112.

[0085] Inside the opening of the mascara container, a wiper for wiping off excess mascara liquid attaching to the applying portion 100 is provided, and in the present embodiment, by providing the spherical pointed portion 115 having an upstanding wall shape covering the tip end portion (core wire stem front end portion) 142a of the brush member 140 cantilevered on the comb member 110, the applying portion 100 can be smoothly inserted to the inside of the mascara container without being caught on the opening and the wiper of the mascara container.

[0086] As indicated by the reference sign 117 in FIGS. 1A, 1B, FIGS. 2A, 2C, 2D, and FIG. 3B, a lower side of the bearing 116 provided on the spherical pointed portion 115 is open widely in the front-rear direction, and accordingly, when the applying portion 100 is inserted into the mascara container, supply (intrusion) of a mascara liquid inside the mascara container to the brush bristle body 144 of the applying portion 100 is promoted, and when the applying portion 100 is pulled out from the mascara container, discharge of excess mascara liquid inside the brush bristle body 144 wiped with the wiper into the mascara container is promoted.

[0087] In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B, FIGS. 2A, 2C, 2D, and FIG. 3A, the spherical pointed portion 115 having an upstanding wall shape provided at a front end portion of the applicator body 112 (comb member 110) is provided so as to be separated forward from the comb tooth 114 at the forefront position, and a comb-tooth-shaped projection portion 114b narrower in width and shorter in extending length than the comb tooth 114 is provided between the comb tooth 114 at the forefront position and the spherical pointed portion 115, and accordingly, the applying portion 100 is easily pulled out from the wiper.

[0088] Specifically, in the case where the spherical pointed portion 115 having an upstanding wall shape is provided near a front side of a comb tooth 114 forming position, when the applying portion 100 is pulled out from the wiper, the wiper (circular hole rim portion of the wiping member) is caught on a back surface 115a (refer to FIG. 1B, FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2E) of the spherical pointed portion 115 and obstructs smooth pulling-out of the applying portion 100. However, in the present embodiment, a distance from the comb tooth 114 at the forefront position to the back surface 115a of the spherical pointed portion 115 is long in the front-rear direction (refer to the reference sign 5 in FIG. 2A), and further, between the comb tooth 114 at the forefront position and the back surface 115a of the spherical pointed portion 115, the comb-tooth-shaped projection portion 114b narrower in width and shorter in extending length than the comb tooth 114 is provided, so that when the applying portion 100 is pulled out from the wiper, just before the wiper wiping on the brush bristle body 144 of the applying portion 100 is caught on the back surface 115a of the spherical pointed portion 115, the wiper slides along the front surface of the comb-tooth-shaped projection portion 114b and the front surface of the spherical pointed portion 115 from the comb tooth 114 at the forefront position due to a diameter compression force inherent in the wiper, so that the spherical pointed portion 115 constituting the front end portion of the applying portion 100 can smoothly pass through the wiper, that is, the applying portion 100 can be smoothly pulled out from the wiper.

[0089] Next, a swaged and fixed structure of the applying portion 100 to the hollow shaft tip end portion 52 will be described.

[0090] As illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1C, the hollow shaft tip end portion 52 is formed into a cylindrical shape having a slot 53 opened forward in which the bearing 118 at the rear end side of the comb member 110 can be inserted, and at a predetermined position in a circumferential direction of an inner circumferential surface of the slot 53, a vertical rib 54 rectangular in cross section which engages with the bearing 118 in the axial direction is provided to project. The vertical rib 54 engages with an upper opening of the bearing 118, and comes into contact with side surfaces of the core wire stem rear end portion 142b supported on the bearing 118, and accordingly, the applying portion 100 is positioned around an axis of the shaft 50.

[0091] As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2C, on an outer circumferential surface of the bearing 118 having a U-shaped cross section, a narrow belt-shaped reduced-diameter portion 119 indicating a swaging planned position is provided, and as indicated by an outlined arrow in FIG. 10, at a position corresponding to the reduced-diameter portion 119, when the outer circumference of the shaft tip end portion 52 is swaged in a direction orthogonal to a central axis of the core wire stem rear end portion 142b, a resin material forming the swaged shaft 52 is plastically deformed so as to clamp the reduced-diameter portion 119 of the bearing 118 as indicated by the reference signs 52a, and the core wire stem rear end portion 142b and the bearing 118 are fixed to and integrated with the shaft tip end portion 52.

[0092] That is, in the present embodiment, by swaging the outer circumferential surface of the hollow shaft tip end portion 52 to the inside, the applying portion 100 is attached and fixed to the shaft tip end portion 52, and simultaneously, the brush member 140 constituting the applying portion 100 is cantilevered on the comb member 110.

[0093] In order to fit the brush member 140 to the comb member 110, as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 5, from a rear side inside the applicator body 112, the tip end (core wire stem front end portion) 142a of the brush member 140 is inserted diagonally forward and downward to the front end side bearing 116 extending in an upstanding wall shape and open downward at a front upper side of the comb member 110 (applicator body 112), and as indicated by the arrow B, the brush member rear end portion (core wire stem rear end portion) 142b is turned (tilted) down around the front end side bearing 116 with which the tip end (core wire stem front end portion) 142a of the brush member 140 engages, and accordingly, the brush bristle body 144 can be engaged with the applicator body 112, and the brush member rear end portion (core wire stem rear end portion) 142b can be engaged with the rear end side bearing 118.

[0094] Then, the brush bristle body 144 engaging with the applicator body 112 is positioned and held in a state where tip ends of the respective brush bristles 145 in a substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body 144 are flush with and in contact with inner circumferential surfaces 112a and 112b of the applicator body 112, and the tip end portion (core wire stem front end portion) 142a and the rear end portion (core wire stem rear end portion) 142b of the brush member 140 are respectively engaged with the bearing 116 at the front end side and the bearing 118 at the rear end side of the comb member 110 (applicator body 112).

[0095] That is, when the brush member 140 is fitted to and integrated with the comb member 110, the brush member 140 and the comb member 110 constituting the applying portion 100 are made coaxial and positioned and held in the axial direction, so that the work to swage and fix the rear end portion of the applying portion 100 to the hollow shaft tip end portion 52 can be smoothly performed.

[0096] In addition, when the applying portion 100 is pulled out from the mascara container (when the applying portion 100 passes through the wiper), the applying portion 100 is wiped with the wiper and excess mascara liquid attaching to the brush bristles 145 of the brush bristle body 144 exposed from the applicator body 112 is wiped off, and accordingly, amounts of mascara liquid held on the brush bristles 145 of the brush bristle body 144 exposed from the applicator body 112 of the applying portion 100 are adjusted.

[0097] In the present embodiment, a wiper with a comparatively large inner diameter (wiping diameter) is provided inside the mascara container so as to enable an operation of applying comparatively large amounts of mascara liquid to eyelashes not only by the comb teeth 114 of the applying portion 100 but also by the brush bristles 145 of the brush bristle body 144 of the applying portion 100, and certain amounts (comparatively large amounts) of mascara liquid are held on the brush bristle body 144 of the applying portion 100 pulled out from the mascara container.

[0098] Further, in the present embodiment, in a cross section of the applying portion 100 illustrated in FIG. 4, since the core wire stem 142 of the brush member 140 is disposed so as to be substantially flush with upper surfaces 112c of left and right side edge portions of the applicator body 112, when the applying portion 100 is wiped with the wiper, an amount of mascara liquid to be wiped off the applying portion 100 becomes constant in the longitudinal direction of the applying portion 100, and amounts of mascara liquid held on the brush bristles 145 of the brush bristle body 144 exposed from the applicator body 112 are adjusted to be the same at any position in the longitudinal direction of the applicator body 112.

[0099] Specifically, in a cross section of the applying portion 100 illustrated in FIG. 4, when the core wire stem 142 of the brush member 140 is disposed at a position higher than the upper surfaces 112c of the left and right side edge portions of the applicator body 112, the cosmetic liquid can be wiped off with the wiper to base sides of the brush bristles 145 exposed from the applicator body 112, so that the cosmetic liquid to be held on the brush bristles 145 is easily adjusted. However, the rear end portion of the core wire stem 142 of the brush member 140 is cantilevered on the comb member 110, so that when the applying portion 100 is wiped with the wiper, due to a compression force of the wiper acting between the brush member 140 and the comb member 110, the core wire stem 142 of the brush member 140 warps in a direction in which the core wire stem 142 of brush member 140 sinks to the inside of the applicator body 112, and therefore, an amount to be wiped off with the wiper may differ in the longitudinal direction of the applying portion 100.

[0100] However, in the present embodiment, the core wire stem 142 of the brush member 140 is disposed so as to be substantially flush with the upper surfaces 112c of the left and right side edge portions of the applicator body 112, and accordingly, when the applying portion 100 is wiped with the wiper, the compression force acting between the brush member 140 and the comb member 100 becomes smaller.

[0101] Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, since the inner diameter (wiping diameter) of the wiper provided inside the mascara container is comparatively large so that certain amounts (comparatively large amounts) of mascara liquid are held on the brush bristle body 144 of the applying portion 100 pulled out from the mascara container, when the applying portion 100 is wiped with the wiper, the compression force acting between the brush member 140 and the comb member 110 becomes even smaller.

[0102] Further, since the tip ends of the respective brush bristles 145 in a substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body 144 accommodated in the applicator body 112 are disposed so as to become flush with and come into contact with the inner circumferential surfaces 112a and 112b of the applicator body 112, due to a compression force of the wiper acting between the brush member 140 and the comb member 110, with respect to the motion of the core wire stem 142 of the brush member 140 to elastically deform (tries to warp), a reactive force (resilient force) acting between the tip ends of the brush bristles 145 of the brush bristle body 144 and the inner circumferential surfaces 112a and 112b of the applicator body 112 suppresses the elastic deformation (warping) of the core wire stem 142 of the brush member 140.

[0103] In particular, in the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, as compared with the brush bristles 145 higher than the core wire stem 142 (brush bristles 145 exposed above the applicator body 112), the brush bristles 145 lower than the core wire stem 142 (brush bristles 145 disposed inside the applicator body 112) are shorter in length, and increase in rigidity according to the shortness, so that the reactive force (resilient force) acting between the brush bristle body 144 and the inner circumferential surface 112a of the applicator body 112 reliably suppresses the elastic deformation (warping) of the core wire stem 142 of the brush member 140.

[0104] Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the applying portion 100 is wiped with the wiper, the core wire stem 142 of the brush member 140 does not warp with respect to the comb member 110, and is held in a state where the core wire stem is disposed so as to be substantially flush with the upper surfaces 112c of the left and right side edge portions of the applicator body 112.

[0105] Therefore, an amount to be wiped off of excess mascara liquid attaching to the brush bristles 145 of the brush bristle body 44 exposed from the applicator body 112 by the wiper is adjusted to be constant in the longitudinal direction of the applying portion 100, and amounts of mascara liquid held on the brush bristles 145 of the brush bristle body 144 exposed from the applicator body 112 are adjusted to be constant in the longitudinal direction of the applying portion 100.

[0106] Therefore, by pulling out the applying portion 100 from the mascara container, the amounts of mascara liquid held on the brush bristles 145 of the brush bristle body 144 exposed from the applicator body 112 are the same at any position in the longitudinal direction of the applying portion 100, so that even amounts of mascara liquid can be applied to a plurality of eyelashes.

[0107] In addition, on the comb member 110 as an injection molding product, the comb teeth 114 and the bearings 116 and 118 are formed integrally with the substantially semi-cylindrical applicator body 112 open upward and extending in the front-rear direction, and in the present embodiment, the comb teeth 114 extending downward are formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the applicator body 112 on a lower surface of the applicator body 112, and the rear end side bearing 118 is formed into a shape extending to a rear side of the applicator body 112 and having a U-shaped cross section open upward, and on the other hand, the front end side bearing 116 is formed into a shape extending in an upstanding wall shape at a front upper side of the applicator body 112 and having a U-shaped cross section open downward, so that when cavities for molding the comb teeth member are formed in a pair of upper and lower molds for injection molding which move in approaching and separating directions (up-down direction), cavities corresponding to the comb teeth 114 and the bearings 116 and 118 do not form undercuts.

[0108] Therefore, in the present embodiment, without employing a complicated mold structure such as split molds, the comb member 110 including the bearings 116 and 118 integrally formed on front and rear end portions of the applicator body 112 having comb teeth 114 on a lower surface can be injection-molded by using a pair of simple mold structures that move to approach and separate in the up-down direction.

[0109] Therefore, in the present embodiment, according to the reduction in manufacturing cost of the comb member 110, the cosmetic applicator can be provided at a low price.

[0110] FIG. 6 illustrates an applying portion 100A as an essential portion of a mascara applicator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0111] In the applying portion 100A of this second embodiment, an extending length of a comb tooth 114A of a comb member 110A and a structure of an applicator body 112A are different from those of the applying portion 100 of the first embodiment described above, and these differences from the first embodiment will be described.

[0112] (First Difference)

[0113] An extending length of the comb teeth 114A formed on a lower surface of the applicator body 112A (a length from an outer circumferential surface of the applicator body 112A to tip ends of the comb teeth 114A) is approximately 1.3 mm, and is about 0.3 mm shorter than (approximately 20% of) an extending length of approximately 1.6 mm of the comb teeth 114 formed on the lower surface of the applicator body 112 of the first embodiment.

[0114] Therefore, when the applying portion 100A is pulled out from or inserted into the mascara container (when the applying portion 100A passes through the wiper), the applying portion 100A is subjected to wiping resistance by the wiper, however, according to the shortness of the extending length of the comb teeth 114A from the applicator body 112A, the wiping resistance by the wiper becomes smaller, and accordingly, the applying portion 100A is smoothly pulled out from and inserted into the mascara container.

[0115] (Second Difference)

[0116] In a substantially lower half region of the applicator body 112A in the up-down direction, slits 113 having the same widths as those of the gaps 114A between the comb teeth 114A are provided, and a mascara liquid can be held in the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114A and inside the slits 113.

[0117] In particular, in this second embodiment, even when an extending length of the comb teeth 114 is short, large amounts of mascara liquid can be held inside the slits 113 communicating with the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114A.

[0118] Specifically, the comb member 110A includes a substantially semi-cylindrical applicator body 112A open upward and extending in the front-rear direction, and on a lower surface of the applicator body 112A, comb teeth 114A having thin-plate shapes extending downward are formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the body 112A. An extending length of the comb teeth 114A (length from an outer circumferential surface of the applicator body 112A to tip ends of the comb teeth 114A) is set to approximately 1.3 mm, a thickness of the comb teeth 114A is set to 0.40 mm, intervals of the comb teeth 113 are set to 0.75 mm, and gaps between the comb teeth 114A are set to 0.35 mm.

[0119] In a substantially lower half of the applicator body 112A, slits 113 arc-shaped in cross section, having widths equal to the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114A, and crossing the body 112A, are formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction, and the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114A communicate with the inside of the applicator body 112A (brush bristle body accommodation space S) through the slits 113.

[0120] As illustrated in FIGS. 6B and 6C, facing side surfaces 114a1 of the comb teeth 114A (side surfaces facing the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114) and facing side surfaces 113a1 of the slits 113 arc-shaped in cross section are formed to be flush with each other, and even when areas of the facing side surfaces 114a1 of the comb teeth 114A (volumes of the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114A) are small, areas of facing side surfaces 113a1 of the slits 113 (volumes of the slits 113) communicating with the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114A are sufficiently large, and accordingly, large amounts of mascara liquid can be held in the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114 and in the slits 113.

[0121] Further, a substantially upper half region of the brush bristle body 144 exposed from the applicator body 112A is wiped with the wiper, and accordingly, small amounts of mascara liquid are held between brush bristles 115 exposed from the applicator body 112A. On the other hand, in a substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body 144 accommodated inside the applicator body 112A which is not wiped with the wiper, larger amounts of mascara liquid can be held between the brush bristles 145 than in the substantially upper half region of the brush bristle body 144 (brush bristles 145 exposed above the applicator body 112A), so that large amounts of mascara liquid can be held in ranges from the gaps 114A between the comb teeth 114A to the slits 113 and the substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body 144 inside the applicator body 112A.

[0122] As described above, in the second embodiment, according to an extending length of the comb teeth 114A approximately 0.3 mm shorter than that in the first embodiment, amounts of mascara liquid that can be held in the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114A become smaller, however, large amounts of mascara liquid can be held in ranges from the gaps 114a between the comb teeth 114A to the slits 113 and the substantially lower half region of the brush bristle body 144 inside the applicator body 112.

[0123] Therefore, larger amounts of mascara liquid can be applied to eyelashes by the comb teeth 114A of the applying portion 100A of the second embodiment than by the comb teeth 114 of the applying portion 100 of the first embodiment.

[0124] Other configurations are the same as in the applying portion 100 of the first embodiment, and by providing the same reference signs, overlapping descriptions of them are omitted.

[0125] In this second embodiment, the comb teeth 114A are also formed into beaked shapes narrow in width and having an acute angle in a front view, so that easiness in combing with the comb teeth 114A is the same as that in combing with the applying portion 100 of the first embodiment described above.

[0126] In each of the first and second embodiments described above, a mascara applicator with which a mascara liquid is applied to eyelashes has been described, however, without limitation to a mascara applicator, the present invention can be widely applied to cosmetic applicators with which cosmetics are applied to eyelashes, eyebrows, and head hair, etc.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS

[0127] 50 Shaft extending from cap [0128] 52 Hollow shaft tip end portion [0129] 54 Vertical rib [0130] 56 Swaging mark [0131] 100, 100A Applying portion [0132] 110, 110A Comb member [0133] 112, 112A Applicator body [0134] 112a, 112b Applicator body inner circumferential surface [0135] 112c Upper surface of applicator body side edge portion [0136] S Brush bristle body accommodation space [0137] 113 Slit [0138] 114, 114A Comb tooth [0139] 114a Gap between comb teeth [0140] 114b Comb-tooth-shaped projection portion [0141] Separating distance between comb tooth at forefront position and spherical pointed portion in front-rear direction [0142] 115 Spherical pointed portion provided at front end side of applicator body [0143] 116 Bearing at front end side of applicator body [0144] 118 Bearing at rear end side of applicator body [0145] 140 Brush member [0146] 141 Core wire member [0147] 142 Core wire stem [0148] 142a Core wire stem front end portion [0149] 142b Core wire stem rear end portion [0150] 144 Brush bristle body [0151] 145 Brush bristle