JAR WITH MULTI-PART CAP ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A container including a multi-part cap assembly including upper and lower caps and an applicator for applying creams, gels, ointments, powders, and/or cosmetics, and/or adapted for massaging, cleaning, and/or exfoliating the skin of a human, is shown and described.

Claims

1. A jar comprising: a container; and a cap assembly that is releasably attachable to the container, the cap assembly comprising a lower cap, the lower cap being releasably attachable to the container to provide the releasable attachability of the cap assembly to the container an upper cap, the upper cap being releasably attachable to the lower cap; and an applicator that is locatable between the upper cap and the lower cap.

2. The jar of claim 1, the applicator being adapted for applying creams, gels, ointments, powders, and/or cosmetics to the skin of a human.

3. The jar of claim 2, wherein the upper cap further includes a lid surface that is all or partially transparent such that at least a portion of the applicator can be seen through the lid surface while the cap assembly is fully assembled with the upper cap attached to the lower cap with the applicator located between the upper cap and the lower cap.

4. The jar of claim 2, the applicator further comprising a plurality of scrubbers.

5. The jar of claim 1, the applicator being adapted for massaging, cleaning, and/or exfoliating the skin of a human.

6. The jar of claim 5, wherein the upper cap further includes a lid surface that is all or partially transparent such that at least a portion of the applicator can be seen through the lid surface while the cap assembly is fully assembled with the upper cap attached to the lower cap with the applicator located between the upper cap and the lower cap.

7. The jar of claim 6, the applicator further comprising a plurality of scrubbers.

8. The jar of claim 1, wherein the applicator further comprises a slot extending through an entire thickness thereof.

9. The jar of claim 1, wherein the container has threads located on an exterior side thereof and the cap assembly has threads located on an interior side thereof, the threads located on the exterior side of the container and the threads located on the interior side of the cap assembly being interactable to render the cap assembly releasably attachable to the container.

10. The jar of claim 9, wherein the upper cap has threads located on an interior side thereof and the lower cap has threads located on an exterior side thereof, the threads located on the interior side of the upper cap and the threads located on the exterior side of the lower cap being interactable to render the upper cap releasably attachable to the lower cap.

11. The jar of claim 1, wherein the upper cap has threads located on an interior side thereof and the lower cap has threads located on an exterior side thereof, the threads located on the interior side of the upper cap and the threads located on the exterior side of the lower cap being interactable to render the upper cap releasably attachable to the lower cap.

12. The jar of claim 1, wherein the applicator further includes a rim that rests on an upper surface of the lower cap when the cap assembly is fully assembled with the upper cap attached to the lower cap with the applicator located between the upper cap and the lower cap.

13. The jar of claim 12, the application further including a lower body portion that sits below the opening of the lower cap when the cap assembly is fully assembled with the upper cap attached to the lower cap with the applicator located between the upper cap and the lower cap.

14. The jar of claim 1, the container further comprising an opening and the lower cap further comprising an upper surface that covers the opening in the container when the cap assembly is releasably attached to the container.

15. The jar of claim 14, wherein at least a portion of the upper surface of the lower cap is transparent.

16. A cap assembly comprising: a lower cap, an upper cap, the upper cap being releasably attachable to the lower cap, the upper cap including a lid surface that is all or partially transparent; and an applicator that is locatable between the upper cap and the lower cap, wherein at least a portion of the applicator can be seen through the lid surface while the cap assembly is fully assembled with the upper cap attached to the lower cap with the applicator located between the upper cap and the lower cap.

17. The cap assembly of claim 16, wherein the upper cap has threads located on an interior side thereof and the lower cap has threads located on an exterior side thereof, the threads located on the interior side of the upper cap and the threads located on the exterior side of the lower cap being interactable to render the upper cap releasably attachable to the lower cap.

18. The cap assembly of claim 16, wherein the applicator further includes a rim that rests on an upper surface of the lower cap when the cap assembly is fully assembled with the upper cap attached to the lower cap with the applicator located between the upper cap and the lower cap.

19. The cap assembly of claim 16, the applicator being adapted for applying creams, gels, ointments, powders, and/or cosmetics to the skin of a human.

20. The cap assembly of claim 16, the applicator further comprising a plurality of scrubbers.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] The jar with a multi-part cap assembly according to the present disclosure is further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0005] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of an embodiment of a jar with a multi-part cap assembly according to the present disclosure;

[0006] FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

[0007] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view thereof, taken along the line labeled 3-3 of FIG. 1;

[0008] FIG. 4 is a front exploded view of the jar of FIG. 1;

[0009] FIG. 5 is a bottom exploded view thereof; and

[0010] FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of an applicator of the jar of FIG. 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIVE CONCEPTS

[0011] In one respect, the inventive concept is a jar comprising a container and a cap assembly that is releasably attachable to the container, the cap assembly comprising a lower cap, the lower cap being releasably attachable to the container to provide the releasable attachability of the cap assembly to the container, an upper cap, the upper cap being releasably attachable to the lower cap, and an applicator that is locatable between the upper cap and the lower cap.

[0012] In another respect, the inventive concept is a cap assembly comprising a lower cap, an upper cap, the upper cap being releasably attachable to the lower cap, the upper cap including a lid surface that is all or partially transparent, and an applicator that is locatable between the upper cap and the lower cap, wherein at least a portion of the applicator can be seen through the lid surface while the cap assembly is fully assembled with the upper cap attached to the lower cap with the applicator located between the upper cap and the lower cap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The ensuing detailed description provides exemplary embodiment(s) only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the herein disclosed embodiment(s). Rather, the ensuing detailed description of the exemplary embodiment(s) will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing the exemplary embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

[0014] To aid in describing the disclosure and/or invention as claimed, directional terms may be used in the specification and claims to describe portions of the present disclosure and/or invention (e.g., upper, lower, left, right, etc.). These directional definitions are merely intended to assist in describing the embodiment(s) and claiming the invention, and are not intended to limit the disclosure or claimed invention in any way. In addition, reference numerals that are introduced in the specification in association with a drawing figure may be repeated in one or more subsequent figures without additional description in the specification, in order to provide context for other features.

[0015] It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being connected or coupled to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or that intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being directly connected or directly coupled to another element, it should be understood that no intervening elements are present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., between versus directly between, adjacent versus directly adjacent, etc.). Features from different embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments. For example, variations or modifications described with respect to one of the embodiments may also be applicable to other embodiments, unless noted to the contrary.

[0016] Referring now generally to FIGS. 1-6, one embodiment of a jar 10 with a multi-part cap assembly 12 according to the present disclosure will be described in detail. FIG. 1 shows a jar 10 that includes a cap assembly 12 and a container 46 that receives the cap assembly 12. The container 46 contains threads 50 near an opening 52 of the container 46 which are used, in this embodiment, to threadedly secure the cap assembly 12 to the container 46. In alternative embodiments the cap assembly 12 could be secured to the container 46 via other suitable means, for example a snap or pressure fit. Referring to FIG. 3, the container 46 comprises a side wall 48 and a bottom wall 54 which create the structure of the jar 10 and contain the contents placed in the jar 10. The opening 52 allows access to the contents of the container 46 for a user to use, empty, or fill the container 46 with the same or new contents.

[0017] In the present embodiment, the cap assembly 12 includes an upper cap 14, a lower cap 36, and an applicator 20 that is located between the upper cap 14 and the lower cap 36 when the cap assembly 12 is fully assembled as shown in FIG. 1. The lower cap 36 includes threads 40 that are used, in this embodiment, to receive and threadedly secure the upper cap 14 to the lower cap 36 via threads 18 located on the interior of the upper cap 14. In alternative embodiments, the upper cap 14 and lower cap 36 could be connectable together via other suitable means, for example a snap or pressure fit. An opening 42 of the lower cap 36on an interior side of the lower cap 36includes threads 44 that are used, in the present embodiment, to threadably couple the container 46 to the lower cap 36 of the cap assembly 12.

[0018] In the present embodiment, the threads 40 of the lower cap are 36 are also located near the opening 42 thereof, on an exterior side of the lower cap 36. The applicator 20 further includes scrubbers 28, a slot 24, a rim 26, and a lower body portion 30 that includes a bottom surface 32. In various embodiments according to the present disclosure, the lid surface 16 (up to and including the entire upper cap 14) may be all or partially transparent so that a user may see at least a portion of the applicator 20 through the lid surface 16 and from any residue left thereon visually determine the type of substance that is contained within the container 46 without removing the cap assembly 12 from the container 46. Moreover, in some embodiments according to the present disclosure, an upper surface 38 of the lower cap 36 may also be all or partially transparent so that a user can view the interior of the container 46 through the upper cap 14, the slot 24 in the applicator 20, and the lower cap 36 to visually identify and/or estimate the amount of a substance that is located within the container 46 without having to disengage the cap assembly 12 from the container 46. In alternative embodiments, any combination of transparent, translucent, and/opaque surfaces for the lid surface 16 and upper surface 38 are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the jar 10 with a multi-part cap assembly 12, taken along the line labeled 3-3 of FIG. 1. FIGS. 4 and 5 show, respectively, top and bottom exploded views of the jar 10 comprising the cap assembly 12 and the container 46. As noted above, the applicator 20 includes a plurality of scrubbers 28 that may be used for applying product (e.g., creams, gels, ointments, powders, and/or cosmetics) and/or massaging, cleaning, and/or exfoliating the user's skin. In this embodiment the scrubbers 28 are finger-like protrusions, but in alternative embodiments may be of any shape, for example studs of hemi-spherical, cylindrical, or other geometric shapes. As shown in FIG. 4, threads 40 extending along the opening 42 of the lower cap 36 align with the rim 26 of the applicator 20, allowing the rim 26 to be seated on top of an upper surface 41 of the lower cap 36 within the cap assembly 12 with the lower body portion 30 of the applicator 20 seated partially within the threads 40 of the lower cap 36 and sitting below the opening 42 of the lower cap 36. When the cap assembly 12 is fully assembled, a space 34 is created between the bottom surface 32 of the lower body portion 30 of the applicator 20 and the upper surface 38 of the lower cap 36. The space 34 between the applicator 20 and the lower cap 36 prevents the bottom surface 32 of the applicator 20 from becoming damaged or dirty by preventing the applicator 20 from sitting in any excess product that may collect atop the upper surface 38 of the lower cap 36.

[0020] FIG. 6 shows a top perspective view of the applicator 20. As noted above, the applicator 20 includes the scrubbers 28, the slot 24, and the rim 26 that extends around the perimeter of the applicator 20 exterior to the scrubbers 28 and the slot 24. The slot 24 extends through the entire thickness of the applicator 20 and can be used as a finger grip by which a user can grasp the applicator 20, remove it from and return it to the lower cap 36 without touching the scrubbers 28, and hold the applicator 20 while it is used.

[0021] Although exemplary implementations of the herein described systems and methods have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many additional modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the herein described systems and methods. Accordingly, these and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the herein described systems and methods. The herein described systems and methods may be better defined by the following exemplary claims.