Colgate Palmolive Company

Donald P Losier

Peter D Haugk

Teresa Pavlak

Rodney R Prochaska

David N Segner

Scott Docken

Van Canady

John C Crawford

Bruce Cummings

Daniel J Durham

The dispenser is of an ergonomic shape, provides for single hand use in the actuation of the dispenser and the application of substances to the skin, and can accommodate different application surfaces. The dispenser has a barrel closed at one end and an angled barrel extension at another end. The push button actuator to dispense the product is located in the barrel extension. On the upper end of the barrel extension is an applicator surface. This applicator surface can be microporous, porous or have separate distinct apertures. A gel, lotion or other semisolid liquid is stored in the barrel. Upon pressing the actuator the elevator rises upwardly with the gel, lotion or other semisolid liquid passing through conduits to the applicator surface. It then is applied to the skin. The pressing of the actuator causes a threaded rod to rotate which raises the elevational. By placing the actuator at a mid to upper part of the dispenser, the dispenser can be gripped with the thumb on the actuator and the other fingers passing behind the barrel of gripping. The actuator can be operated without changing the position of the dispenser in the hand

Cosmetic dispenser

The dispenser has a mesh fabric applicator surface which provides for a uniform flow of the semisolid substance to be dispensed, but does not have the problem of post-extrusion flow. That is, there is not required such an overpressure to start the flow of the substance, with this overpressure remaining after use of the applicator and causing the semisolid substance to extrude through the applicator surface after use. The mesh fabric surface can be a woven or nonwoven fabric, in one or more plies. Nonwoven fabrics include apertured extruded films. The mesh fabric is heat bonded to the upper frame of the applicator and can have an underlying support. The mesh fabric can yield to follow the contours of a skin surface, but will not be permanently distorted. There is provided a surface for a dispenser for a viscous semisolid substance where there is improved shear of the semisolid substance and a more uniform application. Also, due to the more uniform cross-sectional dimension of the pores, there is obviated the problem of post-extrusion flow.

Applicator for flowable substances

A container has a label or decoration in the container and unattached to any interior surface. The label or decoration is in the form of a monolayer film or a laminate film with the decoration and other materials under a coating or within the laminate layers. A preferred mode is for the container to be a pump container having a constricted opening. The film will be of an elliptical to a rectangular shape. If rectangular the film will have rounded lower edges or a parabolic lower portion for ease of insertion into container openings. The container preferably will have grooves, projections or other techniques for stabilizing the film in the container. Monolayer films will have the decoration printed onto the surface and will have a protective coating over this surface. Laminate films can be of the same or dissimilar films with the printed surface between the laminate films. The useful adhesives for the films are those that are not affected by the product in the container. These include pressure sensitive adhesives, heat cured adhesives, catalytically cured adhesives, ultraviolet light cured adhesives and electron beam cured adhesives.

Container with three dimensional designs

Microporous sintered polymeric materials can be used as the applicator surface for a dispenser if the material is insert molded to a substantially nonporous, relatively rigid frame. Further, the microporous sintered polymeric material should be flexible and have a thickness of less than about 0.060 inch. By being insert molded to substantially nonporous, the gel or lotion is dispensed at a more central location on the applicator surface preventing edge dispensing which leads to wastage and fouling of the container surface. In addition, by the use of a thinner section of microporous sintered polymeric material bonded to a relatively rigid nonporous frame, there is increased flexibility of the microporous sintered polymeric material but with a higher impact strength. Additionally, there is an increased ease in dispensing due to the decreased thickness of the microporous sintered polymeric material.

Microporous applicator

Container

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Chester, NJ, United States of America

Donald P Losier