HK1004322B - Applicator for hot-melt products, in particular depilatory wax, with a roller made of two materials - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the general technical field of devices for the application of hot-melt products, such as waxes, ointments, creams, even adhesives or varnishes, in which the product stored in solid form at room temperature must be subjected to a heat flow to change its state and to a state at least pasty in order to be applied.

The present invention relates in particular to an applicator of hot melt products, particularly waxes, having a housing with a means of holding, a reservoir of the product to be applied in thermal relation to heating means, and at least one applicator roller placed near an outlet of the reservoir.

The term "hot melting products" within the meaning of the invention means all types of products which may at room temperature take on a solid, even semi-solid or pasty physical state, but which may under the action of heat change their physical state to tend towards a liquid state which may allow them to be spread as thin layers. The invention is intended in particular to protect an applicator of wax, but it is clear that the applicator of hot melting products in accordance with the invention is by no means limited to this specific use, and that hot melting products such as circles or collars can be applied with the help of the applicator in accordance with the invention.

Regardless of the type of wax applicator, the technique of wax removal involves melting a certain amount of wax and then applying a layer of wax to the area to be waxed after it has been cooled, the cold wax film is removed by all appropriate means, and the hairs are then removed from the skin due to their solidification with the wax.

The use of a hot wax dispenser is not only a practical solution to the problem of applying this technique, but also a practical solution to the problem of using a hot wax dispenser, which is made up of a wax tank heated by some means, for example by a device similar to a bottle heater. These devices are supplemented by a simple wax dispenser independent of the tank, which the user inserts into the wax mass in order to coat a wax mass. These devices, which are very hard, no longer meet the needs of wax users, especially due to the many inconveniences of use.

To improve the earlier devices mentioned above, an applicator set with a heated housing housing containing manual applicators for use by the user has already been proposed, in particular in patent application FR-A-2520601. The applicators are equipped with an internal wax tank and a wax roller. Such an applicator is obviously a marked improvement over the earlier devices, but it does not completely solve the essential problem of controlling the heating temperature of the wax application.It is therefore found that after a certain period of application the wax temperature decreases rapidly and is therefore no longer at a favourable temperature level. This leads to increasing difficulty in application, and in particular the appearance of a phenomenon of wax spin which negatively affects the quality of hair removal. This disadvantage is accompanied by an overconsumption of wax and a heterogeneous application which ultimately leads to an unsatisfactory result.This does not guarantee better control of the wax temperature or a better final result.

It was therefore proposed, in order to remedy in part the defect in the applicator assemblies separating the wax heating tank from the application unit, to make, for example, as described in patent application EP-A-0368698, a manual applicator containing in one case a wax tank, a heating resistor and an applicator roll.The presence of a heating medium directly in the applicator roller may cause the wax to overheat or the user's skin to burn. Furthermore, such a device is a delicate construction in that it requires the installation of two separate heating means in a housing.

The object of the present invention is therefore to remedy the disadvantages mentioned above and to provide a heat-melting product applicator whose design and manufacture are particularly simplified, while allowing optimal control and control of the application temperature of the heat-melting product. In particular, the applicator according to the invention is simplified by the removal of the second heating medium. This simplification is achieved by the characteristics of claim 1.

Another object of the invention is to provide an applicator of hot melt products whose individual parts are particularly simple to make and assemble.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hot melt applicator for easy use when loading into hot melt products and when dismantling and cleaning it.

Various other features will be better illustrated by the description given below in reference to the attached drawings which show, by way of non-limiting examples, forms of realization of the subject matter of the invention. Figure 1 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a heat-melting product applicator conforming to the invention.Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the applicator conforming to the invention according to lines II-II of Figure 1.Figure 2a shows a side view of the top of the applicator conforming to the invention.Figure 3 shows a perspective view of an extraction forceps.Figure 4 shows a partial cross-sectional view of an extraction forceps arm,a detail of the manufacture of the extraction clamp.Figure 5 shows, from a partial cross-sectional view of an applicator conforming to the invention, a second variant of the manufacture of an extraction clamp.Figure 6 shows an extraction clamp in the reverse position of holding on a support of an applicator roller.Figure 7 shows, from a perspective view, a support slide of an applicator roller according to the invention.Figure 8 shows the mounting of the support slide of the applicator roller in the housing of an applicator according to the invention.

The hot melt product applicator shown in Figure 1 is specially designed for the application of wax and has a case 1 made of, for example, plastic material, the case 1 having a general elongated shape of x-x longitudinal axis. The case 1 is of any cross-section and, for example, considerably circular, and provides an advantageous means of grip that allows the user to grasp it manually. Inside the case 1 is a tank 2, made of a heat conductive material, and intended to ensure the storage of the hot melt product to be applied.The advantage is that tank 2 is made of aluminium, extends substantially over the entire central part of the box 1 along the x-x' axis and has a bottom 2a and an upper opening 2b. The advantage is that tank 2 is provided in its central area with a heat diffusion wing 3 extending into the internal volume of the tank from bottom 2a. The tank 2 is in thermal contact with heating means 4, consisting for example of an electrical resistor or a CTP surrounding at least part of the tank 2 or, as shown in Figure 1,solid mount of a wall of said tank 2.

The heating medium 4 is conventionally combined with thermal control means such as a thermostat 5 and a fuse 6. The advantage of the applicator according to the invention is that it is equipped with a light 7 to control the electrical supply visible from the outside by means of a light reflected through the wall of the housing 1.

The upper part of the box 1 is advantageously formed by a head 11 for example, screwed on the upper part of the tank 2 and overlapping the above part and the upper opening 2b of the tank 2.

The applicator of the hot melting product according to the invention also has an applicator roller 15 of longitudinal axis of revolution y-y arranged in the outlet of the tank 2 in such a way as to allow the flow of liquid wax on its periphery and between the latter and the inner face of the head 11. The applicator roller 15 consists of a core 16 made of a good heat conductive material, and for example of aluminium. The core 16 is advantageously cylindrical and circular in cross-section and is provided on each of its two opposite ends constituting the side faces of the roller 15, of a rotor 17. These are made, for example, by taking off the same rotor in the same nozzle 17a, extending on it and forming turns on the axis of the roller 15.

The core 16 is surrounded, preferably over its entire peripheral surface, by a plastic coating, which is advantageously over-molded, forming the wax application layer 18.

The applicator roller 15 is mounted on head 11 and supported on the head by means of the turnstiles 17 which form the means of attachment to the applicator's body.

The position of the 17 bolts at the bottom of each slot 20 is maintained by means of a removable locking device to allow the roll to be removed and removed 15. To this end, the locking devices are advantageously made up of a 21 clasp, generally in the shape of a U, fixed along and against each slot 20, the open part of the U corresponding to the opening of each slot 20. Each 21 clasp has two side arms extending in substantially the same direction as the 20 slots, these arms forming a 22 narrowing between themselves at the top of the 21 slot, so as to lock 17 in the bottom of each slot 20.

The construction of a bi-matter applicator roll 15 with a core 16 made of a heat-conductive material avoids excessive heat loss of the wax during application by storing part of the thermal energy of the liquid wax in the core 16. Thermal losses are thus limited, especially as the thermal conductivity between the walls of tank 2 and roll 15 is significantly improved by means of the thermal bridges formed by the turnstiles 17 which, in addition to their mechanical support, also perform a thermal conductive function.The presence of the plastic application layer 18 prevents skin burns. To this end it is useful to observe specific thickness ratios between the thickness 'e' of the application layer 18 and the thickness or 'R' radius of the core 16. An e/R ratio of between 0.3 and 0.5, and preferably a significant 0.4 was found to be satisfactory on the basis of a representative sample of the various available waxes.

The applicator according to the invention has the advantage of having a head cover 12 to be applied to the head 11 and to extend the housing 1.

The positioning or removal of the applicator roll 15 can of course be achieved by direct grip of the roller 15, but this operation is advantageously accomplished by means of an extraction clamp 30 (Figure 3). The latter has two arms 31 substantially parallel to each other connected by an opening/closing system 32 advantageously constituted in this case by an elastic half crown 33. The elastic stress exerted by the half-course 33 is such that the arms 31 take a stable position as shown in Figures 3 and 6 in which the distance between each arm is slightly less than the length of the applicator roll. Each arm 31 is arranged on these faces and balanced to one end, with an ergot 34 being at the opposite end of each arm.

The gripper 34 is designed to cooperate with gripper 40 (Figure 4) carvings on and in the side walls of the roll 15. The advantage is that the gripper carvings are made of circular lips that are over-thick compared to the surface of the side walls of the roll 15. The advantage is that the circular lips are made of the thickness of the application layer 18.

The extraction forceps 30 also have at least one and preferably two supporting 36 pieces arranged between the arms 31 and capable of coming into contact with the application layer 18 when the extraction forceps 30 are placed on the applicator and the grip carvings 40 cooperate with the spindles 34 (Figure 6).

Figures 7 and 8 show a preferred embodiment of the invention whereby the applicator roller 15 is mounted removably on and relative to the case 1 between a working and application position of a wax film in which it extends into the outlet hole 11b of tank 2 and a clearance position of this hole to allow filling of tank 2.The slide 50 has two 51 legs extending substantially parallel to each other, rigidly connected in opposite positions by a gap 52. Each leg is provided at its upper end with 53 axially aligned grooves for supporting the 17 turns of the applicator roll 15. The slide 50 is intended to be inserted into the body of box 1, with the 51 legs sliding against the inner faces of the head 11 (Figure 8). Each leg 51 includes in the middle a 53 block tongue cut into the thickness of the leg 51. The 53 legs end at their upper end with a 54 folded rim in the x-axis direction.Each slide 54 is designed to engage, when the slide 50 is in the low working position, as shown in Figure 8, a slanted side 55 at the bottom of head 11 to lock the slide 50 in position. The locking tongs 53 have sufficient elasticity to deform in the x-x' axis and allow, by the grip of the applicator roller 15, the removal of the 54 edges from the slanted sides 55 and the slide of the slide 55 out of the exit orifice 11b to its high clearance position according to the F1 arrow.The advantage is that the slide 50 is fitted, towards the lower end of each leg 51, with external studs 56 capable of engaging the sloping sides 55 when the slide 50 is in a high release position to prevent its total extraction.

The heat melting product applicator according to the invention works as follows.

The user first removes the applicator roll 15 to allow access to tank 2 to ensure that it is loaded with wax to be waxed through the upper opening 2b. To do this, the removal can be done manually or with the help of the tweezers 30. In the latter case the user holds the arms 31 between two fingers and deflects them slightly against the pulling force of the circular half crown 33. The tweezers 30 are then placed on the applicator roll 15 so that each arm 31 is placed to enclose the side faces of the applicator roll 15 (Figure 4).Each ergot 34 thus cooperates with the associated circular lip 40 and, by relaxing the pressure on the arms 31, the arms 34 then firmly attach the grip carvings 40 through each ergot 34 The user can slide the bolts 17 into the slots 20 and extract the applicator roll 15 by developing a force greater than the elasticity of the lateral arms of the stapler 21. After filling the tank 2 the applicator roll 15 is put back in place using the same operations as described above, the supporting parts 36 allowing the bolts 17 to transmit the force necessary to deflect the lateral arms 22 of the stapler 21 at the level of the contraction.

After the applicator is connected to an electrical power supply, the wax gradually becomes liquid and the user can then contact the applicator roll 15 on the surface to be peeled to allow the wax to flow onto the application layer 18. At the end of the application the user can again, for cleaning purposes, for example, extract the applicator roll 15 using the clamp 30 as described above. Using the extraction clamp 30 avoids the need to directly grasp the applicator roll 15 coated with a certain amount of the wax to be peeled, and also allows the applicator roll 15 to be laid safely on the surrounding environment without risk of contamination of the roll 15 by resting the extraction pin 30 feet above the 35 foot surface.

The invention also concerns a hot melt product applicator assembly which combines a hot melt product applicator with an extraction tweezers.30 In addition, the applicator assembly may have a base (not shown in the figures) for the support and storage of the applicator and the tweezers.The base may be fitted with a timer, particularly a sound, which, after the applicator is connected to the electrical power supply, allows the user to display the average time required for the melting of the solid wax.

As a variant, it is possible not to make the extraction clamp 30 as a separate component of the applicator as shown in Figure 3, but to integrate the extraction clamp 30 into a cap 45 to close the applicator head (Figure 5). In this variant the extraction clamp 30 is solid with the cap 45 and is fitted on its side arms with pusher 46 passing through the cap 45 via openings so that it can be operated by the user. The pusher caps 46 allow the applicator to move the ergots 34 to allow their engagement with the sculptures of the applicator 40. The roll 15 is then mounted on its side arms 46 through the cap 45 through openings so that it can be operated by the user.

Claims (13)

1. An applicator for applying heat-fusible substances, in particular depilatory wax, said applicator comprising a housing (1) forming grasping means, a reservoir (2) for the substance to be applied, which reservoir is thermally connected to heater means (4), and a head (11) constituted by at least one applicator roller (15) disposed in the vicinity of an outlet orifice of the reservoir (2), said roller including a core (16) surrounded by an applicator layer (18) of a plastics material, said applicator being characterized in that:

   the reservoir (2) is made of a material that is a good conductor of heat, and is preferably made of aluminium;

   said core (16) is made of a material that is a good conductor of heat; and

   said core (16) is solid, and both of its ends are provided with thermal bridges providing heat conduction between the roller (15) and the reservoir (2).
2. An applicator according to claim 1, characterized in that the thermal bridges are constituted by stub axles (17).
3. An applicator according to claim 2, characterized in that said stub axles (17) are shaped from the mass proper of the core (16), and they form the pins on which the roller (15) rotates.
4. An applicator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the applicator layer (18) has a given thickness e and the core (16) has a radius R, the ratio e/R lying in the range 0.3 to 0.5, and preferably substantially equal to 0.4.
5. An applicator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the applicator roller (15) is removably mounted on the reservoir (2).
6. An applicator according to claim 5, characterized in that the top portion of the reservoir (2) is provided with two slots (20) open at their top ends, disposed facing each other on the faces of the housing (1), and on the bottoms of which respective ones of the stub axles (17) rest, each slot (20) being associated with locking means for locking the stub axles (17) in position, said means being suitable for moving out of the way so to make the roller (15) removable.
7. An applicator according to claim 6, characterized in that each locking means is constituted by a U-shaped clip (21) mounted in fixed manner against each slot (20) and in the same direction, each clip (21) having side arms forming a neck (22) between them so as to lock the stub axles (17) at the bottom of each slot (20), the side arms further being resilient enough to be deformed and to enable the stub axles (17) to pass through the necks (22).
8. An applicator according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the slots (20) are provided in a separate head (11) forming the top portion of the reservoir (2) and defining the outlet orifice of the reservoir (2).
9. An applicator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the applicator roller (15) is mounted on the housing (1) to be displaceable between a working position in the outlet orifice (11b) of the reservoir (2), and a disengagement position in which said orifice is unobstructed to enable said reservoir (2) to be filled.
10. An applicator according to claim 9, characterized in that the applicator roller (15) is secured to a slider (50) mounted to be displaceable by sliding longitudinally on the housing (1), and preferably on the top portion of the reservoir (2).
11. An applicator according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the applicator roller (15) is provided with grasping latches (40) on both of its ends, enabling it to be removable.
12. An applicator according to claim 11, characterized in that the grasping latches (40) are constituted by circular lips forming surplus thicknesses on the ends of the roller (15).
13. An applicator according to claim 12, characterized in that the circular lips are provided in the thickness e of the applicator layer (18).