Collapsible applicator with hinge

Abstract

A cosmetic applicator ( 1 ) having a core bearing the applicator devices in the form of bristles ( 6 ) and/or teeth of a comb, in which the core includes a central body ( 2 ) that is preferably also itself occupied by many bristles ( 6 ) and/or teeth that are spaced apart directly from it outward; the core includes at least one vane ( 3 a, 3 b, . . . 3 n ) protruding outward from the central body ( 2 ), and this vane is in turn occupied by a plurality of bristles ( 6 ) and/or teeth and is movable relative to the central body ( 2 ), and the vane ( 3 a, 3 b, . . . 3 n ) has a plurality of hinges, spaced apart from one another, by means of each of which it is pivotably connected only locally to the central body.

1 . A cosmetic applicator having a core bearing applicator devices in the form of bristles and/or teeth, the core comprising:
 a central body that is equipped with a plurality of bristles and/or teeth that are spaced apart and protruding outward from the central body; and   at least one vane protruding outward from the central body, and equipped with a plurality of bristles and/or teeth and the at least one vane is movable relative to the central body, wherein the vane has a plurality of hinges, spaced apart from one another, by which the vane is pivotably connected only locally to the central body.   
     
     
         2 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 1 , wherein the hinges and the vane associated with the hinges are located relative to one another such that the vane extends outward away from the central body in such a manner that the vane and the hinges form a V-shaped gap with the central body. 
     
     
         3 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 1 , wherein the central body is round, and the hinges and the vane associated with the hinges are located relative to one another and on the round central body of the applicator in such a way that the vane and the hinges are aligned in a radial direction. 
     
     
         4 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one vane is pivotably connected to the central body by more than two hinges. 
     
     
         5 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 1 , wherein the hinges are film hinges. 
     
     
         6 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 5 , wherein the hinges are formed of two portions each having a triangular cross section, whose tips are opposite one another and merge with one another in such a way that in a vicinity of a transition the two portions form the film hinge, and their broad sides are each joined, integrally, to the central body and/or to the vane, and/or one hinge is flush with a distal end face of the vane, and a further hinge is flush with a proximal end face of the vane. 
     
     
         7 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 1 , wherein each hinge, in a direction of a pivot axis defined by the hinge, has a length and, along the pivot axis between two adjacent hinges, there is a spacing that amounts to a multiple of at least three times the length of each of the hinges. 
     
     
         8 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one hinge keeps the vane spaced apart from the central body in such a way that between two hinges, the vane forms a bridge, and the bridge is spaced apart from the central body by at least 0.2 mm and no more than 0.9 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one vane forms a narrow strip whose length in a circumferential direction is at most six times a diameter of a base of a bristle. 
     
     
         10 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 9 , wherein only one row of bristles and/or teeth, set up in alignment with one another in a direction parallel to an applicator longitudinal axis protrudes from the narrow strip. 
     
     
         11 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 9 , wherein the narrow strip bears one row of radially outward-protruding bristles and/or teeth, and at least some of these bristles and/or teeth, or all of these bristles and/or teeth, are bristles and/or teeth of an entire set that protrude farthest outward in a radial direction. 
     
     
         12 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 11 , wherein the narrow strip has at least one additional row of bristles and/or teeth, which protrude not radially but obliquely from the narrow strip. 
     
     
         13 . The cosmetic applicator of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one vane is pivotable about an axis that extends parallel to an applicator longitudinal axis. 
     
     
         14 . A cosmetic applicator, comprising:
 a rodlike, massive central body;   at least one vane protruding from the central body, wherein the at least one vane is equipped with bristles and is elastic in such a way that under influence of forces exerted by a wiper and/or a bottle neck of a cosmetic container, the at least one vane shifts reversibly in a direction toward a central region of the central body.   
     
     
         15 . A system comprising the applicator of  claim 1 , a cosmetic container, and a wiper secured to the cosmetic container, wherein the wiper and the applicator are adapted to one another in such a way that the applicator is folded up as it is being pulled out of and/or pushed into the wiper.