The present invention relates to brushes for applying a cosmetic product to the eyelashes or eyebrows, in particular a makeup or care product, for example mascara, and to corresponding packaging and application devices.

A large number of applicators are known in which the brush comprises a core formed by two branches of a metal wire that are twisted together and grip bristles.

Since the bristles used are generally the same length, once the arms are twisted, the brush has an envelope surface in the form of a cylinder of revolution. Such a cylinder of revolution form has limited effectiveness in terms of loading the eyelashes and separation. Efforts have thus been made to give the envelope surface more complex shapes so as to form on the brush, after wiping, zones that are more heavily laden with product, making it possible to properly load the eyelashes, and zones that are less heavily laden, these being usable to separate the eyelashes. Finding the shape that results in the optimum makeup result requires numerous tests, since many factors come into play.

In addition, it is economically advantageous for the brush to be able to be manufactured quickly and easily.

Numerous brushes have been proposed, with notches machined in the longitudinal direction of the core. The patent application FR 2 605 505 discloses a brush in which the envelope surfaces of the regions situated between two crests are plane surfaces or surfaces with a concave profile. An envelope surface is thus obtained which, in cross section, has various shapes such as a triangle, a square or a hexagon, with straight or concave sides.

The patent application FR 2 836 800 describes a brush comprising at least one notch that extends along a part of the length of the brush.

The patent applications EP 0 792 603 and FR 2 715 038 relate to brushes comprising notches that each have a variable width.

The patent application EP 1 518 477 discloses a brush having notches that are at a constant distance from the longitudinal axis of the brush. To date, there is still a need to improve brushes for applying a cosmetic product to the eyelashes and/or eyebrows, in particular to benefit from brushes that are capable of satisfactorily making up the eyelashes and eyebrows, by providing a sufficient load of product. The invention aims to meet this need and, according to one of its aspects, relates to a brush for applying a cosmetic product to the eyelashes or eyebrows, comprising:

- a core extending along a longitudinal axis and comprising two branches that are twisted together, - bristles clamped between the branches of the core, the free end of the bristles defining an envelope surface, the envelope surface having at least two ribs delimited by notches formed by two longitudinally extending flanks, the two flanks of at least one notch comprising flat portions. The two ribs are preferably delimited between them by the notches formed by the two longitudinally extending flanks. By virtue of the invention, a brush is obtained that alternately comprises, in the transverse direction, product storage zones in the notches, for providing a sufficient charge of product, and zones that are loaded with less product, in the area of the ribs, and that can be used for separating the eyelashes and/or eyebrows.

The rib formed by the bristles situated between two consecutive notches makes it possible to comb the eyelashes and to smooth the product from the notch onto their surface.

If so desired, the brush can be produced with a relatively large angle between two consecutive ribs, around the longitudinal axis of the core, which has the effect that the eyelashes come into engagement with only one rib, which is the case, for example, when the brush has, in cross section, the shape of a cross with four branches and one of the branches, which corresponds to a rib, is substantially perpendicular to the eyelashes.

It is possible, in the area of a rib, to have bristles having substantially the same length and oriented radially and, in the area of the notches, bristles that become increasingly shorter towards the core, hence more and more rigid. The brush can comprise at least three notches, preferably four notches, the flanks of at least one notch forming between them an angle of between 70° and 110°, preferably of between 80° and 100°, preferably substantially a right angle, that is to say substantially equal to 90°. In this case, the brush, in cross section, can form a cross. At least one notch can have a dihedral shape.

A ridge of at least one notch at the intersection between two flanks of the notch can be situated at a non-zero distance from the core, said distance preferably being between 0.2 and 2.5 mm.

The ridge preferably extends substantially parallel to the core. The brush can have, in cross section, a shape with axial symmetry with respect to the longitudinal axis.

The bristles of the brush can extend longitudinally on the brush between a proximal end and a distal end of an applicator part, at least one notch being formed, for example, along more than half the length of the applicator part, preferably from one of the ends to the other.

The envelope surface can have a substantially frustoconical shape, the diameter of the envelope surface decreasing towards the distal end of the brush, at least along more than half the length of the applicator part, in particular along more than 9 tenths of the length. The notches can be identical to each other.

Each notch can have two flanks of substantially identical width and length. The flanks defining a rib can be identical to each other. The flanks defining different ribs can likewise be identical to each other.

The ribs can have rounded summits at their free end, specifically along more than half, preferably along at least 9 tenths of the length of the portion of the brush that carries the bristles. The ribs can present a non-zero width at their summit. The ribs can be of the same radial dimension, for a given cross section of the brush. At least two ribs can be identical to each other.

In one embodiment, a portion near the proximal end of the brush is bevelled. The width of the ribs can be between 1.5 and 4 mm. The width is measured perpendicular to a median radius. The width of a rib can be substantially constant along at least part of the rib. The distance separating the distal and proximal ends of the portion carrying the bristles can be between 20 and 32 mm approximately. The maximum diameter of the brush can be between 5 and 11 mm. The minimum diameter of at least one cross section of the brush can be between 3 and 7 mm.

The longitudinal axis of the core can be rectilinear or curved.

The invention likewise relates to a packaging and application device comprising: - a container containing a cosmetic product to be applied to the eyelashes or eyebrows,

- a brush according to the invention, as defined above.

The container can be provided with a wiping member for removing the excess product present on the brush. The invention likewise relates to a method for manufacturing a brush, comprising the steps of:

- producing a brush blank with a twisted core having a rectilinear longitudinal axis,

- cutting out the bristles in such a way as to form the notches in order to obtain a brush according to the invention, in particular by milling, for example by moving a cutting tool parallel to the longitudinal axis of the core.

The bristles thus cut have different lengths.

The method can also comprise the step of curving or bending the brush, after the cutting step. The invention will be better understood from reading the following detailed description of non-limiting illustrative embodiments thereof and from examining the appended drawing, in which:

- Figure 1 shows an example of a packaging and application device according to the invention, in schematic longitudinal section, - Figure 2 is a side view of an example of a brush according to the invention.

- Figure 3 is a cross section along III-III in Figure 2,

- Figure 4 is a cross section along IV-IV in Figure 2,

- Figure 5 is a side view of an example of a blank used to manufacture the brush in Figure 2,

- Figure 6 is a front view of the brush along VI in Figure 5,

- Figures 7 to 14 are views similar to Figure 2 of variant embodiments of brushes, and

- Figure 15 is a schematic sectional view of another example of a brush according to the invention.

In the rest of the description, identical elements or elements having equivalent functions bear the same reference signs. Their description is not repeated for each of the figures, only the main differences between the embodiments being mentioned.

The packaging and application device 1 shown in Figure 1 has a container 2 containing a product P to be applied to the eyelashes or eyebrows and an applicator 3 which, in the example in question, can be fixed removably to the container 2. The product P comprises for example one or more pigments, in particular an iron oxide. It is advantageously a mascara.

The applicator 3 has a stem 5 of longitudinal axis Y, which is provided at a distal end 5 a with a brush 10 according to the invention, and is provided at the other end with a gripping member 11, which likewise forms a cap for closing the container 2 in a sealed manner. As can be seen in particular in Figure 1, the latter has a body 13 which is provided at the top with a threaded neck 14 onto which the gripping member 11 can be screwed in order to close the container 2 in a sealed manner. In a variant, the applicator can be fixed to the container in some other way.

As is shown, the neck 14 is able to receive a wiping member 20 which, for example, is attached thereto. This wiping member 20 has a lip 26 defining a wiping orifice with a diameter adapted to that of the stem 5. The brush 10 can be fixed, in a conventional manner, in a seat provided at the distal end 5a of the stem 5, which is advantageously made of a thermoplastic material. The brush 10 has a twisted metal core 40 formed by two branches which are twisted together and which between them grip bristles 41. The core 40 is fixed at one end in the corresponding seat of the stem 5 by a portion of the core that does not have bristles, it being possible for said portion to have a length of around 8 mm.

As is illustrated in Figure 2, the free ends of the bristles 41 define an envelope surface S of the brush 10.

The brush 10 has at least two ribs 31 delimited by notches 30, which are visible in Figure 3. These notches 30 are formed between two flanks 32 having plane portions, each of the notches having a dihedral shape and extending longitudinally. In the example illustrated, the brush 10 has four ribs 31 and four notches 30 so as to form, in cross section, a cross having four branches, with a substantially right angle a between the directions in which two adjacent ribs 31 extend. The bristles 41 extend longitudinally on the brush 10 between a proximal end

45 and a distal end 46 of the applicator part 12. As can be seen in Figure 2, the notches 30 are formed in this example from one of the ends 45 of the applicator part as far as the other end 46, along the entire length 1 of the applicator part 12.

In this embodiment, the envelope surface S is inscribed in a cone, the diameter of the envelope surface S decreasing towards the distal end 46 along most of the length of the applicator part 12.

The portion 47 near the proximal end 45 is bevelled. Still in this example, it will be noted that the four notches 30 are identical, each of them comprising two flanks 32 of the same length which define a ridge 33 at their junction, parallel to the longitudinal axis Y of the brush. The ridge 33 is formed at a distance A from the core 40. The ribs 31 are of the same radial dimension h for a given cross section of the brush.

As can be seen in particular in Figure 3, the ribs 31 have a rounded summit 35.

The dimensions of the brush can be as follows. The width w of the ribs 31 measured perpendicular to a radius between the flanks 32 can be between 1.5 and 5 mm. The distance Q between the distal end 46 and proximal end 45 can be between 20 and 32 mm. The distance A between the core 40 and the ridge 33 of the notch 30 is between 0.2 and 2.5 mm. The maximum diameter D of at least one cross section of the brush is, for example, between 6 and 11 mm. The minimum diameter d of at least one cross section of the brush is, for example, between 3 and 7 mm. In the example illustrated, the core 40 has a rectilinear axis. It does not constitute a departure from the scope of the invention if the core is curved, as is illustrated in the example in Figure 15.

The method for manufacturing the brush comprises the steps of producing a blank E having a frustoconical general shape, as is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, then cutting out the bristles 41 so as to form the notches 33, in particular by milling, by moving a cutting tool parallel to the core 40.

The method can also comprise the step of curving or bending the brush 10, after the cutting step, so as to obtain a non-rectilinear brush, for example a curved brush as is illustrated in Figure 15. Figures 7 to 14 show different examples of shapes of an envelope surface, on which notches 30 can be formed in order to obtain a cross section in the shape of a cross with four branches.

The envelope surfaces in Figures 7 to 13 are symmetrical in revolution, if one disregards the notches. In the example illustrated in Figure 7, the envelope surface S, apart from the notches 30, is peanut-shaped. It has a diameter that passes through a minimum 60 between two bulging portions 62 and 64, one 62 being proximal and the other 64 distal.

In the example illustrated in Figure 8, the envelope surface S, apart from the notches 30, is bomb-shaped. It has a diameter that passes through a maximum 70 close to the distal end 46 at a circle of greatest diameter. The body of the brush 10 is frustoconical, being connected at its base that is coincident with the circle of greatest diameter to the distal end part of the brush 10, of ogival shape.

In the example illustrated in Figure 9, the envelope surface S, apart from the notches 30, is bi-conical. The envelope surface S is defined by two frustoconical portions 80 and 82 that are joined together by their base of greatest diameter. In the example illustrated in Figure 10, the envelope surface S, apart from the notches 30, is defined by three frustoconical portions 90, 92 and 94. The frustoconical portion 90 is situated at the proximal end and the portion 94 is situated at the distal end. The portion 92 extends between the two end portions 90 and 94 and is attached to the proximal portion 90 by its base of greatest diameter and to the distal portion 94 by its base of smallest diameter. The notches 30 extend along the entire length of the applicator part of the brush between the proximal end 45 and the distal end 46.

In the example illustrated in Figure 11, the envelope surface S, apart from the notches 30, is in the form of an asymmetric peanut. It has a diameter that passes through a minimum 100 between two bulging portions, one 102 being proximal and the other 104 distal. This minimum is closer to the distal end 46 than to the proximal end 45. The bulging portions 102 and 104 have different greatest diameters, the greatest diameter of the portion 104 being smaller than the greatest diameter of the portion 102.

In the example illustrated in Figure 12, the envelope surface S, apart from the notches 30, likewise has a bulging shape, and it has a diameter that passes through a maximum 110 situated substantially at the centre of the applicator part.

In the example illustrated in Figure 13, the envelope surface S, apart from the notches 30, has the overall shape of a diabolo with two frustoconical end portions 120 and 122 that are connected by their bases of greatest diameter to two cylindrical portions 124 and 126, respectively, which are themselves connected together by a portion 128 that narrows towards the centre. This portion 128 has a minimum diameter 130 substantially at the centre of the part of the core carrying the bristles. The cylindrical portions 124 and 126 have different diameters. The distal cylindrical portion 126 has a smaller diameter than the proximal cylindrical portion 124. The example in Figure 14 differs from that of the preceding figures in that the envelope surface S is without axial symmetry. In this example, the envelope surface S has an angular sector 140 defined by bristles that are longer than the rest of the brush 10. This angular sector 140 extends along the entire length of the applicator part of the brush 10 and, in longitudinal section, can have a profile with a variable height with respect to the longitudinal axis Y, in particular a profile in the form of a dorsal fin. Within the angular sector 140, the radius of the envelope surface S can pass through a maximum 142 close to the proximal end 45. The angular sector 140 can extend about the axis Y by an angle β of between 15° and 35°. The rest of the envelope surface S, apart from the notches 30, can have a bulging shape symmetrical with respect to a median plane M. The notches 30 extend on the envelope surface from the proximal end 45 to the distal end 46, including on the angular sector 140.

The invention is not limited to the illustrative embodiments which have just been described, the characteristics of which may be combined with one another as parts of variants which are not illustrated.

The notches 30 can be formed along only part of the length of the brush. The envelope surface can have another shape altogether.

The expression "comprising a" should be understood as being synonymous with "comprising at least one".