APPLICATOR FOR APPLYING A FLUID
The present invention relates to an applicator for
applying various fluid products, for example for
applying colorants to hair.
The application of treatment fluids to hair
requires skill and practice if good results are to be
achieved. The quality of the result is often dependent
upon the skill and precision with which the treatment
is applied, and so an applicator which helps a
hairdresser to control the application of a fluid is
beneficial in achieving a desired result.
It is already known for a hairdresser to place a
prepared treatment fluid into a plastic container provided with a nozzle through which the fluid may be
squeezed on to the hair. Although this method of
application is convenient and less messy than applying
the fluid from a bowl using a brush, if a very fine nozzle is used to achieve a precise line of treatment, the rate at which fluid can be expelled from such a
nozzle makes the application slow. Also, it can be difficult to ensure that the treatment is applied to
the correct parts of the hair.
It would be desirable to be able to provide an
alternative form of fluid applicator which overcomes
some at least of the problems encountered with current
forms of applicator, and in particular which enables
accurate control in the application of the fluid to a
substrate.
According to the present invention, there is provided an applicator for applying a fluid to a
substrate comprising a reservoir for containing a
treatment fluid, at least two nozzles spaced apart from
and generally parallel to each other, and a passage
connecting each of said nozzles to said reservoir
whereby said fluid can be expelled from said reservoir.
The provision of at least two spaced apart nozzles
allows fluid to be applied to at least two separate
areas simultaneously, which has particular advantages when used to apply colour in the form of "highlights"
or "lowlights" to hair, because several narrow bands of colour usually give a more natural-looking result than
a single wider band. Although the invention is described in terms of
its suitability for use in applying hair treatments,
its advantages may be beneficial in other uses such as
in the application of decorative paint effects.
The reservoir may be an integral part of a
complete container such as a tube or bottle in which
the treatment fluid is contained. The reservoir is,
however, preferably readily detachable from such a
container so that it may be cleaned easily between
applications. Most preferably, it is attached to and
detachable from the container, for example by means of
a screw-threaded connection or by a ridge provided on
one of the reservoir and the container for engagement
in a groove provided on the other of the reservoir and the container.
The applicator may be used with a wide variety of
containers and fluid expulsion means. For example one
type of suitable container has a piston-like plate
which may be caused to move towards the nozzles to
force the fluid contained in the container out of the
nozzles by depressing a plunger to which the plate is
attached, as in a syringe, or by activation of a sprung mechanism by depressing a trigger, for example.
Alternatively, some form of pressurised container may
be used from which fluid may be expelled through the
nozzles by applying gas pressure within the container.
A preferred type of container is a flexible tube
or bottle from which fluid may be expelled by
squeezing.
The reservoir is connected to at least two nozzles
through which fluid may be expelled from the reservoir.
Preferably at least three nozzles are provided, and
most preferably six to ten nozzles, spaced apart from
each other in a direction transverse to the axes of the
nozzle exits. The nozzles may preferably each be
opened and closed, most preferably independently of one
another. The nozzles are preferably pivotal between
their open and closed positions i.e. of a type which
are joined to the reservoir by means of a pivotal connection whereby they may be closed by pivoting or
folding them towards the reservoir so that the fluid
passage therethrough is interrupted, or opened by being positioned to extend from the reservoir, so that the fluid passage between the reservoir and the nozzle becomes essentially linear and uninterrupted. By these
means, the amount of fluid applied and the width of a
section of hair to be treated may be controlled by
opening the required number of nozzles. Also, the
fluid may be applied in a number of narrow stripes
which may be required specifically when carrying out
certain types of treatment, for example putting
highlights in hair.
Preferably the applicator further comprises a
generally elongate spreader located transversely to the
axes of the nozzles and in ciose proximity to said
nozzles. The presence of a spreader allows the person
applying the fluid greater control over application of
the fluid, because the spreader may be braced against the part of the substrate which is being treated.
The elongate spreader may be a solid bar, optionally tapered away from the reservoir.
Preferably, however, the spreader comprises a comb
which has relatively fine teeth. In this form, the
comb and nozzles are preferably arranged so that the nozzles each discharge fluid between two adjacent teeth
of the comb. Alternatively, the spreader may comprise a brush, in which form it may be particularly suitable
for applying paint, especially for producing decorative
effects.
The spreader is preferably joined to an external
wall of the reservoir in such a way that it is inclined
towards the axes of the open nozzles preferably at an
angle of between 30° and 60° to the axes of the
nozzles. The spreader may touch the ends of the
nozzles. The spreader may, optionally, be adapted to
be readily detachable from and attachable to the
reservoir, so that it can be removed for cleaning or
for storage, for example. It may, for example, have a
tongue running along an edge which may frictionally
engage in a corresponding slot in the reservoir.
The applicator is preferably made from a suitable
plastics material, such as polypropylene. The
reservoir, nozzles and spreader, if present, are preferably relatively rigid. The container, reservoir
and nozzles are preferably transparent or translucent,
so that the amount and composition of the fluid
contained therein may be viewed from the outside.
The reservoir and/or a container to which it is secured may be marked to indicate the volume of fluid
contained therein. Preferably the markings are
graduated along a substantial part of the container or
reservoir and, most preferably, they are marked in such
a way that they may indicate the volume of fluid in the
container and/or reservoir both when the applicator is
uppermost and when it is pointing downwards, which
would normally be its position when in use.
The container may optionally contain a heavy bar,
bead or the like to agitate the treatment fluid on
shaking of the container.
One preferred form of the invention will now be
described, by way of example only, and with reference
to the accompanying drawings of which:
Fig. 1 is a plan view of a hair treatment
applicator according to the invention;
Fig. 2 shows a reservoir of an applicator
according to the invention with the nozzles removed and a spreader attached; and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through an
applicator according to the invention in its
operative position. The hair treatment applicator shown in Fig. 1
comprises a container 2 formed of a flexible
transparent plastics material, and a reservoir 4, also
transparent but more rigid than the container 2. The
reservoir 4 is secured to the container 2 by means of a
ridge 6 around the circumference of the container 2 the
underside of which is engaged by projections 8 formed
on the opposed inner walls of the reservoir. The
components 2 and 4 may be pushed together into positive
engagement and subsequently separated by pulling them
apart so as to disengage the projections 8 from the
ridge 6.
Alternatively the reservoir 4 may be secured to
the container 2 by means of an external screw-thread
provided on the container 2 co-operating with a corresponding internal screw-thread provided in the
reservoir 4.
The reservoir 4 is provided with six nozzles 10
each pivotal within an associated groove 12 in the reservoir 4 between an open position, in which the
nozzle extends longitudinally of the applicator and the bore 14 therethrough communicates with the interior of the reservoir 4, and a closed position in which the
nozzle 10 extends outwardly of the reservoir 4 and the
bore 14 is disconnected from the interior of the
reservoir 4.
A comb or spreader 16 is releasably mounted to the
reservoir 4, for example by means of a tongue 18 on the
comb 16 being slidably received in a corresponding
groove 20 in the reservoir 4, the plane of the comb 16
making an angle of about 40° to the axes of the
container 2 as best seen in Fig. 3.
Alternatively, the comb 16 may be mounted to the
reservoir 4 by means of a projection provided on the
comb 16 which is a friction push-fit into a
corresponding recess in the reservoir 4.
In use, a quantity of hair treatment fluid, such as a colorant, is placed into the container 2, and the reservoir 4 is secured over the end of the container 2 to close it. At least one nozzle 10 is opened, the
number of open nozzles 10 governing the width of the
strip of fluid which is applied. The section of hair
to be treated is then separated from the rest of the
hair, the applicator is held in the position shown in Fig. 3 and the comb 16 is drawn through the hair
section from above as the container 2 is squeezed
gently to expel fluid through the nozzles 10. The comb
16 both stabilises the section of hair, allowing the
even application of fluid along the section, and also
helps the fluid to spread evenly across the section
being treated.
As the treatment continues the user can easily
monitor the amount of fluid remaining in the container by referring to a graduated scale 22 upon the side.
There may be two graduated scales, one on each side of
the container, one for the applicator in an upright
position, and the other for the applicator in an
inverted position. When the treatment is finished, the reservoir 4
may be separated from the container 2 so that it can be
cleaned ready for a subsequent treatment or to allow the container to be refilled.
The reservoir 4 and/or the container 2 may,
however, be intended to be disposed of after one use only. It may, for example, be desirable to supply
standard pre-mixed treatments in a number of containers 2 which may be fitted to a reservoir 4 just before the
treatment is applied. Many treatments must, however be
mixed freshly shortly before application, in which case
a user would fill the container 2 when the treatment had been prepared.
As will be appreciated, the applicator according
to the invention improves the ability of the user to
apply a hair treatment in a controlled manner, to the
extent for example that colouring only a discrete
section of hair is made easier than with applicators
available hitherto. Using the applicators illustrated
in the drawings, it is possible to apply fine lines of
highlighting treatment relatively quickly and easily
compared with using existing applicators.