US20040020505A1 - Eyelash curler - Google Patents

Abstract

An eyelash curler includes a handle, a frame member provided to an upper side of the handle, and a slide member movable up and down within the frame member, and eyelashes are received between the slide member and an upper part of the frame member to be curled. The slide member including hooks at back sides near its left and right ends thereof is attached to the frame member in a manner that a left part of the frame member is fitted into between the left hook and a left end part of the slide member, and a right part of the frame member is fitted between the right hook and a right end part of the slide member. This eyelash curler requires less cost of producing molds, forming parts and putting the parts together. In this eyelash curler, the left and right part of the frame member will not hinder curling eyelashes near a top and a tail part of a user's eye.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• 1. Field of the Invention[0001]
• This invention relates to an eyelash curler used for curling eyelashes.[0002]
• 2. Description of the Prior Art[0003]
• There has been an eyelash curler as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The eyelash curler includes a[0004]handle1, aframe member2 provided on an upper side of thehandle1, and aslide member3 which can move up and down within theframe member2. Eyelashes are received between theslide member3 and anupper part2aof theframe member2 of the known eyelash curler to be curled.
• This type of conventional eyelash curler further includes a[0005]longitudinal ditch19 on each of the inner sides of aleft part2cand aright part2dof theframe member2, and aleft end part3aand aright end part3bof theslide member3 can respectively be slidably fitted into theditches19.
• The[0006]frame member2 of this eyelash curler is made up with two parts; i.e. a front part A and a back part B. When attaching theslide member3 to theframe member2, both the parts A and B are welded together after theleft end part3aand theright end part3bof theslide member3 are put between the parts A and B in a separate state.
• Moreover, the[0007]handle1 is also made up with two parts; a front part C and a back part D. When attaching acontrol member4 to thehandle1, both the parts C and D are welded together after a bottom part of thecontrol member4 is put between the parts C and D in a separate state.
• This structure requires a large cost to produce molds, to form parts and to put the parts together. And the structure in which the[0008]left end part3aand theright end part3bof theslide member3 are fitted into theditches19 causes theleft part2cand theright part2dof theframe member2 to swell out forward and hinder a user from easy curling of eyelashes near a top and a tail part of his or her eye.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• It is hence an object of the present invention to provide an eyelash curler which can reduce costs of producing molds, forming parts and putting the parts together.[0009]
• It is another object of the present invention to provide an eyelash curler in which a left and a right part of a frame member of the eyelash curler will not hinder effective curling of eyelashes near a top part and a tail part of a user's eye.[0010]
• To solve the foregoing problems, this invention takes some technical steps, which are described next in detail.[0011]
• An eyelash curler according to the present invention has a handle, a frame member provided on an upper part of the handle, and a slide member which can move up and down within the frame member. The eyelash curler can curl eyelashes by receiving them between the slide member and an upper part of the frame member. The slide member, having two left and right hooks in the backsides near its left and right ends, are attached to the frame member by receiving a left part of the frame member between the left hook and a left end part of the slide member and also receiving a right part of frame member between the right hook and a right end part of the slide member.[0012]
• Also, in the eyelash curler according to the present invention, the slide member may be movable up and down in a manner that the left and right end parts of the slide member are respectively positioned in front of the left and right parts of the frame member.[0013]
• Moreover, the eyelash curer according to the present invention has a control member having a forked shape at a bottom part and protuberances at a right and left side of the bottom part. The bottom part is pressed to deform to narrow a distance between the protuberances and the protuberances are fitted into holes provided on a right and left side face of a hollow formed in the handle, so that the control member is fixed with the handle.[0014]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an eyelash curler according to an embodiment of the present invention.[0015]
• FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the eyelash curler according to the present invention, in which a handle is unfolded.[0016]
• FIG. 3 is a transversal sectional view of the eyelash curler according to the present invention, taken along a plane below an upper part of a frame member.[0017]
• FIG. 4 is a top view of a slide member and a control member of the eyelash curler according to the present invention, in which an elastic member of the slide member is removed.[0018]
• FIG. 5 is a side view of the slide member and the control member of the eyelash curler according to the present invention, in which the elastic member of the slide member is removed.[0019]
• FIG. 6 is a front view of the slide member and the control member of the eyelash curler according to the present invention, in which the elastic member of the slide member is removed.[0020]
• FIG. 7 is a diagram of the eyelash curler according to the present invention to show how the control member is attached to the handle in a state that a lower part of the handle is detached from the handle and an upper part of the handle is transversely severed near its bottom end.[0021]
• FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional eyelash curler.[0022]
• FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the conventional eyelash curler, taken along a transverse plane below an upper part of a frame member.[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
• Referring to the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail hereinafter.[0024]
• An eyelash curler according to the present invention includes a[0025]handle1, aframe member2 provided on an upper part of thehandle1 and aslide member3 which are movable up and down within theframe member2. This eyelash curler curls eyelashes by receiving them between theslide member3 and anupper part2aof theframe member2. Theslide member3, having two left andright hooks3cand3din the back sides near its left and right ends, is attached to the frame member by receiving aleft part2cof theframe member2 between theleft hook3cand aleft end part3aof theslide member3 and by receiving aright part2dof theframe member2 between theright hook3dand aright end part3b.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the eyelash curler according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view in which the[0026]handle1 is unfolded. FIG. 3 is a transversal sectional view taken along a plane under theupper part2aof theframe member2. FIG. 4 is a top view of theslide member3 and acontrol member4 without anelastic member11 of theslide member3, FIG. 5 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 6 is a front view thereof. FIG. 7 is a diagram to show how thecontrol member3 is attached to thehandle1 in a state that alower part1bof thehandle1 is removed and anupper part1aof thehandle1 is transversely severed near the bottom end of anupper part1a.
• This eyelash curler is composed of parts mainly made of plastic, however not limitative thereto, and these parts can be made of many other materials.[0027]
• The[0028]handle1 includes theupper part1aand thelower part1bwhich are connected together to mutually rotate so that thehandle1 can be folded in two. Thehandle1 is formed with a hollow5 for containing thecontrol member4. The hollow5 is big enough to house almost theentire control member4.
• The[0029]frame member2 in a four-sided shape including theupper part2a, alower part2b, theleft part2cand theright part2d, may be made in one body with thehandle1. Both theupper part2aand thelower part2bare curved backward, while theleft part2cand theright part2dare almost straight.
• The[0030]slide member3 is formed in a strip shape curved backward like the foregoing upper andlower parts2aand2bof theframe member2. Anelastic member11, such as made of silicone rubber, is fitted into agroove10 formed in an upper end of theslide member3. Furthermore, thelower part1bof thehandle1 is formed with a groove of the same-shape as theelastic member11 for storing a spareelastic member11′.
• The[0031]slide member3 is elastic so that, by both ends of theslide member3 being pressed to get a bigger curvature, theslide member3 can be forced to fit in theframe member2. Theleft part2cof theframe member2 is fitted between theleft end part3aand theleft hook3cof theslide member3 and also theright part2dof theframe member2 is fitted between theright end part3band theright hook3dof theslide member3.
• Moreover, the eyelash curler includes the[0032]control member4 to make theslide member3 slide up and down. Thecontrol member4, provided with abent part4ain a middle part, is connected with theslide member3 at its upper end and with thehandle1 at its lower end so that thecontrol member4 is being forced to bend out forwardly.
• The[0033]control member4 forms a T-shape with theslide member3, and may be made in one body with theslide member3. The upper end of thecontrol member4 is attached to the middle of the lower end of theslide member3 through a flexiblethin part12. The bottom part of thecontrol member4, which hasprotuberances13 at both left and right sides, is attached to thehandle1 by rotatably fitting theprotuberances13 intoholes16 which are formed on a left and a right side faces near the lower end of the hollow5.
• The bottom part of the[0034]control member4 has a cut to provide a forked shape. As shown in FIG. 7, pressing both the forked portions of thecontrol member4 to deform to narrow the distance therebetween (i.e., to narrow the distance between the left and right protuberances13), pushing the deformed bottom part into the hollow5 of the upper part of thehandle1 and finally fitting therespective protuberances13 into the foregoingholes16 results in fixing of thecontrol member4 and thehandle1.
• The right and left sides of the hollow[0035]5 are formed withinclined faces18. Theinclined faces18 incline from the front side to theholes6 to come closer toward each other, so that theprotuberances13 can be pushed to slide on theinclined faces18 toward theholes6 with gradually narrowing the distance therebetween and, when reaching at theholes6, theprotuberances13 fit into theholes6 as well as the bottom part of thecontrol member4 returns to its original shape. Therefore, thecontrol member4 is attached quite easily to thehandle1.
• The[0036]bendable part4ais a thin part formed in the middle of thecontrol member4. Thecontrol member4 is being forced to bend forward with a pressingmember14. The pressingmember14 is here a metal coil spring. One side of the pressingmember14 is fixed to the backside of apress part4bprovided just under thebendable part4a, while the other side is fixed to the bottom of the hollow5 of theupper part1aof thehandle1.
• The[0037]press part4bis provided just under thebendable part4aof thecontrol member4 and formed with a recess on its front side. The recess is shaped well fit to a thumb or a finger of a user. The user presses thispress part4bwith his or her thumb or finger to enlarge an angle at thebendable part4a. Then thecontrol member4 is widened and flatter and theslide member3 moves up. On the other hand removing the user's thumb or finger from thepress part4ballows thecontrol member4 to return to its previous bent state.
• In the eyelash curler with the above mentioned structure, the[0038]left part2cof theframe member2 is fitted between theleft end part3aand theleft hook3cof theslide member3 and theright part2dof theframe member2 is fitted between theright end part3band theright hook3dof theslide member3. Therefore, the left andright parts2cand2dof theframe member2 are not required to be made by welding two parts (i.e. respective front side parts and rear side parts) together. Consequently, this structure reduces the costs of producing molds, forming parts and putting the parts together.
• Furthermore, the[0039]slide member3 is movable up and down in a manner that theleft end part3aand theright end part3bthereof are respectively located in front of theleft part2cand theright part2dof theframe member2, not in a manner that the left andright parts2cand2dswell out forwardly, so that the left andright parts2cand2dwill not hinder curling eyelashes near the top and tail parts of a user's eye.
• Moreover, the[0040]handle1 of the present invention can be made as one body without two front and back parts being welded together. Specifically, thecontrol member4 has the forked shape at its bottom part and theprotuberances13 on the right and left sides of the bottom part. And deforming the bottom part of thecontrol member4 to narrow the distance between the left andright protuberances13 and fitting theprotuberances13 into theholes16 provided on the respective right and left side face of the hollow5 of thehandle member1 allows thecontrol member4 and thehandle1 to join together. As a result, less cost for producing molds, forming parts and putting the parts together is required.
• The eyelash curler according to the present invention, with the structure as stated above, allows to reduce costs of producing molds, forming parts and putting the parts together. And further in the eyelash curler, the[0041]left part2cand theright part2dof theframe member2 will not prevent eyelashes near a top and tail parts of a user's eye from being curled.

Claims (4)

What is claimed is:

1. An eyelash curler comprising:

a handle;

a frame member provided on an upper part of the handle;

a slide member movable up and down within the frame member, the slide member and an upper part of the frame member receiving eyelashes therebetween to curl them; and

the slide member being provided with left and right hooks on back sides near a right and a left end thereof, wherein a left part of the frame member is fitted between the left hook and a left end part of the slide member and a right part of the frame member is fitted between the right hook and a right end part of the slide member.

2. An eyelash curler according toclaim 1, wherein the slide member is movable up and down in a manner of positioning the left end part and the right end part respectively in front of the left part and the right part of the frame member.

3. An eyelash curler according toclaim 1 further comprising a control member with a forked shape at its bottom part and protuberances at a right and left side of the bottom part, wherein, at attaching the control member to the handle, the bottom part is pressed to deform to narrow a distance between the protuberances and the protuberances are fitted into respective holes provided on a right and left side face of a hollow formed in the handle.

4. An eyelash curler according toclaim 2 further comprising a control member with a forked shape at its bottom part and protuberances at a right and left side of the bottom part, wherein, at attaching the control member to the handle, the bottom part is pressed to deform to narrow a distance between the protuberances and the protuberances are fitted into respective holes provided on a right and left side face of a hollow formed in the handle.

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