Flip top cap for a cosmetic container, said cap integrating a detachable application tool
[0001] The present invention relates to a flip top cap for a container, in particular a cosmetic container, namely a cosmetic jar.
[0002] In the present application, a « cosmetic product » means a product as defined in Regulation (CE) N°1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products. Accordingly, a cosmetic product is generally defined as one or several substances to be brought into contact with superficial parts of the human body (epidermis, hairs, nails, lips...) or with the teeth and oral mucosa with the exclusive or main objective of cleaning them, perfume them, change their aspect, protect them, caring for them or correct body odors. A cosmetic product may have various galenic forms and states, and may be, for example, a solid such as a powder, a liquid, a gel, a lotion, a cream, or be a pasty product.
[0003] It is common to apply viscous or pasty cosmetic products such as gels, lotions or cream using a dedicated application tool such as a spatula or spoon. This is also more hygienic since the user does not need to dip its finger into the product.
[0004] It is known from document KR20170115904 to provide a container with a spatula, said spatula being clipped under the lid of the container when it is not in use. However, the spatula is manufactured separately from the lid and the container. The spatula thus needs to be assembled to the container assembly before shipping to a store.
[0005] Document US6688469 offered a first solution in manufacturing a spoon integrally with a food plastic bowl. The spoon is detached before use and may be accommodated in a recess of said bowl. This solution is however not fully appropriate for the cosmetic industry and has some drawbacks.

[0006] One drawback is that the jar needs to be specifically designed to include the spatula. In addition, due to the presence of this spoon, the outside aspect of the jar is altered and shows irregularities which lowers its attractiveness.
[0007] Moreover, the container must be made from a thermoplastic material and it limits the use of materials such as glass or dense plastic. Use of such materials may be important for luxury products or for reasons of compatibility with the cosmetic product.
[0008] One will also note that manufacturing is not easy since the tool must be molded against a wall part of the bowl, which requires a special and difficult design of the corresponding mold.
[0009] In order to solve all or part of these issues, the present application proposes a top cap for a container, said top cap comprising a base portion configured to be secured to an open top of the container and a top portion movably mounted to said base portion between a closed position in which said top portion closes a dispensing or withdrawing orifice of the base portion and an open position where said top portion is away from said orifice thereby allowing access to a product contained inside the container.
[0010] According to the present application, the top cap is characterized in that at least the base portion is integrally made from a thermoplastic material and comprises, or integrates, a detachable product application tool, preferably wherein the detachable product application tool is a spatula, said detachable product application tool being made in one piece with the base portion.
[0011] The base portion may be permanently or removably secured to the open top of the container, for example by screwing, the base portion comprising an inner threading able to cooperate with a complementary outer threading of the open top of the container.
[0012] The thermoplastic material may in particular be polypropylene or
polyethylene, which are particularly suitable for injection molding. By molding the application tool integrally with the base portion of the cap, the jar itself is not affected and can be designed freely from any appropriate material.
[0013] The detachable tool may be in particular a spatula or a spoon. The tool is advantageously substantially flat. In particular, the tool may extend along a

longitudinal axis and may have a flat handle portion and an opposite withdrawing and applying flat or concave head portion. Although more specifically directed to a spatula, the present application is not limited to this specific tool and may concern any substantially flat moldable tool such as a spoon.
[0014] In an advantageous manner, the detachable application tool may extend, before being detached, across the orifice of the base portion. In such a configuration, the detachable tool acts as an anti-tampering element as it needs to be detached and removed in order to be able to normally access the product inside the container.
[0015] Preferably, the detachable application tool extends, before being detached, substantially in a plane of the orifice. This allows for an easier manufacturing and molding of the base portion.
[0016] Preferably, the tool is made detachable by way of frangible bridges of matter linked to a body part of the base portion. In particular, the detachable application tool is preferably linked to a peripheral wall of the base portion by frangible bridges of matter.
[0017] More specifically, the frangible bridges may be located at two opposite ends of the detachable application tool along a transverse (radial) axis of the orifice, preferably along a longitudinal axis of the detachable application tool. This allows for an easy detachment of the tool simply by twisting it around said longitudinal axis in order to break said frangible bridges. Preferably, the tool is linked by only two frangible bridges.
[0018] Most preferably, the detachable tool is only held by a single bridge of matter on one side of the base portion. Preferably, a part corresponding to a handle portion of the detachable tool is attached to cap. The opposite application end of the detachable tool is not attached to the based portion in order to avoid any chance of sharp edge after detachment. This is also made so that the application end of the detachable tool can be used to apply product on the face directly for products like facial mask or whitening cream. The front end of the detachable tool may have a differential thickness to make it flexible and soft to have soft feeling during use on face or dispensing of product on the hand.

[0019] In a complementary manner, the top portion may be mounted to said base portion by a hinge connection at one side thereof. Such a top cap is currently designated under the term "flip top cap". Such a flip top cap is generally described in document US4805790 for example, hereby incorporated by reference. Although more specifically intended for a flip top cap, the top portion may not be necessarily hinged to the base portion and may be a separated cap.
[0020] Advantageously, the top portion is preferably integrally made with the base portion, the hinge being preferably a film hinge. This way, the whole flip top cap can be integrally molded in one piece.
[0021] Advantageously, the top portion is preferably equipped with at least one retaining element, such as clipping prongs, able to removably cooperate with a complementary part of the detachable tool, for example by clipping, thus allowing the tool to be removably secured to the top portion after having been detached, said retaining elements being preferably arranged on an inner face of the top portion. Similar retaining elements as described in KR20170115904A, hereby incorporated by reference, may be used.
[0022] The present application is also directed to a container, preferably a jar, comprising a peripheral wall, a bottom wall and an open top defining together an internal space intended for storing a product, preferably a cosmetic product, such as an anti-ageing or hydration cream, said container being characterized in that the open top is equipped with a flip top cap according to the present application.
[0023] The present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description in view of the accompanying drawings in which : [Fig. 1] is an illustration of a flip top cap according to the present application, [Fig. 2] is an illustration of a jar intended to be equipped with the cap of figure 1, [Fig. 3] is a illustrative view of the flip top cap of figure 1 assembled to the jar of figure 2,
[Fig. 4] is an illustrative view of the container assembly of figure 3 after detachment of the tool,
[Fig. 5] is an illustrative view of the container assembly of figures 3 and 4, the tool being clipped inside the cap,

[0024] Figure 1 shows a flip top cap 1 according to the present application. The flip top cap 1 comprises a base portion 2 and a top portion 3 movably mounted to said base portion 2 between a closed position in which said top portion 3 closes a dispensing or withdrawing orifice 4 of the base portion and an open position where said top portion 3 is away from said orifice 4 thereby allowing an access through said orifice 4.
[0025] The top portion 3 may be mounted to said base portion 2 by a hinge 7
connection at one side thereof. In particular, the hinge 7 is a film hinge integrally made with the full cap 1.
[0026] The base portion 2 may be configured to be secured to a container 10, of the type shown on figure 2, namely a jar. More specifically, the base portion may be secured to an open top 12 of the container 10 by way of an outer thread 13 able to cooperate with an inner complementary thread (not visible) of the base portion 2 of the cap 1. In the present example, the base portion 2 is removably secured, but it is of course possible to have it permanently secured.
[0027] Although, the container 10 is represented having a circular cross-section, the present invention may be adapted to containers 10 having a different cross section such as a square jar. The base portion 2 of the flip top cap 1 is designed with a complementary shape and has the substantially the same cross section that the cross section of the container.
[0028] In the present example, the flip top cap 1 is integrally made from a thermoplastic material, such as polypropylene or polyethylene, meaning that both the base portion 2 and the top portion 3 are made in one piece from said thermoplastic material. In particular, the flip top cap 1 may be made by injection molding.
[0029] According to the present application, the base portion 2 comprises, or integrates, a detachable product application tool, such as a spatula 5. The spatula 5 may be made in one piece with the base portion 2 and the top portion 3 and may extend across the orifice 4 of the base portion 2. As visible, the detachable spatula 5 may extend substantially in a plane of the orifice 4.
[0030] The detachable spatula 5 may be linked to a peripheral wall 2a of the base portion 2 by way of frangible bridges 6a, 6b of the thermoplastic material. These frangible bridges are small tabs of matter adapted to break under a sufficient

deformation. Before being broken, they ensure the support of the tool or spatula 5 across the orifice 4.
[0031] The frangible bridges 6a, 6b may be located at two opposite ends of the detachable spatula 5 along a transverse (radial) axis of the orifice 4, preferably along a longitudinal axis of the tool.
[0032] In an alternate preferred embodiment, the spatula 5 is only held by a single bridge of matter on one side of the base portion. Preferably, a part corresponding to a handle portion of the spatula 5 is attached to cap. The opposite application end of the detachable tool is not attached to the based portion in order to avoid any chance of sharp edge after detachment. This is also made so that the application end of the detachable tool can be used to apply product on the face directly for products like facial mask or whitening cream. The front end of the detachable tool may have a differential thickness to make it flexible and soft to have soft feeling during use on face or dispensing of product on the hand.
[0033] The full assembly of the container 10 equipped with the flip top cap 1 is shown on figure 3. At first use, the user flips the top portion 3 into its open position away from the base portion 2 in order to discover the orifice 4 and the spatula 5 supported across said orifice 4 by the frangible bridges 6a, 6b.
[0034] The user may then twist the spatula around its longitudinal axis (that matches an axis connecting the frangible bridges 6a, 6b) until said frangible bridges 6a, 6b breaks. The spatula may then be separated from the container assembly and used to withdraw product from the container through the orifice 4 (figure 4).
[0035] When not in use, the spatula may be removably secured on an inner face of the flip top portion 3 as shown on figure 5. To this end, the top portion 3 may be equipped with at least one retaining element, such as clipping prongs 9, able to removably cooperate with a complementary part of the spatula 5. The retaining elements may be integrally molded with the top portion 3 and the whole flip top cap 1.

Claims
[Claim 1 ] A top cap (1) for a container (10), said top cap comprising a base portion (2) configured to be secured to an open top (12) of the container and a top portion (3) movably mounted to said base portion between a closed position in which said top portion closes a dispensing or withdrawing orifice
(4) of the base portion and an open position where said top portion is away
from said orifice thereby allowing access to a product contained inside the
container, the top cap being characterized in that at least the base portion is
integrally made from a thermoplastic material and integrates a detachable
product application tool (5), preferably wherein the detachable product
application tool (5) is a spatula, said detachable product application tool being
made in one piece with the base portion.
[Claim 2] The top cap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the
detachable application tool (5) extends across the orifice (4) of the base
portion (2). [Claim 3] The top cap (1) according to any of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that
the detachable application tool extends substantially in a plane of the orifice. [Claim 4] The top cap (1) according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that
the detachable application tool (5) is linked to a peripheral wall (2a) of the
base portion (2) by frangible bridges of matter. [Claim 5] The top cap (1) according to claim 4 characterized in that the frangible
bridges (6) are located at two opposite ends of the detachable application tool
(5) along a transverse axis of the orifice (4), preferably along a longitudinal
axis of the detachable application tool.
[Claim 6] The top cap (1) according to claim 5 characterized in that the tool (5) is
linked by only two frangible bridges (6). [Claim 7] The top cap (1) according to claim 5 characterized in that the tool (5) is
only held by a single bridge of matter (6) on one side of the base portion,
preferably, a side corresponding to a handle part of said detachable tool. [Claim 8] The top cap (1) according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that
the top portion (3) is mounted to said base portion (2) by a hinge (7)
connection at one side thereof.

[Claim 9] The top cap (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the top portion (3) is integrally made with the base portion (2).
[Claim 10] The top cap (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
characterized in that the top portion (3) is equipped with at least one retaining element (9), preferably wherein the at least one retaining element is clipping prongs, able to removably cooperate with a complementary part of the detachable tool (5), optionally by clipping, thus allowing the tool to be removably secured to the top portion after having been detached, said retaining elements being preferably arranged on an inner face of the top portion.
[Claim 11] A container (10) comprising a peripheral wall, a bottom and an
open top (12) defining an internal space intended for storing a product, preferably a cosmetic product, and preferably wherein the cosmetic product is an anti-ageing or hydration cream, said container being characterized in that the open top is equipped with a top cap (1), in particular with a flip top cap, according to any one of claims 1 to 10.