U.S. patent application number 11/199834 was filed with the patent office on 2007-02-15 for brush provided with retractable bristles to facilitate removal of tangled hair strands.
Invention is credited to Huo-Pia Wang.
Application Number | 20070033758 11/199834 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37741242 |
Filed Date | 2007-02-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070033758 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang; Huo-Pia |
February 15, 2007 |
Brush provided with retractable bristles to facilitate removal of
tangled hair strands
Abstract
A brush includes a brush body, a plurality of bristles, an
operating member, and a biasing member. The brush body includes an
upper wall, a lower wall that is aligned with the upper wall along
a transverse direction, and that is movable relative to the upper
wall, and a guiding member that extends upward from the lower wall
through the upper wall. The bristles are mounted on a
bristle-mounting surface of the upper wall, and are extendible
through the bristle-extension apertures in the lower wall. The
operating member is connected to the guiding member, and is
operable to move the lower wall relative to the upper wall between
upper and lower positions. The biasing member restores the lower
wall from the lower position to the upper position.
Inventors: |
Wang; Huo-Pia; (Chang-Hua
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GROSSMAN, TUCKER,;PERREAULT & PFLEGER, PLLC
55 South Commercial Street
Manchester
NH
03101
US
|
Family ID: |
37741242 |
Appl. No.: |
11/199834 |
Filed: |
August 9, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/169 ; 119/628;
132/119 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A46B 17/06 20130101;
A46B 2200/104 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/169 ;
132/119; 119/628 |
International
Class: |
A46B 17/06 20070101
A46B017/06 |
Claims
1. A brush comprising: a brush body including an upper wall, a
lower wall that is aligned with said upper wall along a transverse
direction, and that is movable relative to said upper wall between
upper and lower positions, and a guiding member that extends upward
from said lower wall through said upper wall, said upper wall
having a bristle-mounting surface, said lower wall being formed
with a plurality of bristle-extension apertures; a plurality of
bristles that are mounted on said bristle-mounting surface of said
upper wall, and that extend through said bristle-extension
apertures; an operating member disposed above and spaced apart from
said upper wall, and connected directly to said guiding member so
as to be co-movable with said lower wall relative to said upper
wall in the transverse direction, and to move said lower wall from
the upper position to the lower position when pressed downward in
the transverse direction; and a biasing member for restoring said
lower wall from the lower position to the upper position.
2. The brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said biasing member is
disposed between and abuts against said upper wall and said
operating member.
3. The brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bristle-extension
apertures are in the form of parallel elongated slots, and said
bristles are arranged in rows that correspond to said elongated
slots.
4. The brush as claimed in claim 3, wherein said upper wall of said
brush body is formed with two guiding slots, said guiding member of
said brush body having two guiding plates that extend from said
lower wall through said guiding slots respectively, said operating
member being connected to said guiding plates.
5. The brush as claimed in claim 4, wherein said upper wall of said
brush body is formed with a protruding base, said base being formed
with a recess that is aligned with and that opens toward said
operating member, said operating member having a bottom surface
that is formed with an annular protrusion aligned with said recess,
said biasing member extending into said recess and said annular
protrusion.
6. The brush as claimed in claim 5, wherein said base is further
formed with a stud that extends into said recess, said biasing
member having a lower end sleeved on said stud.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a brush, more particularly to a
brush provided with retractable bristles to facilitate removal of
tangled hair strands therefrom.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] As shown in FIG. 1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,775 discloses a
brush that includes a brush body 11, a handgrip 12 that is mounted
on the brush body 11, a bristle unit 13, and an operating unit 14.
The brush body 11 includes a combing wall 111 that is formed with a
plurality of bristle-extension apertures 112. The bristle unit 13
includes a bristle-holding element 131 that is disposed in the
brush body 11, and a plurality of bristles 132 that are mounted on
the bristle-holding element 131. The operating unit 14 includes a
plurality of guiding members 141 that are mounted in the brush body
11 and that extend through the bristle-holding element 131, a
controlling member 142 connected to the bristle-holding element 131
for moving the bristle-holding element 131 along the guiding
members 141, and a plurality of biasing members 143 sleeved
respectively on the guiding members 141 and abutting against the
bristle-holding element 131.
[0005] By turning the controlling member 142 clockwise, the
bristle-holding element 131 moves upward along the guiding members
141, so that the bristle-holding element 131 is moved away from the
combing wall 111, and the bristles 43 are retracted into the brush
body 11, thereby leaving tangled hair strands on the combing wall
111 to facilitate the removal of the tangled hair strands.
[0006] Although the aforesaid brush can facilitate the removal of
tangled hair strands, the operation of turning the controlling
member 142 while holding onto the handgrip 12 is awkward and is not
ergonomic for the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a brush with retractable bristles to facilitate the removal of
tangled hair strands, wherein the operating action for retracting
the bristles into a brush body is a pressing action.
[0008] According to the present invention, there is provided a
brush that includes: a brush body including an upper wall, a lower
wall that is aligned with the upper wall along a transverse
direction, and that is movable relative to the upper wall between
upper and lower positions, and a guiding member that extends upward
from the lower wall through the upper wall, the upper wall having a
bristle-mounting surface, the lower wall being formed with a
plurality of bristle-extension apertures; a plurality of bristles
that are mounted on the bristle-mounting surface of the upper wall,
and that extend through the bristle-extension apertures; an
operating member disposed above and spaced apart from the upper
wall, and connected directly to the guiding member so as to be
co-movable with the lower wall relative to the upper wall in the
transverse direction, and to move the lower wall from the upper
position to the lower position when pressed downward in the
transverse direction; and a biasing member for restoring the lower
wall from the lower position to the upper position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings of
which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a partly sectional view of a conventional
brush;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred
embodiment of a brush according to the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of the preferred
embodiment;
[0013] FIG. 4 is an assembled sectional view of the preferred
embodiment, illustrating-a normal combing state of the brush;
and
[0014] FIG. 5 is an assembled sectional view of the preferred
embodiment, illustrating a state where the bristles are
retracted.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the preferred embodiment of a
brush according to the present invention includes a brush body 2, a
handgrip 3, a bristle unit 4, an operating member 5, and a biasing
member 6.
[0016] The brush body 2 includes an upper wall 21, a lower wall 22
that is aligned with the upper wall 21 along a transverse direction
(X), and a guiding member 23. The upper wall 21 has a grip-mounting
surface 211 and a bristle-mounting surface 212. The grip-mounting
surface 211 is formed with a protruding base 213. The base 213 is
formed with a recess 214, and a stud 216 that extends into the
recess 214. The upper wall 21 is formed with two guiding slots 215
that are parallel to the transverse direction (X), and that extend
through the grip-mounting surface 211, the bristle-mounting surface
212, and the protruding base 213. The lower wall 22 has an inner
surface 221 and a combing surface 222, and is formed with a
plurality of bristle-extension apertures 223 extending through the
inner surface 221 and the combing surface 222. In this embodiment,
the bristle-extension apertures 223 are in the form of elongated
slots parallel to the transverse direction (X). The guiding member
23 is formed on the inner surface 221 of the lower wall 22, and
includes two guiding plates 231 that extend from the inner surface
221 through the guiding slots 215, respectively.
[0017] The handgrip 3 is connected to the grip-mounting surface 21
of the brush body 2 to serve as a medium for the user to grasp.
[0018] The bristle unit 4 includes a plurality of bristles 41 that
are mounted on and that are arranged in rows on the
bristle-mounting surface 212 of the upper wall 21 corresponding to
the bristle-extension apertures 223 in the lower wall 22.
[0019] The operating member 5 is disposed above and is spaced apart
from the upper wall 21. The operating member 5 has a bottom surface
51 that is formed with an annular protrusion 52, and two hooks 53.
The annular protrusion 52 is aligned with the recess 214 in the
grip-mounting surface 211, while the hooks 53 are connected
respectively to the guiding plates 231 in a snap engaging manner so
as to be co-movable with the lower wall 22 relative to the upper
wall 21 in the transverse direction (X).
[0020] The biasing member 6 extends into the recess 214 in the
grip-mounting surface 211 and the annular protrusion 52, and has a
lower end 61 that is sleeved on the stud 216 of the grip-mounting
surface 211.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, when there are no external
forces pressing against the operating member 5, the brush is in a
normal combing state. In the normal combing state, the biasing
member 6 pushes against the operating member 5 to keep the
operating member 5 away from the upper wall 21. Since the guiding
member 23 is co-movable with the operating member 5 through the
connection between the hooks 53 and the guiding plates 231, the
lower wall 22 is disposed adjacent to the upper wall 21, so that
the bristles 41 extend through the bristle-extension apertures 223
and are exposed from the combing surface 222. The user can thus
begin combing by holding onto the handgrip 3.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, when an external force
greater than the elastic restoring force of the biasing member 6 is
exerted on the operating member 5, the lower wall 22 is moved away
from the upper wall 21 in the transverse direction (X), and a gap
24 is formed between the upper and lower walls 21, 22. The bristles
41 are thus retracted and hidden in the gap 24. As a result,
tangled hair strands are left on the combing surface 222 and can be
cleaned easily.
[0023] The following are some of the advantages attributed to the
brush according to the present invention:
[0024] The principle of the present invention is the same as that
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,775, which involves retraction of
the bristles 41 by virtue of relative movement between the lower
wall 22 and the upper wall 21, so that tangled hair strands are
left on the combing surface 222, thereby facilitating the removal
of tangled hair strands. However, the operating action by the user
according to this invention is a pressing action, so that it meets
the ergonomic needs of the user.
[0025] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *