U.S. patent application number 11/936679 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-07 for brush with an internal compartment.
Invention is credited to Gary BERG, Elkhan GUSEYNOV, Eugene VAYNBERG, Victoria VAYNBERG.
Application Number | 20090113648 11/936679 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40586626 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090113648 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
VAYNBERG; Victoria ; et
al. |
May 7, 2009 |
BRUSH WITH AN INTERNAL COMPARTMENT
Abstract
A brush including a handle and a head attached to the handle.
The head has an upper surface and at least one protuberance
positioned on the upper surface of the head. A plurality of bristle
elements extend from the upper surface of the head and are
positioned around the protuberance such that bristle elements
positioned closest to the protuberance define a cup-shaped
clearance space around the protuberance.
Inventors: |
VAYNBERG; Victoria;
(Plainsboro, NJ) ; VAYNBERG; Eugene; (Plainsboro,
NJ) ; GUSEYNOV; Elkhan; (Fair Lawn, NJ) ;
BERG; Gary; (Princeton, NJ) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Joel E. Oshtry, Esquire
1819 JFK Boulevard, Suite 433
Philadelphia
PA
19103
US
|
Family ID: |
40586626 |
Appl. No.: |
11/936679 |
Filed: |
November 7, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/143.1 ;
15/167.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A46B 2200/1066 20130101;
A46B 11/0024 20130101; A46B 2200/1033 20130101; A46B 9/04
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/143.1 ;
15/167.1 |
International
Class: |
A46B 15/00 20060101
A46B015/00; A46B 9/04 20060101 A46B009/04 |
Claims
1. A brush device comprising: a handle; a head attached to the
handle, the head including an upper surface and at least one
protuberance positioned on the upper surface of the head; and a
plurality of bristle elements extending from the upper surface and
being positioned around the protuberance such that bristle elements
positioned closest to the protuberance define a cup-shaped
clearance space around the protuberance.
2. The brush device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one
protuberance comprises a top surface, the top surface having a
convex shape.
3. The brush device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one
protuberance comprises an outer perimeter.
4. The brush device according to claim 3, wherein the outer
perimeter has an oval shape.
5. The brush device according to claim 3, wherein the outer
perimeter has an annular shape.
6. The brush device according to claim 3, wherein the outer
perimeter has a rectangular shape.
7. The brush device according to claim 1, wherein at least some of
the plurality of bristle elements extend at an inclination angle to
the upper surface of the head.
8. The brush device according to claim 1, wherein at least some of
the plurality of bristle elements extend substantially
perpendicular to the upper surface of the head.
9. The brush device according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of
bristle elements have varying heights.
10. The brush device according to claim 9, wherein a surface formed
by top portions of the plurality of bristle elements has a
generally concave configuration.
11. The brush device according to claim 1, wherein the bristle
elements defining the cup-shaped clearance space have a higher
density than other bristle elements on the upper surface of the
head.
12. A brush device comprising: a handle having a hollow inner
cavity; a head attached to the handle, the head including an upper
surface and at least one protuberance positioned on the upper
surface of the head, a vertical channel being formed within the
protuberance; at least one inner channel formed within the handle
and the head connecting the hollow inner cavity to the vertical
channel; and a plurality of bristle elements extending from the
upper surface and being positioned around the protuberance such
that bristle elements positioned closest to the protuberance define
a cup-shaped clearance space around the protuberance.
13. The brush device according to claim 12, further comprising a
series of inner channels connecting the hollow inner cavity to the
vertical channel.
14. The brush device according to claim 13, wherein the series of
inner channels further comprises at least one horizontal inner
channel positioned in a lower portion of the head and connected to
the vertical channel; and at least one elbow-shaped channel
connecting the hollow space to the horizontal inner channel.
15. The brush device according to claim 12 wherein the at least one
inner channel is a horizontal inner channel and wherein an
accumulation space is formed below an intersection of the vertical
channel and the horizontal inner channel.
16. The brush device according to claim 15, wherein the
accumulation space further comprises an outside opening covered
entirely with a deformable push button.
17. The brush device according to claim 12, wherein the at least
one protuberance comprises a top surface, the top surface having a
convex shape.
18. The brush device according to claim 12, wherein the at least
one protuberance comprises an outer perimeter.
19. The brush device according to claim 18, wherein the outer
perimeter has an oval shape.
20. The brush device according to claim 18, wherein the outer
perimeter has an annular shape.
21. The brush device according to claim 18, wherein the outer
perimeter has a rectangular shape.
22. The brush device according to claim 12, wherein said plurality
of bristle elements have varying heights.
23. The brush device according to claim 22, wherein a surface
formed by top portions of the plurality of bristle elements has a
generally concave configuration.
24. The brush device according to claim 12, wherein the series of
inner channels further comprises at least one horizontal channel
positioned in a lower portion of the head and being connected to
the vertical channel; and at least one elbow-shaped channel
connecting the hollow space to the horizontal channel.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is directed to a brush, either manual
or powered, which used to hold and apply various substances, for
example toothpaste.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A head of a conventional brush or a toothbrush usually has a
flat or slightly altered surface to which a plurality of stand up
elements is attached. Usually the stand up elements are natural
bristles or strands of plastic material(s) formed into tufts,
bundles or other groupings. The stand up elements are attached to
the head either before or after forming the brush.
[0003] Various approaches have been advanced in the prior art for
orientating the stand up elements on a brush.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 2,083,217 issued Jun. 8, 1937 to E. I.
Brothers, et al. discloses two or three circular brush sections
which are arranged within cups 5 and 5' that may be screwed into
mating receptacles in the tooth brush handle so that they can be
removed and replaced as needed (page 2, lines 52 70). Each brush
section contains stiff cleaning elements and is spaced from the
other along the longitudinal axis of the handle at a distance less
than the thickness of a tooth so that the brush operates on both
the lingual (inside) and facial (outside) surfaces of the teeth
(page 2, column 1, line 71 to column 2, line 9).
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,951 describes a toothbrush with a head
containing a flexible, rubber-like prophylaxis polishing cup or
"prophy cup" similar to that used by dental personnel to
professionally clean teeth. This prophy cup is loaded with
toothpaste by the user and applied to the teeth. According to this
patent, the "soft rubber-like prophy cup device follows the
contours of teeth more effectively than bristles." This patent also
discloses a ring of cleaning elements ("bristle tufts") placed
about the periphery of the toothbrush head which co-act with the
prophy cups to clean the user's teeth and gums.
SUMMARY
[0006] In one aspect, a brush is disclosed, the brush including a
handle and a head attached to the handle. The head has an upper
surface and at least one protuberance positioned on the upper
surface of the head. A plurality of bristle elements extend from
the upper surface of the head and are positioned around the
protuberance such that bristle elements positioned closest to the
protuberance define a cup-shaped clearance space around the
protuberance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the first
embodiment of the brush device in accordance with the present
invention;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment of the brush device
shown in FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the second
embodiment of the brush device in accordance with the present
invention;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a top view of the embodiment of the brush device
shown in FIG. 3;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the third
embodiment of the brush device in accordance with the present
invention;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a top view of the embodiment of the brush device
shown in FIG. 5;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a side cross-sectional view of an alternative
embodiment of the brush device in accordance with the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 8 is a top view of the embodiment of the brush device
shown in FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the
invention, a brush device 1 is provided with a head 2 and a handle
3. Although, this embodiment is illustrated using a toothbrush, it
should be understood by a person skilled in the art that the
invention, as claimed, may be applied to any type of brushes or
similar devices having stand up bristle elements, for example,
paint brushes, shaving brushes, etc.
[0016] As shown in FIGS. 1-2, head 2 includes at least one
protuberance 6 formed on its upper surface 8. The remainder of the
upper surface 8 is preferably flat. Although protuberance 6 is
shown as having an oval shape, any other shape, for example,
circular, semi-circular, diamond, figure-eight, rectangular,
triangular or any other, may be used. A plurality of stand up
bristle elements 10 is attached to the upper surface 8 surrounding
the protuberance 6 such that bristle elements 10 closest to the
protuberance form a cup-shaped structure 11 around the
protuberance. Further, bristle elements 10 closest to protuberance
6 are preferably more densely allocated on the upper surface 8 than
the bristle elements positioned on the remainder of the upper
surface.
[0017] The height H of the protuberance 6 is preferably selected
such that the top surface 12 of the protuberance is raised above
the upper surface 8 of the brush device but is positioned below an
upper plane 14 of the cup-shaped structure 11 of the bristle
elements closest to the protuberance. Top surface 12 preferably has
a convex shape. However, the top surface may be formed flat.
Although the first preferred embodiment is described as having only
one protuberance 6 with a single cup-shaped structure 11 formed
around the protuberance, multiple protuberances/cup-shaped
structures may be formed on the upper surface 8 of the brush
head.
[0018] An alternative embodiment of the brush device is shown in
FIGS. 7 and 8 showing a shaving cream brush, where like elements
are designated with the same numerals as in FIGS. 1-6.
[0019] Bristle elements 10 may be positioned perpendicularly to the
upper surface 8 of the brush or may be inclined at an angle with
respect to this upper surface. A combination of both perpendicular
and inclined bristle elements is also possible. Further, in the
preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, all bristle elements 10 have
the same height. However, the height of the bristle elements may be
different. For example, in one preferred embodiment, the height of
the bristle elements increases outwardly from the bristle elements
forming the cup-shaped structure 11 toward outer bounds of the
upper surface 8 of the head. Accordingly, top surfaces of the
bristle elements 10, in this embodiment, form a concave surface. An
embodiment where a portion of the bristle elements have a gradually
increasing height and a portion has the same height is also
possible.
[0020] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in another embodiment, handle 3
is formed with an interior hollow space 20 which is preferably
filled up with the substance 21 to be applied by the brush. At
least one vertical channel 22 is formed in the protuberance 6
opening at the top surface 12. Vertical channel 22 is preferably
perpendicular to the upper surface 8. Hollow space 20 is connected
to the vertical channel 22 via a plurality of connecting channels
24. Connecting channels 24 preferably include a horizontal channel
18, positioned in proximity to the bottom surface 16 of the head
and formed in parallel to the upper surface 8, and an elbow-shaped
channel 28. The elbow-shaped channel connects the hollow space 20
to the horizontal channel 18, which is in turn connected to the
vertical channel 22. This multi-channel construction allows the
substance 21 to flow smoothly from the hollow space 20 onto the top
surface 12 of the protuberance 6 through the vertical channel
22.
[0021] A plunging mechanism 26 is provided within the hollow space
20 to push the substance 21 from the hollow space 20 into the
connecting channels 24, then into the vertical channel 22 and then
onto the top surface 12 of the protrusion 6. Plunging mechanism 26
may be realized as any known plunging structure. For example, a
conventionally known bolt or pump mechanism may be utilized.
Further, plunging mechanism may be actuated mechanically, for
example using a turning wheel 32 located at the distal end of the
handle, or electrically, as conventionally known.
[0022] An alternative embodiment of the connection between the
hollow space 20 and the vertical space 18 is shown in FIGS. 5 and
6. In this embodiment, a straight horizontal channel 34 connects
the hollow space 20 directly to the vertical channel 18. An
accumulation space 36 is provided below the intersection of the
straight horizontal channel 34 with the vertical channel 18.
Accumulation space 36 has an outside opening 38 covered entirely
with a deformable push button 40. As plunging mechanism 26 pushes
substance 21 from the hollow space 20 into the straight horizontal
channel 34 and into the vertical channel 18, the accumulation space
36 fills up with the substance 21, creating a substance reserve. If
necessary, this reserve may be utilized by depressing the push
button such that the push button deforms inside the accumulation
space 36 forcing the substance 21 from the accumulation space into
the vertical channel 18.
[0023] In use, when substance 21 is accommodated within the
cup-shaped structure 11, and the user begins the application
process, the cup-shaped structure prevents the substance 21 from
excessively spilling over the top of the bristle elements (thus
wasting the applied substance), and the convex shape of the
protrusion 6 enables an even distribution of the substance to all
bristle elements.
[0024] While there have been shown and described and pointed out
fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to preferred
embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions
and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the
devices and methods illustrated, and in their operation, may be
made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit
of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all
combinations of those elements, which perform substantially the
same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same
results are within the scope of the invention. It is the intention,
therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the
claims appended hereto.
* * * * *