Self-cleanable Hair Brush

Abstract

A self-cleanable hair brush comprising a main body portion having a handle at one end, a back normally disposed in contact with one side of said main body portion, tufts of bristles secured to said back and extending through openings in said body portion, a plurality of pins rigidly secured to said body portion and normally extending through apertures provided in said back, and a U-shaped clip member pivotally secured to each pair of pins, said clip members in normal operative position of the brush being secured to the upper side of said brush, and said clip members being pivotable to a position in which the legs of the U are in alignment with said pins whereby said back and said body member may be moved away from each other to a brush cleaning position in which the crossmembers of the U-shaped clip members constitute abutments limiting movement so that the back does not become disengaged from the tufts of bristles.

Description

The present invention relates to an easily cleanable hair brush which incorporates means for cleaning the hair brush when it becomes clogged or matted with hairs and other debris.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved hair brush which incorporates means whereby hair, dandruff etc., which collects on the bristle tufts can be quickly and easily moved in essentially one manipulative operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-cleanable hair brush having an improved structure for both normally locking the relatively movable parts together in the normal operative position of the hair brush and also serving as means for limiting the relative movement between said parts to prevent the cleaning member from being moved beyond the ends of the tufts whereby the tufts would become disengaged therefrom.

A presently preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a main body portion having a curved handle at one end, a back with bristles embedded therein, holes in the body portion through which the bristles project, upstanding pins rigidly secured to the body portion, holes in the back through which the pins extend during normal use of the brush, said back being movable to and away from said body portion, abutment means comprising at least one U-shaped member pivotally secured to a pair of said pins to limit the extent of movement of said back relative to said body member, said U-shaped member in the operative position of the brush being pivoted to a position against the surface of said back, and locking means to lock said U-shaped member against said back.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a hair brush of the invention shown in its normal operating position with the bristles extending upwardly.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view partly in section showing the hair brush of FIG. 1 in the cleaning position, with the hair brush rotated 180.degree. from the FIG. 1 position so that the bristles extend downwardly.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the hair brush in the cleaning position as shown in FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. 1, the hair brush of the invention comprises a main body portion 10 having a plurality of holes 12 through which tufts of bristles 14 extend. A curved handle 16 constitutes an integral extension of the body portion 10.

Tufts of bristles 14 are secured in holes in a back 18. As seen in FIG. 1, the back 18 is normally disposed against the adjacent side of the body portion 10 when the brush members are in their normal operating position.

Two pairs of pins 20 are rigidly fastened to body portion 10 and project therefrom perpendicular to the surface of body portion 10. It will be noted that the brush increases in width from the handle side to the left hand side of the brush as seen in FIG. 2. The left-hand pair of pins 20 are spaced a greater distance from each other than the right-hand pair of pins 20 in the presently preferred embodiment.

The back 18 has four holes 22 aligned with the pins 20 and slightly larger than the outside diameter of pins 20 so that when the back 18 abuts against body member 10 in the operative position of the brush, pins 20 extend through the holes 22. Smaller and larger U-shaped clip members 24 and 26 are pivotally connected to the right-hand and left-hand pair of pins 20, respectively, by pivot pins 28.

As clearly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the U-shaped members 24 and 26 in the operating position of the brush are pivoted downwardly and abut against the adjacent surface of the back 18. In this position, locking element 30 comprising pins having enlarged heads which are secured to the underside of the crossmembers of the U-shaped members 24 and 26 are received in resilient locking engagement within complimentary shaped recesses 32 in the surface of back 18. When the locking elements 30 are in this position, back 18 is maintained in contact against the adjacent surface of body portion 10 without any movement or play between the elements.

Whenever it is desired to clean the brush, the U-shaped members 24 and 26 are pulled away from the back 18 to remove locking elements 30 from their recesses 32. The U-shaped members 24 and 26 may then pivot around pins 28 to positions in which the legs 34 of the U-shaped members are substantially aligned with pins 20. At this time, back 18 may be moved relative to body member 10 with the legs 34 entering into the holes 22 in the back 18 as best seen in FIG. 3. The relative movement between body portion 10 and back 18 continues until back 18 abuts against the crossmembers of the U-shaped members 24 and 26 which constitute abutment members which prevent the relative movement from causing the bristles 14 from being entirely withdrawn through the holes 12 in body portion 10. Preferably, the extent of the relative movement is such that the free ends of bristles 14 are just drawn to or slightly into the holes 12 in body portion 10. It will of course be appreciated that this is achieved by suitably coordinating the length of pins 20 and the legs 34 of the U-shaped members with the length of the bristles. In this fashion, hair and other debris which is accumulated on and between the bristles 14 is moved along the bristles to their free edges by the relative movement between back 18 and the body portion 10, and either falls off the brush or accumulates on the upper surface of body portion 10 from which it is readily discarded. With the brush in the position illustrated in FIG. 3, the brush may now be wiped clean with tissue or with running water etc., if necessary. Body portion 10 is made sufficiently thick so that there is sufficient leeway to insure that the bristles 14 do not pass completely through the holes 12.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be appreciated that various changes and modifications may readily suggest themselves to those of ordinary skill in the art upon being apprised of the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A self-cleanable hair brush comprising a main body portion having a handle at one end thereof, a back having bristles attached thereto, said bristles extending through holes provided in said body part, a plurality of pins rigidly secured to said body portion and extending from the surface of said body portion perpendicular thereto, said back having holes extending therethrough slightly larger than the outer diameter of said pins to enable said pins to extend through said holes in the operative position of the brush, said back being movable to and away from said body portion, abutment means comprising at least one U-shaped member pivotally secured to a pair of said pins to limit the extent of movement of said back relative to said body member, said U-shaped member in the operative position of the brush being pivoted to a position against the surface of said back, and locking means to lock said U-shaped member against said back.

2. A self-cleanable hair brush according to claim 1, wherein there are four of said pins disposed in two pairs and one of said U-shaped members pivotally connected to each pair of pins, said abutment means comprising a cross member of each of said U-shaped members, and said locking means comprising locking pins rigidly connected to said cross members and in the operative position thereof being locked in recesses provided in the surface of said back.