The present invention relates to a bristle holder and a brush having such a bristle holder. The brushes described are particularly suitable as hair brushes.
Conventional brushes comprise a handle part, which is usually formed from one piece and leads to a shaft part or other bristle holding part, and in which the bristles are anchored. In such brushes, there are generally few problems when connecting bristle holder and handle part with one another.
The service life of the brush is typically determined by its bristles and their condition. Thus, when the bristles no longer have the desired condition, it is necessary to replace the entire brush.
US patent 2005051187A discloses a brush having a replaceable bristle set. The bristle set is held in place in the brush by a frame. While this may guarantee the bristle set to be situated securely, it is necessary to handle three parts when replacing parts.
British patent GB 330,573 discloses an elaborate brush having a replaceable bristle set. The bristle set is held in place at the edges. Because significant forces are at work during brushing, particularly when brushing long hair, it is possible that this mounting is not stable enough to securely hold the bristle set.
German published patent application DE 26 51 730 discloses a hot air device having a replaceable brush insert. The insert is shaped like a calotte of elastic material, for example, rubber. The calotte can be connected to the hot air part by means of rubber studs. In the eyes of many consumers, this solution does not appear to securely connect both parts to form one unit.
Potential manufacturing defects or ridges on the replaceable rubber part, most often in a cheaply produced “disposable” part, remain visible.
It is especially those brushes having an additional use, for example in the form of hot air or also an ion source, that are generally expensive. It is therefore desirable to be able to switch the bristle part, but to continue using the rest of the brush. Even after switching parts, the bristles are to remain firmly held in the brush. Differences in the parts, potentially caused by manufacturing tolerances, should therefore also not play a significant role.
The present invention aims to avoid the disadvantages described in the prior art. To that end, a bristle holder and a brush are to be provided, which can be connected with one another in a stable manner and which can nonetheless be easily switched. When connected, both parts are to form an aesthetically pleasing whole.
The present invention relates to a brush and a bristle holder. The invention relates in particular to a bristle holder for a brush, the bristle holder having a frame, a bristle anchoring means, and a back part, the back part having a first end area adjacent to the handle part of a connectable brush and a second end area adjacent to the brush end, the first end area supporting at least one first connecting element and the second end area supporting at least one positioning element and at least one holding element. The invention furthermore relates to a brush with and for a bristle holder of the described type.
A bristle holder according to the invention thus comprises in particular a bristle anchoring means, a back part, and a frame. The back part, for example, can be an essentially flat plate. Towards the bristles, a circumferential frame can project at this back part. A bristle anchoring means can be clamped into this frame. A suitable bristle anchoring means, for example, consists of a bristle supporting mat. The bristle anchoring means supports bristles. Individual bristles can be embedded through holes into a bristle supporting mat, for example, and the bristles can be fixed on the back of the supporting mat by means of suitable thickened parts or by other means. The back part of the bristle holder has two end areas. When the bristle holder is connected with the brush, the first end area is adjacent to the handle part of the brush, and the second end area is adjacent to the brush end. The end areas can encompass a significant part of the back part and, in individual cases, can even extend as far as the middle of the back part. However, the end areas are preferably limited to smaller areas of the back part, approximately the outer third in each case.
According to the invention, the first end area should support at least one connecting element. All suitable elements can be considered as connecting elements, in particular mechanical elements, which offer a connection that can be detached and reattached repeatedly. Suitable are, for example, mechanical elements, which are able to engage a male or female connecting element with a corresponding female or male connecting element. Suitable are, for example, hooks, which engage an undercut.
According to the invention, the second end area has at least one positioning element and at least one holding element. A positioning element is understood to be an element, which limits the position of the bristle holder relative to the brush in at least one dimension. The position of the bristle holder should in particular be arranged to be horizontal, in line with the plane of the back part. All suitable mechanical elements can be considered here as well, in particular also those providing a male element or a female element for engaging with a corresponding female or male element. A suitable positioning element, for example, is a spur, which can engage a recess and whose position is thereby determined.
The second end area further supports at least one holding element. These holding elements can also be selected from a plurality of elements, in particular mechanical elements. The holding element is to hold the bristle holder to the brush in a predetermined position, for example, in cooperation with a suitable receiving means. A suitable holding element, for example, is a clip or a snap-in hook. Contrary to the positioning elements, the holding element only determines the position of the bristle holder relative to the brush to a limited degree. In particular, a typical holding element in the plane of the back part can ensure some play for the bristle holder. However, the holding element will prevent the separation of bristle holder and brush.
The back part of the embodiment of the invention, which is described in more detail in Claim 2, has four areas. These four areas divide the back part into four longitudinal sections of equal length. In this, the first area is adjacent to the handle part, the second area borders thereto, the third area borders the second area, and the fourth area borders the third area and is adjacent to the brush end. Of these areas, the first area should support at least two connecting elements. The third area should support at least one positioning element and the fourth area at least one holding element. The areas can be free of other elements, the second area in particular can be entirely free of connecting, holding, or positioning elements. It has been shown that this arrangement makes switching the bristle holder especially easy, while it simultaneously assures a strong connection between bristle holder and brush.
In the appropriate arrangement according to Claim 3, the first area supports two connecting to elements. The third area supports two positioning elements and the fourth area one holding element. This arrangement is again especially favorable for guiding the bristle holder in a stable manner and removing it easily. This arrangement is furthermore also especially favorable for the method of inserting a bristle holder into a brush as described in Claim 15.
Similar advantages can be achieved in a favorable manner according to the embodiment of the bristle holder described in Claim 4. At least relative to its back part, the bristle holder has a longitudinal axis, in relation to which it or at least the back part is symmetrical. The first connecting element or the two or more first connecting elements can be positioned symmetrically in relation to this longitudinal axis; likewise the holding element. If only one connecting element and one holding element are used, they are centered on the longitudinal axis. Duplicate elements, typically the positioning elements, are symmetrically arranged to the left and right of the longitudinal axis.
According to the embodiment described in Claim 5, the first connecting element(s) is (are) designed as a hook (hooks). Particularly suitable are rigid, non-elastic hooks.
As described in Claim 6, arcuate or even circular arcuate hooks are especially favorable. During use, the hook shape can anticipate the typical directional movement of the bristle holder relative to the brush.
The brush itself is also an important part of the invention. Particularly inventive is a brush having a bristle holder of the type described thus far. The brush should be designed for the bristle holder. Advantageously, the brush has a handle part and a connecting surface for a bristle holder that is connected with the handle part. In this, the connecting surface need not be flat, but can also have projections or recesses as well as a number of connecting, positioning, and holding elements or receiving means. Particularly at its edges, the connecting surface can bulge or have a protruding frame.
According to the embodiment of Claim 9, the connecting surface has at least one second connecting element, which is designed to receive at least one connecting element. Thus, it is in particular also possible to design the one second connecting element such that it is suitable for receiving two first connecting elements.
According to this embodiment, the connecting surface furthermore has at least one recess for receiving the positioning element(s). The number of recesses should generally correspond to the number of positioning elements; much as the shape of the recesses should be designed such that the positioning elements are received or at least guided in an essentially form-fitting manner. The connecting surface can furthermore have a receiving element for the holding element.
According to the embodiment described in Claim 10, the second connecting element is designed as a depression having a projection. Such a projection can be an undercut, and the two first connecting elements can engage with this projection or undercut, for example, when they are designed as hooks.
In one favorable embodiment, the second connecting element has a center guiding means for first connecting elements. A protruding stud can be considered, for example. A first connecting element can then be guided on one side of the stud and another connecting element on the other side of the stud. This leads to the bristle holder being securely guided into its final position when making the connection with the brush.
Useful connecting elements, i.e., first and correspondingly matching second connecting elements, will protect the bristle holder against both vertical extraction from the brush as well as horizontal shifting in the plane of the back part. By contrast, the holding element will often allow some play for the bristle holder in the plane of the back part—however, only when considered in isolation. In general, this play is entirely suppressed by the positioning element and corresponding recesses of both the first and second connecting elements.
An ejecting element is also useful. As described in Claim 12, this ejecting element can be encompassed by the connecting surface of the brush. The ejecting element can comprise a leaf spring, for example. Opposite the leaf spring, a spur can be affixed to the back part of the bristle holder. This spur can then push against the leaf spring. The brush can furthermore comprise an eject button, which acts upon the holding element or the receiving element for the holding element. For example, such a triggering button can be provided in the end area of the brush, which moves the receiving element for the holding element and thus releases the holding element. By means of the spur that is resiliently pretensioned against the ejecting element, the to bristle holder is then moved away from the connecting surface. The positioning elements easily release the bristle holder vertical to the connecting surface. This construction thus facilitates convenient ejecting of the bristle part.
One embodiment of the invention also takes into consideration that an electric connection can be established between a leaf spring or another element of the ejecting element and the corresponding spur. Such a connection can be used, for example, for grounding the bristle field if a contact is established between the spur and the bristle field or a part of the bristle holder adjacent to the bristle field. Such grounding can be of interest if the brush comprises an ion source.
Advantageous is also a brush in which the connecting surface has and is typically surrounded by a frame, which encompasses the frame of the bristle holder. Because it is a replacement part, the bristle holder is often not manufactured quite as costly as the handle part of the brush itself. Therefore, it is for instance possible that the edge of the bristle holder shows irregularities at its back part or particularly at its frame. In plastic parts, these may be ridges, for example. Such irregularity can be completely covered by surrounding the sides of the bristle part with an outer circumferential frame.
A method for using a bristle holder in a brush is also disclosed according to the invention. In such a method, the first end area of the bristle holder should be initially supported at one area of the connecting surface adjacent to the handle part. By means of this first support, the bristle holder can be guided especially easily and precisely. Then, an at least partial connection between the at least one first connecting element and the at least one second connecting element is initially created. Such an at least partial connection can be established, for example, between hooks that are encompassed by the first connecting element and a center guiding means that is provided by the second connecting element. In a further method step, the at least one positioning element is then positioned relative to its receiving means in the at least one recess. Later, an additional connection can be established between the holding element and its receiving means. It has been shown that this method makes a very simple but nonetheless precise connection between bristle holder and brush possible.
The figures, described in more detail below, provide better understanding of the invention. Insofar as it is technically feasible, features disclosed in the different figures can also be combined with one another.
The specification shows how an easy to create an easy to release connection between bristle holder and brush can be created overall. This connection is not susceptible to manufacturing tolerances, but does withstand the considerable forces working on the bristle field and the brush during brushing.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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09004948.7 | Apr 2009 | EP | regional |
This application is a continuation of prior co-pending International Application No. PCT/IB2010/051446 filed Apr. 1, 2010, designating the United States.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/IB2010/051446 | Apr 2010 | US |
Child | 13177673 | US |