Claims
- 1. A bristle sub-assembly comprising:
at least one row of bristles, the bristles having proximal ends and distal ends; and a coating disposed on at least the proximal end portions of the bristles, the coating having mechanical properties selected to stiffen the distal ends of the bristles.
- 2. A bristle sub-assembly according to claim 1, wherein the coating is made of an elastomeric resin.
- 3. A bristle sub-assembly according to claim 1, wherein the proximal ends of the bristles are connected to a support beam.
- 4. A bristle sub-assembly according to claim 1, wherein the coating covers at least a portion of the proximal end portions of the bristles.
- 5. A bristle sub-assembly according to claim 1, wherein the support beam is selected from the group consisting of a glue line, a base string, and a bond area consisting of melted bristle material.
- 6. A bristle sub-assembly according to claim 1, wherein the coating is made of a material selected to provide additional functionally selected from the group consisting of wear indication and therapeutic properties such as a batericide.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/575,817, filed May 22, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/455,308, filed Dec. 6, 1999 which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,868, on Mar. 5, 2002 and U.S. application Ser. No. 09/092,092, filed Jun. 5, 1998 which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,151, on Aug. 1, 2000.
[0002] This case is related to co-pending application Ser. No. 09/092,094, by Mark S. Edwards, et al., entitled “Monofilament Bristle Assemblies And Methods Of Making Brushes Using Same,” filed Jun. 5, 1998; and co-pending application Ser. No. 09/550,657, by Mark S. Edwards, et al., entitled “Method and Apparatus For Making Bristle Subassemblies, filed Apr. 17, 2000 (which was based on Provisional Application No. 60/130,883, filed Apr. 23, 1999.
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09575817 |
May 2000 |
US |
Child |
10358776 |
Feb 2003 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09455308 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
09575817 |
May 2000 |
US |
Parent |
09092092 |
Jun 1998 |
US |
Child |
09575817 |
May 2000 |
US |