Hairbrush having a brush seat provided with slidable bristles thereto

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6279582
  • Patent Number
    6,279,582
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, December 30, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, August 28, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Manahan; Todd E.
    Agents
    • Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
Abstract
A hairbrush includes a handle body formed with a hollow brush seat on one end. The brush seat has a bottom wall, and defines a bristle accommodating space above the bottom wall. The bottom wall is formed with a row of bristle holes therethrough. A flexible bristle retention member is disposed on the bottom wall inside the bristle accommodating space. Each of a plurality of bristles has a head portion connected to the bristle retention member, a middle portion that passes slidably through a respective one of the bristle holes, and a tip portion disposed outwardly of the bristle accommodating space.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates to a hairbrush, more particularly to a hairbrush which has a brush seat provided with a plurality of slidable bristles thereto.




BACKROUND OF THE INVENTION




Referring to

FIGS. 1 and 2

, a conventional hairbrush


10


is shown to include a handle body


13


with a brush seat


11


at one end thereof, and a plurality of bristles


12


.




As illustrated, the brush seat


11


is formed with a bottom portion llB. Each of the bristles


12


has a connecting portion


12


C connected securely to the bottom portion


11


B of the brush seat


11


, and a combing portion


12


B extending away from the bottom portion


11


B.




A drawback of the aforesaid conventional hairbrush arises when combing hair. Because the length of the bristles


12


is fixed, the bristles


12


that are located on two lateral sides of the hairbrush


10


can not fully reach the scalp


14


such that the user will have a feeling that his/her hair is not thoroughly brushed.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The object of this invention is to provide a hairbrush which is clear of the aforesaid drawback that generally results from the use of the conventional hairbrush.




Accordingly, the hairbrush of the present invention includes a handle body, a flexible bristle retention member, and a plurality of bristles. The handle body is formed with a hollow brush seat on one end. The brush seat has a bottom wall, and defines a bristle accommodating space above the bottom wall. The bottom wall is formed with a row of bristle holes therethrough. The bristle retention member is disposed on the bottom wall inside the bristle accommodating space. Each of the bristles has a head portion connected to the bristle retention member, a middle portion that passes slidably through a respective one of the bristle holes, and a tip portion disposed outwardly of the bristle accommodating space.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Other features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a conventional hairbrush;





FIG. 2

is a schematic view illustrating the conventional hairbrush in a state of use;





FIG. 3

is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a hairbrush of the present invention;





FIG. 4

is an exploded perspective view of the first preferred embodiment;





FIG. 5

is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment;




FIGS.


6


(A) and


6


(B) are sectional views of the first preferred embodiment in first and second conditions of use;





FIG. 7

is a sectional view of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention when in use; and





FIG. 8

is a sectional view of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention when in use.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring to

FIGS. 3

,


4


and


5


, the first preferred embodiment of a hairbrush


20


of the present invention is shown to include a handle body


24


, a bristle retention member


30


, and a plurality of bristles


40


.




As illustrated, the handle body


24


is formed with a hollow brush seat


21


on one end. The brush seat


21


has a bottom wall (


21


B), and defines a bristle accommodating space (


21


S) above the bottom wall (


21


B). The bottom wall (


21


B) is formed with a row of bristle holes


22


therethrough.




The bristle retention member


30


is formed as an elongated flexible thin plate. The retention member


30


is disposed on the bottom wall (


21


B) inside the bristle accommodating space (


21


S).




Each of the bristles


40


has a head portion


41


connected to the bristle retention member


30


, a middle portion


44


that passes slidably through a respective one of the bristle holes


22


, and a tip portion


43


disposed outwardly of the bristle accommodating space (


21


S).




The bristle retention member


30


is formed with a longitudinal slit


31


, and a plurality of bristle retaining holes (


32


) disposed along the slit


31


and aligned respectively with the bristle holes


22


in the bottom wall (


21


B) Each of the bristle retaining holes


32


has a hole-confining periphery. The head portion


41


of each of the bristles


40


is formed with a retaining groove


42


for engaging the bristle retention member


30


at the hole-confining periphery of a respective one of the bristle retaining holes


32


.




The brush seat


21


further has a looped surrounding wall (


21


W) (see

FIG. 4

) that extends upwardly from a periphery of the bottom wall (


21


B) so as to confine the bristle accommodating space (


21


S) therewith, and a top cover


23


mounted on an upper end of the surrounding wall (


21


W) opposite to the bottom wall (


21


B) via known high frequency sealing techniques so as to close the bristle accommodating space (


21


S).




A biasing unit


50


is disposed in the bristle accommodating space (


21


S) for biasing the bristles


40


to extend outwardly of the bristle accommodating space (


21


S). The biasing unit


50


includes a curved leaf spring having a convex intermediate portion


501


that abuts against the top cover


23


, and two distal end portions


502


that press the bristle retention member


30


against the bottom wall (


21


B). Alternatively, in another preferred embodiment, the biasing unit can be a resilient block


60


(see FIG.


7


), such as rubber, which has an upper portion


601


that abuts against the top cover


23


, and a lower portion


602


that presses the bristle retention member


30


against the bottom wall (


21


B). The resilient block


60


can also be made from a sponge material.




In a further preferred embodiment, the biasing unit can be a plurality of coiled springs


70


(see FIG.


8


), each of which has an upper end that abuts against the top cover


23


, and a lower end that presses the bristle retention member


30


against the bottom wall


21


S.




As best illustrated in FIGS.


6


(A),


6


(B),


7


and


8


, since the bristles


40


are slidable relative to the bottom wall


21


B of the brush seat


21


, and since the bristle retention member


30


is flexible, the tip portions


43


of the bristles


40


can conform with the outline of the scalp so that hair can be thoroughly brushed.




With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A hairbrush comprising:a handle body formed with a hollow brush seat on one end, said brush seat having a bottom wall and defining a bristle accommodating space above said bottom wall, said bottom wall being formed with a row of bristle holes therethrough; a flexible bristle retention member disposed on said bottom wall inside said bristle accommodating space; and a plurality of bristles, each of which has a head portion connected to said bristle retention member, a middle portion passing slidably through a respective one of said bristle holes, and a tip portion disposed outwardly of said bristle accommodating space, wherein said bristle retention member is formed as a flexible plate having a longitudinal slit, and a plurality of bristle retaining holes are disposed along said slit and aligned respectively with said bristle holes of said bottom wall.
  • 2. The hairbrush as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said bristle retaining holes has a hole-confining periphery, and said head portion of each of said bristles is formed with a retaining groove for engaging said bristle retention member at said hole-confining periphery of a respective one of said bristle retaining holes.
  • 3. A hairbrush comprising:a handle body formed with a hollow brush seat on one end, said brush seat having a bottom wall and defining a bristle accommodating space above said bottom wall, said bottom wall being formed with a row of bristle holes therethrough; a flexible bristle retention member disposed on said bottom wall inside said bristle accommodating space; and a plurality of bristles, each of which has a head portion connected to said bristle retention member, a middle portion passing slidably through a respective one of said bristle holes, and a tip portion disposed outwardly of said bristle accommodating space, wherein said brush seat further has a looped surrounding wall that extends upwardly from a periphery of said bottom walls so as to confine said bristle accommodating space therewith, and a top cover mounted on an upper end of said surrounding wall opposite to said bottom wall to close said bristle accommodating space, said hairbrush further comprising a biasing unit disposed in said bristle accommodating space for biasing said bristles to extend outwardly of said bristle accommodating space, wherein said biasing unit includes a curved leaf spring having a convex intermediate portion that abuts against said top cover, and two distal end portions that pressaid bristle retention member against said bottom wall.
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Number Name Date Kind
212844 Freeman Mar 1879
1322268 St. Clair Nov 1919
1702197 Cosby Feb 1929
2110323 Carns et al. Mar 1938
2138872 Marogg Dec 1938
2221446 Evans Nov 1940
2401143 Dorkin May 1946
2482928 Neff et al. Sep 1949
3651532 Wettburg Mar 1972
3855689 Schiffman Dec 1974
4936259 Owen et al. Jun 1990