Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6279582
-
Patent Number
6,279,582
-
Date Filed
Thursday, December 30, 199925 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, August 28, 200123 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
- Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 132 152
- 132 153
- 132 154
- 132 156
- 132 155
- 132 901
- 119 625
- 119 627
- 119 632
- 015 186
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International Classifications
-
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.
US Referenced Citations (11)