BRUSH CAPABLE OF FACILITATING REMOVAL OF TANGLED HAIR STRANDS FROM BRISTLES THEREOF
A brush includes a brush body and a plurality of bristles. The brush body includes an upper wall, and a lower wall that is aligned with the upper wall along a transverse direction, and that is movable relative to the upper wall between upper and lower positions. The upper wall has a bristle-mounting surface. The lower wall is formed with a plurality of bristle-extension apertures, and has a plurality of pairs of inclined surfaces. Each of the pairs of inclined surfaces extends from a corresponding one of the bristle-extension apertures toward the upper wall and defines a space that diverges from the corresponding one of the bristle-extension apertures. The bristles are mounted on the bristle-mounting surface of the upper wall, and extend between the pairs of inclined surfaces and through the bristle-extension apertures when the lower wall is disposed at the upper position.
Latest Patents:
This application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/199,834, entitled “BRUSH PROVIDED WITH RETRACTABLE BRISTLES TO FACILITATE REMOVAL OF TANGLED HAIR STRANDS”, filed on Aug. 9, 2005, and abandoned as of the filing date of this application, the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a brush, more particularly to a brush that can facilitate removal of tangled hair strands from bristles thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in
However, since hair strands of an animal (such as a cat or a dog) are often badly angled, and since the bristles 131 are made from a plastic material and have large diameters, the hairbrush 1 cannot effectively disentangle the hair strands of such an animal.
As shown in
However, since the bristles 94 are thin and tapered, if tips of the bristles 94 are exposed from the moving member 92 when the control member 93 is operated such that the bristles 94 are disposed in the space between the brush body 91 and the moving member 92, it is easy for the user to get scratched or pricked when cleaning hair strands off the moving member 92.
However, under the case where the bristles 94 are designed to be completely hidden in the space between the brush body 91 and the moving member 92 upon operation of the control member 93, smooth and successful movement of the bristles 94 through the apertures 921 is easily jeopardized if the bristles 94 are deformed. Therefore, operation of the hairbrush 9 is not safe and smooth, and therefore the hairbrush 9 is not practical.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONTherefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a brush that facilitates removal of tangled hair strands, and that can be operated safely and smoothly.
According to the present invention, there is provided a brush that includes a brush body and a plurality of bristles. The brush body includes an upper wall, and a lower wall that is aligned with the upper wall along a transverse direction, and that is movable relative to the upper wall between upper and lower positions. The upper wall has a bristle-mounting surface. The lower wall is formed with a plurality of bristle-extension apertures, and has a plurality of pairs of inclined surfaces. Each of the pairs of inclined surfaces extends from a corresponding one of the bristle-extension apertures toward the upper wall and defines a space that diverges from the corresponding one of the bristle-extension apertures. The bristles are mounted on the bristle-mounting surface of the upper wall, and extend between the pairs of inclined surfaces and through the bristle-extension apertures when the lower wall is disposed at the upper position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSOther features and advantages of the present invention will be come apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:
FIG.1 is a sectional view of a hairbrush disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,554, illustrating a combing state of the hairbrush;
FIG.2 is a sectional view similar to
FIG.3 is a schematic view of a hairbrush disclosed in U.S. Pat. Application Publication No. 2006/0207623;
FIG.5 is an assembled perspective view of the preferred embodiment;
FIG.6 is an assembled sectional view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating a normal combing state of the brush; and
FIG.7 is an assembled sectional view of the preferred embodiment, illustrating a state where bristles of the brush are hidden.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIG.4 and
The brush body 2 includes an upper wall 21 and a lower wall 22. The lower wall 22 is aligned with the upper wall 21 along a transverse direction (X), and is movable relative to the upper wall 21 between an upper position (as shown in
In this embodiment, the bristle-extension apertures 223 are in the form of parallel elongated slots. The inclined surfaces 224 in each of the pairs of inclined surfaces 224 are respectively disposed at opposite sides of the corresponding one of the bristle-extension apertures 223. The brush body 2 further includes two guiding plates 23 extending from the inner surface 221 of the lower wall 22 through the guiding slots 215 in the upper wall 21, respectively.
The handgrip 3 is connected to the grip-mounting surface 211 of the upper wall 21 to serve as a medium for the user to grasp.
The bristle unit 4 includes a plurality of bristles 41 that are mounted on and that are arranged in rows on the bristle-mounting surface 212 of the upper wall 21 corresponding to the bristle-extension apertures 223 in the lower wall 22.
The operating member 5 is disposed above the upper wall 21, and is connected to the lower wall 22. The operating member 5 includes a press plate 50 that is connected to the guiding plates 23 and that abuts against the biasing member 6. In this embodiment, the guiding plate 50 has a bottom surface 51 that is formed with an annular protrusion 52, and includes two hooks 53. The annular protrusion 52 is aligned with the recess 214 in the base 213, while the hooks 53 are connected respectively to the guiding plates 23 in a snap engaging manner so as to be co-movable with the lower wall 22 relative to the upper wall 21 in the transverse direction (X).
The biasing member 6 is disposed between the operating member 5 and the upper wall 21, and extends along the transverse direction (X). In this embodiment, the biasing member 6 extends into the recess 214 in the base 213 on the upper wall 21 and into the annular protrusion 52, and has a lower end 61 that is sleeved on the stud 216 in the recess 214.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in FIG.6 and
In sum, the brush according to the present invention has the following advantages and effects:
By disposing the lower wall 22 at the lower position (as shown in
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Claims
1. A brush comprising:
- a brush body including an upper wall, and a lower wall that is aligned with said upper wall along a transverse direction, and that is movable relative to said upper wall between upper and lower positions, said upper wall having a bristle-mounting surface, said lower wall being formed with a plurality of bristle-extension apertures, and having a plurality of pairs of inclined surfaces, each of said pairs of inclined surfaces extending from a corresponding one of said bristle-extension apertures toward said upper wall and defining a space that diverges from the corresponding one of said bristle-extension apertures; and
- a plurality of bristles that are mounted on said bristle-mounting surface of said upper wall, and that extend between said pairs of inclined surfaces and through said bristle-extension apertures when said lower wall is disposed at the upper position.
2. The brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bristle-extension apertures are in the form of parallel elongated slots, said inclined surfaces in each of said pairs of inclined surfaces are respectively disposed at opposite sides of the corresponding one of said bristle-extension apertures, and said bristles are arranged in rows that correspond to said elongated slots.
3. The brush as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
- an operating member disposed above said upper wall, and connected to said lower wall; and
- a biasing member disposed between said operating member and said upper wall, and extending along the transverse direction, said biasing member biasing said operating member to pull said lower wall to the upper position, where said lower wall contacts said upper wall;
- wherein said operating member overcomes biasing force provided by said biasing member when pressed downwardly in the transverse direction so as to move said lower wall from the upper position to the lower position, such that said bristles are hidden in a gap formed between said upper and lower walls.
4. The brush as claimed in claim 3, wherein said upper wall of said brush body is formed with two guiding slots, said brush body further including two guiding plates that extend from said lower wall through said guiding slots respectively, said operating member including a press plate that is connected to said guiding plates and that abuts against said biasing member.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 3, 2007
Publication Date: Jul 26, 2007
Applicant: (Chang-Hua City)
Inventor: Huo-Pia Wang (Chang-Hua City)
Application Number: 11/695,849
International Classification: A46B 5/00 (20060101);