HAIR BRUSH WITH ATTACHED CLEANING FEATURE

Abstract: A hair brush (10) having a cleaning feature which can be releasably attached to the brush comprising a base section having a multiplicity of parallel bristles (16) extending from a bristle-holding surface (18) thereof, a cleaning plate (20) disposed on the bristle-holding surface and having holes (22) through which the parallel bristles extend, the cleaning plate containing a hand-operating mechanism (28) for releasably engaging said cleaning plate from the hair brush to remove the cleaning plate for cleaning purposes.

Description: HAIR BRUSH WITH ATTACHED CLEANING FEATURE The present invention relates to a hair brush ofthe type having a cleaning plate slidably movable along the bristles thereof for the purposes of removing hair therefrom characterized in that said cleaning plate contains a hand-operated engaging means for releasably engaging said cleaning plate from said brush. Hair brushes containing a cleaning feature for use on both humans and animals are known in the art. Such brushes are exemplified by the following U.S. Patent Nos. 1,050,103; 1,164,204; 1,290,554; 1,303,500; 2,529,927; 3,108,305; 3,110,053; and 4,517,703. Such prior art arrangements, however, are relatively complex and costly to manufacture. In addition, such arrangements significantly lack the important convenience of releasbly maintaining a slidably mounted cleaning member in an attached configuration to the brush, so that it remains intact and simultaneously provides for ease of use in the cleaning operation. Accordingly, it is an object ofthe present invention to provide an improved hair brush having a cleaning feature which can be attached and removed from the brush by a hand-operated engaging means, employing a relatively simple and reliable construction. In addition, it is a more specific object ofthe present invention to provide an improved hair brush having the aforementioned cleaning feature, further characterized in that the cleaning feature contains a finger-operated lift-off tab that makes it easy for the user to lift said cleaning feature on and off the brush. A hair brush having a cleaning feature which can be releasably attached to the brush comprising a base having a multiplicity of parallel bristles extending from a bristle-holding surface thereof, a cleaning plate disposed on said bristle-holding surface and having holes through which the parallel bristles extend, said cleaning plate containing a hand-operated means for releasably engaging said cleaning plate from said hair brush to remove said cleaning plate for cleaning purposes. FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a hair brush according to the present invention, depicting the rear ofthe brush. FIG. 2 is an exploded view ofthe cleaning plate depicting small holes for the brush bristles and the hand-operated attachment means. FIG. 3 is a side view ofthe cleaning plate of FIG. 2 showing a means for releasably engaging said cleaning plate from the brush. FIG. 4 shows a side view ofthe brush head indicating the preferred ridge section for releasable attachment of the cleaning plate. With reference to FIG. 1, the hairbrush is shown generally at 10, and contains base 12 and handle 14. A multitude of bristles 16 extend from the bristle holding surface 18, one end of each ofthe bristles 16 being embedded in base 12. With reference to Fig. 2, a cleaning plate 20 contains holes 22 through which bristles 16 can extend. It will be appreciated that when cleaning plate 20 is placed on top of bristles 16, the plate will travel down said bristles and rest generally at the base ofthe bristles proximate to the bristle holding surface 18. With reference to FIG. 2, a cross-section ofthe cleaning plate 20 is shown, revealing a means 24 for releasably engaging said cleaning plate to the hair brush. As illustrated, said engaging means 24 is preferably a rounded edge or any other type of geometry which will generally surround or contact the brush and remain in tension with the brush thereby releasably engaging the cleaning plate to the brush body. In this regard, shown at 26 on the lower edge ofthe engaging means 24, is a raised edge ofthe type which allows for the cleaning plate to clip onto the brush, and in this regard it will be appreciated that the brush body itself may optionally contain a modification to the surface or edge opposite the bristles to accommodate raised edge 26 so that the cleaning plate clips or attaches more efficiently to the brush body. In a particular preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 the edges ofthe brush body contain a ridge 30 which provides a site for releasable attachment ofthe cleaning plate. Furthermore, and again with specific reference to FIG. 3, shown at 28 is a substantially semi-circular protruding edge ofthe cleaning plate which provides a hand-operated mans for detaching said cleaning plate from the brush when the user desires to remove the cleaning plate and clean the brush. In the preferred example shown in FIG. 3, the hand-operated means 28 ofthe cleaning plate, when placed on the brush, provides a small slot or opemng for the user to insert the thumb whereupon the cleaning plate will be disengaged from the brush and easily removed for the cleaning operation. Finally, in an even more preferred embodiment, the holes 22 ofthe cleaning plate are cone shaped; i.e., they contain a larger opening on that side ofthe plate that contacts the brush head, as opposed to the other side which faces the bristles. In this regard, the cleaning plate can be more readily placed on and off of the bristles, in the cleaning procedure. Modifications ofthe invention herein described will occur to those skilled in the art and all such modifications are deemed to be within the spirit and scope ofthe invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A hair brush having a cleaning feature which can be releasably attached to the brush comprising a base section ( 12) having a multiplicity of parallel bristles ( 16) extending from a bristle-holding surface (18) thereof, a cleaning plate (20) with two sides, one side disposed on said bristle-holding surface and one side facing said bristles when in a first position and having holes (22) through which the parallel bristles extend, said cleaning plate containing a hand-operated means (28) for releasably engaging said cleaning plate from said base section for cleaning purposes, wherein the hand-operated means for releasably engaging said cleaning plate from said base section comprises a four-edge cleaning plate containing a top and bottom edge, the bottom edge configured to be disposed adjacent an end of said base section when the cleaning plate is in the first position and two side edges, including a protrusion on said bottom edge of said cleaning plate characterized in that the protrusion provides a raised edge (26) on the cleaning plate when said cleaning plate is disposed on the base section ofthe bristles ofthe brush, and a means (30) for engaging said cleaning plate to said brush base on the two side edges ofthe plate. 2. The hair brush of claim 1 , wherein the means for engaging said cleaning plate to said base section comprises a substantially circumferentially rounded edge (26) at each ofthe two sides edges ofthe plate that releasably engages the base section ofthe hair brush, opposite to the bristle holding surface. 3. The hair brush of claim 2, wherein the base section ofthe hair brush contains a ridge (30) for releasably engaging the cleaning plate. 4. The hair brush of claim 1 , wherein the holes (22) ofthe cleaning plate are larger on that side ofthe cleaning plate disposed on the bristle holding surface, than on that side ofthe cleaning plate that face the bristles.

Inventors: MORRISON MARK DARYL, MORRISON, MARK, DARYL
Applicants: MORRISON MARK DARYL, MORRISON, MARK, DARYL
Application year: 1996
Main classification: A46B17
IPC codes: A46B17