Abstract:
A brush handle is formed with a continuously arched upper surface portion and a lower surface portion separated into two arched portions by a humped semi-circular ridge. One of the lower arched portions forms a trigger grip for a single finger held in either a forehand or backhand grip. The handle is preferably covered with a high friction material in the form of a contoured rubber or elastomeric sleeve which is stretched over a complimentarily contoured molded plastic handle.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/218,252 filed Dec. 21, 1998, now pending.  
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates in general to hand held tools and relates in particular to a brush having an ergonomic handle formed with a single saddle-shaped finger grip.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Prior Developments  
           [0005]    Grooming brushes have been available in various shapes and sizes for carrying out different grooming functions. In some cases, it is desirable to be able to reverse one&#39;s grip on a grooming brush to facilitate a backhanded brush stroke. If one&#39;s grip is weak, such a backhanded stroke is difficult. Moreover, even a forehanded brush stroke can be difficult or even impossible for someone suffering from arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, hand injury or some other gripping infirmity.  
           [0006]    Accordingly, a need exists for a grooming brush which can be held with either a forehand or backhand grip and which requires a minimum of strength and dexterity to grip and stroke.  
           [0007]    A further need exists for such a brush which can be operated primarily with a single gripping finger with either a forehand or backhand grip.  
           [0008]    Yet another need exists for a grooming brush which has a high friction gripping surface which is contoured to enable one to securely grip the handle surface with a minimum of force.  
           [0009]    Still another need exists for a grooming brush which reduces the likelihood of snagging due to sharp corners or other projections unrelated to grooming bristles or teeth.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The present invention has been developed to fulfill the needs noted above and therefore has as an object the provision of a grooming brush having a high friction gripping surface contoured to require a minimum of strength and dexterity to grip and stroke.  
           [0011]    Another object of the invention is the provision of a grooming brush which can be held and used with one or more fingers with both a forehand and a backhand grip.  
           [0012]    Another object of the invention is the provision of a grooming brush having virtually no sharp corners so as to avoid snagging during brushing.  
           [0013]    Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a grooming brush having an ergonomic handle provided with a saddle portion which centers and anchors one&#39;s little or pinky finger in a comfortable orientation to allow brushing with a minimum of effort and gripping strength.  
           [0014]    Still another object of the invention is the provision of a grooming brush having a rigid handle fitted with a high friction gripping sheath.  
           [0015]    These and other objects are met by the present invention which is directed to a grooming brush having an ergonomic handle contoured to allow gripping and use with a minimum of strength and dexterity. A high friction gripping surface in the form of a molded rubber sleeve or sheath is fitted over a complimentary shaped handle. The handle and sheath define a contoured gripping surface for centering and anchoring one&#39;s pinky finger in a backhand grip and for centering and anchoring one&#39;s index finer in a forehand grip.  
           [0016]    The top of the handle has a mildly arched surface for comfortably matching a user&#39;s palm. The bottom of the handle includes a saddle-shaped portion which positively seats a single finger and separates that finger from the rest of a user&#39;s gripped or ungripped fingers. A brush head is attached to the handle for supporting any number of various bristles or teeth. The brush head is devoid of sharp corners to avoid snagging or nicking a pet or other subject being groomed. Rounded brush head contours are particularly appreciated when a pet is brushed around its rear legs and around and beneath its tail.  
           [0017]    The aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the invention will, in part, be pointed out with particularity, and will, in part, become obvious from the following more detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which form an integral part thereof.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]    In the drawings:  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pet grooming brush constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a grooming brush constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a top view of a rubber sheath which is fitted over the handles of FIGS. 1 and 2;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the sheath of FIG. 3;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 is a front or left end view of the sheath of FIG. 4;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is a rear or right end view of the sheath of FIG. 4;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the sheath of FIG. 3;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is a view of the brush of FIG. 1 with the rubber sleeve of FIG. 3 removed from the handle;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the brush of FIG. 1 held in a forehand grip; and  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the brush of FIG. 2 held in a backhand grip.  
         [0029]    In the various views of the drawings, like reference characters designate like or similar parts.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]    The present invention will now be described in conjunction with the drawings, beginning with FIG. 1 which shows a grooming brush  10  constructed in accordance with the invention. Brush  10  is of the type or style known as a Coleman brush and includes an axially or longitudinally extending elongated handle  12  which is connected to a brush head  14  via a transition or neck portion  16 . Brush  10  is shown with a single row of rigid teeth  18  extending downwardly from the brush head  14 . Of course, any type of teeth or bristles arranged in virtually any pattern can be provided on brush head  14  in a known fashion.  
         [0031]    Handle  12  is formed with an ergonomic grip-conforming contour that allows a user to securely hold handle  12  with a minimum of strength and dexterity. In fact, all that is required to hold handle  12  and to stroke brush  10  is a single finger and one&#39;s palm, as discussed below.  
         [0032]    The top portion  20  of handle  12  defines a longitudinally-extending arched surface  22  beginning at neck portion  16 , arching mildly upwardly and rearwardly to a central apex  24  and then arching mildly downwardly to a rounded, somewhat hemispherical or cup-shaped end portion  26 . The lower portion  28  of handle  12  includes a circumferentially-extending U-shaped grooved band or contour  30  which extends over about the lower half of the handle adjacent the neck portion  16 .  
         [0033]    The U-shaped contour  30  is also arched longitudinally from the neck portion  16  rearwardly to a hump-shaped ridge  32  which extends circumferentially along the lower half of the handle  12 . This longitudinally arched portion  34  together with the U-shaped contour defines a compound arch on the lower half of the handle thereby forming a three dimensional saddle-shaped contour  36  extending axially and circumferentially along the underside of handle  12 .  
         [0034]    It can be appreciated that the saddle contour  36  forms a comfortable gripping recess for guiding and holding one of a user&#39;s fingers securely therein. Ridge  32  prevents a user&#39;s finger from slipping longitudinally (axially) rearward from the saddle contour  36  when the brush is pulled rearward during grooming. In this manner, saddle contour  36  and ridge  32  provide a trigger-type finger grip.  
         [0035]    The lower portion  28  of the handle  12  defines a second longitudinally arched portion  38  which extends upwardly and rearwardly in a mild curve from ridge  32  to the rounded dome-shaped end portion  26 . This second arched portion  38  provides a comfortable gripping surface for a user&#39;s middle, ring and pinky fingers when the brush is used in a normal forehanded grip. Arched portion  38  is preferably at least two, three, four or more times the length of the saddle portion  36 . In the example of FIG. 1, arched portion  38  is about three times the length of saddle portion  36 .  
         [0036]    Additional details of handle  12  are shown in FIGS. 3 through 7 wherein a soft pliable rubber sleeve  40  is seen to be shaped to closely match the surface contours of the plastic molded handle  12  of FIGS. 1, 2 and  8 . Sleeve  40  is resiliently stretched over the handle  12  of FIG. 8 to construct the handle  12  of FIG. 1. Adhesives or fasteners may be used to hold and fix the sleeve on the handle.  
         [0037]    As seen in FIG. 8, handle  12  of FIG. 1 may be molded as a solid one-piece molding with or without a series of longitudinally-spaced arch-shaped slots  42  formed along the upper or top portion  20  and the lower or bottom portion  28  of handle  12 . If slots  42  are formed in handle  12 , a central transverse rib  44  is molded centrally between the upper and lower slots  42 . Slots  42  provide a lighter weight and more economical handle by reducing the volume of plastic in the handle.  
         [0038]    Referring again to FIGS. 3 through 7 and  8 , sleeve  40  and handle  12  have a relatively large height and width along saddle portion  36 . The sleeve extends from an open, substantially circular mouth  46  rearwardly to the hump-shaped ridge  32 . As the sleeve and handle extend rearwardly from the ridge  32 , the width of the sleeve tapers symmetrically inwardly from side to side as seen in FIGS. 3 and 7 and the height of the sleeve and handle tapers symmetrically inwardly toward end portion  26 .  
         [0039]    In this manner, ridge  32  and saddle  36  form a trigger type grip with the tapering second arched portion  38  on the underside of the handle and sleeve allowing one&#39;s fingers to wrap substantially completely around the handle, if desired. This type of forehand grip is illustrated in FIG. 9. It is also possible to comfortably and securely hold handle  12  with a backhand grip as shown in FIG. 10.  
         [0040]    With the forehand grip of FIG. 9, an index finger  50  is aligned and held within the saddle portion  36  and with the backhand grip of FIG. 10, a pinky finger  52  is held within the saddle portion  36 . In each case, only one finger is actually needed to hold handle  12  securely within and against one&#39;s palm, i.e., the finger held within the saddle portion  36 . The remaining fingers can provide additional gripping force, but this is generally not required.  
         [0041]    Referring again to FIG. 1, it is seen that the neck portion  16  of brush  10  includes a vertical end wall  54  from which extends a pair of vertical side walls  56 . Side walls  56  form a strong reinforcement and interconnection between neck portion  16  and brush head  14 . Walls  56  extend completely around the flat planar top portion  58  of brush head  14  and join one another along the leading edge of the brush head. Teeth  18  may be molded within a transverse strengthening and support rib  60  formed on the bottom of brush head  14 .  
         [0042]    It should be noted that the peripheral edge  62  of brush head  14  defines smooth rounded side edges  64  which resist snarling, entangling and nicking of a subject being groomed. In fact, the brush  10  is substantially free of sharp corners and edges, other than those formed by the bristles or teeth  18 .  
         [0043]    A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 2 and 10 in the form of a slicker brush with fine wire teeth  18  arranged in a round or oval pattern. In this construction, handle  12  is substantially identical to handle  12  of FIG. 1. However, the transition or neck portion  16  has an extended or elongated vertical end wall  54  and vertically elongated side walls  56 . Brush head  14  is substantially circular or oval rather than somewhat triangular as in FIG. 1. This rounded shape of the head is particularly useful for a slicker brush as it makes it easy to brush around a pet&#39;s legs and tail and has no sharp edges which can hurt a pet.  
         [0044]    In each embodiment, the sidewalls  56  together with end wall  54  form a raised closed-loop wall extending upwardly around the top portion  58  of brush head  14 . This looped wall adds strength and rigidity to the transition portion  16  and brush head  14 . When the brush head  14  is laid flat on a horizontal surface, the transversely-extending vertical wall  54  vertically offsets the handle  12  from the head  14 . This allows a groomer to stroke evenly along a flat surface with all bristles being used. The offset provides space for the groomer&#39;s fingers between the handle and grooming surface, such as a pet&#39;s body, and further provides additional leverage to the handle.  
         [0045]    There has been disclosed heretofore the best embodiment of the invention presently contemplated. However, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.