Patent Publication Number: US-2022211004-A1

Title: Brush for pets

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/KR2020/011762, filed Sep. 2, 2020, which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority to Korean Utility Model Registration Application No. 20-2019-0003961, filed on Sep. 27, 2019. The disclosures of the above-listed applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a brush for grooming hair of a pet such as a dog or a cat, and more particularly, to a structure of a brush for pets that allows brushing to be performed so that hair falling out during grooming of a pet&#39;s hair does not scatter to surroundings. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Nowadays, many people view their pet as a companion and a member of the family, and the number of people raising pets is increasing every year. People raising pets spend a considerable amount of time and money for healthcare, hygiene care, beauty care, etc. for their pets. Common brushes have been used for grooming a pet&#39;s hair after bathing the pet or managing annual shedding of the pet, but there have been problems in that hair falling out due to combing scatters or gets stuck between comb teeth and gets tangled, making it inconvenient to use the brush, and the hair scatters all over the room, making the house messy and harming the health of the person raising the pet. 
     Also, conventional brushes for pets are made of an iron material and have sharp bristles and thus are not suitable for pets due to causing pain and wounds when combing. 
     In order to address such problems, a vibration motor is used as in Patent Document 1 (Korean Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-0012394), or a brush is connected to a vacuum cleaner to immediately absorb the hair that falls out during combing and prevent scattering of the hair as in Patent Document 2 (Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2017265) and Patent Document 3 (Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0319818). 
     However, in Patent Documents 1 to 3, a driving means such as a vibration motor or a vacuum cleaner must be included to suction pet hair, and a complex structure for connecting the brush to the motor device or vacuum cleaner must be included, causing a manufacturing process to become complicated and costs to be increased. 
     That is, the brushes for pets of Patent Documents 1 to 3 all have a structure in which an inner side of a body portion is formed to be hollow for a suction port connected to the vacuum cleaner or vibration motor to be formed therein and comb teeth are formed around the suction port. In a brush ( 100 ) having such a structure, typically, comb teeth ( 120 ) are formed to protrude significantly more than a body portion ( 110 ) as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , or the comb teeth ( 120 ) are formed inward from the body portion ( 110 ) or formed to be coplanar therewith as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . 
     However, the brushes ( 100 ) having the structure illustrated in  FIG. 6 or 7  make the house messy and harm the health of the person raising the pet because, unless pet hair is suctioned through a suction port using a vacuum cleaner or a vibration motor when grooming the pet hair using the brush, the pet hair falling off the skin scatters outside the brush and all over the room. 
     Therefore, there is demand for a technical alternative that prevents pet hair from easily scattering when being groomed using a manual brush that does not include a hair suctioning means such as a vibration motor or a vacuum cleaner. 
     DISCLOSURE 
     Technical Problem 
     The first objective of the present invention is to provide a brush for pets that has a structure capable of preventing pet hair that falls off the epidermis during grooming from scattering outside the brush. 
     In particular, the first objective of the present invention is achieved just by changing the structure of a brush without using an artificial hair suctioning means such as a vibration motor or a vacuum cleaner. 
     The second objective of the present invention is to provide a brush for pets that facilitates combing of pet hair when grooming the pet hair, helps keep the pet&#39;s hair and skin healthy, and allows the pet to feel as comfortable as possible without refusing to comb the hair. 
     The third objective of the present invention is to provide a brush for pets that has a structure allowing brushing to be smoothly performed while preventing hair from scattering to the outside. 
     The fourth objective of the present invention is to provide a brush for pets that has a handle structure which makes it comfortable for a user to grasp the brush. 
     Technical Solution 
     A first aspect according to the present invention relates to a brush for pets which is a brush for grooming pet hair, the brush including a handle part configured to be grasped by a user and a brush part coupled to the handle part and configured to brush the pet hair. 
     The brush part of the brush for pets according to the first aspect includes a floor plate, a comb teeth array which consists of a plurality of comb teeth that extend in a state of being embedded in the floor plate, and a brush shade which is connected to the floor plate and configured to wrap around the comb teeth array. Here, a height of the brush shade is larger than a height of the comb teeth. Thus, when the brush shade is brought into contact with an epidermis of the pet to perform brushing, a closed space is formed inside the brush shade. 
     In the brush for pets of a second aspect according to the present invention, one or more first protrusions may be formed on an upper surface of the comb teeth. 
     In the brush for pets of a third aspect according to the present invention, one or more second protrusions may be formed on an end surface of the brush shade. 
     In the brush for pets of a fourth aspect according to the present invention, the brush shade may wrap around the comb teeth array in an elliptical shape, and a length of the second protrusions at a long-axis portion of the brush shade may be larger than a length of the second protrusions at a short-axis portion of the brush shade. 
     In the brush for pets of a fifth aspect according to the present invention, the comb teeth, the first protrusions, the second protrusions, and the brush shade may be made of a flexible material that is elastically deformable. 
     In the brush for pets of a sixth aspect according to the present invention, the brush shade may include a connecting part which extends to be connected to the floor plate and a cover part which extends from the connecting part to wrap around the comb teeth array and expands with a progressively increasing diameter, wherein the second protrusions are formed on an end surface of the cover part. 
     In the brush for pets of a seventh aspect according to the present invention, the handle part may include a handle which is configured to be grasped by the user in a state in which the user&#39;s palm is placed thereon and a fixed anchor which is configured to allow the user&#39;s hand placed on the handle to be adhered and fixed to the brush. 
     In the brush for pets of an eighth aspect according to the present invention, the fixed anchor may be formed in the shape of a nail having a shank and a head, and the fixed anchor may be fitted between an index finger and a middle finger of the user, which are placed on the handle, to fix the user&#39;s hand. 
     In the brush for pets of a ninth aspect according to the present invention, the handle may have an elongated shape like a brim of a hat so as to be suitable to be held by the user&#39;s palm. 
     Advantageous Effects 
     A brush according to the present invention traps pet hair, which falls off the epidermis due to combing when brushing the pet hair, inside the brush to prevent the pet hair from scattering outside the brush. Thus, the hair falling off the pet neither causes damage to the surrounding environment nor harms the user&#39;s hygiene. 
     Unlike the related art, the brush according to the present invention does not require a separate electrically-driven means for suctioning hair. Accordingly, the structure of the brush can be simplified, and thus manufacturing costs can be significantly lowered. 
     Also, the brush according to the present invention can maximize a massage function by properly inducing friction against the skin, etc. of the pet. Also, since the brush according to the present invention can be used regardless of a direction of texture during brushing, user convenience is significantly improved. 
     In addition, the brush according to the present invention has triple protrusions formed on an end surface (upper surface) of comb teeth, thereby removing dead hair embedded deep in the pet skin. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The following drawings attached to this specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and serve to allow a better understanding of the technical spirit of the present invention together with the detailed description of the invention which will be given below, and thus the present invention should not be construed as being limited to details illustrated in the drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a brush for pets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a brush part of the brush for pets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the brush part of the brush for pets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a deformed state of the brush part during use of the brush for pets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a use state diagram of the brush for pets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of a conventional brush for pets. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of another conventional brush for pets that is different from the one shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     MODES OF THE INVENTION 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following embodiments. The embodiments described herein are provided to more thoroughly describe the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, although specific terms have been used in the drawings and the specification of the present invention, the terms are only used for the purpose of describing the present invention and are not used to limit meanings or limit the scope of the present invention described in the claims. Therefore, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible from the embodiments described herein. Accordingly, the true technical scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims. 
     Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale, and like reference numerals in each drawing denote like elements. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a brush for pets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 2  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a brush part of the brush for pets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the brush part of the brush for pets according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a brush  1  of the present invention mainly consists of a handle part  10  which is configured to be grasped by a user for brushing and a brush part  50  which is configured to groom pet hair. Preferably, the handle part  10  and the brush part  50  may be made of different materials and detachably coupled to each other. That is, preferably, the handle part  10  may be made of a hard plastic material which is highly durable, and the brush part  50  may be made of a soft flexible material which has excellent elastic deformability. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the handle part  10  includes a handle  11  which is configured to be grasped by the user in a state in which the user&#39;s palm is placed thereon and a fixed anchor  12  which is configured to allow the user&#39;s hand placed on the handle  11  to be adhered and fixed to the brush  1 . Preferably, the handle  11  may have an elongated shape like a brim of a hat so as to be suitable to be held by the user&#39;s palm. Here, the fixed anchor  12  is fitted between an index finger and a middle finger of the user and fixed to prevent the user&#39;s hand from sliding or falling. Accordingly, it is preferable that the fixed anchor  12  has the shape of a nail having a head and a shank. 
     The brush part  50  is a part for brushing the pet hair in a state of being in contact with the epidermis of the pet and is detachably coupled to the handle part  10 . The brush part  50  includes a floor plate  52  in which a comb teeth array including a plurality of comb teeth  51  is embedded and a brush shade  53  which is configured to wrap around the comb teeth array. The comb teeth  51  are installed by being embedded in the floor plate  52 , and preferably, the comb teeth  51  may be disposed in a form encircling a central portion of the floor plate  52 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , the plurality of comb teeth  51  form the comb teeth array as two rows of the comb teeth  51  encircle the central portion of the floor plate  52 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the comb teeth  51  each have a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional shape that extends while a base side thereof is placed on the floor plate  52 . One or more first protrusions  51   a  are formed as a plurality of first protrusions  51   a  on an upper surface  51   b  of each of the comb teeth  51 . Preferably, the length, size, or the like of the plurality of first protrusions  51   a  may be the same. 
     Also, the brush shade  53  is formed to be connected to the floor plate  52  and wrap around the entire comb teeth array. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the brush shade  53  includes a connecting part  54  which extends to be connected to the floor plate  52 , a cover part  55  which extends from the connecting part  54  to wrap around the comb teeth array and expands with a progressively increasing diameter, and a plurality of second protrusions  56  which are formed on an end surface  57  of the cover part  55 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the brush shade  53  is formed in an elliptical shape having a long axis and a short axis. A height (length) of the second protrusions  56  formed at a long-axis portion  57   a  is larger than a height (length) of the second protrusions  56  formed at a short-axis portion  57   b.    
     Also, the comb teeth  51  are embedded in the floor plate  52  to have a height that allows the comb teeth  51  to be constantly spaced apart from the end surface  57  of the brush shade  53  toward the floor plate  52 . That is, the height of the comb teeth  51  should be smaller than the height of the brush shade  53 . Thus, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a certain gap h 1  is formed between the upper surface  51   b  of the comb teeth  51  and the end surface  57  of the brush shade  53 . Also, a certain gap h 2  is formed between the first protrusions  51   a  of the comb teeth  51  and the end surface  57  of the brush shade  53 . Accordingly, when the end surface  57  of the brush shade  53  is brought into contact with the epidermis of the pet for use of the brush  1 , the comb teeth  51  on which the first protrusions  51   a  are formed are not exposed to the outside of the brush shade  53 . 
     Also, preferably, the brush shade  53 , the comb teeth  51 , and the first and second protrusions  51   a  and  56  may all be formed of the same flexible silicone material, but the materials thereof may not necessarily be the same as long as the materials have flexibility. 
     The first protrusions  51   a  and second protrusions  56  serve to come in direct contact with the pet skin to comb and groom the pet hair. Also, during the grooming of the pet hair, the end surface  57  of the cover part  55  of the brush shade  53  comes into contact with the epidermis of the pet, and thus a closed space  58  is formed inside the brush shade  53 . In the state in which the closed space  58  is formed, when the brush  1  is pressed toward the epidermis of the pet as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the cover part  55  of the brush shade  53  is pressed and widens outward, causing the gaps h 1  and h 2  to be eliminated and the first protrusions  51   a  of the comb teeth  51  to come into contact with the epidermis of the pet. In this state, when the user moves the brush  1  to brush the pet hair, the hair that falls off the epidermis due to being groomed by the comb teeth  51  and the first protrusions  51   a  is trapped inside the closed space  58  instead of falling out of the brush shade  53 . Thus, the amount of hair scattering to the surroundings due to brushing may be minimized, which is not only favorable in terms of environment but also safe in terms of hygiene. 
     Also, due to the presence of the second protrusions  56 , additional brushing is possible by the second protrusions  56  while friction between the epidermis of the pet and the end surface  57  of the cover part  55  of the brush shade  53  is reduced. Also, since the brush shade  53  has an elliptical shape as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , when the user applies force to perform brushing, a force acting on the long-axis portion  57   a  is larger than a force acting on the short-axis portion  57   b . Accordingly, it is preferable that the length of the second protrusions  56  formed at the long-axis portion  57   a  of the brush shade  53  is larger than the length of the second protrusions  56  formed at the short-axis portion  57   b  of the brush shade  53 . 
     A process of brushing pet hair using the brush  1  according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configurations will be described with reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
     A user who wants to manage his or her pet&#39;s hair using the brush  1  according to the present invention grasps the handle part  10  of the brush  1  as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Here, the user&#39;s palm is adhered to the surface of the handle  11 , and the user&#39;s index finger and middle finger are mounted on the fixed anchor  12  and fixed. While grasping the brush  1  in this way, the user brings the brush  1  into contact with the epidermis of the pet so that the end surface  57  of the cover part  55  of the brush shade  53  comes into contact with the epidermis of the pet and thus the closed space  58  is formed inside the brush shade  53 . While the brush  1  is in contact with the epidermis of the pet in this way, when the brush  1  is pressed toward the epidermis of the pet as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the cover part  55  of the brush shade  53  is pressed and widens outward, causing the first protrusions  51   a  of the comb teeth  51  to come into contact with the epidermis of the pet. In this state, the user moves the brush  1  to brush the pet hair. Here, the hair that falls off the epidermis due to being groomed by the comb teeth  51  and the first protrusions  51   a  is trapped inside the closed space  58  instead of falling out of the brush shade  53 . After brushing is completed, the user removes the hair remaining in the closed space  58  to clean the brush  1 . Thus, the amount of hair scattering to the surroundings due to brushing may be minimized. 
     Also, since the comb teeth  51 , the first and second protrusions  51   a  and  56 , and the brush shade  53  are all formed of a soft silicone material, a massage function may be maximized by properly inducing friction against the skin, etc. of the pet. That is, due to characteristics of the silicone material, when the comb teeth  51 , the first and second protrusions  51   a  and  56 , and the brush shade  53  rub against the skin, an appropriate level of compression is implemented as the comb teeth  51 , the first and second protrusions  51   a  and  56 , and the brush shade  53  are flexibly bent in a moving direction. Thus, a wider range of skin stimulation may be easily and conveniently induced without causing irritation, and since, unlike the conventional brushes made of a synthetic resin or the like, the brush  1  according to the present invention may be used regardless of a direction of texture during brushing, convenience is significantly improved. 
     The brush for pets according to the present invention have been expressed in the above description and drawings, but the description and drawings are only examples, and the spirit of the present invention is not limited thereto. Various alterations and changes may be possible within the scope not departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. 
     In addition, various substitutions, modifications, and changes are possible by those or ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains within the scope not departing from the technical spirit of the present invention, and thus the spirit of the present invention is not limited by the embodiments described herein and the accompanying drawings.