Patent Publication Number: US-2005138745-A1

Title: Massage brush

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a massage brush, and particularly relates to a massage brush with a tightly engaged massage structure to prevent the massage structure from being removed from the massage brush.  
      2. Background of the Invention  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional massage brush  1   a  includes a massage structure  11   a , a circle pad  12   a  engaged with the massage structure  11   a  and an exterior cover  13   a  clamping the pad ring  12   a . The massage structure  11   a  has a U-shaped fastening portion  111   a  made integrally in one piece and clipping a flange portion  121   a  of the circle pad  12   a  for the circle pad  12   a  to be received therein. The circle pad  12   a  has a circular recess  122   a  formed in a bottom thereof, and the exterior cover  13   a  has a circular protrusion  131   a  arranged integrally in one piece thereon and relating to the circular recess  122   a  for the circular protrusion  131   a  engaging in the circular recess  122   a . The conventional massage brush  1   a  further includes a back paste  14   a  filled between the circular protrusion  131   a  and the circular recess  122   a  for a tight engagement therebetween.  
      However, the U-shaped fastening portion  111   a  of the conventional massage brush  1   a  becomes fatigued after long-term use and there is no retaining device or structure securing the U-shaped fastening portion  111   a , so the U-shaped fastening portion  111   a  will be removed easily and the conventional massage brush  1   a  will become useless.  
      The conventional massage brush  1   a  connects the circular protrusion  131   a  in the circular recess  122   a  via the back paste  14   a , and accordingly match problems must be considered between the circle pad  12   a  and the back paste  14   a , or between the exterior cover  13   a  and the back paste  14   a  (which has a material interaction therebetween). Usually, the circle pad  12   a  and the exterior cover  13   a  are made of PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) materials. The PMMA materials are usually more expensive than other polymers, such as PP (polypropylene), PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and the like. But these other materials cannot be substituted for the PMMA because of the back paste  14   a  and match problems there between, and that keeps the cost high.  
      In addition, the back paste  14   a  filled therein may be improper and overfilled, and the PMMA is a transparent material, so that the overfilled back paste  14   a  will be seen and negatively affect its attractiveness to purchasers.  
      Furthermore, the back paste  14   a  filled therein will connect the circle pad  12   a  to the exterior cover  13   a  so tightly that changing the massage structure  11   a  of the conventional massage brush  1   a  is impossible. When the massage structure  11   a  wears out, the conventional massage brush  1   a  is useless. If the circle pad  12   a  or the exterior cover  13   a  breaks from incorrect use, the first conventional massage brush  1   a  is also useless.  
      Hence, an improvement over the prior art is required to overcome the disadvantages thereof.  
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
      The primary object of the invention is therefore to specify a tightly engaged massage brush to prevent a massage structure thereof from being removed therefrom. The secondary object of the invention is therefore to specify an easily assembled and detached massage brush, the elements of which can be changed.  
      The third object of the invention is therefore to specify a massage brush that can be made of other polymer materials to reduce costs.  
      The fourth object of the invention is therefore to specify a massage brush that omits the back paste, so that design and material match problems need not be considered, and the manufacturing efficiency thereof is improved.  
      The fifth object of the invention is therefore to specify a massage brush with an appearance improved by omitting the back paste, thereby increasing the attractiveness thereof to purchasers.  
      According to the invention, this object is achieved by a massage brush including a massage structure, an orientation ring engaging tightly with the massage structure, a circular pad received in the massage structure, and an exterior cover retained against the circular pad and the orientation ring. The circular pad includes a flange disposed therearround and clamped in the massage structure, and an L-shaped restriction portion extending downwardly from a bottom thereof to support the orientation ring thereon. The orientation ring engages with the massage structure, the L-shaped restriction portion, and the exterior cover simultaneously for tightly clamping the massage structure therewith.  
      To provide a further understanding of the invention, the following detailed description illustrates embodiments and examples of the invention. Examples of the more important features of the invention thus have been summarized rather broadly in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the contributions to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, where:  
       FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional profile of a conventional massage brush;  
       FIG. 2  is an exploded cross-sectional profile of a first embodiment of a massage brush according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is an assembled cross-sectional profile of the first embodiment of the massage brush according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the massage brush according to the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the massage brush according to the present invention; and  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the massage brush according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
      With respect to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 4 , a first embodiment of a massage brush  2  according to the present invention is described. The massage brush  2  includes a massage structure  21 , an orientation ring  24  engaged tightly with the massage structure  21 , a circular pad  22  received in the massage structure  21 , and an exterior cover  23  retained against the circular pad  22  and the orientation ring  24 . The massage structure  21  has a U-shaped fastening portion  211  arranged circularly inwards and made integrally in one piece. The circular pad  22  includes a flange  221  disposed therearround and an L-shaped restriction portion  222  extends downwardly from a bottom of the circular pad  22 , the flange  221  clamps in the U-shaped fastening portion  211  of the massage structure  21 , the L-shaped restriction portion  222  is formed by drawing back a predetermined distance “d” from the flange  221  to receive the U-shaped fastening portion  211  and support the orientation ring  24  thereon. The exterior cover  23  further includes a step portion  231  arranged on an inner side thereof for retention against the L-shaped restriction portion  222 . The exterior cover  23  is retained against the massage structure  21 , the orientation ring  24  and the L-shaped restriction portion  222  simultaneously to secure the massage structure  21  to the exterior cover  23 .  
      Comparing with the conventional massage brush  1   a , the U-shaped fastening portion  111   a  is clamped with the circle pad  12   a  and the exterior pad  13   a . In the present invention, the orientation ring  24  is tightly engaged with the U-shaped fastening portion  211 . The flange  221  and the L-shaped restriction portion  222  of the circular pad  22  together provide a vertical clamping force in an upper-to-lower direction. The flange  221  of the circular pad  22  and the orientation ring  24  together provide a horizontal clamping force in a right-to-left direction. The massage structure  21  is thus prevented from removing therefrom.  
      The orientation ring  24  has a clamping portion  241  circularly protruding from an outer circumstance thereof and a restriction surface  242  protruding from an inner top thereof to engage with the U-shaped fastening portion  211 . The clamping portion  241  shrinks from a top to a bottom thereof, and includes a smooth surface for assembling easily. The exterior cover  23  has a clamping groove  232  formed thereon and relating to the clamping portion  241  of the orientation ring  24 , so that the orientation ring  24  engages with the exterior cover  23  tightly.  
      Furthermore, corresponding to the conventional massage brush  1   a , the present invention omits the back paste  14   a , so that design and material match problems due to the back paste  14   a  will never be considered. The orientation ring  24 , the circular pad  22  and the exterior cover  23  will not be restricted by made of the PMMA, thus the process and manufacturing steps will be simplified. The orientation ring  24 , the circular pad  22  and the exterior cover  23  may be made of PP (Polypropylene) or PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) alternatively to reduce costs. The prevent invention avoids destroying the appearance thereof without the back paste  14   a , and users&#39; purchasing wills accordingly will be inspired.  
      The present invention provides the massage structure  21 , the orientation ring  24 , the circular pad  22  and the exterior cover  23  together assembled into the massage brush  2 . The present invention omits the back paste  14   a , which is used as a glue and is permanent, and provides a massage brush  2  that is easily assembled or detachable for changing elements thereof.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the exterior cover  23  includes a long handle  233  for manipulating. With respect to  FIG. 5 , a second embodiment of the massage brush  2 , the exterior cover  23  includes a pinch portion  234  extended from a top thereof. The pinch portion  234  has a curve body  2341  shaped ergonomically and a head  2342  connecting the curve body  2341 , whereby the head  2342  is bigger than the curve body  2341 . A user holds the curve body  2341  with the fingers and retains the head  2342  by the back of the hands.  
      In  FIG. 6 , in a third embodiment of the massage brush  2 , the pinch portion  234  is disposed on an end of the top of the exterior cover  23 , and the head  2342  has a retention member  2343  extending forward from an opposite end thereof. The user clamps the curve body  2341  with the fingers and retains the head  2342  and the retention member  2343  by back of the hands.  
      The massage brush  2  includes the massage structure  21 , the orientation ring  24  engaged tightly with the massage structure  21 , the circular pad  22  received in the massage structure  21 , and the exterior cover  23  retained against the circular pad  22  and the orientation ring  24 . The flange  221  and the L-shaped restriction portion  222  of the circular pad  22  together provide the vertical clamping force in the upper-to-lower direction, and the flange  221  of the circular pad  22  and the orientation ring  24  together provide the horizontal clamping force in the right-to-left direction, for preventing the massage structure  21  from being removed therefrom during use.  
      It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above description is only illustrative of specific embodiments and examples of the invention. The invention should therefore cover various modifications and variations made to the herein-described structure and operations of the invention, provided they fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the following appended claims.