Abstract:
A dispensing brush is used to groom while deodorizing and/or styling the receiver. The receiver can be a human but is commonly a household pet such as a dog or cat. The brush is comprised of a head attached to a handle and includes a bristle cap mounted to the head. Within the handle or the head, an internal cavity is provided that is in communication with an intake reservoir. A pump is also provided within the head or handle of the brush with the intake of the pump in communication with the intake reservoir and a pump output provided through a void in the bristle cap. The intake reservoir includes a depression or other structure such as a wall to create a pocket of fluid, which is held in reserve in the internal cavity, thereby making it accessible to the intake of the pump even when the brush is moved in a variety of positions. The intake reservoir may also include a check valve to further aide in restricting fluid from flowing back into internal cavity from the intake reservoir. The ability of the brush to be manipulated in space without the pump “sucking air” is valuable in that the disclosed brush is commonly used to dispense the enclosed liquid concurrently with the act of brushing.

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATION DATA  
       [0001]     Provisional application No. 60/672,004 filed on Apr. 15, 2005.  
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention generally relates to grooming products. More specifically, the present invention relates to brushes used for humans and household pets.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Grooming is a part of everyday life for all of civilized societies. This includes not only humans, but also our pets. We as humans are constantly looking for more efficient and effective tools for living. Time saving tools are ever more useful in our ever more demanding world. A 10-minute session of brushing and styling our hair in the morning accounts to over two and a half 24-hour days a year in time spent. Any innovation that reduces that time requirement by 2-3 minutes per day results in over 18 hours of extra time per year.  
         [0004]     In terms of pets, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in 2001, 36.1% of all households in the United States had a dog as a household pet. In addition 31.6% of all households owned a cat. At an average of 2.67 people per household and 298 million people in the U.S., there would be over 40 million dogs and over 35 million cats as household pets in the U.S. If the owner takes a 90-minute trip to the groomer once a month for 50% of the dogs, the total U.S. time investment is 360 million man-hours per year. A product that could effectively reduce the once per month trip to once every other month would save the U.S. 180 million man-hours per year. Using an average minimum wage of $6.00/hour, this accounts for over $1 billion annually. This is time and money that can be spent in more productive ventures.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     In one aspect, the invention features a dispensing brush including a brush head and a brush handle together comprising a brush base. The brush base includes an internal cavity with an intake reservoir and a pump secured to the brush base. The pump includes an intake in communication with the intake reservoir and a nozzle adapted for pump output adjacent to the bristle cap, which is mounted to the brush base. The bristle cap includes bristles extending from the cap and also includes a void adjacent to the nozzle of the pump. In one aspect the internal cavity is provided in the handle and includes a cap enabling access to the internal cavity. The cap is preferably a replaceable cap, thereby enabling repeated access to the internal cavity. The intake reservoir preferably includes a depression, such as an arcuate deformation on a lower aspect of the internal cavity.  
         [0006]     In another aspect of the invention, the intake reservoir may be partially defined by a section wall dividing the internal cavity and including an upper opening to allow fluid transfer into the intake reservoir. Another alternative is disclosed in which the intake reservoir is partially defined by a dividing wall in the internal cavity and further includes a check valve. The check valve may be comprised of a ball that is received by a drain port in the dividing wall, thereby inhibiting fluid flow from the intake reservoir to the internal cavity.  
         [0007]     The invention may further include an aromatic fluid received in the internal cavity and dispensed by the pump through the void onto a receiver. The receiver is preferably a person or an animal, such as a household pet. The fluid can also include an odor neutralizing fluid such as the proprietary deodorizer ORDENONE™. The fluid may also be an aromatic fluid that may include one or more fragrances. The odor neutralizing fluid, fragrance(s), flea and tick control, other pest control, conditioners or dry shampoo may also be used in combination.  
         [0008]     The device may further include a pump actuator moveably mounted to the brush base and including a button accessible to a user. In this manner, the pump actuator enables actuation of the pump. The pump actuator may include a pump arm providing contact with the pump and a button accessible to a user, whereby movement of the button by the user actuates the pump. The pump is preferably comprised of a linear actuated pump sprayer. The void in the bristle cap may be an oval shaped slot in a surface of the bristle cap.  
         [0009]     The invention also includes the method of grooming including the use of the elements of the invention as listed and including the steps of providing a fluid that is placed in the internal cavity, then positioning the bristles adjacent to a receiver and actuating the pump and dispensing the fluid onto the receiver. The method of grooming can also include the step of brushing the receiver as the fluid is being dispensed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     The foregoing and other objects of this invention, the various features thereof, as well as the invention itself, may be more fully understood from the following description, when read together with the accompanying drawings, described:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an isometric separated view of one form of a dispensing brush showing the internal components of a brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is an isometric separated view with the handle joined to the head of one form of a dispensing brush showing the internal components of a brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is an isometric separated view of one form of a dispensing brush shown from the bottom with the handle and head joined and a pump actuator positioned in the head, the components of a brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is an isometric partially separated bottom view of one form of a dispensing brush showing the bristle cap removed from the brush base, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is an isometric view of one form of a dispensing brush shown from the bottom, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of one form of a dispensing brush shown from the top, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a top view of a dispensing brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  is a sectioned view of a dispensing brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is a sectioned view along the same section line  8 - 8  further illustrating the function of the dispensing brush with a dispensing fluid, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 10  is a sectioned view along the same section line  8 - 8  further illustrating the function of the dispensing brush when in a descending position, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 11  is a sectioned view along the same section line  8 - 8  further illustrating the function of the dispensing brush when in an ascending position, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 12  is a sectioned view along the same section line  8 - 8  further illustrating a variation in the intake reservoir including a dividing wall and a dispensing fluid, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 13  is a sectioned view along the same section line  8 - 8  further illustrating a variation in the intake reservoir including a check valve and a dispensing fluid, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 14  is a partial sectioned view along the same section line  8 - 8  of the handle and a portion of the head further illustrating the function of the check valve in the intake reservoir wherein the dispensing fluid is free to flow into the intake reservoir, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 15  is a partial sectioned view along the same section line  8 - 8  of the handle and a portion of the head further illustrating the function of the check valve in which the fluid is blocked from exiting the intake reservoir, the brush produced in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
       [0026]     For the most part, and as will be apparent when referring to the figures, when an item is used unchanged in more than one figure, it is identified by the same alphanumeric reference indicator in all figures.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]     The present invention is a dispensing brush used for grooming and other hair or skin treatments of humans and pets. A typical example of the brush  20  in a separated or exploded view is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The brush  20  includes a handle  22  and a brush head  24 . Together these two components may be referred to as a brush base  26 . In this form as shown, the handle  22  includes an internal cavity  28 , in which access is granted through the opening  30 . A cap  32  allows repeated access to the cavity  28  and allows the cavity  28  to be sealed when the cap  32  is in place on the end of the handle  22 .  
         [0028]     The handle  22  is received by the neck  34  of the brush head  24  and attached thereto to form a rigid base. These two parts can be secured together in a variety of methods. They can be fastened by mechanical means or by chemical adhesive. In the form as shown, an adhesive is used to secure the handle tip  36  in the neck  34  of the brush head  24 . The combination provides a secure platform to enable brushing the hair or coat of a human or animal.  
         [0029]     The pump assembly is shown here in more than one part. The pump  38  is received by the pump frame  40 . The pump frame  40  is a portion of the brush head  24  that has been displaced to show the components of the assembly. In this form the pump frame  40  is a separate part that includes a support frame  42  to secure the pump  38  to the head  24  when the pump frame  40  is rigidly mounted to the head  24 . In this embodiment the frame ring  44  is mounted to the head lip  46 , capturing the pump  38  therein. Also captured is the pump actuator  48 . The pump actuator  48  is an extension of the pump  38  in that in some orientations of the pump  38  within the brush base  26 , the pump head  50  is not easily accessible to a user. As such, the pump arm  52  of the pump actuator  48  contacts the pump head  50  and the button  54  extends through the head  24  via the head access  55 . The pump actuator is movably mounted to the brush base  26 . In this way the pump actuator  48  allows the finger of a user to apply force to the button  54  of the pump actuator  48  and thereby actuates the pump  38 .  
         [0030]     The pump  38  also includes a pump intake  56  that extends from the body of the pump  38 . In this embodiment the intake  56  has a distinctive downward bend  58 . When fully assembled, this downward bend  58  conforms to the shape of a depression  60  in the internal cavity  28  of the handle  22 . The intake  56  is inserted through the neck  34  of the head and then through an access hole (not shown in this view) in the end of the handle tip  36 . The details of this configuration will become more apparent further in this specification. Finally, a bristle cap  62  holds a plurality of bristles  64  in place, extending away from the brush base  26 . The cap base  66  is preferably a pliable and resilient material that allows some “give” to cushion the bristles  64  when they contact the skin of scalp of the user, and yet offer a reaction force sufficient to make the bristles  64  reasonably secure at the same time. A void  68  is provided in the bristle cap  62  that is positioned adjacent to the nozzle  70  of the pump. The void  68  is preferably substantially oval in shape so as to allow for the longitudinal displacement of the nozzle  70  as the pump is actuated.  
         [0031]     The handle  22  has been secured to the head  24  in  FIG. 2 . In addition, the cap  32  has been mounted to the distal end of the handle  22 , thus sealing the internal cavity  28  of the handle  22  from the viewer&#39;s perspective. The remaining functional components of the brush, including the pump  38 , pump frame  40  and bristle cap  62  are displaced to show a typical assembly process.  
         [0032]     In  FIG. 3 , an isometric view showing the bottom side of the partially assembled brush is illustrated. The pump actuator  48  has been assembled into the head  24  of the brush  20 . The distal tube end  72  of the intake  56  is received by the access hole  74  in the handle  22 . Here it can more clearly seen how the downward bend  58  of the intake  56  conforms to the depression  60  in the cavity  28  of the handle  22 . This is done to enable pick-up of any fluid in the internal cavity  28 , thereby creating an intake reservoir within the internal cavity of the brush  20 , in this case, located within the handle  22 . The pump  38  pulls fluid from the intake reservoir and exits the fluid through the nozzle  70 . This passes through the void  68  in the bristle cap  62 , allowing the fluid to be sprayed onto a receiver.  
         [0033]     With the exception of the bristle cap  62 , the brush  20  is fully assembled in  FIG. 4 . The button  54  of the pump actuator  48  is shown as assessable to a user with the pump arm  52  positioned adjacent to the pump  38  so as to actuate the pump when the button  54  is moved back toward the handle  22  of the brush  20 . The nozzle  70  is shown over the void  68  in the bristle cap  62 , thereby allowing flow of fluid as discharged from the nozzle  70 .  
         [0034]     A fully assembled brush  20  is shown in  FIG. 5 . The handle  22  is mounted to the head  24  on one end and the cap  32  on the other end. The pump mechanism is housed within the brush  20  and in this view, hidden by the bristle cap  62 . The nozzle  70  is visible through the void  68  as is necessary for material discharge through the nozzle  70  onto a receiver. The same assembled unit is shown from the top isometric view in  FIG. 6 . In this view the button  54  is clearly shown to extend through the top of the head  24 . The space between the button  54  and the front edge  76  of the head access  55  is provided to give room for to position the user&#39;s finger. The distance between the button back  78  and the rear portion  80  of the head access  55  provides room for displacement of the button  54  within the head  24  to actuate the pump  38 .  
         [0035]     A more detailed view of this embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIGS. 8-11  as based on the section line shown in  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 8  further illustrates the internal cavity  28 , here located in the handle  22 . The depression  60  defines an intake reservoir  82  within the internal cavity  28 . In all of the drawings shown in this disclosure the internal cavity  28  is provided in the handle  22 , but this is not critical to the invention. The handle  22  provides a large storage area that would otherwise be wasted and therefore has been determined by the applicants to be the most advantageous location for the internal cavity  28 . In a similar manner, the intake reservoir  82  needs to feed from the internal cavity  28  and optimally be refilled from movement of the handle. The cavity in the head  25  can form an intake reservoir, but it is more desirable to section the internal cavity  28  in one or more ways to create the refillable section. Either method would require the intake reservoir to receive the intake  56  from the pump  38 . Another advantage to using the handle  22  for the internal cavity  28  is that the handle can be manufactured from a clear or semi-clear material such as PVC, polycarbonate, a variety of other clear plastics or glass. In doing so, the handle offers a visual display in that colored fluids  86  can be used in the brush  20 . Also, the clear handle allows the user to see the fluid level in the brush  20  without removing the cap  32 .  
         [0036]     The pump  38  is actuated by movement of the button  48 , as shown by the arrow  84 . This movement drives the pump  38 , providing the transfer of the fluid  86  from the intake reservoir  82 , which is fed by the remainder of the internal cavity  28 . The fluid  86  is pumped to output as a spray  88  through the nozzle  70 . The pump  38  is recoiled by the spring  90 , in this case housed within the body of the pump  38 . The recoil drives the button  48  back (Opposite to the arrow  84 ) to this, the starting position.  
         [0037]     The value of the intake reservoir  82  is more fully illustrated in  FIGS. 10 &amp; 11 . A brush, either for human use or for use on a pet, is very dynamic in that it is constantly in motion during use. Any spray bottle system will only work when the end of the intake  86  is under the fluid  86 . As soon as the pump  38  is actuated and the end of the intake  56  sucks air, the pump  38  will fail to dispense fluid  86  and then need to be primed by pumping several times with the end of the intake  56  under the surface of the liquid  86 . This is not only annoying to the user, in many cases the user will assume the internal cavity  28  is empty and discard the dispenser (in this case the brush  20 ) because the user finds it difficult to dispense the remaining fluid  86 . With the intake reservoir  82 , when the brush  20  is rotated forward, as in  FIG. 10 , the intake reservoir  82  is refilled. Then when the brush  20  is rotated back again, as in  FIG. 11 , a portion of the liquid  86  remains in the reservoir  82 , thus allowing for several pumps of liquid  86  to be dispensed without “sucking air”.  
         [0038]     Another variation of the intake reservoir  82  is shown in  FIG. 12 . Here the depression has been removed from the bottom of the handle  22 . The depression could still be used with this or any of the other embodiments of the intake reservoir  82 , but is shown here without it to illustrate that the depression is not mandatory to the invention. In this embodiment, the intake reservoir  82  is comprised of a section wall  92  located within the internal cavity  28  of the brush  20 . To the left of the section wall  92  is the intake reservoir  82 . An upper opening  94  allows the fluid  86  to “slosh” over the wall  92  and be captured in the intake reservoir  82  during normal movement of the brush  20 . In the bottom of the reservoir  82  is the intake  56  to the pump  38 . This provides a captured volume of fluid  86  to minimize the likelihood of the pump  38  going dry and requiring to be primed during normal use.  
         [0039]     Another version of the intake reservoir  82  is shown in  FIG. 13 . Here a dividing wall  96  is located within the internal cavity  28 , thus separating the internal cavity  28  from the intake reservoir  82 . A check valve  98  is incorporated into the dividing wall  96  so as to allow fluid  86  to flow from the internal cavity  28  to the intake reservoir  82  but not to return back to the internal cavity  28 . The check valve  98  can take a variety of forms. One embodiment is shown here including a ball  100  trapped in a ball cavity  102 . The ball cavity  102  includes a drain port  104  that receives the ball  100  in a substantially sealed manner when fluid pressure is placed on it (as shown in this figure). On the opposite side of the ball cavity  102  there exists one or more access ports  106  to allow fluid  86  to drain into the intake reservoir  82  without being restricted by the ball  100 . The depression  60  is also provided in this embodiment to further facilitate the removal of the fluid  86  from the intake reservoir  82  during use.  
         [0040]     A more detailed view of how the check valve  98  works is shown in  FIGS. 14 &amp; 15 . In  FIG. 14  the brush  20  is inverted with the cap  32  above the head  24  (not shown). In this case the ball  100  falls to the back of the ball cavity  102 , allowing the fluid  86  to flow through the access ports  106 , into the intake reservoir  82 . In  FIG. 15  the brush  20  has been reversed with the cap  32  down and the brush head  24  (not shown) elevated. In this form the ball  100  is seated in the drain port  104  and held in place by the fluid pressure of the weight of the fluid  86 , thus sealing the intake reservoir  82  and preventing the upper fluid  86  from exiting to the lower chamber of the internal cavity  28 .  
         [0041]     The fluid  86  can be of several types depending on what the user desires. For people, hair conditioning or styling products can be used. Detangling conditioners applied as the hair is brushed allows the user to apply the chemicals needed to assist in detangling the hair as a force of brushing is applied to facilitate the process. When hair is desired to increase in volume, hair spray can be added as the hair is “teased” up or simply brushed upward. The structural properties of the hairspray assist the hair in defying gravity. Hairspray is a type of adhesive that must be applied to the hair in the shape desired in that the hairspray dries quickly. By applying the hairspray as it is brushed, from the brush directly to the hair and not globally into the air around the hair, the process is enhanced.  
         [0042]     In the area of pets, two critical things apply. Pet grooming has two elements, smoothing the coat and reducing odor. Pet hair attracts bacteria that live on the animal. The bacteria and their byproducts produce the offensive odor. Grooming by brushing and bathing remove the bacteria and their waste, thus reducing odor. The fluid in the disclosed invention can be an aromatic liquid that covers odors. This odor masking makes the odors less pronounced and thereby less offensive. Applying chemicals that bind to the odor causing molecules can also eliminate the odors. In addition, binding chemicals can be used in conjunction with perfumes.  
         [0043]     Perfumes are available in a variety of forms and are useful for covering many odors. Products such as ORDENONE™ (Belle-Aire Fragrances, Inc., Mundelein, Ill., USA) claim to capture malodorous volatile mercaptan, sulfide, anine and other compounds without interfering with fragrance additives. The supplier claims this is accomplished chemically be the structure of their semi-rigid concave molecules that make up ORDENONE. This or other chemical deodorizers can also be used in the brush  20  as shown and described.  
         [0044]     The invention as shown and described herein is the preferred embodiment of the invention as seen by the applicants. It is understood that an infinite number of variations of certain details are possible and therefore are inherently included in this disclosure.