Abstract:
A one-piece brush applicator formed by rolling a sheet of material is disclosed. The brush handle and the brush tip are formed from a single sheet of material that is rolled to form the brush with the handle. Only one material is required and no assembly is necessary. The brush handle and the brush tip are formed at the same time from a single sheet of material. The brush tip may have various shapes such as a flat tip or a pointed tip.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to an applicator. More specifically, the present invention relates to a one-piece brush applicator formed by rolling a sheet of material. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Brushes in various forms are used for various applications. The applications vary from brooms, paint brush, to cosmetic applicator brushes. Generally the brushes are formed from various materials, such as wood, metal, plastic, and animal or artificial hairs. A conventional brush generally comprises of a handle, a section that affixes the brush portion to the handle, and the brush tip. Often the three main components are all made of different material and are assembled together to form the final brush applicator. The process requires the separation formation of a handle, a section that affixes the brush portion to the handle, and a brush tip. A separate assembly process is required to assemble the three main components. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention is a one-piece brush applicator formed by rolling a sheet of material. The brush handle and the brush tip are formed from a single sheet of material that is rolled to form the brush with a handle. Only one material is required and no assembly is necessary. The brush handle and the brush tip are formed at the same time from a single sheet of material. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  shows the preferred embodiment of the brush before the sheet of material is rolled. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  shows the preferred embodiment of the brush after the sheet of material is rolled to form the brush with a flat tip. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  shows another embodiment of the brush before the sheet of material is rolled. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  shows yet another embodiment of the brush before the sheet of material is rolled. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  shows the embodiment of the brush shown in  FIG. 4  after the sheet material is rolled to form the brush with a pointed tip. 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  shows yet another embodiment of the brush before the sheet of material is rolled. 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  shows the embodiment of the brush shown in  FIG. 6  after the sheet of material is rolled to form the brush with a pointed tip and a narrow handle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0013]    The following description and figures are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting. Other embodiments of this invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of this description. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  shows the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, the brush comprises of a flat sheet of material  1 , preferably plastic. However, the sheet of material  1  may be selected from a variety of other materials such as paper, cotton, or any other suitable flexible materials. In the preferred embodiment, the sheet of material  1  is generally rectangular shape with fine slits  2  formed along one edge of the sheet of material  1 . Multiple parallel thin strips  3  are formed along one edge of the sheet of material  1  defined by the fine slits  2 . The slits  2  may be formed by simply making multiple parallel cuts along one edge of the sheet of material  1  leaving a portion of the sheet of material  1  intact. Alternatively, instead of fine slits, the edge of the sheet of material  1  may be frayed, particularly if the sheet of material is made of cotton or paper. 
         [0015]    The sheet of material  1  is then rolled parallel to the multiple thin strips  3  with the final loose edge affixed to the rolled sheet of material  1  to form the final brush as shown in  FIG. 2 . The loose edge may be affixed to the rolled sheet of material  1  by an adhesive or any other suitable means. The brush that is formed in this embodiment has a flat tip  4  and an elongated cylindrical handle  5  that is approximately the width of the brush tip  4 . If the sheet of material  1  is rolled tightly, there is virtually no space in the core of the brush. However, if the sheet of material  1  is rolled with a small hollow core left in its center, a fluid flow path is left in the brush through which a fluid may flow through core of the handle  5  into the brush tip  4 . Alternatively, the edge of the sheet of material  1  with the slits  2  may be formed with different profiles such as a wave pattern to form brush tips  4  with different contours. If the edge of the sheet of material  1  is frayed, the resulting tip will be a flexible applicator tip similar to a cotton swab. 
         [0016]    Additionally, the opposite edge of the sheet of material may also have either fine slits formed along the edge or frayed. In this embodiment, the resulting applicator has a brush or a flexible applicator tip similar to a cotton swab, respectively, on both ends of the applicator. 
         [0017]      FIG. 3  shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the brush comprises of a flat sheet of material  1 , preferably plastic. The sheet of material  1  is generally rectangular shape with fine slits  2  formed along one edge of the sheet of material  1 . Multiple parallel thin strips  3  are formed along one edge of the sheet of material  1  defined by the fine slits  2 . The opposite edge and the adjacent portion of the sheet of material  1  are left intact without any slits. Multiple grooves  6  are formed on the sheet of material  1  at this portion of the sheet of material  1  without the slits. When this sheet of material  1  is rolled to form the final brush, multiple fluid flow paths are formed at the location of the grooves  6  in the sheet of material  1  through which a fluid may flow through the grooves  6  in the handle into the brush tip. 
         [0018]      FIG. 4  shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the brush comprises of a flat sheet of material  7 , preferably plastic. In this embodiment, the sheet of material  7  is generally a trapezoid shape with fine slits  8  formed along one non-parallel/slanted edge of the sheet of material  7 . Multiple parallel thin strips  9  are formed along the non-parallel/slanted edge of the sheet of material  7  defined by the fine slits  8 . The lengths of the parallel thin strips  9  vary from the longest at one end of the edge to the shortest at the other end of the edge. 
         [0019]    The sheet of material  7  is then rolled parallel to the multiple thin strips  9  with the final loose edge affixed to the rolled sheet of material  7  to form the final brush as shown in  FIG. 5 . The loose edge may be affixed to the rolled sheet of material by an adhesive or any other suitable means. The brush that is formed in this embodiment has a pointed tip  10  and an elongated cylindrical handle  11  that is approximately the width of the brush tip  10 . If the sheet of material  7  is rolled tightly, there is virtually no space in the core of the brush. However, if the sheet of material  7  is rolled with a small hollow core left in its center, a fluid flow path is left in the brush through which a fluid may flow through core of the handle  11  into the brush tip  10 . Similar multiple grooves  6  may also be formed as in  FIG. 3  through which a fluid may flow through the grooves  6  in the handle into the brush tip. 
         [0020]      FIG. 6  shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the brush comprises of a flat sheet of material  12 , preferably plastic. In this embodiment, the sheet of material  12  is generally a trapezoid shape with one corner of the material removed. Preferably the portion that is removed is generally a rectangular shape and is from a corner of the sheet of material  12  that has an approximate right angle. Fine slits  13  are formed along one non-parallel/slanted edge of the sheet of material  12 . Multiple parallel thin strips  14  are formed along the non-parallel/slanted edge of the sheet of material  12  defined by the fine slits  13 . The lengths of the parallel thin strips  14  vary from the longest at one end of the edge to the shortest at the other end of the edge near the corner with the material removed. 
         [0021]    The sheet of material  12  is then rolled parallel to the multiple thin strips  14  with the final loose edge affixed to the rolled sheet of material  12  to form the final brush as shown in  FIG. 7 . The loose edge may be affixed to the rolled sheet of material  12  by an adhesive or any other suitable means. The brush that is formed in this embodiment has a pointed tip  15  and a elongated cylindrical handle  16  that has a diameter smaller than the width at the bottom of the brush tip  15 . If the sheet of material  12  is rolled tightly, there is virtually no space in the core of the brush. However, if the sheet of material  12  is rolled with a small hollow core left in its center, a fluid flow path is left in the center of the brush through which a fluid may flow through core of the handle  16  into the brush tip  15 . Similar multiple grooves  6  may also be formed as in  FIG. 3  through which a fluid may flow through the grooves  6  in the handle into the brush tip. 
         [0022]    In all the embodiments, instead of the fine slits, the edge of the sheet of material may be frayed, particularly if the sheet of material is made of cotton or paper. When the edge of the sheet of material is frayed, the resulting tip will be a flexible applicator tip similar to a cotton swab. 
         [0023]    Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered by way of example to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.