Abstract:
A grooming device for animals includes a glove and one or more grooming pads affixed (possibly molded) thereto. The glove is made from anti-static material, and may additionally be treated with a spray or solution, that is resistant to electrostatic accumulation and discharge caused by friction during the grooming process. The grooming pads include multiple protrusions that are used to cling to and collect extraneous debris and hair from the animal&#39;s body and coat. Due to the materials and the placement of the molded pad, the glove facilitates hand movement dexterity and reach. The device also allows the user increased tactility between the thumb and index finger by keeping them free of coverage by the grooming surface. The device may include a soft material on the back of the glove for grooming and brushing sensitive areas of the animal&#39;s coat.

Description:
PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority under 35 USC §119 of Provisional Application 61/855,165 filed on May 10, 2013, entitled “Anti-static grooming device” and having Barbara Schuster as inventor. Application 61/855,165 is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Animal grooming is necessary to undertake for any animal owner or caretaker. Proper and complete grooming of an animal not only contributes to the animal&#39;s health, hygiene, and behavior by ridding its coat of foreign debris, but also provides beneficial secondary health benefits to those who care or spend time with the animal. Animal grooming may prove to be difficult, however, when the animal moves about or attempts escape due to discomfort or pain during the grooming process, typically as a result of flawed grooming brushes and devices. In turn, the likelihood of injury to the animal and animal handler is increased by virtue of those ineffective grooming devices. The animal may also develop a negative association with the grooming process due to its discomfort in detriment to future grooming attempts and the overall health of the animal. 
         [0003]    There are several grooming devices known in the art that are flawed in various respects. First, many of the known grooming devices have a tendency to generate a significant amount of electrostatic energy, or static electricity, during contact with the animal in the grooming process, particularly in drier climates and during drier times of the year. Second, many of the known grooming devices fail to allow for a full range of motion of the user&#39;s grooming hand and fingers, thereby making grooming more arduous for the user and uncomfortable for the animal. Third, many of the known devices are also incapable of performing a thorough and complete grooming of the animal due to the lack of dexterity and reach on the part of the user. 
         [0004]    For example, many traditional grooming brushes have rigid handles and sharp edges, which are conducive to build-ups of static electricity. As such, the rigid shape and sharp edges may cause pain or discomfort to the animal due to inadvertently rough contact with the animal during grooming, and there is an additional possibility of delivering an electrostatic shock as the brush comes into contact with the animal. Furthermore, a traditional grooming brush lacks the flexibility to provide a thorough grooming and does not allow for the user to maintain dexterity in his or her grooming hand. Thus, the user cannot groom the animal in hard-to-reach places, cannot use both hands to keep the animal steady, and cannot use both hands to pick up cleaning supplies or other items as may be necessary during the grooming process. 
         [0005]    In addition to a traditional grooming brush with a rigid handle, there also exist different types of grooming gloves with various types of abrasive textured material portions on the fingers of the glove and/or on the palm that are utilized in brushing and combing the animal. In contrast to traditional grooming brushes, the grooming gloves attempt to provide more dexterity for the user and avoid the cumbersome nature of the traditional grooming brush. Nonetheless, many grooming gloves still suffer from failing to allow for adequate hand and finger freedom of movement and failing to eliminate the danger of electrostatic shock to the animal during the grooming process. 
         [0006]    Furthermore, none of the known grooming devices, including both traditional brush and glove designs, have adequate bristle structures, nor are they comprised of effective materials to enable the user to conduct a competent grooming of an animal without causing pain or discomfort. 
         [0007]    What is needed is an animal grooming device with an improved design that avoids the cumbersome nature of the aforementioned traditional brush and grooming glove designs, allows for flexibility and freedom of movement of the user&#39;s grooming hand and fingers, and reduces the effects of electrostatic shock to the animal during the grooming process. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The subject matter described and claimed herein relates to an improved device to be worn on a human hand, such as a glove, wherein said device is adjustable for fit and useful for grooming the hair or fur on an animal, including, but not limited to horses, dogs, cats, and cows. 
         [0009]    The device comprises a material specifically designed to reduce or effectively eliminate static electricity buildup and discharge when used to groom the animal. 
         [0010]    The device further comprises surface members, such as protrusions, ribbing, finger-nail-like structures, and/or bristles, to facilitate extraction and removal of unwanted fur, hair, or other extraneous debris from the animal. 
         [0011]    The device may be adjustable such that the user may customize the tightness of fit of the device on the user&#39;s hand. 
         [0012]    Moreover, the device comprises one or more digit coverings, such as the fingers on a glove, to enable the user ample dexterity to maneuver the device with care around the eyes, nose, ears, and other hard-to-reach and sensitive areas on the animal that requires grooming. 
         [0013]    The reduction of static buildup through use of the appropriate materials reduces the trauma, stress, pain, and discomfort to the animal during the grooming process and enables the user to complete his or her task of caring for the animal. Additionally, the ability to a) maneuver the device into hard to reach places; b) effectively use two hands on the subject; c) have a molding fit; d) reach under coat; e) effectively massage; f) wipe and clean sensitive areas; g) perform other tasks while or between grooming; and h) tightly fit around the wrist of the user with the use of a Velcro or other type of fastener represents a marked improvement over the presently known grooming devices. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates a front of an example grooming device, according to one embodiment. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates a front view of an example grooming device, according to one embodiment. 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  illustrates a rear view of an example grooming device, according to one embodiment. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of an example grooming device, according to one embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]      FIG. 1  illustrates a front view of an example grooming device, according to one embodiment. The grooming device includes a glove  100  having grooming members molded onto a palm side surface of the glove  100  (discussed in more detail later). The glove  100  includes a wrist portion  110 , a palm portion  120 , and digit portions including a thumb portion  130 , index finger portion  140 , middle finger portion  150 , ring finger portion  160 , and pinky finger portion  170 . 
         [0019]    The wrist portion  110  may secure tightly around a user&#39;s wrist. The wrist portion  110  may be made of a material that conforms to the user&#39;s wrist by its nature (e.g., expands and retracts as needed). The materials that may be utilized for the wrist portion  110  include, but are not limited to, nylon, neoprene, nitrile, spandex or some combination thereof. The wrist portion  110  may secure tightly around the user&#39;s wrist using some type of fastening means (not separately illustrated). The fastening means may include, but is not limited to, Velco®, snaps, draw strings, ties, hooks, loops or some combination thereof. The palm portion  120  extends from the wrist portion  110  and encloses a user&#39;s palm. The palm portion  120  connects to the digit portions  130 ,  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170  that enclose a user&#39;s thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger. 
         [0020]    The glove  100  may be selected from a class of various gloves customary in the industry. The glove  100  may be made to match size standards customary in the industry or be custom-made to fit a particular user&#39;s hand size. The glove  100  may be made to fit either the left or right hand. The glove  100  may be manufactured from various materials. Preferably, the glove  100  is made from materials having anti-static properties to eliminate, or at least significantly reduce, static charge buildup and discharge caused by friction during contact. 
         [0021]    The glove  100  may be made of various materials including, but not limited to, carbon fiber, para-aramid synthetic fiber, poly-paraphenylene tereph thalamide, nylon, neoprene, nitrile, or spandex. The glove  100  may be made from or contain additional materials employing agents with long-chain aliphatic ethoxylated and nonethoxylated amines and amides, quaternary ammonium salts, including, but not limited to, behentrimonium chloride or cocamidopropyl betaine, esters of phosphoric acid, polyethylene glycol esters, or polyols. 
         [0022]    The glove  100  may also consist at least partially of conductive polymers, like PEDOT-PSS and conducting polymer nanofibers, including, but not limited to, polyaniline nanofibers. Low loading levels of conducting polymers (e.g., one to five percent of the total weight), may effectively dissipate electrostatic charge in coatings and textiles, leading to anti-static applications in microelectronics, fabrics, and carpeting. 
         [0023]    The glove  100  can be made at least partially from materials that retain more moisture in order to further reduce buildup and discharge of static electricity. Such materials include, but are not limited to, rag wool, nylon, and cotton. 
         [0024]    At least a portion of the glove  100  may be dipped in TPU plastic, other antistatic polyurethane plastic or nitrile to provide for increased gripping as well as providing anti-static properties. 
         [0025]    In addition to, or in place of, being made from anti-static materials such as those listed above, the glove  100  could be treated with a supplemental anti-static agent such as a spray, vapor, or liquid solution to reduce or eliminate the static buildup in the invention during the grooming process. Such spray, vapor, or liquid solution must be of a type, or consist from such materials, as is safe for contacting the skin or coat of the animal and is preferably made from natural or hypoallergenic components. 
         [0026]    Molded to the palm portion  120  and the digit portions  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170  are grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172 . Each of the grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  may include a plurality of protrusions  180 . The grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  may be made from various materials, including, but not limited to, polyelatomers, rubber, TPU plastic, thermoplastic elastomer, PVC, and nitrile. The molding of the grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  to the glove  100  will be discussed in more detail later. 
         [0027]    The protrusions  180  are to brush and collect different types of extraneous debris and loose hair from the coat of the animal. The protrusions  180  are illustrated as being circular (cylindrical in three dimension), but are not limited thereto. Rather, the protrusions  180  may be any other shape that provides the desired result, including, but not limited to, ovals, bars, curves and cones. The height, width (diameter), spacing, frequency, number, and/or pattern of the protrusions  180  may vary depending on amongst other things, the type of animal (e.g., dog, horse) and the type of coat (e.g., long hair, short hair). 
         [0028]    As illustrated, the protrusions  180  have approximately the same shape, pattern and spacing on each of the grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  but is in no way limited thereto. Rather, the protrusions  180  may vary in shape, height, width, spacing, frequency, number, and/or pattern within one or more of the grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  and/or between one or more of the various grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172 . 
         [0029]    According to one embodiment, at least a subset of the protrusions  180  may include holes therein (not separately illustrated) to receive bristles, brushes or the like after the grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  are molded onto the glove  100 . The type and size of the bristles/brushes may be determined based on the use of the grooming device. 
         [0030]    As illustrated, the thumb portion  130  of the glove  100  does not include a grooming member. This is to provide a user&#39;s thumb with freedom to move about (dexterity), to grab items, and/or to have a free surface to touch an animal (e.g., clean an animal&#39;s eyes). The grooming device is not limited to not having a grooming member on the thumb portion  130  of the glove  100 . According to one embodiment, the thumb portion  130  of the glove  100  may include a grooming member on at least a portion thereof. 
         [0031]    Furthermore, as illustrated the grooming member  122  is shaped so as to not cover a portion  124  of the palm portion  120  of the glove  100 . The portion  124  not covered is the portion where a user&#39;s thumb and palm are connected (e.g., the thumb joint  124 ). Not covering the thumb joint  124  with the grooming member  122  provides a user with more freedom to rotate their thumb (more dexterity). The grooming member  122  extends further down the side of the palm portion  120  opposite the thumb portion  130  and extends up to just below a connection to the digit portions  140 ,  150 ,  160 ,  170 . According to one embodiment, the grooming member  122  may extend over at least a portion of the thumb joint  124  (such an embodiment may provide additional grooming surface at the cost of decreased dexterity). 
         [0032]    As illustrated, the grooming members  152 ,  162  cover substantially the entire digit portions  150 ,  160  as they extend from just above the connection to the palm portion  120  to the end of the digit portions  150 ,  160 . In addition to the protrusions  180  that are illustrated as being circular, the grooming members  152 ,  162  also include protrusions  182 . The protrusions  182  are located at far end (distal phalanx) of the grooming members  152 ,  162  (end of digit portions  150 ,  160 ) and extend substantially along width thereof. According to one embodiment, the protrusions  182  may also extend down sides of the grooming members  152 ,  162 . The protrusions  182  are illustrated as being oblong but are not limited thereby. As illustrated, the grooming members  152 ,  162  each include a single protrusion  182  but are not limited thereby as more than one protrusion  182  may be included at an end of at least one of the grooming members  152 ,  162 . The height of the protrusions  182  may be the same as the height of the protrusions  180  or may extend higher. The protrusions  182  are to enable the user to perform a deeper and more thorough grooming of the animal&#39;s coat and/or to groom hard-to-reach places on the animal&#39;s body, including, but not limited to, excavating the animal&#39;s ears. 
         [0033]    According to one embodiment, at least a subset of the protrusions  182  may include holes or a slot formed therein (not separately illustrated) to receive bristles, brushes, a rigid material or the like after the grooming members  152 ,  162  are molded onto the glove  100 . The type and size of the items placed in the holes/slots may be determined based on the use of the grooming device. The rigid material that may be utilized may include, but is not limited to, plastic, carbon fiber, collagen-based material, metal, polyurethane plastic, PVC, rubber, and neoprene. 
         [0034]    As illustrated, the grooming members  142 ,  172  cover only a portion (e.g., proximal phalanx and middle phalanx) of the index finger portion  140  and the pinky finger portion  170 . The portion of the index finger portion  140  and the pinky finger portion  170  covered by the grooming members  142 ,  172  may be the same or may be different. The uncovered portions of the index finger portion  140  and the pinky finger portion  170  allow for increased dexterity and tactility in those fingers for gripping and holding smaller objects. Furthermore, it may also allow for grooming small or sensitive areas of the animal, such as around the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The amount of the index finger portion  140  and the pinky finger portion  170  is not limited to any set amount and may vary based on the use of the glove  100 . According to one embodiment, the pinky finger portion  170  may be completely covered by the grooming member  172  so that only the thumb portion  130  and the index finger portion  140  have portions free of grooming members and may be used to more easily secure items therebetween. 
         [0035]    According to one embodiment, one or more of the grooming members  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  may include one or more bending seams (not separately illustrated) at the phalangeal joints (e.g., knuckles). The bending seams increase dexterity and flexibility in the fingers of the user by decreasing the glove&#39;s  100  resistance to bending due to the grooming members  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172 . According to one embodiment, one or more of the grooming members  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  may be a plurality of grooming members so that the grooming member does do not cover the joints of a user thus further increasing the dexterity. 
         [0036]    The grooming device is not limited to the illustrated configuration having a plurality of grooming members molded to the glove  100  in a certain fashion. Rather, the grooming device may include one or more grooming member molded to the glove  100  to cover various portions of the glove  100  without departing from the current scope. For example, different fingers may be fully covered, partially covered, or not covered by the grooming members. 
         [0037]      FIG. 2  illustrates a front view of an example grooming device, according to one embodiment. The grooming device includes a glove  200  having a wrist portion  210 , a palm portion  220 , and digit portions including a thumb portion  230 , index finger portion  240 , middle finger portion  250 , ring finger portion  260 , and pinky finger portion  270 . The glove  200  is at least similar to the glove  100  and may be made of the same or similar materials. 
         [0038]    The grooming device also includes a grooming member  205  molded to the glove. The grooming member  205  is at least similar to the grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  and may be made of the same or similar materials. As illustrated, the grooming member  205  covers at least a portion of palm portion  220  and the digit portions  240 ,  250 ,  260 ,  270  of the glove  200 . The grooming member  205  may include a plurality of protrusions  280 . The protrusions  280  are to brush and collect different types of extraneous debris and loose hair from the coat of the animal. According to one embodiment, at least a subset of the protrusions  280  may include holes therein (not separately illustrated) to receive bristles, brushes or the like after the grooming member  205  is molded onto the glove  200 . 
         [0039]    As illustrated, the grooming member  205  does not cover the thumb portion  230  of the glove  200  to provide a user&#39;s thumb with freedom to move about (dexterity), to grab items, and/or to have a free surface to touch an animal (e.g., clean an animal&#39;s eyes). Furthermore, as illustrated the grooming member  205  is shaped so as to not cover a portion  224  of the palm portion  220  of the glove  200  where a user&#39;s thumb and palm are connected (e.g., the thumb joint  124 ) to provide a user with more freedom to rotate their thumb (more dexterity). 
         [0040]    As illustrated, the grooming member  205  covers substantially the entire digit portions  250 ,  260  and also include protrusions  282  located at an end (distal phalanx) of the digit portions  250 ,  260  and extend substantially along top edges thereof to enable the user to perform a deeper and more thorough grooming of the animal&#39;s coat and/or to groom hard-to-reach places on the animal&#39;s body. 
         [0041]    As illustrated, the grooming member  205  covers only a portion (e.g., proximal phalanx and middle phalanx) of the index finger portion  240  and the pinky finger portion  270  to allow for increased dexterity and tactility in those fingers for gripping and holding smaller objects. 
         [0042]    As illustrated, the grooming member  205  includes bending seams  290  at the phalangeal joints (e.g., knuckles). The bending seams  290  increase dexterity and flexibility in the fingers of the user by decreasing the glove&#39;s  200  resistance to bending due to the grooming member  205 . 
         [0043]    According to one embodiment, the grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172  or the grooming member  205  may be molded directly to the glove  100 ,  200  so that the material of the grooming members essentially fuses with the material of the glove  100 ,  200  and the grooming device essentially becomes a single unit. This is advantageous to an embodiment where the grooming members are formed separately and then secured to the glove via, for example, gluing, suing, welding, heating or the like as those arrangements are susceptible to separation. 
         [0044]    The mold used to mold the grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172 ,  205  directly to the glove  100 ,  200  may include a back plate that is placed within the glove  100 / 200  and one or more top plates that go over the glove and form the mold on the appropriate portions of the glove  100 / 200 . In this manner when the mold is formed it is formed right on the glove and the process causes the grooming members  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172 ,  205  to mesh with the material of the glove  100 / 200 . One skilled in the art would understand the molding process. 
         [0045]      FIG. 3  illustrates a back view of an example grooming device (e.g., the grooming device of  FIG. 1  or  FIG. 2 ), according to one embodiment. The grooming device includes a glove  300  having a wrist portion  310 , a palm portion  320 , a thumb portion  330 , an index finger portion  340 , a middle finger portion  350 , a ring finger portion  360 , and a pinky finger portion  370 . The back of the glove  300  may not include any grooming members (e.g.,  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172 ,  205 ) as these may be reserved for the front (palm side) of the glove  300 . The back of the glove  300  may have a portion  390  that includes a soft material (soft material portion  390 ). The soft material may be made from various soft and/or absorbent materials including, but not limited to, Nylon, felt, silk, fleece, absorbent cotton, dyneema, rag wool and chamois material. The soft material enables the back of the glove  300  to provide additional grooming for more sensitive portions of the animal or to sooth the animal. As illustrated, the soft material portion  39  covers substantially the whole back of the glove including the palm portion  320 , the thumb portion  330 , the index finger portion  340 , the middle finger portion  350 , the ring finger portion  360 , and the pinky finger portion  370 . However, the configuration of the soft material portion  390  is not limited thereby. Rather, the soft material portion  390  can cover a portion of the back of the glove  300  including a portion of the palm portion  320 , a subset of the digit portions (not cover all digits), and/or a portion of one or more of the digit portions without departing from the current scope. 
         [0046]    The soft material may be part of the glove  300  or may be connected to the glove  300 . 
         [0047]      FIG. 4  is a side view of an example grooming device (e.g., the grooming device of  FIG. 1  or  FIG. 2 ), according to one embodiment. The grooming device includes a glove  400 , having a wrist portion  410 , the palm portion  420 , and digit portions  430  (individual digits not separately displayed). The grooming device also including one or more grooming members  440  (e.g.,  122 ,  142 ,  152 ,  162 ,  172 ,  205 ) having protrusions  480 ,  482  (e.g.,  180 ,  182 ,  280 ,  282 ). The protrusions  480  are located on the palm portion  420  and digit portions  430  while the protrusions  482  are located at tips of one or more digit portions  430 . 
         [0048]    The protrusions  480 ,  482  may vary in number, frequency, and size, including height and width, in addition to shape, depending on the animal sought to be groomed or the type of cleaning technique, process, or area sought to be cleaned. 
         [0049]    Although the disclosure has been illustrated by reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent that the disclosure is not limited thereto as various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope. Reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described therein is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” appearing in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. 
         [0050]    The various embodiments are intended to be protected broadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.