Patent ID: 7526829

Claim:
A hair brush comprising: a body defining a brush head having a front portion, a rear portion, and a plurality of apertures extending through the front portion; a resiliently deformable cushion pad made of a generally resilient and flexible material and disposed within the head, wherein the cushion pad and the rear portion of the head cooperatively define an air-filled cushioning cavity; and a plurality of bristles each having a base end securely attached to the cushion pad, wherein the bristles extend substantially perpendicular from the cushion pad and through the apertures in the front portion of the head with free ends of the bristles disposed beyond the front portion and outside of the head, wherein the cushion pad is movable from a use position with the cushion pad disposed adjacent the front portion of the head and the plurality of bristles in a fully extended position, to a cleaning position with the cushion pad disposed adjacent the rear portion of the head and at least some of the bristles in a retracted position, wherein the cushion pad has a convex shape with a bowed-out surface adjacent the front portion of the head when the cushion pad is in the use position, the front portion of the head defines a first inner surface, the rear portion of the head defines a second inner surface that is opposite the front inner surface, and the resiliently deformable cushion pad biases the bristle base ends towards the first inner surface, and wherein the head includes a plurality of positioning members spaced apart about a perimeter thereof, the cushion pad includes a plurality of positioning members spaced apart about a perimeter thereof, and the cushion pad positioning members align with and engage the head positioning members to maintain the position and alignment of the cushion pad with respect to the head.