AU2008303076B2

AU2008303076B2 - A head lice removal apparatus and a method for removing head lice and eggs from a user's scalp

Info

Publication number: AU2008303076B2
Application number: AU2008303076A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Janina Tregambe
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-09-28
Filing date: 2008-09-26
Publication date: 2012-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 2028-09-26
Also published as: AU2008303076A1; WO2009039585A1

Abstract

A head lice removal apparatus, said apparatus including a main body adapted to be clasped by a user's hand for convenient top down combing action through the hair or fur, said main body in communication with an air suction and/or air exhaust system, said main body further including an aperture to which said air from suction and/or exhaust may be drawn there from, an attachable comb mountable over said aperture, such that the mounting of the comb over the aperture defines a lateral spacing between the comb and the aperture to allow the strands of the hair or fur to enter there into said spacing for the exhaust and suction effect to act on the head lice and/or eggs within this spacing.

Description

WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 1 A HEAD LICE REMOVAL APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR REMOVING HEAD LICE AND EGGS FROM A USER'S SCALP FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY This invention relates to a hand held removal apparatus adapted to rid hair or 5 fur from head lice, lice eggs and other undesirable debris and insects from such hair or fur, and also a method for removing such undesirables from the hair and/or fur. More particularly this invention relates to a unique hand held removal apparatus that provides a convenient, sale and environmentally friendly apparatus for the 10 speedy removal of undesirables, such as lice, lice eggs or ticks, from the hair or fur of both humans and animals. BACKGROUND ART One of the main ways in which head lice can be removed from the scalp and the hair is through the use of.chemical compositions which normally contain an 15 active ingredient which is responsible for killing the lice and those eggs that are currently incubating on the hair The problems with these kinds of chemical compositions is that when applied to the hair, normally by way of shampoo formulations, is that they must remain on the hair for a considerable period of time. 20 As one would expect in the most part head lice infestation normally affects children so when applying such formulations to the scalp of children this prolonged period of application makes the whole process particularly troublesome and inconvenient.

WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 Still further, many of these active ingredients are toxic or even those that tend to have more natural formulations present an uncomfortable smell and sensation to their scalp when applied so as one would expect with prolonged application this makes the overall experience quite uncomfortable for the child. 5 Once the active ingredient has partially killed the head lice and destroyed the eggs in the most part through toxicity, the carcasses of the head lice then need to be brushed from the hair as well as the combing out of the dead eggs. In many instances in most applications of the shampoos there is the requirement to repeat the process twice for effective extermination and also 10 then again repeat the process seven days thereafter. Therefore not only is the application of the chemical composition quite time consuming, it is repetitive and also requires further actioning in the combing of the hair subsequent to the application of the shampoo. Still further, duo to the dangers of applying a toxic chemical to children's scalps 15 there has been a shifting of the chemical formulations for the head lice shampoos to use more natural less toxic active ingredients. The problems with these kinds of chemical compositions is that the active ingredient is becoming tolerant for the head lice and therefore they are no longer being effectively terminated or killed even with prolonged application of 20 the chemical composition on the scalp of the user. An alternative to the chemical treatment of the hair and scalp has been the use of more mechanical means to combat head lice and the associated incubating eggs. The more mechanical approach either involves completely shaving the hair off to remove the head lice completely. 25 As is to be expected this is particularly uncomfortable for a child or the like to see their own hair removed in order to ameliorate the problem of head lice WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 3 infestation. While effective the removal of a child's hair in total often is a particularly traumatic experience. Another mechanical means in order to combat head lice is the use of a very fine tooth comb wherein the hair is stroked with the fine tooth comb in order to try 5 and capture the head lice and also frictionally remove those eggs fastened to the hair locks or strands. Nonetheless as one would expect when hair is particularly thick, long or entangled the process of passing a very fine tooth comb through one's hair is anything but convenient or pain free. 10 Still further, the actual span of a fine tooth comb is particularly narrow so the overall process to mechanically comb one's hair in the atterrpt to capture head lice in the most part could be one of chance rather than good management. More recently there has been ways introduced in order to use alternatives to these traditional chemical composition applications and/or more mechanical 15 combating means including the use of exclusively fine tooth combs. As disclosed in United States Patent No. 6086682, a head lice removal system could also utilize an exhaust or suction system whereby the head lice and eggs are literally sucked from the scalp. As can be seen from Figure 1 of the preferred embodiment for this invention the 20 main body of the apparatus presents an aperture opening to which suction or exhaust can draw Items there into. Nonetheless as detailed in the patent a fine tooth comb is fastened directly in front of this aperture opening, meaning the effectiveness of the combing experience does not work in synergy with the suction feature.

WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 4 As the person skilled in the art will appreciate, if a user naturally combs one's hair in a top down pattern if head lice are captured within the fine tooth comb or eggs are withdrawn, they will either be brushed away from the aperture opening and therefore not exhausted into the main body or alternatively they will be 5 trapped. on the outside of the fine tooth comb. The suction will have to work against the fine tooth comb in order to suck through the head lice and the eggs through the comb and then into the main body and on into the vacuum cleaner. Still further if the apparatus is to work in presenting the head lice and the eggs 10 to the aperture opening to be sucked there through, the device would need to be combed through the hair from a down to top pattern arrangement in that the comb would literally have to bull doze or scoop up any head lice and eggs so that it can be presented to the front part of the comb rather than it being brushed aside away from the aperture opening. 15 As the person skilled in the art will appreciate the natural flow of one's hair means that it is far more effective to be combing top down, and that if one was to comb down to top, they would simply be working against the natural flow of the hair and in fact entangling the hair within inside the comb arrangement as they work their way throughout the scalp. 20 Patent Specification with International Publication No. W003/056972 also discloses a superficially distantly related removal apparatus for getting rid of head lice and the associated eggs from hair and fur. In this arrangement a vacuum cleaner mouth-piece has a comb extending over the mouth-piece along with the use of a filter. As with the United States Patent 25 No. 6086682 the problem of placing the comb over the aperture to which suction or exhaust can be drawn from results in losing the effectiveness of the WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 5 synergy between the combing action of the user and the suction or exhaust feature coming from the vacuum cleaner. Problems illustrated and taught in International Publication No. W003/056972 are further exaggerated by the fact that with the comb only extending partially 5 over the aperture once any combing action takes place the hair is deliberately directed into the mouth-piece of the vacuum cleaner which any person skilled in the art would appreciate is full of general danger and risk as the hair and fur to which the lice is to be removed could very much become entangled within the mouth-piece per se. 10 Throughout the extensive range of embodiments shown within Patent Specification No. W003/056972, one continual feature is illustrated and taught that being the comb is simply functioning as a means to guide the hair inside the mouth-piece, hence the comb itself is not participating or assisting in any way in the removal process and again as the person skilled in the art would 15 begin to realise, using this kind of apparatus would become quite a cumbersome and difficult task to be appropriately combing oY grooming ones hair or fur while at the same time having that same groomed hair sucked up into the mouth-piece of the vacuum cleaner. Therefore there remains a need in the relevant field of head lice and related 20 undesirables removal from hair or fur, to come up with an alternative embodiment that can avoid using chemical compositions, conventional mechanical methods such as the exclusive use of fine tooth combs or the more recent developments of just simply using suction from a vacuum cleaner with a fine tooth comb fixed to the end of the vacuum nozzle. 25 Hence it is an object of this invention to provide an improved head lice removal apparatus that can be conveniently used on an infested scalp or animal fur for the speedy removal of head lice and the associated eggs.

WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 6 Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a complete reading of this specification. Hereafter for the most part of the specification reference is made to the apparatus being used for the removal of head lice from a user's scalp, 5 nonetheless this reference is intended to refer to the more general scope of the invention which is for the removal of undesirables from hair and/or animal fur per se. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly in one form of the invention, there is provided a head lice removal 10 apparatus, said apparatus including: a main body adapted to be clasped by a user's hand for convenient top down combing action through the hair or fur, said main body in communication with an air suction and/or air exhaust system, said main body further including an aperture to which said air from suction 15 and/or exhaust may be drawn there from, an attachable comb mountable over said aperture, such that the mounting of the comb over the aperture defines a lateral spacing between the comb and the aperture to allow the strands of the hair or fur to enter there into said spacing for the exhaust and suction effect to act on the 20 head lice and/or eggs within this spacing. An advantage of such an arrangement is that by defining this lateral spacing between the aperture opening and the detachable comb means that when the apparatus combs the hair, a natural action from top down can be employed and advantaaeouslv as it passes through the hair the hair strands can then be lifted WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 7 into this defined space in order for the suction effect to act upon removing the head lice and/or associated eggs. Advantageously unlike in the prior art, wherein the comb was fixed up against the open aperture of the suction device, there is no lack of synergy between the 5 features of the comb and the aperture opening. Advantageously in this invention the comb and the suction effect are working in unison and as there is the defined gap between the aperture opening and the comb means that any dislodgement of the head lice and eggs need not sit on the front of the comb but rather be introduced into the defined space for the suction to there act upon. 10 A further advantage of this arrangement is that the apparatus is a hand held device, it can be conveniently used to.effectively remove head lice infestation. There is now no longer the requirement to apply chemical compositions that need to remain applied on the hair for prolonged periods of time. No toxic chemicals or the use of time consuming exclusively only fine tooth 15 combs need to be employed. With this invention the person infected with the head lice need not be subjected to painful means of combating the head lice during their removal. The head lice victim can sit comfortably and through gentle top down combing through the hair with the device, results in the dislodging of the head lice and 20 removal of the eggs, where the combed hair can move into the defined spacing between the comb and the open aperture. In preference the main body is adapted to be connected to a conventional vacuum cleaner. In preference the main body includes a portion extending from the main body of 25 which is tapered to allow a telescopic or snap like fit into a nozzle of a vacuum WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 8 An advantage of such an arrangement is that the apparatus itself need not contain the necessary means to produce exhaust or suction effect. Advantageously this means of air suction or air exhausting can be derived from the conventional vacuum cleaner. 5 By not having to include as part of the arrangement the means to actual generate the air suction means that the overall apparatus can be light weight, cheap and easy to manufacture as well as convenient and comfortable to use when combing through the hair. In a further embodiment of the invention the apparatus includes its own means 10 to generate the required air suction or exhaustion by virtue of an inbuilt fan and/or motor. An advantage of such an arrangement is the apparatus can stand alone in its provision for the means of removing the head lice and eggs on the user's scalp. In cases where the conventional vacuum cleaner are unavailable or not so 15 convenient to utilize, the apparatus itself has all the necessary inbuilt features to generate the required suction which will be responsible for removing the head lice and eggs once the hair strands have been combed into that defined space in between the comb and the open aperture of the main body. In preference the detachable comb has a snap or frictional fit with a receiving 20 socket on the main body. An advantage of such an arrangement is that the detachable comb can be conveniently removed and cleaned when required and also allow for changeability between the actual dimensions of the fine tooths of the comb. Advantageously as the apparatus removes the head lice without any chemical 25 compositions or the like, it can be utilized by all those infected with such head WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 9 The use of suction and the ability to comb the hair to allow it to enter into that defined space between the comb and the aperture means that head lice can be removed instantaneously rather than waiting in some cases literally hours for example when shampoos are used to wipe out the head lice. 5 Again as no chemical or other toxic ingredients are used makes this particular arrangement safe for the environment and therefore suitable for all kinds of households, schools, child care centres and the like for its utilization. In -a further form of the invention the head lice removal apparatus includes a perforated cover over the aperture. 10 The purpose of this perforated aperture or grill or serrated barrier is. that while for the most part the passage of thereinto the mouth-piece for the most part would be avoided by this unique lateral spacing between the comb and the aperture, just to guarantee that the arrangement would work on all kinds of hair and fur for the removal of the lice and associated eggs the perforated grill or 15 gate is positioned over the aperture. Advantageously the perforated aspect of the grates or grill means that suction and/or exhaust can easily still be drawn through the aperture with the added safety guard to avoid any inadvertent entry of the hair into the apparatus per se which could again, perhaps unlikely, lead to some type of hair or fur 20 entanglement. Once again it can be seen by the person skilled in the art that the introduction of the perforated grill or grate over the aperture provides significant differences between previous arrangements utilising a vacuum cleaner mouth-piece for the removal of undesired occurrences in hair and fur particularly in the International 25 Patent Specification No. W003/056972, where much of the focus was in fact to get to get the hair inside the mouth-piece.

WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 10 In a preferred embodiment of the invention the main body is divided into four fastenable segments or portions. Preferably each section is adapted for a snap-fit or frictional engagement-type fit with respect to at least one other section such that the main body presents a 5 single body to which can be clasped by the user's hand for convenient top-down combing action with the same main body configured for the convenient connection to a mouth-piece of a vacuum cleaner. Preferably the four sections include a top piece which includes the comb, said top piece adapted to rest or nest within an intermediate piece by frictional or in snap-fit communication wherein a bottom piece is adapted to fastenably engage the underside of the intermediate piece wherein the intermediate piece and bottom piece define a hole at one end to which there is inserted a fourth piece, of which said fourth piece is adapted to engage the mouth-piece of the vacuum cleaner. 15 An advantage of such an arrangement is that the head lice removal apparatus can be simply manufactured into four inter connectable components of which are all fastenable together conveniently. The top intermediate and bottom portions can all be snap-fitted together and once done so the opening is created to which the adaptor or connecting piece to 20 the vacuum cleaner mouth-piece can be inserted thereinto. Preferably the bottom portion includes the perforated grate. Advantageously both the comb and the perforated grate can form part of both the upper and bottom portions respectively. Once interconnected by having the bottom portion fastened with the 25 intermediate section, the aperture to which suction and exhaust will be drawn from, from the main body will be covered by the grate of the bottom portion and WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 11 wherein at the opposing end the adaptor can easily be inserted into that opening so as to easily then interconnect with the vacuum cleaner. While for the most part this invention is described with respect to the use of the apparatus for the removal of head lice and eggs from the scalp of a user, the 5 invention certainly need not be limited to any such application. It is the intention of this invention to -have a scope such that it would cover all aspects of the removal of undesired occurrences in hair and fur, and this would include the application of the apparatus on animals and the like. Hence while the specification is described for the most part in relation to the io removal of head lice and eggs from humans, it should be read in the context that the same removal apparatus would be applicable to the removal of any dislodgable item that is found within hair and fur of which need not be human in origin. In order to define the invention now in greater detail, this will be done by 15 presenting a preferred embodiment with the assistance of the accompanying illustrations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 is a representation of previously available head lice removal apparatus that employed the system of suction and the use of a detachable comb. 20 Figure 2A shows the application of the apparatus of this invention to the hair of the user with the soCirce of the suction being derived from a conventional vacuum cleaner and whereas Figure 28 is a part exploded view of Figure 2A highlighting the combing effect of bringing strands of hair Into that defined space separated by the comb and the aperture opening. 25 Figure 3 is a perspective view of the head lide removal apparatus.

WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 12 Figure 4A is a side view of Figure 3 wherein Figure 4B is a front on view of Figure 3 Figure 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention wherein the main body of the removal apparatus is configured from four separate 5 interconnected portions. Figure 6 is an expanded or exploded view of Figure 5 showing the four interconnectable components or portions. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of Figures 5 and 6. Figure 8 shows the application of the removal, apparatus with the removal of 10 undesired occurrences in the hair or fur of animals, which in this case is a domesticated dog. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS Referring to the drawings now in greater detail and firstly to Figure 1 which presents a head lice removal apparatus 10 which was currently available before is this invention. This head lice removal system has a main body 12 which derives its source of air suction from a conventional vacuum cleaner 18. The main body has an open aperture which can suck objects there Into and as shown in the illustration is totally covered and closed off by the attached comb 16. 20 As the person skilled in the art will see that this arrangement does not allow for comfortable conventional combing of the hair in a top down motion. Any type of combing using a top down pattern would simply see the head lice at best brushed away from the aperture opening rather than being sucked there Into the main body 12. Alternatively if the comb is almost bull dozed through the hair 25 line through a down top pattern of combing, head lice and eggs will be WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 13 presented to the front of the comb where they will need to be forced through the fine tooths in order to be sucked into the main body. There is no synergy between the comb 16 and the aperture opening 14 in that arguably both features are working against each other to effectively remove the 5 head lice. Alternatively as shown in the preferred embodiments in Figures 2A, 2B, Figure 3, Figure 4A and Figure 4B of this invention, the head lice removal apparatus has been able to improve upon the suction head lice removal system of Figure 1 by strategically placing the comb attachment such that there is a defined 1o spacing between the aperture opening and the comb. In the preferred embodiment there is a main body 22 which has a comb 24 of which is detachably mountable to receiving slot 26 on the main body to snap fit the comb 24 there onto the apparatus 20. -The fixing of the comb 24 with respect to the main body allows for a spacing 34 15 between the teeth of the comb 25 and the aperture opening 34. The main body also includes a tapered portion 28 which allows for easy insertion for a frictional type fit into the nozzle 30 of the conventional vacuum cleaner 32. As best seen in Figure 2A when the apparatus 20 commences its removal of 20 the head lice from the user 22, because of its ergonomic stream line design allows for it to be conveniently and naturally combed in a top down fashion such that the strands of hair may be directed into the defined spacing 34 between the comb teeth 25 and the open aperture 33. Once blown into the defined spacing the dislodged head lice and eggs can then 25 be sucked into the main body 22 by virtue of the suction provided for in this preferred embodiment by the conventional vacuum cleaner 32.

WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 14 In this preferred embodiment it is also illustrated that the attachment of the comb 25 to the main body 22 is such that the angle of the comb's teeth and the angle of the edge of the aperture opening are parallel in orientation. Advantageously this alignment assists in that natural combing effect by the user 5 as they pass the apparatus 20 through the infested scalp. Still further, as the apparatus is hand held and streamlined in design, its application to be able to stroke and comb through the hair is comfortable and without pain to the user. Referring to Figures 5 to 7, a further embodiment of this invention is provided 10 wherein the main body of the removal apparatus shown generally as 40 includes four interconnectable pieces 44, 46, 48 and 50. Top portion 44 which includes comb 62 is adapted to the rested or nested with the intermediate portion 46 by way of a snap or frictional type fit shown in this embodiment as features 52 and 54. 15 Bottom portion 48 which includes the perforated grate 66 is able to inter-engage along its length 56 with the underside 58 of the intermediate portion 46. Once the bottom portion 48 is fixedly engaged with the intermediate portion 46 apertures at both ends of the apparatus are provided for. At one distal end of the engagement between the respective portions 44, 46 and 20 48 is adequate spacing for the grate 66 to comfortably cover the aperture to which suction and/or exhaust will be drawn from the vacuum cleaner. At the opposite distal end an opening is provided for to allow the component feature 50 to be able to be frictionally slid in along head 60 so as to be adapted then to connect to the mouth-piece or hose of the vacuum cleaner.

WO 2009/039585 PCT/AU2008/001436 15 As the person skilled in the art will appreciate the embodiment shown in Figures 5 to 7 provides for very streamlined, easy to manufacture, easy to assemble removal apparatus. Figure 8, as introduced above, simply reinforces the fact that the application of 5 this removal apparatus need not be limited to that of getting rid of head lice and eggs from that of a human scalp. The apparatus will work equally well in the application for the removal of any undesired occurrences in all varieties of hair and fur and this includes its application with animals, particularly domesticated pets such as dogs and cats 10 where grooming to remove undesirable objects and vermin such as ticks and lice is often required. Advantageously because of the unique design of the removal apparatus that has provided this lateral spacing between the comb and the aperture to which suction is drawn from is that a user is able to gently comb the hair and fur of the 15 animal with synergy and comfort rather than simply sucking such fur or hair into a vacuum cleaner or alternatively using a comb which is simply mounted up against the end of the mouth-piece whereby one would have to bulldoze their way unnaturally across the hair or fur if any success in the removal of the undesired objects is to be achieved. 20

Claims

1. A head lice removal apparatus, said apparatus including: a main body adapted to be clasped by a user's hand for convenient top down combing action through the hair or fur; said main body in communication with an air suction and/or air exhaust system; said main body further including an aperture to which said air from suction and/or exhaust may be drawn there from; an attachable comb mountable over said aperture; such that the mounting of the comb over the aperture defines a lateral spacing between the comb and the aperture to allow the strands of the hair or fur to enter there into said spacing for the exhaust and suction effect to act on the head lice and/or eggs within this spacing; and wherein the main body is divided into four sections.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each section is adapted for a snap-fit or frictional engagement-type fit with respect to at least one other section such that the main body presents a single body to which can be clasped by the user's hand for convenient top-down combing action with the same main body configured for the convenient connection to a mouth-piece of a vacuum cleaner.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the four sections include a top section which includes the comb, said top section adapted to rest or nest within an intermediate section by frictional or snap-fit communication wherein a bottom section is adapted to fastenably engage the underside of the 17 intermediate section wherein the intermediate section and the bottom section define a hole at one end to which there is inserted a fourth section, of which said fourth section is adapted to engage a mouth-piece of the air suction and/or air exhaust system;

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the bottom section includes a perforated grate.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the air suction and/or air exhaust system is a vacuum cleaner.