EA015309B1 - Vibrating hair brush - Google Patents

Abstract

A vibrating hair brush for enhanced detangling of hair, comprising a head with a base and a bristle-bearing pad, the pad comprising a motor and a vibrating actuator for generating a vibration movement in the pad, the pad being pivotally attached to the base such that the pad pivots about a pivot axis which is substantially transverse the general longitudinal axis of the hair brush and a method for detangling using said brush.

Description

The present invention relates to a vibrating hair brush with improved disentangling ability.

In US patent No. 3517235, issued in the name of P1O \ gsg5 and others, disclosed are driven in opposite directions and reciprocating blocks of a hairbrush, designed to perform combing and massaging actions, by means of which tangled hair is effectively disentangled during combing brush them. Opened brush is designed to achieve greater efficiency when using it by performing counter reciprocating movements with a pair of bristle blocks, where the blocks moved in opposite directions are designed to effectively separate the hair when brushing it with a brush. Unfortunately, such reciprocation has not been found to be favorable for disentangling hair due to the tendency to damage the hair as a result of the shearing action of simultaneously moving back and forth bristle blocks.

In US patent No. 2465250 disclosed vibrating brush for hair containing the motor mounted horizontally. Vibration generated by the engine is converted into pulses imparted to the part of the device on which the bristles are located. Thus, when using the device, the bristles are moved towards the hairy part of the scalp and back. Over time, the jogging movement on the hairy part of the scalp can become unpleasant for the user, and using the device you can only to a limited extent make hair disentangling, whereas it is mainly intended for performing massage.

Thus, there is a need for a vibrating hair brush to perform improved disentangling of curled, or twisted, or matted hair knots, with which you can act in a chosen plane to increase the efficiency of disentangling hair with minimal damage and its application.

Accordingly, according to the first aspect of the invention, a vibrating hair brush is created for improved hair disentangling, comprising a head with a base and a pad on which bristles are located, where an engine and a vibrating actuator are located inside the pad to generate a vibrating motion of the pad, and the pad is hinged to the base such way that the pad can rotate relative to the rotary axis, which is located essentially in the transverse direction to the total noy axis of hair brushes.

With the oscillatory movement performed by the pad in the brush according to the present invention, sufficient movement of the bristles is provided back and forth to perform disentangling without significant movement towards the hairy part of the user's scalp and back during use causing discomfort. Accordingly, the brush is effective and easy to use.

The overall longitudinal axis of the brush is the axis perpendicular to the brushing direction during use and, in general, lies along the longitudinal axis of the brush.

The term transverse direction means that the rotary axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and is in the same plane with the longitudinal axis of the brush.

Preferably, the vibratory movement is common to some of the bristles. Although disentangling is performed using vibrating bristles, the invention does not provide a condition in which all bristles are vibrated in motion, and therefore some bristles can be set to function in the usual way in addition to other bristles, through which hair is disentangled. vibrations.

More preferably, the pad on which the bristles are located has a common support for all bristles for the general movement of the bristles. With a single support for all the bristles, improved disentangling is provided, since all the bristles vibrate in concert.

The motor preferably comprises a drive shaft which rotates in a direction perpendicular to the common plane of the pad on which the bristles are located. The vibratory actuator preferably comprises a weight with an offset center, rotated in a plane, generally parallel to the pad, on which the bristles are located. Using a weight with a displaced center, rotated in a plane that is generally parallel to the pad on which the bristles are located, provides optimum vibration for disentangling hair without discomfort to the user.

The physics of vibration generation is as follows.

When the mass rotates about an axis that does not coincide with its center of mass, a vibrational force, or swinging force, arises, which is described by the equation

Р _с = тг \ г, where т - the rotated weight;

g is the distance from the center of mass to the axis of rotation;

ν is the angular velocity (rotational speed).

In the present invention, the angular velocity ν is relatively limited to the limits previously determined by a series of experimentally obtained results, by means of which the optimum frequency of disentangling is revealed.

- 1 015309

Using information obtained from experiments and numerical models, the authors identified the swinging force required to achieve the technical characteristics that they would like to impart to the proposed device, taking into account additional constraints, to ensure user comfort and packaging capabilities. When referring to user comfort, the authors found that swinging forces in excess of a certain amount are undesirable to the user.

Preferably, the swinging force at a frequency of 40 Hz is from 3 to 5 N, more preferably from 3.5 to 4.5 N, and most preferably from 3.9 to 4.1 N. The most preferred swinging force is approximately 4.03 N.

In addition, the shock absorber assembly should have minimal stiffness, in which the brush head would not bend too much under its own weight, when the brush was held upright, and in which the brush head did not move too much, creating a frightening appearance or problems with interference, caused by the body of the handle.

In addition, the weight with a displaced center can also not be located too far from the shock absorber, so that the brush does not become too high a device.

The dimensions of the weight were optimized by weight, as well as taking into account the efficiency of the battery. Preferably the weight is a cylinder. When using the cylinder provides optimum vibration. Preferably, the cylinder has a diameter of from 10 to 20 mm, more preferably from 13 to 18 mm, and most preferably about 16 mm. The final diameter of the cylindrical weight is preferably limited at the upper limit by the fact that the cylinder should not exceed the main diameter of the selected electric motor. Under this condition, the weight can be placed on the engine by the engine supplier during its assembly, and it is easy to dump it into the engine block.

Thus, the height of the cylinder is determined after determining the diameter. The height of the cylinder is preferably from 3 to 8 mm, more preferably from 5 to 6 mm, and particularly preferably about 5.5 mm.

The distance from the drive shaft of the engine (axis of rotation) to the center of the cylinder is preferably from 5 to 9 mm, more preferably from 6 to 8 mm, and particularly preferably about 7 mm.

The operational angular velocity is preferably from 32 to 47 Hz. At these angular speeds, the best disentanglement results are ensured, as determined by the consumer and empirically.

The displaced center weight is preferably mounted on the motor assembly shaft to create an eccentric displacement in the assembly, resulting in vibratory motion.

The assembly of the weight with the displaced center and the engine is preferably attached to the pad on which the bristles are located.

The base plate is preferably attached to the pad on which the bristles are located, by means of a shock absorber. The shock absorber is preferably carried out in such a way that it can communicate circular or elliptical vibration movement from the actuator to the pad on which the bristles are located; more preferred is elliptical motion. The shock absorber is preferably composed of an elastomeric material, for example, from a block copolymer of butadiene and styrene, or from a silicone elastomer. Alternatively, it may contain spring steel or other similar resilient material.

The damper preferably comprises a plate. The plate preferably includes a central section attached to the base, and flexible ends located on opposite sides of the central section on a common longitudinal axis of the brush, which are attached to the pad. The central section is preferably from 20 to 50%, and more preferably from 25 to 35% of the entire width of the shock absorber. This ensures optimal transmission of vibration from the engine to communicate a sufficient level of vibration of the pad to disentangle the hair without damaging the scalp.

The rotary axis is preferably located in the middle of the center section of the shock absorber.

The brush preferably comprises a power supply disposed in the handle. The power supply is connected to the engine by electrical wires. The electrical wires are preferably run from the handle to the base and into the pad from the sides and opposite sides along the turning axis to prevent damage to the wires during use of the brush in vibration mode.

The hair brush preferably comprises a handle extending from the head in the axial direction of the handle. More preferably, the handle is located in a plane, in general, parallel to the pad on which the bristles are located.

Preferably, the vibration movement performed by the pad on which the bristles are located is an elliptical movement in which the longer axis of the ellipse extends in the axial direction of the handle.

Preferably, the shock absorber assembly is designed so that the vibratory movement is restrained in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the handle. The damper is preferably attached, and preferably rigidly attached, to the body of the engine

- 2,015,309 (shock absorber) near and distant ends relative to the brush handle.

The shock absorber is preferably attached by means of connectors to the brush head with its sides, spaced transversely from the common longitudinal axis of the brush. The connectors are preferably less resilient than the rest of the shock absorber. This reduction in elasticity can be done by increasing the size or by using a different material. More preferably, the connectors run along the sides of the shock absorber and occupy from 10 to 70% of the entire length of the shock absorber. More preferably, the average depth of the connectors ranges from 110 to 300% of the average depth of the shock absorber at the attachment points to the pad on which the bristles are located.

More preferably, the shock absorber is clamped in the connectors in the proper position on the upper and lower sides of the shock absorber.

Preferably, the base consists of two elements mating from opposite sides, with which the shock absorber is clamped along the connectors. In this embodiment, at least one of the elements mating on opposite sides, contains a recess corresponding to the cross-section of the connectors at the clamp.

The shock absorber assembly preferably has a first stiffness in the axial direction of the handle and a second stiffness in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the handle, with the first stiffness less than the second stiffness.

The bristles preferably extend from the pad, on which the bristles are located, in the direction generally perpendicular to it, in order to allow the bristles to move in accordance with the movement of the pad, on which the bristles are located.

The vibration motion is preferably in the frequency range of 20-100 Hz, more preferably from 30 to 65 Hz. When using a hairbrush according to the invention, this range of frequencies provides the best disentanglement without discomfort to the user.

According to the second aspect of the invention, a method of disentangling hair is created, including combing the hair with a brush according to the first aspect of the invention.

The term vibratory, when used in this description, should be understood as including oscillation, and the term brush should be understood as a device encompassing versions that can be described as comb in alternative embodiments.

The following describes specific embodiments of the invention with reference to the following drawings, which do not limit the scope and essence of the invention, which depict:

in fig. 1 - top view of a single version;

in fig. 2 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. one;

in fig. 3 is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. one;

in fig. 4 is an exploded view of the embodiment shown in FIG. one;

in fig. 5 is a top view where the top cover is removed;

in fig. 6 is a side view with partial tearing;

in fig. 7 is a perspective view showing, in general, an embodiment when the user applies it to combing hair;

in fig. 8 is a reference diagram of an elliptical plane;

in fig. 9 is a block diagram of a method of operation of an embodiment;

in fig. 10 is a side view of a preferred damper and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the same shock absorber.

Variants of the vibrating brush for hair according to the invention represent a solution that meets the requirements of better disentangling of hair with less effort and less damage to the user's hair during disentangling. Positive experience is effectively transmitted to the user as a result of less painful combing and more pleasant disentangling of hair than when using known devices. The hair does not tear or damage during the disentanglement with a brush, but gently disentangle it with less tension due to a lower frequency and more gentle disentanglement when using the vibrating brush to disentangle the hair according to the invention. When used, the brushes unravel the hair by applying a certain vibratory motion, thus freeing the user from the need to significantly stretch the hair to achieve the desired disentangling. Using the brush also significantly reduces hand fatigue.

An embodiment of a brush according to the invention comprises a handle A (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) and a head B. It should be understood that the term brush when used in this description covers variants that can be described as comb in alternative versions. The handle is ergonomically designed so that it can be easily used when held in the hand by the user. The longitudinal axis of handle A generally extends along line C – C in FIG. 1. Head The brushes contain a plurality of bristles 10, which run perpendicularly from the bottom wall 12 of the head so that they can be matched with the hair and pass through the mass

- 3 015309 hair of the user. In the shown embodiment, the spherical bottom wall 12 is presented to some extent as one of the variations of the versions, but the authors stipulate that other configurations of the bottom wall can be used as alternative versions, for example the bottom wall of a flat or tubular shape. The stiffness of the bristles can vary from relatively hard to soft, although it is preferable that the bristles are relatively stiff; bristles usually have a stiffness of a cantilever beam, greater than about 100 N / m when they are attached to the pad on which the bristles are located.

As discussed in more detail below, the head B is designed so that it vibrates when using a brush, but so that such vibratory movements are isolated from handle A, so that as little as possible the vibration is transmitted to the handle and the user's hand. For the avoidance of doubt, the term vibratory motion should be understood to include oscillatory or reciprocating motion.

Accordingly, the upper housing of the brush head, containing the upper wall 14, is located at a distance from the handle, such as, for example, in region 16, for propagating the vibration movement without passing it through contact to handle A.

The brush according to the invention comprises an engine 20 (see FIGS. 4, 5 and 6), with which the actuator 22 is actuated containing a weight with an offset center, or a counterweight, relative to the motor shaft 24 so that when the motor shaft rotates, the weight 22 caused an eccentric displacement relative to the shaft, causing a vibrating movement of the assembly of the weight and the engine. With such a movement, in general, a circular mechanical moment arises in the plane of the actuator, essentially parallel to the plane defined by lines C-C and Ό-in FIG. 1. It should be understood that the term brush, when used in this description, covers variants that can be described as comb in alternative embodiments.

An aspect of an embodiment according to the invention includes the transformation of a circular vibration motion of an engine and a weight into a motion along a curved path, for example, an elliptical motion, a pad on which the bristles are located, in a certain plane of motion. The elastomer element 40 of the shock absorber is attached to the engine 20, and is also attached to an assembly consisting of elements 10, 12, 14 of the pad, on which the bristles are located so that the vibration movement generated by the engine can be transmitted to the bristles 10. The engine 20 is placed inside the cavity 42 of the pad, on which the bristles are located, of a brush head having such dimensions as to allow the engine 20 to be placed and the weight of the body 22 to rotate with a displaced center, by means of which they provide the desired vibratory motion. The vibration created by the weight with an offset center is transmitted to the brush head 14 due to the fact that the engine and weight assembly is connected to the brush head with hard, rigid connections. Using shock absorbers 40, this movement can be made possible by allowing the head to move, mainly independently of the handle, by tightly fitting the round projections 50 of the shock absorber in the response cutouts 52 for these projections, and clamping the projections in the notches 52 by placing the projections between the head 14 brush and top engine cover 56. The top wall 14 and the notches 52 are rigid plastic parts, ultimately bearing bristles 10. The specific configuration of the shock absorber 40 is such that the protrusions are installed on a tight fit inside the notches 52, and the jumper 60 contains a groove 62 for a tight fit of the return notch 64 fixing covers 56. In addition, the ends of the elastomeric protrusions 50 and the jumper 60 are also placed inside the notches 70 of the handle so that by means of the shock absorber 40 it is effective to isolate the vibratory movement of the head from p hibernation A. Thus, the head assembly may be moved within the handle A (see. FIGS. 5 and 6), since the vibrating assembly and the actuator motor, comprising a cover 56, remote from the inner wall 80 of the handle. Except for this part of the elastomeric ring placed inside the notches 70 of the handle, the ring is fixed inside the notches 70 when the upper half 78 of the handle is attached to the lower half of the handle 76. Other elements shown in FIG. 4 and 5, contain a battery compartment 90 (although the device may also be provided with an electrical cord), channels for wiring electrical wires for the engine 92, a switch 94 on / off, and a pad 96 for the switch. A decorative cover 98 in the handle 78 covers the engine cover 56.

Although in the illustrated embodiment, the damper 40 is an elastomeric material, it may alternatively comprise any spring structure capable of producing a similar result, for example an assembly of metal springs, plastic gaskets or other elastic elements.

Another aspect of the elastic damper 40 is that it can be designed in such a way that it can be used to convert the circular vibratory motion of the eccentric weight 22 into an elliptical motion in a plane generally parallel to the pad on which the bristles are located. More specifically, it can be noted that the shock absorber 40 is not supported along the direction of the axis of the CC (see FIG. 1), but is supported along a line perpendicular to the axial direction

- 4 015309 (line Ό-Ό in Fig. 1). Thus, the elastomer has a first stiffness in the axial direction of the handle and a second stiffness in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the handle, with the first stiffness less than the second stiffness. A feature of such a supporting assembly is that the vibration movement of the engine and the sinker is more in the direction along the С-С line than along the линии-Ό line (see Fig. 1 and 8). If the user's hair (see Fig. 7) is located mainly in the direction of the-Ό line (see Figs. 1 and 8), then the vibratory movement of the bristles 10 should be such that, for effective disentangling of the hair, the movement with greater length occurs in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the hair than in the direction along the hair’s extension, that is parallel to the direction mentioned. At the same time, there is a tendency to disentangle hair that is twisted or tangled with bristles that separate hair by slightly pulling it apart and even more weakly pushing it away and stretching it in the direction of their stretch for better hair disentangling with less effort and disentanglement. The advantage of this process is that the friction between the bristles and hair, in particular static friction, is reduced.

Another aspect of these embodiments of the invention is that the vibratory movement of the head B (see FIG. 6) occurs in a curvilinear plane, in general, perpendicular to the hairy part of the user's scalp, thereby preventing the introduction of bristles during vibratory movement into the hairy part of the scalp, which, as noted, would lead to an unpleasant user experience. In the perspective view of FIG. 6 clearly shows how, due to eccentricity, the eccentric weight 22 acts upon the rotation of the motor shaft on the engine 20 and, thus, also on the supporting element 40 of the shock absorber. However, since the rotation of the sinker 22 occurs only in the plane of the actuator, in general, by a certain mating line 82 extending between the upper and lower halves 12, 14 of the head body B, the resulting elliptical movement of the bristles 10 occurs in a plane that is generally parallel to the plane of the actuator. mechanism.

Another aspect of the embodiments according to the invention is that there is a vibratory motion in the frequency range, generally lower than in most of the known vibrating brushes. Empirical data shows that very effective hair disentangling can be achieved using vibrating brushes operating in the frequency range of 20-100 Hz, more preferably in the frequency range of 30-65 Hz, and the most effective hair disentangling can be achieved taking into account the effort expended by the user. on the advancement of the brush when combing hair, at one of the frequencies 42 or 62 Hz. Thus, an improved method of disentangling hair includes combing hair with a brush containing bristles that are vibrated in the frequency range of 20-100 Hz and that are designed to move along a curved path in a plane that is generally parallel to the hairy part of the user's scalp, or, possibly, with longer hair (see Fig. 7), in a plane parallel to the continuation of the plane in which the user's hair is located when the hair extends from the hairy hour tee the user's scalp. The brush contains bristles that are reported to move along an elliptical path that has a first longer axis in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the dangling hair, or hair coming from the hairy part of the user's scalp, and a second shorter axis parallel to the direction of the dangling hair, or hair going from the scalp of the user's scalp.

The mode of operation of the present embodiment of the brush for improved hair disentangling includes a step 120 (see Fig. 7-9), which consists in turning on the brush to let the bristles vibrate in the desired elliptical plane parallel to the plane 82 (see Fig. 6) of the pad, which is located bristles. The user then positions the brush (step 122) relative to the hair so that the direction of the hair stretch is generally aligned with the axial direction Ό-of the brush head, i.e. so that the direction of the main axis of the ellipse is perpendicular to the direction of the hair stretch. Thus, combing the hair along the direction of the stretch of the hair provides the effect of disentangling, with the effect of disentangling the hair more with less effort applied by the user to disentangle nodules, and with minimal fatigue of the user's hand.

When combing hair that normally does not hang as shown in FIG. 7, i.e., when combing very curly hair that can extend quite a distance from the user's scalp, the same principles apply, except that when combing the hair the user applies a pulling force along the length of the hair or applies a gathering force to give the hair a direction outward from the hairy part of the scalp, instead of giving a falling direction. The present invention is particularly useful for combing such hair and long hair (i.e., hair that is longer than the chin length) and dry or damaged hair.

FIG. 10 shows a shock absorber 40, which (when installed in the head of the hairbrush) is attached to the pad 14 on which the bristles are located, so that the movement of the shock absorber

- 5 015309 pa 40 is transferred to the pad 14, on which the bristles are located. Using a motor (not shown) located inside the pad, vibrating movement is reported to the shock absorber, by means of which, since it is fixed along the connectors 60, sufficient movement (indicated by arrows B ') is reported to ends B to ensure sufficient swinging movement (indicated by arrows B) to disentangle hair that does not cause damage to the scalp. The disentanglement of the hair is due to the movement in the Ό direction, while the discomfort of the scalp provides movement in the direction E.

FIG. 11 shows a shock absorber that is preferred in the present invention. The shock absorber contains a central section A and flexible end sections B. The end sections are attached to a pad (not shown) in places 123, while the central section is attached to the base in places 124. Thus, the central section is fixed and not swinging, while how the flexible ends can jiggle when they vibrate with a motor.

The embodiments according to the invention are described with reference to combing human hair, but the brush according to the invention can also be used to disentangle other objects, such as animal hair, including a domestic animal, or even tangled filaments from materials other than hair.

An exemplary embodiment is described with reference to preferred embodiments. It is obvious that people who have read and understood the detailed description above may suggest various modifications and changes. The authors believe that the approximate version will be considered as including all such modifications and changes, as they fall under the scope of the attached claims or their equivalents.

Claims (15)

CLAIM 1. A vibrating hair brush for improved hair unraveling, comprising a head with a base and a pad, on which the bristles are located, and inside the pad there is a motor and a vibration actuator for generating a vibratory movement of the pad, the pad being pivotally attached to the base so that it can rotate relative to the pivot axis, which is located essentially in the transverse direction to the common longitudinal axis of the hair brush. 2. The brush according to claim 1, in which the actuator for generating vibrational motion of the pad is installed so that the pad swings relative to the rotary axis. 3. The hair brush according to claim 1 or 2, in which the pad on which the bristle is located contains a single support for all the bristles to communicate the overall movement of the bristles. 4. The hair brush according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, in which the actuator for generating vibrational movement contains a weight with a displaced center, rotated in a plane generally parallel to the pad on which the bristle is located. 5. The hair brush according to claim 4, in which a weight with a displaced center is mounted on the motor shaft assembly to generate an eccentric displacement of the motor assembly, leading to vibrational movement. 6. The hair brush according to claim 5, in which the assembly, consisting of a weight with an offset center and an engine, is attached to the pad on which the bristle is located. 7. The hair brush according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, in which the pad on which the bristle is located is attached to the base plate by assembling a shock absorber designed to convert the movement of the actuator into an elliptical vibration motion of the pad on which the bristle is located. 8. A hair brush according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a handle extending axially from the head, which lies in a plane generally parallel to the pad on which the bristle is located. 9. The hair brush of claim 8, in which the actuator is configured to vibrate the pad on which the bristles are located, along an elliptical path having a longer axis of the ellipse located in the axial direction of the handle. 10. The hair brush according to claim 8 or 9, in which the shock absorber assembly is made in such a way as to restrain the vibrational movement in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the handle. 11. The hair brush according to any one of claims 8 to 10, in which the shock absorber assembly has a first stiffness in the axial direction of the handle and a second stiffness in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the handle, the first stiffness being less than the second stiffness. 12. The hair brush according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, in which the bristles are directed from the pads on which the bristles are located, in the direction generally perpendicular to it. 13. The hair brush according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, in which the actuator is configured to generate vibrational motion in the frequency range 20-100 Hz. 14. The hair brush according to item 13, in which the actuator is designed to provide - 6 015309 generation of vibrational motion in the frequency range 30-65 Hz. 15. A method for untangling hair, in which the hair is combed with a brush according to any one of the preceding paragraphs.