EA016780B1 - Vibrating hair brush - Google Patents

Abstract

A vibrating hair brush for enhanced detangling of hair, comprising a head portion including a motor assembly for operating a vibrating actuator and a plurality of bristles depending from a bristle pad of the head portion, wherein the actuator is disposed for generating a vibrating movement of the bristles in a curvilinear direction generally within a plane parallel to the bristle pad.

Description

Embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are directed to creating vibratory devices in which rotational motion is converted into pulses for improved unraveling of curled or unkempt hair, using which (devices) combing and untangling of hair can be done with less effort and with less damage to the hair.

Vibrational hair brushes are known in which the vibrational movement is communicated to the bristles to enhance the combing effect. For example, US Pat. No. 3,517,235, issued to Ho \ gsg5 et al., Discloses blocks of hair brushes that are actuated in opposite directions and make reciprocating movements, designed to perform combing and massaging actions by which tangled hair is effectively untangled when combed brush them. The brush disclosed in the patent is intended 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 combed with a brush. Unfortunately, such a reciprocating movement has not been found to be favorable for hair unraveling due to a tendency to damage the hair as a result of the shearing action of the bristle blocks that are simultaneously driven back and forth.

Other embodiments of the vibrating brush generally include a single brush in which all the bristles are moved together, but they are also given a vibrational movement including a component designed to move toward and away from the scalp of the wearer's scalp and massaging effect on the scalp. US Pat. No. 2,465,250 discloses a vibrating hair brush comprising a motor mounted horizontally. The vibration generated by the motor is converted to pulses communicated to the parts of the device carrying the bristles. Thus, when using the device, the bristles are moved towards the scalp and back. Over time, the jerky movement acting on the scalp can become unpleasant for the user and with the help of the device it is only possible to really unravel the hair, while it is mainly intended for massage.

Accordingly, the technical task of the present invention was the creation of a vibrating hair brush for improved unraveling of curled, or twisted, or tied into a knot hair, which would act in a selected plane to provide increased efficiency of unraveling hair with minimal damage and the use of which would be beneficial for the skin user’s head.

This technical problem was solved by creating a vibration brush for improved hair unraveling, which according to the invention contains a head including an engine, a shock absorber assembly, a vibration actuator and a bristle pad assembly, which includes a cavity with dimensions to accommodate the engine, and a pad with bristles having a plurality of bristles emerging from it, and a handle that extends from the head in the direction of the axis of the handle lying in a plane substantially parallel to the pillows the bristle plate, wherein the actuator is configured to generate vibratory motion of the bristles along a curved path, mainly in a plane parallel to the bristle pad, and the shock absorber assembly is attached to the engine and the bristle pad assembly and is configured to convert the actuator movement to elliptical vibratory movement of the pads with bristles.

Preferably, vibrational movement is common to some bristles.

Preferably, the pad containing the bristles comprises a single support for all the bristles for the overall movement of the bristles.

Preferably, the vibrational actuator comprises a weight with a displaced center, rotated in a plane substantially parallel to the pad bearing the bristles.

Preferably, a weight with an offset center is mounted on the motor shaft to impart eccentric movement to it.

Preferably, the weight with a displaced center and the engine are attached to the pad with bristles.

Preferably, the shock absorber assembly is configured to restrain vibrational motion in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the handle.

Preferably, the rigidity of the shock absorber assembly in the axial direction of the handle is greater than the rigidity in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the handle.

Preferably, the vibrational movement is carried out in a frequency range of 20-100 Hz.

Preferably, the vibrational movement is carried out in a frequency range of 30-65 Hz.

Also, the specified technical problem was solved by creating a method for untangling hair, according to which the hair is combed using the described brush.

The physics of vibration generation is as follows.

When the mass rotates about an axis that does not coincide with its center of mass, vibration

- 1 016780 force, or swinging force, which is described by the equation

P _c = tm% where t is the rotational mass;

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

ν is the angular velocity (rotation speed).

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

Using the information obtained from experiments and on numerical models, the authors determined the swinging force required to achieve the technical characteristics that they would like to give to the proposed device, taking into account additional restrictions, to ensure user convenience and packaging. When referring to user convenience, the authors found that swinging forces exceeding a certain value are undesirable for 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 must have minimal rigidity so that the brush head does not tilt too much under its own weight when the brush is held upright and the brush head does not move too much, creating a frightening appearance or interference problems, called by the handle body.

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

The weights were optimized for weight, and also taking into account battery efficiency. Preferably, the weight is a cylinder. When using the cylinder, optimal vibration is ensured. 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 assembly and can easily be dropped into the engine housing.

Thus, the height of the cylinder is determined after determining its 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 (speed) is preferably from 32 to 47 Hz. At these angular speeds, the best unraveling results are provided, as determined by the consumer and experimentally.

A weight with a displaced center is preferably mounted on the motor shaft to force assembly displacement resulting in vibrational motion.

The offset weight assembly and the motor assembly are preferably attached to a bristle pad.

The brush preferably contains (means) for power, located in the handle. The power supply is connected to the engine by electrical wires. Preferably, the shock absorber is mounted near its central transverse axis, and more preferably it comprises openings through which electrical wires can be drawn to connect to the engine. The use of a shock absorber mounted with the possibility of oscillation, and holes for the wires can prevent damage to the wires during use of the brush when it vibrates.

The pad bearing the bristles is preferably supported by means of an elastic shock absorber assembly configured to convert the actuator movement into circular or elliptical, more preferably into an elliptical vibratory movement of the pad bearing the bristles. The shock absorber preferably consists of an elastomeric material, for example, a block copolymer of butadiene and styrene or a silicone elastomer. Alternatively, it may comprise spring steel or other similar resilient material.

The hair brush preferably comprises a handle extending from the head in the axial direction of the handle, which is located in a plane generally parallel to the pad that carries the bristles.

Preferably, the vibrational movement made by the pad carrying the bristles 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 vibrational motion is suppressed in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the handle. The shock absorber is preferably attached, and preferably rigidly attached, to its engine housing

- 2 016780 near and distant ends relative to the brush handle.

The shock absorber is preferably attached using connectors to the brush head on its lateral sides, located in the transverse direction relative to the common longitudinal axis of the brush. The connectors preferably have less elasticity than the rest of the shock absorber. Such a decrease in elasticity can be carried out by increasing the size or by using another material. More preferably, the connectors extend along the sides of the shock absorber and occupy 10 to 70% of the entire length of the shock absorber. More preferably, the average depth of the connectors is between 110 and 300% of the average depth of the shock absorber at the points of attachment to the pad bearing the bristles.

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

The shock absorber assembly preferably 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.

The bristles preferably extend from the pad carrying the bristles in a direction generally perpendicular to it to allow the bristles to move in accordance with the movement of the pad that carries the bristles.

The vibrational movement is preferably in the frequency range of 20-100 Hz, more preferably from 30 to 65 Hz. When using the hair brush according to the invention, through this frequency range, the best unraveling is achieved without inconvenience to the user.

According to an additional aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for untangling hair, comprising combing the hair with a brush according to aspects from the first to the third invention.

The term vibratory, when used in this description, should be understood as including vibration, and the term brush should be understood as a device that encompasses options for execution, which in alternative cases can be described as combs.

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

FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment;

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

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

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

FIG. 5 is a top view where the top cover is removed;

FIG. 6 is a side view with a partial tear;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing, in general, an embodiment when used by a user to comb hair;

FIG. 8 is a reference diagram of an elliptical plane;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of an embodiment of an embodiment.

Variants of the vibratory hair brush according to the invention are a solution that meets the requirements for better hair unraveling with less effort and less damage to the user's hair during unraveling. Positive experience is effectively transmitted to the user as a result of less painful combing and more pleasant unraveling of hair than when using known devices. The hair is not pulled out or damaged during unraveling with a brush, but gently untangled with less tension due to the lower frequency and more gentle unraveling when using a vibration brush to unravel the hair according to the invention. When using the brush, the hair is untangled due to the application of a certain vibrational motion, thereby freeing the user from the need to substantially pull the hair to achieve the desired untangling. Using a brush also significantly reduces hand fatigue.

An embodiment of a brush according to the invention comprises a handle A (see FIGS. 1-3) and a head B. It should be understood that the term brush, when used in this description, encompasses embodiments that can alternatively be described as combs. The handle is ergonomically designed so that it can be easily used to hold it in the hand by the user. The longitudinal axis of handle A extends generally along line CC in FIG. 1. The brush head B contains a plurality of bristles 10 that extend in a perpendicular direction from the bottom wall 12 of the head so that they can be mated to the hair and passed through the mass of the user's hair. In the shown embodiment, a spherical lower wall 12 is presented to some extent, as one of the varieties of embodiments, but the authors provide that other configurations of the lower wall can be used as alternative versions, for example, the lower wall of a flat or tubular shape. The stiffness of the bristles can vary from relatively hard to soft, although it is preferred that the bristles are relatively stiff; bristles typically have a cantilevered beam stiffness greater than about 100 N / m when attached to a pad that carries bristles.

- 3 016780

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

Accordingly, the upper body 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 vibrational movement without moving it by contacting the handle A.

The brush according to the invention comprises an engine 20 (see FIGS. 4-6), by means of which an actuator 22 is actuated, comprising a weight with a displaced center, or a counterweight, relative to the motor shaft 24 so that when the motor shaft rotates, the weight 22 causes an eccentric displacement relative to the shaft, causing vibratory movement of the assembly, consisting of a weight and an engine. With this movement, in general, a circular moment arises in the plane of the actuator, essentially parallel to the plane defined by lines CC and Ό-Ό in FIG. 1. It should be understood that the term brush when used in this description covers options for execution, which in alternative cases can be described as combs.

An aspect of an embodiment according to the invention includes the conversion of the circular vibrational motion of the engine and the weight to a curved path, for example an elliptical motion, pads carrying bristles, in a specific plane of movement. The elastomeric element 40 of the shock absorber is attached to the engine 20, and is also attached to the assembly, consisting of elements 10, 12, 14 pillows, carrying bristles, so that the vibrational movement generated by the engine can be transmitted to the bristles 10. The engine 20 is placed inside the cavity 42 of the pillow bearing the bristles of the brush head, which is sized so that it is possible to accommodate the engine 20 and the rotation of the weight 22 with an offset center, with which they provide the desired vibratory movement. The vibration created by the weight with the offset center is transmitted to the brush head 14 due to the fact that the motor and sink assembly are connected to the brush head by hard, rigid joints. The shock absorbers 40 make this movement possible by allowing the head to move mainly independently of the handle due to the tight fit of the round protrusions 50 of the shock absorber in the reciprocal cutouts 52 for these protrusions and the clamping of the protrusions in the cutouts 52 by arranging the protrusions between the brush head 14 and the top cover 56 engine. The upper wall 14 and the cutouts 52 are fastened rigid plastic parts, ultimately bearing bristles 10. The specific configuration of the shock absorber 40 is such that the protrusions are set to fit snugly inside the cutouts 52, and the bridge 60 contains a groove 62 for snugly fitting the retention cutout 64 of the fixing lids 56. In addition, the end sections of the elastomeric protrusions 50 and the jumper 60 are also placed inside the cutouts 70 of the handle so that by means of a shock absorber 40 to effectively isolate the vibrational movement of the head from p hibernation A. Thus, the head assembly may float within the handle A (see. FIG. 5 or 6), since the vibrating assembly and the actuator motor, comprising a cover 56, remote from the inner wall 80 of the handle. With the exception of this part of the elastomeric ring located inside the cutouts 70 of the handle, the ring is fixed inside the cutouts 70 when the upper half 78 of the handle is attached to the lower half 76 of the handle. Other elements shown in FIG. 4 and 5 contain a battery compartment 90 (although the device may also be provided with an electric cord), channels 92 for laying electric wires for the engine, the switch 94 is turned off and the cover 96 for the switch. The engine cover 56 is covered with a decorative cover 98 in the handle 78.

Although in the illustrated embodiment, the shock absorber 40 is an elastomeric material, as an alternative, it may contain any spring structure that can lead to a similar result, for example, an assembly of metal springs, plastic gaskets or other elastic elements.

Another aspect of the elastic shock absorber 40 is that it can be designed so that it can be used to convert the circular vibrational movement of the eccentric weight 22 into an elliptical movement in a plane generally parallel to the pad carrying the bristles. More specifically, it can be noted that the shock absorber 40 is not supported along the direction of the CC axis (see FIG. 1), but is supported along a line perpendicular to the axial direction (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 a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the handle, the first stiffness being less than the second stiffness. A feature of such a supporting assembly is that the vibrational movement of the engine and the weight is greater in the direction along the CC line than along the Ό-линии line (see Figs. 1 and 8). If the user's hair (see Fig. 7) is located mainly in the direction of the Ό-линии line (see in Figs. 1 and 8), then the vibrational movement of the bristles 10 should be such that for an effective unraveling of the hair, a longer movement occurs in the direction perpendicular to the direction of hair extension than in the direction along the hair extension, i.e.

- 4 016780 parallel to the mentioned direction. At the same time, there is a tendency to unravel twisted or tangled hair with bristles that separate the hair by slightly pulling them apart and pulling them even weaker and pulling in the direction of their extension for better unraveling the hair with less effort and less damage to the hair during unraveling. The advantage of this process is that friction between the bristles and the hair, in particular static friction, is reduced.

Another aspect of these embodiments of the invention is that the vibrational movement of the head B (see Fig. 6) occurs in a curved plane, generally perpendicular to the scalp of the user's scalp, which eliminates the introduction of bristles during vibrational movement into the scalp of the scalp, which, as noted, would lead to an unpleasant user experience. In a perspective view of FIG. 6 clearly shows how, due to the eccentricity, the eccentric weight 22 acts when the engine shaft rotates on the engine 20 and, thus, also on the shock absorber carrier 40. However, since the rotation of the weight 22 occurs only in the plane of the actuator, in general, by a certain mating line 82, passing between the upper and lower halves 12, 14 of the head housing B, the resulting elliptical movement of the bristles 10 occurs in a plane generally parallel to the plane of the actuator mechanism.

Another aspect of the embodiments according to the invention is that vibrational motion is provided in a frequency range generally lower than in most known vibration brushes. Empirical evidence shows that very effective hair unraveling can be achieved by using vibration brushes operating in the frequency range 20-100 Hz, more preferably in the frequency range 30-65 Hz, and the most effective hair unraveling can be achieved, taking into account the efforts expended by the user to advance the brush when combing the hair, at one of the frequencies: 42 or 62 Hz. Thus, an improved method for untangling hair includes combing the hair with a brush containing bristles that are vibrated in the frequency range of 20-100 Hz and which are configured to move along a curved path in a plane generally parallel to the scalp of the user's scalp or possibly in the presence of longer hair (see Fig. 7), in a plane parallel to the extension of the plane in which the user's hair is located when the hair continues from the hairy hour and the user's scalp. The brush contains bristles that impart movement in an elliptical trajectory having a first longer axis in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the drooping hair or hair coming from the scalp of the user's scalp, and a second shorter axis parallel to the direction of the drooping hair or hair coming from the scalp parts of the scalp of the user.

The method of operation of the present embodiment of the brush for improved unraveling of hair includes a step 120 (see Fig. 7-9), which consists in turning on the brush for the bristles to vibrate in the desired elliptical plane parallel to plane 82 (see Fig. 6) of the pillow supporting bristles. Then, the user positions the brush (step 122) relative to the hair so that the direction of hair extension is generally aligned with the axial direction Ό-Ό of the brush head, i.e. so that the direction of the main axis of the ellipse is perpendicular to the direction of hair extension. Thus, combing the hair along the direction of hair extension provides an unraveling effect, while the unraveling effect of the hair is greater with less effort exerted by the user to undo the nodules, and with minimal fatigue of the user's hand.

When combing hair that in the normal state does not hang down as shown in FIG. 7, i.e. when combing very curly hair, which can extend a fairly large distance from the scalp of 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 collecting force to give the hair an outward direction scalp, instead of giving a falling direction. The present invention is particularly useful for combing such hair and long hair (i.e., hair longer than the length of the chin) and dry or damaged hair.

Embodiments according to the invention are described with reference to combing of human hair, but the brush according to the invention can also be used to untangle other objects, for example, animal hair, including a pet, or even tangled threads of other materials other than hair.

An exemplary embodiment is described with reference to preferred embodiments. Obviously, people who read and understand the above detailed description can suggest various modifications and changes. The authors believe that an exemplary embodiment will be considered as including all such modifications and changes, since they fall within the scope of the attached claims or their equivalents.

Claims (11)

1. A vibration brush for improved hair unraveling, comprising a head including an engine, a shock absorber assembly, a vibration actuator, and a bristle pad assembly, which includes a cavity with dimensions to accommodate the engine, and a bristle pad having a plurality of protruding her bristles; and a handle that extends from the head in the direction of the axis of the handle lying in a plane substantially parallel to the bristle pad, wherein the actuator is configured to generate vibratory movement of the bristles along a curved path, mainly in a plane parallel to the bristle pad, and the shock absorber assembly is attached to the engine and the assembly of the pad with bristles and is configured to convert the movement of the actuator into an elliptical vibrational movement of the pad with bristles ami. 2. The hair brush according to claim 1, in which the vibrational movement is common to some bristles. 3. The hair brush according to claim 1, wherein the pad containing the bristles contains a single support for all the bristles for the overall movement of the bristles. 4. The hair brush according to claim 1, in which the vibrational actuator comprises a weight with a displaced center, rotated in a plane generally parallel to the pad that carries the bristles. 5. The hair brush according to claim 4, in which a weight with a displaced center is mounted on the motor shaft to give it an eccentric movement. 6. The hair brush according to claim 5, in which the weight with a displaced center and the engine are attached to a pad with bristles. 7. The hair brush according to claim 1, in which the shock absorber assembly is configured to restrain the vibrational movement in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the handle. 8. The hair brush according to claim 1, in which the rigidity of the shock absorber assembly in the axial direction of the handle exceeds the rigidity in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the handle. 9. The hair brush according to claim 1, in which the vibrational movement is carried out in the frequency range of 20-100 Hz. 10. The hair brush according to claim 9, in which the vibrational movement is carried out in the frequency range of 30-65 Hz. 11. A method for untangling hair, including combing the hair with a brush according to claim 1.