GB2033216A

GB2033216A - Cleansing and/or massaging device

Info

Publication number: GB2033216A
Application number: GB7936621A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Knorr Bremse Bowles Fluidics GmbH
Current assignee: Knorr Bremse Fluidics GmbH
Priority date: 1978-10-23
Filing date: 1979-10-22
Publication date: 1980-05-21
Also published as: FR2439576A1; GB2033216B; WO1980000787A1

Abstract

The device for washing and massage of the skin, in particular of the face, comprises a body (1) which bears on its forward end, a crown of bristles (2) and, inside, a spray nozzle (5) connected to a water supply under pressure, the nozzle's aperture being surrounded by the crown of bristles. The body (1) is hollow so as to receive the spray nozzle (5) and to ensure a variety of applications of this device. The nozzle is furnished with an adaptor (7) placed perpendicularly to the axis of the nozzle which crosses out the wall of the body and which is connected to a hollow hand grip (12) perpendicular to the body and connected through a pipe with a water supply under pressure. The external bristles (3) of the crown are longer than the internal ones (4) so as to form, during use, a protection wall against splashing. The rear part of the body (1) is hollow and extends beyond the handgrip (12) so that during the utilisation of the device, water can flow out through this part without flowing along the handgrip or the hand holding this handgrip.

Description

SPECIFICATION A Cleansing and/or Massaging Device The invention relates to a cleansing and/or massaging device for skin in need of care, especially the facial skin, comprising a brushholder carrying at one end a bristle collar and having mounted in the brush-holder a nozzle which is connectable to a source of water under pressure. The use of such a device meets with difficulties inasmuch as it is difficult to avoid or minimise the nuisance of spraying and dripping water.

Between the skin to be cleansed and/or to be massaged and the bristle collar of the device spray water, when the device is in use, emerges iaterally if the whole area of the bristle collar is not held against the skin uniformly and with slight pressure. It is sufficient to lift the bristle collar away slightly on one side for spray water to emerge laterally, particularly when using an oscillatory nozzle, which escape of spray water can represent a more or less great nuisance.

A further nuisance is created by water flowing off at the open rear end of the brush-holder and flowing along the handle and along the hand holding it. In many cases a wash basin, above which the cleansing and/or massage device is normally used, is not large enough to collect the water so that the water flowing off over the user's hand and arm drops down outside the basin.

It is the object of the invention to provide a cleansing and/or massage device in such a manner that the annoyances with spraying and dripping water are largely avoided or minimised with simple constructional measures while maintaining a good cleansing and/or massaging action.

According to the invention there is provided a cleansing and/or massaging device intended to be applied to the skin of the user, the device comprising an elongate hollow brush-holder carrying at one end thereof a bristle collar comprising outer bristles delimiting the bristle collar and inner bristles surrounded by the outer bristles which are longer than the inner bristles, a nozzle mounted in the brush-holder and adapted to be connected by a hose to a source of water under pressure when the device is in use, the outlet opening of the nozzle being surrounded by the bristle collar, the nozzle being provided with a nozzle connection extending substantially transversely to the nozzle axis, and the nozzle connection being connectable through a wall portion of the said brush-holder to an elongate hollow handle adapted to be fixed to the brushholder so that the handle extends in a direction substantially transverse to the axis of the said brush-holder, the outer bristles of the bristle collar serving to form a protective wall inhibiting the passage of spray water therethrough when the device is in use. Preferably the bristles of an outer annular region of the bristle collar are cut substantially uniformly to a first length and the bristles of the remaining inner annular region-of the bristle collar are cut substantially uniformly to a second length, the first length being substantially longer than the second length whereby the bristles of the inner annular region are offset stepwise with respect to the bristles of the outer annular region.

In an especially advantageous form of the invention the end of the said brush-holder remote from the bristles extends sufficiently beyond a handle for or fixed to the device so that water flowing out of the said end remote from the bristles during use of the device is constrained to flow out freely substantially without flowing along the handle or along a hand holding the handle.

If desired, the bristles of the outer or the inner annular region of the bristle collar are supported by the said end of the said brush-holder and the bristles of the inner or outer annular region of the bristle collar, respectively, are supported by an annular body inserted into a recess in the said end of the said brush-holder. In another form of advantageous device the bristles of the outer and of the inner annular regions of the bristle collar are both held by an annular body and both annular bodies are inserted into corresponding recesses in the said end of the said brush-holder, the annular body for the outer bristles surrounding the annular body for the inner bristles.In a convenient form of device the bristles of the outer annular region are held by the said end of the said brush-holder or by an annular body inserted into a recess in the said end of the said brush-holder, the said end of the said brush-holder or the said annular body being provided with an internal screw thread engageable by a corresponding externally threaded part holding the bristles of the inner annular region, the said part constituting an inner portion of the said end of the said brushholder or an annular body inserted in the said inner portion of the said end of the said brushholder thereby enabling the relative levels of the two sets of bristles to be adjusted.

The outer and inner bristles may be fixed to a bristle carrier comprising one or more members attachable to the said end of the said brushholder.

Preferably the said brush-holder is tubular and has a circular, oval or polygonal cross-section.

Advantageously the nozzle comprises a body portion substantially perpendicular to the nozzle axis, the said body portion being in the form of a neck and connected to -a handle or to handlefixing means by an intermediate hollow member passing through a wall portion of the said brushholder.

If desired, the device may have a hollow handle fixed thereto or adapted to be fixed thereto, the handle being adapted to accommodate a rod- or table-shaped body capable of slowly dissolving in the stream of water flowing therethrough wnen the device is in use.

One form of the device may have a hollow handle fixed thereto or adapted to be fixed thereto, the handle being provided with a hose having means adapted to co-operate with a water tap fitted with an adapter to regulate the quality of the spray jet emitted by the nozzle when in use.

Another form of the device may have a hollow handle fixed thereto or adapted to be fixed thereto, the handle being provided with a hose having means adapted to connect it when in use to a tank with a hydraulic pump.

Desirably the nozzle is a fluidic oscillator which at its outlet emits when in use a jet which executes rapid oscillations.

By way of example, preferred forms of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a section through a cleansing and massaging device embodying the invention with a handle indicated with dot-dashed lines; Figure 2 shows the device of Figure 1 in a typical position of use, and Figure 3 shows a section through a modified brush-holder part of the device, a handle not being shown.

In Figure 1 a brush-holder is shown in section as a hollow cylindrical holder 1 which carries a bristle collar 2 at its open front end. The outer bristles 3, delimiting the bristle collar, are constructed to be appreciably longer than the inner bristles 4 of the bristle collar 2, for forming a protective wall against spray water when the device is in use, so that a step exists between the outer bristles 3 and the inner bristles 4. It has been shown to be advantageous if the difference in the length between the outer and the inner bristles is 3 to 5 mm. Thus in one embodiment the free length of the outer bristles was approximately 25 mm and the free length of the inner bristles approximately 20 mm.In the hollow brush-holder 1 a nozzle 5 is arranged, the front outlet end of which projects a little past the front end 6 of the brush-holder 1 carrying the bristle collar 2 surrounding the opening of the nozzle. In this arrangement the front end is provided with holes into each of which several bristles, combined into tufts, are glued. The longer outer bristles 3 are formed by at least one closed row of holes containing tufts of bristles. However, the outer bristles can also be formed by two several parallel rows of tufts of bristles.

The holes in the front end 6 of the brush head, for the longer tufts of bristles, are adjoined inward by holes in the front end into each of which several shorter bristles 4, combined into tufts, are glued. These holes for the shorter tufts of bristles, positioned farther inward, can consist of one or several parallel closed rows of holes. The bottom end of each tuft of bristles has a thickness of approximately 5.5 mm and its head fans out to approximately 7 to 8 mm.

The rear end of the nozzle 5 is provided with a knee-shaped angled neck as connection 7 for the water inlet. To this end a tube 9 projects through opening 8 and its other end is joined to a coupling plug 10 outside the brush-holder 1. The front end of the coupling plug abuts the outer wall of the brush-holder 1. At the coupling plug 10 the front end of a hollow handle 12, only the outline of which is indicated in dot-dashed lines, is shown, the rear end of which is connected to a hose 13. 3.

The hose 1 3 can be connected via a further fixed hydraulic coupling plug, not shown at the end of the hose to an adapter, also not shown, to a water tap. This adapter can be advantageously a rotary slide valve adapter which makes it possible to regulate the pressure of the water jet emitted by the nozzle 5 to a particularly fine degree.

The handle 1 2 can be connected to optionally different brush-holders 1 via appropriate coupling plugs 9. In addition, the handle 12 can be connected to known oral sprays containing a rigid tube to the front end of which a nozzle is fixed and the rear end of which is constructed with a coupling plug corresponding to the coupling plug 9.

It is clear that the coupling plug 9 can also have another shape to that shown, for example a conical shape, which can be coupled to the handle 12 in a corresponding conical opening.

The nozzle 5 is advantageously a fluidic oscillator, for example according to German Offenlegungsschrift 25 43 378, emitting a jet of liquid which rapidly swings to and fro.

The open rear end of the brush-holder 1, consisting of a cylindrical piece of tubing, projects past the coupling plug 10 with the handle to such an extent that water flowing off out of the rear end during the use of the cleansing and/or massaging device does not flow off to any appreciable extent onto the handle 12 and onto the hand holding the handle.

This can be seen more clearly from Figure 2, showing the cleansing and/or massaging device according to Figure 1 in a typical position of use.

The water flowing off from the rear end of the brush-holder 1 reaches in practice a wash basin, not shown, over which the head of the user is held. The user's head can also be bent forward far enough for the water dripping off his or her face also to drip into the wash basin underneath it. In this way the water running off, in any case, will not reach the hand holding the handle 12 and run along the user's arm only to drip off outside the wash basin.

Figure 2 makes it clear that the outer bristles bend over more strongly with a light pressure of the brush-holder and, in doing so, form a dense elastic protective wall against spray water around the respective place on the skin to be cleansed and/or to be massaged, the protective effect of which is largely retained even if the brush area of the brush head is held not exactly tangentially with respect to the surface of the skin.

Figure 3 shows another brush-holder 1' which differs from the brush holder 1 in Figure 1 in that the outer, long bristles 3 are held at an outer ring region at the front end of the brush-holder 1', the bristles 3 being combined into single tufts which are firmly glued into holes of a closed row of holes in the front end. The front end is provided with an inner annular recess 14 into which an annular body 1 5 is firmly inserted which carries the shorter bristles 4, also combined into single tufts which are firmly glued into holes of a closed row of holes in the front end of the annular body.

It is clear that, conversely, the shorter, inner bristles 4 can be fixed to the brush-holder and the latter provided with an outer annular recess which is engaged by an annular body as a carrier for the longer outer bristles 3.

It is also clear that the shorter and the longer bristles can be held by a bristle carrier of one or more parts and constructed in such a manner that it can be interchangeably attached to the brushholder. It can also be of advantage to attach the outer longer bristles to a part constructed as a screw which engages an outer thread at the front end of the brush-holder which carries the shorter bristles. Depending on the screwing-in depth selected, of the screw with the longer outer bristles, the height of the step between the outer and the inner bristles can be selected freely.

It can also be of advantage if the longer bristles have different properties to those of the shorter bristles. The bristles advantageously consist of goat's hair. In this connection it may be appropriate to seiect the outer longer bristles to consist of thinner softer goat's hair and the inner shorter bristles of thicker harder goat's hair, or vice versa.

Goat's hair is preferred for the use of the device for cleansing and/or massaging facial skin.

Claims

1. A cleansing and/or massaging device intended to be applied to the skin of the user, the device comprising an elongate hollow brushholder carrying at one end thereof a bristle collar comprising outer bristles delimiting the bristle collar and inner bristles surrounded by the outer bristles which are longer than the inner bristles, a nozzle mounted in the brush-holder and adapted to be connected by a hose to a source of water under pressure when the device is in use, the outlet opening of the nozzle being surrounded by the bristle collar, the nozzle being provided with a nozzle connection extending substantially transversely to the nozzle axis, and the nozzle connection being connectable through a wall portion of the said brush-holder to an elongate hollow handle adapted to be fixed to the brushholder so that the handle extends in a direction substantially transverse to the axis of the said brush-holder, the outer bristles of the bristle collar serving to form a protective wall inhibiting the passage of spray water therethrough when the device is in use.

2. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to Claim 1, wherein the bristles of an outer annular region of the bristle collar are cut substantially uniformly to a first length and the bristles of the remaining inner annular region of the bristle collar are cut substantially uniformly to a second length, the first length being substantially longer than the second length whereby the bristles of the inner annular region are offset stepwise with respect to the bristles of the outer annular region.

3. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to Claim 2, wherein the bristles of the outer or the inner annular region of the bristle collar are supported by the said end of the said brush-hoider and the bristles of the inner or outer annular region of the bristle collar, respectively, are supported by an annular body inserted into a recess in the said end of the said brush-holder.

4. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to Claim 2, wherein the bristles of the outer and of the inner annular regions of the bristle collar are both held by an annular body and both annular bodies are inserted into corresponding recesses in the said end of the said brush-holder, the annular body for the outer bristles surrounding the annular body for the inner bristles.

5. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to Claim 3 or Claim 4, wherein the bristles of the outer annular region are held by the said end of the said brush-holder or by an annular body inserted into a recess in the said end of the said brush-holder, the said end of the said brushholder or the said annular body being provided with an internal screw thread engageable by a corresponding externally threaded part holding the bristles of the inner annular region, the said part constituting an inner portion of the said end of the said brush-holder or an annular body inserted in the said inner portion of the said end of the said brush-holder thereby enabling the relative levels of the two sets of bristles to be adjusted.

6. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to any preceding claim, wherein the inner and outer bristles differ in their properties.

7. A cleansing and/or massaging device, wherein the outer and inner bristles are fixed to a bristle carrier comprising one or more members attachable to the said end of the said brushholder.

8. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to any preceding claim, wherein the end of the said brush-holder remote from the bristles extends sufficiently beyond a handle for or fixed to the device so that water flowing out of the said end remote from the bristles during use of the device is constrained to flow out freely substantially without flowing along the handle or along a hand holding the handle.

9. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to any preceding claim, wherein the said brush-holder is tubular and has a circular, oval or polygonal cross-section.

10. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to any preceding claim, wherein the nozzle comprises a body portion substantially perpendicular to the nozzle axis, the said body portion being in the form of a neck and connected to a handle or to a handle-fixing means by an intermediate hollow member passing through a wall portion of the said brush-holder.

11. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to Claim 10, wherein the intermediate hollow member comprises a tube fixedly inserted into a corresponding aperture in a wall portion of the said brush-holder, one end of the said tube being firmly engaged by the said nozzle body portion and the other end of the said tube firmly engaged outside of the said brush-holder by handle-fixing means secured to the said brushholder.

12. A cleansing and/or massaging device having a hollow handle fixed thereto or adapted to be fixed thereto, the handle being adapted to accommodate a rod-or table-shaped body capable of slowly dissolving in the stream of water flowing therethrough when the device is in use.

13. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to any preceding claim, having a hollow handle fixed thereto or adapted to be fixed thereto, the handle being provided with a hose having means adapted to co-operate with a water tap fitted with an adapter to regulate the quality of the spray jet emitted by the nozzle when in use.

14. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to any one of Claims 1 to 12, having a hollow handle fixed thereto or adapted to be fixed thereto, the handle being provided with a hose having means adapted to connect it when in use to a tank with a hydraulic pump.

1 5. A cleansing and/or massaging device according to any preceding claim, wherein the nozzle is a fluidic oscillator which at its outletemits when in use a jet which executes rapid oscillations.

1 6. A cleansing and/or massaging device substantially as herein described and illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 or by Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.