IL102899A - Device for treating hair by means of a preparation enclosed therein - Google Patents

Description

DEVICE FOR TREATING HAIR BY MEANS OF A PREPARATION ENCLOSED THEREIN THE APPLICANT ya m>n Mira KATZ Ifia * 45 TT»N aim ' , Eder Haifa* DEVICE FOR TREATING HAIR BY MEANS OF A PREPARATION ENCLOSED THEREIN; BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a hairbrush or comb for dyeing, bleaching or otherwise treating hair by means of a material in solid, liquid or emulsion form which is enclosed in the body of the brush or comb and is applied to the hair by contact therewith. The invention relates particularly to a brush or comb provided with bristles or teeth respectively which are adjustable to protrude out of the body at different length in accordance with the nature of the hair to be treated.

In order to simplify the description the expression "dyeing" will be used in the following to describe all the functions of both the comb and the brush, such as bleaching, colouring or otherwise treating hair, and it shall be understood that this in no way will limit their use to dyeing only.

The usual way of dyeing hair includes shampooing it with a mixture of ingredients such as colour plus oxidizer, leaving it in contact with the hair for about half an hour and subsequebtly rinsing it out of the hair. Another way of dyeing is by means of a brush which is dipped into the liquid dye every time and is then passed through the hair, until the desired hue has been obtained.

Since this is quite a tedious task many devices have been developed in the past, which are characterized by that a dyeing or cosmetic material is initially inserted into the body of the brush or comb from where it is conveyed to the teeth or bristles by pumping means or by gravity alone. In some of these devices the material is brought to the root of the teeth or the bristles, from where it flows along each tooth or ristle by capillary action.

There also exist combs for similar purposes which contain a hollow elastic back and hollow teeth having openings at their ends. or slits along their sides through which the material can escape onto the hair. The elastic back is squeezed by hand for conveying the preparation into the hollow teeth.

Another device is in the form of a comb having a hollow spine or back with hollow and solid teeth attached which contain the preparation in liquid or emulsion form; The hollow teeth are provided with small valves at their open tips, which are opened by contact of the tips with the scalp allowing material to flow out of the teeth and to be combed into the hair.

All these combs and brushes maybe useful in their own way, but they all have bristles or teeth of invariable length, and it requires the art of a hairdresser to dye both short and long hair, thick and thin tresses, by using the same sort of comb or brush. It is a special problem, for instance, to dye a thin strand of hair without, at the same time, bringing the teeth tips in contact with the scalp and applying the dye to the skin of the person. This problem arises not only if the treatment is done by a hairdresser, but makes it specially difficult for a person trying do dye her or his hair at home in front of a mirror.

It Is, therefore, the main object of the present invention to provide a dyeing device in the form of a comb or a brush with teeth or bristles which can be adjusted to protrude out of the body of the comb or the brush at a suitable length for dyeing or treating thick or thin strands of hair without danger of their contacting the scalp or skin and of co ering it with dye.

It is another object to convey a liquid or emulsion material from the hollow body of the device to the roots of the teeth or bristles without the heed of pumping or squeezing the body* Still another object is to provide a simple device which is easy to handle, which is readily available for treating hair, without prior preparation, and which can be filled with the required substance well in advance.

And it is a final object to provide a dyeing device at low cost, so as to allow its purchase by any woman or man eager to change the color of her or his hair.

SUMMARY OP THE INVENTION The device for dyeing or otherwise treating hair by a liquid or an emulsion material contained inside the body of the device is either in the form of a hairbrush or a comb, A hairbrush of this kind includes a housing a part of which contains the appropriate treating substance and a plurality of bristles arranged in several rows on a base which is movable in the housing in the direction of the bristles, thereby effecting a longer or a shorter portion of the bristles to protrude but of the bottom of the housing. The base is movable from the outside by means of a' screw or an eccentric cam from a minimum to a maximum length of the bristles.

In a preferred embodiment the bottom of the brush contains a body of a porous material which is perforated by a plurality of bores, each bore serving for the passage of one bristle or a strand of bristles; one side of the porous body is in contact with a portion of the housing that contains the preparation and communicates therewith by at least one opening effecting the preparation to ooze into and through the porous body which is then applied to the hair by contact with the porous body while passing the brush through each strand of hair. The housing is preferably elongated in the form of a handle permitting easy movement through the, hair. The preparation, such as a dye, is enclosed in a compartment separated from the porous material and is provided with a filling opening to be closed by a plug or the like.

In another embodiment of a brush the bristles act as capillary conveyors of the material from the porous body to the hair, causing the hair to be treated both by contact with this body and with the entire protruding portions of the bristles.

In still another embodiment of a brush the bottom of the body is formed by a perforated body of a solid solvable material which contains a dye adapted to be rubbed off by the hairs brought into contact with the body by passing the brush therethrough and in this way applying the dye.

A comb according to the invention is of similar construction!- instead of several rows of bristles it contains only one row of teeth which extend slidingly through a porous body and are rigidly connected to a movable base in the comb housing. The teeth may be longitudinall grooved for improved capillary transfer of the liquid or emulsion along each tooth, but the dyeing action is mainly by contact with the porous body containing the dyeing substance. The compartment containing the preparation is arranged parallel to the row of teeth and communicates with the porous body by one or more small holes. The base and the attached teeth is moved by means of a screw or a cam to be actuated from the outside.

Again, as in the case of the brush, the porous body may be replaced by a solid body containing the dye initially which is then rubbed onto the hair by contact with the this body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a hairbrush provided with bristles of adjustable length, Figure 2 is a section along line A-A of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a top view of a brush of oval shape provided with a curved reservoir compartment, Figure 4 is a longitdlnal section of a comb provided with teeth of adjustable length.

Figure 5 is a section along line C-C of Figure 4, and Figure 6 is a front view of the comb shown in Figures 4 and 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The brush illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 includes a box-shaped housing 1 containing a main compartment 11 open towards the bottom of the housing and a closed cbmpartment 12 serving as reservoir for the preparation to be applied to the hair. The housing is at its one end continued in the form of a handle 2 which is optional and may be omitted. The open bottom of compartment 11 is closed by a porous member 13 in block form which is perforated by a plurality of bores 14 each enclosing a bristle or a strand of bristles 15 which protrude out of the block 13 by a predeslgnated length "L" ■# The roots of the bristles are fastened in a plate 20 which is movable in the compartment in upward and downward direction whereby the length L of the protruding part of the bristles can be changed and adjusted in accordance with the nature of the hair to be treated. Movement of thhe plate and the bristles is obtained by rotation of a screw 21 which is rotatabiy fastened to plate 20 by a collar 23 engaging with a slot 24 In the top of the plate. The screw is rotated with the aid of a button 22 to be moved either in upward or downward direction while engaging with a screw-threaded bore in the top of the housing. Compartment 12 is filled with a liquid or pasty preparation such as a dye and communicates with porous member 13 by means of at least one opening 16 in a partition 17 between the two compartments. The top of compartment 12 has a filling opening closed by a plug 18, through which the preparation is poured into the bousing.

The block 13 may be formed of a single piece or be assembled from several plates, each perforated by a plurality of parallel, coinciding bores.

Compartment 12 may likewise be filled with a loose material which is soaked with a suitable preparation which will ooze into the porous member through opening or openings 16. .

Before treating the hair, as for instancew dyeing it, dye is poured into the reservoir compartment a d the . plug is closed. The length L of the bristles is now adjusted in accordance with the thickness of the strand of hair to be treated, so as to prevent the bristles from coming into contact with the scalp, and the brush is passed through the hair which is dyed by contasct with the porous, body. The dye passing from the porous body to the hair is continuously replaced by dye oozing through the opening or openings 16, until compartment 12 is completely empty and has to be re-filled.

The bristles 15 of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 nad 2 are arranged in parallel rows, but it will be understood that any other arrangement is suitable. For the same reason the housing need not be in box-shape, but may be of circular or oval cross section with a curved reservoir compartment separated from the main compartment by a curved partition. The top of such a brush is shown in Figure 3, and it can be visualized that its longitudinal and cross section are identical with those shown in Figures 1 nad 2, respectively. The oval brush of Figure 3 shows the top of the housing 1 and the compartments 11' and 12· separated by a partition 17·, all shown in broken lines. The Figure also shows the button 22 serving to adjust the protruding length of the bristles and the plug 18 closing the filling opening of compartment 12'. The handle 2 is optional and may be omitted as in the former case.

In the foregoing dyeing of hair has been described by contact of each individual hair with the porous body containing the dye, but as an alternative it maybe possible to convey the dye to the ends of the bristles by capillary action, a matter quite feasable by arranging the bristles in separate strands each passing theough a bore in the porous body. In this case a knob. or blob closes the end of each strand of bristles , blocking the capillary movement before the end of each strand of bristles and preventing the dye:ifrom getting into contact with the scalp.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a comb working on the same principle as the brush described above. Herein the housing 30 is divided into a main compartment 31 which is open at its bottom end and a closed reservoir compartment 32 which communicate through at least one opening 41 in a partition wall 42·. The bottom opening is closed by a porous body 33 which is perforated by a number of bores corresponding to the number of teeth 35 of the comb', These teeth form part of a stepped body 36 which is movably positioned in the main compartment and urged in upward direction by one or more springs 40, while.downward and outward movement of the teeth is obtained by an eccentric cam 37 rotatably mounted in the housing on an axle 38. The axle extends to the front of the housing and can be turned by means of a short handle 39. By turning the handle aboout a given angle the cam presses on the step of body 36 and moves it downwardly against the force of the springs 40. The circumference of the cam is preferably roughened or ruffled to provide sufficient friction with the surface of the stepped body and thus to prevent its slipping.

The teeth of the comb are not necessarily arranged in a straight line as shown in the drawings, but may be in curved alignment, with the housing and he reservoir compartment being similarly curved. As with the brush, the teeth maybe formed with longitudinal grooves to act as caplillary conveyors, whereby the hairs passing between the teeth are dyed by the preparation flowing along the grooves. As described with regard to the bristles, knobs or blobs 35' are preferably attached to the ends of the teeth or are formed integrally therewith, , as shown at an enlarged scale on the side of Figure 6. These knobs stop the dye from reaching the ends of the teeth and thereby preventing it from getting into contact with the scalp.

Both in the case of the brush and the. comb a dye-containing solvable, but solid material may be placed into the bottom of the main compartmnt, thereby replacing the porous body and making the reservoir unnecessary. This material is then slowly consumed by contact with the hair and can be replaced by a new block of the same or other hue, as the case may be.

It is reiterated that instead of applying a dye to the hair, any other substance may be placed in o the brush or comb for different treatment of the hair, but that the exprssions dye and dyeing have been used in the foregoing for the sole purpose of simplifying the description.

Claims (11)

I C L A I M S ; - .

1. A brush or comb for dyeing or otherwise treating hair containing a plurality of parallel bristles , or teeth adjustable to protrude out of said brush or comb by a predesignated length, said brush or comb including, a hollow housing having a top and an open bottom; a solid body having said bristles or said teeth rigidly attached and being movable in said housing between an upper position defining a short portion of said bristles or teeth protruding out of said housing and a lower position defining a long portion of said bristles or teeth protruding out of said housing, ( 1 a mechanism for moving said solid body and said bristles or said teeth in said housing and for maintaining it in its predesignated position, a member closing said open bottom and provided .with parallel perforations, each enclosing a bristle or a tooth, said member being provided with a dyeing or hair-treating substance adapted to colour or treat the hairs coming in contact with said member while said brush or comb is passed through the strand of hair to be dyed or treated.

2. The brush or comb of Claim 1, wherein, said member closing the bottom of * said housing is made of a porous material , ,

3. The brush or comb of Claim 2, wherein said housing includes a main compartment containing said movable member and a reservoir compartment adapted to be filled with said dyeing or hair-treating substance, said two compartments being separated by a partition which is perforated by at least one opening communicating said reservoir with said member of porous material, effecting said substance to flow from said reservoir into ssid porous material.

4. The brush of any of the preceding claims, wherein the housing is of rectangular cross section.

5. The brush of any of the preceding claims, wherein the housing is of oval cross section,

6. The brush or comb of Claim 1, wherein said movable member is brought Into a position defining a predeslgnated length of bristles or teeth to protrude out of said housing by means of an eccentric cam mounted on a shaft and rotated by a handle on the outside of said housing.

7. The brush or comb of Claim 1, wherein said movable member is brought into a position defining a predeslgnated length of bristles or teeth to protrude out of said housing by means of a screw rotatably fastened to said movable member and adapted to be revolved by means of a grip on the top of said housing and to be lengthwise moved in a screw-threaded bore extending through the top of said housing. Θ.

8. The brush or comb of Claim 1, wherein! said bristles or teeth are suitably formed to act as capillary conveyors of dyeing or treating preparation from faidj, perforated member to strands of hair.

9. The brush or comb of Claim 8, wherein said capillary bristles or teeth are provided at their oiiter ends with a knob or blob to prevent said dyeing or treating preparation from contacting the scalpjof fie person using said brush or comb.

10. The brush or comb of Clkaim l/f wherein sai closing said open bottom is of a s l able containing said dye or said treating preparation.

11. The brush or comb for dyeing or otherwise treating hair substantially as hereinbefore illustrated in the accompanying drawings.