JP7489038B2 - Comb with ejection function - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a comb that has the function of combing hair and discharging liquid.

When applying liquids such as hair growth agents or shampoos to the head, it is preferable to apply the liquid directly to the scalp, but this is difficult because the scalp has hair. For this reason, Patent Document 1 describes a container with comb teeth at the tip, which allows the liquid inside the container to be applied. The container described in Patent Document 1 has a bifurcated tip for the comb teeth, which allows the liquid to be temporarily stored, thereby improving the stability of ejection.

When combing hair with a comb or brush, the tips of the comb come into contact with the scalp. Utilizing this effect, a comb with holes in the teeth that dispense a liquid agent is described in Patent Document 2.

JP 2005-312811 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-290131

The container described in Patent Document 1 was difficult to use compared to a comb with a handle, and it was difficult to dispense the liquid at a targeted position. Also, the comb described in Patent Document 2 had different diameters of the cavities in the teeth, making it difficult to actually control the dispensing of the liquid.
Here, it is conceivable to combine Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, but simply combining them poses problems such as the hair blocking the ejection of liquid and the forked tip making it difficult to comb along the flow of the hair.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a comb that ejects liquid from the tips of the comb teeth and that can easily control the ejection of the liquid.

The present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, is a comb comprising a base portion, a handle portion that is held by a user, and a storage portion for storing a liquid agent, wherein the surface of the base portion is provided with a plurality of ejection teeth for ejecting the liquid agent, and each of the ejection teeth has a hollow portion extending from the base to the end portion that is inserted into the storage portion, and the end portion is provided with a recess perpendicular to the axial direction of the handle portion.
With this configuration, even though a recess is provided, the swinging motion of the handle moves in line with the flow of the hair, making it easy to comb the hair, and the liquid held by the recess is ejected when the comb comes into contact with the scalp, making it easy to control the ejection.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the base portion has a plurality of the discharge teeth aligned in a row, and the discharge teeth are provided with recesses perpendicular to a surface on which the discharge teeth are aligned.
With this configuration, it is possible to easily eject the liquid agent from the ejection teeth in accordance with the swinging movement of the handle portion.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the recess is provided so as to be visible when the base is viewed from the side.
With this configuration, it is possible to easily confirm that the liquid agent is held in the recess.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cavity is tapered toward a tip of the discharge tooth.
With this configuration, the liquid inside the reservoir can be ejected little by little, and capillary action makes it easier for the liquid to reach the tip of the ejection teeth, improving handling performance.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a valve d is provided for controlling the movement of the liquid agent from the reservoir to the cavity.
With this configuration, the amount of liquid agent to be ejected can be controlled, improving convenience.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control section includes a movable section that controls movement of the liquid agent by changing the volume of the storage section.
With this configuration, the amount of the liquid agent to be discharged can be accurately controlled with a simple configuration.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the movable portion is an elastic membrane.
With this configuration, the amount of the liquid agent discharged can be easily adjusted with a simple structure.

The present invention solves the above problems by providing a comb that ejects liquid from the tips of the comb teeth, making it easy to control the ejection of the liquid.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a comb according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the comb according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a discharge tooth according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a discharge tooth according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of a comb according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a modified example of the discharge tooth of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The discharge function comb according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The description will be made in detail in the order of the configuration of the embodiment, the method of implementation, and other examples.
It should be noted that the following embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

First Embodiment
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.
The comb X according to this embodiment is a comb including a base portion 1, a handle portion 2 that a user holds in his/her hand, and a storage portion 3 that stores a liquid agent L. The base portion 1 has a plurality of teeth 4 provided on its surface.
The teeth 4 include ejection teeth 42 having a hollow portion 421 extending from their base to their end and inserted into the storage portion 3, thereby enabling the liquid stored inside the storage portion 3 to be ejected to the outside.

The base 1 is a box-shaped body having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, one of whose faces is a surface 11. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of teeth 4 extend vertically from the surface 11 so as to be aligned.
An injection port 31 for injecting the liquid agent L is provided on the side of the base 1, and a switch for operating a control unit 34, which will be described later, is provided at the base of the base 1.
In addition, the base portion 1 has a slit along the side thereof, and may be divided along the slit.

The handle 2 is a rod-shaped member that extends from the entire surface of the base 1 toward the approximate center, and is 8 to 12 cm long so that the user can easily grasp it. In this embodiment, the handle is provided so that it is integrated with the base 1 from an external perspective, but it is preferable that it is provided so that it can be removed from the base 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the storage section 3 is a section that is provided inside the base section 1 and stores the liquid agent L, and has an injection port 31 for injecting the liquid agent L from the outside, a storage space 32 for storing the injected liquid agent L, a holding space 33 that is connected to the storage space 32 and temporarily holds the liquid agent L, and a control section 34 that controls the movement of the liquid agent L from the storage space 32 to a hollow section 421 described later.

The inlet 31 is a hole provided on the side of the base 1, and is provided so as to connect the outer periphery of the base 1 to the storage space 32. A removable elastic lid such as a rubber stopper is provided on the inlet 31 to seal the inlet 31, thereby maintaining the airtightness of the storage space 32.

The storage space 32 is an enclosed space for storing the liquid agent L injected from the injection port 31, and its volume is set to be larger than that of the holding space 33, and preferably has a volume at least twice that of the holding space 33.

The holding space 33 is a space for temporarily holding the liquid agent L to be injected into the hollow portion 421, and is connected to the storage space 32 and the hollow portion. The volume of the holding space 33 is set to be smaller than that of the storage space 32 by providing a raised bottom or the like.
The storage space 32 and the holding space 33 are connected via a check valve P that blocks flow from the storage space 32 to anywhere other than the holding space 33, thereby preventing the liquid sent to the discharge tooth 42 from flowing back into the storage section 3.
The holding space 33 and the cavity 421 are connected via a communication hole 331 .

The communication holes 331 are a plurality of holes provided in the front surface 11 , which communicate with the holding space 33 , and are provided so as to have substantially the same shape as the base of the discharge tooth 42 .
A plurality of communication holes 331 are provided in the holding space 33 in the same straight line, and each communication hole 331 is separated from the others by partition walls 332 .

The partition wall 332 guides the liquid agent L so that it is distributed evenly and smoothly to the communication hole 331. Preferably, the connection between the storage space 32 and the holding space 33 is arranged opposite the partition wall 332.

The control unit 34 includes a movable unit 341 that controls the movement of the liquid L by changing the volume of the storage unit 3, an actuator 342 that controls the operation of the movable unit 341, a power supply unit 343 that supplies power to the actuator 342, etc., and an operation unit 344 that operates the actuator 342.
2(a), the actuator 342 is in a contracted state, and in FIG. 2(b), the actuator 342 is in an extended state.

The movable part 341 is a plate-like member that is provided so as to have approximately the same shape as one surface of the inner circumference of the storage space 32, which is configured in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The side surface of the outer circumference of the movable part 341 is structured to be liquid-tight with the inner circumference surface of the storage space 32, and for example, an elastic member is provided on the outer circumference surface.

The actuator 342 is a linear actuator that is fixed inside the base 1 outside the storage space 32 and is connected to one surface of the movable part 341, and the movable part 341 is moved back and forth by operating the operating part 344 to change the volume of the storage space 32. The actuator 342 is preferably provided with a speed reducing mechanism.
In addition, the storage space 32 provided in a sealed state may be partitioned by the movable part 341, and an air compressor may be used on one side instead of the actuator 342, so that the movable part 341 can be pressed by air pressure.

The power supply unit 343 supplies electricity to the control unit 34. In this embodiment, it is provided adjacent to the actuator 342, but it is preferable that it is provided at the bottom of the raised holding space 33.

The operation unit 344 is a part where the user controls the operation of the movable unit 341, and in this embodiment, is provided as a push button located at the base of the base 1. The movement of the movable unit 341 is controlled by controlling the power supply to the actuator 342, etc.

The teeth 4 are members that are aligned on the surface 11. In this embodiment, the teeth 4 are made up of a plurality of shaft groups 4a that are aligned at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction of the base portion 1. The positions of the teeth 4 in the longitudinal direction of adjacent shaft groups 4a are arranged so that there is a misalignment between them.
The teeth 4 include comb teeth 41 having a solid interior and discharge teeth 42 having a hollow portion 421 therein, and the comb teeth 41 and the discharge teeth 42 each form a shaft set 4a. Here, the shaft set 4a of the discharge teeth 42 is disposed on the outermost side of the base portion 1.

The comb teeth 41 are rod-shaped, elongated members molded from plastic, and are provided in multiples protruding from the surface 11. In this embodiment, the shanks 4a of the comb teeth 41 are provided in multiple rows, and the number of rows is greater than the number of the discharge teeth 42.

As shown in FIG. 3, the discharge tooth 42 has a tapered shape that tapers from the base connected to the surface 11 toward the tip, and has a cavity 421 inside that connects to the storage section 3. In addition, protrusions 422 are provided in parallel at the tip of the discharge tooth 42, and a recess 423 is formed between them. An opening 424 that opens the cavity 421 is provided in the center of the recess 423.

As shown in Fig. 4, the cavity 421 is provided so as to have a tapered shape that tapers from the base to the tip of the discharge tooth 42. Note that Fig. 4(a) shows a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' in Fig. 3, and Fig. 4(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B' in Fig. 3.
The liquid L applied to the scalp is usually one with strong adhesive properties, so with this configuration, the liquid rises little by little towards the tip due to capillary action, and adjustment can be made easier by reducing the amount of liquid discharged from the opening 424.

The protrusion 422 is a member that protrudes from the main body at the tip of the main body of the discharge tooth 42 and is provided integrally therewith, and in this embodiment, two protrusion members of approximately the same shape are formed in parallel. The protrusion members are cylindrical members whose diameter is approximately the same as the thickness of the discharge tooth 42, and their length is preferably 5 to 20% of the overall length of the discharge tooth. In addition, the ends are rounded to improve the feel when used.
Preferably, the protrusions 422 have a degree of elasticity that allows them to be deformed when the comb X is lightly pressed by the user.
The protrusions 422 may be four protrusion members provided at equal intervals from the tip of the main body of the discharge tooth 42 .

The recess 423 is a recessed portion formed between the two protrusions 422 , and its width is set to be approximately the same as the width of the opening 424 .
The direction in which the recess 423 faces is perpendicular to the axial direction of the handle portion 2 and also perpendicular to the plane including the shaft set 4 a of the discharge tooth 42 .
When four protruding portions are provided at equal intervals, four recesses are formed, but any two opposing recesses are provided so as to satisfy the above condition.

The opening 424 is an opening provided at the bottom of the recess 423, and is circular in plan view, but is curved to correspond to the recess, making it easier for the liquid agent in the hollow portion 421 to be ejected. The width of the opening 424 is set to be approximately the same as or smaller than the protrusion portion.

The recess 423 is provided so that the presence of the recess can be seen when the comb X is viewed from the side due to the fact that the ejection teeth 42 are positioned on the outermost side and the above-mentioned arrangement direction. This makes it easier to confirm that the liquid agent is being held, and improves convenience during application by preventing application from being hindered by other teeth 4 when the comb X is moved perpendicular to the side.

The method of carrying out the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 1 to 4. The present invention is carried out by a user who intends to apply a liquid to the scalp. The method of carrying out the present invention is an example, and the method of carrying out the present invention is not limited to this, and the order of the steps may be changed.

First, the user removes the lid of the injection port 31 and injects the liquid agent L from the injection port 31 into the storage portion 3 (storage space 32). After the injection is completed, the user closes the lid to put the storage portion 3 into a substantially sealed state.
If the actuator 342 is in an extended state, the user operates the operating portion 344 to return it to a contracted state before carrying out the work.

Next, the user operates the operation part 344 to bring the actuator 342 into an extended state, and operates the movable part 341 to reduce the volume of the storage space 32. This causes the liquid agent L stored in the storage space 32 to be pushed out and moved to the holding space 33.
The liquid agent L pushed out into the holding space 33 moves to the hollow portion 421 of the discharge tooth 42 via the communication hole 331. The liquid agent L that has moved to the hollow portion 421 rises by capillary action and is discharged into the recess through the opening 424. Thereafter, the liquid agent L is held by the protrusion 422 and the recess 423 by surface tension.

Next, after the user confirms that the liquid agent L is held in the recess 423, they hold the handle 2 and begin combing their hair. This causes the protrusion 422 to deform, and the liquid agent L held in the recess 423 is applied to the scalp.

Second Embodiment
A comb according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a surface on which rows of discharge teeth 42 are formed. The same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and will not be described.

The comb X according to this embodiment is a comb that includes a base portion 1, a handle portion 2 that is held by a user, and a storage portion 3 that stores the liquid agent L. The base portion 1 has a plurality of teeth 4 on its surface.

The storage section 3 is a sealed section provided inside the base section 1 for storing the liquid agent L, and has an injection port 31 for injecting the liquid agent L from the outside, a storage space 32 for storing the injected liquid agent L, and a pump section 35 as a control section 34 for controlling the movement of the liquid agent L from the storage space 32 to a hollow section 421 described later.

The storage space 32 is an enclosed space for storing the liquid agent L injected from the injection port 31, and has communication holes 331 that communicate with the surface 11 aligned in the longitudinal direction of the base portion 1.

The pump unit 35 is one embodiment of the control unit 34 that sends the liquid agent L in the storage space 32 to the discharge teeth 42.
The pump section 35 includes a pump body 351 that sends air, a pump operating section 352 that operates the pump body 351, a first check valve 353 that sends air to the pump body 351, a second check valve 354 that exhausts air from the pump body 351, an adjacent space 355 which is an enclosed space adjacent to the storage space 32, an elastic membrane 356 that separates the storage space 32 and the adjacent space 355, and a discharge section 357 that discharges air from inside the adjacent space 355.

The pump body 351 is a bellows-shaped member that acts as a compression spring and has the function of drawing air into the interior and releasing it. The pump body 351 may be provided inside the base part 1, or may be configured so that a part of it is exposed to the outside.

The pump operating unit 352 is provided so that a portion of it is supported on the outer circumferential surface of the base 1, and can rotate around that portion as a fulcrum of rotation. A portion of the pump operating unit 352 is adapted to come into contact with the pump body 351, and in that state, the pump body 351 can be pressed.

The first check valve 353 is a check valve that connects the outside to the pump body 351 and is provided with a restriction means to prevent air from moving from the outside in any direction other than the pump body 351.

The second check valve 354 is a check valve that connects the pump body 351 to the adjacent space 355 and is provided with a restriction means that prevents air from moving in any direction other than from the pump body 351 to the adjacent space 355.

The adjacent space 355 is an enclosed space adjacent to the storage space 32. It is preferable that the volume of the adjacent space 355 is set to be approximately the same as or slightly smaller than that of the storage space 32 under normal conditions.

The elastic membrane 356 is a movable part 341 for changing the volume of the storage space 32, and is a partition member that separates the storage space 32 from the adjacent space 355 in a liquid-tight and airtight manner. The elastic membrane 356 is made of an elastically deformable material such as rubber or silicone, and is provided so as to be deformable between an expanded state and a contracted state according to the internal pressure of the adjacent space 355. When in the expanded state, it operates to reduce the volume of the storage space 32.
It is preferable that the area of the elastic membrane 356 is larger than the area of the base 1 under normal circumstances so that wrinkles can form when attached to the base 1 .

The discharge section 357 is a section that connects the adjacent space 355 to the outside, and is provided with a removable elastic lid such as a rubber plug to seal the discharge section 357, thereby maintaining the airtightness of the adjacent space 355.

The method of implementing the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 5. The present invention is implemented by a user who intends to apply a liquid to the scalp. The implementation method shown below is an example, and the implementation method is not limited to this, and the order of the steps may be changed.

First, the user removes the lid of the injection port 31 and injects the liquid agent L from the injection port 31 into the storage portion 3 (storage space 32). After the injection is completed, the user closes the lid to put the storage portion 3 into a substantially sealed state.
If the elastic membrane 356 is in an expanded state, the user must first open the release portion to return it to a contracted state before performing any other operation.

Next, the user operates the pump operating unit 352 to send air into the adjacent space 355, increasing the internal pressure, and narrowing the volume of the storage space 32 by expanding the elastic membrane 356. This causes the liquid agent L stored in the storage space 32 to be pushed out and moved to the hollow portion 421.

After the user confirms that the liquid agent L is held in the recess 423, they hold the handle 2 and begin combing their hair. This causes the protrusion 422 to deform, and the liquid agent L held in the recess 423 is applied to the scalp.

As shown in FIG. 6(a), the bifurcated protrusions 422 may be provided as an extension of the busbar, with the ends of the protrusions being in contact with each other. This makes it easier for the liquid agent L to be held in the recesses 423, thereby improving handling performance.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the protrusion 422 may extend upwards directly from the tip of the ejection tooth 42 body without forming a taper. This allows the device to hold more liquid and improves handling performance.

X Comb 1 Base 11 Surface 2 Handle 3 Storage 31 Inlet 32 Storage space 33 Holding space 331 Communication hole 332 Partition 34 Control section 341 Movable section 342 Actuator 343 Power supply section 344 Operation section 35 Pump section 351 Pump body 352 Pump operation section 353 First check valve 354 Second check valve 355 Adjacent space 356 Elastic membrane 357 Discharge section 4 Teeth 41 Comb teeth 42 Discharge teeth 421 Cavity 422 Protrusion 423 Recess 424 Opening 4a Shaft L Liquid agent P Check valve

Claims (7)

A comb including a base portion, a handle portion that a user holds in his/her hand, and a storage portion that stores a liquid agent,
A surface of the base portion is provided with a plurality of ejection teeth for ejecting the liquid agent,
The discharge tooth has a hollow portion that is inserted into the storage portion from a base portion to an end portion, a plurality of protrusions that protrude from the end portion, and a recess formed between the protrusions,
The recess is provided perpendicular to an axial direction of the handle portion,
The protrusion portion includes an elastic protruding member extending from an end portion in the axial direction of the discharge teeth, the protruding member being cylindrical and having a diameter substantially equal to the thickness of the end portion . The comb of claim 1 , wherein the cavity is tapered from a base of the discharge tooth to an end of the discharge tooth. A plurality of the discharge teeth are aligned on the base portion,
2. The comb of claim 1, wherein the discharge teeth are provided with the recesses perpendicular to a plane in which the discharge teeth are arranged. The base portion further includes a plurality of rows of comb teeth, each of which is a rod-shaped member.
The comb of claim 3 , wherein the row of discharge teeth is disposed on an outermost side of the base. The comb according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a control unit for controlling the movement of the liquid from the storage portion to the cavity portion. The comb according to claim 5, wherein the control unit includes a movable part that controls the movement of the liquid by changing the volume of the storage unit. 7. A comb according to claim 6, wherein the movable part is an elastic membrane.