WO2023021255A1

WO2023021255A1 - Modular hairbrush

Info

Publication number: WO2023021255A1
Application number: PCT/FR2022/051570
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alexandra CAPART; Sarah-Marie BARTOLETTI
Original assignee: Capart Alexandra; Bartoletti Sarah Marie
Priority date: 2021-08-16
Filing date: 2022-08-08
Publication date: 2023-02-23
Also published as: FR3126090A1

Abstract

A modular hairbrush (100) comprising a brush head (10) provided on its outer face with a plurality of bristles or spikes (14), and a handle (20), the hairbrush having two parts (11a, 11b) articulated together by means of a hinge (12) and allowing the brush to have a closed configuration, suitable for a first type of brushing, and an open configuration, suitable for a second type of brushing, each articulated part (11a, 11b) comprising a curved portion (111a, 111b) terminating in a free edge of the part and a planar portion (112a, 112b) extending the curved portion to an opposite edge in engagement with the hinge (12), the free edges of the curved portions being contiguous in the closed configuration, and the planar portions being coplanar in the open configuration.

Description

Modular hairbrush

Technical area

The present invention belongs to the field of hairdressing devices and utensils, in particular hairbrushes, and relates more particularly to a modular hairbrush allowing both brushing to detangle the hair and rolling up of the locks of hair to achieve blow-drying.

State of the art

Hairbrushes are used on a daily basis, whether for a quick detangling of the hair or neat styling in combination with a heating medium such as a straightening iron or a hair dryer.

Historically, the hairbrush was a prized, even luxurious personal object, made with noble materials and exclusively on request, before becoming a toiletry and beauty kit for the general public.

Towards the end of the ^18th century, William Kent founded the company Kent Brushes in England, known to be the first manufacturer of hairbrushes in the world.

On the other side of the Atlantic, many American entrepreneurs contributed to the development of the hairbrush, including Hugh Rock who in 1854 filed a design and model of the classic brush with its known elliptical shape and slightly curved handle.

Nowadays, the diversity of brushes is at least as great as that of hair. Some brushes, like the Kent Brushes, are still handcrafted from carefully selected wood and bristles, while others are made of plastic and rubber.

Hairbrushes also exist in different forms with different types of bristles or pins to perform different functions during styling (detangling, separation, shaping, etc.). As a result, it becomes almost essential for each user to have a set of several different hairbrushes, generally two or three, to achieve the desired hairstyles.

Modular solutions have therefore been devised to combine several functionalities in the same hairbrush.

For example, documents FR2868266A1 and US4423531A describe such modular brushes. However, these solutions are not satisfactory in terms of functionality and manageability, the first not allowing effective winding of the hair for blow-drying and the second being flexible and inconvenient.

The document CN201398601 Y describes a more practical modular hairbrush, the latter comprising two parts hinged together by means of a hinge to present an open position for brushing and a closed position for rolling up the hair. Each part is formed by a curved portion, one edge of which engages the hinge. In the closed position, the curved portions meet so that the brush has a substantially cylindrical shape. In the open position, the portions are not in the same plane so that the hairbrush can be used in the conventional way to brush the hair. This solution is therefore less effective for brushing. This same document describes another embodiment with a central flat part for brushing, but adds two hinged flaps on one side and the other, which unnecessarily complicates the mechanism of the brush and multiplies the junctions of the hinges in which hair can get caught.

Presentation of the invention

The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art, set out above, by proposing an innovative solution of great simplicity, very practical for carrying out either conventional brushing or winding of the hair for brushing-type styling with using heating means.

To this end, the subject of the present invention is a modular hairbrush comprising a brush head furnished on its outer face with a plurality of bristles or barbs and a handle, said brush head comprising two parts hinged together by means of a hinge and allowing the brush to have a closed configuration, suitable for a first type of brushing, and an open configuration, suitable for a second type of brushing. This brush is remarkable in that each hinged part comprises a curved portion terminating in a free edge of said part and a flat portion extending said curved portion to an opposite edge engaged with the hinge, in that the free edges of the curved portions are joined in the closed configuration, and in that the flat portions are coplanar in the open configuration.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the passage from the closed configuration to the open configuration is done by a button placed on the handle. More particularly, the button is monostable.

According to one embodiment, the position of the articulated parts is locked in each configuration by means of a mechanism comprising tabs, provided with holes, and locking elements engaging in said holes in the closed configuration and blocking the rotation of said tabs in an open configuration.

Advantageously, the bristles or spikes are implanted in a flexible membrane covering the outer face of the brush head, including the hinge, in order to prevent hair from getting stuck therein.

The fundamental concepts of the invention having just been exposed in their most elementary form, other details and characteristics will emerge more clearly on reading the description which follows and with reference to the appended drawings, giving by way of example not limiting an embodiment of a modular hairbrush according to the principles of the invention.

Presentation of drawings

The figures are given for purely illustrative purposes for a better understanding of the invention without limiting its scope. The different elements are represented very schematically. In all the figures, identical or equivalent elements bear the same reference numeral.

It is thus illustrated in: -Fig. 1: a perspective view of a modular hairbrush according to one embodiment of the invention;

-Fig. 2: a perspective view of the brush in the closed configuration and in the open configuration;

-Fig. 3: a top view of the brush in the two configurations;

-Fig. 4: another perspective view of the brush in the two configurations;

-Fig. 5: a perspective view of the brush mechanism in the two configurations, the articulated parts being transparent on the closed configuration;

-Fig. 6: a partial view of the mechanism revealing the button spring.

Detailed description of embodiments

In the embodiment described below, reference is made to a modular hairbrush, mainly of the type without supplying heat. This non-limiting example is given for a better understanding of the invention and does not exclude the use of such a brush on a heated styling device such as a steam straightening or curling hairbrush. In the remainder of the description, the term “brush”, used alone, designates a hairbrush.

FIG. 1 represents a modular brush 100 comprising a brush head 10 and a handle 20 supporting said head and extending longitudinally along the same axis. The brush head 10 is formed of two parts 11a and 11b hinged together, by means of a central hinge 12, each of said parts being lined with bristles or spikes 14 on its outer face intended to come into contact with the hair .

The bristles or spikes 14 can be of any type and implanted either directly on the outer faces of the articulated parts 11a and 11b, or via a flexible membrane which covers the outer faces of said parts. The bristles or barbs can for example be arranged in staggered rows.

Preferably, the bristles or barbs 14 are attached to the articulated parts 11a and 11b by means of a flexible membrane 13, which perfectly follows the movement of said parts and advantageously makes it possible to cover the hinge 12 over its entire length to prevent the jamming of hair in the junctions of said hinge.

The brush 100 is modular and has for this purpose two configurations of use to allow either a classic brushing in straight movement along the hair, or a winding of locks of hair during styling using a device heating such as a hair dryer for example to achieve a brushing. In this second use, the brushing can be qualified as thermobrushing.

FIG. 2 represents the brush 100 in the closed configuration (a), suitable for thermal brushing, and in the open configuration (b), suitable for conventional brushing.

In the closed configuration, the two articulated parts 11 a and 11 b are joined by their free edges, opposite to their edges in engagement with the hinge 12, to form a closed contour of rounded shape facilitating the winding of the hair, like known round hairbrushes.

In the open configuration, the two articulated parts 11a and 11b are separated from each other so as to form a substantially flat surface, on one side and the other of the hinge 12, which facilitates conventional brushing .

In order to obtain these two configurations and for each of them to be effective for the associated brushing, the articulated parts 11a and 11b have a profile whose shape has been specifically designed for this purpose.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the brush 100 in the closed configuration (a) and in the open configuration (b), and makes it possible to visualize the shape of the profile of the articulated parts 11a and 11b.

Each part 11a and 11b comprises a curved portion 111a and 111b, preferably substantially circular, extending as far as the free edge and a flat portion 112a and 112b extending said curved portion as far as the edge engaged with the hinge 12. Thus, the articulated parts 11a and 11b each have a J-shape particularly suitable for obtaining the two configurations, closed and open, of the brush 100.

Indeed, when the brush 100 is in the closed configuration, the curved portions 111 a and 111 b are joined to each other by their free edges, this which gives the brush head a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section at its end opposite the hinge 12 and a prismatic shape with a triangular cross section at the level of said hinge.

When the brush 100 is in the open configuration, the planar portions 112a and 112b are substantially coplanar and then define a planar brush face with substantially parallel spikes. The slightly inclined pins located at the junctions between the flat parts and the curved parts also provide continuity to the brushing, like the brushes with a slightly domed cushion.

The passage from one configuration to the other is done manually and without difficulty, in particular by means of a button 211 visible in FIG. 1 to pass from the closed configuration to the open configuration, the closed configuration preferably being the configuration by defect of the brush 100. The reverse passage is done by manually bringing the articulated parts 11a and 11b against each other.

FIG. 4 represents the brush 100 in the closed configuration (a) and in the open configuration (b), and schematizes the passage from one configuration to the other by arrows of the same color.

The passage from the closed configuration to the open configuration is done by the actuation of the button 211. This button is preferably a monostable button which returns to its initial position after actuation. According to the illustrated embodiment, the button 211 is a sliding monostable button to be easily actuated when using the brush 100. Of course, the button 211 can be of any other type suitable for the intended functions, in particular of the type pusher.

Thus, when a user actuates the button 211 by sliding, downwards for example, the articulated parts 11a and 11b move apart from each other, under the effect of one or more springs of torsion not shown, to form the flat brush face, consisting of flat portions 112a and 112b.

Indeed, at least one torsion spring is placed around the hinge 12 and comprises two arms each extending inside an articulated part 11a and 11b of the brush head. The torsion spring(s) are constrained when the brush 100 is in the closed configuration, and return to their equilibrium position when said brush is in the open configuration.

Conversely, the passage from the open configuration to the closed position is done by a manual action of the user on the two articulated parts 11 a and 11 b which tends to bring said parts closer together according to the arrows represented in FIG. 4.

The torsion springs thus control the closing and opening of the hinged parts 11 a and 11 b and are sized to allow said parts to open gently and offer little resistance when closing. Both in the closed configuration and in the open configuration, the position of the articulated parts 11 a and 11 b is locked by a suitable mechanism, so as to keep said parts fixed when using the brush in the two configurations.

To this end, the brush 100 comprises a mechanism placed at an upper end 21 of the handle 20 and comprising, among other elements, the button 211.

FIG. 5 represents the various elements of the mechanism of the brush and their mode of operation between the closed configuration and the open configuration of the brush.

Each hinged part 11a and 11b is provided with a lug 113 arranged transversely at its lower edge, in which a hole 114 is formed. The legs 113 are shaped to match the shape of an upper face 213 of the handle 20 when the brush is closed.

In the closed configuration, the lugs 113 make it possible to lock the position of the articulated parts 11a and 11b by receiving in their holes 114 locking elements 214 capable of blocking the rotation of said articulated parts around the hinge 12. To this end, the Blocking elements 214 may have a shape complementary to that of the holes 114 so as to fit there perfectly, like a bolt in a keeper.

According to the example illustrated, the holes 114 are rectangular and the blocking elements 214 are parallelepipedic.

The locking elements 214 are mechanically coupled to the button 211 and move with the same movement as the latter. Therefore, the sliding of the button 211 downwards pulls the blocking elements 214 downwards, thus releasing the lugs 113 and thereby the articulated parts 11a and 11b which unfold under the effect of the torsion springs placed at the level of the hinge 12.

The sliding of the button 211 is guided by a slot 212 made in the handle 20.

Then, after releasing, the button 211 returns to its initial position and carries with it the locking elements 214 which return to project relative to the upper face 213 of the handle 20, and block the lugs 113 to immobilize the articulated parts 11a and 11 b in open configuration.

Finally, the closing of the brush can be done with actuation of the button 211 to remove the obstacle formed by the blocking elements 214, or preferably without actuation of said button, in which case the blocking elements 214 return under the effect of the manual pressure exerted by the user on the articulated parts 11a and 11b, like a latch bolt. In the latter case, it is necessary that the faces of the locking elements 214 in contact with the tabs 113 are bevelled.

Figure 6 allows for its understanding of the mechanical coupling between the button 211 and the rest of the mechanism.

Indeed, the button 211 is embedded in a body 215 ending with the locking elements 214 not visible in Figure 6. This body is connected to the upper face 213 of the handle 20 by a tension spring 216 fixed on a rod 217 of said body.

It is clear from this description that certain elements of the modular brush can be modified, replaced or deleted without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, an equivalent mechanism for opening and closing the brush can be obtained by various means known to those skilled in the art.

Claims

9

CLAIMS Modular hairbrush (100) comprising a brush head (10) furnished on its outer face with a plurality of bristles or barbs (14) and a handle (20), said brush head comprising two parts (11a, 11 b) hinged together by means of a hinge (12) and allowing the brush to present a closed configuration, suitable for a first type of brushing, and an open configuration, suitable for a second type of brushing, characterized in that each articulated part (11 a, 11 b) comprises a curved portion (111 a, 111 b) ending in a free edge of said part and a flat portion (112a, 112b) extending said curved portion to an opposite edge in taken with the hinge (12), in that the free edges of the curved portions are joined in the closed configuration, and in that the flat portions are coplanar in the open configuration. Hairbrush according to Claim 1, in which the passage from the closed configuration to the open configuration is effected by a button (211) placed on the handle (20). Hairbrush according to Claim 2, in which the button (211) is monostable. Hairbrush according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the position of the articulated parts (11 a, 11 b) is locked in each configuration by means of a mechanism comprising legs (113), provided with holes (114) , and blocking elements (214) engaging in said holes in the closed configuration and blocking the rotation of the said tabs in the open configuration. Hairbrush according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the bristles or barbs (14) are implanted in a flexible membrane (13) covering the external face of the brush head (10) including the hinge (12).