Vibrating hair brush having isolator support system for controlled vibratory movement

• US 20080209648A1
• Filed: 03/02/2007
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conopco, Inc. (Unilever PLC)
• Original Assignee: Conopco, Inc. (Unilever PLC)
• Inventors: Kalman, Jeffrey M., Skinner, Richard, Nottingham, Rachel Marie, Wall, Brian Douglas, Tapper, Jay, Wire, Stephen Lee, Taggart, Jeffrey Silver, Spirk, John W., Nottingham, John R., McNeeley, Carolyn M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,814,601 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/21.1
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 13/02 power-driven carriers
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 13/023 with means for inducing vibration to the bristles
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 15/0002 Arrangements for enhancing monitoring or controlling the brushing process
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 2200/104 Hair brush
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/0153 hand-held
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/1215 Rotary drive
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/1604 Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2205/021 Scalp
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 23/0263 using rotating unbalanced masses
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 7/005 hand-held

Abstract

A vibrating hair brush provides enhanced detangling of user'"'"'s hair. The brush has a bristle pad comprising a plurality of bristles disposed in a brush head. The bristle pad is supported within the brush head by a vibrating motor and isolator assembly disposed for directing a vibratory movement of the motor to a bristle pad movement in a plane generally parallel to a user'"'"'s scalp. The motor and isolator assembly effectively translate a circular vibratory movement of the offset weight into an elliptical movement of the bristle pad while insulating the vibration caused by the movement of the weight from a handle of the brush.

Claims

1. 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 within a plane generally parallel to the bristle pad.

2. The hair brush of claim 1 wherein the vibrating movement is common to some of the bristles.

3. The hair brush of claim 2 wherein the bristle pad comprises a single support for all the bristles for common movement of the bristles.

4. The hair brush of claim 1 wherein the vibrating actuator comprises an offset weight rotating in a plane generally parallel to the bristle pad.

5. The hair brush of claim 4 wherein the offset weight is mounted on a shaft of the motor assembly for causing an eccentric bias thereto resulting in the vibratory movement.

6. The hair brush of claim 5 wherein the offset weight and motor assembly are fixed to the bristle pad.

7. The hair brush of claim 1 wherein the bristle pad is elastomerically supported by an isolator assembly configured to translate a movement of the actuator to an elliptical bristle pad vibrating movement.

8. The hair brush of claim 7 further including a handle extending from the head portion in a handle axial direction which is within a plane generally parallel to bristle pad.

9. The hair brush of claim 8 wherein the elliptical movement has a longer elliptical axis in the handle axial direction.

10. The hair brush of claim 9 wherein the isolator assembly is configured to inhibit vibratory movement in a direction perpendicular to the handle axial direction.

11. The hair brush of claim 10 wherein the isolator assembly has a first stiffness in the handle axial direction and a second stiffness perpendicular to the handle axial direction, the first stiffness being less than the second stiffness.

12. The hair brush of claim 7 wherein the bristles extend from the bristle pad in a direction generally perpendicular thereto for bristle movement corresponding to the bristle pad elliptical movement.

13. The hair brush of claim 1 wherein the vibrating movement is in a frequency range 20-100 Hz.

14. The hair brush of claim 13 wherein the frequency is in the frequency range 30 to 65 Hz.

15. A method for detangling hair comprising brushing the hair with a brush having vibrating bristles operating in a frequency range between 20 to 200 Hz and disposed to operate in a curvilinear direction within a plane positioned generally parallel to an extending plane of a user'"'"'s hair as the hair extends from a user'"'"'s scalp.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the brushing comprises the bristles operating in an elliptical pattern having a first longer axis of movement in a direction perpendicular to a user'"'"'s extending hair direction and a second shorter axis of movement parallel to the user'"'"'s extending hair direction.

17. A vibrating hair brush for enhanced detangling of hair, comprising a motor operating an actuator to move a plurality of bristles operatively connected to the motor such that a distal end of a majority of the bristles move in a curvilinear manner within a plane generally normal to a direction in which the majority of bristles extend.

18. A vibratory hair brush for enhanced detangling of hair, comprising a head portion including a vibrating actuator for inducing a vibrating movement in an actuator plane and a bristle pad having a plurality of bristles, wherein the bristle pad is associated with the actuator to vibrate the bristle pad in a curvilinear direction within a bristle pad plane generally parallel to the actuator plane.

19. The hair brush of claim 18 wherein the actuator comprises an offset weight so that the actuator vibratory movement is circular and the curvilinear direction is elliptical.

20. The hair brush of claim 18 further including an isolator assembly disposed to translate the circular actuator vibratory movement to the bristle pad elliptical direction.

21. The hair brush of claim 20 wherein the vibrating movement is common to some of the bristles.

22. The hair brush of claim 21 wherein the bristle pad comprises a single support for all the bristles for common movement of the bristles.

23. The hair brush of claim 18 wherein the vibratory actuator comprises an offset weight rotating in a plane generally parallel to the bristle pad.

24. The hair brush of claim 18 wherein the offset weight is mounted on a shaft of the motor assembly for causing an eccentric bias thereto resulting in the vibratory movement.

25. The hair brush of claim 18 wherein the offset weight and motor assembly are fixed to the bristle pad.

26. The hair brush of claim 18 further including a handle extending from the head portion in a handle axial direction within the a plane generally parallel to the bristle pad and wherein the bristle pad is elastomerically supported by an isolator assembly configured to translate a movement of the actuator to an elliptical bristle pad movement.

27. The hair brush of claim 18 wherein the elliptical movement has a longer elliptical axis in the handle axial direction.

28. The hair brush of claim 18 wherein the isolator assembly is configured to inhibit vibratory movement in a direction perpendicular to the handle axial direction.

29. The hair brush of claim 18 wherein the isolator assembly has a first stiffness in the handle axial direction and a second stiffness perpendicular to the handle axial direction, the first stiffness being less than the second stiffness.

30. The hair brush of claim 18 wherein the bristles extend from the bristle pad in a direction generally perpendicular thereto for bristle corresponding movement to the bristle pad elliptical movement.