Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
3~USH YOR APPLYING
~ATERIAL IN LIQUID OR EMULSION FORM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTI~N
This invention relates to a brush for applying
liquid or emulsion material, having a container for
containing material such as tooth-brushing material,
hair-dye, hair-growth material, hair-dressing material,
paints, cleaning material, lubricating oil, etc. in
liquid or emulsion form.
There have been proposed various brushes for
applying li~uid or emulsion material. For example, there
have appeared toothbrushes which contain therein tooth~
brushing material in paste or emulsion form and feed the
material onto their bristle-planted portions when they
are used for tooth-brushing operations. In those
toothbrushes disclosed in Japanese Utility Model
Publication Nos. 138966/1977 and 102374/1979, the
material contained in their handles is extruded by
extrusion members, such as a piston, or others. However,
the operation for extruding the material is troublesome,
and it is difficult to adjust the piston or others so as
to extrude a necessary amount of the material. In a
toothbrush of the type which contains a tooth-brushing
material extrusion mechanism in its handle, much space is
not allowed for the material. If the toothbrush is made
disposable, the material runs out before its bristle-
planted portion becomes unusable, and it is inevitable to
make the material refillable. Additionally the sealing
is not carried out perfectly between the interior of its
handle and the bristle-planted portion. Accordingly
there has been a case wherein the material flows back
into the interior of the handle from its user's mouth
during the tooth-brushing operation. As described above,
the conventional toothbrushes containing tooth-brushing
material have these various drawbaclcs.
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Further, as a brush for dyeing hair, there
have appeared brushes of a type having a handle on the
fore part of which a great number of bristles are held
so as to be extended in the radial direction from the
fore part thereof. When a user uses the brush to dye
his hair, he pours hair-dye on the bristles from a bottle
containing the hair-dye to apply the hair-dye on his hair
while rubbing his hair with the brush.
In this dyeing operation, it is troublesome for
the user to pour a predetermined amount of hair-dye on
the bristles of the brush. Sometimes he pours halr-dye
more or less than a necessary amount on its bristles
thereby causing an uneven dyeing.
Moreover, when a user applies hair-growth
medical liauid or hair-dressing medical liquid on his
hair or his head skin, he pours an amount of the medical
liauid onto his palm from a bottle containing it to rub
it on his hair with his ~alm or he pours an amount of the
medical li~uid on his hair directly from the bottle to
rub it on his hair with his hand. In this applying opera-
tion, the user's hand becomes dirty.
SU~RY OF THE INVENTION
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It is an object of this invention to provide
a brush for applying liquid or emulsion material such
as toothpaste, hair-dye, etc., containing therein the
material in liauid or emulsion form, which is simple in
structure and can be operated by one hand to feed a
necessary auantity of the material onto its bristle-
planted or sponqe-applied surface.
According to this invention, there is provided
a brush for applying liquid or emulsion material compris-
ing a handle having a container for containina material
in liquid or emulsion form and a main body, a rear end
of which is connected detachably to a mouth of the con-
tainer, the container having a movable bottom body which
moves along an inner wall of the container as the mater-
ial is sucked through the mouth of the container, a bris-
tle planted rod provided, at its head, with a great num-
ber of bristles, and slidably inserted, at its root por-
tion, into a forward bearing portion of the main body in
such a manner that rotation of the rod can be avoided
and the rod can be reciprocated axially, and the rod hav-
ing a material feeding passage extending therein from
its root portion to a bristle planted surface of the
head of the rod, a pumping mechanism disposed within
the main body for sucking the material from the container
and feeding the sucked material to the bristle planted
surface, and operated in accordance with reciprocal
axial movements of the rod, the pumping mechanism inc-
luding a suction chamber disposed within the main body,
the suction chamber being in fluid communication with
the mouth of the container, an operational pipe slidably
mounted in the main body provided with sealing means for
keeping the suction chamber airtight in order to prevent
foreign matters from being sucked thereinto and for
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effecting a vacuum in the suction chamber to suck the
material from the container into the suction chamber,
the operational pipe providing fluid communication bet-
ween the material feeding passage in the rod and the
suction chamber for pumping material to the bristle
planted surface of the rod in response to reciprocal a
axial movement of the rod, a for~ard value body for
closing and opening the front opening of a conduit in
the pipe, a rear valve body for closing and opening a
suction hole between the suction chamber and the container,
and an operational bar provided between the two valve
bodies so as to pass through the conduit formed in the
operational pipe in order to feed the material from the
suction chamber to the head of the rod while controlling
open and close movements of the two valve bodies, elastic
means disposed within the suction chamber for biasing
the rod in an axial position with respect to the main
body of the handle, a rotation preventing means including
an operational~projection formed on a peripheral surface
of the root portion of the rod functioning as a pushing
member on which a finger is put when the rod is pushed
axially and a slit means, axially provided in a bearing
portion of the main bodv, for slidably receiving the
operational projection.
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The nature, utility, and further features of
thls invention will be more clearly apparent from the
following detailed description with respect to prefer-
red embodiments of the invention when read in conjunc-
tion with the accompanying drawings briefly described
below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a front view of a brush of this
invention;
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the brush of this
invention;
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Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the brush of
this invencion;
Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the brush in
the condition where a bristle-planted rod is pushed into
a handle main body;
Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the brush in
the condition where the bristle-planted rod is returned
after being pushed thereinto initially;
Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the brush in
the condition where the bristle-planted rod is again
pushed into to feed a liquid or emulsion material onto a
bristle-planting surface after beinq once returned;
Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the brush in
the condition following the condition of Fig. 5, where
the material is sucked into a suction chamber;
Fig. 8 is a plan view of a forward vavle body; and
Figs. 9(A) and (B) are elevational views of two
valve plates provided at the opposite ends of the valve
body, respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In Figs. 1 to 3, a brush 1 of this invention
comprises a handle 2 and a bristle-planted rod 3 inserted
in the forward end of the handle 2 slidably axially
thereof, the handle 2 housing a pumping mechanism 4 for
feeding material such as tooth-brushing material, hair-
dye, hair-growth material, hair-dressing material,
cleaning material, paints, lubricating oil, etc. in
liquid or emulsion form.
The handle 2 comprises a combination of a main body
5 and a material container 6 for housing a liquid or
emulsion material 24, connected to the handle body 5.
The container 6 has a male thread 6A provided in the
projected peripheral surface of the forward end thereof,
and the main body 5 has a female thread 5A provided in
the inside peripheral surface of the rear portion
thereof. The body 5 and the container 6 are connected
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detachably to each other by the screw-engagement of the
male thread 6A with the female thread 5A.
The bristle-planted rod 3 is formed at its head, in
a flat shape of rectangular section like a common brush.
The bristles 7 are planted in a bristle-planted surface
3A of the head of the rod 3. The rod 3 has a material
passage 8 provided in the interior thereof from the rear
end 3B to the bristle-planting surface 3A thereof. The
passage 8 opens directly on the bristle-planting surface
3A or is in communication with the planting holes of the
respective bristles 7 planted in the bristle-planted
surface 3A so that the material 24 can be exuded at the
roots of the bristles 7.
The rod 3 is slidably inserted at the root portion
3B thereof into the bearing portion 9 of the body 5 so as
to keep a sealing function between the root portion 3B
and the inside peripheral surface of the bearing portion
9. The bearing portion 9 has a slit 10 extending axially
in the peripheral surface of the bearing portion 9. An
operational projection 11 is protruded from the outside
peripheral surface of the root portion 3B of the rod 3.
The projection 11 is engaged slidably with the slit 10 to
prevent the rod 3 from rotating about its axis. On an
operational projection 11 is provided a slip prevention
surface llA which is rugged in order to prevent a thumb
of a user's hand from slipping thereon. The projection
11 and the slit 10 form rotation-preventing means. The
pumping mechanism 4 has an operational pipe 12 which is
integrally provided with a valve portion 15 at the outer
peripheral surface of the pipe 12. The valve portion 15
has front and rear lip portions 15A and 15B,
respectively. The front lip portion 15A functions to
prevent air and dirty water from entering and permeating
into the main body 5 through the sliding portions of the
bearing portion 9 while the rear lip portion 15B
functions to prevent the material from leaking out. The
front surface of the valve portion 15 is adapted to abut
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against a projection 30 provided on the inner surface of
the main body 5 of the handle 2 when the pipe 12 is in a
normal position.
The front part of the pipe 12 is inserted into a
hole 31 formed in the root portion 3B of the rod 3. In
front of the pipe 12 is accommodated a forward valve body
19 which has a shape shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The valve
body 19 is made of elastic material such as synthetic
resin. Further, the valve body 19 has two valve plates
l9A and lgB at its front and rear ends, respectively.
The valve plate l9A has, in general, a circular shape
whose peripheral is partially cut to form four paths l9D
for passing the material. Another valve plate l9B of the
same shape as the plate l9A has four paths l9D. The two
valve plates l9A and l9B are connected to each other by a
loop portion l9C mainly functioning as an elastic member.
The valve body 19 is accommodated in the hole 31 in
a state wherein the peripheral portion of the front valve
plate l9A abuts against a step 3C formed on the inner
surface of the hole 31.
The front face of the operational pipe 12 is
provided with an annular projection 12A which engages
with the rear valve plate l9B. The pipe 12 is provided
in a connecting region of the root portion 3B of the rod
3 and the main body 5 and has a conduit 32 extending in
its longitudinal direction in order to feed the material
24 from an airtight suction chamber 21 to the rod 3. The
suction chamber 21 is formed between the valve portion 15
of the pipe 12 and a valve seat member 16 fixed to the
rear end of the body 5. A ball-shaped rear valve body 20
is accommodated in the valve seat member 16. The rear
valve body 20 is made of steel. In the conduit 32 is
freely accommodated an operational bar 22 for controlling
the movement of the forward valve body 19 and the rear
valve body 20. The valve seat member 16 is cup-shaped
and its bottom has a suction hole 1~. On the inner wall
of the valve seat member 16 are provided a plurality of
7 ~ 7
ribs 16B. The ribs 16B are dis?osed at a predetermined
distance in the circumferential direction of the valve
seat membe! 16. The ~ibs 16B form a space 33 for
accommodating the rear valve body 20 and each ~ib 16B has
a projection 16C, at its front end, for preventing the
vaive body 20 from coming out of the space 33.
The rear half portion of the operational pipe 12 is
extended into the suction chamber 21. A compression coil
spring 17 for urging the pipe 12 forward is provided
between the front faces of the libs 16B and the inner
side of the bell-shaped valve portion 15 in a state
wherein the rear half portion of the pipe 12 is inserted
into the coil spring 17.
The above operational bar 22 is slender enough not
to prevent the material 24 from passing through the
- conduit 32 of the pipe 12 and is slightly shorter than
the distance between the two valve bodies 19 and 20 in a
state where the valve body 19 closes the conduit 32 and
the valve body 20 closes the suction hole 18 as shown in
FIG. 3.
The container 6 is provided, at its bottom, with a
piston-like movable bottom body 23 which is slidable
axially in close contact with the inner peripheral
surface of the container 6. The movable bottom body 23
is made of soft synthetic resin or others and has slide
edges 23B and 23C which are expanded in a bell-shape
respectively at the forward end and the rear end of a
cylindrical portion 23A. The tight contact of the slide
edges 23B and 23C with the inside peripheral wall of the
container 6 ensures the airtightness so that the
emulsified material or liquid material 24 filled in the
container 6 may not leak therefrom.
At the forward end of the cylindrical portion 23A,
there is provided a smaller-diameter cylindrical portion
23D which can be inserted in the projected smaller-
diameter portion 6B of the mouth of the container 6 so
that all material 24 can be completely consumed. In
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drawings a reference numeral 25 indicates a bottom pla~e
for preventing the movable bottom body 23 from dropping
off from the rear end of the container 6. The bottom
plate 25 is inserted into the peripheral surface of the
opened rear end of the container 6. At the same time,
the bottom plate 25 functions as a reinforcement member
for preventing the deformation of the container by
outside forces in order to keep the close contact of the
slide edges 23B and 23C with the inside of the container
6. The bottom plate 25 has, at its center, a projected
bar 25A which is projected into the cylindrical portion
23D of the bottom body 23 to restrict the rearward
movement of the bottom body 23. The bottom plate 25 is
provided with a plùrality of air passages 25B for
preventing air pressure in a rear space 34 defined by the
bottom body 23 and the bottom plate 25 from becoming
negative when the bottom plate 25 is moved forward during
the use of the brush 1.
The operation of the brush 1 will be explained with
reference to FIGS. 3 to 7.
The handle 2 is held in one hand in the state shown
in Fig. 3. When the brush 1 is used, the bristle-planted
rod 3 is pushed rearward or toward the container 6 by
putting a thumb on the operational projection 11, by
pushing the tip of the rod 3 with the other hand, or by
pressing the tip of the rod 3 against something. The
rear portion of the rod 3 is pushed into the handle 2
along the bearing portion 9 as shown in Fig. 4 with the
operational pipe 12 being pushed to advance in the handle
main body 5.
When the rod 3 is pushed into the handle 2 as shown
in FIG. 4, the operational pipe 12 is moved rearward and
the front end of the operational bar 22 abuts against the
valve plate l9B to cause the valve body 19 to be shrunk
or crushed so that the front opening of the conduit 32 is
opened while its rear end abuts against the rear valve
body 20 thereby to close tightly the suction hole 18.
Then the rod 3 is freed from the push so as to cause
the repulsive force of the compressed spring 17 to push
back the rod 3 and the pipe 12 to their respective
forward positions. At this time the pressure in the
suction chamber 21 of the body 5 becomes negative, as a
result, the material 24 in the container 6 is sucked into
the suction chamber 21 of the body 5 through the suction
hole 18 of the valve seat member 16 (Fig. 5).
When the valve portion 15 is slid forward, the front
lip portion 15A is forced to expand radially thereby
obtaining a close contact with the inner peripheral wall
of the body 5. Further, the forward valve body 19 closes
the conduit 32. Accordingly, air or dirty water does not
enter or permeate into the inside of the suction chamber
21 in a negative pressure condition through gaps of
sliding portions of the bearing portion 9. The suction
results in a negative pressure in the container 6 to
cause the movable bottom body 23 to advance for a short
distance in close contact with the inside peripheral wall
of the container 6.
The rod 3 is again pushed rearward as described
above. This time the forward valve body 19 opens the
conduit 32 of the pipe 12 and the rear valve body 20
closes the suction hole 18 of the valve seat member 16.
The material sucked in the suction chamber 21 is fed into
the hole 31 and the material passage 8 of the rod 3 (Fig.
6). Thereafter, the rod 3 is freed from the push, and
the material 24 in the suction chamber 21 stops flowing
forward and the material 24 in the container 6 is sucked
from the container 6 into the suction chamber 21 of the
body 5 (Fig. 7). Similarly as described above this
suction causes the movable bottom body 23 in the
container 6 to move forward in response to the sucked
amount oE the material 24.
When the brush 1 is initially used, this operation
is repeated two or three times to fill the body 5, the
conduit 32 and the material passage 8 with the material
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24. After this, one push of the rod 3 feeds an amount of
the material 24 suitable for one operation on'.o the
bristle-planted surface 3A. Thus, the brush l is ready
for use. Individually if the amount of the material 24
fed onto the surface 3A is not enough, twice- or more
than twice-pushes will be given.
When the material 24 in the container 6 has run out,
the container 6 is unscrewed from the rear end of the
body 5, a cap (not shown) screwed on a fresh container 6
at the male thread 6A thereof is disengaged, and the male
thread 6A of the fresh container is engaged with the
female thread 5A of the body 5. Then immediately the
brush l can be again used continuously. When the opening
of the material passage 8 opening on the bristle-planting
surface 3A of the rod 3 may become dry during a
continuous use, the whole bristles 7 may be covered with
a cap 26 as shown by a phantom line in Fig. l.
In this invention, the operational bar 22 is
provided between the forward and rear valve bodies l9 and
21 to control the open-close movements of the two valve
bodies l9 and 20. The bar 22 can ensure a reliable
alternative movement of the two valve bodies as shown in
FIGS. 4 to 7. Further, if the length of the bar 22 is
properly adjusted, the ~necessary supply of the material
24 to the surface 3A can be ensured.
Furthermore, as the forward valve body 19 is an
elastic valve member which can shrink and expand by
itself, a special coil spring for urging a valve body
toward the front opening of the pipe 12 is not necessary
thereby to make the construction of a valve mechanism
simple.
As described above, the brush 1 of this invention
comprises the bristle-planted rod 3 having the
operational projection ll, and by the rod ~eing pushed
toward the main body 5, it can feed a cartai~- arnount of
the material 24 onto the bristle-planted surface 3A.
Advantageously this makes it possible to use the brush
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with one touch of operation. Besides, since one push of
the rod 3 feeds a predetermined amount of the material,
its users do not need to pay attention to how much the
material should be squeezed for one operation as they do
with the conventional operation and wasteful use of
excessive material can be avoided. Furthermore, the
material 24 is fed by simply pushing the rod 3.
Accordingly, when the brush is used as a toothbrush, even
infants and children can use the brush 1 easily.
Additionally the material container 6 is easily detached
from the main body 5 and disposable, and economically the
main body 5 of the brush can be used for a long time.
Especially in the brush 1 of this invention, the
movable bottom body 23 moves forward in response to a
decrease of the material 24 in the container 6 when the
rod 3 is pushed rearward to feed the material 24 toward
the rod 3. This perfectly prevents air from being sucked
from the outside into the material 24 in the container 6.
It is desirable in terms of hygiene that the material can
be fed in a perfectly sealed condition. Among others,
the brush 1 of this invention comprises a small number of
components and can be easily fabricated.
In the above embodiments, on the head of the rod 3
are planted a great number of fine or thick bristles for
applying the material 24. However, instead of the
bristles, a piece of sponge, a piece of rubber or a
member having a convex-concave surface for applying the
material 24 thereon may be attached to the head of the
rod 3.
