US2582552A - Brush having bristle cleaning apertures - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 15, 19 52 J, MARCO 2,582,552

BRUSH HAVING BRISTLE CLEANING APERTURES Filed May 4, 1949 INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 15, 1952 BRUSH 'HAV I-NG BRISTLE CLEANING APERTURES" FredericknJ. Marco, Des. Plaines, 111. Application Mar-4; 1949; SerialN'o'. 9126s My present invention. relates to-improvementsf in. brushes; u Thezprimary object of my, inventioniisitoproe' 7' which the apex thereof extends toward the bot-= vide a brush having a head in which a plu-.--'

wality of tufts: of. bristles. are mounted, andwhich head'isfurther provided: with-a plurality of I apertures of .a character enabling the eifi cient cleaning otthe tufts of bristles.

My invention in the main is concerned with the provision of a brush of the characterim dicatedhaving unique application for the-afore- Essentiall I propose :to-

mentioned. purpose. provide a plurality of apertures in thehead 0f- .the ,brush, .inwhich each apertureis: characterized. in. the. main by having thedefining wall thereof of conical formation and spirallyygroovedi asto. impart. av swirling. or rotating. movement. to water applied ina streamagainst the-brush headl soi'that the water is thrown outby centrifugal) forceuponthe. rootsof tufts: of. bristles to bathe the latter. Further,.in order. to utilizethe-vortex created at the throat to thoroughly cleanse the:

roots of the tufts of bristles, the opening. of the apertures .at the bottom surface. of. the head of the brush from which. thetufts. of bristles ex? tend outwardly, are preferably flared or rounded. so" that, inaddition, surface tension or capillary actionof water with. such av surface further effects delivery ofl-thewater in a swirlingho tward expandingiashion .to.. the roots birthstufts off bristles.

A.' preferred feature. of one. embodiment-of invention is to provide apertures? havingthe defining surfaces thereof, lying substantially in thesurfaces in. a- .pair of. cones,. -one extending;

inwardly of th top and bottomsurfaces of. the 1 head with the apices. of? suclr'cones directed toward each. other, and in. which....the..defining, walls of the apertures are spirally;. grooved.for.v

thepurpose above indicated.

I My'invention may also be embodied injacon}.

struction in which the apertures have. thede;v

fining walls of each thereof lying inth'esurface of the cone andspirally grooved, .and,.in; hich defining wall' thereofllyingllsubstantially, in the surfacef of a. cone. and spirally grooved, butlin,

tom surface of the brush;

' In adapting my invention for use; for example; in a toothbrush, two -l'engthwiseextending rows'of-tuftsof bristles may bep-rovide'd together:

with three rows of aperturesrofany of the forms above indicated witheachrow-oftufts of bristles being" arranged-between adj acent. rows? oflaper tures." I

' Alternatively, if desired, and:' particularly in: instances Where" a greater. number. of .tuftsiwof; bristlesiis desired, the brush may comprise three; rows, of. tufts of bristles and; two rows. oft apertures, of the character indicated. with the; rows of apertures aligned one :each. between; adjacent? rows ofcthe tufts ofloristles.

The above, andother objects. and advantages; ofmyinvention. will. appear from: the detail. de:-

scription;

: Now inzorder'to-disclose fully'my present in.-- vention I: shalldescribe in. connection with the accompanying drawings certain. preferred. em-'" bodimentsof my invention.

In; the drawings::: Figure 1- is a perspectiveview of a toothbrush in which my. presentinvention is embodied;5

Figure 2 is an enlargedplanview of azportionzr ofsthe head of-thetoothbrush-of Figure.1;, FigureB isadetail vertical sectionalrlview taken": substantially along; the line 3-3- of Figure 2 lookinginthe direction indicated by thevarrows;

. Figure 4 is a. detail vertical sectional-view: showing, furtherembodiment of: my invention;'; Figure 5; is. another detail. vertical. sectionali view :ShOWiIlglStill: another modification" of my invention; 7

- Figurexdisia plan-.view of. thei'headof a: toot brush.illustratingathe mannerrirrwhich' a pin-'- rality. of" rows-0f: tufts of bristles and apertures have shown abrush' l of" the general configure tion.of'a conventional toothbrush and having-a1 handle-'2': and:.a;head.portion" 3;. The head'por tion123 comprisesa topisurface i and' a bottorrr surface-.5; preferably?connected by rounded edge portions'. A plurality of. tufts of bristles 61' are" mounted ina conventional way in:the head mem= her .4--Withxthe1 tufts of: bristles projecting "outwardly of. the bottom. surface. 5.

In. the: preferred: form .of: myrinventiom shown top and'bottom surfaces 4 and 5 are flared or rounded as indicated at I4, for a; purpose tobe. I described. Flaring of the opening of the apertures at the top surface is not critical but such flaring at the bottom surfaces as will appear enables the effective cleaning of the tufts of bristles 6. I g

In the construction described upon disposal "of the head 3 below a streanfi'of water, as by holding the head below a faucet, the water enters the aperture 1 and due to the spiral grooving ll thereof a rotating or swirling action is imparted to thewater. The throat H) of each aperture defines the maximum opening for the passage of water therethrough, and the spiral grooves ll serve to prevent the stream of water being impinged upon the head from passing straight through the apertures by virtue of the vortex created. The spiral grooves ll serve to maintain appropriate flow of water for passage through the minimum diameter of the aperture defined by throat Hi. In the passage of the water through the lower conical openings 9 of the apertures, the water follows a path gradually increasing in diameter so that substantial centrifugal force is developed, whereupon as the water leaves the apertures at the bottom wall 5 of the head 3 it is thrown against the roots of the tufts of bristles 5. The water thus discharged is effective to cleanse thoroughly the tufts of bristles. The aformentioned flaring of the openings of the apertures at the bottom surface of the head additionally serve, due to surface tension or capillary action of the water with respect 'to such flared surfaces, for effecting delivery of the water to the roots of the bristles and which together with the rotary motion imparted thereto by the spiral grooves creates a vortex effective in substantial measure to apply the cleansing water to the roots of the bristles to clean same. In addition to cleaning the bristles the above described movement of the water removes anysediment, as for example, the collection of tooth paste or powder, from the bottom surface of thehead.

In the preferred form of my invention the intersecting surfaces of the spiral grooves H and other portions thereof are preferably rounded so as to avoid any sharp corners in which sediment may collect. Also to this end it is preferred that the defining walls of the aperture should be smoothly finished and devoid of any dents or crevices.

Referring now to Figure 4 I have shown a modified from of my invention in which the apertures formed in the head 22 are each formed by a defining wall, indicated generally at ,23, lying substantially in the surface of a cone, and in which the apex of the conical defining surface is directed toward the bottom surface 24 of the head 22. As before tufts of bristles 25 are mounted in the head 22 between adjacent apertures 20, and the end portions of the conical defining walls 23 adjacent the bottom wall 24 are flared so as to aid in directing the water upon the roots of the tufts of bristles. In this form of my invention the apertures 20 are also preferably spirally grooved as at 26 so that a rotating 5 or swirling action is imparted to the water.

In the form of my invention shown in Figure 5 the head 30 of the brush again carries a plurality of tufts of bristles, one of which is shown at-,32 mounted between a pair of aper- 10 tures indicated generally at 33 which extend from the top surface 34 of the head to the bottom surface 35 thereof. The apertures 33 each have a-defining wall, indicated generally at 36, v lying substantially in the surface of a cone which 15 is spirally grooved as indicated at 31, and arranged so that the apex of the conical defining wall extends toward the upper surface 34 of the head. The openings of the apertures at the bottom wall 34 are flared or..rounded about the peri- 20 pheries thereof and toward the roots of the tufts of bristles 32 for the purpose already noted for aiding in directing the water onto the roots of the tufts of bristles for the purpose already discused. V 25 Reference may now be had to Figure 6 in which there is shown a tooth brush head 40 which comprises two lengthwise extending rows of tufts of bristles 42 and three lengthwise extending rows of apertures 44 which may be of any 30 of the forms above described. In the arrangee ment shown in Figure 6 the two rows of tufts of bristles are arranged between adjacent rows of apertures 44.

In Figure '7 there is shown another form of. 35 tooth brush in which three lengthwise rows of bristles 45 are provided and two lengthwise exa circle which is substantially tangent to the periphery of the adjacent tufts of bristles.

In the form or arrangement of the tufts of,

bristles as shown in Figure 6, the lengthwise side edges of the head 48 are preferably rounded so as to facilitate capillary action of water imposed in a stream on the upper surface of the edge to project latterly inwardly from the bottom surface of the head to bathe the roots of the bristles.

5 adjacent thereto in the cleaningof the brush in the manner described.

While I have shown and described what I considerto be certain preferred embodiment of my invention it will be understood that various modifications and rearrangements may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim: 1. A brush comprising a head, a pluralityof tufts of bristles secured in said head and extending outwardly of the bottom surface of the head, and a plurality of conical ,apertures extending through said head at portions thereof between adjacent tufts of bristles from the upper surface to the bottom surface of the head, and said apertures substantially throughout their entire length having the defining walls thereof spirally grooved, whereby upon disposal the upper surface of said head below a stream of water said spiral grooves 7 serve to impart a rotating or swirling action to observed that the openings of the apertures lie on.

the water passing through said apertures so that the water is thrown circumferentially outwardly of the apertures at the bottom surface of said head upon the roots of the tufts of bristles.

2. A brush comprising a brush head having substantially parallel upper and bottom surfaces, a plurality of tufts of bristles extending outwardly of the bottom surface of the head, a plurality of spirally grooved substantially conical apertures extending through said head between the upper and bottom surfaces thereof and at portions of said head between adjacent tufts of bristles, and said apertures at the portions thereof opening outwardly of the bottom wall of said head flaring toward the roots of the tufts of bristles, whereby upon disposal of the upper surface of said head below a stream of water, said spiral grooves serve to impart a rotating or whirling action to the water passing through said aper tures, and which together with surface tension or capillary action of the water with the flaring of the apertures at the bottom surface of said head serving to bathe the roots of said tufts of bristles due to the vortex created.

3. A brush comprising, a head, a plurality of tufts of bristles secured in said head and extending outwardly of the bottom surface of the head. a plurality of apertures extending through said head at portions thereof between adjacent tufts of bristles from the top surface to the bottom surface of said head, said apertures each having the defining wall thereof lying substantially in the surfaces of a pair of cones one extending inwardly of each of the top and bottom surfaces of said head and with their apices directed toward each other, and said defining wall of each of said apertures being spirally grooved, whereby upon disposal of the top surface of said head below a stream of water the spiral grooving of said apertures prevent flow of water in a straight path therethrough and impart a rotating or whirling action to the water so that the water is thrown outwardly of the apertures at the bottom surface of said head upon the roots of the tufts of bristles.

4. The brush of claim 3 characterized by the portions of the openings of the apertures at the bottom surface of said head being formed with flared surfaces extending toward the roots of the tufts of bristles so as to utilize surface tension or capillary action of the water flowing through said apertures with the flared surfaces for further effecting the delivery of the water to the roots of said tufts of bristles.

5. A brush, comprising a head, a plurality of tufts of bristles secured in said head and extending outwardly of the bottom surface of said head, a plurality of apertures extending through said head at portions thereof between adjacent tufts of bristles from the top surface to the bottom surface of said head, each said aperture having the defining wall thereof lying substantially in the surface of a cone with the apex of the latter directed toward said bottom surface of said head, and said defining walls of said apertures being spirally grooved, whereby upon disposal of the upper surface of said head below a stream of water, said spiral grooves serve to impart a rotating or whirling action to the water passing through said apertures so that the Water is thrown outwardly of the apertures at said bottom surface of said head upon the roots of the tufts of bristles.

6. A brush comprising, a head, a plurality of tufts of bristles secured in said head and extending outwardly of the bottom surface of said head, a plurality of apertures extending through said head at portions thereof between adjacent tufts of bristles from the top surface to the bottom surface of said head, each said apertures having the defining wall thereof lying substantially in the surface of a cone with the apex of the latter directed toward said top surface of said head, and said defining walls of said apertures at said bottom surface of said head having portions flaring toward the roots cf the adjacent tufts of bristles, and said defining walls of said apertures being spirally grooved, whereby upon disposal of the upper surface of said head below a stream of water, said spiral grooves serve to impart a rotating or whirling action to the water passing through said apertures, and which together with surface tension of the water with the flared portions of the apertures at the bottom surface of said head serving to throw the water outwardly upon the roots of bristles due to the vortex created.

7. The brush of claim 1 characterized by said tufts of bristles being arranged in rows extending substantially lengthwise of the head of the brush, and with the apertures being arranged in rows between adjacent rows of tufts of bristles.

8. The brush of claim 1 characterized by said tufts of bristles being arranged in three substantially lengthwise rows, and in which said apertures are arranged in two rows one between each adjacent row of said tufts of bristles.

9. The brush of claim 1 characterized by said tufts of bristles being arranged in two substantially lengthwise extending rows, and in which said apertures are arranged in substantially three lengthwise rows with one row of tuft of bristles being arranged between adjacent rows of said apertures.

FREDERICK J. MARCO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 425,165 Doty Apr. 8, 1890 668,361 Tesch Feb. 19, 1901 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 141,640 Great Britain Apr. 22, 1920 794,580 France Dec. 12, 1935

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