The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 28, 1999
Filed:
Jan. 12, 1996
Paolo B Tiramani, Greenwich, CT (US);
Soohyun Ham, Stamford, CT (US);
John A Bozak, Greenwich, CT (US);
500 Group, Inc., Greenwich, CT (US);
Abstract
The present invention features a brush or hair grooming instrument that can be configured to orient bristles or teeth inwardly toward a contact region along generally parallel lines with relatively little contact force, thus expanding the effective area over which the instrument contacts the hair. According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the instrument comprises a rigid support having a longitudinal axis and a flexible membrane having first and second ends pivotally attached to the rigid support. The flexible membrane comprises a plurality of substantially rigid sections integrally joined along parallel lines of flexure, with the parallel lines of flexure disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rigid support. The flexible membrane may be biased into a normal or relaxed configuration and transition into a flexed or bent shape through a more or less pronounced 'snap' action. A plurality of combing elements are secured to and extend from the flexible membrane. The present invention can be easily adapted to various shapes and types of grooming instruments, including handled brushes of different head shapes, handled combs and palm-type brushes, as well as to a variety of brushing devices.