US2591331A - Foot brush - Google Patents

Description

April 1, 1952 E. w. BAUMBACH FOOT BRUSH Filed Dec. 22, 1949 FIGI.

FIG. 2

l iv

RA R mm W WA A NB w m M E 7 Patented Apr. 1, 1952 uN I TED- s TAT ES PM ENT FlCE FOOT BRUSH Edward Baumbach, Kirkwood, Mo. Application necemiieezz, 1949, Serial No. 134,429

This invention relates to foot brushes, and

more "particularly toa foot-conforming brush structure designed to be utilized in a fixed position, as in a bath tub, shower stall, or the like. This applicant is aware of the virtually universal difiiculties incident to a proper and thoroughcleansing of the feet, particularly under conditions such that the bather occupies a standing position or posture, as in a shower stall or the like." Particularly in the case of older persons or those suffering from illness, or from injuries of thelegsor feet, proper foot cleansing oftenentails difliculties of balance and results in-either a compromise with thorough cleansing, or subjection of the person to considerable hazard of injury, as is evidenced by the high incidence of falls and other injuries occurring under these conditions. It is accordingly a major objective of the present invention to provide an improved, preferably stationary foot brush, which may be conveniently employed for thoroughly cleansing of either foot, and with a minimal personalhazard, while conducing to greater cleanliness.

The present invention may be summarized by reference toth'e current disclosure as embodying: a one-piece brush body of an impervious mate- I rial such as a thermoplastic resin in which are embedded a number of bristles all projecting frdniacommon 'surface of the body of the brush.

The forepart or toe region'of the brush is extended upwardly thence rearwardly so as to providea toe pocket containing bristles which are presented toward the bottoms, tips and upper surfaces *of the toes, together with an intermediate bristle-bearing brush area of normally horizontal aspect; acting'upon the sole area of the fo'ot; and an upwardly extended heelclea'nsing area characterized by a number of bristles-presented toward'the heel region of the foot. 'It is contemplated that the body of the brush embodying the several formed portions aforesaid, may be made of a single, initially planar block or strip of molded plastic or synfurther and important objective oi the 3 Claims. (01.. -160) present improvements is realized in a brush structure for the general purpose noted, "and? which is given a novel toe and heel formation,

and which as may be desired, is augmented by lateral or wing elements carrying bristles presented toward the hollow interior of the brush,

for cleansing engagement with the sides of the foot.

A further objective of marked production ad which material is characterized by internal linear reenforcing elements such as rods or wires,

- which elements serve the further purpose Oran} chorage means for rows oftufted bristles rooted in the molded body of the material. lengths of material are thus severable to brushes of diiierent lengths and sizes, and are susceptible of receiving various formations such as difierent brush shapes' andstyles, ta ed various user demands.

Further objectives" of the current improve ments include a novel attachment of suction cups or the like for anchorage of the brush securely in a.position of use; a novel arrangement of the bristle tufts in and upon the material forming the brush body, so as to enable the parts of the length or block of such material to be readily shaped as by heating and bending tofthel desired form and contour of the brush.

The foregoing and numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will more clearly appear from the following detailed description "of present embodiments, particularly when consid .ered in connection with the accompanying draw} ing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a foot brush embodying present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a top or plan view on a somewhat reduced scale, of a length or block of the material suitable for forming up the body of the brush,

a portion of the body being broken away and shown in section in order better to reveal ele-:'

ments internally of the body;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a slightly modified form of body-forming blockor'j strip, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of a brush the drawing, and first to Fig. 1, the bodyof the brush generally indicated at [0, includes a sub stantially planar intermediate portion I I, inte 'the formation described, and similarly project from the inner surfaces of the toe and heel elements. The bristles l6 may as shown, be of even length across the intermediate or sole-engaging portion II, but as will now be obvious, certain of the intermediate bristles indicated at IT, may be extended somewhat higher, in order better to cleanse the intermediate sole area, below the endwise staggered to an extent of about one-half the distance between centers of adjacent tufts in each row, thus producing a desirable distribution of bristles, as will appear from Fig. 2. The length of stock material such as shown by Fig. 2 may .be automatically produced by equipment currently known to plastics manufacturers and arch of the foot. As desired, the portion II of the brush body may be given a slight upward curvature (not shown) in addition to or in lieu of the provision of the central group of extended bristles I'I. face of the upstanding portion I4 at the forepart of the brush, project inwardly toward the foot, and substantially horizontally toward the tips of the toes of the user, particularly for cleansing the tips of the toes and nails, whereas the bristles now depending from the overhanging or terminal portion I5 are presented in a generally downward direction to facilitate cleansing the upper surfaces of the toes. It results from this formation that the hollow interior of they brush provides a toe pocket I8 so as to enable a more or less simultaneous cleansing, incident to various movements of the foot into engagement with the several bristles carried by parts H, I4 and- I5. v

In the heel portion I2i3 of the brush body, a somewhat greater extent in number of the bristles or tufts are provided than in the part I4, the bristles on part I2 extending inwardly in a substantially horizontal direction, while those lining the tip or terminus I3 of the heel region of the brush, are sloped both inwardly and downwardly toward the interior of the brush. The present brush construction contemplates that the brush will be located in a fixed position, usuallyon the bottom surface of a tub or shower stall. As a' convenient means of anchorage thereare provided a plurality of, for example four, suction cups each of somewhat bell shape and each'with a relatively heavy upper wall portion 2|. These may be attached to the body of the brush as will be hereinafter described in reference to Fig. 4.

Referring now to Fig. 2, except for a minor sectional portion, this consists of a plan viewof a length of a molded thermoplastic strip of which the body of the brush may be formed. The molded :plastic material thereof is indicated at 22. Extending longitudinally of the block or strip of. material 22 is a series of laterally spaced reenforcing rods or wires 23. These extend in a direction of the strip or block 22 such thatthey lie longitudinally of the finished brush. As-

suming the use of twisted wires as shown, these such as the twisted wires for each such row of bristle tufts. It is a preference for better distribution of bristles, that the bristle-bearing wires 23 be The bristles extended from the sur' by Fig. l.

- extended wing sections 33.

wall region of the suction cup. the suction cups may be, if desired, renewed brush producers, so that it may for example, be extruded substantially in the form shown by Fig. 2, such extrusion being comprehended as within the term molded sometimes herein employed.

For production of the brush, a predetermined length of the article of manufacture as shown by Fig. 2, is severed as by a transverse out. -Assuming further the use of a thermoplastic resin,

for example, a resin of the phenol-formaldehyde class, the severed length of the material 22 with wires and bristles in situ, will be thermally softened, and bent within or over a forming jig to produce the desired contouring as suggested Such finishing or polishing operations as are necessary for good appearance and entire safety of use, will follow the forming operation.

The description thus far has related to a hollow brush body which is open at its sides, and which possesses certain advantages in easy introduction of the foot lateraly of the brush. It is,

however, desired by certain users to include in the structure one or more rows of bristles which are presented inwardly of the hollow brush structure for engagement with the sides of the foot. Fig. 3 accordingly represents a block or body of internal construction similar to that of Fig. 2

and containing the same number of rows of bristles and which will be understood to be of similar internal construction as to bristle anchorage and reenforcement through the agency of the twisted wires. However, in Fig. 2 in which the plastic matrix is indicated at 30, rows of bristles 3I are provided and each of the corner regions of the original block as indicated at 32, are cut away. Such tailoring results in a pair of laterally v According to this modification the forepart 34 is or may be formed up similarly to the elements I4 and I5 of Fig. 1, and the heel region 35 upturned and formed similarly to the parts I2 and I3 (Fig. l). The sides of the tailored strip or block are turned upwardly at about a right angle, as will now appear from Fig. 4, from a central or intermediate region 36 of the modified form.

It is a preference at the time of curing the resin strip or block such as shown byFigs. 2 and 3, to embed therein the 'head element and part of the shank element of each of a linear series of attachment screws 31, the threaded shank of a which extends from that surface of the unit which is opposite its bristles, as will appear from Fig. 4. Each such extension serves to engage an embedded metal nut 38 which may be cured in and form a fixed part of the uppermost heavy In this manner,

from time to time merely by threading them away from the body of the brush and substituting 7 others therefor;

The manner of usage of the brush is thought to have been rendered fully apparent from the foregoing description of its parts, but. it may be noted for completeness that the brush willusually be anchored as by means of its suction cups indicated at 20 (Fig. 1) or at '40 (Fig. 4) to the bottom of the shower stall or a bath tub. Soap V or any other desired cleansing medium may be applied to either or both the foot and the bristles of the brush, and upon moistening, agitation of the foot in a fore and aft direction within the brush will effect a thorough cleansing action. Digital agitation Within the toe pocket l8 will likewise result in a thorough cleansing of the toe region of the foot, and the heel conformity provided by the elements I2 and 13 will similarly produce a thorough cleansing action in that region of the foot. Alternate engagement of the sides of the foot with the horizontal, inwardly presented bristles of the wings 33 when the latter are utilized, will thus complete with thoroughness, the foot cleansing process.

An, added advantage incident to the use of a brush of the present type, may be noted in passing in that, according to stiffness of bristles provided (and since these may be furnished to the trade in differing grades), there results a very desirable and beneficial massage effect with concomitant stimuli of the nerves and skin of the user.

It will have appeared from the foregoing description that the described brush constructions will serve fully to attain each of the several objectives herein expressed, as well as others implied from the description. Although the invention has been described by detailed reference to a principal embodiment, and a minor variant thereof, the detail of disclosure should be understood in an instructive, rather than in any limiting sense, numerous further variants being contemplated within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a plastic foot brush for use in a stationary position, a brush body consisting of a one-piece molded synthetic resin, a plurality of twisted wires arranged in rows longitudinally of and within the body, tufts of bristles each rooted in the plastic body and anchored in situ by the rows of twisted wires, the bristles in adjacent rows being alternately longitudinally staggered, the brush including an intermediate bristled area merging into a forward end turned upwardly at a substantial angle and having the bristles thereon presented substantially horizontally toward the toes of the user, said forward end portion being thence continued into a back-turned portion with downwardly extended bristles, adapted to engage the upper surfaces of the toes of the foot, and thus forming a toe pocket of substantially C-shaped section at the front end of the brush; the rear end of the body being formed upwardly at a substantial angle to the intermediate brush portion, and thus forming a heelbrushing region the tip of which is bent for wardly toward the foot, and means for anchoring the brush in a fixed position of usage.

2'. The combination and arrangement of elements and features in a fixed foot brush substantially as recited by claim 1, further characterized by the provision of integral, lateral, upturned wing portions, each bearing bristles presented substantially horizontally toward the opposite sides of the foot of the user, the wing portions being of slightly lesser length than the intermediate bristled area and so related thereto as to provide the cavity within the brush, with corner drainage openings.

3. In a plastic foot brush adapted for mounting and for use in a stationary position, a brush body consisting of a one-piece molded synthetic resin, a plurality of twisted wires arranged in rows longitudinally of and within the body, tufts of bristles each rooted in the plastic body and anchored in situ by the rows of twisted wires, the bristles in adjacent rows being alternately longitudinally staggered, the brush including an intermediate bristled area, the center region of which is characterized by an upwardly convex arrangement of bristles conformably to engage the arch of the foot, the intermediate area merging into a forward end turned upwardly at a substantial angle, and having the bristles thereon presented substantially horizontally toward the toes of the user, said forward end portion being thence continued upwardly and rearwardly into a back-turned portion with downwardly extended bristles, adapted to engage the upper surfaces of the toes of the foot, and thus forming a toe pocket of substantially O-shaped sec tion at the front end of the brush; the rear end of the body being formed upwardly at a substantial angle to the intermediate brush portion, said rear end having a forwardly projecting bristled terminus and thus forming a heelbrushing region the tip of which extends forwardly toward the foot in conformity with the back of the heel and ankle areas, and means for anchoring the brush in a fixed position of usage.

EDWARD W. BAUMBACI-I.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 747,031 Bartoszek Dec. 15, 1903 2,210,365 Gilpin Aug. 6, 1940 2,241,876 Cohen May 13, 1941 2,251,327 Gromie Aug. 5, 1941

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