US3137023A

US3137023A - Hair brush cleaner

Info

Publication number: US3137023A
Application number: US324671A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gerald E Klinge; Jr Norman H Vogel; Sr Norman H Vogel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-11-19
Filing date: 1963-11-19
Publication date: 1964-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 1981-06-16

Description

June 16, 1964 Filed Nov. 19, 1963 G. E. KLINGE ETAL HAIR BRUSH CLEANER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. a.

BY Gerald E 1 87 /ZMM INVENTORS. No1/man H. Vogel. Sr.

. Klinge and Norman H. Vogel, Jr.

#Hamm S June 16, 1964 G. E. KLINGE ETAL HAIR BRUSH CLEANER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 19, 1965 INVENTORS. Norman H. Vogel, S1'. BY Gerald E. Klinge and Norman H. Vogel, Jr. gmwwgwa/M orngjs o United States Patent HAIR BRUSH CLEANER Gerald'E.`Klinge, 5 637 Dunk Drive, Norman H. Vogel, Jr., 326 E. Bangor Drive, and Normanl-I. Vogel, Sr., 262 E. Bangor Drive, all of Indianapolis,lnd. Y Filed Nov. 19, 1963, Ser. No..324,671

,5 Claims. (Cl. 15-310) iinvention relates generally to cleaning and sani- Vtizing and sterilizing devices for beauty shops yand barber nsho`ps,and more particularly to. a device for cleaning,

,sanitizing and sterilizing hair brushes and the like.

In beauty Shops, -it`is necessary for the proprietors to maintain asubstantial supply of hair brushes and combs.

'fThisfis necessitated largely by the fact that it is dini- "cult'to remove hair thoroughly from hair brushes and .fit is a `time consuming task. Typically, `it is done by raking a comb through the hair brush and then removing the hair from the comb by hand. Not only is it time coni `suming but it is also unsanitary. Particularly is this true "becauseof the resiliency of bristlesrof a brush and their` f "'A further'object is to providea device achieving the p vj foregoing objects and facilitating the sterilization and drying1of brushes.

iDescribed brielly,.a typical embodiment ofthe present invention incorporates a housing having two compart- -'ments, with an air pump in one compartment and a collection bag in the other compartment. The airpump discharges into a sterilizer lunit andV draws air through the l collection bag to which air is admitted by a nozzle arrangement. Y l

` -A cover is provided'on the bag containing compartyin ent and serves as a mount for the nozzle. VThe bagfhas a nozzle mounting arrangement receivable on the portion of the nozzle projecting into the `second compartment and readily mounted to and removed from the pro- `jectingA nozzle portion.` Thecoverl to which the nozzle is mounted is'movablerto a position exposing to the outj sidethe bag and mounting tting to facilitate'installation and removal.

The entrance of the nozzlev is shaped and provided with notches "and `a comb fitting 'to not only eifectively andw completely remove `debris from hair brushes but alsoV fto facilitate the handling of a hair brush in passing it I across the nozzle. A

The full nature-of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings scription and`claims. i f

FIG'. lis a perspective view of a typical embodiment :of the present invention. o

FIG. 2 is a section therethrough taken along the line 2-2 `and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

,y FIG. 3 is a section illustrating the bag and nozzle mountingr arrangement, the section being taken along `the line ,3-'- 3 inFIG. 2` and viewedin thedirection `of the arrows. FIG. 4`is a `-section taken along the line 4 4 in FIG.` 1 and viewed in the directionV of the arrows, this section Q illustrating one manner of mounting the cover tothe main p portion of the housing and sealing it thereto.

FIG. 5 isan enlargement of a portion of FIG.'2. fReferring to the drawings in detail, the housing includes parallel

upstanding side walls

12 and 13, and parallel upland the following dev part of the length of the cabinet. member or lid 19 completes the exterior of the main housing and is disposed on an incline upwardly from the `front of the unit toward the rear of the unit.1 f

o 3,137,023 y 'PatentedJune .16, .1954` the entire length and Width of the housing or cabinet,

whereas the principal portion of the top 18 extends only A removable cover A bulkhead 21 is provided in the housingdividing the interior thereof `into two major compartments 22 and 23.

. In the compartment 22 there is a combination motor and blower 24 to serve as an air'pump. The specic arrangement of the motorandblower'is not important to the invention so long as the air pump comprises means `for moving ain The air'pump` has an inlet duct 25 and an outletg26. The inlet is provided with a flange 27 engaging a plate 28. The bulkhead21 and plate 28 sandwich a screen29j therebetween and the bulkhead has an aperture 31 therein communicating through the screen with the aperture 32 in the plate 28 which communicates .with theinterior of the duct 25. Air flow can thereby 20- be established by the pump through the aperture 31, screen 29, and aperture 32. In thismanner, air is drawn from the chamber 23 through the -pump and discharged through the outlet 2,6. Assuming that Vthe chamber 23wer completely closed, a very high vacuum could be established therein by the pump operation.. As a matter of fact, this feature is utilized by mounting a nozzle 33 on the cover 19.

The cover 19 is generally rectangularin form andhas "a mitered surface 34 along ,the upper marginal edge thereof and a mitered surface 36 along the lower marginal edge thereof; The lower surface 37 is planar and extends `from a horizontal edge 38 (FIG. 5 down to the horizontal p edge 39. At theedge 39, a 9step '4l-is provided leaving a sealing surface 42 `which rests onfthe sealing member43 which issecured to the mitered upper end surface A44 of the `front wall 16. 'p v f f As shown best in FIG. j4, a similar step 46 is provided y adjacent the side margin 47 of the lid. A sealing surface 48,. parallel to theV surface 37, between the margin 47 and step 46 rests upo-nthe gasket 49 which is secured4 by adhesive or ,other suitablemeans `to the upstanding side wall 12. An identical construction is provided at the opposite sidewall. f

The upper fixed portion 18 of the housing vover- ,hangs ythe mitered upper marginal surface 34 of the lid, and the step 41 can engage the upper `edge of the mitered upper surface 44 of the front wall 16 of the housing. Therefore',` the lid can be snapped into place by V-first inserting the surface 34 under` the overhanging top portion at 51, andpressing the lid rearwardly and upwardly against the gasket 52-until it is possible to snap the lower edge 39 of the step 41 over the upper edge of the upper surface 44 of thefront wall.. The lid will then remain securely inplace,1 being sealed all around by `the various gaskets, just described. Therefore, unless Va nozzle is provided in the lid or some other aperture were provided in the compartment 23, there wouldbe no place forair to enter the compartment 23 when the pumpis operating i f According .to an important feature of theipresentinvention, the'nozzle 33 is Vmountedto .the lid( This nozzle has a generally rectangular configuration as shown in FIGA,

A' land ismounted by means ofthe flange `53 resting on the gasketV 54( ...Four screws 55` may be provided to secure the llangefto thelid. In lieu -of the gasket illustrated, gasket cement orV a perfect lit can be provided, thejntention being that no air flowthrough the generally rectangular aperture Soin the lid be possible, other than that A ppassing through the interior of the nozzle.

.1. standing end walls 14 andjl. The bottom 17 extends Asbest observed `in FIG. 2, the generally rectangular inlet opening 57 of the nozzle inlet portion 58 is preferably disposed at a steeper slope thannthe slope of the in- -clined lid to which the nozzle is mounted. This Vfacilitates drawing'o'f a brush across the nozzle in the direction of the arrow 59 which is downwardly and toward the front of the housing.

A comb element 61 is mounted on the inside surface .of the nozzle by means of a rivet 62 or the like, and includes comb teeth spaced along the lower marginal edge 63 of the inlet opening. These teeth begin in a direction perpendicular to the upper and lower surfaces of the cover, this and lower inside faces 66 and 67 respectively of the nozzle.

- The teeth then curve upwardly as at 68, and their distal bristles `do not become engaged by the notches but are engaged by the upper edge 72 directly, not all of the bristles are bent upwardly at thek same time, thus achieving abetter and random spreading of the bristles as the brush is drawn across the nozzle opening, thereby achieving a better removal of debris from within each group of bristles. The comb is quite effective to remove hair and other debris, and the upward curve ofthe comb keeps all hair and debris removed directly in line with the air flow into the nozzle whereupon all debris is pulled into the nozzle without any falling outside of the nozzle. It is usually desirable to have the width of the nozzle inlet between the

side margins

73 and 74 thereof to be approximatelyequal to or less than the average width of brushes to be cleaned by the device.

'As previously mentioned, a debris collection bag 76 is being-parallel to a plane 64 equidistant between the upper provided in :the chamber 23. An important feature of this invention is the means of mounting the bag to the nozzle to retain it securely in place and yet facilitate installation and removal thereof. To this end, a generally rectangular mounting board 77 is secured by adhesive or other suitable means to the surface 79 of the bag. This maybe the end of a somewhat conventional vacuum cleaner dirt collection bag, the bag 76 being composed of the same or a similar type of air permeable material. The end of the bag may be of rather conventional construction. However, it has a generally rectangular aperture 81 therein. The mounting of the board 77 to the end of the bag is preferably by means of adhesive because an air seal is thereby obtained therebetween.

The board 77, which is typically made of a fibrous material, has a generally rectangular aperture 82 therein registering with the aperture 81 in the end of the bag. As is apparent in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the upper and

lower margins

83 and 84, respectively of the board extend well

beyondthe margins

86 and 87 of the bag.

A retainer board 88 is mounted to the upper surface of the mounting board 77, and both of these boards may be made of a fibrous material such as heavy paperboard approximately 1A@ inch thick, for example. If desired, the boards could beplastic or metal. A feasible means of attaching'the two boards together is by means of an adhesive, and a generally rectangular rubber gasket 89 is sandwiched therebetween vadjacent the aperture 82m the board 77..- This gasket has a generally rectangular aperture 91 therein embracing the entire` outer perimeter of the portion of the nozzle extending through the aperture 56 in the lid 19. This is illustrated in FIG. 3 and y119 in the side thereof.

effect, a retaining fiange 99 extends entirely around the outletopening of the nozzle, the dimensions of this flange being just slightly smaller than the interior dimensions of the aperture 101 in the board 88. Also, it is to be noted that the dimension between the step 97 and the underside 102 of the upper flange of-the nozzle is such that a space 104 is provided between the lower surface 37 of the lid and the upper face 106 of the board 88.

The advantages of this novel bag mounting arrangement will now become apparent. By providing an aperture 101 in the-board 88 approximately the same size but just slightlylarger than the flange 99 at the lower or outlet end of the nozzle, the board 88 can be aligned with the lower end of the nozzle when the bag is pushed onto the nozzle in the direction'ofvthe arrow 107. By so doing, the aperture in the rubber gasket 89 is centered on the nozzle flange and will not be excessively stretched in any direction duringthe installation of the bag. Moreover, once the inner edges or lips of the gasket has snapped over the step 97, the inner face 108 of the board 88 immediately adjacent'theaperture therein provides a brace or support for the rubber and prevents the b'ag from being blown off the nozzle whenthe bag becomes comparatively full of'debris. The proper dimension accommodating the space 104 facilitates installing the bag or pushing it upwardly sufficiently toward the surface 37 that complete snapping of the gasket over the step all the way around the gasket aperture is readily achieved.

By providing an appropriate thickness of the board 88, the upper surface 109of the board 77 is appropriately spaced at all times from the` inside face 37.0f the lid to f enable the projection-of fingertips into the space 111 to "facilitate the removal of the bag by pulling .away from the lid in the direction of the arrow 112. By extending possibleto facilitate the mounting of the bag on the nozzle. l

By having the bag disposed at an angle with respect to the .screen 29 against whichit is usually pulled during operating of the pump, debris tends to collect in the lower frontal area of the bag as indicated by reference numeral 113 in FIG. 2. This means, that until the bag is quite `full there will continue to be an adequate high flowfof air through the bag ntofthe pump and consequently through the nozzle into the bag. This achieves a continuous .high vacuum `for a long periody of time without thenecessity-of removing the bag. As shown in FIG. -1, a sterilizer apparatus 116 is mounted to the rightmarket A duct 118 is :provided between the sterilizer apparatus and the pump outlet 26 of FIG. 2 whereby the air discharged from the pump is forced into the steril- 12er. This is useful to dry brushes and combs. Air outlet from the sterilizer can be attained by the openings It .will be recognized that a variety of sterilizers can be employed according to the novel concept of this-invention.

gest themselves to persons skilled in this art and Within The invention claimed i's: 1. A hair brush cleaner comprising: a case having rst and second compartments therein, with said vsecond compartment having sidewalls with inclined upper margins, and a roof overhanging the upper ends'of said inclined margins; an .air pump'in said rst compartment and -having an inlet communicating with said second compartment and an outletcommunicating with a sterilizer and `drier mounted to"A casewhereby air is drawn from .said second Vcompartment and discharged-through said sterilizer 4and drier to atmosphere; a generally planar sloping roof member on said second compartment and having an aperture therein and having a step resting on an upper margin of an end wall of said section compartment; means sealing said roof member to said end wall, side walls, and said roof; a nozzle in said roof member and having VaY tubular inlet portion of generally rectangular cross section and disposed at the exterior of said case and a tubular outlet portion of generally rectangular cross section and extending through said aperture into the said second compartment and having a generally rectangular outlet opening, the inlet portion having a generally rectangular inlet opening disposed at an angle with respect to the plane of said roof member, the upper margin of said inlet opening having a plurality of notches spaced therealong, the outer surface of said outlet portion having a step therearound adjacent said outlet opening and being larger on the sideof the step near the outlet opening of said outlet portion than on the side of the step near the inlet opening of said inlet portion; a plural ity of comb teeth spaced along the lower margin of said inlet opening and iirst extending perpendicular to` the plane of said roo-f member and then extending curvilinearly toward distal ends above said inlet opening of said inlet portion and at an elevation below the upper margin of said inlet opening, thedistal ends of said teeth lying adjacent an imaginary plane normal to the plane of said roo-f member, said imaginary plane being equidistant from said upper and lower margins; and an air permeable refuse collection bag in said second compartment, said bag having a single and generally rectangular opening receiving the said outlet portion of said nozzle; a rst generally planar board sealingly secured to said bag and having a generally rectangular aperture in registry with said opening in said bag, said board having marginal portions extending beyond opposite margins of said bag to facilitate installation and removal of said bag on said outlet portion; a second board mounted on the upper face of said rst board and having an aperture sized to fittingly receive said larger surface of said nozzle outlet portions; and a flexible seal having a portion sandwiched between and sealingly secured to said boards and having a portion sealingly engaging the perimeter of said outlet portion between said step and said root` member, the aperture in said second board having. dimensions greater than the aperture in said first board to accommodate flexing of said perimeter engaging portion of said seal more easily in a direction toward said bag than away from said bag to facilitate attachment of said bag to said nozzle and prevent unintentional separation of said bag from said nozzle, the upper surface of said iirst board being spaced from the inside face o-f said roof member to accommodate insertion of fingertips therebetween to facilitate removal of said bag from said nozzle outlet portion; means sealing said nozzle to said roof member; said roof member being movable to open said -second compartment and expose the inside face of said roof member to facilitate installation and removal of said bag on said nozzle outlet portion.

2. A hair brush cleaner comprising: a case having rst and second chambers therein; an air pump in said iirst chamber and having an inlet communicating with said second chamber and an outlet discharging to atmosphere 6 whereby air-is drawnfrom'said secondchamber and dis charged to atmosphere; a'movable member on said case forming a` margin of said second chamber and having an aperture therein; a nozzle in said member and having a i i tubular inletrportion beginning with `an inlet opening disposed at the exterior of said case, 4and said nozzle Yhaving a tubularoutlet portion extending through said `aperture land terminating with an outlet opening in said second chamber; a plurality of comb teeth spaced along a margin of said inlet opening and extending in front of a portion of said inlet opening; and an air permeable refuse collection bag in said second chamber, said bag having an opening receiving the said outlet portion of said nozzle; a board secured to said bag and having an aperture in registry with said opening in said bag, said board having marginal portions extending beyond opposite margins of said bag to facilitate installation and removal of said bag on said outlet portion; and a flexible seal sealed to said bag and sealingly engaging the perimeter of said outlet portion, the exterior of said nozzle being sealed to said movable member, said movable member being movable to open said second chamber and expose the said collection bag to facilitate installation of said bag on said nozzle outlet portion and removal of said bag from said nozzle outlet portion. i

3. In a hair brush cleaner, the combination comprising: a case having a compartment therein; an air pump having an inlet communicating with said compartment and an outlet discharging to atmosphere whereby air is drawn from said compartment and discharged to atmosphere; a movable member on said case forming a margin of said compartment and having an aperture therein; a nozzle in said member and having an inlet lportion beginning with an inlet opening disposed at the exterior of said case, and said nozzle having an outlet portion extending through said aperture and having an outlet opening in said compartment; a comb extending in front of aportion of said inlet opening; and an air permeable refuse collection bag in said compartment, said bag having an opening receiving the said outlet portion of said nozzle; a board secured to said bag and having an aperture in registry with said opening in said bag, said board having a marginal portion extending beyond a margin of said b ag to facilitate installation and removal of said bag on said outlet portion; and a flexible seal sealed to said bag and sealingly engaging said outlet portion, said movable member being movable to open said compartment and expose the said collection bag to facilitate installation of said bag on said nozzle outlet portion and removal of said bag from said outlet portion.

4. In a hair brush cleaner, the combination comprising: a case having a compartment therein; an air pump having an inlet communicating with said compartment and an outlet discharging to atmosphere whereby air is drawn from said compartment and discharged to atmosphere;

p an aperture in said case; a nozzle having an inlet portion beginning with an inlet opening disposed at the exterior of said case, and said nozzle having an outlet portion extending through said `aperture and having an outlet opening in said compartment; a plurality of comb teeth extending in front of a portion of said inlet opening; and refuse collection means including an air permeable refuse collection bag in said compartment, saidbag having an opening receiving the said Youtlet portion of said nozzle, board means secured to said bag adjacent said opening in said bag, said board having marginal portions extending beyond opposite margins of said bag to facilitate installation and removal of said bag on said outlet portion, and a flexible seal sealed to said bag' and having a portion sealingly engaging and slidable on the perimeter of said outlet portion, and means on said outlet portion engagable with a portion of said collection means to retain said collection means on said outlet portion.

5. In a hair brush cleaner, the combination comprising: a case having a compartment therein; an air pump having an -inlet communicating vWith said compartment and an loutlet discharging Vto atmosphere whereby air is drawn 4from said compartment anddischarged to atmosphere; an aperture in said case; a nozzle having-an inlet porltion having an inlet opening disposed at-the exterior of saidnozzle, and-a'exihle seal sealedto said container and having a portion sealingly engaging'the perimeter of said outlet portion, and means engageable'with-a portion "ofsaidfcollection means to'retain said collection means -5 on said outlet portion.

References-Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Morse June 25, 1935 k1() v2,781,103 Daiger et al Feb. l2, 1957 3,009,188 Martin Nov. 21, 1961 -3,030,650 Kiraly Apr. 24, 1962

Claims

5. IN A HAIR BRUSH CLEANER, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A CASE HAVING A COMPARTMENT THEREIN; AN AIR PUMP HAVING AN INLET COMMUNICATING WITH SAID COMPARTMENT AND AN OUTLET DISCHARGING TO ATMOSPHERE WHEREBY AIR IS DRAWN FROM SAID COMPARTMENT AND DISCHARGED TO ATMOSPHERE; AN APERTURE IN SAID CASE; A NOZZLE HAVING AN INLET PORTION HAVING AN INLET OPENING DISPOSED AT THE EXTERIOR OF SAID CASE, AND SAID NOZZLE HAVING AN OUTLET PORTION EXTENDING THROUGH SAID APERTURE AND HAVING AN OUTLET OPENING IN SAID COMPARTMENT; A PLURALITY OF COMB TEETH EXTENDING IN FRONT OF A PORTION OF SAID INLET OPENING; AND REFUSE COLLECTION MEANS INCLUDING A CONTAINER HAVING AN AIR PERMEABLE PORTION IN SAID COMPARTMENT, SAID CONTAINER HAVING AN OPENING RECEIVING THE SAID OUTLET PORTION OF SAID NOZZLE, AND A FLEXIBLE SEAL SEALED TO SAID CONTAINER AND HAVING A PORTION SEALINGLY ENGAGING THE PERIMETER OF SAID OUTLET PORTION, AND MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH A PORTION OF SAID COLLECTION MEANS TO RETAIN SAID COLLECTION MEANS ON SAID OUTLET PORTION.