WO2016149134A2

WO2016149134A2 - Appliance for cleaning and conditioning facial brushes

Info

Publication number: WO2016149134A2
Application number: PCT/US2016/022170
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rachel J. LEWIS; Joel WERNER; Jameel AHED; Roberto Pedros
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-03-19
Filing date: 2016-03-11
Publication date: 2016-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 2017-09-19
Also published as: WO2016149134A3

Abstract

An appliance for conditioning facial brashes has a rotating wiper assembly or a jet spray for discharging debris which is captured within a brush when the brush is held within the appliance. The brash is then subjected to an ultrasonic cleaning step and finally a hot air drying step and an ultraviolet radiation step to eliminate pathogens. The brush is moved manually from station to station and when dry may be placed in a draw within the appliance until next used, In an alternate approach the brush may be acted on while held in a single station so that the brush need not be moved.

Description

TITLE

APPLIANCE FOR CLEANING AND CONDITIONING FACIAL BRUSHES RELATED APPLICATIONS

5 [001] In part, this application describes the same apparatus and method as presented in co-pending non-provisional application 13/921,913, filed on June 20, 2013, and claims international date priority thereof as a Continuation-In-Part application. The subject matter of application 13/921,913 is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

10 [002] The present disclosure relates to the field of cleaning appliances and particularly to a facial brush appliance capable of cleaning and conditioning brushes of the type used in the cosmetics industry. Of course brushes used for other than cosmetics may be applied as well.

[003] An individual may carry a facial skin disease including those caused by viruses, rickettsia, bacteria, fungi, hormonal upsets such as acne vulgaris and parasites as well as eye ¹⁵ infections such as conjunctivitis, pink eye, blepharitis, eye herpes, and acanthamoeba keratitis, and clearly the mouth orifice, lips, nose and their surrounding tissues offer problems related to the spread of disease. The aforementioned is not an exhaustive list. Therefore, it is unwise for individuals to share facial brushes, which is generally well known, but not necessarily widely practiced. Also, proper brush cleansing is not well known nor carried out which may 20 lead to the spread of disease on a single host and from host to host. There is a need for an appliance that is able to properly cleanse and condition facial brushes. The appliance described in this writing is capable of establishing a level of conditioning that can prevent the spread of disease and infection in the home and in the retail cosmetics industry.

[004] In order to recognize the difficulty of producing a solution to this problem, one must ²⁵ realize that there are a great variety of shapes and sizes of facial brushes and that they are selected for use depending on the facial area of interest, the cosmetic product and the desired result, i.e., covering, concealing, coloring, integrating, and so on. Also the shape of a brush tip may be chiseled, straight, angular or tapered, the shaft may be long or short, thin or broad and uniform along its length or tapered, round, triangular, square. [005] Face makeup brush types include the foundation brush which is long, has flat bristles and a tapered tip, powder brush which has fluffy bristles, is soft, full and rounded, fan brush which is similar to a fan painting brush, and is used for light touches, blush brush which has fine bristles and a rounded head, the concealer brush being soft and flat with a pointed tip and 5 a wide base, kabuki brush which is very thick and rounded with a relatively short handle, duo fiber multipurpose brush being flat, circular and with a feathery head, mineral powder brush which is thick and rounded, and a face sponge which takes various shapes.

[006] Eye makeup brush types include the basic eye shadow brush, crease brush, lid brush, contour brush/blending brush, angle eye shadow brush which is typically small, soft and with 10 a rounded and angled tip, eyeliner brush which is very thin and fine with soft bristles, blending eye shadow brush with a long round head, smudge brush being flat and soft, mascara brush having a long stem and stiff short bristles arranged axially orthogonal, and eyebrow brush which is long, thin, and has tough bristles.

[007] Lip makeup brushes include the lipstick brush being fine, soft and tapered, and the lip ¹⁵ gloss brush being long with a soft dense bristle bundle at its end.

[008] Clearly, there are many shapes, sizes and types of makeup brushes used for applying cosmetics. In the application of commercial cosmetic services such as at cosmetic counters in department stores, cosmetics retail establishments, day spas, television and movie studios, and other locations, customers, actors, and others, make-up, or are made-up using makeup 20 brushes. The presently described appliance is capable of setting a standard of use for this industry with repeatable results and is capable of improving the viability of reuse of brushes from one person to the next.

BRIEF SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES

[009] This writing discloses an appliance for cleaning and conditioning brushes such as those ²⁵ used for applying cosmetics. Makeup materials become lodged in the bristles of such brushes preventing the free wiping action necessary for successful results. The appliance provides a cleaning process including wiping a makeup brush with a rotating wiper which brings water or another solvent into intimate contact with bristles of a brush while also forcing the bristles to be squeezed and flattened and saturated with the solvent. This action thoroughly dislodges old makeup material from the bristles of a brush. Next, the brush is placed into an ultrasonically agitated bath whereby micro-particles are dislodged from between the bristles. After cleaning, the brush is placed into a bin for air drying and UV sterilization.

[0010] Important advantages of the appliance include thorough cleaning at a level rarely 5 known in industry, convenience, and confidence of brush sterilization, and assurances that brushes are not damaged.

[0011] The details of one or more embodiments of these concepts are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Embodiments may have applications for paint brushes, hair dye brushes and other uses. Other features, objects, and advantages will 10 be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is a graphical illustration of a left-front perspective view of an embodiment of the apparatus of the detailed description;

[0013] Figure 2 is the view of Fig.1 showing open positions of several elements; ¹⁵ [0014] Figure 3 is a graphical illustration of a left-front perspective view of an embodiment showing transparent portions;

[0015] Figure 4 is a partial view thereof with a portion hinged to an open position;

[0016] Figure 5 is a top perspective view thereof;

[0017] Figure 6 is a partial right-rear side perspective view thereof; and

20 [0018] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram thereof showing electrical components and power distribution relationships thereof.

[0019] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] An appliance 10 for cleaning and conditioning facial brushes 20 is illustrated in Figs. ²⁵ 1-6 and further described in Fig. 7. As shown in Fig. 1, appliance 10 may include an enclosure 30 which may be adapted by its size and configuration for resting on a table, shelf or similar surface during use so as to enable manual loading and unloading of brushes 20. As shown in Fig. 2, enclosure 30 may be partitioned into plural interior sections including: a debris disbursing section 40, a micro-cleaning section 50, and a finishing section 60, but may have less or more of such sections adapting appliance 10 for performing various operations 5 on one or more of brushes 20 either in sequence or in parallel processing. Portions of enclosure 30 may be mounted on slides, guides, hinges or there common articulating elements as are very well known by engineers and product designers in the fields of apparatus design and construction, and such mountings may enable the articulated portions to be moved out or away from the general box structure of enclosure 30 so as to reveal and enable access to spaces 10 within enclosure 30 as well as to interior structures and fixtures within these spaces for carrying out the objectives of appliance 10 as will be described.

[0021] As shown in Fig.3, enclosure 30 may have mounted thereon plural brush holders 70, which holders may be adapted, as will be described, for securing and for axially positioning brushes 20 for exposure to the interior portions of sections 40, 50, and 60. Four brush holders ¹⁵ 70 are shown in this figure but more or fewer brush holders 70 may be applied in alternate embodiments of appliance 10 while adhering to the same general concept. Brushes 20 may be of any type known in the cosmetics industries and as described in the previous background portion of this writing. Brushes 20 may be typically constructed with an elongated handle (see element 20) as shown, terminating at one end with a set of bristles 22 as is well known in 20 the cosmetics industry and in fine art painting.

[0022] In an embodiment, brushes 20 are manually secured to brush holders 70. Brush holders 70 may be made up of two or more rigid rings 24 joined along a mutual axis by common hardware as shown in Fig.3. Between each pair of rings 24 a flexible and elastic rubber flat washer may be secured. When a brush 20 is axially slid into a brush holder 70, the ²⁵ rubber washers deform accepting the handle of brush 20 and gripping it. When multiple rings 24 holding multiple washers are used, the brush handle is centered positioned and axially immovable once set in place but later may be removed by drawing brush 20 out of holder 70 by exerting axial forces on it. A brush 20 may be positioned manually so that its bristles 22 extend into enclosure 30 to a selected degree. Mounting fixtures 32 may be permanently fixed 30 to enclosure 30 and brush holders 70 may be secured to them for locating bristles 22 as desired within enclosure 30. To accomplish this, brush holders 70 have a first mount portion 72 wherein mounting fixtures 32 have a second mount portion 33 wherein said first and second mount portions may be mutually engaged in a mechanically secure relationship. The first 72 and second 34 mount portions, may comprise at least one of a screw mount and a bayonet 5 mount both of which are well known in the mechanical arts. Other types of mounts may be used as well.

[0023] In an embodiment shown In Fig.4 we see that an a portion 12 of enclosure 10 may be rotated outwardly to an open position. A hollow ring 80 may be secured to mounting fixture 32 and joined by a tube 81 to a pump 82 within a basin 48 to thereby deliver a liquid from 10 basin 48 to ring 80 and then to jet nozzles 84. As part of the bristle cleaning process liquid moving at a high rate from nozzle 84 may impinge on bristles 22. Jet cleaning may be used alone or in conjunction with abrasive contact as previously discussed.

[0024] Referring now to Fig. 3-6 portions of the structure of enclosure 30 are shown transparent for visual access to interior fixtures. It is noted that the bristles 22 of a brush 20 ¹⁵ may be angularly positioned within section 40. A motor 42 supported by a swivel mount 44 may have a shaft 46 extending into a basin 48. Mounted on shaft 46 are beaters 45 (erosive ablators) which, in one embodiment are a series of star-shaped washers as shown which may be made of plastic, fiber, hair, or other materials. Beaters 45 may be variously shaped portions depending on the size, shape, delicacy, and resiliency of bristles 22 of brushes 20. When basin 20 48 is partially filled with water or a cleaning solution (not shown) so that beaters 45 dip into this solution as they rotate, the beaters 45 become wetted or engorged, depending upon the material of which they are constructed, and deliver the solution to the bristles 22 along with a beating action to dislodge debris and to wash bristles 22 clean. Motor 42 may be manually or mechanically adjusted to a selected angle for each different size brush and may be set to move ²⁵ over a range of angles so as to position the beaters appropriately for a given size and shape of brush 20. In an embodiment, the motor may be controlled for rotational speed, for rotation in the clockwise or the counter-clockwise directions, and for periodic reversal for improved agitation and debris disbursal. [0025] The bristles 22 of a brush 20 may also be angularly positioned as shown in Fig.3, into section 50 of enclosure 30, that is into a basin 52 of an ultrasonic cleaning solution. Ultrasonic activity (cavitation) helps the solution to effectively clean, for example, by reducing surface tension and improving surface wetting. In an embodiment it has been found that a solution 5 maintained at between 122 °F and 149 °F and using ultrasound agitation of from 20 to 400 kHz is most effective for removing debris and surface contaminations on bristles. Therefore, a heater 54 and an ultrasonic transducer 56 may be attached to, or merely immersed in basin 52, that is, immersed directly into the cleaning solution. Such heaters, transducers, solutions and their connectively are well known in the art.

10 [0026] The bristles 22 of a brush 20 may also be angularly positioned as shown in Fig.3 into section 60 of enclosure 30. As shown in Fig.5, section 60 includes a brush holding chamber 62, where in this embodiment two brushes 20 are mounted. At the rear of enclosure 30 is a blower chamber 64 in which are housed a blower fan 66 which takes room air in through grill 67 (arrow A) and discharges this air in a forceful stream over a heating element 68 which may ¹⁵ be a lamp bulb (shown) or any equivalent thermal element such as an electrical resistor. Air passing over element 68 is heated and then diverted through partition apertures 69 to impinge on bristles 22 of brushes 20 for drying them. Air exits chamber 62 via side grating 63 at arrow B. Ultraviolet energy (UV light) elements 65 may be mounted within chamber 62 and may direct the UV light to the drying bristles 22 for eliminating pathogens.

20 [0027] From the above it is seen that a brush may be moved manually from debris disbursing section 40, to micro-cleaning section 50, and finally finishing section 60, where process steps performed on brushes 20 include elimination of debris on and between bristles, micro- cleaning of bristle shafts, and finally drying and elimination of germs.

[0028] Fig. 7 illustrates the power distribution from a power source such as household 115 ²⁵ VAC current to the electrical components that may be used to operate the appliance 10. The motor controller used with motor 42 to adjust rotational speed may be any conventional unit well known in the field. The frequency set and power set controller used with ultrasonic transducer 56 (Fig.5) may be any conventional unit well known in the field. The thermostatic controllers used for controlling temperature at fluid heater 54 and air heater 68 may be any conventional unit well known in the field. The speed controller used with fan motor 66 may be any conventional unit well known in the field. The power control used with ultraviolet lamp 65 may be any conventional unit well known in the field. The pumping speed control used with fluid pump 82 may be any conventional unit well known in the field.

5 [0029] Embodiments of the subject apparatus and method have been described herein.

Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and understanding of this disclosure. Accordingly, other embodiments and approaches are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

Claim 1. An appliance comprising:

5 an enclosure partitioned into plural interior sections including a debris disbursing section, a ultra-cleaning section, and a conditioning-sterilization section;

said debris disbursing section including an ablator;

said ultra-cleaning section including a cavitation agitator; and

said conditioning-sterilization section including at least one of a heating device, an air moving 10 device and a pathogen destroying device.

Claim 2. The appliance of claim 1 further comprising plural brush holders fixed on said enclosure wherein brushes mounted in said brush holders are positioned within said enclosure.

Claim 3. The appliance of claim 2 wherein each said brush holder includes a compliant flat washer. ¹⁵

Claim 4. The appliance of claim 2 wherein each brush holder is removably secured to said enclosure.

Claim 5. The appliance of claim 4 wherein each brush holder is secured by one of a screw mount or a bayonet mount.

Claim 6. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said erosive ablator is a rotating element.

20 Claim 7. The appliance of claim 6 wherein said rotating element is of a non-uniform shape.

Claim 8. The appliance of claim 2 wherein said erosive ablator is a jet nozzle adapted for dispensing a liquid solution at bristles of one of said brushes.

Claim 9. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said cavitation agitator is an ultrasonic transducer.

Claim 10. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said heating device is an electrical resistor. ²⁵

Claim 11. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said air moving device is a fan.

Claim 12. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said pathogen killing device is an ultraviolet light radiator.

Claim 13. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said enclosure includes a fixed portion and a movable portion, said movable portions movable to a position enabling access to an interior 5 space of said enclosure.

Claim 14. The appliance of claim 1 wherein said enclosure includes a storage facility.

Claim 15. An appliance comprising:

an enclosure partitioned into plural interior sections including at least one of a debris disbursing section, a ultra-cleaning section, and a conditioning-sterilization section;

10 said sections including at least one of an ablator, a cavitation agitator; a dryer, and a pathogen destroyer.

Claim 16. The appliance of claim 15 further comprising a brush holder fixed on said enclosure sais brush holder having a brush secured therein.

Claim 17. The appliance of claim 15 wherein said ablator is a rotating element. ¹⁵

Claim 18. The appliance of claim 15 wherein said ablator is a pump fed jet nozzle.

Claim 19. An appliance comprising:

brush conditioning tools including a debris disbursing ablator, a cavitation agitator, and a sterilizer; and

a means for securing a brush to said appliance while exposing said brush to at least one of said 20 tools.

Claim 20. The appliance of claim 19 wherein said securing means is adapted for exposing said brush to at least two of said tools.

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