Brush Bristle Cover

Abstract

A brush bristle cover encompasses the bristles of the makeup brush head for the purposes of hygiene, protection, and convenience. The arrangement of the apparatus allows for protection of brush bristles during transportation and immediately after use. The apparatus creates an enclosure around the bristles of the brush. Being made of a shape retaining material, especially silicone or other such durable semirigid materials, the desired protective function can be achieved without damaging a carrying bag or purse. The apparatus prevents the bristles from receiving damage due to the ambient environment in which the bristles are stored while simultaneously allowing the contained portion of the brush head to retain in its desired shape. This method of storage will allow the brush to stay free of environmental irritants, thus requiring less frequent washing practices. The apparatus will increase the longevity of the brush bristles by protecting them from being displaced during storage.

Claims

1. A brush bristle cover comprises: a bristle receptacle; an entrance slot; the bristle receptacle comprising an open end and a closed end; the entrance slot comprising a first lengthwise lip and a second lengthwise lip; the entrance slot being integrated into the closed end; the bristle receptacle tapering from the closed end to the open end; the first lengthwise lip and the second lengthwise lip being positioned parallel and offset to each other; and the first lengthwise lip and the second lengthwise lip being positioned offset from each other by a clearance gap.

2. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bristle receptacle is made of semirigid polymeric material.

3. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 2, wherein the bristle receptacle is made of silicone.

4. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the entrance slot is flexible.

5. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the open end is flexible.

6. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein a length of the first lengthwise lip is 40 millimeters (mm), and wherein a length of the second lengthwise lip is 40 mm, and wherein the first lengthwise lip and the second lengthwise lip are coextensive to each other.

7. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein a width of the clearance gap is 1 mm.

8. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein the open end is a circular-shaped opening.

9. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 8 wherein a circumference of the circular-shaped opening is 55 mm.

10. A brush bristle cover comprises: a bristle receptacle; an entrance slot; the bristle receptacle comprising an open end and a closed end; the entrance slot comprising a first lengthwise lip and a second lengthwise lip; the entrance slot being integrated into the closed end; the bristle receptacle tapering from the closed end to the open end; the first lengthwise lip and the second lengthwise lip being positioned parallel and offset to each other; the first lengthwise lip and the second lengthwise lip being positioned offset from each other by a clearance gap; and the bristle receptacle being made of semirigid polymeric material.

11. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 10, wherein the bristle receptacle is made of silicone.

12. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 10, wherein the entrance slot is flexible.

13. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 10, wherein the open end is flexible.

14. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 10, wherein a length of the first lengthwise lip is 40 millimeters (mm), and wherein a length of the second lengthwise lip is 40 mm, and wherein the first lengthwise lip and the second lengthwise lip are coextensive to each other.

15. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 10, wherein a width of the clearance gap is 1 mm.

16. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 10, wherein the open end is a circular-shaped opening.

17. The brush bristle cover as claimed in claim 16 wherein a circumference of the circular-shaped opening is 55 mm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] FIG. 1 is a front view of the present invention.

[0007] FIG. 2 is a right sectional view about line 2-2 in FIG. 1 of the present invention.

[0008] FIG. 3 is a top view of the present invention.

[0009] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the present invention.

[0010] FIG. 5 is a right view of the present invention including a contained brush.

[0011] FIG. 6 is a front view of the present invention including a contained brush.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0013] The present invention is a brush bristle cover that is used to protect the bristles of a brush, especially a makeup application brush, from potential contamination during storage. The present invention is also configured to prevent the brush bristles from becoming squished or otherwise compressively damaged due to surrounding objects. The present invention comprises a bristle receptacle 1 and an entrance slot 5, as shown in FIG. 2. The bristle receptacle 1 is the protective hollow unit that defines the volume of space available for retaining the bristles of a brush. The entrance slot 5 denotes an elongated gap through which a brush and bristles may enter the bristle receptacle 1, thus allowing a brush and bristles to access the bristle receptacle 1 and simultaneously minimizing the potential for exposure to external contaminants that could otherwise enter the bristle receptacle 1.

[0014] The general configuration of the aforementioned components allows the present invention to efficiently and effectively insert and retain the bristles of a brush during storage. The bristle receptacle 1 may comprise an open end 2 and a closed end 4, as shown in FIG. 1. The open end 2 is an opening in the bristle receptacle 1 through which, in the preferred usage of the present invention, a brush handle may be pulled in order to arrange the brush bristles appropriately within the bristle receptacle 1. The closed end 4 is the segment of the bristle receptacle 1 opposite the open end 2. The entrance slot 5 may comprise a first lengthwise lip 6 and a second lengthwise lip 7. The first lengthwise lip 6 is a segment of the entrance slot 5 which defines an edge against which the bristles of a brush may press for appropriate orientation and arrangement within the bristle receptacle 1 upon completion of the mounting process Similarly, the second lengthwise lip 7 is the segment of the entrance slot 5 generally opposite the first lengthwise lip 6 which defines an edge against which the bristles of a brush may press for appropriate orientation and arrangement within the bristle receptacle 1 upon completion of the mounting process. The entrance slot 5 may be integrated into the closed end 4. In this way, the entrance slot 5 is positioned opposite the open end 2 about the bristle receptacle 1. The bristle receptacle 1 may taper from the closed end 4 to the open end 2. This arrangement provides appropriate volume for the bristles of a contained brush, especially for fanned brush bristles. The first lengthwise lip 6 and the second lengthwise lip 7 may be positioned parallel and offset to each other. Thus, a brush pulled through the entrance slot 5 may have its bristles oriented appropriately for storage in the bristle receptacle 1 through the first lengthwise lip 6 and the second lengthwise lip 7. The first lengthwise lip 6 and the second lengthwise lip 7 may be positioned offset from each other by a clearance gap 8, as shown in FIG. 3. The clearance gap 8 is a distance of the entrance slot 5 that is minimized to prevent dust, particulate matter, and other contaminants from passing through the entrance slot 5. By pinching the edges of the entrance slot 5 together, users may widen the entrance slot 5 to create another convenient and intuitive mechanism by which to add a brush into the present invention.

[0015] The bristle receptacle 1 must be both rigid for protection and flexible to allow for minimization of storage space required. To this end, the bristle receptacle 1 may be made of semirigid polymeric material. Thus, the bristle receptacle 1 allows for convenient brush bristle storage, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0016] Furthermore, many materials meet the mechanical property requirements necessary for the present invention, but among those materials, few have additional qualities, such as high thermal resistance, mechanical fatigue resistance, and more that further enhance the usability of the present invention. To this end, the bristle receptacle 1 may be made of silicone. This arrangement ensures that the bristle receptacle 1 meets the necessary physical requirements as well as other desirable material traits.

[0017] Since, in the preferred usage of the present invention, the brush passes through the entrance slot 5 handle-first, the entrance slot 5 must be capable of temporarily adapting to the shape of a brush handle. To this end, the entrance slot 5 may be flexible. In this way, the entrance slot 5 may recoil back to the desirable slot shape after a brush handle has completely passed through the entrance slot 5.

[0018] The open end 2 must similarly be capable of adapting to the shape of the brush head in order to allow brush bristles to pass through the open end 2 undamaged. To enable this, the open end 2 may be flexible. Thus, the open end 2 is able to adjust to a necessary bristle shape during usage.

[0019] The first lengthwise lip 6 and the second lengthwise lip 7 must be arranged optimally in order to allow for any of a wide variety of brushes to fit appropriately within the bristle receptacle 1. To this end, a length of the first lengthwise lip 6 may be 40 millimeters (mm), a length of the second lengthwise lip 7 may be 40 mm, and the first lengthwise lip 6 and the second lengthwise lip 7 may be coextensive to each other. The specified lengths have been found optimal for allowing a brush to pass through the present invention. Having the first lengthwise lip 6 coextensive with the second lengthwise lip 7 ensures minimal disturbance of brush bristles that have been desirably feathered from use.

[0020] In order to further protect brush bristles from external contamination, the clearance gap 8 must be of appropriate size to allow a brush to pass through without contacting the brush bristles. To allow for this, a width of the clearance gap 8 may be 1 mm. This dimension has been found to be especially effective at providing the necessary brush clearance space without affecting the brush bristles.

[0021] While the open end 2 is preferably made of flexible material, it is still optimal for the open end 2 to default to the general shape of a cross-section of a brush in order to prevent contained brush bristles from passing through the open end 2 undesirably. To this end, the open end 2 may be a circular-shaped opening. In this way, the open end 2 is optimally prepared for containment of a brush handle during usage of the present invention.

[0022] It may be further desirable to ensure that any of a variety of brush handles may fit comfortably within the open end 2 during use without allowing the bristles to pass through. To this end, a circumference 3 of the circular-shaped opening may be 55 mm. This dimension ensures that the majority of standard-sized brush handles may fit comfortably within the open end 2, while the majority of brush bristles may not fall through the open end 2 incidentally.

[0023] Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.