Combs for treating lice

Abstract

A comb for the treatment of pediculosis that provides an innovative structure of tooth grooves to significantly improve the efficiency of removing nits and / or lice without reducing combing ability.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Background of the Invention The present invention relates to hair washing, and more particularly to a device used in the treatment of pediculosis for removing lice eggs or nits attached to hair, and even more particularly, the present invention relates to a novel comb for the treatment of pediculosis having groove placement and differentiation for improving the effectiveness of removing lice eggs (nits) and lice from hair without reducing the effectiveness of combing or slicing. [Background technology]

[0002] As is well known in the art, pediculosis is a common problem affecting countless individuals, and more specifically, it is a scourge in student populations, as school-age children more easily acquire it when in contact with classmates in classrooms or educational institutions they attend. Similarly, transmission between children occurs not only in educational settings, but also in public spaces, homes, and neighborhoods where two or more people meet, provided that at least one of them is a potential carrier of nits and / or lice.

[0003] When a carrier comes into contact with a non-carrier and infection occurs, the lice settle on the hair and deposit there the familiar eggs of head lice and similar species more commonly called nits.

[0004] Many chemical compounds have been developed to treat this parasitic infection, as well as numerous combs that aim to address this problem by removing lice and nits, thereby avoiding the use of chemical products that cause side effects.For example, there are various designs of combs that have a handle with multiple teeth or steel wire combs attached, and the spacing between the teeth is designed so that only hair passes tightly between adjacent teeth, so that any stuck matter, especially nits, is held between the teeth of the comb.By passing the comb through the patient's hair, as many nits as possible can be removed.

[0005] One of the combs that most effectively achieves the goal of removing insect eggs with maximum success is that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,873,374, which, as more specifically defined in the claims, describes a cleaning comb comprising a handle and a plurality of teeth, wires, or needles, preferably made of steel, each having an end, a tip, and a periphery for gripping the handle, the tip of each needle having a sharp, rounded tip, and having irregularities on its periphery. According to the concept of these patents, the novelty of the prior art comb lies in the fact that the periphery of each needle is provided with irregularities intended to capture and pull insect eggs attached to hair. The comb also has other characteristics, such as a distance between adjacent needles of 50 μm to 100 μm, and each needle having a total length ranging from 40 to 80 mm and an effective length outside the handle ranging from 20 to 60 mm.

[0006] The irregularities mentioned in the above-cited US patents are preferably based on the provision of spiral channels having a pitch of less than 4 mm, for example. The irregularities may also consist of circumferential channels spaced apart from one another by a distance between 0.5 and 3 mm, said channels having a depth of less than 0.2 mm.

[0007] The patented comb has other characteristics, such as being made of steel, having 10 to 100 needles, more precisely 33, and having the tips of the needles joined together to form a curved edge. Furthermore, the prongs or needles have their proximal ends held in a handle and their distal ends, all of which are aligned on the tips, finely finished to a tapered, polished, rounded shape, so that the combing does not deteriorate and at the same time allows hair to enter the spaces between the teeth or needles.

[0008] Another type of comb may be that disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002 / 0078972 to Levandosvky. According to Figure 1, which corresponds to Figure 4 of Levandosvky and is incorporated herein by reference, a comb 1 is taught for cleaning hair of deposits, particularly lice and nits, and includes a plurality of needles 3 defining gaps of 5 to 100 microns between them. Each needle has at least one "U"-shaped material-collecting channel 8 extending along two combing surfaces 6 and 7 defined by the needle, as seen in Figure 1 of the prior art.

[0009] Each collection channel 8 of each needle is located near the leading edge of the reed and is aligned side-by-side to form a general collection channel or width. Each collection channel 8 is defined by a recess 9 with a right angle. Meanwhile, Levandosvky teaches that each needle has a circular cross-section, preferably a cylindrical shape, defining a needle diameter of about 1 mm to about 1.5 mm. For example, each recess 9, and therefore each channel 8, has a depth of about 20% to 25% of the needle diameter and a width of about 3 mm to about 8 mm. Similarly, each needle 3 has multiple slots 13 spaced from one another by a distance between 3 mm and 5 mm. Like the recesses 9, the slots 13 are provided on both sides 6 and 7 of the comb.

[0010] Levandosvsky's slots 13 are created by a cutting machine, such as a grinder, which effectively reduces the cross-section of the teeth or needles by at least half their diameter. This reduction in diameter results in a significant weakening of the needles, resulting in a loss of their resistance to bending. This forced Levandosvsky to space the slots 13 apart, because if the slots were closer together, the teeth or needles would lose all their necessary resistance and break under slightly greater force than usual. This is significant because the goal is to improve the effectiveness and removal of nits and lice by moving the slots closer together. Similarly, since the nits inevitably die when separated, the use of the collection area 8 is not useful, and the space can be used for other purposes.

[0011] On the other hand, the slots 13 are positioned perpendicular to the needles. This eliminates the slots' effectiveness in attacking nits; they do not work if the comb passes perpendicular to the hair. In addition to the very few slots, this makes the Levandosvky comb unsuitable for treating head lice. Doubling the tip channels on both sides only increases inefficiency by reducing the bending strength of the teeth. Removing material from the teeth weakens them and reduces their performance. Because the inertia of the teeth relative to their working axis is proportional to their diameter, removing 20 to 25% of the material reduces their bending resistance and, by the same amount, reduces their effectiveness in removing lice and nits.

[0012] On the other hand, Levandosvky's channel 8 is the product of the proposed grinding process with a depth "a" of 0.2D to 0.25D. For diameters of 1mm to 1.5mm, this translates to 0.2mm to 0.375mm. This means that only in the best case scenario, a channel with a 1mm tooth diameter increases the effective separation between adjacent channels by more than 100%, i.e., from 0.10 to 0.22mm. Meanwhile, at the other end, with 1.5mm tooth diameters, the separation between adjacent tooth channels increases threefold, i.e., to 0.3mm. In summary, the spacing between the teeth remains unchanged, but the effective separation between channels is affected, increasing between 100% and 200%. Similarly, a channel width of 3 to 8mm reduces the number of channels required to remove worm eggs. It is also important to note that Levandovsky calls for collecting all material extracted from the hair, lice, eggs, and dirt, in a very wide and deep slot, and does not address the effectiveness of egg and lice removal.

[0013] Due to the current state of the art regarding combs for the treatment of pediculosis, it would be very useful to have a new comb that improves the effectiveness or efficiency of removing nits and / or lice for the treatment of pediculosis without affecting the person's hair during the washing and combing process. Summary of the Invention

[0014] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel comb for the treatment of pediculosis, which is provided with needles, teeth or wires capable of holding, capturing and pulling nits, dirt and lice without reducing combing ability, said needles or teeth being provided with novel peripheral grooves on only one side or face of the comb.

[0015] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a comb for the treatment of pediculosis in which the peripheral grooves ensure effective removal of nits and foreign bodies stuck to the hair, and in which hair easily enters the gaps between the teeth regardless of the way the comb moves through the hair.

[0016] Another object of the present invention is to provide a comb for the treatment of lice infestations in which grooves are made by a laser around the teeth, the grooves not reaching the equator of the cross section of the teeth, avoiding any kind of diameter reduction that may affect the effectiveness and durability of the dental treatment.

[0017] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a comb for the treatment of lice infestations characterized by one surface on which each needle or tooth is provided with a plurality of said circumferential grooves, while the other surface is smooth or does not contain grooves.

[0018] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a comb for the treatment of pediculosis in which the peripheral grooves are discontinuously spaced from one another and spaced at such a distance as to ensure effective removal of nits, discontinuously spaced meaning that the slots do not extend entirely around the needles or tines but only over selected portions thereof.

[0019] Another object of the present invention is to provide a comb for treating lice, the comb having a gripping handle from which a plurality of teeth protrude, the teeth having a proximal end held within the handle and a free distal end which together define a leading edge designed to make initial contact with human hair, pass through the hair and enable the process of removing nits and / or lice, each of the teeth having irregularities defined by a plurality of notches or grooves which are independent of and spaced apart from one another, each of the grooves being made in the peripheral portion of each tooth so as to extend or extend from the north pole of the cross-section of the tooth in a circumferential direction around the tooth towards both sides to near the equator of the cross-section of the tooth. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] For the purpose of making the object of the present invention clearer and more easily understood, there are shown by way of example several figures in which the invention is represented in one of its preferred forms of embodiment. [Figure 1] 1 shows a partial side view of a comb for the treatment of pediculosis according to US Patent Application Publication No. 2002 / 0078972, which is incorporated by reference. [Figure 2] 1 shows a front view of a comb for the treatment of lice infestation according to the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 shows an enlarged view of the area of ​​the comb tip for the treatment of pediculosis according to the present invention, allowing the placement of the grooves of the present invention to be observed in more detail. [Figure 4] A cross-section of some of the teeth that make up the comb according to the invention is shown, allowing a more detailed view of the peripheral development of the grooves of the invention, the grooves not reaching the equator of the cross-section in order to avoid hairs being located in the spaces between the sliding needles. [Figure 5] 1 shows an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a comb of the invention, in which the peripheral arrangement of grooves according to the invention can be seen. [Figure 6] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a portion of a comb of the present invention, with some teeth shown in the immediate vicinity of the removal of corresponding eggs and / or lice. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 shows an enlarged view for illustrative purposes only of the removal of nits and / or lice by using a comb of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Referring now to the figures, it can be seen that the present invention comprises a novel comb for treating pediculosis that provides a novel arrangement of teeth or needle grooves to significantly improve the efficiency of nit and / or lice removal without compromising combability. That is, since pulling nits by pressure causes pain and is inconsistent with the process of washing a child's head, cutting the hair when nits are found does not affect combability and hair damage is acceptable. Cutting the hair containing nits is preferable to pulling the nits away from the hair. Generally, the laser edge according to the present invention cuts nits without pulling the hair, or in some cases, may also cut the attached hair.

[0022] Thus, according to Figures 2 to 7, the comb for the treatment of pediculosis of the present invention is designated by the general reference number 101 and comprises a gripping handle 102 made up of two joined plates and from which protrude a plurality of tines 103, said tines 103 having a proximal end 104 held in said handle 102 and a free distal end 105 which together define a leading edge with a slightly curved extension that first comes into contact with human hair and then passes through it, enabling the process of removing nits and / or lice.

[0023] According to the present invention, each of said teeth is defined by a plurality of independent valleys, channels, slots or grooves 106, spaced apart and providing an asperity means for retaining and removing deposits, nits and / or lice present in hair, each of said grooves 106 being made in the peripheral portion of each tooth 103 so as to extend from the north pole 107 of the tooth in a circumferential direction around the tooth, towards both sides of the tooth, up to the vicinity of the equator 108 of the tooth or needle cross section, but without reaching the equator 108 at any time, in order to avoid the presence of grooves in areas that would ruin the hair, as occurs with conventional combs of the prior art. In other words, the slots, notches or grooves of one needle never face the slots of an adjacent needle, and the gap between the needles is always defined by the needle diameter without the slot.

[0024] By way of example and not limitation, the grooves 106 can be created by a laser and are arranged or implemented at an angle of 40° to 50°, more preferably 45°, relative to the longitudinal geometric axis of each tooth. Similarly, the grooves 106 have a depth 113 of 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm, preferably 0.2 mm. Meanwhile, the grooves 106 are spaced apart from one another by a distance 114 of 1.0 mm to 3 mm. As seen in FIGS. 3, 6, and 7, the grooves 106 of each tooth 103 are arranged linearly or opposite the adjacent grooves 106 of the immediately adjacent teeth 103. In this way, the grooves 106 cooperate to guide nits and / or lice to both sides, significantly improving their removal efficiency during treatment.

[0025] Again, it will be apparent that the above means are merely exemplary and can be modified and adapted to further improve the effectiveness of the comb of the present invention.Similarly, the laser groove engraving process provides the aforementioned advantage of having grooves facing each other, which cannot be achieved with conventional wire notching processes, since the needles or teeth that are subsequently cut end up in ridges or continuous needle channels at different locations.

[0026] On the other hand, it is very important to note that the grooves 106 do not reach the equator 108 of the cross section of the needles 103, which is far from it, but approach it to a distance or height 109 of at least 0.1 mm, said distance 109 corresponding to 0.05 mm to 0.15 mm depending on the diameter of the tooth or needle. Of course, this distance 109 depends on the diameter chosen for each tooth or needle 103.

[0027] By having slots 106 of limited depth, preferably constant along the entire length of the groove except at its ends, and added around the needles, the resistance of the needles is not affected, the hair is not damaged, and combing is not impaired, and the slots 106 can be moved closer together, greatly improving the effectiveness of removal and cleaning. In other words, the two objectives of not reducing combing and achieving the required effectiveness in removing nits and lice are achieved.

[0028] Similarly, the width of each groove 106 may start wider in a central region closer to the north pole 107 and decrease towards the equator 108. It will be apparent that the shape of each groove 106 may be varied without undue inconvenience, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0029] According to another object of the present invention, the comb 101 comprises a working surface 110 and a non-working surface opposite to this first surface, wherein on said working surface 110, said teeth 103 have said grooves 106 along part of their length, while on said non-working surface, said teeth 103 are smooth or do not have grooves along their length. It is emphasized, however, that said teeth 103 are spaced apart from one another by a distance between 0.05 mm and 0.1 mm. This distance allows the passage of hair 111 without causing a reduction in combing ability, while at the same time allowing the removal of nits and / or lice 112 by the grooves 106.

[0030] In this way, the comb for the treatment of pediculosis of the present invention is constructed and constructed, presenting a plurality of grooves arranged at an angle to the geometric axis of the needles, which in turn extend from one north pole towards the equator of the cross section, all on the periphery of each needle, without reducing the effective diameter of each needle or tooth and therefore without changing the effective distance between the teeth. When referring to "teeth" or "needles," it is clear that reference is being made to the same component part of the comb.

[0031] Accordingly, the present invention provides a comb as follows. The grooved area is from smallest to largest from the diameter near the equator of the cross section where the hair rubs towards the north pole. As there are no notches on the diameter, combing on both sides is not affected. The furrows can be much deeper than before as they do not affect the hairstyle. Ridging is more aggressive because it is done with a laser. Various grooved shapes may be made that provide greater attack on the eggs. The eggs are larger than the diameter of a hair and are therefore easily attacked by the furrows.

[0032] Thus, there is a novel comb for the treatment of pediculosis, which does not use ridges in the form of "spiral or circular scratches" here, but rather separate, spaced grooves, all on a single working surface of the comb, as the other surface is either groove-free or completely smooth.

[0033] Also, spiral notches or grooves made in the prior art using compression tools such as saws or grinders are preferably no longer made in this way according to the present invention. The grooves of the present invention are engraved by laser processing, and the laser engraving can be done on the finished comb or at least on the welded comb.

[0034] In practice, prior art grooved leads required the needles to already be slotted or grooved, either circumferentially or helically, before being assembled, after which the needles were cut to the required length, placed adjacent to each other with the appropriate spacing, and secured together with a handle, e.g., welded, without any control over the alignment or misalignment of the slots between adjacent teeth or the beginning of each line of the slot.

[0035] This corresponds to conventional combs, except for Levandosvky, which have continuous spirals on a steel cylinder extending from the diameter to guide and destroy nits. However, because they are continuous, the irregularities that come into contact with the hair significantly impair combing, which is crucial in treating pediculosis. That is, the more irregularities, the more effective but more difficult to comb. While Levandosvky's reference aims to improve combing, this goal is not fully achieved because the irregularities do not address the areas where nits are present, resulting in a comb that is ineffective in treating head lice.

[0036] The present invention overcomes all of the above drawbacks by providing a comb with "sharp" peripheral grooves that reach areas with eggs without affecting combing.

[0037] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a comb for the treatment of lice infestations, such as that shown and described above, comprising the steps of cutting a plurality of sections from wire to form each of the tines of the comb, securing the tines to a handle so as to position them adjacent to one another leaving inter-tine distances between the tines, and laser engraving at least one side of the comb to form a plurality of ridges or grooves in the tines on that side of the comb.

[0038] According to the method of the present invention, the grooves are formed in the peripheral portion of each tooth so as to extend from the north pole to both sides in the circumferential direction up to the equator of the cross section of the tooth. More specifically, the grooves are formed to a constant circumferential depth except at the ends of the groove.

[0039] The grooves can be engraved on one or both sides of the comb. Unlike conventional techniques, where spiral or circular grooves use the space occupied by a hair, i.e., between two teeth or needles, here the grooves use the space immediately following the diameter. In this way, they do not affect the hair but the nits, which occupy a larger space. This occurs because the focal length changes when the laser moves away from perpendicular to the steel, and the geometry does not allow the nits to be affected all around. In other words, this makes the laser very aggressive to nits and less aggressive to hair, thus allowing for the removal of nits and / or lice without compromising combability.

[0040] It is emphasized that the shape and functionality of the handles, the connections between the parts, the shape of the retaining portions of the tines 103, the distal ends or tips of the tines or needles 103 are well known in the art and similarly will not be described in detail as they do not form part of the object of the present invention, it being understood that the novel features of the present invention can be adapted and used with any combination of free tips of needles or tines, and with any handle or comb type without departing from the spirit and scope of the object of the present invention.

Claims

1. A comb (101) for the treatment of pediculosis, comprising: a grip handle (102), The comb comprises a plurality of tines (103) projecting from said handle (102), said tines (103) having a proximal end (104) held by said handle (102) and a free distal end (105) which together define a leading edge defined to initially contact human hair and pass through said hair to enable said process of removing nits and / or lice, said comb comprising: A comb (101) characterized in that each of the teeth (103) has irregularities defined by a plurality of grooves (106) that are independent of one another and spaced apart from one another, and each of the grooves (106) is made in the peripheral portion of each tooth (103) so as to extend from a north pole (107) of the cross section of the tooth (103) in a circumferential direction around the tooth (103) towards both sides of the tooth (103) to the vicinity of the equator (108) of the cross section of the tooth (103).

2. a working surface (110) and a non-working surface; On said working surface (110), said teeth (103) have said plurality of grooves (106) along a portion of their length; 2. Comb (101) according to claim 1, characterized in that on the non-working surface, the teeth (103) are smooth and without grooves along their entire length.

3. A comb (101) according to claim 2, characterized in that the grooves (106) are inclined so as to form an angle of between 40° and 50° with respect to the longitudinal axis of each tooth (103).

4. Comb (101) according to claim 3, characterized in that said angle is 45°.

5. Comb (101) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the grooves (106) are made by a laser.

6. Comb according to claim 5, characterized in that the grooves (106) have a depth (113) of 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm.

7. Comb (101) according to claim 5, characterized in that the grooves (106) have a depth (113) of 0.2 mm.

8. Comb (101) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the grooves (106) are spaced apart from one another by a distance (114) between 1.5 mm and 3 mm.

9. A comb (101) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the grooves (106) of each tooth (103) are arranged in line with and adjacent to the grooves (106) of the immediately adjacent teeth (103).

10. A comb (101) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that each groove (106) extends circumferentially from the north pole (107) to a distance or height of at least 0.1 mm from the equator (108) of the cross section.

11. Comb (101) according to claim 1, characterized in that the teeth (103) are spaced apart from one another by a distance of between 0.05 mm and 0.1 mm.

12. 1. A method of manufacturing a comb (101) for treating pediculosis of the type comprising a gripping handle (102) from which protruding a plurality of tines (103), said tines (103) having a proximal end (104) held within said handle (102) and a free distal end (105) which together define a leading edge defined to initially contact human hair and pass through said hair to enable said process of removing nits and / or lice, said method comprising: cutting a plurality of sections from a wire to form each of the teeth (103) of the comb (101); Fixing the teeth (103) to the grip handle (102) and positioning one tooth (103) adjacent to another tooth, leaving an inter-tooth distance between the teeth (103); and laser engraving at least one side of the comb (101) to create a plurality of grooves (106) in the teeth (103) only on said side of the comb (101).

13. 13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the grooves (106) are made in the peripheral portion of each tooth (103) so as to extend from a north pole (107) of the cross section of the tooth (103) in a circumferential direction around the tooth (103) towards both sides up to the vicinity of the equator (108) of the cross section of the tooth (103).

14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the groove (106) is made to a constant circumferential depth except at the groove ends.

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