Adjustable Hairbrush Assembly

Abstract

An adjustable hairbrush assembly includes a housing, a brush plate, and an adjustment mechanism. The housing includes a first panel, a second panel, and a perimeter wall connecting the panels, wherein the first panel has a plurality of orifices. The brush plate is in the housing and includes groups of bristles, each projecting through a corresponding orifice. The adjustment mechanism is positioned within the housing and is operatively connected to the brush plate to move the brush plate toward the first panel to thereby extend the groups of bristles such that the bristles in each group of bristles are permitted to fan out to form a more flexible group of bristles, and away from the first panel to thereby retract the groups of bristles such that the bristles in each group of bristles are compacted together in the orifices to form a less flexible group of bristles.

I claim: 
     
         1 . An adjustable hairbrush assembly comprising:
 a housing, the housing including a first panel, a second panel, and a perimeter wall connecting the first panel and the second panel, the first panel including a plurality of orifices;   a brush plate, the brush plate being positioned within the housing;   a plurality of groups of bristles, each of the groups of bristles being mounted on the brush plate, each of the groups of bristles being positioned to project through a respective one of the orifices in the first panel; and   an adjustment mechanism, the adjustment mechanism being positioned within the housing, the adjustment mechanism being coupled to the brush plate, the adjustment mechanism being configured to move the brush plate toward the first panel to extend and fan out the groups of bristles to increase flexibility of the groups of bristles, the adjustment mechanism being configured to move the brush plate away from the first panel to retract and compact the groups of bristles to decrease flexibility of the groups of bristles.   
     
     
         2 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a cam assembly engaged with the brush plate and a manual actuation device connected to the cam assembly for selective movement of the brush plate to adjust the extension and flexibility of the groups of bristles. 
     
     
         3 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the adjustment mechanism includes springs positioned between the first panel and the brush plate, the springs are configured to push the brush plate away from the first panel when the brush plate is not being displaced toward the first panel by the cam assembly. 
     
     
         4 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the housing includes guide posts positioned between the first panel and the second panel, the guide posts are configured to support and guide the brush plate and the springs. 
     
     
         5 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the cam assembly includes movable cam arms engaged with corresponding cam structures on a back side of the brush plate. 
     
     
         6 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the cam assembly includes a rotatable slot cam gear coupled to the manual actuation device and coupled to each of the cam arms to move each of the cam arms. 
     
     
         7 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the housing includes a slot in the perimeter wall; and   the manual actuation device includes a lever projecting out of the slot.   
     
     
         8 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the slot includes a plurality of lock steps to selectively lock the lever in a position corresponding to a desired adjustment of the groups of bristles. 
     
     
         9 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the cam assembly includes movable cam arms engaged with corresponding cam structures on a back side of the brush plate. 
     
     
         10 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the cam assembly includes a rotatable slot cam gear coupled to the manual actuation device and coupled to each of the cam arms to move each of the cam arms. 
     
     
         11 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 10 , wherein:
 the housing includes a slot in the perimeter wall; and   the manual actuation device includes a lever projecting out of the slot.   
     
     
         12 . The adjustable hairbrush assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the slot includes a plurality of lock steps to selectively lock the lever in a position corresponding to a desired adjustment of the groups of bristles.