Brush having a head of gathered net material
United States Patent [1 1 Breland [451 Apr. 15, 1975 BRUSH HAVING A HEAD OF GATHERED NET MATERIAL [76] Inventor: Dorothy S. Breland, 1209 McCullough Ave., Huntsville, Ala. 35801 [22] Filed: July 5, 1973 21 Appl. No.1 376,914  
 [52] U.S. Cl. 15/225; 15/209 R [51] Int. Cl A471 17/04 [58] Field of Search... l5/l89, 208, 209 R, 209 AH, 15/210 R, 211, 223, 224, 225, 226, 228,  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 264,358 9/1882 Smith 15/226 581,109 4/1897 Fairchild 15/226 1,927,862 9/1933 Zimmerman 15/230.13 2,468,686 4/1949 Sax 15/225 RX 2,637,061 5/1953 Ozdobinski 15/226 2,754,533 7/1956 Swartout 15/223 R X 2,849,821 9/1958 Doig 161/10 3,205,519 9/1965 Nowlin et a1 15/209 R 3,268,938 8/1966 Smith 15/118 3,336,618 8/1967 Day 15/209 R 3,663,981 5/1972 DuCrest 15/225 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 531,680 10/1956 Canada 15/230.13  
 Primary ExaminerDanie1 Blum Attorney, Agent, or FirmHarrington A. Lackey [57] ABSTRACT A brush consisting of an elongated strip of net fabric which has been gathered at points along its length and then wound around an end of a handle having a groove there-around, winding of the fabric being centered in this groove whereby side edges are directed outward to form multiple working surfaces having the overall configuration of a ball or other solid mass.  
 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATEr-HED 1 51875 Sam 2 BF 2 BRUSH HAVING A HEAD OF GATHERED NET MATERIAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to brushes and particularly to a new and improved brush in which the active brushing material is a synthetic, open-weave net material.  
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Cleaning and scrubbing brushes are typically constructed with individual bristles of a relatively stiff material, each embedded in an end of a handle of wood or some synthetic material. In some instances, brushes have been constructed of embedded blades. In the construction of mops, a related product, individual strands of soft material rather than bristles are employed. In common, however, is the basic notion of the employment of many individual strands which must be bound together in some fashion. A difficulty with this type construction is that every bristle or strand is basically on its own and each time that the strand is bent in use it is susceptible to being substantially deformed and after significant usage, the elasticity of the bending regions becomes substantially decreased and the initial stiffness of the brush which contributed heavily to its effectiveness is gone. In the case of mops with each strand being worn along its length as it engages a work surface, strands are soon worn thin or pulled loose and lost.  
  It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved brush, capable of retaining its effectiveness over longer periods of usage than with previously known types of brushes.  
  A further object of this invention is to provide a series of brush-like devices which may be employed as decorative as well as utilitarian devices.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, the active material of the brush would be a cloth material. In most, but not all instances, it would be a synthetic, waterproof net material having an open weave and typically constructed of material manufactured and sold under the trademark Nylon. An elongated strip of material is gathered along its length and formed into a light density mass.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings and in accordance with a common feature of the invention, an elongated strip of synthetic fiber net material, generally sold under the trade name and commonly referred to as nylon net,  
 is gathered along its length by a manually stitched, and  
 subsequently tightened, cord 11 (FIG. 1) or a gathered seam l2 sewn by a sewing machine (FIG. 2). Typically, strip 10 would initially be of a length of 288 to 504 inches with a width of 3 /2 to 7 inches. The gathering cord or seam may be along the center of the strip as particularly illustrated in FIG. I or offset as illustrated in FIG. 2. Gathering would typically shorten it to a length of 30 to 60 inches. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 3a, one end of a strip 10 is locked in groove 16 of handle 18 by glue 19. The strip is then tightly wound about handle 18 with a portion of seam l2 resting in and thus being affixed to and axially locked to peripheral groove 16. A cord 20, a few inches long, on the opposite end 22 of strip 10 [FIG. 3a] is affixed by glue 24 between the cord and an end region 26 in strip 10 and one or more layers of strip 10. Cord 20 initially served the function of facilitating the material to be pulled tightly before gluing. In some instances, the cord may not be necessary.  
  FIG. 4 illustrates an alternate embodiment in which an end 14 of strip 10 is initially glued by a glue joint 31 and axially locked in a peripheral groove 32. It is then wound in a spiral fashion about handle 34. Opposite end 36 of strip 10 is then locked to peripheral groove 38 of handle 34 by glue 39 around an end region 40 of strip 10. Handles may typically be constructed from wood or a plastic material.  
  FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate device, shaped as in FIG. 4, wherein a layer wound element around tapered groove 90a is combined with a spiral wound element 92 wound between grooves 92a and 92b. The construction differs in that handle 94 is formed from a rectangular stick or bar rather than from round stock.  
  From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the applicant has determined a basically new concept in brush and brush type devices and their construction. In addition, the devices illustrated provide a wide variety of useful products which range from the pure field of brushes to various types of ornamental products.  
 What is claimed is:  
 1. A brush-type device comprising:  
 a. an elongated strip of synthetic, loose-weave net material;  
 b. a seam sewn along the length of said elongated strip of material gathering said strip at spaced points along said strip, thereby shortening the effective length of said strip and creating an effective thickness normal to the ungathered surface of said strip;  
 0. a handle having a peripheral notch;  
 d. said elongated strip being wound lengthwise around said handle and said notch;  
 e. first holding means securing the inner end region of said wound strip to said notch;  
 f. second holding means comprising adhesive means securing the outer end region of said wound strip to an adjacent layer of said wound strip of material.  
  2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said adhesive means is glue.  
 3. A brush-type device comprising:  
 a. an elongated strip of synthetic, loose-weave net material;  
 b. a seam sewn along the length of said elongated strip of material gathering said strip at spaced points along said strip, thereby shortening the effective length of said strip and creating an effective gated strip to said handle.  
  4. The invention according to claim 3 in which said adhesive means comprises glue.  
  5. The invention according to claim 3 further comprising a second peripheral notch in said handle and said second holding means comprises adhesive means securing the outer end region of said wound strip material to said second notch.