Self-cleaning brush

A self-cleaning brush comprising a brush body member comprising a posterior wall having a first opening therethrough, an anterior wall member having therein a plurality of spaced apertures, and a side wall integrally joined with the posterior and anterior walls, said walls defining a hollow compartment in the interior of the body member, said first opening in said posterior wall communicating with said hollow interior compartment;

• a bristle supporting member generally disposed within the hollow compartment and comprising a brush head from whose lower surface a plurality of bristles extend in registration with the apertures in said anterior wall member;
• and a brush head operating member integral with the upper surface of the brush head, and extending in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the brush body member through said first opening in the posterior wall, and projecting above said posterior wall;
• said brush head operating member being adapted to move reciprocably within the hollow compartment from a first fully extended position in which the brush head is in juxtaposition with said anterior wall member and said bristles project through their respective apertures in said anterior wall member, to substantially their full length, at which position the brush is operable as such;
• to a second retracted position in which the brush head is in juxtaposition with the inner surface of the posterior wall of said brush body member, at which position the bristles are fully retracted within the body, the tips of said bristles being within the apertures in said anterior wall member, thereby to allow the easy removal of hair or debris from said bristles;
• said bristle supporting member being reciprocably movable by manual operation of the free end of said brush head operating member;
• and further comprising a locking mechanism adapted to lock the bristle supporting member when the brush is in use, said locking mechanism comprising a lever member which extends from the exterior of the brush body adjacent the side wall through a second opening formed in the brush body, in a plane normal to the longitudinal axis of said brush body, and at least one recess formed in the bristle supporting member and adapted to receive at least the inner end portion of the lever member, said lever member being reciprocably movable into and out of engagement with said recess in said bristle supporting member by manual operation of its free end, such manual operation being facilitated by a knob which is attached to said free end of said lever member.