Toothless elastomeric shedding blade
AssigneeJMK International, Inc.
InventorJack B. Curry
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A toothless elastomeric shedding blade (10) is capable of resiliently conforming to arcuate surfaces of a hair- or fur- bearing animal. The blade has two opposed blade portions (18,20) that form different angles of attack to the coat of the animal, and one of these angles of attack can be selected by the user for use. A combination of the resiliency of the shedding blade body, the acute angle of each blade portion and the coefficient of friction of the elastomeric material as applied to the coat of the animal produces a superior cleaning action.
Claims21
An elastomeric shedding blade, comprising:
- a body consisting of a cured resilient elastomeric compound, said body exhibiting a modulus of elasticity of 200 to 900 and a durometer reading of 40 to 90 points on a Shore A Scale;
- a maximum thickness of said body defined in a first direction, a width of said body in a second direction normal to said first direction and being a multiple of said depth, a length of said body in a third direction normal to said first and second directions and being a multiple of said width, said length taken between two opposed ends;
- and
- at least one blade portion extending substantially between said ends forming an acute angle, said body being sufficiently resiliently elastic in said first direction so that said blade portion can be manually conformed to an arcuate surface of an animal body part having a diameter much less than said length.
An elastomeric shedding blade for removing loose hair and detritus from an animal coat comprising:
- a body formed of a resilient cured elastomeric compound having a coefficient of friction with respect to said animal coat in the range of 0.25 to 0.75 g/g weight when said animal coat is dry;
- a thickness of said body defined in a first direction, a width of said body in a second direction normal to said first direction being a multiple of said thickness, a length of said body in a third direction normal to said first and second directions being a multiple of said width, said length extending between two opposed ends of said body;
- a first blade portion formed on said body to form an angle less than or equal to 90.degree. and extending substantially between said ends;
- and
- a second blade portion formed on said body to form an angle of less than or equal to 90.degree. in a plane parallel to said thickness and extending substantially between said ends, said width spacing said first blade from said second blade, a user-selected one of said blades being manually conformable to said animal coat.
A method for removing loose hair and detritus from an animal's coat, comprising the steps of:
- forming a shedding blade of a resilient elastomeric compound to have a coefficient of friction with respect to the animal's coat in a dry state of 0.25 to 0.75 g/g wt., and having a length which is at least an order of magnitude greater than a thickness thereof;
- grasping the shedding blade with at least one hand such that the user's thumb is fitted into a depression formed in an outer surface of the shedding blade;
- conforming a blade portion of the shedding blade to an area of the animal's coat having an arcuate profile;
- and
- drawing the blade portion along the animal's coat to remove loose hair and detritus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.