Toothed Pet Grooming Tool with Fur Ejecting Mechanism
A pet grooming tool is provided with a fur ejector portion that is at least partially movable relative to the teeth of the pet grooming tool and can be manually moved into engagement with fur that is wedged or lodged between the teeth. The engagement of the fur ejector portion with the fur forces the fur from the gaps between the teeth. Preferably, the fur ejector portion can be manually moved by the same hand a person uses to support and hold the grooming tool.
1 - 13 . (canceled)
14 . A method of modifying a pet grooming tool, the method comprising:
providing a pet grooming tool, the pet grooming tool comprising a handle portion, a toothed portion, and a first screw, the toothed portion comprising a plurality of teeth, there being a gap between each adjacent pair of the teeth, the handle portion being in contact with the toothed portion and removably attached thereto via at least the first screw;
attaching a fur ejector portion to the pet grooming tool by removing the first screw from the pet grooming tool, sandwiching the fur ejector portion between the handle portion and the toothed portion, and securing the fur ejector portion to the handle portion and to the toothed portion via at least a second screw, the fur ejector portion comprising an edge, the edge of the fur ejector portion being movable between a first position and a second position relative to the toothed portion when attached thereto, the fur ejector portion being configured and adapted to permit fur to pass through the gaps of the toothed portion when the edge of the fur ejector portion is in the first position, the edge of the fur ejector portion being adapted to engage fur passing through the gaps of the toothed portion in a manner forcing fur from the gaps of the toothed portion as the fur ejector portion moves away from the first position toward the second position.
15 . A method in accordance with claim 14 wherein each of the first and second screws has a length and the length of the second screw is greater than the length of the first screw.
16 . A method in accordance with claim 15 wherein the handle portion of the pet grooming tool comprises at least a first threaded hole and the step of attaching the fur ejector portion to the pet grooming tool comprises removing the first screw from the first threaded hole, sandwiching the fur ejector portion between the handle portion and the toothed portion, and securing the fur ejector portion to the handle portion and to the toothed portion at least partially by threading the second screw partially into the first threaded hole.
17 . A method in accordance with claim 14 wherein the handle portion has a contact surface and the toothed portion has a contact surface, the contact surface of the handle portion is in contact with the contact surface of the toothed portion when attached thereto via the first screw, and the contact surface of the handle portion is spaced from the contact surface of the toothed portion when the fur ejector portion is secured to the handle portion and to the toothed portion via the second screw.