Brush

Details Brush Brush

2000-02-15

2001-01-30

Walczak, David J. (Department: 3751)

Coating implements with material supply

Including means to apply material-moving force

Manually engageable resilient wall or wall portion

C401S187000, C401S145000, C401S153000, C401S270000, C401S282000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06179503

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to brushes, and has particular, though not exclusive, application to toothbrushes.
BACKGROUND ART
Current toothbrushes are commonly one of two different types. The first type requires the user to dispense a quantity of toothpaste from a tube or container onto the bristles of the toothbrush. Such an arrangement requires the provision of separate containers and toothbrushes, and the step of charging the toothbrush with toothpaste from the container prior to use, which can be a messy and time-consuming operation.
The second type of toothbrush incorporates its own container of toothpaste, usually in or as the handle of the toothbrush. The container, once empty, can either be refilled or replaced. However, such arrangements suffer from a number of disadvantages, not the least of which is that the overall toothbrush is of relatively complex construction and is therefore expensive to manufacture, operation of the toothbrush usually requiring the actuation and/or manipulation of several different elements within the system.
For example it is known to provide a toothbrush provided with a head having one or more openings therein feeding to the bristles, and a flow control mechanism for the toothpaste including a slide member movable longitudinally within the brush relative to the head to open and close the or each opening whereby paste from a container connected to the head can be pumped from the container through the or each opening, when open, onto the bristles.
However, the provision of the slide member within the neck and head of the toothbrush imposes severe restrictions on the configuration of the toothbrush, and in particular prevents the provision of an angled, flexible neck as is currently considered desirable for optimum handling purposes. Furthermore, the presence of the slide member necessitates the neck and head of the toothbrush being of a thickness greater than would otherwise be desirable.
Furthermore, the openings in the head through which the paste flows to the bristles tend to retain paste therein even after use, and/or are such as to cause water ingress to the head of the toothbrush. Such water ingress can result in bacterial growth within the toothbrush resulting in an unhygienic product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It would be desirable to be able to provide a toothbrush which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages, and in particular which enables flexibility in design, is simple to operate and is hygienic in use.
According to the present invention there is provided a brush comprising a head including a plurality of bristles thereon, at least one outlet in the head feeding to said bristles, a container of paste connected to said head, and actuating means for feeding paste from the container longitudinally of the brush to the head, characterised by, for the or each outlet, a control valve of a flexible plastics material including a diaphragm portion and a nose portion extending from one side of the diaphragm portion, the control valve being positioned within the head with the central axis thereof substantially perpendicular to the direction of flow of paste to the head and having a normal rest position in which the nose portion engages in, to seal, the outlet in the head, the other side of the diaphragm portion of the control valve remote from the nose portion being open to the atmosphere, the arrangement being such that, on operation of the actuating means, paste is fed under pressure from the container to the head to engage with the one side of the diaphragm portion to distort said diaphragm portion whereby the nose portion of the valve is displaced from the outlet and paste is dispensed therethrough, and, on subsequent depressurisation of the paste, the control valve returns, under the influence of its inherent flexibility and atmospheric pressure, to its rest position with the nose portion seating in, to seal, the outlet.
It will be appreciated that, with such an arrangement, it is the pressure of the paste itself which serves to open the or each outlet in the head by deforming the or each valve, there being no requirement for any mechanical linkage between the actuating means and the head of the brush. Thus the hollow neck of the brush which conventionally interconnects the container with the head can take a variety of configurations, and may be angled relative to the length of the brush, and flexible relative to the main body of the brush, while the neck and head can be correspondingly reduced in thickness compared with the aforementioned known arrangements.
Additionally, operation of the actuating means serves the multipurpose of simultaneously feeding the paste to the head, opening the or each outlet and feeding the paste through the or each outlet to charge the bristles in a single action.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention a hollow neck portion extends between the container and the head, the head including a chamber therein in one sidewall of which is formed the or each outlet and in the opposed sidewall of which is mounted the or each control valve.
The head of the brush may comprise a cup-shaped end portion into which the neck portion feeds, the base of the end portion forming the opposed sidewall in which the or each control valve is mounted, and a closure portion including a base plate from which project the plurality of bristles, the base plate being a sealing fit in the end portion to define, together with the end portion, the chamber within the head, the base plate forming the one sidewall of the chamber containing the or each outlet.
Alternatively the head of the brush may comprise an end portion integral with the neck portion and having the chamber defined therein between one sidewall and an opposed sidewall of the end portion, the neck portion feeding into the chamber, the plurality of bristles projecting from the surface of the end portion containing the one sidewall, the or each outlet being formed in the one sidewall of the end portion and the or each control valve being mounted in the opposed sidewall of the end portion.
Conveniently an opening is formed through the opposed sidewall for the or each valve, the radially outer edge regions of the diaphragm portion of the valve being secured at or adjacent the bounding edge of the opening whereby the chamber within the head is sealed from the atmosphere.
In one embodiment of the invention the radially outer edge regions of the diaphragm portion of the control valve are molded or welded to the bounding edge of the opening in the opposed sidewall, whereby the control valve is permanently secured to the head.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the brush includes, for the or each control valve, a ring member which is a snap-fit in the opening to retain the radially outer edge regions of the diaphragm portion therein.
Preferably the nose portion of the control valve extends substantially the thickness of the one sidewall of the chamber such that, with the control valve in its normal rest position, the free end of the nose portion is located at or adjacent, and seals against, the end of the outlet remote from the chamber.
The control valve is conveniently integrally molded from a soft thermoplastic elastomer or a silicone rubber.
Although any suitable pump mechanism may be provided to feed the paste from the container to the head, a preferred brush is provided with actuating means including a manually-operated bellows the interior of which communicates into a reservoir positioned between the container and the head of the brush, the bellows having a normally expanded rest position, compression of the bellows feeding paste under pressure from the reservoir to the head, and subsequent release of the bellows causing the bellows to return to their rest position and to feed paste from the container to the reservoir.
Conveniently the actuating means comprise a one-way valve between the container and the reservoir which, on compression of the bellows, is closed whereby flow of paste between the container and the reservoir is prevented, and which, on

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