Toilet – Toilet kit – Including toothbrush
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-21
2002-06-04
Manahan, Todd E. (Department: 3732)
Toilet
Toilet kit
Including toothbrush
C206S369000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06397860
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND—FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to devices used for cleaning teeth, specifically to a disposable, easily portable, waterless teeth-cleaning assembly, and a method for its manufacture, comprising a diminutive toothbrush; a non-foaming saliva-activated teeth-cleaning agent and breath freshener, that is pre-applied and dried onto the toothbrush bristles; a folded and airtight sealed small moistened disposable towel for optional use after teeth cleaning; a flexible, thin-walled, airtight packaging container for sanitary storage of the toothbrush prior to use, with the packaging container being only slightly larger than the perimeter dimensions of the combined toothbrush and disposable towel package, with the front and back layers of the packaging container also being preferably heat sealed together between the toothbrush bristles and the disposable towel package to create two separated compartments within the packaging container so as to prevent contact between the disposable towel package and the pre-coated toothbrush bristles. For cost efficient manufacture and sale it is contemplated that several assemblies would be attached together during manufacture, and made readily separable from one another by a perforated or other easily separable connection for individual transport and use. Also, although the toothbrush in each packaging container could be reused multiple times, with or without newly applied dentifrice, it is contemplated for the entire assembly to be discarded after one use. Applications can include, but are not limited to, storage in a desk or cabinet for use by an office worker to conveniently clean his or her teeth after a meal without water and without having to leave the desk area, storage in the glove compartment of a motor vehicle for use by frequent business travelers or those on extended travel for pleasure to provide a convenient means for teeth cleaning and breath freshening after meals without the potential mess associated with performing such activity with the use of liquids in or around a motor vehicle, storage in a backpack or other type of school book bag for use by students not having adequate time between classes to stop in a restroom for teeth cleaning, storage in a backpack or equipment bag for waterless use by campers or hikers in areas where there is a limited availability of restroom facilities and potable water supplies, and storage in a purse or briefcase for use by any traveler conscientious about teeth cleaning and not having a conveniently available source of potable water available for the clean up necessary after teeth cleaning with the traditional foaming dentifrices and mouthwashes commonly used at home.
BACKGROUND—DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
It is important for people to brush their teeth at least twice a day to freshen breath and lessen the risk of tooth decay. Although most people brush in the morning and/or at night, brushing in the middle of the day is also desirable, particularly after meals, as it further reduces a person's need for fillings and more complex dental procedures. However, many find that it is too time consuming and inconvenient for them to fit mid-day teeth cleaning into their schedules, even though they know it would be beneficial to do so. While away from home and relying on the use of prior art devices, mid-day tooth brushing has heretofore involved the transport of a toothbrush, optionally a toothbrush holder, and a separate container of toothpaste, powdered dentifrice, or mouthwash into an office, school, or other public restroom, and thereafter using a source of potable water to clean the user's mouth, toothbrush, and hands after the tooth brushing portion of the procedure is complete. Since the sinks in public restrooms often do not have adjacent countertops onto which one can securely and sanitarily place a toothbrush holder or a container of dentifrice while tooth brushing is being conducted, tooth brushing in public places has typically been a cumbersome, inconvenient, and time consuming ordeal. Although clothing pockets can be used to temporarily hold tooth brushing items, when pockets in career clothing are used, the items held should be thoroughly rinsed and wiped of excess water and residue prior to placement therein to avoid fabric damage, thus adding extra time to the tooth brushing process. Tooth brushing alternatives for a person traveling by automobile are often limited to use of a toothbrush and the application of a foaming paste or other type of foaming dentifrice in a public restroom at a restaurant, rest stop, or gas station, which can lack the minimum sanitary standard desired. In lieu of toothpaste, travelers can also carry with them a quantity of mouthwash for use in public restrooms along the highway to temporarily kill mouth germs until tooth brushing can later take place, or they can chew gum and/or eat breath mints after meals to freshen breath until a later tooth cleaning procedure with a toothbrush and foaming dentifrice can take place in a convenient and acceptably sanitary location. If tooth brushing with a foaming paste or gel and prior art apparatus were to take place at a desk or in a car, the procedure would be cumbersome, awkward, and have the potential of creating a mess. The user would have to supply a source of rinse water and a container for discarding both the rinse water and used dentifrice. If the toothbrush used was not intended to be disposable, the user would have to take into account and provide an amount of potable water for rinsing his or her mouth, as well as for rinsing the toothbrush. Folding toothbrushes, and those otherwise having enhanced portability, would make storage of tooth cleaning apparatus more convenient in a backpack, desk, or motor vehicle glove compartment, however, such devices would not lessen the time involved in accomplishing a tooth brushing procedure in a location remote from one's home, nor would they solve the problem associated with disposal of rinse water when teeth cleaning is attempted at a desk or in a car. The rinse water disposal problems and extra time typically associated with cleaning a toothbrush after use would be eliminated by the use of a disposable toothbrush. However, use of a disposable toothbrush alone would not solve the problem of how to dispose of the discarded rinse water used to eliminate foam residue on the mouth and hands, should one attempt to brush one's teeth at a desk or in a motor vehicle with a foaming paste, gel, or mouthwash product. The present invention solves all of the above-stated problems by making available to all travelers in a convenient, sanitary, lightweight, compact, inexpensive, durable, easy-to-transport, and easy-to-use packaging container, all of the resources needed for quick, easy, and neat waterless tooth brushing away from home. No invention is known to have all of the advantages of the present invention.
The invention thought to be the closest in concept to the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. D391,399 to Mills (1998). Both the Mills invention and the present invention provide a toothbrush and a quantity of dentifrice to help a user remove food particles from teeth that otherwise would adhere to the them, form plaque, and ultimately cause tooth decay. However, the Mills invention and the present invention also have important differences. The Mills invention is depicted as a toothbrush kit having a box with at least one end that can be opened and re-closed. The box is shorter in length than the Mills toothbrush when it is in its usable extended condition, and has a rectangular cross-sectional configuration that further indicates manufacture from paper products. The Mills toothbrush kit also has a toothbrush with a folding handle, the distal end of which can be placed behind its proximal end, and when the two ends are positioned substantially parallel to one another, the Mills toothbrush is sufficiently shortened so that it can be placed fully within the box. The Mills toothbrush kit also comprises a small, flattened packet of dentifric
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