Coating implements with material supply – Brush – broom – or mop – With removable cap for tool
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-18
2003-07-29
Walczak, David J. (Department: 3751)
Coating implements with material supply
Brush, broom, or mop
With removable cap for tool
C401S18800A, C401S184000, C401S286000, C015S110000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06599048
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It has long been recognized that toothbrush abrasion and gum bleeding can be caused by brushing at excessive pressure and at improper angle and that bacteria build up caused by prolonged use of a brush head. Notwithstanding the development of various types of toothbrushes to provide improved dental care, these problems still persist. Therefore, it is desirable to have a toothbrush that prevents brushing at excessive pressures and at improper angles and provides for gum care. It is also desirable to massage gumlines in general and problem areas in particular, by using resilient rubber material for stimulation and strengthening of gum tissues without causing injuring to the gumlines by bristles. To avoid bacteria accumulation, it is desirable to have the massaging features built in a replaceable brush head which then can be replaced frequently and economically in conjunction with the use of a handle that stores and pumps dentifrice material from inside the handle to bristle surface. For the reliable use of a replaceable brush head, it is desirable for the handle to have a contractible connector having a resilient rubber segment for securely mounting it to the replaceable brush head, and to have a sealing rod with air-tight features for sealing the spout opening for preventing drying of dentifrice material. For gum care for elimination of bacteria contamination and for convenience and low cost, it is desirable to include all the above functions in one toothbrush.
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toothbrush with features that provide enhanced care for teeth and gums. In particular, the invention provides means for protecting against brushing at improper pressures and angles and for massaging gumlines. The invention encompasses toothbrushes with fixed as well as removable brush heads.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
On brushing pressure, U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,732 by Huefner, et al. describes a toothbrush having adjustable brushing pressure by using a movable bristle head with respect to a handle. The toothbrush contains adjustable springs to permit presetting brush pressure to make a user aware of exceeding the preset pressure. This allows the user to learn to brush at a pressure that permits good cleaning without damaging gingival tissues. The configuration of the spring loading is complex and is subject to becoming disassembled while in use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,504 by McCusker used a deformable, non-resilient intermediate segment between a bristle head and a handle for changing the angular relationship between the bristle head and the handle. A user is made aware of excessive brushing pressure if the angular relationship is changed after brushing. This approach is a hindsight in nature since as any adjustment is done after improper brushing angles have been used.
Other flexible brush head approaches are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,154 by Schiffer, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,254 by O'Halloran. The former uses an elastic segment between a handle and a brush head to alleviate excessive brushing pressure. The elastic segment is formed by filling slots with elastic polymeric/copolymetric plastic material. The latter used a semi-rigid material to support the bristles. Although brush heads of these methods are flexible, they do not pre-warn the user of exceeding a safe brushing pressure.
The limit of brushing pressure is also addressed by some patents on electrical toothbrushes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,742 by Giuliani, et al. uses an adaptive load sensor to monitor the current drawn by its drive assembly to determine the mechanical load during brushing. If the sensed load voltage exceeds an adaptive threshold signal that represents the pressure limit, the load sensor assembly de-energizes the drive assembly and generates an alarm signal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,872 by Meginniss, III, et al. employs a rigid brush head shield which contains an electrical switch contact and is positioned close to a brush head which has a hinge-like flexible neck. When the brushing pressure is too high, it causes the brush head to touch the brush head shield so as to close the switch contact, which results in visual indication of exceeding the maximum pressure. A similar approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,707 by Irizarry. The patentee uses a spring-loaded housing wall to activate an electrical audible alarm when the housing wall is contacted by the deflection of a toothbrush shaft. Unlike the above patents which require the use of an electrical power source, no electrical power is used in the invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,544 by Dirksing. Here, the patentee uses a magnetic latching and unlatching mechanism to indicate whether the maximum brushing pressure is exceeded. However, the magnetic attachments could break loose during brushing and cause gum injury.
On brushing angle, U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,154 by Marchard, et al. reveals a toothbrush a structure using a removable brush head which may be attached to a handle at different angles to provide selections for a user. This adjustable feature, however, does not ensure brushing at proper angles all the time since a user is provided no feedback during brushing. In view of the 45 degree brushing angle recommended by dentists, the angled bristle pattern of U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,202 by Ledwitz employs a toothbrush having an angled bristle pattern which is intended to eliminate canting of the toothbrush during brushing. The patent assumes that the user will maintain a constant brushing angle. However, the angled bristles still can cause gum damages by those users who employ inconsistent brushing angles.
On gum stimulation and protection, U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,284 by Lemon, et al. describes a soft brush having a high density of thin long fibers surrounded by short fibers. The soft brush uses the long fibers for penetrating the interstitial spaces between teeth for gum stimulation without causing tissue damage. Its disadvantage is that the soft bristles can be easily over bent so as to reduce its effectiveness for cleaning. U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,859 by Guffin, III deals with gum protection for an infant by having a guard attached to a toothbrush. The guard remains outside a child's mouth during brushing so that it cannot be swallowed. While the toothbrush is designed for safety, it does not protect gums from brushing at excessive pressures and improper angles. Another patent on gum protection is U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,183 by Kam. It discloses a toothbrush having a rubber bumper attached to the front end face of a brush head by means of a water soluble spacer or an adhesive. Besides gum protection, the rubber bumper also serves as a wear indicator as it dissolves after a predetermined number of wetting cycles. Brushing with a dissolvable or detachable bumper material inside the mouth creates a substantiated safety risk.
Furthermore, several prior art patents provide toothbrushes that incorporate rubber bristles in a brush head. U.S. Pat. No. 1,251,250 by Libby describes a brush head having a sleeve of resilient rubber bristles attached to its bristle platform which has hair bristles in the central portion. The multiple rows of rubber bristles are equally aligned on both sides of the central hair bristles and the ends of the rubber bristles are approximately level with the ends of the hair bristles. These rubber bristles are for massaging gums. Being at the same height, both the rubber and the hair bristles are depressed indiscriminately during brushing, therefore, the bristle configuration does provide distinct feel to the user for alerting the excessive brushing pressures or improper brushing angles.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,088,839 by Coney et al. describes a method of securing rubber bristles in a strip which is mounting on a groove positioned at a distance from an edge of a bristle platform of a brush head. Two strips are positioned on each side of the bristle platform which includes a central bristle section. Only for massaging purpose, the stiffness of the rubber bristles in the longitudina
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