Supports – Brush and broom
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-06
2003-09-23
King, Anita (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brush and broom
C211S065000, C248S153000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06622978
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to holders for articles such as toothbrushes and more particularly relates to sanitized toothbrush holders incorporating inexpensive designs which are capable of hygienically holding a toothbrush in a cantilever manner so that the bristles do not touch any surface.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
A number of arrangements have been suggested in the prior art for providing sanitized or hygienic holders for toothbrushes to overcome the objectional features of conventional toothbrush holders such as slotted plates in which the bristles contact the support surfaces. Among these arrangements are the provisions for a combination of flexible plates formed with at least one pair of upper and lower openings as disclosed Sauders in U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,660. The tube and instrument holder disclosed by Artley in U.S. Pat. No. 2,472,058 discloses a device having a base member having a lower free end portion bent outwardly to provide a shelf and two elongated members spaced apart and secured to the back of the base member to provide a means for holding a toothbrush. The Wire toothbrush holder disclosed by Patel and Hauser in U.S. Pat No. D428,746 discloses a device which allows the bristles of the toothbrush to be in direct contact with the disclosed toothbrush holder. The hygienic magnetic toothbrush holder disclosed by Hempel in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,566 in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,566 discloses a device which magnetically holds a toothbrush. The hygienic toothbrush holder disclosed by Perler in U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,457 discloses a structure for holding multiple toothbrushes in such a way as to clip the toothbrush holder and thus allow for the toothbrush to hygienically air dry.
While all of the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a unitary length of wire bent into various figure eight configurations so that a toothbrush may be cantilever suspended over the crest of a first loop and under a crossover point in the figure eight structure. This figure eight design that would specifically match the user's particular individual needs for providing an inexpensive toothbrush holder which is hygienically sound because it allows the toothbrush bristles to air dry without touching any support surfaces. The above-described patents make no provision for the above described elements in a toothbrush holder.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved toothbrush holder that can be used for providing an inexpensive toothbrush holder which is hygienically sound because it allows the toothbrush bristles to air dry without touching any support surfaces. In this respect, the toothbrush holder according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a design that comprises a unitary length of wire bent into various figure eight configurations so that a toothbrush may be cantilever suspended over the crest of a first loop and under a crossover point in the figure eight structure. This figure eight design would provide an inexpensive toothbrush holder means for hygienically storing a toothbrush because it would allows the toothbrush bristles to air dry without touching any support surfaces.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A toothbrush holder is described which can support a toothbrush in a cantilever fashion so that the toothbrush can be allowed to hygienically air dry without touching the bristles onto any surface. The toothbrush holder comprises a unitary length of wire bent into various figure eight configurations which have a first loop; a second loop and a arcuately-curved portion having a crossover point therebetween. The second loop is aligned outside the plane of the first loop. A toothbrush may be held within the toothbrush holder by cantilever suspending the toothbrush handle over the crest of the first loop and below the crossover point. The toothbrush holder may either be horizontally or vertically mounted onto a support surface. The stand alone embodiment of the toothbrush holder may be supported onto a horizontal surface with the second loop directly contacting the support surface such as a cabinet or a sink top surface. A suction cup attached to the second loop allows the toothbrush holder to be mounted onto vertical support surfaces such as mirrors or bathroom walls.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known type toothbrush holders now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved toothbrush holder, which will be described subsequently in great detail, is to provide a new and improved toothbrush holder which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a unitary length of wire bent into various figure eight configurations that have a first loop; a second loop and an arcuately-curved portion having a crossover point therebetween. The second loop is aligned outside the plane of the first loop. The alignment of the two loops with the crossover point of the toothbrush holders allow a toothbrush to be held by cantilever suspending the toothbrush handle over the crest of the first loop and below the crossover point. The toothbrush holder may either be horizontally or vertically mounted onto a support surface. The stand-alone embodiment of the toothbrush holder may be supported onto a horizontal surface with the second loop directly contacting the support surface such as a cabinet or a sink top surface. A suction cup attached to the second loop allows the toothbrush holder to be mounted onto vertical support surfaces such as mirrors or bathroom walls.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution of the art may be better appreciated.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved toothbrush holder that has all the advantages of the prior art toothbrush holder and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved toothbrush holder that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved toothbrush holder that has a low cost of manufacture with regard to both wires and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making
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