Toothbrush with handle comprising means for vertical storage

Details Toothbrush with handle comprising means for vertical storage Toothbrush with handle comprising means for vertical storage

1999-06-22

2001-01-09

Spisich, Mark (Department: 1744)

Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning

Implements

Brush or broom

C015S143100, C016S110100, C248S688000, C401S131000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06170113

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates to a toothbrush.
The object of the invention is to improve the hygiene and ease of use of a toothbrush possessing a bristled head and a handle.
For optimum hygiene of the brush, and in particular of the bristled part of the head, it is generally necessary to ensure, when the toothbrush is stored, that the bristled part is not in contact with any surface. To this end, the best position for the brush is in a vertical stance thereof, the head being positioned upwards. This arrangement additionally allows the water to flow from the bristled part towards the bottom and hence rapid drying of the bristles.
For this purpose, it is already known to use a number of solutions comprising a support, the simplest being to stand the brush in a tooth mug. However, this system has the disadvantage of retaining the water flowing from the bristled part of the brush with the risk of maceration caused by the draining water in the bottom of the mug.
Other solutions exist, comprising a support placed on any surface and on which the bottom part of the handle of the brush is placed, thus leaving the head of the brush open to the air and enabling the water to drain away. However, these systems have the disadvantages of being bulky, somewhat impractical and liable to become unusable if the support is lost.
In order to remedy the above mentioned problems, it is known to use brushes whose handle possesses its own means for retaining the brush in the vertical position. Thus, it has been proposed that use be made of a toothbrush of which the base of the handle possesses a weighting element to bring the brush back into the vertical position or that use be made of a suction disc fixed to the bottom of the handle.
It is also known to use a handle of thick section whose free end is radially flat, forming a horizontal surface to bear on any plane.
By way of example of toothbrushes of which the base of the handle comprises its own means of maintaining it in the vertical position, there is also Japanese Patent Application JP-A-7,313,251, whose base comprises three fixed branches arranged as a tripod.
However, these devices likewise have disadvantages, specifically the substantial complexity of the industrial assembly of these systems, their high cost and, above all, a particular conformation of the handle or its base which makes its use somewhat impractical.
In order to remedy the disadvantages cited above, the present invention proposes a toothbrush of the type possessing a bristled head and a handle comprising means for supporting the brush in a vertical storage position, characterised in that the handle of the brush is divided lengthwise from its upper part into at least two branches pivotable between an open storage position in which the free ends of the branches, at a distance from each other, form the points whereby the brush bears on a horizontal surface, and a closed position in which the branches are united for the use of the toothbrush.
According to other features of the invention:
the branches are moved back resiliently into the open position after use of the brush;
the brush comprises means for retaining the branches in the closed position;
the means for retaining the branches of the brush in the closed position are formed by a ring which slides lengthwise along the handle and whose internal profile is complementary to the external profile of the handle in the closed position of the branches;
the handle is divided into three branches distributed angularly in a regular manner around the longitudinal axis of the handle;
the handle is produced from a single piece of plastic, split lengthwise into at least two branches;
the toothbrush is produced from a single moulded piece comprising the handle and the head;
the hinge of each branch is formed by a thin portion situated at the upper end of the branch;
the thin portion is situated on the internal surface of the branch, thus defining, in the united position of the branches, an internal cavity in the handle;
one of the slits between two adjacent branches is perpendicular to a longitudinal plane parallel to the head of the brush and is situated on the same side as the bristled surface of the head.


REFERENCES:
patent: 153983 (1874-08-01), Rontey
patent: 286699 (1883-10-01), Hornberger
patent: D. 301402 (1989-06-01), Hirsch
patent: D. 408997 (1999-05-01), Holland
patent: 1870924 (1932-08-01), Platzer
patent: 87895 (1922-04-01), None
patent: 7-313251 (1995-12-01), None

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