Coating implements with material supply – Brush – broom – or mop – Including feeder
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-30
2001-07-10
Huson, Gregory L. (Department: 3751)
Coating implements with material supply
Brush, broom, or mop
Including feeder
C401S145000, C401S157000, C401S183000, C401S18800A, C401S276000, C401S282000, C222S209000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257791
ABSTRACT:
U.S. Patent Documents
4692047
Sep., 1987
Endo
401/150
5158383
Oct., 1992
Glover et al.
401/150
5393153
Feb., 1995
Bouthillier
401/150
5909977
Jun., 1999
Kuo
401/150
5908257
Jun., 1999
Martin
401/150
5918995
Jul., 1999
Puurunen
401/150
5918996
Jul., 1999
Coolbaugh
401/150
6039489
Mar., 2000
Harman, et al.
401/150
Foreign Patent Documents
523340
Apr., 1956
CA
401/150
3514600
Aug., 1986
DE
401/150
DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to a toothbrush with integrated toothpaste dispenser comprising a brush portion, an intermediate neck portion and a handle portion—whereby the handle portion comprises a container portion for a dental cleansing medium (toothpaste). The dispensing of the toothpaste from the container portion to the brush portion is accomplished by a dispensing mechanism located within the handle portion. Said mechanism can be one of any number of various designs which include, but are not limited to pump designs, lever designs, screw-driven designs and roller-type designs. Said mechanism causes a transient increase in pressure within the toothpaste container—forcing the toothpaste from the toothpaste reservoir, through the communicating channel within the intermediate neck portion, through the soft, flexible toothpaste delivery tube to the exposed ends of the toothbrush bristles.
Several solutions for a toothbrush with integrated toothpaste dispenser have been proposed. These previously proposed solutions have had the disadvantage of being impractical, ineffective, complicated, expensive to produce and untidy in operation.
Toothbrushes of this type are disclosed, for example, in U.S. applications U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,278, U.S. Pat No. 5,096,321, U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,046, U.S. Pat No. 5,393,153, U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,257, U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,995 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,996. None of the solutions disclosed in these publications have the ability to effectively, practically and controllably dispense the toothpaste to the toothbrush bristles' exposed ends.
The objective of the present invention is to remedy the aforementioned defects to obtain a toothbrush with an integrated toothpaste dispenser which is reliable, practical in application, effective in purpose, cost-effective to manufacture and user-friendly in efficiency, ease of use and tidiness. This objective is achieved by means of the toothbrush with integrated toothpaste dispenser according to the present invention.
For the sake of hygiene and dental health, the present invention is intended to be disposable—analogous to conventional toothbrushes. The amount of toothpaste contained within the toothpaste container located within the handle section of the toothbrush should not exceed that amount that is expected to last the useful lifetime of the toothbrush bristles; i.e.: once the reservoir of toothpaste within the handle section of the toothbrush has been exhausted, the need to replace the toothbrush due to the wear on the toothbrush bristles should coincide. This feature will prevent over-use of the toothbrush—which will equate to healthier teeth and gums for the user. Although the present invention is intended to have a useful life-span comparable to conventional toothbrushes, single use and reusable versions are also conceivable. A reusable version could have a replaceable toothpaste cartridge and a replaceable brush head section with a reusable handle portion or body.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3256894 (1966-06-01), Sherman
patent: 3261367 (1966-07-01), Pickering
patent: 4826341 (1989-05-01), Kwak
patent: 5338124 (1994-08-01), Spicer et al.
Huson Gregory L.
Nguyen Tuan
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