Coating implements with material supply – Including means to apply material-moving force – In or at feeder
Patent
1997-11-05
1999-07-06
Bratlie, Steven A.
Coating implements with material supply
Including means to apply material-moving force
In or at feeder
401156, 401184, 401186, A46B 1102
Patent
active
059189959
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a pump toothbrush comprising a brush portion, a grip portion and an intermediate arm portion, whereby the grip portion comprises a container portion for a cleansing medium, said container portion is connected with the brush portion by means of a pump device in order to feed the cleansing medium into the brush portion through the arm portion.
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 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,153.
The first mentioned publication discloses two different types of solutions. According to the first solution the cleansing medium is provided in a pressurized aerosol container which has to be pierced in order to bring the cleansing medium to the brush portion. According to the second solution a conventional hose pump is used in order to feed the cleansing medium into the feeding arm by means of which the cleansing medium is sprayed onto the brush portion from the outside. In toothbrushes of this type the cleansing medium is fed in quite an uncontrolled way which is unpleasant both for the user and the environment. Moreover it is difficult to use and clean the toothbrush. Additionally, the complex structure is easily damaged. The second publication discloses a pump device with a complex structure which not only makes the manufacturing costs high but also makes it difficult to use. The publication U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,046 discloses several solutions using pressure membrane pumps arranged to a disengageable container portion or an arm portion. In the disclosed solutions the flow conduits are complicated and are easily clogged or the pumping effect is insufficient to open clogged-up conduits. The solution according to the publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,153 discloses a pressure button and a piston pump which has a line of action that can cause an uncontrolled flow of cleansing medium. In addition, the disclosed structures are complex and expensive to manufacture.
Several solutions for connecting a toothbrush and a container containing a cleansing medium have been proposed. The disadvantage of the previously known solutions is usually complicated and costly structures. In most cases they have been lacking user-friendliness and reliability. The winding conduits full of a cleansing medium in a toothbrush which has not been used for a long time may have been so badly clogged that it is no longer possible to use the toothbrush according to its original purpose.
The object of the present invention is to remedy the aforementioned defects and to obtain a pump toothbrush which is simple to manufacture, reliable and easy and tidy to use. This object is achieved by means of the pump toothbrush according to the present invention.
The pump toothbrush according to the invention comprises a frame portion arranged between a container portion and an arm portion. The container portion, the frame portion and the arm portion form a congruent casing. The pump toothbrush according to the invention comprises only the three above mentioned portions which are easy to clean, service and replace. An adapting body is fitted into an advantageously cylindrical recess in the frame portion of the pump, said body containing the chamber and valves of the pressure membrane pump. The pressure membrane also acts as a sealing between the adapting body and the frame portion. The pipeline for the dental cleansing medium running from the container portion to the brush portion is essentially straight. An aerator valve is attached to the container portion for emptying it. The portions of the adapting body, the intermediate space and the valves are open previous to being fitted into the recess in the frame portion. The function of the pressure membrane can be intensified by mounting a spring into the expansion of the intermediate space.
The basic idea of the invention is that the structure and design of the pump toothbrush can be made almost as simple as those of an ordinary toothbrush, whereby it is possible
REFERENCES:
patent: 1392369 (1921-10-01), Stoewsand
patent: 3118166 (1964-01-01), Bell
patent: 3903888 (1975-09-01), Buelow et al.
patent: 4692047 (1987-09-01), Endo
patent: 4893957 (1990-01-01), Byriel
patent: 4963046 (1990-10-01), Eguchi
patent: 4971470 (1990-11-01), Moeck et al.
patent: 5393153 (1995-02-01), Bouthillier et al.
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