GB2081570A - Improvements in dental care equipment - Google Patents

Improvements in dental care equipment Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2081570A
GB2081570A GB8122324A GB8122324A GB2081570A GB 2081570 A GB2081570 A GB 2081570A GB 8122324 A GB8122324 A GB 8122324A GB 8122324 A GB8122324 A GB 8122324A GB 2081570 A GB2081570 A GB 2081570A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
handle
head
bore
toothbrush
snap
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB8122324A
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
HEXT JAMES LEONARD
Original Assignee
HEXT JAMES LEONARD
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by HEXT JAMES LEONARD filed Critical HEXT JAMES LEONARD
Priority to GB8122324A priority Critical patent/GB2081570A/en
Publication of GB2081570A publication Critical patent/GB2081570A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
    • F16B21/00—Means for preventing relative axial movement of a pin, spigot, shaft or the like and a member surrounding it; Stud-and-socket releasable fastenings
    • F16B21/06—Releasable fastening devices with snap-action
    • F16B21/07—Releasable fastening devices with snap-action in which the socket has a resilient part
    • F16B21/071—Releasable fastening devices with snap-action in which the socket has a resilient part the socket being integrally formed with a component to be fasted, e.g. a sheet, plate or strip
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B5/00—Brush bodies; Handles integral with brushware
    • A46B5/0095—Removable or interchangeable brush heads
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25G—HANDLES FOR HAND IMPLEMENTS
    • B25G3/00—Attaching handles to the implements
    • B25G3/02—Socket, tang, or like fixings
    • B25G3/04—Socket, tang, or like fixings with detachable or separate socket pieces
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25G—HANDLES FOR HAND IMPLEMENTS
    • B25G3/00—Attaching handles to the implements
    • B25G3/02—Socket, tang, or like fixings
    • B25G3/12—Locking and securing devices
    • B25G3/18—Locking and securing devices comprising catches or pawls
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B2200/00—Brushes characterized by their functions, uses or applications
    • A46B2200/10—For human or animal care
    • A46B2200/1066—Toothbrush for cleaning the teeth or dentures
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
    • F16B21/00—Means for preventing relative axial movement of a pin, spigot, shaft or the like and a member surrounding it; Stud-and-socket releasable fastenings
    • F16B21/10—Means for preventing relative axial movement of a pin, spigot, shaft or the like and a member surrounding it; Stud-and-socket releasable fastenings by separate parts
    • F16B21/16—Means for preventing relative axial movement of a pin, spigot, shaft or the like and a member surrounding it; Stud-and-socket releasable fastenings by separate parts with grooves or notches in the pin or shaft
    • F16B21/18—Means for preventing relative axial movement of a pin, spigot, shaft or the like and a member surrounding it; Stud-and-socket releasable fastenings by separate parts with grooves or notches in the pin or shaft with circlips or like resilient retaining devices, i.e. resilient in the plane of the ring or the like; Details
    • F16B21/186—Means for preventing relative axial movement of a pin, spigot, shaft or the like and a member surrounding it; Stud-and-socket releasable fastenings by separate parts with grooves or notches in the pin or shaft with circlips or like resilient retaining devices, i.e. resilient in the plane of the ring or the like; Details external, i.e. with contracting action

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Brushes (AREA)

Abstract

A toothbrush comprises an elongate plastics handle (10) and a detachable plastics head (12) carrying bristles (14). In order to achieve a releasable connection between the head and the handle, the head has an axially projecting spigot (16) which is slidably insertable into a hore (18) in the handle and is retained therein for normal use by means of a clip 20 disposed within the handle which is adapted to make a snap-fitting engagement with a circumferential groove 22 on the free end of the spigot 16. Relative rotation of the head and handle is prevented by the provision of a pin fitting in a hole, or a parallel sided slot 24 on the end of the handle which slidably receives a rectangular sectioned end portion of the head. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in dental care equipment The present invention relates to dental care equipment and is concerned particularly with tooth brushes.
Conventional tooth brushes comprise an elongate handle attached to a head which carries a plurality of bristles. Normally, the head and handle are formed as a unitary moulded component from a plastics material, such as nylon. The bristles can also be of a plastics material or can be of natural fibres.
It has long been appreciated that there would be advantage in forming the head and handle sepa rately so that, for example, a single handle can be fitted selectively with a desired one of a plurality of heads, each of which has a different operating characteristic. For example, the bristles on the vari ous heads could have different stiffnesses (hard, soft, medium, etc.), the bristle areas could be of dif ferent sizes and the heads themselves could be of different sizes.
Known brushes designed for this purpose (see for example (GB Patent Specification No. 216355) have had the disadvantage that the means adopted for attaching the handle to the various heads has included metal parts, such as a metal socket, dis posed within the head. Such metal parts inevitably get wet or damp during or after use of the tooth brush, so that eventually parts of the head become rusty, thereby creating at best an unsightly appear ance and at worst a health hazard.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement for attaching the handle to the various heads which avoids the disadvantages of the known devices.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a toothbrush comprising an elongate handle, a head carrying a plurality of bristles, the head being detachably connectible to the handle by way of a projection on the head which is slidably insertable into a bore in the handle and is normally retained therein by means of a snap-fit connector carried by the handle, and means for preventing relative rotation of the handle and head when the handle and head are in their interconnected state.
The invention is described further hereinafter by way of example only, with reference to the accom panying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of one embodi ment of a toothbrush in accordance with the present invention, with the head shown separated from the handle; and Fig. 2 is an enlarged scale section on the line A-A in Fig. 1.
The toothbrush shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises an elongate plastics handle 10, for example of nylon, by which the brush is adapted to be manually grip ped, and an elongate plastics head 12 carrying a plurality of bristles 14. Extending longitudinally from one end of the head is a spiggot 16 which is preferably of circular cross section and is insertable into correspondingly sectioned bore 18 in an enlarged end portion 10a of the handle, the bore 18 being dimensioned so that the spiggot is slidably received therein with minimal lateral play.Disposed adjacent the blind end ofthe bore 18 is a spring clip 20, shown only diagrammatically in Fig. 1, which presents a pair of parallel spring-loaded wire portions 21a, 21b which extend across the bore for engaging a circumferential groove 22 at the free end of the spiggot 16 when the spiggot is fully inserted into the bore.
This arrangement provides a snap-fitting engagement for retaining the head on the handle during normal usage, but which will easily release the head from the handle simply by manually pulling the head and handle in opposite longitudinal directions.
In order to prevent relative rotation of the handle and the head, the head has a rectangular transverse cross section and the free end of the enlarged portion 10a of the handle has a parallel sided slot 24 dimensioned to receive part of the rectangular head with a close sliding fit therebetween.
Other alternative means of preventing relative rotation could be provided. Thus, for example, the head or handle could carry a longitudinally projecting pin adapted to be received in a correspondingly dimensioned hole in the handle or head, respectively.
Other, alternative means of locking the spiggot 16 within the bore 18 could be provided. For example, the spring clip need not be a wire clip but could be a metal or plastics washer-type clip or any other type of snap-fitting device which can be released by sufficient application of force thereto in a predetermined longitudinal direction. In other embodiments, the locking means could be in the form of a poppet connector wherein the spiggot 16 is formed at its free end with a spherical projection and the blind end of the bore has a suitable flexible aperture for receiving the projection with a snap-fit.
An advantage of the abovedescribed brushes is that the head contains no metallic parts which could rust, nor does the head contain any apertures which could form pockets where particles could collect. It will also be noted that when the head is connected to the handle there is virtually no possibility of water, toothpaste or other liquid, entering the bore 18 to get to the clip 20. The latter clip can, therefore, safely be made of metal. However, preferably, the clip is also made of a plastics material where allowed by the process of formation of the handle.
1. A toothbrush comprising an elongate handle, a head carrying a plurality of bristles, the head being detachably connectible to the handle by way of a projection on the head which is slidably insertable into a bore in the handle and is normally retained therein by means of a snap-fit connector carried by the handle, and means for preventing relative rotation of the handle and head when the handle and head are in their interconnected state.
2. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (7)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Improvements in dental care equipment The present invention relates to dental care equipment and is concerned particularly with tooth brushes. Conventional tooth brushes comprise an elongate handle attached to a head which carries a plurality of bristles. Normally, the head and handle are formed as a unitary moulded component from a plastics material, such as nylon. The bristles can also be of a plastics material or can be of natural fibres. It has long been appreciated that there would be advantage in forming the head and handle sepa rately so that, for example, a single handle can be fitted selectively with a desired one of a plurality of heads, each of which has a different operating characteristic. For example, the bristles on the vari ous heads could have different stiffnesses (hard, soft, medium, etc.), the bristle areas could be of dif ferent sizes and the heads themselves could be of different sizes. Known brushes designed for this purpose (see for example (GB Patent Specification No. 216355) have had the disadvantage that the means adopted for attaching the handle to the various heads has included metal parts, such as a metal socket, dis posed within the head. Such metal parts inevitably get wet or damp during or after use of the tooth brush, so that eventually parts of the head become rusty, thereby creating at best an unsightly appear ance and at worst a health hazard. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement for attaching the handle to the various heads which avoids the disadvantages of the known devices. In accordance with the present invention there is provided a toothbrush comprising an elongate handle, a head carrying a plurality of bristles, the head being detachably connectible to the handle by way of a projection on the head which is slidably insertable into a bore in the handle and is normally retained therein by means of a snap-fit connector carried by the handle, and means for preventing relative rotation of the handle and head when the handle and head are in their interconnected state. The invention is described further hereinafter by way of example only, with reference to the accom panying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of one embodi ment of a toothbrush in accordance with the present invention, with the head shown separated from the handle; and Fig. 2 is an enlarged scale section on the line A-A in Fig. 1. The toothbrush shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises an elongate plastics handle 10, for example of nylon, by which the brush is adapted to be manually grip ped, and an elongate plastics head 12 carrying a plurality of bristles 14. Extending longitudinally from one end of the head is a spiggot 16 which is preferably of circular cross section and is insertable into correspondingly sectioned bore 18 in an enlarged end portion 10a of the handle, the bore 18 being dimensioned so that the spiggot is slidably received therein with minimal lateral play.Disposed adjacent the blind end ofthe bore 18 is a spring clip 20, shown only diagrammatically in Fig. 1, which presents a pair of parallel spring-loaded wire portions 21a, 21b which extend across the bore for engaging a circumferential groove 22 at the free end of the spiggot 16 when the spiggot is fully inserted into the bore. This arrangement provides a snap-fitting engagement for retaining the head on the handle during normal usage, but which will easily release the head from the handle simply by manually pulling the head and handle in opposite longitudinal directions. In order to prevent relative rotation of the handle and the head, the head has a rectangular transverse cross section and the free end of the enlarged portion 10a of the handle has a parallel sided slot 24 dimensioned to receive part of the rectangular head with a close sliding fit therebetween. Other alternative means of preventing relative rotation could be provided. Thus, for example, the head or handle could carry a longitudinally projecting pin adapted to be received in a correspondingly dimensioned hole in the handle or head, respectively. Other, alternative means of locking the spiggot 16 within the bore 18 could be provided. For example, the spring clip need not be a wire clip but could be a metal or plastics washer-type clip or any other type of snap-fitting device which can be released by sufficient application of force thereto in a predetermined longitudinal direction. In other embodiments, the locking means could be in the form of a poppet connector wherein the spiggot 16 is formed at its free end with a spherical projection and the blind end of the bore has a suitable flexible aperture for receiving the projection with a snap-fit. An advantage of the abovedescribed brushes is that the head contains no metallic parts which could rust, nor does the head contain any apertures which could form pockets where particles could collect. It will also be noted that when the head is connected to the handle there is virtually no possibility of water, toothpaste or other liquid, entering the bore 18 to get to the clip 20. The latter clip can, therefore, safely be made of metal. However, preferably, the clip is also made of a plastics material where allowed by the process of formation of the handle. CLAIMS
1. A toothbrush comprising an elongate handle, a head carrying a plurality of bristles, the head being detachably connectible to the handle by way of a projection on the head which is slidably insertable into a bore in the handle and is normally retained therein by means of a snap-fit connector carried by the handle, and means for preventing relative rotation of the handle and head when the handle and head are in their interconnected state.
2. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said snap-fit connector comprises a spring clip disposed adjacent a blind end of said bore and which is adapted to releasably engage a circumferential groove at the free end of said projection on the head.
3. Atoothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said snap-fit connector comprises a spherical extension to said projection which is adapted to be releasably engaged by a flexible aperture within said bore in the manner of a poppet connector.
4. Atoothbrush as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3, wherein said rotation preventing means comprises a parallel sided slot in one end of the handle which is adapted to slidably receive a rectangular sectional end portion of the head with a tight sliding fit there.
between.
5. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1,2 or3, wherein said rotation preventing means comprises a pin on the handle or head adapted to be received in a hole in the head or handle, respectively.
6. A toothbrush set comprising one said handle and a plurality of said heads.
7. A toothbrush substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
GB8122324A 1980-07-19 1981-07-20 Improvements in dental care equipment Withdrawn GB2081570A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8122324A GB2081570A (en) 1980-07-19 1981-07-20 Improvements in dental care equipment

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8023693 1980-07-19
GB8122324A GB2081570A (en) 1980-07-19 1981-07-20 Improvements in dental care equipment

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB2081570A true GB2081570A (en) 1982-02-24

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ID=26276277

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB8122324A Withdrawn GB2081570A (en) 1980-07-19 1981-07-20 Improvements in dental care equipment

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2081570A (en)

Cited By (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2125092A (en) * 1982-08-02 1984-02-29 Jau Tsong Hwang Fastening devices
FR2572909A1 (en) * 1984-11-13 1986-05-16 Namias Michel Toothbrush with interchangeable heads
GB2188691A (en) * 1986-04-01 1987-10-07 John William Stamper Quick release plug
US4875248A (en) * 1988-03-23 1989-10-24 Colgate-Palmolive Company Adjustable toothbrush
US5033154A (en) * 1990-02-02 1991-07-23 Paul Marchand Adjustable head toothbrush
DE4019830A1 (en) * 1990-06-21 1992-01-02 Inoue Attachment K K Power driven tooth-brush - has bristles held between two wires which are twisted together
US5105499A (en) * 1991-03-01 1992-04-21 The Procter & Gamble Company Toothbrush having handle joined to brush head by non-pinching flexible twin beam structure
US5146645A (en) * 1991-03-01 1992-09-15 The Procter & Gamble Company Toothbrush employing resiliently buckling arch to indicate excessive brushing pressure
GB2258884A (en) * 1991-08-02 1993-02-24 Andrew William Turner Tie ring
US5361446A (en) * 1993-05-06 1994-11-08 Mark Rufo Toothbrush
US5673452A (en) * 1996-08-12 1997-10-07 Chang; Ching-Min Toothbrush
US5896615A (en) * 1997-04-28 1999-04-27 Colgate-Palmolive Company Interdental brush
WO2009062343A1 (en) * 2007-11-15 2009-05-22 Xinchu Chen Detachable toothbrush
GB2556019A (en) * 2016-07-15 2018-05-23 J K & S Ltd A Modular Manual Toothbrush
CN111012028A (en) * 2019-11-28 2020-04-17 安徽省潜山县志发机电配件有限公司 Civil cleaning brush with replaceable brush head

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2125092A (en) * 1982-08-02 1984-02-29 Jau Tsong Hwang Fastening devices
FR2572909A1 (en) * 1984-11-13 1986-05-16 Namias Michel Toothbrush with interchangeable heads
GB2188691A (en) * 1986-04-01 1987-10-07 John William Stamper Quick release plug
US4875248A (en) * 1988-03-23 1989-10-24 Colgate-Palmolive Company Adjustable toothbrush
US5033154A (en) * 1990-02-02 1991-07-23 Paul Marchand Adjustable head toothbrush
DE4019830A1 (en) * 1990-06-21 1992-01-02 Inoue Attachment K K Power driven tooth-brush - has bristles held between two wires which are twisted together
US5105499A (en) * 1991-03-01 1992-04-21 The Procter & Gamble Company Toothbrush having handle joined to brush head by non-pinching flexible twin beam structure
US5146645A (en) * 1991-03-01 1992-09-15 The Procter & Gamble Company Toothbrush employing resiliently buckling arch to indicate excessive brushing pressure
GB2258884A (en) * 1991-08-02 1993-02-24 Andrew William Turner Tie ring
GB2258884B (en) * 1991-08-02 1994-10-19 Andrew William Turner Tie ring
US5361446A (en) * 1993-05-06 1994-11-08 Mark Rufo Toothbrush
US5673452A (en) * 1996-08-12 1997-10-07 Chang; Ching-Min Toothbrush
US5896615A (en) * 1997-04-28 1999-04-27 Colgate-Palmolive Company Interdental brush
WO2009062343A1 (en) * 2007-11-15 2009-05-22 Xinchu Chen Detachable toothbrush
GB2556019A (en) * 2016-07-15 2018-05-23 J K & S Ltd A Modular Manual Toothbrush
CN111012028A (en) * 2019-11-28 2020-04-17 安徽省潜山县志发机电配件有限公司 Civil cleaning brush with replaceable brush head

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WAP Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1)