GB666082A - Improvements in or relating to toothbrushes - Google Patents

Abstract

666,082. Reservoir toothbrushes. SALISBURY, R. B. April 27, 1949, No. 11206/49. Class 19. In a toothbrush of the kind wherein tooth cleaning paste is contained in a hollow body which serves as a handle for the brush, said paste being fed from the interior of the body to a brush head provided at one end of said body by way of an orifice in the brush head, such feed being produced by imparting rotation to a feed member whereby a non-rotatable plunger having screw thread engagement with said feed member is traversed within a compartment in the body to expel the paste therefrom, said body comprising front and rear components detachably engaged together and having a compartment for housing a paste container, this container being removable and replaceable by separating said components, the rotatable feed device being disposed wholly to the rear of said compartment, a fore end portion of the rear 'component and a rear end portion of the front component are formed with cavities of identical cross section which conjointly form the aforesaid compartment, whereby on separating the two components there will be left protruding from one of the components an end portion of the container which is a uniform continuation of the remainder of said container. The plunger may be of flat sided form and travel in a bore of corresponding cross-sectioned shape formed in the rear body component, said plunger having a screw-threaded bore in which engages a male screw of the feed member, for example the plunger and the bore may be of square or polygonal cross section. In Fig. 1 a toothbrush has a rear body component 1 serving as a handle which is cylindrical externally and with a head piece 2 screwed on to it. The head piece has a bore 3 leading to a circular brush head 4. The body component has a cylindrical cavity 5 receiving a detachable paste container 6 of cylindrical shape which can be removed when the head piece is removed since it projects beyond the front end of the body component. The projecting portion of the container 6 is received in cavity 7 formed in the head piece such cavity 7 being in effect a continuation of cavity 5 so that cavities 5 and 7 conjointly form a compartment for housing the container 6. From the inner end of cavity 5 there extends through the body component 1 a square section bore 8 which terminates short of the rear end of the said component, the remaining rear end portion of the said component 1 having a cylindrical bore 9. A spindle 13, which is disposed wholly to the rear of the paste-containing compartment and is rotatable by means of disc 19, is formed with a male screw thread, which engages a female screw thread in the square section plunger 16 and on rotation of the spindle the plunger advances a piston 17 to expel the paste to the bristles of the brush. 'The piston may be incorporated in the container 6 or carried on the plunger 16.