US1553648A

US1553648A - Toothbrush holder

Info

Publication number: US1553648A
Application number: US679653A
Authority: US
Inventors: Samuel H Thompson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1923-12-10
Filing date: 1923-12-10
Publication date: 1925-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 1942-09-15

Description

Sept. 1-5.l 192s.

S. H. THOMPSON" IOOTHBRUSH HOLDER FiledDBG. 1 0.. 19225v 6 ge es, State of California,

40 small inside diameter,

45 container es Passau sept. is, i925.

UNITED STATESl PATENT orFics.

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pimms ma number io, im. lenti in. crassa.

To all whom it may concern-f Be it known that I, SAMUEL H. THoMPsoN, a citizen of the United States, residin in the cit of Los Angeles and county ofV have invented a new and useful Improvement yin Toothbrush Holders, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention pertains to holders for sus- 10 pndingarticles within containers, and may app ed with particular advantage to tooth rush sterilizers and retainers. In view of its culiar adaptability to such a use, I have i lustrated and will describe m invention as embodied in a tooth brush sterilizer, but this is not to be construed as a liniitation on the invention.

In United States Letters Patent Nos. 1,278,789 and 1,419,593 on tooth brush sterilizers and retainers, issued' to me on Se tember 10, 1918, and June 13, 1922,- respectively, I have illustrated different types of brush containers, and certain of the drawings of said patents have been incorporated in the drawings of the present 'application in order to illustrate clearly the invention.

All sterilizers ofthe trated have the common c aptablility of the eneral type illusaracteristic of inf a0 cludin tubular brush containers? there ordinarily ing corks or stop rs or hermeticall sealing the tube mout s through which the brushes are inserted and withdrawn, the Stoppers protecting the brushes from atmospheric contamination and preventing or retarding the escape of .vapors from sterilizng agents which may be contained in or have access to the tube.

Containers of this type are of relatively usually bein only large to comfortably a it a brush. herwise, their bulk would be objectionable. Due to this condition, it is rather difficult to withdraw a brush from its Ipecially in case the brush has a comparative y short handle so its end lies considerablybelowthe 'tube mouth. It is ractically impossible to grasp the brush handle by inserting ones lingers in the tube suflicient mouth, so the usual procedure is to tilt or turn the tube end for end, a procedure which s'Anfi Atain instances,

'is not onl bothersome and timeconsuming,

but is lia le to result in the brush escaping the grasp ofthe user and dropping to the oor.

Furthermore, in lowering the brush into the container, it is necessary to release ones grasp on the handle before the lower end of the rush comes to rest on the tube bottom, and since such tubes are ordinarily of glass or other frangible material, the unchecked drop of the brush often results in breaking out the tube bottom.

n Therefore it is the principal object of the invention to provide means for removably attaching the brush handle to the cork :or stopper of the container, whereb the brusn may be lowered into and withY rawn from the tube with minimum effort and with none of the inconveniences and undesirable results mentioned above. A single stopper may be used for suspending brushes having handles of varying size, within certain limits. 4

The brush handle is held against longitudinal movement within the tube, thereby eliminating the danger of the brush intermittently impactingwith the bottom of the tube in the event the sterilizer is being transported.

Furthermore b the use of my device it is possible to hold the brush so its bristles are suspended above the tube bottom, and in cerheld out of contact with or submergence in a disinfecting agent contained within the tube.

A more. complete understanding of my invention will be had from the following detailed description, reference bein made therein to the accompanying drawings, in which Fi re 1 is a vertical section of a tooth brus sterilizer and retainer, showing my improved holder in connection therewith.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through 'the holder showing a fragment of a brush handle suspended thereby.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3 3 of rigure 2.

Fig. 4 is an elevation, artly in broken awiy section, of a modifie form of holder; an

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rig. t is l container.

First I will briefly describe the steril'izer illustrated in Figure 1. The brush container is in the form of a tube 10, preferably of glass for sanitary reasons, the tube bottom 11 being aperturedat 12 to admit .vapors from a disinfectin or sterilizing fluid contained in the tubu ar receptacle 14.

Annular flange 15 on tube 1 0 provides means for suspending the container within tube 14. The under side of thel flange engages a washer 16 which is supported b y the top edge of tube 14. A screw cap 17 is threaded on tube 14 and serves to firml retain the two tubes in assembly, and wit washer 16 provides a tight 'oint for preventing the escape of vapors rom between the tubes. A bracket 9 provides convenient means for suspending the sterilizer from a wall hook or within a cabinet.

A removable stopper or cork, generally indicated at 18, is adapted to close the mouth of tube 10 for preventing or retarding the escape of sterilizing vapors therefrom, and to protect the brush within the' container from atmospheric contamination.

Preferably, thou h not necessarily, body member 19 and kno or handle 20.0f stopper 18 are integral and made of rubber or like material having a desirable degree of ilexibility and resiliency.

Body member 19 tapers downwardly, as is usual with Stoppers, and is provided with a central, downwardly o enin recess 21 through the mouth 22 of w ich t e end 23 of tooth brush handle 24 is ada ted to ass. Recess 21 may be of circular, o long, el i tical or other cross section, although the el ip-A tical contour illustrated in Figure 3 is preferable. When the stopper is designed to hold a tooth brush having a handle of a given size the recess, or mouth, thereof, is of slightly less lateral extent than the width of the handle. Then when the handle end is thrust into the recess, the recess mouth and defining walls first yield to allow such insertion and then, due to the resilienc o"f the body member, frictionally gras an retain the handle so brush 25 may e lifted bodily with the stopper and then lowered into the container as in Figure 1. As the stopper is thrust downwardly into the tube 10, the wedge action between the tube and the tager of body 19 serves to thrust the recess efining w ls more firmly against the brush handle, thus eliminating any likelihood of the brush handle being loosened from the stopper, even though shaken or jarred. In certain of the appended claims,

1,5ss,e4e

handle 25 is referred to as the suspension member for brush.

It is obvious 'that when the stopper is ulled from the container, the brush is ifted with it, andafter the brush is fully withdrawn from tube 10, the stopper or holder may be slipped off the handle 24, so said holder will not interfere with the users hand while mani ulating the brush.

By this meth of suspension, I not only provide means for the easy insertion and withdrawal of the brush with respect to the tube, but, by holding the fully inserted brush from longitudinal movement with res eet to the tube, I eliminate the danger of tlie tube bottom being broken out by repeated impact of the bristle end of the brush therewith during transportation of the container, The holder also provides means for retaining brush bristles 26 a predetermined distance fi'om the tube bottom and above the fluid level in receptacle 14.

. As it is desirable that the stopper fit the handles of all brushes irrespective of their size, within reasonable limits, I provide means on body member 19 for engaging brush handles which may be too small to be frictionally retained by the recess mouth or defining walls. Such means consists of flexible and resilient lugs 27, which may or may not be integral with body member 18 extending inwardl from op osite sides of recess 21. When t e end of t e tooth brush handle is thrust into recess 21, these lugs yield to allow the passage of said end therebetween, the ends of the lugs preferably being spaced vapart slightly, whereby they more readily allow such passage. As soon as aperture 28, usually provided in every brush handle, registers with lugs 27, these lugs spring into the -aperture as shown in Figure 2. The lugs are sufficiently stiff to bear the-weight of the brush without yieldinfr downwardly to such an extent as would re ease'thehandle from proper engagement and coaction therewith, and vet the lugs are sufliciently flexible to enable the user to easil connect and disconnect holder and brus i.

When the brush is lowered into the container, the inwardly directed pressure on bod 19, which pressure is created by the we( ge action between the taper of the body and the tube mouth, forces thelugsmore closely together, reducing the chance of the accidental separation of the brush from its holder. In certain instances, I may utilize but a single holding lug extending'such a distance towards the opposite defining wall of the recess'that vthe space between said wall and the end of the lug is less than the thickness of thebrush handle.

In Figure 5 I have shown a type of sterilizer wherein a plurality of individual brush containers 10 are suspended from the with when my brush supporting device is used. Of'course, the double tube structure of Figure 1 may be substituted for the single tubes of Figure 5, the two forms being shown merely to illustrate applications of the invention to different types of sterilizer.

Stop er 18 may be similar to stoppers 18, or t ey may be made in accordance with the showing of Figure 4, where the ornamental knob 20 is of porcelain or like material and cemented or otherwise suitably attached to body member 19. In the drawings I have illustrated the attaching means in the form of interlocking flanges 33 and 34 on members 19 and tap 35 respectively. The description of bodyfmember 19, recess 21, lugs 27, and the coactionof these elements with the handle of brush 25, applies also to body member 19, recess 2l, lugs 27 and the coaction of these elements with t-he handle of brush 25, and therefore need not be re eated.

While have illustrated and described specific embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to, except for such limitations as the appended claims may import.

I claim:

1. In a holder for suspending articles within an apertured container, a stopper for the aperture, said stopper comprising a body member of resilient material and having a downwardly opening recess, the normal wall to wall extent of the recess being less than a cross section dimension of a suspension member on the article; the stopper being adapted to yield outwardly to admit said suspension member to the recess, and then, by reason of the body resiliency, to frictiqnally engage said suspension member.

2. In a holder for suspending articles within an apertured container, a stopper for the aperture, said stopper including a downwardly tapering body member of resilient material and adapted to enter the aperture, there being a downwardly opening recess in the body member, the recess normally being smaller in cross section than the cross section of a suspension member on the ar ticle, and the recess defining` walls being adaptedl to yield outwardly to admit said suspension member to the recess when the stopper is removed from the container aperture, and then to coact with the suspensionv member in a manner whereby the suspension member is frictionally retained in the'recess; the taper of the body member being adapted to coact with the container in amanner to body member, and oppositely disposed, resilient and flexible lugs on the body member adapted to enter the aperture in a manner to removably hold the suspension member from separative movement with respect to the body member.

4. In a holder for suspending an article having anapertured suspension member, a body member having a downwardly o ening recess to receive the suspension memrber, and resilient and ilexible lugs on the body member and extendingvinto the recess fromA opposite sides thereof, said lugs being adapted to enter the aperture in a manner to removably hold the suspension member from separatlve movement with respect to the body member.

5. In a holder for suspending an/ article having an apertured suspension member, a body member of resilient material and having a downwardly o ening recess to receive the suspension mem r, and a resilient and flexible lug integral with the body member and extending into the recess, said lug being adapted to enter the apert'ure in a manner to removably hold the suspension member from separative movement with respect to the body member.

6. In a holderi for suspending an article having an apertured suspension member, a body member of resilient material and havinga downwardly opening recess to receive the suspension member and resilient and flexible lugs on the body member vand extendin into the recess from opposite sides thereof, said lugs being adapted to enter the aperture in a manner to removably hold the suspension member from se arative movement with respect'to the bo y member.

7. In a holder for suspending articles within an apertured container, a stopper for the aperture, wardly tapering body member o resilient materlal and adapted to enter the aperture, and oppositely dlsposed, resilient and ilexible lugs on the body member adapted to coact with the article in a manner to hold it from separative movement with respect to the stopper; the taper of the body member being adapted to coact with the container in a manner to press said lugs more closely together.

8. In a holder for suspendingy a tooth brush within a tubular container which is open at its top, a stopper for tube opening,

said stopper includin a downsaid stopper including a body member` hevhandle from generative movement with `re- 1 ing a downwardl opening recess to' recelve speet to the stopper.

the apertured en of the brush handle, resl- In witness that I claim the fore on 1,10 ient and flexible lugs on the body member have hereunto subscribed my name t is 2 th and extending into the recess from opposlte day of November 1923.

sides thereof and adapted "to enter the eperture in the handle in a manner to hold the SAMUEL H. THOMPSON.