US2763020A

US2763020A - Toothbrush

Info

Publication number: US2763020A
Application number: US509933A
Authority: US
Inventors: Monty G Newlin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1955-05-20
Filing date: 1955-05-20
Publication date: 1956-09-18
Anticipated expiration: 1973-09-18

Description

p 8 1956 M; G. NEWLIN 2,763,020

TOOTHBRU-SH Filed May 20; 1955 INVENTOR. I Mali/7') G. IVEWL/IV BY A770NEY6 Unite rates Patent TOOTHBRUSH Monty G. Newlin, Paoli, Ind.

Application May 20, 1955, Serial No. 509,933

2 Claims. (Cl..15184) This invention relates to a tooth brush, and more particularly has reference to a brush composed of separate components, one of which is adapted to provide a receptacle for the brush when the same is not in use and is further adapted to provide a container for a tube of tooth paste, and the other of which constitutes a brush head and associated handle portion.

One object of importance is to provide a tooth brush as described in which, when the brush is to be used, it can be readily detached from the container portion, and then attached to one end of said container portion, thus to cause the container portion to define a handle extension upon the brush.

Another object of importance is to provide a tooth brush as described wherein, when the brush is in use, the brush portion will effectively interengage with the container portion in such a manner as to insure against separation of said portions While the teeth are being brushed.

A further object is to so design the container portion as to cause the toothpaste-receiving part thereof to form an abutment within the brush-head-receiving part, that will engage the brush head at its inner end to properly locate the same within the container portion and to prevent movement of the brush head beyond a predetermined, inserted position thereof.

Another object of importance is to provide a tooth brush as described which can be manufactured at low cost, and will be particularly adapted for use by travelers, due to the adaptability of the tooth brush for being, when not in use, maintained in a compact assembly occupying minimum amount of space.

Another object of importance is to provide a tooth brush as stated which, due to its adaptability to be disassembled and maintained at an overall length approximately half its length when in use, can be carried in the pocket so that persons working in offices or other locations away from home can brush their teeth after each meal.

A further object is to provide a tooth brush as described which can be manufactured at low cost, considering the benefits to be obtained from the use thereof, from inexpensive, readily obtainable components such as molded plastic or the like.

Other objects will appear from .the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views and wherein:

Figure l is an exploded view of a tooth brush formed according to the present invention, portions being shown in section, with the brush portion being shown as it appears immediately prior to attachment to the container portion when the brush is to be used;

Figure 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section of the tooth paste tube holder per se;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse section on line 33 of Figure 1, with the brush head housed in the container portion;

Figure 4 is an end elevational view on an enlarged scale of the container portion, as seen from the line 4-4 of Figure 1;-and

Figure 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary longitudinal sectional view on line 5-'5 of Figure 4, the dotted lines showing the base of the brush portion as it appears when connected to the container portion.

At 16 there has been designated a container portion which includes a tubular body at one end thereof formed with an axial, elongated recess 12 opening upon said end of the container portion, and closed at its other end. The body 10 is of circular cross section in the illustrated embodiment, and integral with the closed end of the body and projecting longitudinally of the body be yond said closed end, is a fiat bottom wall 14 of a brush head housing of U-shaped cross section (see Figure 3) having, integral with and extending upwardly from op posite sides of the bottom wall 14, side walls 16 integrally provided at their upper ends with inwardly turned longitudinal lips 13.

As shown in Figure l, the provision of the cylindrical body ill, in association with a flat bottom wall i i paralleling but offset laterally from the longitudinal center line of the body Llll, defines at the closed end of the body a sloping abutment 26, for a purpose to be made presently apparent, said abutment being disposed adjacent the inner end of the brush head housing, said inner end of the brush head housing being formed open.

Removably seated in the axial recess 12 is an elongated, cylindrical, tooth paste tube holder member 22. The member 22 is formed open at one end and is closed at its other end, the closed end of the member 22 seating against the closed end of the recess 12 in the inserted position of said member .22. The open end of member 22 is normally closed by a plug 24, and said plug is recessed within the open end of the tubular body 10 in the housed position of member 22.

To facilitate extraction of the member 22, there is formed in the wall of body it), at the open end thereof, diametrically opposed arcuate recesses 26 adapted to permit one to grasp the plug 24 between the thumb and forefinger to remove member 22.

Member 22 is adapted to hold a tube of tooth paste or the like, and on removal of the plug 24 following ex:- traction of member 22 from the tubular body ill, the tooth paste tube can be removed, to squeeze a portion of the contents thereof onto the head of the tooth brush.

The brush portion of the tooth brush has been desig nated at 28, and for the greatest part of its length is formed as a straight, elongated, relatively wide, flat bar 28. Embedded in the bar 28 at one end thereof are tufts of bristles 30, and at its other end, bar 2% is integral with a cylindrical enlargement 32, having an axial recess 34 of diameter equal to the outer diameter of tubular body 10.

A rubber band 36 or other resilient element is extended circumferentially of the tubular body 16 intermediate opposite ends thereof, normally seating in a circumferential groove 38 formedin the outer surface of .body 10.

Assuming that the device is to be stored,- the brush portion is inserted through the brush head housing, to the position shown in Figure 3, so that the bar 28 and enlargement 32 are disposed in side by side, longitudinally contacting relation with the tubular body 10. The elastic element 36 is stretched preliminary to insertion of the brush portion in the brush head housing, so as to extend not only about the body 10, but also about the bar 28, thus to connect the brush and container portions against relative longitudinal movement.

In the insertion of the brush portion, the abutment 20 serves to engage the series of bristles at the inner end of the bristle assembly, so as to limit movement of the brush portion during insertion toward the left in Figure 1 beyond a position in which the lips 18 will engage against opposite sides of bar 28 throughout the length of the lips, with the lips being substantially coterminous with the length of the bristle assembly 30.

When the device is to be used for brushing teeth, the brush portion is disengaged from the container portion. The holder member 22 is removed from tubular body 10, and the tooth paste tube is taken out of said holder member. The contents of the tube are squeezed onto the brush head, after which the tube is put back into the member 22 and the plug 24 is applied to cap the member 22. The member 22 is then reinserted in the axial recess 12, and the outer end of the tubular body is now pressed into the recess 34 of cylindrical enlargement 22, in which recess it will fit snugly so as to prevent relative separation of the parts during use of the brush.

It will be understood that the

housing

14, 16, 16 is formed of a flexible, resilient plastic, so as to permit spreading of the side walls 16 during the insertion of the I brush head. Further, the side walls 16, under these circumstances, will tend to flex inwardly into firm engagement with the opposite sides of the bar 28, thus to cooperate with the rubber band 36 and abutment 26 in holding the container and brush surfaces in proper relationship to one another during periods of non-use of the device.

It will be apparent that the device, when the brush and container portions are connected in side by side relation, will occupy a space which, in length, is approximately half that used by the brush when the brush and container portions are connected in end to end relation. Thus, a highly desirable feature of the invention resides in its being capable of storage in a relatively small area, such as in a small article holding compartment of a suit case or the like, or, alternatively, in the pocket of a suit.

Still further, the construction is so designed as to permit manufacture of the device at a relatively low cost, considering the benefits to be obtained from the use thereof, and additionally, the device, when in use, provides a tooth brush of full length, having an elongated handle defined by the bar 28 and the container portion, thus to make maximum eflicient use of the brush.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated nd described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A separable tooth brush comprising a container portion including an elongated, tubular body open at one end and closed at its other end, said body being adapted to receive a tooth paste tube or the like, a brush head housing integral with the body at one end thereof, said housing including a bottom wall projecting longitudinally of the tubular body beyond one end thereof and side walls integral with and extending upwardly from opposite side edges of the bottom wall, said side Walls having inwardly turned lips at their upper ends; and a brush portion comprising an elongated bar, a brush head on one end of the 4 bar, and a cylindrical, axially recessed enlargement on the other end of the bar, said enlargement being adapted to receive the open end of the tubular body to dispose the brush portion and container portions in longitudinal alignment to provide a handle on the totoh brush, said housing being adapted to receive the brush head with the lips engaging the head during periods of non-use of the tooth brush, the closed end of thetubular body extending as a transverse abutment within the housing to limit movement of the head inwardly of the housing, said lips engaging opposite sides of the bar on insertion of the brush head within the housing, the side walls of the housing being of flexible formation, and being resiliently tensioned to engage against the respective sides of the bar to hold the brush head within the housing, the container portion further including an elastic element extending circumferentially of said body, said element being distendable to receive the bar in the housed position of the brush head to connect the container portion and brush portions in side by side relation.

2. A separable tooth brush comprising a container portion including an elongated, tubular body open at one end and closed at its other end, said body being adapted to receive a tooth paste tube or the like, a brush head housing integral with the body at one end thereof, said housing including a bottom wall projecting longitudinally of the tubular body beyond one end thereof and side walls integral with and extending upwardly from opposite side edges of the bottom wall, said side Walls having inwardly turned lips at their uper ends; and a brush portion comprising an elongated bar, a brush head on one end of the bar, and a cylindrical, axially recessed enlargement on the other end of the bar, said enlargement being adapted to receive the open end of the tubular body to dispose the brush portion and container portions in longitudinal alignment to provide a handle on the tooth brush, said housing being adapted to receive the brush head with the lips engaging the head during periods of non-use of the tooth brush, the closed end of the tubular body extending as a transverse abutment within the housing to limit movement of the head inwardly of the housing, said lips engaging opposite sides of the bar on insertion of the brush head within the housing, the side Walls of the housing being of flexible formation, and being resiliently tensioned to engage against the respective sides of the bar to hold the brush head within the housing, the container portion further including an elastic element extending circumferentially of said body, said element being distendable to receive the bar in the housed position of the brush head to connect the container portion and brush portions in side by side relation, the container portion further including a cylindrical, tubular member formed open at one end and closed at its other end, said member being removably in- Sertable in the tubular body, and a plug removably clos ing the open end of said member, said tubular body at the open end thereof having diametrically opposed fingerreceiving recesses exposing corresponding diametrically opposed portions of said plug to facilitate removal of said member from the body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,232,933 Kimura July 10, 1917 FOREIGN PATENTS 225,972 Switzerland Mar. 15, 1943