Chewing toothbrush

Abstract

A chewing toothbrush consists of a plurality of upper and lower base members, transverse carriers fixed on their front and tongue sides, extending towards the opposite base members and having ends protruding over the upper base members and under the lower base members and provided with bristles, and means for connecting the base members in elastic unit The means may consist of the balloon with the compressed air attached to the base members.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to chewing toothbrushes the one known of which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,652. The known toothbrush periodically sticks to one of the jaws therefore a user has to tear it off them before the next clenching. The necessary distance between the upper and lower teeth before each clenching is comparable with the double height of the tooth, therefore the mouth cannot be closed during cleaning the teeth. These drawbacks make the cleaning procedure inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a chewing toothbrush which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.

In keeping with this object and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in a chewing toothbrush which includes a plurality of the upper and lower base members, transverse carriers fixed on their front and tongue sides, extending towards the opposite base members and having ends protruding over the upper and under the lower base members. The ends of carriers are provided with bristles extending towards the opposite carriers.

The novel features of the invention are defined in the appended claims. The invention itself will be best understood from the following description accompanied by the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the toothbrush of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is the same, when the toothbrush is compressed by the teeth.

FIGS. 3 to 9 are fragmentary sectional views of the toothbrush in accordance with further embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A chewing toothbrush in accordance with the present invention (FIGS. 1 and 2) includes upper 1 and lower 2 base members the front and tongue sides of which have transverse carriers 3, 4 the ends of which protruding over base members 1 and under base members 2, are provided with bristles 5 extending towards the opposite carriers. A balloon 6 with the compressed air attached to (or molded integrally with) base members 1, 2, imparts to the toothbrush elastic unit able to conform to any portion of the jaws.

During clenching the jaws (FIG. 2), base members 1, 2 moving towards each other, compress balloon 6 and push lower carriers 4 upward and upper carriers 3 downward. Balloon 6 returns the toothbrush in the initial position, when the user unclenches his jaws. Chewing thus the toothbrush and moving it along the jaws by the muscles of the cheeks and/or by the tongue, the user cleans the front and tongue faces of the teeth and the interstices of both jaws simultaneously and, in addition, trains the muscles of the cheeks.

Because the distance between the upper and lower teeth T (FIG. 1) is comparable with the height of the one tooth (i.e. it is essentially less than between ones when using the known chewing toothbrush), therefore the user may masticate the new toothbrush with the closed lips.

A multi-strap spring 7 (FIGS. 3 and 4) ends 8 of which are pressed in base members 1, 2 (or molded integrally therewith), connects the base members having carriers 3, 4, in elastic unit.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show another modification of the invention in which base members 1, 2 are connected in elastic unit (molded integrally) by flexible elements (straps) 9 and springs 10.

A toothbrush may have the arched initial contour (FIG. 7). The separate base member is shown in FIG. 8. Balloon 6 and/or the base members may be provided with short bristles 11. The toothbrush may be provided with a handle 12 (FIG. 3).

A means for connecting the elements of the toothbrush may consist from front and tongue resilient elements 13 (FIG. 9) engaged with the ends of the carriers by their hooks 14. When the user clenches his jaws, carriers 3, 4 moving in the directions shown by the arrows, expand the elements 13 which, then, return the toothbrush in the initial position.

The invention is not limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes are possible without departing in any way from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A chewing toothbrush comprising: a plurality of upper and lower base members having front and tongue sides; front and tongue carriers extending from said sides of said lower base members towards said upper base members and having ends protruding over the upper base members; front and tongue carriers extending from said sides of said upper base members towards said lower base member and having ends protruding under the lower base members; bristles extending from said ends towards said front and tongue carriers; and a means for connecting said base members in elastic unit.

2. A chewing toothbrush as defined in claim 1, wherein said means consists of the balloon with the compressed air, and said base members are attached to the balloon.

3. A chewing toothbrush as defined in claim 1, wherein said means consists of a multi-strap spring molded integrally with said base members.

4. A chewing toothbrush as defined in claim 1, wherein said means consists of resilient elements connecting said ends of said lower carriers with said ends of said upper carriers.