Denture toothbrush

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6308364
  • Patent Number
    6,308,364
  • Date Filed
    Monday, March 27, 2000
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, October 30, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Spisich; Mark
    Agents
    • Henderson & Sturm LLP
Abstract
A denture toothbrush including a head with a rounded section extending from its distal end back toward the neck position and a flat section on one side of the head extending from a point spaced back from the distal end to the neck portion. A first set of bristles extend radially out from the rounded section and a second set of bristles extend out perpendicular to the flat section. The first set of rounded bristles resemble a bottle brush and make contact with the curved gum areas on the inside of the dentures. The second set of straight bristles are adapted to clean the teeth and area on the outside of the denture.
Description




CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS




Not applicable.




STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT




Not applicable.




REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX




Not applicable.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to the field of toothbrushes, and more particularly to a denture toothbrush.




2. Description of Related Art




As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,309,596; 5,377,377; 5,465,450 and 5,488,751 the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse toothbrushes.




While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical denture toothbrush suitable for cleaning the inside surface of dentures.




As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved denture toothbrush and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.




BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Briefly stated, the present invention provides a denture toothbrush including a head with a rounded section extending from its distal end back toward the neck position and a flat section on one side of the head extending from a point spaced back from the distal end to the neck portion. A first set of bristles extend radially out from the rounded section and a second set of bristles extend out perpendicular to the flat section. The first set of rounded bristles resemble a bottle brush and make contact with the curved gum areas on the inside of the dentures. The second set of straight bristles are adapted to clean the teeth and area on the outside of the denture.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS




These and other attributes of the invention will become more clear upon a thorough study of the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention, particularly when reviewed in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the denture toothbrush of the present invention in use cleaning the curved gum areas on the inside of a denture;





FIG. 2

is a side elevational view of the denture toothbrush;





FIG. 3

is a bottom plan view thereof; and





FIG. 4

is a top plan view thereof.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particularly to

FIG. 1

, the denture toothbrush that forms the basis of the present invention is designated generally by the reference number


10


. The toothbrush


10


is adapted for use in cleaning both the curved gum areas on the inside of a denture


1


and the teeth and other areas on the outside of the denture


1


. The toothbrush


10


includes an elongated handle


20


, a head


40


, and a neck portion


70


that interconnects the handle


20


and the head


40


.




The head


40


has a proximal end


42


connected to the neck portion


70


and a distal end


44


. A generally rounded section


46


extends back from the distal end


44


toward the proximal end


42


. A flat section


48


is formed on one side of the head


40


and extends from a point spaced back from the distal end


44


to the proximal end


42


.




A first set of bristles


50


extend radially out from the rounded section


46


and resemble a rounded bottle brush covering the distal end


44


and extending back toward the proximal end


42


. The first set of bristles


50


are longer at the distal end


44


and shorter at the proximal end


42


giving a rounded tapered appearance. A second set of bristles


60


extend straight out perpendicular to the flat section


48


.




The rounded bristles


50


are adapted to clean the curved gum areas on the inside of dentures


1


and the straight bristles


60


are adapted to clean the teeth and other areas on the outside of the denture


1


.




Although only an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.



Claims
  • 1. A denture toothbrush, comprising:an elongated handle, a head, and a neck portion interconnecting the handle and the head; the head including a proximal end connected to the neck portion and a distal end, the head including a rounded section extending from the distal end back to the proximal end and a flat section formed on one side of the head extending from a point spaced back from the distal end to the proximal end; a first set of bristles extending out from all portions of the rounded section of the head, wherein the first set of bristles are tapered being longer at the distal end than at the proximal end; and a second set of bristles extending out perpendicular to the flat section.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Number Name Date Kind
D. 96749 Hellonen Sep 1935
D. 99364 Paisley Apr 1936
D. 405612 Swanson Feb 1999
D. 424809 Bernard May 2000
1452108 Carter Apr 1923
1893002 Rothschild Jan 1933
2190277 Viragh Feb 1940
2464321 Konczal Mar 1949
4888844 Maggs Dec 1989
5309596 Simms May 1994
5377377 Bredall et al. Jan 1995
5465450 Humphries Nov 1995
5488751 Gekhter et al. Feb 1996
Foreign Referenced Citations (6)
Number Date Country
16815 Apr 1898 CH
246639 Oct 1947 CH
671866 Oct 1989 CH
249193 Mar 1926 GB
265690 Feb 1927 GB
348048 Jul 1937 IT