It would be desirable to provide a toothbrush with some form of structure which could prevent the cleaning elements, such as bristles, from inadvertent contact with various surfaces. Such structure would enhance the cleanliness of the elements. It would be desirable to prevent the cleaning elements from having their shape distorted by preventing the cleaning elements pressing against a surface such as a sink top during periods of non-use. It is known to provide caps over the head of a toothbrush to attempt to accomplish such results. Generally such caps envelope the entire toothbrush head which creates a chamber where contamination and bacteria may collect.
It is further desirable to provide a toothbrush which would be attractive to potential consumers particularly children to encourage use of the toothbrush.
It would also be desirable to have means for facilitating multiple decorative protective covers for such toothbrushes. In particular, it would be helpful to have multiple decorative covers that could be collected or assembled to spark interest in the toothbrush by users, particularly children. Means for interchangeable use of these several decorative covers to maintain this interest in the toothbrush, and brushing, is also desirable.
An object of this invention is to provide a decorative cover for a toothbrush wherein the cover is confined solely to the cleaning element side of the toothbrush head.
A further object of this invention is to provide such a cover which may be ornamental in appearance to attract consumers such as children.
In accordance with this invention a cover made of a shape retaining material is mounted at the front face of the toothbrush head which is the face from which the cleaning elements extend outwardly. The cover is located so as not to be in pressing contact with the cleaning elements and is preferably spaced from the outer ends of the cleaning elements. The cover is of a size to cover the entire area of the outer ends of the cleaning elements, but preferably spaced from the cleaning elements to permit unconfined circulation of air around and through the bristles.
The cover may be of generally planar shape without any inwardly extending walls or flanges and may be connected to the head in any suitable manner such as by one or more posts on the cover extending into corresponding holes in the head. In other practices of the invention the cover could have one or more depending walls or flanges which could be used as the detachable mounting structure to secure the cover to the toothbrush head. In a preferred practice of the invention the outer surface of the cover has ornamentation such as a figurine to enhance the attractability of the toothbrush when the cover is detachably mounted in place.
Removable attachment of the cover to the toothbrush may also be accomplished by a cover having a length greater than the length of the toothbrush head. In such an embodiment, the cover may be attached to the toothbrush by a slip or snap fit of U-shaped cover flanges extending along the longitudinal length of the toothbrush. The internal clearance between these flanges is dimensioned so that the flanges may be easily pressed over the body of the toothbrush head and/or handle to secure the cover on the toothbrush. Conversely, the cover is easily removed from the toothbrush by simply pulling on the cover. As the cover is pulled off, the flexible flanges expand to allow easy removal of the cover, especially by children.
The cover preferably includes a receptacle on its outside decorative face. In one embodiment, a female connector is included in the cover to facilitate placement of interchangeable decorative overlays over all or part of the cover. The decorative overlays have connectors complementing that on the cover so that the overlay may be easily attached to or released from the cover. A male connector on the overlay can be used to facilitate this removable interaction with a female connector on the cover. Other connectors for joining the overlay to the cover are contemplated by this invention, for example, a ball and socket connector. The decorative overlays preferably have a shape, color and theme that complement the shape, color and theme of the cover.
It is an object of this invention to provide a toothbrush with multiple covers and/or overlays that can be mixed or matched to visually engage youthful toothbrush users. The overlays can be collected and interchanged on a periodic, even daily, basis to heighten a child's interest in using the toothbrush. The shape, color and theme of the cover and/or overlays attract the eye and interest of potential users, particularly children.
The shape, color and theme of the cover or overlay can also be complemented with a decorative front panel or escutcheon on the surface of the toothbrush facing the user. This escutcheon can also be collected and interchanged, like the covers and overlays, to promote use of the toothbrush and otherwise enhance its appearance.
The present invention in general includes a cover which would be detachably mounted to the head of a toothbrush at the front face of the toothbrush which carries the cleaning elements such as bristles. The cover would be located outwardly of the cleaning elements and preferably be spaced from the cleaning elements so as not to apply pressure against the cleaning elements when the cover is mounted in place. Preferably the cover is mounted in such a manner that air flow is readily permitted through the cleaning elements. This free circulation of air can be accomplished using posts or other releasable connectors for attaching the cover to the toothbrush head. In another embodiment, one or more walls or flanges interact with the side of the toothbrush head to hold the cover in position so that air may flow through the cover. Those flanges may also have perforations to permit the flow of air.
In another embodiment of this invention, the cover contains flexible flanges which extend from the visible face of the cover a distance sufficient to engage the head and/or handle of the toothbrush. The flanges are flexible enough to attach the cover to the toothbrush with relatively little pressure, which is particularly useful with youthful users. By extending the flanges for some distance along the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush body and/or head, sufficient frictional surface exists between flanges and toothbrush to hold the cover in place. Conversely, the flexibility of these flanges, and minimal friction between cover and toothbrush body permit easy removal of the cover before use.
In a preferred practice of this invention the outer surface of the cover has ornamentation to appeal to users, particularly children. That ornamentation can be formed in the cover as a raised or indented figure, for example as shown in
A decorative escutcheon on the front of the toothbrush which complements the visual theme of cover and overlay is also contemplated. Preferably, this escutcheon would be removable so that different escutcheons could be used as visual complements to a variety of covers and overlays available for use on the toothbrush.
In accordance with this invention a shield or cover 26 is detachably mounted to head 14 outwardly of cleaning elements 24. The cover may be located where the outer ends of cleaning elements 24 barely make contact with the inner surface of cover 26 so that the cover does not press against the cleaning elements. Preferably, however, the inner surface of cover 26 is located spaced from the outer ends of cleaning elements 24 as shown in
In a preferred practice of this invention the outer surface of cover 26 includes some form of ornamentation 28 such as a figurine which would be attractive to users, particularly children. As illustrated in
Cover 26 is preferably made of a shape retaining material to assure that it will not come in contact with the cleaning elements. Any suitable shape retaining material such as a stiff, hard plastic or elastomer may be used. Cover 26 could be transparent, translucent or opaque. The thickness and shape of cover 26 are not critical and can be adjusted for cost considerations.
Cover 26 provides protection from contact of cleaning elements with some surface containing harmful bacteria or germs, such as a kitchen or bath countertop. In addition, cover 26 acts as a barrier to minimize contamination collecting on the cleaning elements. Where the cover 26 is simply of generally planar shape without any depending walls or flanges there is complete air flow through and across the cleaning elements which also is beneficial in preventing accumulation of bacteria or other contaminants.
Cover 26 in all of its embodiments, particularly those illustrated in
These attention getting features of the toothbrush 10 can be further enhanced by use of decorative escutcheon 50 generally overlying the toothbrush handle 12. The escutcheon 50 preferably has decorative features which complement those of cover 26 and/or overlay 52.
Cover 26 can be detachably secured to head 14 in any suitable manner. As shown in
As is apparent from the drawings a significant difference of the various covers as compared to conventionally used caps is that the covers do not extend beyond the side walls of the head 14. In other words, the cover does not extend completely to the rear face 18 of head 14. In a preferred practice of the invention the covers also differ from conventional caps in the enhanced air flow or air circulation of the cleaning elements.
Where the cover includes side walls or flanges the mounting structure may in general be considered as including projections which engage complementary mounting structure in the head in the form of openings. Thus, such projections could be the inwardly turned ends of the flanges or could be balls or other projections which engage grooves or spaced holes or sockets in the head. The walls or flanges of the cover are preferably located at the outer periphery of the cover. The invention, however, could be practiced where such walls or flanges are located inwardly of the periphery so that the main portion of the cover extends outwardly beyond one or more of such walls or flanges.
In practice the cover would be mounted on the head 14 of the toothbrush during periods of non-use. When mounted on the toothbrush the cover would function to protect the cleaning elements by providing some form of ornamentation. The appearance of the toothbrush would thus be enhanced to make its use more desirable, particularly for children. When it is intended to use the toothbrush the cover would be detached by removing the locking members of the shield such as the posts, bent ends or balls from the complementary locking members on the head such as the holes, grooves or sockets so that the cover could then be placed to the side and the toothbrush would be used in a normal manner. After use of the toothbrush the cover would be reattached by engaging its locking members with the complementary locking members of the head.
The cover is removably attached to toothbrush 10 or 10A by flanges 54 and 56 which extend away from the face of cover 26. The open distance between these flanges is designed to frictionally touch the edges of handle 12 and/or head 14 of toothbrush 10 and thereby hold the cover 26 in place on the toothbrush body. The flanges 54, 56, and preferably the whole cover 26, are formed of a relatively flexible material. That material allows the flanges 54, 56 to snap fit over the head 14 and/or handle 12 of toothbrush 10 to hold it in place. That flexibility also permits ready removal of cover 26 from toothbrush 10 or 10A with just a small amount of force pulling at the cover.
In one embodiment, illustrated in
Decorative escutcheon 50 may similarly be exchanged for other escutcheons using like connectors. Alternatively, escutcheon 50 can be removably attached to the handle portion 12 of toothbrush 10 with the use of flexible flanges similar to those described above in conjunction with cover 26.
In a preferred practice of this invention the cleaning elements are bristles which could be of any known form. The cleaning elements could also include elastomeric members such as massage elements in addition to, or instead of, bristles.
Any suitable form of movement of the section(s) could be utilized such as oscillating rotation, continuous rotation, linear longitudinal oscillation, linear transverse oscillation and a rocking back and forth about the longitudinal axis of the head. Combinations of such movements could also be used.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US03/33919 | 10/24/2003 | WO | 7/12/2005 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60421513 | Oct 2002 | US | |
60445355 | Feb 2003 | US |