Claims
- 1. A toothbrush for holding a twisted wire brush, said toothbrush comprising an elongated handle member having a hinged locking retainer at one end thereof, said locking retainer and said handle having locking means in the form of a cantilever latch in one of said retainer and said handle and a complimentary keeper hole in and extending through the other of said retainer and said handle, an outer end of said cantilever forming said latch and lying within said keeper hole when said locking retainer is swung on said hinge to a closed position on said handle member, a hole formed in one of said handle and said locking retainer near said hinged end, said hole having a dimension for receiving and holding the stem of a twisted wire brush, and a groove formed in the other of said handle and said locking retainer, said groove having a dimension for receiving and holding the twisted wire stem, and contours on said outer end of said cantilever for releasing said latch in response to a pressure applied thereto.
- 2. The toothbrush of claim 1 including a stem of a twisted wire brush projecting through said hole which fits into said groove and under said locking retainer as it is closed and latched to said handle.
- 3. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said one of said handle and locking retainer has a protrusion which extends from said retainer to form a somewhat chimney-like extension of said hole for stabilizing and reinforcing said wire stem.
- 4. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein the end of said latch protrudes beyond said toothbrush when said locking retainer and handle are in a latched position, said protruding end having a cam surface forming a push button for opening said retainer relative to said handle when a downward pressure is applied thereto.
- 5. The toothbrush of claim 4 wherein said latch is a cantilever shaft projecting from said locking retainer, one side of said shaft having a slanted relief area which enables the shaft to move back and forth within said keeper hole.
- 6. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said hinged end has a member with a triangular cross section separating two living hinges for joining said member to said handle and to said locking retainer respectively.
- 7. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said hole is in said locking retainer.
- 8. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said groove extends from said hole toward said latch.
- 9. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said locking retainer and said handle have smooth and substantially uninterrupted contours when closed.
- 10. A toothbrush for holding a twisted wire brush, said toothbrush comprising an elongated handle member having a hinged locking retainer at one end thereof, said locking retainer and said handle having locking means in the form of a cantilever latch in one of said retainer and said handle and a complimentary keeper hole in the other of said retainer and said handle, an outer end of said cantilever forming said latch entering said keeper hole when said locking retainer is swung on said hinge to a closed position on said handle member, a hole formed in one of said handle and said locking retainer near said hinged end, said hole having a dimension for receiving and holding the stem of a twisted wire brush, and a groove formed in the other of said handle and said locking retainer, said groove having a dimension for receiving and holding the twisted wire stem, and contours on said outer end of said cantilever for releasing said latch in response to a pressure applied thereto upon a top portion of said latch, wherein said contours on the top of said latch include two substantially planar surfaces, one of said two planar surfaces forming a cam for guiding said latch into a latched position, and the other of said two planar surfaces forming a cam surface for unlatching said latch upon application of a force against said other of said two planar surfaces.
- 11. The toothbrush of claim 10 wherein said latch is a cantilever shaft projecting from said locking retainer, said shaft having a slanted relief area opposite said two substantially planar surfaces which enables the shaft to move back and forth within said keeper hole.
- 12. A toothbrush for cleaning interdental spaces, said toothbrush comprising an elongated handle having a living hinge joining a locking retainer to one end thereof, said locking retainer closing over said handle and lying in a longitudinal alignment therewith, said handle and locking retainer having complementary contours which cooperate to form a latching means for latching them together when closed in said longitudinal alignment, a double cam configuration associated with said complimentary contours, one of said cams guiding said latching means into a latched position and the other of said cams adapted to move said latching means into an unlatched position upon application of a force against said other of said cams, and a hole extending through said retainer and into a groove in said handle with an alignment that holds the stem of a twisted wire brush when in a somewhat L-shaped configuration, an arm of said somewhat L-shape carrying a brush extending through said hole and another arm of said somewhat L-shape fitting into said groove.
- 13. The toothbrush of claim 12 wherein said latching means is a cantilever shaft projecting from said locking retainer, said complementary contours also including a keeper hole for said shaft to project through, said shaft having a slanted relief area which enables the shaft to move back and forth within said keeper hole.
- 14. The toothbrush of claim 12 and means associated with said locking retainer and handle for facilitating an automatic bending of said wire stem into somewhat L-shape as said locking retainer closes over said handle.
- 15. The toothbrush of claim 12 and a chimney-like extension associated with said hole for tending to preclude a bending of said wire stem when said brush is in use.
- 16. The toothbrush of claim 12 wherein said somewhat L-shape of said twisted wire stem forms automatically responsive to a closing of said locking retainer over said handle.
- 17. A toothbrush for cleaning interdental spaces, said toothbrush comprising an elongated handle having a living hinge joining a locking retainer to one end thereof, said locking retainer closing over said handle and lying in a longitudinal alignment therewith, said handle and locking retainer having complementary contours which cooperate to form a latching means for latching them together when closed in said longitudinal alignment, a double cam configuration associated with said complimentary contours, one of said cams guiding said latching means into a latched position and the other of said cams adapted to move said latching means into an unlatched position upon application of a force against said other of said cams, and a hole extending through said retainer and into a groove in said handle with an alignment that holds the stem of a twisted wire brush when in a somewhat L-shaped configuration, an arm of said somewhat L-shape carrying a brush extending through said hole and another arm of said somewhat L-shape fitting into said groove, wherein said groove extends at least part of a distance between said hole and said living hinge, and said locking retainer includes a surface for bending the wire stem in said hole and for guiding and directing said wire stem into said groove as said locking retainer is closed over said handle.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/875,627, filed Apr. 28, 1992, abandoned U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,097, which in turn is a division of prior application Ser. No. 07/575,229, filed Aug. 30, 1990, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 07/475,724 filed Feb. 6, 1990, U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,467.
US Referenced Citations (12)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
20268 |
Dec 1980 |
EPX |
2723643 |
Nov 1978 |
DEX |
339346 |
Sep 1936 |
ITX |
150142 |
May 1955 |
SEX |
175973 |
Jun 1935 |
CHX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
575229 |
Aug 1990 |
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
875627 |
Apr 1992 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
475724 |
Feb 1990 |
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