Disposable toothcare assembly
OwnerPatricia Snowdeninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A toothcare assembly includes a handle having a dental floss dispensing assembly on one end and tooth brushing bristles mounted thereon adjacent to a head end. A chamber for storing toothpaste is defined in the head end, and dispensing holes connect the chamber to the surface of the head adjacent to the bristles. A flexible diaphragm is mounted on the head adjacent to the chamber and, when pressed, forces toothpaste through the dispensing holes into contact with the bristles. A chamber closing element is slidably mounted on the head to cover the dispensing holes in the chamber to prevent toothpaste from moving through the dispensing holes, and is slidably moved out of hole-covering position when it is desired to dispense toothpaste.
Claims7
A disposable toothcare assembly comprising:
- A) a handle having a forward end with a top surface, a bottom surface and sides, and a rear end;
- B) a multiplicity of tooth brushing bristles mounted on said handle adjacent to said forward end, said bristles being arranged in groups, with said groups being spaced apart from each other at their bases;
- C) a chamber for containing toothpaste defined in said handle adjacent to said forward end and beneath said bristles;
- D) means for dispensing toothpaste to said bristles including
- (1) a plurality of dispensing holes defined through said handle and connecting said top surface adjacent to said bristles to said chamber, said holes being located between said groups of bristles,
- (2) a flexible diaphragm means connected to said handle adjacent to said chamber and extending out of said chamber through said handle for storing toothpaste and for applying pressure to said chamber when pushed into said chamber and for forcing toothpaste out of said chamber through said dispensing holes, said diaphragm means including an opening defined in said bottom surface and a flexible cover attached to said handle adjacent to said opening and extending out of said opening, said flexible cover being biased outwardly of said opening and being forced toward said top surface by a user to force toothpaste out of said chamber via said dispensing holes, and
- (3) chamber closure means for closing said chamber and including a tab-receiving hole defined in said handle through said forward end and connecting to said chamber and a tab slidably received in said tab-receiving hole, said tab including
- (i) a body section located in said handle between said chamber and said dispensing holes to close said holes and prevent toothpaste from moving from said chamber into said holes when said tab is in a chamber closing position, and
- (ii) a means located outside of said chamber in front of said forward end for moving said tab between said chamber closing position and a chamber uncovering position with said body moved out of said chamber for uncovering said dispensing holes and permitting toothpaste to flow from said chamber into said dispensing holes;
- E) a dental floss storage chamber defined in said handle adjacent to said rear end;
- F) a dental floss dispensing hole defined through said handle in said rear end;
- G) a spool of dental floss mounted in said dental floss storage chamber and having one end of the dental floss extending through said dental floss dispensing hole out of said dental floss storage chamber;
- and
- H) cutting means mounted on said handle rear end adjacent to said dental floss dispensing hole for cutting the dental floss,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.