Dentifrice container with oral care implement holder

#The present invention relates to an oral care system, in particular, to a container with an oral care implement holder.

#While it is important to clean one's teeth regularly throughout the day, doing so can be difficult. The difficulty may result from the fact that a person usually does not have an oral care implement, such as a toothbrush, and a dentifrice, such as toothpaste, available to them throughout the course of a day. For example, at work, at a restaurant, during travel, such items might not be readily available. Further, having to carry separate items such as a toothbrush, a separate dispenser for dentifrice, etc. can be cumbersome. Additionally, carrying the toothbrush into a foreign environment has the potential to expose the toothbrush to unsanitary conditions. Generally, the toothbrush can be exposed to germs or other pathogens. Additionally, the toothbrush can be exposed to other unwanted substances. For example, during transport in a travel bag, an exposed toothbrush has the potential to come into contact with lotions, shampoo, hair, etc. The toothbrush should be kept sanitary to avoid potential health complications which may arise if an unsanitary toothbrush is used. One way of keeping the toothbrush sanitary, is to enclose the toothbrush in a separate container. However, such an additional container would further add to the number of items a user must carry.

#This invention pertains to an oral care system with an oral care implement and a dentifrice container.

#FIG. 1 is a front view of an oral care system according to one or more aspects of an illustrative embodiment wherein portions of the oral care system are engaged and the oral care implement is in a transport state.

#FIG. 2A is a front view of the oral care system of FIG. 1, wherein portions of the oral care system are disengaged and the oral care implement is in a use state.

#FIG. 2B is a schematic top view of an oral care system of FIG. 1.

#In the following description, the invention is discussed in terms of a toothbrush, but could be in the form of other oral care implements including simply a tissue cleansing implement. Further, it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

#FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B illustrate an oral care system of the present invention. The oral care system includes an oral care implement, such as a toothbrush, 100 and a dentifrice container 200. The toothbrush 100 generally includes a head 101, a handle 102 and a neck portion 103 for connecting the head 101 and the handle 102.

#The handle 102 is generally an elongated member that is dimensioned for the user to readily grip and manipulate the toothbrush 100. The handle 102 may be formed of any desired shape or length and in any desired configuration or construction. In the illustrative embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-4, the handle 102 has a sidewall that is shaped to be complementary to and to mate with an applicable sidewall of the dentifrice container 200 as described below. In the depicted embodiment the handle 102 has a convex and concave exterior along its length. Further, the handle 102 has an hourglass shape. These convex and concave surfaces 109 perform a dual purpose of allowing the user to more easily grip the toothbrush, but also mating with corresponding convex and concave surfaces 203 of the dentifrice container 200.