TOOTHBRUSH

BROSSE A DENTS

English Abstract

FOR4K/4.82
IMPROVED TOOTHBRUSH
Abstract of the Disclosure
An improved toothbrush which includes an elongate handle
and a brush with a base and a mounting in the form of a
coil spring interconnecting the brush base to the distal
end of the toothbrush for swinging, rotatable, tilting
movement of the brush relative to the handle in use.

Claims

FOR4M/4.82
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive
property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A toothbrush having an elongate handle with a
proximal end zone and a distal end zone and including a
brush mounted adjacent the distal end zone, said brush
including a base of predetermined length and a first sur-
face and an array of bristles 28 secured in upstanding
relation on the first surface, the brush base having a
second surface oppositely facing in relation to the first
face having a central recess extending toward the surface
from which the brushes extend, said distal end of said
handle having a first face with a recess in said first face
confronting the second surface of the brush base, a coil
spring having an upper end and a lower end, said upper end
being nested in the recess of said brush and fixed therein
to connect the brush to the handle and the lower end of
said spring being nested in the recess of said bristle end
zone and being secured thereto and said coil spring includ-
ing a tangentially extending elongate portion 50, said
portion being embedded in the distal end zone and extending
toward said proximal end, said upper surface of said distal
end zone having a recess in the first face spaced from the
recess in said distal end zone a distance one-half of said
predetermined length of said base, whereby, said base with
said brushes is adapted for rotation about the axis of said
spring and for tilting and rocking motion, with said base
being adapted to move in and out of said recess in the
first face of the distal end zone of the handle in said
rocking motion.

FOR4M/4.82
2. The device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said
handle is of plastic material.

Description

FOR4K/4 . 82 ~lZ066S
S P E C I F I C A T I O N
IMPROVED TOOTHBRUSH
This invention relates to toothbrushes and, more
particularly, to a toothbrush wherein the brush is mounted
resiliently and yieldably for flexing action to the
distal end of the handle.
In the past there have been numerous types of mount-
ings for brushes in toothbrush combinations. This inven-
tion is of an improved type of mounting in combination
with a brush and toothbrush handle wherein the brush is
adapted for rotatable and tilting movement.
It is an object of this invention to provide an im-
proved mounting for toothbrushes and, more particularly,
for mounting the toothbrush to the brush handle wherein a
coiled spring is utilized and a clearance recess for a
relatively large range of tilting and rotating action of
the brush in use.
In accordance with these and other objects which
will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention
will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a toothbrush in
accordance with this invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged view partly in cross section
of the right-hand portion of Figure l;
Figure 3 is an end view of the device shown in
Figure l; and

FOR4K/4.82 ~1 Zv 6 6 S
Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the device shown
in Figures 1 and 2.
Referring to the drawings wherein like reference
characters designate like or corresponding parts through-
out the several views and referring particularly to
Figure 1, the toothbrush is generally designated by the
numeral 12. It is seen that it has an elongate handle 14
with a proximal end zone 16 and a distal end zone 18. On
the distal end zone a brush 20 is mounted spaced slightly
inward, that is, adjacent the terminal end. The brush
includes a base 24 of predetermined length and with an
upper surface 26 from which an array of bristles 28
extend being secured to the base in upstanding relation.
The brush base has a second surface 30 which faces toward
the handle, that is oppositely from the surface from
which the brushes extend. The brush base has a central
recess 31 extending toward the surface from which the
brushes extend. With respect to the handle, the distal
end zone is provided with a recess 50 in the face 40.
coil spring 44 which has an upper end 46 and a lower end
48 is utilized to connect the brush to the handle in the
manner shown. It is seen that the upper end is nested in
the recess of the brush and fixed therein while the lower
end of the spring is nested in the recess 42 of the
distal end zone of the handle and secured therein.
Additionally, the coil spring includes a portion which
extends tangentially with respect to the coils of the
springs longitudinally of and in an embedded relation in
the distal end zone of the handle, this portion of the
spring being designated by the numeral 50. The upper

FOR4K/4.82 ~12~665
surface of the distal end zone is, additionally, provided
with a recess 51 which is spaced from the spring mounting
a distance about one-half of the clistance from the spring
mounting to the terminal end zone of the handle, that is,
about one-half the longitudinal length of the brush.
This is so that the base with the brushes is adapted for
rotation about the axis of the spring and for tilting and
rocking motion as is indicated in the drawings by the
arrowed lines.
In use, it is seen that one brushing his teeth with
the device will find that it will conform generally to
the shape of the mouth and the teeth location of a user.
It will be seen that the longitudinally extending
portion of the spring which is embedded in the handle
rigidifies the distal end of the handle which would
otherwise be substantially weakened by reason of the
removal of the material to provide the clearance recess
51, so that a strong durable toothbrush is provided with
the moving, tilting, rotating action described by the
arrowed lines in the drawings.
While the instant invention has been shown and
described in what is considered to be a practical and
preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures
may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention
which is, therefore, not to be limited except as set
forth by the following claims within the doctrine of
equivalents.