Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
TOOTHBRUSH
BACKGROUN~ OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a toothbrush having a
container for containing toothbrushing material in
liquid or emulsion form.
There have been conventionally proposed various
toothbrushes which contain therein tooth-brushing
material in paste or emulsion form and feed the
material onto their bristle-planted portions when they
are used for teeth-brushing operations. In those tooth-
brushes disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publications
138~66/1977 and 102374/1979, the material contained in
their handles are extruded by extrusion members, such
as a piston, or others. However, the operation for
extruding the material is troublesome, and it is diffi-
cult to adjust the piston or others so as to extrude a
necessary amount of the mâterial. In a toothbrush of
the type which contains a tooth-h,ushlng material
extrusion mechanism in its handle, much space is not
allowed for the material. If the toothbrush is made
disposable, the material runs out before its bristle-
planted portion becomes unusuable, and it is inevitable
to make the material reillable. Additionally the
sealing is not carried out perfectly between the interior
of its handle and the bristle~planted portion. Accord-
ingly there has been a case wherein the material flows
back into the interior of the handle from its user's
mouth during the teeth-brushing operation. As describ-
ed above, the conventional toothbrushes containingtooth-brushing material have these various drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a
toothbrush containing a tooth-brushing material in liquid
or emulsion form therein, which is structurally simple
and can be operated by one hand to feed a necessary quan-
tity of the material onto its bristle-planted surface.
z~ ~
According to this invention, there is provided a
toothbrush comprising a handle having a container for containing
-tooth-brushing material in liquid or emulsion form and a main
body, a rear end of which is connected detachably to a mouth
of the container, the container having a movable bottom body
which moves along an inner wall of the container as the material
is sucked through the mouth of the container. A bristle planted
rod provided, at its head, with a great number of bristles,
and slidably inserted, at its root portion, into a forward
bearing portion of the main body in such a manner that rotation
of the rod can be avoided and the rod can be reciprocated
axially, and the rod having a material feeding passage extending
therein from its root portion to a bristle planted surface
of the head of the rod. A pumping mechanism disposed within
the main body for sucking the tooth-brushing material from
the container and feeding the sucked material to the bristle
planted surface, and operated in accordance with reciprocal
axial movements of the rod, the pumping mechanism including
a suction chamber disposed within the main body, sealing means
within the suction chamber for effecting a vacuum in the suction
chamber to suck the material from the container into the suction
chamber, the suction chamber being in fluid communication with
the mouth of the container, the sealing means including forward
and rearward slide portions for slidingly engaging the inner
wall of the suction chamber and for maintaining an airtight
connection between the sealing means and the suction chamber,
an operational pipe slidably mounted in the main body and
connected between the rod and the sealing means, the operational
ch/~- - 2 -
~22~1LZ~3~
pipe providing fluld con~unication between the material feeding
passage in the rod and the suction chamber for pumping material
to the bristle planted surface of the rod in response to
reciprocal axial movement of the rod, the operational pipe
and the sealing means, the pumping mechanism further including
a valve body disposed between the container and the suction
chamber for preventlng the rearward flow of material from
the suction chamber back into the container and a valve body
positioned forwardly of the sealing means for preventing
rearward flow of the material from the rod back into the suction
chamber. Elastic means disposed within the suction chamber
for biasing the rod in an axial position with respect to the
main body of the handle. A rotation-preventing means including
an operational projection formed on a peripheral surface of
the root portion of the rod and functioning as a pushing
member on which a finger is put when the rod is pushed axially;
and a slit means, axially provided in a bearing portion of
the main body, for slidably receiving the operational projection.
The nature, utility, and further features of this
invention will be more clearly apparent from the following
detailed description with respect to preferred embodiments
of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings briefly described below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment
of a toothbrush of this invention;
Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a first
embodiment of the toothbrush of this invention;
Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the
ch/`c - 2a -
toothbrush of a first embodiment in the conditlon
where a brlstle-planted rod is pushed into a handle
main body;
Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the tooth-
brush of a first embodiment in the condition where thebristle-planted rod is returned after being pushed
thereinto initially;
Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the tooth-
brush of a first embodiment in the condition where the
bristle-planted rod is again pushed into to feed a
tooth-brushing material onto a bristle-planting sur-
face after being once returned;
Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view in the con-
dition following the condition of Fig. 5, where the
material is sucked into a suction chamber;
Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a second
embodiment of the toothbrush of this invention;
Fig. g is a vertical sectional view of a third
embodlmen. of the t^othbrush of this invention;
Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view of a fouth
embodiment of the toothbrush of this invention;
Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view of an opera-
tional pipe of a fourth embodiment;
Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view of an assembly
of a handle main body and a valve seat;
Fig. 12 is a side view of the valve seat;
Fig. 13 is a partially broken side view of a
tooth-brushing material container; and
Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional view of a movable
bottom body.
DETAILED DESC~IPTION OF THE INVENTION
In Figs. 1 and 2, a toothbrush 1 of this invention
comprises a handle 2 and a bristle-planted rod 3
inserted in the forward end of the handle 2 slidably
axially thereof, the handle 2 housing a pumping mecha-
nism 4 for feeding tooth-brushing material in liquid or
emulsion form.
~:X~
The handle 2 comprises a combination of a main
body 5 and a tooth~brushing material container 6 for
housing a tooth-brushing material 24, connected to
the handle body 5. The container 6 has a male thread
6A provided in the projected peripheral surface of
the forward end thereof, and the body 5 has a female
thread 5A provlded in the inside peripheral surface of
the rear portion thereof. The body 5 and the con-
tainer 6 are connected detachably to each other by the
screw-engagement or the male thread 6A with the female
thread 5A.
The bristle-planted rod 3 is formed at its head,
in a flat shape of rectangular section like a common
toothbrush. The bristles 7 are planted in a bristle-
planted surface 3A of the head of the rod 3. The rod3 has a tooth-brushing material passage 8 provided in
the interior thereof from the rear end 3B to the
bristle-planting surface 3A thereof. The passage 8
opens directly on the bristle~planting surface 3A or
2a is in communication with the planting holes of the
respective bristles 7 planted in the bristle-planted
surface 3A so that the tooth-brushing material 24 can
be exuded at the roots of the bristles 7.
The rod 3 is slidably inserted at -the root
portion 3B thereof into the bearing portion 9 of the
body 5 so as to keep a sealing function between the
root portion 3B and the inside peripheral surface of
the bearing portion 9. The bearing portion 9 has a
slit 10 extending axially in the peripheral surface
of the bearing portion 9. An operational pxojection
11 is protruded from the outside peripheral surface of
the root portion 3B of the rod 3. The projection 11
is engaged slidably with the slit 10 to prevent the
rod 3 from rotating about its axis.
The pumping mechanism 4 has an operational pipe
12 which is slidably inserted, at its forward portion,
into the root portion 3B of the rod 3. The operational
''' "" I'
pipe 12 is inserted, at its rear portion, in a bear-
ing hole 13 formed in the bottom of the bearing
portion 9 of the body 5. The mechanism 4 has further
a valve portion 15 formed in a bell-shape at the
rear end of the operational pipe 12. The valve por-
tion 15 is sLidably disposed in the body 5 in a close
contact with the inside peripheral surface thereof,
and a compression spring 17 for returning the rod 3
via the operational pipe 12 in their forward di.rectlon,
interposed between the rear end of the operational
pipe 12 and a valve seat member 16 screwed on the
rear end of the body 5.
A forward valve body 19 and a rear valve body 20
both in the shape of a ball are disposed respectively
in a larger-diame-ter portion 12A formed at the outer
end of the operational rod 12 and at a larger-diameter
portion 16A formed at the forward end of a suction
hole 18 passing through the valve seat member 16. The
o~ard valve bod~ 19 disposed in the operational pipe
12 opens and closes the outer end of a conduit 12B in
the pipe 12 thereby to communicate and uncommunicate
the same with the passage 8. The forward valve body
19 is always urged rearward by a spring 22. The rear
valve body 20 disposed in the valve seat member 16
opens and closes the suction hole 18 of the valve
seat member 16. An airtight suction chamber 21 is
defined in the main body 5. In the rear portion of the
valve seat member 16 is provided a packing P for keep-
ing an airtight contact between the front end of the
container 6 and the rear end of the valve seet member 16.
The tooth-brushing material container 6 is joint-
ed to the main body 5 by engaging the male thread 6A
with the female thread 5A in the valve seat member 16
with the packing P compressed between the forward end
of the container 6 and the end face of the valve seat
member 16. This joint brings the suction hole 18 of
the valve seat member 16 into communication with the
. .
07
opening 6C of the container 6. The container 6 is
provided with a bottom with a piston-like movable
bottom body 23 which is slidable axially in close
contact with the inside peripheral surface of the
container 6. The movable bottom bod~ 23 is made of
soft synthetic resin or others and has slide edges 23B
and 23C which are expanded in a bell-shape respective-
ly at -the forward end and the rear end of a cylindrical
portion 23A. The tight contact of the slide edges
23B and 23C with the inside peripheral wall of the con-
tainer 6 ensures the airtightness so that an emulsified
material or liquid material 24 filled in the container
6 may not leak -therefrom.
At the forward end of the cylindrical portion 23A,
there is provided a smaller-diameter cylindrical
portion 23D which can be inserted in the projected
smaller-diameter portion 6B of the mouth of the contain-
er 6 so that all material 24 can be completely con-
sumed. In drawings reference rîumeral 25 indicates a
ring for preventing the movable bottom body 23 from
dropping off from the rear end of the container 6.
The ring 25 is inserted into the peripheral surface of
the opened rear end of the container 6. At the same
time, the ring 25 functions as a reinforcement member
for preventing the deformation of the container by out~
side forces in order to keep the close contact of the
slide edges 23B and 23C with the inside of the container
6.
The operation of the toothbrush 1 will be explain-
ed with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6.
The handle 2 is held in one hand in the state shownin FIG. 2. When the brush l is used, the bristle-plant-
ed rod 3 is pushed rearward ox toward the container 6
by putting a thumb on,the operational projection ll,
by pushing the tip of the rod 3 with the other hand,
or by pressing the tip of the rod 3 against something.
The rear portion of the rod 3 is pushed into the handle
2 along the bearing portion 9 as shown in Fig. 3 with
the operational pipe 12 being pushed to advance in the
handle main body 5. At this tirne, the forward
valve body 19 opens the conduit 12B and the rear valve
body 20 closes the suction hole 18.
Then the rod 3 is freed from the push so as to
cause the xepulsive force of the compressed spring 17
to push back the rod 3 and the pipe 12 to their
respective forward positions. At this time the pres-
sure in the suction chamber 21 of the body 5 becomesnegative, a toogh-brushing material 24 in the container
6 is sucked into the suction chamber 21 of the body 5
through the suction hole 18 of the valve seat member 16
(Fig. 4). This suction results in a negative pressure
in the container 6 to cause the movable bottom body 23
to advance for a short distance in close contact with
the inside peripheral wall of the container 6.
The rod 3 is again pushed rearward as described
above. This time the forward valve body 19 opens the
conduit 12B of the pipe 12 and the rear valve body 20
closes the suction hole 18 of the valve seat member 16.
The tooth-brushing material sucked in the suction
chamber 21 is fed into the conduit 12B of the pipe 12
and the tooth-brushing material passage 8 of the rod 3
(Fig. 5). Thereafter, the rod 3 is freed from the
push, and the material 24 in the suction chamber 21
stops flowing forward and the material 24 in the con-
tainer 6 is sucked from the container 6 into -the suction
chamber 21 of the body 5 (Fig. 6). Similarly as des-
cribed above this suction causes the movable bottombody 23 in the container 6 to move forward in response
to the sucked amount of the material 24.
When the toothbrush 1 is initially used, this
operation is repeated two or three times to fill the
body 5, the conduit 12E and the tooth-brushin~ material
passage 8 with the material 24. After this, one push of
the rod 3 feeds an amount of the material 24 suitable
for one tooth brushing operation onto the bristle
planted surface 3A. Thus, the toothbrush 1 is ready
for use. Individually if the amount of the material
24 fed onto the surface 3A is not enough, twice- or
more than twice-pushes will be given.
When the tooth-brushing material 24 in the con-
tainer 6 has run out, the container 6 is unscrewed
from the valve seat member 16, a cap (not shown)
screwed on a fresh container 6 at the male thread 6A
thereof is disengaged, and the male -thread 6A of the
fresh container is engaged with the female thread 5A
of the body 5. Then immediately the toothbrush 1 can
be again used continuously. ~hen the opening of the
tooth-brushing material passage 8 opening on the
bristle-planting surface 3A of the rod 3 may become
dry during a continuous use, the whole bristles 7 may
be covered with a cap 26 as shown by a phantom line in
Fig. 2.
The forward and tha rear valve bodies 19 and 20
are not limited to the ball valve but may have any
other structure which carries out the same function
as the ball valve.
As described above, the toothbrush 1 of this
invention comprises -the bristle-planted rod 3 having
the operational porjection ll, and by the rod being
pushed toward the main body 5, it can feed a certain
amount of the tooth-brushing material 24 onto the
bristle-planted surface 3A. Advantageously this
makes it possible to brush teeth with one touch of
operation. Besides, since one push of the rod 3
feeds a predetermined amount of the material, its
users do not need to pay attention to how much the
material should be s~ueezed for one tooth-brushing
- operation as they do with the conventional tooth-
brushing operation and wasteful use of excessive
material can be avoided. Furthermore, the material
24 is fed by simply pushing the rod 3. Accordingly,
~%~7
even infants and children can use the toothbrush 1
easily. Additionally the tooth-brushing material
container 6 is easily detached from the main body 5
and disposable, and economically the main body 5 of
the toothbrush can be used for a long time.
Especially in the toothbrush 1 of this invention,
the movable bottom body 23 moves forward in response
to a decrease of the material 24 in the container 6
when the rod 3 is pushed rearward to feed the material
24 toward the rod 3. This perfectly prevents air
from being sucked from the outside into the material
24 in the container 6. It is desirable in terms of
hygiene that the material can be fed in a perfectly
sealed condition. Among others, the toothbrush 1 of
this invention comprises a small number of components
and can be easily fabricated.
Other embodiments of this invention will be ex-
plained with reference to Figs. 7 to 14.
Fig. 7 illustrates a second embodiment of this
invention.
In this embodiment, an operational pipe 12F and a
valve seat member 16 are connected by a bellows 27
in place of the valve portion 15 of the operational
pipe 12. The interior of the bellows 27 provides a
suction chamber 21A. A compression spring 17A is
disposed around the exterior of the bellows 27. In
the container 6 there is provided a bellows 28 in
which the material 24 is accommodated. At bottom of
the bellows 28 there is provided a movable bottom
body 23E having a projection 23F to be inserted into
the small-diameter portion 6B of the mouth of the con-
tainer.
Except for the structure described above, the
second embodiment is structurally identical with that
shown in Fig. 2. The second embodiment has the same
reference numerals as that described in the first embodi-
ment for the identical structure and is not described
~Z~ ()7
about the same.
The toothbrush of the second embodiment has a
pumpiny mechanism 4A for sucking and feeding a tooth-
brushing material 24 which is substantially identical
with that o the embodiment described in the first
embodiment. When the bristle-planted rod 3 is pushed,
the compressed spring 17 and the bellows 27 are com- ;
pressed. At this time the forward valve body 19 opens
the conduit 12B of the pipe 12 and the rear valve body
20 closes the hole 18 of the valve seat 16. When the
rod 3 is freed from the push, the repulsive force of
the compressed spring 17 pushes back the rod 3 with
the bellows 27 being expanded. At this time the for-
ward valve body 19 cl.oses the conduit 12~ and the rear
valve body 20 opens the hole 18, and the tooth-
brushing material 24 in the container 6 is sucked into
the bellows 27 from the bellows 28. Repetition of this
operation exudes a suitable amount of the material 24
onto the bristle-planted surface 3A as in the emhodi-
ment described in the first embodiment.
In a third embodiment shown in Fig. 8, there isprovided a valve portion 15A which is formed in a bell-
shape at the rear end of the operational pipe 12C, in
a cylindrical valve case 30 fixedly connected to the
main body 5, slidably in close contact therewith. A
compression spring 31 is interposed between the rear
end of the operational pipe 12C and the bottom of the
valve case 30. The compression spring 31 serves to
return the bristle-planted rod 3 via the operational
pipe 12C to its forward position. The rear valve body
20 in the valve case 30 opens and closes the opening
of a suction pipe 32 connected to the bottom of the
valve case 30. The forward valve body 19 in the opera~
tional pipe 12C opens and closes the forward end of the
operational pipe 12C to bring the operational pipe 12C
into and out of communication with the tooth-brushing
material passage 8.
.
,;, ,
.2tl7
~ n the side surface of the valve case 30 there
are provided air-charge holes 33 of a very small dia-
meter. When the material in the container 6 is sucked
into the container 6, the pressure in the con-tainer 6
becomes negative, making it difficult for -the material
24 to be further sucked into the container 6. To avoid
this,a small amount of air is charge through the holes
33 into the container 6.
In the toothbrush of this embodiment, a pumping
mechanism 4B operates in almost the same manner as the
mechanism 4 described above. The handle 2 being held
in one hand, the bristle-planted rod 3 is pushed rear-
ward in a manner that a thumb is put on the operational
projection 11 thereof. And the rod 3 is pushed into
the main body 5 along the bearing portion 9 thereof,
accordingly the operational pipe 12C being pushed into
the valve case 30. At this time the forward valve
body 19 is opened, the rear valve body 20 being closed.
Then, the rod 3 is freed from the pusn, the urging or
repulsive force of the compression spring 31 returns
the rod 3 to its forward position. At this time the
operational pipe 12C is also returned to its forward
position, making the pressure in the valve case 30
negative. Then the material 24 in the container 6 is
sucked into the valve case 30 through the suction pipe
32. As described above, when the rod 3 is again pushed
rearward, the operational pipe 12C goes into the body
5 r the material 24 in the valve case 30 being pushed out
through the tooth-brushing material passage 8. Then
when the rod 3 is freed from the push, the forward valve
body 19 is closed, the rear valve body 20 being opened.
And again the material 24 is sucked into thQ valve case
30 from the container 6. After this operation, every
one push of the rod 3 feeds a quantity of the material
24 suitable for on~ teeth-brushing operation to the
bristle-planted surface 3A. Now the toothbrush of this
embodiment is ready for use.
: ~22g~Z~7
In the fourth embodiment shown in Fig. 9, a pump-
ing mechanlsm 4C comprises an operational pipe 12D,
the rear end of which is provided with a valve portion
15F s]idably in close contact with the inside peri-
pheral surface of the main body 5. The valve portion15F has, as shown in Fig. 10, a slide portion 15C and
a slide portion 15D expanded in a bell-shape respec-
tively forward and rearward. A compression spring 41
is interposed between the rear end of the operational
pipe 12D and a valve seat member 40 jointed by being
screwed, for example onto the rear end of the body 5.
The compression spring 41 is for returning the rod 3
to their forward positions.
The forward ball-shaped valve body 19 and the
rear ~all-shaped valve body 20 are disposed respective-
ly in the larger-diameter portion (valve chamber) 12A
at the forward end of the operational pipe 12D and in
the larger-diameter portion (valve chamber) 16A at the
forward end of a suction hole 12 of the valve seat
member 40. The forward valve body 19 in -the operational
pipe 12D opens and closes the conduit 12B of the opera-
tional pipe 12D thereby to bring the tooth brushing
material passage 8 into and out of communication there-
with. The rear valve body 20 in the valve seat
member 40 opens and closes the suction hole 42 of the
valve seat member 40. The airtight suction chamber 21
is formed in the body 5. The spring 22 of a weak urging
force constantly urges the forward valve body 19 in the
direction to close the conduit 12B so that the forward
valve body 19 may not open even when the toothbrush 1
is tilted with the rod 3 positioned lower.
The valve seat member 40, whose vertical section
and end surface are illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12,
respectively, is in the form of a conical projection 43
which is decreasingly tapered toward the tip thereof.
The conical projection 43 has, at its rear end, four
slits 43A expanding radially from a suction hole 42 to
13
form a sharp shape thereat. The conical projection
43 may be made of a different material from that of
the forward portion of the valve seat member 40, and
the shape of the conical projection 43is not limited
to the one shown in the embodiment.
As shown in Fig. 13, the tooth-brushing material
container 6D has a mouth sealed with a diaphragm 44.
AS described above, when a female thread 6C in the
forward end of the container 6Ais engaged with a
10 male thread 5C at the rear end o~ the main body 5,
the conical projection 43 breaks the diaphragm 44
thereby to bring the suction hole 42 of the valve seat
member 40 in communication with the interior of the
container 6D. When the toothbrush is not in use, a
15 suitable cup is screwed on the female thread 6C.
The bottom of the container 6Dis provided with
a piston-like movable bottom body 45 which is slidable
axially in close contact with the inside peripheral
surface of the container 6D. The movable bottom body
20 45is made of soft synthetic resin or others and in
the form illustrated in Figs. 9 and 14. The movable
bottom body 45 has slide edges 45A, 45B which are ex-
panded in a bell-shape at the axially forward and
the axially rear ends thereof and are reduced in thick-
25 ness at the tips thereof. The slide edges 45A, 45B
contact closely with the inside peripheral surface of
the container 6D thereby to retain the airtightness
so that the material 24 in liquid or emulsion form in
the container 6D may not leak.
The plate 45C of the movable bottom body 45 has
a throughbore 45D for filling the material 24 into the
container 6D therethrough, provided in the centre
thereof. The projected portion 46A of a seal member
46is inserted into the throughbore 45D to close it.
35 The seal member 46 also serves as a reinforcement
member which prevents the container 6D from being de-
formed under the influence of exterior forces so that
14
the close contact may not be impaired between the
slide edges 45A, 45B between the inside peripheral
surface of the container 6D.
In this embodiment, while the container 6 is
being screwed onto the main body 5, the sharp point
of the projection 43 hits and breaks the diaphragm
44, and when the former is completely screwed on the
latter, they are jointed in the conditlon shown in
Fig. 9 with the interior of the former being in com-
munication with the valve chamber 16A through thesuction hole 42. The pumping mechanism 4C operates
in the same manner as that of each of the embodiments
described above. The material 24 sealed in the con-
tainer 6D by the diaphragm 44 does not degrade. While
the container 6D is being screwed onto the main body
5, the diaphragm 44 is automatically broken, communi-
cating the interior of the body 5 with the container 6D.
Consequen~ly the material does not leak out of the
container 6D while both are being connected, and both
can be readily connected.
