Abstract:
Multiple plastic trays are covered with pivotable lids. Each tray is divided into distinct compartments into which infant and toddler toothbrushes, teething rings, pacifiers, or other such personal hygiene products may be placed. The lid is punctured by an array of air holes, which allow moisture to escape from the covered tray, while at the same time protecting the tray contents from contamination. The covered trays are received within an open front rack in a vertically spaced arrangement. Air cavities defined between stacked trays permit natural air flow over the trays, and the removal of moisture from the tray contents. A fan may be attached to the rear of the rack to blow air over the lids and to draw the moist air from within the compartments through the lid air holes.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to specialized storage containers in general, and to containers for articles which come in contact with children&#39;s mouths in particular. 
     Proper oral hygiene, when pursued consistently, can contribute to healthy gums and teeth. Regular brushing of teeth, carried out from the earliest ages, helps to develop proper tooth care habits which persist through life. Persistent application of dental hygiene is associated with reduced levels of tooth and gum decay. 
     As an encouragement to proper oral hygiene habit development, even infants and toddlers should brush their teeth as soon as they are able. In many circumstances young children find themselves outside the home at snack- or meal-time. At preschools, day-care centers, Head Start programs, kindergartens and other social settings, many children partake of food which calls for subsequent toothbrushing. In order to provide adequate tooth care apparatus for all children, it is common for the school or day-care facility to retain on-site individual toothbrushes for each child. However, to restrain the spread of disease, it is important that toothbrushes are specifically associated with a particular child and are not exchanged. Not only that, but contamination between the brushes must be avoided as well. Furthermore, to prevent the growth of bacteria on the damp bristles, there must be an opportunity for the brushes to dry rapidly, even under humid conditions. 
     In some locations, brushes are stored in upright cylinders similar to test tubes, with the bristles projecting upwardly. To protect the bristles from insects a net is then placed over the array of cylinders. Such an arrangement can be unstable, and the net itself can be a vector of contamination. 
     What is needed is a container for personal care products for children, including infants and toddlers, which is hygienic, easy to maintain, and which promotes air drying of the contents. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The children&#39;s personal hygiene storage container of this invention has multiple trays which are covered with pivotable lids. Each tray is divided into distinct compartments into which toothbrushes, teething rings, pacifiers, or other such personal hygiene articles may be placed. The lid is punctured by an array of air holes, which allow moisture to escape from the covered tray, while at the same time protecting the tray contents from contamination. The covered trays are received within an open front rack in a vertically spaced arrangement. Air cavities defined between stacked trays permit natural air flow over the trays, and the removal of moisture from the tray contents. A fan may be attached to the rear of the rack to blow air over the lids and to draw the moist air from within the compartments through the lid air holes. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage cabinet for infant and toddler toothbrushes and other personal care articles which keeps the articles of one user separated from those of another. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a storage container for infant and toddler personal care products which simultaneously protects the products from exterior contamination while at the same time allows the exhaustion of moisture laden air. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a storage container for infant and toddler toothbrushes and personal care articles which promotes the air drying of the container contents even in humid environments. 
     Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of the children&#39;s hygienic storage container of this invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of a covered drawer for an alternative embodiment infant and toddler tooth care hygienic storage container of this invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the chest into which the drawer of FIG. 2 extends. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1-3 wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, a children&#39;s hygienic storage container  20  of this invention is shown in FIG.  1 . The container is particularly adapted to storage of infant and toddler tooth care articles. The container  20  has multiple lidded trays  22  which are retained in a vertical array within a rack  24 . Each tray  22  has a pivotable hinged lid  26  which can be closed to seal a number of distinct compartments  28 . The lid  26  has multiple air holes  29  positioned over each compartment  28 . 
     Each tray  22  is a rectangular box having a bottom wall  30  from which a rear wall  32 , two side walls  34 , and a front wall  36  extend upwardly. The lid  26  is preferably formed with hinge knuckles  38  which snap into engagement with hinge knuckles  40  formed at the top of the tray rear wall  32 . Snap closures  42  are formed on the lid  26  and the front wall  36  of the tray  22  to allow the lid to be secured to the tray in a closed condition. Partitions  44  extend upwardly from the bottom wall to the level of the closed lid  26 . The partitions  44  extend from the rear wall  32  to the front wall  36 . The compartments  28  are thus defined between the front wall, the rear wall, and the partitions and the side walls. When the lid is closed, each compartment  28  is isolated from the others. Even if the covered tray is inverted with the lid closed, the contents of the compartments  28  are not able to mingle. The compartments  28  extend from front to back and each is suited for receiving an individual child&#39;s toothbrush  46 . The lidded tray is preferably formed of injection molded parts and maybe formed of translucent PVC plastic. A lidded tray of this sort is available from the Plano Molding Co., Plano, Ill., in the Plano 3600 series containers. The lid is thus connected to the tray to be movable between a first position in which the lid covers the plurality of compartments, and a second position in which access is permitted to the plurality of compartments. 
     Although it is important to segregate the contents of each compartment from the other compartments, it is also important to provide for the escape of water vapor from within each compartment. Typically a toothbrush  46  will be damp after use as it is placed into a compartment for storage. If the compartment is sealed to the outside atmosphere, the water on the toothbrush bristles will not be able to escape. The air holes  29  are large enough to permit the escape of water vapor, but small enough to prevent the entrance of cockroaches, spiders, and similar pests. Preferably, eight air holes  29  are positioned over each compartment  28 . Each hole has a diameter of between about 0.040 inches and about 0.090 inches, and preferably between about 0.060 inches and about 0.080 inches. 
     The lid over each compartment has more than one air hole formed therein, and in the illustrated preferred embodiment has at least eight holes. The holes may be formed in an array of two columns of four rows of holes, with the two columns being about {fraction (1/2+L )} inch apart, and the first row being about 1 and {fraction (11/32)} inches from the second row, the second row being 2 and {fraction (1/32)} inches from the third row, and the third row being 1 and {fraction (11/32)} inches from the fourth row. The distance between the rightmost column of a first compartment lid hole array and the hole array over an adjacent compartment is about 1 and {fraction (1/32)} inches. The thickness of the lid is about {fraction (1/32)} inch where the holes pierce the lid. 
     To facilitate drying of the brushes, inserts  49  with three ribs  50  are positioned over the bottom wall  30  of the tray within each compartment  28 . The inserts  49  may be thermoformed plastic. The ribs  50  support the brushes above the bottom wall, keeping them out of contact with liquid water which may pool within the compartment. When the inserts are positioned within a compartment, the insert supports the oral hygiene article so that it is not in continuous contact with an underlying support surface. The inserts  49  are low cost, and hence readily disposable, allowing replacement, for example, after a child&#39;s illness. 
     A pressure sensitive name label  48  is adhered to the lid, as shown in FIG. 1, or to the front wall  36  adjacent each compartment  28 . The name labels  48  are marked with the name of the child whose toothbrush is stored in that compartment  28 . The labels provide indicia which help to associate a particular compartment with a particular child&#39;s oral hygiene articles. The trays  22  provide convenient storage for multiple toothbrushes, and may be readily transported within a facility without danger of contamination. At the point of distribution the lid may be opened and the toothbrushes dispensed to their owners. 
     Storage of the lidded trays  22  within the rack  24  provides adequate continuous ventilation to ensure that the toothbrush bristles are dried within a reasonable period of time. This ventilation may be natural, or it may be assisted by a fan  52 , as shown in FIG.  1 . The rack  24  has two parallel upwardly extending side panels  54  which support inwardly protruding horizontal rails  56 . Opposed pairs of rails  56  support the underside of a tray bottom wall  30 . The side panels  54  of the rack  24  are joined by an overlying top panel  58  and an underlying bottom panel  60 . A rear panel  62  extends between the top, bottom, and side panels at the rear. The rear panel  62  preferably has two rear openings  64  which communicate with the cavities  66  defined between two neighboring trays. The cavities  66  correspond to the volume between the spaced rails  56 . 
     In dry climates, the air cavities  66  alone may be adequate to allow the evaporative escape of liquid from the toothbrushes within the compartments. However, in humid climates, a fan  52  may be provided. The fan  52  has a DC motor which may be driven by batteries or a converter from AC current. A fan blade  68  rotates within a fan housing  70  which includes a shroud  72  which directs air flow into the rear openings  64  of the rear panel  62 . The shroud may be generally cylindrical, as shown, or may be formed to be generally rectangular to make a more complete fit over the rear panel openings. The fan housing  70  has two projecting hooks  74  which clip to the rack  24 , for example hooking over a rim  76  which protrudes above the top panel  58  at the rear of the rack. When activated, the fan drives air across the lids  26  of the trays, and, through a Venturi effect, drawis air upwards through the air holes  29  and exhausts it out the front of the rack. 
     The rack, the trays and the lids are preferably formed of dishwasher safe materials, such as PVC plastic, so that all components of the container  20  are readily cleaned. 
     An alternative embodiment storage container  80  is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The storage container  80  has multiple trays  82  which are slidably received within a plastic rack  84 . The trays  82  are generally similar to the trays  22 , but are provided with elongated compartments  86  which extend from side to side. The longer compartments are better suited to receiving the many personal products required by infants and younger children, for example teething rings, pacifiers, and teething brushes such as my infant and toddler teething brush disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,143. The side panels  88  of the rack  84  may be unperforated, similar to the rack  24 , however, to promote ventilation across the lids  90  of the trays  82 , side openings  92  are formed in the side panels at locations corresponding to the rails  94 , as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, each lid  90  is hinged to the tray  82  and has closures  96  which permit the lid to be closed on the tray  82 . The lid  90  is provided with a single array of air holes  98  which provide ventilation to the compartment interiors. 
     The air holes  98  in the lids may be formed in the molding process, or, in an approach which does not require modification of the mold, a jig may be prepared which simultaneously punches all the holes in a lid at once. For convenience in preparing the two different embodiments illustrated, the holes may be formed in an array which is identical on both types of tray lids, with a 90 degree turn of the jig in order to form a single line of holes in the left to right extending compartments of the tray  82 , or the double arrays of holes in the tray  22 . 
     It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.