Toothbrush

A toothbrush has a handle, a bristle-planted rod and a pumping mechanism accommodated in the handle. The rod is slidably held, at its rear end, by the main body of the handle. When the rod is pushed rearward and thereafter released, the pumping mechanism is operated so as to suck tooth-brushing material from a container forming a part of the handle and so as to feed the sucked material to the bristle-planted surface of the rod.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to a toothbrush having a container for containing 
toothbrushing material in liquid or emulsion form. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
There have been conventionally proposed various toothbrushes which contain 
therein tooth-brushing material in paste or emulsion form. These 
toothbrushes feed the material onto their bristle-planted portions when 
they are used for teeth-brushing operations. In those toothbrushes 
disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publications Nos. 138966/1977 and 
102374/1979, the material contained in their handles are extruded by 
extrusion members, such as a piston or another element. However, the 
operation for extruding the material is troublesome, and it is difficult 
to adjust the piston so as to extrude a necessary amount of the material. 
In a toothbrush of the type which contains a tooth-brushing 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 useless, and it is inevitable 
to make the material refillable. Additionally the sealing is not carried 
out perfectly between the interior of its handle and the bristle-planted 
portion. Accordingly 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 described above, the conventional 
toothbrushes containing tooth-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 
quantity of the material onto its bristle-planted surface. 
According to this invention, there is provided a toothbrush comprising a 
bristle-planted rod which is provided, at its head, with a great number of 
bristles and a handle including a container for containing toothbrushing 
material having a fluidity, wherein the mouth of the container is 
connected to the root portion of the rod, the toothbrushing material in 
the container being fed to a bristle-planted surface of the head of the 
rod through a material feeding passage formed in the rod, characterized in 
that the handle has a container for containing tooth-brushing material in 
liquid or emulsion form and a main body, the rear end of which is 
connected detachably to the mouth of the container, that the root portion 
of the rod is inserted axially slidably into the forward bearing portion 
of the main body in such a manner that rotation of the rod can be avoided 
by a rotation-preventing means, that in the main body, there is provided a 
pumping mechanism for sucking the tooth-brushing material from the 
container and feeding the sucked material to the bristle-planted surface 
of the rod through the material feeding passage formed in the rod, and 
that the pumping mechanism is operated in accordance with axial movements 
of the rod at the time when the rod is pushed rearward and returned 
forward. 
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.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
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 mechanism 4 for 
feeding tooth-brushing material in liquid or emulsion form. 
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 provided in the inside peripheral surface of the 
rear portion thereof. The body 5 and the container 6 are connected 
detachably to each other by the screw-engagement of 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 rod 3 has a 
tooth-brushing material passage 8 provided in the interior thereof from a 
root portion 3B to the bristle-planting surface 3A thereof. The passage 8 
opens directly on the bristle-planting surface 3A or 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 projection 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 pipe 12 is inserted, at its rear portion, in a bearing 
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 portion 15 is slidably 
disposed in the body 5 in 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 direction, 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-diameter 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 forward valve body 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 keeping an airtight contact 
between the front end of the container 6 and the rear end of the valve 
seat member 16. 
The tooth-brushing material container 6 is joined 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 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 body 23 is made of soft synthetic resin or other 
material and has slide edges 23B and 23C which are expanded in a 
bell-shape respectively 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 container 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 container 6 so 
that all material 24 can be completely consumed. A ring 25 prevents 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 outside 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 explained with reference to FIGS. 
2 to 6. 
The handle 2 is held in one hand in the state shown in FIG. 2. When the 
brush 1 is used, the bristle-planted rod 3 is pushed rearward or toward 
the container 6 by putting a thumb on the operational projection 11, by 
pushing the tip of the rod 3 with the other hand, or by pressing the tip 
of the rod 3 against something like the bathroom wall. 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 time, 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 pushing force so as to cause the repulsive 
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 pressure in the 
suction chamber 21 of the body 5 becomes negative, a tooth-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 pushing force 
again, and the material 24 in the suction chamber 21 stops flowing forward 
and the material 24 in the container 6 is sucked from the container 6 into 
the suction chamber 21 of the body 5 (FIG. 6). Similarly as described 
above this suction causes the movable bottom body 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 12B and the tooth-brushing 
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 bristleplanted 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, two or more than two pushes will be given. 
When the tooth-brushing material 24 in the container 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. When the tooth-brushing material passage 8 
opening on the bristle-planting surface 3A of the rod 3 becomes dry during 
continuous use, the bristles 7 may be covered with a cap 26 as shown by a 
phantom line in FIG. 2. 
The forward and the 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 projection 11, 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 an 
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 squeezed 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, even small children can use the 
toothbrush 1 easily. Additionally the tooth-brushing material container 6 
is easily detached from the main body 5 and is 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 other advantages, the toothbrush 1 of this invention comprises a 
small number of components and can be easily fabricated. 
Other embodiments of this invention will be explained 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 of the first embodiment. 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 the 
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 container 6. 
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 embodiment 
for the identical structure and is described about the same. 
The toothbrush of the second embodiment has a pumping mechanism 4A for 
sucking and feeding a tooth-brushing material 24 which is substantially 
identical with that of the material described in the first embodiment. 
When the bristle-planted rod 3 is pushed, the compressed spring 17A and 
the bellows 27 are compressed. At this time the forward valve body 19 
opens the conduit 12B of the pipe 12F and the rear valve body 20 closes 
the hole 18 of the valve seat member 16. When the rod 3 is freed from the 
pushing force, the repulsive force of the compressed spring 17A pushes 
back the rod 3 with the bellows 27 being expanded. At this time the 
forward valve body 19 closes the conduit 12B 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 described in the first embodiment. 
In a third embodiment shown in FIG. 8, there is provided 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 operational 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. 
On the side surface of the valve case 30 there are provided air-charge 
holes 33 of a very small diameter. When the material 24 is sucked into the 
container 6, the pressure in the container 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 third 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 rearward in a 
manner that a thumb is put on the operational projection 11 thereof. After 
the rod 3 is pushed into the main body 5 along the bearing portion 9 
thereof, accordingly the operational pipe 12C is 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 pushing force, 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 and 
the material 24 in the valve case 30 is pushed out through the 
tooth-brushing material passage 8. Then when the rod 3 is freed from the 
pushing force again, the forward valve body 19 is closed, the rear valve 
body 20 being opened. Thus, again the material 24 is sucked into the 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 one teeth-brushing 
operation to the bristle-planted surface 3A. Now the toothbrush of this 
third embodiment is ready for use. 
In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 9, a pumping mechanism 4C comprises 
an operational pipe 12D, the rear end of which is provided with a valve 
portion 15F slidably in close contact with the inside peripheral surface 
of the main body 5. The valve portion 15F has, as shown in FIG. 10, a 
slide portion 15C and a slide portion 15D expanded in a bell-shape 
respectively forward and rearward. Returning to FIG. 9, compression spring 
41 is interposed between the rear end of the operational pipe 12D and a 
valve seat member 40 joined 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 ball-shaped valve body 
20 are disposed respectively 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 42 of the valve seat member 40. The forward valve body 19 in 
the operational pipe 12D opens and closes the conduit 12B of the 
operational pipe 12D thereby bringing the tooth-brushing material passage 
8 into and out of communication therewith. 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 than the bristles 7. 
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 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 43 is not limited to the one shown in the fourth 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 6A is engaged with a male thread 5C at 
the rear end of the main body 5, the conical projection 43 breaks the 
diaphragm 44 thereby bringing 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 suitable cap (not shown) is screwed on the 
female thread 6C. 
The bottom of the container 6D is provided with a piston-like movable 
bottom body 45 (FIG. 14) which is slidable axially in close contact with 
the inside peripheral surface of the container 6D. The movable bottom body 
45 is made of soft synthetic resin or other material in the form 
illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 14. The movable bottom body 45 has slide edges 
45A, 45B which are expanded in a bell-shape at the axially forward and the 
axially rear ends thereof and are reduced in thickness at the tips 
thereof. The slide edges 45A, 45B contact closely with the inside 
peripheral surface of the container 6D to retain the airtightness so that 
the material 24 in liquid or emulsion form in the container 6D may not 
leak. 
As shown in FIG. 14, 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 center thereof. Returning to FIG. 9, 
projected portion 46A of a seal member 46 is inserted into the throughbore 
45D of FIG. 14 to close it. The seam member 46 of FIG. 9 also serves as a 
reinforcement member which prevents the container 6D from being deformed 
under the influence of exterior forces so that the close contact may not 
be impaired between the slide edges 45A, 45B between the inside peripheral 
surface of the container 6D. 
In this fourth 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 shown in FIG. 13, and when the former is completely screwed 
on the latter, they are joined in the condition shown in FIG. 9 with the 
interior of the former being in communication with the valve chamber 16A 
through the suction hole 42. The pumping mechanism 4C operates in the same 
manner as that of each of the three embodiments described above. The 
material 24 sealed in the container 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, communicating the interior of the 
body 5 with the container 6D. Consequently the material 24 does not leak 
out of the container 6D while both are being connected, and both can be 
readily connected.