Abstract:
A toothbrush system has a stem and an integrated paste dispenser disposed in a protective case. The stem may be manually advanced from the protective case to position a brush head for use. While the stem is being advanced, the integrated paste dispenser delivers a line of toothpaste along the top of the brush head bristles so that the toothbrush can be deployed and the toothpaste applied to the bristles in a single step.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/633,479, filed Feb. 13, 2012, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to oral care products and more particularly to a combination toothbrush and toothpaste dispenser. 
     Oral care in general and tooth brushing in particular should be performed regularly and regardless of location. Teeth should be brushed at least three times a day, and there are many instances where a person might want to brush their teeth even more often such as before business meetings, social events, and of course before visiting the dentist. While most people are well prepared to brush their teeth at home, brushing teeth away from home can be difficult, particularly when traveling and away from both home and the office. 
     One solution that has been proposed to ease the difficulties of truth brushing away from home is the use of a toothbrush having a combined or integrated toothpaste dispenser. Such “all-in-one” toothbrushes eliminate the need to carry both a toothbrush and separate toothpaste container and can sometimes be made small enough to carry in a pocket, purse, or other convenient location. Often, the combined toothbrush/toothpaste dispensers are intended for single use or a limited number of uses, thus reducing the challenge of keeping the toothbrush sanitary for multiple uses. 
     While an excellent idea with potentially great value, the designs more for toothbrushes with integrated toothpaste dispensers have thus far been lacking in one or respects. For example, most combined toothbrush/toothpaste dispensers rely on storing the toothpaste in the handle of an otherwise generally normal looking toothbrush. The toothpaste is then squeezed or otherwise forced from the handle into the brush head of the toothbrush, typically entering from the bottom of the brush head. Such designs are far from optimum since it can be difficult to squeeze the handle in order to advance the toothpaste and most people do not like and/or are not used to the toothpaste being dispensed on the bottom of the brush head rather than the top. 
     While one design shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,882 does attempt to place the toothpaste on top of the brush head ( FIGS. 7 and 7A ), this design suffers from other shortcomings. The toothpaste is dispensed through a nozzle into a single location in the middle of the brush head and does not spread across the top or crown of the brush head as most people desire. Second, the paste is dispensed while the brush head is hidden within a cavity in the toothbrush handle, making it difficult to confirm that the toothpaste has been dispensed. Dispensing within the handle can also cause scrapping or otherwise dislodge the toothpaste from the brush head as the brush head is advanced from the handle. Finally, the toothbrush/toothpaste dispenser of the &#39;822 patent requires separate dispensing and brush head advancement actions by the user. Such separation of the brush head advancement and dispensing actions makes the toothbrush less convenient to use. 
     For these reasons, improved toothbrush systems combining both a brush head advancement mechanism and a toothbrush dispenser would be desirable. In particular, it would be desirable if the motion of the brush head advancement mechanism were coupled to the toothbrush dispenser so that these motions can be properly coordinated. It would still be further desirable if toothpaste were dispensed from the dispenser as the brush mechanism is advanced so that a line of toothpaste along the crown of the brush head can be placed in a manner which is familiar to most users. Finally, it would be desirable if the designs were particularly compact and if, optionally, it were possible to refill the dispenser portion of the brush with additional toothpaste. At least some of these objectives will be met by the inventions described below. 
     2. Description of the Background Art 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,822, was described above. Other relevant patents and publications showing toothbrushes with integrated dispensing mechanisms include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,221,492; 5,842,605; 6,056,466; 6,257,791; 6,533,485; 6,793,433; 7,070,353; 7,128,492; 7,293,928; 7,617,828; US2004/0028456; US2005/0002726; US2006/0269354; US2007/0028941; US2007/0183838; US2012/0102638; Des. 322,172; WO83/03742; WO97/05043; and EP0385815. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides improved toothbrush systems having integrated toothpaste dispensing mechanisms. While the toothbrush systems of the present invention may find their greatest use away from home when a user does not have access to more conventional toothbrushes used with separate toothpaste dispensers, the systems and methods of the present invention could be used at home as a primary oral care product as well. The toothpaste dispenser is integrated in a housing or protective cover together with the brush head in a manner such that both the brush head and the dispenser can be covered and protected until the user is ready to use the system. After opening the protective case, typically by removing a cover, the user is able to in a single motion advance a stem which carries the brush head from the protective case and simultaneously dispense a volume of toothpaste along the brush head so that the paste is evenly distributed along all or most of the top or crown of the brush head in a manner familiar to most users. After use, the brush head may be washed and the stem retracted back into the protective case and, at least in most embodiments of the present invention, the toothbrush will be ready for second and additional uses until an initial amount of toothpaste held in the protective case has been fully dispensed in multiple volumes for multiple uses. In some instances, a toothpaste receptacle within the protective case can be refilled and in other instances it may be possible to provide cartridges or other convenient paste packages which can be reintroduced into the protective cover allowing continued use of the toothbrush. 
     In a first aspect of the present invention, a toothbrush system includes an integrated paste dispenser. The toothbrush system comprises a protective case, a stem, and a paste dispenser. The protective case would usually have both an open and a closed position where the stem and the paste dispenser will be in an interior portion of the protective case and will be fully protected when the protective case is closed. As specifically illustrated hereinafter, the protective case may have a removable cover but other ways of opening and closing the protective case could also be used, such as having a hinged cover, which opens axially in a claim “shell” design, or the like. 
     The stem has a distal end, a proximal end, and carries a brush head at its distal end. The brush head may have any conventional design for a toothbrush head. The stem is mounted to slide axially in the protective case in order to move the brush head between an extended position, where the brush head is distal to the protective case, and a retracted position where the brush head is within the protective case. 
     The paste dispenser is also mounted at least partly within the protective case and has a nozzle at a distal end thereof. The stem is mechanically coupled to the paste dispenser in order to cause the paste dispenser to deliver a volume of paste to the brush head each time the stem is distally advanced. As a paste receptacle within the protective cover will typically carry sufficient toothpaste for multiple uses, and the mechanical coupling of the stem to the paste dispenser will be arranged to allow the stem to be advanced to deliver the volume of paste and then to be retraced so that the stem may then be advanced one or more additional times to deliver additional volumes of the paste. 
     In the exemplary embodiments, the nozzle of the paste dispenser is disposed adjacent to the brush head when the brush head is in the protective case. In this way, as the stem is advance and carries the brush head past the nozzle, the nozzle can lay or distribute paste along the top or crown of the brush head. The coupling of the stem and the tooth dispenser will also be arranged so that the dispensing of the paste terminates at or near the position where the brush head moves distally away from the nozzle. In this way, paste can be dispensed along the entire upper surface of the brush head but will only be delivered while the brush head is adjacent to the nozzle. 
     In an exemplary coupling or drive mechanism, the stem includes a gear which rotates as the stem is axially advanced. The paste dispenser includes a threaded rod with a gear arranged to engage a gear on the stem so that advancement of stem drives and rotates the threaded rod to axially advance the piston within a toothpaste receptacle in the protective case. In this way, the piston can force or dispense the paste out onto the brush head as the brush head is advanced. Also, use of the threaded rod allows incremental advancement of the piston so that the piston will advance as the stem is advanced but will not retract when the stem is retraced. In this way, multiple, sequential uses of the toothbrush will incrementally advance the piston and dispense volumes of the toothpaste until the entire volume of toothpaste within the toothpaste receptacle is emptied. The toothpaste receptacle will typically be sufficiently large to hold multiple volumes of toothpaste so that one volume can be dispensed each time the stem is advanced up to a multiple number of times. 
     In more specific embodiments to the present invention, the stem will comprise a hollow distal portion and a rotating proximal portion. The hollow distal portion carries a boss that travels in a channel formed on the proximal portion, where the distal and proximal portions are generally in the form of a distal “cylinder” having a reciprocating proximal “shaft” therein. At least a portion of the channel formed in the proximal portion will be helical so that axial advancement of the distal portion of the stem over the proximal portion will cause the proximal portion to rotate (while the distal portion is prevented from rotating by travel of a slide button in a slot on the protective cover as described in more detail below). Usually, the helical region will cover only part of the length of proximal portion of the stem with the remainder being linear. Thus, the initial travel of the distal portion of the stem over the proximal portion will cause helical rotation of the gear and dispense paste while the remaining portion of the travel will not dispense any additional paste. This allows full extension of the stem to position the brush head in a comfortable position relative to the protective cover while still dispensing an appropriate amount of toothpaste in the initial portion of the travel. 
     In further specific embodiments, the stem, and more particularly the distal portion of the stem, will have a button which travels in a slot formed in the side of the protective case so that a user can advance the brush head and dispense the toothpaste with a single advancement of the button. As just mentioned previously, travel of the button in the slot will prevent rotation of the distal portion of the stem and cause the proximal portion of the stem to rotate as the distal portion is advanced. 
     In a still further specific embodiment of the present invention, a knob or other rotating mechanism can be provided on the rod of the paste dispenser. The knob allows a user to manually rotate the rod and advance or retract the piston. In particular, the rod may be rotated to retract the piston when refilling the toothpaste receptacle as will be described in more detail below. 
     In a second aspect of the present invention, methods for dispensing toothpaste comprise providing a toothpaste system including a protective cover, a stem having a brush head at its distal end, and a paste dispenser. The stem is distally advanced relative to the protective cover to advance the brush head distal to the protective cover. Distally advancing the stem causes the paste dispenser, usually located within the protective cover, to deliver a quantity of toothpaste to the brush head as the brush head moves by a nozzle which is part of the dispenser. 
     The methods of the present invention may further comprise proximally retracting the stem to draw the brush head back into the protective cover for convenient storage prior to reuse. The stem may then be advanced one or more additional times to cause the paste dispenser to deliver one or more additional quantities of toothpaste to the brush head as the brush head moves by the nozzle. 
     In specific embodiments, advancing the stem may comprise sliding a button on the side of the protective cover, and paste may be dispensed during an initial portion of the travel of the stem only and not be dispensed during the remaining portion of the travel of the stem. As described above, this allows the brush head to be fully advanced without delivering more paste than is needed. 
     In further specific embodiments, advancement of the stem cause the paste dispenser to advance a piston within the protective cover to deliver the quantity of toothpaste, typically from within a toothpaste receptacle inside of the protective cover. Once the toothpaste is fully used, the methods of the present invention may further comprise aligning the nozzle with the source of toothpaste and retracting the piston to draw toothpaste from the source back into the protective cover, typically within the toothpaste receptacle until filled. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of the toothbrush system of the present invention shown with the cover removed from the protective case and the toothbrush head extended partially from the protective cases with a volume of toothpaste thereon. 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the stem which carries the brush head and the toothpaste dispenser assembly of an exemplary embodiment of the toothbrush system of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  illustrate a cross-sectional view and a top view of the toothbrush system of the present invention with the brush head in the position shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate the stem rotation assembly of the exemplary embodiment of the toothbrush system of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 5A-5D  are further detailed illustrations of the stem rotation assembly of the present invention including cross-sectional views. 
         FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate the stem assembly and the dispenser assembly of the exemplary embodiment of the toothbrush system of the present invention shown in their initial or stored configuration prior to advancement of the stem and dispensing of the toothpaste. 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are similar to  FIGS. 6A and 6B  shown with the stem and brush head initially advanced with a small portion of toothpaste beginning to be dispensed. 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  are similar to  FIGS. 6A and 6B  and  FIGS. 7A and 7B , shown with the stem further advanced and paste further dispensed. 
         FIGS. 9A and 9B  are similar to  FIGS. 6A and 6B  through  FIGS. 8A and 8B , shown with the stem further advanced and the paste fully dispensed. At this point, the stem rotation mechanism which advances the paste dispenser will cease rotation and terminate paste dispensing. 
         FIGS. 10A and 10B  are similar to  FIGS. 6A and 6B  through  FIGS. 9A and 9B , shown with the stem assembly fully advanced and the toothbrush system ready for use. 
         FIGS. 11A and 11B  are similar to  FIGS. 6A and 6B  through  FIGS. 10A and 10B , shown with the stem fully retracted after use but with the paste dispensing assembly partially advanced relative to the position shown in  FIGS. 6A and 6B . 
         FIG. 12  illustrates the exemplary toothbrush system of the present invention being refilled from a conventional toothpaste tube. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a travel toothbrush  1 , made of mostly plastic or other suitable material, has a toothbrush head  2 , of any conventional design, shown partially extended and attached to a toothbrush stem assembly  4  having a distal portion, typically a sleeve  5 , which may be slidablely advanced or retracted into a protective case  6 . A button  8  is attached to a proximal end of the sleeve  5  of the stem assembly  4 . Using the button  8 , a user can manually advance the sleeve  5  to extend the toothbrush head  2  out of the protective case  6  by sliding it along an open slot or track  10  formed in a side of the protective case. When the user slides the toothbrush head out of the case, a nozzle  12  of a paste dispenser assembly ( FIG. 2 ) dispenses a volume or portion  14  of toothpaste onto an upper surface of bristles  16  of the toothbrush head  2 . A removable cover  18  can be placed over an open distal end  19  of the protective cover  6  to protect the travel toothbrush head  2  and dispenser nozzle  12  from dirt and other contaminants when the toothbrush is not being used. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the stem assembly  4  and paste dispensing assembly  13  of travel toothbrush  1  are shown with the protective case  6  case removed to expose the inner parts. The sleeve  5  of the toothbrush stem assembly  4  slides over a rotating rod or shaft  20 . A rotating mechanism  21  formed over a proximal region of the shaft  20  rotates a first gear  22  which engages and rotates a second gear  24  that in turn rotates a third gear  26 . The third gear is affixed to a threaded shaft  28  which is part of the paste dispensing assembly  13 . Rotation of the threaded shaft  28  advances a piston  30  having a rubber seal  32  about its circumference within a paste receptacle region  34  formed in the interior of the protective cover. The paste receptacle region is defined by end members  33 A and  33 B and an interior wall  33 C (shown in broken line) with an ovoid cross-section which conforms to the periphery of the rubber seal  32  of the piston  30 . The paste receptacle  34  is initially filled with tooth paste so that distal advancement of the piston  30  will drive toothpaste through the nozzle  12 . 
     In other embodiments, the paste receptacle can be removable and replaceable. For example, the paste receptacle can be formed similarly to a hypodermic injection carpule with a dispensing end and a plunger end. The piston  30  can be modified to engage the plunger of the carpule-like paste receptacle, and the dispensing end can be aligned with the nozzle  12 . The only other significant change would be that the carpule-like paste receptacle would have to be modified to fit over or otherwise accommodate the presence of the threaded shaft. 
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  show a section view and a top view, respectively, of the travel toothbrush  1 . The piston  30  of the paste dispensing assembly  13  is advanced by the threaded shaft  28  inside an elongated chamber defined by paste receptacle  34  which holds a volume of toothpaste. The elongated chamber is enclosed on both ends (by end members  33 A and  33 B) except for an exit through the nozzle  12 . As the piston  30  is advanced in the chamber, the toothpaste is forced out of the nozzle  12  and onto an upper surface of the bristles. 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  show two close-up views of the rotating mechanism  21  from different angles. The rotating mechanism  21  includes a proximal end of the sleeve  5  of the toothbrush stem assembly  4 , the first gear  22 , and the button  8 . The sleeve has slots  36  on either side of the button that allow the button to flex in a spring-like manner. An inwardly protruding boss  38  is located on an inside surface of the sleeve  5 . The boss  38  engages with both a straight groove  40  that runs along an axis of the shaft  20  and a helically curved groove  42  formed over a proximal portion of the shaft. The straight and curved grooves intersect as will be described in more detail below. 
       FIGS. 5A-5D  illustrate the rotating mechanism  21  in more detail.  FIG. 5C  shows the inwardly protruding boss  38  under the button  8 . The boss  38  can be aligned to travel in the straight groove  40  or alternatives in the helical groove  42 .  FIG. 5B  shows the inwardly protruding boss  38  in the straight groove  40  with the button  8  carried on a tab between the slots  36  in the wall of sleeve  5  that allow the button to flex. 
       FIGS. 6A and 6B  through  FIGS. 11A and 11B  illustrate how the stem assembly  4  and the paste dispensing assembly  13  of travel toothbrush  1  function together to simultaneously advance the brush head  2  from the protective case  6  ( FIG. 1 ) and place a volume or line of toothpaste  14  along the top or crown of the bristles  16 . Each of these figures shows the inward protruding boss  38  as a black dot positioned in the groove  40  or  42 . In  FIGS. 6A and 6B , the boss  38  is positioned fully proximally at one end of the groove  42 , and the toothbrush head  2  is fully retracted into the case (although the case is not shown to simplify the drawing). The boss  38  is seated at a proximal end of in the curved groove  42  which is slightly deeper than the straight groove  40 . 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  show the same views as  FIG. 6  but with the sleeve  5  and toothbrush head  2  having been advanced by about 0.25 inch by manually pushing the button  8  forward. The inward protruding boss  38  remains engaged in the curved groove  42 , and the shaft  20  has rotated 60 degrees from its original position. The gears  22 ,  24 , and  26  have also rotated, which in turn rotates the threaded shaft  28  to advance the piston  30 , thus forcing an initial portion of toothpaste  44  out of the nozzle  12  and onto the bristles  16 . 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  shows the progression of the rotating mechanism  20  as the button  8 , toothbrush head  2 , and inward protruding boss  38  are advanced another 0.25 inch distally. The shaft  20  has rotated 120 degrees, and the boss  38  is nearing the end of the curved groove  42  and is approaching entry into the straight groove  40 . The piston  30  has advanced further, forcing more toothpaste  44  onto the bristles  16 . 
       FIGS. 9A and 9B  show the completion of the rotation of the shaft  20  by the rotating mechanism  21  as the inward protruding boss  38  enters the straight groove  40 . The shaft  20  has now completed 180 degrees of rotation. The straight groove  40  allows the inward protruding boss to move forward freely to fully advance the sleeve  5  carrying the brush head  2  without further rotating the shaft  20 . In this way, the application of the toothpaste is limited to cover the bristles of the toothbrush only. 
       FIGS. 10A and 10B  illustrates the brush head  2  fully extended with the inward protruding boss  38  now fully advanced in a distal direction and ready to be used for brushing 
       FIGS. 11A and 11B  show the toothbrush head  2  positioned as it would be when fully retracted into the protective case after use. The inward protruding boss  38  travels proximally up a ramp  46  in the straight groove  40  until it falls into the curved groove  42  which is deeper than the straight groove due to the ramp. The boss  38  will remain in the deeper curved groove  42  due to the spring force of the tab between slots  36  in the sleeve  5 , as shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . Because the boss  38  is now in a deeper groove (the curved groove  42 ), the boss  38  will follow that groove when it is next advanced forward. This will rotate the shaft as at the beginning of the sequence as previously explained. The only difference between the views of the stem assembly  4  and the paste dispensing assembly  13  in  FIGS. 6A and 6B  and in  FIGS. 11A and 11B  is that the piston  30  is at a starting location advanced distally due to dispensing of the first volume of toothpaste. 
       FIG. 12  shows the internal components of the travel toothbrush with a toothpaste tube  48  aligned with the nozzle  12  to fill the chamber  34 . The nozzle  12  has a conical end  50  to accommodate a variety of diameters of toothpaste tube openings. The conical end  50  is inserted into the opening  52  of the toothpaste tube, creating a seal. A knob  54  on the end of the threaded shaft  28  allows the user to rotate the shaft backwards to retract the piston  30  and open space within the receptacle  34 . This will aspirate toothpaste from the toothpaste tube  48  into the chamber. Turning the knob  54  in the opposite direction will allow the user to advance the piston distally to extrude more toothpaste onto the brush head  16  if desired. 
     It should be recognized that a number of variations of the above-identified embodiments will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited to those specific embodiments and methods of the present invention illustrated and described herein. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be defined by the claims and their equivalents.