Abstract:
A toothbrush assembly includes a canister housing a spring biased piston, a cartridge for storing dentifrice (toothpaste) releasably received in the canister, and a brush head attached to a stem that is connected to the cartridge. A passage extends through the stem and connects an aperture in the brush head with an interior of the cartridge. A normally closed valve controls the flow of the dentifrice through the passage which dentifrice is pressured by the spring biased piston.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/374,422 filed Apr. 22, 2002. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a toothbrush apparatus and, in particular, to a toothpaste dispenser and toothbrush combination.  
           [0003]    Toothbrushes and toothpaste dispensers are well known. Occasionally, the multiple steps of placing toothpaste from the toothpaste dispenser onto the brushes of the toothbrush become time-consuming and tedious. At other times, either the toothbrush, the toothpaste dispenser, or both, can not be located, causing frustration.  
           [0004]    It is desirable, therefore, to provide a toothbrush having a toothpaste dispenser integral with the toothbrush body in order to overcome the disadvantages noted above. It is also desirable to provide a low cost toothbrush having a toothpaste dispenser that is reusable and/or includes replaceable components.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    A toothbrush assembly in accordance with the present invention includes a canister housing a spring biased piston, a cartridge for storing dentifrice (toothpaste) that is releasably received in the canister, and a brush head attached to a stem that is connected to the cartridge. A passage extends through the stem and connects an aperture in the brush head with an interior of the cartridge. The piston fits into the open bottom end of the cartridge such that the spring forces the dentifrice to the passage in the stem. A normally closed valve is disposed in the passage or in the cartridge for controlling a flow of the dentifrice from the cartridge to the aperture in the brush head.  
           [0006]    The toothbrush assembly in accordance with the present invention advantageously provides a toothbrush having a toothpaste dispenser integral with the toothbrush body. The toothbrush assembly in accordance with the present invention also provides a low cost toothbrush having a toothpaste dispenser that is reusable or replaceable.  
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The above, as well as other advantages of the present invention, will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a toothbrush assembly in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional view of the toothbrush assembly in FIG. 1 shown in an assembled configuration;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of an alternative embodiment of a brush head stem and brush head in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a toothbrush assembly in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0012]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a toothbrush assembly according to the present invention is indicated generally at  10 . The toothbrush assembly  10  includes a canister  11  for grasping by a human hand. An open upper end of the canister  11  is adapted to receive a dentifrice cartridge  12 . Preferably, the cartridge  12  is substantially hollow with open upper and lower ends defining a dentifrice storage area therein. The open upper end of the cartridge  12  is releasably connected to a lower end of a brush head stem member  19 . Preferably, the lower end of the brush head stem  19  is secured to the upper end of the cartridge  12  by a threaded connection or any suitable releasable attachment means. An upper end of the brush head stem  19  includes a brush head  13  attached thereto.  
         [0013]    When the pre-filled cartridge  12  is inserted into the open upper end of the canister  11 , the open lower end of the cartridge  12  receives a piston  14  that is slidably disposed in the interior of the canister  11 . The piston  14  is biased by a compression spring  15  that is attached to a lower end of the piston  14  and engages at the interior of the lower end of the canister  11 . The cartridge  12  is locked in place with the canister  11  by engaging a fitting  16  of the bayonet-type or similar fitting at the respective engaging bases of the canister  11  and the cartridge  12 . In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the fitting  16  is in the form of a pair of downwardly extending tabs on the lower end of the cartridge  12  that cooperate with apertures formed near the lower end of the canister  11 . The tabs clip into and can be released from the apertures through the application of finger pressure. Those skilled in the art, however, will appreciate that various means of releasably joining the cartridge  12  and the canister  11  may be utilized while remaining within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0014]    When the cartridge  12  is filled with dentifrice and the upper end of the cartridge is blocked, as explained below, and the piston  14  will be pushed downwardly compressing the spring  15  when the cartridge  12  is inserted in the canister  11 . The spring  15  applies a force to the piston  14  which pressurizes the dentifrice in the cartridge  12 . When the dentifrice in the cartridge  12  is exhausted, the cartridge  12  can be removed from the canister  11  by releasing the fitting  16  from the locked position. The removed cartridge  12  can be refilled and reinserted or another already filled cartridge  12  can be inserted.  
         [0015]    A passage  18  is formed in the interior of the brush head stem  19  and at one end is exposed to the interior of the cartridge  12 . At an opposite end of the passage  18  there is at least one aperture  20  in the brush head  13 . Flow of the pressurized dentifrice is controlled by a valve, indicated schematically at  30 , that is operable to be actuated by a button  21  located near the top of the cartridge  12 . Alternatively, the button  21  is located at the base of the brush head stem  19  (not shown) or any other suitable location on the canister  11 , the cartridge  12 , or the brush head stem  19 . When actuated, the valve  30  opens and allows the pressurized dentifrice to flow through the passage  18  from the cartridge  12  to the apertures  20 . Preferably, the valve  30  and the button  21  include a means for returning the valve  30  to the closed position after the button  21  has been released. Preferably, a check valve, indicated schematically at  27 , is installed in the passage  18  adjacent each of the apertures  20  to allow flow of the dentifrice out of the apertures  20  while preventing flow of the dentifrice or water into the apertures  20 .  
         [0016]    Alternatively, a functional dental floss unit  22  is attached to the base or lower end of the canister  11 . Preferably, the dental floss unit  22  is attached to the canister  11  by a threaded connection or similar connection.  
         [0017]    Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, an alternative embodiment of a toothbrush assembly according to the present invention is indicated generally at  10 ′. In the toothbrush assembly  10 ′, a button  21 ′ is located at the base of a stem  19 ′. The button  21 ′ is operable to slidably actuate a valve  30 ′ and includes a bolt piston  23  that is biased to a closed position by a spring  24 . By placing pressure on the button  21 ′ to slide the button  21 ′ away from a brush head  13 ′, the bolt piston  23  is moved to open the valve  30 ′ allowing the pressurized dentifrice to be forced through a passage  18 ′ and out of an aperture  20 ′. When pressure on the button  21 ′ is released, the spring  24  returns the button  21 ′, the bolt piston  23 , and the valve  30 ′ to the closed position, preventing any further flow through the passage  18 ′. Those skilled in the art, however, will realize that other types of valves or valve actuators can be utilized while remaining within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0018]    A cord or lanyard  26 , best seen in FIG. 4, can be attached to the bottom end of the canister  11  or to the dental floss unit  22 . As shown in FIG. 3, a rear or dorsal surface of the brush head  13 ′ can be provided with a plurality of upstanding flexible ribs  29  to be used as a tongue scraper.  
         [0019]    As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a longitudinally extending window  25  can be provided in a wall of the canister  11  with the adjacent wall of the cartridge  12  being transparent or translucent or having a window for viewing the position of the piston  14  and to observe the quantity of the dentifrice remaining in the cartridge  12 . Alternatively, the canister  11  can be made of a transparent material including, but not limited to, a clear plastic material or the like.  
         [0020]    In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.