Abstract:
The improved toothbrush has a brush head which may be engaged on to and disengaged from its elongated handle. This is achieve by means of a brush head that has a partially or fully elastic casing disposed on top of the bristle pad. The handle head of the elongated handle is inserted into the casing through its access which is preferably an opening on a second end wall located at the second end of the brush head. The brush head may also include a locking means. Two of the many possible embodiments of the locking means using extended pins and corresponding holes are described herein. The modular brush head and modular handle allows handles with different designs to be fitted with brush head that has different bristle arrays to fit individual brushing needs. The invention is gum friendly and may function as a gum massager and environmental friendly since worn out brush heads are disengaged and thrown away. Such an engageable and disengageable brush head may be incorporated in an electrical toothbrush.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     The toothbrush described herein relates to changeable or disposable brush heads and locking means for securing such brush heads to the toothbrush handle.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Teeth brushing has been improved on either in the formulation of toothpaste or the brush that is used. Some of these improvements are also expanded in scope to benefit the gum as well.  
         [0003]     The present invention is a toothbrush contributing to improvements in teeth brushing which is an indispensable hygiene care. Its main feature is that it is a toothbrush with a detachable brush head. This allows the user to choose from a variety of pad design with different bristles configuration to suit the user&#39;s brushing needs. Besides the variety of brush head to choose from, the handle comes in different shapes that are ergonomically designed. This allows the user to mix and match the brush head with the handle not only to suit his or her brushing needs but also to have a toothbrush that is comfortable to use.  
         [0004]     Since the brush head is interchangeable, only the brush head needs to be disposed off while the handle may be retained. This cuts down a high percentage of waste material contributed from thrown away toothbrush and makes this toothbrush environmental friendly.  
         [0005]     The toothbrush is also simultaneously meant to be gum friendly since the bulk of its modular brush head is made of soft elastomeric material. It not only absorb the impact of the brush head knocking on to the gum but the back and the side of the brush head which is made of this soft yet elastic material can be used a gum massager, thus extending the function of this invention.  
         [0006]     Therefore, it is the general objective of the invention to provide effective teeth brushing using a toothbrush which is user-friendly and environmental friendly. This is achieved by providing a means to change the brush head or the handle of the invention.  
         [0007]     It is furthermore the objective of the invention to provide a means for changing the brush head or the handle of a toothbrush.  
         [0008]     Specifically such a brush head is not only securely held to its handle but it also securely locked in place through a locking means, which said locking means is preferably applied without need of tools.  
         [0009]     It is also intended that said locking means allows the brush head to be removed easily from the handle at user&#39;s will but not when the toothbrush is in used.  
         [0010]     It is also the intention of the invention to gum-friendly as part of its user-friendly feature, with the brush head acting as a gum massager as well.  
         [0011]     The invention also allows permanent drawings to be imprinted, formed or molded onto the brush head as desired.  
         [0012]     The locking means to lock the brush head to its handle can also be incorporated in electrical toothbrush after suitable modifications.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     The invention is a toothbrush that is made up of a brush head engaged on to an elongated handle. The modularity of the brush head and elongated handle allows the user to mix and match brush head from different bristle configurations and elongated handle from different handle design to suit individual brushing needs. The brush head has a casing disposed on reverse side of bristles. The casing is partially or fully elastic so that the handle head can be inserted entirely into the brush head. The brush head may further include locking means using extended pins and corresponding holes which may have more than one embodiments. Since the casing is partially or fully elastic the toothbrush can be used as a gum massager. Worn out toothbrush can be disengaged for disposal which makes this invention environmental friendly. The brush head may be incorporated into an electrical toothbrush.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  shows the entire toothbrush in one of its embodiment.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2   a  and  2   b  shows the top view and side view of first embodiment of the elongated handle.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3   a  and  3   b  shows the top view and side view of second embodiment of the elongated handle.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4   a  and  4   b  shows the top view and side view of third embodiment of the elongated handle.  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  shows the cross-section view of the first and second embodiment of the brush head.  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  shows the cross-section view of the third embodiment of the brush head.  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  shows the cross-section view of the fourth embodiment of the brush head.  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  shows the cross-section view of part of the toothbrush.  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  shows the first embodiment of the locking means.  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  shows the second embodiment of the locking means. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]     The entire invention ( 000 ) in one of its embodiment is as exemplified in  FIG. 1 . It is composed of two main parts: a brush head ( 200 ) and an elongated handle ( 100 ). The handle grip ( 102 ) is disposed at the first end ( 101 ) of the handle ( 100 ), which is joined to a handle head ( 110 ) at the second end ( 104 ) of the handle ( 100 ) by means of a neck ( 103 ) as shown in  FIG. 2   a  and  2   b.  The shape of the neck ( 103 ) is preferably as follow. The neck ( 103 ) looks like an elongated “S”, like the shape of a human spine or cubic spline shape when the toothbrush is viewed from the side. When viewed from the top, that is with end of the bristles ( 202 ) in view, the neck ( 103 ) tapers off to a minimum cross section and slightly widens again as it extends up from the handle grip ( 101 ) toward the handle head ( 110 ) as shown in  FIG. 2   a.  This however does not mean that the cross-section of the neck ( 103 ) must be smaller than the width of the handle head ( 110 ) to be described below. The cross-section of the neck ( 103 ) may be of any size in relation the width of the handle head ( 110 ).  
         [0025]     The first end ( 111 ) of the handle head ( 110 ) is preferably wider than the adjacent portion ( 103 ′) of the neck ( 103 ) that is joined to it. As the first end ( 111 ) of the handle head ( 110 ) extends toward the second end ( 113 ) of the handle head ( 110 ), the middle section ( 112 ) has the same width as the second end ( 113 ) of the handle head ( 110 ). The second end ( 113 ) of the handle head ( 110 ) that is joined to the middle section ( 112 ) is streamlined so that the handle head ( 110 ) can be easily inserted into brush head ( 200 ) to be exemplified later. When viewed from the side the entire brush head ( 100 ) is preferably flat as shown in  FIG. 2   b,  except where there may be extended pins which will be described later.  
         [0026]     The handle may have still another second embodiment as shown in  FIG. 3   a  and  3   b  wherein the neck ( 103   a ) is inclinely molded at an angle ( 105 ) to one side when view from the top as shown in  FIG. 3   a.  In the third embodiment as shown in  FIG. 4   a  and  4   b,  the neck ( 103   b ) is inclinely molded in such a manner that the curve ( 106 ) of the elongated “S” that is nearer to the handle head ( 110 ) will have a smaller curvature. As a result, the elongated “S” will not be as elongated as before but curved in much more toward the top side of the toothbrush as seen from side of toothbrush as shown in  FIG. 4   b.  The necks ( 103 ,  103   a,    103   b ) have various type of inclination at different angles are to cater for different brushing needs of different users. It is clear that these examples ( FIG. 2   a,    2   b,    3   a,    3   b,    4   a,    4   b ) of the elongated handle are by no means exhaustive. Furthermore different shapes of handle head ( 110 ) can be incorporated with necks having different curvature to obtain other embodiments.  
         [0027]     Meanwhile the general construction of the brush head ( 200 ) as shown in  FIG. 8 , is composed of a casing ( 203 ) disposed on top ( 201   a ) of a bristle pad ( 201 ). This can be achieved by using either insert molding, over molding or other existing production method in the art. The bristle pad ( 201 ) is preferably rigid, made of material such as polypropylene resin or other resins or modified elastomeric materials which are not elastic but resilient and slightly stiffer that is suitable for planting or tufting arrays of bristles ( 202 ). The bottom side ( 201   b ) of the bristle pad ( 201 ) is planted or tufted with arrays of bristles ( 202 ). Bristles ( 202 ) of any material, height, design and configuration of bristles can be mounted on the bristle pad ( 201 ). The casing ( 203 ) can be partly or entirely made of soft materials, such as another kind of elastomeric material which is elastic and soft towards user&#39;s gum. Various specific embodiments of such a brush head ( 200 ) will given as follows.  
         [0028]     In a first embodiment of the brush head ( 200 ) as shown in  FIG. 5 , the minimal construction of the casing ( 203 ) has a bristle pad ( 201 ), opposing side walls ( 205   a,    205   b ) and a base portion ( 204 ). The opposing side walls ( 205   a,    205   b ) are molded along both opposing sides of the bristle pad ( 201 ) and the base portion ( 204 ) joins the side walls ( 205   a,    205   b ) together to form a passage way ( 206 ). In this embodiment, minimally the base portion ( 204 ) is made of said soft material which is elastic. In a second embodiment modified from the first embodiment, the side walls ( 205   a,    205   b ) can also be made of same soft material. In a third embodiment modified from the second embodiment as shown in  FIG. 6 , the second end ( 207 ) of the brush head ( 200 ) can be closed up by a second end wall ( 207   a ) which may be or may not be made of the soft material. However, the second end wall ( 207   a ) is preferably made of the soft material since the invention is meant to be gum-friendly. In the first two embodiments, the brush head ( 200 ) is engaged onto the handle head ( 110 ) by simply inserting the handle head ( 110 ) into the passage way ( 206 ) through an access ( 210   a ) at first end ( 210 ) of the brush head ( 200 ) as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0029]     In the fourth embodiment of the brush head ( 200 ) as shown in  FIG. 7 , the first end ( 210 ) of the brush head ( 200 ) can be closed up by a first end wall ( 209 ) made of similar soft material which has an opening ( 209   a ) on it. Preferably, this opening ( 209   a ) matches the cross-section of that portion ( 103 ′) of the neck ( 103 ) that will go through it when the handle head ( 110 ) is inserted into the brush head ( 200 ). However, the invention ( 000 ) still works with different sizes of the opening ( 209   a ) or the access ( 210   a ).  
         [0030]     As exemplified earlier, a major part of the handle head ( 110 ) is equivalent or wider than the neck ( 103 ) except for the second end ( 104 ) of the handle head ( 110 ). The handle head ( 110 ) is thicker or equivalent in height to the passage way ( 206 ). This necessitates that different parts of or the entire casing ( 203 ) be made with soft material that are elastic. For instance, the fourth embodiment of the brush head ( 200 ) as shown in  FIG. 7  may be modified to have only the first end wall ( 209 ) and base portion ( 204 ) be made of elastic materials; or the first end wall ( 209 ) and the second end wall ( 207   a ) and side walls ( 205   a,    205   b ) be made of elastic materials, while the rest are rigid materials. These combinations of elastic and rigid materials in the fourth embodiment of the brush head ( 200 ) as shown in  FIG. 7  allows the larger handle head ( 110 ) to be pushed through a smaller or same size opening ( 209   a ) and the entire casing ( 203 ) to enclose the handle head ( 110 ) once it is inside the cavity ( 203   a ) of the casing ( 203 ). When the handle head ( 110 ) is pushed through the opening ( 209   a ), the first end wall ( 209 ) will be stretched so that the opening ( 209   a ) becomes wider. Due to the elasticity of the wall, the opening ( 209   a ) will be restored to its original size once the entire handle head ( 110 ) is inserted into the brush head ( 200 ).  
         [0031]     The bristle pad ( 201 ) may be entirely rigid or must at least be semi-rigid so that bristles ( 202 ) may be mounted on it. Therefore in principle, the invention is a brush head ( 200 ) that can be engaged on to the handle head ( 110 ) of an elongated handle ( 100 ) by means of inserting the handle head ( 110 ) into a casing ( 203 ) of the brush head ( 200 ) which is partly or entirely elastic. The invention must also allow the brush head ( 200 ) to be disengaged from the elongated handle ( 100 ). This can be achieved by the cavity ( 203   a ) having the exact shape conforming to the handle head ( 100 ) or by the cavity ( 203   a ) slightly under sized. Slightly undersized cavity ( 203   a ) is composed of elastic parts that are slight undersized, not the rigid parts, so that these elastic parts will be slightly stretched when the handle head ( 110 ) is completely inserted into the cavity ( 203   a ). In this way the casing ( 203 ) of the brush head ( 200 ) will grip on to the handle head ( 110 ).  
         [0032]     In all the embodiments of the brush head ( 200 ), preferably the interior surfaces ( 203   b ) of the casing ( 203 ) may or may not thinner in height to the shape of the handle head ( 110 ). In other words, cavity ( 203   a ) formed by the interior surface ( 203   b ) of the casing ( 203 ) would be in the shape of the handle head ( 110 ). In the presence of water as a lubricating medium, the handle head ( 110 ) can be easily inserted into the brush head ( 200 ). The elastic material of the brush head ( 200 ) will then squeeze out the water and air in between the surfaces ( 114 ) of the handle head ( 110 ) and the interior surfaces ( 203   b ) of the casing ( 203 ). When there is no air, the two surfaces would be held together by a suction force, just as in two similar wet plastic cups that are stacked together is difficult to separate. This feature further enhance the engaging of the brush head ( 200 ) on to the handle head ( 110 ). While for the thicker handle head ( 110 ), it will cause gripping tension of the elastic base ( 204 ) to enhance better holding onto the interior surfaces ( 203   b ) of the casing ( 203 ).  
         [0033]     Additional locking means may also be included in the invention to further ensure that brush head ( 200 ) is secured on to the handle head ( 110 ) without use of any tools and would not come out accidentally during brushing. Furthermore, the locking means must allow the brush head to be removed at user&#39;s will without use of any tools. All the locking means described as follow can be applied in all the embodiments of a partly or entirely elastic brush head ( 200 ) that were described above.  
         [0034]     The first embodiment of the locking means ( 300 ) as shown in  FIG. 9 , is a pair of extended pin ( 301 ) located on the handle head ( 110 ) and its matching hole ( 302 ) on the brush head ( 200 ). The location of the hole ( 302 ) may be anywhere on the brush head ( 200 ) as long as it is not obstructive. The extended pin ( 302 ) on the handle head ( 110 ) would then be appropriately located on the handle head ( 110 ) so that when the entire handle head ( 110 ) is inserted into the cavity ( 203   a ) of the casing ( 203 ), the extended pin ( 301 ) would snapped into the hole ( 302 ). Preferably, the extended pin ( 301 ) would be located on the first end ( 210 ) of the handle head ( 110 ) adjacent to where the last portion ( 103 ′) of the neck ( 103 ) is, and the material of this extended pin ( 301 ) would be the same as the elongated handle ( 100 ). Meanwhile, the hole ( 302 ) would be on the bristle pad ( 201 ) in such a manner that the hole ( 302 ) would be near the second end ( 207 ) of the brush head ( 200 ). There may be more than one pair of extended pin and hole in this first embodiment of the locking means ( 300 ).  
         [0035]     The engaging and disengaging to the brush head ( 200 ) is as follow. The brush head ( 200 ) is engaged on the elongated handle ( 100 ) by inserting the streamlined handle head ( 110 ) into the access ( 210   a ) or opening ( 209   a ) on the brush head ( 200 ). As the handle head ( 110 ) is inserted into the brush head ( 200 ), the handle ( 100 ) is rocked from side to side to help the handle head ( 110 ) slips completely into place. The handle head ( 110 ) will locked in position by easy alignment of extended pin ( 301 ) and corresponding hole ( 302 ) in the bristle pad ( 201 ). The extended pin ( 301 ) will snapped into the hole ( 302 ) when the corresponding area on the casing ( 203 ) is pressed by user. The brush head ( 200 ) is disengaged from the elongated handle ( 100 ) by reversing the engaging procedure.  
         [0036]     In the second embodiment of locking means ( 400 ) as shown in  FIG. 10 , one or more extended pins ( 401   a,    401   b,    401   c ) are located on the top side ( 201   a ) of the bristle pad ( 201 ), that is within the cavity ( 203   a ) itself. In  FIG. 10 , the bristles ( 202 ) and the casing ( 203 ) are removed so as to bare the bristle pad ( 201 ). The matching holes ( 402   a,    402   b,    402   c ) would be located on the handle head ( 110 ). The holes ( 402   a,    402   b,    402   c ) on the handle head ( 110 ) may be blind or through-hole but it is preferably through-holes. This brush head ( 200 ) with second locking means ( 400 ) is engaged to and disengaged from the elongated handle ( 100 ) in the same procedure as with the earlier brush head ( 200 ) using the first locking means ( 300 ). With the second locking means ( 400 ), the brush head ( 200 ) may be engaged to the elongated handle ( 100 ) with its bristle ( 202 ) facing upward or downward since the handle head ( 110 ) is symmetrical about its centre.  
         [0037]     The invention ( 000 ) is also meant to be a gum massager since part of the casing ( 203 ) is made of soft material. It is preferably that the base portion ( 204 ), the first end wall ( 209 ) and the second end wall ( 207   a ) and the opposing side walls ( 205   a,    205   b ) of the casing ( 203 ) be made of soft material for the invention ( 000 ) to function as a gum massager as well. Furthermore as a gum massager the exterior surface ( 203   c ) of the casing ( 203 ) may be textured, i.e. that is having uneven patterns. Permanent drawings may also be printed on the exterior surface ( 203   c ) of the casing ( 203 ) to make the toothbrush looks more attractive.  
         [0038]     The partially or fully elastic brush head ( 200 ) can also be incorporated in an electrical toothbrush with suitable modification to the handle of the electrical toothbrush so that brush head ( 200 ) may engaged on to and disengaged from the electrical toothbrush as described above.  
         [0039]     It is clear by now that the invention ( 000 ) is an embodiment of elongated handle ( 100 ) which may have various embodiments, and brush head ( 200 ) with various embodiments of its casing ( 203 ) or locking means ( 300 ,  400 ). Therefore the above descriptions of the invention are by no means exhaustive and the invention may be reproduced or modified by any person skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is claimed as follows.