Abstract:
A flexible bottle for containing a disinfecting liquid that can be used to disinfect a toothbrush. The bottle has a large reservoir for contain the disinfecting liquid and a small, secondary reservoir that is located proximate to the top of the bottle and which can be filled by squeezing the flexible bottle to force a quantity of the disinfecting liquid into the small, secondary reservoir. There is a cap that is designed to accept a toothbrush for entry into the container and which may have a slot formed therein or flexible flaps. The bottle can, therefore, be filled with disinfecting liquid and a toothbrush introduced into the small reservoir for disinfecting the toothbrush. The disinfecting liquid can then be discarded from the small reservoir and the secondary reservoir refilled as needed by the user.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a bottle for disinfecting toothbrushes and, more particularly, to a flexible bottle having an easily filled secondary reservoir for receiving a toothbrush in the secondary reservoir for disinfecting that toothbrush. 
         [0002]    With the use of toothbrushes, it is often advantageous to disinfect the cleaning bristles of a toothbrush periodically to maintain the toothbrush clean for use. A typical disinfecting liquid may be a mouthwash, such as Listerine brand mouthwash, and the disinfecting is carried out by immersing the bristles in the disinfecting liquid. 
         [0003]    In general, bottles that are available commercially for disinfecting liquids are generally excessively large for the purpose of disinfecting a toothbrush and such bottles, if used to disinfect the toothbrush, are not generally desirable for later use as a supply of mouthwash. As an alternative, the user can pour out a small quantity of the disinfecting liquid into a small container and immerse the toothbrush bristles in that small quantity of liquid, however, it is somewhat inconvenient to have a small container on hand and may result in the user trying to continually locate a suitable container. 
         [0004]    Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a small, secondary reservoir for containing a small, measured amount of the disinfecting liquid normally carried in a large, main reservoir of a bottle in order to use that small, secondary reservoir for disinfecting a toothbrush. 
         [0005]    It would be further advantageous that the small, secondary reservoir be actually affixed to or internally located within the larger bottle containing the disinfecting liquid so that the small, secondary reservoir is always available to the user along with the larger bottle. 
         [0006]    It would be further advantageous to have a system that would allow the user to selectively fill the small, secondary reservoir with disinfecting liquid from the large, main reservoir, just prior to use and then allow the user to discard that used disinfecting liquid so that a fresh quantity of disinfecting liquid can be available to continually fill the small, secondary reservoir when needed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]    Accordingly, the present invention overcomes the aforesaid problems and difficulties by providing a bottle for disinfecting a toothbrush that comprises a flexible container that forms a main reservoir where the liquid, such as a disinfecting liquid is contained. The flexible container has a top with a removable cap that seals an opening in the top and may be affixed to the top by means a screw threaded connection. 
         [0008]    There is a secondary reservoir located proximate to the top of the container and that secondary reservoir is sized so as to hold a relatively small quantity of the disinfecting liquid sufficient for immersion of the bristles of a toothbrush. The secondary reservoir may be situated within the flexible container or may be exterior thereof. The secondary reservoir may have measured graduations that can be imprinted on the secondary reservoir to enable the user to accurately, visually determine the quantity of the disinfecting liquid held within the secondary reservoir. 
         [0009]    A passageway is formed between the main reservoir and the secondary reservoir and, like the secondary reservoir, the passageway may be contained within the flexible container or exterior to the flexible container. As such, by simply squeezing the flexible container, the disinfecting liquid is forced from the main reservoir to the secondary reservoir where it is available for disinfecting a toothbrush. 
         [0010]    Thus, the secondary reservoir can be filled and emptied according to its use in disinfecting a toothbrush without contaminating the disinfecting liquid contained in the main reservoir and there is a ready supply of fresh disinfecting liquid that can easily be pumped from the main reservoir to the secondary reservoir to replenish or refill the secondary reservoir. 
         [0011]    These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a bottle constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is front view of an alternate exemplary embodiment of the bottle of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a side cross-sectional view of a cap that is usable with the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the cap of  FIG. 4 ; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a toothbrush that can be used with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a side view of the bottle  10  of the present invention. As can be seen, the bottle  10  comprises a flexible container  12  forming therein a main reservoir  14 . The main reservoir  14  is liquid tight and is adapted to contain a quantity of a disinfecting liquid  15 , such as a mouthwash. 
         [0019]    The bottle  10  has a closed bottom  16  and a top  18  where there is a threaded lip  20  forming an opening  22 . A cap  24  is threaded to the threaded lip  20  to cover and uncover the opening  22 . A secondary reservoir  26  is located proximate to the top  18  internal of the flexible container  12  and the opening  22  leads into the secondary reservoir  26  to provide access to the secondary reservoir  26  when the cap  24  is removed. There is also a passageway  28  that communicates between the main reservoir  14  and the secondary reservoir  26 . The secondary reservoir  26  can be comprised of a molded plastic material and may be molded, such as by blow molding, along with the flexible container  12  or molded separately and affixed to the interior of the flexible container  12 . The passageway  28  may be a flexible plastic tube. 
         [0020]    In any event, it can be seen that by removing the cap  24 , the flexible container  12  can be squeezed by a user to force a quantity of the disinfecting liquid  15  from the main reservoir  14  upwardly and into the secondary reservoir  26 . As such, the secondary reservoir  26  can be readily filled with the disinfecting liquid upon the desire of a user. 
         [0021]    At this point, the disinfecting liquid contained within the secondary reservoir  26  is accessible through the opening  22  so that a toothbrush can be inserted into the secondary reservoir  26  to disinfect that toothbrush. 
         [0022]    If the user wants to access the contents of the main reservoir  14  to use the disinfecting liquid for purposes of a mouthwash, the secondary reservoir  26  may be filled as described and the contents poured from the secondary reservoir  26  into another container or used in a normal manner. If a large amount of the disinfecting liquid is desired to be removed for the bottle  10 , the secondary reservoir  26  may be filled by squeezing the flexible container  12  and filing the secondary reservoir  26  multiple times and, each time, pouring the contents of the secondary reservoir  26  outwardly through the opening  22 . 
         [0023]    As can be seen, when the secondary reservoir is being filled with the disinfecting liquid  15  form the main reservoir  14 , the cap  24  must be removed to open the secondary reservoir  26  to the atmosphere. 
         [0024]    Turning then to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , there is shown a front view and a side view, respectively, of an alternate exemplary embodiment of the present invention wherein there is also a bottle  10  comprised of a flexible container  32  for containing a disinfecting liquid  23  within a main reservoir  34  having a bottom  36  and a top  38 . Again, there is a threaded lip  40  forming an opening  42  covered by a removable cap  44 . 
         [0025]    In this embodiment, however, the secondary reservoir  46  is located external of the flexible container  42  and, as can be seen, passageway  48  passes through the flexible container  32  to the exterior thereof and then extends along the exterior of the flexible container  32  to the secondary reservoir  46  such that when the flexible container  30  is squeezed by a user, the disinfecting liquid passes along the exterior of the flexible container  32  to the secondary reservoir  46  that is located on the exterior of the flexible container  32 . In this embodiment, therefore, there is a secondary cap  50  that closes the open end  52  of the secondary reservoir  46 . 
         [0026]    With this embodiment, when the secondary cap  50  is removed from the secondary reservoir  46  to open the secondary reservoir  46 , and the removable cap  44  is closed, the flexible container  32  can be squeezed to force the disinfecting liquid  33  from the main reservoir  34  up and into the secondary reservoir  40 . Alternatively, if the user desires to remove the contents of the bottle  10 , the secondary cap  50  can be affixed in its closed position and the removable cap  44  removed. The disinfecting liquid  33  can then be simply poured out of the opening  42  formed in the top  38  of the flexible container  32  in the normal manner. 
         [0027]    In either of the embodiments of  FIG. 1  and  FIGS. 2 and 3 , there can also be measured graduations  54  present on the secondary reservoir  46  (shown only in  FIG. 2 ) so that the user can accurately determine the precise measure of liquid in the secondary reservoir  46  for the correct dosage of the disinfecting liquid or to be used to measure out a precise quantity of the disinfecting liquid for use. 
         [0028]    Turning then to  FIGS. 4 , and  5 , taken along with  FIGS. 1-2 , there is shown a side cross sectional view and a top view of a cap  56  that can be used with the present invention. As can be seen, the cap  56  has a rectangular slit  58  formed therein for the introduction of a toothbrush therethrough. The cap  56  can be used to replace cap  24  of the  FIG. 1  embodiment, that is, as the main cap of the flexible container  12 . 
         [0029]    As such, the bottle  10  can be sold with a normal sealed cap so as to prevent leakage from the bottle  10  during handling in a store and then a cap  56  having a slit  58  can replace the normal cap in the household so that a toothbrush can be inserted into the bottle  10  with a minimum of leakage since the rectangular slit  58  can be dimensioned so as to create a snug fit between the rectangular slit  58  and a toothbrush handle. Alternatively, instead of a rectangular slit  58 , the cap  56  may have flexible flaps to allow entrance of a toothbrush while forming a seal against the toothbrush handle. 
         [0030]    The cap  56  can also be used as the secondary cap  50  of the  FIG. 2-3  embodiment under the same conditions. 
         [0031]    Turning finally to  FIG. 6 , there is a side view of a toothbrush  60  that can be used with the present invention. The toothbrush  60  comprises a handle  62  having a proximal end  64 , a distal end  66  and a set of bristles  68  located at the distal end  66 . 
         [0032]    There is a sealing member  70  located between the proximal end  64  and the distal end  66  of the handle  62  and which is firmly affixed to or molded with the handle  62  of the toothbrush  60 . That sealing member  70  can be a sealing plug that allows the toothbrush  60  to be inserted into an open end of one of the secondary reservoir of  FIGS. 1-3  so that the toothbrush  60  is effectively sealed within in a secondary reservoir. 
         [0033]    Alternatively, the sealing member  70  may be a cap having screw threads that can be screwed into the flexible container  12  of  FIG. 1  or the secondary reservoir  46  of the  FIG. 2-3  embodiment and affix the bristles  68  of the toothbrush  60  in the disinfecting liquid contained within the secondary reservoir  46 . With the latter embodiment, the toothbrush  60  may be sold commercially already affixed to the bottle  10  and contained within a secondary reservoir. 
         [0034]    As an advantage of the  FIG. 6  embodiment, the secondary reservoir can be sealed to prevent dust or dirt from entering into the secondary reservoir and the sealing member  70  prevents the disinfecting liquid in the secondary reservoir from evaporating. As a further advantage a company can combine the manufacture and marketing of a toothbrush with a mouthwash product and take advantage of the possibility of bundling the two products together to achieve a commercial advantage and beneficial savings to the consumer. 
         [0035]    As can now be seen, the present flexible container can be readily blow molded in conventional manner by an alteration of the current molds and no additional assembly or production steps need to be taken, other than adding an additional cap for the  FIG. 2-3  embodiment. Since the bottle of the present invention can be produced with the same bottle dimensions as current bottles not having a secondary reservoir, there also need be no change to present shipping cartons. It is noted that the incorporation of the secondary reservoir may, however, slightly reduce the quantity of mouthwash contained in a bottle since some of the volume of the mouthwash in a container is taken up by the presence of the secondary reservoir in the  FIG. 1  embodiment. 
         [0036]    Those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the toothbrush disinfecting bottle and its use of the present invention which will result in an improved bottle and method of its use, yet all of which will fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.