Patent Publication Number: US-2004050733-A1

Title: Dental hygiene holder

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
     [0001] This application relates to and claims the priority date of Provisional Patent 60/319,559 filed on Sep. 18, 2002. 
    
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0002] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0003] This invention relates to art of dental hygiene, specifically an improvement for the storage of dental hygiene supplies and an improvement for the dispensing of toothpaste.  
       [0004] 2. Description of Prior Art  
       [0005] With the public concern so prevalent today about germs, bacteria, and diseases that arise therefrom, there is a growing need for products that aid in minimizing their transfer. One area of personal hygiene in which germs and bacteria, and their transfer, are very common, is the oral cavity. The oral cavity and, in particular, the tools used in cleaning it, such as a toothbrush, are notorious havens for disease-causing organisms.  
       [0006] The transfer of germs and bacteria between dental tools or toothbrushes and the mouth is facilitated by non-sanitary storage of these tools between use and/or multiple users of a common area using, then storing their personal hygiene tools or toothbrushes repeatably. Anytime there may be multiple users of an area where personal hygiene devices are stored, such as a toothbrush in a holder, the potential for germ or bacteria transfer exists. Examples include visiting house guests, family, or friends, a house full of children with poor sanitary habits, and hotel rooms in which a different guest uses the facility each day.  
       [0007] A few U.S. Patents have addressed the storage issue of toothbrushes, in particular.  
       [0008] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,487,085 discloses a device for holding a tube of toothpaste and a closure therefore, and a holding device for supporting a plurality of toothbrushes.  
       [0009] U.S. Pat. No. 2,916,155 discloses a sanitary disposable holder for oral hygiene devices, such as toothbrushes.  
       [0010] U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,630 discloses a sanitary, disposable, toothbrush rack.  
       [0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,519 discloses a removable toothbrush holder having a rear, T-shaped projection which fits into a permanent holder of somewhat C-shape for slid ably supporting the projection.  
       [0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,943 discloses a Toothbrush holder Which is a disposable holder comprising: a first member and a second member, wherein the first member is a disposable carrier comprising a substantially horizontal carrier plate hand the second member is a mounting bracket  
       [0013] There does, however, remain a need for safe (i.e., no sharp corners, tilt prevention, etc.), sanitary, easily constructed, toothbrush and dental supply holder that allows a variety of mounting possibilities for the dispensing of tooth paste and to serve as an organizer for all the items necessary for oral hygiene.  
       [0014] There is still room for improvement within the art.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0015] It is the object of this invention to provide an all inclusive dental cleaning center that makes a mess free for dispensing of tooth paste, an organizer for all the items necessary for oral hygiene and economical dispensing of toothpaste.  
       [0016] []OLE_LINK1 The current device is a Dental Hygiene Center is an all in one tooth care center. In the preferred embodiment, it includes 4 places to store toothbrushes or tongue cleaners etc. It has a place to keep one package of floss and it includes a 3 minute sand timer that reminds the brusher to brush longer. There is a tooth paste dispensing part built into the unit. A User simply places the bottom of the tube into a groove where it fits into a crank device that rolls up the bottom of the toothpaste tube as the paste is dispensed. It can have an attaching means such as suction cups that will allow the device to be hung on a surface such as a wall or a mirror if desired. It can sit on a counter or be mounted by screws onto a wall.  
       [0017] ]The current invention provides an all inclusive dental cleaning center that makes a mess free and economical dispensing of toothpaste. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
     [0018]FIG. 1 is front perspective view of the device;  
     [0019]FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of the device;  
     [0020]FIG. 3 is top view of the device;  
     [0021]FIG. 4 is a back view of the device;  
     [0022]FIG. 5 is a front view of the device;  
     [0023]FIG. 6 displays a front view of the device being used; and  
     [0024]FIG. 7 displays the cranking means. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
     [0025] The preferred embodiment of the invention is described below.  
     [0026] The current device is a Dental Hygiene Center, which is an all in one tooth care center. In the preferred embodiment, it includes a plurality of holders to store toothbrushes or tongue cleaners etc. It has a storage area for dental floss and includes a timing means that reminds the brusher to brush longer. There is a tooth paste dispensing part built into the device. A User simply places the bottom of the tube into a groove where it fits into a crank device that rolls up the bottom of the toothpaste tube as the paste is dispensed. It can have an attaching means such as suction cups that will allow the device to be hung on a surface such as a wall or a mirror if desired. It can sit on a counter or be mounted by screws onto a wall.  
     [0027] The device  1  and the components thereof may be constructed of any material having sufficient strength to support the selected hygiene tool, such as stainless steel, aluminum, thermoplastic, or Teflon.R™. Preferably, the device  1  is constructed of thermoplastic  
     [0028]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the device  1 . Referring to FIGS.  1  - 5 , the device  1  in the preferred embodiment has a basic rectangle shape with a bottom  2 , a left side  4 , a front side  6 , a right side  8 , a ridge  10 , a back side  12 , a toothpaste holder  14 , a timing means  16  and a floss holder area  18 .  
     [0029] The bottom  2  is in a basic rectangular shape and in the preferred embodiment is made of the bottom edges of the front  6 , right  8 , left  4 , and back  12  sides. The device  1  can be placed on a surface on the bottom  2 . The bottom  2  can be coated with or have a material attached, such as a rubber or polymer, to act as a cushioning and skid-free means. In the preferred embodiment, the bottom  2  has a dimension of 6″ wide by 4″ which gives the device  1  a secure footing.  
     [0030] The left side  4  in the preferred embodiment is in an L-shape formed by the ridge  10  and the floss holder  18  area.  
     [0031] The front side  6  is in a rectangular shape with the toothpaste holder  14  midway on the top.  
     [0032] The right side  8  in the preferred embodiment is in a reversed L-shape formed by the ridge  10  and the timing means  16  area.  
     [0033] The ridge  10  is in the back of the device  1 . It has a plurality of dental device openings  20 . These dental device openings  20  are circular in nature and are used to hold dental devices  5  such as toothbrushes and tongue cleaners, see FIGS. 6, 7 and  8 .  
     [0034] The dental device openings  20  open to a cylinder chamber  22  to hold the dental devices  5  upright. The cylinder chamber  22  runs perpendicular to the device  1 with a bottom on the opposite side of the cylinder chamber  22  as the dental device opening  20 . The cylinder chamber  22  has a cylinder chamber drainage hole  24  at the bottom. This cylinder chamber drainage hole  24  allows any liquids that may run off of the dental device  5  to drain to remove any possibility of stagnate water which can be a health risk while being small enough to prevent the dental device  5  from fitting in the drainage hole  24 . In the preferred embodiment the dental device openings  20  are evenly spaced across the ridge  10 . In the preferred embodiment, there are four dental device openings  20 . In the preferred embodiment, the ridge  10  is one inch wide and three inches high. The dental device openings  20  are ½″ in diameter with the drainage hole  24  being ⅛″ in diameter. In the preferred embodiment, the inner dental device openings  20  are larger in diameter to accommodate larger handled brushes and power brushes.  
     [0035]FIG. 4 shows the back side  12 , which may be mounted to a mounting surface in any way sufficient to support the combined weight of the holder  1  and what is held by the holder, such as with, but not limited to, various fasteners, screws, bolts, nails, adhesives, and VELCRO.™. The back side  12  optionally contains at least one aperture  30  for receiving a screw such that the back side  12  may be threadingly attached to a mounting surface. The back  12  optionally includes a pressure sensitive adhesive coating for aid in mounting to a mounting surface. If present, the pressure sensitive adhesive coating may contain an optional protective liner.  
     [0036] As shown in FIGS. 1, 2,  3  and  5 , in the preferred embodiment the toothpaste holder  14  is at the top, middle front of the device  1 . The toothpaste holder  14  is being shown in use in FIG. 6. The toothpaste holder  14  is in the shape of a V with the top edges even with and running perpendicular to the ridge  10  from the ridge to the front side  6 . The toothpaste holder  14  has a left sloped side  38  and a right sloped side  40 . At the bottom of the V there is a slot  42  that runs the whole length of the V. The toothpaste tube  32  is placed into and through the slot  42 . The end of the toothpaste tube  32  is placed into a crank means  44  and is secured through a securing means  46 . The securing means  46  can be a forked bar in which the folded end of the toothpaste tube  32  being placed of one end of the folk with the rest of the toothpaste tube  32  being placed on the other. Cranking means are well known in the industry. In the preferred embodiment, the device  1  will use a simple hand crank. In the alternative, a cranking means  44  that is driven by an electronic motor attached to a toggle switch could be used. In the alternative, a compressing means can be used, such as two rollers in which the toothpaste tube  32  is pulled through compressing the tube forcing toothpaste out of the tube  32 . This is displayed in FIG. 7.  
     [0037] After the toothpaste tube  32  is attached to the cranking means  44  and secured using the securing means  46 . When the cranking means  44  is turned the toothpaste tube  32  is forced in the direction of the cranking means  44 . This will force the toothpaste tube  32  against the sloped sides  38  and  40  applying pressure to the toothpaste tube  32  resulting in toothpaste coming out of the toothpaste tube  32 . This results in all of the toothpaste in the toothpaste tube  32  being used.  
     [0038] The timing means  16  is at the top of the device  1 . In the preferred embodiment this well is to the right of the toothpaste holder  14 . The timing means  16  is in the timing means area which is a shelf area 2″ high from the bottom. The timing means  16  is used to inform the brusher that they have brushed their teeth long enough promoting good oral hygiene. In the preferred embodiment, the timing means  16  is a three minute hour glass that is stored on the timing means area. The timing means area having an indentation  48  for the timing mean  16  to be stored in. This indentation  48  will have a drainage hole  24 . In the alternative, another type of timing means  16  could be used such as an electronic stopwatch or a electronic timing with flashing lights and speakers for younger children.  
     [0039] The floss holder  18  is a well  50  that is in the top of the device  1 . In the preferred embodiment this well is to the left of the toothpaste holder  14 . The well  50  is in the floss holder area which is a shelf area 2″ high from the bottom.  
     [0040] The well  50  is 1½″ deep with a width and length slightly larger than that of a standard size dental gloss container. The well  50  have a plurality of drainage holes  24 .  
     [0041] The invention described and claimed herein is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments herein disclosed, since these embodiments are intended solely as illustrations of several aspects of the invention. Any equivalent embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this invention. Indeed, various modifications of the invention in addition to those shown and described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.  
     [0042] Conclusion, Ramifications, and Scope  
     [0043] With the need to have an all inclusive dental cleaning center that makes a mess free and economical dispensing of toothpaste, the current invention helps users do that. The device provides a mess free and economical dispensing means for dispensing of tooth paste and serving as an organizer for all the items necessary for oral hygiene.  
     [0044] Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. For example, the base could be of different dimension, a different material could be used to make it, the components could be located differently on the device or another timer means can be used. Therefore, the point and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.