Patent Publication Number: US-6907638-B2

Title: Toothbrush with stand

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention is directed toward a toothbrush. The invention is more particularly directed toward a toothbrush having a stand by means of which the toothbrush can be stored in a standing position on a horizontal surface. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   It is known to store toothbrushes in an upright position so that they drain after use. Usually the brushes are stored in a wall holder, a surface support, or a container which supports them in an upright position. However, brushes are often used where there is no holder, support or container. In this instance, it is known to provide toothbrushes with a support means on the handle which will alone support the brush in an upright position on a horizontal surface. Examples of such brushes are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,033,007; 6,076,223 and 6,170,113. 
   All these known brushes have disadvantages however. The brush shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,007 has the disadvantage that the enlarged handle end used to support the brush in an upright stored position interferes with holding the brush. The enlarged handle end is rigid and this makes it awkward to properly grasp the brush when brushing teeth. Also, the base of the enlarged portion is not very wide making it difficult for a child to store the brush in its upright position. The brush has to be carefully balanced on the handle end when set down so it will not tip over. The brush shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,223 has a stand at the end of the handle but the stand is not very wide, no wider than the main portion of the handle. The narrow stand again makes it difficult for a child to store the brush in an upright position. The brush shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,113 has an end handle section made up of rigid leg sections which leg sections flare outwardly to form a tripod for the brush when it is stored. The tripod arrangement makes it very easy to store the brush in an upright position. However this brush is quite complicated in construction requiring specially molded leg sections and more particularly special hinge-like connections between the legs and the rest of the handle and thus is expensive. In addition, the brush requires a separate movable ring member on the handle to be moved to bring the legs together when the brush is to be used and to be moved when storing the brush thus entailing further steps in using and storing the brush. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a toothbrush having a stand mounted on the handle of the brush which stand does not greatly interfere with the normal use of the brush and which stand makes it relatively easy, even for a child, to store the brush in an upright position. 
   In accordance with the present invention, a brush is provided having a handle made from rigid material but having the stand, mounted on the handle, made from resilient, flexible material. Having the stand made of resilient, flexible material allows the user to grasp the stand during use of the brush and easily squeeze it out of the way so as not unduly interfere with the operation of the brush. Once brushing is completed and the user releases the brush, the stand returns to its original shape without any further user assistance. Further, the stand is provided with a relatively large support end, large relative to the area size of the handle of the brush, so as to make it easy to set the brush down, using the stand, in an upright, storage position. The support end of the stand, relatively wide compared to the handle of the brush, makes it easier for a child to store the brush upright since the brush is not as liable to tip when setting the stand down on the horizontal surface. 
   The invention is particularly directed toward a stand-up toothbrush having an elongated handle having a first end and a second end and a head at the first end of the handle with bristles on the head. There is a a hand holding portion on the handle adjacent the second end of the handle, the hand holding portion at least long enough to be fully grasped by the hand of the user. There is a stand on the hand holding portion of the handle at the second end, the stand extending past the second end of the handle and terminating in a support end, the support end extending transverse to the handle. The support end, in its normal at-rest position, is normally encompassed by an imaginary circle having a diameter at least four times the width of the hand holding portion of the handle. The handle made from relatively rigid material. The stand is made from resilient, flexible material of the type allowing the stand to be squeezed from its at-rest position against the hand handle portion of the handle when the user grasps the stand and the hand handle portion to use the toothbrush, and allowing the stand to return to its at-rest position when the user releases his grasp after using the toothbrush. The stand, when in its at-rest position and placed with its support end on a horizontal surface, supports the toothbrush in an upright storage position. Preferably, the stand is integral with the handle. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front view showing one embodiment of the toothbrush; 
       FIG. 2  is a cross-section view taken along line  2 — 2  in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a partial front view, in section, showing another embodiment of the toothbrush; 
       FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 ; and 
       FIG. 5  is a partial cross-section view of yet another embodiment of the toothbrush. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The toothbrush  1  of the present invention, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , has an elongated, rigid, handle  3  with first and second ends  5 ,  7 . The brush  1  has a head  9  at the first end  5 , the head  9  carrying the cleaning bristles  11 . The handle  3  has a hand holding portion  13  adjacent the second end  7 , the hand holding portion  13  long enough to be fully grasped by the hand of a user. The handle  3  is long enough to reach all the teeth to be brushed while fully grasping the hand holding portion  13  of the handle. The handle  3  can range in length from between four and seven inches and preferably is between five and six inches long. The handle, particularly in the hand holding portion, can range in width from between three-eighths and five-eighths inches and preferably is around one half-inch in width. 
   A stand  15  is provided on the hand holding portion  13  of the handle  3 . The stand  15  extends in both a longitudinal and radial direction away from the hand holding portion  13  to project past the second end  7  of the handle  3  and terminate in a support end  17 . The support end  17  of the stand  15  is transverse to the handle  3  and supports the brush  1  in an upright storage position on a horizontal surface  19  as shown in FIG.  1 . 
   In more detail, the stand  15  has, as shown, a central collar  21  adapted to encircle the hand portion  13  of the handle  3  with at least three legs  23  extending outwardly and downwardly away from the collar  21 . (The terms ‘outwardly’ and ‘downwardly’ are used when describing the brush in a standing, storage, position) The legs  23  are preferably equally spaced about the collar  21 . More than three legs can be used. Each leg  23  preferably is curved outwardly and downwardly from the collar  21  to terminate in an outwardly directed flat foot  25 . The bottom  27  of the three feet  25  form the support end  17  of the stand  15 . The support end  17  of the stand is located past the second end  7  of the handle  3  so that the handle does not interfere when the stand  15 , and the brush  1  carried thereby, is supported by its support end  17 . The stand  15  is constructed so as to have, when in its normal at-rest position, an imaginary circle ‘A’, as shown in  FIG. 2 , which encompasses its support end  17 , with a diameter at least four times the width ‘W’ of the widest part of the hand holding portion  13  of the handle  3  to provide a stable platform for the brush. Preferably the imaginary circle has a diameter of between five and six times the width ‘W’ of the hand holding portion. The wider the support end  17 , relative to the width of the hand holding portion, the easier it is for a child to leave the brush upright after use. 
   Preferably, the stand  15  is mounted on the hand holding portion  13  of the handle  3  to have a major portion of the stand extending over the hand holding portion  13  with the support end  17  located just past the second end  7  of the handle. When mounted in this manner, the overall length of the brush is not unduly lengthened using the stand. The shorter the brush, including the stand, the more stable it is when mounted upright. 
   In accordance with the present invention, the stand  15  is made from a resilient, flexible, moldable, material. This allows the legs  23  of the stand  15 , when the hand holding portion  13  of the handle  3  of the brush, and the stand  15  thereon, is gripped by the user, to be easily collapsed together from its normal at-rest position, so as not to unduly interfere with the user&#39;s grip and manipulation of the brush  1  during use. The material used for the legs  23  allows them, during use of the brush, to be collapsed into a cross-sectional area not much greater than the cross-sectional area of the handle. When brushing is completed, the user sets the brush  1  on its stand  15 , the legs  23  of the stand releasing and returning to their original at-rest position shown in FIG.  2 . The material selected, while resilient and flexible, must have enough stiffness to have the legs support the brush in the upright storage position. 
   The stand  15 , in a preferred embodiment, is integral with the handle  3  and is molded onto the handle during the making of the brush in a known, two-step, injection molding process. In the process, the handle is injection molded first from a first material and then the stand is injection molded onto the handle from a second material. The handle is made from a relatively rigid thermoplastic material such as, for example, a polypropylene, a polyamide (such as nylon), or a polyester. The handle  3  could have Shore A hardness ranging from about 70 to 100. The stand  15  can be made from an elastomeric thermoplastic or the like such as, for example, styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene copolymers; thermoplastic polyurethane; or mixtures of polypropylene and natural rubber. The stand could have a Shore A hardness ranging from about 10 to 40. 
   While the brush  1  has been described with a handle  3  having an integrally molded stand  15  thereon, the stand could be molded separately from the handle and then affixed onto the hand holding portion  13  of the handle in a manner to prevent its removal during normal use of the brush. The stand could be held in place on the handle frictionally, or adhesively, by way of example. In another embodiment, the handle could provided with the collar integral thereon, the collar formed from the same first material as the handle. The legs, comprising the stand, could be molded separately from the second material. Suitable cooperating connecting means on the periphery of the collar and on the upper end of the legs would allow the legs to be connected to the collar. The connection could be permanent. By way of example, the connecting means could comprise a bayonet/slot type connection with slots formed around the periphery of the collar and the upper ends of the legs each having a ‘bayonet’ type end connection cooperating with a slot. 
   While one shape of stand  15  has been described, other shapes can be employed. The stand  15 ′ could, for example, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , comprise a central collar  21 ′, having a truncated, conical skirt  31  extending outwardly and downwardly from the collar  21 ′. The skirt  31  terminates in a circular edge  33  which forms the support end  17 ′ of the stand  15 ′. The skirt  31  folds and collapses on itself when the hand holding portion  13 ′ of the handle  3  of the brush, and the stand  15 ′ thereon, are grasped by the user. The skirt  31  returns to its original shape when released by the user. 
   The stand  15  can have other shapes as well other than a tripod shape or a conical, skirt shape. The stand could, for example, be bell-shaped, or cup-shaped. The stand could also be a solid member provided that it is made of material that is resilient and easily squeezed and that it has a flat support end  17 . For example the stand  15  could be a solid, truncated, conical block molded onto the hand portion of the handle. 
   The stand  15  has been described in most embodiments as being mounted onto the handle  3  with a collar  21 . The stand  15 ″ could also have a cup-shaped member  39  from which the legs  23 ″ extend, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the cup-shaped member  39  receiving the end  7 ″ of the handle  3 ″ of the toothbrush. Again, the stand  15 ″ could be molded integrally with the handle or it could be attached to the handle by suitable means.