Toothbrush container with twist vent-caps and integrated dental floss dispenser

Abstract

For carry-on and storage, a combination toothbrush container providing features for selectively venting and sealing a dentifrice dispensing toothbrush for drying bristles and for preventing hardening of toothpaste in the spout opening of the brush head. The toothbrush container consists of a hollow vent-tubing with vent holes near the top and the bottom end, as well as a top vent-cap and a bottom vent-cap. Both vent-caps have corresponding vent holes and can be twisted to open or close the vent holes of the vent-tubing for air circulation or for sealing the toothbrush in the enclosed air environment. Optionally the top vent-cap is attached with a dental floss dispenser having a scissors-like two-blade cutter assembly for automatically severing a dental floss by the closing action of the cutter lid. Besides, the vent-caps may have dual walls for enhancing the sealing function.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] It has been recognized that a dentifrice dispensing toothbrush provides portability and convenience for brushing teeth while away from home, in travel, in workplace or for carry-on in purse for brushing at any time any where. In these uses, a brush cover or a toothbrush container is needed for protecting the bristles and preventing the drying of the toothpaste in the spout opening of the brush head. A conventional toothbrush container having venting holes cannot prevent drying of toothpaste in the spout opening of the brush head. The use of a sealing rod inserted into the spout opening exposes the spout area to the open air environment that allows for slow hardening of the toothpaste. Therefore, it is desirable to have a toothbrush container that provides features for selectively enabling air circulation when the toothbrush is in active use and sealing the toothbrush in an enclosed air environment when placed in storage. Moreover, it is also desira...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] For carry-on and storage, a toothbrush container is provided for selectively venting and sealing a dentifrice dispensing toothbrush for drying bristles and for preventing hardening of toothpaste in the spout opening in the brush head. The toothbrush container of the present invention consists of a hollow vent-tubing having vent holes near the top and the bottom end, as well as a top vent-cap and a bottom vent-cap. Both vent-caps have corresponding vent holes and can be twisted to align their vent holes with that of the vent-tubing for air circulation or for covering the vent holes for sealing the air paths for preventing drying of the toothpaste. In addition to having vent holes, the top vent-cap of a combination toothbrush container of the present invention is attached with a dental floss dispenser which is equipped with a scissors-like two-blade cutter assembly for automatically severing a dental floss strand when a hinged cutter lid having one blade is enclosing on a support wall having a mating blade. For enhancing the sealing function, a vent-cap having concentric dual walls with vent holes on each wall is used for doubling the length of sealing path for preventing drying of toothpaste.

[0012] In summary, key advantages of the toothbrush container of the present invention are selective venting and sealing functions of vent-caps for air circulation of bristles and for preventing drying of toothpaste, as well as the automatic cutting of dental floss by the action of closing the cutter lid.

Problems solved by technology

It does not provide a mechanism for enclosing the brush head of a dentifrice dispensing toothbrush for preventing drying of toothpaste.

The second step of manual pulling the dental floss for cutting presents great difficulty for persons lack of finger dexterity.

However, the described mechanisms are not applicable for sealing the spout of a dentifrice dispensing toothbrush.

For the flip or a hinged type, the angular motion of the sealing element cannot provide full sealing contact with the straight spout wall.

As for the screw type, the threaded sealing element requires extra clearance space in the spout area that reduces the effective bristle space for brushing.

The disclosed structure does not provide applicable sealing function for a dentifrice dispensing toothbrush.

Also, its long and narrow cavity for storing the brush head is not easily accessible for cleaning.

The outer annular wall for sealing takes extra space in the spout area that reduces effective bristle area for brushing.

Besides, any defective sealing due to manufacturing tolerance at the spout area can significantly deplete the moisture from inside the spout area that causes drying and hardening of the toothpaste beneath the spout opening because of the exposure of the spout area to the open ambient air environment.

In view of the above prior art, there is lack of means for providing an enclosure for blocking air exchange in the vicinity of the spout area of a dentifrice dispensing toothbrush for preventing drying of toothpaste when in storage as well as selectively venting and drying the bristles of the toothbrush when in active regular use.

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