US3474481A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 28, 1969 -s. SOLEYMANI ET AL 3,474,481

TOOTHBRUS'H Filed May 17, 1968 INVENTORS.

SION SOLEYMAN! ALBIN G.- SCHIFF #11? W ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,474,481 TOOTHBRUSH Sion Soleymani, 18455 Stoepel, Detroit, Mich. 48221,

and Albin G. Schiif, 3995 Lankenau Ave., Philadelphia,

Filed May 17, 1968, Ser. No. 730,071 Int. Cl. A46b /00 US. Cl. 15-167 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A generally T-shaped toothbrush including a handle portion and a bristle portion disposed generally at right angles thereto, the said handle portion being bent at an angle of approximately fifty degrees with the bristle portion to permit the lingual surfaces of the teeth to be more readily approached.

The invention relates generally to the toothbrush industry and more particularly relates to a toothbrush having a curvature designed for easy access to both the lingual and buccal surfaces of the upper and lower teeth.

It has been recognized and proven that proper methods to employ in brushing the teeth include the vertical, rolling, Fones, Stillman and the Charters methods. These methods have proven to help reduce cavities and to stimulate the gingival without injury by removing the majority of the trapped food particles. In the past, it was common procedure to utilize a sideward stroke but this was proven ineffective in removing all trapped food particles as well as sometimes being harmful by resulting in the unwarranted infliction of permanent injury to the dental and periodontal tissues. In many instances food particles could not be removed even when employing the vertical or rolling strokes because of the inability of the conventional L-shaped toothbrushes to reach all of the teeth, especially the lingual surfaces of the lower teeth.

The advantage of the novel toothbrush herein disclosed over the regular toothbrush or common toothbrush is that the lingual surfaces of the teeth can be approached much easier than with any presently available toothbrush. The buccal surfaces of the upper teeth and lower teeth, especially molar can be more easily approached than with conventional toothbrushes. The lingual surfaces of the lower teeth are actually at this moment not approachable either with an electric toothbrush or with a manual toothbrush. The instant toothbrush can approach and reach the crevices and interdental papillas much easier than prior art toothbrushes. Also, the lingual surfaces of the lower teeth can be reached much easier with the instant design of the toothbrush. The massaging of the gums incidental to usage of the toothbrush and an easy approach between the teeth bring tremendous advantages to this toothbrush. The occlusal surfaces of the teeth can be reached very well after all the quadrants of the mouth are brushed and massaged. The up and down motion illustrated in the drawing verifies that the interdental papillas are not being injured because the angle of the toothbrush massages the gums and promotes circulation instead of injuring the gums or the gingival with the tip of the bristle. The angle of the bristle also is advantageous because it shows that the massaging of the gums is more readily approached than with a conventional toothbrush.

The instant toothbrush is further advantageous in that it is much easier to explain to a patient by the dentist or by the manufacturer proper brushing techniques and methods of holding the toothbrush than with the conventional toothbrush.

The toothbrush as herein disclosed is especially adapted for use by children inasmuch as it is simpler to manipulate ice and can be more easily handled than toothbrushes of conventional design. It is thus apparent that children will more readily grasp the fundamentals of good brushing techniques and thereby greatly benefit without undue effort or instruction.

The two rows of bristles are utilized in order to form a single row which will interdigitate to thus prevent the abrasion of the gingival.

The present invention eliminates all of the aforementioned problems by providing a toothbrush having a novel shape to facilitate the reaching of all surfaces of the upper and lower teeth and to thereby remove all of the trapped food particles therefrom.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved toothbrush of the type set forth.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush capable of effectively reaching all surfaces of the upper and lower teeth.

Another object is the provision of a toothbrush having the capabilities of removing all of the trapped food particles from the teeth.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel toothbrush featuring unique handle configuration to facilitate access to all portions of the users mouth.

It is another object of this invention to provide a toothbrush that is inexpensive to manufacture, durable in construction and trouble-free upon use.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention will be had by referring to the following description and claim of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial, top plan view of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates the position of the invention in use.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modified type of toothbrush.

Although specific terms are used in the following description for the sake of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particular structure of our invention selected for illustration in the drawings and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a toothbrush 10 having a handle portion 12 and a head portion 14. The head portion 14 comprises two rows of bristles 16 attached at substantially right angles to a bar member 18 in a known manner. The bar member 18 is integrally joined with the forward section of the handle portion 12 and is perpendicular to the axis thereof (see FIG. 2) to provide a substantially T-shaped configuration. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the bar member 18 is integrally formed at approximately a fifty degree angle with the handle portion 12.

The handle portion 12 includes a fiat portion 14 which terminates forwardly at the neck portion 20 so as to provide a raised elbow 22 for angular junction with the bar member 18. The remaining rearward portion of the handle 12 is flat, as at 24, so as to provide a place for fingers of the user (not shown) to grasp the tooth brush in the usual manner. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the neck portion 20 narrows, as at 26, to allow for easy maneuverability in the mouth.

In the modified type of toothbrush illustrated in FIG. 4, we show a generally T-shaped toothbrush 10 having a handle portion 12' and a head portion 14' disposed at right angles thereto. The head portion 14 includes two rows of bristles 16 attached at substantially right angles to the bar member 18' in well-known manner. The bar member 18 integrally joins the forward section of the handle portion 12' and is perpendicular to the axis thereof to form a substantially T-shaped configuration. In side elevation the bar member 18 joins the handle portion 12 at approximately a fifty degree angle through the transition neck portion 20' and raised elbow 22.

The handle 24' terminates rearwardly in a shortened end 28 for connection with an electric toothbrush driving unit (not shown) in conventional manner. It can well be appreciated that the shortened end 28 may be altered as required to conveniently fit all popular electrical driving units and still fall within the scope of this invention.

In order to use our invention, toothpaste is first applied to the bristles 16 inthe usual manner. The head portion 14 is then inserted into the users mouth with the bristles facing upwardly when brushing the upper teeth (see FIG. 3) and with the bristles facing downwardly when brushing the lower teeth. By adjusting the angle of the handle portion 12 (or 12) within the users mouth, the bristles 16 can readily be brought to bear at substantially right angles against all surfaces of all teeth.

The angle of approximately fifty degrees impressed at the neck 20, 20' serves to permit the toothbrush 10, to easily approach both the lingual and buccal surfaces of both the upper and lower teeth. By simple manipulation of the handle 12, 12', the bristles can readily be applied to reach the crevices and interdental papillas. The fifty degree angle has proven to be the optimum angular setting between the handle and the bristles to most conveniently reach all surfaces of all teeth. When angular relations somewhat greater or somewhat less than fifty degrees were employed, decreased efiiciencies resulted and certain tooth surfaces proved to be more difiicult, if not impossible, to effectively reach no matter how the handle was positioned.

Angular settings between the bar and handle ranging between forty degrees and sixty degrees have been employed successfully, but it has been found that as the angle varies above or below the optimum setting of sixty degrees, greater manual dexterity must be employed to obtain the desired results.

Although we have described our invention with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A toothbrush for applying toothpaste to teeth within the mouth of the user comprising (A) a handle portion of generally elongated, flat construction having parallel spaced flat surfaces,

(1) said handle portion having a forward end and a rearward end;

(B) a bar member extending at right angles to the said handle portion, and having a connected surface and a bristle surface;

(1) said bar member having bristles afiixed therein and extending exteriorly from the said bristle surface thereof,

(a) the said bar member being so positioned that the said bar is disposed at an angle of fifty degrees with a plane drawn parallel to the said flat surfaces of the handle portion;

(C) and a V-shaped neck portion interconnecting the said forward end of the handle portion and the connected surface of the said :bar member,

(1) said neck portion joining the said handle in a raised elbow having narrowed apex,

(2) the said neck portion being indented inwardly from the sides thereof to provide maneuverability in the mouth,

(3) the apex of the said V-shaped neck portion raising above a plane drawn axially through the said handle portion parallel to the said flat surfaces,

(4) the said neck portion being of narrowest configuration at the said raised apex to thereby provide greatest accessibility to the teeth by the said bristles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,500,722 7/1924 Roush 15-167 1,520,730 12/1924 Street 16167 1,736,525 11/1929 Evslin l5167 2,431,861 12/1947 Babe 15-167 2,603,806 7/1952 Kisky 1S167 FOREIGN PATENTS 574,577 4/1924 France.

PETER FELDMAN, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 15-143

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