Toothbrush article with dispenser for dental hygiene products
View Patent ↗A toothbrush assembly includes a toothbrush implement and a receptacle unit removably connected together. The receptacle has a hollow body construction that is configured to include a partition that divides the interior space into a front compartment that holds a toothpaste tube and a rear compartment that stores mouthwash. A removable lid covers the open free end of the receptacle. On one side, the lid has an orifice that receives the nipple of the toothpaste tube loaded into the front compartment. On another side, the lid has a nipple projection that is disposed in fluid communication with the rear compartment. A front sidewall of the receptacle body has an opening that communicates with the front compartment. A resilient pad fits over the opening and can be depressed to apply a squeezing action to the loaded toothpaste tube and cause toothpaste to be dispensed from its nipple.
1 . A toothbrush assembly, consisting of:
a top part including an elongate body and a toothbrush bristle head; and
a bottom part releasably connected to the top part, the bottom part including:
a one-piece elongate hollow body having an open upper end and a closed lower end, the closed lower end being free of any openings, the body defining an interior space, the body having a front half sidewall and a rear half sidewall,
a partition that includes a vertically extending wall extending laterally from a side portion to an adjacent side portion of the hollow body and extending from the closed lower end of the bottom part of upwardly toward the open upper end, the partition disposed in the hollow body and dividing the interior space into a tube-receiving front compartment space and a fluid-receiving rear compartment space,
an opening in the open upper end formed in the front half sidewall and communicating with the front compartment space,
a lid removably located on the bottom part body at the upper end thereof, the lid including a front section having a nipple-receiving aperture disposed in communication with the front compartment space, the lid including a rear section having a nipple projection disposed in fluid communication with the rear compartment space, and
a bottom front grip feature carried by the bottom part body and disposed over the opening formed in the front half sidewall, and
a toothpaste tube positioned within the tube-receiving front compartment of the bottom part of the toothbrush article, the toothbrush tube including a dispensing nipple freely extending through the nipple-receiving aperture of the lid and in uncoupled relation to the top part,
wherein the bottom front grip feature is configured to define an intimate spaced-apart relationship with the toothpaste tube in the tube-receiving wherein the top part includes first mating structure and the bottom part includes second mating structure, the first mating structure consisting of one of a rib or a recess, the second mating structure consisting of the other of the rib or the recess, the rib and the recess configured to form a snap fit between the top part and the bottom part of the container to releasably secure the first part to the second part front compartment space such that depression of the bottom front grip feature causes direct contact with the toothpaste tube to at least partially compress the toothbrush tube to displace toothpaste and cause dispensing of the toothpaste onto the toothbrush bristle head of the toothbrush implement via the nipple of the toothpaste tube when the toothbrush implement is released from the container, and
wherein the top part includes first mating structure and the bottom part includes second mating structure, the first mating structure consisting of one of a rib or a recess, the second mating structure consisting of the other of the rib or the recess, the rib and the recess configured to form a snap fit between the top part and the bottom part of the container to releasably secure the first part to the second part.
2 . The assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the toothbrush implement including a head and a shank extending from the head, the shank having a bottom free end.
3 . The assembly as recited in claim 2 , wherein the bottom free end of the shank further includes a terminal peripheral bottom edge having a recess formed therein.
4 . The assembly as recited in claim 3 , wherein the open upper end of the bottom part body includes a terminal peripheral upper edge having a peripheral lip projecting therefrom.
5 . The assembly as recited in claim 4 , wherein the top part and the bottom part are connected together by seating the lip projecting from the terminal peripheral upper edge of the open upper end of the bottom part body within the recess formed in the terminal peripheral bottom edge of the bottom free end of the toothbrush implement shank.
6 . The assembly as recited in claim 4 , wherein the lid is disposed at a location generally concentric and radially inward of the lip projecting from the terminal peripheral upper edge of the open upper end of the bottom part body.
7 . The assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the bottom part body is configured to receive and support the toothpaste tube in a manner such that the nipple of the toothpaste tube extends through the nipple-receiving aperture of the lid.
8 . The assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein a combination of the rear section, the partition, and the rear half sidewall define a fluid-tight receptacle.
9 . The assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the partition is configured at an upper end thereof to support the lid.