Display holder for dental materials

• US 3,966,055 A
• Filed: 06/14/1974
• Issued: 06/29/1976
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vincent J. Francavilla
• Original Assignee: Vincent J. Francavilla
• Inventors: Francavilla, Vincent J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Frazier, Roy D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hafer, Robert A.
• Application Number:
  US05/479,276
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• Field of Search: 211/65, 211/66, 248/DIG. 8, 248/108, 248/109, 248/110, 248/111, 248/113, D6/114, D6/125
• US Class Current: 211/65
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 1/09 Holders for drinking glasses, tooth brushes, hair brushes, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0084 Dental hygiene
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 248/908 Simulation of diverse device

Abstract

A display holder, useful as a children'"'"'s dental hygiene teaching aid and adapted to hold three or more different but related functional articles, such as toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste and dispensers for dental floss, includes a display surface having a scene depicted thereon such that parts of the scene relate to and are adapted to include the functional articles, when held in place therein, to participitate in and complete the scene, and has means for holding the functional articles in place with respect to the display surface so that they participate in and complete the scene depicted. Preferably the display holder is made of a pair of three dimensional film plastic forms, made by vacuum forming of sheet materials, which are held together, the scene is that of a tooth, representing a castle, and includes as parts of the scene means for holding a toothbrush, tube of toothpaste and dispenser, of dental floss, all of which represent decay fighters or weapons used to protect against tooth decay.

Claims

1. A display holder, adapted to be held vertically in use, holding and displaying a toothbrush, a container of dentifrice and a dispenser of dental floss at particular indicated locations therein, which comprises a pair of unitary synthetic organic polymeric plastic three-dimensional front and back members of vacuum formed sheet material of a thickness between 5 and 50 mils, inclusive, each of said members having first areas which conform with and contact similar areas on the other member, said members being fastened together at said first areas so as to rigidify the display holder, said members having second areas which are spaced from each other and form compartments therein between them for at least the toothbrush and container of dentifrice, which compartment for the dentifrice supports the container thereof resting on its bottom, the front member having a scene depicted thereon including a representation of a fighter against tooth decay and a weapon for use in such fight wherein the container of dentifrice participates and represents at least a part of said fighter against tooth decay and the toothbrush participates and represents at least a part of said weapon when the container of dentifrice and toothbrush are held in the display holder at their particular indicated locations.

2. A display holder according to claim 1 wherein there are matching recesses in the front and back members in which the dispenser of dental floss is held, with an inner wall of the recess in the back member enclosing and contacting an outer wall of the recess of the front member to rigidify the front member recess wall.

3. A display holder according to claim 2 wherein the scene depicted on the front member thereof is one related to the defense of the teeth against tooth decay in which a moated castle represents a tooth, the container of dentifrice is a tube of toothpaste which represents a knight, a portion of the front member for supporting the tube of toothpaste represents a shield, a toothbrush represents a part of a lance, a portion of the front member for supporting the toothbrush represents a lance handle, the dental floss in the container represents a rope and a holder in the front member for holding the dispenser of dental floss represents an aperture in a wall of the castle, so that proper return of the tube of toothpaste, toothbrush and dispenser of dental floss to the display holder after use thereof is facilitated by identification of each of said items with its respective portion of the scene.

4. A display holder according to claim 3 which includes at least two toothbrushes, at least two tubes of toothpaste and at least two dispensers of dental floss and respective holding means therefor and in which the vacuum formed synthetic organic polymeric plastic material is an acrylonitrile-butadienestyrene polymer.

5. A display holder according to claim 4 wherein the front member is shaped to produce four forwardly projecting hollows therein for supporting the two tubes of toothpaste and two toothbrushes in cooperation with the backing member and the backing member is shaped so that it enters at least part way into said hollows and is joined to the walls thereof to produce compartments for holding the toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes, to strengthen said walls of the compartments so formed and to diminish the sizes of the compartments so as to make them better adapted to hold the described items.

6. A display holder according to clsim 5 wherein the front and back members conform with and are contactable with each other over first areas which cover at least half their facing surfaces, which is strengthened by conforming rib and channel sections in said first areas of said front and back members and about the periphery of which is a flange, made from conforming flanges in said first areas of said front and back members, which is suitable for fastening to a vertical wall by a pressure sensitive adhesive.