Toothbrush having an exchangeable bristle plate

• US 6,360,398 B1
• Filed: 01/27/2000
• Issued: 03/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Georg Wiegner
• Original Assignee: Georg Wiegner
• Inventors: Wiegner, Georg, Kim, Hyeong Sook
• Primary Examiner(s): Spisich, Mark
• Application Number:
  US09/492,507
• Time in Patent Office: 789 Days
• Field of Search: 151/671, 151/761, 151/764-176
• US Class Current: 15/167.1
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 7/04 interchangeably removable bristle carriers

Abstract

Toothbrush having an exchangeable bristle plate which is fastened releasably on a head-side carrier plate of a toothbrush body by a groove/tongue anchorage in conjunction with a press fit of a handle-side end of the bristle plate on an undercut stop of the toothbrush body. The undercut of the stop of the toothbrush body is designed in the form of a round wedge, a round wedge of the bristle plate finally engaging in the undercut when a central, rear elongate tongue is anchored in the groove of the carrier plate. The toothbrush body can be bent, at least in the region of the carrier plate and of a toothbrush neck, in order for the round-wedge securing arrangement of the bristle plate to be levered out.

Claims

1. A toothbrush comprising:

a toothbrush body having an elongated neck extending from a distal end thereof, an elongated planar carrier plate including a first end extending from the distal end of the neck and a second free end, the carrier plate including an elongate central groove defining an aperture extending through the carrier plate;

a round-wedge-form undercut stop located at the meeting of the first end of the carrier plate and the distal end of the neck, said undercut stop including a top wall spaced from an upper surface of the carrier plate and including a concave surface beneath said top wall facing the free second end of the carrier plate, the concave surface extending across the width of the carrier plate and the depth of the undercut stop beneath said top wall decreases from a central portion thereof to each of opposite sides thereof which sides define the width of the carrier plate;

a bristle plate including a bristled upper surface and a lower surface including an elongate tongue adapted for releasable insertion into the groove of the carrier plate, a first end of said bristle plate including a round wedge extending across the width thereof and which defines a convex shape which matches the concave shape of the undercut stop; and

whereby the bristle plate and the carrier plate are releasably connected with a snap-fit connection and a second end of the bristle plate is free of direct attachment to said carrier plate.

2. A toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein said toothbrush body comprises a flexible material in the region on the carrier plate and of the toothbrush neck.

3. A toothbrush according to claim 2, wherein the flexible material comprises polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyethylene terephthalate which is suitable for injection molding (PETG).

4. A toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the bristle plate comprises a thin plate in which a cluster of bristles is fastened in a selectably arranged manner.