US2686325A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 17, 1954 SILVER 2,586,325

TOOTHBRUSH Filed March 17. 1950 A 1 INVENTOR.

LOUIS SILVER ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 17, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOOTHBRUSH Louis Silver, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application March 17, 1950, Serial No. 150,297 1 Claim. (01. 15-188) This invention relates to toothbrushes and more particularly to toothbrushes which are in the form of finger sleeves adapted to be slid over a finger and which depend on finger motion for their cleansing action.

It is an object of this invention to provide a finger sleeve toothbrush which affords a thorough cleansing action on all exposed parts of the teeth and gums as well as the areas between the teeth and the gums, while preventing any rough or harsh action on said teeth or gums, such as may be caused by the use of a bristle type toothbrush.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a finger sleeve toothbrush which has maximum maneuverability and maintains a uniform and constant pressure for teeth cleaning and gum massaging.

Additionally it is an object of this invention to provide a finger sleeve toothbrush which covers substantially the entire length of the finger so as to maintain the desired sanitary protection for the user.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a finger sleeve toothbrush whose facility of use and efiiciency are not impaired by long or protruding fingernails.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a finger sleeve toothbrush which may readily be put on and pulled off and which at the same time will remain steadfast when on the finger and in use.

Further this invention sets forth a finger sleeve toothbrush which by virtue of its onepiece construction gives maximum service and wearability so as to be both economical, durable, and readily manufactured in large scale production.

Further and more particular objects of this invention will appear from the following description, read in the light of the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view of the finger sleeve toothbrush showing the ridges on the undersurface of the finger sleeve and the projection on the closed end thereof;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the finger sleeve toothbrush showing the ridges and projection on the finger sleeve as well as the tab formed on the open end thereof;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the finger sleeve toothbrush showing a finger inserted therein;

Figures 4, 5 and 6' are views similar to Figure 2 showing variations in the type of ridges which may be provided on the finger sleeve.

As shown in Figure 1, the toothbrush, which is 2 wholly made of a resilient rubber-like material, is formed of a finger sleeve I having a closedend 2 and an open end 3, and adapted to fit over'substantially the entire length of a finger. Adjacent the closed end section, at its undersurface (this.

designation may be taken, for the purpose of this description, to mean that part of the finger sleeve which coincide with the undersurface of the finger when positioned in the sleeve as opposed to the top surface containing the fingernail), the sleeve is provided with transverse ridges 4 (see also Figure 2). The ridges 4 are bordered with a series of shorter ridges 6, the apices of the ridge 6 being at substantially right angles to those of ridges 4 and extending outwardly thereof. The closed end 2 is provided with a pointed projection 5.

In use, the finger is slipped into the sleeve l at the open end 3 and the finger is positioned in the sleeve by use of a pulling action on tabs 1 and 8 (see Figure 1), which are provided at the open end 3 of the sleeve l.

The sleeve is tapered at its closed end, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, and is of such length that a finger having a long and protruding fingernail, such as is common with women, is suitably permitted to be retained in the sleeve without breaking the fingernail or having it dig into the sleeve, resulting in tearage, and the finger is substantially fully covered so as to prevent contact between the finger and the mouth of the user, thus preserving the desired sanitary conditions in using this toothbrush.

The transverse ridges 4 on the undersurface of the sleeve l are suitably pyramidal in shape as hown in Figure 2. Likewise they may be of diagonal, zigzag, or rectangular, diagonal and sinusoidal as shown in Figure 4, 5 and 6. Since they are made of a resilient rubber-like material, when the ridges are moved against the teeth and gums, there results a squeegee action which thoroughly cleans the whole tooth and gum area, in contrast to the action attained by the bristle type toothbrush in common use.

The shorter ridges 6, bordering the transverse ridges 4 serve to efiectively clean the junction area of the gums and teeth by a meshing type of action. The pointed projection 5, by virtue of its shape, serves to clean between-the-teeth areas by efiectively projecting into these narrow spaces.

The ridges 4 and 6 may be effectively located on a thickened portion of the sleeve ID, as shown in Figure l. The thickened portion I0 is located on the undersurface of that part of the sleeve which corresponds to the outermost joint of the may be provided with a hole 9 for hanging thetoothbrush when not in use. The lower tab 8 is slightly longer than theupper tab and is conveniently" equipped with several cross ridges or a roughened surface preferably on both sides,v

which is adapted to be retained by the thumb,

thus preventing the sleeve from being pulled oil in the cleansing and massaging process.

A drainage hole I2 is provided at the top surface at the closed end section of'the fingen sleeve as shown in Figure 1 so as to permit any liquid which has collected in the toothbrush to flow out. In addition, this hole serves to permit egress of uponvthefingeiz Although I have described a preferred embodimerit of this invention, I: do not wish to-' be limiteda by the foregoing; description but solely- What: is claimed. is

flexible finger sleevetoothbrushmad'e of a resilient-material comprising a finger sleeve; closed atone end and openat the othensaid finger sleeve being adapted to fit over substantially the entire length of a finger, and having a thickened section at its outer surface with a plurality of ridges thereon, said ridges being located at that section of the sleeve coincident with the underside of the outermost joint of a finger when inserted in said sleeve, and comprising one set of ridges running substantially transverse to the length of the sleeve,. and another set. of ridges bordering the transverse set of ridges;. and? substantially triangular in shape, the apices thereof being at substantially right angles to the crests of the transverse ridges, said closed end being provided with sufficient space to accommodate a protruding fingernail and having at the tip thereof a pointed projection for between-the-teeth cleaning.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date.

2 ,016,951 Welker 0e17,. 1935: 2,103,083 Lynch Dec.,21'-, 1937i 2,409,101 Brittingham Qot. 8,1

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date:

1671,906 Great Britain Aug. 25, 1921 398,919 Great. Britain Sept. 28;,19 33 813,603 France June 5,1193?-

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