Throw-away toothbrush and package

Dec. 25, 1962

Η. B. MacDONALD

THROW-AWAY TOOTHBRUSH AND PACKAGE

Filed May 12, 1960

3,070,102

<img file="US3070102A_D0001.tif" />

<img file="US3070102A_D0002.tif" />

3,078,102

Patented Dec. 25, 1962

United States Patent Office

3,070,102

THROW-AWAY TOOTHBRUSH AND PACKAGE Harold B. MacDonald 123 Washington St., Woburn, Mass.

Filed May 12, 1960, Ser. No. 28,602 5 Claims. (Cl. 132—84)

This invention relates to toothbrushes and more particularly to that class of handy sanitary articles that may be kept in sealed condition ready for instant use and after use may be thrown away.

An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive toothbrush having adhesive on the rear thereof with toothpaste imbedded in the bristles, the whole being sealed in an easily opened sanitary package. The construction of the package is such that upon initial opening the user will be able to place his forefinger against the back of the brush, causing the brush to adhere to his finger. Then upon removal of the brush from the package, it may be used for cleaning the teeth and/or massaging the gums in an acceptable manner. The brush may then be readily peeled from the finger and thrown away.

It is recognized that throw-away toothbrushes of this general character are not new in themselves, but the invention presented herein relates to the combination of the toothbrush, toothpaste and package in which the toothbrush is placed, thereby providing a complete unit that may be sold, distributed and placed in positions where it will be on hand when needed. For example, several of these units might be placed in hotel rooms along with the wrapped cakes of soap, or they could be carried by a traveler in his pocket or luggage. Since the toothpaste is spread upon the bristles of the brush prior to packaging, no further equipment is needed to carry out the tooth cleaning operation.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds with, the aid of the accompanying drawings in which

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of three packages, each containing an individual toothbrush, one of the packages having been severed from the strip.

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line 2—Ί of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 3—3 of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 shows the condition of the package after the top and bottom covers have been separated by the user.

FIG. 5 shows the user’s finger positioned against the back of the toothbrush and secured thereto by a suitable adhesive.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, with the bottom portion of the container removed, leaving the toothbrush ready for use.

It is contemplated that the invention hereindisclosed and claimed will in its most useful form be made as a series of connected packages which may be readily torn off for individual use. Such a series of packages is shown in FIG. 1, the packages being indicated by the numbers 2, 2' and 2. Between adjacent packages is a tear line 4 and, as shown, the package 2 has been separated from package 2' along the first tear line 4. The toothbrushes sealed in each package are indicated at 6, 6' and 6''.

The packaging of the toothbrushes in continuous strips is done by automatic machinery. The process includes the utilization of known sheet materials which may be heat sealed in known manner as the brushes and applied paste residing in the bristles pass through the packaging machine. Of course, the packaging could be accomplished by hand so far as the invention is concerned.

The construction of each individual packaged unit will now be described.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the brush 6 comprises a back 8 which terminates in a narrow extension 1®. On the face of back 8 are a plurality of bristles 12 which before packaging are smeared with toothpaste or other dentifrice 14. In the preferred form, the toothbrush will be made of molded homogeneous rubber or plastic or other equivalent, flexible material which will serve ade^δ quately in the tooth cleaning and gum massaging capacity, but it is to be understood that, the invention is not limited as to the brush construction. The top surface of the back 8 is covered with an adhesive, preferably a latex base material which is non-hardening and capable of causing ¹⁰ the back to adhere readily to the user’s finger sufficiently securely to permit the tooth cleaning and/or gum massaging operation to be carried out with the finger acting as the brush handle. The adhesive will be of such nature that the toothbrush may, after use, be readily peeled from ¹⁵ the finger to be thrown away.

The packaging material which encompasses the toothbrush may be in the form of a vinyl or polyethylene sheet 18 having a sheet of aluminum foil and/or other suitable material 2® on the outside. These two sheets bonded together are available in the trade and form a convenient packaging material because facing sheets of polyvinyl or polyethylene are capable of being heat sealed together, and additionally such sheet will peel off readily from the adhesive 16 on the back of the toothbrush.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the combined layers 18 and 23. which will hereinafter be referred to as the cover 22, commences at 24, with one face 25 running along the under side of the bristles of the brush and along the under side of extension 1® to be doubled back as at 26 for a distance equal to about the length of extension 10. This forms a first tab 27. The cover is then redoubled as at 28 for a distance again approximately equal to the length of the first tab 27. It is then folded back on itself ₃₅ once more as at 30 to form a second tab 31. Thence the cover forms a second face 32 which runs along the top side of the back of the toothbrush terminating at 33. The opposed polyvinyl or polyethylene faces are sealed together continuously along the edge of the strip of pack42 aged brushes as at 34, and additional sealing occurs transversely of the strip as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 at 36 and 38. Thus it can be seen that each of the individual toothbrushes found in the continuous strip shown in FIG. 1 is individually sealed in its own cover. Each package 42 may be readily separated from the next succeeding package by tearing along the tear line 4.

When a person desires to make use of one of these toothbrushes, the operation is as follows: He first tears one of the packages from the strip so that he will have 20 an individual unit, such as 2 in FIG. 1. He then grasps tab 31 between his right thumb and forefinger and grasps tab 27, which tab will include the extension 10, between his left thumb and forefinger. These tabs may then be pulled apart as indicated in FIG. 4, with the cover first 55 tearing readilj' along the fold line 28 and then along the sealed edges 36 and 38. During this operation, the upper part 32 of the cover will peel away from, the adhesive covered back 8.

The user then places his finger on the adhesive surface θθ 16 while the brush 6 is still residing on the bottom part 25 of cover 22, all as shown in FIG. 5. By pressing sufficiently on the back of the brush, the latter can be made to adhere firmly to the finger. The cover face 25 is then peeled away from the bristles and toothpaste gg and from extension 10, there being no adhesive on the extension. When this has been done, the brush will then be alone on the finger as shown in FIG. 6. The user may then clean his teeth with his finger acting as the brush handle. When finished, the brush will be 7₀ peeled from the finger and disposed of.

It is my intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for

3,070,102 ³ purposes of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.