Technical Field

The present invention relates to a holder for securing detachable toothbrush heads for electric toothbrushes, said toothbrush head having a movable disc or disc part supported by a shaft, and which is provided with bristles protruding substantially parallel to a first axis, said first axis extending substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the disc.

Background Art

US 6.776.296 discloses a holder for toothbrushes, said holder having one or more cavities, each cavity being adapted to accommodate its toothbrush head with bristles. The cavities are lined with rubber material intended to conform to the shape of the toothbrush. Furthermore, the holder has a rubber or steel grommet to keep the toothbrush in its position inside the cavity. The patent states that the cavities partially enclose the toothbrushes, and that the toothbrush is entered into the cavity bristles first, and that the toothbrush can be operated with one hand.

This holder is not fully satisfactorily as the rubber lining is worn out from being used when the toothbrush is pressed into the cavity. Thus after some time the lining will not conform to the shape of the toothbrush any more, and it will lose its ability to secure the toothbrush inside the cavity.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the invention is to provide a holder of the above kind which is easy to manufacture and particularly suited for securing detachable toothbrush heads for elec- trie toothbrushes in a safe and simple way under hygienic conditions, and which can be operated easily with one hand.

The holder according to the invention is accordingly characterised by being provided with a plurality of recesses, each of said recesses being adapted to accommodate at least the end of the toothbrush head supporting the disc or the disc part with bristles, each recess having first supporting surfaces to support the rim of the disc or disc part in the radial direction perpendicularly to said first axis, and second supporting surfaces for supporting the rear side of the disc or the disc part in the axial direction parallel to said first axis.

Thus, a plain and simple securing is obtained in a plain and simple structure with a sur- face, which does not alter, and which is worn relatively slowly from usage. It is very hygienic and needs very little cleaning as the bristles do not have any immediate contact to the holder. The holder can be made very thin, so that it does not jut out of the wall without reducing the access of light and air to the bristles as they protrude freely out of the holder.

The holder can be operated easily with one hand although detachable toothbrush heads for electric toothbrushes have a short shaft compared to traditional toothbrushes. As the toothbrush head and the shaft exactly fit into the recess, when the bristles turn outwards, all it takes for securing the toothbrush head inside the holder and for taking the toothbrush head out of the holder, respectively, is a gentle pressure on the shaft in order to press it into its position and a gentle pull of the shaft in order to take it out.

According to a particular embodiment of the holder according to the invention, the first supporting surfaces of the recess follow the outline of the disc outside the area of the shaft, and furthermore the first supporting surfaces can form a continuous partially circular surface, said continuous partially circular surface fitting approximately to the toothbrush head of an electric toothbrush. Hereby it is achieved that the toothbrush head does not fall out by itself, and at the same time it can easily be placed in the re- cess and be taken out again with one hand. Furthermore, the embodiment can be manufactured in a simple way.

In addition, the holder according to the invention can be peculiar in that the second supporting surfaces are adapted to abut the rear side of the disc via the shaft, and furthermore they can specifically have a shape, which is complementary to at least parts of the rear side of the shaft. Hereby, a particularly advantageous embodiment is ob- tained.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawings, in which

Fig. 1 is a front view of a part of an embodiment for a holder,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the holder shown in Fig. 1 along the line l-l, and

Fig. 3 is the same view including a toothbrush head accommodated herein.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

Figs. 1-3 show a holder 1 with recesses 7, each of said recesses being adapted to ac- commodate a detachable toothbrush head for an electric toothbrush. Such a toothbrush head is indicated by the general reference number 2 in Fig. 3. The toothbrush head 2 has a movable disc or disc part 3 supported by a shaft 4. The toothbrush head is provided with bristles 5 protruding from the disc or disc part 3 substantially parallel to a first axis 6. The holder 1 is adapted so that the toothbrush head 2 can be placed herein without the bristles getting into contact with the holder 1. In the embodiment shown, the first axis 6, which is perpendicular to the disc or disc part, is identical to the second axis 12 in the holder, when the toothbrush head is placed herein.

The recess 7 has a supporting surface 8 to support the rim of the disc or the disc part 3 in the radial direction perpendicularly to said second axis 12. In the shown embodiment of the invention, the supporting surface 8 has a continuous partially circular surface approximately following the outline of the disc or disc part 3 outside the area of the shaft 4.

In the embodiment shown said supporting surface 8 passes into a shoulder surface 9 seen in the direction into the recess 7, said shoulder surface 9 also forming a continuous partially circular surface, which follows the outline of the disc or the disc part outside the area of the shaft 4. The shoulder surface 9 is connected to a plane contact face 10 via a partially circular face 11 extending parallel to said axis 12. The shoulder surface 9 and the contact face 10 support the toothbrush head 2 at the rim of the disc or the disc part 3 in the axial direction parallel to said axis 12, the shoulder surface 9 providing direct support on the rim of the disc or the disc part, while the contact face 10 provides indirect support via the shaft 4.

In the above embodiment, the face 11 has the shape of a part of a cylinder with a length corresponding to the distance between the rim of the disc or the disc part 3 and the rear of the shaft 4. Thereby, the plane of the contact face 10 becomes circular, and can thus be manufactured easily. In an additional embodiment the latter faces 10, 11 can be shaped complementary to the form of the shaft 4 in the end supporting the disc or the disc part 3. The toothbrush head 2, however, is secured sufficiently in the holder 1 simply by means of contact to the supporting surface 8 and the face 9 or 10.

The thickness of the holder 1 corresponds to the thickness of the toothbrush head 2 plus an appropriate plate thickness of the rear side of the holder 1 behind the recesses 7.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiment, which can be amended in many ways without diverging from the idea behind the invention. Thus, the shape of the re- cesses can be more rounded thus fitting more complementary to the shape of the toothbrush head. The recesses can have grooves/slits so that additional air gets to the back side of the toothbrush head.

The holder 1 can be installed directly on the wall, for instance by means of screw holes or adhesive cushions or indirectly on a supporting intermediate plate, which is fixed to the wall first. Hereby, the holder 1 can be installed detachably onto the intermediate plate, so that it can be installed and de-installed easily upon cleaning. Furthermore the holder 1 can be made from metal, plastic or wood. Additionally, the holder 1 can be adapted with a cover plate against dust and a dripping plate below it for catching water from the toothbrush head 2.