The present disclosure relates to a toilet brush, more particularly to a toilet brush comprising a soluble brush head, which may be replaced.

Toilet brushes generally comprise a unitarily formed handle and brush head, wherein the brush head is provided with a plurality of non-soluble cleaning bristles, which may be formed from nylon or a similar material. Such conventional toilet brushes are generally stored in toilet brush holders that receive the head of the toilet brush when it is not in use and retain the handle in an upright position to be grasped by a user when the brush is to be used for cleaning a toilet.

These conventional toilet brushes, whilst effective in dislodging material that is stuck to a toilet bowl, do not aid in disinfecting the toilet bowl. Generally bleach or other cleaning products are required to be used in tandem with the toilet brush to maintain a clean toilet bowl. Furthermore, dirt is easily trapped in and amongst the bristles of the brush head, which dirt is transferred to and stored in the toilet brush holder between uses, which is extremely unhygienic.

The present invention arose in a bid to provide an improved toilet brush.

According to the present invention in a first aspect, there is provided a toilet brush comprising a handle and a brush head, wherein the brush head is detachably connectable to the handle and comprises flexible bristles that are formed from a gel that is soluble in water.

According to the present invention in a further aspect, there is provided a toilet brush comprising a handle and a brush head, wherein the brush head is detachably connectable to the handle and the handle is provided with a flexible plunging element which is arranged such that the handle may be used as a plunger when the brush head is detached from the handle. The plunging element may comprise a flexible disc, which extends radially outwardly from the handle. The plunging element may be substantially planar.

Further preferred features are presented in the dependent claims.

Non-limiting embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a toilet brush according to the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a part sectional view of the toilet brush of Figure 1 with the brush head detached;

Figure 3 shows an exemplary brush head before and after use;

Figure 4 shows a close up perspective view of the attachment mechanism for the brush head (with the brush head attached); and

Figure 5 shows a close up perspective view of the attachment mechanism for the brush head in a retracted state (with the brush head detached).

Figure 1 shows a toilet brush embodying the present invention. The toilet brush comprises, broadly, a handle 100 and a brush head 101, which is detachably connected to the handle.

The handle is preferably formed from plastic and may be formed by injection moulding or otherwise.

The handle is provided with a hand grip 102 at or adjacent its first (proximal) end, which hand grip is arranged to be grasped by a user during use of the toilet brush. The hand grip may be integrally formed with the remainder of the handle or may comprise a separate element, such as a rubber or plastic end cap or sleeve or otherwise, that is attached to the handle. In the arrangement shown, the handle is integrally formed and is provided with ribs to increase grip. The handle comprises a longitudinally extending and preferably substantially cylindrical shaft 103, which extends from the hand grip at the first end to a second (distal) end, which engages the brush head 101. It should be appreciated that the handle may take other forms, however, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.

A radially protruding and flexible collar 2 is preferably provided adjacent the second end of the handle. By adjacent the second end, it is meant that the collar is provided closer to the second end of the handle than to the first end, which is provided with the hand grip. The flexible collar allows the toilet brush to be used as a plunger when the brush head is detached from the handle, as shown in Figure 2 for example. In other words, the handle 100 doubles as a plunger by virtue of the collar. The flexible collar is substantially disc like in form and planar with its plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle. Whilst the collar is shown to be substantially planar, it should be appreciated that it may take other, more conventional, plunger forms. It may, for example be substantially dome shaped. The only limitation on the form of the collar is that it must not interfere with the use of the toilet brush when it is being used to clean the bowl of a toilet. The collar 2 is preferably integrally moulded with the handle. It may, however, be separately formed and attached to the shaft of the handle using adhesive or alternative suitable fixing means, in which case it may comprise a disc with a central opening that receives the shaft of the handle.

Adjacent the second end of the handle there may be a flexible joint 3 provided to allow the second end of the handle, to which the brush head is attached in use, to flex, such that the axis of the brush head may be provided at an angle to the axis of the handle for cleaning under a toilet rim or similar by flexing the joint. As shown in Figure 1, the flexible joint is provided between the flexible collar 2 and the brush head. The flexible joint may comprise a portion of flexible tubing, made of rubber or similar, that is inserted during manufacture of the handle at the desired location along the length of the handle.

The brush head comprises a plurality of bristles 10, 11, which are soluble in water. The bristles most preferably comprise a cleaning agent and/or a descaling agent. Most preferably the cleaning agent contains a bleaching agent. The bristles project radially outwardly from the brush head at a range of angles, as shown. The bristles may be configured to provide a brush head of any desired shape. The bristles may all be formed together in a single moulding. Adjacent bristles preferably have their tips spaced from one another by 10mm.

In a preferred arrangement, the brush head is arranged such that all or a majority of the bristles are angled downwards, that is the bristles extend from the brush head at an angle of greater than 90 degrees (most preferably at an angle of greater than 135 degrees) with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle, in a direction away from the hand grip. By this arrangement when the toilet brush is oriented with the handle vertical and the hand grip uppermost the bristles are angle downwards. By such an arrangement the catching of remnant toilet tissue within the toilet bowl is limited during use of the toilet brush.

The bristles may be formed from known materials used to form rigid/semi-rigid toilet rim blocks. They are formed from a gel. Particularly suitable for the bristles are the materials used to form the commercially available Harpic ^® Max range of toilet blocks. The bristles may, for example, contain: 5% Chlorine Based Bleaching Agent, >30% Anionic Surfactants, 5-15% Nonionic Surfactants and Aliphatic Hydrocarbons. As a specific example, the bristles may contain: Sodium Sulfate, Sodium Dodecylbenzesulfonate, Sodium C14-C16 Olefin Sulfonate, Parfum, Cocamide DEA, Aqua, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Laureth Sulphate, Polybutadiene, Silica, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Benzyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Coumarin, Eugenol, Geraniol, Limonene, Alpha-lso Methyl lonone, Titanium Dioxide, Glycerin,

Diethanolamine, 3,6-Dioxaoctamethylenediamine, and Polyoxypropylenediamine, in descending order of mass by volume of the bristles.

The material forming the bristles may be rendered more pliable by the introduction of one or more suitable chemical compounds, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art. Figure 3 shows a brush head before and after use, wherein the bristles 11 can be seen to have been worn down from their original form 10 during use of the toilet brush and the brush head has correspondingly reduced in size. After a number of uses and once the bristles have been significantly eroded the brush head may be replaced with a fresh brush head.

The brush head comprises a cylindrical core 9 that is provided to allow for attachment of the brush head to the handle. The cylindrical core is preferably formed from a water disintegratable (soluble) material, such as cardboard, so that the used brush head may be flushed down the toilet after use. It may, however, be formed from plastic or other materials that are not flushable for disposal in a bin instead.

The cylindrical core is preferably provided with a pair of opposed openings (holes) 15 in its side wall, which are arranged to receive a pair of detents when the brush head engages the handle, as discussed in detail below. Other attachment mechanisms will, however, be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The bristles, which are preferably unitarily formed with one another, may be joined to the cylindrical core using adhesive or may be moulded around the core during manufacture. As discussed, all of the bristles may be unitarily moulded together, wherein a central opening may be provided that receives and engages the cylindrical core.

The handle is provided with an attachment head 8 at its second end, which attachment head is arranged to engage with the cylindrical core 9 of the brush head. The attachment head 8 is a flexible element that is provided with a pair of opposed detents that are substantially spherical in form and are arranged to engage the opposed openings provided in the cylindrical core 9 to control attachment/detachment of the brush head from the handle. Each of the detents is mounted on the end of a curved flexible arm that is joined to a body of the attachment head at an opposite end. The detents are ordinarily resiliently biased outwardly. The attachment head is attached to a stem 6, which extends along the inside of the shaft of the handle, wherein a downwards force on the stem, as indicated by the downward arrows in Figure 4, acts to urge the detents apart, i.e. radially outwardly, and an upwards force on the stem, as indicated by the upward arrows in Figure 5 acts to draw the detents together, i.e. radially inwardly. The curved flexible arms that are provided with the detents at their ends are joined to the stem by a flexible or bendable cross member that is joined to the stem and is pulled up by the stem, wherein the pulling up of the stem bends or flexes the stem upwards and draws the detents radially inwards. The stem may comprise a metal or plastic rod or any other element that is capable of transmitting the necessary force to the attachment head.

At its end adjacent the first end of the handle, the stem engages a resilient biasing means, which is a spring in the present arrangement. The spring provides a permanent downwards force on the stem such that the detents are ordinarily urged radially outwardly. A button 5 is provided, which may be engaged by a users thumb or otherwise to urge the stem upwards against the force of the spring to draw the detents radially inwards (for attachment/detachment of the cleaning head).

As shown in Figure 4, the cylindrical core 9 preferably has a smaller diameter than that of the shaft of the handle such that the cylindrical core is received by the second end of the shaft of the handle. The cylindrical core and the shaft are preferably co-axial when the brush head and the handle are engaged with one another, as seen in Figure 4.

A brush head may be attached to the handle by sliding the cylindrical core 9 into the open end of the shaft 103 of the handle 100. The openings in the cylindrical core are aligned with the detents, which by their biasing will engage the openings to lock the brush head in place ready for use. When the used brush head is to be removed, a user simply slides the button 5 upwardly to retract the detents and the brush head will fall off the handle without a user needing to handle the dirty brush head. The used brush head may be dropped directly into the toilet bowl or a bin for disposal, as appropriate. As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the attachment means for attaching the brush head to the handle may take numerous other forms to that disclosed.