Toothbrush holder

Abstract

A toothbrush holder includes a receptacle and a lid or cover, which engages the receptacle and may be removeably attached to the receptacle, for example by hinge or snap. The engagement between the receptacle and lid may be a liquid tight seal. The receptacle is designed to hold any of a variety of commercially available sanitizing or antibacterial agent to sanitize or disinfect toothbrushes in the holder. Possible sanitizing agents include mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A toothbrush holder for immersing a toothbrush in a sanitizing agent, comprising: 
 a receptacle having a base and side walls;    a cover having a top and side walls;    a tray having a wall which is divided by a plurality of partitions and a bottom shelf, the tray being insertable into the receptacle, the bottom shelf being a predetermined distance above the base of the receptacle when the tray is inserted into the receptacle;    wherein the cover is configured to engage the receptacle.    
     
     
         2 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 1 , wherein the cover is connected to the receptacle by a hinge.  
     
     
         3 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 2 , wherein the hinge is a snap hinge.  
     
     
         4 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 1 , wherein the cover engages the receptacle to form a liquid tight seal.  
     
     
         5 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 1 , wherein the cover is configured to engage the receptacle by means of screw threads.  
     
     
         6 . A toothbrush holder for immersing a toothbrush in a sanitizing agent, comprising: 
 a receptacle having a base and side walls;    a cover having a top and side walls;    a tray, the tray being insertable into the receptacle, the tray holding tootbrushes held therein above the base of the receptacle when the tray is inserted into the receptacle;    wherein the cover is configured to engage the receptacle.    
     
     
         7 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom shelf has a predetermined width such that at least a portion of bristles of a toothbrush placed on the bottom shelf will overhang the bottom shelf.  
     
     
         8 . A toothbrush holder for immersing a toothbrush in a sanitizing agent, comprising: 
 a receptacle having a base and side walls;    a cover having a top and side walls;    a tray having a stand, a wall, partitions, a spacer support and a bottom shelf, the tray being insertable into the receptacle and having a plurality of compartments formed therein, wherein each compartment is formed of the wall and at least two partitions and the bottom shelf, the bottom shelf being a predetermined distance above the base of the receptacle when the tray is inserted into the receptacle;    wherein the cover is configured to engage the receptacle.    
     
     
         9 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 8 , wherein the cover is connected to the receptacle by a hinge.  
     
     
         10 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 9 , wherein the hinge is a snap hinge.  
     
     
         11 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 8 , wherein the cover engages the receptacle to form a liquid tight seal.  
     
     
         12 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 8 , wherein the cover is configured to engage the receptacle by means of screw threads.  
     
     
         13 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 8 , wherein, when the tray is inserted into the receptacle, the compartments are tilted with respect to one of the side walls of the receptacle.  
     
     
         14 . The toothbrush holder of  claim 8 , wherein the bottom shelf has a predetermined width such that at least a portion of bristles of a toothbrush placed in the compartment will overhang the bottom shelf.