Toothbrush with improved handle

Abstract

A toothbrush with a handle that provides both over insertion protection and good first gripping. The handle has a generally curved portion and a generally straight portion, which together form a closure in the shape of an approximate semi-circle, and define an aperture. The generally straight portion has a region with a wavy surface inside the aperture and a wavy surface outside the aperture. The inside wavy surface has a series of side by side depressions that define three finger engaging areas or four finger engaging areas, and the outside wavy surface has a series of side by side depressions that define a thumb tip engaging area and a first finger tip engaging area.

1 . A toothbrush comprising:
 a handle of generally rigid construction having a generally curved portion and a generally straight portion, forming a closure in the shape of an approximate semi-circle, and defining an aperture, where the generally curved portion has a surface inside the aperture and a surface outside the aperture, where the generally straight portion has a surface inside the aperture and a surface outside the aperture, and the generally straight portion has a region wherein the inside surface of the generally straight portion is provided with a wavy surface that has a series of side by side depressions that define three finger engaging areas or four finger engaging areas, and the outside surface of the generally straight portion is provided with a wavy surface that has a series of side by side depressions that define a thumb tip engaging area and a first finger tip engaging area,   a bridge, and   a brush head, having an array of bristles affixed to the brush head.   
   
   
       2 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the generally straight portion extends linearly beyond the closed semi-circular handle forming the bridge whereby the bridge is an integral part of and unitary with the handle, and the brush head continues from the bridge whereby the brush head is an integral part of and unitary with the handle. 
   
   
       3 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the toothbrush has a generally straight longitudinal axis for the generally straight portion of the handle, the bridge, and the brush head. 
   
   
       4 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the toothbrush has a generally straight longitudinal axis for the generally straight portion of the handle and the bridge, and the toothbrush has the brush head angled from approximately 10° to approximately 20° with respect to the longitudinal axis. 
   
   
       5 . The toothbrush of  claim 4 , where the brush head is angled from approximately 12° to approximately 18°. 
   
   
       6 . The toothbrush of  claim 5 , where the brush head is angled approximately 15°. 
   
   
       7 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where from the outside surface of the generally curved portion to the outside surface of the generally straight portion defines a greatest distance from about 45 mm to about 60 mm, for an adult's toothbrush. 
   
   
       8 . The toothbrush of  claim 7 , where from the outside surface of the generally curved portion to the outside surface of the generally straight portion defines a greatest distance from about 47 mm to about 58 mm. 
   
   
       9 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where from the outside surface of the generally curved portion to the outside surface of the generally straight portion defines a greatest distance from about 25 mm to about 35 mm, for a child's toothbrush. 
   
   
       10 . The toothbrush of  claim 9 , where from the outside surface of the generally curved portion to the outside surface of the generally straight portion defines a greatest distance from about 27 mm to about 33 mm. 
   
   
       11 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the brush head has a length, the bridge has a length, and the straight portion of the handle has a length, and the length of the brush head plus the length of the bridge to the length of the generally straight portion of the handle has a ratio from about 0.9 to about 1.5. 
   
   
       12 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the brush head has a length, the bridge has a length, and the straight portion of the handle has a length, and the length of the brush head plus the length of the bridge to the length of the generally straight portion of the handle has a ratio from about 1 to about 1.4. 
   
   
       13 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the region of the generally straight portion, having the finger engaging areas and the thumb tip engaging area and the first finger tip engaging area, has sides that are generally wavy. 
   
   
       14 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the region of the generally straight portion, having the finger engaging areas and the thumb tip engaging area and the first finger tip engaging area, has sides that are generally straight. 
   
   
       15 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the curved portion has side edges that are generally straight. 
   
   
       16 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the generally curved portion defines a distance from its surface outside the aperture to its surface inside the aperture from about 5 mm to about 8 mm. 
   
   
       17 . The toothbrush of  claim 16 , where the generally curved portion defines a distance from its surface outside the aperture to its surface inside the aperture from about 6 mm to about 7 mm. 
   
   
       18 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the generally straight portion defines a greatest distance from its surface outside the aperture to its surface inside the aperture from about 15 mm to about 24 mm. 
   
   
       19 . The toothbrush of  claim 18 , where the generally straight portion defines a greatest distance from its surface outside the aperture to its surface inside the aperture from about 18 mm to about 21 mm. 
   
   
       20 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where one or both, of the part of the generally straight portion having the finger engaging areas and the part of the generally straight portion having the thumb tip engaging area and the first finger tip engaging area, is constructed of resilient synthetic polymeric material. 
   
   
       21 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , where the toothbrush is provided, at its longitudinal end opposite from the end having the brush head, with a storage means chosen from one or both of an opening or a tail. 
   
   
       22 . A toothbrush comprising:
 a handle of generally rigid construction having a generally curved portion and a generally straight portion, forming a closure in the shape of an approximate semi-circle, and defining an aperture, where the generally curved portion has a surface inside the aperture and a surface outside the aperture, where the generally straight portion has a surface inside the aperture and a surface outside the aperture, and the generally straight portion has a region wherein the inside surface of the generally straight portion is provided with a wavy surface that has a series of side by side depressions that define three finger engaging areas or four finger engaging areas, and wherein the outside surface of the generally straight portion is provided with a wavy surface that has a series of side by side depressions that define a thumb tip engaging area and a first finger tip engaging area,   a bridge, and   a brush head, having an array of bristles affixed to the brush head, and   where the toothbrush has a generally straight longitudinal axis for the generally straight portion of the handle, the bridge, and the brush head, and   where from the outside surface outside of the generally curved portion to the outside surface of the generally straight portion defines a greatest distance from about 45 mm to about 60 mm for an adult's toothbrush and from about 25 mm to about 35 mm for a child's toothbrush.   
   
   
       23 . A toothbrush comprising:
 a handle of generally rigid construction having a generally curved portion and a generally straight portion, forming a closure in the shape of an approximate semi-circle, and defining an aperture, where the generally curved portion has a surface inside the aperture and a surface outside the aperture, where the generally straight portion has a surface inside the aperture and a surface outside the aperture, and the generally straight portion has a region wherein the inside surface of the generally straight portion is provided with a wavy surface that has a series of side by side depressions that define three finger engaging areas or four finger engaging areas, and wherein the outside surface of the generally straight portion is provided with a wavy surface that has a series of side by side depressions that define a thumb tip engaging area and a first finger tip engaging area,   a bridge, and   a brush head, having an array of bristles affixed to the brush head, and   where the toothbrush has a generally straight longitudinal axis for the generally straight portion of the handle and the bridge, and the toothbrush has the brush head angled from approximately 10° to approximately 20° with respect to the longitudinal axis, and   where from the outside surface outside of the generally curved portion to the outside surface of the generally straight portion defines a greatest distance from about 45 mm to about 60 mm for an adult's toothbrush and from about 25 mm to about 35 mm for a child's toothbrush.