Dispensing Toothbrush

Abstract

A dispensing toothbrush is capable of storage and dispensing toothpaste and dental floss. The toothbrush includes a handle having a chamber constructed to store toothpaste, a dial, and a floss dispenser having a floss spindle, floss aperture and floss cutter, a neck, and a head having bristles and head apertures. The dial is positioned in the handle between the floss dispenser and the neck and turning the dial causes the toothpaste to be extruded through the head apertures. The toothbrush provides a dispensing toothbrush having a solid core that prevents toothpaste from becoming trapped within and that enables dispensing of toothpaste without unintentional dispensing or retraction of dental floss. Toothbrush can be provided in compact size and is ideal for travel in that it consolidates multiple items such as a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss into a single compact device.

1 . A multi-purpose toothbrush, comprising:
 a handle including a dentifrice chamber configured to contain dentifrice and a floss chamber configured to store dental floss;   a brushing head having bristles extending outwardly therefrom and including a head chamber contained within the brushing head and apertures extending between the head chamber and an exterior of the brushing head, the apertures disposed adjacent the bristles;   a neck disposed between the handle and the brushing head, the neck defining a neck chamber therein in communication at one end with the dentifrice chamber and at an opposing end with the head chamber; and   a dial configured such that when dentifrice is contained within the dentifrice chamber, rotation of the dial in a first direction causes the dentifrice to be forced from the dentifrice chamber, through the neck chamber and head chamber, and out the apertures adjacent the bristles, wherein rotation of the dial does not cause rotation of the floss chamber.   
     
     
         2 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the handle, brushing head, and neck form a one-piece unitary construct. 
     
     
         3 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 1 , further comprising a floss aperture disposed in the handle configured to enable dental floss to extend from the floss chamber to an exterior of the handle and a floss cutter configured to cut a length of floss disposed on the handle. 
     
     
         4 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the handle defines an outer perimeter, and wherein the floss cutter is positioned inwardly of the outer perimeter of the handle. 
     
     
         5 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the dial is positioned along the handle between the brushing head and the floss chamber. 
     
     
         6 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 1 , further comprising a threaded rod attached to the dial and extending through the dentifrice chamber towards the head chamber and a push cylinder carried by the threaded rod, such that rotation of the dial in the first direction causes the push cylinder to advance along the threaded rod towards the head. 
     
     
         7 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 6 , wherein the push cylinder cannot rotate as the threaded rod is rotated via the dial. 
     
     
         8 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 1 , further comprising a tongue cleaner comprising a textured surface. 
     
     
         9 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 8 , wherein the textured surface is disposed on an exterior surface of the brushing head opposite of the bristles. 
     
     
         10 . A multi-purpose toothbrush capable of storing and dispensing dentifrice and dental floss, comprising:
 a handle comprising a chamber configured to store dentifrice, the handle including a dial and a floss dispenser having a floss spindle, floss aperture and floss cutter;   a head comprising bristles and head apertures;   a neck connecting the handle and the head; and   wherein the dial is positioned in the handle between the floss dispenser and the neck and when dentifrice is contained within the chamber turning the dial causes the toothpaste to be extruded through the head apertures of the head.   
     
     
         11 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 10 , wherein the handle further comprises a threaded screw rod fixably connected to the dial and a pusher connected to the screw rod, and wherein rotation of the screw rod via rotation of the dial moves the pusher in a direction transverse to the orientation of the handle. 
     
     
         12 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 11 , wherein the handle has a circular cross section presenting channels and the pusher has a circular cross section presenting notches, and wherein the channels are adapted to engage with the notches to prevent the pusher from rotating within the chamber. 
     
     
         13 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 10 , wherein the head further comprises a tongue cleaner comprising a textured surface. 
     
     
         14 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 10 , wherein the floss cutter is recessed into the handle. 
     
     
         15 . A multi-purpose toothbrush, comprising:
 a handle including a dentifrice chamber configured to contain dentifrice and a floss chamber configured to store dental floss;   a brushing head having bristles extending outwardly therefrom and including a head chamber contained within the brushing head and apertures extending between the head chamber and an exterior of the brushing head, the apertures disposed adjacent the bristles;   a neck disposed between the handle and the brushing head, the neck defining a neck chamber therein in communication at one end with the dentifrice chamber and at an opposing end with the head chamber;   a floss aperture disposed in the handle configured to enable dental floss to extend from the floss chamber to an exterior of the handle;   a floss cutter configured to cut a length of floss disposed on the handle;   a threaded rod extending longitudinally through the dentifrice chamber towards the head chamber; and   a push cylinder rotatably attached to the threaded rod such that when dentifrice is contained within the dentifrice chamber rotation of the threaded rod in a first direction causes the push cylinder to advance along the threaded rod through the dentifrice chamber to force the dentifrice from the dentrifrice chamber, through the neck chamber and head chamber, and out the apertures adjacent the bristles, wherein when the screw rod is rotated the floss chamber is not rotated.   
     
     
         16 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 15 , further comprising a dial fixedly attached to the threaded rod and accessible through an opening in the handle, wherein rotation of the dial causes rotation of the threaded rod. 
     
     
         17 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 16 , wherein the dial is positioned along the handle between the brushing head and the floss chamber. 
     
     
         18 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 15 , wherein the push cylinder cannot rotate as the threaded rod is rotated. 
     
     
         19 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 15 , wherein the handle, brushing head, and neck form a one-piece unitary construct. 
     
     
         20 . The multi-purpose toothbrush of  claim 15 , wherein the handle defines an outer perimeter, and wherein the floss cutter is positioned inwardly of the outer perimeter of the handle.