ANIMAL TOOTHBRUSH

Abstract

An animal toothbrush for brushing an animal's teeth without requiring the external application of a tooth cleaning substance to the toothbrush includes an elongate handle with a head mounted to a first end of the elongate handle. The head is impregnated with a tooth cleaning substance and has protrusions which facilitate abrading the animal's teeth. A method of using the animal toothbrush is also disclosed.

Claims

1. An animal toothbrush comprising: an elongate handle having a first end and a second end, the elongate handle having a front face and a back face which extend from the first end to the second end, the elongate handle having a pair of lateral faces extending from the first end to the second end and from the front face to the back face; a head mounted to the first end of the elongate handle, the head having a size and being configured for fitting within a mouth of an animal; and a tooth cleaning substance impregnated into the head.

2. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the head comprises a forward face and a plurality of forward protrusions, the plurality of forward protrusions being coupled to and extending away from the forward face.

3. The toothbrush of claim 2, wherein the head has a backward face and a plurality of backward protrusions, the plurality of backward protrusions being coupled to and extending away from the backward face.

4. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the elongate handle has a width between the lateral faces which is greater than a depth between the front and back faces.

5. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the head receives the elongate handle into a cavity formed by the head.

6. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the head comprises a sponge material.

7. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the head comprises a loofah material.

8. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the forward protrusions are elongate bristles.

9. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the forward protrusions have dome shapes.

10. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein each one of the forward protrusions has a ridge shape which extends laterally with respect to the elongate handle.

11. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the head has a cylindrical shape, the head being axially aligned with the elongate handle.

12. An animal toothbrush comprising: an elongate handle having a first end and a second end, the elongate handle having a front face and a back face which extend from the first end to the second end, the elongate handle having a pair of lateral faces extending from the first end to the second end and from the front face to the back face, the elongate handle having a width between the lateral faces which is greater than a depth between the front and back faces; a head mounted to the first end of the elongate handle, the head having a size and being configured for fitting within a mouth of an animal, the head receiving the elongate handle into a cavity formed by the head; and a tooth cleaning substance impregnated into the head.

13. The toothbrush of claim 12, wherein the head has a forward face and a plurality of forward protrusions, the plurality of forward protrusions being coupled to and extending away from the forward face, the head having a backward face and a plurality of backward protrusions, the plurality of backward protrusions being coupled to and extending away from the backward face, the head comprising a sponge material, the forward and backward protrusions having dome shapes.

14. The toothbrush of claim 12, wherein the head has a forward face and a plurality of forward protrusions, the plurality of forward protrusions being coupled to and extending away from the forward face, the head having a backward face and a plurality of backward protrusions, the plurality of backward protrusions being coupled to and extending away from the backward face, the head comprising a loofah material, each one of the forward and backward protrusions having a ridge shape which extends laterally with respect to the elongate handle.

15. The toothbrush of claim 12, wherein the head has a forward face and a plurality of forward protrusions, the plurality of forward protrusions being coupled to and extending away from the forward face, the plurality of forward protrusions being elongate bristles.

16. The toothbrush of claim 12, wherein the head has a cylindrical shape and is axially aligned with the elongate handle.

17. A method of cleaning an animal's teeth, the method comprising: wetting a head of an animal toothbrush with water, wherein the head is impregnated with a tooth cleaning substance, whereby the water acts to separate the tooth cleaning substance from the head; and scrubbing the animal's teeth with the head of the animal toothbrush, whereby the tooth cleaning substance is further separated from the head and is spread on the animal's teeth, whereby undesirable substances are removed from the animal's teeth.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

[0011] The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an animal toothbrush according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of an embodiment of the disclosure taken from Line 4-4 in FIG. 3. A location of a tooth cleaning substance is generally shown and it is understood that the tooth cleaning substance is contemplated to be similarly positioned in other embodiments.

[0016] FIG. 5 is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 8 thereof, a new toothbrush embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

[0021] As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8, the animal toothbrush 10 generally comprises an elongate handle 12 with a first end 14 and a second end 16. The elongate handle 12 has a front face 18 and a back face 20 which extend from the first end 14 to the second end 16. Lateral faces 22 of the elongate handle 12 extend from the first end 14 to the second end 16 and from the front face 18 to the back face 20. The elongate handle 12 has a width between the lateral faces 22 which is greater than a depth between the front and back faces 18, 20. A head 24 is mounted to the first end 14 of the elongate handle 12. The head 24 has a size and is configured for fitting within a mouth 42 of an animal 40. The head 24 comprises a forward face 26 and a backward face 30. The head 24 receives the elongate handle 12 into a cavity 34 formed by the head 24.

[0022] A tooth cleaning substance 36 is impregnated into the head 24 in such a manner that the tooth cleaning substance 36 may be extracted from the head 24. For example, the head 24 may comprise an absorbent material and the tooth cleaning substance 36 may comprise a liquid which may be absorbed by the head 24. Or the head 24 may be porous, and the tooth cleaning substance 36 may be placed in pockets within the head 24 until caused to move from the pockets via a physical or chemical disruption.

[0023] In reference to FIGS. 1 through 5, an embodiments is depicted which has a plurality of forward protrusions 28 which are coupled to and extend away from the forward face 26 of the head 24. The head 24 of this embodiment also has a plurality of backward protrusions 32 which are coupled to and extend away from the backward face. The head 24 comprises a sponge material, and the forward and backward protrusions 28, 32 have dome shapes.

[0024] FIG. 6 presents an embodiment which has a plurality of forward protrusions 28 which are coupled to and extend away from the forward face 26 of the head 24 and has a plurality of backward protrusions 32 which are coupled to and extend away from the backward face. However, the forward and backward protrusions 28, 32 of this embodiment are ridges, each of which extends laterally with respect to the elongate handle 12. The head 24 of this embodiment comprises a loofah material.

[0025] FIG. 7 presents an embodiment in with forward protrusions 28 which are elongate bristles. FIG. 8 depicts an embodiment in which the head 24 has a cylindrical shape that is axially aligned with the elongate handle. The forward face 26 and the backward face of the head 24 cooperatively define a cylindrical outer surface of the head 24. The head 24 of this embodiment may comprise any of the materials disclosed. The various materials disclosed are interchangeable with the various shapes of the head 24 disclosed, and other suitable materials and shapes are contemplated.

[0026] The animal 40 toothbrush 10 may be used in a method of brushing the animal's 40 teeth 44. In this method, the animal 40 toothbrush 10 is wetted with water. The water thereby acts to separate the tooth cleaning substance 36 from the head 24 by chemical or physical interaction. For example, the water may cause some of the tooth cleaning substance 36 to dissolve into the water. The water may also physically be urged against the tooth cleaning substance 36. After wetting the head 24, the head 24 is scrubbed against the animal's 40 teeth 44. The scrubbing applies pressure to the water and the tooth cleaning substance 36, causing at least some of the tooth cleaning substance 36 to excrete through an outer surface of the head 24. The forward and backward protrusions 28, 32 of various embodiments reach into nooks and cranny's of the animal's 40 teeth 44 to remove plaque and other undesirable media from the animal's 40 teeth 44. The tooth cleaning substance 36 may comprise abrasives for facilitating a physical removal of substances from the teeth 44 and may include chemicals which chemically bond to the undesirable media or whiten, polish, or protectively coat the teeth 44.

[0027] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0028] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word comprising is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article a does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.