Ergonomic Miswak Toothbrush with Replaceable Brush Heads

Abstract

A toothbrush having two ends. Along the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush is the first end having a handle with an indention on the top side for thumb placement and an indention on the back side for pointer finger placement. Along the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush is the second end having a segment of a miswak branch held via an interference fit. The exposed segment of the miswak branch being held by the second end of the toothbrush is debarked and frayed having a bristle-like effect.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a device for oral care and hygiene. The device relates to the conventional toothbrush. The brush head of the device is composed of a portion of a debarked branch of the salvadora Persica tree or miswak and is replaceable. Miswak branch fibers also offer similar benefits that conventional toothbrushes offer without needing to use oral compositions.

Present conventional toothbrushes are used in conjunction with oral compositions having abrasive particles to clean the surface of the teeth. Present conventional toothbrushes are made of nylon bristles stapled into one end of the toothbrush handle. The texture of the bristles can range from soft to hard. The bristles are arranged to fit the cleaning specifications listed by the designer of the particular toothbrush. Before nylon bristles, hog bristles were used. However, hog bristles are not as durable as nylon and do not retain its texture when wet.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention shall incorporate by reference the provisional patent application 62/069,718. The present invention is a toothbrush having two ends made of synthetic plastics and copolyesters. Along the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush is the first end having a handle with an indention on the top side for thumb placement and an indention on the back side for pointer finger placement. The first end is also tapered as the cross-sectional area gets smaller as the outward end of the first end is approached. Along the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush is the second end having a segment of a miswak branch held by a groove in the second end of the toothbrush via an interference fit. The exposed segment of the miswak branch being held by the second end of the toothbrush is debarked and frayed to have a bristle-like effect. The miswak brush can be used without water or oral compositions like toothpaste to produce the same hygienic results as produced with the use of a conventional toothbrush and oral compositions.

The miswak branch pieces are replaceable and are slid in and out from the toothbrush second end or head end. About half of the miswak branch piece is debarked and that portion is above the surface of the toothbrush groove used to hold the miswak branch piece.

The foregoing is a broad description of the present invention for the understanding of those skilled in the art. Design modifications can be made from the broad description without departing from the spirit and scope of the broad description of the present invention. A more detailed description with illustrations follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial front, top and side view or an angled view of a toothbrush in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a back view of the toothbrush of FIG. 1 in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the miswak branch piece insert of the toothbrush of FIG. 2 in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a partial front, top and side view or an angled view of the toothbrush of FIG. 3 without the miswak branch piece inserted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The principle use of the present invention is to clean the surface of the teeth. Injection molding and the manual assembly of the plastic and tree parts are the principle methods of manufacture. Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a partial front, top and side view or an angled view of a toothbrush 10 in accordance with the principles of the invention. Toothbrush 10 has a tapered handle at the first end 12 with an indention on the top side for thumb placement. The diameter of the handle goes from about 13 mm to 10 mm as the outward end of the first end is approached. The second end 14 of toothbrush 10 has a groove that opens to the top side and the groove holds the miswak branch piece 20 or pieces. The groove of the second end 14 is not completely open on the top side in order to provide an interference fit between its surface and the miswak branch piece 20 or pieces.

Referring to FIG. 2 there is shown the back of toothbrush 10. The backside of the first end 12 of toothbrush 10 has an indention 18 for the placement of the side of the pointer finger.

Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown a miswak branch piece 20 in accordance with the principles of the invention. The miswak branch piece 20 has a debarked end 22 for cleaning the teeth and a non-debarked end 24 that is to be inserted into the groove of the second end 14 of toothbrush 10.

Referring to FIG. 4 there is shown a partial front, top and side view of toothbrush 10 without the miswak branch piece or pieces in order to better see the groove of the second end 14.

Referring to FIG. 4 there is shown the plastic handle of the toothbrush 10 in accordance with the principles of the invention.

Claims

1. A toothbrush having two ends; a first end having a handle that linearly increases in circumference toward the second end with an indention on the top side at the thicker end of the first end for thumb placement and an indention on the back side at the thicker end of the first end for pointer finger placement, the second end having a segment or segments of a miswak branch held by a rectangular groove in the second end of the toothbrush via a transition fit.

2. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said groove of the second end is open at the outer end of the second end as to allow for the removal and resetting of a miswak branch piece or pieces.

3. The toothbrush of claim 2 wherein said miswak branch piece or pieces have grooves cut into the side to facilitate its fit into the groove of the said second end of the toothbrush.

4. The toothbrush of claim 3 wherein said miswak branch piece or pieces are debarked on the top half to be exposed to the tooth surface.

5. The toothbrush of claim 4 wherein said miswak branch piece or pieces are not debarked on the bottom half to be inserted into the groove of the second end.

6. The toothbrush of claim 5 wherein the said miswak branch piece or pieces are fitted into the said second end via a transition fit between the groove of the second end and the miswak branch piece or pieces.

7. The toothbrush of claim of 6 wherein the said groove second end is a partially enclosed rectangular box shape where the top part of the groove is about ninety percent open to provide a transition fit for the miswak branch piece or pieces and where the side closes to the outward end of the said second end is open to allow easy slide in and out of the miswak branch piece or pieces.

8. (canceled)