LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS |
10 dental implant post cleaner |
34 ridges on tubular housing 12 |
12 tubular housing of cleaner 10 |
36 grooves on tubular housing 12 |
14 open end of tubular housing 12 |
38 ridged material of tubular housing 12 |
16 inner peripheral wall surface of tubular housing 12 |
40 malleable material of tubular housing 12 |
18 outer peripheral wall surface of tubular housing 12 |
42 longitudinal slot in tubular housing 12 |
20 cleaning components of cleaner 10 |
44 holder |
22 dental implant post |
46 open ended storage compartment of holder 44 |
24 beveled surface at open end 14 |
48 horizontal shaft of holder 44 |
26 annular ridge at beveled surface 24 |
50 flange on horizontal flange 48 |
28 gum line |
52 handle of toothbrush 54 |
30 bristles for cleaning components 20 |
54 toothbrush |
32 texture on tubular housing 12 |
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FIGURE 1 Referring to Figure 1, shown is a perspective view of the present invention exploded from a dental implant post.
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FIGURE 2 Referring to Figure 2, shown is a perspective view of the present invention inserted onto the dental implant post.
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FIGURE 3 Referring to Figure 3, shown is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 in Figure 2. The present invention is a dental implant post cleaner 10 which comprises a tubular housing 12 having two open ends 14, with an inner peripheral wall surface 16 and an outer peripheral wall surface 18. Components 20 on the inner peripheral wall surface 16 are for cleaning a dental implant post 22, when either one of the open ends 14 of the tubular housing 12 is inserted over the dental implant post 22 and the tubular housing 12 is repetitiously manually rotated about the dental implant post 22.
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FIGURE 4 Referring to FIGURE 4, shown is a perspective view of the present invention per se.
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FIGURE 5 Referring to FIGURE 5, shown is a cross sectional view of the present invention taken along line 5-5 in Figure 4.
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FIGURE 6 Referring to FIGURE 6, shown is an end view taken in the direction of arrow 6 in Figure 4. Each open end 14 of the tubular housing 12 comprises a beveled surface extending towards the inner peripheral wall surface 16. An annular ridge 26 is located between the beveled surface 24 and the inner peripheral wall surface 16, so that the annular ridge 26 will engage with a gum line 28 about the dental implant post 22, when the dental implant post is being cleaned. The cleaning components 20 comprises a plurality of interiorly extending bristles 30 affixed to the inner peripheral wall surface 16 between the two opposite annular ridges 26, so that the bristles 30 can project beyond the two opposite annular ridges 26 to more easily clean the gum line 28 about the dental implant post 22. The outer peripheral wall surface 18 of the tubular housing comprises a texture 32 to aid in gripping the tubular housing 12. The outer peripheral wall surface 18 of the tubular housing 12 can also comprise ridges 34 to aid in gripping the tubular housing 12. The outer peripheral wall surface 18 of the tubular housing 12 can also comprise grooves 36 to aid in gripping the tubular housing 12. The tubular housing 12 can be manufactured from a ridged material 38. The tubular housing 12 can also be manufactured from a malleable material 40.
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FIGURE 7 Referring to Figure 7, shown is a perspective view, similar to Figure 4, having a longitudinal slot therealong.
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FIGURE 8 Referring to Figure 8, shown is an end view taken in the direction of arrow 8 in Figure 7. The tubular housing 12 can also have a longitudinal slot 42 extending along its entire length, whereby enabling a diametric expansion and compression of the tubular housing 12 during a cleaning task to accommodate dental implant posts 22 of varying cross sectional sizes.
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FIGURE 9 Referring to Figure 9, shown is a perspective view of a toothbrush with a handle being a holder having a storage compartment built therein for retaining the implant cleaning device when not in use, but exploded therefrom.
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FIGURE 10 Referring to Figure 10, shown is an enlarged perspective view of the area indicated by arrow 10 in Figure 9.
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FIGURE 11 Referring to Figure 11, shown is a rear view taken in the direction of arrow 11 in Figure 10.
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FIGURE 12 Referring to Figure 12, shown is a cross sectional view taken along line 12-12 in Figure 11, with the present invention installed within the storage compartment. The dental implant post cleaner 10, further comprises a holder 44 having an open ended storage compartment 46 to removably retain the tubular housing 12 therein between cleaning sessions. The holder 44 further comprises a horizontal shaft 48 affixed within the open ended storage compartment 46, whereby the tubular housing 12 can be mounted onto the horizontal shaft 48.
The horizontal shaft 48 comprises a flange 50 formed about a distal end, so that when the tubular housing 12 is mounted onto the horizontal shaft 48 the bristles 30 will not be deformed during storage. The holder 44 is comprised within a handle 52 of a toothbrush 54, thereby creating a dental hygiene cleaning kit, wherein permanent teeth and dentures can be brushed clean by the toothbrush 54, while the dental implant post 22 can be cleaned by the bristles 30 located within the tubular housing 12.
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