Fountain tooth-brush

Claim 1

A fountain type tooth-brush comprising an elongated hollow body forming a handle and open at its rear end, a tooth paste containing cartridge removably and non-rotatably located within said hollow body, a stem carried by the forward end of said body and carrying a tooth-brush head and tooth-brush bristles at the forward end thereof, said stem and tooth-brush head having a tooth paste passage opening within said tooth-brush bristles and in communication with the interior of said cartridge in said body for the supply of tooth paste from said cartridge to said brush bristles, said cartridge having a rear end wall, a piston longitudinally displaceable within said cartridge and non-rotatably mounted therein, a screw threaded within said piston, freely extending through a hole of said cartridge rear end wall and having a head secured to the end portion of said screw protruding rearwardly of said cartridge rear end wall, a cap removably secured to the rear end of said body and freely enclosing said head, a stem coaxial with said screw, extending within said cap, said cap having a rear end portion provided with a guiding hole, said stem axially displaceable and rotatable within said guiding hole of the rear end of said cap, said stem protruding rearwardly of said cap, an operating knob secured to the protruding rear end portion of said stem, said stem having at its forward end a head located within said cap and in clutching and removable engagement with the screw head, a compression spring member disposed within said cap surrounding said stem and abutting at its rear end against the rear end wall of said cap and at its forward end against the stem head and urging the stem, stem head and screw forwardly of said body to a forward limit position in which said screw head abuts against the back of the rear end wall of said cartridge, rotation of said stem by means of said knob in one direction causing rotation of said screw through said clutched screw head and stem head in one direction, in turn causing rotation of said screw and rearward displacement of the assembly of the stem and screw to compress the spring member and move the screw head rearwardly away from said cartridge rear end wall, release of said operating knob allowing said spring member to produce forward movement of the screw and piston, such as the latter will produce pressure on the tooth paste in the cartridge ahead of the same to discharge said tooth paste to the brush bristles.