Toothbrush with moveable head
A toothbrush head assembly for use with an electric toothbrush power handle includes a housing having a longitudinal direction, an oscillating member which oscillates reciprocally in the longitudinal direction, and a brush which oscillates rotatably about a longitudinally extending axis. The brush preferably includes twin brushes. Several mechanisms translate the reciprocal motion of the oscillating member into rotational motion of the brush.
1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to toothbrushes. More particularly, the invention relates to electric toothbrushes. Specifically, the invention relates to an electric toothbrush having two heads and a mechanism for oscillating the two heads.
2. Background Information
Manual and electric toothbrushes are well known in the art. Twin-headed brushes are also known which allow for the simultaneous cleaning of the lingual and buccal surfaces of the tooth. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,794 to Porper et al., some of these twin-headed brushes are configured to rotatably oscillate about the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush. Said patent, which provides greater detail with regard to the prior art, is incorporated herein by reference. The present invention provides new mechanisms for oscillating such a twin-headed brush about the longitudinal axis.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a toothbrush head assembly for use with an electric toothbrush power handle, the assembly comprising a housing having a longitudinal direction; an oscillating member which is disposed in the housing and which oscillates reciprocally in the longitudinal direction; and a brush which is mounted on the housing and which oscillates rotatably about a longitudinally extending axis.
A first embodiment of the brush head assembly of the present invention is shown generally at 100 in
Referring to
Assembly 100 includes a housing 114 which includes an outer sleeve 116 having a substantially circular cross section, a neck 118 connected thereto and flaring outwardly into an oval-shaped cross section and a cover 120 connected to neck 118. Housing 114 further includes a cap 122 which is connected to cover 120 and a lower portion of neck 118.
Referring to
Referring to
More particularly and with reference to
Thus, referring to
Brush head assembly 200 is now described referring to
Actuator 234 includes first and second arms 236 and 238, each of which have a generally T-shaped configuration. Thus, first arm 236 has a first lateral projection 240 which extends laterally outwardly with respect to axis X and second arm 238 has a second lateral projection 242 which extends laterally outwardly from axis X in the opposite direction. First arm 236 includes a first cross bar 244 connected to first projection 240 and second arm 238 includes a second cross bar 246 connected to second projection 242. Each of cross bars 244 and 246 thus provide forward and rearward projections which extend respectively forward and rearwardly of the respective projections 240 and 242. First and second posts 248 and 250 extend downwardly from arms 236 and 238 and are spaced from one another to define there between a central space which receives therein angled segment 226 of rod 232. Thus, posts 248 and 250 are respectively closely adjacent or in abutment with camming surfaces 228 and 230 of segment 226.
Referring to
In operation, the rearward movement of linear oscillator 224 during oscillation thereof, as indicated by arrows J in
Brush head assembly 300 is now described with reference to
Pivoting member 312 has a body in the form of a substantially flat triangular plate. Pivot 318 extends downwardly from adjacent one corner of the triangular body. Member 312 is pivotally connected to cover 304 via a second pivot 320 which extends upwardly from the body of member 312 to cover 304. Second pivot 320 is laterally offset from axis X opposite first pivot 318 and is disposed adjacent a second corner of the triangular plate of member 312. A third pivot 322 extends downwardly from the body of pivoting member 312 adjacent the forward corner thereof.
Actuator 310 includes a central portion 324 defining a central opening 326 which is elongated in the longitudinal direction and which lies on axis X when actuator 310 is in a neutral centered position. Opening 326 receives therein third pivot 322 to provide a pivotal and sliding connection therebetween. Opening 326 is slightly wider than pivot 322 in the lateral direction and longer than pivot 322 in the longitudinal direction to allow for sliding movement between pivoting member 312 and pivot 322. Actuator 310 includes a first arm having a first lateral projection 328 and a second arm having a second lateral projection 330 wherein projections 328 and 330 extend laterally from central portion 324. A first cross bar 332 is connected to first projection 328 and a second cross bar 334 is connected to projection 330 so that the arms are generally T-shaped.
Rotational oscillator 306 includes first and second brush heads 336 and 338. First brush head 336 includes a first pad 340 from which the respective set of bristles extends and second brush head 338 includes a second pad 342 from which the respective set of bristles extends. Front and rear guides 344 and 346 extend upwardly from first pad 340 and are longitudinally spaced to define therebetween a space in which is received first cross bar 332 of actuator 310. Likewise, front and rear guides 348 and 350 extend upwardly from second pad 342 and are longitudinally spaced to define therebetween a space for receiving therein second cross bar 334. The upper surface of first pad 340 includes a first camming surface 352 (
In operation, linear oscillator 306 oscillates linearly in the longitudinal direction as indicated at arrow A in
Thus, each of brush head assemblies 100, 200 and 300 provides a simple and effective mechanism for translating longitudinal reciprocal oscillating movement of a linear actuator into rotational oscillating movement of twin brush heads in order to achieve an effective brushing motion for cleaning teeth.
In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.
Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.
Claims
1. A toothbrush head assembly for use with an electric toothbrush power handle, the assembly comprising:
- a housing having a longitudinal direction;
- an oscillating member which is disposed in the housing and which oscillates reciprocally in the longitudinal direction; and
- a brush which is mounted on the housing and which oscillates rotatably about a longitudinally extending axis.
2. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising at least one camming surface for facilitating translation of reciprocal motion of the oscillating member into rotational motion of the brush.
3. The assembly of claim 2 further comprising an actuator which moves transversely to the longitudinal direction in response to movement of the oscillating member.
4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the actuator is disposed between the brush and the housing.
5. The assembly of claim 4 wherein the at least one camming surface is carried by one of the housing, the brush and the actuator.
6. The assembly of claim 2 wherein the oscillating member comprises a rod and a pair of arms connected to and extending outwardly from the rod and movable therewith.
7. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the brush comprises first and second brush heads; and the arms are disposed respectively adjacent the two brush heads.
8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the at least one camming surface includes first and second camming surfaces; and the arms respectively slidably engage the first and second camming surfaces during longitudinal movement of the arms.
9. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the oscillating member comprises first and second camming surfaces.
10. The assembly of claim 9 further comprising an actuator engageable with the first and second camming surfaces; and wherein the actuator is movable transversely to the longitudinal axis in response to oscillation of the oscillating member.
11. The assembly of claim 10 wherein the actuator engages the brush.
12. The assembly of claim 11 further comprising a third camming surface which the actuator slidably engages.
13. The assembly of claim 12 further comprising a cover which is adjacent the brush and which the actuator slidably engages.
14. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising a pivoting member pivotally connected to the oscillating member.
15. The assembly of claim 14 further comprising an actuator movably connected to the pivoting member and movable transversely to the longitudinal direction.
16. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the actuator engages the brush.
17. The assembly of claim 15 wherein one of the actuator and the pivoting member defines an elongated opening; and further comprising a pivot carried by the other of the actuator and the pivoting member and disposed in the elongated opening.
18. The assembly of claim 14 further comprising first and second pivots; wherein the pivoting member is pivotally connected to the oscillating member via the first pivot and pivotally connected to the housing via the second pivot.
19. The assembly of claim 18 further comprising a third pivot and an actuator pivotally connected to the pivoting member via the third pivot.
20. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the housing has a front and a rear defining therebetween the longitudinal direction; and the brush comprises first and second brush heads; and further comprising:
- a cover disposed adjacent the brush heads;
- a first camming surface disposed between the first brush head and the cover; and
- a second camming surface disposed between the second brush head and the cover;
- wherein the first camming surface tapers forward and radially inwardly toward the axis; and the second camming surface tapers rearward and radially inwardly toward the axis.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 6, 2006
Publication Date: Apr 10, 2008
Inventor: Robert G. Dickie (King City)
Application Number: 11/544,974
International Classification: A46B 9/04 (20060101);