Electric toothbrush head
First Claim
1. A head for an electric toothbrush, comprising:
- a support member; and
a plurality of tufts of bristles supported at their base by the support member, two of the tufts having their bases adjacent to each other, the two tufts being tilted away from each other at an acute angle relative to the support member.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A head for an electric toothbrush includes a support member having a plurality of holes extending completely therethrough. A plurality of tufts of bristles each extends through one of the holes. A first brushing end of each tuft projects from a first side of the support member. Each tuft is prevented from being withdrawn from its hole when a tensile force is applied to the first end of each tuft along a long axis of the tuft. A resilient cushion is positioned adjacent a second side of the support member such that a second end of each tuft can contact the cushion. When a compressive force is applied to the first end of each tuft along the long axis of each tuft, each tuft can move in its hole in a first direction into the cushion. When the compressive force is removed the cushion causes each tuft to move in its hole in a second direction substantially opposite the first direction.
153 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A head for an electric toothbrush, comprising:
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a support member; and
a plurality of tufts of bristles supported at their base by the support member, two of the tufts having their bases adjacent to each other, the two tufts being tilted away from each other at an acute angle relative to the support member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A head for an electric toothbrush, comprising:
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a support member having a plurality of holes extending completely therethrough;
a plurality of tufts of bristles, each tuft extending through one of the holes, a first brushing end of each tuft projecting from a first side of the support member;
means for preventing each tuft from being withdrawn from its hole when a tensile force is applied to the first end of each tuft along a long axis of the tuft; and
a resilient cushion positioned adjacent a second side of the support member such that a second end of each tuft can contact the cushion, whereby when a compressive force is applied to the first end of each tuft along the long axis of each tuft, each tuft can move in its hole in a first direction into the cushion, and when the compressive force is removed the cushion causes each tuft to move in its hole in a second direction substantially opposite the first direction. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 21)
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10. A head for an electric toothbrush, comprising:
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a support member; and
a plurality of tufts of bristles supported at their base by the support member, the support member having a substantially circular surface from which the tufts project, a first one of the tufts being tilted along an imaginary radius which projects from a center of the circular surface and passes through a base of the first tuft, a second one of the tufts being tilted along an imaginary circumference which encircles the center of the circular surface and passes through a base of the second tuft. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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15. A head for an electric toothbrush, comprising:
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a support member; and
a plurality of tufts of bristles supported at their base by the support member, a pair of the tufts being tilted in substantially the same direction relative to the support member, a first tuft of the pair having a different cross-section than a second tuft of the pair.
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22. A head for an electric toothbrush, comprising:
a tuft of bristles which has a cross-section that is other than round in shape. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
Specification