Electric toothbrush

• US 20040045106A1
• Filed: 09/05/2002
• Published: 03/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fast-Chip, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Fast-Chip, Inc.
• Inventors: Lam, Chun-Shun
• Application Number:
  US10/234,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20040045106A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/22.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3436 Rotation around the axis perpendicular to the plane defined by the bristle holder
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3454 Translation along the axis perpendicular of the axis of toothbrush handle and in the plane defined by the bristle holder
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/349 with multiple brush bodies

Abstract

Typical electric toothbrush brushes pivotally, which is quite different from the non-electronic counterpart. The electric toothbrush (10) of this invention includes an axial brush section (40) movable in an axial direction substantially perpendicular to the toothbrush handle (14), which defines a longitudinal direction. The electric toothbrush (10) of this invention may brush teeth in a way resembling that of using traditional non-electric toothbrush, as the axial brush section is moving along the direction of tooth growth.

Claims

1. An electric toothbrush (10) including:

a housing (12) defining a handle (14) along a longitudinal direction;

a motor (20) housed by the housing (12); and

a shaft (30) connected to and rotated by the motor (20);

characterized in that the electric toothbrush (10) further including;

a lateral brush section (40) actuable in a lateral direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction; and

a lateral actuating member (32) connected to the shaft (30) for actuating the lateral brush section (40).

wherein the lateral actuating member (32) is relatively fixed to the lateral brush section (32) in the lateral direction while accommodates relative movement between the lateral brush section (40) and the actuating member (32) in the longitudinal direction.

2. The electric toothbrush (10) of claim 1, wherein the lateral actuating member (32) and the shaft (30) are unitary.

3. The electric toothbrush (10) of claim 2, wherein the lateral actuating member is a lateral bent portion (32) of the shaft (30).

4. The electric toothbrush (10) of claim 3, wherein the lateral bent portion (32) is substantially C-shaped.

5. The electric toothbrush (10) of claim 1, wherein the lateral brush section (40) includes a lateral recess (46) for receiving the lateral actuating member (32).

6. The electric toothbrush (10) of claim 5, wherein the lateral recess (46) is substantially rectangular along the longitudinal direction.

7. The electric toothbrush (10) of claim 5, wherein the lateral recess (46) has two lateral acting members substantially in the middle of the rectangular lateral recess (46) for acting against the lateral actuating member (32).

8. The electric toothbrush (100) of claim 4 further including a pivotal brush section (150) actuated by a pivotal actuating member (134) connected to the shaft (130).

9. The electric toothbrush (100) of claim 8, wherein the pivotal actuating member (134) and the shaft (130) are unitary.

10. The electric toothbrush (100) of claim 9, wherein the pivotal actuating member is an substantially obtuse L-shaped bent portion of the shaft (130).

11. The electric toothbrush (100) of claim 10, wherein obtuse L-shaped pivotal bent section (134) opposes the substantially C-shaped lateral bent section (132).

12. The electric toothbrush (100) of claim 10, wherein obtuse L-shaped pivotal bent section (134) does not oppose the substantially C-shaped lateral bent section (132).