Electric toothbrush
First Claim
1. An electric toothbrush comprising:
- housing means for giving said toothbrush form and containing the working elements of said toothbrush, brushing means for brushing a user'"'"'s teeth, spacing means for spacing said brushing means away from the surface of a user'"'"'s teeth, power means for providing power to said toothbrush, motor means for converting said power into rotary motion of a drive shaft of said motor means, switch means for turning said motor means on and off and controlling the direction of rotation of the drive shaft of said motor means as determined by the teeth to be brushed, from among the group consisting of the upper teeth and the lower teeth, and conversion means for converting the rotary motion of said motor means drive shaft to an elliptical motion of said brushing means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electric toothbrush in which the brushing head moves in an elliptical motion such that, on the brushing stroke, the bristles are proximate the teeth, and in the recovery portion of the cycle the bristles are pulled away from the teeth. A position sensitive switch automatically switches from a forward to a reverse operation of the electric motor, depending on the positioning of the toothbrush in a user'"'"'s hand, allowing the user to brush both the upper and lower teeth using a stroke carrying the bristles from the gum line to the ends of the teeth, as is recommended by dental professionals, without having to move the toothbrush from hand to hand or manually move the switch from the forward to the reverse positions. A bridge pad engages the face of the teeth, maintaining a proper distance between the teeth and bristles during the elliptical rotation of the brush head.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An electric toothbrush comprising:
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housing means for giving said toothbrush form and containing the working elements of said toothbrush, brushing means for brushing a user'"'"'s teeth, spacing means for spacing said brushing means away from the surface of a user'"'"'s teeth, power means for providing power to said toothbrush, motor means for converting said power into rotary motion of a drive shaft of said motor means, switch means for turning said motor means on and off and controlling the direction of rotation of the drive shaft of said motor means as determined by the teeth to be brushed, from among the group consisting of the upper teeth and the lower teeth, and conversion means for converting the rotary motion of said motor means drive shaft to an elliptical motion of said brushing means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An electric toothbrush comprising:
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a housing comprising an elongate, substantially hollow handle portion, a substantially hollow shoulder portion, and a brush spacer unit, a pair of brush spacer extenders extending from said shoulder portion, each of said brush spacer extenders being substantially opposite the other of said brush spacer extenders, a brush spacer bridge extending between a distal end of said pair of brush spacer extenders, and a brush spacer pad affixed to said brush spacer bridge, said brush spacer pad adapted to interface with the surface of a user'"'"'s teeth, a brush shaft and a bristled head, said bristles being formed along one face of said brush shaft, a gap being formed in said bristles such that said brush spacer bridge may lay between said bristles, a reversible electric motor housed within said substantially hollow handle portion and having a drive shaft centered on and running parallel to the length of said housing, said drive shaft terminating in a drive gear, a three position switch, said three positions comprising off, forward and reverse. a position sensitive switch which automatically reverses the direction of rotation of said drive shaft based on the angle at which said toothbrush is held in a user'"'"'s hand after said initial direction of rotation has been established by the position of said three position switch, said position sensitive switch further comprising;
a pendulum and two pairs of infra-red (IR) sensors, wherein said pendulum is free to move between the two elements of each of said two pairs of IR sensors, said pendulum interrupting the signal between one or the other of said pair of IR sensors, the direction of rotation of said motor being reversible depending on which of said two pairs of IR sensors said pendulum has interrupted, said pendulum being activated by changes in the positioning of a user'"'"'s hand,conversion means comprising;
an elliptical drive mechanism, said elliptical drive mechanism comprising;
a body block, said body block adapted to fit snugly within said substantially hollow shoulder portion of said housing means, said body block further comprising;
a first lower gear fixedly mounted at the lower end of a first gear shaft rotatably penetrating said body block and a first upper gear fixedly mounted at the upper end of said first gear shaft, a second upper gear rotatably mounted at the upper end of a second gear shaft fixedly mounted in the upper surface of said body block, said first upper gear engaging said second upper gear, a first metal pin having a substantially ball-shaped head extending eccentrically from and normal to the upper surface of said first upper gear, a second metal pin having a substantially ball-shaped head extending eccentrically from and normal to the upper surface of said second upper gear, a substantially cube-shaped drive cap movably mounted over said ball-shaped head of each of said first and second metal pin, a substantially round elliptical drive head having a diameter sufficiently smaller than the interior of said shoulder portion to allow free movement within said shoulder housing, said elliptical drive head further comprising;
a first groove formed in a lower surface of said elliptical drive head, said first groove having a length and a width sufficiently larger than said drive caps to allow movement of said drive cap of said first pin to easily move along said length of said groove, said first groove lying along a portion of a diameter line of said lower surface of said elliptical drive head, and a second groove formed in said lower surface of said elliptical drive head, said second groove having a length and a width sufficiently larger than said drive caps to allow movement of said drive cap of said second pin to easily move along said length of said second groove lying normal to and being bisected by an extension of said radial line, the ends of said second groove being proximate the perimeter of said lower surface of said elliptical drive head, a substantially round aperture formed in an upper surface of said elliptical drive head, said aperture being adapted to receive a first end of a brush drive shaft, a pivot assembly having an aperture formed therethrough, said pivot assembly being frictionally held within an upper portion of said shoulder portion, at a distance above said elliptical drive head, and a brush drive shaft, said brush drive shaft being substantially a parallelapiped having a first end movably constrained within said aperture formed in said upper surface of said elliptical drive head, a mid portion movably constrained within said pivot assembly aperture, and a second end extending beyond said pivot assembly, a lower portion of said brush shaft being substantially hollow, said hollow portion receiving said second end of said brush drive shaft therein.
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Specification