ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH

• US 20180333240A1
• Filed: 04/19/2018
• Published: 11/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: TANIGUCHI, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 10,682,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/22 with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like brush bodies, e.g. arrangements of the bristles A46B
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/26 driven by electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3418 Rotation around the axis of the toothbrush handle
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3445 Translation along the axis of the toothbrush handle
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3472 with combined movements of the brush body
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3481 Vibrating brush body, e.g. by using eccentric weights
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/40 orbiting, e.g. nutating

Abstract

An electric toothbrush according to the present disclosure includes: a shaft to which a brush is attached; a primary drive unit that operates the shaft to let the brush perform a cleaning motion; and a supplementary drive unit that enables the shaft to move eccentrically. Accordingly, the electric toothbrush can facilitate entry of bristles of the brush between teeth and improve performance of cleaning between the teeth.

Claims

1. An electric toothbrush comprising:

a shaft to which a brush is attached;

a primary drive unit that operates the shaft to let the brush perform a cleaning motion; and

a supplementary drive unit that enables the shaft to move eccentrically.

2. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1,

wherein the supplementary drive unit is a weight-equipped rotary motor.

3. The electric toothbrush according to claim 2,

wherein the primary drive unit is a linear actuator that enables the shaft to reciprocate linearly.

4. The electric toothbrush according to claim 3,

wherein the weight-equipped rotary motor is nearer to the brush than the linear actuator is.

5. The electric toothbrush according to claim 3,

wherein a spindle of the weight-equipped rotary motor is disposed in parallel to a linear reciprocation made by the linear actuator.

6. The electric toothbrush according to claim 5, further comprising a retainer to press a weight of the weight-equipped rotary motor along an axis of the weight-equipped rotary motor.

7. The electric toothbrush according to claim 3,

wherein a spindle of the weight-equipped rotary motor is disposed so as to intersect with a linear reciprocation made by the linear actuator.

8. The electric toothbrush according to claim 3, further comprising a circuit board populated with a circuit component to drive the primary drive unit and the supplementary drive unit,

wherein in a view along an axis of the shaft, the weight-equipped rotary motor and the circuit board are disposed on one side with respect to the linear actuator.

9. The electric toothbrush according to claim 3, further comprising a circuit board populated with a circuit component to drive the primary drive unit and the supplementary drive unit,

wherein in a view along an axis of the shaft, the weight-equipped rotary motor and the circuit board are disposed opposing each other across the linear actuator.

10. The electric toothbrush according to claim 3,

wherein the weight-equipped rotary motor operates at a frequency that is lower than or equal to one-half of a frequency at which the linear actuator operates.

11. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first holder to hold the primary drive unit; and

a second holder to hold the supplementary drive unit,

wherein the first holder and the second holder are distinct components.

12. The electric toothbrush according to claim 11, further comprising an elastic member that couples the shaft to the second holder.