Dental hygiene instruction display

• US 4,934,940 A
• Filed: 05/15/1989
• Issued: 06/19/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Technolizenz Establishment
• Original Assignee: Winsor T. Savery
• Inventors: Savery, Winsor T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US07/351,217
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• Field of Search: 434/263, 434/238, 434/377, 434/379, 434/322, 434/335, 446/485, 446/393, 40/442, 40/443, 40/444, 40/541, 40/903
• US Class Current: 434/263
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 17/00 Accessories for brushes
• CPC Class Codes: G04B 45/0069 Cases and fixed parts with a special shape movable parts with a special shape G04B45/0061; decoration in general, and methods of manufacture thereof G04B45/0076; cases in general G04B37/00; combination with genuine utensils or mounting therein G04B47/00
• CPC Class Codes: G04F 1/00 Apparatus which can be set and started to measure-off predetermined or adjustably-fixed time intervals without driving mechanisms, e.g. egg timers
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0084 Dental hygiene
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/283 for dentistry or oral hygiene G09B23/286 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/02 with visual presentation of the material to be studied, e.g. using film strip

Abstract

A dental hygiene instructional display using a humanoid figure providing a facial expressing exhibiting representations of human teeth in adjacent upper and lower jaws. The teeth are divided into sectors and a pair of light emitting diodes of different colors are dedicated to flashingly illuminate each of the sectors, in sequence. A circuit for controlling illumination of the light emitting diodes adjustably controls both the duration of the period of brushing devoted to each sector, as well as the flash period during illumination of each cycle.

Claims

1. A dental hygiene instructional display, comprising:

means for providing a humanoid facial expression exhibiting distinct representations of human teeth aligned in adjacent upper and lower rows with each of said rows containing a plurality of said representations;

means dedicated for individually illuminating each of said representations; and

means coupled to said illuminating means, for controlling said illuminating means to successively illuminate each of said representations during successive intervals of time.

2. The dental hygiene instructional display of claim 1, wherein said controlling means further comprises means for intermittently illuminating individual ones of said representations during corresponding ones of said intervals.

3. The dental hygiene instructional display of claim 1, wherein said illuminating means comprises a first plurality of visible spectrum light emitters, with each of said emitters in said first plurality being dedicated to illumination of different individual ones of said representations with a first color.

4. The dental hygiene instructional display of claim 3, wherein said illuminating means comprises a second plurality of visible spectrum light emitters, with each of said emitters in said second plurality being dedicated to illumination of different individual ones of said representations with a second color different from said first color, whereby one of said first plurality and one of said second plurality of light emitters are dedicated to illumination of each one of said representations.

5. The dental hygiene instructional display of claim 2, wherein said illuminating means comprises a first plurality of visible spectrum light emitters each emitting a first color, with each of said emitters in said first plurality being dedicated to illumination of different individual ones of said representations.

6. The dental hygiene instructional display of claim 5, wherein said illuminating means comprises a second plurality of visible spectrum light emitters each emitting a second color different from said first color, with each of said emitters in said second plurality being dedicated to different individual ones of said representations, whereby one of said first plurality and one of said second plurality of light emitters are dedicated to illumination of each one of said representations.

7. The dental hygiene instructional display of claim 4, wherein said controlling means successively activates one of said first plurality and one of said second plurality of light emitters for each of said representations.

8. The dental hygiene instructional display of claim 6, wherein said controlling means successively activates one of said first plurality and one of said second plurality of light emitters for each of said representations.

9. The dental hygiene instructional display of claim 8, wherein said illuminating means and said controlling means successively illuminate adjacent ones of said representations.

10. A dental hygiene instructional display, comprising:

a humanoid figure having a facial expression exhibiting a plurality of adjacent sectors each serving as representations of adjoining human teeth aligned in adjacent upper and lower rows with each of said rows containing a plurality of said representations;

means including a first plurality of light emitters dedicated to illuminating each of said sectors with a second color different from said first color, and a second plurality of light emitters dedicated to each of said sectors, for individually illuminating each of said sectors; and

means coupled to said illuminating means, for controlling said illuminating means to successively intermittently activate each of said illuminating means of said first and second pluralities of light emitters during corresponding successive intervals of time.

11. The dental hygiene display of claim 10, further comprised of said first and second plurality of light emitters being dedicated in pairs to corresponding ones of said representations.

12. The dental hygiene display of claim 10, further comprised of said controlling means being connected to said illuminating means to, during immediately succeeding ones of said intervals, activate each one of said first plurality and one of said second plurality of light emitters dedicated to the same ones of said representations.

13. The dental hygiene display of claim 11, further comprised of said controlling means being connected to said illuminating means to activate the one of said first plurality of light emitters and the one of said second plurality of light emitters in each pair during immediately succeeding ones of said intervals.

14. A process for promoting dental hygiene instruction, comprising:

displaying a humanoid facial expression exhibiting a plurality of adjacent sectors each serving as representations of human teeth aligned in adjacent upper and lower rows with each of said rows containing a plurality of said sectors;

illuminating each of said sectors sequentially with a first displayed color and a second and different displayed color during successive intervals of time; and

interrupting illumination of each of said sectors during each of said intervals to provide a flashing display.