Automatic toothbrush
First Claim
1. An automatic toothbrush for brushing teeth of a user, each of the user'"'"'s teeth having first and second side surfaces, the toothbrush comprising:
- a) a housing,b) a first set of brushes attached to the housing, the brushes of the first set being arranged in a first arc, each brush of the first set being positioned to contact the first side surface of one of the user'"'"'s teeth, all of the brushes of the first set being rotatable, each brush of the first set having an axis of rotation which is generally perpendicular to said first side surface, the brushes of the first set being connected to each other by a first set of gear means, such that rotation of one of the brushes of the first set causes rotation of all of the brushes of the first set,c) a second set of brushes attached to the housing, the brushes of the second set being arranged in a second arc generally parallel to the first arc, each brush of the second set being positioned to contact the second side surface of one of the user'"'"'s teeth, all of the brushes of the second set being rotatable, each brush of the second set having an axis of rotation which is generally perpendicular to said second side surface, the brushes of the second set being connected to each other by as second set of gear means, such that rotation of one of the brushes of the second set causes rotation of all of the brushes of the second set, at least one member of the first set of gear means being engaged with a member of the set of second gear means, wherein the brushes of the first and second sets are positioned such that a given tooth is contacted on its first side surface by a brush of the first set and on its second side surface by a brush of the second set, andd) means for imparting rotation to a member of the first set of gear means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic toothbrush enables a user to brush all teeth of an arch simultaneously. A toothbrush portion includes a set of brushes arranged in an arc shaped to coincide with the shape of the user'"'"'s mouth. The toothbrush includes side brushes for brushing the sides of the user'"'"'s teeth, and occlusal brushes for brushing the biting surfaces of the teeth. All of the brushes are connected together by gears, so that rotation of one of the gears causes rotation of all of the brushes. The toothbrush includes a handle which contains a motor, the motor being connected to a drive shaft which engages one of the gears. The toothbrush also includes a display screen which is connectable to the handle, and which provides educational material or entertainment to the user while the toothbrush is in use. Also, the display screen may supply feedback to the user concerning the amount of plaque remaining on the teeth, or concerning some other aspect of the quality of the brushing
177 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An automatic toothbrush for brushing teeth of a user, each of the user'"'"'s teeth having first and second side surfaces, the toothbrush comprising:
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a) a housing, b) a first set of brushes attached to the housing, the brushes of the first set being arranged in a first arc, each brush of the first set being positioned to contact the first side surface of one of the user'"'"'s teeth, all of the brushes of the first set being rotatable, each brush of the first set having an axis of rotation which is generally perpendicular to said first side surface, the brushes of the first set being connected to each other by a first set of gear means, such that rotation of one of the brushes of the first set causes rotation of all of the brushes of the first set, c) a second set of brushes attached to the housing, the brushes of the second set being arranged in a second arc generally parallel to the first arc, each brush of the second set being positioned to contact the second side surface of one of the user'"'"'s teeth, all of the brushes of the second set being rotatable, each brush of the second set having an axis of rotation which is generally perpendicular to said second side surface, the brushes of the second set being connected to each other by as second set of gear means, such that rotation of one of the brushes of the second set causes rotation of all of the brushes of the second set, at least one member of the first set of gear means being engaged with a member of the set of second gear means, wherein the brushes of the first and second sets are positioned such that a given tooth is contacted on its first side surface by a brush of the first set and on its second side surface by a brush of the second set, and d) means for imparting rotation to a member of the first set of gear means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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- 12. A tooth brushing apparatus comprising a toothbrush having a plurality of brushes capable of simultaneously brushing a plurality of teeth of a user, the brushes being connected to a handle which is connected to a display screen, the display screen comprising means for displaying messages or graphical entertainment to the user while the user is brushing the teeth, the apparatus also including means for storing said messages or graphical entertainment, the storing means being located in the tooth brushing apparatus and being operatively connected to the display screen.
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14. An automatic toothbrush for brushing teeth of a user, each of the user'"'"'s teeth having a side surface, the toothbrush comprising:
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a) a shell, b) a set of brushes attached to the shell, said brushes being arranged in an arc, each of said brushes being positioned to contact the side surface of one of the user'"'"'s teeth, all of said brushes being rotatable, each brush having an axis of rotation which is generally perpendicular to said side surface, the brushes being connected to each other by a set of gear means, such that rotation of one of the brushes causes rotation of all of the brushes, and c) means for imparting rotation to at least one of the gear means. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A tooth brushing apparatus comprising a toothbrush having a plurality of brushes capable of simultaneously brushing a plurality of teeth of a user, the brushes being connected to a handle which is connected to a display screen, the display screen comprising means for displaying messages or graphical entertainment to the user while the user is brushing the teeth,
the apparatus further comprising means for directing light towards said teeth, and for sensing light reflected from said teeth, the sensing means having an output which is connected to the display screen, wherein the display screen comprises means for providing feedback to the user concerning the efficacy of the brushing operation.
Specification