Electric toothbrush
First Claim
1. A brush unit for an electric toothbrush, said brush unit comprising:
- a housing;
a camshaft rotatably mounted in said housing;
a first mounting pin extending approximately parallel to the camshaft;
a series of bristle holders disposed approximately transversely relative to and in contact with the camshaft, a first group of said series of bristle holders being pivotally mounted on said first mounting pin and being movable in a motion about the first mounting pin by rotation of the camshaft; and
tufts of bristles mounted on said series of bristle holders, wherein said first mounting pin is disposed outside an imaginary first plane aligned approximately parallel to the bristle tufts and extending lengthwise through the camshaft.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed to an electric toothbrush including a brush unit (1) adapted to be push-fitted to a handle unit. The brush unit (1) accommodates a rotary camshaft (4) as well as a series of bristle holders (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) provided with tufts (17) of bristles and disposed approximately transversely relative to the camshaft (4). The bristle holders (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) are pivotally mounted on two mounting pins (8, 9) extending parallel to the camshaft (4), thus enabling the bristle holders (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) to be moved in a motion about the mounting pin (8, 9) by the camshaft (4). The two mounting pins (8, 9) are arranged on either side of an imaginary first plane (18) aligned approximately parallel to the bristle tufts (17) and extending lengthwise through the camshaft (4), and each of the bristle holders (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) includes an opening (19, 20) for receiving one of the two mounting pins (8, 9). By virtue of the off-center arrangement of the two mounting pins (8, 9), the bristle tufts (17) perform not only a wiping motion approximately parallel to the tooth surface but also an additional pushing motion transversely relative to the tooth surface.
107 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A brush unit for an electric toothbrush, said brush unit comprising:
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a housing; a camshaft rotatably mounted in said housing; a first mounting pin extending approximately parallel to the camshaft; a series of bristle holders disposed approximately transversely relative to and in contact with the camshaft, a first group of said series of bristle holders being pivotally mounted on said first mounting pin and being movable in a motion about the first mounting pin by rotation of the camshaft; and tufts of bristles mounted on said series of bristle holders, wherein said first mounting pin is disposed outside an imaginary first plane aligned approximately parallel to the bristle tufts and extending lengthwise through the camshaft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification