Toothbrush
First Claim
1. A toothbrush system for cleaning interproximal spaces between a user'"'"'s teeth, comprising a handle member, a brush member coupled to said handle member, said brush member comprising a brush holder, a bristle supporting structure, and an array of bristles, said bristle supporting structure comprising a rod-shaped stem having first and second end portions, said stem comprising a twisted two-wire arrangement, said stem carrying no bristles in the region of said second end portion, said bristles being fixedly secured between the wires of said two-wire arrangement in said first end portion so that said array of bristles extend radially relative to said stem in the region of said first end portion and are arranged in a circumferentially distributed pattern, said stem extending away from said brush holder thereby allowing the first end portion of said stem along with said array of bristles to be inserted into the interproximal spaces between the user'"'"'s teeth during use, said system further comprising a motor drive mechanism in said handle member for driving said bristle array in oscillating rotary motion about the axis of said stem, wherein the lengths of said bristles are larger at a distal end of said first end portion of said stem than in a region in the center of the bristled portion of said stem, said distal end of said first portion being the end of said first portion that is remote from said second portion.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed to a brush for cleaning the teeth, the brush being suitable for use in a toothbrush having a handle member and a brush member and comprising a bristle supporting structure and bristles fixedly secured thereto. The bristle supporting structure is configured as a rod-shaped stem having a first and a second end portion and carrying no bristles in the region of the second end portion. The bristles extend radially relative to the stem in the region of the first end portion and are arranged in a circumferentially distributed pattern. The length of the bristles decreases starting from the first end portion of the stem in the direction of the second end portion of the stem. This brush allows effective and gentle cleaning of the teeth, in particular the interproximal spaces thereof.
80 Citations
21 Claims
- 1. A toothbrush system for cleaning interproximal spaces between a user'"'"'s teeth, comprising a handle member, a brush member coupled to said handle member, said brush member comprising a brush holder, a bristle supporting structure, and an array of bristles, said bristle supporting structure comprising a rod-shaped stem having first and second end portions, said stem comprising a twisted two-wire arrangement, said stem carrying no bristles in the region of said second end portion, said bristles being fixedly secured between the wires of said two-wire arrangement in said first end portion so that said array of bristles extend radially relative to said stem in the region of said first end portion and are arranged in a circumferentially distributed pattern, said stem extending away from said brush holder thereby allowing the first end portion of said stem along with said array of bristles to be inserted into the interproximal spaces between the user'"'"'s teeth during use, said system further comprising a motor drive mechanism in said handle member for driving said bristle array in oscillating rotary motion about the axis of said stem, wherein the lengths of said bristles are larger at a distal end of said first end portion of said stem than in a region in the center of the bristled portion of said stem, said distal end of said first portion being the end of said first portion that is remote from said second portion.
- 15. A toothbrush system for cleaning interproximal spaces between a user'"'"'s teeth, comprising a handle member, a brush member coupled to said handle member, said brush member comprising a brush holder, a bristle supporting structure, and an array of bristles, said bristle supporting structure comprising a rod-shaped stem having first and second end portions, said stem carrying no bristles in the region of said second end portion, said array of bristles extending radially relative to said stem in the region of said first end portion and being arranged in a circumferentially distributed pattern, the lengths of said bristles diminishing initially from a distal end of said first end portion of said stem toward the center of said bristle array and subsequently increasing again in the portion of said bristle array more remote from the distal end of said first end portion, the distal end of said first end portion being the end of said first portion that is most remote from the second portion, said stem extending away from said brush holder thereby allowing the first end portion of said stem along with said array of bristles to be inserted into the interproximal spaces between the user'"'"'s teeth during use, said system further comprising a motor drive mechanism in said handle member for driving said bristle array in oscillating rotary motion about the axis of said stem.
Specification