Electric toothbrush

• US 6,230,354 B1
• Filed: 11/30/1998
• Issued: 05/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Moulinex SA (SEB SA)
• Original Assignee: Moulinex SA (SEB SA)
• Inventors: Sproat, Gustave
• Primary Examiner(s): Warden, Sr., Robert J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Olsen, Kaj K.
• Application Number:
  US09/201,152
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 15/28, 15D/IG.5, 151/671, 15/221
• US Class Current: 15/28
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 13/008 Disc-shaped brush bodies
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 9/045 specially adapted for cleaning a plurality of tooth surfaces simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/222 Brush body details, e.g. the shape thereof or connection to handle
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/26 driven by electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3436 Rotation around the axis perpendicular to the plane defined by the bristle holder
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 15/05 Varied length bristle

Abstract

In an electric toothbrush having a body forming a handle containing a drive, an arm and a head which extend in prolongation of that arm and which are provided with a brush including a circular plate of clumps of bristles and which is driven in rotation about an orthogonal axis by a motion transmission device coupled to a motor shaft driven by the drive, the circular plate has a central region having a first predetermined number of clumps of bristles whose free ends are located in a same plane P₁, a peripheral region 16 having a second predetermined number of clumps of bristles whose free ends 18 are located within the plane P₁ and a plane P₂ located below the plane P₁, as well as an intermediate region with a third predetermined number of clumps of bristles whose free ends are located in the plane P₂.

Claims

1. In an electric toothbrush comprising a body (1) providing a handle and containing in the handle drive means (2), an arm (3) whose first end (4) is connected to said body (1) and a head (5) which extends in prolongation of said arm (3) from the side of the second end (6) of the arm (3) and which is provided with a brush (7) adapted to be driven in rotation about an orthogonal axis X—

X′

by movement transmission means (8) coupled to a motor shaft (9) driven by drive means (2), said brush (7) comprising a circular plate (10) whose external surface (11) is provided with holes (12) in which are inserted clumps of bristles (13, 17 and 20) parallel to each other and mounted perpendicularly relative to said external surface;

the improvement wherein;

the circular plate (10) comprises a central region (14) comprising a first predetermined number of clumps of bristles (13) whose free ends (15) are located in a same plane P₁,

an intermediate region (19) about said central region and comprising a second predetermined number of clumps of bristles (20) whose free ends (21) are located in said plane P₂, and

a peripheral region (16) about said intermediate region and comprising a third predetermined number of clumps of bristles (17) whose free ends (18) are located in the plane P₁, in a plane P₂

wherein said orthogonal axis being orthogonal to said circular plate and said bristles whose free ends are located in plane P₁ have a first length greater than those bristles whose free ends are located in plane P₂ and have a second length; and

wherein said peripheral region (16) comprises at least one row of clumps of bristles (17) forming an external crown and whose free ends (18) define a virtual line having a sinusoidal shape with the upper and lower bounds of the sinusoidal shape are P₁ and P₂ respectively.

2. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate region (19) comprises at least one row of clumps of bristles (20) forming an intermediate crown (19).

3. An electric toothbrush according to claim 2, wherein said peripheral region (16) has sixteen clumps of bristles (17), said intermediate region (19) has eight clumps of bristles (20) and said central region (14) has four clumps of bristles (13).

4. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein said plane P₁ is located at a distance d from said plane P₂, the distance d having a value substantially equal to 1.5 mm.

5. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein said external surface (11) of the circulate plate (10) is flat, the clumps of bristles (13) of the central region (14) have the first length delimited between said flat external surface (11) and their free ends (15), the clumps of bristles (20) of the intermediate region (19) have the second length delimited between said flat external surface (11) and their free ends (21), and the clumps of bristles (17) of the peripheral region (16) have lengths varying from the first length to the second length.

6. An electric toothbrush according to claim 5, wherein said first length has a value substantially equal to 10 mm, and said second length has a value substantially equal to 8.5 mm.

7. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein said bristles forming said clumps of bristles (13, 17 and 20) are flexible filaments of natural silk.

8. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the bristles forming said clumps of bristles (13, 17 and 20) are flexible filaments of synthetic fiber.