Automatic power-driven toothbrushes

• US 6,845,537 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2002
• Issued: 01/25/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Man-Kwan Wong
• Original Assignee: Man-Kwan Wong
• Inventors: Wong, Man-Kwan
• Primary Examiner(s): Till, Terrence R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GUIDOTTI, LAURA COLE
• Application Number:
  US10/068,338
• Publication Number:
  US 20020116775A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,084 Days
• Field of Search: 15/211, 15 221- 222, 15/224, 15/28, 310/81, 310/12
• US Class Current: 15/22.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/22 with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like brush bodies, e.g. arrangements of the bristles A46B
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/224 Electrical recharging arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3418 Rotation around the axis of the toothbrush handle
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3436 Rotation around the axis perpendicular to the plane defined by the bristle holder
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 2204/002 using batteries

Abstract

The present invention discloses the present invention discloses a power toothbrush that includes a body portion 105. An elongated level arm 102 extends from one end of the body portion to a toothbrush head 101 disposed at a distal end of the toothbrush. The toothbrush head includes a plurality of brush bristles. The elongated lever arm 102 is mounted on a vibrating pivot 104 driven by rotational DC motor engaging and pushing a set of permanent magnets attached to a two-arm fork rotating along the lever arm 102. In a preferred embodiment, the DC motor drives a three-leg permanent magnets each disposed at a 120-degree phase from each other for driving the two-arm fork for generating a vibration that three-times the frequency of the DC motor'"'"'s rotational frequency.

Claims

1. A vibrating toothbrush comprising:

an elongated hollow tube defining a toothbrush body having a top-head end and a bottom-seat end;

a vibrating means disposed near said bottom-seat end inside said hollow tube wherein said vibrating means comprising a two-arm fork with a first fork and a second fork extended from a central portion wherein said first fork and second fork substantially extends semi-circularly opposite each other and having a first and second permanent magnets attached to an end of said first and second fork respectively;

a vibrating lever arm mounted on said central portion of said vibrating means and extends therefrom toward said top-head end wherein said central portion rotating along a rotational axis defined by said vibrating lever arm; and

a DC motor for rotating a vibrating driving shaft at a DC motor rotational frequency;

said vibrating means further comprising a multiple-arm permanent magnet attached to and rotating with said vibrating driving shaft driven by said DC motor wherein said multiple-arm permanent magnet having a plurality of extended arms extended from said vibrating driving shaft toward and rotationally approaching said first and second permanent magnets for magnetically asserting a force on said two-arm fork for vibrating said two-arm fork and said vibrating lever arm attached thereto.

2. The vibrating toothbrush of claim 1 further comprising:

a toothbrush head mounted onto said toothbrush body on said top-head end and mechanically coupled to and vibrating with said vibrating lever arm.

3. A vibrating toothbrush comprising:

an elongated hollow tube defining a toothbrush body having a top-head end and a bottom-seat end;

a vibrating means disposed near said bottom-seat end inside said hollow tube;

a vibrating lever arm mounted on said vibrating means and extends therefrom toward said top-head end;

a rotational means for rotating a vibrating driving shaft at a rotational frequency and energy-transferably engaging said vibrating means for generating a vibrating frequency higher than said rotational frequency;

said vibrating means further comprising a two-arm fork with a first fork and a second fork extended from a central portion wherein said first fork and second fork substantially extends semi-circularly opposite each other and having a first and second permanent magnets attached to an end of said first and second fork respectively;

said central portion engaging said vibrating lever arm and rotating along a rotational axis defined by said vibrating lever arm; and

said vibrating means further comprising a multiple-arm permanent magnet attached to and rotating with said vibrating driving shaft driven by said rotation means wherein said multiple-arm permanent magnet having a plurality of extended arms extended from said vibrating driving shaft toward and rotationally approaching said first and second permanent magnets for magnetically asserting a force on said two-arm fork for vibrating said two-arm fork and said vibrating lever arm attached thereto.

4. The vibrating toothbrush of claim 3 wherein:

said multiple-arm magnet comprising three extended arms extended from said vibrating driving shaft at positions represented by phase angles of substantially one-hundred-and-twenty degrees apart from each other for vibrating said two-arm fork at substantially at a vibrating frequency three-times of a rotational frequency of said vibration driving shaft.