Electric toothbrush
First Claim
1. An electric toothbrush comprising:
- housing means for giving said toothbrush form, said housing means comprising an elongate, substantially hollow handle portion and a substantially hollow shoulder portion, said housing means supporting the following working elements of said toothbrush;
brushing means for brushing a user'"'"'s teeth,spacing means for spacing said brushing means away from the surface of a user'"'"'s teeth, said spacing means comprising;
a pair of brush spacer extenders extending from said shoulder portion, each of said brush spacer extenders being substantially opposite the other of said brush spacer extenders,a brush spacer bridge extending between a distal end of said pair of brush spacer extenders, and a brush spacer pad affixed to said brush spacer bridge, said brush spacer pad adapted to interface with the surface of a user'"'"'s teeth,power means for providing power to said toothbrush,motor means for converting said power into rotary motion of a drive shaft of said motor means,switch means for turning said motor means on and off and controlling the direction of rotation of the drive shaft of said motor means as determined by the teeth to be brushed, from among the group consisting of the upper teeth and the lower teeth, andconversion means for converting the rotary motion of said motor means drive shaft to an elliptical motion of said brushing means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electric toothbrush in which the brushing head moves in an elliptical motion such that, on the brushing stroke, the bristles are proximate the teeth, and in the recovery portion of the cycle the bristles are pulled away from the teeth. A position sensitive switch automatically switches from a forward to a reverse operation of the electric motor, depending on the positioning of the toothbrush in a user'"'"'s hand, allowing the user to brush both the upper and lower teeth using a stroke carrying the bristles from the gum line to the ends of the teeth, as is recommended by dental professionals, without having to move the toothbrush from hand to hand or manually move the switch from the forward to the reverse positions. A bridge pad engages the face of the teeth, maintaining a proper distance between the teeth and bristles during the elliptical rotation of the brush head.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An electric toothbrush comprising:
housing means for giving said toothbrush form, said housing means comprising an elongate, substantially hollow handle portion and a substantially hollow shoulder portion, said housing means supporting the following working elements of said toothbrush; brushing means for brushing a user'"'"'s teeth, spacing means for spacing said brushing means away from the surface of a user'"'"'s teeth, said spacing means comprising; a pair of brush spacer extenders extending from said shoulder portion, each of said brush spacer extenders being substantially opposite the other of said brush spacer extenders, a brush spacer bridge extending between a distal end of said pair of brush spacer extenders, and a brush spacer pad affixed to said brush spacer bridge, said brush spacer pad adapted to interface with the surface of a user'"'"'s teeth, power means for providing power to said toothbrush, motor means for converting said power into rotary motion of a drive shaft of said motor means, switch means for turning said motor means on and off and controlling the direction of rotation of the drive shaft of said motor means as determined by the teeth to be brushed, from among the group consisting of the upper teeth and the lower teeth, and conversion means for converting the rotary motion of said motor means drive shaft to an elliptical motion of said brushing means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An electric toothbrush comprising:
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housing means for giving said toothbrush form and supporting the following working elements of said toothbrush; brushing means for brushing a user'"'"'s teeth, spacing means for spacing said brushing means away from the surface of a user'"'"'s teeth, power means for providing power to said toothbrush, motor means for converting said power into rotary motion of a drive shaft of said motor means, switch means for turning said motor means on and off and controlling the direction of rotation of the drive shaft of said motor means as determined by the teeth to be brushed, from among the group consisting of the upper teeth and the lower teeth, and conversion means for converting the rotary motion of said motor means drive shaft to an elliptical motion of said brushing means, wherein said switch further comprises a position sensitive switch which automatically reverses said direction of rotation of said drive shaft based on the angle at which said toothbrush is held in a user'"'"'s hand after said initial direction of rotation has been established, and wherein said position sensitive switch further comprises a pendulum and two pairs of infra-red (IR) sensors, wherein said pendulum is free to move between the two elements of each of said two pairs of IR sensors, said pendulum interrupting the signal between one or the other of said pair of IR sensors, the direction of rotation of said motor being reversible depending on which of said two pairs of IR sensors said pendulum has interrupted, said pendulum being activated by changes in the positioning of a user'"'"'s hand.
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15. An electric toothbrush comprising:
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housing means for giving said toothbrush form, said housing means comprising an elongate, substantially hollow handle portion and having at an upper end thereof a substantially hollow shoulder portion, said housing means supporting the following working elements of said toothbrush; brushing means for brushing a user'"'"'s teeth, spacing means for spacing said brushing means away from the surface of a use'"'"'s teeth, power means for providing power to said toothbrush, motor means for converting said power into rotary motion of a drive shaft of said motor means, switch means for turning said motor means on and off and controlling the direction of rotation of the drive shaft of said motor means as determined by the teeth to be brushed, from among the group consisting of the upper teeth and the lower teeth, and conversion means for converting the rotary motion of said motor means drive shaft to an elliptical motion of said brushing means, wherein said conversion means comprises an elliptical drive mechanism, said elliptical drive mechanism comprising; a substantially round drive plate having; an aperture formed in a lower surface thereof, said aperture adapted to concentrically receive an end of said drive shaft of said motor means, and a groove disposed in an upper surface thereof, said groove lying along a diametric line of said round drive plate, a drive cap dimensioned and configured to movably fit within said groove, said drive cap having an aperture formed in an upper surface thereof, a spring dimensioned and configured to fit within a first end of said groove such that it exerts pressure against one side of said drive cap, thereby forcing said drive cap to the second end of said groove when said spring is in a relaxed state, and a substantially round guide plate comprising; a substantially elliptical aperture formed concentrically therethrough, a substantially round roller bearing assembly mounted within said substantially elliptical aperture, said roller bearing assembly having an aperture formed through the center thereof, a pivot assembly having an aperture formed therethrough, said pivot assembly being located within an upper portion of said shoulder portion, positioned at a distance above said guide plate, and a brush drive shaft, said brush drive shaft having a length width a first end movably constrained within said drive cap within said drive plate, said length of said brush drive shaft movably passing through said aperture in said roller bearing assembly and said pivot assembly aperture, and a second end extending beyond said pivot assembly.
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Specification