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Toothbrush

a toothbrush and tooth brush technology, applied in the field of oral care, can solve the problems of unbalanced mass, individual tufts of bristles cannot rotate independently of their “partner” tufts, and individual tufts are prevented from achieving optimal penetration between two teeth

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-12-07
THE GILLETTE CO
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention is about a toothbrush that has a rotating tooth cleaning element and a vibrator to help clean the teeth. The toothbrush can also have a divided head that can move independently, and the tooth cleaning element can rotate relative to the head. These features make the toothbrush more effective in cleaning the teeth and can make it easier to use."

Problems solved by technology

A rotary motor is arranged in the handle and drives an unbalanced mass.
A problem with this brush is that two tufts of bristles are secured to each strip section 5a and thus must rotate in unison.
As a result, an individual tuft of bristles cannot rotate independently of its “partner” tuft.
The individual tuft may thus be prevented from achieving optimal penetration between two teeth during brushing because the partner tuft might contact the teeth in a different manner and interfere with rotation of the individual tuft.
Further, the random orientation in which the tufts can end up after brushing detracts from the attractiveness of the brush.
As such, water cannot flow through any central portion of the brush head, thereby inhibiting the cleanability of the brush.
Further, the unitary head structure does not allow different portions of the head to move independently of each other.
Accordingly, the bristle tufts extending from the tuft cannot accommodate the varying tooth surfaces as well as a brush in which the head has two or more portions that can move or flex independent of each other.

Method used

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Examples

Experimental program
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Embodiment Construction

[0032] Beginning with FIGS. 1-5, there is shown a toothbrush head 16 which extends from a neck 14 which extends from a handle (not shown) to form a toothbrush. The type of handle is not germane to the present invention. The head and handle are preferably made of polypropylene. The head has a serpentine split 18 which divides the head into two portions 20 and 22. An end of the split 13 near neck 14 is preferably circular in shape (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 5, the split in the head allows portions 20 and 22 to flex or move independent of each other during use of the toothbrush, thus facilitating cleaning of the teeth.

[0033] Split 18 can also be defined as an opening in the head between head portions 20 and 22. This opening allows water to flow through the head, thereby enhancing cleaning of the top head surface which typically gets caked with toothpaste in spite of efforts to rinse the head clean.

[0034] Head portion 20 includes a projecting part 24 which fits (at least partially...

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Abstract

A toothbrush includes a head and a tooth cleaning element extending from a top surface of the head. The head is divided into at least two portions which can be moved independent of each other. The tooth cleaning element is rotatable relative to that portion of the head from which it extends. A vibrator vibrates the head and tooth cleaning element.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] Cross-reference is made to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 389,448 filed on Mar. 14, 2003 which is assigned to The Gillette Company.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention relates generally to the field of oral care, and in particular to toothbrushes. More specifically, the invention relates to a toothbrush that vibrates. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,681 discloses an electric toothbrush with a handles a brush head and a shank which connects the handle to the brush head. A rotary motor is arranged in the handle and drives an unbalanced mass. The unbalanced mass driven by the motor is supported on one side or on both sides in the shank close to the brush head and is driven by an extended drive shaft, preferably an intermediate shaft, by the motor. When the motor is operated the toothbrush head vibrates. [0004] The toothbrush disclosed in the '681 patent is typical of vibrating toothbrushes in that the fea...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A61C17/22A46B9/04A46B7/06A46B9/06A46B13/02A46D1/00A61C17/34
CPCA46B5/0025A46B7/06A46B9/045B29L2031/425A46B2200/1066A61C17/3481B29C45/0055A46B9/06A46B13/02
Inventor BRAUN, PHILLIP M.DUFF, RONALD R. JR.
Owner THE GILLETTE CO
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