Pivoting Brush Head Wrapping Teeth for Single-Motion Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toothbrush designs are difficult to maneuver, especially for individuals with motor or learning challenges, and often fail to effectively clean all surfaces of the teeth due to their complexity and bulkiness.
Innovation Solution
A toothbrush with a pivoting brush head that wraps around the teeth, utilizing a restorative force mechanism to glide smoothly around the teeth, ensuring all surfaces are cleaned simultaneously without requiring complex hand movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a standard toothbrush design is used, then the structure is simple, but it is difficult to maneuver and fail to effectively clean all surfaces of the teeth
Solution Approach 1:
The brush head is designed to pivot and rotate dynamically as the user moves the toothbrush around the mouth, automatically adapting to different tooth surfaces without requiring complex manual manipulations. This dynamic movement allows the brush to wrap around teeth and clean multiple surfaces sequentially.
Solution Approach 2:
The brush head is divided into multiple sections with bristles oriented at different angles, allowing each segment to contact different tooth surfaces (outer, inner, chewing surfaces) simultaneously or sequentially as the head pivots during brushing motion.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple wrist and hand manipulations are required to reach all areas of the mouth, then all tooth surfaces can be accessed, but the brushing process becomes complex and difficult to execute
Solution Approach 1:
The toothbrush automatically adapts its brushing action to different tooth surfaces through the pivoting brush head mechanism, eliminating the need for the user to learn and execute complex manual manipulations. The device performs the adaptive movements itself in response to simple user guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The brush head dynamically pivots and rotates to follow the contours of different tooth surfaces and oral regions, automatically adjusting its orientation to maintain effective contact without requiring the user to perform multiple precise hand manipulations.
3Ease of operation
If a pivoting brush head mechanism is implemented, then the brush can wrap around teeth and clean all surfaces, but the device becomes bulkier and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The pivot mechanism allows the brush head to rotate and wrap around teeth in a compact manner, achieving comprehensive surface coverage without requiring a large overall brush head volume. The dynamic rotation enables the same physical space to contact multiple tooth surfaces sequentially.
Data Source
AI summary
A toothbrush apparatus and system designed to simplify the cleaning of all surfaces of the teeth, by simplifying the brushing process to a single motion performed on the top and bottom rows of teeth, and thereby by reducing the cognitive difficulty of learning the brushing task. Simplification is accomplished by using a unique brush head that wraps around the teeth to cover the inside, top, and outer surface of the teeth at once, while a pivot mechanism with a restorative force component attaches the brush head to the brush stem, and allows the brush head to rotate about itself. These two elements combine to allow the brush head to glide around the teeth like a train on a track as the brush is moved around the mouth.