Pivotally Mounted Toothbrush Head with Forked Handle Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional toothbrushes with rotating heads face challenges in accessing the palatal and lingual surfaces of teeth due to design limitations, such as housing part of the handle within the head, which reduces the area for bristles and impairs cleaning performance.
Innovation Solution
A toothbrush design featuring a pivotally mounted head with arms that allow 360° rotation, equipped with bristles on a base and handle, using a button and rod mechanism for locking and unlocking positions to facilitate cleaning of hard-to-reach areas while maintaining uniform bristle coverage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the head is pivotally mounted with a housing for the handle, then the head can be positioned to access palatal and lingual surfaces, but the housing occupies space that would otherwise be available for bristles, reducing cleaning performance
Solution Approach 1:
The handle housing is extracted from the head structure and relocated to the handle itself. The handle is designed with a fork-shaped structure that provides the housing function externally, allowing the head to be fully covered with bristles without any housing occupying space within the head.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivotal mounting mechanism allows the head to rotate 360 degrees around an axis perpendicular to the handle arms, enabling access to palatal and lingual surfaces by positioning the head in different spatial orientations rather than requiring internal housing adjustments.
2Quantity of substance
If the head is made entirely with bristle tufts for uniform cleaning, then cleaning performance is improved, but the mechanism for pivoting and locking the head becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting mechanism is segmented into separate functional components: the fork-shaped handle arms provide the mounting structure, the pin provides the pivotal connection, and the button with rod provides the locking function. This segmentation allows each component to be simple while collectively achieving the required functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The button-operated rod mechanism allows the user to easily lock and unlock the head position without requiring complex tools or mechanisms. The notched base automatically engages with the rod when the button is released, providing self-locking functionality.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5
AI summary
A toothbrush (1) comprising a handle (2) and a head fitted with bristles, this head being mounted pivotally relative to the handle (2), in which the handle (2) includes at one end (3) two arms (5) projecting along a longitudinal axis (6) of the handle (2) and defining a space, the head being mounted pivotally in the space (7) defined by the arms (5).