The present invention relates to electric toothbrushes, and more particularly to an electric toothbrush with three-dimensional motion.
Electric toothbrushes are well known and believed to increase plaque removal and prevent gum recession. Conventional electric toothbrushes include an elongated body with a handle at one end and a head at the other end. The head end supports a cylindrical tuft carrier containing a number of tufts of bristles. The tuft carrier is provided with a back-and-forth reciprocating and oscillating motion a by drive shaft and motor located within the body of the toothbrush. The drive shaft rotates about a longitudinal axis and includes an eccentric tip that engages a slot in the side wall of the tuft carrier so that the tuft carrier oscillates as the tip rotates.
In an effort to improve the cleaning effect of electric toothbrushes, manufacturers are now attempting to develop tuft carriers with three-dimensional motion, the third dimension being generally perpendicular to the oscillating dimensions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,613 issued Feb. 19, 2002 to Fattori discloses a tuft carrier that is pivotally mounted on an angled drive shaft. The drive shaft extends through a lower portion of the tuft carrier, so that tuft carrier pivots back and forth as the drive shaft rotates. U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,425 issued Nov. 2, 1999 to Herzog discloses a drive shaft with an eccentric tip that engages a hole in the side wall of the tuft carrier. The tuft carrier pivots back and forth within a socket as the shaft rotates. While these and other designs provide their respective electric toothbrushes with some degree of three-dimensional motion, a significant amount of additional manufacturing time and labor is required to produce these specially made drive shafts and tuft carriers.
Accordingly, manufacturers in this competitive market are continually searching for simpler and more cost-effective ways to provide electric toothbrushes with three-dimensional motion.
The aforementioned problems are overcome by the present invention wherein three-dimensional motion is produced by simply molding cooperating features into the head and tuft carrier of a electric toothbrush to provide movement in the axial direction as the tuft carrier oscillates. In the disclosed embodiment, the cooperating features are cams and cam followers. The cam engages the cam follower such that as the tuft carrier reciprocates back-and-forth the cam rides up and down over the cam follower, consequently raising and lowering the tuft carrier with respect to the toothbrush head.
The present invention provides an efficient and cost effective means for providing an electric toothbrush with three-dimensional motion. The cams and cam followers that provide up-and-down motion can be molded integrally into the body and the tuft carrier of a conventional electric toothbrush.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the detailed description of the current embodiments and the drawings.
As shown in
Referring now to
The inner chamber 36 generally includes a battery 38 or multiple batteries, such as a AA form battery, and a cylindrical direct current motor 40 positioned within the handle 14. The battery 38 is held in place by ribs 42 and 44, and the motor 40 is held in place by ribs 46 and 48. The ribs 42, 44, 46, and 48 extend around the wall of the chamber 36 on both the upper body 28 and the lower body 30. Ribs 44 and 46 are positioned in between the motor 40 and the battery 38. A positive metal stamping 50 is disposed between the ribs 44 and 46 to connect one terminal 37 of the battery 38 to a first end 56 of the motor 40. A negative metal stamping 52 is attached to the switch 26 through an elongated slot 54 in the upper body, such that when the switch 26 is moved along the slot 54, the stamping 52 slides along the upper surface of the upper body 28 within the chamber 36. The negative stamping 52 includes a flange 58 extending downwardly from a first end 60, and a pair of fingers 62 extending downwardly from a point near the second end 64. A sealing O-ring 66 is disposed between the switch 26 and the upper body 28.
A drive shaft 68 is attached to drive pin 70 extending from a second end 72 of the motor 40. The drive shaft 68 is preferably a plastic rod, but may be made from a variety of materials. The pin 70 interfits with a hole 74 on a first end 76 of the drive shaft 68 and provides rotational motion to the drive shaft 68 when the motor 40 is activated. The drive shaft 68 is generally an elongated cylinder that extends through the inner chamber 36 from the neck 18 to the head 16 to define a longitudinal axis 88. A central portion 78 of the shaft 68 is supported by a rib 80 within the neck 18. A second sealing O-ring 82 is disposed about the central portion 78 within the rib 80. A second end 84 of the drive shaft 68 includes an eccentric finger 86 that extends from the drive shaft at a slight angle with the axis 88 and engages a slot 112 in the tuft carrier 22 (described below in detail).
The toothbrush head 16 includes a portion 90 of the upper body 28, a portion 92 of the lower body 30, and the tuft carrier 22. The upper body portion 90 includes a plurality of stationary bristles 20. The bristles 20 are generally conventional, and may be of various sizes, cross-sections and strengths and may extend from the upper portion 90 at various angles. Alternatively, or additionally, the toothbrush may include an elastomer extending from upper portion 90. The lower body portion 92 extends past the upper portion 90 and includes an mounting surface 94. The mounting surface 94 includes a generally circular wall 96 extending upwardly at the periphery of the surface 94, a pair of stop pins 104, and a receptacle 98 defining a hole 100 in the surface 94 and a wall extending upwardly from the center of the surface 94. The receptacle 98 further includes a plurality of evenly spaced cams 102 extending around its upper surface. As illustrated, the present invention includes four cams, however, any desired number of cams 102 may be used.
The tuft carrier 22 is generally circular to correspond to the shape of the peripheral wall 96 of the mounting surface 94, and includes an upper surface 106, a lower surface 108, and a side wall 110. The upper surface 106 includes a plurality of conventional bristles 24. The side wall 110 includes a slot 112 that extends up a substantial portion of the side wall 110 from the lower surface 108. The lower surface 108 is generally flat, but as shown in
In operation, the switch 26 is actuated within the slot 54 so that the flange 58 and the fingers 62 on the negative stamping 52 contact the second terminal 37 of battery 38 and the motor 40 to complete a circuit. The motor 40 then rotates the drive pin 70 and in turn the drive shaft 68 and the finger 86. The finger 86 engages the slot 112 of the tuft carrier 22, and moves up and down within the slot 112. In turn, the tuft carrier 22 reciprocates back and forth along an arcuate path, while the cam followers 116 run up and down over the cams 102. The tuft carrier 22 thereby raises and lowers as it reciprocates.
In operation, when the switch 26 is actuated the cam shaft 119′ rotates and the first end 76′ of the drive shaft 68′ travels in a circular path about the axis 88′, causing the central portion 78′ of the shaft 68′ to pivot about a fulcrum created by the rib 80′. This causes the ball 86′ to travel eccentric to the longitudinal axis 88′ and reciprocates the tuft carrier 22′. The cams 102 and cam followers 116 operate in the same manner as the previously disclosed embodiment to provide the tuft carrier 22′ with a three-dimensional motion.
The above descriptions are those of current embodiments of the invention. Various alterations and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of the invention, which are to be interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent law including the Doctrine of Equivalents.