Manual rotary brush

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6338176
  • Patent Number
    6,338,176
  • Date Filed
    Monday, July 12, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, January 15, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A hand-held rotary brush is provided with a handle, a brush head having a hollow space, a tuft of bristles mounted onto a rotary device which is loosely set within the hollow space of the brush head. When the user manually pushes the brush, a frictional force is created which propels the bristles to catch the irregular surface of the teeth, gaps, causing the rotary device to turn to a circular rotating motion. The construction of the rotary brush can be improved by configured the rotary device with tracks and grooves, which sets within matched grooves and tracks of the hollow space to create a rotating path, that allows the rotary device to rotate within the hollow space of the brush head.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention generally relates to a toothbrush with multiple levels of bristles affixed perpendicular on a rotary pad. When a user manually operates the toothbrush with forward and backward brush movement, that converts the bristles forward and backward motion into circular motion. More specifically, the present invention relates to a toothbrush with varying lengths and positioned bristles permanently affixed perpendicular on a rounded pad, which rotates when the handle of the brush is pushed either to the right or left manually.




It is generally accepted in dental health care maintenance that circular brushing motion around and along the irregular contours of tooth surfaces is the preferred and correct method of brushing teeth and stimulating gums. The circular brushing motion is the best way to clean the gaps and pockets between teeth. It is also generally known that most people find it difficult to brush their teeth in a sustained circular movement manually, because of the physical effort in maintaining the circular movement for an extended length of time. There are electric toothbrushes that accomplish, to some extent, this desired result; however, they are costly to the consumer and require the use of electricity or batteries.




A need, therefore, exists for an improved inexpensive toothbrush that converts bristles from forward and backward brushing motion into a desirable system of circular brushing motion manually to clean and stimulate both teeth and gums in the more dental prescribed manner.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention provides a toothbrush with multiple levels of bristles on a rotary pad. A stepped pattern of bristles is created to brush any and all irregularities, gaps, pockets and contours in the natural tooth formation and construction. It is the combination of the movement of brushing, and the multiple levels of bristles, that catch the surface of irregular teeth, gaps, and pockets which propel the bristles to rotate effectively along the teeth and gum line. When a user operates with left and right brushing movement, there is a force created which propels the bristles to catch the irregular surfaces of the teeth, causing the rotary pad to turn. When the user pushes the brush to the left, the rotary pad turns counterclockwise. When the user pushes the brush to the right, the rotary pad turns clockwise. The rotary pad can be turned at any desired circular position depending on whether the user normally brushes softer or harder in force. The pattern design and length of bristles can be varied and the construction of the rotary pad and the brush head can also be varied. It can be constructed by pose, axis, track, groove, and the like, or just a rotary device loosely set within its matched configuation case with overhang. Or, a rotary device can be comprised of several sets of individual and independent, circular rotating rings as long as the result can be accomplished and improved to provide the most effective manually operated rotary brushing method.




In an advantageous further improvement of the present invention, A rotary brush having a hollow space within the brush head and a rotary device is loosely set within the hollow space, a tuft of bristles mounted onto the rotary device, wherein an outer circle of the rotary device is configured a plurality of grooves forming a plurality of tracks and an inner circular wall of the hollow space is configured a plurality of tracks forming a plurality of grooves, wherein configurations of the tracks of the outer circle of the rotary device are constructed to match with configurations of the grooves of the inner circular wall of the hollow space and configurations of the grooves of the outer circle of the rotary device are constructed to match with configurations of the tracks of the inner circular wall of the hollow space, wherein the tracks of the rotary device are set within the matched grooves of the hollow space and the grooves of the rotary device are set within the matched tracks of the hollow space, by utilizes such arrangement which creating a circular rotating path to allow the rotary device to rotate within the hollow space. According to another improvement of the rotary device, the outer circle of the rotary device is constructed with a convex form and the inner circular wall of the hollow space is constructed with a concave form wherein the convex form of the outer circle of the rotary device is configured to match the concave form of the inner circular wall of the hollow space, wherein the convex form of the rotary device is loosely set within the matched concave form of the hollow space. By constructing in such ways, accordingly, while the track form is set with matched groove form or the convex form is set with matched concave form, and the like, are configured to fit in with each other, characteristically creating a unrestricted circular rotating path and retaining condition in between, therefore allows the rotary device to rotate and retain within the hollow space, upon moving the brush handle, a frictional force is created which propels the bristles to turn to a circular rotation. Another further development of the present invention, the rotary device can be comprised of two or three sets of circularly rotating rings with their own tufts of bristles, each of the rings individually and independently capable of acting on their own, and operate substantially similar to the previously described single ringed rotary device, which utilizing means for matching configurations between each of the rings also between the outer circle of the rotary device and the inner circular wall of the hollow space. The rings' bristles individually and independently rotate as a result of a user manually pushing the brush in a side-to-side fashion. The bristles of each of the rings catch different gaps and points of the teeth which create different forces of circular rotation with more effective results. According to further feature of the present invention, an arched overhang is formed around top edge of the hollow space which provides a retaining configuration, such overhang is a extra secure feature to retain the rotary device within the brush head. The present invention's objects and advantages: The present invention omitted integral elements of the prior art without loss of capability which still creates a manual rotary brush effectively. The toothbrush can be comprised of two or even three rotary pads for an adult size toothbrush, or only one rotary pad for a child's size toothbrush.




Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments and from the drawings. While my above description contains many specificities these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

illustrates a perspective view of a toothbrush with two rotary pads with varying length bristles, and water release holes.





FIGS. 2A and 2B

illustrate perspective views of the same bristle pattern wherein the pattern is two combined sets of equally graduated bristle stepped patterns.





FIGS. 3A and 3B

illustrate perspective views of two different angles of the same bristle pattern wherein the pattern is three combined sets of equally graduated bristle stepped patterns.





FIGS. 4A and 4B

illustrate perspective views of two different angles of bristle patterns wherein the bristles are in an alternating pattern.





FIG. 5

illustrates a hand-held toothbrush with handle and two flat surface rotary pads and water release holes with two rounded post axes with crown tops.





FIG. 6

illustrates a hand-held toothbrush with handle and two convex surface rotary pads and water release holes with two rounded post axes with crown tops.





FIG. 7

illustrates a hand-held toothbrush comprising a handle and two concave rotary pads and water release holes with two rounded post axes with crown tops.





FIG. 8

illustrates a rotary pad and rounded post axis with a crown top.





FIG. 9

illustrates a side view of rotary pads within a brush head in an embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 10

illustrates another side view of an embodiment of rotary pads within a brush head of the present invention.





FIG. 11

illustrates a top view of an embodiment of a toothbrush having rotary pads.





FIGS. 12A and 12B

illustrate top views of rotary pads having rings with their own tufts of different lengths of bristles.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring to

FIG. 1

, a hand-held toothbrush comprising a handle


22


and two rotary pads


26


with two stepped pattern bristle configurations is shown. Bristle


11


represents the highest level graduated to bristles


16


, which represent the lowest level. The differences in length between the bristles


11


-


16


in graduated outer pattern


11


,


12


,


13


,


14


,


15


,


16


is 0.04 inch. Bristles


17


,


18


and


19


which represents an inner pattern is shorter in measurement. The difference in length in a graduated inner pattern between bristles


17


,


18


,


19


is 0.04 inch. Water release hole


20


is to release water and toothpaste residue. Hole


20


facilitates clean out. Rotary pad


26


rotates easily upon manual pushing movement from either right to left or left to right. Rotary motion covers a complete 360 degrees or can be rotated at any circular position.




Referring to

FIGS. 2A and 2B

, the bristle pattern is exactly the same configuration, except graphically displayed from different angle position.




The bristle pattern is designed to specially improve the rotation more effectively. It can be described as follows: center bristle


10


has a length of 0.32 inch. Inner circle consists of two sets of bristles


17


,


18


and


19


. Bristle


17


has a length of 0.44 inch. Bristle


18


has a length of 0.4 inch. Bristle


19


has a length of 0.36 inch, and the difference in length between each bristle


17


to


19


is 0.04 inch. Outer circle consists of two sets of bristles


11


,


12


,


13


,


14




15


, and


16


. Bristle


11


has a length of 0.5 inch. Bristle


12


has a length of 0.46 inch. Bristle


13


has a length of 0.42 inch. Bristle


14


has a length of 0.38 inch. Bristle


15


has a length of 0.34 inch. Bristle


16


has a length of 0.3 inch and the difference in length between each bristle


11


to


16


is 0.04 inch. Measurement can be adjusted respectively as long as bristles remain consistent with the aforementioned pattern.





FIGS. 3A and 3B

generally illustrate a bristle pattern with exactly the same configuration, except graphically displayed from different angle positions. The bristle pattern is designed to specially improve the rotation more effectively. It can be described as follows: center bristle


36


has a length of 0.34 inch, inner circle consists of three sets of bristles


34


and


35


. Bristle


34


has a length of 0.42 inch, and bristle


35


has a length of 0.38 inch. Outer circle consists of three sets of bristles


30


,


31


,


32


and


33


. Bristle


30


has a length of 0.48 inch, bristle


31


has a length of 0.44 inch, bristle


32


has a length of 0.4 inch, and bristle


33


has a length of 0.36 inch. Measurement can be adjusted respectively as long as bristles remain consistent with the aforementioned pattern.




As shown in

FIGS. 4A and 4B

, bristle patterns have exactly the same configuration, except graphically displayed from different angle position. The bristle pattern is designed to specially improve the rotation more effectively. It can be described as follows: the center bristle


43


has a length of 0.4 inch, the inner circle consists of six bristles


41


, and each bristle


41


has the same length of 0.44 inch. Outer circle consists of six bristles


40


and six bristles


42


. Each bristle


40


length has a length of 0.48 inch, each bristle


42


has a length of 0.4 inch. Bristle


40


and bristle


42


are arranged in an alternating pattern. Measurement can be adjusted respectively as long as bristles remain consistent with the aforementioned pattern.




Referring now to

FIG. 5

, a hand-held toothbrush comprises a handle


22


and a brush head with a rotary pad


26


with a flat surface and multiple levels of bristles, placed on a rounded post axis


21


to allow rotary pad


26


to freely turn. A water release hole


20


on both sides of the brush is created to facilitate cleaning the toothbrush and to release excess water.




As shown in

FIG. 6

, a hand-held toothbrush comprises a handle


22


and a brush head with rotary pads with a slightly convex top and bottom with multiple levels of bristles. Placed on rounded post axis


21


, the slightly convex shape of the rotary pad is designed to more effectively cause the rotary pad to freely turn. A water release hole


20


on both sides of the brush is created to facilitate cleaning the toothbrush and to release excess water.




Referring to

FIG. 7

, a hand-held toothbrush comprises a handle


22


and a brush head with rotary pads


24


with a slightly concave top and bottom with multiple levels of bristles. Placed on a rounded post axis


21


, the slightly concave shape of the rotary pad is designed to more effectively cause the rotary pad to freely turn. A water release hole


20


on both sides of the brush is created to facilitate cleaning the toothbrush and release excess water.





FIG. 8

illustrates an axis


21


with a wider diameter crown


23


, which secures rotary pad


26


in place, and allows the rotary pad to turn freely.





FIG. 9

generally illustrates another embodiment of a toothbrush with a head having rotary pads


44


configured within two grooves


45




a


forming three tracks


46




a


on an outer circle


44




a


of the rotary pads


44


. The outer circle


44




a


of the rotary pad


44


rotate within the tracks


46




a


defined by the grooves


45




a


of an inner circular wall of a hollow space of the toothbrush. The grooves


45




a


of the rotary pad


44


fits in with the tracks


46




a


of the hollow space and the tracks


46




a


of the rotary pad


44


fits in with the grooves


45




a


of the hollow space. Preferably, the grooves


45




a


and the tracks


46




a


both have smooth rounded corners, also a bottom base of the rotary pad and an inner foundation of the hollow space of the brush head both having a flat configuration to match with each other. An arched overhang


47


is formed around top edge of the hollow space of the toothbrush head such that the rotary pad


44


is retained in position. The rotary pads


44


are loosely set within the toothbrush head and allows for substantially unrestricted mobility thereof.




Another embodiment of rotary pads


48


is generally shown in FIG.


10


. The rotary pads


48


have a flat top and bottom with a convex form exterior circle


49




a


. The head of the brush has two rotary pads


48


built therein. A hollow space has a concave form


49




b


fits in with its matched convex form exterior circle


49




a


of the rotary pad


48


, also a bottom base of the rotary pad and an inner foundation of the hollow space of the brush head both having a flat configuration to match with each other. The head has an arched overhang


50


around top edge of the hollow space to substantially retain the rotary pad


48


in position such that the rotary pad


48


is loosely set within the head and allows for substantially unrestricted mobility of the rotary pad


48


therein.





FIG. 11

illustrates a toothbrush having two rotary pads


51


each having a tuft


52


of bristles between the spaces of the rotary pads


51


. The tufts


52


of bristles do not rotate but are implemented to fully use the space on the brush head of the toothbrush, particularly the space between the rotary pads


51


.





FIGS. 12A and 12B

illustrate rotary pads having two or three sets of circularly rotating rings with their own tufts of different lengths of bristles on each ring individually and independently capable of acting on their own. A rotary pad


100


is generally shown in

FIG. 12A

having three sets of circular rotating rings


101


,


102


, and


103


.

FIG. 12B

illustrates a rotary pad


200


having two sets of rings


201


and


202


. The rotary pads with their independently operating rings of

FIGS. 12A and 12B

operate substantially similar to the previously described single ringed rotary pads of the previous figures. The rings' bristles individually and independently rotate as a result of a user manually pushing the toothbrush in a side-to-side fashion. The bristles of each of the rings catch different gaps and points of the teeth which create different forces of circular rotation with more effective results.




It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is, therefore, intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A manual rotary brush comprising:a handle, a brush head having a hollow space, a tuft of bristles mounted onto a rotary device, the rotary device is set within the hollow space of the brush head with the handle orientation forming a rotary bush; the rotary device comprising an outer circle configured with a plurality of tracks and grooves; the hollow space comprising an inner circular wall configured with a plurality of tracks and grooves; wherein the tracks of the outer circle of the rotary device are configured to match the grooves of the inner circular wall of the hollow space and the grooves of the outer circle of the rotary device are configured to match the tracks of the inner circular wall of the hollow space, and the tracks of the rotary device are set within the matched grooves of the hollow space and the grooves of the rotary device are set within the matched tracks of the hollow space, therefore allowing the rotary device to rotate within the hollow space thereby creating a circular rotation of the tuft of the bristles upon moving the brush handle.
  • 2. The manual rotary brush according to claim 1 wherein the tracks and grooves of the rotary device and the hollow space all having smooth rounded corners.
  • 3. The manual rotary brush according to claim 1, further including the rotary device having a plurality of circular rotating rings that each of the rings is rotated independently from other rings.
  • 4. The manual rotary brush according to claim 1, further including an arched overhang is formed around top edge of the hollow space of the brush head.
  • 5. A manual rotary brush comprising:a handle, a brush head having a hollow space, a tuft of bristles mounted onto a rotary device, the rotary device is set within the hollow space of the brush head with the handle orientation forming a rotary brush; the rotary device comprising an outer circle having a convex form; the hollow space comprising an inner circular wall having a concave form; and wherein the convex form of the outer circle of the rotary device is constructed to match the concave form of the inner circular wall of the hollow space, and the convex form of the rotary device is set within the concave form of the hollow space, therefore allowing the rotary device to rotate within the hollow space thereby creating a circular rotation of the tuft of the bristles upon moving the brush handle.
  • 6. The manual rotary brush according to claim 5, further including the rotary device having a plurality of circular rotating rings that each of the rings is rotated independently from other rings.
  • 7. The manual rotary brush according to claim 5, further including an arched overhang is formed around top edge of the hollow space of the brush head.
  • 8. A manual rotary brush comprising:a handle, a brish head having a hollow space, the hollow space having a top edge, a tuft of bristles mounted onto a rotary device, the rotary device is set within the hollow space of the brush head with the handle orientation forming a rotary brush; the rotary device comprising an outer circle; the hollow space comprising an inner circular wall; wherein the outer circle of the rotary device is configured to match with the inner circular wall of the hollow space of the brush head, and the outer circle of the rotary device is set to match the inner circular wall of the hollow space of the brush head, therefore allowing the rotary device to rotate within the hollow space thereby creating a circular rotation of the tuft of the bristles upon moving the brush handle; and an overhang which is formed around the top edge of the hollow space of the brush head.
  • 9. The manual rotary brush according to claim 8, further including the rotary device having a plurality of circular rotating rings that each of the rings is rotated independently from other rings.
  • 10. The manual rotary brush according to claim 8 wherein matching means is a convex form of the outer circle the rotary device matches with a concave form of the inner circular wall of the hollow space of the brush head.
  • 11. The manual rotary brush according to claim 8 wherein the matching means are tracks configuration of the outer circle of the rotary device matches with grooves configuration of the inner circular wall of the hollow space, and the grooves configuration of the outer circle of the rotary device matches with the tracks configuration of the inner circular wall of the hollow space of the brush head.
Parent Case Info

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/039,513 filed Mar. 16, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,157.

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Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
2622089 Apr 1989 FR
Continuation in Parts (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/039513 Mar 1998 US
Child 09/351938 US