Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – Brushing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-22
2002-06-11
Chin, Randall E. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
Brushing
C015S167200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06401288
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to electric toothbrushes, sometimes referred to as mechanical toothbrushes, and is more particularly directed to a portable hand-held, electrically powered, mechanical toothbrush. Specifically, a novel toothbrush head is disclosed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The use of manual toothbrushes has, of course, been know for many years. Indeed, the use of mechanical toothbrushes, typically those which are electrically driven, has been known for a number of years. The purpose, in any event, is to clean the teeth, usually with a toothbrush which comprises a plurality of bristles that are used in conjunction with a dentifrice. Very often, the dentifrice is mildly abrasive.
The dental profession has propounded, for many years, a technique known as the “Bass Technique” which, if properly performed, is said to achieve superior results in terms of cleaning one's teeth using a manual toothbrush. Essentially, the Bass Technique requires the user to position a manual toothbrush over a zone of the teeth, and then to use very short stokes so as to more or less vibrate the brush at that zone where the brush has been located. This short-stroke brushing should continue for a period of time—typically, twenty strokes to forty strokes—so as to remove any foreign material from that zone. The brush is then repositioned and typically another twenty to forty short strokes are performed. Because each zone is very small, the Bass Technique can be very time consuming. Moreover, since it is a requirement that the strokes be very short which, in turn, requires excellent muscle control, exercising the Bass Technique can be very tiring.
The theory is that, at the end of any given stroke, the bristles will flex so as to become oriented in such a manner that the ends of the bristles point generally away from the direction of the travel of the bristles across the teeth. However, at the beginning of the next stroke, in the opposite direction, the still-flexed bristles will then be pointed in the direction of the stroke and this may cause the bristle to chisel the foreign material away from the teeth for a moment before the bristle again begins to flex so as to sweep across the surface of the tooth in the zone where it is located.
However, a more efficacious manner for brushing teeth comprises a variation of the Bass Technique, whereby oscillatory movement is imparted to a toothbrush. Of course, such oscillatory movement is not capable of being executed manually.
A purpose of the present invention is to provide an electromechanical toothbrush—that is, an electrically driven, mechanical toothbrush, most typically referred to as an electric toothbrush which will permit the user to perform a tooth cleaning procedure which improves upon the Bass Technique by imparting oscillatory movement to the toothbrush. In other words, by using the toothbrush of the present invention, the user will be able to locate the toothbrush at a given zone for a short period of time, while executing a plurality of oscillatory motions of the toothbrush to clean the teeth, and then move on to the next zone, thus achieving efficient cleaning of the teeth.
Apart from the removal of leftover food particles and the like, a particular purpose for cleaning the teeth is to remove plaque build-up from the teeth. Typically, when using a manual toothbrush, plaque build-up is removed much more easily from the buccal surfaces of the teeth than from the lingual surfaces of the teeth, with relatively good foreign material removal from the occlusal surfaces of the teeth also being achieved.
One development that has occurred in respect of manual toothbrushes is the provision of twin-headed brushes, whereby the lingual and buccal surfaces of the tooth can be scrubbed using the bristles of the brush at the same time, with the same stroking action of the brush.
As to electric toothbrushes, most electric toothbrushes provide groups of bristles which are located in concentric circles, where the brush head thus provided is rotated or, more usually, it is reciprocally rotated. The co-pending application noted above teaches a toothbrush having twin heads to which a lengthwise reciprocating linear motion is imparted.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Several typical prior art toothbrushes are now described. Among them are several manual toothbrushes which comprise dual, opposed bristle heads. They include PORPER U.S. Design Pat. No. D259,977, issued Jul. 28, 1981, which reveals an early design for a toothbrush having opposed bristle heads.
Another manual toothbrush which is adapted for cleaning multiple sides of the teeth at the same time is shown in WAGNER U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,607, issued Jul. 12, 1994. The toothbrush disclosed in that patent includes further bristles which extend from the spine of the toothbrush so as to contact the occlusal surfaces of the teeth at the same as the buccal and lingual surfaces of the teeth are being contacted while the toothbrush is in use.
A typical prior art electric toothbrush is disclosed in AMAKASU U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,747, issued Nov. 1, 1994. Here, a brush member of the toothbrush is given reciprocal motion in the axial direction while, at the same time, the brush member itself is given a rotary motion. The rotary brush member is rotatably mounted on the end of an attachment connected to a drive shaft, and the reciprocating motion in the axial direction thereof is converted into a rotary motion and transmitted to the rotary brush member by a second transmission mechanism.
Another typical prior art electric toothbrush is disclosed in BAUMAN U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,460, issued Oct. 11, 1994. Here, there is a pair of brush elements with driving mechanism which drives one of the brush elements in oscillation, with linkage between the brush elements so that the second brush element is also driven in oscillation. The two brush elements are preferably oscillated in opposite directions. However, the two brush elements can only contact any one surface of the teeth at a time.
A mechanical toothbrush which is said to effectively replicate the Bass Technique is STANSBURY U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,083, issued Nov. 9, 1993. This power driven mechanical toothbrush comprises a plurality of tuft blocks which are mounted on a cam shaft. The tuft blocks are received in sliding relation in a toothbrush head member, and each tuft block slides linearly in a direction parallel to the longitudinal tuft axis as it is guided by guide rails within the head member between a retracted position and an extended position. The tuft blocks are each driven by the rotatable cam. In use, the tuft bristles are brought into contact with the teeth by the user, before the respective tuft block reaches its extended position, so as to thereby flex the bristles and to cause a lateral motion of the distal end of the bristles along the surface of the teeth. This whipping action of the ends of the bristles causes a wiping action across the surface of the teeth while, at the same time, causing a chiselling action by the ends of the bristles against the teeth, so as to thereby remove foreign material away from the teeth in the region where the bristle chiselling action occurs.
Finally, DAUB U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,463, issued Jul. 2, 1991, teaches a toothbrush which may be used for simultaneously brushing and cleaning the occlusal, lingual, and buccal surfaces of the upper and lower teeth of the user. Here, a bristle support member is provided which anchors bristles which extend from the opposite surfaces thereof. The bristles are arranged so that the central rows of bristles are straight while the intermediate and outer rows of bristles on each of the opposed surfaces of the bristle support member are curved. The straight bristles will engage the occlusal surfaces of the teeth, while the intermediate and outer rows will engage the lingual and buccal surfaces of the teeth.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric toothbrush which comprises a power handle portion and a brush he
Dickie Robert G.
Porper Robert P.
(Marks & Clerk)
Chin Randall E.
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