Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Machines – Brushing
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-27
2004-11-09
Till, Terrence R. (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Machines
Brushing
C015S022100, C015S028000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06813793
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to powered oral care products, and more specifically, powered toothbrushes that have distinct head sections.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Toothbrushes provide many oral hygiene benefits. For example, toothbrushes remove plaque and food debris to help avoid tooth decay and disease. They remove stained pellicle from the surface of each tooth to help whiten the teeth. Also, the bristles combined with the brushing motion will massage the gingival tissue for stimulation and increased health of the tissue.
Powered toothbrushes have been available for some time. Powered toothbrushes have advantages over manual (non-powered) toothbrushes in that they impart movement to the bristles at much higher speeds than possible manually. They also may impart different types and directions of motion. These motions, generally in combination with manual movement of the toothbrush by the user, provide superior cleaning than manual toothbrushes. Typically, powered toothbrushes are powered by disposable or rechargeable batteries that power an electric motor that in turn drives the toothbrush head.
Known powered toothbrushes include a brush head with a bristle carrier portion that rotates, oscillates or vibrates in some manner so as to clean the teeth. The bristles, which typically comprise bristle tufts, are generally uniform with one end fixed into the bristle carrier portion and the other end free to contact the surface of the teeth while brushing. The free ends of the various tufts present a surface envelope that is capable of some deformation when the bristles bend. When in contact with the surface to be brushed, the bristles may deform so that the surface envelope tends to conform to the complex surface of the teeth. Human teeth generally lie in a “C” shaped curve within the upper and lower jaws, and each row of teeth consequently have a convex outer curve and concave inner curve. Individual teeth often have extremely complex surfaces, with areas that may be flat, concave, or convex. The more precise conformation between the bristles and the tooth surface, the more effective the toothbrush may be in cleaning, whitening and stimulating.
Known powered toothbrushes typically arrange the bristles in a compact conical or cylindrical pattern on a generally circular, disk-shaped bristle carrier. The powered toothbrush heads are traditionally compact, generally oval in shape and the heads are produced with a flat trimmed bristle pattern. Alternatively, other head shapes and bristle patterns are available.
One example of a powered toothbrush is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,916 to McDougall, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The toothbrush shown in McDougall has a disc-shaped bristle carrier. The bristle carrier, and thus the bristles, are driven in a vibrating or oscillating manner, which may be illustrated by
FIGS. 1A-1C
. A toothbrush
5
comprises a handle portion
10
at a proximal end of the toothbrush
5
and a head
11
at a distal end of the toothbrush
5
. The handle portion
10
has compartments for containing a powered motor
14
and batteries
15
and
16
. The head
11
includes a generally circular bristle holder
13
. A rotatable shaft
12
extends from the motor
14
to the head
11
. A shaft coupling
17
may be located along the shaft
12
and configured to provide for the shaft
12
to be separated at a point between the motor
14
and the head
11
. This permits the shaft to be removed from the toothbrush
5
, e.g., for cleaning or replacement.
The head
11
includes a post
18
that provides a rotational pivot axis for the bristle holder
13
containing bristles
19
. The distal end of the shaft
12
has a journal or offset
20
that is radially displaced from the longitudinal axis of the shaft
12
, which may be integrally formed therewith. The bristle holder
13
has a slot
22
that receives the offset
20
. The offset
20
and slot
22
are configured so as to be oriented toward the intersection of the shaft
12
axis and the longitudinal axis of the post
18
. When the motor
14
rotates the shaft
12
, the motion of the offset
20
defines a circle about the shaft
12
axis and drivingly engages the slot
22
such that the bristle holder
13
vibrates or oscillates about the post
18
axis through a rotational angle A. The rotational angle A is defined by the displacement of the offset
20
from the shaft
12
axis relative to the diameter of the bristle holder
13
.
Although powered toothbrushes such as described immediately above provide advantages over manual toothbrushes, they are subject to various limitations. Providing a rotating or oscillating bristle holder with a typical oblong or oval toothbrush head constrains the size of the moving bristle holder, and consequently the area of bristles available for teeth cleaning. Also, when the bristles are placed in contact with the teeth during brushing, there is less bristle contact with adjacent areas, such as the gums. Thus, while these compact bristle patterns provide for cleaning, there is minimal whitening and stimulation.
One attempt to overcome the limitations of a small powered bristle area is shown in the toothbrush of U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,083 to Blaustein et al. The toothbrush in Blaustein et al. has a bristle area and pattern similar to a manual toothbrush, but an area of the bristles has simply been replaced by a powered bristle section. The result is that the head has a powered or moving bristle section and static bristle section. The limitation of the toothbrush of Blaustein et al. is that the static bristle section provides no better cleaning, whitening or stimulation than a manual toothbrush.
International Application No. PCT/EP01/07615 to Braun GmbH discloses a powered toothbrush with two separate bristle sections that can move. Each bristle part may have a different range and type of motion. However, only one bristle part is powered. The other unpowered bristle part moves due to a resonance effect imparted by the frequency of the movement of the first bristle part.
This free resonance causes a number of difficulties. First, because any contact between the bristle parts will dampen or cancel any resonance of the unpowered bristle part, the unpowered bristle part “floats” separately from the powered bristle part.
This necessitates separation or gaps between them. These gaps expose the internal workings of the head to foreign matter such as water, saliva, toothpaste, and food particles. This foreign matter may interfere with the workings of the unpowered bristle head. For example, the unpowered bristle part is spring-loaded to assist its resonance. Foreign matter may accumulate on or around the spring, interfering with its function. In addition, food particles may remain in the head and may fester and host microorganisms, which are undesirable if not potentially harmful when introduced directly into the mouth.
Another limitation of such a design is that movement of the unpowered bristle part may be dampened by contact with the teeth, or lessened when the frequency of the powered part shifts from the resonance frequency. This can occur due to pressure imparted against the powered bristle part by the teeth or gums during brushing. Finally, the energy imparted to the unpowered bristle part is only a portion of the energy input into the powered part. Therefore, the unpowered bristle part is less effective in cleaning than the powered part, limiting the overall effectiveness of the toothbrush.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a powered toothbrush with increased effectiveness through a larger area of powered or driven bristles than known powered toothbrushes. There is also a need for a toothbrush having increased whitening and stimulation than known toothbrushes. There is further a need for such improved toothbrushes to be comparable in manufacturing and purchasing costs as known powered toothbrushes.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a powered t
Cole Laura C
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Goldfine Henry S.
Ryan Matthew K.
Till Terrence R.
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