U.S. patent application number 10/593206 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-06 for cleaning head for an electromechanical toothbrush.
Invention is credited to Valerily Nikolaevich Gonets, Valeriy Vladimirovich Kuznetsov.
Application Number | 20070204413 10/593206 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34975283 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070204413 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kuznetsov; Valeriy Vladimirovich ;
et al. |
September 6, 2007 |
Cleaning Head For An Electromechanical Toothbrush
Abstract
The invention relates to electromechanically actuated
toothbrushes. The main aim of the invention is to deliver a
cleaning head for an electromechanically toothbrush which ensures
high-quality tooth cleaning by the free rotation of the U-shaped
plates provided with bristles arranged on a plane parallel to a
bearing rod. For this purpose, the inventive cleaning head for an
electromechanical toothbrush consists of a bearing rod, a U-shaped
plate, which is provided with bristles on the internal surface
thereof and fixed to said rod, a second U-shaped plate which is
similar to the first U-shaped plate and disposed in a mirror manner
with respect to the first plate. The bases of the U-shaped plates
are connected by an axis penetrating through a shaped slot to a
flat section embodied on the end of the bearing rod in the
perpendicular direction of the axis thereof.
Inventors: |
Kuznetsov; Valeriy
Vladimirovich; (Tornsk, RU) ; Gonets; Valerily
Nikolaevich; (Tomskaya obl, RU) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FRISHAUF, HOLTZ, GOODMAN & CHICK, PC
220 Fifth Avenue
16TH Floor
NEW YORK
NY
10001-7708
US
|
Family ID: |
34975283 |
Appl. No.: |
10/593206 |
Filed: |
March 11, 2005 |
PCT Filed: |
March 11, 2005 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/RU05/00111 |
371 Date: |
September 18, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/22.2 ;
15/167.2; 15/22.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A46B 5/0012 20130101;
A61C 17/349 20130101; A46B 9/045 20130101; A61C 17/3445 20130101;
A46B 5/0054 20130101; A61C 17/222 20130101; A61C 17/3472 20130101;
A46B 5/0058 20130101; A61C 17/3427 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
015/022.2 ;
015/167.2; 015/022.1 |
International
Class: |
A46B 9/04 20060101
A46B009/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 18, 2004 |
RU |
2004108016 |
Claims
1. A cleaning head for an electromechanical toothbrush comprising a
bearing rod and a first U-shaped plate which is provided with
bristles on an internal surface thereof and fixed to said rod,
wherein a second U-shaped plate, similar to the first U-shaped
plate, disposed in a mirror manner with respect to the first
U-shaped plate, and bases of the U-shaped plates are connected by
an axis penetrating through a shaped slot on a flat section
embodied on an end of the bearing rod in perpendicular direction of
a longitudinal axis of the bearing rod.
2. The cleaning head for an electromechanical toothbrush of claim
1, wherein bristles are arranged on exchangeable tie-plates, fixed
on the internal surfaces of the U-shaped plates.
3. The cleaning head for an electromechanical toothbrush of claim
2, wherein fixing lugs are made on outer surfaces of the
exchangeable tie-plates.
4. The cleaning head for an electromechanical toothbrush of claim
1, wherein sides of the U-shaped plates comprising fixing
slots.
5. The cleaning head for an electromechanical toothbrush of claim
1, wherein the shaped slot on the flat section embodied on the end
of the bearing rod is made in a shape of a keyhole with an open
outside part
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to electromechanical actuated
toothbrushes.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] A typical prior art cleaning head for an electromechanical
toothbrush is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,734 IPC A46B 13/02,
issued May 12, 2002. Another typical prior art cleaning head for a
mechanical toothbrush is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,288 IPC
A46B 13/02, issued Jun. 11, 2002. Both cleaning heads consist of a
rod, one end of which is splitting in two parts. At the end of each
part one brush head is rigidly fixed. Both brush heads mentioned
above are arranged in such a way that its bristles are directed
towards each other at an angle of 70-80 degrees.
[0003] A disadvantage of that cleaning heads is lack of tooth
cleaning quality, since it is hard for a customer to set the device
optimal way by sensations in a mouth cavity to make bristle's
cleaning plane coincide with set of teeth plane. This is caused by
lack of a possibility of brush heads to rotate on a plane parallel
to a bearing rod, on which brush heads are fixed. Due to that brush
heads that are not set optimally towards a set of teeth do not
ensure qualitative tooth cleaning by moving them along a set of
teeth. That also brings discomfort when using a toothbrush during
its movement by a set of teeth.
[0004] Most close to a proposing invention on a technical essence
and a solving problem is SG-8001 cleaning head for
electromechanical toothbrushes type "CD" or "GD", made by Ninghai
Maidigg Model and Plastics Co. Ltd. (Peoples Republic of China,
http://www.maidigg.com). Said cleaning head is disclosed in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,171,066, issued Dec. 15, 1992. That cleaning head
consists of a bearing rod, one end of which is splitting in two
parts. On a splitted end of a bearing rod U-shaped plate, on an
internal surface of which bristles are attached, is rigidly fixed.
A size of a cleaning head allows it to enter mouth cavity easily
and to attach it to a set of teeth, completely enveloping a surface
of 2-3 teeth.
[0005] A disadvantage of a known cleaning head is also lack of
tooth cleaning quality, since it is hard for a customer to set the
device optimal way by sensations in a mouth cavity to make
bristle's cleaning plane coincide with set of teeth plane. This is
caused by rigid fixing of a U-shaped plate on an end of the bearing
rod. Due to that cleaning head cannot rotate on a plane parallel to
the bearing rod, on which it is fixed. This causes inconvenience
when using a toothbrush during its movement towards a set of teeth
and requires a special skill from a consumer and also causes
raising of traumatizing of a gum during brushing because of
distortion of a longitudinal axis of a cleaning head against the
set of teeth and thus rise of zones of too heavy stress on a
gum.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A main aim of the present invention is to deliver a cleaning
head for an electromechanical toothbrush with advanced quality of
tooth cleaning as a result of free rotation of U-shaped plates
provided with bristles on a plane parallel to a bearing rod.
[0007] In addition, proposed construction of a cleaning head for an
electromechanical toothbrush improves efficiency of tooth
cleaning.
[0008] Present problem is solved in a following a way: a cleaning
head for an electromechanical toothbrush comprising bearing rod and
U-shaped plate, provided with bristles on the internal surface
thereof and fixed to the end of said rod, also comprises a second
U-shaped plate, similar to the first one, disposed in a mirror
manner with respect to the first one, and bottoms of U-shaped
plates are connected by an axis penetrating through a shaped slot
to a flat section embodied on the end of the bearing rod in the
perpendicular direction of the axis thereof.
[0009] It is efficient to arrange bristles on exchangeable
tie-plates, fixed on internal surfaces of the U-shaped plates.
[0010] For the purpose of fixation the exchangeable tie-plates,
provided with bristles, on the internal surfaces of the U-shaped
plates, said tie-plates can be provided with lugs inserting in
slots specially designed in sides of U-shaped plates.
[0011] It is efficient to make shaped slot to a flat section
embodied on the end of the bearing rod in the shape of a keyhole
with an open outside part.
[0012] An axis penetrating through a shaped slot connects the bases
of the U-shaped plates.
[0013] During a tooth cleaning a free rotation of the U-shaped
plates on a plane parallel to the bearing rod aligns both U-shaped
plates and exchangeable tie-plates provided with bristles towards a
set of teeth because of an axis connecting the U-shaped plates and
penetrating through a shaped slot to a flat section embodied on the
end of the bearing rod. Thus the U-shaped plates monitor a
direction of the set of teeth ensuring the most efficient tooth
cleaning.
[0014] Simultaneous brushing of upper and lower teeth ensures
improving of efficiency of tooth cleaning.
[0015] The shaped slot is made in the shape of the keyhole with the
open outside part of the flat section embodied on the end of the
bearing rod ensures an easy assembling of the cleaning head and
changeability of the U-shaped plates and the axis.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is the cleaning head of an electromechanical
toothbrush in a disassembled mode.
[0017] FIG. 2 is the cleaning head of an electromechanical
toothbrush in an assembled mode.
AN EXAMPLE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0018] The cleaning head of an electromechanical toothbrush (FIG.
1) consists of bearing rod 1 with a flat section 2 on its end and
two U-shaped plates 3, connected by an axis 4, penetrating through
shaped slot 5 to a flat section 2 of the bearing rod 1. On internal
surfaces of the U-shaped plates 3 exchangeable tie-plates 6
provided with bristles are fixed, for the fixation of said
tie-plates lugs 7 inserting in slots 8, specially designed in sides
of the U-shaped plates 3, are made. In the FIG. 2 arrows show
possible directions of the cleaning head movement during a tooth
cleaning.
[0019] The cleaning head for an electromechanical toothbrush works
the following way.
[0020] The cleaning head is connected to a toothbrush handle and is
placed in a mouth cavity in such a way that crownwork of upper and
lower teeth opposed to each other are situated between the bristles
simultaneously. Then an electric drive is switched on. During a
tooth cleaning the cleaning head can make any of movements shown in
FIG. 2: transverse movements, oscillatory movements, reciprocal
movements, "picking" movements, or all the movements at the same
time, depending on a type of the electric drive. Those movements
are delivered to the bristles, which clean crownwork surfaces, thus
cleaning dental plaque. For cleaning of interdental space
transverse and oscillatory movements are the most efficient ones.
During gradual advancing of the cleaning head along a set of teeth
both U-shaped plates 3 and, accordingly, exchangeable tie-plates 6
provided with bristles orientate along an axis of the set of teeth,
which is ensured by free rotation of the axis 4 in the shaped slot
5.
[0021] Hence, both U-shaped plates, rigidly connected by the axis
4, monitor a direction of the set of teeth, and it is not necessary
for the customer to do that. This ensures not only high-quality
tooth cleaning, but also its simplicity of operation and comfort,
and also prevents traumatizing of a gum. It is fundamentally
important that the cleaning head at the expense of its construction
ensures most proper tooth cleaning, without requiring special
skills in tooth cleaning from the customer.
COMMERCIAL PRACTICABILITY
[0022] Tests of the cleaning head for an electromechanical
toothbrush were carried out on 10 volunteers, 8 of which had high
gum vulnerability. All of them used the cleaning head of the
proposed construction in the course of the month twice a day, 2-3
minutes in the morning and evening.
[0023] Tests proved that the volunteers liked the simplicity and
mercifulness of the tooth cleaning procedure and also the fact that
the cleaning head does not induce any gum bleeding. All of the
volunteers mentioned high quality of the interdental space cleaning
and pleasurable sensation of a gun massage.
[0024] Hence, the proposed construction of the cleaning head for an
electromechanical toothbrush ensures high-quality tooth cleaning
because of free rotation of the U-shaped plates provided with the
bristles arranged on a plane parallel to the bearing rod.
[0025] Simultaneity of cleaning of the upper and lower teeth
ensures improvement of efficiency of the whole procedure.
* * * * *
References