U.S. patent number 3,732,589 [Application Number 05/091,102] was granted by the patent office on 1973-05-15 for treatment appliance for teeth and the like.
Invention is credited to Alfred J. Burki.
United States Patent |
3,732,589 |
Burki |
May 15, 1973 |
TREATMENT APPLIANCE FOR TEETH AND THE LIKE
Abstract
The present invention has reference to a treatment appliance and
like tool, especially for treating teeth of human beings and
generally for simultaneously applying said tool to a variety of
treatment surfaces. The appliance is equipped to this end with
various brush or polishing bristles which are prearranged in a
specific pattern to and for cooperation with each other. An array
of disk- or plate-shaped carrier or carriers together with one or
more roller-shaped carriers, both retaining bristles thereon, is
provided which facilitates access to various faces of a tooth or
like object in one operational step, said brushes being
continuously driven to efficiently clean and brush without any
dexterity and skill on the part of the operator.
Inventors: |
Burki; Alfred J. (Zollikon,
CH) |
Family
ID: |
4424203 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/091,102 |
Filed: |
November 19, 1970 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Nov 20, 1969 [CH] |
|
|
17284/69 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/22.1;
15/167.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61C
17/26 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61C
17/16 (20060101); A61C 17/26 (20060101); A46b
013/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;15/22R,23,24,28,29,34,36,77,88,167A |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
47,828 |
|
May 1937 |
|
FR |
|
1,323,751 |
|
Mar 1963 |
|
FR |
|
Primary Examiner: Roberts; Edward L.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A toothbrush appliance comprising two opposite and spaced apart
flange-shaped carriers, an intermediate member between said
carriers and forming together a brush frame structure, each of said
flange-shaped carriers being provided on at least one of their
faces with bristles, which confront each other, said member being
further provided with rows of circumferentially disposed bristles
located adjacent the bristles on said carrier faces, an axle
rotatably supporting said frame structure with said bristles, a
support for said axle and forming a part of a housing-shaped holder
for one of said flange-shaped carriers, a driven shaft passing
through an extension of said holder, and interengageable means on
one end of said shaft and adjacent said frame structure to mesh
with each other and to cause rotation of said structure relative to
said holder and said shaft.
2. An appliance according to claim 1, said shaft extending beyond
said extension of said holder for connection with a drive motor
having a housing which forms a handle.
3. An appliance according to claim 1, said driven shaft and said
axle for said bristle carrying structure are angularly directed to
each other, said holder projecting somewhat toward the adjacent
flange-shaped carrier.
4. An appliance according to claim 1, said axle having a rearward
end and a forward end which latter includes a portion to retain
said frame structure in position on said axle, the rearward end of
said axle being joined to said holder from which said axle
projects.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to treatment appliances for teeth and
other suitable objects. For cleaning teeth are used as a rule
brushes primarily designed for the cleaning operation during the
horizontal movement of the brush. Electrically operated devices are
also known where the brush performs an oscillating movement
permitting a cleaning operation in vertical direction relative to
the teeth. In all these devices, however, only the outside of the
teeth is treated, while the cleaning of the teeth from the oral
cavity of the inner mouth part is neglected. Since there do not
exist any special brushes for a universal and comprehensive
cleaning or treatment, caries and germ diseases continue to spread
as the treatment of the gums and like parts of the mouth of a human
being remains unsatisfactory.
Treatment devices with rotary brushes are already known in which
rotary brushes roll along the tooth surfaces aided by manual
movement of the device or where the brushes are driven by a motor.
These appliances are so complex, unhandy and bulky due to the
employed cylindrical brush bodies and their movement transmission
means that they cannot be operated in a convenient and suitable
manner inside the mouth.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims at preventing and overcoming these and
other known disadvantages and inconveniences in that it proposes an
appliance, which is characterized by an array of a roller-shaped
brush and of at least one disk-shaped brush, the latter of said
brushes being operatively connected to a driven axis common to both
said brushes.
This appliance has at least two disk-shaped or rotary brushes so
arranged, that the disk-shaped brushes carry bristles in
confronting relation to and at a predetermined distance from each
other, so that the roller-shaped brush is located within the space
created by and between said disk-shaped brushes and adjacent to the
same.
It is one of the important features of the invention to provide
means resulting in a compact, sturdy and economical unitary frame
structure, which may be power-driven or hand-operated, selectively,
said structure carrying an array of bristles on a flange-shaped or
spool-like carrier or frame, which is interchangeably attachable to
the toothbrush body via an axle.
Other details and advantages of the invention will result from the
claims, the ensuing specification and annexed drawing, which shows
various embodiments of the invention to be considered exemplary and
explanatory of the invention, but not restrictive thereof.
In the drawing:
FIG. 1 shows an appliance pursuant to the invention having a rotary
driven cylindrical or roller-shaped brush and a disk-shaped brush
provided on both sides with bristles, both brush types being
arranged on a common driven shaft.
FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of another embodiment of the
invention, carrying two disk-shaped brushes and a cylindrical or
roller type brush between these disk-shaped brushes and adjacent to
the latter.
FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment according to the invention,
presenting a similar brush arrangement as in FIG. 2 and equipped
with a gear drive for moving the brushes from a motor-driven shaft
at right angles to the axis of the brush array.
Referring more specifically to the drawing, there has been
disclosed a tooth treatment appliance (FIG. 1) which has a
flange-shaped carrier or body 10 which is provided on two faces
with any selected type of bristles 11 and 12, the body 10 being
secured to one end of a driven shaft 13. On the shaft 13 itself is
arranged a cylindrical or roller-type brush 14 located adjacent
carrier 10. This brush 14 is designed to be pressed against the
masticatory surface of a tooth and at the same time the bristles 11
of brush carrier 10 are structured to bear on the rear surfaces of
the teeth, namely, simultaneously on the teeth of both the upper
jaw and the lower jaw. Shaft 13 extends with the rotary brush 14
rotating between the masticatory surfaces of preferably two
opposite teeth of the upper jaw and of the lower jaw from the oral
cavity to the outside in order to be driven by a driving unit
serving at the same time as a handle 41. The bristles 12 on the
outside of carrier 10 serve to clean the front sides of the teeth
and the like, the appliance being also pressed from the outside
against the two closed jaws, as may be well apparent from the
drawing.
FIG. 2 shows the position of the device or appliance inside the
oral cavity of the mouth. It can be seen how the brushes bear on
the upper and lower rows of teeth of the upper and lower jaws. In
this embodiment two disk-shaped brushes 23 and 24 are arranged on
and driven from a shaft 22 with the bristles confronting or
otherwise facing each other, a cylindrical brush 25 being arranged
on the same shaft 22 between the two disk-shaped brushes 23, 24 and
adjacent to the latter. The bristles of brushes 23 and 24 bear at
the same time on the rear and the front surfaces of the teeth of
the upper and lower jaw. The cylindrical brush 25 engages at the
same time the masticatory surfaces of the teeth of the upper and
lower jaw. One of the disk-shaped brushes, say, 24, is elastically
or yieldably mounted for movement in axial direction toward the
other brush for adaptation to the different thickness of molar and
cutting teeth. To this end a small coil spring 26 or like element
is provided on shaft 22 which bears on a shoulder arranged on the
shaft 22 and which presses with its other end against brush 24 of
the frame-like spool. Shaft 22 is preferably connected at its free
end by means of a plug coupling with the shaft end of a driving
unit (not shown), which rotates the shaft and serves at the same
time as a handle.
Another embodiment of the invention according to FIG. 3 has the
same design as the embodiment according to FIG. 2 as far as the
brushes are concerned. There are disclosed two disk-shaped holders
with brushes 31 and 32 provided with bristles confronting each
other. Between these brushes there extends a cylindrical brush 33,
which form together a constructional unit. The disk-shaped brushes
are arranged on a hub-shaped or frame-like spool body 34 which
forms at the same time the brush support for the cylindrical brush
33, the hub-shaped body 34 having a central bore for rotatably
mounting same on a shaft 35 passing through said central bore. On
one end of this shaft is non-rotatably mounted a flat housing 36,
which has a bore extending at right angles to shaft 35. A drive
shaft 37 extends through said latter bore and terminates in a
pinion or bevel gear 38. The plate of brush 31 has on its rear side
a toothing or tooth formation 39 which meshes with gear 38 so that
the disk-shaped brush 31 and the brushes 32 and 33 coact rigidly
together, while during this rotation drive shaft 37 is driven. The
end of drive shaft 37 can be coupled with a shaft butt 40 of a
motor and like driving unit 41, the housing 36 being connected with
the driving unit which serves at the same time as a handle for the
appliance or device. Due to the use of the gearing (mitre or bevel
gears) with the shafts arranged at right angles to each other, a
device has been provided which can be guided and manipulated very
easily up to the rearmost teeth in the oral cavity without the need
of special means necessary for driving the rotary brushes which may
be hindering the movement of the device in the oral cavity.
The constructional unit consisting of the three brushes 31, 32, 33
may be built with interchangeable parts. To this end the rigid
shaft 35 carries on its front end a mechanism for retaining the
brush unit attached on the shaft, for example, a snap mechanism
known per se, by means of which the brush unit can be easily
detached from the shaft 35. To this end shaft 35 is slotted
longitudinally at the front end, for example, so that it can be
compressed at this end elastically and sufficiently, but carries at
that end also a bead against which the brush unit can abut or bear
when the shaft is allowed to spread again, after the brush unit has
been attached.
It can thus be seen, that there has been provided pursuant to this
invention especially a toothbrush appliance which is characterized
in that it comprises two opposite and spaced apart, flange-shaped
carriers 31, 32, an intermediate member 33 between said carriers
and forming together a unitary brush frame structure 34, each of
said flange-shaped carriers being provided on at least one of their
faces with bristles which confront each other, said member being
further provided with rows of circumferentially disposed bristles
spaced from the bristles on said carrier faces, an axle 35 or 22
rotatably supporting said frame structure with said bristles, and
yieldable means at 35 or 26 associated with said axle and acting on
said frame structure in axial direction of said member 33. A
support for said axle forms a housing-shaped holder 36 encasing at
least partly an adjacent portion of one of said flange-shaped
carriers.
It is well understood that the driving unit required for actuating
the brushes can be constituted in all embodiments by a mains- or
battery-fed motor, spring motor and the like. The invention in its
broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific
embodiments herein shown and described, but departures may be made
therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without
departing from the principles of the invention and without
sacrificing its chief advantages.
* * * * *