Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B9/00—Arrangements of the bristles in the brush body
  • A46B9/02—Position or arrangement of bristles in relation to surface of the brush body, e.g. inclined, in rows, in groups
  • A46B9/04—Arranged like in or for toothbrushes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B7/00—Bristle carriers arranged in the brush body
  • A46B7/06—Bristle carriers arranged in the brush body movably during use, i.e. the normal brushing action causing movement
  • A46B7/08—Bristle carriers arranged in the brush body movably during use, i.e. the normal brushing action causing movement as a rotating disc
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B2200/00—Brushes characterized by their functions, uses or applications
  • A46B2200/10—For human or animal care
  • A46B2200/1066—Toothbrush for cleaning the teeth or dentures

Definitions

• the present invention relates, in general, to toothbrushes and, more particularly, to an improvement in the structure of such a toothbrush to allow the bristles of the toothbrush to move on the teeth while generating different resistance forces against the teeth in accordance with positions of the bristles on the teeth, thus forcing a rotary bristle bed to be automatically rotated on the head of the toothbrush in either direction around its rotating shaft due to the different resistance forces, the rotary toothbrush thereby effectively and uniformly brushing the teeth even when a user horizontally brushes his teeth along the sets of teeth without brushing the teeth vertically.
• the teeth of the human body are arranged along two sets of teeth, or the upper and lower lows of teeth, which engage with each other. Since each of the upper and lower sets of teeth comprises a plurality of teeth regularly arranged along a horizontal arrangement, it is easy for people to horizontally brush the teeth along the sets of teeth in opposite directions. That is, such a horizontal tooth brushing action agrees with the natural posture of an arm holding the toothbrush while brushing the teeth, and allows people to brush their teeth without difficulty, and so the people unconsciously prefer the horizontal tooth brushing action of all other directional brushing actions.
• a toothbrush having a rotatable disc-shaped bristle bed
• a disc-shaped bristle bed is set in the head of the toothbrush such that the bristle bed is eccentrically rotatable relative to the head during a tooth brushing process.
• this toothbrush has a structural limit in that the disc-shaped bristle bed ofthe head is not allowed to smoothly perform its desired rotation relative to the head when a user horizontally brushes his teeth along the sets of teeth.
• the bristle bed is eccentrically rotated at a position excessively away from the central axis of the head of the toothbrush during tooth brushing process, and so the bristles and the bristle bed may come into undesired contact with other parts of the mouth to impact or injure the parts. It is also very difficult for the toothbrush to effectively brush desired parts of teeth.
• an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary toothbrush, which allows its bristles to move on teeth while generating different resistance forces against the teeth in accordance with positions of the bristles on the teeth, thus forcing its rotary bristle bed to be automatically rotated on the head of the toothbrush due to the different resistance force, and thereby effectively and uniformly brushing the teeth even when a user horizontally brushes his teeth along the sets of teeth.
• the present invention provides a rotary toothbrush, comprising a longitudinal body including a head, at least one rotary bristle bed set on the head of the body through a shaft such that the bristle bed is rotatable relative to the head around the shaft, and a plurality of bristles implanted in the bristle bed such that the bristles generate different resistance forces against teeth in accordance with positions of the bristles on the teeth during a tooth brushing process. Due to the different resistance forces, the rotary bristle bed is rotatable in either direction around its shaft on the head ofthe body.
• Fig. la is a plan view of a rotary toothbrush in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. lb is a front view of the rotary toothbrush of this invention
• Fig. lc is a bottom view of the rotary toothbrush of this invention
• Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the toothbrush's head having two rotary bristle beds in accordance with the present invention.
• Fig. 3 is a plan view of the two rotary bristle beds of this invention, each having different groups of bristles.
• Figs, la to lc are views, showing the appearance of a rotary toothbrush in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. la is a plan view of the toothbrush, Fig. lb is a front view of the toothbrush, and Fig. lc is a bottom view ofthe toothbrush.
• the toothbrush comprises a longitudinal body, and two rotary bristle beds 4 and 5.
• the body of the toothbrush consists of three parts: a handle 1, a neck 2 and a head 3, while the two rotary bristle beds 4 and 5 are set on the head 3 of the body such that the beds 4 and 5 are freely, independently rotatable around their rotating axes relative to the head 3.
• a plurality of bristles 8 are densely implanted on each of the beds 4 and 5 as will be described in detail later herein.
• the number of the rotary bristle beds is two.
• the number of the bristle beds is not limited to two, but may be freely changed as desired. That is, at least one rotary bristle bed may be set on the head 3 to perform its desired operational effect without affecting the functioning of this invention.
• the two rotary bristle beds 4 and 5 are arranged along the longitudinal axis of the head 3 so as to be spaced apart from each other while forming a predetermined gap between them.
• Each of the two bristle beds 4 and 5 has a rotating shaft 6 or 7 at the center of its lower surface opposite to its bristle holding surface.
• two shaft holes 9 and 10 are formed on the head 3 at desired positions.
• the two bristle beds 4 and 5 are set on the head 3 by removably and rotatably fitting the shafts 6 and 7 into the shaft holes 9 and 10 of the head 10 and holding the shafts 6 and 7 to the head 3 using washers 1 1 and 12 such that the beds 4 and 5 are detachable and rotatable relative to the head 3.
• the two rotary bristle beds 4 and 5 are arranged on the head 3 of the toothbrush such that the bristles 8 of the two bristle beds 4 and 5 move on the teeth while generating different resistance forces against the teeth in accordance with positions of the bristles 8 on the teeth when a user horizontally brushes his teeth along the sets of teeth.
• the rotary bristle beds 4 and 5 are thus automatically rotated around their rotating shafts 6 and 7 on the head 3 in either direction due to the different resistance forces.
• Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the head 3 having the two rotary bristle beds 4 and 5 according to the present invention.
• Fig. 3 is a plan view of the two bristle beds 4 and 5, each having different groups of bristles 8.
• the two bristle beds 4 and 5 may have the same size or different sizes.
• the two bristle beds 4 and 5 may be set on the head 3 such that their rotating shafts 6 and 7 are in parallel to each other. However, it is more preferred to set the two bristle beds 4 and 5 on the head 3 such that the rotating shafts 6 and 7 of the two beds 4 and 5 are inclined relative to each other at an inclination angle of 5°.
• such an inclined arrangement of the two bristle beds 4 and 5 is accomplished by bending the head 3 such that the front portion of the head 3 for holding the front bed 4 is inclined relative to the rear portion holding the rear bed 5 at an inclination angle of 5°.
• the bristles 8, implanted on each of the two beds 4 and 5 are preferably divided into two or more bristle groups.
• the front bed 4 has two different groups of bristles 8a and 8b, while the rear bed 5 has three different groups of bristles 8c, 8d and 8e as shown in Fig. 3.
• the bristles included in the first bristle group are preferably divided into two or more bristle groups.
• the front bed 4 has two different groups of bristles 8a and 8b, while the rear bed 5 has three different groups of bristles 8c, 8d and 8e as shown in Fig. 3.
• the resistance forces formed between the bristles of the first bristle group 8c and the teeth are different from those of the bristles of the second bristle group 8d during a tooth brushing process, and so it is possible to rotate the rear bristle bed 5 on the head 3 due to a difference in the resistance force between the two bristle groups 8c and 8d.
• the bristles 8d-l included in the second bristle group 8d of the rear bed 5 are the same in their thickness, strength and length as those of the third bristle group 8e, but are different in their heights above the top surface of the bed 5 from those of the bristles of the third bristle group 8e.
• desired different resistance forces are formed between the bristles 8 of the rear bed 5 and teeth during a tooth brushing process, and so the bed 5 is rotated on the head 3 in either direction due to the different resistance forces.
• the bristles included in the bristle group 8a of the front bed 4 have different in their strength from the bristles included in the other bristle group 8b.
• the resistance force formed by the bristle group 8a is different from that ofthe bristle group 8b, and so the front bed 4 is rotated on the head 3 in either direction due to the difference in the resistance force between the two bristle groups 8a and 8b.
• the arrangement of the bristle groups 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d and 8e on the beds 4 and 5 may be somewhat freely changed from the embodiment of Fig. 3 without affecting the functioning of the invention if the arrangement of the bristle groups forms desired different resistance forces against teeth.
• the toothbrush of this invention When brushing teeth using the toothbrush of this invention, a user horizontally and repeatedly bushes his teeth along the sets of teeth, with the bristles 8 of the two rotary bristle beds 4 and 5 brought into contact with the outer surfaces of the teeth.
• the bristle groups 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d and 8e form desired different resistance forces against the teeth, and actively and smoothly rotate the two bristle beds 4 and 5 around their shafts 6 and 7 in either direction due to the different resistance forces.
• the bristles 8 of the two beds 4 and 5 are rotated around the shafts 6 and 7 in the same directions as those of the two beds 4 and 5, and so it is possible to effectively and almost completely remove dental plaque from both the vertical slits between the teeth and the microgrooves of the enamels of the teeth by the horizontal tooth brushing action.
• the rotary toothbrush of this invention is thus very convenient to users while brushing teeth.
• the present invention provides a rotary toothbrush.
• the bristles move on teeth while generating different resistance forces against the teeth in accordance with positions of the bristles on the teeth, thus forcing the rotary bristle beds to be automatically rotated on the head of the toothbrush due to the different resistance forces. Therefore, this toothbrush effectively, uniformly and quickly brushes the teeth without difficulty even when a user horizontally brushes his teeth along the sets of teeth.
• the rotary toothbrush of this invention accomplishes its desired operational effect without requiring any electric drive means or another complex structure, and so the toothbrush has a simple construction and is produced at a low production cost.

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• Brushes (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19640803

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (8)

Families Citing this family (10)

Citations (4)

• 2000
  • 2000-01-24 KR KR1020000003158A patent/KR100326594B1/ko not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2001
  • 2001-01-20 US US09/937,089 patent/US20030066147A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-01-20 AU AU28902/01A patent/AU2890201A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-01-20 WO PCT/KR2001/000087 patent/WO2001052696A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2001-01-20 DE DE10190385T patent/DE10190385T1/de not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (4)

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