Description of the Invention

Technical Field of Invention

To provide an electric tooth brush, which aims to move the brush head to brush the teeth from their lower side (neck or gum side) to the top side of the crown.

Background Art

Electric toothbrushes are using electric power suppllied usually by a battery to move the brush head rapidly, while the user hand is only guding the brush to the target teeth, the types of the automatic movement of the head are either oscillating side to side, or rotation-oscillation (where brush heads rotate in one direction and then to the other).

Although hundreds of invented electric toothbrushes are filed for patents in the art, the Broxodent first successful electric toothbrush was conceived in Switzerland in 1954 by Dr. Philippe-Guy Wong.

But the automatic electric tothbrush introduced by General Electric, in the early 1960s, was similar to the Broxodent in function, but different by being cordless with rechargeable NiCad batteries. Batteries are either rechargeable or non- rechargeable, fitted inside the handle, which is hermetically sealed to prevent water damage.

Electric brushes can be classified into two categories, according to the type of action that they employ: Vibration, or rotation-oscillation. When using vibrating toothbrush, a brushing technique similar to that used with a manual toothbrush is recommended, whereas with rotating-oscillating brushes, the recommended cleaning technique is to simply move the brush slowly from tooth to tooth.

Sonic or ultrasonic toothbrushes are the newest development in the field, using ultrasonic waves to clear the teeth, by vibrating the bristle at a high number of movements per minute. A therapeutic Ultrasonic Toothbrush is published under publication No.: W0199400504, is disclosed in the art. A device for coverting a rotating motion into a reciprocating motion, is disclosed in the art under publication No.: US 07784138 B2, to move in the same an electric brush.

Another disclosed patent in the art, under No.: US 7197784, is for an Electric Toothbrush providing a reciprocating movement of the brush head

A toothbrush having counter-rotating heads is disclosed under patent No. US 7316044.

These electric toothbrushes, and hundreds of others used in the art, even their operations are based on batteries as a power source, and a motor moving a drive shaft inside a sealed casing located inside the handle of the brush, to drive one or more types of movements mainly of the bristle, via other tools and mechanisms, they are having many negative points: a- they are relatively but not perfectly simulating the right recommended dental brushing operation, which recommends brushing repeatedly the teeth from its neck (lower side) and up towards its upper side, by moving the whole brush head, not the only the bristles b- they are using many tools and parts to achieve their target motion, which means they require more service, or maintenance, or replacement, c- the result of point b, is expensive electric toothbrush.

So a successful effective and active, cheap and simple, electric toothbrush, is the one that is using a simple shortcut mechanism, that simulates perfectly the manual recommended cleaning (brushing) of the teeth, by concentrating on moving the whole brush head with its arm, not only the bristle. That is what this invention is aiming to provide.

Disclosure of Invention

Brief Description

To provide an electric toothbrush, that automatically simulates perfectly the manual recommended brushing, which applies a light pressure and brushing, that makes the short brushes from the gum, across the teeth, to be repeated with circular motion.

The provided electric toothbrush is based on moving the brush head in a circular motion, depending on a battery as a power source for an electric motor driving a drive shaft enclosed in a sealed casing inside the brush handle.

The drive shaft drives a sealed disc, that has at its other side near its edge (away from the center) another semi-flexible arm fixed to the disc, the rotation of the drive shaft drives the disc, while the disc drives the semi-flexible arm to rotate in a way, that its tip draws a circle, hence, installing the brush head on the other side of the rotatable arm, makes the brush head to rotates, following a circular path, but without changing the direction of its bristles, as a result, when the user holds the brush, with its brush head located near the gum, the brush head rotates toward the teeth lower side, and lets its bristle applies a pressure against the teeth crown while crossing it, then it rotates away from the teeth, to move down again, and then move toward the teeth gum, completing one circular rotation, and so on.

Because the upper teeth of the user should be brushed in a reverse direction compared to the lower teeth (vertically downward, not vertically upward), the motor should be of a reversible type, so that the user changes the direction of brush head rotation when brushing the top teeth.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

• FIG. 1: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the electronic active toothbrush (EAT).

• FIG. 2: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the electronic active toothbrush (EAT) inner mechanism. • FIG. 3. A: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the brush rotation at the start of brushing during crossing the crowns of the brushed teeth from bottom to top.

• FIG. 3. B: Illustrates a top view for the brush rotation at the start of brushing during crossing the crowns of the brushed teeth from bottom to top.

• FIG. 4. A: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the brush rotation direction after it brushed the teeth crowns, and rotated up and back from the teeth.

• FIG. 4. B: Illustrates top view for the brush rotation direction after it brushed the teeth crowns, and rotated up and back from the teeth.

• FIG. 5. A: Illustrates a 3-dimensional view for the brush rotation direction after it rotated downward, then forward toward the teeth neck, or gum top side.

• FIG. 5. B: Illustrates a top view for the brush rotation direction after it rotated downward, then forward toward the teeth neck, or gum top side.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention:

Detailed description of operation

In order to make it easy to carry out the invention, a detailed description of the parts of the invention, supported with figures is provided here, as each part has many features, we made it easy to read, by referring to each feature with a number included in the parts description text, and in the parts numbering list, the numbering of the parts features is indicated here by starting it sequentially from number 20, whenever a part feature appears in a text, it is directly assigned its required serial number. As example in FIG. 1, the parts' features are arranged sequentially from number 20 to 21, 22...

Theory of operation

As the recommended dental brushing of the teeth is to move the brush head toward the neck of the teeth, a little over the gum, then to apply a little pressure on the bristle against the teeth lower side, then moving the brush head up, in a way that brush away the contamination from the teeth gum or the neck, while crossing the crown of the tooth upward, then moving the brush head away from the teeth, then down, then reaching the teeth lower side again, as this motion is simulating a circular motion, in addition to being the most perfectly effective brushing way, the electric brush 20 provided here, is to have its mechanism aiming to achieve perfectly this target motion, but with a better automatic rotation than the ones done manually by the user, which results in a top quality of brushing. 1- The mechanism of the active electric toothbrush 20 (FIG. 1, 2):

A battery 21 is based inside a sealed casing 22 inside the handle 23 of the brush 20, also based inside the same casing 22, a motor 24 that is taking its rotational power from the battery 21, to drive a short drive shaft 25, that drives a sealed disc 26, that is having at its other side near its edge (out of the disc center) a semi-flexible eccentric arm 27 fixed vertically to the disc 26, the rotation of the first drive shaft 25 drives the disc 26, while the disc 26 drives the arm 27 to rotate in such away, that its tip draws a circle, hence, installing the brush head 28 on the other free side of the arm 27, makes the brush head 28 to rotate following a circular path, but without changing the direction of its bristles 29, as a result, when the user holds the brush 20, with its brush head 28 located near the gum 30, the brush head 28 rotates toward the teeth 31 lower side, and lets its bristle 29 applies a pressure against the teeth crown 32 while crossing it, then it rotates away from the teeth 31, to move down again, and then moves toward the teeth gum 30, completing one circular rotation, and so on.

Because the upper teeth of the user should be brushed in a reverse direction (vertically downward), compared to the lower teeth 31 (vertically upward), the motor 24 should be of a reversible type, so that the user can use a switch (KNOB) 34 to change the direction of the brush head 28 rotation, when brushing the top teeth. - Method of operation (FIG.s (3, 4, 5)):

a- Fig 3. A, B: the brush head 28 is driven (rotated) toward the teeth 31 neck 33, and started brushing the teeth crown from bottom side, wherein the arm and the brush head are automatically pressed with a little pressure, against the teeth neck 33, and crown 32, and rotated up toward the upper part of the teeth 31

b- Fig 4. A, B: The arm and the brush head are driven (rotated) little up and backward from the teeth top side.

c- Fig 5. A, B: the brush head 28 is driven (rotated) downward the forward toward the neck of the teeth.

Industrial applicability

The subject invention has the following benefits, which make it easier to be industrially applicable:

1- All the brush and its mechanism: the handle, motorizing mechanism, the casing, and the supporting frames can be easily manufactured from available tools and materials used successfully in the art, with easy modifications.

2- Modifying the brush, without disturbing its final operating shape.

3- For the first time, an electric toothbrush can simulate perfectly the actual recommended teeth brushing, but with a top quality controlled brushing performance than the manual one.

4- Simple, easy, and cheap active electric brush.

Parts Drawing Index:

20 Electric Active Toothbrush.

21 Battery.

22 Sealed casing.

23 Handle.

24 Motor.

25 Drive shaft.

26 Disc.

27 Rotatable semi-flexible arm.

28 Brush head.

29 Bristles.

30 Gum.

31 Teeth.

32 Crown.

33 Teeth neck.

34 Switch (Knob).