TOOTHBRUSH

BROSSE A DENTS

English Abstract

A toothbrush having a head with two or more portions which can be moved independent of each other. The head has a front face, a back face, a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending from the front face of the head and an electric motor having an output shaft which when rotated causes vibration. The head has one or more portions defined by one or more slits extending inwardly from the periphery of the head.

French Abstract

Une brosse à dents possède une tête avec deux parties ou plus qui peuvent se déplacer indépendamment lune de lautre. La tête présente une face avant, une face arrière, un axe longitudinal et un axe transversal, une pluralité déléments de nettoyage des dents sétendant à partir de la face avant de la tête et un moteur électrique avec un arbre de sortie qui cause des vibrations lorsquil tourne. La tête possède une ou plusieurs parties définies par une ou plusieurs fentes qui sétendent vers lintérieur à partir de la périphérie de la tête.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A toothbrush comprising:
a head having a front face, a back face, a longitudinal axis and a transverse
axis,
said head having two or more portions defined by two or more slits extending
inwardly
from the periphery of the head;
a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending from the front face of the
head;
and
an electric motor having an output shaft which when rotated causes vibration;
wherein said two or more slits do not extend longitudinally.
2. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein said two or more slits are
substantially parallel to the
transverse axis.
3. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein said two or more slits extend at an
angle less than 90°
to the transverse axis.
4. The toothbrush of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the two or more
portions are
substantially coplanar.
5. The toothbrush of claim 4, wherein the two or more portions can be moved

independently of each other.
6. The toothbrush of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each of the two or
more portions
comprise a portion of the plurality of tooth cleaning elements.
7. A toothbrush comprising:
a head having a front face, a back face, a longitudinal axis and a transverse
axis,
said head having two or more openings, wherein each of the two or more
openings
defines one or more recess portions and one or more projection portions,
wherein the




one or more projection portions are movable relative to the one or more recess

portions, and wherein said two or more openings do not extend from the
periphery of the
head;
a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending from the front face of the
head;
and
an electric motor having an output shaft which when rotated causes vibration.
8. The toothbrush of claim 7, wherein said one or more openings are
substantially c-shaped,
u shaped, or v shaped.
9. The toothbrush of claim 7 or 8, further comprising a cam shaft connected
to the output
shaft and extending forwardly from the output shaft into engagement with the
one or
more of more said projections and recesses.
10. The toothbrush of claim 9, wherein the cam shaft comprises one or more
cam lobes.
11. The toothbrush of claim 9, wherein one or more of said projection
portions flex at an
angle relative to the front face and/or the back face of the one or more
recess portions.
12. A toothbrush comprising:
a head having a front face, a back face, a longitudinal axis and a transverse
axis, said
head having a first portion defined by one or more recesses extending inwardly
from
the periphery of the head, and one or more second portions positioned within
said one or
more recesses;
pivoting means for pivotally connecting the one or more second portions within
the
recesses of the first portion;
a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending from a front face of the
head; and
an electric motor having an output shaft which when rotated causes vibration.
13. The toothbrush of claim 12, wherein said pivoting means comprise one or
more pins.
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14. A toothbrush comprising:
a head having a front face, a back face, said head having one or more movable
flaps, wherein each movable flap is connected to the head via pivoting means;
a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending from the front face of the
head;
and
an electric motor having an output shaft which when rotated causes vibration.
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Description

CA 02722567 2011-09-16

TOOTHBRUSH
The invention relates generally to the field of oral care, and in particular
to toothbrushes. More
specifically, the invention relates to a toothbrush head having one or more
movable portions.
BACKGROUND
U.S. Patent 5,987,681 discloses an electric toothbrush with a handle, a brush
head and a shank
which connects the handle to the brush head. A rotary motor is arranged in the
handle and drives
an unbalanced mass. The unbalanced mass driven by the motor is supported on
one side or on
both sides in the shank close to the brush head and is driven by an extended
drive shaft,
preferably an intermediate shaft, by the motor. When the motor is operated the
toothbrush head
vibrates.

The toothbrush disclosed in the '681 patent is typical of vibrating
toothbrushes in that the
features on the head of the toothbrush are fairly standard. For example, the
bristles 21 on the
head 2 are arranged in tufts lined up in straight rows and columns. The free
ends of the bristles
define a fairly flat surface. The vibrating aspect of the toothbrush has not
been combined with
any other more advanced head features to enhance cleaning of the oral cavity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a toothbrush comprising a head having two
or more portions
which can be moved independent of each other. More specifically, the invention
relates to a
toothbrush comprising a head having a front face, a back face, a longitudinal
axis and a
transverse axis, a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending from the
front face of the head
and an electric motor having an output shaft which when rotated causes
vibration. The head has
one or more portions defined by one or more slits extending inwardly from the
periphery of the
head.

In one embodiment the toothbrush head comprises a head one or more openings,
wherein each
of the one or more openings defines one or more recess portions and one or
more projection
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portions, and wherein the one or more projection portions are movable relative
to the one or
more recess portions.

In one embodiment of the invention, the head has a first portion defined by
one or more
recesses extending inwardly from the periphery of the head, wherein one or
more second
portions are positioned within the one or more recesses via pivoting means.

In one embodiment, the head has one or more movable flaps, wherein each
movable flap is
connected to the head at one or more points.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a front view of the toothbrush head;
Fig. I a is a back view of the embodiment of fig. 1;
Fig. 2 is a front view of another embodiment of the toothbrush head;
Fig. 2a is back view of the embodiment of figure 2;
Fig. 3 is a front view of another embodiment of the toothbrush head;
Fig. 3a is a back view of the embodiment of figure 3;
Fig. 4 is a front view of another embodiment of the toothbrush head;
Fig. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the toothbrush head;
Fig. 6 is a front view of another embodiment of the toothbrush head;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figures 1 to 3 there are shown embodiments of the toothbrush head
in accordance
with the present invention and generally indicated as head 2.

Toothbrush head 2 extends from neck 4 which extends from a handle (not shown)
to form a
toothbrush. The type of handle is not germane to the present invention. Head 2
has several
portions which together provide a front face 6 and a back face 8 opposite to
the front face, and
which has a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis. A plurality of tooth
cleaning elements 10
extend from the front face of the head.

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The head has one or more portions 12 defined by one or more slits 14 which
extend inwardly
from the periphery of the head. The one or more slits in the head allow the
portions to move
relative and/or independently of each other. The one or more slits can extend
substantially
parallel to the transverse axis or at an angle less than 90 to the transverse
axis. The one or more
slits can extend across the longitudinal axis of the head. In one embodiment
the toothbrush head
has two or more portions defined by the one or more slits. The two or more
portions are
substantially coplanar to one another.

Referring to Figs 4 to 6, there are shown embodiments of a toothbrush head 2
having one or
more openings 16. Each of the one or more openings defines one or more
projection portions
18 and one or more recess portions 20. The one or more projection portions are
movable
relative to the one or more recess portions. The one or more openings can
substantially c-
shaped, u-shaped, v-shaped or serpentine shaped. The projecting portions 18
can fit (at least
partially) into the recess 20 (see Fig. 6) defined by portion 22. Projecting
portion can be
surrounded on three sides by the recess portion.

Alternatively, the toothbrush head of the present invention can be defined as
having one or more
movable flaps, wherein each movable flap is connected to the head at one or
more points.
The movable flaps can be attached pivotably or hingedly. The pivoting means
can comprise
one or more pins and/or bar bells.

The head can be vibrated by a vibrator including an electric motor having an
output shaft with an
eccentric weight secured thereto as disclosed in Canadian Patent Application
No. 2,485,445 and
2,483,825. Other examples of electric toothbrushes where the head vibrates are
disclosed in U.S.
Patent No. 5,987,681 and U.S. Publication No. 2003/0037391.

In one embodiment, the toothbrush of the present invention has a drive shaft
extending
outwardly from a motor housed in the handle, and extending into an interior
cavity of the neck.
A cam shaft is operationally connected to the drive shaft and extends
forwardly therefrom and
into engagement with the one or more portions of the head. Cam shaft includes
one or more cam
lobes, which engages the one or more portions. When the toothbrush is
activated via a control
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button, the one or more cam shafts are rotated causing movement of the one or
more portions of
the head.

The description and illustration of the invention are an example and the
invention is not limited
to the exact details shown or described.

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Representative Drawing