An electric toothbrush has an axially elongated body having a handle defining a hollow interior region for holding a motor disposed therein, a head comprising a static bristle holder plate having tufts of bristles disposed thereon and an oscillatory head bristle holder with other tufts of bristles d
An electric toothbrush has an axially elongated body having a handle defining a hollow interior region for holding a motor disposed therein, a head comprising a static bristle holder plate having tufts of bristles disposed thereon and an oscillatory head bristle holder with other tufts of bristles disposed thereon. One end of the drive shaft is connected to the motor and an opposite end to a cam for directly driving the cam which has at least one lobe a portion of which cam is received in an oscillatory cavity for imparting a pushing force on the walls of the oscillatory cavity in response to rotation of the drive shaft for moving the oscillatory head bristle holder with a back and forth oscillatory motion. By eliminating the need for precision gearing, this direct drive arrangement simplifies and makes more efficient the translation of rotary motion into oscillatory motion.
대표청구항▼
1. An apparatus, comprising: a housing having a desired shape and defining a hollow interior region therein, and having a handle portion, a head portion and a neck portion extending between the handle portion and the head portion;a motor arranged with a motor output shaft disposed within said housin
1. An apparatus, comprising: a housing having a desired shape and defining a hollow interior region therein, and having a handle portion, a head portion and a neck portion extending between the handle portion and the head portion;a motor arranged with a motor output shaft disposed within said housing;a drive shaft having a first end and a second end, and arranged to be operatively coupled at said first end to said motor output shaft for rotation thereby;a cam comprising a cam lobe and operatively connected to said drive shaft at said second end of said drive shaft, wherein the cam and the cam lobe each have a longitudinal axis, and each longitudinal axis is positioned parallel to the other;a static bristle holder plate connected to said housing and having a surface with a collection of static bristles extending there from; anda movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate retained by said static bristle holder plate, wherein the movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate comprises a top surface with a collection of movable bristles extending there from, a cylindrical sidewall extending perpendicularly from the top surface, and a circumferential peripheral collar positioned concentrically around the cylindrical sidewall,wherein said static bristle holder plate being arranged and configured to retain said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate such that the surface of said static bristle holder plate and the top surface of said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate lie in a common plane and the circumferential peripheral collar of said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate is sandwiched between said static bristle holder plate and said head portion of the housing,wherein said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate comprises a side peripheral wall and a cavity defined therein, andwherein the cam lobe is positioned at least partially within said cavity of said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate so that rotational movement of the cam causes oscillatory movement of said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate. 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the drive shaft is a straight drive shaft that extends the length of the housing from the motor output shaft to the cam. 3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the cam pushes the movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate back and forth up to 20 degrees in each direction from an at rest position. 4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the collection of static bristles are attached to said static bristle holder plate. 5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the collection of movable bristles are attached to said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate. 6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the cam is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metals and plastic. 7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the drive shaft comprises a cylindrical bearing positioned between the first end and the second end of the drive shaft, and a metal portion extending from the bearing towards the second end of the drive shaft. 8. The apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein the bearing has one or more cruciform cross sectional regions located between one or more rounded cross sectional regions. 9. The apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein the cylindrical bearing is arranged to connect to the motor output shaft. 10. The apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein the bearing further comprises a cored out region of the bearing configured to be press fitted directly onto the motor output shaft. 11. The apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein the hollow interior of the housing comprises a plurality of inner diameters, and wherein the diameter of the cylindrical bearing varies as a function of the inner diameters of the hollow interior of the housing. 12. An electric toothbrush, comprising: an axially elongated body, comprising:a handle defining a hollow interior region shaped and configured to hold a motor disposed therein, said motor having a motor output shaft;a head comprising a static bristle holder plate having tufts of bristles disposed on a surface thereon and connected to said head;a movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate with other tufts of bristles disposed on a top surface thereon and having a cylindrical sidewall extending perpendicularly from the top surface, and a circumferential peripheral collar positioned concentrically around the cylindrical sidewall, said movable oscillatory head bristle holder being arranged and located with respect to said static bristle holder plate so that said tufts of other bristles of said movable oscillatory head bristle holder are at least partially surrounded by said tufts of bristles of said fixed portion of said static bristle holder plate, said static bristle holder plate being arranged and configured to retain said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate such that the surface of said static bristle holder plate and the top surface of said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate lie in a common plane and the circumferential peripheral collar of said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate is sandwiched between said static bristle holder plate and said head;a neck extending between said handle and said head;a drive shaft having a first end, a second end and a longitudinal axis and, wherein said first end of said drive shaft is operatively connected to said motor output shaft;a cam comprising a cam lobe and operatively connected to said drive shaft at said second end of said drive shaft, wherein the cam and the cam lobe each have a longitudinal axis, and each longitudinal axis of the cam and the cam lobe is positioned parallel to the other;wherein said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate comprises a side peripheral wall and a cavity defined therein, andwherein said cam lobe is positioned at least partially within said cavity of said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate so that rotational movement of the cam causes oscillatory movement of said movable oscillatory head bristle holder plate. 13. The electric toothbrush as defined in claim 12 wherein said static bristle holder plate is releasably attached to said head. 14. Method, comprising: oscillating an oscillating head bristle holder having a top surface with a collection of movable bristles extending there from, a cylindrical sidewall extending perpendicularly from the top surface, a circumferential peripheral collar positioned concentrically around the cylindrical sidewall, a side peripheral wall and a cavity defined in the side peripheral wall by rotating a cam having a cam lobe inserted into the cavity in the oscillatory head bristle holder, wherein the cam and the cam lobe each have a longitudinal axis and each longitudinal axis is positioned parallel to each other, and wherein the cavity comprises a first side wall and an oppositely disposed second side wall;retaining said oscillating head bristle holder between a static bristle holder plate and a head portion such that the circumferential peripheral collar of said oscillating head bristle holder is sandwiched between said static bristle holder plate and said head portion;pushing the first side wall of the cavity and the second side wall of the cavity with the cam lobe to produce a back and forth oscillatory motion in the oscillating head bristle holder, androtating a drive shaft with the cam attached to one end directly from a motor attached to an end of the drive shaft opposite the end attached to the cam.
Bojar James A. (Wauwatosa WI) Shaw Richard J. (Hartland WI), End Brush with male projection, apparatus and method for making same, and apparatus for use thereof.
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