GB2463097A

GB2463097A - Constantly rotating bristle toothbrush with protective head

Info

Publication number: GB2463097A
Application number: GB0816010A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David George Oates
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-09-03
Filing date: 2008-09-03
Publication date: 2010-03-10
Also published as: GB0816010D0

Abstract

A toothbrush 10 comprises a shaft 17 and a plurality of bristles 18 disposed at one end of a shaft. The bristles are disposed along a circumference of the shaft (18, 19 fig 3) and arranged to extend substantially radially of the shaft. The toothbrush further comprises a drive unit for rotating the shaft about a longitudinal axis to cause the bristles to rotate about said axis, and a head 13 disposed substantially adjacent the bristles 18, wherein the head 13 partially shrouds the bristles at one side of said shaft to help reduce gum irritation. The direction of rotation is controlled by a switch 16. The head is preferably coupled to the neck by means of a hinge to permit the head to pivot away from the bristles, whilst the distal and proximal ends of the shaft may be coupled by a further hinge to allow deflection of the bristles.

Description

Toothbrush The present invention relates to a toothbrush.

Effective cleaning of the teeth is required to prevent tooth decay and the build up of plaque, and thus to ensure tooth longevity. Modern electric toothbrushes provide an automated scrubbing action whereby the head of the tooth, which comprises a plurality of bristles, is vibrated to scrub the teeth. However, this rapid vibration can irritate the inside of the mouth, in particular the gums and the inside of the cheek. In addition, the head of the toothbrush is typically vibrated in a circular manner across the face of the teeth and so it can be difficult to clean between teeth.

I have now devised a toothbrush which alleviates the above mentioned problems.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a toothbrush, the toothbrush comprising a shaft and a plurality of bristles disposed at one end of the shaft, the bristles being disposed along a circumference of the shaft and arranged to extend substantially radially of the shaft, the toothbrush further comprising means for rotating the shaft about a longitudinal axis thereof to cause the bristles to rotate about said axis, and a head disposed substantially adjacent the bristles, wherein the head partially shrouds the bristles at one side of said shaft.

The toothbrush thus enables effective cleaning between the teeth due to the rotary nature of the bristles and by rotating the bristles in a direction such that they pass from the gum to the teeth, gum irritation is minimised.

Preferably, the shaft extends from a body of the toothbrush toward the head of the toothbrush.

The head is preferably connected to the body by a neck. Preferably, the shaft extends along the neck.

The means for rotating the shaft preferably comprises a drive unit disposed within the body of the toothbrush.

Preferably, the drive unit enables the shaft to rotate in both directions about a longitudinal axis of the shaft.

The body preferably comprises means for selectively operating the drive unit.

Preferably, the head is substantially arcuate in cross-section.

The head is preferably arranged in spaced relation to the shaft. Preferably, the head is spaced from the shaft a distance such that the bristles impinge upon the head as they rotate past the head.

The head is preferably hingedly coupled to the neck to permit the head to pivot away from the bristles. Alternatively, the neck and head are formed as an integral unit.

Preferably, the one end of the shaft comprising the plurality of bristles further comprises pivot means to enable the one end of the shaft to pivot with respect to the other end of the shaft.

Preferably, the bristles are arranged in a plurality of planes that extend substantially parallel to each other and substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the toothbrush in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the toothbrush shown in figure 1; Figure 3 is magnified view of the head and bristles of the toothbrush shown in figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the toothbrush in accordance with the present invention; Figure 5 is a side view of the toothbrush shown in figure 4; and, Figure 6 is magnified view of the head and bristles of the toothbrush shown in figure 4.

Referring to figure 1 to 3 of the drawings, there is shown a first embodiment of the toothbrush 10 in accordance with the present invention. The toothbrush 10 comprises a body 11 disposed at one end of the toothbrush 10, which serves as a handle for the user (not shown) to grip the toothbrush 10. Extending from one end of the body 11 there is provided a neck 12. The neck 12 and body 11 sections of the toothbrush 10 are substantially cylindrical in shape with the central longitudinal axis of each section being substantially collinear.

The distal end of the neck 12 tapers away from the longitudinal axis of the neck 12 to an elongate head 13, which extends substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush 10. The head 13 comprises a substantially arcuate face section 14 which extends along a radius from the central longitudinal axis of the toothbrush 10, through an angular range of approximately 9Q0 The body section 11, neck section 12, tapered region 15 and head section 13 of the toothbrush 10 may be formed of a plastic material, for example, and may be formed as an integral one-piece unit, or separately to permit disassembly of the toothbrush 10.

The body 11 comprises an aperture 16 formed in the curved wall thereof to permit a button or switch (not shown) to be selectively manipulated by a user (not shown). The switch controls the operation of a drive unit (not shown) that is housed within the body 11. The drive unit drives a shaft 17 that is engaged with the drive unit at a proximal end of the shaft. The shaft 17 extends substantially along the central axis of the toothbrush within the body 11 and the neck 12, and exits the neck 12 at the base of the tapered region 15. The free end of the shaft 17 terminates at a position substantially adjacent the upper edge of the head 13 and is uncoupled to the head 13. The drive unit (not shown) is arranged to rotate the shaft 17 about the longitudinal axis of the shaft 17 in a clockwise and anticlockwise manner as selected by the user using the switch (not shown).

The distal end of the shaft 17 comprises a series of bristles 18 that extend around the circumference of the shaft 17 and which extend radially outward from the shaft 17. The bristles 18 are arranged around the shaft 17 in a plurality of planes 19 which extend along the distal end of the shaft, and are arranged substantially parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 17. Accordingly, by rotating the shaft 17, the bristles 18 are caused to rotate with the shaft 17.

The planes 19 of bristles 18 are spaced along the shaft 17, substantially adjacent the face section 14 of the head 13 and extend along the shaft 17 through distance that corresponds substantially to the length of the elongate head 13. The length of the bristles 18 is such that they impinge upon the head 13 as they rotate past the head 13.

However, it is also envisaged that the length of the bristles 18 may be such that they can rotate between the shaft 17 and the head 13 without touching the head 13.

The head 13 may be hingedly coupled to the distal end of the neck 12 via a hinge (not shown) such that the head 13 can be moved away from the bristles 18 to expose all around the distal end of the shaft 17. It is also envisaged that the distal end of the shaft 17 comprising the bristles 18 may be hingedly coupled to the proximal end of the shaft 17 via a further hinge (not shown) and resiliently biased in a substantially linear relationship with the proximal end of the shaft 17. In this manner, the distal end of the shaft 17 comprising the bristles 18 can deflect off the longitudinal axis of the shaft 17 to limit the amount of pressure that can be applied to the users' teeth.

According to a second embodiment of the toothbrush 10 of the present invention, as shown in figures 4 to 6 of the drawings, the head 13 extends directly from the distal end of the neck 12 and extends through an angular range of approximately 180°. The upper and lower edges 13a, 13b of the head 13 are domed and the upper dome 13a comprises an aperture or recess 20 for engaging with the distal end of the shaft 17.

The shaft 17 thus becomes coupled to the head 13.

In accordance with the second embodiment of the toothbrush 10, the head 13 and the distal end of the shaft 17 comprising the planes 19 of bristles 18, may be hingedly coupled to the distal end of the neck 12 and the proximal end of the shaft 17, respectively, such that the head 13 and distal end of the shaft 17 can pivot together, off the longitudinal axis of the shaft 17. The hinge (not shown) provides a resilient bias to the head 13 and the distal end of the shaft 17 to maintain the head 13 and distal end of the shaft 17 in a substantially linear relationship with the neck 12. In this manner, the hinge acts to limit the amount of pressure that can be applied to the users' teeth.

The planes 19 of bristles 18 arranged furthest from the body 11 comprise a length that is reduced compared with the bristles 18 arranged central of the head 13. This is because the domed upper and lower edges 13a, 13b of the head 13, reduce the separation of the face 14 of the head 13 from the shaft 17. However, as with the first embodiment, the bristles 18 may be arranged to rotate past the head 13 without touching the head 13 or more beneficially, the bristles 18 may be arranged to impinge upon the head 13 as they move past the head 13, such that the bristles 18 become deflected away from the direction of rotation.

In use, the toothbrush 10 according to the first and second embodiment of the present invention is gripped around the body section 11 by a user and the head 13 and bristles 18 are placed within the users' mouth such that the bristles 18 contact the users' teeth (not shown). The drive unit (not shown) is then activated using the switch (not shown) to cause the bristles 18 to rotate to clean the teeth.

When cleaning the teeth arranged on the lower jaw, the shaft 17 is selectively arranged to rotate in a direction such that the bristles 18 rotate in a direction from the gum toward the upper edge of the teeth. This direction of rotation prevents any downward force upon the gum and thus minimises any recession of the gum along the tooth and gum irritation. Conversely, when cleaning the teeth arranged on the upper jaw, the shaft 17 is selectively arranged to rotate in the opposite direction to minimise similar effects.

To further minimise gum irritation, the length of the bristles 18 is such that they impinge upon the edge of the head 13 and deflect away from the direction of rotation.

Accordingly, as the bristles 18 exit from between the head 13 and shaft 17, the distal end of the bristles 18 will trail the proximal end secured to the shaft 17 and thus gently sweep over the gum.

Furthermore, the head 13 of the toothbrush 10 of the first and second embodiment partially shroud the bristles 18 from the inside of the users' cheek and thus act to minimise any irritation on the inside of the user's cheek.

The arrangement of the bristles 18 within planes 19 upon the shaft 17 further provides for the direct cleaning between the teeth. This is because the bristles 18 within each plane 19 are not influenced by bristles 18 in neighbouring planes. When the planes 19 of bristles 18 are placed adjacent the user's teeth, some of the planes 19 of bristles 18 will become deformed due to the user forcing the bristles 18 upon the teeth. However, those planes 19 of bristles 18 which reside adjacent the teeth edges remain suitably extended to enter the space between the teeth to clean between the teeth.

From the foregoing therefore, it is evident that the toothbrush of the present invention provides for a simple yet improved cleaning of a persons' teeth. I,

Claims

Claims 1. A toothbrush, the toothbrush compnsing a shaft and a plurality of bristles disposed at one end of the shaft, the bristles being disposed along a circumference of the shaft and arranged to extend substantially radially of the shaft, the toothbrush further comprising means for rotating the shaft about a longitudinal axis thereof to cause the bristles to rotate about said axis, and a head disposed substantially adjacent the bristles, wherein the head partially shrouds the bristles at one side of said shaft.
2. A toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the shaft extends from a body of the toothbrush toward the head of the toothbrush.
3. A toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the head is connected to the body by a neck.
4. A toothbrush according to claim 3, wherein the shaft extends along the neck,
5. A toothbrush according to any preceding claim, wherein the means for rotating the shaft comprises a drive unit disposed within the body of the toothbrush. * * S S. S6. A toothbrush according to claim 5, wherein the drive unit enables the shaft to rotate in both directions about a longitudinal axis of the shaft. *S* * . .S7. A toothbrush according to claim 5 or 6 as appended to claim 2, wherein the body comprises means for selectively operating the drive unit. S.. -8. A toothbrush according to any preceding claim, wherein the head is substantially arcuate in cross-section.9. A toothbrush according to any preceding claim, wherein the head is arranged in spaced relation to the shaft.10. A toothbrush according to any preceding claim, wherein the head is spaced from the shaft a distance such that the bristles impinge upon the head as they rotate past the head.11. A toothbrush according to claim 3, wherein the head is hingedly coupled to the neck to permit the head to pivot away from the bristles.12. A toothbrush according to claim 3, wherein the neck and head are formed as an integral unit.13. A toothbrush according to any preceding claim, wherein the one end of the shaft comprising the plurality of bristles further comprises pivot means to enable the one end of the shaft to pivot with respect to the other end of the shaft.14. A toothbrush according to any preceding claim, wherein the bristles are arranged in a plurality of planes that extend substantially parallel to each other and substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.15. A toothbrush substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. * * * S. S St.. * S* * c S S... * S S *5 S * *. * S *SS SS