JPS6255846B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention includes an improved apparatus and method for polishing tooth surfaces and interdental grooves. The purpose of this tooth brushing is to remove the bacterial film that indirectly causes both tooth decay and gum disease.

In the prior art, devices and methods for brushing teeth are usually divided into three broad concepts. 1st
is a non-powered brush in which a bristle tuft consisting of a large number of bristles is planted on the brush head, and the bristles are moved relative to the teeth by physically moving the brush head by hand. The second method is to use a power mechanism to rotate, arc, reciprocate, or pivot the brush head, which is composed of bristles and tufts similar to those used in hand brushes, and to move the hand. It is a powered brush that can be moved over a large range. The third is a powered brush that keeps the brush head substantially stationary and mechanically rotates each tuft individually along its axis in a fixed direction.

When the surface area of the teeth and the grooves between the teeth are included,
Even with a regular hand brush, brushing the smooth oral and lingual surfaces of the teeth is relatively easy because the tips of the tufted bristles move across these large areas or surfaces with little restriction. It is. However, almost 90% of cavities and 70% of gum disease occur within the grooves of the teeth and gums along the central and apical surfaces.
Or it occurs on the top of the occlusal surface and in the fissures of the teeth. When brushing in these areas, the tips of the bristles usually pass over these fissures or depressions. If the bristles are forced into the fissures, they tend to rust together because they are flexible and long, resulting in a static position that is relatively ineffective at removing stuck bacterial films from the dental fissures. The wedging effect of the bristles within the fissure or recessed area, as described above, is due to the relatively long and flexible bristles of the tuft. Moreover, the particular flexibility of the individual bristles results in a structure in which only a very small portion of the motion or power acting on the bristle attachment part of the brush head can be transmitted to the tip of the bristle.

The power brush of the second concept, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. There isn't. In other words, these power brushes do not overcome the deficiencies of brush construction, such as bristle wedging and insufficient power transmission from the brush head to the bristle tops.

Power toothbrush devices of the third concept, such as the power-driven toothbrush disclosed in US Pat. No. 2,215,031, typically include means for sequentially rotating each of the tufts of the brush head in one direction. Because of this unidirectional rotation, these tufts of bristles easily become dislodged from the grooves between the large surfaces of the teeth. This phenomenon is similar to the feature in which the top of an ordinary power drill runs out when placed in an irregularly shaped starting aperture to drill a hole, or when it plunges into the surface to be drilled at an unusual angle. There is. In the mouth, the groove between the teeth and the gums is an irregularly shaped opening into which the tufts of a straight-headed brush can be inserted at right angles due to the arched curvature of the teeth. It becomes difficult. This is because it is difficult for the tufts to remain in the interdental grooves for a reasonable amount of time to remove stuck material within the interdental grooves or fissures, as described above. The tendency of the brush to escape outside the teeth will impair the effectiveness of tooth brushing.

According to the present invention, an apparatus and method are provided that overcome the deficiencies of the prior art in polishing interdental grooves and tooth surfaces. The device of the invention includes a number of filament tufts, each of which rotates about its own axis in a controlled and predetermined manner. In particular, each filament tuft rotates in a controlled reciprocating manner in an opposite direction to its adjacent filament tuft. Moreover, the filament tufts are arranged in two parallel rows, the adjacent tufts of each row being not only staggered but also of mutually different heights.

In the device of the invention, when a tuft of filaments is rotated about its central axis, the filaments are twisted relative to the holder of each tuft. This twisting phenomenon is a result of the multidimensional flexibility and elastic properties of each filament and the fact that each filament is held together only at its base, with the free end in contact with the tooth surface and interdental groove to be polished. It is. As a result of this torsional action, the surfaces of the filaments are compressed together, and as the torsional action moves axially outward along each tuft, the filament tufts become increasingly stiff and subsequently More energy is transmitted from the filament tuft holder along the tuft and dissipated at the filament tip. This energy transfer is
more effective than prior art devices, even if the filament tip becomes trapped within the recess and fissure of the occlusal surface of the tooth, or within the interdental groove between the central and distal surfaces of the tooth. It is.

Each filament tuft undergoes a reciprocating rotation to enable the tuft to be confined within the interdental sulcus for a period long enough to achieve polishing. This rotation begins in an angular direction that is sufficient to create both lateral movement of the tuft and effective energy transfer across the interdental sulcus to brush the proximal (medial and distal) surfaces of the tooth. However, it is smaller than the amount that could cause the filament tuft to run out and pop out of the interdental sulcus. Each filament tuft is then rotated in the opposite angular direction, again sufficient to produce the same brushing effect that provides effective energy transfer while avoiding displacement of the tufts from the interdental grooves. .

To ensure maximum penetration of the filaments into the interdental sulcus and to provide a filament tuft structure in which most of the filaments contact the central and distal surfaces of the curved teeth, the filaments are placed at the tip of each tuft, i.e. The "working end" is arranged in a tapered shape so as to have an appropriately sharp shape. Additionally, the tip of each filament is tapered to allow it to more easily penetrate into the interdental sulcus.

Each tooth has, outside the tooth central and distal surfaces mentioned above,
It has facial and lingual surfaces. All four of these surfaces constitute the vertical surface of the crown of the tooth.The gingival margin of the interdental groove is usually composed of interdental papillae, and the ridged facial surface between the interproximal surfaces. Because the gingival margins of the lateral and lingual tooth surfaces are vertically staggered, the filament tufts are preferably arranged in a staggered relationship within each row of the tufts. A first set of long tufts is disposed along a first line in the brush head and a second set of short tufts is disposed along a second line in the brush head parallel to and spaced from the first line. It is arranged as follows. In this staggered arrangement, the long tufts reach into the interdental grooves and the short tufts brush the area of the raised surface of the tooth near the gums.

Another desirable characteristic of the brushes of this invention is that the brush head itself does not undergo violent, vibratory movements. Therefore, the brush head can move slowly and gently over the tooth surface and the gums approaching it. The entire head of the brush does not undergo any oscillatory, rotational, annular or elliptical movements, or any other movement than that imposed by the user. This characteristic is particularly important in tooth brushing. This is because the amount of brushing action provided by a moving brush cannot be large enough to produce what is called "cheek vibration" due to the action of the brush head moving against the inner surface of the cheek. The present invention avoids these limitations in polishing action because it allows the design of a device that rotates the filament tufts at the desired speed for effective polishing without applying power to the brush head.

Another benefit of the invention is that improved brushing can be provided to the tooth area at or near the gum margin. The reciprocating rotational movement of each tuft, consisting of first rotating the tuft in a first direction and then in the other direction, causes the filament tip to flare out and brush the grooves between the teeth and gums with the filament tip. Can be done. This improved brushing action contributes to maintaining the gums in a healthy condition.

Moreover, as the separated tufts rotate reciprocatingly, the filaments of the tufts are periodically twisted in a side-to-side helical fashion. This torsional action changes the total protruding length of each tuft, thus creating a pumping action against the tooth surface that enhances the removal of the bacterial film.

Therefore, the main object of this invention is to use multiple filament tufts rotating in controlled reciprocating rotation such that the filament tips are easily placed and maintained within the interdental sulcus of the tooth. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved tooth brushing device consisting of:

Another object of the invention is to use a plurality of filament tufts rotating in a controlled reciprocating manner.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved tooth brushing device that effectively transmits power from a rotating device in a brush head to a tip of a filament via a tuft holder and a tuft body.

Still another object of the present invention is to periodically open the filament to the end by rotating a plurality of filament tufts in a reciprocating manner. To provide a tooth brushing device that is adapted to maintain a tight shape, is economically produced, and is easy to use and maintain.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a large number of long and short sections arranged in a staggered relationship to effectively achieve brushing of the interproximal surfaces of the teeth and the raised tooth surfaces that are offset from these crevices. An object of the present invention is to provide a tooth brushing device including a filament tuft.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description, except when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings, in particular FIGS. 1 and 2,
There is shown in cross-section an embodiment of the device 10 according to the invention, which is particularly suitable for cleaning tooth surfaces and interdental grooves in order to remove bacterial membranes on teeth. Areas of teeth particularly suitable for cleaning with the device according to this preferred embodiment include the flat surfaces of the teeth, the occlusal depressions and the interdental grooves.

The toothbrush 10 has a brush head 20 at one end thereof.
and includes a power handle 50 at the other end. The power handle includes a drive 70 and a transmission 80 interconnecting the brush head 20 and the drive 70. The brush head 20 includes a number of long filament tufts 42 and short filament tufts 43, each of which is rotatable about a central axis. In this embodiment, ten filament tufts are arranged in the brush head 20, of which:
There are six long tufts 42 and four short tufts 43. The tufts 42 and 43 extend along the brush head 20 to provide good brushing of the lateral surfaces of the teeth and the lingual surfaces that are raised above the interdental grooves and interproximal surfaces and located therebetween. They are arranged alternately.

The alternating arrangement of the filament tufts improves the brushing effect because these teeth, the gingival margins of the interdental grooves, and the raised internal and external tooth surfaces are physiologically perpendicular to each other. .

The gingival margins of the internal and external tooth surfaces generally extend closer to the cervical line than the gingival tissue of the internal teeth or the gingival margin of the sulcus between the tooth and the gums defined by the papillae. There is.

Drive device 7.0 includes a DC motor 72 and an electrical connector 74. Transmission device 80 transmits mechanical energy from drive device 70 through a series of gears including pinion gear 82 and crown gear 84 . Note that a crank arm 86 and a clevis 88 are attached to the gear. Clevis 88 is pivotally connected to drive shaft 92 of gear-rack arrangement 30. Second
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the gear-rack arrangement 30 rotates the tufts 42 and 4 in a controlled reciprocating motion such that the rotation of the tufts is reversed after a predetermined number of revolutions.
Transfer mechanical energy to 3. Furthermore, the tassels are
They rotate in opposite directions. That is, adjacent tufts rotate in opposite directions.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 3, the apparatus of the present invention is shown in two cross-sectional views. Power handle 50 has an outer casing 52. The casing 52 of the power handle 50 may be formed of a suitable protective material, in particular the drive device 7.
It is preferably constructed of an insulating plastic material that is sufficiently rigid to support the power handle 50 and the conductor 80 and to provide a means of protecting the user of the device from the effects that occur within the power handle 50 during use of the device.

The casing 52 has a brush head 20 at one end thereof.
The electrical connector 74 is a generally elongated tubular body that tapers slightly from one end to the other in order to connect the
Preferably, it is a concentric plug that can be electrically connected to a DC power source, such as a 6V power source. This DC power source is a suitable battery or a transformer rectifier for AC from the domestic power line. The electrical circuit is constructed in a well-known manner, with one side of the connector 74 communicating with the DC motor 72 and the other side communicating with a switch 76 mounted on the casing 52 and thence to the DC motor 72. The circuit is completed. The motor 72 is the switch 7
It is activated when 6 is closed. switch 76
is a suitable single-pole switch; in this preferred embodiment, switch 76 is a single-pole sliding conventional knife switch.

Assembly plate 54 attaches to power handle 5 by laterally mounting along its base within a grooved shoulder 53 cast into the interior wall of casing 52.
0 casing 52. motor 7
2 is secured within the handle 50 by attaching it to the upwardly curved portion of the assembly plate 54 and tightening it with machine screws 58.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3,
Transmission device 80 includes a pinion gear 82 coupled to output shaft 73 of the motor. The pinion gear 82 is connected to the shaft 7 while the motor 72 is being driven.
The shaft 73 is fixed to the shaft 73 by press fitting or other suitable means so as to rotate with the rotation of the shaft 73.

Additionally, transmission 80 includes a crown gear 84 rotatably supported by assembly plate 54, as illustrated in detail in the cross-sectional view of FIG. The crown gear 84 is mounted within a hole in assembly plate 54 and supported by a mounting pin assembly 94 secured against a mounting nut 96. When the motor 72 is driven, the shaft 73 rotates and the crown gear 84 is driven through the pinion gear 82 which engages the teeth of the crown gear 84, as illustrated in FIGS. Ru.

In order to convert the rotational movement of the crown gear 84 into a linear reciprocating movement of the rack 36 and then into a reciprocating rotational movement of the tufts 42 and 43, a group of transmission elements as described below is provided. The crank arm 86 has a first end connected to a portion of the crown gear 84 radially displaced from the center axis of the crown gear 84, and a second end thereof operatively connected to a gear rack drive shaft 92. A first end of the crown arm 86 includes a connector 87. As shown in FIG. 3, the drive pin 10 is inserted through the connector 87 and mounted in an oil-impregnated bearing 102 that is press-fit into the meshing recess of the crown gear 84.
4 to the crown gear 84.

The second end of the crown arm 86 is connected to the clevis shank 91 of the rack drive shaft 92 at the clevis 88.
and a clevis pin 89. Clevis 88 is secured to the end of arm 86, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and has a pin extending through an opening in the terminal portion of clevis 88 and an opening in clevis shank 91. 89 to the shaft 92.

When the motor 72 is driven, the rack drive shaft 9
It will be readily apparent from this stage of the description of the device that 2 will move in a linear reciprocating cycle along its longitudinal axis. This reciprocating motion is caused by the crown arm 86 moving in an annular path defined by the movement of the crown gear 84.
caused by the movement of The length of the reciprocating stroke of shaft 92 is a function of the radial distance between the center of crown gear 84 and the center point of attachment of crown arm 86 to crown gear 84.

A brush head 20 including a gear-rack arrangement 30 is shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12. In the embodiment for use in tooth brushing, the brush head 20 has ten tufts. This number of tufts is such that the area limited by the tufts in the brush head 20 is long enough to efficiently brush many tooth surfaces and interdental grooves, and at the same time, the brushing tips of the tufts are The size of the brush head 20 is suitably selected to be short enough to fit the arc of the mouth so that it is placed in contact with the inner surface of the teeth. Each tuft is similar to the tufts commonly used in the toothpaste industry, and consists of a group of filaments fixed at the base within a single hole and free at the opposite end. This tuft, when used in the devices and methods of the present invention, easily penetrates into the groove between the tooth and the gums, and as it rotates about its own axis, virtually all of the filaments of each tuft are removed. so that effective power transmission is achieved by top twisting.
It is relatively long and thin.

The tufts are arranged so that long tufts 42 and short tufts 42 form two rows that are interleaved with each other. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the long tufts 42 in each row are
It is in a position closer to the longitudinal axis of the brush head 20 than the short tufts 43 of each row, that is, in a retracted position. Both short tufts 43 and long tufts 42 have tapered top surfaces defined by the filament tips of each tuft. The tapered configuration of the long tufts 42 facilitates the insertion of the long tuft filaments into the interdental grooves.

The short tufts 43 are tapered or pointed for at least two reasons. The first reason is that if the tips of the short tufts 43 have a flat upper end surface, the lateral reciprocating motion becomes undesirably intense, leading to mechanical collisions between the tufts 43 and adjacent tufts. The second reason is that the depth of the interdental grooves is not constant, causing the flat tip tufts to press too hard on the inner and outer surfaces of the sometimes raised teeth. In other cases, it may be wrong as a whole. For these reasons, the ends of the short tufts 43 are pointed or tapered as schematically illustrated in the drawings.

By arranging the long tufts and the short tufts in an alternating relationship, the surfaces of the teeth and the grooves between the teeth can be well polished. The raised and inner and outer surfaces of the upper and lower teeth extend closer to the palate and floor of the mouth, respectively, than the associated interdental grooves, thereby determining the position of the interdental grooves and the raised grooves. The inner and outer sides form an alternating relationship with the position of the gingival margin on the surface. Therefore, in the preferred embodiment, the long tufts 42 are arranged to facilitate the filament entering the area between the interproximal surfaces of the teeth, while the short tufts 42
3 is arranged so that it is easy to brush the raised tooth surface area.

Each tuft is comprised of a number of filaments having a predetermined diameter and physical characteristics such that the desired brushing action can be achieved by the movement of the tuft of the present invention. In this preferred embodiment, each tuft is approximately 0.2286 cm (0.090 inch) in diameter and consists of several hundred filaments, each filament ranging from 0.0101 cm to 0.0101 cm.
It has a diameter of 0.0152 cm (0.004 to 0.006 inch). Each tuft tapers to an apex angle of approximately 50°, and each filament is shaped with an apex angle of approximately 25°, thereby creating a groove between adjacent tooth surfaces, a gingival groove, And the brushing effect in other small areas is improved.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 12, 10 tufts 42
and 43 are each mechanically held within a metal holder 44. The proximal ends of the filaments forming the base of each tuft 42 and 43 are preferably welded together with a heated platen to hold them in the desired configuration. The proximal end of each tuft is then press fit into the retainer 44, so that each tuft is secured to the retainer 44 by the frictional engagement of its filament with the inner wall of the retainer 44. Another method is to
The filaments can also be held together to form a tuft within the tuft retainer 44 using conventional methods other than welding their proximal ends together.

Customer holder 44 has a lower extension 45 suitable for attachment to a bore in chamber drive shaft 46 . The holder 44 is secured to the tuft drive shaft 46 with a suitable adhesive. Each tuft holder 44 is attached to each drive shaft 46.
This means of securing the tuft provides a rigid inter-engagement between the two and constitutes an integral drive means for the tuft holder 44 and the tuft drive shaft 46.

As shown in Figures 5, 6, 8 and 9, the chamber drive shaft 4
6 is pivotally supported within the brush head 20 by a top bearing insert 32 attached to a top support plate 47 and a bottom bearing insert 33 attached to a bottom support plate 48. These inserts 32 and 33 are
Made of suitable oil bearing material. The top bearing insert 32 includes an opening and the bottom bearing insert 33 includes a recess that cooperate to extend the length between the axial centers of the long tuft 42 between adjacent Approximately 0.746 cm (0.294 inch), close to the average spacing of approximately 0.772 cm (0.34 inch) between crevices between tooth surfaces
Position the above-mentioned axis so that The recesses in the bearing inserts 32 and 33 also position the short tufts substantially equidistant from the immediately adjacent long tufts 42. The end of each shaft 46 rests on a recess in the bottom bearing insert to prevent axial downward movement of each shaft 46. Each shaft 46 is immobilized axially upwardly by a drive shaft spur gear. Idle spur gear 3
5 is press-fitted to each drive shaft 46 that is linked to the short tuft 43, and the driven spur gear 34 is press-fitted to each drive shaft 46 that is linked to the long tuft 42. A knurled portion 39 is provided on each shaft 46 to ensure engagement with each gear 34, 35.

Support plates 47 and 48 are mounted within brush head 20 and held firmly in relative relation to each other by four spacer posts 49. In addition, it is preferable that the above-mentioned spacer post is provided with a bent shoulder at its end. Bost 49
is inserted into the spacer hole 64, and the support plate 4
7 and 48 are in contact with the shoulders of the post. After assembly, the ends of posts 49 inserted into holes 64 are mechanically expanded or swaged to securely secure plates 47 and 48 thereto.
The top support plate 47 includes oil holes 25 in the gear-rack arrangement 30 and in the top brush head casing 22.
Holes 62 as shown in FIGS. 9, 10 and 12 are provided to allow lubricating oil to pass therethrough.

As mentioned above, each of the ten chamber drive shafts 46
It has a spur gear 34 or 35 connected thereto. 10 spur gears 34 and 35 of the drive assembly
is divided into two separate gear trains of five gears each. As shown in FIG. 5, the gears are staggered so that the six driven spur gears 34 mesh with and are driven by the gear racks 36. Furthermore, the four idler spur gears 35 are driven only by meshing with the driven spur gear 34. In FIG. 5, the gear rack 36 is shown in its rearmost position with only two spur gears 34 meshing and the eight forward gears continuing to rotate due to the intermeshed gears. . In operation, the rack 36 is linearly reciprocated by the gear rack drive shaft 92. Also, in this preferred implementation, long tuft 42 and short tuft 43 have the same base circumference, and gear rack 36 is moved a distance (from the rear position in FIG. 5) equal to 11/2 times the circumference of each tuft. ) in the direction of the brush head 20.

Because of the controlled linear reciprocating motion of the gear rack 36, each tuft undergoes a controlled reciprocating and counter-rotating rotational motion in a predetermined cycle. The reciprocating motion in one direction at 11/2 times the base circumference of each tuft is such that in this preferred embodiment, each tuft is first
It is selected to rotate and then rotate 1 1/2 revolutions in the opposite direction to said rotation. however,
When measuring the circumference of a tuft as a single unit, the amount of controlled back and forth rotation is determined by the diameter of the filament within each tuft, the length and diameter of each tuft itself, and the tapered surface of each tuft, which is comprised by the top of the filament. Varies depending on the inclination angle.

In the preferred embodiment, the gear rack 36
is relatively long compared to its cross-sectional dimensions. In order to reduce the possibility that the gear rack 36 will bend due to sudden reciprocating forces acting on the gear rack 36 having such a dimensional relationship, the rack should be constructed with a U-shaped rack plate as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10. 37 and spot welded thereto.

A metal support tube 38 that encases the shaft 92 to connect the support plates 47 and 48 to the power handle 50.
is provided. The tube 38 is the brush head 20
It has an outer wall that tapers in the direction of. At the small diameter end of tube 38, a portion of tube 38 is cut away to provide opposing flat surfaces for mating assembly support plates 47 and 48 for tack welding or soldering.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tapered support tube 38 has a small diameter and the power handle 50
The large diameter end closest to is threaded. This tube therefore passes through a hole in the fold of the assembly plate and is secured therein by a nut 96. A seal 99 is disposed within the nut 96 to prevent lubricating oil from flowing from the brush head 20 into the power handle 50.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the tubular portion of the gear rack drive shaft 92 includes two press-fit tubes within the inner diameter of a tapered support tube 38 extending between the power handle 50 and the brush head 20. It is supported and pivoted by an oil-impregnated sleeve bearing 41. Gear of brush head 20 - rack structure 3
0, a brush head casing upper half 22 and a brush head lower casing half 24 are provided to protect and isolate the shaft 92 and tube 38. The casing halves 22 and 24 are fitted around the support plates 47 and 48 and the support tube 38 and are glued together at their mutual abutting surfaces, thereby providing lubrication for the gear-rack arrangement 30. It retains oil and prevents moisture from entering the interior. At the point where the casing halves 22 and 24 join the end cap 26 for the housing 52, the casing halves 22 and 24 pass through holes in the end cap 26 and are coated with a moisture-proof flexible silicone adhesive. It is painted as a wall.

In order to retain lubricant within the interdental rack arrangement 30 and to prevent the ingress of moisture etc. into the arrangement, a single seal 28 is provided having a hole for receiving each of the ten drive shafts. It is provided.

As shown in numbers 10, 11 and 12, the portion 27 of the seal 28 adjacent each chamber drive shaft 46 is raised relative to the base of the seal 28 to allow free movement. The deflection of the raised portion 27 of the seal 28 in the exemplary embodiment allows it to accommodate dimensional tolerance variations between the bore centerlines of both the bearing insert 32 and the seal 28 itself.
A seal ring 29 in the brush head casing upper half 22 abuts the base surface of the seal 28 to prevent fluid from flowing around the seal 28. FIG. 11 illustrates each opening in seal 28 slightly smaller in diameter than necessary to fit each shaft 46. The flexibility of the seal 28, which abuts the periphery of each chamber drive shaft 46, provides a substantially fluid tight seal.

As will be apparent from the foregoing description, in operation of the apparatus of the present invention, moving switch arrangement 76 to disable motor 72 causes crank gear 84 to begin rotating. This movement further moves the crank arm 86, causing the gear rack drive shaft to reciprocate, thereby causing the gear rack 36 to perform a corresponding linear reciprocating motion. As the gear rack 36 performs a linear reciprocating motion, it meshes with the spur gears 34 in the gear train, causing them to first rotate a certain number of revolutions in one direction, then a certain number of revolutions in the opposite direction, and so on. Thus, the tufts 42, 43 associated with the gears 34, 35 undergo a reciprocating rotational movement. During this movement cycle, except for their instantaneous rest position, adjacent chambers will be rotating in opposite directions to each other.

The desired speed of the reciprocating rack 36 is between about 800 and 1300 cycles per minute with about 11/2 revolutions in each direction per cycle. In the preferred embodiment, the rack 36 has a speed of 1000 m/min.
Reciprocating in a cycle, the chamber rotates at approximately 3000 revolutions per minute.

Therefore, the preferred embodiment of this invention is
It has a large number of tufts that perform reciprocating and counter-rotating movements, each rotating approximately 1 1/2 times in two directions.
During one half of a reciprocating cycle, each of the first tufts rotates in the first direction for about 1 1/2 revolutions, and each of the second tufts rotates in the first direction for about 1 1/2 revolutions. and then during the other half of the reciprocating cycle, each of the first tufts rotates in the second direction for about 11/2 revolutions; Said second
Each of the tufts rotates in the first direction for approximately 11/2 revolutions. This controlled reciprocating rotation of 1 1/2 revolutions moves the long tufts 42 into the groove between the teeth by attempting to advance along the walls of the groove and out of the crevice. is sufficient to begin a movement. However, the rotation is reversed at an optimal point before running, and the tuft moves along and across the groove between the teeth so as to attempt to run along the opposite wall of the groove between the teeth. move backwards. By rapidly repeating this movement, the grooves between the teeth and the adjacent tooth surfaces can be thoroughly brushed. The reverse rotation of adjacent tufts according to the present invention also helps improve the stability of the brush by maintaining contact between the tooth surface and the tooth groove.

The reciprocating rotation of each tuft has the advantage of widening the free ends of the filaments when the direction of rotation of the tuft is reversed during a portion of the reciprocating cycle. Due to this flared end opening of the filament, the flared top of the filament brushes along the crevices between the gums and the teeth and in this respect helps to remove the bacterial film that causes cavities and gum diseases.

This invention is not only very desirable in use since the tufts themselves move to perform the polishing action, while the brush head remains stationary except for gentle movements by the user; An improved polishing apparatus and method is provided which is more efficient and effective due to the rotational motion and special design of the filament.

This improved polishing action of the tooth surface is achieved by subjecting the tufts to a type of pumping action during the reciprocating rotational movement. As the tuft moves from the highest rotational position in one direction to the highest rotational position in the other, the individual filaments move from the most twisted position in one direction (a short helix in one direction) to the normal position (elongated, i.e. straight filament position) and in the opposite direction to the most twisted position (short spiral in the opposite direction). Therefore, the protruding length of the filament changes from short to long and back again while the filament starts from the highest twist position in one direction and is advanced to the highest twist position in the opposite direction.
This change in the protruding length of the filament is
A kind of pumping action of the filament top on the tooth surface or interdental groove further improves the polishing action.

Although the embodiments have been illustrated as above, many modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. All such modifications are intended to be covered by the claims.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of the brushing device of the present invention, illustrating a drive device and a power transmission device. FIG. 2 shows a first section taken along line 2--2 to further illustrate the drive and power transmission.
FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway bottom view of the tooth brushing device shown in the figure. Third
The figure shows lines 3-3 to further illustrate the power transmission system.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the tooth brushing device of FIG. 1 taken along line 3; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the tooth brushing device of FIG. 1 taken along line 4--4 illustrating the support for the rack drive shaft. Figure 5 shows gears.
2 is a partially enlarged top view of the brush head of the toothbrushing device of FIG. 1 taken along line 5--5 illustrating the rack arrangement; FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the brush head of FIG. 5 taken along line 6--6 illustrating the filament tuft and further illustrating the gear-rack arrangement. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the brush head of FIG. 6 taken along line 7--7 further illustrating the gear-rack arrangement. Figure 8 shows gears.
1 is an exploded perspective view of the brush head of the device according to the invention further illustrating the relationship of the rack construction and the various layers of the construction; FIG. FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the brush head taken along line 9--9 illustrating the top support and top bearing insert. FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of the brush head of the device of the invention, particularly illustrating the single seal for the filament tuft drive shaft. Figure 11 shows line 11-11 illustrating the size of a single seal hole in relation to the axis that fits into the seal hole.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the single seal shown in FIG. 10 taken along . FIG. 12 is a partially exploded perspective view of the brush head of the apparatus according to the invention illustrating the relationship of the brush head casing to a portion of the gear-rack arrangement and the single seal. 10... Brush, 20... Brush head, 42, 43
... filament tuft, 50 ... power handle, 34,
35...Gear, 36...Easy reciprocating motion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A brush head, a first tuft of a plurality of filaments, each of the first tufts being rotatably attached to the brush head, and a second tuft of a plurality of filaments. each of the second tufts is rotatably attached to the brush head and is shorter in length than each of the first tufts; and the first tuft and the second tuft are of equal length. arranged alternately in two staggered rows; a plurality of driven spur gears; each of said driven spur gears being coupled to one of said first tufts; and a plurality of idler spur gears. and each of the floating spur gears is coupled to one of the second tufts and meshes with at least two of the driven spur gears, and each of the first tufts is connected to one of the second tufts. a rack meshing with at least two of the driven spur gears; a device for uniformly reciprocating the rack; and the first chamber and the second chamber. are rotated, each rotating in a controlled reciprocating motion about its own central axis, and tooth surfaces and interdental grooves consisting of: Tooth brushing device for brushing. 2. a plurality of chamber drive shafts, each of said chamber drive shafts being coupled to one of said first chamber and said second chamber, and having a plurality of openings adapted to said chamber drive shafts; Claim 1 comprising an integral seal;
Toothbrushing device as described in section. 3. The periphery of each opening in the seal is provided with a flexible seal formed by a raised portion of the seal extending from the base of the seal and in contact with the tuft drive shaft. A tooth brushing device according to claim 2. 4. A toothbrushing device according to claim 3, wherein the brush head has an inner surface having a seal ring contacting the seal to prevent fluid from flowing through the seal. 5. Claims characterized in that each of the first tufts and each of the second tufts has a tapered surface for tooth brushing, the surface being formed by the tip of the filament. The tooth brushing device according to item 1. 6. The tooth brushing device according to claim 5, wherein the tip of each of the filaments is tapered to form an inclined angle. 7. The tooth brushing device according to claim 6, wherein the tapered tip of each of the filaments has an inclination angle of about 25 degrees. 8 Each of the above filaments is at least about
0.1016mm (approximately 0.004 inch) and approximately 0.1524mm (approximately
2. The brushing device of claim 1, wherein the brushing device has a diameter not greater than 0.006 inch). 9 The first tuft above is approximately 0.747cm (approximately 0.294 inch)
2. The toothbrushing device of claim 1, wherein the second tuft is located at a substantially equal distance from the adjacent first tuft. 10 a brush head; a first tuft of a plurality of filaments; each of the first tufts being rotatably attached to the brush head; a second tuft of a plurality of filaments; each tuft is rotatably attached to the brush head and is shorter in length than each of the first tufts, and the first tuft and the second tuft are arranged in two staggered rows of equal length; a plurality of driven spur gears; each of the driven spur gears is connected to one of the first tufts; a large number of idler spur gears; each of the gears is coupled to one of the second tufts and meshes with at least two of the driven spur gears; and each of the first tufts is coupled in an opposite direction to each of the second tufts. a rack meshing with at least two of the driven spur gears; a device for uniformly reciprocating the rack; the first tuft and the second tuft being rotated; Each of the racks is rotated in a controlled reciprocating manner about its own central axis, and the device for reciprocating the racks includes a rotatable output shaft and a a pinion mounted in rotational engagement with a shaft; a crown gear engaged with the pinion; a crown arm rotatably and eccentrically mounted on the crown gear at a first end; a rack drive shaft rotatably attached to the second end of the crown arm;
and the rack drive shaft is a second rack drive shaft.
A toothbrushing device characterized in that the toothbrushing device is connected to one end of the rack;