US1451993A

US1451993A - Rotary toothbrush

Info

Publication number: US1451993A
Application number: US433289A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mclellan Charles
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1920-12-27
Filing date: 1920-12-27
Publication date: 1923-04-17
Anticipated expiration: 1940-04-17

Description

C. MCLELLAN ROTARY TOOTHBRUSH Apr. 17, 1923. 1,451,993;

Filed Dec. 27, 1920 flfatentcd Apr. i?, 3.9323,

t ai

CHARLES MCLELLAN, O SIOUX CITY, IOVA.

Berlaar roornnnnsn.

Application :led December 27, 1920. Serial No. 433,288.

To @ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES MCLELLAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sioux City, in the county of Woodbury and State of owa, have invented 4certain new and useful improvements in Rotary Toothbrushes; and I do declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as Willenable oth'ersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved. rotary tooth brush designed to be used either 4by dentists or individual persons, the same being of the manually operated type.

One vobject of the invention is to provide a brush wherein the means for rotating the same is so constructed and protected vthat the possib-ility of foreign matter thrown or brushed from the teeth during the operation of the brush is, to a great extent, prevented from gathering or depositing on said means, thus providing an extremely sanitary brush.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tooth brush including a. quick detachable brush, a flexible guard for protecting the mouth and co-acting means between the brush and guard. to permit such quick detachment of thebrush. With this construction, the brush can'be easily removed after using on one person and may be thoroughly cleansed before again using it on another.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device including the structure above mentioned, the brush being of such a size that it prevents contacts of the rotar)v coupling for the brush, and adjacent movable parts with the gums or other parts of the mouth, thus guarding against injury from this cause.

A further object of the invention is to provide va brush which embodiesa flexible drive shaft, a flexible casing for thesame and a' shaping sleeve surrounding the forward portion of the casing to impart a desirable shape to this end of the device, where-` by the brush can be' conveniently inserted into the mouth and properly angled to insure effective and easy cleaning of the teeth.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brush wherein the construction and arrangement is simple and advantageous, the parts being so connected with one another that they can be easily separated for cleaning and repairing, and the complete device beingstrong and `endurable, and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will. be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification. and in which lil'e numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure l is a perspective view of a tooth brush constructed in accordancewith this invention. y

Figure 2 is a sectional and elevations, the brush. l

Figure is asimilar view showing the remaining parts of the brush.

Figure et is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the means for coupling the brush with the drive shaft.

Figure a sectional view of the coupling shaft taken on the line 5 5 of lig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, wherein the preferred embodiment of the invention is clearly illustrated, it will be seen that the numeral l designates a flexible drive shaft which is housed in a flexible casing or tube 2 of substantially the saine length. Botation is imparted to said shaft by means of a knob 3 which is connected to the inner end or the latter. Having quick detachable and rotatable connection with the forward end of the drive shaft is a brush fi. It is to be noted, that this brush is of such a size that it prevent contact of the adjacent 1novable parts of the device with the gums and niouth and thus prevents possible injury. The brush may be connectedwith the shaft in many ways, but in the drawing the means shown includes a shaft 5 carrying a recessed coupling 6, the same being provided with a -counter bored non-circular socket 7 and the drive shaft including a correspondingly shaped key 8 which is received in said socket. lilith this construction, it will be seen that the desired rotary movement will be imparted to the brush and the latter can be quickly detached after each treatment of the teeth so that it may be thoroughly cleansed before again usingl vit. Thus, my brush is rendered very sanitary in this respect. Furthermore, with the particular kind of a coupling shown it will be seen that it is practically impossible for any foreign matter` which is thrown against the parts of the device adjacent to the teeth, from depositing view, with parts of the forward portion of on these parts. Hence, my brush is rendered very sanitary in this respect also.

As before intimated, the forward end of the device is shaped to permit easy insertion of this end into the mouth and also permitted to be arranged many various angles for insuring an effective and easy cleaning of the teeth. In carrying out this feature of the invention, a rigid curved sleeve 9 is employed and it surrounds the forward end of the casing 2, the outer end of this sleeve serving` as an abutment for the coupling 6. f larried by .this sleeve and extending forwardly beyond it is a suitably shaped guard l() which serves to prevent contact of the moving metal parts of the device with the lips. l't is to be noted that this guard is constructed of flexible material and that it carries a laterally extending detent or lug ll, which when in operative position, extends behind the flange 6** of the coupling shaft, thus serving to retain 'the latter in operative position and permitting quick detaclnnent thereof. A stein l2 is detachably connected with the lniob 3 and this stem is provided at its outer end with a head lli receivable in the palm of the hand.

In use, the sleeve 9 may be held with the fingers of the left hand and the brush positioned. and properly angled in the mouth according to whichever teeth are to be cleaned. The head 14; can then be placed in the palm of the right hand, and the fingers of this hand placed on the operating knob 3. Now, by imparting a rotary movement to the knob 3, rotation will be imparted to the drive shaft and in turn to the brush 4;. The knob 3 can be turned continuously in one direction 0r turned back and forth as desired. lifter the brush has been used once, it can be quickly and easily removed and cleansed by simply moving the guard l() in such a manner as to disengage the lug 11 vfrom the flange 61* of the coupling 6.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing is thought to be suflicient toenable persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates, to obtain a clear understanding of the same. Therefore,

a more lengthy and detailed description is deemed unnecessary.

Advantageous and effective results may be obtained fro-1n the construction and arrangenient herein shown and described. Hence, this construction and arrangement is taken as the preferred embodiment of the invention. l-iowever, I wish it to bev understood that minor changesin shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

l claim:

l. A tooth brush of the type specified embodying a flexible drive shaft, a rigid longitudinally curved sleeve removably|` arranged on the forward end of the shaft to impart a permanent curved shape to the shaft to assist in enabling this end of the device to be readily and edect-ively inserted into the mouth, said sleeve snugly surrounding the shaft andlhaving its outer end terminating in spaced relation from the corresponding end of the shaft to permit said end to additionally function as a stop.

2. A rotary tooth brush comprising a flexible driving shaft, a longitudinally curved rigid sleeve surrounding the forward end of said shaft and imparting a permanent curved shape thereto, whereby to permit easy and effective insertion of this end of the brush into thefmouth, a brush guard carried by and extending forwardly of the shaft and curved on a line in continuation of the shaft, and a. brush connected to the forward end of the shaft beneath said guard.

3. rl. rotary tooth brush comprising a drive shaft, a brush including a shouldered coupling head detachably connected with one end of said shaft,a mouth guard mounted on said shaft and extending over and partially covering the brush, and a lateral detent carried by said guard and engaging the aforesaid shoulder to retain the brush in operative position but permitting it to be quickly detached. l

il. A rotary tooth brush co-mprisinga drive shaft, a casing surrounding .said shaft, a brush including a'shouldered coupling head detachablyconnected with the front end of said shaft, a sleeve mounted on said casing, a forwardly extending resilient mouth guard carried by said sleeve and projecting over and partially covering said brush, said guard being provided with a lateral detent engaging the shoulder on the aforesaid head to retain the brush in `operative position and permit it to be quickly detached. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. i

CHARLES MCLELLAN.