US2533106A - Rotary toothbrush with lip guard - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 5, 4195() D. P. GRovl-:R 2,533,106

ROTARY TOOTHBRUSH WITH LIP GUARD Filed Aug. 17, 194e IN VEN TOR. BUMP 'foaf, BY

thereof Patented Dec. 5, 1,950

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

ROTARY TOOTHBRUSH WITH LIP GUARD Donald P. Grover, Chicago, Ill. Application August 17, 1946, Serial No. 691,273

3 Claims.

Y This invention relates in general to rotary toothbrushes and in particular to a type of rotary toothbrush adapted for personal use, as distinguished from those commonly used by dentists.

Various forms of electrically driven rotary toothbrushes have been developed heretofore, but have found very little favor with the public in general. One of the disadvantages of the early type of rotary toothbrush was the absence oi any shield partially surrounding the brush element, thus causing some of the toothpaste on the brush to be thrown off and splattered about during the rotation of the brush and permitting the brush to contact the soft inner portions of the mouth causing irritation thereof.

A later development introduced a shield which extended lengthwise of and partially surrounded the rotating brush element to prevent such splattering and mouth irritation. However, actual usage of this type of brush proved unsatisfactory because of the tendency of the lip of the user to be drawn inwardly against the bristles or" the brush and between the bristles and the edge of the shield when the brush was placed against the teeth.

I have been able to overcome the disadvantages of these earlier types of rotary toothbrushes in my present invention, the principal object of which is to provide an electrically driven rotary toothbrush having novel guard means to prevent the lip of the user from being pulled or drawn inwardly against the bristles of the brush element during rotation thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rotary toothbrush having a plurality of spaced guards along the length of the brush element and extending between the bristles thereon whereby the lip of the user is prevented from being pulled or drawn inwardly against the brush during ro tation thereof.

A further object is to provide a rotary toothbrush having a shield extending lengthwise of andr partially surrounding the brush element, wherein a plurality of thin guard members are spaced along the length of the shield andextend inwardly between bristles of the Ybrush element from the upper edge o the shield to prevent the lip of a user from being drawn inwardly between the shield and brush element during rotation Still another object is to provide a rotary toothbrush having a shield extending longitudinally of and partially surrounding the brush element, wherein various types or forms oi guard members such as teeth, partitions, prongs or the like may be spaced along the length of the shield and extend inwardly between the bristles of the brush element from either or both of the edges of the shield, whereby the lip of the user will be prevented from being drawn inwardly between the shield and brush element while it is rotating and in use. v

Other objects and advantages oi the invention will become apparent upon a reading of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through the handle and brush element of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section taken substantially along the plane of line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. V3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially along the plane of line 3--3 oi' Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially along the plane of line t-e of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially along the plane of line of Fig. '1;

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section taken substantially along the plane of line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a perspective View of the handle and guard means with the brush element removed therefrom;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modiiied form of shield and guard means;

Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse section through the shield of Fig. 8 showing one of the guard ele ments in elevation; and

Fig. 10 is a vertical transverse section through the shield showing a still further modiiied form of guard means.

Briefly described, the invention herein consists primarily in the provision of guard means against which the lip of the user of the rotary toothbrush will ordinarily bear during the use thereof to guide or direct the lip to the outer side of the shield and thus prevent the lip from being drawn inwardly between the brush element and the shield. When the rotary brush is in use and placed against the teeth, the brush element is usually designed to rotate in a manner to brush the teeth away from the gums, which is considered by dentists as the proper way to brush teeth. In actual practice where no lip guards are present, it has been found that brushes of this character disclosed in the prior art have a tendency to pull the lip inwardly against the bristles of the brush, and if a shield is present, the tendency is to pullthe lip between the brush and the edge of the shield; Serious injury to the lip may not necessarily result, but such an experience is decidedly unsatisfactory and unpleasant, discourages further use of the device by causing rawness and bleeding of the lip and has been considered the principal reason for the lack of commercial success of earlier rotary toothbrushes. It will be obvious that numerous specific forms of guard means may be designed to accomplish the main purpose of this invention and several of these forms have been disclosed herein.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the main body or handle portion I may assume any desired shape and size, but preferably it should be of a size convenient to beheld in the hand and should be formed of a plastic or other similar non-conducting material. Broadly speaking, the handle portion may embody its own electric motor, or it may be driven from an external source. The present form of the invention as disclosed herein contemplates the use of a ,rotatable shaft within the handle which may be easily connected to a ilexible'shaft for purposes f driving the brush. In the specific form shown, the-handle portion I is provided with a longitudinal opening 2 adapted to receive a rotatable shaft 3. One end of the opening is provided with a bearing 4 and the opposite end has a similar bearing 5 to thereby rotatably support the shaft 3; at eachend thereof. The rear or outer end of the shaft 3 may be provided with a transverse rib 6 adapted to be received in a suitable opening or socket in a exible shaft (not shown) for purposes of driving the brush. The rear of the handle may also be provided with radially extending ribs l' to securely hold the end of` the flexible shaft in place.

The rear endl of theY opening 2 is enlarged slightly as indicated by the numeral 8, and the shaft 3 is provided with an annular groove 9 adapted to receive a retaining ring I0. This ring is received partially in the groove 9 and partially in the enlarged portion 3- of the opening 2 whereby a longitudinal sliding movement of the shaft 3 may take place when it is not connected for use in order that. the brush element may be removed therefrom, as will be presently observed.

A shieldor other suitable supporting means I I is provided at the forward end of the handle and may be integral therewith or otherwise suitably secured. thereto. The shield` Irl extends longitudinally of the brush element and partially surrounds it as shown. The forward end of the shield II has an upwardly extending end I2 having an opening at, the inner side thereof to receive a bearing member I3.

The brush spindle or shaft Ill has radially extending bristles IE thereon and is adapted to haveone end thereof received within the bearing I3, while its other end is provided with a transverse rib I6 adapted to be received within a transverse slot I l in the outer end of the shaft 3. When the elements above described are in place as indicated in Fig. 2 and the rear end of the shaft 3 is connected to a flexible shaft, no longitudinal movement of the shaft 3 will be permitted, and rotary movement thereof will; carry with it the brush spindle I4 and the bristles I5 extending radially therefrom. The brush element may be easily removed for cleaning or replacement by merely sliding the shaft 3 rearwardly, thus disconnecting its forward end from the brush shaft I 4.

One form of guard means which may be used to guide the lip outwardly and thus prevent the lli-p of. thevuser frornbeing drawnl inwardly bevf Il tween the shield and the brush element during rotation thereof is disclosed in Figs. 1 to 7. In this form of the invention, a plurality of spaced apart members I8, which may be termed teeth" for convenience, are located along the length of the shield II and extend inwardly between the bristles I5 of the brush element. The specific form which these teeth may preferably take may be clearly seen in Figs. 4 and 7 where it will be noted that the inner or lower edgeof each tooth I8 is curved upwardly and inwardly as at I9 and blends with the upper edge 2D which is also curved upwardly and inwardly. These teeth may be located along either or both edges of the shield II. Ifthe brush is so designed as to have areversing mechanism therein, thus enabling the brush to rotate in either direction, it will then be desirable to have'the teeth located on each side of; the brush. If, however, the brush is to be driven in one direction only, then teeth are necessary on one side only of the shield. For example, since the brush should always, rotate in a. manner to brush theteeth away from.. the gums, if the brush element rotates in a clockwisedirection as viewed in Fig` 4, then the teeth on the right hand side thereof will be utilized to keep the lip of the user from being drawn between the shield and the brush element. When the brush rotates in the opposite direction, then the teeth on the opposite side of the shield comeA into use for the same purpose.

It will be clear that the teeth disclosed herein may assume a number of different shapesand sizes other than the ones specifically shown herein. l Referring now more particularly to Figs.,8 and 9, I have disclosed a modified formof guard element in the shape of partitions. In.v this case the shield 2 I may be of ay slightly different configuration and may not extend upwardly at each. side thereof as great a distance as the shield shown. in Fig. 4, although this is,` more or less immaterial. This form of shield, however, is also provided with an upwardly extending end 22v in. order to support the brush element shaft in a way similar to that described above. The shield inthis case is provided with a plurality of partitions 23 which are spaced apart longitudinally of the shield ZIr and extend upwardly between the'bristles of the brush element. The partitions shown herein may be formed of solidmaterial and may be made integral with or secured to the'bottom of the shield 2 I. In the specific form of partition shown herein the outer edges thereof extend upwardly as at 24` and are curved inwardly and downwardly as at 25 and terminate below the shaft I4 of the brush element. In the use of partitions this is necessary in order to permit removal of the brush element.

Here again the outer curved edges of each partition acts as a guard and will prevent the lip of the user from being drawn in between the shield and the brush element.

Fig. 10 discloses a still further modified form of guard means and in this case they may take the form of spikes or prongs 2.5. These prongs will preferably be integral with the shield 21 and will be spacedY apart throughout the length thereof and will be curved inwardly as at 28, exf tending between the bristles of the brush element and in this way perform the same functions attributed to the other forms described' above.

From the foregoing description it will be evi.-

ldent that I have provided a novelv improvement in theart` of rotary toothbrushes wherein suitable guard means are provided to prevent the lip of the user from being drawn inwardly against the brush or between the shield and the brush element when such a shield is used. It will be clear that ii it is desired to omit the shield, then other means of securing the guard members in place may be used. It will also be clear that changes may .be made in the form, construction and arrangement of parts from any of those disclosed here-in without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention or sacricing any of the attendent advantages thereof, provided, however, that such changes or modications fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention what I claims as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A rotary toothbrush of the class described, comprising a handle portion having a rotatable spindle extending therethrough, a brush element connected to one end of said spindle and rotatable therewith, a shield partially surrounding said :brush element, and a plurality of spaced guard members extending inwardly toward the spindle axis from a side of said shield between the bristles on said bnush element and terminating short of the other side of said shield, to thereby prevent the lip of the user from being drawn inwardly between the shield and the brush element during rotation thereof.

2. A rotary toothbrush of the class described, comprising a handle portion having a rotatable spindle extending therethrough, a brush element connected to one end of said spindle and rotatable therewith, a shield extending lengthwise of and partially surrounding said brush element, and a plurality of teeth in the form of thin radial fins having the upper edges thereof extending generally radially inwardly from the sides of said shield and extending between the .bristles on said brush element, to prevent the 9 lip of the user from being drawn inwardly between the shield and the brush element during rotation thereof.

8. A rotary toothbrush of the class described, comprising a handle portion having a rotation spindle extending therethrough, a brush element connected to one end of said spindle and rotatable therewith, a shield extending lengthwise of and partially surrounding said brush element, and a plurality of teeth in the form of thin, radial 'fins having the upper edges thereof curved upwardly and inwardly from a side 0f said shieid and extending between the bristles of said brush element, thereby to prevent the lip of the user from being drawn inwardly between the shield and the brush element during rota-Y tion thereof.

DONALD P. GROVER.

REFERENCES (312532311) The following references are ei record in the file oi this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'IENTS Number Name Date 474,325 Johnsson May 3, 1892 761,952 Fredericks June 7, 1904 894,011 Kampie July 21, 1908 1,243,579 Bates Oct. 16, 1917 1,583,192 Shorrock May 4, 1926 1,645,759 Kenyon Oct. 18, 1927 1,822,631 Roig Sept. 8, 1931 2,801,982 Smith May 21, 1935 2,209,647 Elkins et al. July 30, 1940 2,832,234 Kircher Oct. 19, 1943 2,879,049 Tompkins June 26, 1945 2,400,723 Vrana May 21, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 676,771 France Nov. 29, 1929

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