GB2249476A

GB2249476A - Structure of power-operated toothbrush

Info

Publication number: GB2249476A
Application number: GB9024081A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chin-Fu Chung
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-11-06
Filing date: 1990-11-06
Publication date: 1992-05-13
Also published as: FR2669212B3; FR2669212A3; GB9024081D0

Abstract

A power-operated toothbrush comprised of a bristle holder 2 releasably connected with a handle 1 at one end. The bristle holder 2 comprises an inner space having fastened therein at two opposite sides a plurality of pairs of rotary members, eg bevel gears 151 driven by a screw rod 150 to carry a bundle of bristles 154 each to rotate inwards or backwards. The screw rod 150 is carried to rotate by a driving device which is fastened inside the handle and controlled by a control switch 16 mounted on the handle 1. <IMAGE>

Description

STRUCTURE OF POWER-OPERATED TOOTHBRUSH This invention relates to a power-operated toothbrush for cleaning the teeth.

According to conventional manufacturing method, a toothbrush is generally comprised of a body made through injection molding process with a plurality of bundles of bristles fastened therein at its front end. The body of a toothbrush comprises a hand-hold portion for the holding of the hand to move the bundles of bristles up and down or back and forth against the teeth for cleaning. In using a conventional hand-operated toothbrush to clean the teeth, the enamei of the teeth may be damaged easily. Further, the dirts in the gap between teeth can not be completely removed by conventional toothbrush.

The present invention has been zccomplished to eliminate the aforesaid problems. It is one object of the present invention to provide a power-operated toothbrush which is practical in use and can completely remove dirts from the gap between teeth. It is another object of the present invention to provide a power-operated toothbrush which is compact and inexpensive to manufacture. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a poweroperated toothbrush which is detachable for easy cleaning.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective dismantled view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a partly sectional view of the bristle holder; Fig. 3 illustrates the connection of the octagonal shaft to the hollow gear shaft of the driven gear; Fig. 4 is an elevational sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 5 is a top sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the various drawings attached herewith, a detailed description of the structural features of " Structure of Power-Operated Toothbrush " of the present invention is as follows: Referring to Figs. 1 through 3, there is provided a power-operated toothbrush embodying the present invention and generally comprised of a handle 1 and a bristle holder 2.

The handle 1 is a hollow cylinder having fastened therein a motor 10 and a dry battery 11. An outer thread 122 is made on the handle 1 at its rear end. There is provided a cap 12 releasably attached to the handle 1 at the back, which has an inner thread 121 for connection with the outer thread 122 of the handle 1. A conductor 120 is fastened inside the cap 12 for electrically connecting the dray battery 11 to the motor 10. There is a driving gear 13 mounted on the motor shaft of the motor 10 and engaged with a driven gear 14 which is disposed at a lower position. The driven gear 14 comprises a hollow gear shaft having an octagonal boring bore 140 for mounting an octagonal shaft 15 (see Fig. 3) which is coupled with a screw rod 150 at the front. There is a control switch 16 mounted on the handle 1 at the front for controlling the operation of the motor 10.When the control switch 16 is switched on, the motor 10 drive the octagonal shaft 15 to carry the screw rod 150 to rotate via the driving gear 13 and the driven gear 14. The bristle holder 2 defines therein a trough 20 with a plurality of pairs of bevel gears 151 fastened at two opposite sides. Between each two bevel gears 151 at each side, there is another bevel gear 152 engaged therewith. Therefore, during the rotation of the motor 10, all the bevel gears 151 and 152 are simultaneously carried to rotate. The bevel gears 151 and 152 have each a flat top surface with a round hole 153 made thereon for fastening a bundle of bristles 154 each.There is provided a covering board 28 covering over the trough 20 of the bristle holder 2, which has holes 29 in numbers and locations corresponding to the round holes 153 of the bevel gears 151 and 152 so that the bundles of bristles 154 which are respectively fastened on the round holes 153 can be inserted therethrough. There is a drain hole 181 made on the bristle holder 2 at the front and arranged in communication with the water inlet 18 which is made on the handle 1 at the back. When water is filled in the water inlet 18 it immediately flows toward the drain hole 181 to carry inside dirts out of the device. There is also provided a color code on the bristle holder 2 for identification.

The operation of the present invention is quite simple and outlined hereinafter. Referring to Fig. 5, after dry battery 11 is inserted in the handle 1 and the cap 12 is fixedly attached to the handle 1, the control switch 16 is switched on to start the motor 10. During rotation of the motor 10, the driving gear 13 continuously drives the driven gear 14 to carry the screw rod 150 to rotate via the octagonal shaft 15. Through the operation of the bevel gears 151 and 152, the bundles of bristles 154 are respectively carried to rotate inwards or outwards for cleaning the teeth.

Claims

CLAIM:

1. A Pouer-oPerated toothbrush comprised of a bristle holder releasably connected with a handle at one end, characterized in that said bristle holder comprises an inner space having fastened therein a plurality of pairs of rotary members at to opposite sides for carrying a bundle of bristles each to rotate, said pairs of rotary members being carried to rotate by a screw rod driven by a driving device fastened in said handle and controlled by a control switch on said handle.

2. A power operated toothbrush substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illu strated in, the accompanying drawings.