MXPA06005114A - Electric toothbrushes having a moving viewing surface - Google Patents

Abstract

Anelectric toothbrush is provided. The electric toothbrush includes a handle having a motor disposed therein and a head having one or more moving bristle holders, wherein the one or more moving bristle holders are operatively connected to the motor. A neck disposed is between the handle and the head. The handle has a viewing window and a movable viewing surface disposed there beneath, wherein at least a portion of the viewing surface is visible through the window. The viewing surface is mechanically coupled to the motor so that rotational output of the motor causes movement of the viewing surface. The viewing surface may be directly or indirectly coupled to the motor.

Description

ELECTRICAL DENTAL BRUSHES THAT HAVE A SURFACE D? CAMPO DE LA VENCIÓ MOBILE VIEWER The present invention relates to the field of electric toothbrushes. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of electric toothbrushes having a moving visor surface. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Electric toothbrushes having one or more bristle holders are known in the art. However, there is a desire to provide electric toothbrushes that use the power of the motor to move other structures in addition to the bristle holders, such as a visor surface having one or more images. Mobile images can increase the attractiveness of the brush for the user, particularly children, which could stimulate the use of the electric toothbrush. BRIEF SUMMARY D? THE INVENTION An electric toothbrush is provided. The electric toothbrush comprises a handle having a motor disposed therein, and a head having one or more bristle holders, where one or more supports for moving bristles are operatively connected to the motor. A neck is arranged between the handle and the head. The handle has a visor window and a mobile visor surface disposed under the window, where at least a portion of the visor surface is visible through the window. The visor surface is mechanically coupled with the motor, so that the rotating output of the motor causes movement of the visor surface. The visor surface can be directly or indirectly coupled with the motorcycle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION D? THE DRAWINGS It is considered that the present invention will be better understood from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a planar top view of an electric toothbrush made in accordance with the present invention . Figure 2 is an elevated view of the toothbrush of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a partial side and partial cross-sectional view of the toothbrush of Figure 1, taken on line 3-3 of this Figure. Figure 4 is a planar top view of a visor surface suitable for the toothbrush of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a partial side elevational and transverse view of another embodiment of the toothbrush of Figure 1, taken on line 3 -3 of this Figure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION All published patents discussed herein are fully incorporated herein by reference. Detailed reference will now be made to various embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, where like numbers indicate the same elements in the various views. As will be appreciated, the present invention is directed to electric toothbrushes (including electric toothbrushes with replaceable heads) having a mobile visor surface in addition to one or more mobile bristle holders. The mobile visor surface may be indirectly or directly coupled with the motor of the toothbrush. "Direct mechanical coupling" refers to physically interconnected elements (ie, interconnected by bolts, adhesives, welds, shafts, fasteners, gears, etc.), and "indirect mechanical coupling" refers to interconnected elements that incorporate non-physical connections, like the magnetic ones. Referring to Figures 1 to 4, an electric toothbrush made in accordance with the present invention will be described. This electric toothbrush uses a shaft that oscillates linearly on the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush. Although the present invention will be described with respect to the particular arrangement of motor and shaft illustrated in Figure 1 for purposes of simplicity and clarity, it will be appreciated that they can be replaced by other shaft, gear or motor arrangements. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2003/0163881, 5,617,603; 5,850,603; 5,974,615; 6,032,313; 5,732,432; 5,070,567; 5,170,525; 5,416,942; 3,588,936; 5,867,856; and 4,397,055 illustrate axle, gear or motor arrangements that could be suitable. The electric toothbrush 20 comprises a toothbrush head 21, a body or handle 22, and an elongate neck 24 extending therebetween. The handle is hollow and includes a motor 26 (Figure 3) and batteries (not shown) to activate the motor. The motor provides a rotary output through the output shaft 23. The batteries can be replaced with a rechargeable power source. A shaft 34 is housed at least partially within the neck 24, and is operatively connected to one or more mobile bristle holders. A first mobile support for bristles 36 is disposed at a first end of the head 20, where the first end is at the front point of the head 20. Although the first support for bristles 36 is illustrated as being circular, other shapes may be used. Furthermore, and although the first bristle holder 36 is disposed at the first end of the head 20, it will be appreciated that it can be disposed away from the first end, and that other features, such as stationary bristles, can be arranged between the first bristle holder 36. and the first end of the head 20. The mobile support for bristles 36 and the shaft may be interconnected using structures known in the art, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,579. A second bristle holder 38 adjacent the first bristle holder 36 can be provided. The second bristle holder 38 can also be movable, or be static or fixed. The bristle supports can have any type of movement, including, without limitation, rotation, oscillation, reciprocation, vibration, rotation, orbital movement and combinations of these. As used herein, the term "rotate" refers to a unidirectional angular movement (ie, a constant movement in a clockwise direction), while the term "oscillate" refers to a vibratory angular movement (that is, repeated cycles of rotation clockwise, and in the opposite direction). Vibration is any periodic movement of repeated cycles. The vibratory movement can have one or more frequencies and amplitudes. In the present reference the essentially linear vibratory movement is referred to as tilting motion. The present invention can be used in combination with electric toothbrushes and electric toothbrush heads including shafts operatively connected with movable bristle holders and rotating, oscillating, orbiting or tilting (as well as combinations thereof) to impart movement to the supports for sows. A switch 38 is electrically connected to the batteries and the motor 26 to complete the electrical circuit between the batteries and the motor 26, thereby energizing the motor. In addition, the electric toothbrush of Figure 1 may be provided with a replaceable head, as is known in the art. In the U.S. patent No. 5,617,601 a suitable arrangement is disclosed which can be adapted to the present invention. The handle 22 includes a visor window 40. The visor window 40, which can be formed with a transparent plastic material, can be arranged in various locations on the handle 22, although it is desirable to locate the window above the switch 38 and in the same side of the handle as the switch 38, to be conveniently seen by the user. Although the viewer window 40 is shown as circular, other shapes may be provided. The handle 22 may include an enlarged portion 42 adjacent the neck 24. The visor window 40 may be disposed on or within the enlarged portion 42. The enlarged portion 42 may be spherical, cylindrical or any other curved or curvilinear shape suitable for host a wheel, plate or mobile disk, or other supporting structure 44 for a visor surface 46, as can be seen in Figure 3. The visor surface 46 has one or more images 48 disposed therein. At least a portion of the visor surface is disposed below the visor window 40 and is visible through the visor window 40. The visor window 40 may have a variety of sizes. The viewer window 40 is preferably sized to allow viewing one or more images printed on the support structure 44. The images 48 may be text, graphic designs, photographs, icons or combinations thereof. The viewer surface 46 of the support structure 44 may contain a plurality of images 48. In one embodiment, the viewer surface 46 has between 2 and 10 images. In another embodiment, the viewfinder surface 46 has between 2 and 6 images. The images are preferably related or have a common theme, such as a sport. For example, the images may have in common the theme of football, and include several images of soccer players. The number of images 48 is limited only by the size of the viewer surface and the size and placement of the viewer window 40. If desired, more than one viewer window 40 can be provided on the handle or augmented portion 42. The visor window 40 can be placed in other places than those shown in the Figures. In addition, the visor window 40 may have some color or dye. The visor window can also act as a lens for enlarging the images 48 on the visor surface 46, so that they are more easily visible to the user. Now referring to Figures 3 and 4, an electric toothbrush with a visor surface indirectly coupled to the motor 26 will now be described. The support structure 44 is rotatably mounted within the enlarged portion 42. The support structure can be provided 44 in a variety of ways, such as plate, disc, cylinder, etc. The visor surface 46 can be inclined, in order to better orient the images 48 to be seen by a user through the viewer window 40, as can be seen in Figure 3. The support structure 44 can be mounted on the the enlarged portion 42 by a bolt 50 embedded in the augmented portion 42 and a wall 51. The support structure 44 can be mounted in the enlarged portion 42 by other means known in the art. Further, and although the support structure 44 and the visor surface thereon are illustrated as being rotatably mounted, it is contemplated that other movements may be provided to the support structure 44 or visor surface 46. For example, the support structure 44 or viewfinder surface 40 may have an oscillatory, translational or tilting motion instead of a rotary motion. Moreover, more than one support structure or visor surface can be provided, which move in the same or different ways. For example, one viewer surface may move in one direction in a clockwise direction, while another viewer surface may move in the opposite direction. Also, one viewer surface may have translation movement as long as the other rotates, or two viewer surfaces may move in the same way (ie, both rotate in the clockwise direction). On the lower surface of the support structure 44 there is one or more driven magnets 54. In one embodiment, the support structure 44 has between two and four driven magnets 54. Opposite the driven magnets 54 are disposed one or more driving magnets 56. The wall 51 is disposed between the driven magnets 54 and the driving magnets 56. The wall 51 forms part of the upper compartment 57 of the handle 22 of the toothbrush, and insulates the visor surface 46 of the motor 26. Isolating the viewer surface 46 of the motor and the cavity 59 helps to maintain the cleanliness and consequently the visibility of the images 48. The driving magnets 56 are attached to a gear 58.

The driving magnets 56 are preferably aligned with the driven magnets 54, so that the driving magnets 56 and driven magnets 54 are magnetically coupled, so that the movement of the driving magnets 56 causes a corresponding movement of the driven magnets 54. In the embodiment that shown in Figure 3, the gear 58 is rotated about an axis 62 by the motor 26 via the gear 60. The gear 58 is also operatively connected with the shaft 34 to transmit movement to the mobile support for bristles 36. According to FIG. impeller magnets 56 rotate about the axis 62, the driven magnets 54 rotate in a direction corresponding to the axis 64 of the bolt 50. In this embodiment, the axes 62 and 64 are collinear, so that the gear 58 and the support structure 44 rotate essentially on the same axis. In this way, a revolution of the driving magnets 56 imparts a revolution in the same direction of the support structure 44 by the magnetic coupling of the impeller and driven magnets. Although the embodiment of Figure 3 shows the driven magnets 54 attached to the lower surface of the support structure 44, it will be appreciated that the driven magnets can be provided in a separate element which in turn is coupled with the supporting structure 44. For example, the driven magnets 54 may be arranged in a second gear (not shown), in turn coupled with the support structure 44, so that a gear reduction between the gear 58 and the support structure can be provided. 44, in which case a gear revolution 58 could result in more or less than one revolution of the support structure 44, depending on the number of teeth between the gears. In use, closing the switch 38 completes the electrical circuit between the motor 26 and the batteries. The motor rotates the gear 60, which in turn rotates the gear 58. The driving magnets 56 rotate with the gear 58, which in turn causes the driven magnets 54 to rotate the support structure 44 and the bearing surface. viewfinder 46. As the viewfinder surface 46 rotates, the images 48 rotate to enter or exit the viewfinder window 40. When the user opens the switch 38 and interrupts the electrical circuit between the motor 26 and the batteries, the motor 26 leaves of rotating, thereby stopping the rotation of the gears (ie 60, 62 and 58), the support structure 44 and the viewer surface 46. The image 48 that is disposed under the viewer window 40 when stopped the movement is totally or partially visible through the viewer window 40, since the image no longer moves. Accordingly, the use of the toothbrush will generate a random pattern of images that will be visible through the viewfinder window 40 when the viewer surface 46 stops in a variety of positions below the viewer window 40. Although some of the embodiments discussed herein were described with respect to a visor surface 46 magnetically coupled with a gear 58, it is contemplated that the visor surface and motor 26 may be directly coupled. For example, the visor surface or the support structure may be fixed to the gear 58, or the visor surface may be integrally formed as part of the gear 58, thereby eliminating the need for a separate support structure, as shown by way of example in Figure 5. Similarly, the visor surface may be formed in a support structure directly attached to the gear 58, by welding, adhesives or fasteners known in the art. In these latter embodiments, the wall 51 may be partially or completely removed, and the visor surface may be coated with a protective coating (i.e., a polymeric film or part) to prevent deterioration of the images 48. In addition, and although shows the visor surface 46 positioned within an enlarged portion of the handle, it is contemplated that the shape, size and orientation of the visor surface may be modified so that the handle does not need to have an enlarged portion as shown in the Figures.

The present invention was described with reference to preferred embodiments. Obviously, when reading and understanding the present specification, others will think of modifications and alterations, some of which were described here. The intention is that all these modifications and alterations are included, insofar as they fall within the scope of the appended claims or their equivalents.

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS 1. An electric toothbrush, comprising: a handle with an engine disposed therein; a head with one or more mobile bristle holders, wherein the one or more mobile bristle holders are operatively connected to the motor; a neck arranged between the handle and the head; the handle has a visor window and a mobile visor surface disposed thereunder, where at least a portion of the visor surface is visible through the window; where the visor surface is mechanically coupled with the motor so that the rotating output of the motor makes the visor surface move. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the viewer surface has one or more images disposed therein. 3. The electric toothbrush according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the visor surface is joined with a first gear operatively coupled with the motor. 4. The electric toothbrush according to claim 3, wherein the first gear is joined to a second gear connected to the motor. The electric toothbrush according to claim 4, wherein the first gear is operatively connected to an axis, and wherein the shaft is operatively coupled with the one or more mobile bristle holders. 6. The electric toothbrush according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the visor surface and the motor are magnetically coupled. The electric toothbrush according to claim 6, wherein the visor surface is connected to a rotating disc. The electric toothbrush according to claim 7, wherein the disc has one or more driven magnets and one or more driving magnets disposed in a first gear operatively coupled with the motor, wherein the one or more driving magnets are magnetically coupled with the one or more magnets driven. The electric toothbrush according to claim 8, wherein the first gear is operatively connected to an axis, and wherein the shaft is operatively coupled with one or more mobile stands for bristles. 10. The electric toothbrush according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a switch electrically coupled with the motor and a power source, where closing the switch supplies power to the motor, causing the visor surface to rotate.