Patent ID: 6581234
Filing Date: 2003-06-24
Classification: A61C

Abstract:
A replaceable dental, brush unit useful in an electric toothbrush, which replaceable dental brush unit comprises:a) a main body suitable for housing, from top to bottom, a gear unit connected to a bristle unit, a three-way exchange head, a moving rod and a base unit, said main body having a top opening transverse to the longitudinal axis of said main body for receiving said bristle unit and a bottom opening along the longitudinal axis of said main body for receiving said base unit, the wall opposing said top opening having a first protruding for receiving said gear unit; b) said bristle unit having a smaller plate and a larger plate, said smaller plate having a recess therein for connecting said bristle unit to said gear unit via a second protruding of said gear unit, said larger plate having attached bristles suitable for dental cleaning; c) said gear unit having a base plate, gear grooves attached to said base plate, a recess in said base plate at the side opposite to said gear grooves for securing said gear unit into said first protruding of main body, and a second protruding on said base plate at the side having attached gear grooves, said second protruding surrounded by and projecting beyond said gear grooves for securing said gear unit into said bristle unit; d) said three-way exchange head having a top portion and a bottom portion, said top portion having gear grooves that movably connected to said grooves of said gear unit, wherein the thickness of grooves of said three-way exchange head is less than or equal to the thickness of grooves of said gear unit, and said bottom portion having a recess for receiving and securing a third protruding of said moving rod; e) said moving rod having said top third protruding that fits into said bottom recess of said three-way exchange head, a middle opening for receiving and securing said moving rod to a corresponding linking element of an electric toothbrush, and a bottom portion having a recess for receiving a shaft connected to a motor unit of said electric toothbrush; and f) said base unit to secure said three-way exchange head and moving rod within said main body by providing an upward pressure, said base unit having a hollow space along the longitudinal axis of said main body allowing said shaft to pass by and connect to said moving rod, wherein, in operation, the linkages among said three-way exchange head, moving rod, base unit and shaft ensure that these units move as a single unit, said motor unit actuates said single unit, via said shift, to have an oscillating movement in a substantially singular plane that is parallel to said longitudinal axis of said main body, and said planar oscillating movement actuating said gear unit, via said gear connections between said three-way exchange head and said gear unit, to have a rotary movement, and said rotary movement, in turn, actuating said bristle unit to have a rotary movement.