Patent Publication Number: US-2011056037-A1

Title: U Shape Toothbrush

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Thoroughly cleaning teeth during each tooth brushing is important for maintaining the dental health. However, for the ordinary toothbrush it is hard to reach some areas on the back of teeth. It is always possible to leave some areas on the back of teeth un-brushed. Those un-brushed areas may keep germs and cause dental disease. The U shape toothbrush of this invention has brushes extending inward inside its U shape toothbrush head from 3 directions facing the top, front and back of teeth. When it is used during tooth brushing, it cleans the top, front and back of teeth at same time in every brushing stroke. The U shape toothbrush can minimize the un-brushed areas especially on the back of teeth to reduce the sources for dental disease and help to maintain the dental health. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The first objective of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that can minimize the hard to reach areas especially on the back of the teeth for the ordinary toothbrush to make the tooth brushing more effective. 
     The second objective of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that can clean the top, front and back of teeth at same time in every brushing stroke to make the tooth brushing more efficient. 
     The third objective of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that can follow the tooth profile and automatically adjust itself to fit teeth of different sizes. 
     The fourth objective of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that uses a U shape toothbrush head moving along teeth like a train moving along its rail track to make the tooth brushing fun and enjoyable. 
     The fifth objective of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that uses a toothbrush handle that can rotate with respect to the toothbrush head to allow the U shape toothbrush head moving all the way along teeth from one end to the other end continuously and smoothly to make the tooth brushing more convenient. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1-5  show the U Shape Toothbrush of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1  is the perspective view of the U Shape Toothbrush. 
         FIG. 2  is the front view of the U Shape Toothbrush. 
         FIG. 3  is the bottom view of the U Shape Toothbrush. 
         FIG. 4  is the side view of the U Shape Toothbrush. 
         FIG. 5  is the cross section view of the U Shape Toothbrush. 
         FIGS. 6-11  show the U Shape Toothbrush of the present invention with toothbrush handle that can rotate with respect to the toothbrush head. 
         FIG. 6  is the perspective view of the U Shape Toothbrush with Rotational Toothbrush Handle. 
         FIG. 7  is the front view of the U Shape Toothbrush with Rotational Toothbrush Handle. 
         FIG. 8  is the bottom view of the U Shape Toothbrush with Rotational Toothbrush Handle. 
         FIG. 9  is the top view of the U Shape Toothbrush with Rotational Toothbrush Handle. 
         FIG. 10  is the side view of the U Shape Toothbrush with Rotational Toothbrush Handle. 
         FIG. 11  is the cross section view of the U Shape Toothbrush with Rotational Toothbrush Handle. 
         FIGS. 12-18  show the toothbrush handle mounting shaft of the present invention and the method of the toothbrush handle being assembled onto the U shape toothbrush head through the toothbrush handle mounting shaft. 
         FIG. 12  is the perspective view of the Toothbrush Mounting Shaft and the U Shape Toothbrush Head. The bottom round disk of the Toothbrush Mounting Shaft is glued onto the U Shape Toothbrush Head. 
         FIG. 13  is the elevation view of the Toothbrush Mounting Shaft. 
         FIG. 14  is the side view of the Toothbrush Mounting Shaft. 
         FIG. 15  is the top view of the Toothbrush Mounting Shaft. 
         FIG. 16  shows that the V cut on the toothbrush handle mounting shaft  6  can be pushed together to pass through the installation hole on the rotational toothbrush handle. 
         FIG. 17  shows the partial side view of the U Shape Toothbrush with Rotational Toothbrush Handle. 
         FIG. 18  shows the front view of the U Shape Toothbrush with Rotational Toothbrush Handle after the Rotational Toothbrush Handle is assembled onto the U Shape Toothbrush Head. 
         FIGS. 19A ,  19 B and  19 C show the illustration of the U shape toothbrush head following the tooth profile and deforming to fit teeth of different sizes through using elastic material and hump designs of the present invention. 
         FIG. 19A  illustrates that a large tooth touches the humps inside the U shape toothbrush head and forces the toothbrush head to open wider to fit the large tooth.  FIG. 19B  illustrates that a small tooth does not touch the humps and the elasticity from the elastic materials on the U shape toothbrush head contracts the toothbrush head.  FIG. 19C  illustrates that the U shape toothbrush head moving along the teeth following the tooth profile. 
         FIGS. 20A ,  20 B and  20 C show different potential designs for the U shape toothbrush head.  FIG. 20A  shows the U shape toothbrush head using mixing of elastic and non-elastic materials.  FIG. 20B  shows the U shape toothbrush head using only elastic materials.  FIG. 20C  shows the U shape toothbrush head using mixing of elastic and non-elastic materials and the non-elastic materials are attached onto an elastic material base.  FIGS. 20A ,  20 B and  20 C also show that brushes extend out from the U shape toothbrush head toward the gums of both front and back of teeth. During tooth brushing, these brushes can massage the gums of the teeth. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE CHARACTERS IN THE DRAWINGS 
     
         
           1  refers to Toothbrush handle or rotational toothbrush handle 
           2  refers to U shape toothbrush head 
           3  refers to Elastic materials 
           4  refers to Humps inside the U shape toothbrush head 
           5  refers to Brushes facing top, front and back of the teeth 
           6  refers to Toothbrush handle mounting shaft used for connecting rotational toothbrush handle with the U shape toothbrush head 
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIGS. 1-20  are used to describe the invention. Those Figures are simple, straightforward and self-explanatory. References to those FIGs are listed here as the description of the invention.
     1. The U Shape Toothbrush comprises a U shape toothbrush head and a toothbrush handle as shown in  FIGS. 1-11 .   2. The toothbrush handle can directly extend from the U shape toothbrush head as shown in  FIG. 1 .   3. The toothbrush handle can also be assembled onto the U shape toothbrush head through a toothbrush handle mounting shaft which allows the toothbrush handle to rotate with respect to the U shape toothbrush head as shown in  FIG. 6 . The toothbrush handle mounting shaft and the method of the toothbrush handle being assembled onto the U shape toothbrush head through the toothbrush handle mounting shaft are shown in  FIGS. 12-18 .   4. The U shape toothbrush head comprises 2 elastic material parts and 3 hard plastic parts. The 2 elastic material parts connect the 3 hard plastic parts together to form a U shape toothbrush head with elasticity. The 3 hard plastic parts have brushes extending inward from their 3 inner surfaces of the U shape toothbrush head facing the top, front and back of teeth. The structure of the U shape toothbrush head is shown in  FIGS. 1-11 .   5. The U shape toothbrush head has 4 humps on the inner surfaces of 2 hard plastic parts for controlling the deformation of the U shape toothbrush head. The locations of the 4 humps are shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8  and  11 . The illustration of the U shape toothbrush head following the tooth profile and deforming to fit teeth of different sizes through using elastic material and hump design are shown in  FIGS. 19A   19 B and  19 C.   6. The U shape toothbrush head can be designed in different ways.  FIGS. 20A ,  20 B and  20 C illustrated 3 potential designs.