Electrical toothbrush

Abstract

An electric toothbrush with a grip section, a brush head which is mounted for movement relative to the grip section and a drive mechanism for driving the brush head in an oscillatory and/or orbital motion. The brush head includes a cleaning fork having legs lined with a piece of plush or velvet on their insides.

1 . An electric toothbrush comprising:
 a grip sections;   a brush head, mounted on the grip section for movement relative thereto and   a drive mechanism operable to drive the brush head in one or more of an oscillatory and an orbital motion;   wherein the brush head comprises a cleaning element with a piece of plush or velvet on an outer surface thereof and exposed to contact tooth surfaces.   
   
   
       2 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1 , wherein the piece of velvet or plush comprises a piece of fabric and a pile extending from the fabric. 
   
   
       3 . The toothbrush according to  claim 2 , wherein the pile has a depth of between 2 and 8 mm. 
   
   
       4 . The toothbrush according to  claim 2 , wherein the piece of plush or velvet has pile yarn of a thickness between 0.05 and 0.2 mm. 
   
   
       5 . The toothbrush according to  claim 31 , wherein the plush or velvet has a pile that is deeper at free ends of the legs than at a root section of the legs. 
   
   
       6 . The toothbrush according to  claim 31 , further comprising a cross bar, connecting the legs of the cleaning fork and provided with a piece of plush or velvet on a surface thereof. 
   
   
       7 . The toothbrush according to  claim 31 , wherein the legs of the cleaning fork are sprung. 
   
   
       8 . The toothbrush according to  claim 31 , wherein the legs of the cleaning fork enclose an angle of between 15 and 45 between each other. 
   
   
       9 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1  further comprising a brush head carrier, on which the brush head is mounted for rotation about a transverse axis which extends substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the toothbrush. 
   
   
       10 . The toothbrush according to  claim 31 , wherein the cleaning fork has an axis of symmetry extending substantially in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the toothbrush. 
   
   
       11 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism has a drive axis which is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the toothbrush and about which the brush head is adapted to be driven. 
   
   
       12 . The toothbrush according to  claim 11  wherein the drive mechanism comprises a motor and a brush head carrier upon which the brush head is seated and wherein the drive mechanism includes a driving rocker mounted at a pivot point between the brush head and the motor. 
   
   
       13 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism includes an adjusting device operable to adjust a stroke of the motion of the brush head. 
   
   
       14 . The toothbrush according to  claim 13 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises a brush head carrier constructed as a driving rocker pivotable at a pivot point of the brush head carrier that is displaceable in a longitudinal direction of the toothbrush. 
   
   
       15 . The toothbrush according to  claim 12 , wherein the brush head carrier is non-rotationally mounted about its longitudinal axis, and is fastened to an elastic bearing element at the pivot point. 
   
   
       16 . The toothbrush according to  claim 12  wherein the driving rocker is adapted to be driven in a spatially orbital motion. 
   
   
       17 . The toothbrush according to  claim 16  further comprising an elastic bearing element, wherein the driving rocker is non-rotationally mounted about its longitudinal axis and is fastened to the elastic bearing element at the pivot point. 
   
   
       18 . The toothbrush according to  claim 12 , wherein the driving rocker is coupled to the brush head carrier with substantially zero play in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush. 
   
   
       19 . The toothbrush according to  claim 12  wherein the driving rocker and is coupled to the brush head carrier in a manner that provides for play of the driving rocker relative to brush head carrier in at least one direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush. 
   
   
       20 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1  wherein the drive mechanism includes a drive shaft having an eccentrically rotating drive member operable to drive the head. 
   
   
       21 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism has a drive axis which is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the toothbrush and about which the brush head is adapted to be driven in an oscillatory rotational motion. 
   
   
       22 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism has a drive axis which is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the toothbrush and along which the brush head is adapted to be driven in a translatory oscillating motion. 
   
   
       23 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism has a drive axis which extend in a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the toothbrush and about which the brush head is adapted to be driven in an oscillatory rotational motion. 
   
   
       24 . The toothbrush according to  claim 23 , wherein the drive axis extends parallel to a plane of symmetry of the cleaning element and is spaced from the brush head on a grip section side of the brush head. 
   
   
       25 . The toothbrush according to  claim 23 , wherein the drive axis extends perpendicular to a plane of symmetry of the cleaning element and is spaced from the brush head on a grip section side of the brush head. 
   
   
       26 . The toothbrush according to  claim 31 , wherein the cleaning fork includes legs extending in pairs towards opposing directions. 
   
   
       27 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1 , wherein the piece of velvet or plush is fastened to the cleaning element by adhesive bonding or by hot-sealing. 
   
   
       28 . The toothbrush according to  claim 27 , wherein the piece of velvet or plush is adhesively bonded to the cleaning element by a silicone adhesive. 
   
   
       29 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1 , wherein the brush head is detachable from the grip section. 
   
   
       30 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1  further comprising a brush tube, wherein the brush head is mounted on the brush tube which is releasably secured to the grip section of the toothbrush. 
   
   
       31 . The toothbrush according to  claim 1 , wherein the cleaning element comprises a cleaning fork having legs with inside surfaces on which the piece of plush or velvet is disposed. 
   
   
       32 . The toothbrush according to  claim 31 , wherein the plush or velvet is thinner at free end ends of the legs of the cleaning fork than at a root section of the legs. 
   
   
       33 . The toothbrush according to  claim 31 , wherein the legs of the cleaning fork have bell-shaped expanded portions at their free ends. 
   
   
       34 . The toothbrush according to  claim 9 , wherein the brush head is rotatable without being driven by forces applied to the cleaning element, without being driven by the drive mechanism. 
   
   
       35 . The toothbrush according to  claim 12 , wherein the drive mechanism includes a partition between the brush head carrier and the drive rocker. 
   
   
       36 . The toothbrush according to  claim 3 , wherein the pile has a depth of between 3 and 6 mm. 
   
   
       37 . The toothbrush according to  claim 2 , wherein the fabric and pile both comprise polyamide.