The Procter Gamble Company

The Gillette Company

Klein Tools, Inc.

Robert D Banning

Kevin A Ekdahl

Russell A Goldmann, Ii

Thomas C Vasis

Carl S Howarth

Steve Gianaris

A power toothbrush with a drive train that is easy to manufacture, reliable in service and that enables multiple heads or other complex design or functional elements is provided. In an illustrative embodiment, the power toothbrush includes a sealed case that encloses a motor with a pinion gear joined to an eccentric link. This eccentric link can be a circular rack having an eccentric pin that rides in a slot on a drive plate. The drive plate is joined to a push rod, typically constructed of metal that passes up a hollow toothbrush shaft through an elastomeric seal to a head assembly. The head assembly includes one or more moving disks that are each connected to generally circular brush heads, which project outwardly from the head assembly. One disk receives a bent end of the drive shaft in a hole located eccentrically to the axis of rotation. When the circular rack rotates in a single direction, it drives the shaft in a reciprocating motion that, thereby, rotates the disk in a corresponding reciprocating circular motion about its axis. Additional disks can be linked by a short connecting shaft or link to the first disk via eccentric holes&#x2014;other linkages, such as mating gears between disks can be used to simultaneously drive further disks, thereby providing a multiple moving-head power toothbrush.

Power toothbrush

A decorative piece in the form of a topper designed to seat at the base of the shaft and extending from the handle body of a powered toothbrush is provided. The topper is formed as a single molded piece on top of a base ring having a central hole that fits over the shaft and a lower skirt that mates with the handle. The base ring includes grooves or other indentations about the central hole that receive inflow from the topper when it is molded. According to one embodiment, to construct the topper, the base ring is held in place with respect to the topper mold and molten or otherwise-liquid plastic is injected into the mold so that it fills the mold cavity and thereby flows into the indentations in the base ring, thereby securing the topper to the base ring when the decorative feature hardens sufficiently. The base ring and topper can then be slid over the shaft into a final mounted position on the assembled brush.

Topper for power toothbrush and method for forming the same

Pair of handles

Growing community of inventors

St. Louis, MO, United States of America

Robert D Banning