Braun Gmbh

The Gillette Company

Braun Aktiengesellschaft

Bruan Gmbh

Thomas Willi Fritsch

Norbert Schaefer

Ulrich Stoerkel

Joern Utsch

Georges Driesen

Andreas Kramp

Armin Schwarz-Hartmann

Karl Herzog

Michael Stolper

Irina Neusser

Rory McGarry

Joseph Allan DePuydt

Bernhard Boland

Ulrich Störkel

Hansj&ouml;rg Reick

Wolfgang Stegmann

Michael Harms

Niclas Altmann

Karen Lynn Claire-Zimmet

Martin Haas

Andreas Larscheid

Philipp Jung

Marc Kunz

Robert Schäfer

Michael Drössler

Jörn Utsch

Benedikt Heil

Till Winkler

Peter Hilfinger

Michael F Roberts

Heidrun Annika Schmelcher

Gerhard Kressner

Michael Schmid

Thomas Aurele Christman

William Ralph Brown, Jr

Ingo Vetter

Bernd Trebitz

Frank Roland Gliemroth

Andreas Reuschenbach

Martin Simeth

Ivo Kunath

Uwe Tretrop

Joerg Kotitschke

Heiko Bornheimer

Stefan Scheurich

Joachim Klimeck

Eva Susanne Dominique Thurnay

Christof Miltenberger

Hermann Frey

Raimund Nirwing

Jörg Kotitschke

Michael Duemig

Michael Stopler

Armin Schwarz-Hartman

Ulrich Sotrkel

Eva Susanne Thurnay

Michael Dümig

Manfred Ringelmann

Michael Roberts

Joem Utsch

Jorn Utsch

Robert SCHÄFER

William Brown

Lars Lieberwirth

An electric toothbrush having bristle driven pulsation includes a brush head having a bristle holder and bristle tufts attached to the bristle holder. The bristle tufts and corresponding bristles are disposed at a perpendicular and/or a non-perpendicular angle with respect to a mounting surface of the brush head. The electric toothbrush also includes an electric toothbrush handle removably attached to the brush head. The electric toothbrush handle includes a linear motor configured to drive the bristle holder via a gearing structure coupled to the linear motor and the bristle holder. The linear motor causes the bristle holder to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise at a rotation frequency which exceeds a rotation frequency threshold (e.g., 100 Hz, 120 Hz, etc.). The linear motor also causes the brush head to vibrate in a direction toward and away from a contact surface in synchronization with the rotation of the bristles.

Bristle driven pulsation

A personal hygiene device has a handle and a treatment head pivotably connected with the handle. Applying a treatment force against the treatment head causes a pivoting of the treatment head relative to the handle. A sensor, such as, e.g., a Hall sensor, fixedly secured with respect to one of the handle and the treatment head, measures a measurement variable. A sensor cooperation unit defines or influences the measurement variable in dependence on the relative position of the sensor and the sensor cooperation unit, such e.g., as a sensor permanent magnet, fixedly secured relative to one of the handle and the treatment head. A spring unit defines a rest position of the treatment head when no treatment force is applied. The spring unit has a first spring constant in the treatment direction and a second spring constant in a lateral direction, the second spring constant being at least about two times higher than the first spring constant.

Personal hygiene device

A refill for an electric toothbrush comprises a generally tubular structure formed by refill walls defining an interior space for accepting thereinto a coupling stem of a toothbrush handle. The refill includes a motion transmitter functionally connected to the brush head for driving it. The refill has a coupling device including a pair of mutually opposite and resiliently deformable cantilevered arms disposed in the interior space of the refill and adjacent to the refill walls and extending from respective roots in a circular or semi-circular manner around, and in a plane substantially perpendicular to, the refill's longitudinal axis. Each of the arms is resiliently deformable and terminates with a coupling surface for engaging a coupling pin extending from the handle's coupling stem for secure and disengageable connection therewith.

Refill for electric toothbrush

An electric toothbrush, including a refill connectable to a handle via a coupling device. The handle has a drive mechanism, and the refill has a brush head and a motion transmitter functionally connected to the brush head for driving it. The handle has a coupling stem terminating with a free end and including a coupling pin extending from the stem. The refill includes a generally tubular portion formed by refill walls defining an interior space for accepting the coupling stem of the handle. The coupling device comprises a pair of mutually opposite and resiliently deformable cantilevered arms disposed adjacent to the refill walls in the interior space of the refill. Each of the cantilevered arms terminates with a coupling surface for engaging the stem's coupling pin for secure and disengageable connection between the handle and the refill.

Electric toothbrush

A coupling mechanism for an electric toothbrush includes a handle coupling portion and a refill coupling portion structured and configured to engage one another, thereby providing a secure connection between the handle and the refill. The handle coupling portion has a coupling stem disposed at one end of the handle and a coupling pin protruding from the stem. The coupling stem has outer walls terminating at a free end thereof. The refill coupling portion has a tubular structure having refill walls and an interior space for receiving therein the coupling stem, and a pair of mutually opposite and resiliently deformable cantilevered arms disposed in the interior space, each of the arms terminating with a coupling surface for engaging the coupling pin of the handle coupling portion.

Coupling mechanism for electric toothbrush

A refill for an electric toothbrush comprises a generally tubular structure formed by refill walls defining an interior space for accepting thereinto a coupling stem of a toothbrush handle. The refill includes a motion transmitter functionally connected to the brush head for driving it. The refill has a coupling device including a pair of mutually opposite and resiliently deformable cantilevered arms disposed in the interior space of the refill and adjacent to the refill walls. Each of the arms terminates with a coupling surface for engaging a coupling pin extending from the handle's coupling stem for secure and disengageable connection therewith.

An electrically driven device includes an electric motor with a drive shaft having a first rotary axis and a drive pin eccentrically thereto, and a driven shaft having a second rotary axis and mounted for pivoting motion. The driven shaft is coupled to the drive shaft by a scotch yoke mechanism, converting a rotary motion of the drive shaft into a reciprocating pivoting motion of the driven shaft. The scotch yoke mechanism includes a cross slider having a sliding support extending perpendicular to the first rotary axis and receiving the drive pin either directly or by a sliding block having a bearing receiving the pin. The cross slider is axially guided to move in an axial direction perpendicular to the first rotary axis and to the extension of the sliding support. The driven shaft is coupled to the cross slider by a pivotable crank arm, thereby converting a rotary motion of the drive shaft into a reciprocating motion of the driven shaft.

Electrically driven device

An electrically driven device includes a housing, an electric motor with a drive shaft having a first rotary axis and a drive pin eccentrically connected to the drive shaft, and a driven shaft having a second rotary axis and mounted in the housing for a pivoting movement. The driven shaft is coupled to the drive pin by a gear mechanism converting a rotary motion of the drive shaft into the reciprocating pivoting of the driven shaft. The gear mechanism has first and second transmission stages, the former including a cross slider, and the latter an elastically deformable transmission member. The cross slider has a sliding support extending perpendicular to the first rotary axis and receiving the drive pin. The cross slider is axially guided in the housing to move in an axial direction perpendicular to the first rotary axis and perpendicular to the extension of the sliding support. A link, offset relative to the second rotary axis, connects the cross slider to the elastically deformable transmission member.

An electrically driven device includes a housing, an electric motor with a drive shaft having a first rotary axis and a drive pin connected to the drive shaft eccentrically with respect to the rotary axis, and a driven shaft having a second rotary axis and mounted in the housing for performing a pivoting about the second rotary axis. The driven shaft is coupled to the drive shaft by a gear mechanism having a scotch yoke mechanism converting a rotary motion of the drive shaft into a reciprocating pivoting motion of the driven shaft. The scotch yoke mechanism includes a cross slider receiving the drive pin and having a sliding support extending perpendicular to the first rotary axis. The cross slider is guided in the housing by at least two elastically deformable elements. The driven shaft is coupled to the cross slider by a pivotable crank arm, converting a rotary motion of the drive shaft into a reciprocating of the driven shaft.

An oral hygiene implement has a neck section extending along a longitudinal direction and a head section having a through hole therein extending through the head section along a through hole direction having an angle with respect to the longitudinal direction and having a head section housing surrounding the through hole. The neck section has a neck section housing surrounding a neck section cavity. The through hole defines a first and a second opening in the head section housing. A cap element, separately made from the head section housing, is connected with the head section housing to essentially cover the first opening. A carrier element, separately made from the head section housing, is arranged to cover the second opening. Between an edge of the first opening and an edge of the cap there is a circumferential gap that allows water, saliva, or toothpaste to escape an interior of the head section during use.

Oral hygiene implement

The present disclosure is concerned with an oral hygiene implement having a longitudinal axis, a carrier element mounted for driven movement, a motion transmitter that has a first end for transferring a drive force to the carrier element, which first end is provided at a position being offset from the longitudinal axis, and the motion transmitter has a second end positioned essentially on on the longitudinal axis or is arranged for being positioned essentially on the longitudinal axis during operation, wherein the motion transmitter has a first coupling part comprising the first end, which first coupling part essentially extends along a centre axis arranged at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis, and a second coupling part comprising the second end, which first coupling part is fixedly connected with a first connecting portion of an elastic pivot element that allows that the first coupling part and the second coupling part can pivot with respect to each other at least in a first pivoting plane spanned by the longitudinal axis and by the centre axis, and wherein the first coupling part is made from a plastics material, including reinforced plastics materials, having a Young's modulus of at least 5000 MPa or from a metal material, and at least the first connecting portion, in particular the whole elastic pivot element, is made from a plastics material having a Young's modulus of not more than 3000 MPa, optionally of not more than 1000 MPa, further optionally of not more than 500 MPa.

Oral care implement

An electrically driven device includes a housing, an electric motor with a drive shaft having a first rotary axis and a drive pin connected to the drive shaft eccentrically with respect to the rotary axis, and a driven shaft having a second rotary axis and mounted in the housing for a pivoting about the second rotary axis. The driven shaft is indirectly coupled to the drive shaft by a gear mechanism converting a rotary motion of the drive shaft into a reciprocating pivoting motion of the driven shaft. The gear mechanism includes a cross slider having a sliding support extending perpendicular to the first rotary axis and receiving the drive pin. The cross slider is guided in the housing by a parallel lever in the form of a parallelogram by at least two pivotable links. The driven shaft is coupled to the cross slider by one of the said links, thereby converting a rotary motion of the drive shaft into a reciprocating pivoting of the driven shaft.

Growing community of inventors

Eppstein im Taunus, Germany

Thomas Willi Fritsch