SONIC ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH |
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申请号 | US14713898 | 申请日 | 2015-05-15 | 公开(公告)号 | US20150327965A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2015-11-19 |
申请人 | WATER PIK, INC.; | 发明人 | Jeffrey Garrigues; | ||||
摘要 | The present disclosure relates to a sonic oscillating toothbrush. The toothbrush includes a brush head including a plurality of bristles, a motor having a drive shaft, a linkage assembly connected to the drive shaft, and an output shaft connected to the linkage assembly and the brush head. The linkage assembly coverts a rotating movement of the drive shaft into an oscillating movement and the output shaft transmits the oscillating movement to the plurality of bristles. | ||||||
权利要求 | What is claimed is: |
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说明书全文 | This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 61/994,783 entitled “Sonic Electric Toothbrush,” filed May 16, 2014 and incorporated herein in its entirety. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/833,897 filed Mar. 15, 2013 and entitled “Electronic Toothbrush with Vibration Dampening,” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The technology described herein relates generally to toothbrushes and more particularly to electronically driven toothbrushes. Electrically driven toothbrushes typically include a brush head having a plurality of bristles, where the brush head or the bristles are vibrated or rotated by a motor. The rotation and/or vibration of the brush head and/or bristles assists a user is cleaning his or her teeth and gums. Often the rotation of a drive shaft of the motor, as well as other components in the electronic toothbrush, may cause other components of the toothbrush, such as the handle, to vibrate or rotate as well. The vibration in the handle may be unpleasant to a user, as well as make it more difficult for a user to grip the handle and direct the motion of the toothbrush. The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the invention is defined in the claims is to be bound. Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a toothbrush including a brush head with a plurality of bristles, a motor having a drive shaft, a linkage assembly connected to the drive shaft, and an output shaft connected to the linkage assembly and the brush head. During operation, the linkage assembly converts a rotating movement of the drive shaft into an oscillating movement and the output shaft transmits the oscillating movement to the plural of bristles. In some examples the linkage assembly of the toothbrush may include a cam follower connected to the drive shaft. The cam follower may define a gear compartment and a plurality of follower gear teeth extending into the gear compartment. The linkage may also include a planet gear connected to the output shaft, the planet gear including a plurality of planet gear teeth connected to a terminal end of the output shaft and received within the gear compartment. In some instances a ratio of the follower gear teeth to the planet gear teeth determines a speed of the bristles. The toothbrush may also include a bumper assembly having a first bumper and a second bumper, where the first bumper and the second bumper substantially surrounds a portion of the output shaft. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. A more extensive presentation of features, details, utilities, and advantages of the present invention as defined in the claims is provided in the following written description of various embodiments of the invention and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Various examples of an electronically powered toothbrush are disclosed herein. The toothbrush may include a body, a brush head including a plurality of bristles, a drive assembly, a power assembly to provide power to the drive assembly, a linkage or transmission assembly interconnected between the brush head and the drive assembly, and a plurality of vibration and sound dampening components. Generally, in operation, the power assembly provides power to the drive assembly, the drive assembly rotates and/or vibrates the brush head, the transmission converts the rotation of the drive assembly into an oscillating movement of the bristles, and the vibration and sound dampening components reduce vibration from being transmitted from the motor to the body of the toothbrush, as well as may help to reduce current consumption of the power assembly. The linkage includes an eccentric connected to the motor shaft. In some embodiments, the eccentric may be attached to a ball bearing and the eccentric may include a counterweight formed therewith to balance the weight of the ball bearing. In these embodiments, the bearing and the counterweight assist in reducing current consumption by reducing friction in the connection between the linkage assembly and the motor drive shaft. They may also reduce noise at the connection joint. In other words, the balanced eccentric including the ball bearing may result in a joint having a reduce amount of friction, which along with the balancing between the bearing and the counterweight, acts to reduce noise as the drive shaft is rotated. The linkage may include a planetary gear arrangement. For example, the linkage may further include a planet gear connected to a brush head shaft, a cam follower connected to and received around the planet gear, and a clevis connected to the cam follower. The eccentric and bearing of the linkage are connected to the cam follower and cause the cam follower to move therewith. A pivot pin secures the cam follower to the clevis and defines a pivot point about which the cam follower oscillates. The cam follower includes a ring gear defined on an interior surface that meshes with the teeth of the planet gear. As the cam follower pivots, the motion of the cam follower is transmitted to the brush head shaft by the planet gear which, due to the linkage structure, converts the brush head to an oscillating motion. In some embodiments, the ring gear structure of the cam follower includes a first set of gear teeth and the planet gear includes a second set of gear teeth, with the gear ratio between the planet gear and the ring gear set in an overdrive configuration to produce an oscillation speed of the planet gear that is larger than the ring gear of the cam follower. For example, the overdrive configuration causes the output or brush head shaft connected to the planet gear to oscillate at a higher frequency than would be produced if the output shaft was directly connected to the drive shaft. Additionally, the output shaft may include one or more ball bearings attached thereto. The ball bearings may further include a compressible component, such as an O-ring received around their outer surface. The ball bearings along with O-rings as dampeners may reduce noise from the drive assembly. For example, the dampeners may prevent the bearings from rattling in instances where the fit between the bearing and the output shaft is loose or has some slop. Additionally, the dampeners may exert a uniform load on the bearings, which may prevent the bearings from being compressed (due to rotational forces) into a non-uniform shape, such as an oblong shape. Further, by reducing rattling noise, as well as preventing the bearings from being formed into non-uniform shapes, noise generated by the drive assembly may be reduced. This is because the rattling, as well as oblong or other non-uniform bearing shapes, may increase audible noise produced by the toothbrush. The toothbrush may further include one or more bumpers attached to an output shaft. For example, the output shaft may include a dowel pin that interacts with two rubber bumpers connected to each other around the output drive shaft. The bumpers absorb kinetic energy from the angular velocity of the output shaft transmitted through the dowel pin and may then reapply the energy to reverse the direction of rotation. By reapplying absorbed energy to modify the rotation direction of the output shaft, the power required to rotate the brush head in a particular pattern may be reduced. In some instances, the dowel pin may extend through the output shaft to contact a first bumper and a second bumper. In these instances, the opposing ends of the dowel pin may contact the rubber bumpers substantially simultaneously and in opposite directions (due to the rotation of the shaft and subsequent movement of the bumpers therewith). The force experienced by the ends of the dowel pin may provide torque to the shaft, which further acts to conserve energy. The torque provided may be a pure reversal torque in that the net force reaction on the output shaft may be freed of any side loads that could result in additional audible noise and wear on the bearings and other linkage components, as well as waste energy. In addition to conserving energy, the bumpers and dowel pin may further reduce wear and tear on the output shaft and other components of the linkage between the drive shaft and the output shaft, by reducing movement and friction. In some instances, one or more components of the drive assembly may be formed through a plastic injection molding process. For example, a chassis and/or chassis cover may be formed from plastic components, rather than metal components. The plastic components may be strengthened with support ribs or the like, to provide additional rigidity to the plastic material. By using materials such as plastics that can be injection molded, some machining processes (such as drilling, tapping, and/or milling) may be omitted. As an example, rather than tapping treads in metal, the fasteners for the chassis and chassis cover may be off the shelf screws or nuts. Turning now to the figures, the toothbrush will now be discussed in more detail. The body 104 may be held by a user in his or her hand. The body 104 may have an elongated cylindrical shape that may have an upper portion that tapers towards the brush head 104. The toothbrush may include a hand grip 108 that provides a gripping surface for a user's hand and may be a softer material than the housing 106. The body 104 may include a control button 110 to activate the toothbrush 100, as well as to control one or more settings or speeds of the toothbrush 100. Additionally, an indication panel, which may include a plurality of lights or other display elements, may be viewable through the housing 106 of the body 104. The body 104 houses the internal components of the toothbrush 100. The drive assembly 112 will now be discussed in further detail. The motor 114 translates energy or power into movement. The motor 114 includes a drive shaft 124 extending from a top surface of the motor 114. The drive shaft 124 is rotated by the motor 114 in response to current provided by a voltage source. The motor 114 may include a set of terminals 194 or prongs. (Only one prong is shown in An eccentric 128 is connected to the drive shaft 124 of the motor 114. With reference to The cam follower 113 connects the linkage ball bearing 130 and eccentric 128 to the other components of the linkage assembly 107 and assists in transferring motion of the drive shaft 124 to the output shaft 126. A pivot aperture 131 is defined parallel to the extension of the gear aperture 125 but separated from the gear aperture 125 by a wall. The pivot aperture 131 has a smaller diameter than the gear aperture 125 and is formed at a first end 143 of the cam follower 113 defining the smallest width of the cam follower 113 body, i.e., at the tip of the triangular cross-section. A rib 129 extends into the gear aperture 125 from an interior wall of the cam follower 113. The rib 129 extends longitudinally along a length of the gear aperture 125 and provides additional support strength for the cam follower 113 and helps to maintain the position of the planet gear 119 within the cam follower 113. With reference to With reference to With reference to With reference again to With reference to As shown in With reference to In some embodiments, the toothbrush 100 may include one or more bumpers 148 connected to the output shaft 126. The toothbrush 100 may include two bumpers 148, with each of the bumpers 148 being substantially the same. In implementations where the bumpers 148 may be substantially the same, the tooling costs for the toothbrush may be reduced, as both bumpers may be created in the same equipment. However, in other embodiments, the bumpers may be different from one another or the bumper 148 assembly may be a single bumper having a receiving aperture defined therethrough. The toothbrush 100 may also include a sealing member positioned at a location beneath the brush head 102. With reference to The drive assembly 112 may further include a chassis 118 to support the various components within the body 104 of the toothbrush 100. The cavities defined within the chassis 118 may generally conform to the components of the drive assembly 112. For example, a shaft cavity 270 may be formed along a length of the chassis 118 and may generally correspond to the output shaft 126. Two bearing cavities 280, 282 may be defined along a length of the shaft cavity 270. The bearing cavities 280, 282 may have a larger diameter than the shaft cavity 270. A bumper cavity 284 may be defined between the two bearing cavities 280, 282. The bumper cavity 284 may have a larger diameter than the bearing cavities 280, 282. Additionally, the bumper cavity 284 may have a cylindrical portion 388 and a flange portion 290, whereas the bearing cavities 280, 282 may be generally cylindrical. A linkage cavity 286 may be defined beneath the second bearing cavity 282. The linkage cavity 286 may generally conform to the shape of the linkage assembly 107, and may allow movement of the cam follower 113. Thus, the linkage assembly 107 may be configured to define a spacing gap between movable components of the linkage assembly 107 and the walls of the cavity. A chassis cover 120 may connect to the chassis 118 to enclose select components of the drive assembly 112. With reference to The outer surface of the chassis cover 120 may include a plurality of ribs 298 or other strengthening members. The ribs 298 may be defined by rib recesses 299 on adjacent sides of the ribs 298. The ribs 298 provide rigidity to the chassis cover 120. The additional rigidity provided by the ribs 298 may allow the chassis cover 120 and chassis 118 to be formed out of less rigid materials. For example, in some embodiments, the chassis cover 120 may be formed out of plastic, e.g., through plastic injection molding, which may reduce costs as compared to a machine die casting component, while still providing sufficient rigidity. With reference to The bearing cavities 304, 306 may be substantially cylindrically shaped and may have a larger diameter than the shaft cavity 302. The bumper cavity 308 may be positioned between the two bearing cavities 304, 306 and may include a cylindrical portion 310 and a flange portion 312 extending from the cylindrical portion 301 and have a depth that may be less than a depth of the cylindrical portion 310. The linkage cavity 314 may be defined beneath the second bearing cavity 306 and may generally enclose the movable components of the drive assembly 112. Accordingly, as with the linkage cavity 286 in the chassis 118, when assembled, the linkage cavity 314 may define a spacing gap or distance between the moveable components and the walls of the chassis cover 120. The power assembly 116 will now be discussed in more detail. The one or more batteries 152 may be rechargeable or may be single use. Additionally, the number, size, type, and capacity of the batteries 152 may be varied as desired. In embodiments where the batteries 152 may be rechargeable, the toothbrush 100 may further include the charging coil 162. The charging coil 162 may be a copper wire wrapped around itself or otherwise configured to receive an induced current flow remotely from a power source. For example, the toothbrush 100 may include a charger (not shown) that couples to the charging coil 162 to remotely induce a current in the charging coil 162 that may be used to provide power to the battery 152. Accordingly, the charging coil 162 may be in electrical communication with the battery 152. The battery 152 and the charging coil 162 may be in electrical communication with a control circuit 154. For example, one or more wires 336a, 336b may transmit current from the battery 152 and charge coil 162 to the control circuit 154. The control circuit 154 may include one or more electrical components, such as a control chip, resistors, capacitors, or the like. In some embodiments, the control circuitry 154 may be a printed circuit board or other substrate that provides support for one or more electrical components and allows communication between those components. The control circuitry 154 selectively provides power from the battery 152 to the motor 114, and further may vary one or more functions of the toothbrush 100. The control circuit 154 may also be in communication with a button circuit 340. (see The power assembly 116 may also include one or more soft mounts or dampeners. The dampeners may reduce vibrations created by the drive assembly 112 from being transmitted to the housing 106 of the body 104. With reference to The first isolator 150 may be shaped as a sleeve or other hollow member. The first isolator 150 may include one or more wire channels 161 defined along its outer surface and extending longitudinally along a length of the isolator 150. The wire channels 161 may have a width that corresponds to one or more of the communication wires 334a, 334b and my define a portion of the pathway for the communication wires 334a, 334b as they extend from the control circuit 154 to the button circuit 340. The toothbrush 100 may also include a biasing member to exert a compression force against the internal components of the toothbrush 100. With reference to A bottom cap 111 may be connected to the bottom of the housing 106. The bottom cap 111 may be connected to the toothbrush housing 106 by any of several different mechanisms, such as, but not limited to, twist lock, snap fit, fasteners, and so on. The various components of the toothbrush 100 may be interconnected together and received into the housing 106 and brush head 102. With reference to The batteries 152 are positioned on top of the third isolator 163 and are electrically connected with the charge coil 162. The control circuit 154 is arranged to extend longitudinally along a side of the batteries 152. The batteries 152 abut against a bottom end of the second isolator 160. The motor 114 is positioned on top of the second isolator 160 and the connection terminals 194 extend on opposite sides of the second isolator 160. The terminals 184 of the motor 114 are then electrically connected to the control circuit 154 and placed in selective communication with the batteries 152. With continued reference to The compression spring 164, along with the isolator 150 may reduce slop between the drive assembly and power assembly, by compressing the internal components together. The reduction in slop may reduce vibration due to components rattling or moving during operation, as well as may reduce wear and tear on the drive assembly and power assembly. For example, the compression spring 164 force may reduce the degrees of movement significantly, which helps to retain the limited movement of the chassis assembly, acting to isolate the chassis assembly from the housing, as well as reduce the likelihood that the chassis assembly will excite vibration in the power assembly. With reference to The base 274 of the chassis 118 is positioned on the top end of the isolator 150 and the drive shaft 124 may extend into the chassis 118. With reference to As briefly discussed above the asymmetrical distribution in weight of the eccentric 128 defines a counterweight for the linkage ball bearing 130 and balances the ball bearing 130 on the eccentric 128. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the counterweight of the eccentric 128 is integrally formed therewith. However, in other embodiments an external counterweight may be received onto the eccentric 128. The counterweight of the eccentric 128 balances the ball bearing 130, reducing noise as the eccentric is rotated by the drive shaft, discussed in more detail below. With reference to FIGS. 6 and 8A-8E, the cam follower 113 is connected to the eccentric 128 and the linkage ball bearing 130. In particular, the linkage ball bearing 130 and the eccentric 128 are positioned in the bearing compartment 135 and are at least partially surrounded by the bearing wall 135. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8A-8E, the output shaft 126 is connected to the planet gear 119. The planet gear 119 is received around a terminal end of the output shaft 126 and a hexagonal nut 123 is threaded onto the end of the output shaft 126 to secure the planet gear 119 in position. The planet gear 119 and the nut 123 are then positioned into the gear aperture 125 of the cam follower 113. The nut 123 is positioned adjacent the back wall of the gear aperture 125, i.e., the interior side of the bottom surface 137 the cam follower 113. The planet gear 119 is aligned within the gear aperture 125 so that the gear teeth 121a, 121b, 121c are received into the gear grooves 139a, 139b, 139c of the cam follower 113. With reference to With reference now to The O-rings 140, 142 received around the ball bearings 136, 138 may reduce rattling in instances where the chassis 118 and chassis cover 120 are loose or have extra space between the ball bearings 136, 138. When the fit of the chassis 118 and chassis cover 120 around the outer diameter of the ball bearings 136, 138 may be loose, the O-rings 140, 142 may extend into the extra space, tightening the connection between the chassis 118 and the ball bearings 136, 138. Additionally, the O-rings 140, 142 may provide a uniform load around the bearings 136, 138, which helps to prevent the bearings 136, 138 from being forced into an asymmetrical shape (e.g., oblong) due to the rotation forces exerted by the output shaft 126. In other words, as the ball bearings 136, 138 rotate the O-rings 140, 142 may distribute the load uniformly. By reducing rattling and providing a uniform load on each of the bearings 136, 138, the O-rings 140, 142 reduce audible noise that may be generated during operation of the toothbrush. Additionally, because the O-rings 140, 142 may deform against the chassis 118 and chassis cover 120, looser tolerances may be used to manufacture the chassis and chassis cover, which may decrease manufacturing costs. Moreover, the O-rings 140, 142, which may typically be formed of a deformable material, such as an elastomeric material, may provide a soft mount between the ball bearings 136, 138 and the chassis 118 and chassis cover 120. This soft mount may act as an isolator or dampening member and absorb vibrations of the output shaft 126. With continued reference to With reference to The output shaft 126 may be received into the shaft cavity 270, 302 and the ball bearings 136, 138 may be received in the bearing cavities 280, 282, 304, 306, respectively. The output shaft 126 may extend outwards from a top end of both the chassis 118 and chassis cover 120. Additionally, the bumpers 148 may be received in the respective bumper cavities 284, 308 with the curved wall 266 of the bumpers being positioned in the cylindrical portion 288, 310 of the bumper cavities 284, 308. Once the linkage components are received in the respective cavities in the chassis 118, the chassis cover 120 may be positioned over the chassis 118 and fastened thereto. For example, the plurality of fastening apertures 272a, 272b, 272c, 272d on the chassis and the fastening apertures 294a, 294b, 294c, 294d may be aligned and fasteners may be received therein to connect the chassis and chassis cover together. Additionally, fasteners 190 may be received through fastening apertures 278 in the base 274 of the chassis 118 to connect the chassis 118 to the foundation plate 122. With reference to With reference to With reference now to The operation of the toothbrush 100 will now be discussed in more detail. With reference to The control circuit 154 provides power to the motor 114 from the battery 152. For example, power from the battery 152 may be transmitted through the power wires 336a, 336b to the terminals 194 of the motor 114. As the motor 114 receives power, it begins to rotate the drive shaft 124. The eccentric 128 connected to the drive shaft 124 thus also begins to rotate. With reference to With continued reference to During movement, the planet gear 119 may rotate one or more additional degrees of rotation or oscillation for every degree of rotation or oscillation of the cam follower 113. This is due to the ratio of the gear teeth 127a, 127b of the planet gear 119 to the gear teeth 127a, 127b of the cam follower 113. In particular, to the cam follower 113 may be held at a constant distance from the output shaft 126 by virtue of its connection to the clevis 115 by the pivot pin 117. As the distance between the axis of the brush shaft 126 axis and the pivot pin 117 increases, the radius of the planet gear 119 decreases, decreasing the number of effective gear teeth of the planet gear 119 and causing the greater rotation ratio. In one example, the planet gear 119 may rotate three degrees for every one degree that the cam follower 113 oscillates, i.e., producing a 1:3 overdrive. It should be noted that the above gear teeth are meant as examples and in other embodiments the relative radii and the number of gear teeth on the planet gear 119 and/or cam follower 113 may be varied to produce other ratio outputs. The gear ratio of the planet gear 119 to the cam follower 113 may be configured such that the output shaft 126 may oscillate faster than the cam follower 113 to provide sonic oscillation movement R for the brush head 102 (see In some embodiments, the brush head 102 may move in a semicircular pathway, oscillating in the pathway shown by the rotation arc R. This causes the bristles 105 to move from side to side, which may be useful for the removal of debris and plaque from a user's teeth. With reference to As described above, the output shaft 126 is also connected to ball bearings 136, 138 and each of the ball bearings 136, 138 includes an O-ring 140, 142 surrounding and outer perimeter. As the output shaft 126 rotates, the O-rings provide a soft mounting to the chassis 118 and chassis cover 120 to further absorb vibrations due to the movement of the output shaft 126. The foregoing description has broad application. For example, while examples disclosed herein may focus on toothbrush, it should be appreciated that the concepts disclosed herein may equally apply to other types of motor powered devices where vibration isolation, increased rotation ratios, and noise reduction may be desired. Similarly, although the toothbrush is discussed with respect to a single speed motor, the devices and techniques disclosed herein are equally applicable to other types of drive mechanisms. Accordingly, the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary and is not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to these examples. The housing, chassis, chassis cover, and other elements of the various examples of the toothbrush assembly may be integrally formed or may be made of two or more separate components that are joined together by mechanical fasteners, sonic or heat welds, adhesives, chemical bonds, any other suitable method, or any combination thereof. All directional references (e.g., upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the examples of the invention, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of the invention unless specifically set forth in the claims. Joinder references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, joined and the like) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between the connection of elements and relative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixed relation to each other. |