US2189891A - Rotating tooth brush - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 13, 1940. A FL UR'NQ 2,189,891

ROTATING TOOTH BRUSH Filed June 23, 1937 flddson H 7 7loufn@ on M (KM Q3 %M Patented Feb. 13, 1940 uNirso STATES PATEN I, ROTATING TOOTH BRUSH? Addison- H. Flournoy, Washington, D. Application June" 23; 1937, Serial No: 149,954 5 Claims. (01. -25) I My invention relates to rotating tooth brushes,

and the present invention is concerned with improvements over the' construction. disclosed in my Patent No; 2,059,330.

An object of the presentinven'tion .is to devise a rotatable tooth brush which may be operated with one hand and which embodies a speed multiplying gear set for increasing the speed of'the illustrated in the accompanying drawing in Whichi Figure l is a side elevational View of the rotate ing tooth brush assembly;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view showing the brush element and the speed multiplying gear arrangement in longitudinal section;

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 33"ofFigure 2;

Figure 4- is an enlarged endview of the brush element; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 66 of Figure 2. i

Referring to the drawing, l indicates a handle for the brush which may be formed of any suitable material, and 2 indicates a shaft secured to the handle l by any suitable means such as screw la. The shaft 2 is provided with an enlarged head 2a to which is secured the housing 3 of a differential gear arrangement, the gear housing 3 being secured to the flange 2a by means of suitable screws 3a passing through a plate 4 arranged on the outer face of the housing 3, passing through the housing 3' and having threaded engagement with the flange 2a, as clearly shown in Figure 2. Rotatably journaled on shaft 2 is a turning element 5 which is provided with an enlarged cylindrical flange 5a extending over the gear casing 3. Mounted within the cylindrical flange 5a and rotating therewith is an internal ring gear 6 which engages with three idler gears la, 1b and 1c journaled in the gear housing 3. gear housing 3 is formed of two circular plates provided with abutting cylindrical flanges formed at the periphery of the plates, and idler gears 1a, 1b and 1c are mounted on stub shafts, the

ends of 'which are journaled in opposite walls of As shown 'in Figures 2 and 3,,

housing 3; theidler gears are arranged so they extend partly out of slots formed in the cylindrical wall of housing 3. A spur gear 8 isrotatably mounted at the center of the gear housing 3- and is provided with a shaft to extending through the plate 4 and in axial alignment with the s'haft 2. A shaft 9, preferably formed of hard resilient material such as celluloid, is

I carried by the shaft 8c and may be secured to the shaft 8a in anysuitable manner as by means of a screw 9a. The end of shaft 9 is provided with a socket for receiving theend of the spindle of the rotary brush element l0.

I prefer to form the brush in in the manner illustrated in Figure .2, that is, the brush is formed in a conventional manner by supporting bristles between twisted wires forming a core or shaft 10a, and one end of core lfla is mounted in a sleeve or eyelet lilb which initurn fits snugly in a socket formed in the end of shaft 9. Core Illa extends beyond the sleeve I812 as shown at We in Figure 2, and the extended portion 190 is compressed or sjwaged into cylindrical formand a pair of sharpened ribs ltd and We are formed on the cylindrical surface thereof (see Fig. 5) -The cylindrical surface and the sharpened ribs may be formed by pressing or swaging'the end [00 of the-wire core in a suitable die. This press"- ing operation not only forms the desired shape for'the core, but it also securely locks the ends of the twisted wires together and prevents dis lodgement of the bristles from the brush. The compressed portion I00 is forced into a bore formed in the end of shaft 9 having anexternal diameter slightly larger than the outsidecylindrical diameter of the shaft'extension.. As the extension Illc is forced into the bore, the ribs the spindle of the brush element It and serves to protect the gum and inner surfaces of the mouth from the bristles of the brush lil'during operation. This guard element may be formed by mouldingfrom plastic material, but I prefer to form the element by suitably shaping the guard from sheet material. such as celluloid. 'Iheshape of the guard is clearly indicated in Figures 1, 2 and 4. The outer end of the guard I I is journaled on the outer end of the spindle of brush ID by means of an eyelet IIa having a closed end as illustrated in Figure 2. The inner end of guard II is journaled upon the sleeve Illb by means of an ordinary eyelet Iib as shown in Figure 2. The'outer end of the sleeve Illb is preferably flared outwardly as shown at III in Figure 2. This construction forms an abutment on the sleeve lllb for retaining the eyelet I lb in position and against which force may be applied to withdraw the shaft I from the socket in the shaft 9 when it becomes necessary to replace the brush element Ill. The guard II is provided with rounded edges IIc which prevent injury to the gums or inner surfaces of the mouth brush is being used.

In using the brush, the instrument is grasped in the palm of the hand by handle I, and, using the thumb and forefinger, the sleeve may be rotated with respect to the handle I. The gear casing 3 and the plate 5 are held stationary with respect to the handle I by means of theshaft 2, and rotation of the sleeve 5 causes rotation vof the idler gears la, lb and by reason of engagement of these gears with the internal ring gear 6 mounted in the cylindrical extension Ed on sleeve 5. The idler gears in turn cause rotation of the gear 8 at an increased speed over the speed of sleeve 5 determined by the dimensions of the gears 6, Ia and 8 respectively. The shaft 9 rotates with the shaft 80. secured to the gear 8 and causes corresponding rotation of the brush element I0. It will be understood that the guard l l is mounted for free rotation on the spindle of the brush I0 and may be readily positioned within the mouth so as to protect the tongue or the inner surfaces of the cheek from abrasion by the brush Ill while in use. I

If for any reason it becomes necessary to renew the brush element Iii, the shaft 9 is held by one hand and by grasping the guard II with the other hand, the brush assembly may be withdrawn from the shaft 9 by pulling the two' elements apart, and a new brush element may be inserted into the socket of shaft 9 without re quiring special instruments for this purpose. If desired, more than two ribs may be provided on shank Illc, but I find'that two are sufficient.

While all of the elements of my brush, except brush I0, may be formed of suitable metal prefer to form the elements I, 5 and 9 of moulded material such celluloid, bakelite, hard rubber, and the like. 'I also prefer to roughen the surface of elements I and5 in any suitable manner as by the longitudinal grooving shown in Figure 1. The shaft 9 is preferably formed of a relatively small diameter so that the lips may be closed about this shaft while the brush is in use. The plate 4 forming part ofthe gear assembly serves as a guard to preventsaliva from reaching the handle I and the turning element 5.

I have herein described the principle ;of my invention and illustrated a-preferred embodiment thereof. Various modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and I desire it to' be understood that all modifications which fall withinthe terms of the appended claims are to be considered as falling within the scope of my invention.

What I claim is: r I

1. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a shaft secured to said handle, a speed'multiplying gearing comprising a casing mounted on the end of said shaft in spaced relation to said handleand while the having a spur gear journaled therein, idler gears journaled in said casing and meshing with said spur gear, a rotary sleeve mounted directly on said shaft between said handle and said casing and arranged to be rotated by engagement between the thumb and forefinger of the same hand that grasps said handle, said sleeve being of smaller diameter than said casing and being provided with an enlarged cylindrical extension arranged over said gear casing, an internal ring gear mounted within said cylindrical extension and meshing with said idler gears, a rotatable shaft secured to said spur gear and extending out of said casing in axial alignment with said flrst shaft, and a brush element driven by said rotatable shaft.

2.' In combination, a rotary shaft, a rotary brush having a shaft mounted in a bore in the end of said rotary shaft, a sleeve element surrounding the shaft of said brush and being mounted in a socket in the end of said rotary shaft having a diameter larger than the diameter of said bore, said sleeve extending forward of the end of said rotary shaft and being flared at the end thereof, a guard element partly surrounding said brush, one end of said guard element being journaled upon said sleeve element and the outer end of the brush shaft being journaled in a socket bearing formed in the outer end of said guard element, the flared end of said sleeve andthe end of said rotary shaft serving to .limit the axial movement of said guard.

3. In a rotatable tooth brush including a handle, a rotatable shaft mounted coaxially on said handle having a cylindrical longitudinally slotted orifice formed coaxially in its outer end, a rotatable brush comprising a twisted wire core supporting the bristles of the brush extending beyond both ends of the brush, a bearing formed on one end of said core, a sleeve mounted on the other end of said core having an outwardly flared portion adjacent the bristles of the brush, said sleeve being mounted in a socket formed in the end of said rotatable shaft, said core extending beyond said sleeve and having a cylindrical surface with longitudinal ribs formed thereon for engagement in the longitudinally slotted orifice in said shaft, and a guard element partly surrounding said brush, said guard being rotatably mounted at one end on said sleeve and having a socket bearing at the other end journaled upon the outer end of said core.

4. A brush element comprising a twisted-Wire core supporting the bristles of the brush and. having one end of the core extending beyond the brush to form a supporting shank, the end portion of said shank being swaged into a substantially cylindrical form having integral longitudinal ribs formed on opposite sides thereof, whereby the swaging of the shank effectively locks together the Wires of the core and prevents ,dislodgment of the bristles of the brush.

, 5 A brush element comprising a twisted-wire lcore supporting the bristles of the brush and having an end of the core extending beyond the brush to form a supporting shank, the outer portion of said supporting shank being swaged into substantially cylindrical form having integral longitudinal. ribs formed on opposite sides thereof, and a sleeve element mounted on said core between said cylindrical portion and said ADDISON H. FLOURNOY.

Images