Electrically driven hand-held apparatus for body care, in particular a toothbrush or massage apparatus

An electrically driven hand-held apparatus for body care, comprising an instrument holder which is adapted for the attachment of a treatment instrument and which is drivable for oscillation about its longitudinal axis;

• a motor;
• a rotatably mounted support driven by said motor;
• a pair of eccentric pins mounted at the ends of a rocker member which is mounted to said support, the rocker member being tiltable about an axis which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said support;
• an inner part of said instrument holder defining a longitudinal slot extending substantially radially with respect to the longitudinal axis of said instrument holder, one of said eccentric pins engaging said slot when said rocker member is tilted to a first position, the other of said eccentric pins engaging said slot when said rocker member is tilted to a second position.

An electrically driven hand-held apparatus for body care such as a toothbrush or massage apparatus, comprising:

• an instrument holder adapted for the attachment of a treatment instrument and which is drivable for oscillation about its longitudinal axis;
• a motor;
• a rotatably mounted support driven by the motor, said support mounted for displacement along its axis of rotation;
• an eccentric pin secured to the support, said pin inclined with respect to the axis of rotation of said support;
• an inner part of the instrument holder defining a longitudinal slot which extends substantially radially with respect to the longitudinal axis of the instrument holder, said eccentric pin engaging said slot;
• and
• a return spring urging said support to a position along its axis of rotation which corresponds to the largest oscillation amplitude of the instrument holder,
• said instrument holder, support, eccentric pin, and inner part arranged such that when a force perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said instrument holder is applied in a particular direction, a reaction force is exerted by a wall of said inner part defining said slot, said reaction force being exerted upon said eccentric pin which, in turn, exerts a force on said support opposing the force exerted by said spring.