Electric toothbrush and method combining bristle and pulsed liquid irrigation cleansing to oral cavity
AssigneeUnilever Home & Personal Care USA, Division of Conopco, Inc.
InventorsDavid Robert Williams, Richard Steven Hart
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electrically operated toothbrush and method for cleaning teeth and stimulating gums is provided. The toothbrush includes a handle, a brushhead connected to the handle having a plurality of hollow filament bristles, passageways through the handle and brushhead for transporting fluid such as water into and through the hollow filament bristles, an electrical energy source in the handle and a vibratory element for imparting a pulsation to the fluid being transported.
Claims6
An electronically operated toothbrush comprising:
- (i) a handle;
- (ii) a brushhead connected to the handle, the brushhead having a plurality of non-circular cross-section hollow filament bristles;
- (iii) at least one passageway through the handle and brushhead for transporting water into and through the hollow filament bristles;
- (iv) a source of electrical energy attached to the handle;
- and
- (v) a vibrational element activated by the source of electric energy, the vibrational element imparting an ultrasonic wave pulsation to the water being transported to the hollow filament bristles.
A method for cleaning teeth and stimulating gums comprising:
- (i) providing a toothbrush having a brushhead fitted with a plurality of non-circular cross-section hollow filament bristles;
- (ii) feeding tooth irrigating water into the toothbrush;
- (iii) imparting an ultrasonic wave pulsation to the water which is then transported through the hollow filament bristles;
- and
- (iv) contacting teeth and gums in an oral cavity with the pulsating water to remove oral debris.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.