Electric toothbrush

Claim 2

An electric toothbrush comprising: a. an elongated body member adapted to serve as a handle whereby the device is manually held and manipulated, b. a generally cylindrical brush carried by said body member at one end thereof, said brush being disposed generally coaxially with said body member and being mounted thereon for rotation about its axis, c. a reversible electric motor mounted in said body member and operable to rotate said brush selectively in opposite directions, and d. reversing switch means carried by said body member and operable to reverse the direction of rotation of said motor, said reversing switch means being operable responsively to gravity-induced movement of an element thereof to cause respectively opposite directions of said motor depending on whether said body member is held in a position with its axis inclined upwardly toward said brush, or downwardly toward said brush.

Claim 3

An electric toothbrush as recited in claim 1 wherein said reversing switch means also operates responsively to gravity-induced movement of elements thereof to cause reversals of the direction of rotation of said motor whenever said body member is turned angularly about its axis between first and second positions angularly spaced apart by about 180 degrees.

Claim 4

An electric toothbrush as recited in claim 2 with the addition of a brush guard of hollow, generally semi-cylindrical form carried fixedly by said body member to partially enclose said brush in generally coaxial relation thereto, the plane of the open side of said brush guard being generally parallel to a longitudinal transverse plane of said body member established by said first and second angular positions thereof.

Claim 5

An electric toothbrush as recited in claim 2, the direction of rotation of said brush, when looking from said body member toward said brush, being clockwise when said brush guard opens laterally to the right and said body axis is inclined upwardly toward the brush, or when the guard opens to the left and the body axis is inclined downwardly toward the brush, and being counter-clockwise when the brush guard opens laterally to the left and the body axis is inclined upwardly toward the brush, or when the guard opens to the right and the body axis is inclined downwardly toward the brush.

Claim 6

An electric toothbrush as recited in claim 2 wherein said reversing switch means comprises: a. a hollow cylindrical switch housing of insulating material mounted coaxially in said body member, b. a cylindrical switch core of insulating material disposed for axial sliding movement, but not rotary movement, in said housing, so as to slide toward said brush to a first position when the body axis is inclined downwardly toward said brush, and away from said brush to a second position when the body axis is inclined upwardly toward the brush, c. a conducting switch plug carried for diametrical sliding movement in said switch core, and connected at all times to an electric line wire supplying said motor, d. first and second contacts mounted interiorly in said switch housing in diametrically opposed relation and operable to be engaged selectively by said plug, depending on which of said contacts is lowermost in the position in which the body member is held, whenever said switch core is in said first position, e. third and fourth contacts mounted interiorly in said switch housing in angularly corresponding, but longitudinally offset, relation respectively to said first and second contacts, so as to be engaged selectively by said plug when said switch core is in said second position, engagement of said plug with either of said first and fourth contacts completing a motor circuit causing rotation thereof in one direction, and engagement of said plug with either of said second and third contacts completing a motor circuit causing rotation thereof in an opposite direction.