US4869277A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Brush head, a method and a machine for manufacturing thereof
Assignee: International College of Applied Kinesiology-USA
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Filing: 1987-06-08
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Granted: 1989-09-26
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Expires: 2007-06-08
Abstract
Abstract A brush head for cleaning and massaging the teeth and gums is disclosed having a bundle of fibers welded together to form a bottom plate, with a central axial tunnel expending part way into the fiber bundle, similarly made up of welded fibers. The brush head is produced by partially melting one end of the fiber bundle to form the bottom plate, with the bundle moved into contact with a heated mandrel, while the fibers remain substantially parallel.
Inventors
- 👤 Hans Olsen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 06:17
CPC Classifications
B; B29; B29C; B29C65/00; B29C65/02; A; A46; A46B; A46B3/00; A46B3/06; A46B9/00; A46B9/02; A46B9/04; A46D; A46D3/00; A46D3/04; A46D9/00; A46D9/02; B29C65/18; B29C66/00; B29C66/01; B29C66/05; B29C66/10; B29C66/13; B29C66/137; B29C66/69; A46B2200/00; A46B2200/10; A46B2200/1066; B29C65/08; B29C66/70; B29C66/71
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
113 words
A brush head for dental treatment, comprising a bundle of parallel fibers, said fibers at one end being welded together to form a bottom plate, said bottom plate being sufficiently rigid so as to be directly attachable to an external rotating means, the bottom plate including a central, axial bottom hole; a central, axial tunnel extending from the bottom hole into the interior of said bundle of fibers, said tunnel extending from said bottom plate and part way to the opposing end of said bundle of fibers, said tunnel having walls made up of fibers welded together; and a brush made from the end of said bundle of fibers opposing said bottom plate.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
113 words
A brush head for dental treatment, comprising a bundle of parallel fibers, said fibers at one end being welded together to form a bottom plate, said bottom plate being sufficiently rigid so as to be directly attachable to an external rotating means, the bottom plate including a central, axial bottom hole; a central, axial tunnel extending from the bottom hole into the interior of said bundle of fibers, said tunnel extending from said bottom plate and part way to the opposing end of said bundle of fibers, said tunnel having walls made up of fibers welded together; and a brush made from the end of said bundle of fibers opposing said bottom plate.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
A brush head according to claim 1, wherein said brush has concave sloping sides and a rounded tip.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
A brush head according to claim 1, wherein said brush is formed with a central interior cavity enclosed circumferentially by said fibers.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
98 words
A method for producing a brush head from a bundle of substantially parallel fibers or threads, comprising the steps of: partially melting one end of said bundle of fibers is that said partially melted fibers are joined together; cooling for a short time said partially melted fibers; melting said partially melted fibers so that said melted fibers are welded together to form a bottom plate, said bottom plate being sufficiently rigid so as to be directly attachable to an external rotating means; and shaping the end of said fiber bundle opposite the bottom plate to form a brush.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
98 words
A method for producing a brush head from a bundle of substantially parallel fibers or threads, comprising the steps of: partially melting one end of said bundle of fibers is that said partially melted fibers are joined together; cooling for a short time said partially melted fibers; melting said partially melted fibers so that said melted fibers are welded together to form a bottom plate, said bottom plate being sufficiently rigid so as to be directly attachable to an external rotating means; and shaping the end of said fiber bundle opposite the bottom plate to form a brush.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method according to claim 4 wherein said pointed brush is defined by a rounded tip and concave sloping sides.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
106 words
An arrangement for manufacturing a brush head of fibers of thermoplastic material comprising: heating means for melting said fibers, means for holding together an elongated bundle of individual fibers with the individual fibers lying generally parallel to each other in the bundle. means for moving the elongated bundle of fibers relative to the heating means to bring the end of the bundle into contact with the heating means to melt the ends of the fibers while still substantially parallel to fuse them together and to continue the movement during the melting to form an integral extended bottom plate of the material of the fused melted fibers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
106 words
An arrangement for manufacturing a brush head of fibers of thermoplastic material comprising: heating means for melting said fibers, means for holding together an elongated bundle of individual fibers with the individual fibers lying generally parallel to each other in the bundle. means for moving the elongated bundle of fibers relative to the heating means to bring the end of the bundle into contact with the heating means to melt the ends of the fibers while still substantially parallel to fuse them together and to continue the movement during the melting to form an integral extended bottom plate of the material of the fused melted fibers.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
43 words
An arrangement as in claim 6 wherein said elongated bundle of fibers is part of a longer extended bundle of fibers and further comprising means for cutting the longer extended bundle to release the formed brush head with its integral extended bottom plate.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
35 words
An arrangement as in claim 7 wherein said heating means is stationery and said moving means moves the longer extended bundle of fibers towards said heating means during the formation of said extended bottom plate.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
An arrangement as in claim 8 wherein said moving means moves to extend the length of the brush head from the longer extended bundle before the brush head is cut.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
31 words
An arrangement as in claim 8 further comprising first means for clamping the longer extended bundle during its movement toward the heating means and the formation of the extended bottom plate.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
32 words
An arrangement as in claim 10 wherein said first means for clamping are released as said moving means moves away from said heating means to extend the length of the brush head.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
70 words
An arrangement as in claim 11 further comprising second clamping means through which said longer extended bundle of fibers extend which are fixedly mounted relative to said moving means and which are deactivated from clamping said longer elongated bundle as said moving means moves toward said heating means to form said bottom plate and which are activated to clamp said longer elongated bundle during the cutting of the bush head.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
92 words
An arrangement as in claim 12 wherein said first means for clamping are activated during the movement of said moving means and the extended elongated bundle of fibers toward said heating means to form said bottom plate, said first clamping means being deactivated and said second clamping means being activated changing the movement of said moving means to extend the length of the brush head and thereafter said first clamping means being activated and said second clamping means being deactivated during after the cutting of the brush head from its extended bundle.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
36 words
An arrangement as in claim 6 wherein said heating means is shaped so as to form an interior hole in said bundle through said bottom plate by melting the fibers in the interior of the bundle.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
96 words
A method for manufacturing a brush head formed of fibers of thermoplastic material comprising the steps of providing a heated tool for melting said fibers, holding an elongated bundle of said fibers together with the individual fibers lying generally parallel to each other, moving the elongated bundle relative to said heating to bring the ends of fibers in the bundle into contact with the tool to melt the fibers to fuse them together to form a bottom plate, continuing the movement so as to further melt the bundle to extend the thickness of the bottom plate.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
96 words
A method for manufacturing a brush head formed of fibers of thermoplastic material comprising the steps of providing a heated tool for melting said fibers, holding an elongated bundle of said fibers together with the individual fibers lying generally parallel to each other, moving the elongated bundle relative to said heating to bring the ends of fibers in the bundle into contact with the tool to melt the fibers to fuse them together to form a bottom plate, continuing the movement so as to further melt the bundle to extend the thickness of the bottom plate.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method as in claim 15 further comprising the step of forming an interior hole in the interior of said bundle extending through said bottom plate.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
27 words
A method as in claim 16 wherein the step of forming said interior hole comprises heating said fibers in the interior of the bundle to melt them.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method as in claim 15 wherein said bottom plate and said interior hole are simultaneously formed by ultrasonically welding the one end of said fiber bundle at least one time.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method as in claim 15 further comprising the step of forming the sides of the free end of the brush head opposite said bottom plate to be generally conical.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method as in claim 19 wherein the sides of the generally conical free end are also concave.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method as in claim 17 further comprising the step of forming the sides of the free end of the brush head opposite said bottom plate to be generally conical.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method according to claim 18 wherein said bottom hole substantially extends into the interior area surrounded by the sloping sides at the free end of the brush head.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method according to claim 15 wherein said brush has a central interior cavity enclosed circumferentially by said fibers.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1992-09-25 | 1993-03-27 | 1993-09-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1996-09-25 | 1997-03-27 | 1997-09-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2000-09-25 | 2001-03-27 | 2001-09-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |