A dental cleaning appliance includes a handle and a fluid delivery system. The fluid delivery system includes a nozzle for delivering a burst of working fluid to the teeth of a user. The nozzle moves relative to the handle as the appliance is moved along the teeth of the user. A sensor provides an output which varies with movement of nozzle relative to the handle. A control circuit actuates the delivery of working fluid to the teeth of the user depending on the output from the sensor. The control circuit is configured to adjust a parameter of the delivery to the teeth of the user, such as the volume of working fluid within a delivery, depending on the variation with time of the output from the sensor.

A dental cleaning appliance includes a handle and a fluid delivery system. The fluid delivery system includes a nozzle for delivering a burst of working fluid to the teeth of a user. A contact member for engaging the teeth of the user is moveable relative to the nozzle as the appliance is moved along the teeth of the user. A sensor provides an output which varies with movement of contact member relative to the nozzle. A control circuit actuates the delivery of working fluid to the teeth of the user depending on the output from the sensor.

A pump assembly for a dental cleaning appliance includes a fluid chamber, a piston, and a drive. The drive rotates a coupling member having two angularly opposed pins. An arm pivotably connected to the piston has a seat for receiving one of the pins to couple the piston to the drive. Through continued rotation of the coupling member, the piston moves within the fluid chamber to draw fluid into the fluid chamber until the second detent contacts the arm to push it away from the first detent to decouple the drive from the piston. This allows a compressed spring to actuate the piston to urge a burst of fluid from the fluid chamber.

An electrically driven device includes an electric motor with a drive shaft having a first rotary axis and a drive pin eccentrically thereto, and a driven shaft having a second rotary axis and mounted for pivoting motion. The driven shaft is coupled to the drive shaft by a scotch yoke mechanism, converting a rotary motion of the drive shaft into a reciprocating pivoting motion of the driven shaft. The scotch yoke mechanism includes a cross slider having a sliding support extending perpendicular to the first rotary axis and receiving the drive pin either directly or by a sliding block having a bearing receiving the pin. The cross slider is axially guided to move in an axial direction perpendicular to the first rotary axis and to the extension of the sliding support. The driven shaft is coupled to the cross slider by a pivotable crank arm, thereby converting a rotary motion of the drive shaft into a reciprocating motion of the driven shaft.

The present invention is concerned with a toothbrush, in particular an electric or otherwise driven toothbrush having a rotatable head, wherein the head incorporates arrays of bristle tufts, at least some of which extend substantially radially of the axis of rotation.

A brush head for an electric toothbrush comprises an attachable housing and a carrier having a mounting side and mounted for driven oscillatory rotational motion around a rotation axis that extends through a center point on the carrier's mounting side. Each of the tufts has a tufting area of at least about 2.0 mm.sup.2. Filaments in each of the tufts have a cross-sectional area perpendicular to their length extension direction that corresponds to a circular cross sectional area having a diameter in the range of between 140 m and 102 m, wherein the brush head comprises only tufts of the defined type.

A replacement toothbrush head includes a movable functional element comprising either a piston or a piston chamber; and a fixation element comprising either a piston when the movable functional element comprises a piston chamber; or a piston chamber when the movable functional element comprises a piston. The piston chamber engages the piston to form a pump; and the movable functional element is structured and configured to oscillate relative to the fixation element.

A linear motor includes an armature mounted for driven linear oscillation substantially along a longitudinal direction; a secondary mass mounted for linear oscillation substantially along the longitudinal direction; and a coupling unit for coupling the armature and the secondary mass. The coupling unit includes at least two coupling spring assemblies and at least a coupling element, the coupling spring assemblies being arranged in planes perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and being spaced apart from each other, and the coupling element being fixedly connected with the coupling spring assemblies.

An electric toothbrush (100), comprising a brush handle (10) and a brush head (20), the brush handle (20) comprises an electromotor (21), a transmission assembly (22) and a transmission rod (23), the transmission assembly (22) comprises a main body (221), a gear (222), a connecting arm (223) and a positioning member (224), the electromotor (21) has a rotor engaged with the gear (222), the gear (222) is arranged with a connecting rod (225), which has an end fixed at an eccentric position of the gear (222) and another end arranged on the main body (221), wherein the connecting arm (223) has an end arranged on the connecting rod (225) and another end arranged on the positioning member (224), and the transmission rod (23) has an end running through the positioning member (224) and the main body (221) and extending to the brush head (10).

Devices and head components that include a band component and one or more rotational components are provided. Devices and head components that include one or more fluid driven rotational components are provided. Related methods are also provided.