Illuminated flashing toothbrush and method of use
View Patent ↗A toothbrush can include a handle and a head. At least one bristle can be attached to the head. The toothbrush can also have an illumination member, an illumination circuit and an activation device. The activation device can include two contact members fixed in a non-contact position on an outside of the handle. A method can include causing conduction between the contact members to activate the illumination circuit. The toothbrush can be an electric toothbrush. The electric toothbrush can have an illumination member positioned such that light from the illumination member can be seen by a user in a mirror facing the user.
1. A toothbrush comprising:
a handle having a first end and a second end;
a head coupled to the first end of the handle, the head comprising a plurality of bristles;
an illumination element within the handle;
a power source connected to the illumination element;
an activation device comprising:
a first contact terminal on an outside surface of the handle; and
a second contact terminal on the outside surface of the handle and in a fixed relative non-contact position to the first contact terminal such that a single finger can simultaneously contact both the first contact terminal and the second contact terminal; and
a timing circuit configured such that presence of a liquid completes a circuit between the first contact terminal and the second contact terminal and activates the timing circuit for a set period of time, wherein the illumination element is activated during all, part of, and/or at the end of, the set period of time.
2. The toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the illumination element is configured to blink during the set period of time.
3. The toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the illumination element is configured to blink at the end of the set period of time.
4. The toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the illumination element comprises a light emitting diode.
5. The toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the illumination element comprises an incandescent light bulb.
6. The toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the timing circuit is configured such that contact with liquid at the activation device after the initial activation, will not reactivate the timing circuit until the timing circuit has completed a cycle.
7. The toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the activation device further comprising a base, wherein the first and second contact members are positioned within the base.
8. The toothbrush of claim 1 , wherein the first and second contact terminals are located on the same side of the toothbrush as the plurality of bristles.
9. A toothbrush comprising:
a handle having a first end and a second end;
a head coupled to the first end of the handle, the head comprising a plurality of bristles;
an illumination circuit;
an illumination member configured to be activated by the illumination circuit;
a power source coupled to the illumination member;
a sensor on an outside surface of the handle, wherein the circuit starts a timed cycle upon receiving a signal from the sensor, the sensor comprising two contact terminals in a fixed relative non-contact position to one another on the same side of the toothbrush as the plurality of bristles and spaced away from the head such that a single finger can simultaneously contact the two contact terminals;
wherein the two contact terminals activate the illumination circuit when electrical conduction occurs between the two terminals, and wherein the sensor is configured to detect the presence of a liquid and the presence of the liquid completes a circuit between the two contact terminals to thereby activate the illumination circuit.
10. The toothbrush of claim 9 , wherein the illumination member is activated during all, part of, and/or at the end of, the timed cycle.
11. The toothbrush of claim 9 , wherein the illumination member is configured to blink during the timed cycle.
12. The toothbrush of claim 9 , wherein the two contact terminals are longitudinally aligned to be equally spaced between the first end and the second end of the handle.
13. The toothbrush of claim 9 , wherein the sensor further comprises a base and the two contact terminals are positioned within the base.
14. The toothbrush of claim 9 , wherein the illumination member comprises a light emitting diode.
15. The toothbrush of claim 9 , wherein the illumination member comprises an incandescent light bulb.
16. A method comprising:
providing a toothbrush, the toothbrush comprising:
a handle having a first end and a second end;
a head at the first end of the handle, the head comprising a plurality of bristles;
an illumination circuit;
an illumination member;
a power source coupled to the illumination member; and
an activation device comprising two contact terminals on an outside surface of the handle, the two contact terminals being located in fixed relative positions to one another on the same side of the toothbrush as the plurality of bristles and spaced away from the head such that a single finger can complete a circuit between the two contact terminals; and
activating the illumination circuit by electrical conduction between the two contact terminals by contacting the two contact terminals with water to cause conduction to occur, thereby activating the illumination circuit, wherein the illumination circuit starts a timed cycle upon receiving a signal from the activation device, wherein the illumination member is activated during all, part of, and/or at the end of, the timed cycle.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein activating the illumination circuit further comprises blinking the illumination member during the timed cycle.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein activating the activation device further comprises placing the two terminals in a stream of water from a water faucet.