Dual Spin Toothbrush

The Distinguished David Alan Henderson IIIWill “Big Willy Style” DeRosaRob Kevin “Float Like A Butterfly” O’Connor

Youthful Stunners

2.0 Introduction:

Small brush head

Clumsy buttons

No grip

Larger Brush Heads

Switch, not buttons

Contoured rubber grip

3.0 Problem Statement

The Colgate SpongeBob Toothbrush possesses an inefficient brush head, nonsensical buttons, and a ergonomically deficient grip. This poses a hindrance to juveniles between 5 and 10 that are inclined to improve the circumstance of their teeth cleanliness.

5.0 External Research

Patent Info

• # 5,625,916• May 6th 1997• An electrical driven toothbrush has a rotatable

shaft with a remote end which fits into a slot in a bristle holder. The holder is mounted for rotation on a post supported by a head. When the shaft rotates the remote end describes a circle and driving engages the slot to cause the holder to vibrate.

Distribution

• Pharmacies– Commercial

• Online– Walgreens– Walmart– eBay

• Retail Stores• Appraised between $6.00 and $12.00

Product Dissection

• First: removed battery casing and batteries• Reconnected batteries for testing• Decibel Meter:

– Brush head: 73.5 to 81 dB– Motor: 74.5 to 83.1 dB

• Voltage Meter: – Total: 3.045 V– Current: 2100 mA (no load)– Mean under load: 288.25 mA– Power 6.395 W (no load), 8.779 W (under load)

Product Dissection (cont.)

• Removed batteries (again)• Took off lower brush head• Removed motor from molded body• Took out rotating upper brush head• Removed plastic casing from motor• Removed gasket from shaft• Massed parts and photographs• Assigned part numbers

Discoveries

• Function: Button, Rotating pin• Assembly: Quick, manufactured• Materials: Plastic, rubber, Small amounts of

metal• Made to be easy to manufacture and

assemble and cheap to make

Target Specifications

Metric No.

Need No. Metric Imp Units

Marginal Value

Ideal Value

1 1 Comfort on gums 4 Subjective >7 >92 1, 2 Ergonomic comfort 5 Subjective >7 >83 3 Sound level 5 dB >78 >704 4, 9 Motor life 3 Hours >18 >205 5 ,9 Battery life 3 Hours >10 >126 6 Simplicity 4 Subjective >6 >87 7, 10 Aesthetics 1 Subjective >2 >38 8 Cleans teeth 5 Subjective >8 >99 9 Number of uses 2 Integer >180 >20010 7, 10 Streamlined 2 Subjective >2 <411 9, 11 Maintenance 3 Subjective >5 >6

Final Specs

Customers want a toothbrush that fits well in their hand, operates quietly, and effectively cleans their teeth

Our team focused on ergonomics, simplicity, and cleaning

MeansComfort in Hand Simplicity of Operation Cleaning of Teeth Brush Head Design

1 Rubber Grip On/Off Switch Exra Long Bristles Shorter Brush Neck

2 Contoured Grip Separate On/Off Larger Brush Head Two Oscillating HeadsButtons

3 Push-Button BatteryRemoval

Function

ConceptsConcept Number

Comfort In Hand

Simplicity of Operation

Cleaning of Teeth

Brush Head Design

1 Rubber Grip Switch Larger Brush head

2 oscillating heads

2 Rubber Grip Switch and Push button battery removal

Larger Brush head

2 oscillating heads

3 Contoured Grip Switch Extra long bristles

Shorter neck

4 Contoured Grip Separate on/off buttons

Larger brush head

Shorter neck

5 Rubber and Contoured Grip

Push button battery removal

Larger brush head

Shorter neck

We continued with Concepts 2 and 5

"Children's Products." Colgate. Feb. 2009 <www.colgate.com>.

"Crest Spinbrush." Crest Spinbrush. Crest. Feb. 2009 <www.spinbrush.com>.

"Electric Toothbrush." Electric Toothbrush. Wikipedia. Feb. 2009 <www.wikipedia.org>.

"Sonicare." Sonicare. Phillips. Feb. 2009 <www.sonicare.com>.