Toothbrush Redesign

Table 4: Morphology Chart

Concepts:

1. Solar--None--Changeable Head
2. Battery--Recorded Music--Paste Dispenser
3. Wind up--Flashing Lights--None
4. Rechargeable Battery--Recorded Music--Plaque Light
5. Wind power--None--Tongue Scraper
6. Rechargeable Battery--LCD Strip--Changeable Head
7. Wind up--Flashing Lights--Tongue Scraper
8. Rechargeable Battery--LCD Strip--Paste Dispenser

8.0 Concept Selection

We found that our most important criteria were power supply, cost, and aesthetic appeal. We realized that as our target market was children the product's aesthetic appeal would play a pivotal role in our customer's decision to purchase our product. Several products were eliminated due to an impractical design (i.e. the LCD feature from the morphology chart) or for simply being irrelevant to our target market (i.e. paste dispenser). We found there was a trade off between power and cost which resulted in several efficient designs being cut simply because they would cost too much.

Table 5: Concept Screening

Table 6: Concept Scoring

9.0 Final Specifications

Whiteness would most likely increase by one with our new brush because of the improved bristle pattern. This would also help with cavity protection along with the tongue scraper. Our selling price will be higher because even though we removed the batteries, the wind up will up the cost. The lights will also raise the cost not only because of the light cost but because inventory and production cost. Pain of brushing will be lower because of the state of the art bristle pattern fits teeth better than the straight cut of the original design. There will be more styles of the toothbrush because the original only had two colors but out final design will have more because of different options for lights and colors. Appeal of the styles will be higher because the lights added will be more attractive. Battery life is not applicable because our new design is wind up and does not use batteries. Brush head life is roughly the same but we expect it to be a bit longer because the head movement will undergo less wear and tear. Sound will be a bit larger because the winding up process makes some noise.

Table 7: Final Specifications

10.0 Embodiment Design and Final Design Description

In our final design, we made three major changes. First, we added a tongue scraper to the back of the brush head. Second we added four led lights to the sides of the brush. The lights will add to the appeal of our toothbrush to kids. When the brush is turned on, the lights will flash random colors making brushing more fun for children. Thirdly, we added a wind up. This was our major addition. A lever at the bottom of the brush folds in and out allowing children to wind up the toothbrush. A shaft connecting the lever to the brush slides in and out so the lever can fit in the brush flush with the surface. The wind up works by the rotating action charging up a capacitor. After about 30 seconds of winding, the capacitor will be full of charge. Once the switch is turned on, the connection is completed and energy is discharged from the capacitor. Energy mostly goes toward the motor and a little bit goes to the lights. They will be connected in parallel so that in case the lights break, the motor will still work as opposed to a series connection. We project the cost of the brush will be a bit more, around $9.00, because the wind up will raise production costs.

11.0 Conclusions

This project has been a major success and we believe that our innovations are both groundbreaking and completely unparalleled. Our product meets all of our customer needs and does so in an unprecedented manner that manages to be both cost efficient and environmentally sound. Our mechanism is completely sustainable and environmentally friendly, as its design involves no batteries of any kind. We also employ an electrical circuit based in mechanical energy (winding up the wind up is a mechanical process), which is innately environmentally friendly. In addition to these benefits, we found that our design would remain within the cost margin of our prospective buyers, even though it may be somewhat higher that before. Because of the flashing lights and the Spongebob decal we also expect our design to be aesthetically appealing to our target market of children between the ages of 3-10. Even though the power source is not a battery, our better brush design and the power generated by this design will be more than effective enough to clean a child’s teeth well. This brush will be as painless to use as its predecessor; we did not change anything that would affect this aspect of the brush. Our toothbrush will be as durable as its predecessor for largely the same reason. Thus, our design is able to not only meet all of our customer needs, but it does so in an innovative and environmentally safe manner.

12.0 References

"Colgate Spongebob Powered Toothbrush." drugstore.com. drugstore.com, inc, Web. 24 Feb 2010. < http://www.drugstore.com:80/products/prod.asp?pid=92018&catid=33675>.

Frederic H. Middleton, “Rotary electric toothbrush” US Patent no. 4603448, Issued: Aug 5, 1986

Robert D. Stopher, “Wind-up power source with spring motor and vehicle incorporating same” US Patent no. 5880532, Issued: Mar 9, 1999