1. A toothbrush having a handle, a neck attached to the handle, and a head attached to the neck, the toothbrush comprising:
a bristle holder having a plurality of bristles extending therefrom; and
a light emitting element disposed in the bristle holder, wherein the light emitting element is capable of providing light having wavelengths between about 390 nm to about 770 nm and having a radiometric power of between about 5 mWcm2 to about 200 mWcm2.
2. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the light emitting element is an LED.
3. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the light emitting element is capable of providing blue light.
4. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the light emitting element is capable of providing light having wavelengths between about 420 nm to about 490 nm.
5. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the light emitting element is capable of providing light having wavelengths between about 430 nm to about 480 nm.
6. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the head is made of a transparent material.
7. The toothbrush of claim 6, wherein the bristle holder is made of a transparent material.
8. The toothbrush of claim 2, further comprising a voltage driver or a current driver capable of providing a constant voltage or a constant current to the LED, respectively.
9. The toothbrush of claim 2 further comprising a DC power supply capable of providing between about 0.5 to about 5 volts to the LED.
10. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the bristles surround the light emitting element.
11. The toothbrush of claim 10, wherein a cylindrical volume devoid of bristles encircles the light emitting element, and wherein a diameter of the cylindrical volume is between about 2 mm to about 8 mm.
12. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein a portion of the plurality of bristles are formed from a translucent material.
13. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein a portion of the plurality of bristles are colored, pigmented, or dyed, such that the portion of the plurality of bristles generally match the color of the light emitted by the light emitting element.
14. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein a portion of the plurality of bristles are formed from an elastomeric material.
15. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the radiometric power of the light emitting element is between about 10 mWcm2 to about 100 mWcm2.
16. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the radiometric power of the light emitting element is between about 20 mWcm2 to about 60 mWcm2.
17. A method of applying light to the oral cavity, the method comprising the steps of:
obtaining a toothbrush having a light emitting element;
switching the toothbrush on; and
applying light having wavelengths of between about 420 nm to about 490 nm having a radiometric intensity of between about 5 mWcm2 to about 200 mWcm2 to the oral cavity for about 10 seconds to about 10 minutes.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the light is applied to the oral cavity from about 30 seconds to about 2 minutes.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the light is applied to the oral cavity from about 45 seconds to about 2 minutes.
20. The toothbrush of claim 17, wherein the radiometric power of the light emitting element is between about 10 mWcm2 to about 100 mWcm2.
21. The toothbrush of claim 17, wherein the radiometric power of the light emitting element is between about 20 mWcm2 to about 60 mWcm2.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A reversing linear drive comprising at least one field coil which is to be acted upon by a variable current, comprising a magnetic armature which is to be set in linear oscillating motion in an axial direction with an armature stroke by the magnetic field of the field coil and comprising means for detecting the armature position, wherein the means provided at least to detect the armature position comprise a stripe pattern element extending at least over the entire axial armature stroke comprising an alternating arrangement of at least one of transparent and opaque stripes and light-reflecting and non-light-reflecting stripes and at least one light barrier comprising light-emitting and light-receiving parts whose light beams are aligned at least approximately perpendicularly relative to the axial direction of the stripe pattern element.
2. The drive according to claim 1, wherein the stripe pattern element is rigidly connected to the armature.
3. The drive according to claim 1, wherein the light barrier is embodied as a double light barrier.
4. The drive according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the transparent and opaque stripes and the light-reflecting and non-light-reflecting stripes each have the same axial extension.
5. The drive according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the transparent stripes and the opaque stripes and the light-reflecting and non-light-reflecting stripes have non-uniform axial extensions.
6. The drive according to claim 1, wherein the axial extension of at least one of the transparent and opaque stripes and the light-reflecting and non-light-reflecting stripes is less than 0.25 mm in each case.
7. The drive according to claim 1, further comprising a comb-like formation of the stripe pattern element.
8. The drive according to claim 1, wherein the stripe pattern element additionally has at least one trigger stripe.
9. The drive according to claim 8, wherein the trigger stripe is arranged in the area near the maximum speed of the oscillating armature part.
10. The drive according to claim 8, wherein the trigger stripe is also to be detected by the light barrier.
11. The drive according to claim 8, wherein a separate light barrier is associated with the trigger stripe.
12. The drive according to claim 1, wherein means for detecting at least one of the speed of the armature and the direction of motion of the armature are additionally provided.
13. The drive according to claim 1, wherein the armature is rigidly connected to a pump plunger of a compressor.