JP2006055194A - Electric toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric toothbrush which is excellent in the removing performance of plaque, can be manufactured at a low cost, and in addition, naturally has a high overall oral cavity cleaning capability, and has an extremely high removing effect of plaque, which is the cause of dental diseases such as caries and periodontal diseases, at risky areas of them. <P>SOLUTION: This electric toothbrush 10 has a brush head 30 which performs an invert reciprocation. In the electric toothbrush 10, the inverting angle θ of the brush head 30 is set to be 65°≤θ≤85°, and the inverting speed V is set to be 55 Hz≤V≤75 Hz. Alternatively, the inverting angle θ of the brush head 30 is set to be 40°≤θ≤65°, and the inverting speed V is set to be 65 Hz≤V≤85 Hz. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush in which a brush head formed by implanting a plurality of hair bundles on a base is reciprocally moved back and forth.

  As an electric toothbrush, the rotational motion of the rotating shaft of the motor is converted into a reciprocating linear motion in the axial direction of the output shaft via a crank mechanism, a gear mechanism, a cam mechanism, etc. Those configured to convert to a reciprocating reciprocating motion have been widely put into practical use (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  On the other hand, by devising and improving the driving direction, amplitude, and speed, it is possible to reach the complex teeth and dentition, and to achieve an appropriate movement state there. Development of electric toothbrushes is under consideration.

  Patent Document 3 discloses an electric toothbrush having a displacement of 3 to 7 mm when reciprocating along the axial direction or the direction perpendicular to the axis of the drive mechanism. Patent Documents 4 and 5 disclose electric toothbrushes that reciprocate linearly in the main body axis direction, each having a stroke width of 5 mm or more and 0.5 mm to 5 mm. However, the drive is limited to linear motion.

  In Patent Document 6, the hair tip is moved at a speed of about 1.5 m / second or more in order to transmit the movement of the hair to the toothpaste fluid and produce a cleaning action until the tip touches. A sonic electric toothbrush is disclosed, but elements in the rotational direction of the drive are not considered.

  Patent Document 7 describes an electric toothbrush in which an eccentric weight that generates vibration when the motor is driven is attached to the motor. This electric toothbrush generates 6000 to 8000 vibrations per minute by rotating the motor at 6000 to 8000 rotations per minute, thereby reducing discomfort during brushing and improving the brushing effect and vibration. It is disclosed that the massage effect of the gums can be realized at the same time. A drive mechanism using an eccentric member is also described in Patent Document 8, which discloses that the frequency is 17000 to 24000 times per minute. However, the driving direction is a circular motion that is perpendicular to the axial direction of the toothbrush and is fine.

  As described above, various types of drive systems have been studied with respect to vibration and speed, but the world's most commonly used reversal system has not been sufficiently studied so far.

  As a general tendency in the reciprocating electric toothbrush, when the reversing angle θ of the brush head is set large, the reversing speed V is set small, and when the reversing angle θ of the brush head is set small, the reversing speed θ is reversed. Speed V is set large.

JP-A-8-103331 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-116020 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-064204 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-318954 JP 2003-061987 JP 7-505069 gazette JP-A-6-269317 JP 2003-164473 A

  The conventional electric toothbrush of the reciprocating reciprocating motion type has not been designed with sufficient consideration for prevention of dental diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis, dental diseases such as caries, and suppression of progression. Periodontal disease onset risk sites and recurrent sites are sites where plaque is likely to remain, and a sufficient cleaning effect is difficult to obtain with normal brushing. In caries, it is a corner (interdental) or pits and fissures in the occlusal part. In periodontal disease, the corner (interdental) and gingival margin at the part where hard tissue and soft tissue contact. It is. What is common to these parts is that the cleaning surface of the toothbrush is not a simple flat surface, but a curved surface with a complicated shape, and the cleaning surface is not flat, but has complicated grooves, dents, or bumps. It is a complicated shape with parts.

  In order to efficiently clean the curved surface having these complicated shapes, it cannot be solved by simply increasing the reversing speed or increasing or decreasing the reversing angle. In other words, the filament portion of the toothbrush must be able to reach the site to be removed sufficiently and be able to catch and remove the plaque sufficiently. If the rotation angle is too large, it will simply go too far at high speeds without capturing the uneven shape, and if it is too slow, it will not be able to exert sufficient removal power. In addition, when the rotation angle is too small, there is a problem in that the movement distance of the filament is too small and the amount of work required to catch and remove the plaque is insufficient. Development was required.

  The object of the present invention is excellent in plaque removal performance, can be manufactured at low cost, and of course has a high overall oral cleaning ability, of course in the risk site of dental diseases such as caries and periodontal disease, It is an object to provide an electric toothbrush that has an extremely high effect of removing plaque as a cause thereof.

  As a result of earnestly examining the electric toothbrush, the applicant of the present invention considers various uses of oral hygiene tools and can be suitably used even in dental disease patients such as caries and periodontal disease, and can improve the plaque removal performance. The inventors have found that the purpose can be achieved by appropriately setting the reversal angle and the reversal speed, and have completed the present invention. However, in this specification, the reversing speed V (Hz) means the number of reciprocating reciprocating motions of the brush head in one second.

  The first electric toothbrush according to the present invention is an electric toothbrush having a brush head that performs reciprocating reciprocating motion. The reversing angle θ of the brush head is 65 ° ≦ θ ≦ 85 °, and the reversing speed V is 55 Hz ≦ V ≦ 75 Hz. In other words, the inversion angle θ and the inversion speed V are set within the range of the area C1 shown in FIG.

  In the first electric toothbrush, the reversal angle θ is set to 65 ° ≦ θ ≦ 85 °, and the reversal speed V is set to 55 Hz ≦ V ≦ 75 Hz. It is possible to efficiently remove the plaque at the site and the site of frequent occurrence.

  The second electric toothbrush according to the present invention is an electric toothbrush having a brush head that performs reciprocating reciprocating motion. The reversing angle θ of the brush head is 40 ° ≦ θ ≦ 65 °, and the reversing speed V is 65 Hz ≦ V ≦ 85 Hz. In other words, the inversion angle θ and the inversion speed V are set within the range of the region C2 shown in FIG.

  In this second electric toothbrush, the reversal angle θ is set to 40 ° ≦ θ ≦ 65 °, and the reversal speed V is set to 65 Hz ≦ V ≦ 85 Hz. It is possible to efficiently remove the plaque at the site and the site of frequent occurrence.

Here, the buckling strength of the brush portion composed of a plurality of hair bundles implanted in the base of the brush head is 50 N / cm ² or less, and the reciprocating linear motion of the output shaft is changed to the reciprocating reciprocating motion of the brush head. It is a preferred embodiment to include conversion means for conversion.

  According to the first and second electric toothbrushes according to the present invention, since the reversal angle θ and the reversal speed are appropriately set, not only plaques in the entire oral cavity, but also plaques at risk sites and common sites of dental diseases. Can be efficiently removed. In particular, the second electric toothbrush is suitable for children and people with weak gums.

Here, the buckling strength of the brush part composed of a plurality of bristle bundles planted on the base of the brush head is calculated by the measurement and calculation method according to the hardness of the toothbrush described in JIS S3016 “Toothbrush”. . When the buckling strength of the brush part is 50 N / cm ² or less, it is recognized that the plaque removal rate is 60% or more.

  If the conversion means for converting the reciprocating linear motion of the output shaft into the reciprocating reciprocating motion of the brush head is provided, the reciprocating linear motion type electric toothbrush can be used as the reversing reciprocating electric toothbrush as it is by replacing the replacement brush. it can.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The first electric toothbrush is an electric toothbrush having a brush head that performs reciprocating reciprocating motion, wherein the reversing angle θ of the brush head is set to 65 ° ≦ θ ≦ 85 °, and the reversing speed V is 55 Hz ≦ V ≦ 75 Hz. In the second electric toothbrush, the inversion angle θ of the brush head is set to 40 ° ≦ θ ≦ 65 °, and the inversion speed V is set to 65 Hz ≦ V ≦ 85 Hz. The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush in which an inversion angle θ and an inversion speed V of a brush head in an electric toothbrush are appropriately set, and the configuration of the electric toothbrush itself is arbitrary as long as the brush head can be reversed and reciprocated. The thing of composition can be adopted.

  Next, a specific example of the electric toothbrush will be described. As in the electric toothbrush 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vertically long cylindrical casing 11 that also serves as a handle is provided. The lid member 12 is detachably screwed.

  A battery 13 made of a primary battery or a secondary battery is housed in the lower part of the casing 11, a substantially cylindrical motor case 11a is fitted in the upper part of the casing 11, and a direct current is placed in the lower part of the motor case 11a. The electric motor 14 is assembled, and the motor 14 is switched between an ON state and an OFF state by a wiring and a switch (not shown) assembled to the casing 11. When a primary battery is used as the battery 13, it is necessary to install the battery 13 in an exchangeable manner with respect to the casing 11. However, when a secondary battery is used, the battery 13 is mounted in the casing 11 together with the motor 14. It can be built in and can be configured to charge the battery 13 without contact.

  In the upper part of the motor case 11a, there is provided first conversion means 17 for converting the rotary motion of the rotary shaft 15 of the motor 14 into the reciprocating linear motion of the output shaft 16 in the vertical direction. A rubber cover 18 is provided at the upper end of the casing 11 so that water or the like does not enter from the sliding portion between the output shaft 16 and the casing 11. ing. A cover member 19 is detachably fixed to the upper end portion of the casing 11, and a replacement brush 20 extending upward is detachably attached to the cover member 19. A reciprocating straight line in the vertical direction of the output shaft 16 is attached to the replacement brush 20. Second conversion means 32 is provided for converting the movement into a reciprocating reciprocating movement of the brush head 30.

  The first conversion means 17 will be described. A first bevel gear 21 is fixed to the rotating shaft 15 of the motor 14, and a second bevel gear 22 that meshes with the first bevel gear 21 is a shaft portion on the inner wall portion of the motor case 11a. 23 is provided so as to be rotatable around the center. An elongated cam hole 24 is provided in the lower end portion of the output shaft 16 in the horizontal direction, and an engagement pin 25 extending into the cam hole 24 is provided in a protruding manner at an eccentric position of the second bevel gear 22. Then, the first and second bevel gears 21 and 22 convert the rotary motion around the vertical axis of the rotary shaft 15 of the motor 14 into the rotary motion around the horizontal axis of the shaft portion 23, and this rotary motion is converted into a cam. The output shaft 16 is converted into a reciprocating linear motion in the vertical direction via the hole 24 and the engagement pin 25.

  The number of teeth of the gears 21 and 22 is set such that the number of reverse reciprocating motions (reverse speed) of the brush head 30 within a predetermined time becomes a required value.

  The replacement brush 20 will be described. A hollow handle 26 is fixed to the cover member 19 so as not to be movable in the vertical direction, and a substantially disc-shaped base 33 and a base 33 are provided at the upper end of the handle 26. A brush head 30 having a brush portion 29 in which a plurality of hair bundles are implanted so as to protrude rightward is provided. An operating rod 27 detachably fixed to the output shaft 16 is provided in the handle body 26 so as to be movable in the axial direction. A shaft member 28 is provided on the upper end of the handle body 26 in the left-right direction. The base 33 of the brush head 30 is rotatably provided, and the upper end of the operation rod 27 is provided with a connecting pin 31 extending upward. The upper end of the connecting pin 31 is rotated to an eccentric position of the base 33. As the operation rod 27 is reciprocated in the vertical direction together with the output shaft 16 so as to be freely connected, the brush head 30 reciprocates in the range of a predetermined angle around the shaft member 28 via the connection pin 31. It is configured. The magnitude of the reversal angle is greatly affected by the magnitude of the amplitude of the output shaft, and the magnitude of the output shaft amplitude depends on the degree of eccentricity due to the combination of the second bevel gear 22, the engagement pin 25, and the cam hole 24. It is determined. Further, the angle can be adjusted by the eccentric distance L between the rotation center P1 of the base 33 and the connecting position P2 of the connecting pin 31 with respect to the base 33. By setting the eccentric distance L to be large, the brush head 30 can be adjusted. The reversal angle θ is reduced, and the eccentric distance L is set to be small so that the reversal angle θ of the brush head 30 is increased.

  The shape of the base 33 and the number and arrangement of the hair bundles of the brush portion 29 can be arbitrarily set. In addition, as a method of planting and fixing the hair bundle, a method of driving tufts configured by bundling filaments into a plurality of flock holes provided in the base 33 with a flat wire or fusing with heat, etc. It can be suitably used. Furthermore, the filament material, diameter, length, and tip shape can be arbitrarily set. Furthermore, as a filament, you may employ | adopt what consists of a single material or a composite material. Filaments that have been physically and / or chemically treated to split the tip into multiple branches, filaments that have been physically and / or chemically treated at the tip and have tapered tips on both sides or one side, and tips that are tapered A filament with a step, a filament with a spherical tip, a filament with a non-circular cross section, a filament with an embossed surface structure, a spiral filament manufactured by twisting the cross section, particles such as abrasives, etc. Filaments made of one or more materials such as filaments held inside and on the surface (interface), polyamides other than nylon, polyesters, polyolefins, elastomers, natural polymers, etc. can be used depending on the purpose. Further, the present invention is not limited to the filaments exemplified here. Moreover, those filaments may be used for all or part of the brush portion of the electric toothbrush of the present invention. Further, only one type of filament may be used, or two or more types of filaments may be used for each flocked hole or mixed with the same flocked hole, or may be used in combination.

  Next, the test apparatus used for performing the plaque removal rate evaluation test will be described. The test apparatus 40 has the same configuration as the test apparatus described in JP-A-10-239304.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the test apparatus 40 for the electric toothbrush 10 holds the electric toothbrush 10 to be tested in the X-axis direction (left-right direction) while holding the electric toothbrush 10 in the X-axis direction, Y An operation means 41 that rotates in three directions, ie, an axial direction (vertical direction) and a Z-axis direction (front-rear direction), and a θ direction around the X axis, and the electric toothbrush 10 held by the operation means 41 are provided in a desired manner. Control means (not shown) for controlling the operating means 41 so as to perform a brushing motion by the brushing method, and a desired tooth of the jaw model 42 face the brush head 30 of the electric toothbrush 10 held by the operating means 41. A holding means 43 that holds the jaw model 42 so that the posture can be switched, and a measuring means 44 that measures the brushing pressure of the electric toothbrush 10 with respect to the jaw model 42 are provided.

  The measuring means 44 measures the pressure (brushing pressure) acting on the brush head 30 of the electric toothbrush 10 based on the output from the strain gauge 45. The strain gauge 45 has a known structure made of a resistor such as metal or semiconductor, and is attached to the front surface of a support frame 47 of a holder 46 provided for detachably fixing the electric toothbrush 10 to the operation means 41. Has been.

  Next, an evaluation test method for the electric toothbrush 10 will be described.

  As the electric toothbrush 10, five types of electric toothbrushes 10 in which the inversion angle θ of the brush head 30 is set to 20 degrees, 40 degrees, 65 degrees, 70 degrees, and 85 degrees were used.

  As the replacement brush 20, as the base 33 of the brush head 30, there are 21 flocked holes, the diameter of the flocked hole is 1.5 mm, and the diameter of the circumference passing through the center of the flocked hole arranged at the outermost periphery is 9. A filament having a base 33 of 4 mm and having a diameter of φ0.160 mm as a filament, having a bristle length of 10 mm, a rounded tip at the tip, and a hair bundle cut into flat hairs What was provided was used.

  Then, with respect to the five types of electric toothbrushes 10, the reversing speed V of the brush head 30 is switched to 6 levels of 40 Hz, 55 Hz, 65 Hz, 75 Hz, 85 Hz, and 100 Hz, and the jaw model 42 is brushed in the following manner. The removal rate of the artificial plaque adhered to the teeth of the jaw model 42 was measured. However, the reversing speed refers to the number of repetitions of the reciprocating reciprocating motion per second, counting one reciprocating motion of the brush head 30 as one time.

  As shown in FIG. 5, artificial plaque is applied to the first premolar A, the second premolar B, and the first premolar C on the upper cheek side of the jaw model 42 to be brushed, and the motor is electrically driven with a predetermined number of reciprocating vibrations. The toothbrush 10 is driven, and the brush head 30 is sequentially pressed against the teeth A, B, and C with a brushing pressure of 150 g at a moving speed of 3.16 mm / sec from the first molar C to the first premolar A side. It was moved to (front side) and brushed.

  After brushing the three teeth A, B, and C of the jaw model 42 in this manner, the plaque removal rate in the corner area of the teeth A, B, and C set as follows was obtained by image analysis. The results are shown in Table 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the setting method of the corners 2 of the teeth A, B, and C is as follows. First, the outer surface of the tooth 1 protruding downward from the gingiva 3 is photographed by the imaging means. The center P of the rectangular frame 5 in contact with the outer shape of the reference image 4 is obtained. Next, a reduced image 6 obtained by reducing the reference image 4 to 80% is created, and the images 4 and 6 are overlapped so that the center P thereof overlaps. Next, the reference image 4 was sectioned by a vertical section line 7 in contact with the reduced image 6, and an area indicated by hatching outside the section line 7 was set as the corner portion 2.

  As shown in Table 1, the inversion angle θ is 65 ° ≦ θ ≦ 85 °, the inversion speed V is 55 Hz ≦ V ≦ 75 Hz, and the inversion angle θ is 40 ° ≦ θ ≦ 65 °. It can be seen that sufficient plaque removal performance is obtained when the speed V is 65 Hz ≦ V ≦ 85 Hz.

  Next, a test conducted for appropriately setting the buckling strength of the brush portion 29 will be described.

  As the electric toothbrush 10, an electric toothbrush in which the reversal angle θ of the brush head 30 is set to 65 degrees and the reversal speed V is set to 65 Hz is used. As the replacement brush 20, as the base 33 of the brush head 30, there are 21 flocked holes, the diameter of the flocked hole is 1.5 mm, and the diameter of the circumference passing through the center of the flocked hole arranged at the outermost periphery is 9. It is equipped with a 4 mm base 33 and has three types of filaments with diameters of φ0.127 mm, φ0.160 mm, and φ0.190 mm. The hair length is 10 mm, the tip is rounded, and the hair bundle What was equipped with the brush head 30 of 3 types which planted the filament which cut the flat hair was used.

  Then, the three types of replacement brushes 20 were sequentially attached to the electric toothbrush 10, and a brushing test was performed in the same manner as described above, and the removal rate of artificial plaque adhered to the teeth of the jaw model 42 was measured. Further, the buckling strength of the brush portion 29 was measured according to the provisions of JIS S3016 “Toothbrush”, and the results are shown in Table 2.

As can be seen from Table 2, the plaque removal rate at the corner increases as the diameter of the filament becomes thinner, that is, as the filament easily enters the back of the corner, and the filament diameter becomes 0.16 mm. Hereinafter, it can be seen that a plaque removal rate of 60% or more can be secured by setting the buckling strength to 50 N / cm ² or less.

Vertical section of electric toothbrush Explanatory drawing of the 1st and 2nd conversion means of an electric toothbrush Front view of test equipment Plan view of test equipment Illustration of teeth to be tested Illustration of tooth corner The graph which shows the relationship between the inversion speed and inversion angle in the electric toothbrush which concerns on this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 tooth | gear 2 corner part 3 gum 4 reference image 5 frame 6 reduced image 7 division straight line 10 electric toothbrush 11 casing 11a motor case 12 lid member 13 battery 14 motor 15 rotating shaft 16 output shaft 17 first conversion means 18 rubber cover 19 cover Member 20 Replacement brush 21 First bevel gear 22 Second bevel gear 23 Shaft portion 24 Cam hole 25 Engagement pin 26 Handle 27 Operation rod 28 Shaft member 29 Brush portion 30 Brush head 31 Connecting pin 32 Second conversion means 33 Base 40 test apparatus 41 operation means 42 jaw model 43 holding means 44 measuring means 45 strain gauge 46 holder 47 support frame A first premolar B second premolar C first premolar

Claims (4)

In an electric toothbrush having a brush head that performs reciprocating reciprocating motion,
The inversion angle θ of the brush head is 65 ° ≦ θ ≦ 85 °, and the inversion speed V is 55 Hz ≦ V ≦ 75 Hz.
An electric toothbrush characterized by that. In an electric toothbrush having a brush head that performs reciprocating reciprocating motion,
The inversion angle θ of the brush head is 40 ° ≦ θ ≦ 65 °, and the inversion speed V is 65 Hz ≦ V ≦ 85 Hz.
An electric toothbrush characterized by that. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a buckling strength of a brush portion made of a plurality of hair bundles implanted in a base of the brush head is 50 N / cm ² or less. The electric toothbrush of any one of Claims 1-3 provided with the conversion means which converts the reciprocating linear motion of an output shaft into the reverse reciprocating motion of a brush head.

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