CN114504256A

CN114504256A - Toothbrush sterilizer

Info

Publication number: CN114504256A
Application number: CN202111336401.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金明龙
Original assignee: Mingcheng Co ltd
Current assignee: Mingcheng Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-17
Filing date: 2021-11-12
Publication date: 2022-05-17
Anticipated expiration: 2041-11-12
Also published as: KR20220067280A; CN114504256B

Abstract

The present invention relates to a toothbrush sterilizer comprising: a housing having a plurality of air inlets at one side portion through which external air enters an inside; a toothbrush holder located inside the case and having a plurality of layers forming different heights from each other and in which toothbrushes are placed; a fan located inside the housing, and configured to blow outside air toward the toothbrush holder side by rotating the fan so that the outside air enters the housing through the plurality of air inlets; and a driving module located at the housing and rotating the fan.

Description

Toothbrush sterilizer

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a toothbrush sterilizer, and more particularly, to a sterilizer for a plurality of toothbrushes, which can accommodate a plurality of toothbrushes.

Background

Modern people brush their teeth with a toothbrush several times a day for oral health.

However, in many cases, toothbrushes are stored in a wet and poorly ventilated bathroom and are dried naturally without separate sterilization.

Therefore, harmful microorganisms such as bacteria are grown in the residual moisture or nutrients after the use of the toothbrush, and thus the sanitary condition of the toothbrush is generally in a poor state.

Thus, if a contaminated toothbrush is used, there is an increased risk of various oral diseases, such as periodontitis, and the like, and particularly, persons having weak immunity are more likely to be infected with pneumonia, bronchitis, hepatitis, cold, and the like, and therefore, it is necessary to keep the toothbrush clean after use in order to prevent bacterial growth.

Accordingly, a toothbrush sterilizer using ultraviolet sterilization has been recently developed and used.

(Prior art document)

(patent document)

(patent document 0001) Korea granted Utility model No. 20-0434651 (publication date: 2006, 12 and 26 days; name: Portable toothbrush sterilizer with built-in toothbrush)

Disclosure of Invention

(problem to be solved)

The invention aims to improve the sterilization effect of a toothbrush.

Another object of the present invention is to shorten the drying time of toothbrushes.

(means for solving the problems)

A toothbrush sterilizer according to an aspect of the present invention for solving the above problems includes: a housing having a plurality of air inlets at one side portion through which external air enters an inside; a toothbrush holder located inside the case and having a plurality of layers forming different heights from each other and in which toothbrushes are placed; a fan located inside the housing, and configured to blow outside air toward the toothbrush holder side by rotating the fan so that the outside air enters the housing through the plurality of air inlets; and a driving module located at the housing and rotating the fan.

The housing may include: a side surface portion including a plurality of air holes; and a side cover facing the side surface and including a plurality of ventilation holes facing the plurality of air holes.

The toothbrush sterilizer according to the feature may further include: a motor mounting portion connected to the side surface portion, covered with the side surface cover, and having the fan positioned inside the motor mounting portion; and a motor located in the motor mounting part and rotating the fan.

The housing may include at least one window; the driving module may include at least one ultraviolet irradiation unit which is disposed corresponding to the at least one window and irradiates ultraviolet rays.

The at least one window may be located at mutually different heights.

Each window may face the bristle part of each toothbrush placed in the toothbrush holder.

A toothbrush sterilizer according to another feature of the present invention comprises: a housing including a main body, the main body including an upper surface portion, a rear surface portion, a first side surface portion and a second side surface portion, the upper surface portion being provided with a fan mounting groove having a plurality of air holes, the rear surface portion being connected to the upper surface portion, the first side surface portion and the second side surface portion being connected to the upper surface portion and the rear surface portion, respectively; a motor mounting portion connected to the first side surface portion; a motor located within the motor mounting portion; a fan positioned in the fan mounting groove and rotated by the action of the motor; a rear cover connected to the housing to cover an opened rear surface portion of the housing, having a plurality of airing holes facing each other on the plurality of airing holes; and a driving module installed at the housing and driving the motor.

The fan mounting groove may extend along an extending direction of the upper surface portion, and the fan may be a cross flow fan.

The toothbrush sterilizer according to the feature may further comprise a top cover part installed on the rear cover and located on the plurality of airing holes of the rear cover to cover the plurality of airing holes.

The housing may further include a motor mounting portion attached to the first side portion of the main body and mounting the motor. The driving module may include a first driving module part which is located at the motor mounting part and controls the motor to rotate the fan such that air enters the inside of the case through the plurality of airing holes and the plurality of air holes.

The toothbrush sterilizer according to the feature may further include: at least one window located on a rear face of the body; a toothbrush holder located at the main body; and the second driving module part is positioned on the shell and comprises at least one ultraviolet irradiation unit which is arranged opposite to at least one window so as to control the action of the at least one ultraviolet irradiation unit.

The toothbrush sterilizer according to the feature may further include: a front cover mounted on the open front part of the housing; and a rear cover mounted on the open rear surface of the housing.

(Effect of the invention)

According to this feature, air is introduced into the interior of the case by the rotating action of the fan to dry the bristles, thereby greatly shortening the drying time of the bristles. Therefore, the bacteria in the toothbrush hair are greatly inhibited from breeding, and the cleaning state of the toothbrush is further improved.

At this time, when air is introduced from the side of the toothbrush holder, the toothbrush holder is formed in a stepped shape having different heights from each other. The bristle parts of the toothbrushes placed in the respective layers of the toothbrush holder also have a height difference. Therefore, the air blown toward the bristle part side is stably supplied to the bristle part side placed in the toothbrush holder without being obstructed by other bristle parts, thereby achieving a more rapid and efficient drying action of the bristle part.

In addition, in the case where the toothbrush holder is formed in a parallel strip shape, the air blowing to the bristle part side is blown from the upper side to the lower side, not from the side surface part of the bristle part, and thus the air is safely and efficiently blown to all the bristle parts placed in the toothbrush holder.

In addition, since the ultraviolet ray irradiation unit performs ultraviolet sterilization of the bristle part, the growth of bacteria on the bristle part can be prevented or suppressed.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a toothbrush sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 and 3 are exploded perspective views of a toothbrush sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively, and are perspective views from different directions.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a state where the front cover is opened in a state where a toothbrush is placed in the toothbrush sterilizer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a toothbrush sterilizer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 and 7 are exploded perspective views of a toothbrush sterilizer according to another embodiment of the present invention, respectively, and are perspective views showing the toothbrush sterilizer from different directions.

Fig. 8 is a view showing a state where a front cover is opened in a state where a toothbrush is placed in a toothbrush sterilizer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

(description of reference numerals)

1. 1 a: housing 3, 3 a: toothbrush holder

4. 4 a: the fan 41: motor with a stator having a stator core

2. 2 a: the drive module 21: ultraviolet irradiation unit

61. 61 a: first side cover 62, 62 a: second side cover

71. 71 a:

front cover

72, 72 a: back cover

8. 8 a: mounting portion W112: window opening

P11: fan mounting grooves H113, H11: air hole

H61, H72: ventilation hole

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the present invention, if it is determined that adding a specific description of a technique or a structure known in the art may make the focus of the present invention unclear, a part of the description will be omitted in the detailed description. In addition, terms used in the present specification may be different from those used for appropriately describing the embodiments of the present invention according to persons or common practices in the field. Therefore, the definitions of the terms should be defined based on the contents throughout the specification.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the contrary is expressly stated. The term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, acts, elements, and/or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of other specified features, regions, integers, steps, acts, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Hereinafter, a toothbrush sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, referring to fig. 1 to 4, a toothbrush sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, a toothbrush sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention may have: a housing 1 having a main body 11, a motor mounting portion 12, and a power supply mounting portion 13; a drive module 2 to which a plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21 are attached, the plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21 irradiating ultraviolet rays to the inside of the main body 11 of the housing 1; a toothbrush holder 3; a fan 4 combined with a motor (not shown) which is located at the motor mounting part 12 and electrically connected with the driving module 2; a power supply unit 5 mounted on the power supply mounting unit 13; a first side cover 61 and a second side cover 62 provided on respective sides of the motor mounting portion 12 and the power supply mounting portion 13; a front cover 71 and a rear cover 72 respectively positioned at the front and rear of the main body 11 to cover the opened front and rear portions of the main body 11, respectively; and a mounting portion 8 attached to the rear cover 72.

The case 1 has a plurality of air inlets H113 and H61 at one side thereof, and external air enters the inside through the plurality of air inlets, and is blown toward the bristles 110 of the toothbrush 100 positioned in the case 1.

In addition, as shown in fig. 2 to 4, the housing 1 may have a first space S11 and a second space S12 inside, the first space S11 being a toothbrush accommodating space in which the plurality of toothbrushes 100 are accommodated, the second space S12 may be provided with the driving module 2, and the like. Accordingly, the drive module 2, the toothbrush holder 3, the fan 4, the power supply unit 6, and the like are protected in the empty spaces S11 and S12.

As described above, such a housing 1 may have: a main body 11; a motor mounting portion 12 located at one side portion (e.g., left side portion) of the main body 11; and a power supply mounting part 13 located at the other side (e.g., right side) of the body 11.

In this example, the shape of the toothbrush sterilizer generally has a hexahedral shape such as a rectangular hexahedron, but unlike this, may have various shapes such as a cylindrical shape.

The shape of the body 11 may also be determined based on the shape of the toothbrush sterilizer, and the body 11 of this example may have a substantially hexahedral shape with a front face and a lower face opened.

Thus, the present example body 11 may have: an upper face 111, a rear face 112, a first side face (e.g., a left side face) 113, and a second side face (e.g., a right side face) 114.

The width W11 of the upper surface portion 111 is smaller than the width of each of the

side surface portions

113 and 114, so that the first side surface portion 113 and the second side surface portion 114 can project forward from the front end of the upper surface portion 111. Thus, respective edge portions (i.e., upper edge portions) of the first and second

side surface portions

113, 114 connected to the upper surface portion 111 may exist without a portion of the upper surface portion 111.

Therefore, a part of the respective edge portions of the first and second

side surface portions

113 and 114 may be exposed without being covered by the upper surface portion 111.

The rear face part 112 may have a plurality of windows WD112, the plurality of windows WD112 exposing the respective ultraviolet irradiation units 21 so that the ultraviolet rays output from the plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21 are output to the front. Accordingly, the number of windows WD112 may be the same as the number of ultraviolet irradiation units 21.

Such respective windows WD112 may be blocked by a protective film WD113 made of a transparent material transmitting ultraviolet rays. Thus, foreign substances such as water or dust can be prevented from entering the drive module 2, to which the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 is attached, through the open window WD 112.

In this example, although the respective windows WD112 are all the same in shape, the heights may be different from each other, in which case the heights of the respective windows WD112 may be determined according to the heights of the bristles 110 of the respective toothbrushes 100 set in the toothbrush holder 3. Thus, each window WD112 may be located at a height corresponding to each bristle 110 located in the toothbrush holder 3.

Such respective windows WD112 have a quadrangular planar shape such as a rectangular quadrangle, but are not limited thereto, and may have various planar shapes according to the shapes of the plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21.

The first side surface portion 113 may have a plurality of air holes H113.

Such a plurality of air holes H113 may be distributed along the planar shape of the first side surface portion 113.

In this example, the diameters of the plurality of air holes H113 positioned at the first side surface portion 113 and the interval distance between the adjacent two air holes H113 may be the same or different. Here, the spacing distance may be a distance that connects the center points of the two air holes H113 in a straight line.

The diameters of the plurality of air holes H113 may be different according to positions, for example, the diameter of a portion corresponding to the bristles 110 of the toothbrush 100 placed in the toothbrush holder 3 may be larger than the diameters of other portions.

In addition, as for the interval pitch of the adjacent two air holes H113, the diameter of the portion corresponding to the bristle part 110 may be smaller than the interval pitch of the other portions.

Accordingly, the portion of the first side surface portion 113 corresponding to the bristle part 110 may be provided with more dense and larger air holes H113 than other portions, and thus air may smoothly circulate through the portion of the first side surface portion 113 corresponding to the bristle part 110.

Unlike the first side portion 113, the second side portion 114 may have a plate shape of a plane that is entirely blocked.

Because of this structure, there may be a first space S11 surrounded by the upper face portion 111, the rear face portion 112, the first side face portion 113, and the second side face portion 114, and having the lower face portion and the front face portion open, in the main body 11.

The motor mounting portion 12 may have a hexahedral shape with one side surface portion (e.g., a left side surface portion) opened.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, such a motor mounting portion 12 may be attached to the first side surface portion 113.

At this time, the first side surface portion 113 may extend rearward by a predetermined length. Accordingly, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the width W12 of the motor mounting portion 12 may be greater than the width W11 of the main body 11, and thus the motor mounting portion 12 may protrude rearward from the rear portion 112 of the main body 11.

The motor mounting portion 12 may provide a space in which the fan 4 combined with a motor (not shown) may be placed. For this, a mounting bracket 121 may be provided inside the motor mounting part 12, the mounting bracket 121 mounting the fan 4 coupled to the rotation shaft of the motor.

The mounting bracket 121 may be provided along the width direction of the motor mounting portion 12, and a mounting hole H121 for mounting the fan 4 may be provided at a middle portion.

The motor mounting portion 12 may have: a drive switch SW1 for driving the fan 4; an operation display LD1 provided with at least one light emitting diode or the like having at least one color to indicate at least one of the operation state of the drive switch SW1 and the power supply charging state; the time display LD2 displays at least one of the current time and the scheduled time.

At this time, the time display LD2 may have 7 segments, but is not limited thereto.

Unlike the present example, in the alternative example, at least one of the motion display LD1 and the time display LD2 may be omitted as needed.

Similar to the motor mounting portion 12, the power supply mounting portion 13 may be attached to the second side surface portion 114 of the main body 11, and may extend rearward from the second side surface portion 114. Thus, as with the motor mounting portion 12, the width W13 of the power mounting portion 13 may be greater than the width W11 of the main body 11, and thus the power mounting portion 13 may project rearwardly from the rear portion 112 of the main body 11.

At this time, the width W12 of the motor mounting portion 12 and the width W13 of the power supply mounting portion 13 may be the same as each other.

Inside such a power supply mounting portion 13, there may be a mounting groove P13 to mount the power supply portion 5.

In this way, the motor mounting portion 12 and the power supply mounting portion 13 extend rearward from the rear surface portion 112 of the main body 11, so that a second space S12, which is a blank space, can exist between the rear surface portion 112 of the main body 11 and the motor mounting portion 12 and the power supply mounting portion 13 protruding rearward from the rear surface portion 112 of the main body 11. At this time, a bottom plate (not shown) blocking the lower portion of the empty space S12 may be present between the motor mounting portion 12 and the power supply mounting portion 13, and the lower portion of the empty space S12 may be blocked by such a bottom plate.

Thus, such a second space S12 may be a sealed space surrounded by the motor mounting portion 12, the power supply mounting portion 13, the not-shown bottom plate, and the rear cover 72.

In this example, the first side surface 113, the motor mounting portion 12, and the first side surface cover 61 on the first side may constitute one side portion of the housing 11, and the second side surface 114, the power supply mounting portion 13, and the second side surface cover 62 on the opposite side of the first side may constitute the other side portion of the housing 11, with the rear surface 112 of the main body 11 as the center.

The drive module 2 serves as a control module that controls the operations of the plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21, the fan 4, the displays LD1, LD2, and the drive module 2 may be attached with electronic components necessary for the operations, such as a fan driving section (not shown) that operates the fan 4, and the like.

Such a driving module 2 may be constituted by a printed circuit board, and may be located in the second space S12 at the rear side of the main body 11.

The electronic components in the driving module 2 are electrically connected to their own devices, i.e., at least one of the power supply unit 5, the driving switch SW1, the operation display LD1 and the time display LD2, and can control the operations of the devices.

Accordingly, the drive module 2 receives power necessary for operation from the power supply unit 5, and controls the operation of the fan drive unit and the operation display LD1 in accordance with the operation state of the drive switch SW 1.

The driving module 2 controls the number of lighting or the brightness of the operation display LD1 according to the charging state of the power supply unit 5, and the user can confirm the amount of power charged in the power supply unit 5 by using the lighting state of the operation display LD 1.

The driving module 2 controls the lighting state of the time display LD2 according to the operation of the user using the driving switch SW1 or the like, and can set the current time or the scheduled time of the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21.

In the case where the motor drive for the rotary fan and the operation of the time display LD2 are controlled by the drive switch SW1, as an example, if the drive switch SW1 is operated for less than a set time (for example, 3 seconds), the drive module 2 sets the motor operation for the rotary fan for a set time period.

However, if the drive switch SW1 is operated for a set time or more, the drive module 2 may determine that the time setting operation using the time display LD2 is used.

Accordingly, when the drive switch SW1 is operated for a set time or longer, the "hour" display portion of the time display LD2 is turned off by the operation of the drive module 2 to display a time set state in which the drive switch SW1 is operated for a short time shorter than the set time to adjust to a desired time, and then the drive switch SW1 is operated for a set time or longer to set the adjusted time. When the adjustment of the hour is completed, the time display LD2 automatically enters the minute setting state, the "minute" display section of the time display LD2 is turned off to display the minute setting state, and the drive switch SW1 is operated in the same manner as the hour setting operation, whereby the "minute" setting operation can be completed.

As for each ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 attached to the driving module 2, there may be at least one ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV LED) as an example, but is not limited thereto, and there may be at least one ultraviolet lamp or the like.

Each ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 may be lighted by an action of a driving part (not shown) attached to the driving module 2 to irradiate ultraviolet rays.

In the present example, each of the ultraviolet irradiation units 21 may be located at a position corresponding to each of the windows WD112 located in the main body 11, and as described above, the heights of the respective windows WD112 are different from each other, and thus the positions of the plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21 located at positions facing each other with the respective windows WD112 may also be respectively different.

Accordingly, the ultraviolet rays irradiated from the respective ultraviolet irradiation units 21 may be irradiated into the first space S11 in which the toothbrush holder 3 is located through the respective corresponding windows WD112 formed at the rear surface 112 of the main body 11.

As described above, the height of each window WD112 is a height that can face the bristles 110 of the toothbrush 100 placed in the toothbrush holder 3, and thus ultraviolet rays passing through each window WD112 can be directly irradiated to the corresponding bristle 110 side.

Therefore, the ultraviolet rays outputted from the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 are irradiated to the bristle part of each toothbrush 100 facing each other, i.e., the toothbrush part 110 implanted with bristles and having bristles through the corresponding window WD112, and the action of sterilizing the bristle part 110 by the ultraviolet rays is performed.

At this time, since the ultraviolet rays irradiated from the respective ultraviolet irradiation units 21 are directly irradiated toward the corresponding bristle part 110, the ultraviolet sterilization effect and the drying effect on the bristle part 110 can be further improved.

In the case where each ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 has a plurality of ultraviolet light emitting diodes or ultraviolet lamps arranged in parallel in at least one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction intersecting the vertical direction (i.e., the extending direction of the housing 1), the number of ultraviolet light emitting diodes or ultraviolet lamps arranged in parallel in the vertical direction may be determined according to the length of the toothbrush bristle part 110, and the number of ultraviolet light emitting diodes or ultraviolet lamps arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction may be determined according to the diffusion range of the light output from the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 and the maximum number of toothbrushes to be mounted.

The toothbrush holders 3 may be located in the first space S11 of the main body 11, for example, may be installed at the first side portion 113 and the second side portion 114, respectively, which are spaced apart in the horizontal direction. Thus, one end (e.g., a left side end) of the toothbrush holder 3 is mounted to the first side surface portion 113, and the other end (e.g., a right side end) located at an opposite side of the one end may be mounted to the second side surface portion 114.

Such a toothbrush holder 3 has the same width regardless of the position, but may have a stepped shape having a plurality of stages ST31, ST32 having different heights from each other according to the position.

As an example, the toothbrush holder 3 may have a first level ST31 and a second level ST32, the first level ST31 having a first height, the second level ST32 having a second height higher than the first height, and toothbrush insertion grooves H31, H32 for inserting one toothbrush 100 may be provided at each level ST31, ST 32.

In the case of the present example, there is one toothbrush insertion slot H31, H32 in each layer ST31, ST32, but a plurality of toothbrush insertion slots may be provided unlike this. In this case, two or more toothbrushes 100 may be inserted in parallel in each layer ST31, ST 32.

In this case, the heights of the first and second floors ST31 and ST32 may be determined in consideration of the air passage into which the air flows by the operation of the fan 4 located at the first side surface portion 113.

Although the heights of the respective floors ST31, ST32 of the toothbrush holder 3 have been determined, the mounting positions of the window WD211 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 may be determined corresponding to the heights of the bristles 110 of the respective toothbrushes 100 placed in the floors ST31, ST 32.

The toothbrush holder 3 may be made of an elastic material having elasticity.

Thus, a user may insert or remove the neck portion of toothbrush 100 from insertion slots H31, H32, H31, H32.

As shown in fig. 4, by such a shape of the toothbrush holder 3, a plurality of bristle parts 110 located in the toothbrush holder 3 may also be located at different heights from each other, and thus two bristle parts 110 adjacent in the horizontal direction may have portions that do not overlap each other in the horizontal direction.

Accordingly, each of the bristle parts 110 directly faces the plurality of air holes H113 formed at the first side surface portion 113, and thus the air flowing in through the air holes H113 is not blocked by the other bristle parts 110 but is directly blown toward each of the bristle parts 110, so that the drying efficiency of each of the bristle parts 110 can be improved.

That is, since the overlapping area between the horizontally adjacent bristle parts 110 is not present or is maximally lowered by the stepped toothbrush holder 3, the wind entering through the plurality of air holes H113 of the first side surface part 12 is directly dispersed toward the respective bristle parts 110 located at different heights from each other, and thus the action of drying the bristle parts 110 by the wind can be smoothly performed.

As described above, the fan 4 combined with the motor is mounted on the motor mounting portion 12 to be rotatable in a corresponding direction by operating the drive switch SW 1. The outside air is sucked into the motor mounting portion 12 by the rotation of the fan 4, and the sucked air is injected into the first space S11 of the main body 11 through the plurality of air holes H113.

The driving timing of such a fan 4 may be set in advance and may be rotated only for the set timing each time the driving switch SW1 is operated.

The power supply part 5 can be mounted in the mounting groove P13 in the power supply mounting part 13.

Such a power supply part 5 may be a battery charged with power applied from the outside through the facing second side cover 62, and may supply power to components required for the operation of the toothbrush sterilizer, such as the driving module 2, the operation display LD1, the time display LD2, and the motor.

The first side cover 61 is a cover for covering the open surface of the motor mounting portion 12, i.e., a cover for covering the side surface, and can protect the motor and the fan 4 located in the motor mounting portion 12.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the first side cover 61 may be formed in a mesh shape having a plurality of ventilation holes H61.

The second side cover 62 is a cover that covers the open surface, i.e., the side surface, of the power supply unit 13, and protects the power supply unit 5 located in the power supply unit 13.

Such a second side cover 62 has a terminal connection hole H62 for charging the power supply section 5, and therefore can be formed in a planar shape in which all but the terminal connection hole H62 are blocked.

As such, the first side cover 61 and the second side cover 62 are installed at the left and right sides of the case 1, respectively, and thus the first side cover 61 and the second side cover 62 may constitute the left and right sides of the case 1, respectively.

As described above, since the plurality of ventilation holes H61 are formed in the first side cover 61 covering the motor mounting portion 12 of the fan 4, the outside air can be introduced into the motor mounting portion 12 through the ventilation holes H61 of the first side cover 61 by the rotation of the fan 4.

As described above, the plurality of air holes H113 at the first side 113 of the housing 11 and the plurality of ventilation holes H61 at the first side cover 61 may constitute a plurality of air inlets at one side of the housing 1.

Accordingly, the outside air can be blown toward the toothbrush holder 3 side located in the main body 11 of the housing 1 through the plurality of air inlets H61, H113 by the rotating operation of the fan 4.

The air introduced into the motor mounting part 12 is blown into the first space S11 in the main body 11 where the bristles 110 are located through the plurality of air holes H113 formed in the side surface part 113 of the main body 11, thereby drying the bristles 110 located in the first space S11.

As described above, the respective bristles 110 set in the toothbrush holder 3 are not only sterilized by the ultraviolet rays output from the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 but also dried by the wind flowing in by the rotation of the fan 4, and thus the bristles 110 positioned in the first space S11 can be stored in a clean and sanitary manner.

The front cover 71 may have a hexahedral shape with both side surfaces and a rear surface opened, as a cover for covering the front surface of the main body 11 of the open housing 1, and the rear cover 72 may be a cover for covering the rear surface of the main body 11 of the open housing 1.

As shown in fig. 1, the rear cover 72 is located above the motor mounting portion 12 and the power supply mounting portion 13 in addition to the open rear portion of the housing 1, and may cover the upper portions of the motor mounting portion 12 and the power supply mounting portion 13 by contacting these upper portions.

Thus, the rear cover 72 may have a hexahedral shape with both side portions and a rear portion open.

However, the front cover 71 and the rear cover 72 may have various shapes, because the shapes are determined by the shapes of the open front and rear portions to which the covers are attached.

With such a front cover 71, the first space S11 may be a sealed space that opens the lower face and has a plurality of air holes H113 on one side (e.g., the left side), and the second space S11 may be a space that is completely sealed on four sides by the rear cover 72.

In this example, the front cover 71 and the main body 11 may be coupled to each other using a groove (or, a hole) and a protrusion, and to this end, a protrusion and a groove may be provided at a corresponding portion of the front cover 71 and a corresponding portion of the main body 11, respectively.

Thus, the front cover 71 is opened and closed in the vertical direction around the groove or the hole by the force applied by the user.

In contrast, the rear cover 72 may be mounted at the corresponding portion by an adhesive or the like, and cannot perform the opening and closing action unlike the front cover 71.

Thus, the user opens the front cover 71 in the upper direction to place the toothbrush 100 in the toothbrush holder 3 of the main body 11 or to take out the toothbrush 100 for brushing the teeth.

In addition, in order to store the used toothbrush 100 in the toothbrush sterilizer of this example, a user opens the front cover 71 to place the toothbrush 100 in the toothbrush holder 3, and then operates the driving switch SW1 to sterilize and dry the toothbrush 100.

In response to such an operation by the user, the drive switch SW1 sends a signal indicating the state to the drive module 5, and the drive module 2 can output drive signals to the fan drive unit 41 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21, respectively.

Accordingly, the fan 4 is rotated in a corresponding direction to introduce external air into the interior of the main body 11, and thus the bristle part 110 of the set toothbrush 100 can be dried.

The ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 is turned on to irradiate the bristles of the toothbrushes 100 facing each other with ultraviolet rays, and irradiates the bristles 110 of the toothbrushes 100 with ultraviolet rays through the windows WD112 in the rear surface portion 112 of the main body 11 to perform a sterilization operation of the toothbrushes 100.

At this time, the operation time of the fan 4 and each ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 may be set in advance, and accordingly, if the fan 4 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 are operated for the set time, the operation of the fan 4 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 51 may be stopped under the control of the driving module 2 without a separate switching operation.

In an alternative example, each ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 may be operated in conjunction with the closing operation of the front cover 71 instead of driving the switch SW 1. For this purpose, a sensing part may be provided to sense the open/close state of the front cover 71, and the driving module 2 may output a driving signal to the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 using a signal output from the sensing part.

The mounting part 8 may be mounted with the rear cover 72, and there may be an attachable or mountable setting tool, such as an adhesive film, etc., on the setting surface of the toothbrush sterilizer, with which the toothbrush sterilizer can be set on a desired setting surface.

In an alternative example, the positions of the motor mounting portion 13 and the power supply mounting portion 14 are interchanged, and in this case, the second side surface portion 114 where the motor mounting portion 13 is located has a plurality of air holes, and air can be blown from the second side surface portion 114 side to the internal space S11 side.

In addition, unlike the present example, the plurality of windows WD112 may be located at the same height, in which case the plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21 corresponding to the respective windows WD112 may also be at the same height.

Next, referring to fig. 5 to 8, a toothbrush sterilizer according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the toothbrush sterilizer of the present example, the same reference numerals as those of the toothbrush sterilizer of fig. 1 to 4 are given to members having the same structure and performing the same function, as compared to the toothbrush sterilizer of fig. 1 to 4, and detailed description is omitted.

Referring to fig. 5 to 7, the toothbrush sterilizer of the present example may also have: a housing 1a having a main body 11a, a motor mounting portion 12a, and a power supply mounting portion 13 a; a drive module 2a to which a plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21 are attached, the plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21 irradiating ultraviolet rays to the inside of the main body 11a of the housing 1 a; a toothbrush holder 3 a; a motor 41 located at the motor mounting portion 12a and electrically connected to the driving module 2 a; a fan 4a electrically connected to the motor 41; a power supply unit 5 mounted on the power supply mounting portion 13 a; a first side cover 61a and a second side cover 62 respectively positioned at each side of the motor mounting portion 12a and the power supply mounting portion 13 a; a front cover 71a and a rear cover 72a respectively located on the open front and rear portions of the main body 11 a; a mounting portion 8a attached to the rear cover 72 a; and an upper cover 73 positioned on an upper portion of the body 11.

The case 1a of the present example may also have a first space S11 and a second space S12 inside, the first space S11 being located on the front face side, the second space S12 being located on the rear face side.

The body 11a may also be set based on the shape of the toothbrush sterilizer of this example, and the body 11a of this example may generally have a hexahedral shape with a front face and a lower face open.

The main body 11a of this example has a first space S11 for accommodating the bristles 110 therein, and may additionally have a fan mounting groove P11 for installing a fan 4 a.

Thus, referring to fig. 6 and 7, the main body 11a may have: the upper surface 111a, the rear surface 112a, the first side surface (e.g., left side surface) 113a, and the second side surface (e.g., right side surface) 114 have shapes different from those of the rear surface 112, first side surface 113, and second side surface 114 of fig. 1 to 3 except for the upper surface 111a, and can perform substantially the same functions.

Referring to fig. 6 and 7, a portion (first portion) 1c1 of the upper surface portion 111a covers an upper front portion of the main body 111a, and the remaining second portion 1c2 is connected to the first portion 1c1 and is extendable rearward from a position lower than the first portion 1c 1.

Thus, because of the height difference of the first and second portions 1c1 and 1c2, the inside of the second portion 1c2 of the upper face portion 111a may have a fan mounting groove P11, the fan mounting groove P11 extending in the extending direction of the main body 111a, i.e., in the lateral direction.

At this time, a plurality of air holes H11 having a band shape along the extending direction of the first portion 1c2 may exist at a lower portion, for example, a middle portion of the lower surface of the second portion 1c2 of the upper surface portion 111a, and thus the fan mounting groove P11 is provided to be contactable with the plurality of air holes H11.

Thus, the fan 4a of the present example may be located at the upper surface portion 111a of the main body 11a, not at the motor mounting portion 12a, and thus the wind flowing in by the action of the motor 41 is blown at the upper portion of the main body 11a, not at the side surface, toward the first space S11 side of the casing 1 a.

The rear surface portion 112a may extend downward from the second portion 1c2 of the upper surface portion 111 a.

In this example, the rear surface portion 112a extends downward from substantially the middle of the second portion 1c2 of the front surface portion 111a, not the tip, so that a second space S12 surrounded by the upper surface portion 111a, the rear portion of the rear surface portion 112a, the motor mounting portion 12a, and the power supply mounting portion 13a can be formed. At this time, the lower portion of the second space S12 may also be closed by the bottom plate 1c 3. Such a bottom plate 1c3 may constitute a part of the rear face portion 112 a.

Thus, if the rear cover 72 is mounted to the housing 1a, the second space S12 in which the driving module 2a is mounted may become a space closed by the rear cover 72.

The rear surface part 112a may have a plurality of windows WD112, the plurality of windows WD112 exposing the respective ultraviolet irradiation units 21, respectively, so that the ultraviolet rays output from the plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21 are output in the front direction. The number of windows WD112 may be the same as the number of ultraviolet irradiation units 21.

However, in the toothbrush sterilizer of this example, the shape and height of each window WD12 may all be the same.

As described above, the height of each window WD12 may be a height corresponding to each bristle 110 located in the toothbrush holder 3 a.

The first side surface portion 113a and the second side surface portion 114 may be connected to both side ends of the front surface portion 111a and both end sides of the rear surface portion 112a, respectively. In this example, all of the first side surface portion 113a and the second side surface portion 114 may be a plane surface to be plugged.

Thus, the first space S11 can be surrounded by the upper surface 111a, the front portion of the rear surface 112a, the motor mounting portion 12a, and the power supply mounting portion 13 a.

The motor mounting portion 12a may have a hexahedral shape with one side surface portion (e.g., a left side surface portion) open, and as shown in fig. 6 and 7, may be attached to the first side surface portion 113a of the main body 11a and may extend a predetermined length rearward from the first side surface portion 113 a.

At this time, the extension length of the motor mounting portion 12a extending rearward from the first side surface portion 113a may exceed the end of the second portion 1c2 of the upper surface portion 111a, but is not limited thereto.

Therefore, the motor mounting portion 12a may protrude rearward from the rear surface portion 112a of the main body 11a, and the driving switch SW1, the operation display LD1, and the time display LD2 may be provided on the front surface portion 111 a.

Therefore, the motor 41 and the first driving module unit 2a1 of the driving module 2a may be provided inside the motor mounting portion 12a, and the driving module 2a may control the operation of the motor 41, the operation display LD1, and the time display LD 2.

At this time, as shown in fig. 7, the motor mounting portion 12a is a portion of the rear surface opened so that the motor 41 mounted on the motor mounting portion 12a can be electrically and physically connected to the fan 4a mounted on the fan mounting groove P11.

The power supply mounting portion 13a is also attached to the second side surface portion 114 of the main body 11a, and may extend rearward from the second side surface portion 114. Accordingly, the power supply mounting portion 13a may also project rearward from the rear surface portion 112a of the main body 11 a.

At this time, the power supply mounting portion 13a may extend rearward of the second side surface portion 114 by a length exceeding the end of the second portion 1c2 of the upper surface portion 111a, but is not limited thereto.

Therefore, as described above, the second space S12 surrounded by the second portion 1c2 of the upper surface portion 111a, the rear surface portion 112a, the motor mounting portion 12a, and the power supply mounting portion 13c may be formed.

A second driving module part 2a2, i.e., a portion of the driving module 2a, may be provided in the second space S12.

The power supply mounting portion 13a may have a mounting hole H13 for mounting the second driving module portion 2a2 in addition to a mounting groove P13 for mounting the power supply portion 5.

Thus, the power part 5 is mounted in the mounting groove P13, and the second driving module part 2a2 positioned in the second space S12 may be positioned in a portion of the power mounting part 13a through the mounting hole H13.

As described above, the driving module 2a may have the first driving module part 2a1 and the second driving module part 2a 2.

The first drive module part 2a1 and the second drive module part 2a2 may be formed of a printed circuit board, and electronic components and the like necessary for each operation may be mounted.

The first driving module unit 2a1 is attached to the motor mounting unit 12a, operates the motor 41 in response to an operation of the driving switch SW1 to rotate the fan 4a, and controls the lighting state of the operation display LD1 and the time display LD2 located in the motor mounting unit 12 a.

The second driving module 2a2 is located in the second space S12 behind the housing 1a, and controls lighting and lighting-off operations of the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 attached to the second driving module.

The respective ultraviolet irradiation units 21 located at the second driving module part 2a2 are provided corresponding to the respective windows WD112 located at the rear part 112a of the housing 1a, and can irradiate ultraviolet rays to the first space S11 through the open windows WD 112.

As described above, in the present example, the heights of the windows WD112 are the same, and therefore the heights of the ultraviolet irradiation units 21 mounted to the second driving module part 2a2 may be the same.

The toothbrush holder 3a is located between the first side portion 113a and the second side portion 114 of the case 1a, and may be installed to contact the rear surface portion 112 a.

The toothbrush holder 3a of this example may be a plate having a set width and elongated in an extending direction (e.g., a lateral direction), along which a plurality of toothbrush insertion grooves H31-H34 may be provided.

At this time, the heights of the plurality of toothbrush insertion grooves H31-H34 may be identical to each other, and thus the heights of the bristles 110 of the toothbrush 110 inserted into the toothbrush insertion grooves H31-H34 of the toothbrush rack 3a of this example as shown in FIG. 8 may be identical or similar.

However, as described above, the fan 4a is located at the fan mounting groove P11, and the fan mounting groove P11 is located at the upper portion of the toothbrush bristle part 110, i.e., the upper surface 111a of the main body 11 a.

Accordingly, in contrast to the toothbrush sterilizer of fig. 1 to 4, which blows air from one side surface portion of the main body to the other side surface portion, i.e., the first space S11, the toothbrush sterilizer of the present example can blow air from the upper portion of the main body 11 to the lower side, i.e., the first space S11 side of the main body 11.

Accordingly, air is uniformly blown to all the bristle part 110 sides located at the same or similar height to each other in the first space S11, and thus, even if the bristle parts 110 are stacked in the horizontal direction, a stable drying operation can be performed for all the bristle parts 110.

The motor 41 mounted on the motor mounting portion 12a is physically connected to the fan 4a located in the fan mounting groove P11, and thereby the rotation operation of the fan 4a can be controlled.

The driving time of the motor 41 may be set in advance, and the fan 4 may be rotated for the set time each time the driving switch SW1 is operated.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the fan 4a of the fan mounting groove P11 located at the upper portion of the main body 11 may be a cross flow fan having an inverted elliptical shape, such as a cylindrical shape, rather than a fan in which rotary blades are protruded to the outside.

Accordingly, the fan 4a is positioned in the fan mounting groove P11 formed in the upper surface portion 111a so as to extend in the extending direction of the main body 11a, and further, air can be uniformly blown downward regardless of the position thereof through the air blowing port positioned in a predetermined section in the extending direction of the fan 4 a.

Therefore, the drying operation can be effectively performed on a plurality of toothbrushes without increasing the size of the toothbrush sterilizer.

For example, in the case of using toothbrush holders having stepped shapes with different heights, the size of the toothbrush sterilizer increases in the vertical direction in addition to the extending direction as the number of steps increases.

However, in the case of the toothbrush sterilizer of this example, the number of toothbrushes 100 is greatly increased by increasing only the extension direction without increasing the vertical size, and the air can be uniformly blown to each of the toothbrush bristles 110, so that the drying time of each of the toothbrush bristles 110 can be greatly shortened.

The power unit 5, which is located in the mounting groove P13 of the power mounting part 13a, serves as a battery that can supply power to the components required for the operation of the toothbrush sterilizer, such as the first and second driving module units 2a1 and 2a2, the motor 41, the driving switch SW1, and the displays LD1 and LD 2.

The first side cover 61a and the second side cover 62 are covers that cover the open sides of the power supply unit 13a of the motor unit 12 a.

As described above, the fan 4a for injecting air into the main body 11a is positioned above the main body 11a, and thus, there may be no ventilation hole in the first side cover 61a of the present example, the first side cover 61a is attached to the motor mounting portion 12a, and the motor 41 is attached to the motor mounting portion 12 a.

The front cover 71a and the rear cover 72a are respectively installed at corresponding portions of the main body 11a so as to cover the front and rear portions of the opened main body 11 a.

When compared with the front cover 71 of fig. 1 to 3, the front cover 71a is simply different in shape and can perform the same function.

Thus, the front cover 71a is openably and closably attached to the upper surface 111a of the main body 11a by a user.

Further, a sensing portion for sensing the open/close state of the front cover 71a is provided, and the on/off state of the ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 can be controlled according to the sensing state of the sensing portion.

The rear cover 72a may have an inverted "ㄈ" shape, with the front and right and left side portions open, and has an upper portion 721, a rear portion 722, and a lower portion 723. Therefore, the power supply unit is attached to the main body 11a, the motor mounting unit 12a, and the power supply mounting unit 13a, and covers the rear surface of the main body 11a which is open.

As described above, the rear cover 72a is positioned above the motor mounting portion 12a and the power supply mounting portion 13a in addition to the open rear portion of the housing 1a, and can be provided in contact with these upper portions, so that the upper surface 721 of the rear cover 72a can cover the motor mounting portion 12a and the power supply mounting portion 13 a.

Further, the upper surface portion 721 of the rear cover 72a is positioned on the second portion 1c2 of the upper surface portion 111a of the main body 11a, and may be provided to overlap the second portion 1c 2.

Accordingly, the opened upper portion of the fan mounting groove P11 is covered by the upper surface portion 721 of the rear cover 72a, and the second space S12 may be closed by the rear cover 72 a.

At this time, in the upper portion of the fan 4a positioned in the fan mounting groove P11, a plurality of ventilation holes H72 may be provided in the upper surface 721 of the rear cover 72a facing the fan 4 a.

The plurality of ventilation holes H72 are positioned on the plurality of air holes H11 to face the plurality of air holes H11, and the plurality of air holes H11 are positioned on the second portion 1c2 of the upper surface 111a of the body 11 a. Therefore, the plurality of ventilation holes H72 and the plurality of air holes H11 can overlap each other in the vertical direction.

Therefore, the wind introduced through the plurality of ventilation holes H72 can be rapidly supplied into the first space S11 through the plurality of air holes H11 located at the lower portion.

Each of the ventilation holes H72 may be elongated in a straight line or an oblique line along a direction in which the width of the upper surface portion 721 of the rear cover 72a is elongated, that is, a width direction (for example, a longitudinal direction), and may have a planar shape of a quadrangle or the like.

As described above, since the plurality of ventilation holes H72 are located on the fan 4a mounted in the fan mounting groove P11, not the first side surface portion 113a, the external air is stably blown into the fan mounting groove P11 through the ventilation holes H72 according to the operation of the fan 4a, and then enters the first space S11 in the main body 11a, thereby smoothly circulating the air.

The mounting portion 8a may be a top cover portion that performs a function of covering the plurality of ventilation holes H72a in addition to a function of mounting the toothbrush sterilizer of this example on the installation surface, so as to prevent foreign substances such as water or dust from entering the plurality of ventilation holes H72a in the rear cover 72 a.

Accordingly, the mounting portion 8 of the present example may have an inverted "ㄈ" shape, be mounted on the rear cover 72a so as to surround the rear cover 72a, and have an upper surface portion 81, a rear surface portion 82, and a lower surface portion 83.

However, the mounting portion 8a may be positioned on the upper surface portion 721 of the rear cover 72a so as to overlap the upper surface portion 721 of the upper surface portion 81 in order to function as a top cover for the plurality of ventilation holes H72a, and may completely cover the plurality of ventilation holes H72 positioned on the upper surface portion 721.

In this way, since the plurality of ventilation holes H72 are completely covered by the upper surface 81 of the mounting portion 8a, contaminants such as water and dust falling from the upper side of the toothbrush sterilizer can be prevented from entering the plurality of ventilation holes H72.

As described above, the mounting part 8a has a setting tool such as the adhesive film 84 to set the toothbrush sterilizer at a setting surface, and is combinably mounted at the rear cover 72a using a magnetic force or the like.

In the respective embodiments of the present invention, the

housing

11, 11a has a plurality of windows WD112 and a plurality of ultraviolet irradiation units 21 corresponding to the respective windows WD 112.

However, in an alternative example, the number of windows WD112 is one, and at least one ultraviolet irradiation unit 21 may be provided corresponding to the open windows WD 112. At this time, one window WD112 may have the same height or a stepped shape regardless of position.

In other alternative examples, a plurality of windows WD112 may exist in one ultraviolet irradiation unit 21, and at this time, each of the windows WD112 may be provided corresponding to the bristles 110 of the toothbrush 100 placed in the toothbrush holders 3, 3 a.

Technical features disclosed in the respective embodiments of the present invention are not limited to only the embodiment, and the technical features disclosed in the respective embodiments may be combined with each other and applied to another embodiment unless incompatible with each other.

The embodiments of the toothbrush sterilizer of the present invention have been described above. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and drawings, and various modifications and variations can be made from the viewpoint of a person having ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be defined by the equivalents of the claims, except for the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A toothbrush sterilizer comprising:

a housing having a plurality of air inlets at one side portion through which external air enters an inside;

a toothbrush holder located inside the case and having a plurality of layers forming different heights from each other and in which toothbrushes are placed;

a fan located inside the housing, and configured to blow outside air toward the toothbrush holder side by rotating the fan so that the outside air enters the housing through the plurality of air inlets; and

a driving module located at the housing and rotating the fan.

2. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 1,

the housing includes:

a side surface portion including a plurality of air holes; and

a side cover facing the side cover and including a plurality of ventilation holes facing the plurality of air holes.

3. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 2, further comprising:

a motor mounting portion connected to the side surface portion, covered with the side surface cover, and having the fan positioned inside the motor mounting portion; and

a motor located within the motor mounting portion and rotating the fan.

4. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 1,

the housing comprises at least one window;

the driving module comprises at least one ultraviolet irradiation unit, and the at least one ultraviolet irradiation unit is arranged corresponding to the at least one window and irradiates ultraviolet rays.

5. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 4,

the at least one window is located at mutually different heights.

6. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 5,

each window faces the bristle part of each toothbrush placed in the toothbrush holder.

7. A toothbrush sterilizer comprising:

a housing including a main body, the main body including an upper surface portion, a rear surface portion, a first side surface portion and a second side surface portion, the upper surface portion being provided with a fan mounting groove having a plurality of air holes, the rear surface portion being connected to the upper surface portion, the first side surface portion and the second side surface portion being connected to the upper surface portion and the rear surface portion, respectively;

a motor mounting portion connected to the first side surface portion;

a motor located within the motor mounting portion;

a fan positioned in the fan mounting groove and rotated by the action of the motor;

a rear cover connected to the housing to cover an opened rear surface portion of the housing, having a plurality of airing holes facing each other on the plurality of airing holes; and

a driving module installed at the housing and driving the motor.

8. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 7,

the fan mounting groove extends along the extending direction of the upper surface part;

the fan is a cross flow fan.

9. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 7, further comprising:

a top cover part installed on the rear cover and located on the plurality of airing holes of the rear cover to cover the plurality of airing holes.

10. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 7,

the housing further includes a motor mounting portion attached to a first side portion of the main body and mounting the motor;

the driving module includes a first driving module part which is located at the motor mounting part and controls the motor to rotate the fan so that air enters the housing through the plurality of ventilation holes and the plurality of air holes.

11. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 7, further comprising:

at least one window located on a rear face of the body;

a toothbrush holder located at the main body; and

and the second driving module part is positioned on the shell and comprises at least one ultraviolet irradiation unit which is arranged opposite to at least one window so as to control the action of the at least one ultraviolet irradiation unit.

12. The toothbrush sterilizer of claim 1 or 7, further comprising:

a front cover mounted on the open front part of the housing; and

and a rear cover mounted on the open rear surface of the housing.