JP2005046519A - Toothbrush holder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toothbrush holder simplified in structure, achieved in miniaturization, reduced in weight, and capable of being easily held for use by the user because of its structure and reduced in manufacturing cost. <P>SOLUTION: The toothbrush holder 1 comprises a motor 15 housed in a holder body 10 and a toothbrush receptor 50 provided therein to hold a toothbrush 100. The toothbrush holder 1 transmits vibration generated by the rotation of a rotary shaft 35 of the motor 15 provided with a weight member 40 eccentrically arranged at the tip end of the shaft 35 to the toothbrush 100 held by the toothbrush receptor 50 to vibrate the toothbrush 100. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a toothbrush holder, and more particularly to a toothbrush holder capable of detachably attaching various commercially available manual toothbrushes and using the manual toothbrush like an electric toothbrush.

  Traditionally, the prevention and treatment of gingivitis in children and adult alveolar pyorrhea is a brushing method called the bath method, that is, the tip of the toothbrush is applied at an angle of about 45 degrees on the boundary between the teeth and the gums. However, it is necessary to vibrate and brush the toothbrush so that the tip of the toothbrush does not slide sideways.

  However, performing this bus method manually is very cumbersome and difficult and usually tends to move too much in the horizontal and horizontal directions.

  So, a so-called electric toothbrush in which the toothbrush automatically moves is commercially available, but since this electric toothbrush is provided with a dedicated toothbrush, it is the best hair quality for your own teeth and gums, There is a drawback that it is difficult to selectively use a toothbrush having a shape, dimensions, and the like. There is also the problem of high prices.

  In order to solve this problem, an electric toothbrush holder is provided in which various commercially available manual toothbrushes are detachably attached and the manual toothbrush can be used like an electric toothbrush. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  These electric toothbrush holders include an electric drive device housed in a main body, and a toothbrush receiving portion that is movably held in the main body and reciprocated by the electric drive device, and holds a toothbrush. It is configured. In these electric toothbrush holders, the toothbrush receiving portion is configured to perform the reciprocating motion through a so-called sliding bearing that slides on the surface of the frame body that supports the toothbrush receiving portion. May increase. Further, as a drive source of the electric drive device, a household 100V power source is used, and an electric cord for taking electricity from the household power source is extended on the bottom surface of the main body. Even if the holder body is reduced in size, the electric cord is bulky, and there is a disadvantage that the overall reduction in size cannot be achieved. Here, it is conceivable to achieve downsizing by using a dry battery as the drive source. However, since the frictional resistance is large as described above, the life of the dry battery is reduced, which is not practical.

  Thus, there is provided an electric toothbrush holder configured to reduce the frictional resistance generated when the toothbrush receiving portion reciprocates by performing the reciprocating motion via a rolling bearing instead of a sliding bearing. (For example, refer to Patent Document 4).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-9801 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-9802 Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 2-17165 JP-A-11-178642

  However, the electric toothbrush holder that performs the reciprocating motion via the rolling bearing described in Patent Document 4 can reduce the frictional resistance that occurs when the toothbrush receiving portion reciprocates, but it can roll to the toothbrush receiving portion. Since the bearing must be provided, it is difficult to further simplify the structure and reduce the size.

  Moreover, the electric toothbrush holder described in Patent Document 4 reciprocates the toothbrush in the longitudinal direction, and does not vibrate in other directions.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem. The structure is simplified, the size is reduced, the weight is lighter, and the user can easily grasp and use the structure. An object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush holder capable of reducing the manufacturing cost.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention includes a toothbrush receiving portion that receives a normal toothbrush and holds the toothbrush so as to vibrate, and a vibration source that transmits vibration to the toothbrush through the toothbrush receiving portion. A toothbrush holder is provided.

  The toothbrush holder having this configuration can be detachably mounted with various commercially available ordinary toothbrushes (manual toothbrushes), and the manual toothbrush can be used like an electric toothbrush.

  The present invention also provides a toothbrush holder comprising an electric drive device housed in a main body and a toothbrush receiving portion provided in the main body and capable of holding a toothbrush, wherein the rotating shaft of the electric drive device A toothbrush holder is provided in which a weight member is eccentrically provided at the tip, and vibration generated by rotation of the rotating shaft is transmitted to a toothbrush held by the toothbrush receiving portion to vibrate the toothbrush.

  The toothbrush holder having this configuration can vibrate the toothbrush held in the toothbrush receiving portion by a simple configuration in which the weight member is eccentrically provided at the tip of the rotating shaft of the electric drive device. Therefore, downsizing can be achieved, the weight can be reduced, the user can easily grip and use, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In the main body, a dry battery may be accommodated, and the electric drive device may be driven by the dry battery. With this configuration, it is possible to achieve further downsizing.

  Moreover, the said electric drive device of the toothbrush holder concerning this invention can be arrange | positioned in the state which contacted the inner wall of the said main body. By comprising in this way, the vibration of an electric drive device can be more reliably transmitted to the toothbrush hold | maintained at the toothbrush receiving part.

  The toothbrush receiving portion of the toothbrush holder according to the present invention can be provided on the outer wall of the main body.

  Further, the vibration generated by the rotation of the rotating shaft can be adjusted according to the weight of the weight member.

  Furthermore, the vibration generated by the rotation of the rotating shaft can be adjusted according to the amount of eccentricity of the weight member.

  The toothbrush holder according to the present invention can vibrate the toothbrush held in the toothbrush receiving portion by a simple configuration in which the weight member is eccentrically provided at the tip of the rotating shaft of the electric drive device, and as a result, the structure is simplified. Thus, downsizing can be achieved, the weight can be reduced, the user can easily grip and use, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Next, a toothbrush holder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, embodiment described below is the illustration for demonstrating this invention, and this invention is not limited only to these embodiment. Therefore, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist thereof.

  1 is a plan view of a toothbrush holder according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is taken along line III-III shown in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a view showing a state where the toothbrush is mounted on the toothbrush holder shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII shown in FIG. 9 is a rear view of the toothbrush holder to which the toothbrush shown in FIG. 7 is attached, and FIG. 10 is used for the toothbrush holder according to the present embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the plus terminal made.

  In the present embodiment, when a toothbrush is mounted, the side where the bristles of the toothbrush are arranged will be referred to as a “tip”, and the side where the toothbrush handle is arranged will be described as a “base end”.

  As shown in FIGS. 1-10, the toothbrush holder 1 concerning this Embodiment is provided with the main body 10 and the toothbrush receiving part 50 which is provided in the outer wall of the main body 10, and can hold the toothbrush 100, and is comprised. Has been.

  The main body 10 is formed in a size that can be gripped by the user, and a substantially cylindrical hollow portion 11 is formed therein. In the hollow portion 11, the base end side of the main body 10 (that is, the lower side in FIGS. 1, 2, 7 to 9) serves as a dry cell storage unit 13 for storing the dry cell 12 and the dry cell case 18 described in detail later. The front end side of the main body 10 (that is, the upper side in FIGS. 1, 2, and 7 to 9) is a motor storage portion 16 that stores a motor 15 as an electric drive device. A support ring 14 that supports the toothbrush 100 held by the toothbrush receiving portion 50 is attached to the distal end side of the main body 10.

  The dry cell storage unit 13 is provided with a hollow dry cell case 18 having a substantially cylindrical shape. The dry battery case 18 is configured to detachably store the dry battery 12 in the hollow portion, and is disposed in the dry battery storage part 13 with the base end side extended from the dry battery storage part 13. The dry battery case 18 is made of resin, and an extended portion 20 is formed with a male screw 17 that is screwed into a female screw 31 of a cap 30 described in detail later. Further, a waterproof ring 19 is disposed slightly on the distal end side of the extended portion 20 from the male screw 17. With this configuration, when the cap 30 is attached to the extended portion 20, the hollow portion 11 of the main body 10 is reliably sealed. Therefore, for example, when saliva, toothpaste, or the like generated with toothbrushing flows through the handle 101 of the toothbrush 100 and flows into the toothbrush receiving part 50, the toothbrush holder 1 can be washed with water. Therefore, the toothbrush holder 1 can always be kept clean.

  Further, the dry battery case 18 is formed with through holes 24 and 25 for allowing the plus terminal 23 to pass therethrough at substantially the center and the front end side in the longitudinal direction. When the plus terminal 23 is attached to the dry battery case 18, the plus terminal 23 is bent so as to have a substantially trapezoidal shape that protrudes outward between the substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction and the tip end side. Is attached to the battery case 18. At this time, the front end portion 26 of the plus terminal 23 extends from the dry battery case 18 and is connected to the plus terminal of the motor 15 described in detail later. On the other hand, the base end portion 27 of the plus terminal 23 is bent in a substantially U-shape and, as will be described in detail later, serves as a part of a switch for driving the toothbrush holder 1. Further, the end surface on the front end side of the dry battery case 18 plays a role of supporting the motor 15. In the present embodiment, a stainless steel plus terminal 23 is used.

  On the inner wall of the motor housing portion 16, a step portion 32 is formed that contacts the shoulder portion 36 formed on the rotating shaft 35 side of the motor 15 to lock the motor 15.

  The motor 15 is locked at the base end side by the front end side end face of the dry battery case 18, the shoulder portion 36 is formed on the step portion 32, and the outer periphery is in contact with the inner wall of the motor storage portion 16 in the motor storage portion 16. It is stored. The positive terminal of the positive terminal 23 attached to the dry battery case 18 is connected to the positive terminal of the motor 15. Further, one end of a spring 33 made of a conductive material is connected to the negative terminal of the motor 15. The other end of the spring 33 is connected to the negative electrode of the dry battery 12.

  A weight member 40 is fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft 35 of the motor 15. As shown in FIG. 3, the weight member 40 has a substantially fan-shaped cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush holder 1, and is fixed in a state of being eccentric with respect to the rotation shaft 35 (in a state where the center of gravity is shifted). Has been. The weight member 40 is fixed in an eccentric state with respect to the rotation shaft 35 in order to vibrate the motor 15 when the rotation shaft 35 of the motor 15 is rotated. This vibration is transmitted to the toothbrush 100 held by the toothbrush receiving portion 50 via the main body 10 so that the toothbrush 100 vibrates as if it were an electric toothbrush.

  In order to obtain a desired vibration, the weight of the weight member 40 is adjusted to a predetermined weight according to the characteristics of the motor 15, or the eccentric amount of the weight member 40 with respect to the rotation shaft 35 (that is, the weight member 40). It is preferable to adjust the degree of deviation of the center of gravity with respect to the rotation axis 35) or to adjust both of them. The weight member 40 can be formed of, for example, iron or brass.

  The cap 30 is made of resin and has a cylindrical shape with a substantially U-shaped cross section. A female screw 31 is formed on the inner wall of the cap 30 to be screwed into the male screw 17 formed on the dry battery case 18. A conductive member 41 (stainless steel in the present embodiment) is disposed on the inner bottom surface of the cap 30. The cap 30 can be further rotated while being attached to the base end side of the dry battery case 18 (for example, the toothbrush holder 1 according to the present embodiment can rotate about 60 degrees). The cap 30 moves to the distal end side against the biasing force of the spring 33 and the conductive member 41 is brought into contact with the proximal end portion 27 of the plus terminal 23, whereby the electric circuit is turned on (that is, the closed circuit). And the motor 15 is driven. When the cap 30 is rotated in the opposite direction, the cap 30 moves to the proximal end side, and the contact between the proximal end portion 27 of the plus terminal 23 and the conductive member 41 is released, and the electric circuit is Turns off. Thus, the toothbrush holder 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to perform switching with respect to the driving of the motor 15 by rotating the cap 30 in an arbitrary direction. The dry battery 12 can be replaced by removing the cap 30 from the dry battery case 18.

  The support ring 14 has a substantially C-shape covered with an elastic material, and both ends of the support ring 14 can be swung by a pin 44 formed in the convex portion 42 formed at the tip of the main body 10 and provided in the through hole 43. It is supported by. Spring (not shown) is embedded in both ends of the support ring 14 with the convex portion 42 interposed therebetween. The spring is wound around the pin 44, the upper part is fixed to the support ring 14, and the lower part is embedded in the main body 10. The support ring 14 is in an upright position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in a normal state by the biasing force of the spring. 7-9, the toothbrush 100 hold | maintained at the toothbrush receiving part 50 is inserted in the opening part 45 formed in the center part of the support ring 14. As shown in FIG. In a state where the toothbrush 100 is inserted, the support ring 14 takes a position inclined from the standing position toward the toothbrush receiving portion 50 against the biasing force of the spring (see FIG. 8), and supports the toothbrush 100. To do.

  The toothbrush receiving portion 50 is a so-called pocket that is continuously provided on the outer wall of the main body 10 and can receive and hold the handle 101 of the inserted toothbrush 100, and has a bottom surface (an end surface on the base end side) on its bottom surface. An inclined surface 52 that is sequentially raised toward the outside is formed. The inclined surface 52 can reliably support the handle 101 of the toothbrush 100 inserted into the toothbrush receiving portion 50. Further, openings 51A, 51B and 51C are formed through the inclined surface 52 so as to penetrate therethrough. These openings 51 </ b> A, 51 </ b> B, and 51 </ b> C play a role of draining when the toothbrush holder 1 is washed with water.

  Next, a specific operation of the toothbrush holder 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  When the toothbrush 100 is mounted on the toothbrush holder 1, first, the support ring 14 is shown in FIG. 8 against the urging force of springs (not shown) disposed at both ends of the convex portion 42. Tilt it down with your finger in the direction of arrow X, and insert the handle 101 of the desired toothbrush 100 into the opening 45 of the support ring 14. Next, the handle 101 is inserted into the toothbrush receiving portion 50 and the finger is released.

  By this operation, the support ring 14 returns to the upright position, that is, the direction opposite to the arrow X direction shown in FIG. 8 by the biasing force of the spring. At this time, the support ring 14 is locked to the handle portion 101 of the toothbrush 100 and moves until the proximal end side of the toothbrush 100 is locked to any inner surface of the toothbrush receiving portion 50. Is retained. Here, since the support ring 14 is covered with an elastic material, the toothbrush 100 is securely held by the support ring 14. Further, the handle portion 101 of the toothbrush 100 can be reliably supported by the inclined surface 52 formed on the bottom surface of the toothbrush receiving portion 50. In this way, the state shown in FIGS. 7, 8 (shown by a solid line) and FIG. 9 is obtained.

  Next, when the tip end side of the toothbrush 100 is put in the mouth, the cap 30 is rotated in a predetermined direction, and the cap 30 is moved to the ON position, the conductive material disposed on the inner bottom surface of the cap 30. The member 41 contacts the base end portion 27 of the plus terminal 23 to form a closed circuit, and the motor 15 is driven using the dry battery 12 as a driving source to rotate the rotating shaft 35. The weight member 40 is also rotated by the rotation of the rotating shaft 35. At this time, since the weight member 40 is fixed in an eccentric state with respect to the rotation shaft 35, the balance of rotation is lost and the motor 15 vibrates. This vibration is transmitted to the toothbrush 100 held by the toothbrush receiving portion 50 via the main body 10. Here, when the bristles of the toothbrush 100 are held outward, when the bristles contact the tooth surface or the like and a pressing force is generated in the lateral direction, the toothbrush 100 is centered on the mouth portion of the toothbrush receiving portion 50. As a result, it is possible to turn in the direction in which the pressing force is released, thereby preventing excessive pressure from being applied to the tooth surface and gums.

  As described above, the toothbrush holder 1 according to the present embodiment can attach various commercially available manual toothbrushes in a detachable manner with the simple configuration as described above, and can use the manual toothbrush like an electric toothbrush. It becomes possible. Further, downsizing can be achieved, the weight can be reduced, the user can easily grip and use, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  For example, even if an external force that causes the toothbrush 100 to come out of the toothbrush receiving portion 50 is applied during tooth brushing, the support ring 14 is caused by the frictional force between the handle 101 of the toothbrush 100 and the inner edge of the support ring 14. The pin 44 is used as a fulcrum to return to the upright position. Therefore, the frictional force between the handle 101 of the toothbrush 100 and the support ring 14 is further increased. For this reason, the toothbrush 100 is prevented from coming out of the toothbrush receiving portion 50.

  Furthermore, even if saliva, toothpaste, or the like generated by toothbrushing flows along the handle of the toothbrush 100 toward the toothbrush holder 1, the toothbrush holder 1 can be washed with water. It can be kept clean.

  When finishing the tooth brushing, if the cap 30 is rotated in the opposite direction, the conductive member 41 disposed on the inner bottom surface of the cap 30 and the base end portion 27 of the plus terminal 23 are connected. The contact is released, the circuit is opened, and the vibration of the toothbrush 100 is stopped.

  When removing the toothbrush 100 from the toothbrush holder 1, the toothbrush 100 is released and can be easily removed by tilting the support ring 14 in the direction of the arrow X shown in FIG. 8 against the biasing force of the spring.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the plus terminal having the configuration shown in FIG. 10 is attached to the dry battery case 18 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIGS. Except that it is bent in a substantially U-shape, a flat plus terminal 123 is used, a screw hole 124 is formed at the tip side of the plus terminal 123, and a screw 125 is passed through the screw hole 124 to provide a plus terminal. Other configurations such as fixing 123 to the dry battery case 18 with screws 125 may be adopted.

  In the present embodiment, the weight member 40 has a substantially fan-shaped cross section in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush holder 1. Other shapes may be provided as long as the shape can be eccentrically provided at the tip of each.

  In addition, as the electric drive device, a micro vibration motor can be used. Examples of such a micro vibration motor include RF-J20WA (manufactured by Mabuchi Motor), FF-H30WA (manufactured by Mabuchi Motor), and the like. If the ultra-small vibration motor is used in this way, the main body 10 can be further reduced in size, and the size can be made easier to grip.

  Furthermore, as the dry battery, various commercially available batteries such as an alkaline dry battery, a nickel dry battery, a manganese dry battery, and a lithium dry battery can be used. A rechargeable battery may also be used.

  Here, the thickness (wall thickness) of the main body 10 can be appropriately changed in design according to the built-in electric drive device and the size of the battery.

It is a top view of the toothbrush holder concerning embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing along the II-II line | wire shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing along the III-III line | wire shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing along the IV-IV line shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing along the VV line shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing along the VI-VI line shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the state which mounted | wore the toothbrush holder shown in FIG. 1 with the toothbrush. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII shown in FIG. 7 (however, in order to avoid complication, hatching indicating a cross section is not described in the toothbrush). It is a rear view of the toothbrush holder which mounted | wore with the toothbrush shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the plus terminal used for the toothbrush holder concerning this Embodiment. It is sectional drawing concerning other embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the plus terminal used for the toothbrush holder concerning other embodiment shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toothbrush holder 10 Main body 11 Hollow part 12 Dry cell 13 Dry cell storage part 14 Support ring 15 Motor 16 Motor storage part 18 Dry battery case 30 Cap 40 Weight member 50 Toothbrush receiving part 100 Toothbrush

Claims (7)

A toothbrush receiving portion for receiving an ordinary toothbrush and holding it in a vibrating manner;
A vibration source that transmits vibrations to the toothbrush through the toothbrush receptacle;
Toothbrush holder with. A toothbrush holder comprising: an electric drive device housed in the body; and a toothbrush receiving portion provided in the main body and capable of holding a toothbrush;
A toothbrush holder that is provided with a weight member eccentrically provided at a tip of a rotating shaft of the electric drive device, and transmits vibration generated by rotation of the rotating shaft to a toothbrush held by the toothbrush receiving portion to vibrate the toothbrush.   The toothbrush holder of Claim 2 which accommodates a dry cell in the said main body, and drives the said electric drive device with the said dry cell.   The toothbrush holder according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the electric drive device is disposed in contact with an inner wall of the main body.   The toothbrush holder according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the toothbrush receiving portion is provided on an outer wall of the main body.   The toothbrush holder according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the vibration generated by the rotation of the rotating shaft is adjusted according to the weight of the weight member.   The toothbrush holder according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the vibration generated by the rotation of the rotating shaft is adjusted according to the amount of eccentricity of the weight member.

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