JP2011194181A - Toothbrush with camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toothbrush with a camera which can be inserted deeply in the mouth to brush teeth and obtain a sufficient light source for photographing.SOLUTION: An X-axis is provided in the direction from the brush root toward the brush tip of the toothbrush and a Y-axis is provided on the surface of the base of the brush root. The tooth brush includes a camera 1 on the toothbrush head part to take photograph in the direction ranging from 90 to 270 degrees from the X-axis direction, a light emitting element 2 on the toothbrush head part 5 to light the photographing direction of the camera, a toothbrush head part 5 allowing its brush part to remove taint in the mouth such as bacteria plaque and food residues and having a structure to be replaced, a grip which user holds, and a cable to transmit camera images to the external monitor.

Description

  The present invention relates to a toothbrush with a camera that can eliminate leftovers by checking dirt on teeth or leftovers between teeth with a camera when brushing teeth.

Conventional toothpastes were brushed with human intuition, rather than brushing while visually checking the dirty spots. Then, there was a toothpaste device with a camera that can do the brushing work while observing with a camera.
JP 2001-170084 PR JP 2001-218624 A

Conventional toothpaste has not been polished while visually checking for dirt, so dirt and plaque remain unpolished.
Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-170084 “Toothbrushing device with video scope” employs a method of brushing teeth while observing the place to be brushed, but the direction of shooting by the camera is the same as the direction from the brush root to the tip of the toothbrush. Because it is installed in the direction, it is necessary to provide a camera part, a light part installed on the top of the toothbrush, and a nozzle that sprays and removes deposits on the optical window, so a large structure part must be installed at the tip of the toothbrush part However, for example, in the mouth that narrows gradually toward the back teeth, it was difficult to insert and brush the toothbrush all the way to the oral cavity wall next to the throat.

In addition, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-170084 “Toothpaste device with a video scope”, the direction in which the camera shoots is set in the same direction as the direction from the brush root to the tip of the toothbrush in the same manner as described above. Because the brush table is used, the light source is dispersed due to the bending of the brush tip that occurs during use with an optical fiber light source, and it is not possible to obtain a sufficient light source. Also, when the light source using the brush table is used for a rotating electric toothbrush The brush portion that transmits light was rotated to reduce the amount of light from the light source. Furthermore, setting the camera shooting direction in the direction extending from the brush root to the brush tip occurs when using the toothbrush, and the tip of the toothbrush always appears on the image taken by the camera due to the bending of the brush tip caused by continued use. There was a defect to enter.
What is common to both of the above inventions is that there is a fixed idea among those skilled in the art that it must be polished while watching the video for many years, and it is difficult to break away from this fixed idea and in the same direction as the brush tip. This suggests that the camera shooting direction had to be set.

  The present invention is intended to solve the problems of such a conventional configuration, and it is easy to photograph teeth by securing a sufficient light source when photographing with a camera. It is intended to realize a toothbrush with a camera that eliminates the influence of the image taken by the camera due to bending of the hair tip, further simplifies the structure of the tip of the brush part, and easily enters a narrow part of the oral cavity such as the back teeth.

In order to solve this problem, the first aspect of the present invention takes the X axis in the direction from the brush root of the toothbrush to the brush tip and takes the Y axis in the pedestal plane of the brush root in order to photograph the mouth. The camera installed in the toothbrush head so as to shoot a direction within 90 to 270 degrees from the direction, and the light emission installed in the toothbrush head so that the camera shooting direction is illuminated with light in order to illuminate the shooting location Toothbrush head part with a structure that can replace the element and the brush part that removes dirt in the oral cavity such as plaque or leftovers, a grip part for the operator to hold, and for sending camera images to an external monitor It is a toothbrush with a camera characterized by installing a cable.

  The second aspect of the present invention takes the X axis with respect to the direction from the brush root of the toothbrush to the brush tip in order to photograph the mouth, and the Y axis with the pedestal plane of the brush root, and within 90 degrees to 270 degrees from the X axis direction. The camera installed in the toothbrush head so as to shoot the direction of the light, the light emitting element installed in the toothbrush head so as to illuminate the shooting direction of the camera with light to illuminate the shooting location, and the brush vibrates electrically Or rotate and remove dirt in the oral cavity such as dental plaque or leftovers, brush part with a structure that can replace the brush, grip part for the operator to hold, and for sending the camera image to the external monitor It is a toothbrush with a camera characterized by installing a cable.

The third invention is described in the first and second inventions, characterized in that a UV wavelength LED is installed in the toothbrush head part so as to illuminate the camera photographing direction so that plaque and tartar can be confirmed more. This is a toothbrush with a camera.

The toothbrush main body and the cable 9 according to the embodiment of the present invention may not be always connected, and a connection terminal may be used so that the toothbrush body can be removed. Similarly, connection terminals are similarly used for connection to the monitor screen.

The video processing circuit 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention is installed in the middle of the cable extending from the toothbrush, but may be built in the toothbrush main body, and it is assumed that the video is confirmed by a mobile phone, a portable game machine or a PC. Then, the video processing circuit 20 may reduce the weight of the toothbrush body by installing a video processing program in each model.

The power source for electrically vibrating or rotating the brush portion according to the embodiment of the present invention can reduce the weight of the toothbrush body by using the power source of the above model if the cable is connected to a mobile phone, portable game machine or PC. May be performed.

In the present invention, it is possible to confirm the environment in which the intraoral imaging is performed with the camera, the intraoral environment in which the toothpaste is applied with a toothpaste and brushed, and the action of capturing the location where the teeth are being brushed with the camera. The environment, for example, the mouth environment of foaming toothpaste, and the saliva and bubbles attached to the camera should be washed away with tap water used for brushing teeth. To capture the toothbrush head, take the X axis with respect to the direction from the brush root to the brush tip of the toothbrush and the Y axis with the pedestal plane of the brush base, and shoot within 90 to 270 degrees from the X axis direction. Since the light-emitting element installed in the toothbrush head part is installed to illuminate the camera and the camera location, in order to illuminate the shooting location, the toothbrush head portion is compact By installing a camera and other equipment above the brush part of the previously invented toothbrush, parts can be gathered at the tip of the toothbrush part, and the oral cavity wall next to the throat in a narrow place in the mouth such as the back teeth Since the camera is installed in the same direction as the brush, there is no trouble such as bumping into the camera, so the curved part of the brush part always enters the camera image and can shoot a wide range without disturbing the shooting range, The brush part can be easily brushed even in narrow places such as the back teeth of the teeth, and you can brush your teeth while brushing your teeth while checking the state of your mouth taken by the camera without disturbing the brush part It was.
In addition, by installing UV wavelength LED on the toothbrush head so as to illuminate the camera shooting direction, it became possible to confirm invisible plaque.

It is a toothbrush head part of 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the camera and light source element installation range of 1st embodiment of this invention. It is the toothbrush and monitor screen of 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a figure of the example of arrangement | sequence of the camera and light emitting element of the toothbrush head part of 3rd embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a side view showing a toothbrush head portion according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The brush 3 is installed on the brush pedestal 4, and the brush pedestal 4 can be removed from the toothbrush head portion 5 due to deterioration of the brush 3 due to use. When the camera 1 and the light emitting element 2 are attached to the toothbrush head part and the inside of the mouth is photographed, the camera part is directed toward the teeth and illuminated with the light emitted from the light source element 2 to photograph. The brush 3 is an ordinary brush, but the shape for cleaning the teeth such as a collection of thin rubber plates is not particular.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the installation range of the camera 1 and the light source element 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the direction from the tip of the toothbrush head toward the main body. The camera 1 and the light source element 2 take the X axis with respect to the direction from the brush root to the brush tip of the toothbrush and take the Y axis with the pedestal plane of the brush root in order to photograph the mouth, and 90 degrees to 270 degrees from the X axis direction. FIG. 3 is a layout view of a camera 1 installed in a toothbrush head unit so as to shoot within a direction, and a light emitting element 2 installed in the toothbrush head unit so as to illuminate the shooting direction of the camera with light in order to illuminate the photographing location. . By taking this range of arrangement, the toothbrush head can be compactly accommodated.

FIG. 3 is a correlation diagram of the appearance of the toothbrush according to the first embodiment of the present invention and the cable 9 connected to the monitor 10. The camera-equipped toothbrush can check the state of the oral cavity on the screen of the monitor 10 having the toothbrush head portion and the grip portion 6 described above and connected by the cable 9. The video processing circuit 20 is installed in the middle of the cable extending from the toothbrush. However, the video processing circuit 20 may be built in the toothbrush body, or if it is assumed that the video is confirmed by a mobile phone, a portable game machine, a PC, etc. The circuit 20 may be omitted by installing a video processing program in each model, and the weight of the toothbrush body may be reduced.
Further, the toothbrush main body and the cable 9 may not be always connected, and a connection terminal may be used so that the toothbrush body can be removed. Similarly, connection terminals are also used for connection to the monitor screen.
The appearance structure and correlation diagram of the camera-equipped toothbrush in which the brush unit of the second embodiment of the present invention rotates or vibrates are almost the same as those in FIG. The power source for vibration or rotation by electricity may be installed with a rechargeable battery in the main body or directly supplied with electricity from an electric plug, but the monitor can be connected to a device such as a mobile phone, portable game machine or PC. In the case of setting, the toothbrush body may be reduced in weight by using a structure that uses the power source of the above-mentioned model rather than a cable.

FIG. 4 is a layout diagram of the camera 1 light emitting element 2 and the UV wavelength LED 15 of the toothbrush head portion according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The light-emitting element 2 is useful for illumination in the oral cavity, and the UV wavelength LED 15 reacts easily with plaque and calculus, and can be easily detected by a monitor. In addition, it can be used not only as a guide for removing with a brush, but also as a guide for dental examinations and has a bactericidal action.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera 2 Light emitting element 3 Brush 4 Brush base 5 Head part 6 Grip part 7 Power switch 8 Camera operation switch 9 Cable 10 External monitor 15 UV wavelength LED
20 Video processing circuit

Claims (3)

To photograph the mouth, take the X axis with respect to the direction from the brush root to the brush tip of the toothbrush, and the Y axis with the pedestal plane of the brush root, and photograph the direction within 90 to 270 degrees from the X axis direction. To illuminate the camera installed in the toothbrush head and the shooting location, light emitting elements installed in the toothbrush head so as to illuminate the camera shooting direction with light, and dirt in the oral cavity such as plaque or leftovers A toothbrush with a camera, characterized by the installation of a toothbrush head with a replaceable brush part, a grip part for the operator to hold, and a cable for sending camera images to an external monitor. To photograph the mouth, take the X axis with respect to the direction from the brush root to the brush tip of the toothbrush, and the Y axis with the pedestal plane of the brush root, and photograph the direction within 90 to 270 degrees from the X axis direction. In order to illuminate the camera and the shooting location on the toothbrush head, the light emitting element installed on the toothbrush head so as to illuminate the camera shooting direction with light, and the brush vibrates or rotates with electricity, causing plaque or eating It features a brush part with a structure that removes dirt in the oral cavity such as leftovers and allows the brush to be replaced, a grip part for the operator to hold, and a cable for sending camera images to an external monitor Toothbrush with camera. The toothbrush with a camera according to claim 1, wherein a UV wavelength LED is installed in the toothbrush head portion so as to illuminate a camera photographing direction so that plaque and tartar can be confirmed more.

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