JP2533441B2 - electric toothbrush - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush for brushing teeth.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Human teeth are important tissues indispensable for mastication and pronunciation of food, and in order to fully fulfill their functions, caries and periodontal diseases do not occur after meals. It is necessary to brush teeth before going to bed to prevent plaque and tartar from depositing on the cervix. Conventionally, as a toothbrush for toothbrushing, one in which brush bristles are transplanted at the end of the gripping rod has been used, but in recent years, an electric toothbrush has been developed and many people easily use the electric toothbrush. . In this electric toothbrush, a brush rod that interlocks with a small motor installed in the grip barrel is provided so as to project from the end of the grip barrel, and the brush rod reciprocates in the direction of the shaft rod and rotates around the shaft rod. The brush stinging on the brush rod is slid from the occlusal surface of the tooth crown to the tooth flank and the neck of the tooth while removing the residue adhered to the tooth surface. However, the tooth is brushed so that plaque and tartar, which cause periodontal disease, are not deposited on the tooth neck.

[0003]

However, while the brush rod of the electric toothbrush is held substantially horizontally, the brush bristles are brought into contact with the tooth flanks and tooth necks to reciprocally move the brush bristles in the horizontal direction. When brushing while swinging in the vertical direction, the tip of the gingiva is peeled from the neck of the tooth due to the rotation and swinging of the brush bristles around the bottom, and the tooth is attached to the tooth in the gingival groove between the peeled gum and the neck. The shavings that had been pushed into the gingival sulcus on the contrary are pushed into the gingival sulcus by brushing the teeth, which causes plaque and tartar to deposit, causing periodontal diseases such as alveolar pyorrhea and caries. There was a problem that it was easy.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to bring the brush portion of the electric toothbrush into proper contact with the tooth flanks and tooth necks of the tooth, and to maintain the state. Provided is an improved electric toothbrush capable of performing proper brushing by smoothly guiding and moving in the dentition direction while maintaining the correct contact state with respect to the tooth side surface while repeating the upward lifting operation of the brush portion. Especially.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 abuts on the tooth side surface of the tooth so as to raise the teeth from the lower side to the upper side along the tooth side surface.
Includes a brush unit 16 including a brush sting member 46 moves upward, the repetition mechanism 18 for repeated vertically moving the brush unit 16, a drive unit 68 which is linked to the repetition mechanism 18, and
The repeating mechanism section 18 holds the brush section 16.
A holding portion (44) is provided, and the tip of the brush bristle material 46 is provided.
While holding the end part against the tooth side surface, hold this holding part (44).
Holding portion drive shaft 28 that moves linearly along the tooth side surface
The electric toothbrush 10 is provided . Also,
The invention of claim 2 is an inverted L-shape with respect to the brush portion 16 .
It may be provided with a provisional determining member 54 for provisionally determining an engaging position which is disposed on the tooth side of the brush portion 16 while contacting the occlusal surface of the tooth crown portion . Further, in the invention of claim 3, the provisional determining member 54 may be made of a brush pricking material 46. In addition, claim 4
In the invention described above, the provisional determining member 54 may be provided so as to be adjustable in height. Further, in the invention of claim 5, the brush bristling material 46 of the brush portion 16 is provided in upper and lower two steps, and the lower side brush bristling material 46 is formed longer than the upper side bristling material 46. It may be done. Further, in the invention of claim 6, the brush portion 1
It is also possible that the brush bristle material 46 of No. 6 is provided in three stages of upper, middle, and lower, and the length is set in order from the lower side to long, short, and middle.

[0006]

When brushing the teeth using the electric toothbrush of the present invention, the brush pricking material is in contact with the tooth side surface, and the holding portion moves linearly along the tooth side surface from the neck portion to the crown portion, which is correct. Brushing is possible, and the tooth body and gums are not unnecessarily damaged. When the provisional member is brought into contact with the occlusal surface of the crown of the tooth, the brush bristle material naturally comes into contact with the tooth side surface and the neck of the tooth, and this brush portion is moved downward by the repetitive mechanism section linked to the drive section. By repeatedly moving up and down from above, the gingival part does not peel off from the cervical part, and the residue attached to the tooth flank or cervical part can be scraped off with a brush pricking material to remove plaque. It is possible to prevent periodontal disease such as alveolar pyorrhea and caries without depositing as tartar. Then, the provisionally determined member is laterally moved along the dentition while being in contact with the crown portion, thereby scraping and removing the shavings adhering to the teeth and smoothly brushing the entire dentition. Further, the temporary determining member may be made of an elastic member, a brush bristle material, or the like, and the height thereof may be adjustable.
As a result, the provisional determining member is stabilized on the occlusal surface of the crown portion of the tooth, and the brush portion can be properly brought into contact with the tooth side surface and the tooth neck portion. Furthermore, the brush sting material of the brush section is
It is provided in the upper and lower two stages to make the lower brush bristling material longer than the upper side brush bristling material, or it is provided in the upper, middle and lower three stages and is longer, shorter and middle than the lower side. The length may be set in order. Thereby, the brush bristle material of the brush portion can contact the curved surface along the tooth neck from the tooth side surface of the tooth, and the residue can be efficiently removed.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1, 2, and 3 show an electric toothbrush 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As is apparent from the figure, the electric toothbrush 10 includes a casing 14 having a handle 12 protruding from one end. This casing 14
A brush part 16 including a brush pricking member 46 that moves upward along the tooth side face while contacting the tooth side face of the tooth or in the vicinity thereof, and the brush part 16. A repetitive mechanism unit 18 for repetitively moving up and down is provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, in the embodiment, the casing 14 has a vertical case body 20 on one side which is continuously provided in an inverted L-shape when viewed from the end, and a projecting shape at the upper end of the vertical case body 20. Horizontal case bodies 22 on the other side that are connected in series
And consists of. The vertical case body 20 and the horizontal case body 22 are made of a hard synthetic resin or the like, and a hole 24 for arranging the brush portion 16 is formed in the plate surface on the inner surface side of the vertical case body 20. A drain hole 25 for drainage is formed on the lower surface.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the repeating mechanism 1 is
Reference numeral 8 has a rotary shaft 26 axially supported along an upper position in the vertical case body 20, and holding section drive shafts 28, 28 vertically arranged at positions near both ends in the vertical case body 20. are doing. The rotary shaft 26 is rotatably supported by bearings 30, 30 installed at an upper position in the vertical case body 20, and the rotary shaft 26 has a holder drive shaft 28 at positions near both ends thereof.
Plate cams 32, 32 that are in sliding contact with the upper end of 28 are fixed.

The holding portion drive shafts 28, 28 include two upper support plates 34, 34 horizontally provided at an upper position in the vertical case body 20, and a lower support plate 36 horizontally provided at a lower position. Is axially supported in a shaft hole which is vertically communicated with the shaft hole. Further, in the space between the upper receiving plates 34, 34, biasing coils 38, 38 for biasing and supporting the holding unit drive shafts 28, 28 are mounted on the holding unit drive shafts 28, 28, respectively. Pivot support members 40 for pivotally supporting the brush portion 16 are fixed to the holding portion drive shafts 28, 28 in the upper and lower stages at intervals between the upper receiving plate 34 and the lower receiving plate 36. As a result, when the rotary shaft 26 of the repeating mechanism unit 18 rotates, the holding unit drive shafts 28, 28 cause the urging coil to rotate for each rotation of the hill portion of the plate cams 32, 32 fixed to the rotary shaft 26. 38, 3
The holding section drive shafts 28, 28 are repeatedly moved up and down in the vertical direction by being pushed down against the elasticity of 8. The repeating mechanism unit 18 is not necessarily limited to the rotating plate cam 32, and a crank mechanism or the like may be provided on the rotating shaft 26 to move up and down in association with the holding unit drive shafts 28. Further, when the casing 14 is used by reversing it while the user holds the casing 14, the holding portion drive shaft 28 may be reversed in the vertical direction, and the meaning of vertical movement means movement in a relative positional relationship. That is to say, the point is that the holding portion can be moved linearly.

As shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the brush portion 16 includes the drive shafts 2 for holding the left and right holding portions of the repeating mechanism portion 18.
Two or three brush bases 42 are arranged in the upper and lower stages in an obliquely upward direction from the space of 8, 28 toward the hole 24 on the inner surface side of the vertical casing 20. Each of the brush bases 42 is
It is flat and long in the left-right direction, and a support shaft 44 is penetrated and fixed in the longitudinal direction in the lower end portion thereof, and brush bristles 46 are further implanted in the upper end surface. Repeating mechanism 18
Includes the support shaft 44, and the support shaft 44 holds the brush portion 16 to the holding portion drive shaft 28 in a pivotally connected state. In the embodiment, this support shaft 44 functions as a holding portion. Then, the holding section drive shaft 28 linearly moves the holding section with the tip of the brush bristle material 46 in contact with the tooth side surface, thereby linearly moving the tooth side surface. Correct brushing is performed without scraping off in an arc shape and causing a defect. The structure of the holder drive shaft may be arbitrary as long as the holder is linearly moved. The holding part may connect the brush part to the holding part drive shaft in a fixed state instead of pivotally supporting it. Each of the brush bases 42 has a support shaft 44 on both ends of which the repeating mechanism portion 18 is provided.
Are pivotally supported by pivotal support members 40, 40 that are fitted and fixed in the upper and lower stages on the holding section drive shafts 28, 28. Then, elastic wire strips 48, 48 such as coil springs are stretched around both end faces of each brush base 42 and the holding section drive shafts 28, 28, so that each brush base 42 is located inside the vertical case body 20 from the inner surface side. It is arranged so as to project obliquely upward toward the hole 24.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the brush bases 4 is
No. 2 is inclined so that the inclination angle with respect to the upper side of the pivot of the holding section drive shaft 28 is approximately 45 degrees, and the brush base 42 can be vertically swung from this inclined position within a range in which the vertical angle is approximately 15 degrees. The left and right holding part drive shafts 28, 28
An upper stopper 50 and a lower stopper 52 are laterally provided at 40. In this state, the brush pricking material 46 at the tip of the brush base 42 is brought into contact with the tooth side surface, and when the holding portion drive shafts 28, 28 are lowered, the brush base 42 is closed and contracted upward and locked by the upper stopper 50. Downward, and when the holding portion drive shafts 28, 28 rise, they expand and rise to the state of being received by the lower stopper 52, and the elastic force of the elastic cord 48 causes the brush base 42
Returns to the initial position while closing.

As shown in FIG. 6, the locus of the tip of the brush pricking material 46 at this time is ab (downward so that the tip of the brush pricking material is located at approximately the tooth neck position), b-c. (The tip of the brush pricking material sticks to the position of the tooth neck to spread the brush pricking material), cd (ascends while brushing the tooth side surface upward from below in the expanded state), d -A (the tip of the brush pricking material is closed and contracted), and the left and right holding unit drive shafts 28,
While interlocking with the vertical movement of 28, it is repeatedly rocked so as to squeeze upward from below. Since the brush pricking material 46 moves downward while closing, the tip of the gingiva does not separate from the neck of the tooth, and when the brush pricking material 46 moves up, the shavings adhering to the tooth neck and the tooth flanks. , Plaque, tartar, etc. can be removed (only moved upward). This is because the tip of the brush bristle material 46 substantially abuts the tooth flanks particularly strongly during the upward hiccup operation, and also has a large pushing force.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the brush base 42 is
Shows an example in which the upper, middle and lower three stages are provided. In this embodiment, the lengths of the brush bristles 46 are set in order from the lower side to the long side, the short side, and the middle side. As a result, the brush pricking material 46 of the brush portion 16 can be brought into contact with the curved surface along the tooth neck portion from the tooth side surface of the tooth, and the adhered residue can be scraped out and removed. Also, the brush base 4
The two may be provided in upper and lower two stages. In this case, the lower brush bristling material 46 is preferably formed longer than the upper brush bristling material 46, and the brush bristling material 46 also contacts the curved surface along the tooth neck from the tooth side surface of the tooth. It is possible to efficiently remove the dregs adhering in contact with each other in the form of a scrap. The brush bristle material 46 may be jointly planted so as to be exchangeable with the brush base 42.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the casing 1
The horizontal case body 22 on the other side of
The provisional determining member 54 for provisionally determining the engagement position where the brush bristling material 46 is engaged with the tooth side surface or the tooth neck is provided. The provisional determining member 54 has an inverted L-shape with respect to the brush portion 16.
The engagement positions are arranged in the shape of a letter, and the engagement position for engaging with the tooth side surface of the brush portion 16 while contacting the occlusal surface of the tooth crown portion is provisionally determined. That is, the horizontal stylus body 22 has a base plate 58 fitted in a recess 56 formed in the lower surface of the horizontal case body 22, and in the embodiment, the brush pricking material 4 serving as the temporary setting member 54 is provided on the lower surface of the base plate 58.
6 is planted with the tip facing downward. Instead of the brush bristle material 46, an elastic member such as a sponge may be fixed. This elastically abuts the occlusal surface of the crown portion, does not damage the crown portion and the oral cavity, and can repeatedly swing the brush portion while accurately abutting the brush portion from the tooth side surface to the tooth neck portion. A lower end of an adjusting screw 62 screwed into a screw hole opened from the upper surface of the horizontal case body 22 is loosely engaged with the base plate 58 fitted in the recessed portion 56. . The adjustment screw 62 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions to rotate the base plate 58.
The height of the brush bristling material 46 can be adjusted by sliding up and down in the recess 56. The brush bristle material 4 of the provisional decision member 54
By bringing 6 into contact with the occlusal surface of the crown portion, each brush bristling material 46 of the brush portion 16 protruding from the inner surface side of the vertical case body 20 can be brought into proper contact with the tooth side surface and the tooth neck portion, and the brush portion 16 It is possible to brush the teeth efficiently by repeatedly swinging.
By laterally moving along the tooth row in this state, the entire tooth row can be brushed smoothly while maintaining the state in which the brush portion 16 is properly brought into contact with the tooth side surface.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, joint cylinders 64, 64 for attaching and detaching the grip 12 are provided at upper positions of both ends of the casing 14. This joint cylinder 64,
Both ends of the rotary shaft 26 of the repetitive mechanism portion 18 are projectingly provided in 64 to fix the interlocking gears 66, 66. The handle 12 is detachably connected to one joint cylinder 64 and is connected to the drive unit 6
It is formed by a tubular body 70 in which 8 is installed, and a handle tube 74 in which a battery 72 or a booster for AC / DC conversion is installed and detachably connected to the tubular body 70. The drive unit 68 includes a small motor 76, a gear 78 fixed to the rotary shaft of the small motor 76, and the rotary shaft 26 in the joint cylinder 64.
The gear 66, which is fixed to, is meshed with the gear 66. Then, by turning on the switch 80 provided on the upper surface of the cylindrical body 70, the small motor 76 rotates and the repeating mechanism portion 18 in the casing 14 is interlocked. In addition, it is preferable to attach a reinforcing band 82 to the connecting portion of the joint cylinder 64 and the cylindrical body 70 for reinforcement.

In the electric toothbrush 10 of the present invention, while holding the handle 12, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the provisional determining member 54 is brought into contact with the occlusal surface of the crown portion of the tooth T, and at this time, the brush portion 16 is provided.
The tip ends of the brush bristles 46 are positioned so that they come into contact with the tooth neck from the tooth side surface of the tooth T. Therefore, the switch 80 of the handle 12 is turned on and the rotary shaft 26 in the casing 14 is interlockedly rotated by the small motor 76 of the drive unit 68, and the left and right holding unit drive shafts 28, 28 of the repeating mechanism unit 18 are vertically moved. The brush bases 42 of the brush section 16 linked to the holding section drive shafts 28 and 28 repeatedly swing.

Then, the tip of each brush pricking member 46 is repeatedly oscillated so as to squeeze upward from below and pushes the food residue adhering to the tooth flank or the neck of the tooth into the gingival sulcus. Instead, the brush bristles 46 are lifted up to be scraped off and removed, and the gingiva part is pine surged by the brush bristles 46. The temporary fixing member 54 of the casing 14 is moved along the occlusal surfaces of the upper and lower dentitions to remove the residue adhered to the tooth side surface and the neck of the tooth T. Further, when the handle 12 is used on the back side of the tooth T or on the opposite side of the tooth row, the handle 12 is attached to the joint cylinder 64 on the other end surface of the casing 14.
The cylindrical body 70 is used by fitting. Therefore, by using the electric toothbrush 10 of the present invention, the gingival part can be maintained soundly without being separated from the cervical part, and periodontal disease, caries and the like can be prevented.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the vertical case body 20 is provided.
The lower end portion of the brush base 42 may be pivotally attached to the holding portion drive shaft 28 therein, and the side surface of the brush base 42 may be pivotally attached by providing a lateral hole 84 on the inner surface side of the vertical case body 20. The brush base 42 swings by the vertical movement of 28, and the brush stapling material 46 at the end of the brush base 42 can remove the residue and plaque attached to the tooth side surface and the neck of the tooth T. In addition, in the electric toothbrush 10 according to the present invention, the casing 14 is not necessarily limited to the inverted L-shape, and may be formed into an obtuse-angled expanded shape. May be formed inside the brush portion 16 to facilitate the use.

[0019]

As described above, according to the electric toothbrush according to claim 1, the electric toothbrush comes into contact with the tooth side surface of the tooth and moves upward along the tooth side surface so as to rake up from the lower side to the upper side. The repetitive mechanism unit holds the brush unit, including a brush unit including a brush bristle material, a repetitive mechanism unit that reciprocally moves the brush unit up and down, and a drive unit linked to the repetitive mechanism unit. A brush is provided with a holding portion and a holding portion drive shaft for linearly moving the holding portion along the tooth side surface while abutting the tip end portion of the brush pricking material on the tooth side surface side. As a result of making the movement of raising the part from the lower part to the upper part a linear motion along the tooth side surface, the same part of the tooth side surface is ground into an arc shape and the enamel of the tooth is not unnecessarily damaged Tooth that maintains the contact state of the sting material on the tooth side It is possible to perform a tree operations.

According to the electric toothbrush of claim 2,
A provisional deciding member, which is arranged in an inverted L shape with respect to the brush portion, is provided for tentatively deciding an engaging position to be engaged with the tooth side surface of the brush portion while contacting the occlusal surface of the tooth crown portion. Because
Dust that adheres to the tooth flanks and tooth neck can be scraped off and removed with a brush to prevent deposits as plaque and tartar, and can prevent periodontal diseases such as alveolar pyorrhea and caries.
The effect of being able to brush the entire dentition smoothly, easily, and quickly while scraping away and removing the shavings adhering to the teeth by laterally moving the provisional member along the dentition while contacting the crown Play.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the provisional determining member is made of a brush pricking material, so that the provisional determination of the contact state of the brush portion with the tooth side surface can be performed at the same time. At the same time, the tooth occlusal surface can be brushed when the tooth is laterally moved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the provisionally determining member is provided so that its height can be freely adjusted, so that the brush portion can be accurately brought into contact with the tooth neck portion from the tooth side surface according to the shape of the tooth. In addition, the size of the oral cavity of an individual can be easily accommodated.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the brush bristling material of the brush portion is provided in two upper and lower stages, and the lower bristling material is formed longer than the upper bristling material. As a result, the brush pricking material can be reliably brought into close contact with the tooth side surface of the tooth along the curved surface of the tooth neck.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the brush bristle material of the brush section is provided in three stages of upper, middle and lower, and the length is set in order from the lower side to the length, the short and the middle. With this configuration, it is possible to reliably bring the three-step brush pricking material into contact with the tooth side surface of the tooth along the curved surface of the tooth neck.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric toothbrush according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged vertical sectional view of a brush portion.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged front view of a brush section.

FIG. 6 is a trajectory diagram of the tip of the brush bristle material when the brush unit repeatedly moves up and down.

FIG. 7 is a partial vertical sectional view showing another embodiment of the brush section.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a tooth form.

[Description of sign]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electric toothbrush 14 Casing 16 Brush part 18 Repeating mechanism part 46 Brush bristle material 54 Temporary determining member 68 Drive part

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A brush having a grip portion and a brush brush material.
Part and the brush part are repeatedly moved up and down along the tooth surface.
And a repeating mechanism section, In the brush part, a large number of the brush brush materials are implanted.
When the brush base and the brush brush material are applied to the teeth
The brush tip of the brush facing the crown direction of the tooth.
Brush base holding hand that holds the brush base so as to maintain the state
Including steps and The repeating mechanism includes a drive motor and a shaft extending in the tooth axis direction.
A member, provided between the drive motor and the shaft member,
Converts the rotation of the drive motor into the axial repetitive motion of the shaft member
The motion converting means and the base end of the brush base to the shaft member.
And a pivot axis that pivotally supports, As the shaft member moves up and down, the brush base is
With the brush tip of the brush material facing the crown direction of the tooth,
While being pressed, swing about the pivot shaft,
When the brush tip of the brush is along the tooth surface,
From the crown to the crown, at a large angle to the tooth surface
When rubbing the tooth surface and moving in the opposite direction,
Rubbing the tooth surface at an angle
Do an electric toothbrush. 2. The brush base holding means is the brush base.
Between the tip of the shaft member and the upper side of the pivot shaft on the shaft member.
The brush base is centered on the pivot shaft within a predetermined angle range.
Claim consisting of an elastic member that allows it to swing as
Item 1. An electric toothbrush. 3. The motion conversion means includes the drive motor and
Operatively connected and extending in a direction orthogonal to the shaft member
The rotating shaft is fixed to the rotating shaft and is biased in the radial direction of the rotating shaft.
And a cam having a protruding cam surface, the shaft member
The electric tooth bra according to claim 1, wherein an upper end of the electric tooth slides in sliding contact with the cam surface.
Shi. 4. disposed inverted L-shape with respect to the brush portion, the teeth of the tooth crown occlusal surface in contact with engaging position tentative to for engaged with the tooth side of the brush portion The electric toothbrush according to claim 1, further comprising a temporary determining member. Wherein said tentative member comprises a brush brush material, electric toothbrush of claim 4. Wherein said tentative member comprises rotatably provided height adjustment, according to claim 4 or 5 of the electric toothbrush.