JP2538982Y2 - Electric toothbrush device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention relates to an electric toothbrush device which appropriately attaches a toothbrush to a device body having a driving means therein, and automatically rotates or reciprocates the toothbrush to perform toothbrushing.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of electric toothbrush, there is a drive stop of a toothbrush, switching between a first drive (for example, rotational reciprocation of the toothbrush) and a second drive (for example, linear reciprocation of the toothbrush). Is performed by one changeover switch mechanism. In this changeover switch mechanism, for example, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the switch handle 1 is appropriately moved up and down in the longitudinal direction of the main body 2, and the switch cam 3 is moved in accordance with the up and down movement. Is rotated in both forward and reverse directions, and the longitudinal switch lever 4 is moved up and down in accordance with the direction of rotation of the switch cam 3. Based on the up and down movement of the switch lever 4, printing is performed using a contact piece provided at the lower end 5 of the switch lever 4. There is a configuration in which the circuit pattern on the substrate 6 is appropriately conducted to switch the toothbrush in three stages. And especially,
A configuration in which a pair of click spring portions 7a are provided at the upper end 7 of the switch lever 4 and the click spring portions 7a are engaged with engagement recesses 8a provided in another fixing member 8 to give a click feeling to the movement of the switch handle 1. (See JP-A-63-77404).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in this conventional electric toothbrush device, since the click spring portion 7a is integrally provided on both sides in the length direction of the switch lever 4, the click spring portion 7a is provided only for the click spring portion 7a. The cylindrical main body case 9 has a large diameter, which hinders miniaturization of the apparatus. Further, since the click spring portion 7a is engaged with the engagement recess 8a of the other fixing member 8, and a large number of components are interposed between the click spring portion 7a and the switch handle 1, the click spring portion 7a and the switch handle 1 are connected to each other. Due to the presence of the mounting backlash, there is a problem that an operation backlash is easily generated between the movement of the switch handle 1 and the click operation of the click spring portion 7a, resulting in a poor operation feeling of the switch switching.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the electric toothbrush device as described above and to improve the operational feeling of switch switching.

Means for Solving the Problems For this purpose, the present invention slides an external operation member such as a slide plate 66 and converts the linear motion thereof into a rotary motion to convert the Such a rotating body is rotated, the rotational movement is converted into a swinging movement, and the switch lever 68 swings about the fulcrum 73, thereby causing the contact spring members such as the power springs 53 and 54 to bend. In an electric toothbrush device in which the reversible motor 17 is connected to a power source such as a rechargeable battery 18 in forward or reverse connection, and the driving mode of the toothbrush 11 is changed by changing the rotation direction of the reversible motor 17, for example, to a rotary method or a bus method. A first eccentric projection 64 engaging with the external operating member is provided on one side of the rotating body in the axial direction, and a second eccentric projection 65 engaging with the switch lever 68 is provided on the other side in the axial direction. In addition, a plurality of engagement recesses 63b are provided on the peripheral surface 63a, and a pair of claw portions 75b of a click spring 75 that gives a click feeling to the movement of the external operation member are engaged with the engagement recesses 63b. And

Operation When the external operation member is moved, the rotating body rotates against the click spring 75, and the switch lever 68 is rotated based on the rotation of the rotating body to switch the connection pattern of the electric circuit. At this time, the click spring 75 gives a click feeling to the movement of the external operation member.

Embodiment Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

4 and 5 show the entire structure of the internal mechanism of the electric toothbrush device according to one embodiment of the present invention. This electric toothbrush device is configured by connecting a rolling / bus toothbrush 11 to a device body 10 as shown in the figure, for example. The container body 10
The main body case 12 includes an upper case 13 and a lower case 14 attached to both upper and lower ends thereof. Then, the upper case 13 is covered with the cap 15. An inner case 16 is disposed in the main body case 12, and a reversible motor 17 and a rechargeable battery 18 are stored through the inner case 16. On the other hand, a charging terminal 19 is provided in the lower case 14.

A face gear 21 meshes with a motor gear 20 of the reversible motor 17, as shown in FIG. The face gear 21 is provided on a support shaft 23 arranged at right angles to the motor shaft 22 so as to be rotatable in both forward and reverse directions. Both ends of the support shaft 23 are supported by the chassis 24. The face gear 21 has an eccentric projection 25 as shown in FIGS. Eccentric projection 25
Engages with a long hole 27 formed in the switching piece 26. Switching piece 26
Consists of an engaging portion 28 on the face gear 21 side and a disc-shaped fitting portion 29 having a spherical outer surface. 8A, two pairs of engaging step portions 29a and 29d are provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the center of the elongated hole 27 as shown in FIG.
b ・ 29c is provided. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the switching piece 26 accommodates the fitting portion 29 in the holding hole 31 of the follower 30 and fits the outer peripheral surface to the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole 31. Hold together so that it can rotate freely. Further, the engaging portion 28 is disposed in the guide square hole 33 of the fixed guide frame 32. The entire switching piece 26 is clamped between the face gear 21 and the chassis 24 to restrict the lateral movement in the figure. The follower 30 has opposed engaging projections 30a and 30b on the inner peripheral surface of the holding hole 31.
Then, the drive shaft 35 penetrates the upper end portion 30c, and the drive shaft 35
Be fixed to. As shown in FIG. 5, the fixed guide frame 32 has a bearing portion 32a integrally formed on the guide square hole 33, and the drive shaft is formed by the bearing portion 32a and the bearing 36 provided above in the figure. Bearing 35 Then, the drive shaft 35 is rotatably and reciprocally movable about its axis and linearly and reciprocally movable in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the fixed guide frame 32 is screwed to the upper case 13 with the chassis 24 interposed therebetween at the upper end 32b. and now,
When the face gear 21 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 5 (forward rotation), the eccentric projection 25 pushes the switching piece 26 based on the rotation and rotates. Then, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), the engaging steps 29a and 29d are engaged with the engaging projections 30a and 30b, respectively, to set the switching piece 26 to the first rotation position in the figure. When the face gear 21 further rotates, the switching piece 26 is guided by the fixed guide frame 32 and moves in parallel to the left side in the figure, and the state shown in FIG. When the face gear 21 further rotates, it returns to the neutral position as shown in (c) and then moves parallel to the right side in the figure as shown in (d). Thereafter, the robot returns to the neutral position shown in FIG. By repeating this, the switching top 26
Moves in a horizontal direction in the drawing, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the drive shaft 35, with a stroke corresponding to twice the amount of eccentricity of the eccentric projection 25. In this case, the guide is guided by the upper and lower parallel guide surfaces 33a of the guide square holes 33 of the fixed guide frame 32, and the vertical movement of the switching piece 26 in the figure is restricted. And
Based on the parallel movement of the switching piece 26, the follower 30 is pushed by the switching piece 26 via the locking projections 30a and 30b. Then, the drive shaft 35 reciprocates around the axis through the follower 30. Conversely, when the face gear 21 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 5, the switching piece 26 is pushed by the eccentric projection 25 based on the rotation, and is rotated 90 degrees in the reverse direction. Then, as shown in (a) of FIG. 9, this time, the engaging step portions 29c and 29b are respectively engaged with the engaging projections, and the switching piece 26 is moved perpendicularly to the first rotation position. Two rotation positions. Then, when the face gear 21 further rotates in the reverse direction, the switching piece 26 is guided by the fixed guide frame 32 and moves in parallel to the upper side in the figure, and the state shown in FIG. When the face gear 21 further rotates in the reverse direction, it returns to the neutral position as shown in (c), and then (d)
Translates downward in the figure shown in FIG. Thereafter, the robot returns to the neutral position shown in FIG. By this repetition, the switching piece 26 moves in parallel in the vertical direction in the drawing, that is, in the axial direction of the drive shaft 35, with a stroke corresponding to twice the amount of eccentricity of the same eccentric projection 25. In that case, the guide square hole of the fixed guide frame 32
The guide is guided by parallel guide surfaces 33b on the left and right in FIG. 33, and also controls the left and right movement of the switching piece 26 in FIG. And
Based on the parallel movement of the switching piece 26, the switching piece 26 pushes the follower 30 via the engagement projections 30a and 30b. Then, the drive shaft 35 linearly reciprocates in the axial direction via the follower 30.

Further, as shown in detail in FIG. 10, the inner case 16 is formed by integrally forming a motor storage portion 40 and a battery storage portion 41, and has a motor storage opening 42 that opens in the opposite direction to each other. The battery compartment 43 is provided. Of which motor storage section
As shown in FIG. 11, an L-shaped insulator 44 is attached to the reversible motor 17 housed in the inside 40. Its insulator 44
Are formed by soldering the motor terminals 46 and 47 connected to the lead terminals of the reversible motor 17 to one piece 45 thereof. Contact springs 48 and 49 are integrally provided on one motor terminal 46 by press working, and a contact spring 50 is integrally provided on the other motor terminal 47 by press working. The motor terminals 46 and 47 sandwich the insulating plate portion 45a provided on one piece 45 of the insulator 44 to insulate them from each other, and the contact spring holding portions 51a and 51b provided on the other piece 51 provide one contact spring 48. 49 and the contact spring holding part
The other contact spring 50 is held by 51c. Then, the contact springs 48, 49, 50 are extended upward in the figure in parallel. Then, one piece 45 of the insulator 44 is positioned at the lower end of the motor housing 40 in the drawing, and the reversible motor 17 is placed in the motor housing 40 with the other piece 51 covering a part of the motor housing 42. It will be stored. As shown in FIG. 5, the reversible motor 17 is screwed to the upper end of the inner case 16 via the chassis 24. Furthermore, the inner case 16
As shown in the figure, bend the power springs 53 and 54 to
It is assembled to the outer peripheral surface 41a of the base 41 and is held by a plurality of holding claws 55. The power springs 53 and 54 have their upper ends 53a and 54a extended upward in the drawing in parallel with each other. And the eleventh
A power spring holding portion 51d provided on the other piece 51 of the insulator 44 shown in the figure.
· Hold with 51e, as shown in Fig. 5, power springs 53 and 54
Are arranged between contact springs 48 and 50 and between contact springs 50 and 49, respectively. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, holes 56 formed in the power supply housing 41 are formed in the power supply springs 53 and 54.
・ Battery terminals 57 projecting from 56 are connected by soldering. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower ends 53b and 54b of the power springs 53 and 54 are connected to the charging terminal 19 by the lower case 14. Reference numeral 58 in FIG. 10 denotes a backflow preventing diode when the charging terminals 19 are short-circuited.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer periphery of the main body case 12 (the outer periphery of the upper end in FIG. 4) has a guide plate portion.
60 is provided, and a guide long groove 61a is formed on both sides thereof, and an engagement round hole 61b is formed in the center. Then, a cylindrical switch cam (rotary member) 63 is engaged with the engagement round hole 61b via an O-ring 62, and is supported rotatably with reference to the peripheral surface 63a. The switch cam 63 has eccentric protrusions 64 and 65 on the peripheral edges of the left and right end surfaces, respectively. Hook claws 66a projecting inward from both sides of the slide plate (external operation member) 66 are engaged with the guide long grooves 61a. And slide plate 66 to main body case 12
It is slidable up and down. The slide plate 66
The center portion has an engaging long groove 67 formed in the axial direction. Then, the first engagement portion on the left side of the switch cam 63 in FIG.
Eccentric projection 64 is engaged. Thus, the switch cam 63 is rotated by sliding the slide plate 66. Its switch cam 63
The second eccentric protrusion 65 on the right side of the drawing engages with the long hole 69 of the switch lever 68. As shown in FIG. 1, the switch lever 68 has a regulating hole 70 along with an elongated hole 69 at its upper end 68a.
Then, spring holding grooves 71 and 72 are provided in the lower end portion 68b. As shown in FIG. 5, the battery springs 71 and 72 have battery springs.
The upper ends 53a and 54a of the 53 and 54 are engaged and held. And
As shown in FIG. 6, the switch lever 68 is rotatably mounted on the chassis 24 with a pin (fixed shaft) 73 as a fulcrum. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, the tip 23a of the support shaft 23 having a smaller diameter is inserted into the regulating hole 70 to regulate the swing angle range of the switch lever 68. Also, its support shaft
Attach the click spring 75 to the tip 23a of the 23. The click spring 75 is engaged with the engaging step 6 of the operating lever 68 by the engaging concave portion 75a.
8c, and hooks a plurality of notches (engaging recesses) 63b provided on the peripheral surface 63a of the switch cam 63 with a plurality of claws 75b. Then, click the switch cam 63 on the slide plate 66 and click the spring 75
When the rotation of the slide plate 66 is performed, a click feeling is given to the movement of the slide plate 66. When the slide plate 66 is positioned at an intermediate position on the main body case 12, for example,
As shown in the figure, the switch lever 68 is in the straight neutral position, and the power is off. Then, for example, the slide plate is slid and positioned at a position above the main body case 12,
When the switch cam 63 is rotated, the switch cam 63 is rotated in one direction, and the switch lever 68 is turned to the right in FIG. The upper end 53a is in contact with the contact spring 50 and the other upper end 54a is in contact with the contact spring 49, and the power is turned on to drive the reversible motor 17. When the slide plate 66 is positioned at the lower position and the switch cam 63 is rotated in the other direction, the switch lever 68 is turned to the left in FIG. This time, one upper end 53a is in contact with the contact spring 48 and the other upper end 54a is in contact with the contact spring 50, and the reversible motor 17
To reverse drive.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the drive shaft 35 has a flat end 35a and a circumferential groove 35b on the outer periphery near the front end. And the tip 35a of this drive shaft 35
And the lower end of the rolling / bus toothbrush 11
The rolling and bus toothbrush 11 is detachably connected to the drive shaft 35 by hooking a hook portion 11a provided at its lower end portion to a circumferential groove 35b.

On the other hand, the rotary toothbrush unit 80 connected to the same drive shaft 35 has a configuration as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, for example. This rotary toothbrush unit 80
Has an internal mechanism in an outer case composed of a unit case 81 and a head case. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, a hook portion provided on one side of the lower end of the unit case 81 in the drawing.
The hook 81a is hooked into the hook recess 13a provided in the upper case 13 of the container body 10, and the other hooking projection 81b is engaged with the hook recess 15a provided in the cap 15, as shown in FIG. And hold it. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 15 (a), the unit case 81 has a connection port 83 inclined at an angle α at the upper end. And the bearing pipe 84 is fixed to the upper inner periphery. As shown in FIG. 16, the bearing pipe 84 is provided with positioning recesses 85a at symmetrical positions at intervals at shoulders 85 provided at the upper end thereof, and a collar 86a at the upper edge of a small diameter neck 86. The shoulder portion 85 and the neck portion 86 are inclined at an angle α similarly to the connection opening 83, and the neck portion 86 is provided to protrude from the connection opening as shown in FIG. Then, the head case 82 is connected to the neck 86. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the head case 82 is formed by dividing the connecting portion 87 into two parts, and the positioning case 87a is provided at a symmetrical position on the lower end surface. Also,
A guide portion 87b is provided on the inner periphery. And this connecting part 8
7, the opening 87c is fitted into the neck 86 of the bearing pipe 84, and the positioning projection 87a is engaged with the positioning recess 85a, whereby the head case 82 is held by the unit case 81. When the head case 82 is positioned by rotating it 180 degrees from the upright state shown in FIG. 15 (a), as shown in (b), the head case 82 is directed downward by an angle 2α with respect to the unit case 81 as shown in FIG. The angle can be adjusted to the inclined state.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the toothbrush unit 80 for rotary
Is arranged. FIG. 12 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 18, it comprises a cylindrical portion 89 and a shaft support portion 90 having a smaller diameter. Cylindrical part 89 is slit at symmetrical position
89a is provided, and an inward locking projection 89b is provided at the lower end. Then, the hook projection 89b is hooked on the circumferential groove 35b of the drive shaft 35 and connected to the drive shaft 35. Further, the joint member 88 is formed by insert-molding a shaft 91 on the shaft support portion 90. The shaft 91 has a spherical part in the middle
91a is formed. Then, the movement of the shaft 91 is guided by the bearing pipe 84 via the spherical portion 91a. Further, a flexible shaft 92 made of, for example, a compression coil spring is fixed to the tip of the shaft 90. The flexible shaft 92, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 19,
The distal end 92a is extended into the head case 82, and the operating lever 93 is attached to the distal end 92a. The operating lever 93 includes a holding portion 94 for holding the flexible shaft 92 and a plate-like cam plate portion 95.
And slidable up and down in the figure between the guide portions 87b of the head case 82. The cam plate portion 95 is provided with a long engaging recess 95a in the axial direction of the flexible shaft 92,
The engagement pin 96 is set up. Then, the gear shaft 98 of the sector gear 97 is engaged with the engagement recess 95a, and the engagement pin 96 is engaged with the engagement recess 97a of the sector gear 97. The gear shaft 98 has both ends supported by the head case 82. The sector gear 97 meshes with a small gear 99 having a smaller radius and a smaller number of teeth. The small gear 99 is rotatably and reciprocally attached to the head case 82 via the support shaft 100. Then, when the operating lever 93 is linearly reciprocated together with the flexible shaft 92 with a small stroke of, for example, 3 mm, the operating lever 93 engages the engaging pin.
The sector gear 97 is pushed through 96 and reciprocates in a 60-degree angle range.
Reciprocating rotation of 99 in 180 degree angle range. And the first
As shown in FIG. 2, a rotary brush 102 attached to a tip of a support shaft 100 of a small gear 99 via a holding member 101 is supported by a support shaft.
It reciprocates with the small gear 99 around 100. The tip of the rotary brush 102 is formed in a conical shape so that one point can be intensively polished.

When the toothbrush is performed using the electric toothbrush device having the above-described configuration, first, either the rolling / bus toothbrush 11 or the rotary toothbrush unit 80 is appropriately selected according to the toothbrush location and the purpose thereof, and the toothbrush body 10 is used. Connect to

When the tooth brushing is performed by, for example, a rolling method, the power of the slide plate 66 is turned on at a position above the main body case 12 and the reversible motor 17 is driven. Then, the face gear 21 is rotated (forward rotation), and the engagement step 29a of the switching top 26 is rotated.
29d is engaged with the engagement protrusions 30a and 30b of the follower 30, the switching piece 26 is set to the first rotation position, guided by the fixed guide frame 32, and rotated with the drive shaft 35 via the follower 30. Reciprocate. The toothbrush 11 is used to brush the teeth by the rolling method.

When brushing by the bath method, use a slide plate.
The reversible motor 17 is reversely driven with the position 66 below the main body case 12. Then, the switching gear 26 is rotated by rotating the face gear 21 in the reverse direction, and the engagement step portions 29c and 29b are engaged with the engagement protrusions 30a and 30b of the follower 30, and It is guided by the fixed guide frame 32 and linearly reciprocates with the drive shaft 35 via the follower 30. The toothbrush 11 is used to brush the teeth by the bath method.

Next, when the tooth brushing is performed by the rotary method, the reversible motor 17 is reversely driven with the slide plate 66 positioned below the main body case 12, as in the case of the bus method. Then, the drive shaft 35 linearly reciprocates with the operating lever 93, the sector gear 97 rotates and reciprocates with the operating lever 93, and the small gear 99 reciprocates with the sector gear 97. Thus, the rotary brush 102 is reciprocated together with the small gear 99 to perform tooth brushing by the rotary method.

Therefore, the electric toothbrush device in the illustrated embodiment is
It is possible to selectively perform three types of tooth brushing: a rolling method, a bath method, and a rotary method.

Effects of the Invention Therefore, according to the invention, in the above-described electric toothbrush device, the switch lever and the separate click spring are provided, and the pair of claw portions of the click spring are engaged with the engagement recesses of the rotating body. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the device by saving the space inside the container body, and to reduce the play of the movement of the external operation member and the click operation of the click spring to improve the operation feeling of the switch switching. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a switch lever in which a switch cam, a click spring and a part are omitted in an electric toothbrush device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an assembly of a slide plate and a switch cam to a main body case. FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the electric toothbrush device at a place where the slide plate and the switch cam are mounted, and FIG. 4 is an internal mechanism of the entire electric toothbrush device having a rolling / bus toothbrush connected to the main body. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the electric toothbrush device shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of the electric toothbrush device shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a motion conversion mechanism of the electric toothbrush device. FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (d) are operation explanatory diagrams showing the parallel movement of the switching piece when the face gear is rotated clockwise, and FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (d) are face gears. Rotated counterclockwise FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an inner case to which a power spring is attached, FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of an insulator and a motor terminal, and FIG. 12 is a container. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of this electric toothbrush device in which a rotary toothbrush unit is connected to the main body, FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the electric toothbrush unit viewed from the left side, FIG. Fifteenth
Figures (a) and (b) are explanatory views of the state when the positioning angle of the rotary toothbrush unit head is changed, FIG. 16 is a perspective view of assembling the head case to the bearing pipe, and FIG. 17 is a rotary FIG. 18 is a sectional view showing an internal mechanism in a head case of the toothbrush unit for use, FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a state in which a joint member, a shaft, and a flexible shaft are integrally attached,
19 is a sectional view of the rotary toothbrush unit shown in FIG. 17 as viewed from the left side. FIG. 20 is a front view showing a part of a conventional electric toothbrush device in cross section, and FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of a switch switching mechanism in the electric toothbrush device. 63 Switch cam (rotating body) 63a Switch cam peripheral surface 63b Engagement recess 64 First eccentric protrusion 65 Second eccentric protrusion 66 Slide plate (external operation member) 68 ... Switch lever 75 Click spring 75a Claw

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An external operating member is slid, the linear motion is converted into a rotary motion to rotate a rotating body, the rotary motion is converted into a oscillating motion, and a switch lever is oscillated about a fulcrum, Thereby, the contact spring member is bent to connect or reverse connect the reversible motor to the power supply, and the driving direction of the toothbrush is switched by changing the rotation direction of the reversible motor. A first eccentric projection that engages with the external operation member is provided on one side, a second eccentric projection that engages with the switch lever is provided on the other axial side, and a plurality of engagement recesses are provided on the peripheral surface. An electric toothbrush device, wherein a pair of claw portions of a click spring that gives a click feeling to the movement of the external operation member are engaged with the engagement concave portions.