JP3328428B2 - 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.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various electric toothbrushes have been proposed. One of the typical ones
Finally, a brush body (a portion corresponding to a handle of a normal toothbrush) having a brush portion at its tip is made to reciprocate linearly in the axial direction by a motor provided inside the case (bus polishing), or a shaft. There is a type in which reciprocating swinging motion is performed (rolling polishing) (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
No. 1-64204). Some rolling brushes are designed to reciprocate the brush bundle itself. There are a type that finely vibrates a bundle of brushes (scraping polishing), a type that makes the stroke of the axial reciprocation given to the brush variable, and many others. There is also known a conventional electric toothbrush in which bath polishing and rolling polishing can be switched and used.

[0003]

However, even though the conventional ones can be used interchangeably, the selected brushing method is a single one (such as bathing, rolling or scraping) and a combination of these. I couldn't choose a good brushing method. For this reason, it is not sufficient to brush the teeth according to the required parts, such as between the teeth or between the teeth and the gums.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to select a compound brush in an electric toothbrush capable of switching the brushing operation according to the tooth part.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is characterized in that a drive motor provided inside a case and selectively rotatable in forward and reverse directions, and a motion conversion device for converting the rotational motion of the drive motor into reciprocating motion. A first drive shaft supported movably in the axial direction of the case inside the case and extending from the motion converter to an upper end opening of the case; and an upper end of the case connected to a tip of the first drive shaft. A brush body protruding from the opening, a rotating brush body rotatably provided at the tip of the brush body, and a pinion for rotationally driving the rotating brush body,
A rack that meshes with the pinion is provided at the front end, and an arm supported movably in the axial direction inside the brush body, and is connected to the rear end of the arm and connected to the motion conversion device, and is provided inside the case. And a second drive shaft supported movably in the axial direction of the case. In the above-mentioned motion conversion device, the clutch mechanism having the first eccentric cam and the second eccentric cam which are selectively driven corresponding to the first drive shaft and the second drive shaft by switching the rotation direction of the drive motor is provided. Equipped.

[0006]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a drive motor 3, which can be selectively rotated forward and reverse by switching a forward / reverse rotation switch (not shown), is provided inside a hollow cylindrical case 1 having an upper end opening 1 a. 2 and stored. The drive motor 3 uses a dry battery (not shown) as a drive power source. The frame 2 is provided with a room 2a for accommodating a drive conversion device C described later, and a motor shaft 3a of the motor 3 protrudes into the room 2a in the longitudinal (up and down) direction of the main body case 1. The motion conversion device C converts the rotational motion of the motor 3 into a case 1
Is converted into a linear reciprocating motion along the longitudinal direction.

The motion conversion device C will be described. Room 2
A motor pinion 5 is fixed to a motor shaft 3a protruding from a. A bevel gear 6 meshes with the motor pinion 5, and the bevel gear 6 is rotatably supported on a shaft 4 having both ends supported by the frame 2 across the room 2a. Bevel gear 6
Is integrally formed with a sleeve 6a, which is rotatably fitted to the shaft 4.

[0008] A first ratchet wheel 6b and a second ratchet wheel 6c having mutually opposite teeth are integrally formed on the sleeve 6a. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first ratchet wheel 6b fits into a hollow portion formed in the first eccentric cam 7, and the second ratchet wheel 6c fits in a hollow portion formed in the second eccentric cam 8. Mated. First eccentric cam 7 and second
On the inner peripheral surface of the hollow portion of the eccentric cam 8, a first ratchet pawl 7a and a second ratchet pawl 8a whose claws are opposite to each other are integrally formed. This ratchet car 6b, 6c
And ratchet pawls 7a, 8a engageable with each ratchet wheel
Constitute the clutch mechanism D.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first eccentric cam 7 has a first cam follower 9 having a long groove 9a whose outer periphery is inscribed.
The hollow first drive shaft 11 is fixed to the first cam follower 9. As shown in FIG.
The second eccentric cam 8 is fitted in the long groove of the second cam follower 10 having the long groove 10a whose outer periphery is inscribed,
A second drive shaft 12 is fixed to the second cam follower 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the first drive shaft 11 is supported movably in the longitudinal direction via a bearing portion 15 provided on the frame 2, and is opened from the first cam follower 9 to the upper end opening 1 a of the case 1. It is stretched near. Also, the second drive shaft 12
Are slidably penetrated coaxially into the hollow of the first drive shaft 11 and protrude from the first drive shaft.

A hollow brush body 17 is detachably connected to the end of the first drive shaft 11 via an attachment 16, and the brush body 17 is connected to the upper end opening 1 a of the case 1.
Projecting from. A rotating brush body 18 is rotatably provided at a tip end of the brush body 17 via a shaft 19. The rotary brush body 18 has a toothbrush 18a provided on a surface protruding from the brush body 17, and a pinion 18b is integrally formed at the rear end of the brush body 17.

The distal end of the second drive shaft 12 is detachably connected to the rear end of the arm 14 via a connecting bush 13 inside the brush body 17, and the distal end of the arm 14 is
7 to the tip. A rack 14a is formed at the tip of the arm 14, as shown in FIG.
A pinion 18b meshes with the rack 14a. Next, the operation will be described. When the outer peripheral surface of the case 1 is gripped and a changeover switch (not shown) for switching between forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 3 is operated, the motor shaft 3a of the motor 3 rotates in one direction (forward rotation). 4 through a motor pinion 5, a bevel gear 6, and a sleeve 6a.
The first and second ratchet wheels 6b and 6c shown in FIG. 5 are rotated counterclockwise. When the first ratchet wheel 6b rotates counterclockwise, the first ratchet pawl 7a engages with the first ratchet wheel 6b to rotate the first eccentric cam 7 counterclockwise. At this time, the second ratchet pawl 8a only slides on the surface of the second ratchet wheel 6c, and does not transmit rotation to the second eccentric cam 8.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the first eccentric cam 7 rotates counterclockwise, the first cam follower 9 reciprocates linearly in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of the case 1 through the long groove 9a. 1st drive shaft 1 fixed to 1 cam follower 9
1 also follows, so that the brush body 17 connected to the tip of the first drive shaft 11 also follows and reciprocates up and down. At this time, since the second eccentric cam 8 does not rotate, the second cam follower 10, the second drive shaft 12, and the arm 14 remain stationary. For this purpose, as shown in FIG.
Reciprocates with the brush body 17 in a state of being engaged with the stationary rack 14a, and performs reciprocating rotational movement. With the reciprocating rotation of the pinion 18b, the rotating brush body 18
And the toothbrush 18a makes a reciprocating rotational movement. That is, the toothbrush 18a reciprocates up and down together with the brush body 17, and simultaneously reciprocates rotationally with the pinion 18b.

On the other hand, when the reciprocating rotary polishing is performed by operating the changeover switch, the motor shaft 3a rotates in the other direction (reverse rotation), and the first and second ratchet wheels 6b and 6c rotate clockwise. Then, this time, the second ratchet pawl 8a is engaged with the second ratchet wheel 6c to rotate the second eccentric cam 8 clockwise. At this time, the first ratchet claw 7a only slides on the surface of the first ratchet wheel 6b, and the first eccentric cam 7
Does not transmit rotation to As shown in FIG. 5, the second eccentric cam 8
Is rotated clockwise, the second cam follower 10 reciprocates linearly in the longitudinal direction of the case 1 via the long groove 10a, and the second drive shaft 1 fixed to the second cam follower 10
2 also follows, the arm 14 connected to the tip of the second drive shaft 12 also follows and makes a linear reciprocating motion. At this time, since the first eccentric cam 7 does not rotate, the first cam follower 9, the first drive shaft 11, and the brush body 17 remain stationary. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, the rack 14a reciprocates together with the arm 14 while meshing with the pinion 18b, and reciprocates the pinion 18b. With the reciprocating rotation of the pinion 18b, the rotating brush body 18
And the toothbrush 18a reciprocates. That is, in this case, the toothbrush 18a rotates only reciprocally, and does not perform up-down reciprocating motion.

The rotating brush body 18 may be detachably provided on the brush body 17, so that the rotating brush body 18 can be replaced when the toothbrush 18a is damaged.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, the toothbrush makes only a rotational movement by using a single drive motor and selecting its rotation in either the forward or reverse direction. Depending on the part, you can choose between the case (single polishing of rolling polishing) and the case where the toothbrush makes a motion in which a linear reciprocating motion is added to the rotary motion (combined polishing of bath polishing and rolling polishing). I can brush my teeth more properly,
It can enhance the brushing effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view at a cross-sectional position different from FIG. 1 by 90 °.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 1a Upper end opening part 3 Drive motor 7 1st eccentric cam 8 2nd eccentric cam 11 1st drive shaft 12 2nd drive shaft 14 Arm 14a Rack 17 Brush body 18 Rotary brush body 18a Toothbrush 18b Pinion C Motion conversion device D clutch mechanism

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A46B 13/02

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A drive motor provided inside a case and capable of selectively rotating forward and reverse, a motion conversion device for converting a rotational motion of the drive motor into a reciprocating motion, and a shaft of the case inside the case. A first drive shaft that is movably supported in the direction and extends from the motion conversion device to an upper end opening of the case; and a first drive shaft that is connected to a tip of the first drive shaft and protrudes from the upper end opening of the case. A brush body that is rotatably provided at the tip of the brush body, a pinion for rotating the rotary brush body, and a rack that meshes with the pinion is provided at the tip, and the brush body An arm supported movably in the axial direction inside; an arm connected to the rear end of the arm connected to the motion conversion device; and movably in the case in the axial direction inside the case. A second drive shaft, wherein the motion conversion device selectively drives the first drive shaft and the second drive shaft in correspondence with the first drive shaft and the second drive shaft by switching the rotation direction of the drive motor. An electric toothbrush comprising a clutch mechanism having a first eccentric cam and a second eccentric cam.