JP6511579B1 - Automatic toothpaste - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a hands-free automatic toothpaste device that can automatically perform an intended toothpaste operation. A hands-free type automatic tooth brushing apparatus according to the present invention is an intraoral insertion unit for performing a tooth brushing operation which is inserted into the oral cavity of a user H and moved while applying a brush 14 to the teeth T of the user H 11 and a drive unit 12 for driving the intraoral insertion unit 11 so as to be capable of brushing the teeth, and the user H holds the entire device in a state where the intraoral insertion unit 11 is covered in the oral cavity, and the brushing operation is performed. to enable. Device holding means capable of holding the entire device with a predetermined portion of the intraoral and / or extraoral part of the user H as a supporting point without restricting the brushing operation to at least one of the intraoral insertion unit 11 and the drive unit 12 Is provided. [Selected figure] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic tooth brushing apparatus capable of automatically brushing teeth without using its own hand.

  2. Description of the Related Art Electric toothbrushes that remove dirt such as plaque while making the brush portion inserted into the oral cavity vibrate with the power of a motor while gripping the main body with the hand of a user are widely used. Among them, Patent Document 1 discloses a mouthpiece-type electric toothbrush capable of automatically brushing teeth by vibrating the mouthpiece in a state where the mouthpiece having a brush portion is attached to the teeth of the user. It is disclosed. Also in this electric toothbrush, the main body including the drive mechanism for vibrating the mouthpiece in series with the mouthpiece is used while being held by the user's hand.

  However, when brushing teeth with an electric toothbrush, there is a need to perform some work or operation simultaneously with both hands of the user, and the entire device can be held only with the brush part performing the brushing operation automatically held in the oral cavity Practical application of a hands-free type automatic tooth brushing device that makes it possible is desired.

  Even with the electric toothbrush of Patent Document 1, the entire device can be held in a hands-free state, but in that case, the main body itself, which is usually gripped by hand, easily vibrates in structure, leading to the main body Vibration of the mouthpiece is suppressed, and effective brushing operation can not be performed.

  In addition, the present inventors have already proposed an oral care device for oral care of the user by the operation of the mouthpiece held in a state of being bitten by the upper and lower teeth of the user (Patent Document 2) reference). The mouthpiece portion includes a base member extending along the dentition at the time of mounting, a movable member movably attached along the extension direction of the base member, and a sponge or the like provided inside the movable member. And a polishing member. The mouthpiece portion is connected to an attachment provided with a drive mechanism for applying power to the movable member. In addition, when the mouthpiece portion is attached to the teeth, the polishing member contacts both the inner and outer surfaces of the teeth. Therefore, when the movable member is moved along the base member by the power from the drive mechanism from the state where the mouthpiece portion is attached to the teeth, the polishing member contacts the user's teeth and traverses along the dentition. A tooth brushing action is made to move in a direction.

JP, 2016-537050, A JP, 2017-164328, A

  However, even in the oral care device of Patent Document 2, when using the handpiece in which the mouthpiece portion is bitten with upper and lower teeth without grasping the accessory portion by hand, the mouthpiece portion may be used. There is a possibility that the brushing operation may be limited. That is, in this case, the mouthpiece portion must be strongly bitten by the upper and lower teeth in relation to the weight of the attached portion, but at that time the movable member is pressed against the teeth and the movement is restricted, and the movement restriction There is a risk that the attachment may vibrate. Therefore, in order to perform an effective tooth brushing operation with the oral care device, it is desirable that the entire device be held by holding the attachment by hand and that the mouthpiece portion be not strongly bitten by teeth.

  The present invention has been devised focusing on such problems, and the object thereof is to hold the entire device without using the user's hand only in a state in which the part to be brushed is inserted into the oral cavity. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic tooth brushing device capable of automatically performing an intended tooth brushing operation even in a hands free type.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention mainly relates to an intraoral insertion unit for performing a brushing operation to be inserted into the oral cavity of a user and moved while placing a polishing member against the user's teeth, A hands-free type automatic driving device capable of performing the tooth brushing operation while holding the entire apparatus while the user holds the intraoral insertion unit in the oral cavity, and a drive unit for driving the unit so as to be capable of tooth brushing operation In the tooth brushing apparatus, at least one of the intraoral insertion unit and the drive unit holds the entire apparatus with a predetermined portion in the intraoral and / or extraoral area of the user as a support point without restricting the brushing operation. Possible device holding means are provided.

  According to the present invention, the entire device can be held hands-free by providing the device holding means capable of holding the entire device with the part inside and outside of the user's mouth as the support point without restricting the brushing operation. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the need for the bite force of the teeth that restricts the brushing operation, and to perform the automatic brushing operation by the intraoral insertion unit effectively in a hands-free state.

It is a schematic sectional side view which shows typically the use condition of the automatic tooth brushing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the schematic plan view which looked at the automatic tooth brushing apparatus from the root part of the upper tooth in the said use condition. It is a partially sectioned perspective view of the above-mentioned automatic tooth brushing machine which omitted a brush. It is a top view of FIG. It is a side view of FIG. It is sectional drawing in alignment with the AA of FIG. It is a schematic enlarged front view of a brush holder. It is sectional drawing in alignment with the BB line of FIG. (A) is a cross-sectional side view similar to FIG. 1 of the automatic tooth brushing device according to the first modification, and (B) is a cross-sectional side surface similar to FIG. 1 of the automatic tooth brushing device according to the second modification It is a figure, (C) is a cross section side view similar to Drawing 1 of the automatic tooth brushing machine concerning the 3rd modification.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional side view schematically showing the usage state of the automatic toothpaste according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows the automatic toothpaste from the root portion of the upper teeth in the use state. A schematic plan view is shown. In these figures, the automatic tooth brushing device 10 is inserted into the oral cavity of the user H to perform an oral cavity insertion unit 11 for performing a tooth brushing operation, and a drive unit 12 for driving the oral cavity insertion unit 11 so that the tooth brushing operation can be performed. And have.

  The automatic toothbrushing apparatus 10 is configured such that the intraoral insertion unit 11 side is held in a cantilever shape fixed to the user H when the user H holds the intraoral insertion unit 11 in the mouth, There is no need to hold the drive unit 12 with the hand of the user H at the time of use.

  The intraoral insertion unit 11 holds the entire device by being engaged with the brush 14 that functions as a polishing member that contacts the teeth of the user H at the time of tooth brushing operation and being bitten by the upper and lower front teeth T when inserted into the oral cavity. The brush holding unit 15 and the brushing unit 16 attached with the brush 14 and capable of brushing operation by the operation of the drive unit 12 without interference with the brush holding unit 15 are provided.

  Although not particularly limited, the brush 14 of the present embodiment is provided in a disk shape in which hair tips extend radially from the center. Further, the polishing member applicable to the present invention is not limited to the brush 14, and the action of the tooth brushing operation unit 16 may be useful for brushing teeth or oral care that removes dirt such as dental plaque. It is also possible to employ other care elements.

  It should be understood that in the drawings to be newly used in the following description, for convenience of explanation, the display of the brush 14 in the drawings may be omitted or simplified in order to avoid confusion of the drawings.

  The curb holding unit 15 functions as a device holding means capable of holding the entire apparatus with a part outside the oral cavity of the user H as a support point without restricting the brushing operation in the tooth brushing operation unit 16; As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, a pair of plate-like front teeth holding members 18 and 19 disposed opposite to each other on the upper and lower sides, and a fixing member 20 for fixing the front tooth holding members 18 and 19 to the drive unit 12 side. It consists of

  The upper front tooth holding member 18 is bitten by the upper front tooth T of the user H at the time of insertion in the oral cavity as shown in FIG. 1, and the lower front tooth holding member 19 is below the user H at the same time. The front teeth holding members 18 and 19 are bitten by the front teeth T, so that the entire automatic tooth brushing device 10 is held in a cantilevered manner with the front teeth T of the user H as a support point. Be done. Further, these front tooth holding members 18 are also held in mesh by the respective front teeth T on the upper and lower sides so as to maintain a predetermined opening degree which becomes appropriate at the time of the tooth brushing operation by the tooth brushing operation unit 16.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the fixing member 20 is continued between the left and right ends of the upper and lower front tooth holding members 18 and 19 in the same drawing. Further, a square rod-like power transmission shaft 22 connecting the drive unit 12 side and the tooth brushing portion 16 (see FIG. 4 etc.) side between the respective fixing members 20 can move up, down, left, and right in FIG. A movable space S penetrating in the orthogonal direction is formed.

  The movable space S is provided in such a size that the movement in the range is not impeded when the power transmission shaft 22 moves vertically and horizontally by the operation of the drive unit 12 described later. In other words, the power transmission shaft 22 can move up, down, left, and right within the movable space S, and the operation of the drive unit 12 moves the tooth brushing portion 16 connected to the power transmission shaft 22 vertically and horizontally. .

  The brushing unit 16 periodically moves the brush T up and down while the brush T is in contact with the teeth of the user T by moving in the vertical and horizontal directions via the power transmission shaft 22 by the operation of the drive unit 12. A moving longitudinal movement and a lateral movement in which the brush T translates along the dentition are configured.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 etc., the brushing operation unit 16 includes a plurality of brush holders 24 (polishing member holders) to which the brushes 14 are respectively attached, and a connecting member 25 for connecting the brush holders 24 with each other. It consists of

  In the present embodiment, the brush holders 24 are provided at five places, and the central brush holder 24A is fixed to the power transmission shaft 22, while the brush holders 24 at the two outer places thereof are adjacent to each other. The connection members 25 are connected so as to be able to swing in the lateral direction (horizontal direction) respectively.

  Each of these brush holders 24 has substantially the same structure, and the holder body 27 connected to the connecting member 25 and the upper and lower end sides of the holder body 27 are connected respectively to the brush mounting portion 28 to which the brush 14 is attached Part).

  The holder main body 27 is not particularly limited, but as shown in FIG. 7 and the like, it has an integrated shape in which U-shaped members in a front view are arranged symmetrically in the vertical direction. In the upper U-shaped inner space U, the upper teeth T are disposed, and in the lower inner space B, the lower teeth T are disposed.

  The brush mounting portion 28 is not particularly limited, but is in the form of a round bar extending in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 7, and the brush 14 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface thereof. Specifically, as also shown in FIG. 2, the brush attachment portion 28 is held so that the brush 14 can be in contact with both the front and back sides of the tooth T when the tooth brushing operation portion 16 is mounted in the oral cavity. .

  The tooth brushing operation unit 16 can be integrated not only with a separate configuration involving mechanical connection with the connection member 25 but also with the resin material or the like having high flexibility including the connection member 25, In this case, the elasticity of the resin is used to provide the above-described function.

  In the intraoral insertion unit 11 configured as described above, the brush holders 24 are arranged at five locations along the upper and lower dentitions of the user H when mounted in the oral cavity, and are operated by the drive unit 12 described later. By moving along the dentition while moving up and down the brushing operation unit 16, it becomes possible to brush in the vertical and horizontal directions using the brush 14. Here, the brush holder 24 is disposed such that any brush 14 reaches from the front teeth T to the back teeth T by the operation of the entire tooth brushing operation unit 16, and the position of the tooth brushing operation unit 16 is manually changed in the oral cavity Without brushing, it is possible to brush the teeth 14 while moving the brush 14 up and down over the entire dentition.

  In addition, although it does not specifically limit, the shape of the brushing operation part 16 containing the brush holder 24 is designed based on the average dentition shape so that it may become applicable to many users H.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although the brush holder 24 is provided in five places each up and down, the said arrangement | positioning number is not specifically limited, The structure of the brush holder 24 and the connection member 25 is effective as long as the effect mentioned later is produced. You can also increase or decrease the number.

  The drive unit 12 is disposed in a housing 31 having an internal space and an upper region in the housing 31 as shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. Vertical drive mechanism 32 for moving the brushing operation unit 16 in the vertical direction via the power transmission shaft 22, and for moving the tooth brushing operation unit 16 in the lateral direction via the power transmission shaft 22 And an actuator 34 (see FIG. 5) for operating the vertical drive mechanism 32 and the horizontal drive mechanism 33.

  The vertical drive mechanism 32 includes a plate-like base 36 disposed on both the upper and lower sides, columns 37 disposed at a plurality of locations between the upper and lower sides of the base 36, and a front adjacent to the brushing portion 16 of each base 36. A guide member 38 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) extending in the vertical direction at two locations on the left and right, and a slider 39 mounted so as to be vertically movable along the guide member 38 and continuous with the power transmission shaft 22 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) , A first motor 40 serving as a power source for moving the slider 39 up and down, a cylindrical member 41 fixed to the rotation shaft of the first motor 40, and a pin 42 connecting the slider 39 and the cylindrical member 41 (see FIG. See FIG. 8).

  The pin 42 is movably accommodated in an elongated hole 44 extending in the left-right direction of the slider 39 as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the slider 39, the cylindrical member 41, and the pin 42 constitute an eccentric cam structure that converts the rotational movement from the first motor 40 into the vertical movement. That is, when the cylindrical member 41 is rotated by the drive of the first motor 40, the pin 42 is rotated on the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical member 41, and along with this, the pin 42 moves in the longitudinal direction in the long hole 44. Periodically move up and down along the guide member 38. Here, since the slider 39 is fixed to the power transmission shaft 22, when the first motor 40 is driven, the entire brushing operation unit 16 can be periodically moved up and down via the power transmission shaft 22.

  As shown in FIG. 8 and the like, the left and right drive mechanism 33 is bridged at a pair of upstanding members 46 disposed upright on the left and right sides of the bottom surface of the housing 31 and two upper sides between the upstanding members 46 and 46. The circular rod-shaped guide rail 47, the screw shaft 48 rotatably hung between the upright members 46 and 46 below the guide rail 47, and the power source for rotating the screw shaft 48 via the gear 49 A second motor 50, a nut member 51 engaged with the screw shaft 48, and a support member 52 integrated with the nut member 51 and fixed to the lower base 36 to support the vertical drive mechanism 32; Have.

  In the left and right drive mechanism 33, the screw shaft 48 extending in the left-right direction is rotated by the drive of the second motor 50, and along with this, the nut member 51 meshing with the screw shaft 48 is integrated with the support member 52 in the left-right direction. The feed screw shaft structure that moves to the Therefore, when the second motor 50 is driven, the entire vertical drive mechanism 32 supported by the support member 52 moves in the left-right direction, and the entire tooth brushing portion 16 connected to the vertical drive mechanism 32 via the power transmission shaft 22 It will move in the direction.

  Although the detailed structure of the actuating device 34 is not shown, a control unit comprising a battery for supplying power to the first and second motors 40 and 50, and a computer for controlling the driving of the motors 40 and 50. And is included.

  In the automatic tooth brushing apparatus 10 having the above configuration, the following tooth brushing operation is performed.

  First, the user H inserts the intraoral insertion unit 11 into the oral cavity, and as shown in FIG. The entire automatic brushing device 10 is held in a cantilever manner. At this time, in the tooth brushing operation unit 16, the brush holders 24 are fitted in five places along the upper and lower teeth rows of the user H, and as shown in FIG. The brush 14 is in contact with both sides. The front teeth T on both the upper and lower sides of the holding portion 15 are in contact with the brush 14 of the central brush holder 24A.

  When the first and second motors 40 and 50 are driven in such a state that the tooth brushing operation unit 16 is mounted in the oral cavity, the power transmission connected to the tooth brushing operation unit 16 by the vertical drive mechanism 32 and the horizontal drive mechanism 33 The shaft 22 moves in the lateral direction while moving up and down periodically. At this time, first, the central brush holder 24A connected to the power transmission shaft 22 is periodically moved up and down, and the other brush holders 24 connected from the central brush holder 24A are also integrally moved up and down. Furthermore, when the central brush holder 24A moves in the left-right direction, each of the other brush holders 24 pivotally connected to each other by the connecting member 25 translates in the dentition direction with the engaging teeth T as rails. It will be done. As a result, when the drive unit 12 is operated, the brushing operation unit 16 can perform the brushing operation with the reciprocating motion of the teeth T in the two vertical and horizontal directions with the brush 14 in contact with the teeth T. Therefore, all the teeth T on both the upper and lower sides can be brushed in the vertical and horizontal directions from the front and back sides by the brush 14 fully automatically by wearing the tooth brushing portion 16 once without moving the hand of the user H It can be expected that dirt such as plaque adhering to the teeth T can be effectively removed. As described above, since it is possible to move the tooth brushing operation unit 16 fully automatically, it is possible to reduce the residual brushing and the like due to incorrect manual operation, and to perform a more effective tooth brushing operation.

  In addition, the entire automatic tooth brushing device 10 is held in a cantilevered state in a state in which the tooth holding portion 15 is bitten by the upper and lower teeth T of the user H, but the tooth brushing operation unit 16 performing tooth brushing operation The structure capable of operating in a non-interfering manner with the tooth holding portion 15 enables an automatic tooth brushing operation that is not affected by the bite force of the tooth T. Therefore, even if the hands-free type that can hold the automatic tooth brushing device 10 without using the hands of the user H, an effective tooth brushing operation can be performed without being affected by the bite force of the teeth.

  The device holding means may be anything as long as it has a structure capable of holding the entire device with a predetermined part of the user as a support point without restricting the brushing operation. As in the above, there are an intraoral holding type in which a supporting point exists in the oral cavity and an intraoral holding type in which a supporting point exists outside the oral cavity, and any one or both of these types can be applied.

  As the intraoral holding type, the aspect of the first modification shown in FIG. 9A can be illustrated as another intraoral support of the bark holding portion 15 having the front teeth T portion as a support point. In the first modification, a curved plate-like upper jaw holding member 54 extending while curving upward from the rear end side of the front tooth holding member 18 on the upper side of the steering wheel holding portion 16 is further provided. When the upper and lower teeth T are bitten, the upper jaw holding member 54 can be brought into contact with the upper jaw portion in the oral cavity. With this configuration, in addition to the front teeth T, the upper jaw portion of the user H also serves as the support point, and the drive is performed when the drive unit 12 supported cantileverly outside the oral cavity is heavy or the occlusal force of the teeth T is weak. The moment due to gravity of the unit 12 is canceled, and the hands-free automatic brushing device 10 can be easily held.

  As the extraoral holding type, the second modification shown in FIG. 9 (B) and the third modification shown in FIG. 9 (C) can be exemplified. In the extraoral holding type, the automatic tooth brushing device 10 can be held without the need for support in the oral cavity where a load is applied to the dentition.

  In the second modification, the extra-oral support 56 that constitutes the device holding means is a mask type that is externally attached to the housing 31 and attached to the face or head of the user H. That is, when the tooth brushing unit 16 is mounted in the oral cavity, the extraoral carrier 56 abuts against the lower jaw of the user H, thereby providing the lower jaw supporting part 57 with the part as the supporting point, and the user H The nose holder 58 has a shape that can be attached to the nose portion of the user H, and the portion can be attached to the left and right ears or the back of the head of the user H And 59.

  As the extraoral support 56 in the second modification, any one or two of the lower jaw support 57, the nose holder 58 and the band 59 may be used as long as the same holding effect is exhibited. It is possible.

  In the third modification, the extra-oral support 56 constituting the device holding means is of the type mounted on the predetermined pedestal D while being externally attached to the housing 31. That is, when the external holder for oral cavity 56 is installed on the surface of the pedestal D and the jaw mounting portion 61 in a plate shape on which the user H's jaw can be placed, and the tooth brushing operation portion 16 is mounted in the oral cavity And a lower jaw mounting portion 62 for holding the lower jaw portion of H.

  The extraoral carrier 56 in the third modification may be configured of only one of the chin mounting portion 61 and the lower jaw mounting portion 62 as long as the same holding effect is exhibited.

  Also in the device holding means of the second and third modifications described above, the moments due to the gravity of the drive unit 12 can be canceled by using a plurality of points outside the oral cavity as support points, and the automatic tooth brushing device 10 of hands free. Allow for retention.

  In addition, the configuration of each part of the device in the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configuration example, and various modifications can be made as long as substantially the same function is exhibited.

10 Automatic tooth brushing device 11 intraoral insertion unit 12 drive unit 14 brush (polished member)
15 holding unit (device holding means)
16 tooth brushing operation unit 18, 19 front tooth holding member 24 brush holder (polished member holder)
25 connecting member 27 holder body 28 brush mounting portion (polished member mounting portion)
40 first motor 50 second motor 54 upper jaw holding member 56 extraoral support 57 lower jaw support 58 nose holder 59 band 61 jaw placement portion 62 lower jaw attachment portion D pedestal H user T tooth

Claims (4)

It is inserted into the mouth of a user, a drive unit for toothpaste operatively driven brushing operation unit for performing tooth brushing operation to move while applying a member polish the teeth of the user, the user the tooth brushing operation the automatic toothbrushing device of the hands-free type that allows the toothpaste operating part while holding the entire apparatus in the state of being inserted into the oral cavity,
Without restricting the pre Symbol tooth brushing operation, capable of holding device holding means the whole apparatus as a supporting point a predetermined portion of the mouth of the user is provided in the drive unit,
The device holding means includes a pair of front tooth holding members that use the front teeth as the support points by being bitten by the upper and lower front teeth when inserted into the oral cavity ,
The automatic tooth brushing apparatus characterized in that the pair of front tooth holding members does not cause interference in the vertical movement of the tooth brushing portion in the movable space between the pair of front tooth holding members . The drive unit, an automatic toothbrushing device of claim 1, characterized in that operates to move the toothpaste operation unit vertically and horizontally. The drive unit is
A power transmission shaft connected to the tooth brushing unit ;
A vertical drive mechanism connected to the power transmission shaft;
A horizontal drive mechanism for supporting the vertical drive mechanism;
Equipped with
The automatic brushing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the brushing operation unit is moved via the power transmission shaft . The tooth brushing unit further comprises
The brushing operation unit is a longitudinal movement in which the brushing member periodically moves up and down, with the brushing member moving in a vertical direction, with the brushing member being in contact with the teeth of the user by actuation of the drive unit. An automatic toothpaste according to claim 2 or 3 , characterized in that it is configured to allow lateral movement to translate along a row.

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