JP7812568B2 - Electric tongue brush - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electric tongue brush for removing tongue coating using an electrically operated reciprocating or rotating brush head.

It is well known that removing tongue coating from the surface of the tongue is an important part of oral care, particularly for preventing bad breath. Therefore, various tongue brushes for manually scraping off tongue coating, which causes bad breath, have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2), and are already in practical use. While such tongue brushes are simple in construction and inexpensive, they have the drawback of requiring skill to use.

Incidentally, electric toothbrushes that brush teeth electrically instead of manually have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4), and have already been commercialized.

Utility Model Registration No. 3190601 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-029136 JP 2014-176742 A JP 2018-183280 A

However, when it comes to tongue brushes, manual models are the norm, and it is not common to find any electric models.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and its purpose is to provide an electric tongue brush that can easily and reliably remove tongue coating that has adhered to the tongue.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides an electric tongue brush (1) for removing tongue coating, characterized by comprising: a tongue brush body (2) having a main body case (2A) and a tapered neck portion (2B) extending from one end of the main body case (2A); a brush head (3) having multiple bristle bundles (6) planted therein and rotatably mounted at the tip of the neck portion (2B); a battery (7) and electric motor (8) built into the main body case (2A); and a conversion mechanism for converting the rotation of the electric motor (8) into reciprocating rotational motion or rotational motion of the brush head (3).

According to the present invention, when a user inserts the brush head side of an electric tongue brush into their mouth and moves the bristles of the reciprocating or rotating brush head against the surface of the tongue, the bristles easily and effectively remove tongue coating adhering to the surface of the tongue, preventing not only bad breath but also stomatitis and viral infections.

In the above electric tongue brush (1), the conversion mechanism that converts the rotation of the electric motor (8) into the reciprocating rotational motion of the brush head (3) may include a first mechanism that converts the rotation of the output shaft (8a) of the electric motor (8) into the reciprocating linear motion of the rod (13), and a second mechanism that converts the reciprocating linear motion of the rod (13) into the oscillating motion of the oscillating arm (16).

Here, the first mechanism may comprise a gear (9) attached to the output shaft (8a) of the electric motor (8), a ring gear (10) meshing with the gear (9), an eccentric cam (12) whose center of rotation is a point eccentric from the center of rotation of the ring gear (10), and a driven member (14) having an elongated hole (14a) with which the eccentric cam (12) engages; and the second mechanism may comprise a swing arm (16) whose swing end is slidably fitted into an elongated hole (5a) formed radially in the brush head (3), whose base end is rotatably connected to the tip end of the rod (13), and whose other base end is swingably supported around a swing axis (18).

With the above configuration, the rotation of the output shaft of the electric motor is converted into reciprocating linear motion of the rod by the first mechanism, and the reciprocating linear motion of the rod is converted into reciprocating rotational motion of the brush head by the second mechanism. Therefore, the rotation of the output shaft of the electric motor is converted into reciprocating rotational motion of the brush head via the first and second mechanisms.

Furthermore, in the electric tongue brush (1), the conversion mechanism that converts the rotation of the electric motor (8) into the rotation of the brush head (3) may be constituted by a bevel gear (20, 22) that converts the rotation direction of the output shaft (8a) of the electric motor (8) into a direction perpendicular to the axis.

With the above configuration, the rotation direction of the output shaft of the electric motor is converted to a direction perpendicular to the axis by the bevel gear and transmitted to the brush head, so that the brush head can be rotated in the normal rotation direction (a rotation direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the output shaft of the electric motor) to easily and reliably remove tongue coating adhering to the tongue.

Furthermore, in the electric tongue brush (1), each of the bristle bundles (6) implanted in the brush head (3) may be composed of a bundle of multiple nylon filaments having a thickness (d) of 75 to 80 μm and a length (L) of 5 to 12 mm, and the circumscribed circle diameter (D) of the multiple bristle bundles (6) may be set to φ2.0 to 2.5 cm.

According to the above configuration, the filaments that make up the bristle bundles embedded in the brush head are thinner, longer, and more flexible than the filaments that make up the bristle bundles of a toothbrush, with a thickness of 75 to 80 μm and a length L of 5 to 12 mm, so there is no risk of problems such as the bristle bundles scratching the surface of the tongue.

According to the present invention, tongue coating can be easily and reliably removed electrically, helping to prevent bad breath.

1 is a perspective view of an electric tongue brush according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a brush head portion of the electric tongue brush according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a drive system of an electric tongue brush according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 4A to 4C are diagrams showing the reciprocating rotational movement of the brush head of the electric tongue brush according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a drive system of an electric tongue brush according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention based on the attached drawings.

First Embodiment
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an electric tongue brush according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the brush head portion of the electric tongue brush, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the drive system of the electric tongue brush, and Figures 4(a) to (c) are diagrams showing the reciprocating rotational motion of the brush head of the electric tongue brush.

The electric tongue brush 1 according to this embodiment is primarily intended to electrically remove tongue coating adhering to a person's tongue, and as shown in Figure 1, is comprised of a tongue brush body 2, a brush head 3 rotatably mounted at the tip of the tongue brush body 2, and a drive system for driving the brush head 3 to rotate back and forth. In the following description, the directions of the arrows shown in Figure 1 will be referred to as "up and down" and "front and back."

The tongue brush body 2 is composed of a cylindrical body case 2A with a bottom and a tapered cylindrical neck portion (handle) 2B extending upward from the top end of the body case 2A, with the brush head 3 rotatably mounted on the top end of the neck portion 2B. The brush body 2 is made of a resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyacetal (POM), and the neck portion 2B is detachably connected to the body case 2A. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, a round ON/OFF switch 4 for rotating/stopping the brush head 3 is provided at an intermediate height position on the tongue brush body 2.

As shown in detail in Figure 2, the brush head 3 is constructed by implanting multiple bristle bundles 6 into a cylindrical shape on a rotatably supported, disc-shaped bristle implantation base 5. Each bristle bundle 6 is constructed by bundling multiple nylon filaments (not shown) with a thickness d of 75 to 80 μm and a length L of 5 to 12 mm. While Figures 1 and 2 show each bristle bundle 6 as a single cylindrical mass, in reality, it is constructed by bundling multiple filaments (not shown). The outer diameter D of the cylinder formed by the multiple bristle bundles 6 implanted on the bristle implantation base 5 (the circumscribed circle of the multiple bristle bundles 6 forming a cylindrical shape) is set to φ2.0 to 2.5 cm.

Next, the configuration of the drive system of the brush head 3 will be explained below based on Figures 3 and 4.

The main body case 2A of the tongue brush main body 2 contains a battery 7 (shown in Figure 3) as a power source, and an electric motor 8 that is driven and rotated by the power supplied from the battery 7, both placed vertically. A gear 9 is attached to the upper end of the output shaft (motor shaft) 8a that extends upward from the center of the electric motor 8, and the gear 9 meshes with a ring gear 10. The battery 7 can be a disposable primary battery or a rechargeable secondary battery.

The ring gear 10 is housed in the upper part of the main body case 2A and is supported rotatably around a rotary shaft 11 arranged in the front-to-rear direction (perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 3). An eccentric cam 12 is attached to the rotary shaft 11, with its center offset by ε as shown from the center of the rotary shaft 11. A driven member 14 is attached to the lower end of a rod 13 that extends vertically through the neck portion 2B of the tongue brush main body 2, and the eccentric cam 12 engages with an elongated hole 14a formed in the driven member 14.

Here, the gear 9, ring gear 10, eccentric cam 12 and driven member 14 constitute a first mechanism for converting the rotation of the output shaft 8a of the electric motor 8 into reciprocating linear motion of the rod 13 in the vertical direction (direction of arrow A in Figure 3).

As shown in Figure 3, the bristle base 5 of the brush head 3 is rotatably supported by a shaft 15 whose center is aligned in the front-to-rear direction, and a long hole 5a is formed in the rear surface of the bristle base 5 along the radial direction. A roller 17 provided at the upper end (swing end) of a swing arm 16 is slidably fitted into this long hole 5a. The swing arm 16 has its lower end (base end) pivotally attached to the neck portion 2B of the tongue brush body 2 by a swing shaft 18 so as to be swingable.

On the other hand, a bent portion 13A is formed at the upper end of the rod 13, and the upper end of this bent portion 13A is connected to the lower end (base end) of the swing arm 16 by a pin 19.

Here, the oscillating arm 16 constitutes a second mechanism for converting the vertical reciprocating linear motion of the rod 13 into reciprocating rotational motion of the brush head 3 (alternating forward and reverse motion within a predetermined angular range).

Next, we will explain the operation of the electric tongue brush 1 configured as described above.

When a user grasps the case body 2A of the electric tongue brush 1 and presses the ON/OFF switch 4 once, electricity is supplied from the battery 7 to the electric motor 8, starting the electric motor 8 and rotating the output shaft 8a of the electric motor 8. The rotation of this output shaft 8a is then reduced via gear 9 and ring gear 10 and transmitted to the rotating shaft 11, causing the rotating shaft 11 and the eccentric cam 12 connected to it to rotate.

As described above, when the eccentric cam 12 rotates within the elongated hole 14a of the driven member 14, the rotation of this eccentric cam 12 is converted via the driven member 14 into vertical linear reciprocating motion of the rod 13 over a stroke S (= 2ε) (indicated by arrow A in Figure 3). In other words, the rotation of the output shaft 8a of the electric motor 8 is converted into vertical linear reciprocating motion of the rod 13 by the first mechanism.

The vertical reciprocating linear motion of the rod 13 is then converted into reciprocating rotational motion of the brush head 3 by a second mechanism, as described below.

That is, when the rod 13 moves upward by the stroke S from the neutral state shown in Figure 4(a), the swing arm 16 swings in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise) around the swing axis 18 as shown in Figure 4(b), causing the brush head 3 connected to the swing arm 16 via the roller 17 to rotate in the direction of the arrow (clockwise) around the axis 15 by the angle θ shown. At this time, the roller 17 attached to the tip of the swing arm 16 slides radially outward while rolling within the elongated hole 5a of the implantation base 5 attached to the brush head 3.

Conversely, when the rod 13 moves downward by a stroke S from the neutral state shown in Figure 4(a), the swing arm 16 swings in the direction of the arrow (clockwise) around the swing axis 18 as shown in Figure 4(c), causing the brush head 3, which is connected to the swing arm 16 via the roller 17, to rotate in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise) around the axis 15 by the angle θ shown. At this time, the roller 17 attached to the tip of the swing arm 16 slides radially outward while rolling within the elongated hole 5a of the planting base 5. In this embodiment, the angle θ is set to 45°.

As described above, the vertical reciprocating linear motion of the rod 13 is converted by the second mechanism into reciprocating rotational motion of the brush head 3 within a predetermined angle range of 2θ (=90°). Therefore, when a user holds the electric tongue brush 1 in their hand and presses the ON/OFF switch once to turn it ON, the electric motor 8 is started and the rotation of its output shaft 8a is converted by the first and second mechanisms into reciprocating rotational motion around the shaft 15 of the brush head 3.

From the above state, the user inserts the brush head 3 of the electric tongue brush 1 into their mouth and moves the bristle bundles 6 of the reciprocating brush head 3 against the surface of the tongue. The bristle bundles 6 easily and effectively remove tongue coating, preventing not only bad breath but also stomatitis and viral infections. Furthermore, since the electric tongue brush 1 requires less skill than manual tongue brushes, anyone, regardless of age or gender, can easily remove tongue coating from the surface of their tongue. Furthermore, the filaments that make up the bristle bundles 6 implanted in the implantation base 5 of the brush head 3 have a thickness d of 75-80 μm and a length L of 5-12 mm, making them thinner, longer, and more flexible than the filaments that make up the bristle bundles of a toothbrush. Therefore, there is no risk of the bristle bundles 6 scratching the surface of the tongue.

Furthermore, when the user presses the ON/OFF switch 4 again after the tongue brush 1 has finished removing tongue coating, the power supply from the battery 7 to the electric motor 8 is cut off, and the rotation of the electric motor 8 and the brush head 3 stops.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the drive system of an electric tongue brush according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. Note that the basic configuration of the electric tongue brush 1 according to this embodiment is the same as that of the electric tongue brush 1 according to embodiment 1, so a repeated explanation will be omitted below, and in the following explanation, the same reference numerals will be used for the same elements as those shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The electric tongue brush 1 of this embodiment differs from that of embodiment 1 only in the configuration of the drive system of the brush head 3, and the brush head 3 is driven to rotate continuously in one direction.

As shown in Figure 5, the main body case 2A (see Figure 1) of the tongue brush main body 2 contains, in a vertically positioned manner, a battery 7 as a power source and an electric motor 8 that is driven and rotated by the power supplied from the battery 7, similar to the drive system of the first embodiment. The output shaft (motor shaft) 8a extends upward from the center of the electric motor 8, passes through the neck portion 2B (see Figure 1) of the tongue brush main body 2, and extends to the brush head 3, with a bevel gear 20 attached to its upper end.

The brush head 3 is attached to a rotating shaft 21 arranged in a front-to-rear direction perpendicular to the output shaft 8a of the electric motor 8. A bevel gear 22 is attached to the front end of the rotating shaft 21, and this bevel gear 22 and the bevel gear 20 mesh with each other. Here, the two meshing bevel gears 20, 22 form a conversion mechanism that converts the rotational direction of the output shaft 8a of the electric motor 8 to a direction perpendicular to the axis.

Next, we will explain the operation of the electric tongue brush 1 configured as described above.

When a user grasps the case body 2A of the electric tongue brush 1 and presses the ON/OFF switch 4 once, electricity is supplied from the battery 7 to the electric motor 8, starting the motor 8 and rotating the output shaft 8a of the electric motor 8. The rotational direction of the output shaft 8a is then converted to a direction perpendicular to the axis by the bevel gears 22 and 20 that make up the conversion mechanism, and transmitted to the rotating shaft 21 and the brush head 3 attached to it, driving them to rotate.

From the above state, the user inserts the brush head 3 side of the electric tongue brush 1 into their mouth and moves the multiple bristle bundles 6 attached to the bristle base 5 of the rotating brush head 3 against the surface of the tongue. The bristle bundles 6 then easily and effectively remove tongue coating adhering to the surface of the tongue, preventing not only bad breath but also stomatitis and viral infections.

In addition, this embodiment also achieves the same effects as those achieved in embodiment 1 above.

In addition, in this embodiment, if an electric motor 8 capable of rotating forward and reverse is used and the polarity of the electric motor 8 is alternately switched using a switching means such as a switching circuit, the brush head 3 can be rotated forward and backward as in embodiment 1 above.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the brush head 3 is rotated back and forth or turned to remove tongue coating adhering to the tongue, but high-speed vibrations (high-frequency vibrations) may also be applied to the brush head 3 that is rotating back and forth or turned at the same time.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the application of the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings.

Claims (5)

An electric tongue brush for removing tongue coating,
a tongue brush body including a main body case and a tapered neck portion extending from one end of the main body case;
a brush head having a plurality of bristle bundles planted therein and rotatably provided at the tip of the neck portion;
a battery and an electric motor housed in the main body case;
a conversion mechanism that converts the rotation of the electric motor into a reciprocating rotational motion or a rotational motion of the brush head;
Equipped with
The brush head is rotatably supported by a shaft whose center is disposed in the front-rear direction,
The conversion mechanism converts the rotational or reciprocating motion of the brush head about the axis,
The plurality of bristle bundles are configured to have a cylindrical shape by including a plurality of columnar portions each having a substantially fan-shaped base,
The plurality of columnar portions each having a substantially sector-shaped base are spaced apart from one another by gaps,
An electric tongue brush characterized in that the circumscribed circle diameter of the plurality of bristle bundles is set to φ2.0 to 2.5 cm. The conversion mechanism converts the rotation of the electric motor into the reciprocating rotation of the brush head,
a first mechanism that converts rotation of an output shaft of the electric motor into reciprocating linear motion of a rod;
a second mechanism that converts the reciprocating linear motion of the rod into a swinging motion of a swing arm;
The electric tongue brush according to claim 1, further comprising: the first mechanism includes a gear connected to the output shaft of the electric motor, a ring gear meshing with the gear, an eccentric cam whose rotation center is a point eccentric from the rotation center of the ring gear, and a driven member having an elongated hole with which the eccentric cam engages;
The electric tongue brush described in claim 2, characterized in that the second mechanism includes a swing arm whose swing end is slidably fitted into a long hole formed radially in the brush head, whose base end is rotatably connected to the tip end of the rod at one point, and whose other base end is supported so as to be swingable around a swing axis at another point. The electric tongue brush of claim 1, characterized in that the conversion mechanism that converts the rotation of the electric motor into the rotation of the brush head is composed of a bevel gear that converts the rotation direction of the output shaft of the electric motor to a direction perpendicular to the axis. An electric tongue brush as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each of the bristle bundles attached to the brush head is composed of multiple nylon filaments each having a thickness of 75 to 80 μm and a length of 5 to 12 mm.