JPH0224124B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an electronic toothbrush that utilizes a photoelectrochemical reaction.

[Conventional technology] Conventionally, a toothbrush has been equipped with a semiconductor that generates optical energy when irradiated with light and also causes a photoelectrochemical reaction using moisture as a medium, and uses this photoelectrochemical reaction to adhere to the teeth. A toothbrush has been proposed that is intended to prevent the occurrence of tooth decay and cavities by breaking down dental plaque and neutralizing lactic acid, which is the cause of cavities.
(See Publication No. 58-2701 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-57340).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, these conventional toothbrushes have complicated structures and are expensive, making it difficult to make them widely available. That is, in the structure described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-2701, the semiconductor is installed inside the brush bristle part of a toothbrush, a separate light source is provided, and the light source and the semiconductor are connected by an optical fiber. It was extremely expensive and had a complicated structure. Moreover, the toothbrush described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-57340 has a structure in which the toothbrush body from the brush bristle part to the gripping handle part is integrated, and a semiconductor is embedded in the middle of the toothbrush body. Therefore, with this toothbrush, for example, if the bristles become curved due to use and the tips of the bristles spread out and become unsuitable for use, the entire toothbrush must be discarded and replaced, and the toothbrush must be discarded frequently. This has not been adapted to the normal usage of toothbrushes, in which toothbrushes are replaced with new ones, and the cost of use has increased, which has been a major obstacle to their widespread use.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to enable the brush bristles to be disposed of and replaced as needed, and to be able to dispose of and replace the brush bristles. The object of the present invention is to suppress the accompanying cost increase as much as possible and make it possible to popularize electronic toothbrushes.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve such objects, the present invention has the following features:
An electronic toothbrush comprising a brush head with brush bristles flocked thereto, a gripping handle, and a semiconductor that generates a photoelectrochemical reaction upon receiving light, in which the brush head is configured to be detachable from the gripping handle. death,
The brush head includes a semiconductor insertion portion that extends in the longitudinal direction of the brush head and receives the semiconductor, and a semiconductor insertion portion that communicates between the brush bristles and the semiconductor insertion portion, and that connects the brush bristles and the semiconductor insertion portion using a liquid as a medium. It has a configuration in which a liquid path is formed when it is made electrically conductive.

[Function] With this configuration, when the user grasps the gripping handle and brushes the teeth with the brush bristles, liquid, such as saliva, wets the bristles and soaks the liquid path, thereby removing the bristles and the liquid from the teeth. The semiconductor becomes electrically conductive via the path. When a semiconductor is irradiated with natural light or light from an indoor light, the semiconductor generates optical energy, and the semiconductor causes a photoelectrochemical reaction using moisture as a medium. As a result, an oxidation reaction that releases electrons from the water medium takes place around the semiconductor, and a reduction reaction that takes electrons from the water medium takes place around the teeth. This polarization action decomposes dental plaque adhering to the teeth, and the reduction reaction neutralizes lactic acid, which is the cause of tooth decay.

Here, it is sufficient to form the brush head part by implanting brush bristles and integrally molding the semiconductor insertion part and the liquid path, and can be manufactured at an extremely low cost by molding, for example, using synthetic resin or the like.
Therefore, even if the brush head part, which is detachable from the gripping handle part, is discarded and replaced as necessary, the cost can be kept low.

[Example] The present invention will be described below based on an example shown in the drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1-5. This electronic toothbrush mainly consists of a grip handle 1 that is held by a user, and a brush head 3 that is separate from the handle 1 and is connected to the handle 1 so as to be easily attachable and detachable, and that has brush bristles 7 and 9 implanted therein.
It is equipped with. Reference numeral 2 denotes a semiconductor rod, one end of which is inserted and fixed inside the handle 1, and this semiconductor rod 2 protrudes and extends in the axial direction of the handle 1. More specifically, the end surface of the handle 1 on the side of the brush head 3 terminates at a convex end that is thinner than the main body of the handle 1,
The semiconductor rod 2 protrudes from the center of the convex end 5 in the axial direction. A pair of flange-like small protrusions 12 are integrally formed on the convex end portion 5 . Further, a pair of engagement grooves 13 are formed in the stepped portion between the convex end portion 5 and the main body of the handle 1.

The brush head 3 is composed of a head portion 16 into which the brush bristles 7 and 9 are implanted, and a substantially yoke-shaped shank portion 18 integral with the head portion 16.
A concave end portion 4 is formed at the proximal end portion of the shank portion 18, that is, the end portion on the handle 1 side, and engages with the convex end portion 5 of the handle 1 so as to sandwich it from both sides. This concave end portion 4 is provided with a pair of small depressions 21 corresponding to the pair of flange-shaped small projections 12, and a pair of engagement projections 22 corresponding to the pair of engagement grooves 13. .

Since the shank portion 18 has a substantially yoke shape with a slotted long through groove 6 therebetween, the concave end portion 4 is configured to be able to elastically engage and disengage from the convex end portion 5. The long through groove 6 extends into the head portion 16 of the brush head 3, and in this embodiment is formed such that both sides of that portion are surrounded by the bristles 7 when viewed from above. Further, in this embodiment, a plurality of small grooves 8 are formed in the tip portion of the long groove 6 extending into the head portion 16 and on the surface where the brush bristles are implanted. Although it plays a role of assisting the connection between the groove 6 and the long through groove 6, it is not essential for the present invention. A central portion in the thickness direction of the long through groove 6 is a semiconductor insertion portion 24 that extends in the axial direction and into which the semiconductor rod 2 is inserted, and is preferably formed as a recess with a semicircular cross section.

From the state shown in Figure 1, remove the brush head 3.
To connect the brush head 3 to the handle 1, simply press the brush head 3 against the handle 1 in the axial direction while passing the semiconductor rod 2 between the concave ends 4 and inserting it into the semiconductor insertion part 24 of the long through groove 6. That's fine. As a result, the concave end 4 elastically opens and engages the convex end 5 of the handle 1 with a sense of moderation. At this time, the pair of small protrusions 12 on the handle 1 side are engaged with the pair of small recesses 21 on the brush head 3 side, and the engagement groove 13 on the handle 1 side is engaged with the engagement protrusion 22 on the brush head 3 side. This ensures that the brush head 3 is connected to the handle 1.

When the handle 1 is grasped and the brush head 3 is inserted into the oral cavity for brushing, the brush bristles 7 and 9 get wet and moisture enters, directly from the roots of the bristles 7 and 9 through the surface of the brush head 3 or into the small grooves 8. is formed, moisture is connected to the long through groove 6 through the small groove 8 and connected to the semiconductor rod 2 inserted into the long through groove 6. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the tooth 11 becomes electrically conductive with the semiconductor rod 2 due to saliva moisture.
Here, when a toothpaste is used, the foaming components in the toothpaste will fill the water reservoir 10 defined by the brush bristles 7, teeth 11, and the surface of the brush head 3 with moisture. Therefore, the tooth 11 and the semiconductor rod 2 are connected more reliably.

The semiconductor rod 2 is a semiconductor with a photoelectron effect,
It generates light energy by reacting to all kinds of light, including natural light and light from indoor lights. Then, a photoelectrochemical reaction occurs using the moisture present between the tooth 11 and the semiconductor rod 2 as a medium. In other words, an electronic space is created around the semiconductor and around the tooth. Then, on the semiconductor side, an oxidation reaction that releases electrons from the water medium is performed, and a reduction reaction that takes in electrons from the water medium is performed around the teeth 11. This polarization action decomposes the plaque attached to the teeth, and the reduction reaction also neutralizes lactic acid, which is the cause of tooth decay.
Therefore, the occurrence of alveolar failure and tooth decay can be prevented.

In this way, the semiconductor rod 2 and the tooth 1 are connected using moisture as a medium.
A toothpaste is not necessarily required to connect 1, but if a toothpaste is used,
It is more preferable to use a special dentifrice containing a foaming agent and a conductive material as its main ingredients.

If the brush bristles 7 and 9 become unsuitable for use due to bending, etc., simply pull the brush head 3 away from the handle 1, and the concave end 4 will open elastically to release the convex part of the handle 1. releasing the engaged state from the shaped end 5,
The brush head 3 can be detached from the handle 1. Therefore, if a new brush head 3 is connected to the handle 1, there is no need to discard the handle 1 including the semiconductor rod 2, and only the brush head 3 needs to be replaced, thereby reducing the cost required for using this type of electronic toothbrush. can be achieved.

Next, FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention,
This embodiment differs from the previous embodiments in that instead of arranging the brush bristles 7 so as to surround both sides of the through-long groove 6 and the semiconductor rod 2 as described above, the brush bristles 7 are arranged at the end of the handle like a normal toothbrush. The outline of the brush bristles 7 is arranged in a substantially semicircular shape when viewed from above, and the ends of the long through grooves 6 are terminated close to the bristles at the ends. Of course, the outline of the brush bristles may be linear, as long as the long grooves 6 and the bristles are substantially connected by saliva water.

Next, FIGS. 7 and 8 show still another embodiment of the present invention, in which the long groove 6 extends into the head portion 16 of the brush head 3, but its surface is covered by the bristles 7. However, only the tip portion thereof is hollowed out on the surface by a communication groove 28, and the semiconductor rod 2 can be connected to the brush bristles and moisture through the communication groove 28. It is. In other words, it is not necessary that the entire length of the long through groove 6 communicates with the surface of the brush head portion 3, and only the portion relatively close to the brush bristles need communicate with the surface.

[Effects] As explained above, according to the present invention, the brush head is configured to be removable from the gripping handle, and only the brush head can be discarded and replaced at any time, thereby reducing the usage cost of this electronic toothbrush. This has the excellent effect of contributing to the spread of electronic toothbrushes.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the electronic toothbrush according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cutaway plan view showing a state in which the brush heads of the embodiment are connected, and Fig. 3 is a cutout side view of the embodiment. Figure 4 is the − of Figure 2.
5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the usage state of the same embodiment, FIG. 6 is a plan view of main parts showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a plan view of a main part showing an example, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7. 1... Handle, 2... Semiconductor rod, 3... Brush head, 6... Penetrating long groove, 7, 9... Brush bristles, 24
...Semiconductor insertion part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electronic toothbrush comprising a brush head with brush bristles, a gripping handle, and a semiconductor that generates a photoelectrochemical reaction upon receiving light, in which the brush head can be attached to and detached from the gripping handle. The brush head includes a semiconductor insertion part that extends in the longitudinal direction of the brush head and receives the semiconductor, and a semiconductor insertion part that communicates between the brush bristles and the semiconductor insertion part, and that connects the brush bristles with a liquid as a medium. and a liquid path that enables electrical conduction between the semiconductor.