JPH02249505A - Ion tooth brush - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the effectiveness of a built-in power supply to be more simply inspected by incorporating slidably a slide body for holding a luminescent body provided with a pair of terminals in a gripping stem while providing an operating piece of the slide body and permitting both terminals of the luminescent body to conductively communicate to both electrodes of the power supply by the operation of the operating piece. CONSTITUTION:A step part 10 is held by the hand of a user, and a brush head 14 is put into the mouth with the hand contacting a end plate 20 for brushing. Bristles 12 are wetted with saliva water content which enters a communicating groove 36 to be connected to a support shaft 16 in a support shaft inserting part 34. Thus, the hand holding the stem part 10 is connected conductively to a plus electrode of one electrode of a battery 18, and the support shaft 16 connected to a minus electrode of the other electrode is connected conductively to teeth to display a function of removing soldes on the teeth through an ion tooth brush function. When the effectiveness of the built-in battery 18 is inspected, the projection 81 of a slide 80 projecting from the basic end of the stem 10 is pushed in to confirm the luminescence of a luminescent diode 62.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ionic toothbrush, and particularly to an ionic toothbrush that more effectively removes plaque from teeth by passing an electric current between the teeth and the toothbrush. It relates to a structure for detecting power supply voltage.

[Prior Art] Many ionic toothbrushes have been proposed in which an electric current is passed between the teeth and the toothbrush in order to remove plaque and improve the penetration of fluoride in toothpaste (for example, No. 4B-27390.

(Refer to Utility Model Publication No. 43-5092). However, these conventional ionic toothbrushes have a complicated structure, are expensive, and are inconvenient to handle, making it difficult for them to become popular among the general public. Therefore, the applicant proposed an ion toothbrush as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-1842 and solved these problems. Therefore, in the case of a structure in which a power source such as a battery is built into the gripping handle, it is necessary to periodically check the power supply voltage. Therefore, the applicant proposed a voltage tester described in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-204892, and encouraged the use of this voltage tester to periodically test the power supply voltage built into the ion toothbrush.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] The voltage tester proposed by the applicant has the advantage of being easy to operate, thereby simplifying the power supply voltage testing operation of the ion toothbrush as much as possible and making it easier for the user. The voltage tester is separate from the ion toothbrush, so the operation of picking up the voltage tester and applying the terminals to the ion toothbrush is still cumbersome. There is no escaping the fact that it is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to provide an ion toothbrush that can more easily test the effectiveness of the power source built into the gripping handle of the ion toothbrush. There is something to do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a flage head portion having brush bristles or flocked bristles, a gripping handle, a power supply built in the gripping handle, Equipped with 1! In the ion toothbrush, one electrode of the power source is electrically connected to at least a portion of the outer surface of the gripping handle, and the other electrode of the power source is substantially electrically connected to the flange head. A sliding body that holds a light emitting body equipped with a light emitting body is slidably built in, and an operator is provided for the sliding body, so that both terminals of the light emitter can be electrically connected to the circular electrode of the power source by operating the operator. be.

[Function] With this configuration, a voltage tester is built into the ion toothbrush itself. 1 by operating the controls when necessary.
By sliding the sliding body that holds the light emitting body and connecting both terminals of the light emitting body to the circular electrodes of the power source, a closed circuit is constructed between the light emitting body and the power source. By checking, the power supply voltage can be tested very easily.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, and the structure of the ion toothbrush itself shown in this embodiment is substantially different from that described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication No. 1842-1983. There isn't. That is, as shown in if, 21A, this ion toothbrush mainly includes a gripping handle lO that is held by the user, and a handle lO that is separate and removably attached to the handle lO, and brush bristles 12. A brush head portion 14 is provided with bristles. Handle 10
A support shaft 16 made of a conductive material projects and extends in the axial direction from the distal end of the support shaft 16, and this support shaft 16 extends into the handle lO at its base end and terminates at approximately the center thereof. . As will be described later, a battery 18 is housed in the handle lO near the base end of the support shaft 16, and the support shaft 16 is connected to one electrode, for example, a negative electrode, of the battery 18 here. Reference numeral 20 denotes an end plate made of a conductive material, and as described later, the handle 1
0 and is connected to the other electrode of the battery 18, for example, the positive electrode.

Note that reference numeral 22 is an engagement protrusion when the brush head portion 14 is attached, and 24 is a flange for draining water.

The flange head section 14 includes a head section 26 into which the brush bristles 12 are implanted, and a shank section 2 integrated with the head section 26.
8 and a is formed. At the center of the proximal end of the shank portion 28, that is, the right end in the figure, there is an engaging protrusion 22 of the handle portion 10.
An engagement recess 30 that can be engaged with the brush head 14 is formed so that the brush head 14 can be attached to the handle 10 with a sense of moderation. A slit 32 provides elasticity when the engagement recess 30 engages the engagement protrusion 22. A support shaft insertion portion 34 is formed in the shank portion 28 along its axial direction from the proximal end, that is, the end of the engagement recess 30 to the position near the proximal end of the brush bristles 12, and as shown in the figure, When the head portion 14 is attached to the handle portion 10, the support shaft 16 protruding from the handle portion 10 is received.

Here, the dimensions of the support shaft 16 are set so that the tip end of the support shaft 16 reaches the bottom of the support shaft insertion portion 34.

Reference numeral 36 is a communication groove that functions as a part of a liquid path for electrically connecting the support shaft 16 inserted into the support shaft insertion portion 34 to the brush bristles 12 via liquid such as saliva. This communication groove 36 extends 7 a predetermined length in the axial direction from the vicinity of the brush bristles 12.
f and communicates with the spindle insertion portion 34.

The ion toothbrush having such a configuration is particularly provided with a mechanism for detecting the effectiveness of the battery as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. First, the handle 10 is specifically constructed by fitting a front end handle 10A made of, for example, an opaque synthetic resin and a rear end handle 10B made of, for example, a transparent synthetic resin coaxially with each other. ing. Reference numeral 38 denotes an extending portion extending from the proximal end of the tip side handle portion 10A in a bifurcated direction in the proximal direction, and this extending portion 38 is connected to the locking step portion 40? : Prepared. On the other hand, reference numeral 42 indicates the rear end side handle portion 1
It extends from the tip of 0B toward the tip, and has a slit 4 in the center.
3, and is provided with a locking step 44.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, by being inserted between the locking step portion 44 of the rear end side handle portion 10B and the extension portion 38 of the tip side handle portion 10A, the respective locking step portions 40, 44 are locked to each other with a sense of moderation, and the leading end side handle part 10A and the rear end side handle part 10B are integrally fitted.

The end plate 20 has a tip side handle portion 10A fitted in this manner.
O on the outer periphery of the handle 10 so as to straddle the rear end side handle 10B.
It is attached via a ring 46.

f! in the cavity inside the extending portion 38 of the tip side handle portion 10A. ! A battery 18 as a source is arranged vertically, and this battery 18 is
A coil spring 48 whose one end engages with a stepped portion of a sliding body to be described later.
is biased toward the tip (toward the left in FIG. 3). The end 50 of the coil spring 48 contacts the back side of the battery 18, ie, for example, the positive electrode of the battery 18, and then passes radially through a groove 52 formed in the extension 38, as also shown in FIG. It extends outward and contacts the end plate 20. This connects the end plate 20 to the positive electrode of the battery 18.

The rear end side handle portion 10B is formed into a cylindrical shape whose center portion passes through in the axial direction, and its base end terminates at the small diameter lower portion 4.

A sliding body 80 is inserted into the inner periphery of the rear end handle 10B so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and either a protrusion 8I as an operator formed on the proximal end thereof or a small diameter lower of the rear end handle 10B is inserted. 4 and protrudes outward. In Fig. 3.6, 82 is a convex portion formed on the outer periphery of a part of the body of the sliding body 80, and this convex portion is formed to extend in the axial direction on the inner periphery of the rear end side handle portion 10B. By fitting into the groove 58, it guides the sliding movement of the sliding body 80 and functions to prevent the sliding body 80 from rotating.

A light emitting diode 62 is held in this sliding body 80, and the light emitting diode 62 is provided with terminals 64 and 66 that are symmetrical to each other and form a straight line, and the terminal 64 on the tip side is attached to the sliding body. The terminal 66 on the rear end side is inserted into and held in a holding hole 83 formed at the distal end of the sliding body 80 and slightly protrudes toward the distal end, and the terminal 66 on the rear end side is inserted into a holding portion 84 that opens downward and is formed approximately at the center of the sliding body 80. It is held in place. The lower part of the body of the sliding body 80 in FIG. 3 is open with a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section (see FIG. 6.7).
The light emitting diode 62 is attached to the sliding body 80 so that it can be easily held.

Note that 85 is a positioning part for first positioning the terminal 66 on the rear end side when attaching the light emitting diode 62 to the sliding body 80. Further, reference numeral 86 denotes a through hole that penetrates the sliding body 80 in the radial direction, and has a width that is approximately the same as the outer diameter of the light emitting diode 62, as shown in FIG. It also functions so that the light emitting diode can be viewed from the outside via the transparent handle 10B. Note that 87 is a through hole for positioning the mold when molding the holding hole 83.

Furthermore, the light emitting diode 62 is brought into contact with the left surface of the sphere or the left wall of the through hole 86, and by contacting the rearmost end of the terminal 66 or the vertical end wall of the clamping part 84, the light emitting diode 62 moves toward the sliding member 80 in the axial direction.
is held against.

A stepped portion 89 is formed on the outer periphery of the leading end of the sliding body 80, and the aforementioned coil spring 48 is interposed between the stepped portion 89 and the back surface of the battery 18, and the coiled spring 48 allows the sliding body 80 to be attached to the base. The protrusion 81 is pushed toward the rear end side handle 10 by being biased toward the end.
It is made to protrude sufficiently from B. In addition, the state shown in FIG.
The terminal 64 of the light emitting diode 62 contacts the back surface of the battery 18, for example, the positive electrode, but under normal conditions, the terminal 64 is moved by the biasing force of the coil spring 48. It is spaced apart from the battery 18.

The battery 18 is biased by a coil spring 48 so that its front electrode, for example, a negative electrode, is connected to the support shaft 16.
One rising portion 54A of a conductive plate 54 made of a conductive material is interposed between the base end of the support shaft 16 and the battery 18. This conductive plate 54
is a substantially horizontal extending portion 3 that is bent from the rising portion 54A.
8, extends substantially horizontally through a groove 38A formed on one side of the inner wall, and after extending through a groove 56 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rear end side handle portion 10B, rises again and forms a curved portion 54B. It is terminated.

The top of the curved portion 54B comes into contact with the rear terminal 66 of the light emitting diode 62 with elastic force, and always maintains a contact state even if the end 66 moves in the axial direction. In addition, in FIG. 3, 88 is an 0 link for sealing.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. Under normal conditions, as described above, the terminal 64 is separated from the positive electrode of the battery 18 due to the biasing force of the coil spring 48, so a closed circuit is not formed between the light emitting diode 62 and the battery 18, and the light emitting diode 62 does not emit light. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, when the protrusion 81 of the sliding body 80 is pushed leftward, that is, toward the distal end, the sliding body 80 moves toward the distal end against the biasing force of the spring 48. The light emitting diode 62 held by the sliding body 80 moves toward the battery 18 and its terminal 6
4 or contact the positive electrode of the battery 18 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, since the negative electrode of the battery 18 is always in contact with the terminal 66 via the rising portion 54A of the conductive plate 54 and the curved portion 54B, a closed circuit is formed between the light emitting diode 62 and the battery 18, and the battery 18 is valid, the light emitting diode 62 emits light. Rear end side handle part 1 of handle part 10
0B is made of a transparent material and has 5 light emitting diodes 6
It is possible to check the state of the light emitted in step 2 from the outside. Therefore, it is preferable that the sliding body 80 that holds the one-light-emitting tie-out is also made of a transparent material.

When a user holds the handle lO of the ionic toothbrush having the following configuration in his hand and touches the end plate 20 with his hand, he inserts the brush head 14 into the ion toothbrush and brushes it. It gets wet with moisture, and the moisture enters the communication groove 36 and connects to the spindle 16 in the spindle insertion part 34. As a result, the hand holding the handle lO is electrically connected to one positive electrode of the battery 18, and the spindle 16 connected to the other negative electrode is electrically conductive to the tooth, so that the current flows from the hand to the pulp tissue. The toothbrush flows toward the surface of the teeth, and functions as a so-called ionic (electronic) toothbrush to remove plaque.

When testing the effectiveness of the battery 18 built into this ion toothbrush, all you have to do is push in the protrusion 81 protruding from the base end of the handle lO, and if you can confirm that the light emitting diode 62 emits light, the battery is detected. You can check whether it is valid or not.

Note that the light-emitting tie auto is an extremely lightweight and fragile member, so as mentioned above, the light-emitting diode is first held by another sliding body, and this sliding body is slid by the operation of the operator to connect the light-emitting diode terminal. By moving the light emitting diode and connecting it to and separating it from the battery, it becomes possible to extremely reliably open and close the closed circuit between the battery and the light emitting diode.

Further, in the above embodiment, the rear end handle 10B is formed by coaxially fitting the rear end handle 10A to the front handle 10A, and in particular, the rear end handle 10B is also formed in a cylindrical shape penetrating in the axial direction. Therefore, the molding is extremely easy, and only one coil spring is required to separate the light emitting diode from the battery, and this spring has a structure that separates the light emitting diode via the sliding body 80. Compared to the case where only the light emitting diode is energized, the number of parts and cost can be reduced.

[Effects] As explained above, according to the present invention, the ion toothbrush is integrally equipped with a power supply voltage testing function, so that the relatively complicated voltage testing operation can be performed using the operator provided on the toothbrush itself. This can be done reliably with just a simple operation, which has the advantage of providing an ion toothbrush that is always equipped with a valid power source.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of the ion toothbrush according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an enlarged main part of the same embodiment, and FIG. The figure is a side view at approximately the same position as in Figure 3 with only the end plate in Figure 3 cut away, Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the v-v line in Figure 3, and Figure 6 is the VT in Figure 3.
A sectional view taken along the line -Vl and FIG. 7 are a bottom view of the sliding body of the same embodiment. 10--Handle part, 14--Tulashi head part 16
... Support shaft, 18 ... Battery 20 ... End plate. 48... Coil spring 54... Conductive plate. 62... Light emitting diode 80... Sliding body

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A brush head having brush bristles flocked thereto, a gripping handle, and a power source built into the gripping handle, wherein one electrode of the power source is connected to at least a portion of the outer surface of the gripping handle. In this ion toothbrush, the other electrode of the power supply is electrically connected to the brush head, and the gripping handle has a slidably built-in sliding body that holds a light emitting body equipped with a pair of terminals. In addition, the ion toothbrush is provided with an operator of the sliding body, and is configured such that both terminals of the light emitting body can be electrically connected to both electrodes of the power source by operating the operator.