JPH0430806A - Electric toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To offer a sufficient sense of accomplishment to users by letting a head part to make an approximate reciprocating motion at a predetermined stroke and speed to make it possible to select relative large stroke and small stroke with one toothbrush. CONSTITUTION:The rotating power of a motor 30 is transferred from a pinion 3 to a bevel gear 38 in a power translating and driving mechanism 32. An eccentric cam 42 deviated from a fixed axis 40 supporting the gear 38. The eccentric cam 42 is associated with the bevel gear 38. On the external periphery of the eccentric cam 42 the second eccentric cam 43 is fitted. The second eccentric cam 43 is inserted into a cam receiving part of the reciprocating motion. With such a mechanism the eccentric rotation of both eccentric cams 42, 43 in an integrated fashion causes a reciprocating motion member to provide an approximate reciprocating motion in the direction of the axis of the grip part 12 while being guided to a guide member 48. Moreover a changeover mechanism that switches the stroke of the reciprocating motion is provided. In this mechanism the stroke can be switched by changing the rotation direction of the motor 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush, and more particularly to an electric tooth flange that is separable from a head portion or a grip portion and is substantially reciprocated.

[Prior Art] According to the World Health Organization's announcement, most people over the age of 40,171 suffer from periodontal disease. This may be due to the strong belief that daily tooth brushing, or brush-sink work, is a boring and troublesome task, and some people do not learn the correct way to brush their teeth and do not brush all their teeth properly, or do not brush for enough time. This is due to the fact that

Currently, the most effective way to remove plaque, both theoretically and practically, is to
The best tooth brushing method for preventing periodontal disease is the so-called scrub method or lotus method. This tooth brushing method is a method in which the tips of the brush bristles are applied perpendicularly to the tooth surfaces or so as to pierce the boundaries between teeth, and are moved approximately reciprocally with a short stroke of several millimeters. The disadvantages of this tooth brushing method are that it is difficult for the average person to carry out, takes up to an hour, makes the hand and arm tiring to hold the toothbrush, and there is little sense of accomplishment in brushing the teeth, so if you are not careful, you will reciprocate. The movement stroke becomes larger, and there is a risk of wear and tear on the tooth root and gums, leading to crease-like defects, gingival recession, and sensitivity.

Therefore, in recent years, so-called electric toothbrushes, which use electric motors to perform brushing work, have been commercially available, and it has been proposed that the brushing methods described above can be performed by simply placing the brush bristles on the teeth. has been done. Conventional examples include JP-A-57-166108 and JP-A-5
8-69505, JP-A No. 58-105709, and JP-B No. 42-27372.

[Invention or problem to be solved M] However, in these conventional examples or commercially available electric toothbrushes, although the reciprocating stroke of the brush bristles matches the bath method etc., it still does not satisfy the sense of accomplishment. It does not meet the needs of general consumers who are amateurs about tooth brushing methods, and in order to sufficiently remove plaque, it is necessary to spend a lot of time brushing teeth, and this also meets the needs of consumers. It's not a thing.

Also, of the parts that require brushing.

Is it effective to brush the surface of the teeth with a relatively large stroke within the scope of the lotus method or scrub method, or is it effective to brush with a relatively small stroke on the gum line or interdental area of molars, etc., where there are irregularities or complexities? Only with increased brushing or rotation. However, there is no conventional electric toothbrush available on the market that allows you to change the stroke of this Hass method.

In addition, conventionally, there are some models that allow you to select the so-called bath method and rolling method (rotating or rocking the tips of the brush bristles) by operating a changeover switch, or you can select the stroke method of the lotus method as shown above. There is nothing that can be done.

As a result of extensive research, the inventor has determined that an effective electric toothbrush that can at least have relatively large strokes and small strokes in one toothbrush, and that provides a sufficient sense of accomplishment to the user, is the best option. The object of the present invention is to provide such an electric toothbrush.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a grip portion having a motor, and a head portion which is removably connected to the grip portion and has brush bristles implanted therein. and a drive mechanism that converts the rotational power of the motor into substantially reciprocating motion and transmits it to the head section.

This electric toothbrush has a head portion that is configured to substantially reciprocate at a predetermined stroke and speed.

[Function] With this configuration, if you need a sense of accomplishment while brushing, you can set the movement of the head section, that is, the stroke and speed, to be high, depending on the area to be brushed and the condition of the teeth. It is also effective to select various aspects of the above aspects.

For example, when brushing the front and back surfaces of teeth,
Since the bristles reach these areas relatively easily, the bristles are operated at a speed and in relatively large strokes. When brushing the gum line or interdental area such as molars that have minute irregularities, or when brushing areas where the gums are swollen, the brush bristles should be applied at a higher speed and with relatively small strokes. drive,
It is possible to reach even the smallest parts without damaging the gums, etc., and to remove plaque in a short time without causing the tips of the brush bristles to move wildly.

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

1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the electric toothbrush of the present invention, and in particular, this embodiment is a toothbrush that also has the functions of a so-called electronic toothbrush.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, this toothbrush is mainly composed of a head portion 10 and a gripping portion 12, and the head portion 10 is configured to be detachable from the gripping portion 12. The head part 10 is made of, for example, synthetic resin, and the brush bristles 14 are implanted in the head part, and a supporting shaft support described later is inserted as a structure from the base part to the vicinity of the root base of the brush bristles 14. Holes 16 are formed. code 18
is a communication hole as a part of a liquid path that forms a conductive path using liquid as a medium, and this communication hole 18 allows the brush bristles 1 to
The head portion surface 19 near the root base of No. 4 and the inside of the insertion hole 16 are communicated with each other. The proximal end side of the head portion 1o is formed into a bifurcated shape, thereby forming a head side locking portion 2o. The head-side locking portion 2o has a shape complementary to a grip-side locking portion, which will be described later, and has a pair of recesses 22. Note that the reference numeral 26 is a slit.

On the other hand, the gripping part 12 mainly includes an outer cylinder 28 having a conductive part 27 formed by coating the front and back surfaces of a synthetic resin cylinder with conductive metal at approximately the center thereof, and a motor housed in the outer cylinder 28. 30, a battery 29 as a power source for this motor 30, a power exchange/drive mechanism 32 (see FIG. 3) that converts the rotational motion of the motor 30 into a substantially reciprocating motion, and a gripping portion made of a conductive material. 12, and a support shaft 34 that protrudes and extends from 12.

In this embodiment, a rechargeable battery 29 is used, and a coil (secondary coil) 31 is used to charge the battery 29.
It is stored in the base end of the outer cylinder 28, and the grip part 12 is placed on the mounting table 3.
When inserted and placed in the coil 3, it faces the primary coil 35.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the rotational power of the motor 30 is transmitted from the pinion 36 to the bevel gear 38 in the power conversion/drive mechanism 32, and the eccentric cam 42 is eccentric from the fixed shaft 40 supporting the bevel gear 38. Rotate eccentrically. The eccentric cam 42 is integral with the bevel gear 38. A second eccentric cam 43 (described later) is fitted on the outer periphery of the eccentric cam 42, and the second eccentric cam 43 is fitted into the cam receiver 46 of the reciprocating member 44.
is inserted into. As a result, the eccentric cams 42 and 43 integrally rotate eccentrically around the shaft 40, and the reciprocating member 44 is not guided by the guide member 48, so that the gripping portion 1
It exhibits a substantially reciprocating motion in the axial direction of the two.

The reciprocating member 44 extends in the distal direction from the cam receiver 46, and integrally holds the support shaft 34 at two holding portions along its central axis. 2 that holds this support shaft 34
A pair of ribs 49 that protrude vertically are provided on the holding portions at the locations, and the holding portions are connected to each other through a pair of side plate portions 50, and the support shaft 34 is exposed in the vertical direction between the side plate portions. ing. The guide member 48 has bearing plates 51 at two locations corresponding to the ribs 49, and each bearing plate 51 has a pair of bearing recesses 5 with a shape complementary to the pair of upper and lower ribs 49.
2, and substantially this rift 49 or the bearing recess 52
A bearing structure is constructed such that the reciprocating member 44 reciprocates along the guide member 48 while being slidably fitted into the reciprocating member 44 or the guide member 48, respectively. Reference numeral 53 designates an integral connecting plate that is hung between the two bearing plates 51 of the guide member 48, and is designed so that at least the exposed portion of the support shaft 34 is directed downward so as not to be covered. They are placed in three locations in each direction.

The tip of the reciprocating member 44 protrudes from the open end of the outer cylinder 28, and a seal rubber 54 is interposed between the open end and the reciprocating member 44 to seal the inside. A gripping portion side locking portion 55 having a shape corresponding to the head side locking portion 20 of the head portion 10 is formed on the protruding portion of the reciprocating member 44 . This grip side locking part 55 has a protrusion 56 that fits into the forked part of the bottom side locking part 20, and this protrusion 56 has a protrusion for aligning with the recess 22. Section 57
or is formed integrally. Further, the support shaft 34 further protrudes in the distal direction from the gripping part side locking part 55. In this embodiment, a cap 58 is attached to the open end of the outer cylinder 28 to cover the seal rubber 54 and the outer periphery of the grip-side locking part 55.

Further, this embodiment is provided with a switching mechanism for switching the stroke of the reciprocating motion of the reciprocating member 44, and here the stroke can be switched by switching the rotation direction of the motor 30 between forward and reverse directions. . Figures 6 and 7
As shown in the figure, the center of the shaft 4o that supports the bevel gear 38 is the center of the eccentric cam 42 that is integrated with the C1 bevel gear 38, and the second eccentric cam 43 is mounted on the outer periphery of the eccentric cam 42.
Let A be the center of. To aid understanding, the outer periphery of the eccentric cam 42 is shown with the same symbol B as its center, and the second eccentric cam 43 is
The outer periphery of each eccentric cam is indicated by the same symbol A as its center, and as is clear from this figure, the outer periphery of each eccentric cam is a perfect circle with respect to its center.

An arcuate notch 60 having a predetermined width is formed in the eccentric cam 42 from its outer periphery toward the center.
The P# bond end portions are partially engaged portions 61A and 61B. The second eccentric cam 43 has a notch 60 at one location on its inner circumference.
An engaging protrusion 62 is formed that protrudes inward, and relatively, the second
The eccentric cam 43 is rotatable with respect to the eccentric cam 42 between a position where the engaging protrusion 62 engages with the engaging part 61A and a position where the engaging protrusion 62 engages with the retaining part 61B.

Now, when the eccentric cam 42 integrated with the bevel gear rotates in the forward direction, that is, in the direction of the arrow in the state shown in FIG. The second eccentric cam 43 also rotates around the shaft 40 while maintaining the relative relationship.

That is, the second eccentric cam 43 moves from the center C of the shaft 40 to the second
The eccentric cam 43 rotates eccentrically in a state where the eccentric cam 43 is eccentric by the distance to the center A.

Conversely, when the eccentric cam 42 rotates clockwise around the shaft 40,! From the state shown in Fig. s6, only the eccentric cam 42 rotates and the retainer 1161B comes into contact with the engagement protrusion 62 of the second eccentric cam 43, and then the second eccentric cam 43 also rotates as a body. This state is shown in FIG. Here, the center A of the second eccentric cam 43 is located closer to the center C than the center B of the eccentric cam 42. That is, the second eccentric cam 43 rotates eccentrically with an eccentricity i1t.

In this way, when the motor 30 rotates in the forward direction, the eccentricity of the second eccentric cam 43 with respect to the shaft 40 is 0, and when it rotates in the reverse direction, it is 9.2, and in each case, the reciprocating stroke is 2.
Sentence □ and 2 standing. Here, if the cross is 2 mm and the cross is 1 mm, the strokes will be 4 mm and 2 mm, respectively, and it is possible to make minute selections within an appropriate stroke range as the so-called lotus method.

gSB and FIG. 9 show another embodiment of this stroke switching mechanism, in which the same or equivalent parts as in the previous embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

The difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the second eccentric cam 4
The engaging protrusions 62 of No. 3 are formed by partially cutting out the outer periphery of the #2 eccentric cam 43, while the engaging parts 61A and 62B provided inside the eccentric cam 42 in the above embodiment are replaced with bevel gears. 38 is formed as a substantially cylindrical projection on the inner surface thereof, and is arranged so as to engage with the engagement projection 62 at a predetermined position.

Therefore, in FIG. 9, the bevel gear 38 and the eccentric cam 4
2. When the second eccentric cam 43 rotates forward in the counterclockwise direction, the engaging portion 61A comes into contact with the right side surface of the engaging protrusion 62 as shown by the solid line in the figure, causing the eccentricity of the second eccentric cam 43 to become eccentric. When the bevel gear 38 rotates in the reverse clockwise direction, the retaining portion 61B comes into contact with the left side surface of the retaining protrusion 62 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. The eccentric cam 43 rotates eccentrically.

FIG. 1O shows yet another embodiment of this stroke switching means, in which the engaging portions 61A and 61B in the embodiment shown in FIGS. It is formed by each end of a circular arc-shaped protruding member.

FIG. 11 shows a function for charging the battery 29, a function for switching the motor 30 between forward and reverse directions, and a support shaft 34 and conductive parts for making the flange function as an electronic toothbrush. An example of an electrical circuit that functions to conduct electricity to 27 is shown. The main parts of this electric circuit are a board 64 fixed to the proximal end of the motor 30, and
Lead wires for connecting each element arranged on 4, outer cylinder 2
8 and a switch 66 provided on the outer periphery thereof. The switch knob 66 includes, for example, a magnet 67 (see FIG. 3), and turns on a sort switch (not shown).
Should I configure a non-contact switch to turn it off?

As shown in Fig. 11, tie auto D□,
D2 and capacitor Cf! : By connecting like UA, a so-called half-wave voltage doubler rectifier circuit is constructed, and its output terminal is connected to the appropriate electrode of the rechargeable battery 29.
It is configured so that the battery 29 can be charged. battery 29
The positive electrode of is connected to one terminal 30A of the motor 30 via a switch S1, and to the other terminal 30B of the motor 30 via a switch s2. Further, the negative electrode of the battery 29 is connected to a terminal 30B of the motor 3o via a switch S,' and a diode D3 in series therewith, and is also connected to a terminal 30A of the motor 30 via a switch 82'. . Switch S□ and S,
' and switches S2 and S2' are connected to the switch knob 6.
It is configured to be turned on and off at the same time by operation 6.

Therefore, when the switches S and S1' are turned on, the positive terminal of the battery 29 is connected to the terminal 30A of the motor 30, or the terminal 30B is connected to the terminal 30A of the motor 30.
The negative terminal of the battery 29 will be connected to the motor 30.
For example, rotates in the forward direction. Conversely, when the switches S2 and 52' are turned on by operating the switch knob 66, the switch S
1 and S1' are in the OFF state, and opposite electrodes are connected to the respective terminals of the motor 30, so that the motor 30 rotates, for example, in the reverse direction. Here, during forward rotation as indicated by the solid line arrow, since a tie-auto D3 is interposed in the circuit, this diode D3 acts as a resistance and reduces the rotational speed of the motor 30. During the reverse rotation shown by the dotted line in the figure, the motor 3o rotates at a higher speed without such resistance. Therefore, by switching the switch knob 66, it is possible to switch the motor 30 between the forward and reverse directions and at the same time reduce the rotational speed of the motor 30 in either rotation. It is conceivable to use a high-speed 3.5° Orp layer during forward rotation and an ultra-high-speed 4,500 rpm during reverse rotation.

Therefore, by appropriately setting the voltage of the battery 29, the resistance value of the diode D3, etc., the amount of eccentricity in the stroke switching mechanism described above or 1. By setting 2 to a predetermined value, it becomes possible to obtain various modes of movement of the brush bristles by switching the switch knob 66. For example, in one embodiment, when the motor 30 rotates in the forward direction, the stroke is 4 mm, and the cycle or speed is: l, 5OOs/
+*in, and when rotating in reverse, it is preferable to cycle or toss 4.500 s/ain with a stroke of 2 mm. In this case, the reciprocating speed of the flange is at least 3,50
Since the speed is 0s#+in, which is faster than the speed of commercially available electric toothbrushes, the user feels a satisfying sense of accomplishment during flushing. If the stroke is large, you can flush the tips of the bristles or the surfaces of the teeth that are easy to reach, and if the stroke is small, you can switch to flushing the uneven areas, which can be extremely effective and short-term flushing work. It becomes possible.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
7 are connected, and the support shaft 34 is connected in parallel with the other terminal 30B. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, an elastic L-shaped connecting fitting 68 extends from the substrate 64, and this connecting fitting 68 is pressed against the inner surface of the conductive part 27. There is. The conductive part 27 is coated with a conductive material such as metal.

The conductive portion 27 is charged with the same polarity as the terminal 30A. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5, the support shaft 34 is elastically abutted against a connecting fitting 70 at a position exposed in the r direction of the reciprocating member 44. The connecting fitting 70 extends in the proximal direction through one bearing plate 51 of the guide member 48 (FIG. 3), and is connected to the circuit of the board 64 via a Reet wire 71. Here, the support shaft 34 substantially reciprocates together with the reciprocating member 44, or does not slide with the connecting fitting 70, but maintains a contact state. As a result, the support shaft 3
4 is charged with the same polarity as the terminal 30B of the motor 30.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide an electric tooth flange and a non-electronic tooth flange. That is, when the user attaches the head lO to the grip part 12 and turns on the switch knob 66, the power from the battery 29 is supplied to the motor 30 so that the head lO moves approximately reciprocally. At the same time, the conductive portion 27 and the support shaft 34 are charged with different polarities. Grip the hand grip part 12, and the conductive part 2 of the hand
7 and insert the brush bristles 14 of the head part 10 into your mouth for flushing.
4 as well as the communication hole 18 of the head portion 10 get wet. As a result, an electric circuit is formed: power supply → hand → body → teeth - brush bristles 14 - liquid such as saliva - spindle 34 → power supply, and this generates electronic leakage, which, together with the lotus method polishing, causes dental plaque. 2 can be effectively removed from the tooth surface.

Here, conventional electronic toothbrushes usually use the electrode on the grip as the positive electrode and the brush bristles as the negative electrode, but the inventor discovered that the function of the electronic toothbrush is effective even in this case or in the opposite case. For research.

It has become clear. In other words, the two types of dental plaque that exist in the oral cavity are composed of bacteria that are charged to either the positive or negative polarity, and when the brush bristles become the negative polarity, the bacteria that are charged to the C positive polarity are attracted to the brush bristles and become negatively charged. Bacteria exhibiting the behavior of being repelled by repulsive force, and exhibiting the opposite behavior when the brush bristles are positively charged at 2 o'clock.

In the embodiment described above, the movement of the head portion 1c can be changed into two stages of stroke and two stages of speed,
By operating a switch, it is possible to select two combinations of two out of these nine, and the force does not have to be limited to this, for example, two types of C strokes and two types of speed can be selected arbitrarily. Alternatively, it may be possible to switch only either the stroke or the speed, or even there may be no switching function for either the stroke or the speed. As yet another modification, the switch mechanism may be operated to periodically The stroke or speed may also be changed; for example, the first 3 seconds are fast and small strokes, and the next 3 seconds are slow and large strokes.

Among these various modifications, the first example is one in which the battery 29 rotates in only one direction, only the reciprocating speed of the brush bristles is changed, and the stroke is not changed.
The difference between the circuit shown in FIG. 12 and the circuit shown in FIG. 11 is that the circuit shown in FIG. 2 is different from the circuit shown in FIG.
The negative terminal of the battery 29 and the terminal 30B of the motor 3o are connected through the terminal 30B, and a switch s2 is connected in parallel with these, and a diode D4 for preventing radio noise and for stopping the motor is connected in parallel to the motor 30. This is the point. Since the rotational speed of the motor 30 is lowered by the resistance of the diode D3 when the switch S□ is turned on than when the switch s2 is turned on, the speed of the reciprocating motion can be changed.

In one or more embodiments, an example of an electric toothbrush that also serves as an electronic toothbrush is shown, but the present invention also includes the case of an electric toothbrush that is an ordinary toothbrush that does not have the function of an electronic toothbrush.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of the structure for constituting an electronic toothbrush. In this embodiment, instead of the communication hole provided in the head part, 8 conductive members are provided in the vicinity of the brush bristles 14. A conductive coil 82 is embedded in the conductive member 81 and extends from the conductive member 81 toward the proximal end, and is connected to the support shaft 34 . Note that a cylindrical conductive rubber or the like may be used instead of the conductive member 81 and the conductive coil 82. ! If the entirety of 10 is made of a conductive material 4, m electrically conductive members 81. coil 8
2 and the communication hole 18 are no longer necessary.

In addition, in FIG. 13, the head M110 is
It is also possible to fixedly connect it to the support shaft 34 at the inserted position.

[Effects] As explained above, according to the present invention, by reciprocating the hand part at a predetermined stroke and speed, it is possible to give the user a sense of accomplishment in flushing, and
It is possible to provide an electric toothbrush that can effectively remove plaque in a short time.

4. Side III! 1121 is a side view of one embodiment of the electric tooth flange according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway exploded plan view of FIG. Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the
The aWfr side view of the figure, the fifth leapfrog is a sectional view along the mm edge of FIG. 3, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic diagrams showing the action of the stroke switching mechanism of the same embodiment, respectively. J@8 is a sectional view showing a modification of the stroke switching mechanism, and FIG.
The right side view of the figure, FIG. 1O is a diagram showing another modification of the same stroke switching mechanism, FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of the same embodiment,
FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram showing the same embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the electronic toothbrush structure.

io...head part 12...Gripping part 14...Brush hair 30...Motor 32...Power conversion mechanism 34...Spindle 42.43...Eccentric cam 44... Reciprocating member

Claims (1)

[Claims] a gripping part having a motor; a head part detachably connected to the gripping part and having brush bristles implanted therein; and a drive mechanism that converts the rotational power of the motor into substantially reciprocating motion and transmits it to the head part. An electric toothbrush comprising: an electric toothbrush configured to cause a head portion to substantially reciprocate at a predetermined stroke and speed.