JPH05168529A - Electrically operated toothbrush device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent harmful germs from breeding and to provide an electrically operated sanitary toothbrush device by generating an air flow in a cover for housing a toothbrush by using the heat of a charging circuit and urging the toothbrush to be dried. CONSTITUTION:An electrically operated toothbrush device is composed of an electrically operated toothbrush body l1 having a battery incorporated and a toothbrush 2 detachably attached to a driving shaft 7, a base 3 for housing a charging circuit 13 having a heating circuit element, a toothbrush housing part 4 located and formed above the base 3 and a vent formed in the toothbrush housing part 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush device, and more particularly to storage of a toothbrush which can be detached from an electric toothbrush body when not in use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an electric toothbrush device of this type, there is one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-164836 as shown in FIG. This electric toothbrush device includes a base 30, a transparent cover 31 that also serves as a cup, and an electric toothbrush body 32.
And toothbrush 33. The raised portion 34 on one side of the upper surface of the base 30 has a fitting convex portion 35 for holding the toothbrush 33, and the electric toothbrush main body 32 is fitted on the other side of the base 30 and stands upright. A storage recess 36 for storing is provided. Between the outer periphery of the raised portion 34 and the upper surface of the base 30, convex protrusions 37 are formed at four places. Then, at the time of use, the toothbrush 33 is removed from the fitting convex portion 35, attached to the drive shaft 38 of the electric toothbrush main body 32 to brush the teeth, and after use, the toothbrush 33 is mounted and held again on the fitting convex portion 35, Electric toothbrush body 32
Are stored in the storage recess 36. In this way, the cover 31 also serving as a cup is placed on the raised portion 34 on the upper surface of the base 30 to prevent the entry of dust and dust, and the raised portion 34 and the base 3 can be prevented.
The protrusion 37 between the upper surface of 0 and 0 forms a uniform gap between the peripheral edge portion 39 of the cover 31 and the upper surface of the base 30, and ventilation is performed in the cover 31 through this gap, so that the toothbrush 33 It is supposed to be dried.

[0003]

However, in the electric toothbrush device having the above construction, when the cover is put on the wet toothbrush immediately after use, the humidity inside the cover rises as the brush bristles of the toothbrush dry, and the brush bristles increase. However, there is a problem that the harmful bacteria are easily propagated on the brush portion and it is unsanitary.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides
There is a provision of a sanitary electric toothbrush device by utilizing the heat generated by a charging circuit built in a base provided with a toothbrush storage part to accelerate the drying of the toothbrush and suppress the propagation of harmful bacteria to the toothbrush. ..

[0005]

In the electric toothbrush device of the present invention, a base having a built-in charging circuit having a circuit element that generates heat, a storage battery charged by the charging circuit, and a drive source energized by the storage battery are provided. An electric toothbrush main body having a toothbrush drive shaft driven by a toothbrush, a toothbrush detachably attached to the toothbrush drive shaft, and a toothbrush accommodating portion provided on the upper part of the base for accommodating the toothbrush and having a vent hole. It is a thing.

[0006]

In the electric toothbrush device of the present invention, air charged by the heat generated by the circuit element of the charging circuit is charged while the storage battery built in the electric toothbrush main body is charged by the charging circuit built in the base. Rises in the toothbrush storage section to generate convection, and the temperature of the entire toothbrush storage section rises to promote the drying of the toothbrush, and the convection causes ventilation through the ventilation holes throughout the toothbrush storage section. The increase in humidity inside the toothbrush storage section is prevented, and the factors that impede drying are removed.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The electric toothbrush device A includes an electric toothbrush body 1, a toothbrush 2, a base 3 for accommodating circuits, and a toothbrush accommodating portion 4.
It is constituted by a cover 5 forming a part of. Next, these will be sequentially described.

The electric toothbrush body 1 has a substantially cylindrical shape,
An electric motor (not shown) as a drive source, a storage battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor, and the like are built therein.
A drive shaft 6 is provided at an end portion of the electric toothbrush body 1, and the drive shaft 6 receives a drive force from the electric motor by operating a switch 7 and vibrates a certain amount in an axial direction or a rotation direction. ing. The drive shaft 6 has a toothbrush 2
Is detachably attached, and is configured to vibrate in a certain amount in the axial direction or the rotation direction together with the drive shaft 6. Toothbrushing is performed by a certain amount of vibration of the toothbrush.

In the base 3, a lead wire 8, a transformer 10 surrounded by a filling material 9, a control board 11 to which a power transistor and the like are attached, and a charging circuit 13 including an electrode 12 are built-in. There is. The circuit element such as the transformer 10 and the power transistor functions as a heating element of the charging circuit 13. A fitting convex portion 14 for holding the toothbrush 2 is partially provided on the upper surface of the base 3, and the upper surface and the cover 5 covering the upper surface constitute the toothbrush storage unit 4. It is most desirable to obtain the effect of the present invention if the toothbrush storage unit 4 is provided so as to be located right above the transformer 10 stored in the base 3. The cover 5 is in the shape of a container with an open bottom and is made of a transparent material. An annular step portion 15 is formed on the base 3, and the cover 5 is detachably provided on the step portion 15 by engaging a lower opening thereof. The cover 5 is provided with ventilation holes 16 and 17 in the upper and lower portions. The electric toothbrush main body 1 is detachably connected to a holding portion 18 that constitutes a part of the base 3 via a connector (not shown),
The charging circuit 13 allows the storage battery built in the electric toothbrush body 1 to be charged.

Next, a usage state of the electric toothbrush device A shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described. The electric toothbrush body 1 is removed from the holding portion 18 of the circuit housing case 3, the cover 5 is removed, the toothbrush 2 is taken out from the fitting convex portion 14, the toothbrush 2 is mounted on the drive shaft 7, and the switch 7 is operated to operate the toothbrush. Drive 2 to brush your teeth. When the toothbrushing is completed, the toothbrush 2 is removed from the drive shaft 7, held by the fitting convex portion 14 and covered with the cover 5, and the toothbrush 2 is stored in the toothbrush storage portion 4. In addition, the electric toothbrush body 1
Is connected to the holding portion 18 of the base 3 and stored in the base 3.
As a result, the electric power supplied from the external power source is supplied to the charging circuit 1.
The storage battery of the electric toothbrush body 1 is charged from 3. At this time, the transformer 10, which is a circuit element of the charging circuit 13, the power transistor provided on the control substrate 11, and the like generate heat to raise the upper surface temperature of the base 3. As a result, the temperature of the air in the toothbrush storage 4 rises, as a result of which vaporization of water is promoted, saturation vapor pressure is increased, and ventilation is promoted. Promotes the drying of the toothbrush 2 inside.

In the above embodiment, only one toothbrush 2 is stored in the toothbrush storage section 4,
It is also possible to store a plurality of toothbrushes 2.

The cover 5 may be provided with a hinge, a clamp or the like so as to be openable and closable in order to easily take in and out the toothbrush 2 and to prevent dust and dust from entering the toothbrush 2 at the minimum.

Further, the vent holes 16 and 17 are provided on the same vertical wall surface as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 in order to cope with intrusion of dust and dust from above, or on each of the opposing vertical wall surfaces. May be. Also, the ventilation holes 16, 17
The positions may be the same height without being arranged vertically, and the number thereof can be arbitrarily selected.

Further, the holding portion 18 for supporting the electric toothbrush main body 1 may be provided separately from the base 3 to electrically connect the charging circuit 13 and the electric toothbrush main body 1 via a cord.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, the temperature is raised by utilizing the heat generated by the charging circuit incorporated in the base, that is, the circuit element of the charging circuit, and the humidity in the toothbrush housing is prevented from rising. By promoting the drying of the toothbrush by using the toothbrush, it is possible to suppress the growth of harmful bacteria on the toothbrush, and it is possible to provide a sanitary electric toothbrush device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention seen from the front.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cutaway enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of a modified example of the present invention viewed from the front.

FIG. 4 is a cutaway enlarged sectional view of a part of a modified example of the present invention as seen from the front.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view showing a conventional electric toothbrush device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Electric Toothbrush Main Body 2 Toothbrush 3 Base 4 Toothbrush Storage 7 Drive Shaft 13 Charging Circuit 16, 17 Vent

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electric toothbrush body having a base having a built-in charging circuit having a heat-generating circuit element, a storage battery charged by the charging circuit, and a toothbrush drive shaft driven by a drive source energized by the storage battery. An electric toothbrush device, comprising: a toothbrush that is detachably attached to the toothbrush drive shaft; and a toothbrush storage portion that is provided above the base and that stores the toothbrush and that has a vent hole. 2. The electric toothbrush device according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation holes are provided in at least an upper portion and a lower portion of the toothbrush storage portion.