JPH05305010A - Ion toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable an ion toothbrush to come into wide use by enabling brush bristle portions to be interchangeably thrown away if necessary while displaying fully the function of the ion toothbrush and extremely controllably reducing the cost of interchangeably throwing away the brush bristle portions. CONSTITUTION:In an ion toothbrush provided with a brush head 3 having brush bristles 7 planted thereon, a holding stem 1 and a battery 15, the brush head 3 is attached removably to the holding stem 1 which is provided with a support shaft 2 made of a conductive material while the support shaft 2 is connected to one electric pole of the battery and an end body 14 made of the conductive material connected to the other electric pole of the battery is attached to at least a portion of the outer surface of the holding stem 1. The brush head 3 has a salivary path 30 contacting the brush bristles 7 and communicating with saliva. When the brush head 3 is attached to the holding stem 1, the support shaft 2 and brush bristles 7 are made electrically conductive to each other at least through the salivary path 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ion toothbrush in which a battery is installed in a toothbrush and, in addition to the usual brushing effect, a potential gradient causes more effective prevention of tooth decay and alveolar nolo. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as a method for preventing tooth decay, it has been widely practiced to apply fluoride to the tooth surface or to use a dentifrice containing fluoride as a component. However, since the pH of pulp blood in the mouth is 7.8, the pH of pulp tissue is 7.3, and the pH of saliva is at the 6.8th position, (+) ions move from the tooth surface to the pulp tissue, but ( −) Ions tend to be directed from the pulp tissue to the tooth surface. Therefore, in the mouth,
Fluorine ion, which is the (-) ion, is difficult to penetrate into the pulp tissue and is an environment that is not good for enhancing its use effect.
Conventionally, in order to improve the effect of using fluorine ions, a battery of about 1.5V is put in a toothbrush handle, and a terminal made of a conductive material is installed between the hairs at the tip of the bristle, and the terminal of the battery (- ) A large number of ion toothbrushes (electric toothbrush, current-carrying toothbrush or electronic toothbrush) in which the handle is made of metal and this portion is made (+) electrode have been proposed (for example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 48-27390). Kosho 43-50
92). When brushing teeth with a toothpaste containing fluoride with this ionic toothbrush, an electric current flows from the hand holding the handle toward the tooth surface through the pulp tissue, etc., while the fluoride ions permeate from the tooth surface in reverse. It is well known in the art that these deposits have a great effect on the health promotion of teeth by being deposited inside.

[0003]

However, the ion toothbrushes that have been heretofore disclosed have a complicated structure, a high manufacturing cost, inconvenience in handling, and the like, and thus have been difficult to popularize. For example, a conductive material of (-) terminal is installed between the brush flocked, and the conductive material is connected to the battery from the inside of the brush base through the inside of the handle.

Further, it is a necessary condition for obtaining a sufficient brushing effect to discard the brush bristle if the bristle tip is spread outside the brush base due to use and to use a new toothbrush. . However, in the conventional ion toothbrush, the handle and the brush part are integrated, or the handle and the brush part are separated but the brush part itself is made of a conductive material. Since the conductive material is placed between the brush-implanted surfaces and the structure is extremely complicated, it is too expensive to discard and frequently replace each with a new one, which is a serious obstacle to its spread. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to discard and replace the brush bristle portion as necessary while sufficiently exerting the function of the ion toothbrush. The purpose of this is to enable the spread of the ion toothbrush by controlling the increase in cost associated with the discarding and replacement of the brush bristle portion as much as possible.

[0006]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides an ion toothbrush provided with a brush head part having brush bristles, a grip handle part, and a battery. The brush head portion is configured to be detachable from the handle portion, and the handle portion is provided with a support shaft made of a conductive material, and the support shaft is connected to one electrode of the battery and used for holding. An end body made of a conductive material, which is connected to the other electrode of the battery, is attached to at least a part of the outer surface of the handle portion, and the brush head portion has a saliva passage in which saliva is in contact with the brush bristles. When the head portion is attached to the grip handle, the spindle and the brush bristles are configured to be electrically conductive at least through the saliva passage.

[0007]

With this configuration, when the user grips the grip handle and brushes his / her teeth with the brush bristles, saliva wets the brush bristles and soaks the saliva passage, which results in battery → end body of the grip handle → An electric circuit of hand → body → teeth → bristles → saliva tract → spindle → battery is formed to facilitate the removal of plaque from the tooth surface by the flow of electrons, and the brushing effect of brushing with bristles To further improve.

Here, since the support shaft and the end body of the conductive material are provided on the grip handle side, and the electrical connection between the bristles and the support shaft is performed at least through the saliva passage, There is no need to dispose a conductive material on the brush bristle implantation surface as in the conventional case. That is, the brush head portion has a relatively simple structure and can be manufactured at an extremely low cost. Therefore, the cost can be kept low even if the brush head that is detachable from the grip handle is discarded or replaced if necessary.

[0009]

EXAMPLE An example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a handle portion, and a support shaft 2 is fixed to a convex end portion 5 formed at one end of the handle shaft 2. The tip end of the support shaft 2 projects from the handle portion 1 to the outer side in the longitudinal direction of the handle portion 1. And its base extends into the handle 1.

The spindle 2 is a good conductor of electricity. A small hole 17 extending upward in the radial direction from the support shaft 2 is provided in the handle 1 near the base end of the support shaft 2 on the handle part side, and a good conductor spring 16 is arranged in contact with the support shaft 2 therein. A battery 15, which is an example of a power source, is placed on the spring 16, so that one end of the support shaft 2 is connected to one electrode of the battery 15, for example, the (−) electrode. The back surface of the end body 14 made of a conductive material is brought into contact with the upper end surface of the battery 15, and the end body 14 is fixed to the surface of the handle portion 1 against the pressure of the spring 16. Thereby, the end body 14 is connected to the other electrode of the battery 15, for example, the (+) electrode, and the battery 15 is hermetically housed. The battery 15 is liquid-tightly sealed at its outer periphery by an O-ring 24, and the O-ring 24 is fitted in an annular groove 27 formed on the upper surface of the handle 1. This prevents both electrodes of the battery 15 from being short-circuited by water or the like in the handle 1.

The brush head portion 3 is composed of a head portion 20 on which the brush bristles 7 are planted and a shank portion 25 integral with the head portion 20. A concave end 4 which can be engaged with the convex end 5 of the handle 1 is formed at the base end of the shank portion 25, that is, in the center of the right end in the figure, whereby the brush head portion 3 has a moderation feeling. It can be attached to the part 1. Reference numeral 6 is a slit provided on the upper and lower surfaces, which gives elasticity when the concave end 4 is engaged with the convex end 5. In particular, in this embodiment, the shank portion 25 is formed with the spindle insertion portion 18 along the axial direction thereof from the end of the base end portion to the position near the base end portion of the brush bristles 7, as shown in the figure. When the brush head portion 3 is attached to the handle portion 1, the spindle 2 protruding from the handle portion 1 is received. Reference numeral 10 is a communication groove that functions as a part of a saliva passage 30 for electrically connecting the support shaft 2 inserted into the support shaft insertion portion 18 to the brush bristles 7 via a liquid such as saliva. The communication groove 10 extends in the axial direction for a predetermined length from a position separated from the brush bristles 12, and also has a spindle insertion portion 18
Communicate with. Reference numeral 13 is a flange for draining water.

The salivary tract, as shown in this example,
When the spindle 2 itself directly connected to the battery of the handle portion 1 extends into the brush head portion 3, it is effective to include the communication groove 10 as described above. However, the salivary tract is not limited to this, and the salivary tract can substantially electrically conduct the conductive material physically connected to one electrode of the battery and the bristles via the saliva. If it is good. Therefore,
In this embodiment, the surface portion of the bed 20 existing between the brush bristles 7 and the communication groove 10 is also the saliva passage 30. In other words, by interposing at least the saliva passage between the support shaft and the brush bristles, it is not necessary to dispose the conductive material on the brush bristles surface or the like so as to be almost in contact with the bristles.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a number of small grooves 8 are formed in the brush side end of the communication groove 10, that is, in the saliva passage 30, and a number of the brush bristles 7 adjacent to the communication groove 10 are formed. Exists toward the root. The small groove 8 further promotes the function of the communication groove 10 that electrically connects the support shaft 2 and the brush bristles 7 and 9 via saliva or the like, but is not essential.

When the brush head portion 3 having the handle portion 1 is put in the mouth and brushing is performed, the brush bristles get wet with saliva moisture, and the moisture also gets into the brush bristles 7, 7. This water is connected to the spindle 2 directly from the roots of the brush bristles 7, 7 through the surface of the brush head 3, that is, the saliva passage 30, or when the small groove 8 is present, through the small groove 8 to the spindle 2.
The water in the communication groove 10 in contact with the water and the water between the brush bristles 7, 7 are connected. Therefore, when the teeth come into contact with the tips of the brush bristles 7 ... 7, the support shaft 2 and the teeth are efficiently connected to each other with sufficient moisture.

The hand having the handle portion 1 contacts the end body 14 of the battery (+) electrode connected thereto, and the support shaft 2 connected to the (-) electrode contacts the teeth with water as a medium, so that Brushing with a toothpaste containing a compound forms a closed circuit, and the current flows from the hand to the tooth surface through the pulp tissue, etc. It permeates from the surface and deposits inside, which greatly contributes to the strengthening of tooth structure and the prevention of carious teeth and alveolar nolo. still,
It has been proved that the plaque removing effect is extremely great even by brushing only the ion toothbrush without using any fluoride.

[0017]

As described above, in the ion toothbrush of the present invention, even when the brush bristle needs to be replaced, it is not necessary to replace the entire toothbrush, and only the relatively inexpensive brush head is removed from the grip handle. It is good to replace it with a new one, easy to handle, economical, spread widely in society,
It is a very useful product that can greatly contribute to the promotion of dental health and the strengthening of tooth quality.

[0018]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an analysis perspective view showing an embodiment of an ion toothbrush according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of analysis in the example.

FIG. 3 is a front view in which the handle portion and the brush head portion are integrated in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a vv sectional view in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Handle 2 Support 3 Brush head 10 Communication groove 14 End body 15 Battery 30 Saliva passage

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ion toothbrush comprising a brush head portion having brush bristles implanted, a grip handle portion, and a battery, wherein the brush head portion is configured to be detachable from the grip handle portion, and The handle is provided with a support shaft made of a conductive material, and the support shaft is connected to one electrode of the battery, and at least a part of the outer surface of the grip handle is connected to the other electrode of the battery. An end body made of a conductive material is attached, the brush head portion has a saliva passage in which saliva is in contact with the bristles, and when the brush head portion is attached to the grip handle, the brush shaft portion is An ionic toothbrush configured to be electrically conductive with brush bristles with at least the saliva passage interposed.