JPH0533133Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial applications This invention can be used in oral hygiene devices that eject pulsating liquid from a nozzle to clean the oral cavity and massage the gums, as well as in other applications such as humidifiers and coffee makers. It can be applied to tank-using equipment that uses storage tanks. Specifically, the present invention relates to the structure of the connection between the device body and the tank in such tank-using equipment.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, in an oral hygiene device, the connecting portion between the device body and the tank has been configured as shown in FIG. 8, for example. That is, a downward connecting recess 2 is formed on the device main body 1 side, a downward connecting convex portion 4 is formed on the tank 3 side, and these are fitted together to allow the liquid stored in the tank 3 to flow out to the device main body 1 side. Ta. In the connection recess 2, an upward protrusion 2a is formed at the center, and an outflow hole 2b is formed at an eccentric position. On the other hand, a bottom outlet 4a is provided in the center of the connecting convex portion 4, a strainer 5 is attached to the inlet step, and a valve 6 is placed in the middle step. and,
A spring 7 is compressed between the valve 6 and the strainer 5. Further, a circumferential groove was formed on the outer periphery of the connecting convex portion 4, and an O-ring-shaped packing 8 was attached within the circumferential groove.

In some conventional oral hygiene devices, the connecting portion between the device body and the tank was configured as shown in FIG. 9, for example. That is, the device body 1
The side connection recess 2 has an outflow hole 2b at an eccentric position.
A rubber joint-like gasket 9 is housed in the connection recess 2. The packing 9 has an upward protrusion 9a formed in the center and an outflow hole 2b.
A communication hole 9b is formed at an eccentric position corresponding to the hole 9b.
On the other hand, a bottom outlet 4a is opened in the connecting convex portion 4 on the side of the tank 3, as in the conventional example shown in FIG. 8, and a strainer 5, a valve 6, and a spring 7 are arranged therein. However, unlike the conventional example shown in FIG. 8, no circumferential groove is formed on the outer periphery of the connecting convex portion 4, and no packing is provided thereto.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with such a conventional connection structure, when the tank 3 is removed from the device body 1, the bottom outlet 4a is closed to prevent the liquid stored in the tank 3 from flowing out. , and conversely, the device body 1
When tank 3 is attached to
A member such as the valve 6 that is pushed up by a and 9a to allow liquid to flow out to the device main body 1 A member such as the strainer 5 that prevents the valve 6 from falling when handling the tank 3 From the device main body 1 When tank 3 is removed,
A member such as a spring 7 that returns the valve 6 to the closed position and a member such as gaskets 8 and 9 that prevent liquid leakage from between the device body 1 and the tank 3 are required. Therefore, there was a problem that the number of parts was large and the cost was high.

Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to eliminate such conventional problems in the above-mentioned tank-using equipment and to reduce the number of parts at the connection between the equipment body and the tank.

Means for Solving the Problems Therefore, the connection structure between the device main body and the tank according to this invention is such that, for example, as shown in the illustrated embodiment below, the tank 17 is attached to the device main body 10, and the bottom outlet 37 of the tank 17 is connected to the tank 17. In tank-using equipment in which liquid stored in the tank 17 flows out from the tank 17 to the device main body 10 side, a member having elasticity is used to drain the liquid stored in the tank 17 from the device main body 10 to the tank 17 side.
a valve portion 41b that closes the bottom outlet 37 to prevent liquid from flowing out when removed; and the valve portion 41b.
A connecting portion 4 extending from the bottom outlet 37 and disposed within the bottom outlet 37
1c, a gasket part 41e that compresses between them to prevent liquid leakage when the tank 17 is attached to the device main body 10, and a gasket part 41e that connects the gasket part 41e and the connection part 41c to prevent liquid leakage. The packing part 41e is in a state allowing passage.
forming a tank valve 41 having a gasket support part such as a spoke part 41d... supporting the tank valve 41;
The tank valve 41 is held at the bottom outlet 37 using its elasticity, and when the tank 17 is attached to the device main body 10, the tank valve 41 is pushed up against the elasticity to open the valve part 41b. The device body 10 is characterized in that an upward protrusion 32 is formed on the device main body 10, which opens and allows liquid to flow out from the bottom outlet 37.

Function: Then, one tank valve 41 is connected to the tank 1.
It functions like a conventional valve to control the outflow of liquid from the valve, functions like a conventional strainer to prevent the valve from falling, and functions like a conventional spring to return the valve to the closed position. , it functions like a conventional gasket to prevent liquid leakage from between the device body 10 and the tank 17.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of this invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 shows the overall appearance of an oral hygiene device having a connection structure between the main body of the device and a tank according to this invention. The illustrated oral hygiene device is shown as an example of a device using a tank, and in the figure, reference numeral 10 is the main body of the device, which is assembled on a base 11. The base 11 is provided with a power supply knob 12 and a pressure adjustment knob 13 side by side on the front side (the front side in the figure). On the other hand, a coiled discharge tube 14 is placed on the base 11, and a handle attached to the tip of the discharge tube 14 is erected (see FIG. 7). Then, the base end of the discharge tube 14 is connected to the adjacent device main body 10. Also,
A nozzle 15 is replaceably attached to the tip of the handle, and a cap 16 is covered. On the other hand, the device main body 10
A tank 17 is placed on top. Tank 17 is
The top opening is covered with a lid 18.

Now, FIG. 7 shows a schematic structure of the internal mechanism of the oral hygiene device shown in FIG. 6. Reference numeral 20 in the figure is a main body cover of the device main body 10, which together with the base cover 19 of the base 11 constitutes an exterior case of the oral hygiene device. A pump base 21 is housed within the main body cover 20. A motor 22 is mounted on the pump base 21. And the motor 22
A motor gear 23 is attached to the rotating shaft of the pump, and meshes with a crank gear 24 supported by the pump base 21. A crank 25 is attached to the crank gear 24, and a piston is connected to the tip of the crank 25, although not shown. The piston reciprocates within the cylinder. The cylinder is formed within a pump 26 that is supported by a pump base 21. One end of a suction side tube 27 is attached to the suction port of the pump 26. The other end of the suction side tube 27 is connected to the device main body 1
0 and the tank 17 at the connecting part 28.

Therefore, when the power knob 12 is turned on, the motor 22 is driven and its rotation is transmitted to the crank gear 24 via the motor gear 23. The rotation of the crank gear 24 rotates the base end of a crank 25 eccentrically attached thereto, causing a piston connected to the tip to reciprocate. As a result, the liquid in the tank 17 is sucked into the pump 26 from the connection part 28 through the suction side tube 27, and the sucked liquid is energized by the pump 26 and sent out to the outside of the apparatus main body 10. Then, the liquid is discharged in a pulsating manner from the nozzle 15 attached to the handle 29 through the discharge tube 14. Therefore, remove the cap 16, insert the tip of the nozzle 15 into the oral cavity, and turn the pressure adjustment knob 1.
3 while adjusting it appropriately, the pulsating flow discharged from the nozzle 15 can clean the inside of the oral cavity and perform gingival massage.

By the way, in this invention, the connecting portion 28 is
It is formed as shown in the figures. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the top surface 10a of the device main body 10 has a connection recess 30 near the center.
is provided to protrude downward, and the fitting hole 31
... will be established. An upward protrusion 32 is formed at the center of the connection recess 30, and an outflow hole 33 is opened eccentrically. The outflow hole 33 is connected to the connection recess 30
A tube mounting protrusion 34 extending downward from the bottom of the
It passes through. On the other hand, the bottom 17a of the tank 17
As shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, a connecting protrusion 35 is provided near the center to protrude downward, and fitting protrusions 36 are provided. Then, a bottom outlet 37 is provided in the connecting convex portion 35, and the bottom outlet 37 is opened in the connecting convex portion 35.
There are small annular projections 3 on the periphery of the upper and lower openings of 7.
Form 8,39. An upward convex portion 40 of a constant height is formed further outside the small protrusion 38 on the periphery of the upper opening. Then, a tank valve 41 is inserted into the bottom outlet 37 of the connecting convex portion 35 . As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the tank valve 41 includes a disc-shaped valve part 41b made of elastic material, such as rubber, and having a ring part 41a on the outer periphery, and a valve part 41b extending downward from the center of the valve part 41b. Connecting part 41c
, four spoke portions 41d extending radially from the lower end of the connecting portion 41c, and a packing portion 41e supported by the central connecting portion 41c via the spoke portions 41d. The packing part 41e has a slightly larger diameter than the ring part 41a, and has a small annular projection 41f formed downward. Then, insert the tank valve 41 into the bottom outlet 37, position the ring part 41a between the small protrusion 38 of the connection protrusion 35 and the upward protrusion 40,
The packing part 41e is located outside the small protrusion 39, and the connecting part 41c is placed inside the bottom outlet 37. Then, the tank valve 41 is held at the bottom outlet 37 using elasticity. Therefore, normally the valve part 41b is elastic and closes the bottom outlet 37.
The structure is configured to prevent liquid from flowing out from 7.

However, as shown in FIG. 5, the fitting holes 31...
Insert the corresponding fitting protrusions 36 into... and place the tank 17 on the device main body 10. Then, the connection protrusion 35 faces the connection recess 30, and the connection protrusion 35 fits into the connection recess 30 as shown in FIG. Then, as can be seen from FIG. 1, the upward protrusion 32 pushes up the lower end of the connecting part 41c and lifts the tank valve 41 against the elastic force, and the ring part 41a is separated from the small protrusion 38 to open the valve part 41b and connect the connecting protrusion. A gap is created between the part 35 and the part 35. Since the outer diameter of the connecting portion 41c is considerably smaller than the inner diameter of the bottom outlet 37, the liquid in the tank 17 flows out through the bottom outlet 37 to the apparatus main body 10 side, flows from the outflow hole 33 to the suction side tube 27, pump 2
Sent to 6. At this time, the packing part 41e and small protrusion 41f of the tank valve 41 are compressed between the connection protrusion 35 and the connection recess 30 to prevent liquid leakage from the connection part 28, that is, between the device main body 10 and the tank 17. do.

When the tank 17 is removed from the device main body 10, the push-up by the upward protrusion 32 is released and the tank valve 41 returns to the closed position by its own elasticity, closing the bottom outlet 37. When there is liquid in the tank 17, additional liquid pressure is applied to prevent liquid leakage from the bottom outlet 37.

Effects of the invention Therefore, according to this invention, one tank valve has the function of a conventional valve to control the outflow of liquid from the tank, and the function of a conventional strainer to prevent the valve from falling. The number of parts can be reduced because it has the function of a conventional spring to return the valve to the closed position, and the function of a conventional gasket to prevent liquid leakage between the device body and the tank. This makes it possible to reduce costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1 to 7 show an oral hygiene device that is an embodiment of this invention, and is equipped with a connection structure between the device main body and a tank, and FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of the device;
Figure 2A is a plan view with the tank removed, B is an enlarged sectional view of its connection recess, Figure 3A is a plan view of the tank,
B is an enlarged sectional view of the connecting protrusion, C is an enlarged sectional view of one fitting protrusion, FIG.
FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of the oral hygiene device, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the overall appearance, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the entire internal mechanism. FIGS. 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views showing the structure of the connection between the conventional device main body and the tank, respectively. 10... Device body, 17... Tank, 32...
Upward protrusion, 37...bottom outlet, 41...tank valve, 41b...valve part, 41c...connecting part, 4
1e...Patsukin club.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In equipment using a tank, in which a tank is attached to the device main body and the liquid stored in the cank flows out from the bottom outlet of the tank to the device main body side, the tank is removed from the device main body using an elastic member. When the tank is attached to the main body of the device, the valve is compressed between a valve portion that closes the bottom outlet to prevent liquid from flowing out, a connecting portion that extends from the valve portion and is disposed within the bottom outlet, and A packing part that prevents liquid leakage from between the parts,
forming a tank valve having a packing support part that connects the packing part and the connecting part and supports the packing part in a state that allows passage of liquid;
The tank valve is held at the bottom outlet by utilizing its elasticity, and when the tank is attached to the device main body, the tank valve is pushed up against the elasticity to open the valve part, and the tank valve is held at the bottom outlet. A connection structure between a device main body and a tank, wherein an upward protrusion is formed on the device main body to allow liquid to flow out.