JPH08357A - Electric toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an electric toothbrush having the capability of easily selecting a brushing motion depending on the section of teeth inexpensively via the application of simple constitution by selecting the rotating direction of a toothbrush drive motor. CONSTITUTION:A case 1 is internally provided with a drive motor 3 and a motion conversion device A for converting rotary motion to reciprocating motion. A connecting rod 10 jointed to the device A is extended to an open section 1a at the upper end of the case 1, and supported on the neck 2b of a frame 2, so as to be capable of free oscillation. Also, the forward end of the rod 10 is fitted with a toothbrush body 11. During the normal rotation of the drive motor 3, a cam rest 9 vertically reciprocates via the first eccentric cam 7 and the long groove 9a of the device A, thereby causing the body 11 to reciprocate via the rod 10 (bus brushing). During the reverse rotation of the motor 3, on the other hand, the cam rest 9 reciprocates right and left via the second eccentric cam 8 and the long groove 9b, and the rod 10 oscillates about the neck 2b as an oscillation center, thereby causing the body 11 to oscillate (roll brushing).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various electric toothbrushes have been proposed. One of the typical ones
On the other hand, a toothbrush body (a portion corresponding to the handle of a normal toothbrush) having a brush portion at its tip is made to reciprocate linearly in the axial direction by a motor provided in the case (bath polishing), or There is a device (rolling polishing) that reciprocally swings around an axis (for example, JP-A-61-64204).

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional electric toothbrush, either one of the bus polishing that reciprocates the toothbrush body in the axial direction and the rolling polishing that reciprocates the shaft around the axis is performed. I could only do it. For this reason, any one operation is not sufficient to brush the teeth according to the complicated teeth, the area between the teeth and the gingiva, and the like. Also, when both movements are desired, it is uneconomical to prepare two types of electric toothbrushes having different movements, and the electric toothbrush must be replaced and used depending on the part to be polished. It was inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric toothbrush having a simple structure and a low cost, which can select a toothbrushing operation according to the tooth portion.

[0005]

A feature of the present invention is that a drive motor built in a case and rotatable in forward and reverse directions by a switching means, a toothbrush body provided in the case, and a rotation of the drive motor. An electric toothbrush provided with a motion converting device for converting motion and transmitting desired motion to the toothbrush body, wherein the motion converting device and the toothbrush body are connected by a connecting rod. The motion conversion device includes a first eccentric cam that converts the forward rotational motion of the drive motor into a reciprocating motion of the connecting rod, and a second eccentric cam that converts the reverse rotational motion of the drive motor into the swinging motion of the connecting rod. It has. The first eccentric cam and the second eccentric cam are selectively driven by switching the rotation direction of the drive motor by the switching means.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a drive motor 3 capable of rotating in the normal and reverse directions is supported and accommodated in a frame 2 inside a hollow cylindrical case 1 having an upper end opening 1a.
The drive motor 3 uses a dry battery (not shown) as a drive power source, and is selectively driven to rotate normally and reversely by switching a forward / reverse rotation changeover switch which is not shown. The frame 2 is provided with a chamber 2a for accommodating a drive conversion device A, which will be described later, and the motor shaft 3a of the motor 3 projects in the chamber 2a in the longitudinal (vertical) direction of the body case 1. The motion conversion device A converts the rotational motion of the motor 3 and transmits a desired motion to the toothbrush body 11.

The motion conversion device A will be described. Room 2
The motor pinion 5 is fixed to the motor shaft 3a protruding to a. A bevel gear 6 is meshed with the motor pinion 5, and the bevel gear 6 is rotatably supported by a shaft 4 having both ends supported by the frame 2 across the room 2a. Bevel gear 6
A sleeve 6a is integrally formed on the shaft 6, and this sleeve is rotatably fitted on the shaft 4.

The sleeve 6a is integrally formed with a first ratchet wheel 6b and a second ratchet wheel 6c whose teeth are opposite to each other. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first ratchet wheel 6b is fitted in the hollow portion formed in the eccentric position of the first eccentric cam 7, and the second ratchet wheel 6c is formed in the eccentric position of the second eccentric cam 8. It fits in the hollow part.
A first ratchet pawl 7a and a second ratchet pawl 8a whose claw directions are opposite to each other are integrally formed on the inner peripheral surfaces of the hollow portions of the first eccentric cam 7 and the second eccentric cam 8, respectively. A clutch mechanism B is configured by the ratchet wheels 6b and 6c and ratchet pawls 7a and 8a that can be engaged with the ratchet wheels.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the outer peripheries of the first eccentric cam 7 and the second eccentric cam 8 are inscribed and fitted in the long grooves 9a and 9b formed in the cam receiver 9, respectively. Long groove 9
The a and 9b are formed so that their longitudinal directions differ by 90 °. That is, the outer circumference of the first eccentric cam 7 is inscribed in the long groove 9a in the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the case, and the outer circumference of the second eccentric cam 8 is long groove 9b in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the case. Is inscribed and fitted to. In addition, the longitudinal directions of the two long grooves 9a and 9b may be orthogonal to each other,
The long grooves 9a and 9b may be oriented in the opposite direction of this embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a connecting rod 10 is fixed to the cam receiver 9 and extends to the vicinity of the upper end opening 1a of the case. The connecting rod 10 is supported by the frame 2 with a part thereof being pivotally received by the neck portion 2b.

A toothbrush body 11 is detachably connected to the tip of the connecting rod 10, and the toothbrush body 11 projects from the upper end opening 1a of the case 1. Brush bristles 11 a are planted at the tip of the toothbrush body 11.

Next, the operation will be described. When the outer peripheral surface of the case 1 is gripped and a changeover switch (not shown) for switching the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor 3 is operated to polish the bus, the motor shaft 3a of the motor 3 rotates in one direction (forward rotation),
The rotation of the motor shaft 3a is transmitted through the motor pinion 5, the bevel gear 6, and the sleeve 6a to the first and second rotations shown in FIGS.
The ratchet wheels 6b and 6c are rotated clockwise. When the first ratchet wheel 6b rotates clockwise, the first ratchet pawl 7a engages the first ratchet wheel 6b to rotate the first eccentric cam 7 clockwise (FIG. 4). At this time,
The second ratchet pawl 8a only slides on the surface of the second ratchet wheel 6c and does not transmit rotation to the second eccentric cam 8.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the first eccentric cam 7 rotates in the clockwise direction, the cam receiver 9 reciprocates in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of the case 1 through the long groove 9a, and the cam receiver 9 moves. Since the fixed connecting rod 10 also follows, the toothbrush body 11 connected to the tip of the connecting rod 10 also follows and reciprocates up and down (bath polishing). At this time, the second eccentric cam 8
Remains stationary.

On the other hand, when the changeover switch is operated to perform rolling polishing, the motor shaft 3a rotates in the other direction (reverse rotation), and the first and second ratchet wheels 6b, 6b.
c rotates counterclockwise, this time the second ratchet wheel 6c
The second ratchet pawl 8a is engaged with and the second eccentric cam 8 is rotated counterclockwise (FIG. 3). At this time, the first ratchet claw 7a only slides on the surface of the first ratchet wheel 6b,
The rotation is not transmitted to the first eccentric cam 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the second eccentric cam 8 rotates counterclockwise, the cam receiver 9 reciprocates in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the case 1 (left-right direction) via the long groove 9b. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the connecting rod 10 fixed to the cam receiver 9 swings around the neck portion 2b as a fulcrum, so that the toothbrush body 11 connected to the tip of the connecting rod 10 also follows. Then, perform a rocking motion (to the left and right) (rolling polish). At this time, the first eccentric cam 7 remains stationary.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the toothbrush body reciprocates by moving the drive motor in either forward or reverse directions (bath polishing),
It is possible to provide an electric toothbrush with a simple structure and at a low cost, which can be selectively selected from the case of performing oscillating motion (rolling polishing).

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view at a sectional position different from that of FIG. 1 by 90 °.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a long groove in which a second eccentric cam is inscribed and a clutch mechanism of the second eccentric cam.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a long groove in which the first eccentric cam is inscribed and a clutch mechanism of the first eccentric cam.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Case 1a Upper end opening 3 Drive motor 7 First eccentric cam 8 Second eccentric cam 10 Connecting rod 11 Toothbrush body A Motion converter

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A drive motor built in a case and rotatable in forward and reverse directions by a switching means, a toothbrush body provided in the case, and a toothbrush body for converting rotational movement of the drive motor. An electric toothbrush having a motion converting device for transmitting a desired motion to the motion converting device, the motion converting device and the toothbrush body are connected by a connecting rod, and the motion converting device is configured to rotate in a forward direction of the drive motor. A first eccentric cam for converting the reciprocating motion of the connecting rod into a reciprocating motion of the connecting rod, and a second eccentric cam for converting a reverse rotational motion of the drive motor into a swinging motion of the connecting rod, the first eccentric cam The second eccentric cam is an electric toothbrush which is selectively driven by switching the rotation direction of the drive motor by the switching means.