JPH11155638A - Toothbrush to generate ultraviolet light - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove residue of food and plaque and sterilize various germs in the mouth by brushing teeth and gum. SOLUTION: The toothbrush 11 has a handle 12, a brush part 14 embedded with a bristle 14e and a connection part 16 which connects the handle 12 and the brush part 14. The bristle 14e is able to transmit the ultraviolet light and it has a ultraviolet lamp 17, a power source 18 which powers the ultraviolet lamp 17, a ultraviolet light generator which has a switch 24 that is connected between the ultraviolet lamp 17 and the power source 18 and switches on and off the ultraviolet lamp 17 and a ultraviolet light guide means which guides the ultraviolet light generated from the ultraviolet light generator to the brush part 14 and leads to the embedded base end of the bristle 14e to emit from the top of the bristle 14e through the bristle 14e. It is better for the ultraviolet light guide means to use a optical fiber 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultraviolet ray generating toothbrush which generates ultraviolet rays for sterilizing or sterilizing teeth or gums.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a toothbrush, a toothbrush having a handle and a brush portion on which bristles are planted and a connecting portion for connecting the handle and the brush portion is known.
In this toothbrush, by holding the handle in its hand, inserting the brush part into the oral cavity, brushing the tip of the brush bristles in contact with the teeth or gums and moving up and down or reciprocating along the gums and brushing, It removes food residue and plaque attached to the interdental area and the gingival margin. By brushing the teeth or gums with the toothbrush in this way, the teeth can be prevented from becoming decayed teeth and calculus can be prevented from accumulating.

[0003]

However, with the above-described toothbrush, it is possible to remove food residue, plaque, and the like remaining in the oral cavity only by operating the brush portion with the handle and brushing. In addition, it is difficult to sterilize or sterilize bacteria present in the oral cavity.
In particular, in recent years, the density of brush bristles has been increased for the purpose of removing plaque, and there has been a problem that it is not possible to effectively brush the interdental region and the gingival margin, and it is not possible to effectively maintain hygiene in the oral cavity.

[0004] To solve this problem, there is known an electric toothbrush in which brush bristles are finely vibrated by a motor to effectively brush interdental portions and gingival margins. In such an electric toothbrush, it is expected that brushing can be effectively performed by bringing brush bristles vibrated by a motor into contact with an interdental portion or a gingival margin. However, even if plaque and the like in the oral cavity are removed by such an electric toothbrush, it has been difficult to sterilize or reduce all the bacteria present in the oral cavity. The purpose of the present invention is to remove residual scum and plaque by brushing teeth and gums,
An object of the present invention is to provide an ultraviolet ray-generating toothbrush that sterilizes or reduces bacteria present in the oral cavity.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 is
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The toothbrush 11 including the brush portion 14 having the implanted portion 4e, the connecting portion 16 connecting the handle 12 and the brush portion 14,
It is an improvement of. The characteristic configuration is such that the brush bristles 14e are configured to transmit ultraviolet light, and the ultraviolet light 17 is connected between the power supply 18 for turning on the ultraviolet light 17 and the power supply 18, and the ultraviolet light 17 is turned on or off. An ultraviolet light generating means provided with a switch 24 for causing the brush bristles 14e to guide the ultraviolet light generated by the ultraviolet light generating means to the brush portion 14 and to penetrate the brush bristles 14e to penetrate the brush bristles 14e. And ultraviolet guide means for emitting light from the front end of the light source.

When the ultraviolet lamp 17 is turned on via the switch 24 in the ultraviolet generating means, ultraviolet light is generated from the ultraviolet lamp 17, and the ultraviolet light is guided to the base end of the brush bristles 14e by the ultraviolet light guiding means. . The ultraviolet light guided to the base end passes through the brush bristles 14e and
Release from the tip of e. The ultraviolet light emitted from the tip of the brush bristles 14e sterilizes or sterilizes bacteria present at a position facing the tip of the brush bristles 14e.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a toothbrush 11 according to the present invention includes a handle 12, a brush portion 14 in which brush bristles 14 e are planted, a handle 12 and a brush portion 1.
4 and a connecting portion 16 that connects the connecting portion 4 to the connecting portion 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the brush portion 14 includes a planting member 14a on which the brush bristles 14e are planted, and a covering member 14b attached so as to cover the planting member 14a. These planting members 14a and covering members 14b are made by molding a synthetic resin. The brush bristles 14e are formed by bundling a plurality of nylon yarns configured to transmit ultraviolet rays, and a plurality of bristles 14e are provided by attaching base ends to a plurality of planting holes 14c provided in the planting member 14a. Is implanted in the brush portion 14.

Returning to FIG. 1, the connecting portion 16 and the handle 12
Is integrally formed of a synthetic resin, and the handle 12 is provided with an ultraviolet ray generating means. The ultraviolet ray generating means includes an ultraviolet ray lamp 17, a power supply 18, and a switch 24 for turning on or off the ultraviolet ray lamp 17 by connecting the ultraviolet ray lamp 17 to a power supply. The ultraviolet lamp 17 and the power supply 18 are built into the handle 12 via a tubular member 19, and a partition wall 19 a that divides the tubular member 19 into two chambers is formed substantially at the center of the tubular member 19. A battery 18 serving as a power supply is inserted into the base end of the cylindrical member 19 partitioned by the partition wall 19a, and the base end of the handle 12 facing the battery 18 is detachably configured to insert and remove the battery. Provided lid 12a is provided.

The cylindrical member 1 partitioned by the partition wall 19a
9, an ultraviolet lamp 17 is mounted on the connecting portion side.
At the tip of the cylindrical member 19 facing the light emitting portion 17a of the seventh, a convex lens 21 for focusing ultraviolet rays generated from the light emitting portion 17a toward the connecting portion 16 is mounted. An energizing member 22 for connecting the battery 18 and the ultraviolet lamp 17 is provided on the outer surface of the tubular member 19, and the battery 18 and the ultraviolet lamp 17 are connected to the energizing member 22 by contacting a terminal 22 a,
A switch portion 22b that cuts off when separated from the terminal 22a is formed. The tubular member 19 is built into the handle 12 via mounting members 23, 23 made of an elastic body. The switch 12b is brought into contact with the terminal 22a by sliding the handle 12 opposite to the switch 22b. And a slide switch 24 for turning on or off the ultraviolet lamp 17 at a distance from the light source.

The connecting portion 16 has a cavity 16a formed therein.
A plurality of optical fibers 25, which are ultraviolet guide means for guiding the ultraviolet light collected by the above to the brush part 14, are inserted.
As shown in FIG. 2, a curved portion 14f that curves toward the connecting portion 16 is formed at the base end of the plurality of brush bristles 14e planted in the planting hole 14c, and the tip of the optical fiber 25 is a brush bristle. It is configured to face the base end. Returning to FIG. 1, the base end of the optical fiber 25 is located near the convex lens 21 and is extended so as to face the ultraviolet lamp 17. This optical fiber 25
As a result, the ultraviolet rays guided to the base end of the brush bristles 14e are transmitted through the brush bristles 14e and emitted from the tips of the brush bristles 14e as indicated by broken arrows in FIG.

A method for using the thus constructed ultraviolet generating toothbrush will be described. In this toothbrush 11, the brush portion 14 is inserted into the oral cavity via the connecting portion 16 while holding the handle 12 in hand, and the tip of the brush bristles 14e is brought into contact with teeth or gums for brushing. At the time of this brushing, the slide switch 2 previously provided on the handle 12 is used.
4 is turned on to turn on the ultraviolet lamp 17. When the ultraviolet lamp 17 is turned on, ultraviolet light is generated from the light emitting portion 17a. The ultraviolet light is collected by the convex lens 21 and guided to the base end of the brush bristles 14e via the optical fiber 25. The ultraviolet light guided to the base end of the brush bristles 14e penetrates the brush bristles 14e and is emitted from the tips of the brush bristles 14e as indicated by broken arrows in FIG. Therefore, when brushing, the brush bristles 14e come into contact with the teeth or gums to remove plaque and the like in the oral cavity, and the ultraviolet rays emitted from the tips of the brush bristles 14e sterilize or sterilize germs present in the oral cavity.

In the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which ultraviolet light is generated from an ultraviolet lamp by a battery has been described.
An AC commercial power supply may be used instead of the battery. In this case, a power cord is attached to the handle. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the base ends of the plurality of brush bristles 14e planted in the planting holes 14c are bent toward the connecting portion 16 so that the distal end of the optical fiber 25 faces the base end of the brush bristles. The plurality of brush bristles 14 attached to the planting hole 14c by gently bending the tip of the optical fiber 25
The distal end may face the proximal end of e. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the handle 12 is directly provided with an ultraviolet lamp or the like which is an ultraviolet generator, but the ultraviolet generator may be provided separately from the toothbrush. In this case, an ultraviolet guide means such as an optical fiber for guiding the ultraviolet light generated by the ultraviolet light generation means to the brush portion and leading to the base end of the brush bristles is connected between the toothbrush and the ultraviolet light generation means.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, the brush bristles are configured to be capable of transmitting ultraviolet light, and are provided with ultraviolet light generating means and ultraviolet light guiding means. When the lamp is turned on, ultraviolet light is generated from the ultraviolet light, and the ultraviolet light is guided to the base end where the bristles are planted by the ultraviolet guide means, passes through the bristles, and is emitted from the tips of the bristles. For this reason, the ultraviolet light emitted from the tip of the brush bristles sterilizes or sterilizes bacteria present at a position facing the tip of the brush bristles. As a result,
By brushing teeth and gums using the toothbrush of the present invention, it is possible to remove residual scum, plaque, and the like, and to sterilize or reduce bacteria present in the oral cavity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a toothbrush of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a brush portion of the toothbrush at a portion A in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Toothbrush 12 Handle 14 Brush part 14e Brush bristles 16 Connecting part 16a Cavity 17 Ultraviolet lamp 18 Battery (power supply) 24 Switch 25 Optical fiber

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A handle (12), a brush part (14) in which bristles (14e) are planted, and a connecting part (16) connecting the handle (12) and the brush part (14). Toothbrush with (11)
In the above, the brush bristles (14e) are configured to be able to transmit ultraviolet rays, and an ultraviolet lamp (17) and a power supply (18) for lighting the ultraviolet lamp (17)
And a switch (24) connected between the ultraviolet lamp (17) and the power supply (18) to turn on or off the ultraviolet lamp (17); The ultraviolet rays guided to the brush portion (14) are guided to the base end where the brush bristles (14e) are planted, and penetrate the brush bristles (14e) and pass through the brush bristles (14e).
And a UV guide means for emitting UV light from the tip of the toothbrush.