JPS6025079Y2 - Device for detecting the direction of the bristles on a toothbrush - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a device for detecting the direction of the bristles of a toothbrush for cleaning the oral cavity.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a device for detecting the direction of the bristles relative to the teeth, which is necessary for training the correct brushing method, pressure, time, frequency, etc. when cleaning the oral cavity with a toothbrush.

Cleaning the oral cavity is not only effective in preventing dental caries and maintaining the health of tooth-supporting tissues, but is also important in terms of bad breath and aesthetics.

Various methods have been considered for cleaning the oral cavity, including mechanical methods and chemical methods.

Among these methods, the easiest and most common method is cleaning with a toothbrush.

However, in view of the current state of morbidity such as dental caries and tooth supporting tissue diseases, it seems that correct brushing with a toothbrush is not always performed at present.

This is due to poor oral hygiene beliefs, but it is also because it is extremely difficult to train people in the correct way to clean with a toothbrush, and it is also difficult to check by themselves whether the brushing method itself is being done correctly. It is believed that.

It is especially difficult to clean if the child is a young child, and if the child is trained incorrectly, it becomes a habit and it becomes difficult to correct it once the child grows up.

In view of these points, the present applicant has already proposed a toothbrush that generates sound and light when rolling and applying constant pressure.

The present invention further improves this to improve the direction of the bristles relative to the teeth.
In other words, the rotation angle of the toothbrush is detected and the user can confirm this himself/herself.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a toothbrush 1 according to the present invention, and this toothbrush 1 has the following features:
A handle 2 made of plastic, bamboo, etc., a bristled tip 3 at the tip of the handle 2, a pressure sensitive part 4 provided on the handle 2, and a vessel body 5 attached to the other end of the handle 2. So this vessel 5
is a rotation angle detection unit 6, a battery 7, and a battery 7 housed therein.
It is composed of a sounding section 8, a light emitting section 9, and a power switch 10.

Next, specific examples of the rotation angle detection section 6 shown in FIGS. 2 to 8 will be sequentially explained.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 5 denotes the container body, which is made of an insulator, and inside thereof, a semicircular weight 11 is housed with a rotating shaft 12 supported by a supporting frame 13 so as to be able to freely rotate. The protruding piece 14 protruding from the moving shaft 12 moves the brush plate 15 due to the rotation of the weight 11.
It is designed to come into contact with and separate from it.

Then, when the switch 10 of the power source 7 is turned on, when the protruding piece 14 and the brush plate 15 are not in contact with each other, the oscillation circuit 16 oscillates at a certain frequency to activate the sounding part 8, and when brushing teeth,
When the protrusion 14 of the rotating shaft 12 of the weight 11 comes into contact with the brush plate 15 due to the correct direction of the bristles relative to the teeth, that is, the relative angle change between the toothbrush 1 and the weight 11 due to the rotation of the toothbrush 1, the oscillation circuit is activated. 16 changes, and the sound of the sound generating section 8 changes.

That is, by knowing whether or not this sound has changed, the correct angle of the toothbrush in the direction of the bristles relative to the teeth can be determined.

The light emitting section 9 can be made to blink instead of or simultaneously with the sound generating section 8, or can be switched between bright and dark.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which a permanent magnet 17 is attached to a part of the weight 11 and a reed switch 18 is fixedly provided on the outer periphery, and the reed switch 18 is opened and closed by rotation of the weight 11.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which an annular tube 19 made of plastic, glass, etc. is fixedly provided, coils 20 are wound around the outer circumference at predetermined intervals, and a magnetic material 21 is housed inside the annular tube 19. Due to the relative movement between the magnetic body 21 and the magnetic body 21, changes in magnetic flux and electromotive force occur, and the signals are transmitted to the sounding section 8 and the light emitting section 9.
supply to.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which a magnetic body 21 is integrally attached to the outer periphery of the weight 11, and a coil 20 is provided on the outer periphery, and the same effect as in FIG. 4 is obtained.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a so-called variable capacitor type in which a change in capacitance between a fixed plate 22 and a plate 11 serving as a swingable weight is detected.

FIG. 7 shows that a photocoupler 25 consisting of a light emitting element 23 and a light receiving element 24 is fixedly provided on the outer periphery of the weight 11, and the weight 11 with a notch 26 formed in a part of the outer periphery is connected to the light emitting element 23.
An example is shown in which a detection signal is obtained by rotating the light receiving element 24 and the light receiving element 24 to pass and block light.

This is an example having a light emitting element 23 and a light receiving element 24 as in FIG. 8 and FIG. Detects passing and blocking of light.

Although there is a difference between reflected light and direct light, the action is almost the same as that shown in FIG. 7.

Next, the pressure sensitive section 4 detects the pressure applied to the gums etc. through the bristles 3 of the toothbrush 1, and is installed inside the handle 2 at a position where it can easily detect deflection.

Specifically, the pressure sensitive part 4 includes a strain gauge as a pressure sensitive sensor, opposing electrodes, a Hall element operated by a magnetic material,
There are optical sensors etc.

This pressure sensitive part 4 is not limited to the case where it is embedded in the handle 2;
It may be attached to the connecting part between the container body 5 and the container body 5.

An example of a specific structure is shown in Figures 15 and 16.

In other words, the handle 2 of the toothbrush 1 normally has elasticity and bends when a certain amount of force is applied to it, so the pressure sensitive part 4 is designed to detect this deflection, especially inside the handle 2 at a position where deflection is likely to occur. A wide-diameter sensor 53, 54 facing the container body 5 is buried and connected to the sounding section 8, light emitting section, and 9 of the vessel body 5.

This pressure sensitive part 4 may be interposed between the diseased body 2 and an extension 5a of a vessel 5 that is separate from the diseased body 2, as shown in FIG.

When interposed between the extension part 5a of the vessel body 5 and the diseased body 2, a pressure sensitive switch 55 is inserted as shown in Fig. 17, 18 and 19.
, 56, 60, 61, 62, and a pressure adjustment screw 57.
58.59 may be adjusted.

In any case, the pressure sensing section 4 should be configured to continuously sense changes in pressure, and depending on the situation, it may be configured to be able to detect pressure changes over a certain level, or it may be configured to operate only within a certain range of load. good.

Next, the power switch 10 has a configuration that connects the handle 2 and the container body 5 when they are combined, for example, as shown in FIG. When connected to the handle 2, the conductor 34 provided on the handle 2 can short-circuit the two electrodes 32.3 of the vessel body 5.
3 is formed by a leaf spring and is electrically separated before being connected to the waist handle 2;
It is also possible to short-circuit by pressing at the time of bonding.

Next, an example of a connection circuit will be explained.

FIG. 9 shows a case where the sound generating section 8 and /' or the light emitting section 9 are connected to the power source 7 via the power switch 10, the pressure sensing section 4, and the rotation angle detecting section 6.

Then, when the handle 2 and the vessel body 5 are connected, the power switch 10
When the bristles 3 of the toothbrush 1 are brought into contact with the gums and pressure is applied, the pressure sensitive part 4 is turned on.

When you brush your teeth by rolling while applying this pressure, the rotation angle detection section 6 turns on, and the sounding section 8 and/or the light emitting section 9
is activated.

In FIG. 10, when the power switch 10 and the pressure sensitive section 4 are turned on, the sound generating section 8 and/or the light emitting section 9 are activated via the resistor 35.

An example is shown in which the volume, brightness, etc. change when the rotation angle detection section 6 is turned on.

FIG. 11 shows the sound generation section 8 when the rotation angle detection section 6 is turned on and off.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an example in which the frequency of the signal changes.

That is, in an oscillation circuit consisting of a transistor 36, a coil 37° 38, capacitors 39, 40, 41, 42, and a resistor 43, when the rotation angle detection section 6 is turned on, the capacitor 42 is connected, and the oscillation frequency is changed. change.

In addition, it is also possible to make a continuous sound when the rotation angle detection section 6 is off, and an intermittent sound when it is on.

Furthermore, by using an IC as the sound generating element, it is possible to select a comfortable tone, for example, 1 to 20,000 cycles, according to the tooth brushing movement, and it is also possible to select a continuous tone or an intermittent tone,
For example, it can generate 1 to 5,000 times per minute,
When made into an intermittent sound, it can be used to help the pitch of hand movements.

By using an IC as the sound generating element, it is possible to change the tone or the continuous or intermittent sound according to the angle change of the tip of the hair or the pressure of the tip of the hair.

By using an IC for the sound emitting element of the light emitting part, it is possible to emit light continuously or intermittently according to tooth brushing movements, and it is possible to emit light continuously or intermittently according to changes in the angle or pressure of the tips of the bristles. can be generated.

In addition, by using an IC in the sound generation section and light emitting section, it is possible to select tones of different frequencies even if the rolling detection section or pressure sensing section does not operate, and it is possible to generate different continuous or intermittent sounds. .

FIG. 12 shows a method of connecting the handle 2 and the vessel body 5, and shows an example in which the end of the handle 2 is inserted into the recess 44 of the vessel body 5 and fixed with a screw 45 and a nut 46.

Alternatively, one or more thumbscrews may be used instead of screws.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 13, a recess 47 may be provided in a portion of the handle 2, a cut groove 48 may be provided in the body 5, and the device may be fixed with a fixing device 49 such as a rubber ring, U-shaped metal fitting, or wire. good.

Furthermore, the convex part on the inner surface of the container body 5 and the recessed part on the outer surface of the handle 2 can be fitted together, or a pin can be inserted to fix the container.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14, the handle 2 and the vessel body 5 may be provided with a screw hole 50 and a screw 51, respectively, and screwed together. have an effect.

The angle of the direction of the bristles relative to the teeth, which is necessary for correct tooth brushing with a toothbrush, can be reliably sensed at any time without being affected by the slow rotational speed of the toothbrush.

Therefore, it is possible to make infants and school children aware of the direction of the bristles of a toothbrush, which is necessary for proper tooth brushing, and in particular, it is possible to make people who are hearing or visually impaired aware of the correct direction of the bristles.

Furthermore, the rotation of the weight can be controlled by opening and closing contacts, opening and closing reed switches, changes in the electromotive force of the coil, changes in capacitance, turning on the light,
Since it can be used as a detection signal such as OFF, the rotation angle in the direction of the hair tip can be detected reliably and no malfunction will occur.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show an embodiment of the device for detecting the direction of the bristles of a toothbrush according to the present invention. Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view, and Fig. 2 is a rotation angle detection device with a part of the body cut away. FIGS. 3 to 8 are side views of the second to fourth embodiments of the rotation angle detection unit, perspective views of the fifth embodiment,
Partially sectional front views of the sixth and seventh embodiments, FIGS. 9 and 10
The figure is an electric circuit diagram of different examples showing the connection state of each part.
Figure 1 shows the oscillation circuit, Figures 12 to 14 are partial front views of different examples showing how the handle and body are connected, and Figures 15 and 16 show the teeth with the pressure sensitive part cut away. The front view of the brush and FIGS. 17 to 19 are cross-sectional views of different pressure sensitive parts. 1...Toothbrush, 2...Handle, 3...
...Bristle tip part, 4...Pressure sensitive part, 5...Mechanical body, 6...Rotation angle detection part, 7...Battery power supply, 8... Sound generation part, 9... Light emitting part, 10... Power switch, 11... Weight, 12... Rotation axis, 13... Support frame, 14... Protruding piece, 15... Brush plate, 1
7... Permanent magnet, 18... Reed switch, 20... Coil, 21... Magnetic material, 23... Light emitting element, 24・・・・・・Photo-receiving element, 25...Photocoupler, 27...
·a reflector.

Claims (6)

[Scope of utility model registration request] (1) A rotation angle detection section of the toothbrush and a sounding section and/or a light emitting part that are activated by a detection signal of the rotation angle are provided on the body provided in the handle of the toothbrush, and the rotation angle detection section In a toothbrush, the toothbrush is characterized by comprising a weight that is caught in the rotation of the toothbrush and rotates around a rotation axis, and a signal output section that generates a rotation angle detection signal by the rotation of the weight. Hair tip direction detection device. (2) Practical use in which a detection signal of the rotation angle is output due to the contact and separation between the protrusion provided on the weight of the rotation angle detection unit and the brush plate that is adjacent to the protrusion and serves as a signal output unit. A device for detecting the direction of bristles in a toothbrush as claimed in claim 1. (3) A magnet integrated into a part of the outer circumference of the weight,
A device for detecting the direction of bristles in a toothbrush according to claim 1, which outputs a rotation angle detection signal by contacting and separating from a reed switch provided on the outer periphery of the weight. (4) Scope of Utility Model Registration Claim 1: A rotation angle detection signal is output by contacting and separating a magnetic body integrally provided on a part of the outer periphery of the weight and a coil provided on the outer periphery of the weight. A device for detecting the direction of bristles in a toothbrush as described in 2. (5) The direction of the bristles in the toothbrush according to claim 1 of the utility model registration claim, in which the change in capacitance between the plate forming the weight and the fixed plate is output as a rotation angle detection signal. detection device. (6) Utility model registration claim 1, in which a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are provided facing a part of the notch on the outer periphery of the weight, and the passing and blocking of light is output as a rotation angle detection signal.
Good luck device using a toothbrush as described in section.