KR20160093265A - Apparatus for drying toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for drying a toothbrush which mounts a toothbrush having an attaching member disposed on a handle portion to dry the toothbrush. The apparatus for drying a toothbrush comprises: a toothbrush drying unit which is disposed on the inside of a main body, and has a second attaching member for attaching a first attaching member disposed on a handle portion of a toothbrush; a hot air generation unit to generate hot air; a plurality of hot air outflow holes which are formed on a wall surface of the toothbrush drying unit facing a position of toothbrush bristles of the toothbrush if the first attaching member is attached to the second attaching member, and discharge the hot air generated by the hot air generation unit to dry the toothbrush bristles; a plurality of hot air discharge holes which are formed on the wall surface of the toothbrush drying unit, and discharge the hot air discharged from the hot air outflow holes to dry the toothbrush bristles to the outside; a plurality of ultraviolet lamps disposed on the wall surface of the toothbrush drying unit facing the position of toothbrush bristles of the toothbrush if the first attaching member is attached to the second attaching member; and an ultraviolet lamp drive unit to turn on the ultraviolet lamps.

Description

[0001] Apparatus for drying toothbrush [0002]

The present invention relates to a toothbrush drier for drying a plurality of toothbrushes.

The toothbrush is used to clean teeth for oral health, and the user uses toothbrushes several times a day to brush teeth.

After using the toothbrush, a toothbrush is usually held in a toothbrush holder fixed to a wall or the like, or a toothbrush is stored in a container such as a toothbrush.

However, when the toothbrush holder is held by the toothbrush holder, moisture remaining in the bristles is buried in the toothbrush holder, and opportunistic infectious bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and other streptococci such as staphylococci are propagated in the toothbrush holder, .

In order to store the toothbrush in a container such as the toothbrush, when the plurality of toothbrushes are stored, the bristles of the plurality of toothbrushes come into contact with each other.

When the bristles of the toothbrushes come into contact with each other, there is a concern that the opportunistic infectious bacteria that reproduce in each bristle region or the like may be transferred to each other, which is a very unsanitary problem.

On the other hand, various toothbrush dryer devices for drying and sterilizing a plurality of toothbrushes have been developed and widely used.

As the above-described toothbrush drier, a variety of things are known including Korean Registered Utility Model No. 20-0326458 (registered on Mar. 09, 2001).

According to the conventional technique, a toothbrush holder capable of hanging a plurality of toothbrushes can be provided on the toothbrush receiving part. The toothbrush holder can be held by the toothbrush so that the bristles face upward, and hot air is supplied to dry and sterilize .

However, in the above-described conventional technique, the toothbrush is held by holding the toothbrush so that the bristles are directed upward on the toothbrush holder, so that the water remaining in the bristles flows downward along the handle of the toothbrush holder and the toothbrush.

Therefore, even if the toothbrush is dried and sterilized by the hot air, the toothbrush holder is likely to be contaminated with foreign matter. Therefore, the toothbrush holder still has many opportunities There is a problem that the infecting bacteria grow.

Korean Registered Utility Model No. 20-0326458 (Registered on Mar. 09, 2003)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] The present invention provides a toothbrush drier that prevents bristles of a plurality of toothbrushes from contacting each other when a plurality of toothbrushes are mounted on a drier of a toothbrush.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush drier in which a toothbrush is placed on a lower portion of a toothbrush dryer so that water remaining on the bristles falls down and discharged to the outside.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush drier for quickly drying and sterilizing hot air by supplying hot air to a bristle portion of a toothbrush placed on a toothbrush dryer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush drier capable of stopping the supply of hot air when the drying of the toothbrush is completed to prevent unnecessary power consumption.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush drier for sterilizing by irradiating ultraviolet rays onto a bristle portion of a toothbrush placed on a toothbrush dryer.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems not mentioned can be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs .

According to the present invention, there is provided a toothbrush drier comprising: a toothbrush dryer provided inside the main body and having a second attachment member for attaching a first attachment member provided on a handle of the toothbrush; a hot air generator for generating hot air; A plurality of bristles formed on a wall surface of the toothbrush drier facing the position of the bristles of the toothbrush when the first attachment member is attached to the second attachment member, And a plurality of hot air discharge openings formed in a wall surface of the toothbrush dryer and discharged from the plurality of hot air discharge units to discharge the hot air dried by the bristles to the outside.

At least one of the first attachment member and the second attachment member may be a permanent magnet.

The present invention also provides a toothbrush drier comprising a closed detection switch connected to a front surface of the main body when the cover is closed to supply operation power, And a timer for generating a signal to cause the hot wind generating unit to generate hot wind.

Further, in the toothbrush dryer of the present invention, the humidity of the hot air discharged to the plurality of hot air discharge openings when the closing detection switch supplies the operating power is detected, and when the detected humidity is equal to or higher than a preset humidity, And a humidity detector for generating the hot wind generated by the hot wind generator.

The toothbrush dryer of the present invention further comprises a plurality of ultraviolet lamps provided on a wall surface of the toothbrush dryer portion facing the position of the bristles of the toothbrush when the first attachment member is attached to the second attachment member, A closure detection switch connected to the front of the cover to supply operation power when the cover is closed and an ultraviolet lamp driver to light the plurality of ultraviolet lamps when the closure detection switch supplies the operation power have.

In the toothbrush dryer of the present invention, when a plurality of toothbrushes are mounted on the toothbrush dryer, the bristles are held in a vertical state in which the bristles are located at the bottom, so that the bristles of the plurality of toothbrushes are not in contact with each other, And the like are discharged to the outside.

Therefore, it is possible to keep the inside of the toothbrush drier station which holds a plurality of toothbrushes clean.

In addition, when the cover is closed on the main body, hot air is generated to dry the bristles, and ultraviolet rays are generated to sterilize the bristles, thereby preventing bacterial growth.

Further, according to the present invention, hot air is not generated when the toothbrush is dried and the humidity of the hot air discharged to the hot air outlet is low, so that it is possible to prevent power consumption from being consumed unnecessarily.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a front view schematically showing a toothbrush of the present invention,
Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA of Fig. 1, and Fig.
3 is a control circuit diagram of the toothbrush dryer of the present invention.

The following detailed description is merely an example, and is merely an example of the present invention. Further, the principles and concepts of the present invention are provided for the purpose of being most useful and readily explaining.

Accordingly, it is not intended to provide a more detailed structure than is necessary for a basic understanding of the present invention, but it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various forms that can be practiced in the present invention are illustrated in the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a front view schematically showing a toothbrush of the present invention and a cover removed from the toothbrush dryer, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Fig. Here, reference numeral 100 denotes a toothbrush, and reference numeral 200 denotes a main body of the toothbrush dryer of the present invention.

The toothbrush 100 includes a head 104 having a bristle 102 closely arranged at its distal end and a handle 106 gripped by a user by a user are integrally formed at a lower end of the handle 106, And a first attachment member 108 attached by magnetic lines of force.

Here, the specific position where the first attachment member 108 is provided will be described later.

The toothbrush dryer 200 includes a rim 210, a cover inserting part 220 positioned inside the rim 210, a toothbrush dryer 230 provided inside the cover inserting part 220, As shown in FIG.

The rim 210 has a hinge insertion portion 212 formed at one side thereof and a hinge insertion portion 212 formed at the other side thereof in contact with the rim of the cover when a cover (not shown in the figure) Grooves 214 may be formed.

For example, the hinge inserting portion 212 is provided with a hinge provided at a middle portion of the cover, and the cover is installed to be rotatable about a hinge inserted into the hinge inserting portion 212 .

When the cover is closed on the front surface of the main body 200, for example, when the cover is hooked on the hooking groove (214) 214 so that the cover is not opened arbitrarily.

The cover inserting portion 220 protrudes by a predetermined height with respect to the height of the rim 210. The cover inserting portion 220 may be formed on the front surface of the main body 200, And when the cover is closed, it is inserted into the rim provided on the cover.

A detection rod insertion hole 222 and a plurality of display lamps 224a and 224b may be disposed at an upper end of the cover insertion portion 220 and a discharge hole 226 may be provided at a lower end thereof.

The detecting rod insertion hole 222 is provided with a detection rod provided on the cover and a cover closing detection switch which will be described later is installed on the inside thereof. For example, when the cover is closed on the front surface of the main body 200 The cover closing detection switch is turned on while the detection rod is inserted into the detection rod insertion hole 222 to supply the operating power.

The plurality of display lamps 224a and 224b display hot air drying operation for generating hot air to dry the toothbrush 100 and ultraviolet sterilization operation for generating ultraviolet rays to sterilize the toothbrush 100 with ultraviolet rays For example, the display lamp 224a may indicate occurrence of hot wind, and the display lamp 224b may display the occurrence of ultraviolet rays.

Alternatively, the display lamp 224a may indicate the generation of ultraviolet rays, and the display lamp 224b may display the occurrence of hot wind.

The discharge hole 226 may be formed in the upper portion of the toothbrush 100 so that foreign matter including water or the like falling down from the portion of the bristles 102 of the toothbrush 100 when the toothbrush 100 is mounted on the toothbrush dryer 230, And the discharge hole 226 may be provided at a central position of the lower end of the cover inserting unit 220. [

The toothbrush dryer 230 is formed on the inner side of the cover inserting unit 220 with a sufficient depth to mount the toothbrush 100. A protrusion 232 is formed on the upper end of the toothbrush dryer 230 and a plurality of second attachment members 234 are provided on the inside of the protrusion 232 at predetermined intervals.

Here, the first attachment member 108 and the second attachment member 234 are attached to each other by a magnetic field, and the first attachment member 108 and the second attachment member 234 are all made of a permanent magnet So that they can be attached to each other.

Any one of the first attachment member 108 and the second attachment member 234 may be constituted by a permanent magnet and the other may be constituted by a ferromagnetic material such as iron and nickel and attached to each other.

1 and 2, when the toothbrush 100 is injection molded, the first attachment member 108 is integrally injection-molded so as to be inserted into the knob portion 106, and the second The attachment member 234 is illustrated as being bonded to the rear of the protrusion 232 using an adhesive or the like.

However, permanent magnets have the property of reducing the magnetic field strength when applying heat.

Therefore, when the first attaching member 108 is made of a permanent magnet, the first attaching member 108 is attached to the handle 106 by using an adhesive or the like. In the case of a ferromagnetic material, it may be attached to the handle 106 using an adhesive or injection molded integrally into the handle 106.

The second attachment member 234 may be attached to the rear surface of the protrusion 232 or integrally injection-molded inside the protrusion 232 in accordance with the permanent magnet or the ferromagnetic material, like the first attachment member 108 .

When the first attachment member 108 is attached to the second attachment member 234, the toothbrush 100 of the present invention is vertically attached to the bristles 102 by the load of its own.

The height of the protrusion 232 is formed to be sufficiently higher than the length of the bristles 102 so that when the first attachment member 108 is attached to the second attachment member 234, So as not to contact the wall surface of the toothbrush dryer 230.

The wall of the toothbrush dryer (230) facing the bristles (102) of the toothbrush (100) when the first attachment member (108) of the toothbrush (100) is attached to the second attachment member A plurality of hot air discharge ports 236a, a plurality of hot air discharge ports 236b, and a plurality of ultraviolet lamps 238 are provided.

The plurality of hot air discharge openings 236a discharge hot air for drying the bristles 102. [

The plurality of hot air discharge openings 236b discharges the hot air, which is discharged from the plurality of hot air discharge openings 236a and has dried the bristles 102, to the outside.

The plurality of ultraviolet lamps 238 generate ultraviolet rays to sterilize bacteria in the area of the bristles 102.

1, for example, a plurality of hot air discharge openings 236a, a plurality of ultraviolet lamps 238, and a plurality of hot air discharge openings 236b are sequentially arranged on the wall surface of the toothbrush dryer 230 Respectively.

The order of arranging the plurality of hot air discharge ports 236a, the plurality of ultraviolet lamps 238, and the plurality of hot air discharge ports 236b may be arbitrarily adjusted for convenience of design.

3 is a control circuit diagram of the toothbrush dryer of the present invention. 3, the control circuit of the present invention includes a cover close detecting switch 300, an ultraviolet lamp driving unit 310, an ultraviolet ray generating display unit 320, a timer 330, a humidity detecting unit 340, a hot air generating unit 350 And a hot air generation display unit 360. [

The cover close detecting switch 300 closes the cover on the front surface of the main body 200 and is connected when the detection rod provided on the cover is inserted into the detection rod insertion hole 222 to supply the operation power B +.

The ultraviolet lamp driving unit 310 turns on the plurality of ultraviolet lamps 238 to emit ultraviolet light when the cover close detecting switch 300 supplies the operating power B +

The ultraviolet ray generating display unit 320 displays the generation of ultraviolet rays by turning on the display lamp 224b when the ultraviolet lamp driving unit 310 lights up the plurality of ultraviolet lamps 238. [

The timer 330 generates a hot wind generation control signal for a predetermined time, for example, about 5 to 10 minutes, when the cover close detecting switch 300 supplies the operating power, for a time for counting.

For example, the humidity detector 340 detects a humidity by providing a humidity sensor (not shown) in the hot air outlet 236b, and outputs a hot air generation control signal when the detected humidity is equal to or higher than a preset humidity Occurs.

The hot air generating unit 350 generates hot air when the timer 330 or the humidity detecting unit 340 generates a hot air generation control signal and the generated hot air is discharged to the hot air discharge port 236a.

When the hot wind generating unit 350 generates hot wind, the hot wind generating display unit 360 displays the occurrence of hot wind by lighting the display lamp 224a.

In the present invention having such a configuration, when the user brushes the toothbrush, the handle 106 of the toothbrush 100 is held in a usual manner, and toothbrushes are put on the bristles 102 and then brush the teeth.

After the user finishes brushing the toothbrush 100, the user turns the toothbrush 100 upside down and brings the handle 106 into contact with the protrusion 232 of the toothbrush dryer 230.

The first attachment member 108 provided on the handle 106 of the toothbrush 100 and the second attachment member 234 provided on the protrusion 232 are attached to each other by magnetic lines of force.

At this time, the toothbrush (100) is vertically mounted with the bristles (102) positioned thereunder by its own load, so that the bristles (102) are not brought into contact with each other even when a plurality of toothbrushes (100) are mounted.

Since the plurality of toothbrushes 100 are placed in a state where the bristles 102 are positioned lower, foreign matter such as water remaining on the bristles 102 after brushing the teeth is dropped downward, So that the inside of the toothbrush dryer 230 can be kept clean.

The bristles 102 of the plurality of toothbrushes 100 mounted on the toothbrush dryer 230 are positioned toward the front of the plurality of hot air discharge openings 236a, the plurality of hot air discharge openings 236b, and the plurality of ultraviolet lamps 238, .

In this state, the user rotates the cover to close the front surface of the main body 200 while the toothbrush 100 is mounted.

Then, the cover closing detection switch 300 provided in the detection rod insertion groove 222 is connected by the detection rod while the detection rod provided in the cover is inserted into the detection rod insertion groove 222, The power B + is supplied to the ultraviolet lamp driving unit 310, the timer 330, and the humidity detecting unit 340 through the cover closing detecting switch 300.

The ultraviolet lamp driving unit 310 generates ultraviolet rays by turning on the ultraviolet lamp 238 when the operating power B + is supplied, and the generated ultraviolet light is irradiated to the bristles 102 of the toothbrush 100, .

As the ultraviolet lamp driving unit 310 lights the ultraviolet lamp 238, the ultraviolet ray generating unit 320 lights the display lamp 224b to indicate that the ultraviolet ray generating and sterilizing operation is being performed.

The timer 330 is driven in response to the supply of the operating power B +, counts a predetermined time, for example, 5 to 10 minutes, and outputs a hot wind generation control signal while counting a predetermined time And is input to the hot air generating unit 350.

The humidity detector 340 detects the humidity of the hot air that is driven when the operating power B + is supplied and is discharged to the outside through the hot air outlet 236b. When the detected humidity is equal to or higher than a preset humidity, Generates a control signal and inputs the generated control signal to the hot air generating unit 350.

The hot wind generating unit 350 generates a hot wind according to a hot wind generation control signal generated by the timer 330 and a hot wind generation control signal generated by the humidity detection unit 340. The hot air generated by the hot air generating unit 350 is discharged to the hot air discharge port 236a to dry the bristles 102. The hot air that has dried the bristles 102 is discharged through the hot air outlet 236b And is discharged to the outside.

That is, in the present invention, the hot air generating unit 350 generates hot air to dry the bristles 102 according to a hot air generation control signal generated for a preset time in the timer 330 at the initial stage when the user closes the cover.

After the predetermined time has elapsed in the timer 330, when the humidity detector 340 detects the humidity and generates the hot air generation control signal, the hot air generator 350 continuously generates the hot air and the bristles 102 ) Is dried.

In this state, when the area of the bristles 102 is dried and the humidity of the hot air discharged to the hot air outlet 2336b is not equal to or higher than the preset humidity, the humidity detector 340 does not generate the hot air generation control signal , The hot air generating unit 350 stops generating hot air.

When the hot wind generating unit 350 generates hot wind, the hot wind generating display unit 360 lights the display lamp 224a according to the output signal of the hot wind generating unit 350 to display the performance of the hot wind drying operation And when the hot air generating unit 350 does not generate hot air, the hot air generating display unit 360 lights the display lamp 224a to indicate the end of the hot air drying operation.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, All or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be determined by equivalents to the appended claims, as well as the appended claims.

100: toothbrush 102: toothbrush
104: head part 106: handle part
108: first attachment member 200: toothbrush dryer
210: rim 212: hinge insert
214: latching groove 220: cover insertion portion
222: detection rod insertion holes 224a, 224b: display lamp
226: vent hole 230: toothbrush dryer
232: protrusion 234: second attachment member
236a: hot air outlet 236b: hot air outlet
238: UV lamp 300: Cover closing detection switch
310: ultraviolet lamp driver 320: ultraviolet lamp driver
330: Timer 340: Humidity detector
350: Hot air generating part 360: Hot air display lamp driving part
B +: Operating power

Claims (5)

A toothbrush dryer provided inside the main body and having a second attachment member for attaching the first attachment member provided on the handle of the toothbrush;
A hot air generating unit generating hot air;
A plurality of hot winds formed on a wall surface of the toothbrush drier facing the position of the bristles of the toothbrush when the first attachment member is attached to the second attachment member, Outlet; And
And a plurality of hot air discharge openings formed in a wall surface of the toothbrush dryer for discharging hot air discharged from the plurality of hot air discharge units and drying the bristles to the outside.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first attachment member and the second attachment member
At least one of which is a permanent magnet.
The method according to claim 1,
A closing detection switch connected to the front surface of the main body when the cover is closed to supply operation power; And
Further comprising a timer for generating a hot air generation control signal for a preset time when the closing detection switch supplies the operating power to cause the hot air generator to generate hot air.
The method of claim 3,
And a control unit for generating a hot air generation control signal when the detected humidity is equal to or higher than a predetermined humidity to generate hot air, And a humidity detector for detecting the temperature of the toothbrush.
The method according to claim 1,
A plurality of ultraviolet lamps provided on the wall surface of the toothbrush dryer portion facing the position of the bristles of the toothbrush when the first attachment member is attached to the second attachment member;
A closing detection switch connected to the front surface of the main body when the cover is closed to supply operation power; And
Further comprising: an ultraviolet lamp driver for turning on the plurality of ultraviolet lamps when the close detecting switch supplies the operating power.

Images