TWI659730B - electric toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

An electric toothbrush comprising a body, a brush head and a vibration component. The vibration assembly includes a power source, a drive shaft, and a weight member. The power source is disposed in the body. The drive shaft has a first end and a second end opposite to each other, the first end is connected to the power source and is located on the first shaft, and the second end extends out of the body. The weight member is disposed at the second end and is located on the second shaft. The brush head is movably assembled to the body and sleeved to the weight member. When the first end of the power source drive transmission shaft rotates with the first shaft, the second end rotates around the first shaft, and the weight member rotates centrifugally relative to the second shaft to vibrate the brush head.

Description

electric toothbrush

The invention relates to an electric toothbrush.

Electric toothbrushes are new products that have emerged in recent years and have revolutionized the field of oral health. The existing electric toothbrush is caused by the vibration or rotation of the brush head by the motor power, thereby decomposing the toothpaste into a fine foam, so that it can deeply clean the teeth. Therefore, compared with ordinary toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes can more completely remove plaque, reduce gingivitis and bleeding gums, and are therefore currently popular daily necessities.

However, the rotation speed of the brush head is too fast to damage the gums, and the rotation speed of the brush head is too slow to clean enough. At the same time, how to achieve the required vibration state with a simple member is also a problem that the relevant personnel in the field need to consider and solve.

The invention provides an electric toothbrush, which is provided with a centrifugal shaft rotating to achieve a brush head when the transmission shaft is rotated by a transmission shaft that is eccentrically dissected and a weight member disposed at the end of the transmission shaft. Vibration effect.

The electric toothbrush of the present invention comprises a body, a brush head and a vibration assembly. The vibration assembly includes a power source, a drive shaft, and a weight member. The power source is disposed in the body. The drive shaft has a first end and a second end opposite to each other, the first end is connected to the power source and is located on the first shaft, and the second end extends out of the body. The weight member is disposed at the second end and is located on the second shaft. The brush head is movably assembled to the body and sleeved to the weight member. When the first end of the power source drive shaft is rotated in the first axis, the second end rotates about the first axis, and the weight member rotates centrifugally relative to the second shaft to drive the brush head to vibrate.

In the vibration assembly of the electric toothbrush, the first end and the second end of the transmission shaft are respectively located on the first shaft and the second shaft, wherein the first shaft is connected to the power source, and the weight member is disposed on the second shaft, When the power source rotates from the first end driving the transmission shaft, the weight member at the second end can rotate with the transmission shaft and form a centrifugal force away from the transmission shaft at the second end, thereby causing the transmission shaft to be at the second end. The centrifugal rotation is generated and bent, and the brush head is vibrated accordingly to increase the amplitude and effect of the vibration of the brush head.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

1 is a schematic view of an electric toothbrush in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 2A and 2B are exploded views of the electric toothbrush of Fig. 1 in different parts, respectively. Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B , in the embodiment, the electric toothbrush 100 comprises a body 110 , a brush head 120 and a vibration component 130 , wherein the vibration component 130 is assembled to the body 110 , and the brush head 120 is floatingly assembled The body 110 is sleeved on a portion of the vibration assembly 130 that extends out of the body 110. Therefore, the vibration assembly 130 can drive the brush head 120 to generate micro vibrations relative to the body 110.

Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the electric toothbrush of Figure 1. Referring to FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B and FIG. 3 simultaneously, the body 110 of the present embodiment is composed of members 111, 112 and 113, wherein the members 111, 112 are assembled to each other to form a grip of the electric toothbrush 100, and the member 113 is disposed on The housings 111 and 112 are formed in the accommodation space. It should be noted that the exploded view shown in FIG. 2A omits the component 112 to facilitate identification of the relevant components. Here, the vibration assembly 130 includes a power source 131, a transmission shaft 132, and a weight member, wherein the power source 131 is, for example, a motor, carried at a member 113 of the body 110, and the transmission shaft 132 has first ends E1 and a plurality opposite to each other. At the two ends E2, the first end E1 is connected to the power source 131, and the second end E2 extends from the body 110 out of the body 110 and is sleeved outside by the brush head 120. The weight 133 is disposed at the second end E2.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the drive shaft 132 is in an isometric structure, wherein the first end E1 is located on the first axis Z1, the second end E2 is located on the second axis Z2, and the first axis Z1 and the second axis Z2 They are parallel and different from each other, and the difference here means that the two axes do not coincide with each other. In other words, the power source 131 is located at the first axis Z1 with the first end E1 of the drive shaft 132, and the second end E2 of the weight member 133 and the drive shaft 132 are located at the second axis Z2. In this way, when the power source 131 drives the drive shaft 132 to rotate, the first end E1, the second end E2 and the weight member 133 can be made to have different rotation modes, which will be described in detail later.

On the other hand, please refer to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. In this embodiment, the brush head 120 includes a brush head body 121 and a bushing 122, and the body 110 further includes a buffering member 114 and a stopping ring 115, as shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the head body 121 is fastened to the buckle portion 122b of the bushing 122 by the latching portion 121a, and the top of the bushing 122 is projected into the head body 121. At the same time, the stop ring 115 is clamped between the member 111 and the base of the bushing 122. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3, the cushioning member 114 is disposed on the member 113, and the base portion of the bushing 122 has a convex portion 122a, thereby being inserted into the insertion hole 114a of the cushioning member 114, thereby causing the bushing 122 ( The brush head body 121) held thereon is substantially movably (floatingly) coupled to the body 110. In other words, according to the configuration result, the brush head 120 (the brush head body 121 and the bushing 122) has a structural restriction with the body 110 without causing relative motion, but exists in the dimension of motion along the first axis Z1. The dimension of motion on the plane with the first axis Z1 as the normal.

Referring to FIG. 3 again, in the present embodiment, the transmission member 132 has flexibility, and is further divided here into a first segment A1 and a second segment A2, wherein the first segment A1 has a connection with the power source 131. The first end E1, the second segment A2 has a second end E2 connected to the weight member 133, and the first segment A1 extends along the first axis Z1 and the second segment A2 extends along the second axis Z2. It should also be mentioned that when the bushing 122 of the brush head 120 is assembled to the cushioning member 114 of the body 110 and is sleeved outside the transmission shaft 132 and the weight member 133, the bushing 122 further has a driven portion 122c. It is used to accommodate the end of the weight member 133 and to limit it back to the first axis Z1, as shown in FIG. However, the weight member 133 is substantially located on the second axis Z2 and is offset from the first axis Z1, and the bushing 122 is movably assembled to the body 110. Accordingly, the transmission shaft 132 is in a deformed state, and due to the elastic force of the transmission shaft 132, the end portion of the weight member 122 thus abuts against the driven portion 122c of the bushing 122, and the weight member 133 is centrifugally rotated. The brush head 120 can be driven to generate a rotary vibration along the first axis Z1 at any time.

Here, the transmission shaft 132 is made of a plastic material having elasticity and flexibility (for example, polypropylene (PP), and the length of the transmission shaft 132 in the first segment A1 is smaller than the length of the second segment A2. And the second segment A2 further has a multi-section necking structure 132a, wherein the outer diameter of the neck portion is smaller than the outer diameter of the first segment A1 (as shown in FIG. 3), thereby improving the flexibility of the transmission shaft 132 in the second segment A2. The characteristic, that is, the degree of yaw of the second segment A2 when rotating.

4 is a simplified schematic view of a drive shaft and a weight member of the electric toothbrush of FIG. 1. Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 at the same time. In detail, FIG. 4 illustrates only the motion mode of the transmission shaft 132 and the weight member 133, and the limitation condition of the bushing 122 for the weight member 133 is not added here. That is, the second end E2 (and the weight member 133) of the drive shaft 132 is regarded as a free end, and when the power source 131 drives the drive shaft 132 to rotate, the first segment A1 and the drive shaft of the power source 131 are located at the same One axis Z1, so the first segment A1 is substantially in a motion mode of self-rotation (along the first axis Z1), and the second segment A2 has a lateral direction with respect to the first segment A1 (as shown in the X-axis of FIG. 4, The horizontal description of the present embodiment refers to the displacement, so that the second segment A2 substantially generates a rotational motion pattern around the first axis Z1, that is, the second segment A2 can be regarded as the second as shown in FIG. The shaft Z2 is rotated about the first axis Z1. It should be mentioned that FIG. 4 is only a simple motion diagram, only showing the centrifugal tendency of the motion state without limiting its degree of centrifugation, and therefore depends on the flexibility of the transmission shaft 132 to produce a corresponding degree of yaw. More importantly, since the weight member 133 is disposed at the second end E2, that is, the second segment A2 is away from the first segment A1, when the second segment A2 is rotated, the weight member 133 can thus be centrifugally generated. Rotation, that is, as shown in FIG. 4, the weight member 133 can be regarded as a (virtual) third axis Z3 that exhibits a centrifugal rotation with respect to the first axis Z1 and whose centrifugal direction faces away from the aforementioned first axis Z1 and Two axes Z2.

Referring to FIG. 3 again, as described above, the weight 133 is regarded as a free end rotation mode. Once the bushing 122 is added, it will interfere with the driven portion 122c of the bushing 122, that is, the weight member 133. It is structurally restricted to the first axis Z1 by the driven portion 122c, but since the bushing 122 is still in a movable state with respect to the body 110, the centrifugal force when the original weight member 133 is the free end (equivalent to the third axis Z3) The lateral displacement amount relative to the first axis Z1 is converted into a lateral swing amplitude when the weight member 133 drives the bushing 122 (and the brush head body 121) to perform the rotary vibration to achieve the effect of driving the brush head vibration.

It should be noted that the margin of the bushing 122 located at the driven portion 122c (ie, the inner space thereof) and the centrifugal effect of the weight member 133 can be appropriately adjusted, and are not further limited herein. For example, if the designer wants to reduce the vibration amplitude of the brush head 120, the internal (lateral) space of the driven portion 122c can be increased to reduce the lateral force applied by the weight member 133 to the bushing 122. .

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing a transmission shaft and a weight member according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the drive shaft and the weight member of Figure 5 within the brush head. FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic view of the transmission shaft and the weight member of FIG. 5 when rotated. Referring to FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 simultaneously, different from the above embodiment, the transmission shaft 232 of the embodiment is configured in a coaxial configuration, that is, the first axis and the second axis described in the foregoing embodiments are in this embodiment. It belongs to parallel and coincident with each other, and the fourth axis Z4 is described here. Furthermore, the weight member 233 of the present embodiment has an asymmetrical structure along the fourth axis Z4, that is, the center of gravity G (shown in FIG. 7) of the weight member 233 that has not been rotated is offset from the fourth axis Z4. status. Accordingly, the transmission shaft 232 and the weight member 233 of the present embodiment can also achieve the same centrifugal rotation effect as the above embodiment.

Here, the weight member 233 is formed with a cutting structure 233a on its side surface in the case where the structural density is uniformly distributed, so as to achieve the above-described effect of the center of gravity deviation, that is, the structural shape of the weight member 233 is a partially cut cylindrical shape. And the cylindrical central axis having the partially cut cylindrical shape (that is, the fourth axis Z4) is located on the first axis Z1 corresponding to the foregoing embodiment. However, the present embodiment is not limited thereto. In other embodiments not shown, materials of different densities may be used but a symmetrical structure may be formed to achieve the effect of deviating the center of gravity of the weight member. It should be noted that, except for the transmission shaft 232 and the weight member 233 shown in FIG. 6, the rest of the structure, including the bushing 122, is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and details are not described herein again.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the transmission shaft 232 is further provided with a convex portion 232a to mutually overlap the cutting structure 233a by the plane 232b on the convex portion 232a when assembling the weight 233 and the transmission shaft 232. Adapt to achieve the effect of positioning (limit).

As shown in Fig. 7, the dotted line outline indicates the weight member 233 and the transmission shaft 232 when it has not been rotated, and the solid line contour indicates the weight member 233 and the transmission shaft 232 that have been rotated, based on the above, although the transmission shaft 232 of the present embodiment is used. The overall structure is a state extending along the fourth axis Z4, and the weight member 233 is also assembled in the coaxial configuration of the transmission shaft 232, but since the weight member 232 is offset from the fourth axis Z4 by the cutting structure 233a Therefore, when the transmission shaft 232 drives the weight member 233 to rotate, the centrifugal rotation can be smoothly generated, and the weight member 233 is offset to the fifth axis Z5. As shown in FIG. 7, the third end E4 is located on the fourth axis. However, the fourth end E4 has been placed on the fifth axis Z5 due to the centrifugal rotation, and thus the drive shaft 232 is bent at its multi-section necked structure, thereby achieving the effect of vibrating the brush head 120.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the electric toothbrush is disposed on the first shaft and the second shaft which are parallel to each other but different from each other by the first end and the second end of the transmission shaft, wherein the first shaft is connected The power source and the weight member are disposed on the second shaft, so when the power source drives the transmission shaft, the first end is a self-rotation along the first axis, and the second end is rotated around the first axis, and then The upper weight member is located at the second end so that the weight member can be further rotated centrifugally relative to the second shaft.

That is to say, the transmission shaft is composed of a first section located on the first axis and a second section located on the second axis, so that for the first axis, the second axis has a lateral displacement relative to the first axis, so When the first section of the power source drives the first shaft to rotate, the second section of the transmission shaft can complete the preliminary centrifugal rotation, and then the centrifugal rotation of the weighting member relative to the second shaft is used to increase the amplitude of the vibration. effect.

In another embodiment, the transmission shaft is a coaxial structure (the structure of which extends along the fourth axis Z4), and the weight member is also coaxially assembled with the transmission shaft, but the weight is cut by the weight thereof. The structure causes the center of gravity to deviate. Therefore, when the transmission shaft drives the weight member to rotate, the centrifugal rotation can be caused by the deviation of the center of gravity, and thus the state of the transmission shaft is bent, so as to achieve the effect of the vibration brush head.

Furthermore, the brush head is floatingly assembled to the body and the driven portion is sleeved on the weight member, and the drive shaft is flexible, so that the assembled brush head can limit the weight of the weight member back to the structure. The first shaft, in turn, causes the deformation state of the transmission shaft and the centrifugal force during rotation to act as a driving force for driving the brush head.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧ electric toothbrush

110‧‧‧ body

111, 112, 113‧‧‧ parts

114‧‧‧ cushioning parts

114a‧‧‧ jack

115‧‧‧stop ring

120‧‧‧ brush head

121‧‧‧ head body

121a‧‧‧Snap Department

122‧‧‧ bushing

122a‧‧‧ convex

122b‧‧‧Snap Department

122c‧‧‧ Driven Department

130‧‧‧Vibration components

131‧‧‧Power source

132, 232‧‧‧ drive shaft

132a‧‧‧Multi-section necking structure

133, 233‧‧‧ weight parts

A1‧‧‧ first paragraph

A2‧‧‧ second paragraph

E1‧‧‧ first end

E2‧‧‧ second end

E3‧‧‧ third end

E4‧‧‧ fourth end

G‧‧‧ center of gravity

Z1‧‧‧ first axis

Z2‧‧‧ second axis

Z3‧‧‧ third axis

Z4‧‧‧fourth axis

Z5‧‧‧ fifth axis

1 is a schematic view of an electric toothbrush in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 2A and 2B are exploded views of the electric toothbrush of Fig. 1 in different parts, respectively. Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the electric toothbrush of Figure 1. 4 is a simplified schematic view of a drive shaft and a weight member of the electric toothbrush of FIG. 1. Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing a transmission shaft and a weight member according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the drive shaft and the weight member of Figure 5 within the brush head. FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic view of the transmission shaft and the weight member of FIG. 5 when rotated.

Claims (11)

An electric toothbrush comprising: a body; a brush head; a vibration component assembled to the body, the vibration component comprising: a power source disposed in the body; a drive shaft having a first end opposite to each other a second end, the first end is connected to the power source and is located on a first axis, the second end extends out of the body; and a weight member is disposed on the second end and is located in a second On the shaft, the brush head is movably assembled to the body and sleeved on the weight member. When the power source drives the first end of the transmission shaft to rotate on the first shaft, the second end surrounds the first The shaft rotates and the weight member rotates centrifugally relative to the second shaft to vibrate the brush head, wherein the drive shaft has a multi-section necked configuration to increase the flexibility of the drive shaft. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the drive shaft has flexibility, the brush head has a driven portion for receiving an end of the weight member, and the brush head is driven by the drive The end portion of the weight member is confined to the first shaft such that an end portion of the weight member abuts against the driven portion, and the brush head is driven along the first portion when the weight member performs centrifugal rotation One axis produces a rotary vibration. The electric toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the brush head comprises: a brush head body; a bushing body is fastened to the bushing along the first shaft, and the bushing is inserted along a first shaft on a buffering member of the body such that the bushing is opposite to the body Movable state. The electric toothbrush of claim 3, wherein the bushing has a driven portion, the weight member is received away from one end of the drive shaft and is limited by the driven portion to limit the weight member The degree of centrifugation at the time of centrifugal rotation with respect to the first axis. The electric toothbrush according to claim 3, further comprising a stop ring, the retaining ring being clamped between the base of the bushing and the body along the first shaft, the base of the bush having A protrusion is inserted into a socket of the buffer member. The electric toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the first axis and the second axis are parallel and different from each other. The electric toothbrush according to claim 6, wherein the transmission shaft is divided into a first segment and a second segment, the first segment extending along the first axis, and the second segment extending along the second axis When the first segment rotates automatically along the first axis, the second segment rotates around the first axis, and the weight member rotates centrifugally relative to the first axis to drive the second segment to deviate from the second a shaft, and the centrifugal direction faces away from the first shaft and the second shaft. The electric toothbrush of claim 7, wherein the length of the first segment is less than the length of the second segment. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the first shaft and the second shaft coincide with each other, and a center of gravity of the weight member is offset from the first shaft and the second shaft to drive at the power source. When the transmission shaft rotates automatically along the first shaft and the second shaft, the weight member drives the transmission shaft away from the first shaft and the second shaft. The electric toothbrush according to claim 9, wherein the weight of the weight member is a cylindrical shape partially cut off. The electric toothbrush according to claim 10, wherein the cylindrical cylindrical center shaft partially cut off is placed on the first shaft.