JPH0217165B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush device, and more particularly to a toothbrush mounting structure for an electric toothbrush device that can be used by detachably attaching various types of commercially available manual toothbrushes. It is something.

[Conventional technology] For the prevention and treatment of gingivitis in children and pyorrhea in adults, a brushing method called the bath method is used, in which the toothbrush is placed at an angle of about 45 degrees at the border between the teeth and the gums, and the brushing is applied horizontally in small steps. When brushing, it is necessary to vibrate the bristles to the extent that they do not slide sideways.

Performing this bus method manually is very tedious and difficult, and typically tends to result in large horizontal lateral movements. In this case, gingival recession occurs,
There is a risk of hypersensitivity of the tooth neck and a phenomenon of tooth and gingival abrasion called wedge-shaped defects. Or, conversely, brushing may become insufficient.

Therefore, there are electric toothbrushes on the market that move their toothbrushes automatically, but these conventional electric toothbrushes come with their own special toothbrushes, so you can choose the best one for your teeth and gums. It is not possible to select a toothbrush based on its bristle quality, shape, size, processing method, etc. It is extremely difficult to completely clean the inside of one person's mouth with one type of toothbrush, and it is said that it is necessary to use multiple different toothbrushes to achieve perfection. There is. Especially in the area where the teeth and gums meet, there is a high risk of damage to the gums if you use a toothbrush that is inappropriate for you. The higher the age, the greater the severity.

The overall length of commercially available manual toothbrushes is such that the relationship between the handle and the brush is just right for brushing while being held in the hand, so an appropriate chuck device can be installed in the brush mounting part of a conventional electric toothbrush. If it is installed as is, it will be too long and inconvenient to use, and in practice brushing at this length is impossible. Therefore, the handle of the manual toothbrush must be inserted into the electric toothbrush body to shorten the overall length.

Next, the shapes and dimensions of the handles of manual toothbrushes vary widely. It is required that handles of various shapes and sizes can be quickly and easily attached, that the attached handles will not move or come off during power-driven brushing, and that they can be removed easily and quickly. Ru.

Therefore, there has been a conventional electric toothbrush in which a pair of leaf springs are arranged in a housing that is reciprocated by a motor, and the handle of the toothbrush is fixed to the housing by being held between the leaf springs. . (Special Publication No. 42-27372).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, since this electric toothbrush has a structure in which the toothbrush is fixed to the housing by being held between a pair of leaf springs, a plate is required to prevent the toothbrush from accidentally falling off. The clamping force of the spring must be strong, and therefore considerable pushing and pulling force is required when attaching and detaching the toothbrush. Further, since various commercially available toothbrushes have different handle thicknesses, when using a toothbrush with a thin handle or a toothbrush with an uneven handle, there is a possibility that the toothbrush cannot be securely fixed to the housing.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is capable of extremely easily attaching and detaching all types of commercially available toothbrushes (excluding those with special irregular dimensions), and which ensures that all types of toothbrushes can be attached and detached reliably regardless of the dimensions of the toothbrush handle. The present invention provides an electric toothbrush device that can hold an electric toothbrush.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An electric toothbrush device of the present invention includes an electric drive device housed in a cylindrical main body, and a toothbrush holder movably held in the main body and reciprocated by the electric drive device. A toothbrush holding member comprising a cylinder and a contact portion that contacts a handle of a toothbrush inserted into the receiving cylinder and is provided on the receiving cylinder so as to be swingable between a substantially horizontal position and a substantially upright position, and the toothbrush. A biasing means for biasing the holding member in the direction of the substantially upright position.

[Function] With this configuration, when installing the toothbrush,
After the toothbrush holding member is swung to a substantially horizontal position against the urging force of the urging means and the toothbrush is inserted into the toothbrush receiver, the toothbrush holding member is moved in the opposite direction, that is, approximately toward the upright position, by the urging force of the urging means. The handle of the toothbrush may be pressed by the contact portion by swinging the toothbrush.
As a result, the toothbrush is pressed in opposite directions to the inner wall of the toothbrush receiver and the mouth of the receiver, and is also directly pressed by the contact portion of the toothbrush holding member, so that it is securely held in at least three places. will be done. Therefore, in this holding structure,
Even if the thickness of the toothbrush handle changes, there is no change in the holding force, and there is no change in the attachment/detachment operation.

When the bristles of the toothbrush are held with the tips facing outward, when the bristles come into contact with the tooth surface and a pressing force is generated in the lateral direction, the toothbrush can be rotated around the mouth of the toothbrush receiver. This prevents excessive pressure from being applied to the tooth surfaces and gums.

[Example] The present invention will be described below based on an example shown in the drawings. In the figure, 1 is a cylindrical main body, which has a motor 4 as a driving source and a toothbrush receiving body or holder 6 for receiving and holding a toothbrush. When power is supplied to the motor 4 from the electric cord 5, the motor 4 rotates the pinion 7, and this rotation is transmitted to the bevel gear 8 having the eccentric boss 14. 9 is this fixed shaft, 10 is a bracket integrated with the motor 4, and 11, 11' are positioning ribs. Further, reference numeral 3 is a switch dial.

An arm 15 integrally extends from the lower end of the holder 6, and the arm 15 is provided with an elongated hole in which the eccentric boss 14 is accommodated. Therefore, the rotation of the bevel gear 8 causes the holder 6 to reciprocate via the eccentric boss 14. 12 denotes both ends of the fixed shaft 9 and ribs 11,1.
1', and has a bearing portion 13 on its upper surface that holds the holder 6 from the outer periphery. Note that 23 and 23' are ribs into which the fixed shaft 9 and ribs 11 and 11' are fitted. The outer circumference of the upper part of the holder 6 is also supported by a bearing part 20, and this bearing part 20 has an integral protrusion 21, and this protrusion 21 is fitted between the inner ribs 22 and 22' of the main body 1. , positioned. Reference numeral 16 denotes a holder main part, which has a mainly circular outer circumferential surface, but a parallel plane part is formed in a part. Holder 6
has a generally elliptical cross-section and has a holder hole 18 into which all the handles of ordinary toothbrushes can be inserted, except for specially shaped toothbrushes. An elastic material 19 made of rubber, soft plastic, or the like is arranged on the inner side of the holder hole 18, and functions to hold the lower end of the handle of the inserted toothbrush 41 so that it does not slip. Adding a notch here can further improve the prevention of the handle from slipping. A waterproof bellows 24 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or soft plastic, and is interposed between the upper part 17 of the holder 6 and the lid 2 attached to the opening of the main body 1.

Reference numerals 25 and 25' are bracket-shaped walls integral with the holder 6, and support the coil spring 26 and the spring shaft 27. One end 28 of the coil spring 26 is connected to the holder hole 1
It extends within 8. The other end 29 of the coil spring is the second
As shown in the figure, it extends from one end of the spring shaft 27 to form a substantially U-shape, and is wound around and attached to the opposite end of the spring shaft 27 . A contact portion or knob 30 made of an elastic material such as soft plastic or rubber having a high coefficient of friction is fixed to the other end 29 of the spring shaft. When the knob 30 is released from external force, it is biased by the coil spring 26 so as to be located at the α position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. Therefore, in this embodiment, the coil spring 2
6 and the knob 30 constitute a toothbrush holding member.

31 is a spacer that is located between the lower bearing part 13 and the upper bearing part 20, fits loosely with the holder main part 16, and fixes the distance between the two, and the flat surface of the outer periphery is provided with a spacer for a switch contact. Pins 32, 33, 34, 36 that supports the switch shaft 35, and its stopper 37
exists. 38 is a switch leaf spring, 43 is an O-ring for waterproof sealing, and 40 is a set screw for fixing the switch dial 3 and the switch shaft 35 together. To stop the rotation of both, there is a protrusion 39 on the switch shaft 35 shown in FIG. 2, and a switch dial 3 on the opposite side.
A concave portion is provided in the boss portion.

The other end of the electric cord 5 is connected to a transformer and an outlet (not shown), and after connecting this outlet to a power source, when the switch dial 3 is rotated to the right in FIG. 2, the switch leaf spring 38 swings to the right. It makes contact with the current terminal fitted into the switch contact pin 34. It connects to the current terminal of pin 32 to close the circuit, and when motor 4 rotates, pinion 7
The bevel gear is driven through the eccentric boss 1
4 causes the holder 6 to reciprocate up and down. When the switch dial 3 is turned back to the left, the circuit opens and the motor stops.

When attaching a toothbrush to the electric toothbrush device having this configuration, first press the knob 30 with your fingers against the biasing force of the coil spring 26 and position it approximately horizontally at the γ position in FIG. Insert any manual toothbrush 41 into the holder hole 18 with the brush part facing leftward (or rightward) as shown in FIG. 1, and release your hand from knob 30. As a result, the knob 30 is connected to the coil spring 2.
Due to the biasing force 6, the position β is reached as shown by the solid line, and the inner edge 42 of the knob 30 comes into pressure contact with the handle of the toothbrush 41. As a result, the handle of the toothbrush 41 is rotated counterclockwise about the spring shaft 27 of the coil spring 26, and the lower end of the toothbrush 41 is rotated against the elastic material inside the holder 6.
9, the central part of the toothbrush 41 presses against the mouth of the holder 6, that is, near the spring shaft 27, in the opposite direction, and in addition, the above-mentioned knob 30 presses the handle of the toothbrush 41. Retained. When the toothbrush 41 is placed in the mouth and the bristles are brought into contact with the tooth surface, the reaction force causes the toothbrush handle to rotate clockwise (FIG. 1) using the coil spring 26 as a fulcrum against the biasing force of the knob 30. It is possible to move. At this time, the lower end of the toothbrush 41 is attached to the holder 6.
is separated from the elastic material 19 of. Therefore, excessive pressure can be prevented from being applied to the tooth surfaces and gums. toothbrush 4
If you change the insertion depth of the toothbrush 1 into the holder 6, the distance from the rotation fulcrum of the toothbrush handle, that is, the position where it contacts the mouth of the holder 6, to the toothbrush bristles will change, and the rotation moment will change. The rotational force of will change as a result. Therefore, by adjusting the insertion depth of the toothbrush 41 depending on the hardness of the toothbrush bristles used, the tooth quality of the user, etc., the pressure applied to the teeth and gums can be adjusted.

When the toothbrush 41 is inserted into the holder hole 18 with the toothbrush 41 facing right, the toothbrush itself will not rotate even if the toothbrush bristles receive force from the tooth surface.

In FIG. 1, a force that attempts to move the toothbrush 41 in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface may be generated during brushing. In this case, the curve of the inner edge 42 of the knob and the elastic material 19 shown in FIGS.
When the handle attempts to move in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper due to the slope of the handle, frictional resistance is generated to prevent this movement.

When an external force that causes the toothbrush 41 to come off during use is applied, the knob 30 attempts to further swing toward the α position using the spring shaft 27 as a fulcrum due to a slight frictional force between the toothbrush handle and the inner edge of the knob, and the toothbrush The frictional force between the handle and the inner edge 42 of the knob is further increased to prevent the toothbrush 41 from slipping out.

To remove the toothbrush, push down the knob 30 to the approximately horizontal γ position against the spring force, and the toothbrush 4 will be removed.
1 is opened and can be easily removed.

In the above embodiments, an electric toothbrush device in which the toothbrush is moved approximately reciprocally has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. It goes without saying that this can also be applied to objects that move in a circular motion within a plane.

[Effects] As explained above, according to the present invention, all kinds of commercially available manual toothbrushes (excluding particularly odd-shaped ones) can be attached and detached very easily, and can be swung to a substantially upright position. Since the toothbrush is held in the toothbrush holder by pressing the toothbrush handle with the energized toothbrush holding member, it is possible to prevent the toothbrush from accidentally falling off, and the toothbrush itself is also held rotatably, so there is no excessive force. It can also prevent strong forces from acting on the tooth surfaces and gums.

Further, according to the present invention, even if the thickness of the toothbrush handle changes, the force for holding the toothbrush does not change, and the operating force for attaching and removing the toothbrush also changes as the toothbrush changes. There will be nothing to do.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the electric toothbrush device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway left side view of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a line A-A in Fig. 1. 4 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line C-C in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 1. be. 1...Body, 4...Motor, 6...Holder, 2
6...Coil spring, 27...Spring shaft, 30...Knob.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 an electric drive device housed in a cylindrical main body;
A toothbrush receiver is movably held in the main body and reciprocated by the electric drive device, and a contact portion that comes into contact with the handle of the toothbrush inserted into the receiver is provided, and the toothbrush receiver is placed in a substantially horizontal position. An electric toothbrush device comprising: a toothbrush holding member provided to be swingable between upright positions; and urging means for urging the toothbrush holding member toward the substantially upright position.