WO2006016419A1 - Electric toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

An electric toothbrush in which a toothbrush section can be effectively vibrated through a low output vibration generator. A supporting frame (11) for holding a vibration generator (7) is fixed to a body (6) through elastic bodies (12a, 12b). This results that transmission of vibration generated at the vibration generator (7) to the body (6) is reduced by the elastic bodies (12a, 12b), enabling a toothbrush section (17) fixed to the head of the supporting frame (11) to be effectively vibrated. As a consequence, the toothbrush section can be vibrated at a level sufficient for tooth brushing even when a vibration generator having an output lower than a conventional one is used.

Description

 Specification

electric toothbrush

Technical field

 The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush, and more particularly to an improvement of an electric toothbrush of a type that vibrates a toothbrush portion.

Background technology

 The electric toothbrushes described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 20 0 1-2 7 6 0 9 6 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2 0 3-1 8 9 9 3 7 can be roughly classified into the following two types.

 (1) The type that the toothbrush part vibrates

 (2) Type in which the toothbrush rotates

 In particular, the type of electric toothbrush that vibrates the toothbrush is easy to get into the teeth due to the brushing effect of the toothbrush in addition to the brushing effect by hand brushing. Can remove plaque. In addition, there is a massage effect that improves the blood circulation by the vibration of the toothbrush acting on the gums.

 Fig. 8 shows a conventional electric toothbrush of the type in which the toothbrush part vibrates.

This electric toothbrush is configured so that the motor 2 with the weight 1 for generating vibration is directly assembled to the main body case 3 and the motor 2 is operated with the battery 4 built in the main case 3. The toothbrush part 5 attached to the main body case 3 is generated from the above-mentioned 2 It is configured to vibrate by vibration.

 However, with this type of conventional electric toothbrush, in order to obtain a sufficient vibration level of the toothbrush section 5, a motor 2 for generating large vibration and a weight 1 are required, which is not only heavy. The main body case 3 with the built-in motor 2 and the weight 1 has a thick handle part and a thick handle part, which is very inconvenient.

 Further, not only the vibration of the toothbrush part 5 but also the whole main body case 3 that does not need to vibrate originally vibrates. As a result, the output of the motor 2 will vibrate the toothbrush part 5, the main body case 3 and the battery 4. Therefore, in order to sufficiently vibrate the toothbrush part 5 that originally needs to be vibrated, it is even larger. There is a fatal defect that requires an output motor.

 There is a research result that the removal effect is higher when the brush vibration of the toothbrush part 5 is a high frequency vibration for the removal of dental caries and plaque between the teeth, and the frequency 2 is said to have a larger plaque removal effect. In order to achieve more than 0 0 Hz, it is necessary to increase the number of revolutions of the motor 2 to 1 2 0 0 0 or more per minute (2 0 0 X 6 0 = 1 2 0 0 0 rpm).

 However, high-power motors have a large rotor inertia, making high-speed rotation difficult. On the other hand, a motor with a small output can easily rotate at a high speed, but since the inertia is small, it is difficult to sufficiently vibrate the brush of the toothbrush portion 5.

In addition, an ordinary toothbrush dedicated to hand brushing is molded with a soft resin material so that the handle part is easily deformed so that unnecessary load is not applied when brushing and the teeth and gums are damaged. Some forces are configured to control brush load General electric toothbrush In most cases, however, the toothbrush part 5 is vibrated in the morning and is made of a hard material that is difficult to deform. Therefore, unnecessary load is applied when brushing teeth, and there is a high risk of damaging teeth and gums.

The present invention provides an electric toothbrush that vibrates the toothbrush portion at a high vibration level sufficient for tooth brushing and uses an unnecessary load when brushing, using a vibration generator such as a motor with a smaller output than before. For the purpose.

Disclosure of the invention

 The electric toothbrush according to claim 1 of the present invention is an electric toothbrush that vibrates the toothbrush portion by a vibration generator attached to the main body having a drip portion, and the mount that holds the vibration generator at the base end portion. A support frame on which the toothbrush part is mounted at the tip, and an elastic characteristic for attenuating vibration generated from the vibration generator, and interposed between the support frame and the main body. An elastic body that supports the support frame is provided.

 The electric toothbrush according to claim 2 of the present invention is the electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is connected to the main body so as to support the support frame in the vicinity of a connection portion between the toothbrush portion and the mount portion of the support frame. It is characterized by intervening in between.

The electric toothbrush according to claim 3 of the present invention is the electric toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is connected to the main body so as to support a support frame in the vicinity of a connection portion between the toothbrush portion and the mount portion of the support frame. In between The first elastic body and a second elastic body interposed between the main body so as to support the base end portion of the support frame are provided. The electric toothbrush according to claim 4 of the present invention is characterized in that in claim 3, the first elastic body is harder than the second elastic body.

 The electric toothbrush according to claim 5 of the present invention is the electric toothbrush according to claim 3, wherein the distance between the brush formed at the tip of the toothbrush portion and the first point supported via the first elastic body is The distance between the second point supported by the elastic body 2 and the first point is set to be longer.

 The electric scissor brush according to claim 6 of the present invention is the electric scissor brush according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the vibration generating device is rotationally driven by attaching a weight to a rotation shaft of a spindle motor, and the rotation center of the weight Is a vibration motor set at an eccentric position.

 According to this configuration, since the elastic body is interposed between the support frame and the main body, the transmission of the vibration generated by the vibration generator to the main body can be reduced, and the toothbrush portion can be vibrated effectively. It is possible to realize an electric toothbrush that vibrates at a high speed with a vibration level sufficient for brushing the toothbrush using a vibration generator with a smaller output than conventional ones, and that is not subject to unnecessary loads during brushing. Brief Description of Drawings

 FIG. 1 is a sectional view of (Embodiment 1) of the electric toothbrush of the present invention.

 Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same embodiment.

 Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of vibration expansion in the same embodiment.

Fig. 4 shows the elastic characteristics of the elastic bodies 1 2 a and 1 2 b of the same embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the main part of (Embodiment 2) of the electric toothbrush of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the main part of (Embodiment 3) of the electric toothbrush of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional electric toothbrush.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

 (Embodiment 1)

 1 to 3 show (Embodiment 1) of the present invention.

 Figure 1 shows a cross-section in the assembled state, and Figure 2 shows an exploded view. The main body 6 is composed of a grip part 8 incorporating a vibration motor 7 as a vibration generator and a battery case 10 containing a battery 9.

 As described in detail in FIG. 2, the grip portion 8 includes a drip body 8a and a grip rear cover 8b that closes the rear end of the grip body 8a. A support frame 11 is attached to the inside of the drip body 8a via elastic bodies 12a and 12b. At the base end portion of the support frame 11, a mount portion 13 for holding the vibration motor 7 and a detent projection 14 are provided. A connecting shaft 15 is formed at the tip of the support frame 11 in contact with the mounting collar 13. The toothbrush portion 17 having the brush 16 implanted at the tip has a base end attached to the outside of the connecting shaft 15.

The vibration motor 7 is composed of a spindle motor 7 a and a weight 7 b eccentrically attached to the rotating shaft. The vibration motor 7 is connected to the support frame 11 1 and the weight 7 b side is connected to the weight 7 b. Away from axis 1 5 The weight 7 b is attached to the base end side of the support frame 11.

 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ring-shaped elastic body 12 2 a is mounted inside an insertion hole 18 that is drilled on the distal end side of the grip body 8 a. The support frame 11 with the vibration motor 7 attached directly to the mount 1 3 with the weight 7 b at the rear end is the elastic body 1 2 a hole 1 9 attached to the drip body 8 a It is assembled by inserting the connecting shaft 15 into the shaft. The anti-rotation protrusion 14 having a rectangular cross-sectional shape in the axial direction formed on the outer surface of the base end portion of the support frame 1 1 is attached to the elastic body 1 2 b interposed between the drip rear lid 8 b. The formed axial sectional shape is engaged with the rectangular recess 20.

 Note that the stepped portion 29 formed on the outer peripheral portion of the elastic body 12 b engages with the protrusion 30 formed on the inner peripheral portion of the drip rear cover 8 b, so that the elastic body 12 b Non-rotating is realized.

 A toggle switch plate 21 is assembled to the grip rear lid 8b. When the grip switch 8a is in the assembled state in which the opening of the grip body 8a is closed, the above-mentioned glue switch plate 21 is vibrated inside the drip body 8a. Between the two.

 An opening 22 is formed at a position corresponding to the assembly position of the toggle switch plate 21 on the grip body 8a, and a cylindrical cover 23 is formed on the grip body 8a so as to close the opening 22. It is overlaid. The cover 23 is formed of a flexible material, and serves as an operation point for turning on / off the glass switch plate 21.

The power supply circuit of the vibration motor 7 includes a battery 9 in which one lead wire of the vibration mode 7 is set to the battery case 10 via the terminal 26. It is configured to contact the pole. The other lead wire of the vibration motor 7 is electrically connected to the fixed electrode 27 of the toggle switch plate 21.

 In addition to the fixed electrode 2 7, the toggle switch plate 21 is provided with a toggle electrode 2 8 that switches between a position that contacts the fixed electrode 2 7 and a position that does not contact the toggle electrode 2 7. It extends through the grip rear lid 8 b and extends toward the battery case 10, and is configured to come into contact with the positive electrode of the battery 9.

 In such an assembled state, as shown in FIG. 1, the vibration module mounted on the support frame 11 between the axial peripheral wall of the support frame 1 1 and the inner peripheral wall of the grip body 8a 7 Between the vibration motor 7 mounted on the support frame 11 1 and the toggle switch plate 21, and a gap 24 is formed between the vibration motor 7 and the support wall 11 1. The frame 11 is supported inside the drip portion 8 via elastic bodies 12 a and 12 b.

 FIG. 3 schematically shows only the support structure of the support frame 11 of the electric toothbrush configured as described above.

 As is clear from this figure, the support frame 11 on which the vibration mode 7 is directly mounted is a support frame in the vicinity of the connection portion between the toothbrush portion 17 and the mount portion 13 of the support frame 11. An elastic body 1 2 a as a first elastic body is interposed between and supported by the main body 6 so as to support 1 1.

More specifically, an elastic body 1 2 a is interposed between the main body 6 so as to support the support frame 11 1 in the vicinity of the connection portion between the toothbrush portion 17 and the mount portion 1 3 of the support frame 1 1. And support frame 1 in 1 Since the elastic body 12 b as the second elastic body is interposed between the base body 6 and the main body 6 so as to support the base end portion, the vibration component generated by the vibration motor 7 is transmitted to the main body 6 side. The brush 16 of the toothbrush part 17 can be driven at a sufficient vibration level even if the vibration mode is low and the output can be reduced. In addition, since the vibration mode with low output is sufficient, the grip section 8 can be made thinner than before, improving operability.

 Furthermore, in this embodiment, parameters such as the thickness, shape, contact length with the support frame 1 1, and material are appropriately set so that the elastic body 1 2 a is harder than the elastic body 1 2 b. And the distance L 2 between the brush 16 formed at the tip of the toothbrush portion 17 and the first point P 1 supported via the elastic body 1 2 a is Since the distance L 1 between the second point P 2 supported via the body 12 b and the first point P 1 is set larger than the distance L 1, the toothbrush portion 17 has the first point P 1 as a fulcrum. Even if the vibration B 1 at the base end of the support frame 1 1 is small, this vibration B 1 is amplified by the ratio (L 2 / L 1), and the brush 1 6 of the toothbrush part 1 7 is vibrated greatly by the vibration B 2. The grip 8 can be thinned and miniaturized even when using a smaller output vibration module, almost the same as an ordinary hand brushed toothbrush. Ku and ease of use is also good.

 In addition, when brushing your teeth, the toothbrush portion 17 rotates around the elastic body 12a according to the pressure applied to your teeth and gums. Dirt can be removed effectively without damaging it.

Also, as shown in Fig. 3, the cross section of the connecting shaft 15 of the support frame 1 1 is made circular, and the hole 19 of the elastic body 1 2 a is formed into a circle accordingly. It is conceivable that the support frame 11 1 rotates more than necessary in the axial direction due to the occurrence, but in this embodiment, The rotation of the support frame 1 1 is realized by the engagement of the anti-rotation protrusion 1 4 of the support frame 1 1 and the rectangular recess 2 0 of the elastic body 1 2 b, and the lead wire of the vibration motor 7 is disconnected. In addition, the posture of the toothbrush portion 17 with respect to the grip body 8a in the circumferential direction can be kept constant.

 Figure 4 shows a specific example of the elastic characteristics with respect to the frequency of the elastic bodies 1 2 a and 1 2 b. The horizontal axis is the vibration frequency, and the vertical axis is the vibration attenuation rate. Here, in the measurement environment where the generated vibration frequency can be changed by changing the number of rotations of vibration mode 7, the detected characteristic of this generated vibration through the elastic body made of silicon rubber 1 2 a is the detection characteristic S 1 2 a, the characteristic detected through the elastic body 1 2 b made of silicon rubber is the detection characteristic S 1 2 b, and the vibration generated by the vibration mode 7 is detected directly without going through the elastic body 1 2 a or 1 2 b The detection characteristic is S 0 0. The range of vibration frequency that shows the smallest vibration attenuation factor in any detection characteristic is when the rotation speed of vibration mode 7 is around 1 2 0 00 rpm to 1 6 0 0 0 rpm. In the range of from 2 to 200 Hz to around 2600 Hz. When the hardness of the elastic bodies 1 2 a and 12 b was measured, the hardness of the elastic body 1 2 a was 50 °, and the hardness of the elastic body 1 2 b was 40 °.

(Embodiment 2)

In each of the above embodiments, the support frame 11 is elastically supported with respect to the main body 6 by the elastic bodies 1 2 a and 1 2 b. However, the elastic body 1 2 b is omitted as shown in FIG. Even when the elastic body 1 2 a alone is used to elastically support the first point P 1 of the support frame 1 1 with respect to the main body 6, By appropriately setting the parameters such as the thickness, shape, contact length of the elastic frame 1 1, the length of contact with the support frame 1 1, material, etc., the support by the vibration mode 7 is applied as in (Embodiment 1) The vibration B 1 at the end of the frame 11 can be amplified by the ratio (L 2 ZL 1), and the toothbrush 17 can be vibrated largely by B 2. In this case, in order to obtain the detent effect of the support frame 1 1, the cross section of the connecting shaft 15 of the support frame 1 1 is formed into a non-circular rectangle, and the hole 1 of the elastic body 1 2 a accordingly. The shape of 9 is formed into a rectangle.

 Since the elastic body 1 2 a has a large contact area with the drip body 8 a, the anti-rotation does not rotate due to the vibration generated from the vibration motor 7 or the rotational force around the shaft center applied from the toothbrush section 17. Although the state has been obtained, the elastic body 1 2 a can be vibrated by adhering it to the grip body 8 a or by engaging one of the elastic body 1 2 a and the grip body 8 a with the other. It is also possible to prevent the motor 7 from rotating due to vibration generated from the motor 7 or the rotational force around the shaft center produced from the toothbrush 17.

Further, in (Embodiment 1), since the support frame 11 is inertially supported by the main body 6 by the elastic bodies 1 2 a and 1 2 b, the base end portion of the support frame 1 1 is the grip rear portion. The elastic body 1 2 b functions so as not to generate noise by colliding with the lid 8 b, but in this (Embodiment 2) not having the elastic body 1 2 b, the elastic body 1 2 a By properly setting parameters such as the thickness, shape, length of contact with the support frame 11 and material, it is possible to regulate the amount of deflection of the base end of the support frame 11 to an appropriate value. It is possible to prevent or reduce the collision between the base end portion of the support frame 11 and the grip rear lid 8b, and to reduce the noise. Occurrence can be prevented or reduced.

(Embodiment 3)

 In each of the above-described embodiments, in order to realize the detent of the support frame 11, the detent protrusion 14 of the support frame 11 and the rectangular recess 20 of the elastic body 1 2 b are engaged with each other. The step 2 9 of the elastic body 1 2 b is engaged with the protrusion 30 of the drip rear lid 8 b, or the cross section of the connecting shaft 15 of the support frame 1 1 is formed into a non-circular rectangle, and accordingly The shape of the hole 19 of the elastic body 1 2 a was formed into a rectangular shape, but as shown in FIG. 6, this is a recess provided with a protrusion 3 1 provided on the end face of the support frame 1 1 on the elastic body 1 2 a. By engaging with the support frame 11, the support frame 11 1 can be stopped. In this case, the cross-sectional shape of the connecting shaft 15 is circular, rectangular or the like as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), and the insertion hole 18 of the drip body 8a and the elastic body engaged therewith. The shape of 1 2 a is formed in a circle, or the shape of the insertion hole 1 8 of the grip body 8 a and the elastic body 1 2 a that engages with it is elliptical as shown in Figs. 6 (c) and (d). It is also possible to make the elastic body 1 2 a against the grip body 8 a more securely by forming it into an ellipse. (Embodiment 4)

 In each of the above embodiments, the vibration mode 7 is used as the vibration generating device. However, even if this is configured to generate vibration by driving a piezoelectric element or the like, the same effect can be obtained. I can expect.

In FIG. 7, a piezoelectric element 3 2 is attached to the support frame 11 in place of the vibration motor 7, and the piezoelectric element 3 2 is not a battery. The output signal of the signal generator 33 using the battery 9 housed in one case 10 as a power source is amplified by an amplifier 34 and driven. The generated frequency of the piezoelectric element 3 2 at this time was set to 2 00 Hz to 2600 Hz. The other configuration is the same as any one of the above (Embodiment 1) to (Embodiment 3).

Claims

The scope of the claims 1. An electric toothbrush that vibrates a toothbrush part with a vibration generator attached to a main body having a grip part,  A support frame having a mount portion for holding the vibration generating device at the base end portion and having the toothbrush portion attached to the tip end;  An elastic body having an elastic characteristic for attenuating vibrations generated from the vibration generator, and interposed between the support frame and the main body to support the support frame; Electric toothbrush provided with 2. The elastic body is interposed between the main body so as to support the support frame in the vicinity of a connection portion between the toothbrush portion and the mount portion of the support frame. The electric toothbrush according to claim 1. 3. The elastic body is  A first inertia body interposed between the toothbrush portion and the main body so as to support the support frame in the vicinity of a connection portion between the toothbrush portion and the mount portion of the support frame;  A second elastic body interposed between the main body and the main body so as to support the base end portion of the support frame; The electric toothbrush according to claim 1. 4. The first elastic body is harder than the second elastic body The electric toothbrush according to claim 3. 5. The distance between the brush formed at the tip of the toothbrush portion and the first point supported via the first elastic body is set to the distance between the second point supported via the second elastic body and the first point. Set longer than the distance to one point The electric toothbrush according to claim 3. 6. The vibration generator is a vibration motor that is attached to a rotation shaft of a spindle motor and driven to rotate, and the rotation center of the weight is set to an eccentric position. The electric toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 5.