The present application is the U.S. national phase of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2015/001036 filed on Feb. 27, 2015, and entitled “ORAL CLEANING DEVICE”, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to an oral cleaning device for cleaning in a mouth such as a tooth brush, a tongue brush or an interdental brush.
Conventionally, electric tooth brushes which vibrate their tooth brush parts for brushing teeth have been known (e.g., refer to Patent Literature 1). It can be expected that teeth can be brushed more cleanly by such an electric tooth brush than by hand. A tooth brush part of such an electric tooth brush is consumable, and thus is necessary to be replaced after being used at a certain extent.
Patent Literature 1: JP 2011-139844 A
However, there is no other way than to use a manufacturer's designated part as this tooth brush part, and it is difficult for a user to choose it freely. In addition, such tooth brush parts are usually expensive, and can be hardly obtained at low costs.
Further, in electric tooth brushes, it has been tried to vibrate such tooth brush parts, but there has been no conception of vibrating oral cleaning tools other than tooth brushes, such as tongue brushes or interdental brushes.
The present invention has been made in the light of these points, and provides an oral cleaning device that can vibrate an oral cleaning tool such as a tooth brush, a tongue brush or an interdental brush.
An oral cleaning device according to the present invention comprises:
a supporting part which supports an oral cleaning tool;
a clamping fixing part which is movable close to or away from the supporting part and which fixes the oral cleaning tool to the supporting part when being moved close to the supporting part; and
a vibrating part which vibrates the oral cleaning tool fixed to the supporting part by vibrating the supporting part or the clamping fixing part.
The oral cleaning device according to the present invention may further comprise an auxiliary fixing part which fixes the oral cleaning tool to the supporting part at a lower position,
wherein the clamping fixing part may fixe the oral cleaning tool to the supporting part at an upper position compared with the auxiliary fixing part.
In the oral cleaning device according to the present invention,
the auxiliary fixing part may fix a lower end of the oral cleaning tool to the supporting part.
In the oral cleaning device according to the present invention, the supporting part may be included in a main body
the oral cleaning device may further comprise a rotating part which is provided on a side surface of the main body,
wherein the clamping fixing part may have a pressing part, which comes close to the supporting part and which presses the oral cleaning tool to the supporting part when the rotating part is rotated.
In the oral clearing according to the present invention,
the rotating part may have a first sealing part which shuts off a flow of liquid from the main body into the rotating part.
In the oral cleaning device according to the present invention,
the first sealing part may nave a watertight ring, and
the watertight ring may be fitted into a depressed part which is provided on a side surface of the main body.
In the oral cleaning device according to the present invention,
the rotating part may have a second sealing part which shuts off a flow of liquid from an opposite side of the supporting part into the rotating part.
In the oral cleaning device according to the present invention,
the rotating part may have a rotating main body, which is rotatable, and stick-on seal, which is stuck on a front surface of the rotating main body, and
the stick-on seal may be included in the second sealing part.
The oral cleaning device according to the present invention may further comprise a casing which covers the oral cleaning tool fixed by the clamping fixing part in a height region from a lower position of the supporting part to an upper position of the supporting part.
In the oral cleaning device according to the present invention,
the supporting part may be included in a main body,
the casing may be detachable to the main body.
In the oral cleaning device according to the present invention,
the oral cleaning tool may be a tooth brush, a tongue brush or an interdental brush.
According to the present invention, the oral cleaning tool can be fixed to the supporting part by moving the clamping fixing part close to the supporting part, and the supporting part or the clamping fixing part is vibrated in this state, whereby the oral cleaning tool fixed to the supporting part can be vibrated. Thus, only by attaching the oral cleaning tool such as a tooth brush, tongue brush or interdental brush to the oral cleaning device, the oral cleaning tool can be vibrated and exert a high cleaning function.
As an example of such a tooth brush, a favorite tooth brush of the user can work as a so-called electric toothbrush. Further, in some cases, by using a cheap tooth brush, a cleaning effect similar to that of an electric tooth brush can be obtained at a low running cost.
<<Structure>>
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the oral cleaning device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Herein,
As shown in
The supporting part 20 of the present embodiment is extended in a vertical direction. The supporting part 20 is included in a main body 1, and is constituted by a part of the main body 1 close to a below-described casing 13.
The oral cleaning device has vibrating parts 30 and 31 that vibrate the supporting part 20 or the clamping fixing part 5 so as to vibrate the oral cleaning tool 100 which is fixed to the supporting part 20. The vibrating parts 30 and 31 of the present embodiment include a driving part 30 such as a motor provided in the main body 1 and a balance weight 31 which is provided eccentrically at a tip of the driving part 30 also in the main body 1, as shown in
As shown in
The above-described clamping fixing part 5 fixes the oral cleaning tool 100 to the supporting part 20 at a position higher than the auxiliary fixing part 15. As shown in
Between the rotating part 40 and the supporting part 20, a first sealing part 61 which shuts off a flow of liquid from the supporting part 20 into the rotating part 40 is provided. In the present embodiment, this first sealing part 61 is composed of a watertight ring, and is fitted into a depressed part 2 which is provided on the main body 1. On an inner peripheral side of the first sealing part 61, a below-described reel 63 and the like are to be disposed. As shown in
In the present embodiment, the rotating part 40 has: the above-described first sealing part 61; ratchet internal teeth 62; the reel 63 which is to be provided on an inner peripheral side of the ratchet internal teeth 62; a driving disc 64 which is to be provided on a front side of the reel 63 (on a rear side of the main body 1); an O ring 65 which is to be provided on an outer peripheral side of the driving disc 64; a dial 41 which is a rotation main body having a groove for storing the O ring 65 on its inner peripheral side; a waterproof double-sided seal 66 having a torus shape, which is to be attached to a front surface of the dial 41 (a surface on a right side in
When the dial 41 is rotated, for example, clockwise, the driving disc 64 is rotated, so that the reel 63 is also rotated so as to wind the wire 50. Then, the wire 50 is wound by the reel 63 as described above, the pressing part 10 comes close to the supporting part 20 (see
As shown in
The casing 13 of the present embodiment is detachable to the main body 1 (see
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In the oral cleaning device, a live part, which is not illustrated in the figures, for charging the battery B in the battery box 80 may be provided. If adopting this aspect, the battery B in the battery box 80 is to be charged with electricity supplied from the live part.
<<Effect>>
Next, explanation on effects, which can be achieved by the present embodiment having the above-described structure but are not described yet, or particularly important effects will be provided.
According to the embodiment, the oral cleaning tool 100 can be fixed to the supporting part 20 by moving the pressing part 10 of the clamping fixing part 5 close to the supporting part 20, and the supporting part 20 and the clamping fixing part 5 are vibrated in this state, whereby the oral cleaning tool 100 fixed to the supporting part 20 can be vibrated (see
In the present embodiment, the pressing part 10 of the clamping fixing part 5 is movable close to or away from the supporting part 20 (see
Further, since the oral cleaning tool 100 such as a tooth brush, a tongue brush or an interdental brush can be fixed to the supporting part 20 by moving the pressing part 10 close to the supporting part 20 as described above, a play between the oral cleaning tool 100 and the supporting part 20 can be suppressed to be formed as far as possible, so that the vibrating parts 30 and 31 can vibrate the oral cleaning tool 100 efficiently.
Moreover, as shown in
Particularly in the present embodiment, the auxiliary fixing part 15 fixes a lower end position of the oral cleaning tool 100 to the supporting part 20, and the clamping fixing part 5 fixes the oral cleaning tool 100 to the supporting part 20 at a position near the upper end of the supporting part 20. Thus, the oral cleaning tool 100 can be fixed to the supporting part 20 in good balance. Incidentally, the position near the upper end of the supporting part 20 means a region at a distance of 20% or less of a total length of the supporting part 20 in a longitudinal direction from the upper end of the supporting part 20.
In the present embodiment, only by rotating the rotating part 40 which is provided on the side surface of the supporting part 20, the pressing part 10 can be moved close to or away from the supporting part 20. By providing the rotating part 40 on the side surface (the rear side) of the supporting part 20 as described above, the rotating part 40 can be positioned where a thumb of the user is not positioned (on an opposite side of the front), whereby the user can grasp the oral cleaning device easily. Further, in the present embodiment, since the rotating part 40 is provided on the side surface of the supporting part 20, liquid such as water including toothpaste can be suppressed from entering the rotating part 40. Thereby, deterioration of the rotating part 40 can be prevented, and generation of germs in the rotating part 40 can be prevented as much as possible.
As shown in
In the present embodiment, as shown in
As shown in
In the present embodiment, since the second sealing part 65 to 67 includes the O ring 65, the waterproof double-sided seal 66 and the waterproof seal 67, entering of liquid from a front surface of the rotating part 40 (the rear surface of the main body 1) can be prevented by the double-sided seal 66 and the waterproof seal 67, and entering of liquid from an inner peripheral surface of the dial 41 can be prevented by the O ring 65.
In the present embodiment, the casing 13 which covers the oral cleaning tool 100 in the height region from the lower position of the supporting part 20 to the upper position of the supporting part 20 is provided. Thus, liquid such as water including toothpaste can be suppressed from entering the rotating part 40 from the side of the supporting part 20. Particularly in the present embodiment, the casing 13 is extended from the lower end position of the supporting part 20 to an upper end position of the supporting part 20. Thereby, liquid such as water including toothpaste can be suppressed from entering the rotating part 40 from the side of the supporting part 20 more securely.
The casing 13 of the present embodiment is detachable to the main body 1. Since the casing 13 can be detached from the main body 1, the main body 1 including the casing 13 and the supporting part 20 can be washed. Thus, these casing 13 and main body 1 (supporting part 20) can be kept clean.
Further, in the present embodiment, since the lower attaching part 16 including the auxiliary fixing part 15 is detachable to the main body 1 (see
Moreover, in the present embodiment, the pair of the groove parts 21 which guide the casing 13 are provided on the side surface of the main body 1, and the groove part 17 which guides the casing 13 is provided also on the lower attaching part 16. Thus, just by sliding the casing 13 along these groove part 17 and groove parts 21, the casing 13 can be detached from or attached to the main body 1. More specifically, by connecting the main body 1 with the lower attaching part 16 and subsequently moving the casing 13 upward along the groove parts 21 of the main body 1 and the groove part 17 of the lower attaching part 16, the casing 13 can be attached to the main body 1 and the lower attaching part 16. Adversely, just by moving the casing 13 downward along the groove parts 21 of the main body 1 and the groove part 17 of the lower attaching part 16, the casing 13 can be detached from the main body 1 and the lower attaching part 16. Thus, since the casing 13 can be attached to and detached from the main body 1 and the lower attaching part 16 easily, such attachment/detachment does not cause any trouble, thereby facilitating to decompose and wash the main body 1, the casing 13 and the lower attaching part 16.
Further, in the present embodiment, the casing 13 has the lower surface 13a, and this lower surface 13a is provided with the notch 13b in which the lower attaching part 16 is to be inserted. Thus, by connecting the main body 1 with the lower attaching part 16 and subsequently sliding the casing 13 upward from a lower side of the main body 1 and the lower attaching part 16 so as to attach the casing 13 to the main body 1 and the lower attaching part 16, these casing 13, main body 1 and lower attaching part 16 can be integrated. Moreover, the projecting part 18 of the lower attaching part 16 is engaged with the notch 13b, and the auxiliary fixing part 15 is provided so as to cover an upside of the projecting part 18 above this engagement, whereby liquid such as water including toothpaste can be prevented from entering between the lower attaching part 16 and the casing 13. Accordingly, a space surrounded by the main body 1, the lower attaching part 16 and the casing 13 can be prevented from being contaminated with liquid such as water including toothpaste or the like.
By the way, the above description of the embodiment and disclosure of the drawings are just an example for explaining the invention described in the claims, and the invention described in the claims is not limited by the above description of the embodiment or disclosure of the drawings.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2015/001036 | 2/27/2015 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2016/135780 | 9/1/2016 | WO | A |
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Entry |
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International Search Report for PCT/JP2015/001036, dated May 26, 2015, and its English translation provided by WIPO. |
Written Opinion of the International Search Authority for PCT/JP2015/001036, dated May 26, 2015, and its English translation provided by Bing.com Microsoft Translator. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20180103750 A1 | Apr 2018 | US |