Rotating electric toothbrush

Abstract

The present invention relates to a rotating electric toothbrush comprising: a main body having a receiving space formed therein, a driving means received in the interior of the main body and providing a rotational force, a toothbrush handle having one end detachably coupled to the driving means, and receiving a rotational force of the driving means to be rotated, a support means coupled to the outer peripheral surface of the other end of the toothbrush handle and having plate-shaped support bodies made of a ductile material and radially formed to be spaced apart from each other, and a plurality of toothbrush bristles implanted between the support bodies. The present invention has a structure in which the toothbrush bristles are radially implanted on the outer peripheral surface of the end of the cylindrical rotating toothbrush handle, thereby removing food leftovers sandwiched on a tooth surface or at an interdental gap without damage of gums, and more surely removing dental plaque from the tooth surface due to silicon bristles implanted between the toothbrush bristles. Further, the silicon bristles implanted between the toothbrush bristles support the toothbrush bristles, thereby preventing deformation of the toothbrush bristles, and a space for receiving toothpaste is formed between the silicon bristles, thereby preventing the toothpaste from easily slipping off. Further, a tongue cleaner, which is detachable and made of a silicon material, is further comprised, thereby easily cleaning a tongue.

Claims

1. A rotating electric toothbrush, comprising: a main body having a receiving space thereinside; a driving means disposed in the receiving space of the main body and configured to supply torque; a driving shaft rotating by the torque of the driving means, wherein a first end of the driving shaft is coupled with the driving means; a toothbrush shaft arranged in a straight line with the driving shaft, wherein a first end portion of the toothbrush shaft is detachably coupled with a second end of the driving shaft, whereby the toothbrush shaft is configured to rotate along with the driving shaft by the torque from the driving means; and a support means secured to an outer circumference of a second end portion of the toothbrush shaft and including a plurality of support bodies formed made of an elastic material, wherein each of the support bodies includes a first support bristle and a second support bristle, the first support bristle and the second support bristle being formed by a laminar support bristle body extending along the axis of the toothbrush shaft and also extending in a radial direction and spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance such that a first space is formed between the first support bristle and the second support bristle, wherein a second space is formed between a first support body and a second support body, no toothbrush bristle is planted in the first space, and a plurality of toothbrush bristles are planted in the second space, wherein the support means further includes a ring engaging unit surrounding the toothbrush shaft.

2. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein a tapered portion is formed at a front end of the laminar support bristle body.

3. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the driving means further provides a straight reciprocation movement force.

4. The toothbrush of claim 1, further comprising: a mode changing switch configured to change a speed of the driving means by changing the driving mode of the driving means.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a conventional electric toothbrush.

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a rotating electric toothbrush according to the present invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view illustrating a rotating electric toothbrush according to the present invention.

(4) FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view illustrating a driving unit of a rotating electric toothbrush according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

(5) FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a state where toothbrush bristles of a rotating electric toothbrush contact with the surface of each tooth according to the present invention.

(6) FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating a state where a support body of a rotating electric toothbrush contacts with the surface of each tooth according to the present invention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(7) The present invention will be described herein below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, it is noted that the same components will be given the same reference numbers in anywhere throughout the descriptions, and known functions and configuration which might make unclear the subject matters of the present invention will be omitted from descriptions.

(8) FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a rotating electric toothbrush according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view illustrating a rotating electric toothbrush according to the present invention.

(9) Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the rotating electric toothbrush 1 according to the present invention may include, but is not limited to, a main body 10, a driving unit 20, a toothbrush shaft 30, a support unit 40, and toothbrush bristles 50.

(10) The main body 10 may equip with a receiving space in the inside thereof, an insertion groove 11 formed on the top thereof, and a power switch 12 disposed at one side of the outer circumference so as to supply electric power to the driving unit 20.

(11) The driving unit 20 and a battery 70 for supplying electric power to the driving unit 20 may fit into the receiving space of the main body.

(12) The battery 70 may be an ordinary battery or may be a chargeable battery. In case where the chargeable battery is used, any of a wireless charging method and a USB terminal-base charging method may be used.

(13) The driving unit 20 is disposed in the receiving space formed in the inside of the main body 10 and may be formed of an ordinary motor which is able to supply torque to the toothbrush shaft 30 which is engaged to an end of the driving unit. As an embodiment, a driving shaft 21 may be coupled to the driving means and rotated by the torque of the driving means along with the toothbrush shaft 30.

(14) The driving unit 20 may separately include a mode changing unit 13 at one side of the outer circumference of the main body 10 so as to change the driving mode.

(15) Such a driving move may be a speed changing mode which is configured to adjust the speed of the driving unit 20 and which may be categorized into a low speed rotation mode, a normal rotation mode and a high speed rotation mode. The speed changing mode can be changed whenever the mode changing unit 13 is pressed.

(16) In this way, the driving unit 20 may allow to adjust the rotation speed with the aid of the speed changing mode, more specifically, kids or weak and old users who have weak teeth may use the low speed rotation mode, and adults may use the normal rotation mode, and when it needs to clean tongue by engaging a tongue cleaner, which will be described later, the user may selectively use the high speed rotation mode, whereupon it is possible for a user to select and use an appropriate mode that the user wants.

(17) The toothbrush shaft 30 is made in a circular bar shape one end of which is inserted through the insertion groove 11 on the top of the main body 10 and is detachably engaged to the driving unit 20.

(18) The support unit 40 may include, but is not limited to, a ring engaging unit 41 which is made of an elastic material and is installed covering an outer circumference at the other end of the toothbrush shaft 30; and a plurality of support bodies 42 which are made of a laminar elastic material and are formed integral with the ring engaging unit 41 and extend outward of the ring engaging unit 4l in a radial direction at regularly spaced-apart intervals, the support bodies 42 being made of elastic materials.

(19) Here, it is preferred that the support unit may be made of a silicon or an elastic synthetic resin material.

(20) In addition, each support body 42 may include a plurality of first support bristles 42a, and a plurality of second support bristles 42b. Since the first support bristles 42a and the second support bristles 42b are formed spaced-apart in a radial direction at regular intervals, a toothpaste receiving part 42c may be formed between the first support bristles 42a and the second support bristles 42b, thus preventing toothpaste from rolling down during tooth brushing.

(21) In addition, the first and second support bristles 42a and 42b each may include a laminar support bristle main body 42aa, and a tapered part 42ab which is inclined from both sides of the front end of the support bristle main body 42aa toward the center of the front end, whereupon if the toothbrush shaft 30 rotates, the front ends of the first and second support bristles 42a and 42b may linearly contact with the surface of each tooth, while downwardly brushing the surface of each tooth, which may consequently result in a perfect removal of the plague deposited on the surface of each tooth.

(22) The toothbrush bristles 50 may consist of ordinary toothbrush bristles which in general are used in a typical toothbrush and may be planted into between the support bodies 42 formed of the first and second support bristles 42a and 42b. If the toothbrush shaft 30 rotates, it is possible to remove any food debris on the surface of each tooth or stuck between the teeth.

(23) It is preferred that such toothbrush bristles 50 are made of fine bristles so as to easily remove any food debris stuck between the teeth.

(24) In this way, since the toothbrush bristles 50 are planted into between the support bodies 42 which each consist of the first and second support bristles 42a and 42b, and both sides are supported by the support bodies 42, the toothbrush bristles 50 may not be over bent even at a high speed rotation, thus preventing any deformation of the toothbrush bristles 50.

(25) The rotating electric toothbrush 1 according to the present invention may be made of a silicon material and may further include a tongue cleaner which is engaged detachable to an end portion of the driving unit 20. After tooth brushing is finished, the toothbrush shaft 30 is separated, and then the tongue cleaner is engaged, thus easily cleaning the tongue.

(26) FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view illustrating a driving unit of a rotating electric toothbrush according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

(27) Referring to FIG. 4, the driving unit 20 of the rotating electric toothbrush 1 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be a linear DC motor 60 which may include, but is not limited to a motor main body 61, a motor bushing 62 which is installed passing through the motor main body 61, and a motor shaft 63 which fits into the motor bushing 62.

(28) In the liner DC motor 60, since male threads are formed on an outer circumference of the motor shaft 63, and female threads matching with the male threads are formed on an inner circumference of the motor bushing 62 to which the motor shaft 63 is engaged, a straight reciprocation movement in forward and backward directions can be performed while the motor shaft 63 alternately rotates in normal and reverse directions.

(29) If the above linear DC motor 60 is used as a driving unit 20 of the rotating electric toothbrush 1 according to the present invention, the toothbrush shaft 30 engaged to the motor shaft 63 may perform a straight reciprocation movement while performing a rotational movement, whereupon foam generation power of the toothpaste can be enhanced during tooth brushing, which may result in enhanced tooth brushing efficiency.

(30) FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a state where toothbrush bristles of a rotating electric toothbrush contact with the surface of each tooth according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating a state where a support body of a rotating electric toothbrush contacts with the surface of each tooth according to the present invention.

(31) If the user supplies electric power to the driving unit 20 through the power switch 12, torque of the driving unit 20 is transferred to the toothbrush shaft 30, and since the toothbrush shaft 30 which has received the torque will rotate, the support unit 40 engaged to an end portion of the toothbrush shaft 30 and the toothbrush bristles 50 planted into the ring engaging unit 41 of the support unit 40 rotate together, thus brushing the surface of each tooth.

(32) As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the toothbrush bristles 50 contact with the surface of each tooth as the toothbrush shaft 30 rotates, the toothbrush bristles 50 formed of fine bristles may allow to remove any food debris on the surface of each tooth and stuck between the teeth, and since the support body 42 formed of the first support bristles 42a and the second support bristles 42b contacts with the surface of each tooth, the front ends of the first and second support bristles 42a and 42b which are formed tapered can closely contact with the surface of each tooth, thus downwardly brushing the surface of each tooth, which may surely remove any plague which has been deposited on the surface of each tooth.

(33) As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described examples are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.