Vibration generating device and oral hygiene device using same

• US 6,140,723 A
• Filed: 09/17/1998
• Issued: 10/31/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sunstar Incorporated (Hosei Gijuku Luxembourg SA)
• Original Assignee: Sunstar Incorporated (Hosei Gijuku Luxembourg SA)
• Inventors: Kita, Masaharu, Matsui, Tsuguo, Sugimoto, Michihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Enad, Elvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lam, Thanh
• Application Number:
  US09/142,057
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 310/81, 310/47, 310/48, 310/75 A, 310/75 B, 310/75 C, 310/75 D, 310/103, 310/156, 15/22.1-4, 15/21.1, 15/23, 15/24, 15/28, 74/87, 340/311.1, 30/44, 30/45
• US Class Current: 310/81
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/224 Electrical recharging arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3427 Rotation around the axis perpendicular to the axis of toothbrush handle and in the plane defined by the bristle holder
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3481 Vibrating brush body, e.g. by using eccentric weights
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 2204/002 using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/045 using vibrating magnet, armature or coil system
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 49/10 of the permanent-magnet type
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/18552 Unbalanced weight

Abstract

An oral hygiene device comprises a rotating body 22 mounted to a rotating shaft 21 of an electric motor 14, an output shaft 11 resiliently supported via a resonance pin 25 to be swingable finely, a drive magnetic body 23 provided on the rotating body 22, and a driven magnetic body 31 provided on the output shaft 11 to face the drive magnetic body 23 so as to be out of contact therewith. The drive magnetic body 23 and the driven magnetic body 31 are composed of permanent magnets, and as the rotating body 22 revolves, a varying magnetic field is generated between the both magnetic bodies 23, 31 to cause vibration of the output shaft 11 at high speed. In this manner, there are provided a vibration generating device, which can be manufactured at low cost and efficiently transmits vibration, and an oral hygiene device using the same.

Claims

1. An oral hygiene device comprising:

an electric motor installed in a casing and a rotating body mounted on a rotary shaft of the electric motor,

a driving magnetic body made of permanent magnet provided in the rotating body,

an output member passing through the casing in fluid-tight condition,

a resonance pin resiliently supporting a middle portion of the output member to the casing so as to be swingable finely,

a driven magnetic body made of permanent magnet provided in the output member to face said driving magnetic body so as not to contact therewith inside the casing, and

an oral hygiene tool being removably attached directly or indirectly to the output member outside the casing,

wherein the oral hygiene tool through the output member is vibrated by a varying magnetic field generated between both magnetic bodies with a rotation of the rotating body.

2. An oral hygiene device recited in claim 1, wherein the driving magnetic body and the driven magnetic body are arranged such that the same poles thereof face each other.

3. An oral hygiene device recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein the frequency of the varying magnetic field is set to a resonant frequency of a combined body consisting of the output member and the oral hygiene tool.

4. An oral hygiene device recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein there is provided an adjusting means for adjusting a distance between the driving magnetic body and the driven magnetic body.

5. An oral hygiene device recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein the driving magnetic body is fixed eccentrically from a rotary axis of an electric motor and the driven magnetic body is provided so as to face a rotating locus of the driving magnetic body.

6. An oral hygiene device recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein an elastic supporting point of the output member is set at a position substantially corresponding to a center of gravity of the combined body consisting of the output member and the oral hygiene tool.

7. An oral hygiene device recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein as the output member there is used a shaft whose tip side portion is disposed on the same axis as the rotary axis of the electric motor and whose intermediate portion is bent at a base end side than the elastic supporting point such that the driven magnetic body fixed to a based end portion faces a rotating locus of the driving magnetic body.

8. An oral hygiene device recited in claim 1 or 2, wherein two permanent magnets are provided as the driving magnetic body and one permanent magnet is provided as the driven magnetic body.