JP2013215337A - Intraoral cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provided an intraoral cleaner enabling a person having difficulty in teeth brushing for health reasons or temporal reasons to make effective intraoral cleaning with a simple operation in a short time.SOLUTION: An intraoral cleaner 1 is a handheld one and includes a cleaner body 3 inserted into the oral cavity of a user when performing intraoral cleaning. The cleaner body 3 is provided with a curved cleaning recession 7 formed in conformity to the shape of the upper jaw or lower jaw of the user, an oscillator 9 disposed at a proper position of the cleaner body 3 near the cleaning recession 7, and a liquid-absorptive holding member 11 holding intraoral cleaning liquid L stored in the cleaning recession 7 while moisturized. A supporting part 5 may be included, and the supporting part includes an oscillation-generating part 13 generating electric signals for making the oscillator 9 generate oscillation by sonic waves or ultrasonic waves, and a power supply part 15 supplying electric source for driving the oscillation-generating part 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a mouth washer that can be used to remove plaque adhering to teeth and anaerobic bacteria lurking in the oral cavity, those who are not good at brushing teeth, those who are difficult to brush their teeth for aging and health reasons, or The present invention relates to a mouthwash device suitable for people who are busy with time and cannot take enough time to brush their teeth.

Conventionally, a toothbrush has been used to remove plaque adhering to teeth. Also, when brushing teeth using a toothbrush, the degree of plaque removal varies depending on the way of brushing, which may leave behind brushing or damage the gums.
Therefore, recently, electric toothbrushes and sonic toothbrushes that use motor rotation and high-speed vibration have become widespread, and finer plaques and bacteria that use ultrasonic vibrations as shown in Patent Documents 1 to 5 below. There are also ultrasonic toothbrushes that can be removed. And in the above-mentioned sonic toothbrush and ultrasonic toothbrush, when using a normal toothbrush, the amount of the above-mentioned brushing that has been different depending on how the user brushes is reduced, and the labor required for toothbrushing is further reduced. .

  On the other hand, for the removal of anaerobic bacteria lurking in the oral cavity that cause periodontal disease, mouthwash used in the mouth is used. However, since it is not possible to remove plaque adhering to the teeth only with the mouthwash, it is generally used in combination with the normal toothbrush, electric toothbrush and the like.

JP 2009-247800 A JP 2005-177253 A JP 2004-148079 A JP 2007-54148 A JP 2009-45345 A

However, among those who are difficult to brush their teeth for aging or health reasons, there are people who have difficulty in using the electric toothbrush. Such a person is helped by an assistant or the like to brush their teeth, but it is a troublesome work for both those who brush their teeth and those who are brushing their teeth. The use of an electric toothbrush may cause damage to the gums.
On the other hand, an apparatus for cleaning the mouth using a suction function while flowing water has been developed, but the apparatus becomes large and uncommon, so it has been used only in some hospitals and has not been popularized.
Moreover, when using not only an electric toothbrush but the conventional normal toothbrush, there exists a problem that a tooth | gear may be shaved with a brush by what is called horizontal brushing. Furthermore, since brushing methods vary from person to person, there is a problem that not everyone is doing the right way of brushing.
In addition, during busy hours in the morning before going to work or attending school, there are many people who are busy with time and do not have enough time to brush their teeth. It is desired to develop a mouth washer that can be removed at the same time.

As a result of intensive studies, the present inventor has found that the brush itself does not exist in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional toothbrush or electric toothbrush, and that all users can perform brushing in a unified manner in a short time It came to the development of the washing machine.
That is, the mouth washer of the present invention is a mouth washer having a washer main body to be put in the user's mouth during mouth washing, and the washer main body has the shape of the upper jaw or lower jaw of the user, or the upper jaw. And a curved cleaning recess formed in accordance with the shape of the lower jaw, a vibrator disposed at an appropriate position of the cleaning device main body in the vicinity of the cleaning recess, and a mouthwash liquid contained in the cleaning recess. A holding member having a liquid absorbing property to be held, and a vibration generating unit that generates an electric signal for generating vibration by sound waves or ultrasonic waves in the vibrator, and driving the vibration generating unit The power supply part which supplies the power supply for this is provided (1st aspect).

  In the above invention, the cleaner main body may be configured to clean both the upper and lower teeth using the same cleaner main body (second aspect).

  In the above invention, the cleaner main body is an integrated cleaner main body provided with both an upper jaw side main body portion for cleaning the upper jaw side teeth and a lower jaw side main body portion for cleaning the lower jaw side teeth, You may be comprised so that the tooth | gear on the upper jaw side and the tooth | gear on the lower jaw side can be wash | cleaned simultaneously (3rd aspect).

In the said invention, you may provide the folding structure which can change a magnitude | size at the time of use and storage (4th aspect).
In the above invention, the cleaner main body may be prepared in advance with a plurality of different sizes of cleaner main bodies so that the main body can be selected and used according to the size of the user's jaw (fifth). Embodiment).

  The said invention WHEREIN: While supporting the said washing | cleaning device main body, you may provide the support part which grasps and operates with a hand at the time of use (6th aspect).

According to the first aspect, the vibration generating section generates vibrations by sound waves or ultrasonic waves in the vibrator, and further, the vibration is not greatly attenuated by the presence of the holding member moistened with the mouthwash liquid. It becomes available for cleaning. In the present invention, since the brush is not used, the problem of tooth scraping is solved, and since the operation of moving the toothbrush as in the prior art is not required, all users can perform brushing in a short time.
Further, the mouthwash moistened with the holding member that contributes to the improvement of the transmission efficiency of sound waves or ultrasonic waves is an anaerobic bacterium that causes periodontal disease described above due to the bactericidal effect in the oral cavity by the mouthwash. This also contributes to the removal of the like.
In addition, because the maxillary or mandibular teeth can be cleaned in a short time at a time, the desired teeth can be obtained without having to polish them one by one for a period of time, as in the case of using an ultrasonic toothbrush. The removal efficiency of dirt, anaerobic bacteria, etc. is improved.

According to the second aspect, in the case of cleaning the upper jaw side and in the case of cleaning the lower jaw side, a single cleaning of the upper jaw and lower jaw common structure without changing the cleaner body The instrument body allows for continuous cleaning of both maxillary and mandibular teeth.
Therefore, according to this aspect, it is possible to provide a mouth washer having a small number of parts, a simple structure, and a low cost.

  According to the third aspect, both the upper jaw side main body portion for cleaning the upper jaw side teeth and the lower jaw side main body portion for cleaning the lower jaw side teeth are provided in advance. By using it, the upper and lower teeth can be cleaned at once, and the mouth can be cleaned in a shorter time.

  According to the fourth aspect, when not in use, it can be folded into a compact shape. Therefore, carrying becomes convenient and the storage space can be reduced.

According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to select the main body of the washer having the optimum size for the user according to the various jaw sizes that differ depending on the sex, age, body size, and the like. Accordingly, the user can select the main body of the cleaning device suitable for himself and immediately perform mouth cleaning using the mouth cleaning device.
According to the sixth aspect, the user can easily set the cleaner main body at an appropriate position in the mouth by operating the support portion.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the mouth rinse device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the mouth rinse device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sectional side view which shows the mouth rinse device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sectional side view which shows the mouth rinse device which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows two types of aspect (a) (b) of the mouth rinse device which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, the mouth washer of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The mouth washer 1 of the present invention includes a washer main body 3 to be placed in a user's oral cavity during mouth washing, a function as a support member for supporting the washer main body 3, and a gripping unit that is grasped and operated by hand during use. It is a mouth washer comprised by providing fundamentally the support part 5 which has the function of. In addition, the support part 5 which functions as a holding part is not necessarily required, and the mouth washer 1 in which the support part 5 does not exist may be used. In this case, the user operates by holding the cleaner main body 3 itself.

Further, the cleaning device main body 5 includes a cleaning recess 7 having a curved shape that is formed in accordance with the shape of the upper jaw or the lower jaw of the user, or the shape of the upper jaw and the lower jaw, and the cleaning device body in the vicinity of the cleaning recess 7. 3 and a holding member 11 having a liquid absorbing property for moistening and holding the mouthwash L stored in the cleaning recess 7.
Further, the support 5 is supplied with a vibration generator 13 that generates an electric signal for generating vibrations of sound waves or ultrasonic waves in the vibrator 9 and a power source for driving the vibration generator 13. A power supply unit 15 is provided. In the mouth washer 1 of the type in which the support part 5 does not exist, the power supply part 15 is provided directly on the washer body 5.

The cleaning device body 5 is a material that does not damage the mucous membrane and gums in the oral cavity when placed in the user's oral cavity, and is a safe material that can be placed in the oral cavity. It is necessary for the material to have durability and strength that can be used, and in this embodiment, a resin cleaner main body 5 is employed as an example.
As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning device body 5 is curved in a U shape in a plan view, and in a side view, is formed in a shape that is somewhat inclined so that the distal end side is slightly lower and the proximal end side is higher.

Moreover, the said washing | cleaning recessed part 7 is comprised in the circumferential direction of the said washing | cleaning body main body 5 of the said planar view U-shape by the U-shaped circumferential groove in the cross-sectional shape formed over the perimeter. ing. The depth of the cleaning recess 7 is also shallow at the distal end side and deeper at the proximal end side.
Further, the bottom surface of the cleaning recess 7 is appropriately provided with a locking projection 19 for holding a metal wire or the like that becomes the electrode 17.

In addition, a plate-like vibrator 9 is disposed at the bottom of the cleaner main body 3 close to the bottom of the cleaning recess 7, and vibrations are provided on the support portion 5 side through wires such as lead wires 21. Connected to the unit 13.
Moreover, as the holding member 11 accommodated in the said washing | cleaning apparatus recessed part 7, the appropriate material excellent in the liquid absorption property and the liquid retention property of the mouthwash liquid L, for example, sponge, cotton, felt, etc. can be used. Further, the holding member 11 is replaced when it is consumed.

Moreover, as the mouthwash L impregnated in the holding member 11, various mouthwashes L containing bactericidal components against oral bacteria such as anaerobic bacteria causing periodontal disease can be applied. As an example, the registered trademark “Listerin” manufactured and sold by Johnson & Johnson Co., Ltd. can be used.
“Listerine” contains four active ingredients 1.8-cineol, thymol, methyl salicylate, and l-menthol as sterilizing and removing oral bacteria, and ethanol as a solvent for these active ingredients, storage As the agent, benzoic acid, other solvent auxiliary agents, coloring agents, pH adjusting agents are included.

In the present embodiment, the common structure corresponding to the upper and lower jaw teeth so that both the upper and lower jaw teeth can be cleaned using the same washer body 5. This is the main body 5 of the washer.
The vibrator 9 is a member that vibrates the holding member 11 that is impregnated with the mouthwash liquid L by causing vibration by sound waves or ultrasonic waves based on the electrical signal transmitted from the vibration generating unit 13. is there. Then, fine vibrations caused by sound waves or ultrasonic waves generated by the vibrator 9 act on the tooth surface to be cleaned, gums, the boundary with the gums, etc., and dirt and plaque adhering to these surfaces. And sterilization and removal of anaerobic bacteria by penetrating into a biofilm which is a mass of oral bacteria.

The sound wave means a wave generated by vibration of sound in an audible frequency range of about 20 Hz to 20 KHz that can be heard by human ears. Of these, a sound wave in the frequency range of about 200 to 300 Hz is used as an example for mouth washing. To do.
And when such a sound wave is used, the presence or absence of the operation | movement of the mouth washer 1 can be confirmed with a sound, and the above-mentioned to the plaque (dental plaque) of the deep position which the hairbrush tip of a toothbrush cannot reach | attain Sonic vibrations act to remove plaque and the like.

On the other hand, an ultrasonic wave means a wave generated by vibration of a high frequency sound that cannot be heard by a person's ear exceeding the audible frequency range, and an ultrasonic wave having a frequency range of about 1.6 to 2 MHz is used for mouth washing. Used as an example.
And when such ultrasonic waves are used, it is necessary to remove even the plaque plaque bacteria and the insoluble glucan that sticks to the teeth (large stains that cause plaque), which was difficult with the above-mentioned frequency range of sound waves. Will be able to.

The support unit 5 includes a casing 23 that is thick enough to be gripped by a hand and has a shape that can be easily gripped, the vibration generation unit 13 that is disposed inside the casing 23, and a power supply that drives the vibration generation unit 13. It is basically configured by including a portion 15 and an operation switch 25 disposed on the surface side of the casing 23.
As a material of the casing 23, a lightweight synthetic resin material that can be easily molded and can secure necessary rigidity can be used as an example.

The vibration generating unit 13 incorporates an electronic substrate on which an oscillation circuit for generating an electric signal to be supplied to the vibrator 9 is formed.
In addition, as the power supply unit 15, a rechargeable battery used in a mobile phone or the like can be used, and the power supply unit 15 is appropriately charged when not using an attached charger (not shown). It is configured as follows.
Of course, the power supply unit 15 may include a power plug or the like that is inserted into a dry battery or an outlet for an external power source for home use.

Moreover, the said washing | cleaning device main body 3 and the support part 5 are desirable for the structure which can be isolate | separated, and after using for mouth washing, the washing | cleaning device main body 3 is removed from the support part 5, and only the washing | cleaning device main body 3 is washed with water, or disinfection. Configure as you can.
Next, the work procedure in the case of mouth cleaning using the mouth washer 1 configured as described above will be described. First, a metal wire or the like serving as the electrode 17 is fitted and locked to the locking convex portion 19 provided on the bottom of the cleaning concave portion 7 of the cleaning device body 3 from above, and is previously matched with the shape of the cleaning concave portion 7. The holding member 11 cut out is accommodated in the cleaning recess 7.

Next, the above-described mouthwash L is dripped and impregnated into the holding portion 11 in a predetermined amount used for one mouth rinse.
And when the said washing | cleaning device main body 3 and the support part 5 are isolate | separated, the washing | cleaning device main body 3 is attached to the said support part 5, the said washing | cleaning device main body 3 is put in a user's oral cavity, for example, upper jaw first. The holding member 11 accommodated in the cleaner main body 3 is pressed against the teeth on the side from the lower side.

Next, an operation switch 25 provided at an appropriate position on the surface of the support portion 5 is operated to supply power from the power supply portion 15 to the vibration generating portion 13 to vibrate the vibrator 9 at a predetermined frequency.
At this time, if the vibration is a vibration due to a sound wave in the audible frequency range described above, the vibration of the vibrator 9 can be confirmed by sound, so the mouth washing is advanced while confirming the presence or absence of the vibration sound. .

The vibration of the vibrator 9 is transmitted directly or indirectly through the electrode 17 to the holding member 11 impregnated with the mouthwash L described above with little loss.
The fine vibration caused by the sound wave or the ultrasonic wave transmitted to the holding member 11 acts on a deep part such as a tooth surface in contact with the holding member 11, a gum or a gingival boundary, and a desired dental plaque. Perform removal and sterilization and removal of anaerobic bacteria.
In addition, the time of the mouth washing performed using the mouth washer 1 is about 1 minute, and when the brushing is carefully performed using a normal toothbrush, the washing time is much longer than the mouth washing that takes about 20 minutes. Shortening has been attempted.

Further, the lower jaw side teeth are cleaned in the mouth in the same procedure. After the mouth cleaning, the operation switch 25 is operated to turn off the power, the cleaning device body 3 is removed from the support portion 5, and the used holding member 11 is removed. The electrode 17 is removed from the locking projection 19, the washer body 3 is washed with water, disinfected, dried and stored in a sterilized case or the like.
Moreover, about the said support part 5 from which the washing | cleaning device main body 3 was removed, charging of the power supply part 15 is suitably implemented using the charger etc. which were mentioned above for the next use.

When the mouth washer 1 constructed in this way is used, the washer main body 3 is inserted into the user's oral cavity and placed on the maxillary or mandibular teeth for only 1 minute. Effective mouth washing can be performed in time.
Therefore, it is easy to clean the mouth for people who have difficulty brushing their teeth due to aging or health reasons, and it is effective for those who cannot take enough time to brush their teeth. Removal can be performed.

The above is the basic embodiment of the present invention. However, the mouth washer 1 of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and is partly within the scope of the present invention. It is possible to change or omit the configuration, or to add conventional techniques well known to those skilled in the art.
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the cleaner main body 3 is provided with both an upper jaw main body 27 for cleaning the upper teeth and a lower jaw main body 29 for cleaning the lower teeth. It is also possible to configure with a main body. Incidentally, when the cleaning device main body 3 having such a configuration is employed, the teeth on the upper jaw side and the teeth on the lower jaw side can be cleaned at the same time, so that a desired mouth cleaning can be performed in a shorter time.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), a folding structure 31 is provided so that the cleaning device body 3 itself can be divided into left and right parts, or as shown in FIG. It is possible to provide a foldable structure 33 that can be sized in a state in which both are folded. Incidentally, when the cleaning device main body 3 having such a configuration is adopted, the cleaning device main body 3 itself or the folding structure 31 or the folding structure 33 is used when the cleaning device main body 3 is not used during storage or the like. The cleaner main body 3 and the support part 5 can be folded and stored in a more compact form.
However, when the folding structure 33 shown in FIG. 5 (b) is adopted, it is assumed that the cleaning device body 3 and the support portion 5 are stored together in a folded state. On the other hand, it is desirable to be able to store it with a protective cap (not shown) separately.

Although not shown, it is possible to prepare in advance a plurality of different sizes of the cleaner body 3 so that they can be selected and used according to the size of the user's jaw. Incidentally, when such a configuration is adopted, the user can select the cleaning device main body 3 having a size suitable for him and immediately perform mouth cleaning using the mouth cleaning device. .
In addition, when the mouth washer 1 of the present invention is used in a hospital or the like, a suction device for aspirating water, chemicals, saliva, etc. accumulated in the user's oral cavity is provided. It is also possible to use the suction device in combination with the mouth washer 1 of the present invention for the purpose of sucking the mouthwash L flowing downward from the holding member 11 during the side mouth wash.

  The mouth washer of the present invention can be used at the site of mouth washing performed at home, hospital, etc., and is particularly suitable for those who have difficulty in brushing their own teeth or who do not have enough time to brush their teeth. It can be used in the field.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mouth washer 3 Washer main body 5 Support part 7 Washing recessed part 9 Vibrator 11 Holding member 13 Vibration generating part 15 Power supply part 17 Electrode 19 Locking convex part 21 Lead wire 23 Casing 25 Operation switch 27 Upper jaw side main body part 29 Lower jaw Side body 31 Folding structure 33 Folding structure L Mouthwash

Claims (6)

A mouth washer with a washer body to be placed in the user's mouth during mouth washing,
The cleaning device main body is arranged at a proper position of the cleaning recess body having a curved shape formed in accordance with the shape of the upper jaw or the lower jaw of the user, or the shape of the upper jaw and the lower jaw, and the cleaning device body in the vicinity of the cleaning recess. And a holding member having a liquid absorbing property for moistening and holding the mouthwash liquid contained in the cleaning recess,
A vibration generating unit that generates an electric signal for generating vibrations by sound waves or ultrasonic waves in the vibrator, and a power supply unit that supplies power to drive the vibration generating unit. Mouth washer. The mouth washer according to claim 1,
The mouth washer is configured so that both the upper and lower teeth can be cleaned using the same cleaner body. The mouth washer according to claim 1,
The cleaning device main body is an integrated cleaning device main body provided with both an upper jaw side main body portion for cleaning the upper jaw side teeth and a lower jaw side main body portion for cleaning the lower jaw side teeth. The mouth washer is configured so that the teeth on the lower jaw side can be cleaned at the same time.   The mouth washer according to claim 1, comprising a folding structure that can be changed in size between use and storage. The mouth washer according to claim 1,
The mouth washer has a plurality of different sizes of the washer prepared in advance so that it can be selected and used according to the size of the user's jaw. The mouth washer according to claim 1,
A mouth washer having a support part that supports the washer body and is operated by grasping with a hand during use.

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