Electric toothbrush

Abstract

The invention discloses an electric toothbrush, and relates to the technical field of electric toothbrushes, the electric toothbrush comprises a brush head and a handle, the brush head is detachably connected to the handle, a functional assembly is arranged in the brush head, and a power supply and a driving motor are arranged in the handle; the output end of the driving motor is connected with a driving shaft, the driving shaft comprises a plurality of conductive parts, each conductive part at least comprises an annular conductive contact section, the plurality of conductive contact sections are arranged on the peripheral surface of the driving shaft at intervals in the axial direction of the driving shaft, and an insulating part is arranged between every two adjacent conductive parts; the brush head is provided with an installation cavity, conductive contact pieces are arranged on the inner wall of the installation cavity, and the conductive contact pieces are elastic and are configured in the mode that when the brush head is connected with the handle in a clamped mode, the conductive contact pieces are squeezed to store energy so as to abut against the corresponding conductive contact sections. Through cooperation of the conductive part and the conductive contact piece, stable contact can be kept under high-frequency vibration, normal work of the electric toothbrush is ensured, and the stability and reliability of a product are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of electric toothbrushes, and more specifically to an electric toothbrush. Background Technology

[0002] Electric toothbrush designs primarily rely on mechanical transmission of vibration or independent sensors. For more feature-rich electric toothbrushes, additional electronic components are installed inside the brush head to achieve the corresponding functions. Currently, power is typically supplied to the electronic components inside the brush head via pogo pins or wireless connections. However, the high-frequency vibrations (200-400Hz) during operation of electric toothbrushes can easily lead to unstable electrical contact and low reliability between the brush head and the handle. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an electric toothbrush.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution provided by the present invention is as follows: An electric toothbrush includes a brush head and a handle, the brush head being detachably connected to the handle, the brush head having internal functional components, and the handle having internal power supply and drive motor. The output end of the drive motor is connected to a drive shaft. The drive shaft includes multiple conductive parts, each of which includes at least an annular conductive contact segment. The multiple conductive contact segments are spaced apart along the axial direction of the drive shaft on its outer peripheral surface. An insulating part is provided between two adjacent conductive parts. The brush head has a mounting cavity capable of accommodating the drive shaft. The inner wall of the mounting cavity is provided with conductive contact pieces for contacting the conductive contact segments. The conductive contact pieces are elastic and configured such that when the brush head is engaged with the handle, each of the conductive contact pieces is compressed and stores energy to press against the corresponding conductive contact segment to form an electrical connection path, thereby supplying power to the functional components through the drive shaft.

[0005] Optionally, the drive shaft includes four conductive parts, and the conductive contact sections corresponding to the four conductive parts are a positive section, a negative section, a signal section, and a ground section; the handle is provided with an integrated controller connected to the power supply, and each of the conductive parts is electrically connected to the integrated controller.

[0006] Optionally, the conductive contact piece is an arc-shaped spring contact piece, and corresponding to each conductive contact segment, at least two spring contact pieces are arranged at circumferential intervals along the inner wall of the mounting cavity.

[0007] Optionally, a limiting structure is also included, which includes a slot and a block. One of the slot and the block is arranged on the outer wall of the drive shaft, and the other is arranged on the inner wall of the mounting cavity. The slot and the block engage to limit the swaying of the brush head along the circumference of the drive shaft.

[0008] Optionally, the positive electrode segment, negative electrode segment, signal segment, and grounding segment are arranged sequentially from top to bottom, wherein the grounding segment has the largest outer diameter, the slot is formed on the outer wall of the positive electrode segment, and the block is set on the inner wall of the mounting cavity.

[0009] Optionally, along the axial direction of the drive shaft, the slot is located at the middle position of the positive electrode section, so that the slot and the block form a limiting fit in the axial direction, providing anti-pull-out force.

[0010] Optionally, the brush head and the handle are connected by a magnetic snap fastener, the magnetic snap fastener including a first magnet disposed on the outer wall of the drive shaft and a second magnet disposed on the inner wall of the mounting cavity.

[0011] Optionally, a sealing ring is provided on the connecting end face of the handle and the brush head to seal the opening edge of the mounting cavity when the handle and the brush head are connected.

[0012] Optionally, the brush head is provided with a recognition element connected to the signal segment, and the integrated controller in the handle is configured to identify the type of the brush head by detecting the parameters of the recognition element and adjust the working mode of the electric toothbrush accordingly.

[0013] Optionally, the functional component is one or more of the following: an auxiliary motor, a pressure sensor, and a light-emitting element.

[0014] The technical solution provided by this invention has the following beneficial effects: by setting a conductive part on the drive shaft, which cooperates with an elastic conductive contact piece inside the brush head, the conductive contact piece can stably contact the corresponding conductive part under high-frequency vibration of the drive shaft, ensuring the normal operation of the electric toothbrush and improving the stability and reliability of the product; by setting a limiting structure, the relative rotation between the handle and the brush head is restricted, ensuring close contact between the conductive contact piece and the conductive contact segment; and by using a magnetic snap-fit ​​connection, the installation is stable and easy to disassemble. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the brush head and handle in this embodiment; Figure 2 This is a partial cross-sectional view of the brush head and handle in this embodiment; Figure 3 This is another cross-sectional view showing the limiting structure in this embodiment; Figure 4 yes Figure 3 Enlarged view of point A in the middle; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the drive shaft and motor in this embodiment; Figure 6 yes Figure 5 Enlarged diagram of point B in the middle.

[0016] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 1. Brush head; 11. Mounting cavity; 111. Conical guide groove; 2. Handle; 21. Sealing ring; 3. Functional component; 4. Drive motor; 5. Drive shaft; 6. Conductive part; 61. Conductive contact section; 611. Positive pole section; 6111. Frustum structure; 612. Negative pole section; 613. Signal section; 614. Grounding section; 7. Conductive contact piece; 71. Spring contact piece; 8. Limiting structure; 81. Slot; 82. Locking block; 821. Chamfer; 9. Magnetic buckle; 91. First magnetic ring; 92. Second magnetic ring; 10. Insulation part. Detailed Implementation

[0017] To further illustrate the various embodiments, the present invention provides accompanying drawings. These drawings are part of the disclosure of the present invention, primarily used to illustrate the embodiments and to explain the operating principles of the embodiments in conjunction with the relevant descriptions in the specification. With reference to these drawings, those skilled in the art should be able to understand other possible implementations and the advantages of the present invention. Components in the drawings are not drawn to scale, and similar component symbols are generally used to represent similar components.

[0018] The present invention will now be further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0019] Reference Figure 1-6 This embodiment provides an electric toothbrush, including a brush head 1 and a handle 2. The brush head 1 is detachably connected to the handle 2. A functional component 3 is disposed inside the brush head 1. A power supply (not shown in the figure) and a drive motor 4 are disposed inside the handle 2. The output end of the drive motor 4 is connected to a drive shaft 5. The drive shaft 5 includes a plurality of conductive parts 6. Each conductive part 6 includes at least an annular conductive contact segment 61. The plurality of conductive contact segments 61 are spaced apart along the axial direction of the drive shaft 5 on the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 5. An insulating part 10 is disposed between two adjacent conductive parts 6. The brush head 1 has a mounting cavity 11 capable of accommodating the drive shaft 5. The inner wall of the mounting cavity 11 is provided with conductive contact pieces 7 for contacting the conductive contact segments 61. The conductive contact pieces 7 are elastic and configured such that when the brush head 1 is engaged with the handle 2, each conductive contact piece 7 is compressed and stores energy to press against the corresponding conductive contact segment 61 to form an electrical connection path, thereby supplying power to the functional component 3 through the drive shaft 5.

[0020] By setting a conductive part 6 on the drive shaft 5, and cooperating with the elastic conductive contact piece 7 inside the brush head 1, the conductive contact piece 7 can stably contact the corresponding conductive part 6 under high-frequency vibration of the drive shaft 5, ensuring the normal operation of the electric toothbrush and improving the stability and reliability of the product.

[0021] In this embodiment, the drive shaft 5 includes four conductive parts 6, and the conductive contact sections 61 corresponding to the four conductive parts 6 are a positive electrode section 611, a negative electrode section 612, a signal section 613, and a grounding section 614. The outer diameter of the positive electrode section 611 is 2 mm, the outer diameters of the negative electrode section 612 and the signal section 613 are both 4 mm, and the outer diameter of the grounding section 614 is 6 mm. Adjacent conductive parts 6 are isolated by ceramic or insulating plastic, and the surface of the conductive parts 6 is plated with a gold layer with a thickness of 5 μm to prevent corrosion. The conductive contact section 61 can be a circular ring, an elliptical ring, or a polygonal ring structure with rounded corners. An integrated controller (not shown in the figure) is provided inside the handle 2, and all conductive parts 6 are electrically connected to the integrated controller. The integrated controller can receive signals from the signal section 613 and output corresponding commands to control the operation of the functional component 3. The power source is a rechargeable battery. The battery, integrated controller, various conductive parts 6, conductive contact pieces 7, and functional components 3 are sequentially electrically connected to form a conductive circuit and a signal circuit. Each conductive part 6 extends downwards along the inner wall of the drive shaft 5. The lower end of each conductive part 6 passes through the drive shaft 5 via an integrated wiring harness and connects to the integrated controller. Figure 5 As shown. The integrated controller can be configured with redundant power supply paths, vibration monitoring, and pressure feedback modules to adapt to replaceable brush heads 1 with different functions.

[0022] The functional component 3 can be one or more of an auxiliary motor, a pressure sensor, and a light-emitting element. The auxiliary motor can be a sonic motor, providing additional auxiliary vibration cleaning to the bristles of the brush head 1. The pressure sensor can be a flexible pressure sensor, outputting a signal to the integrated controller via signal segment 613 to adaptively adjust the vibration intensity; alternatively, the pressure sensor can be mounted on the handle 2 and equipped with an LED indicator for warning. The light-emitting element can be an LED light, which can be used for blue light whitening, low battery reminders, or flashing cleaning reminders.

[0023] In this embodiment, the conductive contact piece 7 is an arc-shaped spring contact piece 71. For each conductive contact segment 61, at least two spring contact pieces 71 are spaced circumferentially along the inner wall of the mounting cavity 11. Specifically, a groove is formed in the inner wall of the mounting cavity 11, and the two ends of the spring contact piece 71 along the axial direction of the drive shaft 5 are embedded in the groove. The middle part of the spring contact piece 71 arches towards the central axis of the mounting cavity 11, forming an arc-shaped structure. Utilizing its own elasticity, the spring contact piece 71 can provide a contact force of 1-2N when contacting the conductive contact segment 61, ensuring stable contact under high-frequency vibration. For each conductive contact segment 61, four spring contact pieces 71 are evenly spaced circumferentially along the inner wall of the mounting cavity 11. Of course, the number of spring contact pieces 71 can be adjusted according to actual needs and is not limited. The spring contact pieces 71 are made of BeCu conductive material, and the surface of the spring contact pieces 71 is gold-plated for corrosion resistance. The spring contact pieces 71 are electrically connected to the functional component 3 by welding or crimping to the wires disposed in the mounting cavity 11. The spring contact 71 is sealed to the wire with a silicone-containing waterproof adhesive to prevent moisture ingress. When the drive shaft 5 is inserted into the mounting cavity 11 of the brush head 1, the arc-shaped structure of the spring contact 71 is compressed and conforms to the surface of the corresponding conductive contact section 61 (the contact area of ​​each spring contact 71 is approximately 4 mm² / piece), providing uniform contact pressure (1-2 N) and ensuring a low-resistance connection (resistance less than 20 mΩ). This allows it to better adapt to the dynamic environment of the sonic toothbrush when the functional component 3 uses a sonic motor. During vibration, the spring contact 71 dynamically adjusts to absorb the slight oscillations of the drive shaft 5 (the circumferential oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft 5 is less than 1 mm), maintaining continuous and stable power supply and signal transmission. After the brush head 1 is removed, the spring contact 71 elastically recovers, supporting hot-swapping, that is, the brush head 1 can be directly separated from the handle 2 while the electric toothbrush is in operation.

[0024] In this embodiment, a limiting structure 8 is also included. The limiting structure 8 includes a slot 81 and a locking block 82. One of the slot 81 and the locking block 82 is arranged on the outer wall of the drive shaft 5, and the other is arranged on the inner wall of the mounting cavity 11. The slot 81 and the locking block 82 engage to limit the oscillation of the brush head 1 along the circumference of the drive shaft 5. Specifically, the slot 81 is formed on the drive shaft 5, and the locking block 82 is fixed on the inner wall of the mounting cavity 11 of the brush head 1.

[0025] In this embodiment, the electric toothbrush is defined with the brush head 1 at the top and the handle 2 at the bottom, arranged vertically. The positive electrode section 611, negative electrode section 612, signal section 613, and grounding section 614 are arranged sequentially from top to bottom, with the grounding section 614 having the largest outer diameter. The outer diameter of the positive electrode section 611 is 2mm, the outer diameters of the negative electrode section 612 and signal section 613 are both 4mm, and the outer diameter of the grounding section 614 is 6mm. Adjacent conductive parts 6 are isolated by ceramic or insulating plastic, and the surface of the conductive parts 6 is plated with a 5μm thick gold layer to prevent corrosion. A slot 81 is formed on the outer wall of the grounding section 614. The slot 81 is 0.2 mm deep and 1 mm wide. A locking block 82 is disposed on the inner wall of the mounting cavity 11. The locking block 82 has a diameter of 1 mm to fit the structure of the slot 81, thereby restricting the relative rotation between the drive shaft 5 and the brush head 1 in the circumferential direction of the drive shaft 5. Of course, a clearance fit can be used between the locking block 82 and the slot 81 to limit the relative rotation angle between the drive shaft 5 and the brush head 1 to within 1°. In this way, when the drive shaft 5 of the handle 2 is inserted into the mounting cavity 11 of the brush head 1, the contact between the locking block 82 and other conductive contact sections 61 can be reduced, thus reducing wear. In addition, a tapered guide groove 111 is provided on the side of the mounting cavity 11 away from the opening, with a taper of 5° and a depth of 2mm. The upper end of the conductive part 6 corresponding to the positive electrode section 611 has a frustum structure 6111. Through the cooperation of the frustum structure 6111 and the tapered guide groove 111, it can be ensured that after the drive shaft 5 is inserted into the mounting cavity 11 of the brush head 1, each conductive contact piece 7 is aligned with each conductive contact section 61 (deviation <0.1mm).

[0026] In this embodiment, along the axial direction of the drive shaft 5, the slot 81 is located in the middle of the positive electrode section 611. Thus, the slot 81 and the block 82 also have a certain limiting function in the axial direction of the drive shaft 5, thereby forming an anti-pull-out capability between the handle 2 and the brush head 1 in the axial direction of the drive shaft 5. The upper and lower edges of the block 82 can be chamfered 821 to facilitate engaging or disengaging from the slot 81.

[0027] In this embodiment, the brush head 1 and the handle 2 are connected by a magnetic snap fastener 9. The magnetic snap fastener 9 includes a first magnet disposed on the outer wall of the drive shaft 5 and a second magnet disposed on the inner wall of the mounting cavity 11. The first and second magnets are NdFeB magnets with opposite polarities, capable of providing a pull-out force of 8-10N. The magnets are fixed by epoxy resin bonding or mechanical pressing, and the surfaces are electroplated with nickel (nickel plating thickness 10μm) for corrosion resistance. The user can separate the handle 2 from the brush head 1 by applying a pulling force of about 10N. The magnetic snap fastener 9 supports more than 10,000 insertion and removal cycles and has vibration resistance greater than 50,000 cycles (300Hz, 6g).

[0028] In this embodiment, a sealing ring 21 is provided on the connecting end face of the handle 2 and the brush head 1 to seal the opening edge of the mounting cavity 11 when connected. The sealing ring 21 is an O-ring silicone sealing ring 21, which is installed on the end face of the handle 2 that mates with the brush head 1, and a hydrophobic coating is provided on this end face to achieve an IP67 waterproof rating.

[0029] In this embodiment, a recognition element is provided inside the brush head 1, and the recognition element is connected to the signal segment 613. The integrated controller inside the handle 2 is configured to: identify the type of brush head 1 by detecting the parameters of the recognition element, and adjust the drive signals output to the drive motor 4 and the functional components 3 accordingly to adjust the working mode of the electric toothbrush. That is, the handle 2 can be adapted to various brush heads 1 with different functional components 3, realizing plug-and-play functionality.

[0030] Although the invention has been specifically shown and described in conjunction with preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that various changes in form and detail may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims, all of which shall be within the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims

1. An electric toothbrush, comprising a brush head and a handle, wherein the brush head is detachably connected to the handle, the brush head contains functional components, and the handle contains a power supply and a drive motor; characterized in that: The output end of the drive motor is connected to a drive shaft. The drive shaft includes multiple conductive parts, each of which includes at least an annular conductive contact segment. The multiple conductive contact segments are spaced apart along the axial direction of the drive shaft on its outer peripheral surface. An insulating part is provided between two adjacent conductive parts. The brush head has a mounting cavity capable of accommodating the drive shaft. The inner wall of the mounting cavity is provided with conductive contact pieces for contacting the conductive contact segments. The conductive contact pieces are elastic and configured such that when the brush head is engaged with the handle, each of the conductive contact pieces is compressed and stores energy to press against the corresponding conductive contact segment to form an electrical connection path, thereby enabling power to the functional components through the drive shaft.

2. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drive shaft includes four conductive parts, and the conductive contact sections corresponding to the four conductive parts are a positive section, a negative section, a signal section, and a ground section; the handle is equipped with an integrated controller connected to the power supply, and each of the conductive parts is electrically connected to the integrated controller.

3. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The conductive contact piece is an arc-shaped spring contact piece, and at least two spring contact pieces are arranged at circumferential intervals along the inner wall of the mounting cavity for each conductive contact segment.

4. An electric toothbrush according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a limiting structure, which includes a slot and a block. One of the slot and the block is arranged on the outer wall of the drive shaft, and the other is arranged on the inner wall of the mounting cavity. The slot and the block engage to limit the swaying of the brush head along the circumference of the drive shaft.

5. An electric toothbrush according to claim 4, characterized in that: The positive electrode section, negative electrode section, signal section and grounding section are arranged sequentially from top to bottom, wherein the grounding section has the largest outer diameter, the slot is formed on the outer wall of the positive electrode section, and the block is set on the inner wall of the mounting cavity.

6. An electric toothbrush according to claim 5, characterized in that: Along the axial direction of the drive shaft, the slot is located in the middle of the positive electrode section, thereby forming a limiting fit between the slot and the block in the axial direction and providing anti-pull-out force.

7. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that: The brush head and the handle are connected by a magnetic snap fastener, which includes a first magnet disposed on the outer wall of the drive shaft and a second magnet disposed on the inner wall of the mounting cavity.

8. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that: A sealing ring is provided on the connection end face of the handle and the brush head to seal the opening edge of the mounting cavity when the handle and the brush head are connected.

9. An electric toothbrush according to claim 2, characterized in that: The brush head is provided with a recognition element, which is connected to the signal segment. The integrated controller in the handle is configured to identify the type of the brush head by detecting the parameters of the recognition element and adjust the working mode of the electric toothbrush accordingly.

10. An electric toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that: The functional components are one or more of the following: auxiliary motor, pressure sensor, and light-emitting element.

Images