阅读说明：本技术 具有弹簧安装的可移动马达部件的马达和包括此类马达的个人护理装置 (Motor with spring-mounted movable motor part and personal care apparatus comprising such a motor ) 是由 F·齐格勒 T·梅因克 T·布鲁姆 K·奥希 T·霍塔 于 2020-05-01 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请涉及一种马达,该马达具有至少部分地由金属片材料制成的马达支架、可移动马达部件、将可移动马达部件与马达支架联接的弹簧元件,其中金属片材料包括至少一个联接区域,在该至少一个联接区域中金属片材料被折叠以使得两层金属片材料相对于彼此布置,并且两层中的每一层包括狭槽,狭槽彼此对齐并且弹簧元件的连接延伸部延伸穿过对齐的狭槽。本申请还涉及一种具有此类马达的个人护理装置。(The present application relates to a motor having a motor support made at least partly of sheet metal material, a movable motor part, a spring element coupling the movable motor part with the motor support, wherein the sheet metal material comprises at least one coupling area in which the sheet metal material is folded such that two layers of sheet metal material are arranged with respect to each other, and each of the two layers comprises a slot, the slots being aligned with each other and the connection extension of the spring element extending through the aligned slots. The application also relates to a personal care apparatus having such a motor.)

1. A motor, the motor comprising

A motor support made at least partially of sheet metal material,

the motor part can be moved in such a way that,

a spring element coupling the movable motor component with the motor bracket, wherein the sheet metal material comprises at least one coupling area in which the sheet metal material is folded such that two layers of sheet metal material are arranged with respect to each other and each of the two layers comprises a slot, the slots being aligned with each other and a connection extension of the spring element extending through the aligned slots.

2. The motor of claim 1, wherein the slot in the sheet metal material layer proximal to the spring element is smaller in width, at least in one region, than the slot in the sheet metal material layer distal to the spring element.

3. The motor of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the aligned slots extend from a folded edge of the sheet metal material such that the slots have a joint opening at the folded edge.

4. The motor of claim 3, wherein the joint opening of the aligned slots comprises a widened chamfer.

5. The motor according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the connection extension of the spring element is fixedly secured at least at the layer of sheet metal material distal to the spring element, in particular if the securing is established by welding.

6. The motor of one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the fixed depth extends through to the proximal layer.

7. The motor according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a gap extends between the two layers, having a width in the range between 0.005mm and 5.0 mm.

8. The motor according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the layer proximal to the spring element has a length from the folded edge to its free edge in a range between 1.0mm and 10.0mm, or wherein the layer proximal to the spring element has a width from the slot to a free side edge in a range between 1.0mm and 5.0 mm.

9. The motor according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sheet metal material has a thickness in a range between 0.05mm and 2.0mm at least in the area of two oppositely arranged layers of sheet metal material.

10. The motor according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the spring element is a leaf spring element which, at rest, extends in a plane extending perpendicular to the extension plane of the two oppositely arranged layers of sheet metal material.

11. The motor according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the movable motor part is arranged for linear oscillating movement.

12. The motor according to one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the width of the slot in the proximal sheet metal material layer is set to provide a press fit between the connection extension of the spring element and the slot, and the width of the slot in the distal sheet metal material layer is set to provide a transition fit between the extension connection and the slot.

13. The motor according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the slot in the proximal layer has an opening at an edge of the sheet metal material opposite the folded edge.

14. A personal care device, in particular an electric toothbrush, comprising a motor according to one of claims 1 to 13.

Technical Field

The present application relates to a motor with a spring-mounted movable motor part, in particular in the case of a spring element connected with a motor bracket. The application also relates to a personal care apparatus comprising such a motor.

Background

Motors, for example for electric toothbrushes, are known which have one or more displacement motor parts which are mounted at a motor mount by means of one or more spring elements. Document WO2014/009915 a2 generally discusses such motors.

It is now an object of the present disclosure to provide a motor having an improved structure, in particular, with respect to a simplified motor structure and a simplified manufacturing process.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect, there is provided a motor having a motor support made at least partly of sheet metal material, a movable motor part, a spring element coupling the movable motor part with the motor support, wherein the sheet metal material comprises at least one coupling area in which the sheet metal material is folded such that two layers of sheet metal material are arranged with respect to each other, and each of the two layers comprises a slot, the slots being aligned with each other and the connection extension of the spring element extending through the aligned slots.

According to one aspect, a personal care device is provided comprising the proposed motor.

Drawings

The present disclosure will be further clarified by a detailed description of exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, there is shown in the drawings,

fig. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary personal care device implemented as a power toothbrush;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary motor according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary motor mount according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A is a front view of a first embodiment of a spring-mounted shift motor component with the extending tabs of the spring elements disposed in aligned slots of the folded sheet metal connection portions;

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a moving motor component according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 5B is a front view of FIG. 5A; and is

Fig. 6 is a detail view of a portion of a motor bracket made from sheet metal material including an exemplary attachment area.

Detailed Description

In the context of the present specification, "personal care" shall mean the cultivation (or care) of the skin and its appendages (i.e. hair and nails) as well as the teeth and oral cavity (including tongue, gums, etc.), with the aim of preventing diseases and maintaining and strengthening health ("care") on the one hand and cosmetically treating and improving the appearance of the skin and its appendages on the other hand. It should include maintaining and enhancing well-being. This includes skin care, hair care and oral care as well as nail care. This also includes other grooming activities such as beard care, shaving, and epilation. Thus, by "personal care device" is meant any device for performing such nutritional or grooming activities, for example a (cosmetic) skin treatment device such as a skin massaging device or a skin brush; a wet shaver; an electric razor or trimmer; an electric depilator; and oral care devices such as manual or electric toothbrushes, (electric) flosses, (electric) irrigators, (electric) tongue cleaners, or (electric) gum massagers. This should not exclude that the proposed personal hygiene system may have a more significant benefit in one or several of these nutrition or device areas than in one or several other of these areas. In the following description with reference to the drawings, the epilating apparatus is selected to present the details of the proposed personal care apparatus. To the extent that the details are not specific to the epilating apparatus, the proposed technique can be used in any other personal care apparatus.

According to the disclosure, the moving motor part of the motor is coupled with the motor bracket by means of at least one spring element. The motor support is at least partly made of sheet metal material, and in particular the motor support may comprise a portion made of stamped and bent sheet metal. The sheet metal material intended to provide a mounting structure for a motor of a personal care device has a thickness which may be in the range of between 0.05mm and 2.0mm, in particular in the range of between 0.1mm and 1.0 mm. In order to provide a structure for connecting the spring element with the motor support, the sheet metal material has at least one connection area in which the sheet metal material is folded such that two layers of sheet metal material are arranged opposite each other. Slots are provided in each layer such that the two slots are aligned (i.e., at least partially congruent or overlapping in position and/or shape), and the connecting extensions of the spring element are slidable into the aligned slots to connect the spring element with the motor bracket. The spring element may comprise a motor connection portion by which the spring element is mounted at the movable motor part. The movable motor part may be connected at the motor bracket by means of at least two spring elements. The movable motor part may be mounted for linear oscillatory motion, in particular along an axis perpendicular to the plane of extension of the spring element at rest. The motor may comprise more than one movable motor part.

The spring element may in particular be realized by a leaf spring made of spring metal sheets, which would not exclude that two or more layers of spring metal sheets are connected to each other to form the spring element.

One of the two layers of the connection area of the sheet metal material of the motor bracket may be closer (i.e. at the proximal side) to the spring element and the other layer may be further away (i.e. at the distal side) from the spring element. In such embodiments, it is referred to as the proximal and distal layers of the fold joint region formed by the sheet metal material. It is contemplated that the slot in the proximal layer may be smaller in width than the slot in the distal layer, at least in one region, particularly wherein the slot in the proximal layer may be smaller in width than the slot in the distal layer along its full gripping length (i.e., the length that will be in contact with the connecting extension of the spring element). In some embodiments, the slots each have a constant width, and the width of the slots of the proximal layer is less than the width of the slots in the distal layer. In particular, the width of the slot in the proximal layer may be sized such that a press fit is established between the connection extension of the spring element and the slot. And the slot in the distal layer may have a width sized such that a transition fit is established between the connection extension and the slot of the spring element. The aligned slots may have a common opening at the folded edge, wherein the common opening may allow the extension portion of the spring element to slide into the aligned slot pair. In some embodiments, the common opening at the folded edge may include a chamfer that widens toward the folded edge to support the connection extension of the spring element from sliding into the aligned slot (e.g., during an automated process). The slot in the proximal layer may also have an opening in an edge opposite the folded edge.

A gap may extend between two oppositely arranged layers of sheet metal material of the connection area, which gap may have a width in the range between 0.005mm and 5.0mm, in particular in the range between 0.01mm and 2.0mm, and more in particular in the range between 0.05mm and 1.0 mm. This should not preclude that in some embodiments the two layers abut each other without any intentional gaps.

The attachment extensions of the spring elements may be held in the aligned slots by a clamping force (i.e., friction). The connection extension may be firmly fixed at the sheet metal material, in particular for example by means of welding or other connection techniques such as gluing, even though welding may be preferred for some motor applications. The fixation may be provided at the distal layer or at both layers. While it is contemplated that a gap may extend between the two layers of sheet metal material in the area of the connection, in some embodiments, the two layers abut one another and no intentional gap extends between the two layers. In particular, in the latter case, a fixed depth (e.g., a weld depth) may extend from the distal layer through to the proximal layer.

The motor as proposed herein may be used in a personal care device, for example in an electric toothbrush, wherein the motor may be used to drive a drive shaft of the electric toothbrush.

Fig. 1 is an exemplary illustration of a personal care device 1, here embodied as an electric toothbrush. The personal care device 1 has a head portion 10 and a handle portion 20. In the example shown, the head portion 10 is removably attached to the handle portion 20 such that the head portion 10 is substantially unable to move relative to the handle portion 20. The head portion 10 includes a treatment head 11, here realized as a brush head. The processing head 11 is arranged for a driving oscillating rotational movement about an axis a as indicated by the double arrow R. The oscillating rotary motion may be driven by a motor according to the present description. The personal care apparatus 1 extends in a longitudinal direction 1.

Fig. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary motor 100 according to the present description. The motor 100 as shown has two movable motor parts, namely an armature 120 and a counter oscillating mass 140. The first movable motor part 120 is mounted at the motor bracket 110 by means of two spring elements 121 and 122. The second movable motor part 140 is mounted at the motor bracket 110 by means of two spring elements 141 and 142. It should be understood that the proposed motor only needs to have a single movable motor part, and that the movable motor part may also be mounted at the motor bracket by means of a single spring element. It should also be understood that the counter oscillating mass 140, even if not actively driven to move, but passively excited to move by the vibrations of the motor mount 110, is a movable motor component within the meaning of the present application. It should be noted here that the terms "first" and "second" in relation to the movable motor parts shall not convey any specific meaning other than that the shown example has two movable motor parts. In some embodiments, the armature may not be mounted as proposed herein, but rather only the counter oscillating mass may be mounted separately. The counter oscillating mass will then become the first (or only) movable motor part mounted in the manner as described herein. And vice versa.

The motor support 110 is made of sheet metal material 1100 that may have been stamped and bent (laser cutting or similar techniques may also be used instead of stamping). Fig. 3 shows an exemplary motor mount 110A made of stamped (or laser cut) and bent sheet metal material. Two stabilizing elements 111 and 112 are fixedly secured at two opposite longitudinal ends of the motor bracket 110. The drive shaft 150 is attached to the armature or first movable motor part 120. The stator 130 comprises a coil 131, at which an alternating current is applied in operation, so that the armature 120, here carrying the two permanent magnets 128 and 129, is driven into a linear oscillating movement, as indicated by the double arrow M. The concept of a drive spring-mass type motor that is excited at a drive frequency near or at the resonant frequency of the spring-mass assembly is widely known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail herein.

In the exemplary motor 100 shown, the second movable motor part 140 is mounted at the motor bracket by means of two spring elements 141 and 142, wherein the spring elements 141 and 142 each have a connection extension 1411 and 1421, respectively. The attachment extension 1411 of the spring member 141 extends into the alignment slot 1151 of the folded attachment region 115 of the sheet metal material 1100 of the motor bracket 110. The connection extension 1421 of the spring element 142 extends into the alignment slot 1152 of the fold connection region 115. In the folded connection region 150, the two layers of sheet metal material 1100 are arranged opposite each other such that a firm and good coupling between the spring element and the motor bracket is achieved, as will be explained in more detail below.

Fig. 3 is an illustration of an exemplary motor bracket 110A made from a stamped and bent sheet metal material 1100A. The motor bracket 110A has two oppositely arranged connection areas 111A and 112A, wherein the sheet metal material 1100A is folded such that two layers of sheet metal material are oppositely arranged. The attachment areas 111A and 112A are geometrically identical but mirror images and the folded portion of the sheet metal material 1100A is folded in both cases towards the inside of the motor bracket 110A. Similar to fig. 2, the spring element will extend between the two coupling areas 111A and 112A in the assembled state. Each of the coupling areas 111A and 112A has a layer of sheet metal material, which is proximal layers 113A and 115A, facing inwardly and thus will be proximal to the spring elements. Similarly, each coupling region 111A and 112A also has an outer layer 1100A of sheet metal material that will be distal to the spring element, and thus distal layers 114A and 116A. Proximal layer 113A and distal layer 114A are connected by a folded edge 1123A, and proximal layer 115A and distal layer 116A are connected by a folded edge 1113A. The attachment region 111A includes two pairs of aligned slots 1111A and 1112A, and the attachment region 112A includes two pairs of aligned slots 1121A and 1122A. Each of the aligned pairs of slots 1121A and 1122A has a tab opening at the respective folded edge, as can be seen in fig. 3.

Fig. 4A is a front view of a first exemplary embodiment of a motor 100B as proposed herein, the motor 100B having a movable motor part 140B mounted on a motor support 110B by means of a spring element 141B. The second spring element may be connected at an opposite end of the movable motor part 140B. The motor bracket 110B has two connecting regions 111B and 112B, similar to that explained for the motor bracket 110A shown in fig. 3. Each connection region 111B and 112B comprises two layers of sheet metal material 1100B. The metal sheet material 1100B here has a thickness d that may be in the aforementioned range, specifically the thickness may be d ═ 0.15 mm. The coupling region 111A includes a proximal layer 115D and a distal layer 116D connected by a folded edge 1113B. The two layers 115D and 116D are arranged at a distance having a width g, which may be in the range mentioned previously, in particular the width may be g-0.5 mm. The same is true for the opposing joining region 112B having two layers 113B and 114B connected by a folded edge 1123B of the sheet of metal material 1100B. Likewise, the gap between the proximal layer 113B and the distal layer 114B may be 0.5mm, but this should not exclude that the two gaps have different values.

The spring element 141B (which is here realized as a stationary leaf spring) has two spring arms 1421B and 1422B extending from a central connection portion 145B, at which the movable motor part 140B is connected with the spring element 141B. Each of the spring arms 1421B and 1422B rotates about 270 degrees about the central connection portion 145B. Each of the spring arms 1421B and 1422B terminates in a connection extension 1411B and 1412B, respectively, that is disposed in aligned slots in the connection regions 111B and 112B, respectively. The motor bracket 110B may have the form and shape of the motor bracket 110A as shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 4B is a perspective view of the first exemplary motor 100B. In this view, another spring element 142B is used to connect the movement motor part 140B at the motor bracket 110B. Each of the connection regions 111B and 112B here includes two pairs of alignment slots, where alignment slots 1112B, 1121B, and 1122B are visible. The aligned slot pair 1112B in the connection region 111A includes slots 11121B and 11122B disposed in the distal and proximal layers, respectively, of the connection region 111A. The aligned pair of slots 1122B in the connection region 112A includes slots 11221B and 11222B disposed in the distal and proximal layers, respectively, of the connection region 112A. The connection extensions 1411B of the spring element 141B are disposed in the aligned pair of slots 1112B and the connection extensions 1412B of the spring element 141B are disposed in the aligned pair of slots 1122B. It can also be seen that the connection extension 1422 of the other spring element 142B is disposed in the aligned slot pair 1121B.

Fig. 5A and 5B are perspective and front views of a second exemplary embodiment of a motor 100C according to the present disclosure. The movable motor part 120C is mounted on the motor bracket 110C by means of spring elements 121C and 122C. Only spring element 121C will be discussed in further detail. Spring element 122C is mounted in a similar manner. In some embodiments, the first and second exemplary embodiments have a joint motor bracket, i.e., brackets 110B and 110C are joined as a single bracket, such that a motor similar to motor 100 shown in fig. 2 is obtained.

The spring element 121C has a single spring arm 128C with a central connecting portion 125C, wherein the spring element 121C is fixed at the movable motor part 120C by means of the unfolded extensions 1201C and 1202C. Spring arm 128C rotates about 360 degrees about the central connection portion. The first connection extension 1211C connects the spring arm 128C at approximately 270 degrees at the connection region 114C of the motor bracket 110C. The second connection extension 1212C of the spring arm is arranged at about 360 degrees and connects the spring arm 121C with the bottom layer 117C of the motor bracket 110C. The connection extensions 1212C may be welded into the slots 119C provided in the bottom layer 117C. The connection region 114C comprises two layers 1100C of sheet metal material, a distal layer 111C and a proximal layer 112C, wherein the two layers 111C and 112C are arranged adjacent to each other such that no gap extends between the two layers 111C and 112C. These two layers include a pair of aligned slots 116C. The structure of the connection region 114C is described in a more general manner as further explained below with reference to fig. 6, and which is referred to this part of the description.

The difference between the first exemplary embodiment of fig. 4A and 4B and the second exemplary embodiment of fig. 5A and 5B is that in the second exemplary embodiment, the two layers 111C and 112C of the metal sheet material 1100C are arranged without a gap. In such embodiments, securing the connection extension 1211C at the distal layer 111C by, for example, welding, may result in the secured depth extending beyond the thickness of the distal layer 111C. As shown in fig. 5B, the fixed depth df can extend through to the proximal layer and then be thicker than a thickness d of the sheet metal material 1100C (where the thickness d is defined with reference to fig. 4A).

Generally, the shown embodiment and the proposed motor have in common that the fixation (e.g. welding) of the connection extensions of the spring elements at the motor bracket is done at the distal layer, wherein the width of the slots is slightly wider than the width of the slots in the proximal layer. Regardless of the exact implementation, such designs tend to improve the fixed fatigue limit, i.e., the magnitude of cyclic stresses applied to the connection without causing fatigue failure. The clamping at the two layers essentially results in a 2-point suspension, with the proximal clamping tending to suppress torsional stress on the weld at the distal layer. The folded coupling region generally increases the stiffness of the motor mount and thus tends to dampen vibrations and associated noise. In addition, it is apparent that the number of required components is small. No additional rivets are required. In the motor as shown, the amplitude of motion in the longitudinal direction may be about ± 1.0mm at a frequency of about 150 Hz. The design chosen also ensures a relatively stiff fixation, which tends to ensure that the effective spring length (i.e. the spring constant) is defined relatively accurately. As already mentioned, the chamfered joint opening of the alignment slot facilitates sliding of the connection extension into the alignment slot, thereby facilitating automatic assembly.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of a portion of a motor bracket 110D made of sheet metal material 1100D including an exemplary attachment region 114D. The joining region 114D includes two layers 111D and 112D of sheet metal material 1100D. For continuity, layer 111D is referred to herein as the distal layer, and layer 112D is referred to as the proximal layer. The folded edge 115D of the motor bracket 110D connects the distal layer 111D and the proximal layer 112D. Aligned slot pair 116D is disposed in connection region 114D. Aligned slot pair 116D includes slot 1161D in distal layer 111D and slot 1162D in proximal layer 112D. The aligned slot pair 116D has a joint opening at the folded edge 115D. At the level of folded edge 115D, joint opening 1163D has a width greater than each of slots 1161D and 1162D. The joint opening 1163D includes a chamfer 1165D to facilitate sliding of the connecting extension of the spring element into the aligned slot pair 116D. Width w of slot 1161D in distal layer 111D₂Is greater than the width w of the slot 1162D in the proximal layer 112D₁. Of the aligned pair of slots 116DThe effective clamping length is s. The slot 1162D in the proximal layer 112D also has an opening 11621D at the free edge 118D of the proximal layer 112D, the free layer 118D being opposite the folded edge 115D. As previously described, the width w of the slot 1162D₂May be dimensioned so as to establish a press fit with the connection extension of the spring element. In the design shown, the slots 1162D have slightly greater deformation elasticity under applied force than the shaft/bore pair that would normally define the press fit, which should not limit the definition of press fit in a given situation, i.e., the dimensions mentioned are considered as if they were associated with the shaft and bore that would establish the press fit. Width w of slot 1161D₁Is dimensioned so as to achieve a transition fit with respect to the connection extension of the spring element. With a given design, the proximal layer 112D is divided into two wings 1121D and 1122D arranged at the sides of the slot 1162D. The width of wings 1121D and 1122D may be the same and may be given by b, where b may range between 1.0mm to 50.0 mm. The wing height between the folded edge 115D and the free edge 118D is given by/, where l may range between 1.0mm to 30.0 mm. The ranges given should not be construed as limiting. Other dimensions may also be selected as desired for individual situations.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Rather, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as "40 mm" is intended to mean "about 40 mm".