AU751933B2

AU751933B2 - Brush with a bristle holder and method for the production thereof

Info

Publication number: AU751933B2
Application number: AU49098/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Georg Weihrauch
Original assignee: Coronet Werke GmbH
Current assignee: Coronet Werke GmbH
Priority date: 1998-07-29
Filing date: 1999-07-13
Publication date: 2002-08-29
Anticipated expiration: 2019-07-13
Also published as: TR200100280T2; TW404823B; CA2338817A1; PL345672A1; ES2197653T3; EG22152A; AU4909899A; AR019949A1; WO2000005993A1; JP2002521110A; DE59905760D1; PT1100354E; EP1100354B1; RU2213513C2; NO20010429L; KR100639441B1; CZ2001310A3; KR20010071932A; SK1412001A3; CN1310589A

Description

Title of the Invention Brush with a bristle carrier and method for its manufacture Technical Field The invention relates to brushes having a bristle carrier forming a handle and bristles fixed thereto, the bristle carrier having color contrasted areas. The invention also relates to methods for the manufacture of such brushes.

Background to the Invention Brushes, particularly cleaning and hygiene brushes, such as body brushes, toothbrushes, etc are subject to widely varying stresses during use.

They firstly consist of the permanent action of moisture, water, etc. Moreover, as a function of the nature of the brush, there are the effects of chemically and/or mechanically acting agents, such as washing agents, soaps, dentifrices, together with greases, paints, etc. In addition, there are the holding and frictional forces exerted on the handle as a result of the user's hand.

Toothbrushes, but also other hygienic and technical brushes are particularly exposed to such stresses.

If the bristle carrier forming the handle of such a brush is to be provided with color contrasted areas, which have a design or informative function, this has hitherto taken place mainly by the following methods. A film carrying the color contrasted areas, e.g. the information is stuck on as a print (US-A-4,589,159). However, these films are rapidly detached, so that the design element or information is lost. Therefore co•• this procedure is completely unusable in practice. It is also known to apply such areas by film transfer pressure, namely in pre-stamped depressions of the bristle carrier. Although information applied in this way is somewhat more durable, S detachment still takes place after some time and as a result the information content is lost as soon as parts of the information on the transfer film has become detached.

Deformable films or layers (DE-A-4 207 755) introduced onto the bristle carrier which are stamped with the print, have kO the same disadvantages. Another method is the two-component injection molding procedure, in which the handle is made from one plastics material and the inscription from a different colored, other plastics material, which are injection molded in a two-stage process. This process is expensive due to the costly injection molds. A change to the decorative or informative elements requires a very expensive storage of several molds or mold inserts and time-consuming setting-up work when changing. In addition, this process can only be used in the case of relatively large-area decorations or P0 information with coarse line structure. It fails not only in the case of filigree contours and characters, but also if the surface area available for the information is small.

For brushes having arbitrary uses, the problem of the aS invention is to permit the application of durable information or decoration of any kind and to propose methods for the manufacture of such brushes.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a brush with a bristle carrier forming a handle and bristles fixed thereto, the bristle carrier having color contrasted areas, characterized in that at least the color contrasted areas of plastics material of the bristle carrier contain laser beam absorbing pigments which change color when exposed to laser beams and in that said areas are formed on the bristle carrier using laser beams.

According to a first variant of the invention, the plastics material of the bristle carrier, at least in the color contrasted areas is filled with laser beamabsorbing pigments reacting thereto with a color change and that said areas are applied by laser beams to the bristle carrier.

The present invention also provides a brush with a bristle carrier forming a handle and bristles fixed thereto, the bristle carrier having color contrasted areas, characterized in that the bristle carrier is made from at least two laminated layers of plastics material with different absorptivities to laser beams, wherein a first layer with a lower absorptivity is transparent or translucent and a second layer with a higher absorptivity carries the color contrasted areas which 20 change color when exposed to laser beams.

According to a second variant, the bristle carrier, at least in the surfacenear area, comprises at least two laminated plastics with different absorptivities for laser beams, whereof the upper layer with the lower absorptivity is transparent or translucent and the lower layer has the higher absorptivity, and 25 that the color contrasted areas are applied by laser beams to the lower layer so '*reacting with a color change.

oo As a result of the bristle carrier construction according to the two aforementioned variants of the invention, the information can be applied by laser beams, which are controlled in accordance with the contour of the 30 optically contrasted areas and preferably in a computer-assisted manner. In the first variant, the laser beam-absorbing pigments react with a color change at the irradiated points. In the second variant the laser beams are absorbed at the interface between the two plastics layers and the desired color change occurs there and is rendered visible through the transparent or translucent top layer.

The plastics material of the top layer can also undergo molecular restructuring by reflection at the interface, so that an even greater contrast is obtained. Color contrasting areas applied in this way are not impaired by chemical or mechanical stresses, such as occur when using brushes. They are permanently maintained and are not detached from the bristle carrier. The color contrasted areas can have a small surface, filigree form, which was not possible with the known methods.

The color contrasted areas can be of different types and can e.g. relate to information of different contents, e.g.

ordering information, which can be used in the mass production of different brushes as sorting and packing information. In this case the information can be used in conjunction with the color or image recognition equipment for the automation of the transportation and packaging functions.

The information can also indicate to the user characteristics of the brush or can be operating instructions. For example, brushes which are only to be used in the industrial sector for specific purposes as a result of the hygiene regulations ;aO and which were hitherto marked by different paints or dyes, can now be differentiated by indelible inscriptions.

Reference is made in this connection to brushes for hospitals, which must be differently marked for areas such as the kitchen, operating and treatment rooms, as well as wards.

The brush construction according to the invention reveals its advantages in a particularly apparent manner in the case of toothbrushes. The latter are subject to high hygienic requirements, because they have to be used in the mouth and are exposed there to additional stresses. This more particularly applies with toothbrushes for children, in which the head is not only exposed to the aforementioned influences, but is frequently also stressed by uncontrolled or undesired chewing movements. Thus, hitherto the information on toothbrushes has largely been limited to the reproduction of a trademark, the name of the manufacturer, etc. and such information can only be located on the handle which does not come into contact with the mouth.

LO

In the case of a toothbrush the invention makes it possible to provide the information both on the handle and on the head, because the information cannot be impaired or detached by the indicated influences. Thus, on the handle and/or head of the toothbrush can be marked with a use-important characteristic, e.g. the hardness of the bristles (hard, medium or soft). Details can also be given on the use period, within which a perfectly satisfactory dental care is guaranteed, together with warning information. The latter is Snecessary, because in modern dental care toothbrushes are adapted from the design and material standpoints to different requirements and the toothbrush designed for a particular purpose may damage the teeth or gums in some other application.

Hitherto all information necessary for the use of the toothbrush only appeared on the pack. On removing the toothbrush from the pack and using the same, such information has been lost, so that on repeat purchase or reordering the user has no longer known which toothbrush he previously used. This significant shortcoming is avoided by the invention.

In the same way sorting and packing information can be applied, which allow an automatic sorting and packing or the combination of ranges in connection with the mass production of different toothbrushes.

The present invention further provides a brush with a bristle carrier forming a handle and bristles fixed thereto, the bristle carrier having color contrasted areas, characterized in that the bristle carrier is made from at least two laminated, differently colored layers of plastics material and that the color contrasted areas are exposed by removing at least part of one of the layers using laser beams.

According to a third variant of the invention, the bristle carrier, at least in the surface-near area, comprises two laminated, differently colored plastics and that the top layer is removed by laser beams, accompanied by the formation of the color contrasted areas. The removal of the top layer takes place by melting and gasifying the plastics material forming it, so that the differently colored plastics material below the top layer is exposed.

The information is advantageously applied to the readily visible surfaces 20 of the handle, i.e. in the case of a toothbrush on the underside facing the oo o bristles and/or on the top of the handle remote from the bristles. Particularly in the case of hardness information, such information can also be applied to the toothbrush head, which was hitherto impossible for teconical and also hygienic reasons.

The present invention yet also provides a sales unit comprising a brush as described and a pack having color contrasted areas receiving the brush and made at least partly from plastics, characterized in that the pack is at least partly made from a laser-absorbing plastics which changes color when exposed to laser beams and in that the color contrasted areas 30 are applied by laser beams.

In an embodiment of the invention, packs can be constructed in blister pack form, the transparent blister part being applied to the cardboard support and the latter carries the necessary information and desired, decorative elements. In the case of the sales unit construction according to the invention the information or decorations are produced on the pack in the same way as on the brush. The information on the toothbrush can at least partly coincide with the information on the pack.

The coinciding information appearing on the pack and the toothbrush can in particular be decisive when making a repeat purchase or when reordering, so that the consumer, even after removing the toothbrush from the pack, can be sure that he will receive the same toothbrush on making a repeat purchase or reordering. For the mass production of toothbrushes with subsequent packing line, the laser instruments for the inscription of the toothbrush and the packing can be controlled by means of corresponding and optionally also partly identical programs.

The invention also relates to methods for the manufacture of brushes having the aforementioned construction, where the bristle carrier is produced by molding, particularly injection molding, and the bristles are fixed during molding by embedding in the plastics material or subsequently to the bristle carrier.

The manufacture of toothbrushes by injection molding has nowadays reached a level of perfection such that several thousand brushes can be produced hourly in the production line. The finishing of such brushes with color contrasted areas is impossible or is only possible with output or quality losses 0 20 in the hitherto known methods. The label-like application of film prints is not o:o 0possible with the reliability with which the brushes leave the injection molding 0 0 machine and the same applies for film transfer prints. If the color markings are produced by two,,component injection molding, apart from the high costs involved, this leads to a longer cycle time for the two-stage injection molding S: 25 and the intermediately necessary transformation of the injection molded articles.

The present invention yet further provides a method for the manufacture of a brush as described, in which the bristle carrier is produced by molding and the bristles are fixed to the bristle carrier during the molding operation by 30 embedding in the plastics material or thereafter, characterized by molding the bristle carrier from the plastics material containing the laser-absorbing pigments and following hardening of the plastics material, treating the areas to be color contrasted by controlled laser beams until the pigments change color.

The laser treatment can be carried out at high speed, so that the hourly output of a production line is exclusively determined by the working cycle of the injection molding machine. Despite this high hourly output which can be achieved, the color contrasted areas can be produced with an arbitrary finesses and line configuration with a high degree of recognizability.

The present invention yet still also provides a method for the manufacture of a brush as described, in which the bristle carrier is produced by molding and the bristles are fixed to the bristle carrier during molding by embedding in the plastics material or thereafter, characterized by molding the bristle carrier in an at least two-layer form, by initially molding a body from a plastics material containing laser beam absorbing pigments, then, at least on areas to be color contrasted, molding a layer of a transparent or translucent plastic with a lower absorptivity for laser beams and, following the hardening of the plastics material, treating the areas to be color contrasted by controlled laser beams until the pigments in the body change color.

The present invention yet still further provides a method for the manufacture of a brush as described, in which the bristle carrier is produced by molding and the bristles are fixed to the bristle carrier during molding by embedding in the plastics material or thereafter, characterized by molding the bristle carrier in an at least two-layer form, by initially molding a body from a plastics material, then at least on areas to be color contrasted, molding a layer from a differently colored plastics material and, following the hardening of the 20 plastics material, treating the areas to be color contrasted by controlled laser beams until the plastics material of the layer has at least been partially removed to such an extent that the differently colored plastics material of the body becomes visible.

All the aforementioned variants of the method are preferably performed in such a way that the mass produced brushes, following molding and hardening of the plastics material, are supplied to a laser station with at least one laser instrument, where positioning takes place and the color contrasted areas are treated by means of at least one correspondingly controlled laser beam.

30 If the color contrasted areas cover a large surface or are discreetly distributed on the bristle carrier, it is naturally possible to simultaneously use several laser instruments.

The methods according to the invention are particularly highly effective if the laser beam is controlled by a computer programmed in accordance with the color contrasted areas, it being advantageous for the computer to store several 9 programs for differently configured, color contrasted areas and for the programs, as desired, to be polled during continuous brush manufacture.

Thus, during continuous manufacture, it is possible to vary the information or decorations to be applied, e.g. corresponding sorting features for the subsequent packing line or to combine brushes with different characteristics so as to provide ranges, which can be packed as a range in the packing line. In conjunction with a corresponding design of the packing line with laser instruments, the described, inventively constructed sales units can be produced and once again identical or partly identical information on the brush and pack can once again be stored in the computers of the laser instruments on the production and packing line.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention is described in greater detail hereinafter relative to embodiments of a toothbrush and with respect to the attached drawings, wherein show: Fig. 1 A view of the bristle-side underside of a toothbrush.

Fig. 2 A view corresponding to fig. 1 of a different toothbrush embodiment.

Fig. 3 A view of the back of the toothbrush head.

Fig. 4 A longitudinal section through the toothbrush of fig. 3 in the first variant and a larger-scale detail.

Fig. 5 A longitudinal section of the toothbrush of fig. 3 in the second variant and a larger-scale detail.

Fig. 6 A longitudinal section of the toothbrush of fig. 3 in the third variant and a larger-scale detail.

Detailed Description of the Drawings The toothbrush shown in figs. 1 and 2 comprises a handle 1 and a head 2, which are interconnected by means of a more slender neck 3. Handle 1, head 2 and neck 3 are made from plastic. The bristles 4 are fixed to the head 2.

The handle 1 and optionally also the head 2 and neck 3 are made from a plastic filled with pigments which, on laser irradiation react with a color change.

By means of a correspondingly controlled laser, it is possible to apply a color contrasted area in the form of an information 5 in an indelible and hygienically a a completely satisfactory form to the handle 1 or head 2, namely on the back thereof.

In the embodiment of fig. 1 said information 5 consists of a warning, namely to replace the toothbrush after a predetermined use period, said use period being indicated by a corresponding indicator on the bristles.

In the embodiment according to fig. 2 an information 5 in the form of use instructions is applied. The toothbrush is mainly intended to remove dark plaque as a result of a special construction of the bristle facing or the bristles, which advantageously takes place in conjunction with a corresponding dentifrice. Such a toothbrush will not be used for teeth which do not suffer from plaque.

NEXT PAGE 13 o•3 oo -e .oi In the embodiment according to fig. 3 information is applied to the back of the head 2 indicating the degree of hardness of the bristle facing, whilst the handle carries information indicating origin.

The toothbrushes according to figs. 1 to 3 can be manufactured in accordance with the three variants of the invention. Fig. 4 shows the first variant, in which the bristle carrier comprising handle 1, head 2 and neck 3 is \O injection molded from a plastics material filled with pigments. These are pigments which react to the laser beams by a color change in the lighter or darker direction (positive or negative). In the larger-scale detail of fig. 4, the points at which the color change has taken place are M> designated 6.

In the variant of fig. 5 the bristle carrier comprising handle 1, head 2 and neck 3 is constructed in two-layer form.

It comprises a body 7, which in particular provides the a' necessary strength and use characteristics, and an injection molded-on top layer 8. The body 7 is made from a plastics material with a relatively high absorptivity for laser beams, whereas the top layer 8 has a lower absorptivity and is transparent or at least translucent. The absorptivity of the A plastic of the body 7 can once again be achieved by corresponding pigmenting. On irradiating with the laser the pigments react by a color change, indicated by reference numeral 9 in fig. 5. These can be light or dark contrasting colors, which are visible through the transparent or translucent top layer 8.

In the variant of fig. 6 the bristle carrier once again Scomprises a body 7 and a top layer 8. The injection molded body 7 is made from a differently colored plastic than the top layer 8. If the top layer is exposed to laser beams, they reflect back at the interface into the top layer and the plastics material of the top layer 8 is melted and gasified 1O at the points encountered by the laser beams. These points are designated 10 in fig. 6. Thus, at these points the differently colored plastics material of the bristle carrier 7 is exposed and consequently provides the desired information in positive or negative form corresponding to the Scoloring of the plastics of body 7 and top layer 8.

Claims

1. A brush with a bristle carrier forming a handle and bristles fixed thereto, the bristle carrier having color contrasted areas, characterized in that at least the color contrasted areas of plastics material of the bristle carrier contain laser beam absorbing pigments which change color when exposed to laser beams and in that said areas are formed on the bristle carrier using laser beams.

2. A brush with a bristle carrier forming a handle and bristles fixed thereto, the bristle carrier having color contrasted areas, characterized in that the bristle carrier is made from at least two laminated layers of plastics material with different absorptivities to laser beams, wherein a first layer with a lower absorptivity is transparent or translucent and a second layer with a higher absorptivity carries the color contrasted areas which change color when exposed to laser beams.

3. A brush with a bristle carrier forming a handle and bristles fixed thereto, the bristle carrier having color contrasted areas, in that the bristle carrier is made from at least two laminated, differently colored layers of plastics material and that the color contrasted areas are exposed by removing at least part of one of the layers using laser beams.

4. A brush according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the bristle carrier comprises the handle and a head, to which the bristles are fixed, wherein the color contrasted areas are applied to one of the handle and the head.

5. A brush according to claim 4, characterized in that the color 30 contrasted areas are applied to one of an underside of the head facing the bristles and to a side of the handle remote from the bristles.

6. A brush according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the color contrasted areas provide information. 16

7. A brush according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that the color contrasted areas form decorative elements.

8. A brush according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the brush is a toothbrush.

9. A sales unit comprising a brush as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 and a pack having color contrasted areas receiving the brush and made at least partly from plastics, characterized in that the pack is at least partly made from a laser-absorbing plastics which changes color when exposed to laser beams and in that the color contrasted areas are applied by laser beams.

A sales unit according to claim 9, characterized in that the color contrasted areas on the brush are at least partly identical to the color contrasted areas on the pack.

11. A method for the manufacture of a brush as claimed in any one of claims 21 and 4 to 8, in which the bristle carrier is produced by molding and the bristles 20 are fixed to the bristle carrier during the molding operation by embedding in the plastics material or thereafter, characterized by molding the bristle carrier from the plastics material containing the laser-absorbing pigments and following hardening of the plastics material, treating the areas to be color contrasted by controlled laser beams until the pigments change color.

12. A method for the manufacture of a brush as claimed in any one of claims 2 and 4 to 8, in which the bristle carrier is produced by molding and the bristles o are fixed to the bristle carrier during molding by embedding in the plastics material or thereafter, characterized by molding the bristle carrier in an at least 30 two-layer form, by initially molding a body from a plastics material containing laser beam absorbing pigments, then, at least on areas to be color contrasted, molding a layer of a transparent or translucent plastic with a lower absorptivity for laser beams and, following the hardening of the plastics material, treating the areas to be color contrasted by controlled laser beams until the pigments in the body change color. 17

13. A method for the manufacture of a brush as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 8, in which the bristle carrier is produced by molding and the bristles are fixed to the bristle carrier during molding by embedding in the plastics material or thereafter, characterized by molding the bristle carrier in an at least two-layer form, by initially molding a body from a plastics material, then at least on areas to be color contrasted, molding a layer from a differently colored plastics material and, following the hardening of the plastics material, treating the areas to be color contrasted by controlled laser beams until the plastics material of the layer has at least been partially removed to such an extent that the differently colored plastics material of the body becomes visible.

14. A method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized by supplying brushes, manufactured in large numbers per unit of time, following the molding and hardening of the plastics material, to a laser station having at least one laser instrument, positioning the brushes in the laser station and treating the areas to be color contrasted by means of at least one controlled laser beam.

A method according to claim 14, characterized by controlling the laser 20 beam by a computer programmed in accordance with the color contrasted areas. 0 00o0

16. A method according to claim 15, characterized by storing in the computer 0%•P several programs for differently configured, color contrasted areas and selectively polling the programs during the continuous manufacture of the brushes.

17. A method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that the molding is injection molding.

18. A brush substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings. S e•

19. A sales unit substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings. A method for the manufacture of a brush substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings. DATED this fifth day of July 2002 Coronet-Werke GmbH Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: F.B. RICE CO. 0**0 *0 o