CN109152469B

CN109152469B - Tooth brush

Info

Publication number: CN109152469B
Application number: CN201780031494.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蜂须贺良祐
Original assignee: Lion Corp
Current assignee: Lion Corp
Priority date: 2016-06-02
Filing date: 2017-01-05
Publication date: 2021-03-05
Anticipated expiration: 2037-01-05
Also published as: JP2017213314A; MY189142A; WO2017208488A1; CN109152469A; KR102638892B1; JP6970491B2; KR20190011712A

Abstract

The invention aims to provide a toothbrush which is easy to hold and operate when brushing in the human mouth. A toothbrush (100) of the present invention is provided with a handle section (10) having a length in one direction, a neck section (12) extended from the handle section (10), and a head section (14) provided at the tip of the neck section (12), wherein a plurality of tufts (18) are implanted in a bristle-implanting surface (14a) of the head section (14), the handle section (10) has a main operation section (21), an intermediate section (22), and a sub-operation section (23) arranged in this order from the head section (14) side, and the cross-sectional area of the intermediate section (22) intersecting the length direction is smaller than the cross-sectional areas of the main operation section (21) and the sub-operation section (23).

Description

Tooth brush

Technical Field

The present invention relates to toothbrushes.

The present application claims priority to Japanese patent application No. 2016-110937 filed in Japan on 2016, 6, 2, and the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Background

Many families will assist in brushing the teeth of an unskilled infant in the mouth. Since the hand sizes and brushing methods are different between adults and infants, it is not easy for adults to clean their teeth with their own toothbrushes for infants.

Conventionally, several structures have been proposed to improve the grasping property of a toothbrush to facilitate the operation. For example, patent documents 1 and 2 describe a toothbrush structure in which a concave portion is provided in a grip portion in a main handle of the toothbrush, and patent document 3 describes a toothbrush structure in which the grip portion has a waveform shape.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 4686031

Patent document 2: japanese Utility model laid-open publication No. 56-25538

Patent document 3: japanese Utility model laid-open publication No. 59-97622

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, since the toothbrushes described in patent documents 1 to 3 are configured to be used by themselves (children themselves), they are not configured to assist cleaning of teeth, and are not necessarily convenient for others (relatives and the like) who assist cleaning of teeth.

One embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the conventional art, and an object thereof is to provide a toothbrush which is easy to hold and easy to operate when brushing the human mouth.

Means for solving the problems

The toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the toothbrush is provided with a handle part having a length in one direction, a neck part extending from the handle part, and a head part provided at the tip of the neck part, and a plurality of tufts are implanted on a bristle implanting surface 14a of the head part, wherein the handle part has a main operation part, an intermediate part, and a sub operation part arranged in this order from the head part side, and the cross-sectional area of the intermediate part intersecting the length direction is smaller than the cross-sectional areas of the main operation part and the sub operation part.

In addition, the toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the cross-sectional area of the intermediate portion connecting the main operation portion and the sub operation portion gradually decreases from the main operation portion toward the sub operation portion.

In addition, the toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the cross-sectional shapes of the intermediate portion and the sub-operation portion are approximately circular.

In addition, the toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the secondary operation portion is substantially spherical when viewed from an end portion side opposite to the brush head portion in the longitudinal direction.

In addition, the toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the main operation portion is provided with a covering portion having elasticity.

In addition, the toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the handle portion, the neck portion, and the brush head portion are formed of a hard synthetic resin, and the covering portion is formed of a soft synthetic resin.

In addition, the toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the handle portion is formed with a hole which simulates at least 1 of characters, symbols and patterns.

In addition, the toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the pores are filled with a soft synthetic resin.

In addition, the toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the thickness of the brush head part is thinner than the thickness of other parts.

In addition, the toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention may have the following structure: the handle portion and the neck portion extend in a direction parallel to the bristle surface 14a of the brush head portion.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, a toothbrush which can be easily held and handled when brushing the human body can be provided.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a toothbrush in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a toothbrush according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a back view of a toothbrush according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the base of an embodiment of the toothbrush of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the base of an embodiment of the toothbrush of this invention.

FIG. 6 is a back view of the base of the toothbrush of one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a view showing a method of holding a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[ description of symbols ]

10 … handle part, 12 … neck part, 14 … brush head part, 14a … bristle-setting surface, 18 … bristle bundle, 21 … main operation part, 22 … middle part, 23 … auxiliary operation part, 31 … covering part, 100 … toothbrush

Detailed Description

[ one embodiment ]

Hereinafter, a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the following drawings, in order to make it easier to observe each component, the scale of the dimensions may be different depending on the component.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a toothbrush 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of the toothbrush 100 of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a back view of the toothbrush 100 of one embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the bristle surface 14a side of the toothbrush 100 is referred to as the front side, and the side opposite to the bristle surface 14a is referred to as the back side.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, a toothbrush 100 of the present invention includes: a handle body 16 integrally formed by a long handle 10, a neck portion 12 extended from the handle 10 and a brush head portion 14 provided at a front end of the neck portion 12, and a plurality of tufts 18 implanted on a bristle-implanting surface 14a of the brush head portion 14.

The brush head portion 14 has an elliptical shape in a plan view elongated in the extending direction of the handle body 16. The concept of the elliptical shape includes not only geometrically defined elliptical shapes but also shapes that approximate elliptical shapes such as an oblong shape (a shape in which 2 semicircles are connected by 2 straight lines), a small figure, and a shape in which an elliptical shape is deformed in the major axis direction or the minor axis direction. On the bristle-implanted surface 14a, 13 tufts 18 which bundle a plurality of bristles are implanted. The bristle-implanting surface 14a of the head part 14 is a surface parallel to the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush 100.

The size of the head part 14 can be determined as appropriate depending on the subject to be cleaned in the oral cavity by the toothbrush 100. When the object to be assisted in tooth cleaning using the toothbrush 100 is a child, the size of the brush head part 14 is, for example, 10mm in width, preferably in the range of 8mm to 11 mm. The length of the brush head part 14 is, for example, 16mm, preferably in the range of 13mm to 22 mm. Here, the width of the head part 14 is a width in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush 100 when viewed from the implanted surface 14a side, and the length of the head part 14 is a distance between 2 vertexes (one vertex is an imaginary point) along the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush 100 when viewed from the implanted surface 14a side, which form an elliptical shape.

The thickness of the brush head part 14 can be appropriately determined according to the subject to be cleaned in the oral cavity by the toothbrush 100. When the object to be assisted in tooth cleaning using the toothbrush 100 is a child, the thickness of the brush head part 14 is preferably 2.5mm to 5mm, for example. In the present embodiment, the thickness of the brush head portion 14 is approximately half of the thickness of the neck portion 12. Here, the thickness of the brush head portion 14 corresponds to the distance between the bristle surface 14a and the back surface 14b facing the bristle surface 14 a.

The handle portion 10 has a main operation portion 21, an intermediate portion 22, and a sub operation portion 23 arranged in this order from the brush head portion 14 side.

The main operation portion 21 is a portion to be gripped by a user with fingers, and preferably has the thickest portion in the handle portion 10 in view of improving grippability. The main operation portion 21 has

curved surface portions

10a, 10a on both sides in the width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction and

flat surface portions

10b, 10b on the front and back sides facing each other, as viewed from the flocked surface 14 a. Of these, one planar portion 10b is formed on the flocked surface 14a side, and the other planar portion 10b is formed on the back surface. In the cross-sectional shape of the main operation portion 21 (the cross-sectional shape in the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush 100), the front side surface and the back side surface of the handle portion 10 are linear due to the pair of flat surface portions 10 b. On the other hand, both sides of the handle portion 10 in the width direction are curved outwardly.

The toothbrush 100 can be prevented from being twisted by forming a flat surface portion in the main operation portion 21 having the maximum width dimension of the handle portion 10.

The intermediate portion 22 is a portion connecting the main operation portion 21 and the sub operation portion 23, and has a cross-sectional shape of a substantially circular cylindrical shape. The concept of the approximate circle is not limited to the perfect circle and the ellipse, and includes a shape formed only by a curve in which the outline of the cross section expands to the periphery, and a shape in which a part of the circle is formed with a straight line. The cross-sectional shape of the intermediate portion 22 is smaller than the cross-sectional areas of the main operation portion 21 and the sub operation portion 23 as a whole, and gradually decreases from the main operation portion 21 toward the sub operation portion 23.

The sub-operation portion 23 is connected to the intermediate portion 22 and is located at an end portion opposite to the head portion 14 of the toothbrush 100. The sub-operation portion 23 has a substantially spherical shape and a substantially circular cross-sectional shape when viewed from one end portion in the longitudinal direction (the end portion opposite to the head portion 14). In this case, the concept of the approximate circle is not limited to the perfect circle and the ellipse, and includes a shape formed by only a curve in which the outline of the cross section expands to the outer periphery, and a shape in which a part of the circle is formed with a straight line. The outer shape of the sub-operation unit 23 is not limited to a substantially spherical shape, and may be a polyhedron shape, a shape including a curved surface and a flat surface, a shape formed by a plurality of curved surfaces, or the like.

The sub operation portion 23 has a gently curved surface recessed inward on the side of the intermediate portion 22, and is continuously reduced in diameter toward the intermediate portion 22. Specifically, the sub operation portion 23 of the present embodiment has a tear-drop shape that narrows toward the intermediate portion 22. The concept of the tear-drop shape includes a shape in which the diameter is gradually reduced from the position of the maximum diameter, and also includes a shape in which a straight line is formed in a part of a curved surface. By providing a curved surface at the boundary between the sub-operation portion 23 and the intermediate portion 22 to continuously integrate them, the toothbrush 100 can be smoothly moved in the longitudinal direction by the hand when the toothbrush 100 is used.

The diameter of the sub-operation portion 23 in the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the toothbrush 100 is, for example, 11mm, and preferably in the range of 7mm to 15 mm.

Neck portion 12 extends from the front end of main operation portion 21 (the end opposite to intermediate portion 22) toward head portion 14. The neck portion 12 is provided with an inclined surface (or curved surface) in which the back surface 12b of the end portion on the head portion 14 side is inclined toward the head portion 14, and is gradually thinned toward the head portion 14.

The thickness of the neck portion 12 is the thinnest in the toothbrush 100. Specifically, the diameter of the neck portion 12 is preferably in the range of about 3.5mm to 5.0 mm.

By making the neck narrower than the width of the brush head, the brush head part 14 can easily reach each corner in the oral cavity, and the excessive brushing pressure can be prevented from escaping to hurt the teeth and gum.

The handle body 16 of the present embodiment includes: a base 30 (fig. 4 to 6) made of a hard synthetic resin, and a covering portion 31 (fig. 1 to 3) made of a soft synthetic resin covering a part of the base 30. The covering portion 31 is provided in the main operation portion 21 to the intermediate portion 22 in the handle body 16.

In the base 30 constituting the handle body 16 of the present embodiment, a recess 32 formed by being recessed from the outer surface is present in the circumferential direction in the region constituting the main operation portion 21. The concave portion 32 extends toward the back side of the region constituting the intermediate portion 22, and is tapered toward the tip side in accordance with the shape of the intermediate portion 22. A plurality of character holes 34 constituting the display portion 33 are formed on the front surface side of the intermediate portion 22, and communicate with the concave portion 32 on the rear surface side through holes 35 formed in a size including the plurality of character holes 34.

The covering portion 31 is provided in the concave portion 32, and covers a part of the rear surface side of the intermediate portion main body 22A while being present so as to surround the periphery of the main operation portion main body 21A. On the other hand, the through hole 35 and the plurality of character holes 34 are filled with the same material as the covering portion 31, and the display portion 33 is constituted by a part of the filling material exposed from the character holes 34.

In the present embodiment, the display portion 33 such as "ABC" is formed by 3 character holes 34, for example, but the display content is not limited to this. In addition to the text display, the text display may be a symbol or a pattern, or a combination thereof.

The pair of

flat surface portions

10b and 10b of the main operation portion 21 is formed by a covering portion 31. The

planar portions

10b, 10b have a substantially elliptical shape extending in the longitudinal direction when viewed from the bristle surface 14a side, and are preferably sized to be touched by the 1 st joint of a finger of a person using the toothbrush 100.

The material of the substrate 30 may be a hard resin having a flexural modulus of elasticity (JIS K7203) of 500 to 3000 MPa.

Examples of the hard resin include polycycloxylylene terephthalate (PCT), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin (ABS), Polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer resin (AS), polyarylate, polypropylene (PP), Polyacetal (POM), and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). These hard resins may be used alone in 1 kind, or in combination of 2 or more kinds.

The material of the covering portion 31 is soft resin. The soft resin is preferably a resin deformable by a pressing force of a finger, and for example, a resin having a Shore (Shore) hardness a of 90 or less is preferable, and a resin having a Shore hardness a of 50 to 80 is more preferable. Examples of the soft resin include elastomers (e.g., olefin elastomers, styrene elastomers, polyester elastomers, polyurethane thermoplastic elastomers, etc.) and silicones.

The soft resin may contain an adhesion modifier, a plasticizer, or the like as needed.

The length of the toothbrush 100, that is, the length of the handle body 16, can be determined as appropriate according to the subject whose oral cavity is to be cleaned by the toothbrush 100. When the object to be assisted in tooth cleaning using the toothbrush 100 is a child, the length of the handle body 16 is preferably 140mm to 180mm, for example.

Tufts 18 may be cylindrical or prismatic in shape.

The length (hair length) from the implanted surface 14a to the tip of the hair bundle 18 is determined in consideration of the hair rigidity required of the hair bundle 18, and is preferably 6mm to 13mm, for example.

The thickness (tuft diameter) of the tufts 18 on the implanting surface 14a is determined in consideration of the stiffness of the bristles required of the tufts 18, and is preferably 1mm to 2mm, for example. When the tufts 18 are polygonal columnar (polygonal column-like), the tuft diameter is the diameter of a circle circumscribing the cross-section of the tuft 18.

Examples of the bristles constituting the bundle 18 include bristles (tapered bristles) having a tapered diameter gradually decreasing toward the distal end of the bristle, bristles (straight bristles) having a substantially uniform diameter from the bristle attachment surface 14a toward the distal end of the bristle, and the like. The straight bristles include bristles having tip ends formed in a plane approximately parallel to the bristle-implanting surface 14a, and bristles having tip ends rounded into a hemispherical shape.

Examples of the material of the brush include polyamides such as 6-12 nylon (6-12NY) and 6-10 nylon (6-10NY), polyesters such as PET, PBT, polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and polybutylene naphthalate (PBN), polyolefins such as PP, olefin-based elastomers such as olefin-based elastomers, and elastomer resins such as styrene-based elastomers. These resin materials may be used alone or in combination of 1 or 2 or more.

Further, as the bristles, there may be mentioned bristles made of polyester having a multiple core structure having a core portion and at least 1 or more layers of sheath portions provided outside the core portion.

The cross-sectional shape of the brush is not particularly limited, and may be circular such as a perfect circle and an ellipse, polygonal, star-shaped, three-leaf clover-shaped, four-leaf clover-shaped, or the like. The cross-sectional shape of all the bristles may be the same or different.

The thickness of the brush is determined in consideration of the material, and when the cross section is circular, it is set to 6 to 9 mils (1 mil: 1/1000 inch: 0.025mm), for example. In addition, a plurality of bristles having different thicknesses may be arbitrarily combined for use in consideration of a feeling of use, a brushing feeling, a cleaning effect, durability, and the like.

The toothbrush 100 can be obtained by a conventionally known manufacturing method.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the base 30 of one embodiment of the toothbrush 100 of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a side view of the base 30 of one embodiment of the toothbrush 100 of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a back view of the base 30 of one embodiment of the toothbrush 100 of the present invention.

An example of a method for manufacturing the toothbrush 100 will be described below.

The manufacturing method of this example includes the following steps: a first molding step of injecting a resin constituting the substrate 30 into a first mold to obtain the substrate 30; a second molding step of disposing the base 30 in a second mold and injecting the resin constituting the covering portion 31 into the second mold in this state; and an implanting step of implanting tufts 18 on the hair-implanting surface 14a of the head portion 14.

In the first molding step, a known injection molding method can be applied to obtain the base 30 in which the concave portion 32 corresponding to the covering portion 31 is formed.

In the second molding step, the base 30 is placed in a second mold, and then the resin constituting the covering portion 31 is injected into the second mold to form the covering portion 31, thereby obtaining the handle body 16.

Then, the toothbrush 100 is obtained by implanting the tufts 18 into the bristle-implanting surface 14a of the obtained handle body 16. As a method for implanting hair bundle 18, for example, a flat plate type hair implantation in which hair bundle 18 is implanted by folding hair bundle 18 in two and driving a flat plate (flat plate) sandwiched therebetween into an implantation hole; a thermal fusion method of pressing and fixing the lower ends of the tufts 18 into the molten resin of the brush head portion 14; and an in-mold process (in-mold process) for forming the brush head portion 14 by injecting a molten resin into a mold after heating the lower end of the bundle of bristles to form a molten mass.

As shown in fig. 7, the toothbrush 100 of the present embodiment is configured to facilitate cleaning of teeth by finely operating the brush head part 14, which is suitable for a user to grasp with a pen.

For example, when an adult assists in cleaning teeth in the oral cavity of an infant, the handle portion 10 is held by a pen-grip type with a thumb, an index finger, a middle finger, and the like placed on the main operation portion 21 of the handle portion 10.

When the user grips the handle portion 10 of the toothbrush 100, the sub-operation portion 23 is caught in the depression between the thumb and the index finger, so that the fixing is easy and the brushing can be performed stably with the sub-operation portion 23 as a fulcrum. In the main operation portion 21, the index finger or the thumb touches one of the flat portions 10b, so that the brushing can be performed with a more stable feeling. Further, since the covering portion 31 is provided in the handle portion 10, the fingers are less likely to slip during brushing, and fatigue is less likely to occur. Since the covering portion 31 formed of a soft resin has elasticity, a user can easily obtain a suitable grip feeling.

The intermediate portion 22 of the handle portion 10 is substantially cylindrical and is tapered as it is separated from the main operation portion 21, and therefore is easily rotated around the axis. Therefore, the tip ends of the bristles of toothbrush 100 can be brought into contact with teeth or gum at various angles, and brushing can be easily performed while rotating toothbrush 100 toward the occlusal surface while being brought into contact with teeth or gum. In this way, when the pen-holding grip is used, the toothbrush 100 has a high degree of freedom and is easy to handle.

Further, since the boundary portion between the intermediate portion 22 of the handle portion 10 and the sub-operation portion 23 is a gently curved surface having a diameter expanding toward the sub-operation portion 23, the toothbrush 100 can be smoothly moved in the longitudinal direction, and the operation is easy.

Since the main operation portion 21 of the handle body 16 is provided with the

flat portions

10b and 10b, the grip portion can be easily attached to the thumb and the index finger when gripped with a pen, and can be gripped with an appropriate gripping force, and therefore brushing can be easily performed.

The toothbrush 100 of the present embodiment is circular in outer shape and cross-sectional shape, and is often curved as a whole. Therefore, the toothbrush for assisting tooth cleaning particularly for infants can give a gentle impression to the appearance.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the examples. It is obvious that various modifications and alterations can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea described in the patent claims, and naturally they are understood to fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, 13 tufts 18 are implanted on the hair-implanting surface 14a, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of tufts 18 may be 12 tufts or less, or 14 tufts or more. In addition, the pattern of tufts 18 can be any pattern.

Claims

1. A toothbrush comprising a handle portion having a length in one direction, a neck portion extending from the handle portion, and a head portion provided at the tip of the neck portion, wherein a plurality of brush staples are implanted in a bristle-implanting surface (14a) of the head portion,

the handle portion has a main operation portion, an intermediate portion, and a sub operation portion arranged in this order from the brush head portion side, the intermediate portion intersecting the longitudinal direction having a smaller cross-sectional area than the main operation portion and the sub operation portion,

the length of the sub-operation part in the length direction is a distance shorter than the main operation part and the intermediate part,

the end part of the sub-operation part on the opposite side of the toothbrush head part is in a shape of being immediately contracted at the tail end part after being suddenly expanded from the position between the middle part and the sub-operation part,

the external shape of the secondary operation part is approximately spherical.

2. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area of the intermediate portion connecting the main operation portion and the sub operation portion is gradually smaller from the main operation portion toward the sub operation portion.

3. The toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sectional shapes of the intermediate portion and the sub-operation portion are approximately circular.

4. The toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sub operation portion has an approximately spherical shape as viewed from an end portion side opposite to the brush head portion in a longitudinal direction.

5. The toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a covering portion having elasticity is provided on the main operation portion.

6. The toothbrush of claim 5,

the handle portion, the neck portion and the brush head portion are formed of a hard synthetic resin,

the covering portion is formed of a soft synthetic resin.

7. The toothbrush of claim 1 or 2, wherein the handle portion is formed with holes simulating at least 1 of a letter, a symbol, and a pattern.

8. The toothbrush of claim 7, wherein the pores are filled with a soft synthetic resin.

9. The toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the head portion has a thickness thinner than other portions.

10. The toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the handle portion and the neck portion extend in a direction parallel to the bristle surface (14a) of the brush head portion.