DK171071B1

DK171071B1 - Toothbrush

Info

Publication number: DK171071B1
Application number: DK423288A
Authority: DK
Inventors: Windi Winderlich
Original assignee: Colgate Palmolive Co
Priority date: 1986-11-29
Filing date: 1988-07-28
Publication date: 1996-05-28
Also published as: EP0291522B1; DE3640898C1; EP0291522A1; WO1988003772A1; DK423288D0; JPH01501448A; DE3774702D1; ATE69543T1; DK423288A

Abstract

Toothbrush comprising a bristle head (2) provided with bundles of bristles which are set perpendicularly into a flat bristle mounting, and a handle (4), connected to the head (2) by an elastically deformable connecting section, which permits the head (2) to bend under pressure in a plane perpendicular to the bristle mounting. The brush is characterized by the fact that the flexible connecting section (6) is so formed that the head (2), when subjected to a pressure of 300 g, is deflected laterally between 0.6 and 2.5 cm in any plane in relation to the handle (4).

Description

DK 171071 B1DK 171071 B1

Opfindelsen angår en tandbørste af den i indledningen til patentkravet angivne art.The invention relates to a toothbrush of the kind specified in the preamble of the claim.

For at forhindre, at man ved tandbørstning skader tændernes emalje i tandhalsområdet og tandkødsrande, har man enten 5 tandbørster med eftergivelige eller bløde børster, hvis fuldstændige rengøringsvirkning under alle omstændigheder er utilstrækkelig eller tandbørster, som er udformet ifølge US-patentskrift nr. 4.520.526, hvor der mellem børstehovedet og håndtaget er en elastisk forbindelsesdel, der er således op-10 bygget, at børstehovedet bøjer ud i forhold til håndtaget ved en belastning i en plan parallel med børstebunden og nærmere bestemt en belastning på mellem ca. 100 g og ca. 300 g, med ca. 6 mm ved højere belastning med et større omfang svarende til en vinkel på op imod ca. 30°. For at muliggøre denne 15 bøjelighed i det ene plan og specielt for at opnå fuldstændig stivhed i børstebundens ortogonale plan, er forbindelsesdelen mellem børstehovedet og håndtaget enten formindsket i tykkelse ved konstant holdt bredde, eller der i forbindelsesdelen er tilvejebragt en slids eller et langstrakt hul i en plan, 20 der er parallel med børstebunden, for at muliggøre en udbøj-ning i en plan, der er vinkelret på børstebunden.To prevent tooth brushing from damaging the enamel of the gum area and gingival margins, there are either 5 toothbrushes with resilient or soft brushes whose complete cleaning effect is in any case inadequate or toothbrushes designed in accordance with U.S. Patent No. 4,520,526 wherein between the brush head and the handle there is an elastic connecting member which is so constructed that the brush head bends relative to the handle at a load in a plane parallel to the brush bottom and more specifically a load of between approx. 100 g and approx. 300 g, with approx. 6 mm at higher loads with a larger scope corresponding to an angle of up to approx. 30 °. In order to enable this flexibility in one plane and especially to achieve complete stiffness in the orthogonal plane of the brush base, the connecting part between the brush head and the handle is either reduced in thickness at a constant width or a slit or an elongated hole is provided in the connection part. a plane 20 parallel to the brush bottom to allow for deflection in a plane perpendicular to the brush bottom.

Sådanne tandbørster med en forringet tykkelse i et område af forbindelsesdelen er ved længere tids brug uegnede, da dette område let brækker; tandbørster med opslidsede eller hullede 25 forbindelsesdele er sprøjtestøbeteknisk kostbarere at fremstille i forhold til almindelige tandbørster; yderligere samler der sig i slidsen tandpastarester, som allerede efter en uge fører til uhygiejniske aflejringer og smudsansamlinger, og som kun på omstændelig vis kan fjernes. Derudover er så-30 danne tandbørster ikke egnede til moderne tandbørsteteknik.Such toothbrushes having a degraded thickness in one region of the connector are unsuitable for long periods of use as this region easily breaks; toothbrushes with slotted or hollow connection portions are injection molding technically more expensive to produce than conventional toothbrushes; furthermore, toothpaste residues accumulate in the slit, which after a week already leads to unhygienic deposits and dirt accumulation, and which can only be removed in a substantial way. In addition, such 30 toothbrushes are not suitable for modern toothbrush techniques.

Ved moderne tandpleje anbefales det at børstehovedet anbringes på tandoverfladen med de bearbejdningsfladedannende børsteender i nærheden af tandkødsranden, og under skråstilling DK 171071 B1 2 af børsterne gennemføres i retning bort fra tandkødsranden en i det væsentlige småcirkelformet, vibrerende frem og tilbagegående børstebevægelse, således at aflejringer i tandmellemrummene undgås, og betændelse i tandkødslommerne forebygges.In modern dentistry, it is recommended that the brush head be placed on the tooth surface with the working surface-forming brush ends near the gum line, and under inclination DK 171071 B1 2 of the brushes be carried out in the direction away from the gumline a substantially small-circular, vibrating forward and backward brushing, the gums are avoided and inflammation of the gum pockets is prevented.

5 Formålet med opfindelsen er at anvise en tandbørste, der også ved skråstilling af børsterne i retning af tandkødskanterne udjævner spidser (kraftmaxima) i kraftbelastningen på børstehovedet, og som dermed er specielt egnet til den ovenfor omtalte moderne tandbørstningsteknik.The object of the invention is to provide a toothbrush which, even when sloping the brushes in the direction of the gum edges, smoothes points (force maxima) in the force load on the brush head, and which is thus particularly suitable for the modern tooth brushing technique mentioned above.

10 Til opfyldelse af dette formål anvises en tandbørste med de i patentkravets kendetegnende del angivne ejendommeligheder.10 To fulfill this purpose, a toothbrush is provided with the properties specified in the characterizing part of the patent claim.

Det har overraskende vist sig, at med en tandbørste ifølge opfindelsen med et børstehoved, der kan udbøje i alle planer parallelle med håndtaget, og specielt med en fleksibilitet i 15 størrelsesordenen fra ca. 1 cm til ca. 2 cm svarende til ca. 20°, muliggøres en overordentlig regelmæssig rengøring af tænderne uden irritation af tandkødsranden, og det bliver lettere for brugeren at udføre små cirkelformede bevægelser. Det bliver ligeledes lettere for højre henholdsvis venstre 20 båndede at nå de mindre grundigt pudsede steder i højre henholdsvis venstre hjørnetandsområde med deraf følgende større grundighed; det samme gælder for det bageste område af de sidste molare, samt ved lingualfladerne på alle tænderne og specielt med hensyn til det område, som er ekstremt svært at 25 nå ved underkæben i nærheden af fortænderne, og som er specielt tilbøjelige til tandstensdannelse.Surprisingly, it has been found that with a toothbrush according to the invention, it has a brush head that can extend in all planes parallel to the handle, and especially with a flexibility of the order of approx. 1 cm to approx. 2 cm corresponding to approx. 20 °, it enables extremely regular cleaning of the teeth without irritation of the gum line and makes it easier for the user to perform small circular movements. It will also be easier for the right and left 20 bands, respectively, to reach the less thoroughly polished sites in the right and left canines, respectively, with consequent greater thoroughness; the same applies to the posterior region of the last molars, as well as to the lingual surfaces of all the teeth, and especially with regard to the area which is extremely difficult to reach at the lower jaw near the front teeth, and which is especially prone to tartar formation.

Ved dette, og specielt ved den foretrukne håndtagsopbygning (fig. 3b), med en angrebsvinkel for børsten på ca. 45° i forhold til tandkødet, kan børsten ved hjælp af de små kredsfor-30 mige bevægelser trænge ind i mellemrummene mellem tænderne og i de enkelte tandsulci og give en omhyggelig rengøring af specielt udsatte områder i tandsættet.At this, and especially at the preferred handle structure (Fig. 3b), with an angle of attack for the brush of approx. 45 ° with respect to the gums, the brush can, by means of the small circular motions, penetrate into the spaces between the teeth and in the individual tooth ulcers and provide a careful cleaning of specially exposed areas of the tooth set.

DK 171071 B1 3DK 171071 B1 3

Også ved børsteteknik, hvor tandbørsten med små rystebevægelser føres hen over tænderne, er tandbørsten ifølge opfindelsen yderst fordelagtig, da den ved en elastisk udbøjning af børstedelen i en given plan udjævner, dvs. reducerer de 5 kraftmaxima, der opstår ved en med hensyn til kraftpåvirkning varierende belastning på ca. 300 pond til ca. 500 pond eller mere, og sørger for en yderst jævn kraftfordeling.Also in brushing techniques, where the toothbrush with small shaking movements is passed over the teeth, the toothbrush according to the invention is extremely advantageous as it smoothes out an elastic extension of the brush part in a given plane, ie. reduces the 5 power maxima arising from a load varying in force of approx. 300 pounds to approx. 500 pounds or more, and provides an extremely even distribution of power.

Selv i forbindelse med Stillmann-teknik, der foreskriver en roterende bevægelse af børstearbejdsfladen fra det røde tand-10 kød mod den hvide tand (rød/hvid fremgangsmåde) ved samtidig drejning af børsten omkring dens langsgående akse, har tandbørsten ifølge opfindelsen også fordele, da den tilvejebringer en udjævning af det foreskrevne bevægelsesforløb.Even in the context of Stillmann technique, which prescribes a rotating movement of the brush working surface from the red tooth 10 to the white tooth (red / white method) by simultaneously rotating the brush around its longitudinal axis, the tooth brush according to the invention also has advantages, since it provides a smoothing of the prescribed course of movement.

Tandbørsten ifølge opfindelsen er enkel at fremstille ved 15 sprøjtestøbningsteknik, og forbindelsesdelen mellem børstebunden og håndtaget kan tåle lang tids belastning.The toothbrush according to the invention is simple to manufacture by injection molding technique, and the connecting part between the brush bottom and the handle can withstand a long time load.

Opfindelsen beskrives i det efterfølgende under henvisning til tegningen, hvor fig. 1 viser en tandbørste ifølge opfindelsen set fra siden, 20 fig. 2 samme set fra oven, og fig. 3a, b snit langs med linien III-III i fig. 1.The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a side view of a toothbrush according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a top view, and FIG. 3a, b section along line III-III of FIG. First

Tandbørsten består af et børstehoved 2, der er forbundet med en fleksibel forbindelsesdel 6 til et håndtag 4. Ved at forbindelsesdelen 6 har et mindre tværsnit end håndtaget, og ved 25 at det sidstnævnte fortrinsvis har kvadratisk tværsnit med indad buede sider, bliver håndtaget 4 stift, således at fleksibiliteten henholdsvis udbøjningen α,β af børstehovedet opnås ved den elastiske mellemdel. Udbøjningen i den enkelte plan bliver bestemt af afstanden af midterdelen af børstebun-30 den i forhold til udgangsstillingen. Dette ligger i områdetThe toothbrush consists of a brush head 2 which is connected to a flexible connecting part 6 to a handle 4. In that the connecting part 6 has a smaller cross-section than the handle, and in that the latter preferably has a square cross-section with inwardly curved sides, the handle 4 becomes rigid. , so that the flexibility or deflection α, β of the brush head, respectively, is obtained by the elastic middle member. The deflection in each plane is determined by the distance of the center portion of the brush base relative to the initial position. This is located in the area

Claims

DK 171071 B1 4 from approx. 0.6 cm to approx.

2.5 cm and preferably from ca. 1.0 cm to approx. 2.0 cm. The special cross-sectional shape of the handle 4 as seen in FIG. 3a and 3b, respectively, are advantageous in connection with a resilient 5 brush head, since the brush head can be held in a desired position and because it is ergonomically correct to hold; in particular, the cross section of FIG. 3b, as it allows for a slanting of the brush surfaces, which is required both by the aforementioned shaking or vibration technique and by the Stillmann technique. Claims. A toothbrush comprising a brush head with brush bundles perpendicular to a brush bottom and a handle 15 connected to the brush head with an elastically deformable connector so that the brush head can bend under load in a plane perpendicular to the brush bottom, characterized by The elastic connecting part (6) is constructed so that the brush head (2) at a load of 300 20 g can extend sideways in all planes parallel to the handle (4) with between approx. 0.6 cm and approx. 2.5 cm, and that the cross-section of the handle (4) has a substantially square shape with inwardly curved sides and that the sides connecting the corner points of the handle are parallel and perpendicular to the plane of the brush base, respectively (Fig. 3a). or forming an angle of 45 ° with this plane (Fig. 3b).