EP0648448B1 - Tooth-brush having a head with a variable bending angle - Google Patents

Tooth-brush having a head with a variable bending angle Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0648448B1
EP0648448B1 EP94116102A EP94116102A EP0648448B1 EP 0648448 B1 EP0648448 B1 EP 0648448B1 EP 94116102 A EP94116102 A EP 94116102A EP 94116102 A EP94116102 A EP 94116102A EP 0648448 B1 EP0648448 B1 EP 0648448B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
head
handle
brush
bridge
pieces
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP94116102A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0648448A1 (en
Inventor
Eligio Ponzini
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Ponzini SpA
Original Assignee
Ponzini SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ponzini SpA filed Critical Ponzini SpA
Publication of EP0648448A1 publication Critical patent/EP0648448A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0648448B1 publication Critical patent/EP0648448B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B5/00—Brush bodies; Handles integral with brushware
    • A46B5/002—Brush bodies; Handles integral with brushware having articulations, joints or flexible portions
    • A46B5/0054—Brush bodies; Handles integral with brushware having articulations, joints or flexible portions designed to allow relative positioning of the head to body
    • A46B5/0062—Brush bodies; Handles integral with brushware having articulations, joints or flexible portions designed to allow relative positioning of the head to body being flexible or resilient during use
    • A46B5/007—Inserts made of different material, e.g. springs, plates
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B5/00—Brush bodies; Handles integral with brushware
    • A46B5/002—Brush bodies; Handles integral with brushware having articulations, joints or flexible portions
    • A46B5/0054—Brush bodies; Handles integral with brushware having articulations, joints or flexible portions designed to allow relative positioning of the head to body
    • A46B5/0062—Brush bodies; Handles integral with brushware having articulations, joints or flexible portions designed to allow relative positioning of the head to body being flexible or resilient during use
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A46—BRUSHWARE
    • A46B—BRUSHES
    • A46B2200/00—Brushes characterized by their functions, uses or applications
    • A46B2200/10—For human or animal care
    • A46B2200/1066—Toothbrush for cleaning the teeth or dentures

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a toothbrush provided with a bristle-carrying head mounted on the handle via a hinge which is flexible, i.e. capable of assuming any angle during use.
  • Toothbrushes normally comprise a substantially straight handle part which extends into a head part which is also straight and on which the cleaning bristles are mounted. In the most well-known arrangements the head part is aligned with the handle part. This arrangement has been adopted with satisfactory results for very many years, despite the fact that it is not particularly suitable - since it creates a few problems during use - for cleaning the deep-lying zones located behind the molars of the teeth.
  • toothbrushes In order to overcome this problem it is known that for some time so called “angular " toothbrushes have been available commercially, said toothbrushes having in fact a head which is bent at an angle with respect to the axes of the handle. This angle - which to a certain extent imitates the shape of a dental mirror - is intended to facilitate cleaning of the convex parts of the teeth and of the zones located behind the molars and the incisors. These toothbrushes, however, are less suitable for cleaning the front part of the teeth and in fact are generally unsuitable for cleaning the concave zones of the teeth.
  • Toothbrushes having the handle, or at least a part of the handle, which is able to flex in the direction of its length. Toothbrushes of this type are described for example in DE-C1-39 23 495, DE-C2-42 23 697, DE-C1-42 22 931, DE-GM-89 03 911 and EP-A2-0.371.293. This flexibility, however, is intended - as clearly stated in DE-C1-39 23 495 - to allow the cleaning pressure on the teeth to be controlled more easily so as avoid damaging the latter.
  • the flexing or hinging zone is located at a middle point along the handle and in particular in a zone where the thumb of the hand rests during use, i.e. in a zone situated outside the mouth during use of the brush: only in this way, in fact, is the user able to sense exactly how much the brush is flexing and consequently how great the cleaning pressure is.
  • the aim of the present invention is to propose a toothbrush which overcomes the drawbacks of all the known brushes mentioned above and which, in particular, via a structure which is simple and economic to manufacture and practical and perfectly hygienic to use, makes it possible to perform cleaning of any part of the teeth, i.e. both the concave and convex front part and internal parts as well as the deeper-lying parts located behind the molars.
  • This aim is achieved via the characteristic features indicated in the characterising part of Claim 1.
  • said hinge is formed by an assembly of two flexible, thin, side bridge-pieces, made as one piece with the handle and the head and constituting the main element for joining and connecting together the latter, and by a mass of elastomeric filling material injected into the space between said bridge-pieces and constituting the secondary joining element.
  • the brush comprises in a known manner a handle 1 and a head 2 on which the bristles 3 are mounted.
  • the head 2 and the handle 1 are made of a relatively rigid plastic material and are joined together via a flexible hinge.
  • the axis of this hinge is arranged in a plane parallel to the plane of the head on which the bristles are fixed and is oriented perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the brush. In this way the head has in practice a variable angle with respect to the handle.
  • Such a flexible hinge consists, according to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, of an assembly of two moderately flexible, thin, side bridge-pieces 1a - formed as one piece with the handle 1 and the head 2 and constituting the main element for joining and connecting together the latter - and of a mass 4 of elastomeric filling material injected into the space between the bridge-pieces (indicated by a broken line in the drawings).
  • the assembly consisting of handle, head and bridge-pieces is made of a relatively rigid plastic material; consequently, the handle and the head are rigid and only the bridge-pieces, owing to their thin cross-section, are flexible. This flexibility is then controlled via the greater or lesser yielding capability of the mass 4 of elastomeric filling material.
  • the head 2 of the brush is able to assume different angles I, II, III, with respect to the handle, during use, so as to facilitate cleaning of both the concave surfaces and convex surfaces of the teeth.
  • the brush according to the invention is particularly suitable also for cleaning of the deep-lying zones located behind the molars.
  • the handle 1 and the head 2, as well as the bridge-pieces 1a are made of a material having a chemical affinity with the material constituting the filling mass 4, such that it is possible to provide a lasting and stable bond between these elements by means of simple two-stage injection moulding, without the addition of any binder.
  • a material having a chemical affinity with the material constituting the filling mass 4 such that it is possible to provide a lasting and stable bond between these elements by means of simple two-stage injection moulding, without the addition of any binder.
  • polypropylene for the handle part 1, head 2 and bridge-pieces 1a
  • the filling mass 4 will consist of a polyolefin-based elastomeric material.
  • suitable materials may readily occur to a person skilled in the art.
  • the hardness of the elastomeric material of the mass 4 it will be possible to grade the rigidity of the "hinge" according to the intended use of the brush (soft, medium or hard; for adults or for children).

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  • Brushes (AREA)
EP94116102A 1993-10-14 1994-10-12 Tooth-brush having a head with a variable bending angle Expired - Lifetime EP0648448B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITMI932179A IT1271530B (it) 1993-10-14 1993-10-14 Spazzolino da denti con testa ad angolazione variabile
ITMI932179 1993-10-14

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0648448A1 EP0648448A1 (en) 1995-04-19
EP0648448B1 true EP0648448B1 (en) 1998-09-02

Family

ID=11367028

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP94116102A Expired - Lifetime EP0648448B1 (en) 1993-10-14 1994-10-12 Tooth-brush having a head with a variable bending angle

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0648448B1 (it)
AT (1) ATE170369T1 (it)
DE (1) DE69412958T2 (it)
IT (1) IT1271530B (it)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2009146498A1 (en) * 2008-06-03 2009-12-10 Robert Martin Mccusker Toothbrush
US7721376B2 (en) 2002-09-20 2010-05-25 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US7908699B2 (en) 2001-07-03 2011-03-22 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US7962992B2 (en) 1996-01-18 2011-06-21 The Procter & Gamble Company Toothbrush with elastomer filled flexible head
US8393042B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2013-03-12 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8561247B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2013-10-22 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8800093B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2014-08-12 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8806695B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2014-08-19 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement having flexibly supported cleaning elements extending in opposite directions
US8857003B2 (en) 1995-12-29 2014-10-14 Colgate-Palmolive Company Contouring toothbrush head
US8876221B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2014-11-04 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8990996B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2015-03-31 Colgate-Palmolive Company Toothbrush

Families Citing this family (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
TW384214B (en) 1995-12-29 2000-03-11 Colgate Palmolive Co Contouring toothbrush head
DE19608226A1 (de) * 1996-03-04 1997-09-11 Kurt Dipl Ing Kessler Zahnbürste mit elastisch angelenkten wechselbarem Bürstenkopf
GB9620092D0 (en) * 1996-09-26 1996-11-13 Unilever Plc A brush and method for producing same
ATE231349T1 (de) 1997-02-24 2003-02-15 Smithkline Beecham Consumer Zahnbürste
US5863102A (en) * 1997-06-24 1999-01-26 Colgate-Palmolive Company Method and apparatus to permit attachment of bristles to toothbrushes with resiliently flexible heads and to thereafter permit the trimming and end rounding of such bristles
US5946758A (en) * 1997-06-24 1999-09-07 Colgate-Palmolive Company Toothbrush having contouring multi-component head with peel-resistant joint and limited flexibility
AU2006275960A1 (en) * 2005-07-27 2007-02-08 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement comprising an elastomeric polypropylene-ethylene copolymer
ITMI20061617A1 (it) 2006-08-10 2008-02-11 Ponzini Spa Spazzolino da debi con testina oscillante a torsione
PL2229841T3 (pl) 2009-03-18 2015-08-31 Braun Gmbh Szczotka do zębów

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4520526A (en) * 1984-06-22 1985-06-04 Peters Charles W Resiliently flexible toothbrush
AU618528B2 (en) * 1987-02-27 1992-01-02 Blendax-Werke R Schneider Gmbh & Co. Toothbrush with means for indicating applied force
DE3923495C1 (it) * 1989-07-15 1991-01-24 M + C Schiffer Gmbh, 5466 Neustadt, De

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8857003B2 (en) 1995-12-29 2014-10-14 Colgate-Palmolive Company Contouring toothbrush head
US8327492B2 (en) 1996-01-18 2012-12-11 The Procter & Gamble Company Toothbrush with elastomer filled flexible head
US7962992B2 (en) 1996-01-18 2011-06-21 The Procter & Gamble Company Toothbrush with elastomer filled flexible head
US7908699B2 (en) 2001-07-03 2011-03-22 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8079110B2 (en) 2001-07-03 2011-12-20 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8800093B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2014-08-12 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8393042B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2013-03-12 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8561247B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2013-10-22 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8806695B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2014-08-19 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement having flexibly supported cleaning elements extending in opposite directions
US8839481B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2014-09-23 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8876221B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2014-11-04 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US8990996B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2015-03-31 Colgate-Palmolive Company Toothbrush
US9167888B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2015-10-27 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement having flexibly supported cleaning elements extending in opposite directions
US9545148B2 (en) 2002-08-09 2017-01-17 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
US7721376B2 (en) 2002-09-20 2010-05-25 Colgate-Palmolive Company Oral care implement
WO2009146498A1 (en) * 2008-06-03 2009-12-10 Robert Martin Mccusker Toothbrush

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IT1271530B (it) 1997-05-30
ATE170369T1 (de) 1998-09-15
ITMI932179A1 (it) 1995-04-14
DE69412958D1 (de) 1998-10-08
DE69412958T2 (de) 1999-02-11
ITMI932179A0 (it) 1993-10-14
EP0648448A1 (en) 1995-04-19

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