EP0986656A1 - Monofilaments with split ends - Google Patents
Monofilaments with split endsInfo
- Publication number
- EP0986656A1 EP0986656A1 EP97918786A EP97918786A EP0986656A1 EP 0986656 A1 EP0986656 A1 EP 0986656A1 EP 97918786 A EP97918786 A EP 97918786A EP 97918786 A EP97918786 A EP 97918786A EP 0986656 A1 EP0986656 A1 EP 0986656A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- brush
- monofilament
- monofilaments
- spinnerette
- voids
- 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.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A46—BRUSHWARE
- A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
- A46D1/00—Bristles; Selection of materials for bristles
- A46D1/02—Bristles details
- A46D1/0238—Bristles with non-round cross-section
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A46—BRUSHWARE
- A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
- A46D1/00—Bristles; Selection of materials for bristles
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A46—BRUSHWARE
- A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
- A46D1/00—Bristles; Selection of materials for bristles
- A46D1/02—Bristles details
- A46D1/0292—Bristles having split ends
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D01—NATURAL OR MAN-MADE THREADS OR FIBRES; SPINNING
- D01D—MECHANICAL METHODS OR APPARATUS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FILAMENTS, THREADS, FIBRES, BRISTLES OR RIBBONS
- D01D5/00—Formation of filaments, threads, or the like
- D01D5/24—Formation of filaments, threads, or the like with a hollow structure; Spinnerette packs therefor
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D01—NATURAL OR MAN-MADE THREADS OR FIBRES; SPINNING
- D01D—MECHANICAL METHODS OR APPARATUS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FILAMENTS, THREADS, FIBRES, BRISTLES OR RIBBONS
- D01D5/00—Formation of filaments, threads, or the like
- D01D5/253—Formation of filaments, threads, or the like with a non-circular cross section; Spinnerette packs therefor
-
- 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
- This invention relates generally to monofilaments, and more particularly to monofilaments having split ends, which may be used for example as toothbrush bristles.
- This invention relates to a monofilament having a portion with a plurality of internal fusion lines and at least four voids, wherein the voids comprise between 5 and 20% of the cross-sectional area of the monofilament.
- This invention also relates to a monofilament having a diameter in a range of 0.0025 to 0.012 inches, wherein the monofilament has a hexalocular, an octalocular, or a near circular shape.
- this invention relates to a method of manufacturing extruded monofilaments having split ends, including the steps of extruding a plurahty of thermoplastic polymeric streams to form a plurality of monofilaments, spinning a plurality of cutting blades above 1000 ⁇ m, and placing a plurality of cutting blades in contact with end portions of the monofilaments to form split ends.
- the blades are spun at or near the natural frequency of the monofilaments.
- Fig. la is a cross-sectional view of a hexalocular monofilament of the present invention.
- Fig. lb is a cross-sectional view of a spinnerette capillary used to extrude the monofilament of Fig la.
- Fig. 2a is a cross-sectional view of another hexalocular monofilament of the present invention.
- Fig. 2b is a cross-sectional view of a spinnerette capillary used to extrude the monofilament of Fig 2a.
- Fig. 3a is a cross-sectional view of another hexalocular monofilament of the present invention.
- Fig. 3b is a cross-sectional view of a spinnerette capillary used to extrude the monofilament of Fig 3a.
- Fig. 4a is a cross-sectional view of another hexalocular monofilament of the present invention.
- Fig. 4b is a cross-sectional view of a spinnerette capillary used to extrude the monofilament of Fig 4a.
- Fig. 5a is a cross-sectional view of another hexalocular monofilament of the present invention.
- Fig. 5b is a cross-sectional view of a spinnerette capillary used to extrude the monofilament of Fig 5a.
- Fig. 6a is a front view of a spinnerette having a plurality of spinnerette capillary locations.
- Fig. 6b is a side view of the spinnerette of Fig. 6a.
- Fig. 7a is a plan view of a blade used in manufacturing a monofilament having split ends.
- Fig. 7b is a front view of a structure having three blades mounted on a common shaft for use in splitting the ends of the monofilaments of the present invention.
- Fig. 7c is a side view of the structure of Figure 7b.
- Fig. 8 is a graph of the natural frequency for a 612 monofilament with a 550,000 psi modulus and various lengths and diameters.
- Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a toothbrush having a plurality of feathered bristles.
- Fig. 10 is a side view of a plurality of bristles with split ends that produce a plurality of soft fine tips.
- Fig. 11 is a side view of a comparison of a feathered toothbrush bristle which spreads-out on a tooth surface with an ordinary solid tip which provides only a single contact point.
- Fig. 12 is a view of feathered toothbrush bristles which penetrate deeper at the gum line for better cleaning without hurting the gum of a patient.
- Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an octalocular monofilament in accordance with the present invention.
- a monofilament having a hexalocular shape examples of a monofilament having a hexalocular shape are shown. Such shapes were achieved through an extrusion process using the respective spinnerette capillaries of Figs, lb, 2b, 3b, 4b and 5b. Such monofilaments were prepared by the fusion of six polymer streams. Each of these monofilaments 10 include a plurality of voids 20 and a plurality of weld or fusion lines. The voids result in a void content of between 5 and 20% of the cross-sectional area of the monofilaments.
- the brush bristle of the present invention can be prepared from a wide variety of thermoplastic polymeric materials including polyamides, polyesters and polyolefins.
- Polyamides for use in brush manufacturing including nylon 6,6, nylon 610 (polyhexamethylene sebaccamide), and nylon 612 (hexamethylene diamine).
- Polyesters which have been found particularly well suited to bristle manufacture include polybutylene terephthalate and polyethylene terephthalate.
- a polyolefin which has been found particularly well-suited to bristle manufacture is polypropylene.
- the overall diameter, or overall maximum cross-sectional dimension, of the brush bristles of the present invention is in the range of 0.0025 to 0.012 inches (0.064 to 0.3 mm).
- the bristles of the present invention are preferably formed by extruding six or more individual streams of polymeric material from a spinnerette including the spinnerette capillaries shown in Figs lb, 2b, 3b, 4b, and 5b, and joining the streams to form a single filament.
- a spinnerette such as the one shown in Figures 6a and 6b, includes a plurality of spinnerette capillaries.
- the polymer is extruded through openings 40.
- the fusion of the streams results in fusion lines at the interface of the individual streams, and the formation of longitudinal voids along the fusion lines.
- the general configuration of the voids can vary widely.
- the monofilament is quenched and then drawn as generally described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,418,492, herein incorporated by reference. inco ⁇ orated by reference.
- the filament After extrusion and quenching of the monofilament, the filament is oriented by stretching to improve the longitudinal strength.
- the filament can be subjected to other treatments to improve physical properties, such as treatment with saturated steam as described in U.S. patent No. 3,595,952, herein inco ⁇ orated by reference.
- the filament may be heat set after drawing for good bend recovery.
- the heat setting can be carried out either in a gas such as by blowing hot air over the filament, or a liquid bath such as by passing the filament through a bath of oil.
- the filaments are then cut into lengths suitable for brush manufacture.
- the individual bristles are then gathered into bundles, the bundles are tufted into brushes, and the brushes are tipped and flagged by a procedure described below.
- FIG. 7a a plan view of a cutting blade for use in splitting the ends of the bristle of the present invention is shown.
- the blades are rotated at 30,000 ⁇ m with a router motor.
- the interference between the bristle and the blade is varied depending on the depth of the split desired, although it has been found that 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch is preferable. Essentially, by spinning the blades at a high rate of speed and placing the blades in contact with the bristle tips, a fast and violent bristle cutting action is achieved, thereby causing optimal bristle splitting.
- E Young's Modulus of Elasticity
- ⁇ mass per unit length
- 1 length.
- the natural frequency is usually stated in radians per second which can also be expressed in revolutions per minute by dividing by 2 x and multiplying by 60 seconds per minute.
- a graph of the natural frequency for a 612 monofilament bristle with a 550,000 psi modulus and various lengths and diameters is shown.
- the monofilament bristles of the present invention produce a larger number of smaller ends ("flags") than previously known monofilament bristles of the same diameter.
- the bristles exhibit excellent durability and cleanability, and are particularly useful as toothbrush bristles to produce remarkably soft, fine tips.
- the bristles of the present invention are split rather than end rounded to give a plurality of smaller ends that scrub the gingival area more effectively. It has also be found that the more dense area achieved by such flagged ends scrub major tooth areas better by keeping toothpaste in contact with the tooth surface as well as achieving a softer feel when contact is made with soft tissue in the mouth.
- a perspective view of a toothbrush having a plurality of feathered bristles is shown.
- a plurality of bristles with split ends that produce a plurality of soft fine tips is also shown.
- These feathered filaments spread-out on tooth surfaces to provide a plurality of contact points, unlike ordinary solid tips which provide only one contact point.
- a comparison of these plurality of contact points to the single contact point of a solid tip is shown in Fig. 11.
- the fine feathered filaments of the present invention also produce a greater and deeper penetration at the gum line for better cleaning without hurting the gum line of a patient. Such deeper penetration at the gum line is shown in Fig. 12.
- these soft filament tips carry sweeping power action along with a beneficial interdental and gumline cleaning.
- feathered tips reach farther between teeth, provide better cleaning coverage than ordinary soft filament tips because of the increase in contact surfaces, and thus holds toothpaste in contact with teeth.
- Such an arrangement also provides a unique cushioning effect at the tips which adds extra softness to the brush. Such softness reduces bleeding of the gums during brushing.
- bristles have proven to be as hygienic as round filaments.
- an octalocular bristle structure having eight voids
- Such an octalocular bristle is shown in Figure 13.
- six and eight streams have been used to achieve hexalocular and octalocular structures, respectively, a greater number of streams may be used to produce additional structures having a co ⁇ esponding greater number of voids.
- the outer shape of such hexalocular, octalocular or other structures may be manufactured so as to have a circular or near circular shape.
- the percentage of the cross-sectional area occupied by the voids in the monofilaments is determined by the size, location, symmetry and shape of the voids. It has been found that a certain level of hollow space (voids) will result in an optimal splitting of brushes having relatively short lengths, such as toothbrushes.
- the voids optimally result in a void content of between 5 and 20% of the cross-sectional area of the monofilaments. With such brushes, if the voids are too small, such as the voids disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,128,208, any feathering effect would result in broken bristle ends rather than in achieving feathering. If the voids are too large, such as the voids disclosed in U.S. Patent No.
- the bristle would feather easily, but the splits would likely propagate down the bristle during use.
- the voids should be located about 1/2 way between the center and the outside edge. It has also been found that a longer and slender void achieves a greater flagging effect than a rounded void.
- the voids may be either symmetrical or asymmetrical, although it is to be noted that an asymmetrical void may have a natural curvature which is often undesirable in particular uses, such as a toothbrush.
- openings 40 of the spinnerette capilaries as shown in Figs, lb, 2b, 3b, have a radius of curvature r in the range of 5 to 12 mils.
- Openings 40 of the spinnerette capillary of Fig. 2b have an internal radius (or radius of curvature) of 9 mils, while the openings of the spinnerette capillary of Fig. 3b have a radius of 8 mils.
- the void content is determined on the basis of the weight of the hollow bristle and the weight of a hypothetical solid bristle of the same exterior configuration, according to the following formula:
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Textile Engineering (AREA)
- Brushes (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US1997/006780 WO1998048086A1 (en) | 1997-04-24 | 1997-04-24 | Monofilaments with split ends |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0986656A1 true EP0986656A1 (en) | 2000-03-22 |
EP0986656B1 EP0986656B1 (en) | 2004-11-17 |
Family
ID=22260782
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP97918786A Expired - Lifetime EP0986656B1 (en) | 1997-04-24 | 1997-04-24 | Monofilaments with split ends |
Country Status (6)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0986656B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP3958801B2 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2680197A (en) |
CA (1) | CA2287342C (en) |
DE (1) | DE69731666T2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1998048086A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US10743647B2 (en) | 2015-07-07 | 2020-08-18 | Colgate-Palmolive Company | Oral care implement and monofilament bristle for use with the same |
Families Citing this family (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE19748733A1 (en) * | 1997-11-05 | 1999-05-06 | Pedex & Co Gmbh | Monofilament for the production of bristles and method for the production of bristles from such monofilaments |
US6506327B2 (en) | 1997-11-05 | 2003-01-14 | Pedex & Co. Gmbh | Process of making monofilaments |
DE19841974A1 (en) | 1998-09-14 | 2000-03-23 | Braun Gmbh | Synthetic monofilament bristle for toothbrushes has cross-section with different regions separated by zones of weakness to encourage fracture |
DE19918959A1 (en) * | 1999-04-27 | 2000-11-02 | Pedex & Co Gmbh | Process for processing bristles and bristle products with such bristles |
JP4547891B2 (en) * | 2003-10-29 | 2010-09-22 | サンスター株式会社 | Feathered filament toothbrush |
DE102009018443A1 (en) * | 2009-04-22 | 2010-10-28 | Kullen Gmbh & Co. Kg | Rotary brush with different bristle trim |
JP5152250B2 (en) * | 2010-05-07 | 2013-02-27 | サンスター株式会社 | Method for manufacturing a feathered filament toothbrush |
US9320335B2 (en) | 2013-12-30 | 2016-04-26 | L'oreal | Grooming devices and methods therefor |
JP7199139B2 (en) * | 2016-08-03 | 2023-01-05 | ライオン株式会社 | toothbrush |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4279053A (en) * | 1979-09-24 | 1981-07-21 | E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company | Tri- or tetra-locular paint brush bristles |
US5032456A (en) * | 1987-09-11 | 1991-07-16 | Newell Operating Company | Microcellular synthetic paintbrush bristles |
US5128208A (en) * | 1990-12-14 | 1992-07-07 | E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company | Flaggable synthetic tapered paintbrush bristles |
DE4442001C2 (en) * | 1994-11-28 | 1998-04-16 | Hahn Rainer | Device for cleaning tooth or denture surfaces |
-
1997
- 1997-04-24 DE DE69731666T patent/DE69731666T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-04-24 CA CA002287342A patent/CA2287342C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-04-24 AU AU26801/97A patent/AU2680197A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1997-04-24 WO PCT/US1997/006780 patent/WO1998048086A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1997-04-24 JP JP54564998A patent/JP3958801B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1997-04-24 EP EP97918786A patent/EP0986656B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
See references of WO9848086A1 * |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US10743647B2 (en) | 2015-07-07 | 2020-08-18 | Colgate-Palmolive Company | Oral care implement and monofilament bristle for use with the same |
US11241080B2 (en) | 2015-07-07 | 2022-02-08 | Colgate-Palmolive Company | Oral care implement and monofilament bristle for use with the same |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE69731666T2 (en) | 2006-02-16 |
CA2287342C (en) | 2007-01-16 |
EP0986656B1 (en) | 2004-11-17 |
DE69731666D1 (en) | 2004-12-23 |
JP2001523308A (en) | 2001-11-20 |
AU2680197A (en) | 1998-11-13 |
CA2287342A1 (en) | 1998-10-29 |
WO1998048086A1 (en) | 1998-10-29 |
JP3958801B2 (en) | 2007-08-15 |
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