JP2001299452A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toothbrush excellent in an actual feeling of a brushing and easily reachable the ends of bristles to an interdental part. SOLUTION: A plurality of bristle bundles 5 are fixed on the flocking surface 4 of a head part 1, and the whole of the bristle bundles 5 or each bristle bundle 5 is cut in a chevron-shaped manner. Each bristle 6 of the bundle 5 cut in the chevron-shaped manner is formed in such a taper-like shape that the cross-sectional area of the bristle 6 is continuously or discontinuously made smaller from the side of a base toward the ends of the bristles 6. The nearer to the top of the portion cut in the chevron-shaped manner the bristles 6 are brought, the sharper taper-like shapes the tips of the bristles 6 are made.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toothbrush which is excellent in reach of a bristle tip to an interdental portion and which has an excellent brushing feeling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a toothbrush for removing dirt in minute gaps in an oral cavity, for example, dirt and plaque in an interdental part, a brush bundle obtained by cutting a tip end surface of a brush bundle is known. In the case of this toothbrush that has been cut, the interdental reach of the brush depends on the thickness (diameter) of the implanted brush (monofilament), and the thinner the brush, the easier it is to penetrate deep into the interdental area, Dirt and plaque can be removed. However, there is a problem that the brush having a smaller diameter is more likely to be formed and the bristle is weaker, so that the durability of the brush portion due to long-term brushing is low, and the feeling of actual brushing is low. Therefore, in a toothbrush actually used, the thickness of the brush cannot be made very thin, and usually 6 to 10 mil (0.152).
〜0.254 mm).

On the other hand, a toothbrush in which a tapered brush whose cross-sectional area decreases continuously from the brush base toward the bristle tip is planted (see JP-A-56-155628 and JP-A-6-154). ) Is also known. In the case of this toothbrush, since the brush tip has a tapered shape,
It is possible to reduce the thickness of the brush tip to about 0.02 mm, and it is excellent in reach to the interdental area, and the thickness at the base end of the brush is 6 to 8 mils (0.152 to 0. 0 mil). 203
mm), it is possible to improve the durability of the flocked portion by long-term brushing, but there is a problem that the feeling of actual brushing is slightly weak.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an excellent reach of a bristle tip to an interdental portion and an excellent feeling of brushing. It is intended to provide a toothbrush.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a plurality of brush bundles are fixed on a bristle implantation surface of a head portion, and the fixed brush bundles are piled up for each of the brush bundles or as a whole. Each of the brushes of the brush bundle that has been cut and cut has a tapered shape whose cross-sectional area decreases continuously or discontinuously from the base side toward the bristle tip. This is a toothbrush.

In the case of such a configuration, each brush end of the brush bundle cut into a mountain cut has a tapered shape.
The brush tip can easily penetrate deep into the interdental area, and dirt and plaque can be effectively removed. In addition, since the brush has a tapered shape, the base side thickness of the brush can be set to the same thickness as that of a brush used in a normal toothbrush. Can be given.

[0007] The bristle bundle cut by the mountain cutting is
By making the tip of the brush closer to the top of the mountain cut into a sharper taper shape, the tip of the brush can penetrate deeper into the interdental area, removing dirt and plaque more effectively can do.

[0008] The tapered brush is, for example,
JP-A-56-155628, JP-A-6-154, JP-A-6-141923, and Japanese Patent Application No. 10-1.
No. 89241 or Japanese Patent Application No. 10-196187.
As shown in the publication, the cross-sectional area indicates a brush whose cross-sectional area continuously decreases from the brush base side toward the bristle tip, but the cross-sectional area does not necessarily need to change continuously, It may change discontinuously.

The cross-sectional shape of the tapered brush is as follows:
It is not necessary that the shape be circular.
No. 2, JP-A-60-88110, or Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 1-59421, other cross-sectional shapes other than a circle, such as an ellipse and a polygon, may be used.

It is preferable that the degree of taper (inclination angle) of the tapered portion is uniform in all brushes, but may be irregular and is not particularly limited.
A tapered brush can be obtained, for example, by polishing a nylon monofilament using a grinder, or by dissolving a polyester monofilament (eg, PBT) using an acid or alkali solution. Can be.

The resin constituting the toothbrush handle is not particularly limited. For example, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polymethyl methacrylate, cellulose propionate, polyurethane, polyamide, ABS, etc. may be used. Can be. In particular, polypropylene is preferred in terms of cost.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of a toothbrush according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic enlarged side view of a toothbrush head portion, and FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a brush bundle on which hair is implanted.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a head portion, 2 is a neck portion following the head portion 1, 3 is a grip portion, and a large number of brush bundles 5 are planted on a flocked surface 4 of the head portion 1. Each brush bundle 5
Is formed by bundling a plurality of brushes (monofilaments) 6, is cut into two pairs of adjacent brush bundles 5, 5, and the leading end surface is formed into a mountain shape having a predetermined inclination angle. ing.

Further, in the case of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, each of the brushes 6 constituting the mountain-cut brush bundle 5 has a continuously decreasing cross-sectional area from the base side toward the bristle tip. The brush is a tapered brush having a tapered portion 7. Moreover, in the case of the illustrated toothbrush, the brush 6 closer to the top of the chevron of the brush bundles 5 and 5 that have been cut off,
It has a tapered shape with a sharper tip.

In the case of the toothbrush having such a configuration, the adjacent brush bundles 5 and 5 are cut off by cutting, and each of the brushes 6 constituting the cut-off brush bundles 5 and 5 has a tapered shape. As a result, the tip of the brush 6 can easily penetrate deep into the interdental portion, and dirt and plaque adhering to the deep portion between the interdental portions can be effectively removed.

Moreover, in the case of the above-described embodiment, the brush 6 closer to the top of the mountain shape of the brush bundles 5 and 5 cut by the mountain cut has a tapered tip with a sharper tip.
The brush 6 located closer to the top of the mountain has a sharper brush and can penetrate deeper.

Furthermore, since each brush 6 has a tapered shape, the thickness of the base of the brush 6 on the base side can be made the same as that of a brush used in a normal toothbrush. For this reason, while using the brush having the tapered shape, the hair stiffness can be sufficiently secured, and an appropriate feeling of brushing can be obtained.

In order to manufacture the toothbrush having the above-mentioned structure, a brush bundle in which a required number of tapered brushes are bundled is planted on the planting surface of the toothbrush head portion, and then the end surface of the brush bundle is cut into a desired shape. Further, if necessary, the tip end surface of this brush-cut brush bundle may be rounded, or one or both ends of the bristle may be tapered and ground.

In the case of the toothbrush according to the above-described embodiment, the pair of brush bundles 5 implanted on the implanted surface 4 of the head portion 1 is cut by mountain cutting. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cutting may be performed individually by one piece, or the cutting may be performed in units of three or more brush bundles.

Further, in the embodiment, all the brush bundles 5 planted on the flocking surface 4 of the head portion 1 are cut off by cutting, but the position of the cutting is not limited to this. Free cutting, such as cutting only the brush bundle on the front half or rear half (neck side) of the head 1 or cutting only the brush bundle arranged along the outer periphery of the head 1 Can be set to

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A plurality of brush bundles are fixed to the flocked surface of the head portion, and the fixed brush bundles are cut by cutting each brush bundle or the entire flock portion, and each brush of the cut brush bundle is The cross-sectional area is tapered so that the cross-sectional area decreases continuously or discontinuously from the base toward the bristle tip, so that the bristle can reach the interdental area with a good feeling of brushing. Can be given. Furthermore, as the brush closer to the top of the mountain cut is made to have a sharper taper at its tip, the brush tip can penetrate deeper into the interdental area, making it more effective for dirt and stains. Plaque can be removed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic enlarged side view of a toothbrush head portion of a toothbrush according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a brush bundle on which hair is implanted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head part 2 Neck part 3 Grip part 4 Flocked surface 5 Brush bundle 6 Brush 7 Taper part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of brush bundles are fixed on a flocked surface of a head portion, and the fixed brush bundles are cut by cutting each brush bundle or the entire flocked portion, and the cut brush bundles are cut by cutting. The brush is characterized in that each of the brushes has a tapered shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases continuously or discontinuously from the base side toward the bristle tip. 2. The brush bundle having been cut and cut has a tapered shape, the tip of which is closer to the top of the crest of the cut and has a sharper tip.
The toothbrush as described.